Stuff!

Here are some random meandering thoughts about other stuff that's been going on lately.

I have for a long time contemplated that I may have food intolerance issues, what with IBS, eczema and lack of energy. I've not wanted to face the trouble of an elimination diet with no idea whether it was a complete waste of time. I've wondered about doing a YorkTest blood test but they're expensive. It's only because Shannon has daily tummy aches, and has done for a long time, that I've finally got round to doing it for both her and me. My results have come through. I have a major reaction to cow's milk, significant reaction but less so to wheat and egg white, and borderline reactions to about six other things including pork, shellfish and sesame seeds. I am not looking forward to giving up milk, wheat and eggs. But it's worth a try, and if I end up bloat- and pain-free and with more energy, it will be well worth it. Shannon's results are not here yet. The test includes two phone consultations with a nutritional therapist (which I'm going to be studying for next year, so this is good practice being on the receiving end) to make sure you don't miss out on nutritional needs while eliminating foods.

Talking of diets, I was horrified at the weight I found displayed on the scales at the beginning of September, and immediately signed up with Tesco Diets. I've been taking it steadily, with a few treats and variations here and there, but have lost 10lbs and am only 1.5lbs from my target weight now. I really had been overdoing it on the biscuits and crisps, and really had to get myself under control again.

This is our next bit of exciting news:



We are solar-powered! 12 solar PV panels and some solar thermal tubes. Even better, we now have a new, working boiler (condensing, of course) so after 3 or 4 weeks without heating or hot water (the old one broke down and we have been making do with the wood-burning stove and boiling kettles for hot washes) it was absolutely bliss to have a hot shower, feel heat from the radiators and hot running water from the taps. I hope I will never take them for granted again! There was lots of preparatory work to do before. We have been partly funded by the Severn Wye Energy Agency as part of their Target 2050 project, having been chosen as one of their exemplar homes to show how ordinary properties can reduce their carbon footprint. So we've had to get 100% low-energy bulbs (we already had lots, but we've had to do all the rest e.g. lamps on dimmer switches), replace all the draught-excluder strips round the windows and doors, and increase the roof insulation by getting spray foam. This last one was tricky due to the odd shape of our roof meaning we had a separate bit of loft over our kitchen and a dormer window in our bathroom which was a pig to insulate and in the end Bill had to hack off the inside plasterboard on the roof and sides of the dormer window for it to be insulated from the inside. The bathroom is trashed but it is warm! Even before the heating was fixed, the house was noticeably warmer with the improved insulation.

Shannon is 6!



She chose to have a bowling party, although I have no idea why she decided it was a kitty bowling party and she needed to dress up!

She is such a sweet girl. She is so loving and caring. She regularly throws her arms round adults, gives them a big hug and says "I love you". Whoever we've visited most recently, she 'really loves [them] and wants to live with [them] all the time'. She will stroke my face and say "are you alright Mummy?", loves nothing better than great big long cuddles, and says "I missed you" if I've been out for half-an-hour! She loves to share anything she has with others, even her big sister who, shall we say, finds sharing a bit more of a challenge. Shannon has the greatest laugh, a big smile and a big warm heart. She not only cheers up her teacher's day, she cheers up my days every day, and I consider myself truly blessed to be her Mum! I don't know what I did to deserve her, but it must have been something very good! She loves to dance and is always jumping up, doing moves that I have no idea how she knows how to do! She also loves all sorts of different types of music and will often say in the car that she likes something, of all different genres. I'm thinking it is time to really think whether she would like to learn an instrument properly, though I'm not sure what would be best to start with.



Finally, I'm very glad to report that although this time last week Poppy was seriously ill with a chest infection, after a week on antibiotics she is much better. She doesn't have much energy for walks, but on the whole she is back to her normal self. At 12.5 and with heart valve problems she's almost on borrowed time, but thankfully she's pulled through this time.

Saving the best till last

Having been chided by my friend Michelle, I am blogging! It would be easier if Shannon didn't insist on sitting on my knee and therefore having to do this one-handed, but I will manage somehow!

So, what's been going on then? Well, the one blogpost that has been in my mind for a while is "Jade is thriving at school." Yes, thriving! It's a bit galling for an ex-home educator to admit, but it really is doing her good. Because she is now familiar with the environment, the people and the routines, she is gaining enough confidence to try new things that she would never attempt in a group of people she didn't know so well. For instance, she has volunteered to help out in the infants (4-7yr olds) playground once a week, along with a couple of friends. I think she is enjoying being one of the 'big ones' who help out the 'littlies', despite how horrible she is to her own sister at home! She tried out African drumming when a group visited the school for everyone to try. To be honest, I was astonished when I found out she'd actually done it in front of the rest of the class. She never would do that if we'd gone to a HE workshop or similar. She's taking part in different sports like netball, tennis and hockey. Again, just totally unthinkable for her to attempt to try these in a group of strangers. If we were in the fortunate position of living in Cambridgeshire and could go to Latinetc and Historyetc with all our lovely HE friends, in a regular group, it may be a different story, but even then I'm not sure whether she would have gained enough confidence in that group to take part.

She is going in happily every day, without any parental accompaniment at all. Yes, she has a bit of a moan about it from time to time. She put 'no school' on her Christmas wish list yesterday! And that is about the compulsory forced factory-production nature of schooling, and I am not saying that school couldn't be improved - it certainly could. But it is certainly doing her a great deal more good than harm. And I can tell she really enjoys her sense of achievement when she's learned something and tells me about it, especially stuff I don't know. She enjoys history particularly and at the moment is reading "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, having been introduced to him during the work they're doing on Victorians this term. I certainly didn't read Dickens when I was 9! And even when I did read it, compulsorily for O Level at about 15, I didn't enjoy it like she is.

Every Friday morning, the school has an 'awards' assembly where each teacher picks one child for a 'merit' award for good academic work and a child for a 'star of the week' award for character/behaviour/personal qualities. A month or so ago, unbeknown to me, Jade was picked for a merit award for her excellent use of vocabulary, one example of which was the use of the word 'oblivious'. When her name was announced, she got up from her place and went to the front to collect her award with everybody's eyes on her and applause. A term ago, she would probably have bolted from the hall, or stayed glued to the spot and cried, or something. But she didn't; she actually got up and went to the front for her award. I so wish parents got warned and that I could have been there to watch (but then the relevant parent being present would be rather a give-away!) but never mind the award, I was just thrilled to bits to hear that she got up and went to the front, no matter what for.

Speaking of the awards assembly, Shannon got one last week as well. Hers was a 'star of the week' award for having a lovely smile, being happy and smiley all the time and cheering up the teacher whenever she looks at her! Shannon is the one who is most likely to say "I don't want to go to school". But whenever she is there she seems happy, relaxed and as though she's having a good time. However she is the one that I think would thrive more on home education, apart from her major need to play with other kids every day. She would take part in demonstrations and workshops with gusto, and ask questions, and follow her interests and not worry about getting things wrong.

But personally, I am *loving* my 3 quiet days at home. I love it. I love being on my own, reading, tidying, sorting, thinking, sometimes sleeping, unassaulted by the multitude of demands and interruptions. It feels like it is my 'sanity' time.

So, while Shannon is relatively happy, we'll leave things as they are.

Oh, and finally, saving the best to last, Jade has spoken her first words to her teacher! She has been having 'sliding-in' sessions with her TA (to whom she speaks) and her class teacher and 2-3 other kids at lunchtimes, just 15-20 minutes playing games, and during a game of Happy Families she asked her teacher for a card! The journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step.....

And now I need to put Shannon to bed, but when I get back, I will blog about 'other news'.