Small Business Enterprise

Jordan's exams are over. The semi-pall that has shrouded our house for the last few weeks has lifted. Somewhat.

Somewhat because Evan's exams aren't over yet. But it isn't stopping them from celebrating.

For Evan, any opportunity to play is a good thing. For Muffin, he is celebrating the fact that his play mates are free to play with him and he doesn't have to do work just so that his siblings don't complain that he is too free.

First order of business, was to literally, set up a business. Or rather 3 businesses.

Each kid decided on a business they were about to start.

Each kid came up with a business model including pricing, opening hours and rules and regulations.

Jordan set up a music school that promised that anyone could be a musician.
Evan set up a photo studio with his business partner, Eevee. 
Muffin was setting up a spa. He was CEO. Jordan was the massage therapist.

Working hours took into consideration school hours. Obviously, they weren't giving up their day jobs for this.

Their family benefits were great.  We got discounts and there were always freebies for those hapless enough to engage their services.

 

So we came home to signs on their door last night declaring their businesses closed for the day and early this morning, the sign had changed.

 

We found out that they subscribed to the belief that the 'early bird catches the worm' because they were all up at six this morning, voluntarily, for a business meeting before their businesses opened for the day.

Unfortunately, they didn't take factor in the size of their consumer base so there wasn't a lot of business to go around.

That didn't fuss them much. They closed early and went to the park.

 Their jobs certainly afforded them a great amount of work-life balance.

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Hamming it Up

As JED get older, they get a whole lot more self- conscious. They don't want to look or act stupid and they're conscious of people laughing at them. I wish they weren't.

Jordan still loves the limelight though even with that, she needs to rehearse it totally perfect before I video it.
Evan won't even do it if he had to do it solo.
Muffin will yelp and hide behind the someone who is holding the recording device.

So when they throw all caution to the wind and just ham it up, just for the sake of hamming it up, we video them. On top of that, they fight a lot more these days so any opportunity to record them getting along and enjoying each other's company, all the better.

And I'm keeping it here so on days when I feel I need a pick me, like today with massive Monday blues, I can just play it and chuckle like a idiot.





I also look at this and lament at how quick they are growing up. Including Muffin who doesn't look like a Muffin anymore.

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A booklist for the reluctant reader

Last year, I wrote about how we enticed Evan to read by introducing him to audio books. He's still not as voracious as his sister who finished tome of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a week with school, training and a full schedule. But he's come along very nicely and pleased us immensely when he bugged usto go to the library to borrow books for him. 

So I decided that it may not be a bad idea to record the list of books that he started off with in case there are other reluctant readers out there that need a bit of encouraging. 

Of course, his perennial favourites are the Harry Potter Series and science comics (but those don't count because those are in bad English!). He took it very seriously when we told him that he could read the Cursed Child's script till he finished Deathly Hallows. Two days later, he was done with Deathly Hallows, rearing to start on Cursed Child. 

The beginning of the Harry Potter mania

                                  

Jumping ahead and reading the Cursed Child on launch day. 

                                   

But Harry Potter worked for him because he had the audio books as initial scaffolding; to get used to the length and the language. 

The ones he picked up by himself were
1. The A- Z Mysteries by Ron Roy.
They are straightforward and simple mysteries. Each book has an alliterative title. The Absent Author, the Talking T-Rex. The titles were enough to draw him in.

I think he liked it because it followed a particular formula and the chapters were short and easy enough for him to get through. The characters in the book carried through into the next book so he felt he knew the characters quite well by the end of the 3 week library loan period. And the sense of achievement from being able to read 2 or 3 of these in a day was tremendous for him. There are Super Editions which he didn't enjoy as much even though he read them as well.

2. Encyclopedia Brown

Packrat introduced this series to the twins. He read it as a child and wanted to be a detective after that. Both twins lapped it up though Evan was more intent on trying to figure out how Encyclopedia managed to solve the mysteries instead of reading the explanation for it. But the fact that there was an explanation was pretty cool and both Packrat and I took part in trying to figure out the mysteries as well. 

Right now, he's back on Harry Potter. Well, after the 8th book, he won't have that anymore unless he re-reads them which is he likely to do too. As with his sister, there's a sense that he's feeling a bit lost as to what to read after he's done here. He wants to go back to the A-Z and Encyclopaedia Brown types but I'm hoping he's willing to push his boundaries a little bit more than that.

3. How to Train A Dragon Series by Cressida Cowell

Evan read some of these last year but listened to the entire audio book series. It was the first series of books he fell in love with. I could never get into them but both Packrat and he loved them and would talk about them at length. They aren't as tome-like as Potter but definitely more than the chapter books above. He keeps them all in a box by his bed and is territorial over them. Nothing can go in that box except for the Dragon books and now his Potter books. Potentially a set that we could get him to revisit now that he's older and has a longer reader span. 

I'm toying with Alex Rider and some of the Morpugo books but we'll see what bites we get.  

It's not a long list but it was a list that worked for him and it's a great improvement from last year. I don't expect him to be reading Arthur Conan Doyle anytime soon but I'm happy he's read more books this year than he has fingers and toes. 

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Of Potter Heads and Potter-lets.

I was late to Harry Potter. I only read it in 2000. I remember discovering it one day when I was home, sick from school. I don't think I was sick for that long but I stayed home for the next three days. And the good thing about reading it then was that shortly after I played truant, the fourth book was released. At that point, Packrat the fan boy, who was my then boyfriend, told me that I should wake up early and get the book the minute the book store opens and start reading it immediately.

That was the beginning of our Potter book launch rituals. The last book was launched during my confinement with the twins and I broke out of confinement to go get it from the now defunct-Borders. I am grateful for the weight and length of that one because it kept me company during the long mindless hours of breastfeeding.

That was 9 years ago.

Yesterday was the launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And in the span of 9 years, I haven't become less of a fan but my fan-mania has been overtaken by the Potterlets that I've spawned. So it was fitting yesterday that they wanted to go for the book launch more than we did. At the crack of dawn, they were up (very much unlike a school day where they would have to be dragged out of bed kicking and screaming) and they were dressed for the part; robes, wands and all.

I can't say we weren't excited. We were. We peeped into the Times near us and saw boxes ready to be unpacked for the 7.01am launch.

Excellent.

And the 5.45 am wake up on a Sunday morning was well worth it. 

The staff really knew how to throw a party. There were drinks and 'treacle' tarts and the twins were sorted while waiting in queue. They also got key-chain door gifts. Unfortunately, Muffin's was a key chain that said "Platfrom 9 3/4" but he loved it as much as Evan loved his wand and Jordan her Hedwig. 

The twins kept making friends, kindred spirits and all. By the end of the morning, I had triple the number of kids I came with and even though they didn't know everyone by name, they were playing quite chummily with each other. They shared food, they sat in the corner and played Top Trumps; Harry Potter edition, the older ones kept an eye on the younger ones while speed reading through the book, all while waiting for the next activity to start. 

They took part in everything from the Cosplay competition to the Snitch Hunt and Trivia Quiz.

The highlight of our day was seeing everyone so dressed up, from Loopy Luna Lovegoods with the Lion's Head atop her own to an incredibly sullen- adolescent Snape and a teeny tiny Harry Potter in Gryffindor Quidditch Robes.

The highlight of our day as parents was to watch the girls take part in the Cosplay contest where they were among the youngest, without a care in the world, duelling like they always do when they get together. It got loud, very heated and seemingly real. We were so chuffed that they did it without a hint of nervousness and they got so into character they could barely stop.

And at the end of it, they got some other Harry Potter books for their effort.

They were on such a high for the rest of the day and it carried through when they found out that they were featured in the newspapers the next morning.

Jordan is speed-reading through it and trying very hard not to spoiler Evan who is half way through Deathly Hallows. We love how they've fallen in love with the world like we did and how they've taken it a step further by imagining it through the eyes of children.

I spent yesterday and part of today getting through the book so that Jordan could talk to me about it and an added advantage was being able to annoy the heck out of Packrat as I gasped and growled at the parts that he hadn't got to yet.

We've both finished the book now and are discussing it in hushed terms lest our 9 year olds overhear us.

One thing's for sure though; we're feeling a little bit lost now, after all the hype and high of yesterday and the fact that tomorrow is just going to be boring and ordinary again. 

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Holiday Adventures 2: The One with the Birthday Party (2)

This post is part of a series for the twins' Harry Potter birthday party. There's too much for one post. This one is about the fun bits that everyone enjoyed. There'll be others to come.

The previous post was about creating the fun that was the party. Today's one will be the fun in itself.

There was the official fun.

The good thing about throwing a party in a gym and having professionals who work with kids all the time and love kids run it is that it becomes a party full of fun. The games were simple with a Potter slant to it. The regular gym drills that the kids do became Inter-house competition and an obstacle course became the Tri-Wizard Cup.

The parents were all pleased that their children were sweaty, got to jump on a trampoline and were made to do things that they thought they couldn't do. One of Evan's friends was heard squealing "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" when he got rolled on a giant roller into a handstand which he had no idea he knew how to do. Not used, they are to being upside down and to see the ground rushing up at them.

The twins spent a lot of time laughing, being sweaty and just enjoyed their friends.

Then there was the unofficial fun.

There was also a lot of open space for them to run about outside and that they did. At some points, they resembled hordes of marauders; this pleased them when we made that comment because that in itself was a Harry Potter reference. They created Harry Potter equivalents of catch and hide and seek and that entertained them while the parents chatted after the party. It got quite boisterous when the girls chased the boys and cornered them in the boys toilet after. That was when the parents had to intervene and tell the girls that they had to stop because the boys weren't having fun anymore.

There was the prop fun.

I made some frames out of old boxes so that the kids could take "Wanted" pictures of themselves. They hammed it up and got into character. The Dreams coaches added to it when they created more photo props that the kids could all use. It was very much in line with what you get at corporate dos or weddings these days.

In fact, the twins did look a little bit like a VIP couple who stood under a banner while we inserted friends to take photos with them. They're young enough to see it for the fun that it is and be silly for the sake of being silly!

The parents' idea of fun. 

Their's was looking forward to a quiet night since the children were likely to pass out early from all the running around. 

That and the fact that we hired an ice cream man. It was one of those hare-brained ideas that popped into my head in the middle of the night and after having to Google and speak to various ice cream men in Chinese (Packrat even approached one on the street), I came away with the realisation that people really like these ice cream men because all of them were fully booked up. Thank goodness for partymojo.com.sg who had an ice cream man available. 

He showed up with the cart, the umbrella and most importantly the bell. He served ice cream with bread, wafer, cups and I think cones. The minimum order was 100 slabs of ice cream and part of me wondered if I needed to bring in ringers to eat up the ice cream. 

But the novelty of having the ice cream man was thrilling and both parents and kids (whose parents allowed them to) went back for seconds. At the end of it, we had 4 slices left. The birthday crowd at inhaled 96 pieces of ice cream all in. Quite an impressive feat seeing that we had 30 kids and some parents.

I've declared that I can only throw a party on this scale once a year and only when the creative energy hits me. 

So, this is for posterity because who knows when the next one will be. 

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Holiday Adventures 2: The One with the Birthday Party (1)

This post is part of a series for the twins' Harry Potter birthday party. There's too much for one post. This one is about the creative little bits that we created to make it more Harry Potteresque. There'll be others to come.

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Traditionally, we celebrate the twins birthday early in June. Having a birthday in June is great when you want to be anti-social and want nothing to do with people you go to school with. But the twins are far from anti-social. They love their friends. They love playing. And they love parties. So, having June birthdays means it's tough to find a time where we can catch a majority of their friends. This year, they asked for a Harry Potter themed party because they love all things Potter.

Unfortunately, we don't have a large backyard where we can play pretend Quidditch games and I don't have the time nor the constitution to create Hogwarts in my living room or a nearby rec room. The next best thing was to find them a venue that we could use where they could pretend to be Potter characters.

Tangentially,  they all do gymnastics with Dreams Gymnastics, where Jordan spends an inordinate amount of time. Because of that, we've gotten to know the coaches really well.  So I asked them if they ran birthday parties and they said they did.

Excellent. An open air gym with all the space in the world for kids to make all the noise they want to and tire themselves out nicely. An added bonus was that the coaches were Harry Potter fans and knew exactly what we had in mind without us needing to tell them. Or rather, they told me they had it under control and it was a surprise for the twins.

So, the energy I would have needed to actually plan the party was all humming and buzzing to do something. All that, I needed to get out of my system. I did what any crazy mother would do. Channel it into making goodie bags that looked like broomsticks. I don't care if Martha Stewart has done time in prison, she still has great ideas and it looked like something someone like me, who had failed art, could manage. Instead of using twigs, I used full-sized plastic wands that I ordered online with brown sandwich bags I pulled out of our pantry and I was off. I filled it with stickers, snacks, tattoos and the wand then tied it up with twine. Me, the one who disappointed my mother with my lack of artistic dreams, created something that approximated a broomstick out of non-broomstick material.

Harry Potter inspired snacks including Giant Pocky sticks as well as jelly beans and chocolate frogs.

I wasn't the only one feeling some creative edginess. Packrat too and far surpassed himself when he came home with invitation cards. Yes, we're traditional that way. Paper invitations hand delivered instead of an electronic one that could be shared in a Whatsapp chat group. Packrat's idea of an invite was a replica of the Platform 9 3/4 train ticket on thick stock parchment-like paper. The point was an invitation that they could touch, feel and use as a bookmark after. My only wish is that he printed more because I would have liked a couple for myself.

This image was designed by the twins' coach and it fit perfectly onto the invite.

On top of that, between him and our very creative friend, L, we had House and Hogwarts stickers for both the 'Sorting' as well as for a strip to take home.They looked very real and every door in my house is now adorned with one.

There is  one thing I love about the twins' and their friends' love for the Potter universe and that is how truly it unleashes creativity in them (there's enough of that to fill another post). One of Jordan's best friends from school took it upon herself to bake Potter inspired cupcakes. Chocolate Frog cupcakes, Broomstick cupcakes as well as two Snitch ones for the birthday twins. Even though we had store bought cupcakes for the candles and song, we ended up using these instead because they meant so much more to the twins.

Part of all the fun was actually in all these little things. They did add very much to the colour and to the excitement of the party. But I'm pretty sure I can only do once every couple of years.

#nopartyplannersforus. 
 

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Holiday Wish List of Fun

Today is the last day of school and I couldn't be happier. I look forward to the coming month of minimal work and lots and lots of play.

I was asked why I looked forward to the holidays since it would mean having 3 kids underfoot and fighting. True that but I revel not having to worry about homework for a while. During one of the exam nights where we were fantasising about what we could do post exams, the twins came up with a list. I did promise that we would try to do some of the things on their list.

So here were some of their requests.

1. Go to Playeum.
Some months back, we were invited to Playeum and their Art of Speed installation. They loved it and have been clamouring to go back. Fortuitously, right about the same time, Playeum invites us to their new theme, Hideways- Creating with Nature. So the day Jordan was done with her exams, we high-tailed out of school like a bat out of hell and we spent the afternoon there .

I need to state categorically that I love Playeum and revel every chance we get to go there. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

a. This installation had a science geeky bit with microscopes and specimens that Evan gravitated to. On top of that, there was a live stream of a hornet somewhere outside, building a nest. Near enough to see, not near enough to get into trouble.

b. It had a buffet of raw materials for JED to create things. 

They don't tell the kids how to play, explicitly or implicitly. They just leave out trays of raw recycled material and art supplies and set the kids free onto them. Of course, for those who need a bit more structure and order, there are helpers around to help guide them to make stuff. This installation's theme was to make Sounds of the Earth, which was cool on its on. 

JED however, deep into their Harry Potter obsession chose to use the raw materials to fashion themselves some pretty awesome wands. And rafts. Very Lord of the Flies.

c. The Possibilities

There was the Dark Space area as well as the Creative Cave. Personally, I love the Dark Space. The whole of Playeum including the Dark Space is a play of play but the kids naturally slow in it and they take time to look around and revel in the dark. The dark triggers and heightens other senses and children play differently there. 

JED however, used it as a juxtaposition to the bright outside; when their play required them to be in the day light, they were outside and when it was night, they would come in here and they used the strips of fabric and everything they could get their hands on to build a night time web.

Everything was up to them. They got to create their own worlds and after weeks of doing what they needed to do for the exams, it was such a relief for them to just unwind and create. So we got that checked off our list fast and furious!

2. Read.

They wanted to read uninterrupted and that was one of the first things they did post exams. During the exams, they could only read in spurts. At meal times, at break, at bed time. They really just wanted to be able to read and lose themselves in it.

And they've been reveling in it. The house is occasionally quiet with the kids fully immersed in what they are reading and both twins have finished the huge tome of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Even Evan, who is more reluctant to read, has asked for more books to read during the holidays having polished off 4 in the time between his exams ending and today. 

I've hit the library for them and have been trawling both Book Depository and Amazon to pick out stuff for them. Their birthday is the end of the month. I've declared a moratorium on toys as gifts but books, I'm very happy to indulge. 

3. Write.

This is more Jordan than Evan but she wants to spend time writing. She's discovered that writing and compositions aren't synonymous and now that she has a month away from compositions, she just wants to write. She's got books and coloured pens to write with and she's ready to attack writing with a vengeance. We've also signed both of them up for a writing workshop at Writing Sprouts where they get to do a week of writing and gets to publish their own book at the end of it. 

4. Help. (This was more mine!) 

We're also going to use this holidays to help. Life isn't just about spending all your time trying to cheat the system and do well in exams; that's something we're very clear in wanting JED to learn. JED need to learn that there is a bigger world outside of school and homework and that there are people out there with bigger problems than not having enough time to play. So, we're going to be spending some time this holiday trying to help out at Willing Hearts. The twins are becoming aware of how there are people out there with more needs than they have and are empathetic enough to want to help so there's no better time to start. 

5. Swim

They want to swim and they want to play in the sun. Sunstroke and sunburn notwithstanding, they can spend all the time they want in the pool and different pools at that. They have a list and they want to slowly make their list down that. Who cares if their skin shrivels and their hair is wrecked by the chlorine? I do but when I was 9, my hair was green from chlorine so why deprive them of that? 

6. Crocodile Hunting.

Muffin has an obsession for big creatures. Dinosaurs, big cats, reptiles. He keeps asking if they exist in Singapore. Some, like dinosaurs don't but others do. He wants to watch Jurassic Park/ World, look for big cats and big reptiles. Thankfully, we have Sungei Buloh and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and there's a possibility of finding some of those creatures there. JED recall snakes at Bukit Timah and we recall otters at Sungei Buloh. We just need to be outfitted in military strength insect repellant. 

7. Celebrate their birthday

I'm turning 40 this year and I hate the thought of it. But for the twins, birthdays are exciting and fun. It's not an elaborate party but there's open space for the kids to run around screaming. Since they've become old enough to be involved in it, it's more fun for them and less work for me. They want decorations? They organise playdates with their friends and create the decorations. This birthday, we need to create a Platform 9 3/4 wall since it's a Potter Party and some broomstick goodie bags. 

8. Night Walks

One of their all time favourite activities is to go on night walks, with friends and or neighbours. They love carrying torch lights, shining it at random things and scream "SUSPICIOUS!". They love scaring each other and talking loudly enough to wake the dead. We've done Botanics and places nearby our place. With more time during the holidays, maybe we'll venture further from home and perhaps be able to see chickens roosting in trees.

9.  TV

The rule in our house is no TV on the weekdays. It's religiously adhered to even during the holidays. The only way the rule is broken is when what they watch is in Chinese. We kill two birds with one stone. They get their TV hit and they get some Chinese input. Everyone is happy and sometimes, it's just the breather we all need from the noise, the mess and the fighting. 

10. Being with each other

While we do spend a great amount of time with JED, during term time, much of that time is spent with us in the driver's seat sending them around or as the teacher, helping them with their work. During the holidays, they want us to play with them and we want to as well. Basketball, frisbee, going to breakfast and going to the movies. They also want to be with each other, play uninterrupted without having to be hauled away to do work. They have plans to build Minecraft and Lego worlds. We want to gladly indulge them. 

So there, our very simple plans for the holidays. Minimal structured activities (except for the writing workshop) and hopefully enough down time for everyone to re-group, refuel and recharge. 

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Meta humour

Muffin has developed a weird sense of humour. He loves telling stories. But his stories send him into gales of laughter and infuriate the listener because they cycle. But the fact that he came up with it and sees the humour in it warrants some record of it.

Story Number 1:

Once there were three children. One night, two of them went out and left the tanned one (him!) at home. He played basketball with his mommy and they played for so long that he vomitted! He was a bit upset after that so he decided to lie down and tell his mommy a story. And this was his story...Once there were three children. One night, two of them went out and left the tanned one at home...

How long the story lasts depends very much on how long he can hold a straight face and how hapless his poor victim is and how long it takes his victim to realise that it's a version of Groundhog Day.

Story Number 2:
There were 3 children in a boat. Their names were Wee-Pete, U-Pete and No-Pete. U-Pete and No-Pete fell off the boat. Who was left?

When you answer Wee-Pete (Repeat), he runs through the whole spiel again, in gales of laughter.

I don't know where he learnt it from but as long as I don't have to be the listening end of it, which I unfortunately am, it's funny.

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Experiment 1: Nature study

The twins are doing science this year. They spent much of last year excited about doing science this year. They read, they watched videos and they spewed scary non-sequiturs about poisonous/ deadly animals. They taught me the difference between a poisonous creature and a venomous one.

Unfortunately, school science is not just about remembering crazy facts but actually being able to make observations about these creatures or phenomena. That bit is what we've been trying to help them bridge; articulating all their weird, random bits of information into coherent observations.

The wonderful thing about science is that it's all around, especially now as they tackle living things as a topic. I discovered one morning after dropping the twins off that one of their schools faced a bank of wild vegetation. Peering at the various plants and trees by the pathway, I noticed with a great amount of glee, an army of different sorts of trees and shrubs as well as leaves housing spiders and leaves folded downwards because of sacs of spider eggs. Time to bring them on a nature ramble.

That's when I decided that I was going to make their textbook real to them. Part of what the twins are doing is to identify the different characteristics of leaves. Once again, it's about observation. So, armed with the scissors from my very guniang Swiss Knife and a plastic bag that Muffin had carelessly tossed at the back of the car, I braved commando mosquitoes and started clipping off different leaves.

So yesterday's revision for next week's Science test was to set up their leaf scrap book, identify and list the various characteristics of each of the leaves after pasting them in. Of course from the academic point of view, it's a small section of what they need to know but it was fun and they'll remember it past their use of the scrap book.



Another part of the topic required them to learn the functions of the different parts of the plant. They could learn it by heart or they could see it. I opted for them to see how plants and their system for transporting water worked. To do this, all that was necessary was food colouring, big jars and leaves of Chinese cabbage.

They marvelled at how quickly the water was transported to the tips of the leaves, how the tips of the leaves coloured first and how extensively the network of veins was. And the added bonus was that it was very very pretty. 

If these questions were asked next week, it would be a bonus. If they didn't, at least they'd know how to make very pretty coloured flowers next time. 

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Lessons from a sleepover

I've been away for a while hence explaining the blog silence. While away, I bought Jordan a night shirt with the words "I love sleepovers". She was chuffed because in a nutshell, she does. Once I had gotten over the jetlag, she set about bugging me for one. And if anything, that girl is persistent so we caved.

She invited some of her best friends and my head spun as I wrapped my head around the idea of 3 more girls in our house.

I'm happy to announce that post play date, my house is still standing and my sons haven't run away for good.

But here are some things I learnt from it.

1. Sleepovers are a misnomer.

There was no sleep to be had. For them and for the rest of the household. They were too excited and they spent all their time nattering. There were multiple toilet jaunts and declarations of one girl having fallen asleep but being woken up by the other 3 in one way or the other. No amount of warnings or threats, on the part of our exhausted helper, of "I will wake Jordan's Mommy and tell her you all are still not sleeping!" did anything to quell them. I walked in on them at 1 am to someone in a handstand on the bed in the dark.

Eventually, they might have ended up with about 4 hours of sleep not that anyone can confirm it because they outlasted everyone else in the household. They knew this for themselves. All complained that they hadn't slept much though it didn't deter them from anything.

2. Noise and Number of children; not an incremental correlation. 

Packrat had the 4 girls in the car and by the time he got home, he was a little bit on the deaf side. He was also sure that before the end of the night, one of our neighbours would have called the police on us. He said his ears were ringing from the high pitch chattering, squealing and giggling of the 4 girls. His exact description was that they were like Gremlins, fed after midnight and then sprayed with water. They laughed at everything and they were plotting against the boys.The most repeated phrase of the night was "Ssssh, I can hear you girls through 3 closed doors!" And even their whispering was loud. But when one left after lunch the next day, the noise level dropped massively. So our conclusion was the increase in volume rose exponentially with the number of girls. 

3. Household chores are fun too.

With 6 kids in the house, the probability of mess was going to be a high one. So in order to keep all our sanity, we declared that they have to make their own bed, clear up their own clothes, bags, towels, soft toys and clear the table after lunch. Any mess that they made, they had to clear up or Jordan would find herself very short of toys by the end of the play date. 

It worked. Everything was fun because they did it together. It was probably the only reason why the house was still standing by the end of the day. One of them declared that it was like going to camp but the bed was comfortable and there was air-conditioning. Jordan opened her mouth to suggest creating an adventure camp but one look from myself and the helper told her that it was as wishful as her desire for wanting a puppy. 

4. Plan outdoor activities. 

To give our helper time and space to actually clean the house and to prepare lunch, also to restore some of her hearing, I took them all out. 6 children squished into the car and all the way to the park where they could run wild. And run wild they did. It was the most peaceful three hours I had with them because they created their own games including the boys and run amok in the open space. They ran, they crossed stones, they sat on the swings,  they threw a frisbee around and they made up games. By the time I got them home, they had expended much of their energy, bouncing off the walls much less and deigned to play quietly after lunch. 

5. Separate the kids. 

Eventually I shipped the two boys off to Evan's friend's house for their own play date. Even though there were two of them, they really didn't stand a chance against the girls. They were laughed at, teased, excluded (on account of their being boys), made to play the monster/ enemy/ bad guys (on account of their being boys) and locked out of the room (on account of their being boys). It was going to end up in tears (on the boys' part) at some point so I thought it would be better if they went off to safer waters. And it helped. The boys were happy, the girls knew no better but I had a much more peaceful time because I didn't have to mediate the boys' whining about being left out, teased, locked out etc. 

6. As little sugar or chocolate as possible.
Even with minimal help, the girls were on such a high; talking loudly, laughing loudly and giggling at every.single.thing. If we had given them more sugar or chocolate, I think the house would have truly fallen down.

By the end of it, Jordan was exhausted. But apparently, the girls all went home talking about their "camp' non stop so I'm assuming they all had a great time as well. Despite making it sound like it was exhausting, it was really fun to watch the girls play, squabble, make up and natter. It made me hope that for Jordan's sake, she stays close to these friends of hers. And the boys, being boys, came home asking where all the girls were and were genuinely saddened that they weren't around. Jordan's already asking me when they can do another sleepover. 

But it's like jet-lag. It takes a while to recover from. So I'm going to tell her to ask me in a year's time. 

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