One word? When seven would do…

Just in case there is any one among our number who like me had not discovered this yet we have spent a happy hour this lunchtime sitting watching loads of ‘science clips’ on CBBC. I did *know* the resource of schools tv was there but it was one of those things I never got around to looking at and also perhaps thought in the back of my mind that the kids would be too young for it yet anyway. WRONG! 🙂 It’s fab – idea for sitting and watching together, ideal for spinning off into other things and also secretly ideal for keeping them quiet with TV for a bit without the guilty feeling of using it as a babysitter!

Been to the library this morning to return some books and get another haul. Got several which I intend to bring to group this week for storytelling – although I will be reading them to my two a couple of times first to a) check content, suitability and so on and b) familiarise myself with them so it is slightly easier to read them upside down! Also got another 8 books from the books for sale for 10p table which was good. In the spirit of Jule’s blog awards nomination here’s the titles:
Montessori Read & Write
A year in the city – Kathy Henderson
Tinkerbill – not all fairies are girls – Jeanne Willis
My book of Faraway Stories
Spirit of Hope – Bob Graham
Mr Archimedes’ Bath – Pamela Allen
Clocks and more clocks – Pat Hutchins
From a distance – Julie Gold

The library was closed last week for a revamp and although they have only changed the layout a wee bit it looks really good. They also had made more of their cd, video and dvd area and had a borrow one, get one free offer on so Davies begged for Dangermouse (his current favourite!) and we also picked up Charlotte’s Web – I read the book as a child and was very disappointed when they showed us the film at school as it was full of songs which I thought really got in the way of the story – but I was about 10 then so perhaps the songs might make the story easier for the kids…we’ll see. A peep in the charity shops revealed nothing of interest so we bought jam doughnuts for a treat and came home.

We had a really bad night with the kids who were both up for part of it so they are both a bit wiped out today – I think we might have done a bit too much whizzing about this weekend so I’m glad we have today and tomorrow at home this week to reover – be nicer still to be relaxing at CP of course 😉 So I think I might put the CW vid on in a bit and go and cuddle up with them on the sofa for the afternoon.

And don’t worry this is not about to be one of my occassional loss of faith, need reassurance, should I stay or should I go type posts! 🙂

This blog started in earnest about a year ago (well nearly!) and in the beginning I really did keep it to record the kids’ early years educational progress.

Somewhere between then and now it has morphed into something quite different… Infact yesterday when I was blogging about reading with the kids and how well Scarlett’s vocabulary is growing I felt quite odd about it – like I was boasting or seeking some sort of praise (which I was not!)

Yesterday at Chris and Julie’s (who you will recall also intend to HE the twins – aged 2) we were all discussing how we feel about ‘coming out’ about HE and it was clear that of the four of us I was the one most comfortable with it all – probably because I spend most of my time now (IRL or in Blogland) in the company of others who do it. Chris is quite confrontational and enjoys pissing people off so I think he wears it like a badge of something he does in a ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’ fashion, Julie is matter of fact but probably reserving judgement ’til the twins are old enough to really be official. Ady is cagey – he is not one of life’s stand up and be counted people, he prefers anonymity, conformism and being part of the crowd (which is fine). I otoh have always been individual and used to being ME as opposed to one of a number and as several friends have said how unsurprised they are at the fact I am HEing just because ‘you always look for the different route’ maybe it is actually very in character 🙂 I have gotten past that looking down, shuffling feet and mumbling ‘actually he doesn’t go to school’ phase and although I don’t feel it is my mission or responsibility to enlighten or convert people to HE I am proud of the fact we do it, I do feel confident in answering all of those usual questions about it and this moring I got an email from someone who is thinking about doing it (12yo started senior school and can’t cope) who found me via the EO website where I am listed for our new group and instead of panicking I was able to give him information, direct him to places to find answers and feel like even if I didn’t help I also was able to direct him to the place to get help. 🙂

I guess where I am going with this is that whilst this blog perhaps is rarely any sort of advert for HE or how to guide or even something which would inspire people to do it, stick with it or not run screaming from the very prospect of it, I do feel that we are now a Home Educating Family, I am a Home Educator and as such if this is my blog then it is worthy of being under that banner.

Oh and incase anyone has not noticed…..

HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON!!!!!

Been feeling quite spacey and not really with it today, which given the noise level has made me a bit distant from all around me. Up early with the kids (my turn!) and after breakfast we spent some time threading alphabet beads to make bracelets. Mine says ‘mummy, nic, mummy, nic, mummy, nic’ Tarly’s says ‘scarlett scarlett’ and Davies’ says ‘davies i love you’ and has several jingle bells from Merry’s Christmas craft kit of the year before last. Davies was pretty good at picking out letters even though the beads are upper case (I know I typed them lower case but I didn’t want to shout!) and also at the threading. Scarlett was erm, good at scattering beads about the place and looking pretty and cute in her new bracelet 🙂

Then I did some reading with them; Davies and I did some of the Letterland books we’ve had for ages and he’s not paid any attention to. I don’t know how much he took in reading wise but he is enjoying the concept of being able to read from the recognition and the understanding that letters blend to make words. Scarlett really impressed me by knowing all but three of the words in the ‘My first 100 words book’ – not reading of course, but me pointing to the pictures and her knowing what the word was. So a very productive hour or so this morning.

Then over to Chris and Julie’s where the kids ran round together, Chris and Ady did some brotherly bonding chatting in the kitchen and me and Julie drank tea and chatted about HE group and stuff. We then went over to my parents via McD’s for the kids’ weekly Sunday treat ( 🙂 ).

Had a long phone chat with ex-Boss Lady today all about potential work in the future, HE and various other deep stuff. All possibly promising but I’m not pinning any hopes on her business ideas being the ones to make my fortune (although it would be nice if they did 🙂 )

This week is a quiet start to the week but very busy end of the week, tomorrow I am planning to return a couple of overdue library books and try to do some constructive educational stuff with the kids. Oh and probably blog about 14 times too 🙂

Forgot to mention that Scarlett uttered her longest sentence yet today. While I was out with Dad and Davies she had fallen over while carrying her toy Backpack and hurt her chin. As she was just about to go to sleep tonight she looked at me and said ‘Fell over Grandad’s house with Backpack’. 🙂

Which is nice to record but does remind me of a stand up comedian who we watched on TV when I was pregnant with Davies who was pondering over why parents are so proud of their kids achieving routine milestones a wee bit early – he was saying that you don’t get olympic categories for walking or talking – in the end by about the age of 6 most children have evened out and you cannot pick out the one who crawled at five months from the one who crawled at a year old – we are all ‘natural born walkers and talkers’. Which made us laugh a lot and is still a family joke – ‘see him walk around the house, like he was born to do it!’ 🙂

To all those going to CP have a fab time. I reckon it’ll be a bit quiet without you all around – Joyce and Karen I am counting on you both to blog regularly and help fill up my comments box (although if I get really desperate I might approve some of Texas Holden’s instead of deleting them to make up the numbers!).

A good day today. I got my (IMO very well deserved) lie in ’til 9am although I had small people coming up to give me cuddles at least once each from 6am ;-), then we went to Tesco’s to get food for the week which was fairly stressful. You know how I missed Ady? Well I am now missing having time alone again 😉 I have a system, an intricately constructed way of doing stuff and he cocks it up 🙂 Then they dropped me off at the hairdressers and went home to put the shopping away and make lunch (so actually I needn’t have been quite so anal about the shopping all going in the right bags at the checkout cos I wasn’t the one putting it away – does anyone else share that particular obsession? Please make me feel better about it!) where I spent a happy hour and a half chatting to my 21 yo hairdresser and getting cut and blow dried. I can’t believe how old she makes me feel – but I also have to remember that she would have made me feel old if I met her when I was 21 too as she still lives at home with her boyfriend and goes clubbing three nights a week – by 21 I had had a mortgage for over a year, been in a steady relationship for 2 years and had long since given up on the club scene! Nice to hear what the ‘youth of today’ are up to though 😉 And she did a fba job on my hair which I have been swishing about ever since like I’ve just stepped out of a salon 🙂

Then they picked me up and we went over to Dad’s for the afternoon. Kids ambushed my brother, Frazer who they adore and he read to them, played with them and generally entertained them. If everyone’s secret theory that he is gay turns out to be wrong and he surprises us by getting married and having babies one day he will be a great daddy! Ady settled in to watch sky sports all afternoon and me and Dad chatted. Then Dad, Davies and I walked up to Sainsburys to get the couple of bits we had not got in Tescos and some shopping for Mum and Dad too. We left just as Mum got in from work and have arranged to go there tomorrow with the kids weekly McDonalds treat after seeing Chris and Julie.

HE-wise we have had more music appreciation in the car listening to Michael Buble then R3 (when I got in the car from the hairdressers they were listening to something about the planets), Dad had dug out his old penknife from when he was a lad and all boys had penknives to show Davies – which he was intrigued by, they have read books with Frazer and Ady and they have run round like loons in my parents lovely big house, which still has Scarlett’s birthday playhouse set up in one section of their lounge waiting for better weather to bring it home here for the garden.

My one remaining issue continues to be the 100 easy lessons book. I have not heard from my old house current occupants so I assume they have sold the books on, have small children themselves who are now able to read or have looked at my ‘please take pity on me’ letter and laughed. The replacement parcel for me arrived in Brighton on Wednesday morning at 8am (so says the tracking website) so why it has not managed to get that last 10 miles to our house since then I really don’t know. Clearly the driver also has small children who are learning to read too 🙂 Bet it’s crap when we get it!

Is just one of the many lyrics I know I know but I can’t remember it in this that Chris posted. I have achieved 382 points and I know I could get at least another 100 from the songs I can’t quite pinpoint but in the interests of my own mental health and the children’s general care I need to give in gracefully at this point 🙂

Another pretty good day today – unless you were Tarly who is a very injured child (and before you start ringing Esther on her behalf it was nothing to do with me sitting at the pc for hours singing lyrics to myself to reach the song titles! First thing this morning there was an incident involving a pair of binoculars in a slightly out of reach place, her face and a lot of crying 🙁 We heard a crash and her crying and Ady raced down to find the binoculars on the floor next to her. She has a small cut on her nose and says her nose and cheek hurt. I managed to calm her down and give her resuce remedy (!) and she then went and got the two pairs of toy binoculars we have and put them somewhere hidden ‘noculars dangerous!’ Poor lamb. This was not helped by a further incident when we were putting our shoes on to go to Tumble Tots and we both got up at the same time connecting my (already bruised knee) with her (already bruised nose) 🙁 More crying and sobbing and she fell asleep in the car on the way there.

Which meant she was not, erm, at her best when we arrived.

It was her session first and I really did not have high hopes, which was unfair as she did the first two circuits really well. She loved the bouncing like Tigger (winnie the pooh theme continued this week) and the slide and climbing but being like Pooh to get the honey. She was less enamoured however with getting round with carrots like Rabbit and after some low key persuading and guidance from me she made a break for it to get back to Davies! At which point I gave up. I had a chat with the leader and we agreed to give her another trial lesson after Easter to see if she takes to it more then. Like I said last week it is more for D anyway so I don’t mind. She is the youngest in the group being just two and as she has never done anything along those lines with structure and following others and so on – and as she isn’t going to school she doesn’t have to any time soon – I am happy to wait until it is something she wants to do rather than something I think she should be doing.

Davies OTOH loved it. He went in and I left him pretty much straightaway and he was just fine. He sticks close to the leader and is prone to simply getting out of all the other childrens’ ways when queuing up to take turns on something but he really enjoyed it and came out full of it and already looking forward to going again next week. So, result 🙂

While sitting with Tarly I was doing some drawings for her to colour in and one of the other mothers came over to ask if I was a cartoonist by trade – erm no, but seriously starting to wonder if I could be making money from this – must do some research into the idea.

So that was today. Mum came with us to TT and was handy to have around 🙂 So nice to have Ady home cooking me dinner and promising to get up early with the kids in the morning, and I have a haircut booked for midday tomorrow so a bit of well deserved Mummy time coming up 🙂 Scarlett has been very clingy today, probably cos she wonders if I’m about to run off for a week if she lets me out of her sight, so I hope she is ok being left with Ady tomorrow, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.

So in terms of ‘working weeks’ its been a long, pretty trying at times one which I am mainly glad to see the back of, but it ended on a high 🙂

Thanks to someone who will remain nameless so as not to blow his cover for giving me something to waste most of my morning on 🙂 Lots of reminiscing there too.

So here I am at 10.30am with two still in pjs children, one with an overdue nappy to be changed and a house that’s a midden thanks to my blatant neglect of them in pursuit of a high score 🙂

My Mum will be here any minute so I need to run round and tuck baby wipes behind the radiators to perfume the house with ‘eau de caring mother’, dress said children, wash up breakfast dishes (luckily Ady’s back or they would not have eaten either!)

And ponder on what my dream career would be if only I could get paid for my odd and mainly useless talents and knack for trivia – see we’re back to making a living from quiz shows again aren’t we!

Despite the neglect I have managed to show the kids some places on an inflatable globe and talk about that, made a resolution with D to look up South Georgia on the www for some facts about it (very small island at the bottom of the globe) cos I know nowt about it. D has been playing with his cusinere rods (sp, sp sp!!!) and getting his head round some addition and the pattern of counting in 20s, 30s,40s etc being repeated which means yes he can count higher than he thought, some play with his magic sand (water seems to be a source of constant fascination atm, I MUST did out one of the books I know is nestling on the ‘for when they’re older’ shelf about water properties and experiments and S is playing with the pretend food and trying to overdose on rescue remedy 🙂

Ooh and one last one triggered by Joyce, what are your phobias and do your children have any yet and do you know how they got them?

I am scared of dogs – although since I had the kids I have worked really hard on overcoming it so as not to pass it on to them. Apparantly when I was about 18 months old I was nipped by a yorkshire terrier although I don’t remember it and my Dad only told me about it recently despite me always being scared of them. I’m not super keen on things like worms and spiders although if I had to deal with them I could (even Princesses can be brave 🙂 ) . Ady is scared of heights and so far the kids don’t seem to have any big fears. Davies is quite good at having a bad dream but waking and talking it out and justifying to himself it is a dream and not real and about things which don’t exist. He is a bit preoccupied with ghosts and as I am not able to convincingly tell him that I don’t believe they exist we have sort of left that one alone.

Earlier than expected and with loads of dirty washing 🙂

May be away for a while – thanks for being there while I was all alone and normal service will resume after a respectable period of ‘catching up’ 🙂

Had a pretty good afternoon too 🙂 Mostly me and the kids played with the Aquadraw mat that Tarly got for Christmas, I think I may have posted the link before, it really is fab! First of all I drew loads of pictures for Scarlett and she named them, so loads of vocab testing and building going on there – aside from the fact her vocab seems bigger than D’s at that age she also has very good pronounciation too, he was still stuck on several sounds at 2, she seems to be able to say most of them. Then Davies came and joined in and he did some drawing too – he’s pretty good at it, must do something more to build on that really. I’ve ordered a couple of packs of extra pens for it too – it will save on arguments when there are more than two children here and I also think the current ones have a limited lifespan!

We’ve been listening to my new Michael Buble cd in the car – which explains the post title – I really like that sort of music and so do the kids. Davies has gone to bed singing about one more moondance with you my dear 🙂 And he is getting pretty good at listening to the music and working out which instrument it could be. He was enthralled to see a busker playing a violin in town today – yet another avenue I feel I should go down with him but one step at a time eh?! I have seen somewhere a set of kids classical music along the lines of Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals – both of which we have got and would like to get something like that in time for the long car journeys to and from Melrose – I don’t think I can face non-stop Peter Pan soundtracks!

I have also booked and sent the deposit off for my caravan for HESFES (first MP camp at Melrose and first time ever in a caravan – wow I’m going all out this year!), sent off the form to become an Usborne Book Lady (thanks for the link on MP Barbara!) and sent the letter to confirm our new group venue for next week. Having had a quick flick through the Horrible Science mag I think I might send off to subscribe to that too – it looks suitably educational and ghastly enough to capture D’s attention! 🙂 I’ve also booked tickets for me, Ady, the kids and my parents to go and see Jungle Book which is at the local theatre in half term week – I think its a panto type version of the film. We saw an advert for it while we were in town and Davies was really interested. Given how much the panto caught his attention I thought he’d really enjoy it. I won’t tell him yet though – it’s the day we get back from Melrose so I’ll keep it as a surprise.

Feel like I’ve ticked loads of boxes in all sorts of places today – which is good after the crappy day we had yesterday, Ady will be home in a few hours, the white wine is calling me along with a big bubbly bath and tomorrow we have the next session of Tumble Tots (see what a good HE Mummy I can be!)

From the Sussex area today confirms that she is very pleased that later this evening Faraway Husband will be morphing into Returning Husband!

A much better day today all round. I did manage to watch all but about the last 10 minutes of DH last night before falling asleep on the sofa. I woke at 11.30pm but instead of hauling myself off to bed I went back to sleep and finally crawled upstairs at about midnight. At 12.30am Davies woke up and called me in to his room;
D ‘Mummy, the bogeyman isn’t real is he?’
M’no darling’
D’Mummy, why?….’
M’Do you want to come into my bed?’
D ‘yes’
M’ well come on then!’
Back to sleep until 5.30am when Tarly woke up and demanded ‘Mummy’s bed’ when I went to her, she got all excited when she saw the bump of another body in the bed and asked ‘Daddy?’ but was still quite happy to see it was Davies. They’ve both missed him more than I expected them to given they often only see him for a couple of hours a day anyway. Or maybe it’s his calming influence on me they are missing? 😉

Julie had rung yesterday to say she might come over today with the twins and I just could not face having four kids running round screaming dragging every toy in the house out so I rang her to suggest Fun Junction (soft play) instead. Nipped into town first to visit the bank and for a bit of retail therapy. I’ve been after a thick brown belt for ages and Evans had them at the bargain price of £7 each so I bought two 🙂 Also got a long skinny scarf, a pair of gorgeous soft stripy socks and a pair of glam wellies in New Look so I was happy 🙂 Davies got the Horrible Science mag too in Smiths and I sent him up all by himself with his pound to get it – I’ve started doing this with him a bit recently and he loves it – I am only a safe short distance away but it is building his confidence and hopefully some of the notion of paying for stuff and getting change is sinking in too.

On the way back to the car we almost had a nasty incident when the pushchair tipped forward as I went down the kerb. Scarlett must have touched the ground as she had mud on her tights and hands (good reflexes that kids!) but she thought it was funny, Davies was holding my hand so I just about saved him from falling but the metal bar at the back of the pushchair rammed into my shins. Despite arnica (;-) ) I am already sporting a very purple leg and it’s starting to feel all stiff and achey too 🙁 At least the kids were alright.

Then on to meet Julie and the twins at soft play. They do toddler rates where you can go in for as long as you like ’til 3pm for £2.40 per child so for under a fiver you could be there all day! I was a bit sceptical as to how much J & M would like it, but as long as Julie climbed all round with them (which she was more than happy to do!) they loved it. Davies and Scarlett did really well too – they made friends with another little boy and girl (not there together) and the four of them ran round together having a whale of a time. There is a biggish slide there which Davies has always looking longingly at before and muttered wistfully about ‘when I’m a big boy’ about. Well today he became a big boy! And Scarlett was a big girl too. It’s so nice to see them do something a bit daunting for the first time, realise they can do it then spend ages and ages doing it over and over again, getting a wee bit braver every time. 🙂

Home for lunch after which Julie left and the kids are playing in a fairly low key and non-lunatic manner. Scarlett particularly is very tired so an early dinner, bath and bed is in order for them both. I think I might go and read with them for a bit to keep things calm and not too excited – and to rest my poor leg which is really swollen and sore.

Some of these have been posted here before, but I am clearing my laptop of some of my files and found a folder where I had saved these to use for a calendar I gave to my grandmother for Christmas. I thought it would be nice to have as a record on here to look at each month and see how they children have changed over the previous year.

Your files are attached and ready to send with this message.

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Davies’ fourth birthday.

Dorset holiday.