I am afraid of losing this year.  We were warned about how fast it would go, but as the time rushes through my fingers like water, I can't help but feel a little bit sad. 

When Ellis was little, the time seemed to drag.  It was just he and I, both of us spending our days in tears.  Time drags when you are depressed. But now I blink once and its 11am, I blink once more and Kevin is home from work, a third time and its bedtime.  As time goes on and we find our rhythm, the days are good - just so fast it feels like Theo's babyhood and our lives are slipping away.

We fill our days with nothing and everything - friends, cooking, trips to the post office/park/cafe. Ellis is currently obsessed with his new to us pirate ship.  It is a thing of beauty, even if its previous owner did leave it in the garden for years.  

It was our first time using a chart for Ellis.  I cringe even writing that.  I seriously dislike behaviourism and I did not ever want to use a behaviour chart with him. However, we remain in a state of confusion of how best to support him.  Most days, every transition is a fight. For example, every single time we leave the house, Ellis cries.  It is not just a tearful "I don't want to go" it is a full blown, stomping, screaming, yelling mess. "I don't want to go! I'm tired" Even when we are going somewhere nice.

And so, a chart filled with smiley faces bought him a pirate ship off of eBay.  Did it improve his overall behaviour? No. It was more of a threat of "not getting a smiley face" rather than a positive "earning" something. He also now is convinced he can get a new something (trampoline, actually) by being nice. YUCK. Will we use another one? I don't know.   

In more not leaving the house news, we had really lovely weather for a couple of days.  Would my children go play in the sunshine? No.  Did they play outside in the rain for a full afternoon? Of course.  They are Scottish.  Rain is their natural habitat.

This is Georgia and her mullet eating the strawberries directly off the plant.  She doesn't know how to pick them.  But that doesn't stop her.

Our grocery situation has hit an all time low, with no one having the time or energy to arrange a meal plan or shop, which has meant that I have had to use my superpower a lot of late.  What's my superpower, you ask? I can take the dregs of a cupboard and refrigerator and feed the masses. This was a particularly successful roast potatoes with chorizo, kale and broadbeans with a lemon and parsley sauce.

If cooking from the dregs is my superpower, spinning is not.  I am really struggling to get my head and fingers around it.  I would post pictures, but it is such a tangled mess, I'm embarrassed. But then, I remember when I wanted to fall upon my knitting needles in frustration.  So there is hope and I do love to learn a new skill...

And like that...WHOOSH...its Friday. Have a wonderful weekend.