Marshmallow likes lettuce leaves, warm pockets to sleep in and hiding under the cupboards in the bathroom. When I say “under” I mean behind and under, which is inaccessible to humans without destroying the cupboards. That means Adam is constantly there trying to see if she has come out, which also means she keeps hiding away.

After a while she comes out to eat some lettuce leaves, and then as soon as someone goes to get her, whoosh, and she is back behind the cupboards. So along comes dad with his patented towel stopper. He eyes the bunny. She is eating leaves. The bunny eyes dad. Crunch, crunch. Dad throws the towel in an attempt to block off the exit. Bunny dashes. The gap is small, will the towel make it before bunny? The floor is wooden and slippery for bunny paws, will the bunny make it before the towel? The towel lands on bunny. Dad saves the day.

Adam is obsessed. He can’t stop hunting Marshmallow. He’s out there looking for her, stalking her and catching her, and he’s become remarkably efficient at getting her.

It takes some patience, but he does eventually get his prey.

Grace spent lots of time working on a scale today

The trampoline has been well loved with fun, silliness and the exercise all happening

We have made white bread, whole wheat bread, Rye bread, Hot Cross buns. Let’s not forget the Playdough and salt dough. Today Duncan made Baguettes, deliciously tasty with the right amount of crunch.

These did not last long! Nothing beats warm bread fresh out the ovenThis loaf of white homemade bread was so good. It was good  hot out of the oven, toasted, a day old and even when made into a toastie. I have a feeling this might replace bought bread in our home.

And to end off a week of bread, Duncan has started our sourdough starter. So I am definitely looking forward to that in a few days.  It’s a pity the shops have no bread flour. It seems that lockdown has everyone inspired to bake bread.

The kids have been really helpful around the house which has been wonderful. It feels like we are on the same team which makes my heart very happy.

The boys working on sanding some story cube blocks that we are making. Eli love this kind of work and could spend hours working with his hands

We ended the day with some homemade sushi which left everyone happy.

Grace says, “You’re never too old for playdough”

Grace’s “pizza” creation, with cheese, bacon, and pineapple bits

Dough seems to be a lockdown theme. We’ve made hot cross buns, rye bread and now this white bread….which the children loved. Adam even ate the crusts!

This is what happens when you play with real dough

The ice cream train is departing!

We still have good coffee

Grace & Eli have worked out a morning routine to keep their fitness up – what I call their backyard “triathlon”. 20 minutes of cycling, 10 minutes of running and 10 minutes of jumping.

Today started with my kids doing a 40 minute “triathlon” which included 20 minutes of cycling, 10 minutes of running and 10 minutes of trampoline jumping! Grace said it was a great way to start the morning. I must admit I didn’t join them but rather opted for a yoga workout!

I have been talking about salt dough easter eggs for a week now and finally made some today. All 3 kids had great fun rolling the dough, making the eggs and then decorating them. It was so awesome to watch their little production line they had going for tying the string. Eli cut the string, Adam threaded it and Grace tied the knots.

Adam and I also made play dough today which we used to practice some numbers (Adam) and cursive (Eli)

Well….I guess I was wrong and Adams total meltdown the other night wasn’t because it was late….mmm. So this went down. We all told Adam to play his +4 to stop Eli winning but he refused to listen…and instead……

I guess we will continue to work on his losing skills, one day at a time. Although to be honest I’m still working on them and I’m in my 40s ?

After months of having no front teeth, Eli realised today that he can eat apples again!

These three hooligans arrived in our room today having some fun with the dress up clothes

Today I granted the kids 5 yeses within reason of course and they chose the following:

3 x oreo cookies at our coffee time

2 hours of screen time

30 minutes exploring Google Doodles

Stay up until 20h00

Stay in pyjamas all day

It was not just a day filled with screen time and catching Marshmallow, it was a day filled with little pockets of fun.

We all played some Uno before bed which turned out to be a bad idea! Tired Adam couldn’t deal with the thought of losing and each time it didn’t go his way he would collapse in a puddle of sadness. Poor dude – you are definitely going to bed at 19h00 tomorrow! The extra hour took it out of him

Marshmallow gets a string instrument recital

“I am having a mid-lockdown crisis” were Graces words

With schools closing early, social distancing and now the lockdown, it has been about two weeks of being away from other people. With another two weeks to go (well, we’ll see), Grace is now in mid-lockdown crisis. I’m not sure how well everyone will handle this being extended. At least the boys spend loads of time just playing with each other, but I think Grace is missing her friends now.

Back bends for relaxation during quiet time

Grace says we should have called her (him?) Laminator. The laminator grabs the sheet and pulls it through, Marshmallow grabs the flower and makes it disappear quickly as she nibbles it in.

Good thing it was the weekend and I had some time. It took us about half an hour to decide which movie to watch and in the end decided on the one which no one wanted to watch at first, but then after watching a trailer they finally managed to agree. It turned out that “Big miracle” even had a relevant message of working together regardless of our differences to achieve something which we couldn’t do alone.

In times like these it is good to remember that we’re all human, regardless of borders, beliefs or anything else.