Wordless Wednesday

Bedroom Revamp

We decided a while ago that Anna and Beth, at 14 and 12, should have their own bedrooms instead of the two children to each of three bedrooms arrangement that we had. For a while then the two older girls had a small room each and we had the four little ones in the biggest room. Not a great plan for getting anyone to settle that far off midnight! Therefore at the beginning of the summer we had workmen in to divide the biggest room with a stud partition wall and the result was four similar sized rooms and some painting required...

We gave the guys a pretty free rein with their decorating schemes and they did most the painting themselves. We figure that if we give them ownership of a space they will learn the responsibility of looking after it and are more likely to respect it.

There were also shelves to be made.

Grandpa offered to help decide where Beth should position her bed!

Anna went for a two tone scheme.

Beth painted some Harry Potter figures.

Tiarnan painted various things on his wall including a goblin king apparently but Eoin kept his plain.

Orla has her mural and Caitlin has a Harry Potter theme. The crate between the beds is where Holly sleeps!

The rooms aren't particularly big, especially for two children but they work well for us. They each have a cupboard to keep their precious things in and shelves too but otherwise we don't encourage them to keep toys in their bedrooms. For one thing it doesn't help them to settle at night if there's lego asking to be played with at the end of the bed. Secondly we don't like the idea of children spending hours in their rooms in isolation, especially as teenagers, which is one of the reasons no one has a desk in their room. Now we realise we are blessed with space, living out in the sticks as we do, so we have a playroom for the toys and a study space for learning down the living end of the house.
The other thing we did during all this moving around which has revolutionised how our spaces work is the creation of a laundry room. We have just been approved as respite foster parents and part of the deal is that when the child stays with you they have to be accommodated in a room of their own. We therefore need to keep a spare room but as this will only be occasionally used and has built in wardrobes we now have all the family's clothes in there, lock, stock and barrel. As the washing machine, tumble dryer, washing baskets and ironing board are also in the same room it's become a one stop shop so there are no longer clothes strewn around all the bedrooms. Also it's much easier for the children to keep their rooms tidy themselves - in theory anyway!

Study Carels

Brothers

 We are blessed in that all our children get along very well. Sure they can argue and fight like the best of them but it blows over as fast as it comes. If anyone is hurt or sick they will all flock round trying to look after the injured party and the love between them all is evident. However there is a bond between the boys that has a special quality all of it's own. Maybe because there's just the two of them among the girls but they have always had this allegiance. If there is a side to be taken or a favour to be given the boys will always choose their brother.

Wordless Wednesday

Pupdate.

Day 10 and the first puppy opens her eyes. Magic.

Little Fred

Amber had a litter of 7 puppies but one was stillborn. The children decided to name him 'Little Fred', after Fred Weasley. We have not had a pet die before so this was a big deal for the children and we were all sad. We decided to bury him and plant a tree at the same time.

The guys wrote little notes and put them in the box with Little Fred.

Without seeing Little Fred Amber still seemed to know what we were doing and lay a little way away from us watching with mournful eyes.

The tree we found was a flowering Cherry which will have lovely white blossom in the spring. We also planted a white Calendula which will be in flower at his birthday.

Puppy Madness!

This is what are playroom looks like at the moment. It has turned into the puppy room so that Amber has a bit of peace and quiet (well relative!) to tend to her babies in our very manic household. Justin and I are also sleeping in there as there is a risk with large breeds of accidental suffocation of puppies, so we can keep an eye on them. The last few days have been very busy. Between looking after Amber who is recovering from a caesarean, doing laundry ++, cleaning ++ to minimise the risk of infection and trying to keep the other dogs from upsetting her, the children are definitely thriving on neglect!

We are also weighing twice daily to ensure all puppies are getting their fair share and thriving.

However, despite the work and the sleepless nights we are all totally in love with these puppies....

Puppies Arrive!

We are in awe of the miracle of birth with the arrival of Amber's puppies.

Miss Candy Pink;

Miss Fuchsia Pink

Mr Chocolate Brown;

Mr Lime Green;

Mr Sky Blue;

Mr Berry Purple;

And, most important of all, one very clever Mammy who is caring for them all beautifully;