Colours and a Grumpy Day

It's funny how the word "colours" seems to conjure up images of happiness and joyful times - as indeed colour is part of those things.  But even when there is colour, there can also be grumpiness.  Take yesterday, for example.  Despite getting up to some fun colouring activities, it was just one of those days for both of us.  You know, the kind where you wake up too early (or, cough, are woken up too early by your darling offspring) and instead of just dealing with it like a mature adult, you spend the day punishing them for it by being a grumpy, grouchy example of everything you hate?  And they respond to your horrible attitude by becoming the very thing you need to yell at...

Funny how you get what you create, isn't it?

Maybe it's just me who does this.  I see so many blogs of wonderfully happy home-schooling families doing amazing things, and I sometimes ask myself...where are the bad days?  Do they have them?   If they don't...how do they do it?  And if they do have them, why don't they say so???  I can understand not wanting to air dirty laundry...but way to make the rest of us feel inadequate, you perfect people!  ;-)

As I have stated previously - and no doubt will again, and often - I am far from perfect.  And that imperfection extends to motherhood, I'm afraid.  Some days, I think I'm not too bad at all.  Others...oh boy do I suck at it!  I think what makes those "FAIL" days feel worse is that I know better.  I know what I'm doing, what I'm saying, and the effect it will have.  And yet, I still struggle with the very simply act of just shutting my damn mouth.  It's like the wonderful Naomi Aldort says (and I paraphrase her here): Your mind is like a computer filled with old tapes.  Something triggers those tapes to play, and you just open your mouth and spit it all out without stopping to think.

I could go on.  But rather than dwell upon failure, I will chalk it up to a learning exercise I needed to go through.  What is failure if not an opportunity?

Anyway, not everything here has been a trial.  Here are some some photos of the good things we have done in the past few days of "Colour Month."

Painting with watercolours:

 Trying out some of Mama's watercolour pencils (you draw on the paper first, then wet them with water to get a paint effect):

Let me just add - when it comes to people touching my paints, or messing around with my precious pencils, I am possibly the most anal person on the planet.  But perhaps is a rare moment of selfless clarity, I decided to let Niamh choose how she would like to return them to the tray.  Let's have a look at the colour-sorting skills of a nearly 2 year old:

No wonder she thought my little colour sorting activity the other day was boring.  Okay, so she's put a purple in with the greens (steady, Mama....breathe...), but really.  Not bad, eh?

Yesterday, blowing coloured water with a straw:

Then, the coloured bees from the bee box had a trip to the vegie garden:

Where they met a real bee:

 Exploring the inside of a flower to see where the bees go:

The bees, the bath frog (Froddy) and Niamh at the park, where we made a fairy door at the bottom of a tree:

I guess what I have taken from the past few days is that, when compared to colours, I am like a tray of pencils.  Sometimes, I am a jumble of mixed-up, messed-up colours.  Sometimes, I am like a rainbow.  Let's hope the sun comes out again soon.