Excuse me if this is disjointed, but I have several things on my mind and am tired.
Firstly, Jade has been vile today. We go through these phases every now and then, when her nastiness to Shannon (hitting, pinching, name-calling, snatching toys away etc) gets worse and our parental tempers get shorter too and every day is a trial for a while. So much so, at the moment, that she only has to do 9 more nasty things to anybody and her birthday party on Sunday will be cancelled. (T-bird: if that comes to pass, our Plan B would be just to go out somewhere with you and Aprilia, so do still come!). We haven't figured out what causes these phases - it might be that we are doing or not doing something to which she is reacting, but if so we are not seeing it yet. But it is so aggravating when you have tried every which way you can to improve a child's behaviour and it just doesn't seem to make one jot of difference.
Sunday was a strange day. We sold our cot on Ebay (for a surprisingly large amount of money!) and it was collected on Sunday morning, so we re-arranged our bedroom to return it to its pre-cot configuration. Which ended up having unanticipated reverberations for both Bill and I because the last time it was like that, Benjamin was at home with us. We moved the furniture around to get a Moses basket in when he'd been home with us for a few days. And considering I hadn't gone to church on Sunday morning, because it was the annual open-air service which I haven't attended for the past 8 years because I have such clear memories of attending it 9 years ago with one small baby, I guess I was already set up for feeling a bit weird. Sometimes I wonder if these uncomfortable episodes will ever stop - will there ever be a time when there isn't something that can send me all off-balance?
It feels like not much planned educational stuff has gone on lately. We did a bit of Miquon maths this morning which provoked some tension in Jade and had me working hard to control my reactions as she fiddled about, wrote stupid things in the book, didn't concentrate on my explanations and so on. That's about it as far as formal stuff has gone on. She has however spent a vast amount of the past few days avidly reading some books about ponies and pony care, so should we ever win on the Premium Bonds and be able to buy her one, she'll at least know roughly what to do!
Shannon is really enjoying having recently learned to identify all the letters of the alphabet as Letterland characters, and frequently stops and reads through the list of letters in any word / logo / advert she comes across. It's fun!
And, having just realised how horribly late it is, that's the lot for now.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
4 go wild in Wales!
We've just had one of the loveliest holidays we've had in a very long time! We were in New Quay, Wales, for a week in a static caravan on the Haven holiday park.
Now, a holiday park wouldn't really be my first choice for accommodation, but they accept Tesco vouchers and we are penniless so beggars can't be too choosy. However, we got a really fab static caravan (prestige standard) which was extremely smart and, for anyone who's been in our real (towed) little ancient caravan, you will appreciate this was a very big step up!!! For instance, here is the view from the deck:
It was a 3-bed caravan, so the girls even got a bedroom each which they don't have at home. I think they appreciated that! In fact, it was all so clean and smart and tidy that we have a bad dose of the post-holiday blues and want to rip everything out of our house including the plaster and start all over again. No can do due to the aforementioned pecuniary status, but maybe we can take tiny steps in the right direction....
Anyway, back to New Quay. We arrived on Saturday around 6pm, so that evening was just eating, unpacking and going to bed. On Sunday morning, the first job was to sit on the deck having breakfast and look for dolphins in the bay:
We didn't spot any then. After breakfast, we walked down to the beach from the site. This was a very steep downhill walk through a lovely woodland area which is specially protected for wildlife. We had a lovely time doing the usual beachy stuff, and, as was to become the pattern for the week, Shannon stripped off and ran about in that lovely innocent three-year old way:
We also investigated the rest of the site, and had a go in the Funworks amusement arcade where Jade was thrilled to find a cowboy-type horse ride and a little pony carousel, so a couple of goes each on that were essential for them and of course set the scene for continued nagging for the rest of the week to go on them every day.
The evening was very special. I was just finishing putting Jade to bed (DH had already got Shannon off to sleep) when he called to me from the deck - DOLPHINS! We sat there for ages watching them with binoculars - there seemed to be about 4 or 5 which we could see when they surfaced for air, although no spectacular jumping or anything. I've loved dolphins for years and years, though, and this was the first time I'd actually seen a live one, even from a distance. Very thrilling!
On Monday we investigated New Quay town itself, did some bits of shopping, walked along the quay, spent a while on the other beaches, and went into the dolphin exhibition place where someone was filming an interview in Welsh for TV. Jade was interested in all the dolphin information and happily pressed buttons and lifted flaps about them and other sealife and environmental threats etc. We went back up to the site in the afternoon and went swimming in the pool. The kids braved the little water slide, and soon loved it so much that's all they did for the next half-an-hour.
On Tuesday we went to the Centre for Alternative Technology for the day. Well, not exactly for the day as we are not the fastest risers in the morning and it was a 1.5 hour journey to get there so we needed lunch as soon as we arrived, and it was about 1.30pm before we properly started looking around. I will gloss over the marital tensions that surfaced due to delays and misunderstandings and move swiftly on to the afternoon which got better after that! The site is very different from the last time we were there, which was probably about 15 years ago, although we have been members and have been receiving the quarterly magazine ever since. (We thought we were members anyway - turns out we had been paying £15 annually on a standing order and they never let us know we needed to change the amount, or change to direct debit, so we had to swiftly upgrade to the proper price for family membership when we got there.....). The girls just wanted to run about and play on the adventure playground bit, so it was hard work to drag them away to the exhibits and information which we wanted to see. We did get a nice pic on the self-timer for our profile though (see right)! I don't think Jade absorbed much as we were going round, despite our best efforts, but she did have a go on a computer program to assess your household's carbon footprint and saw some of the video displays so maybe some of it went in. There were masses more exhibits and things to do than we realised, though, and we mis-timed the afternoon so we only got (sob) 10 minutes in the shop at the end, and that was having missed out virtually all of the power/electricity/solar displays and exhibits. Memo for anyone going in the near future - allow more than 4 hours!!! The girls loved the mole-hole bit where you get to see what it's like to live underground, and in fact Jade said she loves the CAT and wants to live there till she's 120!
We did get a few ideas for stuff to do at home, and in fact have ordered a Rotaire washing line cover which is one of those brilliant ideas that you wonder why nobody invented before so that you can hang you washing out even when it's raining, and it still gets dry.
I've got my days all confused after that, so I'm not sure what we did on Wednesday. I think it was Thursday when, despite a forecast of rain, it was seeming to hold out fine all morning so we went for a coastal walk. This was really the highlight of the week. I used to get taken for long hikes on the Yorkshire Moors, round Snowdonia and the Lake District on holidays with my parents when I was a child, and I don't think I'd realised how it was kind of imprinted in me, but I knew I felt a desire for a lovely walk, and when we got up on the coastal path I really enjoyed it and think it's something I need to be doing a lot more of. But the best bit about it was, at the top of an extremely steep walk up to the top of a cliff above New Quay, Bill spotted dolphins with the binoculars. We stayed there for absolutely ages in the lovely hot sunshine, watching them both with the binocs and with the naked eye, and even caught a fantastic leap out of the water by one of them. Jade had a look and was excited to see them too. We must have sat there for well over an hour, maybe two. I lost track of the time. We tried to take pics but there is quite a shutter delay with the digital camera which was the only one we'd taken. If you can see a black dot in this pic, though - that's the dolphin!
The rain held off all day until about 6pm, when we were safely back in the caravan, so that was good!
The next day the forecast had suggested it would be raining from when we woke up in the morning. It wasn't, though, but kept expecting it to start so we faffed around all morning. In the end, because the rain hadn't come we went off to Cardigan Island Coastal Farm Park which has lots of animals to stroke and feed, and then a lovely walk down to the cliff tops where often you can see seals. The problem was once we got out and Jade had spent time with the ponies which were in one of the first fields, she refused to go any further and was in tears because she didn't want to leave them. So I went off with Shannon, explored a bit, saw the tide was in so we couldn't see any seals, and went back up for us all to have lunch. We went back down to the cliff edge again later when the tide was out and Jade agreed to come with us that time. We saw a couple of seals swimming in the sea, at least you can see just their heads sticking up, but didn't see any basking on the rocks which was a shame. It was a pretty stiff hike up and down and all around the site, though, and much of it I had to do with Shannon on my back, so I was pretty wrecked by the end of it. On the final walk back up the rain came down pretty hard and we all got rather wet.
On Friday I was in a horrible mood all day (DH says it's PMT - I say I was just very tired) and we didn't do much except relax in and around the caravan and have a final trip down into New Quay to see one of the dolphin exhibitions which is only open Fridays to Mondays. When we got there they pointed out there were a couple of dolphins in the bay, so we got to watch them again and chat to the volunteers running the place. Then we went and sat on the beach for an hour or so for one last time.
On the Saturday morning we achieved a minor miracle by leaving on the dot of the prescribed time of 10am, which I don't think we have ever done before. We stopped off at Raglan Castle on the way home which we all enjoyed, although I would recommend to everyone that you do NOT go to the nearby 'cafe' in a farmyard which was merely a greasy-spoon caff which could be an awful lot nicer.
I would love to go back to New Quay again and who knows, maybe even retire there to watch the dolphins like some other people we chatted to, so I'm sure it won't be our last visit.
Now, a holiday park wouldn't really be my first choice for accommodation, but they accept Tesco vouchers and we are penniless so beggars can't be too choosy. However, we got a really fab static caravan (prestige standard) which was extremely smart and, for anyone who's been in our real (towed) little ancient caravan, you will appreciate this was a very big step up!!! For instance, here is the view from the deck:
It was a 3-bed caravan, so the girls even got a bedroom each which they don't have at home. I think they appreciated that! In fact, it was all so clean and smart and tidy that we have a bad dose of the post-holiday blues and want to rip everything out of our house including the plaster and start all over again. No can do due to the aforementioned pecuniary status, but maybe we can take tiny steps in the right direction....
Anyway, back to New Quay. We arrived on Saturday around 6pm, so that evening was just eating, unpacking and going to bed. On Sunday morning, the first job was to sit on the deck having breakfast and look for dolphins in the bay:
We didn't spot any then. After breakfast, we walked down to the beach from the site. This was a very steep downhill walk through a lovely woodland area which is specially protected for wildlife. We had a lovely time doing the usual beachy stuff, and, as was to become the pattern for the week, Shannon stripped off and ran about in that lovely innocent three-year old way:
We also investigated the rest of the site, and had a go in the Funworks amusement arcade where Jade was thrilled to find a cowboy-type horse ride and a little pony carousel, so a couple of goes each on that were essential for them and of course set the scene for continued nagging for the rest of the week to go on them every day.
The evening was very special. I was just finishing putting Jade to bed (DH had already got Shannon off to sleep) when he called to me from the deck - DOLPHINS! We sat there for ages watching them with binoculars - there seemed to be about 4 or 5 which we could see when they surfaced for air, although no spectacular jumping or anything. I've loved dolphins for years and years, though, and this was the first time I'd actually seen a live one, even from a distance. Very thrilling!
On Monday we investigated New Quay town itself, did some bits of shopping, walked along the quay, spent a while on the other beaches, and went into the dolphin exhibition place where someone was filming an interview in Welsh for TV. Jade was interested in all the dolphin information and happily pressed buttons and lifted flaps about them and other sealife and environmental threats etc. We went back up to the site in the afternoon and went swimming in the pool. The kids braved the little water slide, and soon loved it so much that's all they did for the next half-an-hour.
On Tuesday we went to the Centre for Alternative Technology for the day. Well, not exactly for the day as we are not the fastest risers in the morning and it was a 1.5 hour journey to get there so we needed lunch as soon as we arrived, and it was about 1.30pm before we properly started looking around. I will gloss over the marital tensions that surfaced due to delays and misunderstandings and move swiftly on to the afternoon which got better after that! The site is very different from the last time we were there, which was probably about 15 years ago, although we have been members and have been receiving the quarterly magazine ever since. (We thought we were members anyway - turns out we had been paying £15 annually on a standing order and they never let us know we needed to change the amount, or change to direct debit, so we had to swiftly upgrade to the proper price for family membership when we got there.....). The girls just wanted to run about and play on the adventure playground bit, so it was hard work to drag them away to the exhibits and information which we wanted to see. We did get a nice pic on the self-timer for our profile though (see right)! I don't think Jade absorbed much as we were going round, despite our best efforts, but she did have a go on a computer program to assess your household's carbon footprint and saw some of the video displays so maybe some of it went in. There were masses more exhibits and things to do than we realised, though, and we mis-timed the afternoon so we only got (sob) 10 minutes in the shop at the end, and that was having missed out virtually all of the power/electricity/solar displays and exhibits. Memo for anyone going in the near future - allow more than 4 hours!!! The girls loved the mole-hole bit where you get to see what it's like to live underground, and in fact Jade said she loves the CAT and wants to live there till she's 120!
We did get a few ideas for stuff to do at home, and in fact have ordered a Rotaire washing line cover which is one of those brilliant ideas that you wonder why nobody invented before so that you can hang you washing out even when it's raining, and it still gets dry.
I've got my days all confused after that, so I'm not sure what we did on Wednesday. I think it was Thursday when, despite a forecast of rain, it was seeming to hold out fine all morning so we went for a coastal walk. This was really the highlight of the week. I used to get taken for long hikes on the Yorkshire Moors, round Snowdonia and the Lake District on holidays with my parents when I was a child, and I don't think I'd realised how it was kind of imprinted in me, but I knew I felt a desire for a lovely walk, and when we got up on the coastal path I really enjoyed it and think it's something I need to be doing a lot more of. But the best bit about it was, at the top of an extremely steep walk up to the top of a cliff above New Quay, Bill spotted dolphins with the binoculars. We stayed there for absolutely ages in the lovely hot sunshine, watching them both with the binocs and with the naked eye, and even caught a fantastic leap out of the water by one of them. Jade had a look and was excited to see them too. We must have sat there for well over an hour, maybe two. I lost track of the time. We tried to take pics but there is quite a shutter delay with the digital camera which was the only one we'd taken. If you can see a black dot in this pic, though - that's the dolphin!
The rain held off all day until about 6pm, when we were safely back in the caravan, so that was good!
The next day the forecast had suggested it would be raining from when we woke up in the morning. It wasn't, though, but kept expecting it to start so we faffed around all morning. In the end, because the rain hadn't come we went off to Cardigan Island Coastal Farm Park which has lots of animals to stroke and feed, and then a lovely walk down to the cliff tops where often you can see seals. The problem was once we got out and Jade had spent time with the ponies which were in one of the first fields, she refused to go any further and was in tears because she didn't want to leave them. So I went off with Shannon, explored a bit, saw the tide was in so we couldn't see any seals, and went back up for us all to have lunch. We went back down to the cliff edge again later when the tide was out and Jade agreed to come with us that time. We saw a couple of seals swimming in the sea, at least you can see just their heads sticking up, but didn't see any basking on the rocks which was a shame. It was a pretty stiff hike up and down and all around the site, though, and much of it I had to do with Shannon on my back, so I was pretty wrecked by the end of it. On the final walk back up the rain came down pretty hard and we all got rather wet.
On Friday I was in a horrible mood all day (DH says it's PMT - I say I was just very tired) and we didn't do much except relax in and around the caravan and have a final trip down into New Quay to see one of the dolphin exhibitions which is only open Fridays to Mondays. When we got there they pointed out there were a couple of dolphins in the bay, so we got to watch them again and chat to the volunteers running the place. Then we went and sat on the beach for an hour or so for one last time.
On the Saturday morning we achieved a minor miracle by leaving on the dot of the prescribed time of 10am, which I don't think we have ever done before. We stopped off at Raglan Castle on the way home which we all enjoyed, although I would recommend to everyone that you do NOT go to the nearby 'cafe' in a farmyard which was merely a greasy-spoon caff which could be an awful lot nicer.
I would love to go back to New Quay again and who knows, maybe even retire there to watch the dolphins like some other people we chatted to, so I'm sure it won't be our last visit.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Duvet day
It's been a manic sort of week, and therefore being blessed with an empty day, it's after 11am and I'm still in bed. Bliss! I fell asleep putting the girls to bed at about 8.30pm last night, woke up at midnight and got into my own bed, Shannon joined us in the big bed at some point, and then nobody (except Bill who had to go to work) woke up properly till about 9am! (Apart from Shannon's frequent wakings/wailings/general annoyingness!)
On Tuesday morning Shannon went to playschool, so Jade and I got home, did some bible, LLOTG and miquon maths. She seems to be getting over her mental block about maths, hooray! Just being able to take it very slowly, backing off when it was too much for her, and using lots and lots of different approaches to practise simple addition and subtraction, and now, just in the past week or two, she's got it! Instead of groaning when I say we're going to do some maths, she's actually asking for sums to practise, spontaneously making up her own sheets of sums to do, and enjoying mastering them! She said she'd seen a book in the local bookshop window saying I -hate- love maths and she wants me to get it for her! (oh, well that was supposed to be a strike-through 'hate' and I obviously don't know how to do it!)
So, after that bit of success, we went out to deliver Christian Aid envelopes, which was a lovely 45 minutes in the sunshine, although we didn't finish as we had to get back and have lunch before collecting Shannon. We then went straight from playschool and drove to Newbury to meet my mum to collect the dog. We had a conversation about her refusal to stay in my messy house, and although I still think it was an over-reaction, she's entitled to her own feelings and we've cleared the air a little. Stopped off in Oxford on the way back to see Bill at work and visit the university library (full of teacher-training resources!) and came home with a very big bag full of books and software - hooray!! Would list them except they are downstairs and I am upstairs in bed on the laptop! Jade found a book explaining about death and was absolutely glued to it. We got home at about 8pm after buying sandwiches and eating them in the car on the way home for 'dinner'.
On Wednesday I was working all day. I wanted to finish delivering the Christian Aid envelopes in the early evening, but time ran out and I didn't get the chance.
On Thursday it was playschool for Shannon and work for Jade and me. Was very busy at work, trying frantically to get all the loose ends tied up before leaving as I'm on holiday next week. Didn't finish as early as I wanted to. Managed to get in some shopping from Budgens before going to pick up Shannon (the cupboards were bare!) but didn't get to finish delivering the CA envelopes! Got home with the girls about 2.30pm, taught Jade to play checkers with the large floor-sized game we'd just received as a gift from someone, played 3 or 4 games of that, and then (finally!) got the rest of the CA envelopes delivered! Went home, cooked sausages for tea, then went out again for 45 minutes starting the CA collecting.
Today I have to try and progress the washing/drying of laundry, and then sort out as much of the packing for holiday as possible. This evening I will try and finish the CA envelope collecting.
So, if I don't get back on here later, I'll catch up after our week in Wales! Really looking forward to it (if the sunshine comes back). We're planning on visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology for one day, and hoping to spot dolphins off Cardigan Bay.
On Tuesday morning Shannon went to playschool, so Jade and I got home, did some bible, LLOTG and miquon maths. She seems to be getting over her mental block about maths, hooray! Just being able to take it very slowly, backing off when it was too much for her, and using lots and lots of different approaches to practise simple addition and subtraction, and now, just in the past week or two, she's got it! Instead of groaning when I say we're going to do some maths, she's actually asking for sums to practise, spontaneously making up her own sheets of sums to do, and enjoying mastering them! She said she'd seen a book in the local bookshop window saying I -hate- love maths and she wants me to get it for her! (oh, well that was supposed to be a strike-through 'hate' and I obviously don't know how to do it!)
So, after that bit of success, we went out to deliver Christian Aid envelopes, which was a lovely 45 minutes in the sunshine, although we didn't finish as we had to get back and have lunch before collecting Shannon. We then went straight from playschool and drove to Newbury to meet my mum to collect the dog. We had a conversation about her refusal to stay in my messy house, and although I still think it was an over-reaction, she's entitled to her own feelings and we've cleared the air a little. Stopped off in Oxford on the way back to see Bill at work and visit the university library (full of teacher-training resources!) and came home with a very big bag full of books and software - hooray!! Would list them except they are downstairs and I am upstairs in bed on the laptop! Jade found a book explaining about death and was absolutely glued to it. We got home at about 8pm after buying sandwiches and eating them in the car on the way home for 'dinner'.
On Wednesday I was working all day. I wanted to finish delivering the Christian Aid envelopes in the early evening, but time ran out and I didn't get the chance.
On Thursday it was playschool for Shannon and work for Jade and me. Was very busy at work, trying frantically to get all the loose ends tied up before leaving as I'm on holiday next week. Didn't finish as early as I wanted to. Managed to get in some shopping from Budgens before going to pick up Shannon (the cupboards were bare!) but didn't get to finish delivering the CA envelopes! Got home with the girls about 2.30pm, taught Jade to play checkers with the large floor-sized game we'd just received as a gift from someone, played 3 or 4 games of that, and then (finally!) got the rest of the CA envelopes delivered! Went home, cooked sausages for tea, then went out again for 45 minutes starting the CA collecting.
Today I have to try and progress the washing/drying of laundry, and then sort out as much of the packing for holiday as possible. This evening I will try and finish the CA envelope collecting.
So, if I don't get back on here later, I'll catch up after our week in Wales! Really looking forward to it (if the sunshine comes back). We're planning on visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology for one day, and hoping to spot dolphins off Cardigan Bay.
Monday, May 12, 2008
sunny Monday
Ah bliss - I'm enjoying the sunshine! In fact, I got up at 6.30am and enjoyed it even then! The church weekend has finally got me to do what God's been nagging at me for months to do - get up early and have a bit of quiet time. It was very good :-) Having to do the AA thing and just take it one day at a time and not make great promises to do it forever!
Despite the early start, I seemed to get stuck in a wormhole or something, where it was suddenly 9.30am and still none of us were dressed and nothing was done! Eventually chivvied one girl to get dressed and the other just remained in her birthday suit all morning until we had to go out! I sat down with Jade and did a couple of pages of Miquon, then a bit of bible reading and Leading Little Ones to God. That was the extent of the formal work for the day! I had to make inroads into the washing mountain ready for going on holiday on Saturday. I had about 3 long phone calls - a couple of them I made as mystery shopping phone calls for which I will get paid. Frequent requests for food and assistance in reaching things or getting things set up for the girls didn't help either. We had some lunch and then suddenly another hour had passed and it was time to go swimming. Had a relaxed, fun play in the pool, and then returned to hand Shannon over to a friend who had offered to have her while Jade went to her first Rainbows group. Couldn't find friend in the park where we had arranged to meet her. No answer at her house either. Tried the other small local park but no luck. Ended up taking Shannon to Rainbows with us! She joined in more than Jade did! Jade didn't want to participate much in anything, and of course I had to stay and she clung to my hand or sat on my knee most of the time, and looked like she wasn't really enjoying it. When we got home I asked her what she thought of it, and she said she loved it!!! So that's good, but I have no idea how we will ever get her integrated enough for me to be able to leave her. And some special allowances are going to have to be made for her as she won't be able to say her name at the beginning (everybody holds the Rainbows teddy in turn and says who they are) and she's been given her Promise to learn but there's no way she's ever going to say that in public!! I had printed out a couple of information sheets on selective mutism to give to the group leader so at least she'll be slightly informed when we have to discuss it. But we're on holiday next week and then it's half-term week, so it'll be 3 weeks before she goes again.
And now I must go to bed if I'm going to be up early again tomorrow morning!
Despite the early start, I seemed to get stuck in a wormhole or something, where it was suddenly 9.30am and still none of us were dressed and nothing was done! Eventually chivvied one girl to get dressed and the other just remained in her birthday suit all morning until we had to go out! I sat down with Jade and did a couple of pages of Miquon, then a bit of bible reading and Leading Little Ones to God. That was the extent of the formal work for the day! I had to make inroads into the washing mountain ready for going on holiday on Saturday. I had about 3 long phone calls - a couple of them I made as mystery shopping phone calls for which I will get paid. Frequent requests for food and assistance in reaching things or getting things set up for the girls didn't help either. We had some lunch and then suddenly another hour had passed and it was time to go swimming. Had a relaxed, fun play in the pool, and then returned to hand Shannon over to a friend who had offered to have her while Jade went to her first Rainbows group. Couldn't find friend in the park where we had arranged to meet her. No answer at her house either. Tried the other small local park but no luck. Ended up taking Shannon to Rainbows with us! She joined in more than Jade did! Jade didn't want to participate much in anything, and of course I had to stay and she clung to my hand or sat on my knee most of the time, and looked like she wasn't really enjoying it. When we got home I asked her what she thought of it, and she said she loved it!!! So that's good, but I have no idea how we will ever get her integrated enough for me to be able to leave her. And some special allowances are going to have to be made for her as she won't be able to say her name at the beginning (everybody holds the Rainbows teddy in turn and says who they are) and she's been given her Promise to learn but there's no way she's ever going to say that in public!! I had printed out a couple of information sheets on selective mutism to give to the group leader so at least she'll be slightly informed when we have to discuss it. But we're on holiday next week and then it's half-term week, so it'll be 3 weeks before she goes again.
And now I must go to bed if I'm going to be up early again tomorrow morning!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
&*(()&^^*(* to my Mum!
We've all just come back from being away on our annual Church weekend - had a good time and those of you who've seen Jade at HE camps will be astonished to learn that I barely saw her all day on Saturday! I made arrangements last Thursday to re-introduce her to a girl, C, with whom she usually pairs up at the church weekend but they hadn't seen each other since last year. They got to know each other again at that visit, so on Saturday when C was just there for the day they instantly bonded and ran off together for most of the day - it was fab! In fact so much so that Jade cried all through the evening meal and didn't eat anything because C had gone to sit with her family at the other side of the dining hall!!!
Anyway, the weekend was slightly marred by my Mum, who had come over to us on Friday to stay at our house and look after our dog for the weekend. And after she'd been at our house for an hour and I was dashing round trying to get stuff ready, told me that she didn't want to stay at our house because it was too dirty and untidy. Well stuff her. It may not be great but I can hardly believe it's that bad. So she pushed off home, and good riddance to her.
Anyway, the weekend was slightly marred by my Mum, who had come over to us on Friday to stay at our house and look after our dog for the weekend. And after she'd been at our house for an hour and I was dashing round trying to get stuff ready, told me that she didn't want to stay at our house because it was too dirty and untidy. Well stuff her. It may not be great but I can hardly believe it's that bad. So she pushed off home, and good riddance to her.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
HE, at last!
I actually feel like I've got something worth blogging today, so here I am at last. Nothing particularly exciting, but got going by about 9.30 this morning with some maths for Jade! This is big news. She's found maths so much harder to grasp than the reading/literacy side of things, and despite being almost 7 she's still at a Year 1 level in maths, and (I noticed today) still using her fingers to add 2 and 2! But nevertheless she is getting more comfortable with it all and is actually quite enjoying being given a page full of simple adding sums. Yesterday I introduced her to 'tens' and 'units' for the first time, and today I showed her how to add double-digit figures by putting them in columns and adding the units column first and then the tens. She got that fairly well! So for the first time I feel we are making real maths progress. I must make a big effort to make sure we do a little bit every day, rather than leaving it for days or weeks at a time (avoiding the angst!).
Then, it being such a lovely sunny day, we took a pile of books out onto the trampoline to read out there. I read them some Bible, Leading Little Ones to God, Wild Places (Jungles) and In Grandmother's Attic, interspersed by some jumping and fun!
When we came back inside again, I introduced Shannon to the letter A - following the Letter of the Week plan in a vague kind of way. I wrote both capital and lower case letters on the blackboard, she traced over them with her finger, she had a go at writing them herself and really did a pretty good job! We talked about some of the words that start with the letter 'a'. She can already recognise most of the Letterland characters but not when they are pure letters without the characterisation. She can recognise 's' on its own, and one or two others, but Jade knew her alphabet thoroughly at age 2, so it will be interesting to see if Shannon does not have quite the same aptitude for literacy that Jade does have. Not that it matters - it's just really interesting to see two people developing in their own individual ways, and I love to wonder if any of these early differences really do end up predicting later aptitudes and strengths.
I then went through some spellings that I found on another page of the Brightly Beaming website. Jade was enjoying being asked if she could spell the words and she wrote them on the blackboard, so we just carried on until she started to get fed up and in fact she could do most of them - just needed help with 'woman' and 'two' and I'm pretty sure she'll remember those now. I'll do more of those as and when she's interested and happy to do them.
Had lunch, and then I did my usual afternoon slump when I was devoid of any energy or motivation to do anything educational. I think that's the part of the day when I really need to be left alone to recharge my energy a bit. Chased the girls out into the garden again and I did some tidying up and sorting through of stuff. Sharpened some coloured pencils, chucked out some bits of tat, put odd bits of toys and puzzles back where they were supposed to be. Did get Jade to do another 5-minute burst of simple maths sums. I also found myself sitting next to Jade's recorder and book of simple tunes, so I taught myself to play "London's Burning" and then taught Jade. She's pleased to have a new tune to add to her repertoire which until then consisted solely of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" - and so am I!! Then we took a short walk round to the library, spent a happy hour there and all came home with a lovely pile of books.
L from next door came round then, and the girls all played relatively happily out in the garden while I caught up on e-mails and did some dinner. While snuggling with me on the sofa, Shannon was reading out the numbers she could see on the calendar - she can recognise all the single-digit figures now. They watched a small amount of TV, then we switched it off and I read to them both - just Horrid Henry and Holly the Christmas Fairy so not exactly highbrow but they both enjoyed it.
Then, it being such a lovely sunny day, we took a pile of books out onto the trampoline to read out there. I read them some Bible, Leading Little Ones to God, Wild Places (Jungles) and In Grandmother's Attic, interspersed by some jumping and fun!
When we came back inside again, I introduced Shannon to the letter A - following the Letter of the Week plan in a vague kind of way. I wrote both capital and lower case letters on the blackboard, she traced over them with her finger, she had a go at writing them herself and really did a pretty good job! We talked about some of the words that start with the letter 'a'. She can already recognise most of the Letterland characters but not when they are pure letters without the characterisation. She can recognise 's' on its own, and one or two others, but Jade knew her alphabet thoroughly at age 2, so it will be interesting to see if Shannon does not have quite the same aptitude for literacy that Jade does have. Not that it matters - it's just really interesting to see two people developing in their own individual ways, and I love to wonder if any of these early differences really do end up predicting later aptitudes and strengths.
I then went through some spellings that I found on another page of the Brightly Beaming website. Jade was enjoying being asked if she could spell the words and she wrote them on the blackboard, so we just carried on until she started to get fed up and in fact she could do most of them - just needed help with 'woman' and 'two' and I'm pretty sure she'll remember those now. I'll do more of those as and when she's interested and happy to do them.
Had lunch, and then I did my usual afternoon slump when I was devoid of any energy or motivation to do anything educational. I think that's the part of the day when I really need to be left alone to recharge my energy a bit. Chased the girls out into the garden again and I did some tidying up and sorting through of stuff. Sharpened some coloured pencils, chucked out some bits of tat, put odd bits of toys and puzzles back where they were supposed to be. Did get Jade to do another 5-minute burst of simple maths sums. I also found myself sitting next to Jade's recorder and book of simple tunes, so I taught myself to play "London's Burning" and then taught Jade. She's pleased to have a new tune to add to her repertoire which until then consisted solely of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" - and so am I!! Then we took a short walk round to the library, spent a happy hour there and all came home with a lovely pile of books.
L from next door came round then, and the girls all played relatively happily out in the garden while I caught up on e-mails and did some dinner. While snuggling with me on the sofa, Shannon was reading out the numbers she could see on the calendar - she can recognise all the single-digit figures now. They watched a small amount of TV, then we switched it off and I read to them both - just Horrid Henry and Holly the Christmas Fairy so not exactly highbrow but they both enjoyed it.
Monday, April 28, 2008
She's so excited!
We finally got round to going to Gloucester to hire a cello from the Gloucestershire Music Service:
She's really enjoying it, but absolutely refuses to take any guidance as to what to do - "I want to just do it my way!" she says. We looked at a couple of online videos but she missed the one I saw about how to position the bow and absolutely wouldn't listen to me when I suggested the right way to do it. Ah well, I guess there are self-taught musicians around!! It's probably going to be a good idea to expose her to videos and recordings of good cellists so that she can be inspired and maybe she'll see for herself the technique they are using. The other thing I'm going to do is try and set a good example of myself learning to play my bass guitar which DH bought me for my birthday last August and I have picked up and played precisely twice! This morning I've received my Tesco DVD hire delivery which is bass guitar lessons so if I am diligent, maybe she will follow suit.
Oh, and Sarah, she really wanted me to phone you to get Anna to come round and watch her!!!
Anyway, I really wasn't planning to do this:
I've always promised myself I will not let my children learn the violin - I didn't want to endure all the screeching and scratching. But faced with Shannon's longing face when she saw the little violins at the hire place, I just couldn't help but relent!!
She's really enjoying it, but absolutely refuses to take any guidance as to what to do - "I want to just do it my way!" she says. We looked at a couple of online videos but she missed the one I saw about how to position the bow and absolutely wouldn't listen to me when I suggested the right way to do it. Ah well, I guess there are self-taught musicians around!! It's probably going to be a good idea to expose her to videos and recordings of good cellists so that she can be inspired and maybe she'll see for herself the technique they are using. The other thing I'm going to do is try and set a good example of myself learning to play my bass guitar which DH bought me for my birthday last August and I have picked up and played precisely twice! This morning I've received my Tesco DVD hire delivery which is bass guitar lessons so if I am diligent, maybe she will follow suit.
Oh, and Sarah, she really wanted me to phone you to get Anna to come round and watch her!!!
Anyway, I really wasn't planning to do this:
I've always promised myself I will not let my children learn the violin - I didn't want to endure all the screeching and scratching. But faced with Shannon's longing face when she saw the little violins at the hire place, I just couldn't help but relent!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Weird
There's a boy in our HE group called Ben. I think I've mentioned this before - I found out a few months ago that his birthday is the day before or after (can't quite remember which) my Benjamin's birthday - same year. And they dropped in today to give Jade an invitation to his birthday party on Saturday. So now on my calendar I have a note which says "2.30 - Ben's party". Just as it might well have been in other circumstances. Bizarre, but OK. It's not upsetting me or anything. Just feels slightly strange.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
In print
The Time Bank that I run was featured in the Times last week - check it out! They got some of it wrong, of course - the trip to Hidcote Manor Gardens was last month, not last year. And the National Trust was our very first organisational member six years ago, so it's not that recent of a development. But never mind. Oh, and I am the "co-broker" mentioned after Lyn's comment.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Should I be happy?
I really can't decide whether to be pleased or not! I had a Recorded Delivery Letter today saying I had won a holiday worth £3750! Couldn't help but be a bit excited. Got home and found it is this holiday company. We are entitled to one week's accommodation for 4 people at any of the resorts for life (but not travel). BUT we have to pay the management fee which the first year is discounted to about £275 and normally is £367.
So, in a nutshell, we have to pay (this year) £275 for a week's self-catering accommodation - any time of the year. We have to travel there at our own expense. Seeing as we always holiday in our caravan because we can't even afford a cottage holiday, I really can't tell if this is much of a bargain or not!
So, in a nutshell, we have to pay (this year) £275 for a week's self-catering accommodation - any time of the year. We have to travel there at our own expense. Seeing as we always holiday in our caravan because we can't even afford a cottage holiday, I really can't tell if this is much of a bargain or not!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Highlights
Jade lost 2 teeth on Saturday. About time too - one of them had been extremely wobbly for months!
Had a lovely HE moment last night, while putting her to bed, when Jade asked about oxygen, and air, and radio waves - she said she was confused about it all. I explained, adequately I think!
Had a horrible HE moment this morning when I made Jade cry while trying to teach her to tell the time. Every time she comes across numbers she says she finds it too hard.
Monday was completely frittered away. Had intended to start Shannon on 'Letter of the Week' or somesuch light introduction to the alphabet, but somehow it never happened, and I felt like the day was just completely wasted on pacifying the needs of 2 demanding girls. Didn't do anything constructive with Jade either.
Started to gather together the papers for taxing the Prius yesterday ..... and found the MOT expired last September!!! Why oh why isn't there some proper reminder system for it? They're quick enough to remind us to tax our cars - why can't there be MOT reminders too! It also needs brake pads and discs replacing, and 4 new tyres. Ouch! Don't know how we're paying for all that yet! Still, on the bright side, when I do get round to taxing it, it will only cost £15 for the year!
Edited to add: Waah! Just lost most of my template when I deleted that annoying chicken-out counter thing, and have lost my Benjamin ticker.... and don't know where I got it from!
Later - Phew, managed to make another one. Now all I need is the blogring code...
Had a lovely HE moment last night, while putting her to bed, when Jade asked about oxygen, and air, and radio waves - she said she was confused about it all. I explained, adequately I think!
Had a horrible HE moment this morning when I made Jade cry while trying to teach her to tell the time. Every time she comes across numbers she says she finds it too hard.
Monday was completely frittered away. Had intended to start Shannon on 'Letter of the Week' or somesuch light introduction to the alphabet, but somehow it never happened, and I felt like the day was just completely wasted on pacifying the needs of 2 demanding girls. Didn't do anything constructive with Jade either.
Started to gather together the papers for taxing the Prius yesterday ..... and found the MOT expired last September!!! Why oh why isn't there some proper reminder system for it? They're quick enough to remind us to tax our cars - why can't there be MOT reminders too! It also needs brake pads and discs replacing, and 4 new tyres. Ouch! Don't know how we're paying for all that yet! Still, on the bright side, when I do get round to taxing it, it will only cost £15 for the year!
Edited to add: Waah! Just lost most of my template when I deleted that annoying chicken-out counter thing, and have lost my Benjamin ticker.... and don't know where I got it from!
Later - Phew, managed to make another one. Now all I need is the blogring code...
Friday, March 28, 2008
Time flies when you're having fun....
So, I haven't blogged, I haven't done much laundry for too long, the house is even messier than usual .... what's going on?
Well, I have simply been unable to put down Valley of Horses, the second in the Jean Auel (pronounced 'Owl', apparently) Earth's Children series, until I finished it late last night. I don't generally read much fiction these days, but as there are 5 books in this series (and book 6 should be on the way) I shall be kept busy for a while yet. Anyway I have a bit of respite until Book 3 arrives from Amazon, so thought I'd better try and catch up a bit.
Took Jade to Snowshill Manor yesterday (while Shannon was at playschool) and joined the National Trust while I was there. I'd never been inside the house before, which is amazingly stuffed with all sorts of exotic furniture and curios. Jade did rather race me through many of the rooms because she was desperate to see the cellos in the Music Room, but the rest of the collections were well worth looking at and will bear repeated visits I hope. I joined because I particularly like the idea of just popping up there or to Hidcote Manor Gardens, which is also local, on a lovely sunny day and hanging out in a beautiful place.
Must dash now, as it's HE group this afternoon at the local library and I need to gather stuff together to take, not to mention the library books that are due back.
Well, I have simply been unable to put down Valley of Horses, the second in the Jean Auel (pronounced 'Owl', apparently) Earth's Children series, until I finished it late last night. I don't generally read much fiction these days, but as there are 5 books in this series (and book 6 should be on the way) I shall be kept busy for a while yet. Anyway I have a bit of respite until Book 3 arrives from Amazon, so thought I'd better try and catch up a bit.
Took Jade to Snowshill Manor yesterday (while Shannon was at playschool) and joined the National Trust while I was there. I'd never been inside the house before, which is amazingly stuffed with all sorts of exotic furniture and curios. Jade did rather race me through many of the rooms because she was desperate to see the cellos in the Music Room, but the rest of the collections were well worth looking at and will bear repeated visits I hope. I joined because I particularly like the idea of just popping up there or to Hidcote Manor Gardens, which is also local, on a lovely sunny day and hanging out in a beautiful place.
Must dash now, as it's HE group this afternoon at the local library and I need to gather stuff together to take, not to mention the library books that are due back.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Dein Ergebnis:: 9 - the Peacemaker
Thanks for taking the test !
you chose BX - your Enneagram type is NINE (aka "The Mediator")
"I am at peace"
Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union
with others and the world around them.
How to Get Along with Me
- If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially
don't like expectations or pressure. - I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this.
- Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.
- Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge
me gently and nonjudgmentally. - Ask me questions to help me get clear.
- Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery.
- Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.
- I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.
- Let me know you like what I've done or said.
- Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.
What I Like About Being a NINE
- being nonjudgmental and accepting
- caring for and being concerned about others
- being able to relax and have a good time
- knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
- my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good
mediator and facilitator - my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and
now - being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe
What's Hard About Being a NINE
- being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
- being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
- being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
- being confused about what I really want
- caring too much about what others will think of me
- not being listened to or taken seriously
NINEs as Children Often
- feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
- tune out a lot, especially when others argue
- are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves
- are supportive, kind, and warm
- are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective
Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele
The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
Harper
SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages
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You chose BX
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Better
Jade pointed out as we ate dinner this evening that I hadn't got cross with her all day! Yes, that is a very notable event. Probably just because we've been too busy.
Shannon's playschool has a parent rota for helping out once per term, and it was my turn today. Jade came too. She found it a bit boring actually, and apart from the times when she wasn't hanging on to me spent most of her time in the home corner. They both enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt, though, but then Jade got very upset when she made a slightly wobbly tooth get extremely loose while eating celery at lunchtime. So now that's two teeth hanging on by their fingernails (so to speak...) ..... the first of which has been like that for months. I do wish they'd both just come out, but she really gets quite scared and upset about it.
Then we came home for a bit of Tom & Jerry/Simpsons for the girls and a quick nap for me and then out to swimming. Having had a break of a few weeks due to bad colds/parental unwillingness to go, Jade astonished me by getting into the pool and launching straight into swimming a few metres, and then did it again and again. She normally just plays and saves practising 'proper' swimming till the end. She seems to be stuck at doing about 8 strokes in a row and then having to put her feet down, which seems odd. If you can do 8 strokes, couldn't you just keep going? Anyway, she'll get the hang of it in her own time, I'm sure. She's resistant to any but the gentlest of hints about improving technique, so it'll be her own way or not at all.
Shannon's playschool has a parent rota for helping out once per term, and it was my turn today. Jade came too. She found it a bit boring actually, and apart from the times when she wasn't hanging on to me spent most of her time in the home corner. They both enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt, though, but then Jade got very upset when she made a slightly wobbly tooth get extremely loose while eating celery at lunchtime. So now that's two teeth hanging on by their fingernails (so to speak...) ..... the first of which has been like that for months. I do wish they'd both just come out, but she really gets quite scared and upset about it.
Then we came home for a bit of Tom & Jerry/Simpsons for the girls and a quick nap for me and then out to swimming. Having had a break of a few weeks due to bad colds/parental unwillingness to go, Jade astonished me by getting into the pool and launching straight into swimming a few metres, and then did it again and again. She normally just plays and saves practising 'proper' swimming till the end. She seems to be stuck at doing about 8 strokes in a row and then having to put her feet down, which seems odd. If you can do 8 strokes, couldn't you just keep going? Anyway, she'll get the hang of it in her own time, I'm sure. She's resistant to any but the gentlest of hints about improving technique, so it'll be her own way or not at all.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Mama told me there'd be days like these...
It's not going too well here today. The original plan was to meet my Mum at a big garden centre place near Abingdon. But Bill has gone on a course today and went off this morning saying that he couldn't find the car key for the estate car (he was taking the Prius) but I must have them because I was the last one to use it on Saturday night, and he didn't seem to have it anywhere. I accepted this, assuming I'd be able to find it later on. However when I looked, I couldn't find it, and then I realised that Bill had moved the car to a different place on the driveway on Sunday morning so he was the last one to use the key.
So, I phoned his mobile - no answer so I left a message. Then I phoned my Mum to say we might not be able to make it but I'd keep looking for the key. Phoned Bill's boss to try and find out where he is to get in touch with him, but she wasn't there so left a message on her machine. Then I remembered that all the equipment for the Rural Cinema scheme was locked in the car and it was being collected today at 2pm by the next village! Phoned my colleague in the office to get the Rural Cinema man's phone number. Considered what it would be like to tell them that they would have to cancel their showing for this evening! Phoned a friend to see if she knew of anyone who knew how to break into a car! She was a good deal more sensible, and recommended I phone the AA. Seemed like a good plan so I did that next. They were remarkably quick and came within half an hour. Found Bill's mobile phone in the back of the car!!! Phoned my Mum to say we still weren't going to make it as I still didn't have the key to drive. Phoned the Rural Cinema man to tell him to collect from my house and not the office. Of course, all this time the girls were little angels ....not!! It seemed like every 5 minutes they were fighting and arguing over something new. Wished I had a cellar like the Beans to lock someone into! Or at least threaten....
At last we took the dog out for a walk, then got back and seemed to faff around not settling down to anything. Seemed to fulfil one request for food or drink after another. Did a bit of the laundry shuffle. I sat down to read "Who were the first people" (still interested due to reading Clan of the Cave Bear series) and Jade lay on the back of the sofa looking over my shoulder, until Shannon started pushing and shoving and they started fighting again (sigh...). Gave up and made lunch.
I really don't know what we've been doing since then, but got fed up with Jade saying she was bored around 3pm and got out a few bits and pieces - "Super Science" workbook, drawing skeletons book, "Beyond the Code" book 1, and she said she wasn't interested in any of them so I made her sit down and do Super Science, which she usually enjoys. She huffed and puffed, said it was too hard, she didn't want to do it, so I threatened school ..... I used to read other people's blogs and think they were rather mean to issue school threats just because things weren't going perfectly. What can I say; I am swallowing my pride. She did do one page with bad grace, objected to having to think what the answer to "What part of the body do we use for looking at things" might be .... so I suggested we move on to Beyond the code. She loves literacy type stuff. But by this time we were both grumpy and fed up with each other. I asked her to read out the beginning passage, and she refused to read out loud. She wanted me to read it. Or to read it to herself, not out loud. This is too close for comfort to SM behaviour, so I probably over-reacted and insisted she had to read it out to me. Actually part of the SM is this absolute fear of getting things wrong, and not wanting to try anything she thinks she might get wrong. I need to come to terms with this and find some good strategies for addressing it instead of just getting all stroppy with her about it, which is completely counterproductive. At this point the doorbell rang, probably very fortunately, and it was L from next door, so they are now running about and playing and making Shannon scream again when they run away and exclude her.
I am very out of sorts at the moment. I have the wrong attitude to all sorts of things, and can't seem to sort my head out. And I hate making a battleground of education but find myself doing so anyway. I feel like I don't want to be doing any of what I am doing, like being with the kids, being at work, anything. And yet I know that's not really the main problem, just the symptom. Need a week in a health farm, I think.
So, I phoned his mobile - no answer so I left a message. Then I phoned my Mum to say we might not be able to make it but I'd keep looking for the key. Phoned Bill's boss to try and find out where he is to get in touch with him, but she wasn't there so left a message on her machine. Then I remembered that all the equipment for the Rural Cinema scheme was locked in the car and it was being collected today at 2pm by the next village! Phoned my colleague in the office to get the Rural Cinema man's phone number. Considered what it would be like to tell them that they would have to cancel their showing for this evening! Phoned a friend to see if she knew of anyone who knew how to break into a car! She was a good deal more sensible, and recommended I phone the AA. Seemed like a good plan so I did that next. They were remarkably quick and came within half an hour. Found Bill's mobile phone in the back of the car!!! Phoned my Mum to say we still weren't going to make it as I still didn't have the key to drive. Phoned the Rural Cinema man to tell him to collect from my house and not the office. Of course, all this time the girls were little angels ....not!! It seemed like every 5 minutes they were fighting and arguing over something new. Wished I had a cellar like the Beans to lock someone into! Or at least threaten....
At last we took the dog out for a walk, then got back and seemed to faff around not settling down to anything. Seemed to fulfil one request for food or drink after another. Did a bit of the laundry shuffle. I sat down to read "Who were the first people" (still interested due to reading Clan of the Cave Bear series) and Jade lay on the back of the sofa looking over my shoulder, until Shannon started pushing and shoving and they started fighting again (sigh...). Gave up and made lunch.
I really don't know what we've been doing since then, but got fed up with Jade saying she was bored around 3pm and got out a few bits and pieces - "Super Science" workbook, drawing skeletons book, "Beyond the Code" book 1, and she said she wasn't interested in any of them so I made her sit down and do Super Science, which she usually enjoys. She huffed and puffed, said it was too hard, she didn't want to do it, so I threatened school ..... I used to read other people's blogs and think they were rather mean to issue school threats just because things weren't going perfectly. What can I say; I am swallowing my pride. She did do one page with bad grace, objected to having to think what the answer to "What part of the body do we use for looking at things" might be .... so I suggested we move on to Beyond the code. She loves literacy type stuff. But by this time we were both grumpy and fed up with each other. I asked her to read out the beginning passage, and she refused to read out loud. She wanted me to read it. Or to read it to herself, not out loud. This is too close for comfort to SM behaviour, so I probably over-reacted and insisted she had to read it out to me. Actually part of the SM is this absolute fear of getting things wrong, and not wanting to try anything she thinks she might get wrong. I need to come to terms with this and find some good strategies for addressing it instead of just getting all stroppy with her about it, which is completely counterproductive. At this point the doorbell rang, probably very fortunately, and it was L from next door, so they are now running about and playing and making Shannon scream again when they run away and exclude her.
I am very out of sorts at the moment. I have the wrong attitude to all sorts of things, and can't seem to sort my head out. And I hate making a battleground of education but find myself doing so anyway. I feel like I don't want to be doing any of what I am doing, like being with the kids, being at work, anything. And yet I know that's not really the main problem, just the symptom. Need a week in a health farm, I think.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
See, I told you housework makes me ill!
I don't know what came over me this morning, really, except that I read a blog last night about spring cleaning, and decided there are some really disgusting corners of this house that I ought to have a go at. So I took everything off the top of the kitchen cupboards at the left hand side of the sink, hoovered up the cobwebs and dead woodlice, wiped down the walls and ceiling, washed the sticky dust off everything that was going to go back up there and threw a whole load of stuff out.
And then got a really horrid headache that has lasted the rest of the day. So that's enough of that then!
Yesterday (Friday) morning we did some fun stuff. Following the suggestions for language development in Sonlight, I did some "Simon Says" games with the girls, including variations on a theme like "Silly Simon". Shannon just copied whatever Jade did! Then we did a geography game where each of us said the name of a place (country, town, city or whatever) and the next person had to think of the name of a place beginning with the last letter of the previous name. Jade needed a bit of help with this so she brought down the "Counties of the United Kingdom" map from her bedroom and cribbed the names of a few places. Then I read out a bit of stuff from "Living Long Ago" on food and eating. They both did a couple of jigsaw puzzles.
My Dad came over in the afternoon, and I was pretty shocked that for quite a while Jade would not talk to him or in front of him. He used to come every week and babysit, and she has always been very comfortable and chatty with him, but he 'retired' from that last year and since then we've mostly seen him with his wife to whom Jade will not talk. I had become slightly worried that she might stop talking to my Dad, but didn't think she actually had done, but that's why I had suggested to him that he ought to try and come over on his own reasonably often. So I was rather gutted that she would only whisper in my ear in front of him for a while. Later in the visit, though, I had to go upstairs and after I came down my Dad gestured (when she wasn't looking) that she had talked to him while I was gone.
Still, the childminder has now had a briefing session from the speech therapist about becoming Jade's keyworker, and starting the 'sliding-in' sessions so that hopefully before long she will become someone that Jade can talk to, and then she (childminder) will introduce other people into the 'talking circle' too.
Maybe if your child has to suffer from something then it's better that it's selective mutism rather than a physical illness, but it still has me worried sick about her sometimes. I foresee a life of anxiety, depression and social isolation ahead of her if we can't get this straightened out pretty soon.
And then got a really horrid headache that has lasted the rest of the day. So that's enough of that then!
Yesterday (Friday) morning we did some fun stuff. Following the suggestions for language development in Sonlight, I did some "Simon Says" games with the girls, including variations on a theme like "Silly Simon". Shannon just copied whatever Jade did! Then we did a geography game where each of us said the name of a place (country, town, city or whatever) and the next person had to think of the name of a place beginning with the last letter of the previous name. Jade needed a bit of help with this so she brought down the "Counties of the United Kingdom" map from her bedroom and cribbed the names of a few places. Then I read out a bit of stuff from "Living Long Ago" on food and eating. They both did a couple of jigsaw puzzles.
My Dad came over in the afternoon, and I was pretty shocked that for quite a while Jade would not talk to him or in front of him. He used to come every week and babysit, and she has always been very comfortable and chatty with him, but he 'retired' from that last year and since then we've mostly seen him with his wife to whom Jade will not talk. I had become slightly worried that she might stop talking to my Dad, but didn't think she actually had done, but that's why I had suggested to him that he ought to try and come over on his own reasonably often. So I was rather gutted that she would only whisper in my ear in front of him for a while. Later in the visit, though, I had to go upstairs and after I came down my Dad gestured (when she wasn't looking) that she had talked to him while I was gone.
Still, the childminder has now had a briefing session from the speech therapist about becoming Jade's keyworker, and starting the 'sliding-in' sessions so that hopefully before long she will become someone that Jade can talk to, and then she (childminder) will introduce other people into the 'talking circle' too.
Maybe if your child has to suffer from something then it's better that it's selective mutism rather than a physical illness, but it still has me worried sick about her sometimes. I foresee a life of anxiety, depression and social isolation ahead of her if we can't get this straightened out pretty soon.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wot, no blog?
Shannon's been quite poorly this week with a very heavy cold that has had her feverish and wakeful in the night for 5 nights in a row, and sorrowful, clingy and whingey during the day. Whenever I've sat down at my computer, it hasn't been long before she's woken up crying for me, and needing ages to settle. Hence no blogging!
I did take her out to HE group on Tuesday morning where the girls had fun painting eggs, making chocolate nests, making baskets and doing an Easter egg hunt. Neither of the girls would let go of my hands, though, so it's not a very social occasion for either them or me!
Not much else to report - a little bit of other educational stuff but not much. We did have a nice conversation about Fair Trade this morning while still in bed. Hope to go to the library this afternoon.
I did take her out to HE group on Tuesday morning where the girls had fun painting eggs, making chocolate nests, making baskets and doing an Easter egg hunt. Neither of the girls would let go of my hands, though, so it's not a very social occasion for either them or me!
Not much else to report - a little bit of other educational stuff but not much. We did have a nice conversation about Fair Trade this morning while still in bed. Hope to go to the library this afternoon.
You Are Flip Flops |
 You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company |
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Following on from Jade's expressed interest in the cello at Melrose, Bill has borrowed one from work for a few days so she can have a go. She's just fiddling about with it on her own, but is loving it and still says she wants one. I've found a few online videos showing basic technique so will show her those later, when L from next door has gone home. I've also confirmed I can hire one from Gloucestershire Music for £26 per term, so that'll be useful! I've identified a teacher in Stratford-on-Avon who is playing at a wedding fayre nearby next Saturday, so we'll go and have a peek at her.
Meanwhile Shannon is feverish with a bad cold, so is touchy and weepy (even more than usual!) so she didn't come out with us on our "Keep the Cotswolds Clean" Spring Litter Pick this morning. Jade and I went (well I had to - I was organising it!), and about 7 others turned up to help, so we made a useful difference to the amount of rubbish lying around. It gives me a warm virtuous feeling!
Yesterday started off somewhat dodgily. Thought I'd get the dreaded maths over with first thing, so started playing a game with Jade using the '100 square' book we've got. The game involved me choosing a number, and then we took in turns to use a number from the top line (i.e. 0-9), adding and if necessary subtracting, to try and reach the target number I'd chosen. At the end of the first (demonstration) try, when I got to the target number I said "I won that one" and gave myself a tick on the sheet of paper. Cue Jade throwing a strop, throwing away her pencil and refusing to do any more. OK, so she hasn't learned to be a good loser yet! Actually, I got furious with her, and said she wasn't leaving the table until she was prepared to have another go. I (outwardly) calmly went and got my book
(which is utterly fab, BTW, if you've never read it). I sat and read and asked every now and then (calmly!) if she was prepared to have another go yet. She got down under the table, went and hid in the under-stairs cupboard next to the table, and all sorts but I just went and got her and sat her back in her chair and said again she wasn't leaving till she'd had another go. I was seriously doubting whether it was wise to make it into such a big battle of wills, but I am so fed up with these strops over minor little things (me saying I'd won, this time) and I just didn't want her to get away with not doing what she was supposed to be doing again. In the end, she started drawing hearts on a piece of paper and gave it to me. This gave me the idea to write her a note, so I wrote "Dear Jade, I hate it when you give up and won't even try. I love you." I passed it to her. She came and climbed on my knee, and I cuddled her and then asked her if she was prepared to have another go yet. She said yes. We had another go, and she got it right first time :-) We then did some simple sums with M&Ms for 5 minutes and she got to eat one every time she got it right. She did adding and subtracting (numbers less than 10) and we also touched on multiplying and dividing. I then with great relief left maths alone on a relative high note!
We then moved over to the sofa for a bit of reading together. I read "Where Babies come from" with her. We've gone over most of that stuff before, but she has never asked the critical question of how seed meets egg. She's not in any doubt now - a very clear picture told it all, but she didn't bat an eyelid except at the kissing!! Then we moved on to "Mary on Horseback", part of the Sonlight package, which we finished off.
Next I put on an episode of Time Team which I'd downloaded onto my laptop from the Ch4 website, which was nearly about to expire. It was set not far from here so I'd particularly wanted to see it. After about 10 minutes viewing the archaeological dig, the girls wanted to go out and dig up 'pottery' from the (as yet empty) vegetable patch. That lasted about 5 minutes until Jade had another strop because Shannon started digging in the hole that Jade had dug, so we came back in and we finished watching Time Team.
I can't remember what happened next - I think maybe it was lunchtime!
Sometime in the afternoon we did some minor "science with air" out of the little Usborne book of the same name, took the dog for a short walk, prevented WW3 breaking out several times over use of the computer/recorder/keyboard/voice-activated dog/anything else you care to mention and eventually I refused to do anything other than sit on the sofa and finish my book. Shannon came for 'hungry' (b/f) and fell asleep at about 4pm. I woke her up about 4.45pm, and then put "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (BBC version) on for them to watch while I made dinner.
After dinner it was bath, hairwashes & nit-combing (just to check - they've been spotted at Shannon's playschool) but we are clear, and then a very chaotic period where Shannon in particular was way too energetic to want to go to bed and I was too tired to enforce anything, so I lolled about and let them muck around. Eventually I did stories and bed for Shannon, but unlike me she hadn't fallen asleep by the time DH got home around 9pm. So I went to bed, Jade followed me and fell asleep with me while DH got Shannon to sleep.
Meanwhile Shannon is feverish with a bad cold, so is touchy and weepy (even more than usual!) so she didn't come out with us on our "Keep the Cotswolds Clean" Spring Litter Pick this morning. Jade and I went (well I had to - I was organising it!), and about 7 others turned up to help, so we made a useful difference to the amount of rubbish lying around. It gives me a warm virtuous feeling!
Yesterday started off somewhat dodgily. Thought I'd get the dreaded maths over with first thing, so started playing a game with Jade using the '100 square' book we've got. The game involved me choosing a number, and then we took in turns to use a number from the top line (i.e. 0-9), adding and if necessary subtracting, to try and reach the target number I'd chosen. At the end of the first (demonstration) try, when I got to the target number I said "I won that one" and gave myself a tick on the sheet of paper. Cue Jade throwing a strop, throwing away her pencil and refusing to do any more. OK, so she hasn't learned to be a good loser yet! Actually, I got furious with her, and said she wasn't leaving the table until she was prepared to have another go. I (outwardly) calmly went and got my book
(which is utterly fab, BTW, if you've never read it). I sat and read and asked every now and then (calmly!) if she was prepared to have another go yet. She got down under the table, went and hid in the under-stairs cupboard next to the table, and all sorts but I just went and got her and sat her back in her chair and said again she wasn't leaving till she'd had another go. I was seriously doubting whether it was wise to make it into such a big battle of wills, but I am so fed up with these strops over minor little things (me saying I'd won, this time) and I just didn't want her to get away with not doing what she was supposed to be doing again. In the end, she started drawing hearts on a piece of paper and gave it to me. This gave me the idea to write her a note, so I wrote "Dear Jade, I hate it when you give up and won't even try. I love you." I passed it to her. She came and climbed on my knee, and I cuddled her and then asked her if she was prepared to have another go yet. She said yes. We had another go, and she got it right first time :-) We then did some simple sums with M&Ms for 5 minutes and she got to eat one every time she got it right. She did adding and subtracting (numbers less than 10) and we also touched on multiplying and dividing. I then with great relief left maths alone on a relative high note!
We then moved over to the sofa for a bit of reading together. I read "Where Babies come from" with her. We've gone over most of that stuff before, but she has never asked the critical question of how seed meets egg. She's not in any doubt now - a very clear picture told it all, but she didn't bat an eyelid except at the kissing!! Then we moved on to "Mary on Horseback", part of the Sonlight package, which we finished off.
Next I put on an episode of Time Team which I'd downloaded onto my laptop from the Ch4 website, which was nearly about to expire. It was set not far from here so I'd particularly wanted to see it. After about 10 minutes viewing the archaeological dig, the girls wanted to go out and dig up 'pottery' from the (as yet empty) vegetable patch. That lasted about 5 minutes until Jade had another strop because Shannon started digging in the hole that Jade had dug, so we came back in and we finished watching Time Team.
I can't remember what happened next - I think maybe it was lunchtime!
Sometime in the afternoon we did some minor "science with air" out of the little Usborne book of the same name, took the dog for a short walk, prevented WW3 breaking out several times over use of the computer/recorder/keyboard/voice-activated dog/anything else you care to mention and eventually I refused to do anything other than sit on the sofa and finish my book. Shannon came for 'hungry' (b/f) and fell asleep at about 4pm. I woke her up about 4.45pm, and then put "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (BBC version) on for them to watch while I made dinner.
After dinner it was bath, hairwashes & nit-combing (just to check - they've been spotted at Shannon's playschool) but we are clear, and then a very chaotic period where Shannon in particular was way too energetic to want to go to bed and I was too tired to enforce anything, so I lolled about and let them muck around. Eventually I did stories and bed for Shannon, but unlike me she hadn't fallen asleep by the time DH got home around 9pm. So I went to bed, Jade followed me and fell asleep with me while DH got Shannon to sleep.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Melrose and more
I'm feeling tired and a bit fragile after Melrose and the 9-hour journey home yesterday (punctuated by stops at Tebay services and then, unexpectedly, at Anni's where we had yummy fish and chips). I suspect today is going to be a very lazy day - in fact it already is, as it is 11.30am and the girls have done nothing but watch TV/DVDs while I loll about doing not much, and none of us is even dressed yet. Well, that's not completely true - Shannon is dressed, but only because she was transferred sleeping from the car to her bed last night so is still wearing yesterday's dress.
(Later)
Well, today's ended up being even lazier than I had thought - I got a bad stomach-ache around about lunchtime which has lasted all afternoon. In fact I had stomach-ache on the drive home yesterday - feared 'the bug' obviously, but by the time I got home it was much better. I suspect it is a version of my 'seized-up stomach' that I get every now and then when my stomach motility seems to completely cease and everything just sits there like a big stone inside me - though this time it is rather more painful than usual. This meant that I still haven't got the car emptied and have done nothing but lie around all afternoon trying to feel comfortable somehow while plying the kids with DVDs and TV. I called Bill and he came home early to help out.
Anyway, back to Melrose. Jade found it very difficult. I think it may have had a lot to do with not having stayed overnight with someone beforehand to bond strongly with at least one child before she got there. We had planned to stay with Anni but the quarantine period from Shannon's 'D' episodes on Friday morning put a stop to that. So we arrived on Sunday evening, had dinner, unpacked and then I put the girls to bed. Monday's plans changed suddenly when we went down to the kitchen at about 8am to get me a cup of tea and breakfast for Jade, and Shannon seemed to get something caught in her throat, coughed a bit, and then threw up all over the kitchen floor. It was difficult to know what it was - she had had these couple of episodes of 'd' on Friday, but the last one was lunchtime on Friday and so this was therefore about 68 hours later... and it did look more like she just choked a little on something which made her 'v' - but nevertheless we decided to quarantine ourselves in our room for 24 hours at least, to see what happened. She appeared to be in the best of health all day, so we went out shopping in Galashiels for a while for a change of scene. Nothing else untoward happened so by agreement with others we declared it probably to have been a false alarm and resumed normal activities on Tuesday. I do really and truly hope we didn't cause the outbreak of d and v that ended up spreading around - as a lifelong emetophobic I know how much I dread us catching stuff like that and I would never knowingly expose anyone else. We really had tried to take every precaution, and unless the quarantine period from the 'd' should have been longer than 48 hours I don't see what else we could have done. And maybe it wasn't us anyway.
But, back to Jade. I know she talked to Aprilia, and played with her a little in our room. Apart from that, I think she only played on her own or stayed with me and Shannon. She was much more reluctant to talk to anybody or join in with things than last year, and I was quite disappointed because she's made progress at home - speaking in front of visitors to the house - and I'd hoped we'd see her join in more with the others. But it is such a big leap to go from that to a whole hostel full of happy kids going round in groups and she just couldn't manage it this time. By the end of Wednesday, on top of all the anxiety about the illness going round, which probably made everything else seem a lot worse, I felt quite upset about how 'disabled' she really is. It's obviously not just selective mutism - it's not all about talking - it's major social anxiety as well. Last week we were busily filling in the forms to apply for Disability Living Allowance (on the advice of the psychiatrist) but I was feeling a bit guilty about it as, in her own home and with familiar routines and obviously being home-educated, we don't notice her problems as much as perhaps we otherwise would. But the time at Melrose really showed her up in extremely stark contrast to what other children her age do, and I really did end the time there feeling she really is disabled. It's so hard to see your child struggling in a major way with things that everyone else finds so straightforward. It's hard to see her not joining in, not playing, not talking and laughing with other kids. She couldn't even go to the toilets without me, and although she could spend a little time in the common room on her own, it wasn't long before she came to find me.
She watched the music session with interest, and asked me to go and fetch her recorder, but wouldn't join in (she just wanted to prove to everyone that she had one too, I think). But at the end she expressed interest in the cello played by Anna, and said she wanted one. I asked Anna if she would show it to Jade, and she was very happy to do so, but unfortunately the audience of other interested kids meant Jade would only hide behind me and refused to sit and have a go, even if she was sitting on my knee. On getting home she still says she wants a cello. I could hire one from the County Music service, but I see little point in doing so without her taking lessons, and it's going to take a lot of work to persuade her to even try to do so.
Shannon didn't show her best side either. At home, she's full of cuteness, laughter, giggles, funny faces and dancing. At Melrose, she seemed to mostly just scream with rage because Jade went in front of her, or opened the door first, or they wanted the same toy, or something else.
So what with the pain of watching Jade struggle so much, and the fact that it stresses me out having her almost glued to my side all the time, and Shannon's screaming and wailing, and the creeping vomit-fest, I opted to leave a day early. I'm very glad I did so, but apologies to those who stayed till the end and did all the cleaning. I think I was one of the last few there last year, though, doing a fair bit of it, so I won't cripple myself with guilt over it.
At the moment, I don't think I would go to Melrose again. Jade will have to be an awful lot better socially for it to be worth me braving the stomach-bug risk again, I think.
(Later)
Well, today's ended up being even lazier than I had thought - I got a bad stomach-ache around about lunchtime which has lasted all afternoon. In fact I had stomach-ache on the drive home yesterday - feared 'the bug' obviously, but by the time I got home it was much better. I suspect it is a version of my 'seized-up stomach' that I get every now and then when my stomach motility seems to completely cease and everything just sits there like a big stone inside me - though this time it is rather more painful than usual. This meant that I still haven't got the car emptied and have done nothing but lie around all afternoon trying to feel comfortable somehow while plying the kids with DVDs and TV. I called Bill and he came home early to help out.
Anyway, back to Melrose. Jade found it very difficult. I think it may have had a lot to do with not having stayed overnight with someone beforehand to bond strongly with at least one child before she got there. We had planned to stay with Anni but the quarantine period from Shannon's 'D' episodes on Friday morning put a stop to that. So we arrived on Sunday evening, had dinner, unpacked and then I put the girls to bed. Monday's plans changed suddenly when we went down to the kitchen at about 8am to get me a cup of tea and breakfast for Jade, and Shannon seemed to get something caught in her throat, coughed a bit, and then threw up all over the kitchen floor. It was difficult to know what it was - she had had these couple of episodes of 'd' on Friday, but the last one was lunchtime on Friday and so this was therefore about 68 hours later... and it did look more like she just choked a little on something which made her 'v' - but nevertheless we decided to quarantine ourselves in our room for 24 hours at least, to see what happened. She appeared to be in the best of health all day, so we went out shopping in Galashiels for a while for a change of scene. Nothing else untoward happened so by agreement with others we declared it probably to have been a false alarm and resumed normal activities on Tuesday. I do really and truly hope we didn't cause the outbreak of d and v that ended up spreading around - as a lifelong emetophobic I know how much I dread us catching stuff like that and I would never knowingly expose anyone else. We really had tried to take every precaution, and unless the quarantine period from the 'd' should have been longer than 48 hours I don't see what else we could have done. And maybe it wasn't us anyway.
But, back to Jade. I know she talked to Aprilia, and played with her a little in our room. Apart from that, I think she only played on her own or stayed with me and Shannon. She was much more reluctant to talk to anybody or join in with things than last year, and I was quite disappointed because she's made progress at home - speaking in front of visitors to the house - and I'd hoped we'd see her join in more with the others. But it is such a big leap to go from that to a whole hostel full of happy kids going round in groups and she just couldn't manage it this time. By the end of Wednesday, on top of all the anxiety about the illness going round, which probably made everything else seem a lot worse, I felt quite upset about how 'disabled' she really is. It's obviously not just selective mutism - it's not all about talking - it's major social anxiety as well. Last week we were busily filling in the forms to apply for Disability Living Allowance (on the advice of the psychiatrist) but I was feeling a bit guilty about it as, in her own home and with familiar routines and obviously being home-educated, we don't notice her problems as much as perhaps we otherwise would. But the time at Melrose really showed her up in extremely stark contrast to what other children her age do, and I really did end the time there feeling she really is disabled. It's so hard to see your child struggling in a major way with things that everyone else finds so straightforward. It's hard to see her not joining in, not playing, not talking and laughing with other kids. She couldn't even go to the toilets without me, and although she could spend a little time in the common room on her own, it wasn't long before she came to find me.
She watched the music session with interest, and asked me to go and fetch her recorder, but wouldn't join in (she just wanted to prove to everyone that she had one too, I think). But at the end she expressed interest in the cello played by Anna, and said she wanted one. I asked Anna if she would show it to Jade, and she was very happy to do so, but unfortunately the audience of other interested kids meant Jade would only hide behind me and refused to sit and have a go, even if she was sitting on my knee. On getting home she still says she wants a cello. I could hire one from the County Music service, but I see little point in doing so without her taking lessons, and it's going to take a lot of work to persuade her to even try to do so.
Shannon didn't show her best side either. At home, she's full of cuteness, laughter, giggles, funny faces and dancing. At Melrose, she seemed to mostly just scream with rage because Jade went in front of her, or opened the door first, or they wanted the same toy, or something else.
So what with the pain of watching Jade struggle so much, and the fact that it stresses me out having her almost glued to my side all the time, and Shannon's screaming and wailing, and the creeping vomit-fest, I opted to leave a day early. I'm very glad I did so, but apologies to those who stayed till the end and did all the cleaning. I think I was one of the last few there last year, though, doing a fair bit of it, so I won't cripple myself with guilt over it.
At the moment, I don't think I would go to Melrose again. Jade will have to be an awful lot better socially for it to be worth me braving the stomach-bug risk again, I think.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Monday and Tuesday
Brief notes only - made blogging notes yesterday to remind myself but haven't got enough time to pad them out too much.
Monday - Story of the World - beginning of India chapter/Indus River. Map. Tried to get Jade to attempt narration but not much effort.
Maths - adding and subtracting chocolate drops and Cuisenaire rods - 2 pages Miquon. Introduced the idea of multiplication and 3 x tables (already can do 2s).
Spanish DVD.
Making fairy kit / daisy chain kit
Tuesday - face painting first thing which led to lots of lovely giggles. Read some Sonlight Books - "Finding Out about Everyday Things" - under the sea/waves. Talked about mammals/plankton/food chains/fish/gills. Then read "Living long ago" - caves. Read all of "A Dolphin story". Did some measuring with feet/hands and Jade made the link to measuring horses in hands which is 4".
We also had a visit from the speech therapist but for some reason Jade got extremely stroppy/upset when she arrived - possibly because she commented on Jade's painted face? Don't know. She got very bad-tempered and unco-operative, hit Shannon, got put on the stairs for time-out and she stormed off upstairs. She then refused to have anything to do with anybody until the SLT was about to leave, then insisted on showing her the bit of dog-training she'd been doing, making Poppy sit and stay. When I tried to talk to her about it later and find out what had made her so stroppy, she just said, twice, "I don't know anything about it." Strange, as she usually looks forward to the SLT sessions. But we do get quite a lot of this stroppy/angry/upset behaviour and she absolutely refuses to discuss it at all.
Today: I was working all day although with a Dr appt this morning and yet another dental appt this afternoon I wasn't there much - will book it as a half-day off. It's easier to make appts for when the kids are being looked after by DH! While I was gone Jade has worked some way through a "Nutrition Mission" CD-Rom and they've looked at/talked about rocks and shells. By the time I got in they were in the middle of watching Snow White on the big screen.
I'm hoping that the dentist has been successful this third time of working on my tooth - I think we may have done the trick this time! Had more nice driving in the sunshine listening to JD, though, so not so bad!
Monday - Story of the World - beginning of India chapter/Indus River. Map. Tried to get Jade to attempt narration but not much effort.
Maths - adding and subtracting chocolate drops and Cuisenaire rods - 2 pages Miquon. Introduced the idea of multiplication and 3 x tables (already can do 2s).
Spanish DVD.
Making fairy kit / daisy chain kit
Tuesday - face painting first thing which led to lots of lovely giggles. Read some Sonlight Books - "Finding Out about Everyday Things" - under the sea/waves. Talked about mammals/plankton/food chains/fish/gills. Then read "Living long ago" - caves. Read all of "A Dolphin story". Did some measuring with feet/hands and Jade made the link to measuring horses in hands which is 4".
We also had a visit from the speech therapist but for some reason Jade got extremely stroppy/upset when she arrived - possibly because she commented on Jade's painted face? Don't know. She got very bad-tempered and unco-operative, hit Shannon, got put on the stairs for time-out and she stormed off upstairs. She then refused to have anything to do with anybody until the SLT was about to leave, then insisted on showing her the bit of dog-training she'd been doing, making Poppy sit and stay. When I tried to talk to her about it later and find out what had made her so stroppy, she just said, twice, "I don't know anything about it." Strange, as she usually looks forward to the SLT sessions. But we do get quite a lot of this stroppy/angry/upset behaviour and she absolutely refuses to discuss it at all.
Today: I was working all day although with a Dr appt this morning and yet another dental appt this afternoon I wasn't there much - will book it as a half-day off. It's easier to make appts for when the kids are being looked after by DH! While I was gone Jade has worked some way through a "Nutrition Mission" CD-Rom and they've looked at/talked about rocks and shells. By the time I got in they were in the middle of watching Snow White on the big screen.
I'm hoping that the dentist has been successful this third time of working on my tooth - I think we may have done the trick this time! Had more nice driving in the sunshine listening to JD, though, so not so bad!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Snore .......
I am so so so tired today - and therefore extremely grumpy and horrid to be with. For the second night running, Shannon was awake for a nightmarish length of time during the night. I have no idea why unless it's because I had one cup of coffee during the MORNING! I coped yesterday after one bad night's sleep because the girls were at playgroup/childminder all day as I had a conference to go to and speak at in Gloucester. A second bad night and being single-handed child carer are not going well together!
Still, I have managed to complete a mystery shopping assignment (phone call) and have been greatly cheered up by the arrival of "Autograph" by John Denver on CD. It's been an extremely rare album for years, although I did have a copy on tape. With no working tape player in the car I haven't listened to it for a couple of years, but just spotted that AT LAST it has been issued on CD and I am over the moon - def. about my favourite JD CD! (Although now I look closely I see it has a date of 2001 on it - ah well, better late than never!)
I think it's about time for a long DVD for the girls and a nap for me. ZZzzzzzz
Still, I have managed to complete a mystery shopping assignment (phone call) and have been greatly cheered up by the arrival of "Autograph" by John Denver on CD. It's been an extremely rare album for years, although I did have a copy on tape. With no working tape player in the car I haven't listened to it for a couple of years, but just spotted that AT LAST it has been issued on CD and I am over the moon - def. about my favourite JD CD! (Although now I look closely I see it has a date of 2001 on it - ah well, better late than never!)
I think it's about time for a long DVD for the girls and a nap for me. ZZzzzzzz
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday tantrums
Tooth traumas continued this morning ... thankfully I had been forewarned by several other bloggers that sometimes, little girls get quite emotional about their teeth falling out and don't want to lose them. Unfortunately, it seems I had failed to warn Jade that the 'tooth fairy' (she knows it's me) takes the tooth away when the money is left!!! So she was completely traumatised when it was gone this morning. She wailed hysterically at me "Where is my tooth?" and when I told her it was in my jewellery box (phew!) she went and got it and then threw it and the £1 down the stairs at me and sobbed that she didn't want them! She went off and cried in her room for a couple of minutes, and then came down sobbing even more because now she'd lost the tooth. Oh dear, it's hard to be 6!! Thankfully she did find it on the stairs and eventually peace was restored, and she decided she did want both the tooth and the money. Thankfully I managed to remain calm throughout her storm of emotions.
Despite the rocky start, the rest of the day went OK. While upstairs getting dressed Shannon found my jewellery box open on the bed (left there by Jade), investigated several items in it, and discovered a little locket with a teeny tiny picture of Benjamin inside that somebody gave me when he died. Jade then drew her attention to the other picture of Benjamin that we have in our bedroom, and Shannon said she wanted to see "Benjamim's book". So downstairs we came and got out the as yet unfinished scrapbook I had done for Ben, and all spent some time looking through that. This prompted discussions about intensive care, what the word "intensive" means, family relationships, the heart, fetal life and how babies don't have air in their lungs while in utero, but have 'water' instead, so they can't cry, but they do wake and sleep; dying, heaven and eternal life! Didn't plan that into this morning's curriculum!!!!
After having read the myth about Gilgamesh from Story of the World yesterday, I gave her the choice of drawing a 'half-man, half-animal' or creating a fairy-tale/myth of her own which I would write down. Strangely, for a girl with such a gift for reading/words and all things literacy-related, she seems unconfident about writing a story herself and so chose to do the pic. I sat with her to do one as well, so she drew a half-horse/half-man (of course!) and called it "Skewbald-Man" and accompanied it by other unrealities, such as the moon inside the sun, a half-bush/half-tree, a bird with one wing and one arm, and the ground with half-grass, half-mud. I did a "spider-man". I did get the camera and pics together at one point with the intention of blogging the pics, but got distracted and it never happened.
I then received a phone call, so the girls wandered off and started playing something or other which required Jade to go outside and cut the grass with a pair of scissors and bring the grass inside to put onto trays. After she had brought it in and started playing she discovered she didn't have enough and I offered (phone call ended by then) to get her some more. So I found myself in the slightly surreal position of being outside in the garden cutting our grass with scissors, and hoping fervently that the neighbours couldn't see me and think I was a complete nutter! Needless to say before long there was grass all over the living room carpet, so cleaning instructions were issued and to her credit she did a reasonable job of clearing it all up. Meanwhile I was getting lunch. After lunch I read a bit of bible, and she urged me on and on and I ended up doing about the next 3 weeks' worth of Sonlight bible readings all in one go. Then I quickly threw together a cheese & sweetcorn flan, cooked it, and then we went off swimming. We met 2 other HE families at the pool so the girls were mostly happily occupied playing and splashing around and I got more chance than usual to actually get a bit of exercise. Then out of the pool, a quick visit to a friend's house, and home for tea.
Despite the rocky start, the rest of the day went OK. While upstairs getting dressed Shannon found my jewellery box open on the bed (left there by Jade), investigated several items in it, and discovered a little locket with a teeny tiny picture of Benjamin inside that somebody gave me when he died. Jade then drew her attention to the other picture of Benjamin that we have in our bedroom, and Shannon said she wanted to see "Benjamim's book". So downstairs we came and got out the as yet unfinished scrapbook I had done for Ben, and all spent some time looking through that. This prompted discussions about intensive care, what the word "intensive" means, family relationships, the heart, fetal life and how babies don't have air in their lungs while in utero, but have 'water' instead, so they can't cry, but they do wake and sleep; dying, heaven and eternal life! Didn't plan that into this morning's curriculum!!!!
After having read the myth about Gilgamesh from Story of the World yesterday, I gave her the choice of drawing a 'half-man, half-animal' or creating a fairy-tale/myth of her own which I would write down. Strangely, for a girl with such a gift for reading/words and all things literacy-related, she seems unconfident about writing a story herself and so chose to do the pic. I sat with her to do one as well, so she drew a half-horse/half-man (of course!) and called it "Skewbald-Man" and accompanied it by other unrealities, such as the moon inside the sun, a half-bush/half-tree, a bird with one wing and one arm, and the ground with half-grass, half-mud. I did a "spider-man". I did get the camera and pics together at one point with the intention of blogging the pics, but got distracted and it never happened.
I then received a phone call, so the girls wandered off and started playing something or other which required Jade to go outside and cut the grass with a pair of scissors and bring the grass inside to put onto trays. After she had brought it in and started playing she discovered she didn't have enough and I offered (phone call ended by then) to get her some more. So I found myself in the slightly surreal position of being outside in the garden cutting our grass with scissors, and hoping fervently that the neighbours couldn't see me and think I was a complete nutter! Needless to say before long there was grass all over the living room carpet, so cleaning instructions were issued and to her credit she did a reasonable job of clearing it all up. Meanwhile I was getting lunch. After lunch I read a bit of bible, and she urged me on and on and I ended up doing about the next 3 weeks' worth of Sonlight bible readings all in one go. Then I quickly threw together a cheese & sweetcorn flan, cooked it, and then we went off swimming. We met 2 other HE families at the pool so the girls were mostly happily occupied playing and splashing around and I got more chance than usual to actually get a bit of exercise. Then out of the pool, a quick visit to a friend's house, and home for tea.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The tooth is out!
At last!!! I'm sure her bottom two front teeth have been very wobbly for about 6 months, and it seems like forever I've been saying "it won't be long now till they come out". In fact, they've been there so long that her two new teeth have already come up and grown considerably. But at last, her very first baby tooth has fallen out. It caused a bit of trauma and tears at the time from the scariness of it, but after a long cuddle and some time sitting together reading stories, she seemed to be fine and happy. She gets very cross with me when I mention the tooth fairy, because she's already established that such a creature doesn't really exist (she insisted that I tell her the truth at the same time as she asked about Santa) so she knows that it's parental money that will be slipped under her pillow.
The other good news from today is that .... she will be able to go riding with Riding for the Disabled!!! The psychiatrist suggested it at the meeting we had last week, and we have spoken to the lady who runs the local group who says it is open to anybody who can benefit physically or emotionally from it, so she is happy to take her! She is very excited.
The other good news from today is that .... she will be able to go riding with Riding for the Disabled!!! The psychiatrist suggested it at the meeting we had last week, and we have spoken to the lady who runs the local group who says it is open to anybody who can benefit physically or emotionally from it, so she is happy to take her! She is very excited.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Silence is golden....?
I just had rather a pleasant morning, despite the down-side of sitting in the dentist's chair for about 45 minutes in the middle, being jabbed and drilled. But I got to drive there and back all on my own, which meant I had peace, quiet, time to think and time to listen to John Denver, to whom I have been listening for so long (30 years....!) that almost every song has a memory attached. It felt so .... healing .... to just be able to let myself go wherever the music took me.
Because DH now works at the university where I took my degree (10 years ago, wow!) and that's the only NHS dentist we could find, the trip took me to Oxford and to the place where I spent one of the happiest times of my life. I was musing on that as I walked past, today, and realised that much of the absolute pleasure I got from it was having hours and hours to sit and think - about nutrition as I sat in the library and researched topics, feeling like a detective as one research paper lead me to another and to another, but also about everything else about my life as I drove to and fro or studied at home.
I may have asked this before on this blog, but what do you do when what is best for your children is not what's best for you? If I knew that my children would be happy and fulfilled at school, then I'd probably grab the chance because I am so, so craving time on my own. How I wish I had time to follow up all the things that interest me, to sort myself out a bit, to do all the stuff that needs doing instead of always feeling like I'm drowning in a backlog, which leads me to not want to take on anything else (including any projects/activities the girls suggest) because I already feel I have too much on my plate. But I absolutely can't do that, not only because of all home education's benefits in general and having been utterly convinced that it is by far the better way, but also because of Jade's particular difficulties that mean she would be utterly miserable in school and of course I could never be happy about that. So somehow I have to find some time for myself, and none of the options are easy.
Talking of Jade, DH and I met with the psychiatrist and the speech therapist yesterday to discuss progress with the selective mutism. Actually, I have decided I would much prefer to use the name that one Canadian group gives it, which is Social Communication Anxiety Disorder, as it is so much more than just not being able to speak in certain situations. In stressful situations, body language becomes frozen too, as she attempts to disappear so that nobody can take any notice of her at all. And she seems to be anxious about moving forward with many life skills, such as brushing her own teeth, cutting her own food - it is noticeable that Shannon is already catching up fast in some of these areas and is far more keen to 'do it myself' than Jade ever was at her age. The upshot of the discussions is that we will continue the progress with the speech therapist for a few more sessions, but then she needs to slide out of the process so that we can introduce others. We have got to the stage where Jade will, somewhat reluctantly and still with a bit of difficulty, answer the speech therapist's simple questions, e.g. what is your favourite colour, or play games involving guessing the correct answers to riddles and speak out with the answer, so we now have to try and extend that into becoming proper conversation and then doing the same thing while out and about instead of just at home. Then we have to go through the same process with some other adult, who can then take over as keyworker, and gradually generalise the process out to more people and situations. It's going to take a long time though. We decided that the childminder we've been using for Shannon might well be the best person to get Jade talking to next, and the psychiatrist suggested we apply for Disability Living Allowance to enable us to do that and pay for it. Then, at least, I would have some reliable childcare for Jade, as she refuses to go to most people and my parents are now too old, and not geographically close enough, to help regularly. It really is tough when your child really can't bear to be looked after by anyone else. I do worry about her, a lot, particularly in the small hours of the morning when Shannon wakes me up and then I can't fall back to sleep for agonising over what I/we may have done to cause this in Jade. I know it doesn't help, but logic doesn't work very well at 3am.
Anyway, as I am at work I really must get on, but I really had to get that lot off my mind before I could concentrate on anything else.
Because DH now works at the university where I took my degree (10 years ago, wow!) and that's the only NHS dentist we could find, the trip took me to Oxford and to the place where I spent one of the happiest times of my life. I was musing on that as I walked past, today, and realised that much of the absolute pleasure I got from it was having hours and hours to sit and think - about nutrition as I sat in the library and researched topics, feeling like a detective as one research paper lead me to another and to another, but also about everything else about my life as I drove to and fro or studied at home.
I may have asked this before on this blog, but what do you do when what is best for your children is not what's best for you? If I knew that my children would be happy and fulfilled at school, then I'd probably grab the chance because I am so, so craving time on my own. How I wish I had time to follow up all the things that interest me, to sort myself out a bit, to do all the stuff that needs doing instead of always feeling like I'm drowning in a backlog, which leads me to not want to take on anything else (including any projects/activities the girls suggest) because I already feel I have too much on my plate. But I absolutely can't do that, not only because of all home education's benefits in general and having been utterly convinced that it is by far the better way, but also because of Jade's particular difficulties that mean she would be utterly miserable in school and of course I could never be happy about that. So somehow I have to find some time for myself, and none of the options are easy.
Talking of Jade, DH and I met with the psychiatrist and the speech therapist yesterday to discuss progress with the selective mutism. Actually, I have decided I would much prefer to use the name that one Canadian group gives it, which is Social Communication Anxiety Disorder, as it is so much more than just not being able to speak in certain situations. In stressful situations, body language becomes frozen too, as she attempts to disappear so that nobody can take any notice of her at all. And she seems to be anxious about moving forward with many life skills, such as brushing her own teeth, cutting her own food - it is noticeable that Shannon is already catching up fast in some of these areas and is far more keen to 'do it myself' than Jade ever was at her age. The upshot of the discussions is that we will continue the progress with the speech therapist for a few more sessions, but then she needs to slide out of the process so that we can introduce others. We have got to the stage where Jade will, somewhat reluctantly and still with a bit of difficulty, answer the speech therapist's simple questions, e.g. what is your favourite colour, or play games involving guessing the correct answers to riddles and speak out with the answer, so we now have to try and extend that into becoming proper conversation and then doing the same thing while out and about instead of just at home. Then we have to go through the same process with some other adult, who can then take over as keyworker, and gradually generalise the process out to more people and situations. It's going to take a long time though. We decided that the childminder we've been using for Shannon might well be the best person to get Jade talking to next, and the psychiatrist suggested we apply for Disability Living Allowance to enable us to do that and pay for it. Then, at least, I would have some reliable childcare for Jade, as she refuses to go to most people and my parents are now too old, and not geographically close enough, to help regularly. It really is tough when your child really can't bear to be looked after by anyone else. I do worry about her, a lot, particularly in the small hours of the morning when Shannon wakes me up and then I can't fall back to sleep for agonising over what I/we may have done to cause this in Jade. I know it doesn't help, but logic doesn't work very well at 3am.
Anyway, as I am at work I really must get on, but I really had to get that lot off my mind before I could concentrate on anything else.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
I'm soooooooo behind!
I don't know what's happened to my (even previously limited) free time lately - it just seems to completely disappear and I can barely find a moment to blog. Lots has been going on, such as Jade's RIDING LESSONS!!! Which she has been utterly thrilled about. Yes, I do have pics from the first one but don't make me try and guess when I will get time to upload them. And there's been some nice educational stuff too, though not as much as part of me thinks there 'should' have been! And Shannon, despite being generally adorable, is developing a particularly fierce temper when things don't go her way and Jade is a bit scared of her!
I've just been attempting to do my Tax Return online but realise my figures don't add up - the trouble is I didn't do any record-keeping on Usborne Books for about the past year apart from keeping piles of invoices, so currently the figures look as though I lost about £600 and although I don't think I did very well, I don't think I lost THAT much! So will have to try and search around for some more info.
Gotta go and find some food for dinner before disappearing off to show this month's film to the good folk of this little Cotswold town - Bridge to Terabithia. Will try and do better blogging in the next few days.
I've just been attempting to do my Tax Return online but realise my figures don't add up - the trouble is I didn't do any record-keeping on Usborne Books for about the past year apart from keeping piles of invoices, so currently the figures look as though I lost about £600 and although I don't think I did very well, I don't think I lost THAT much! So will have to try and search around for some more info.
Gotta go and find some food for dinner before disappearing off to show this month's film to the good folk of this little Cotswold town - Bridge to Terabithia. Will try and do better blogging in the next few days.
Monday, December 31, 2007
So how did I do?
I thought it would be amusing to review last year's aims (I didn't even give them the status of resolutions!) and see how I got on.
Children:
* Night-wean Shannon - Failed. Am currently trying AGAIN!!!
* Get Jade doing regular chores - Partly successful. She now knows she is responsible for making her own bed, feeding the dog, helping to sweep/mop the kitchen floor and tidy the living room before going to bed. Sometimes she even does them!
* Get Jade to usually sleep in her own bed all night Pretty much. Because I'm usually in Shannon's bed by the early hours of the morning, Jade often creeps in with us but it's usually not till 5 or 6am so that's pretty good going.
* Much less television - maximum half-an-hour in the morning while I have breakfast and 1 hour in the evening. Failed abysmally. It's on far more than that.
Home-Ed:
* Try actually sticking to the Sonlight K curriculum for at least 3 months to see if it works for us like that - We didn't get anywhere near it from January, but from September we've got on fairly well. I'm not sure it does work for us but we're going to stick with it till I find a better way.
* Otherwise concentrate with Jade on maths and writing. Zilch on the maths. She doesn't like it. She's spontaneously writing more, though, and I still want to encourage more.
* Do more practical stuff like making historical meals, dressing up etc. Not much done. Failure of energy and imagination.
Personal:
* Regular stretching exercise - I can feel myself stiffening up - Nope, not done.
* Regular prayer/quiet time Well, I've made attempts in the past few months - probably manage it about twice a week.
* More sex (once a year isn't enough, DH says.....) Erm.....
* Less web-browsing
* more book reading Nope - neither of these achieved.
Home:
* Keep up-to-date with finances Nope.
* Reduce debt (currently £10,000 or £15,000 if you count the student loan which I am hoping never to have to pay back) - see above. I haven't kept up with the finances so I don't currently know how much it all adds up to.
* Redecorate at least some of the areas in this house that have never been done since we moved here 10 years ago, i.e. dining room; hall/stairs/landing; kitchen. - Not done. Still planning!
Business:
* Get at least 2 more Usborne recruits by the end of April
* Do at least one event per week, preferably 2
* Organise paperwork
None of these done. In fact, I did one Usborne event in March, one in November, and that was it!!!!
Hmmm, not such a good showing then. I'd better sleep on it and decide what to carry forward to 2008!
Children:
* Night-wean Shannon - Failed. Am currently trying AGAIN!!!
* Get Jade doing regular chores - Partly successful. She now knows she is responsible for making her own bed, feeding the dog, helping to sweep/mop the kitchen floor and tidy the living room before going to bed. Sometimes she even does them!
* Get Jade to usually sleep in her own bed all night Pretty much. Because I'm usually in Shannon's bed by the early hours of the morning, Jade often creeps in with us but it's usually not till 5 or 6am so that's pretty good going.
* Much less television - maximum half-an-hour in the morning while I have breakfast and 1 hour in the evening. Failed abysmally. It's on far more than that.
Home-Ed:
* Try actually sticking to the Sonlight K curriculum for at least 3 months to see if it works for us like that - We didn't get anywhere near it from January, but from September we've got on fairly well. I'm not sure it does work for us but we're going to stick with it till I find a better way.
* Otherwise concentrate with Jade on maths and writing. Zilch on the maths. She doesn't like it. She's spontaneously writing more, though, and I still want to encourage more.
* Do more practical stuff like making historical meals, dressing up etc. Not much done. Failure of energy and imagination.
Personal:
* Regular stretching exercise - I can feel myself stiffening up - Nope, not done.
* Regular prayer/quiet time Well, I've made attempts in the past few months - probably manage it about twice a week.
* More sex (once a year isn't enough, DH says.....) Erm.....
* Less web-browsing
* more book reading Nope - neither of these achieved.
Home:
* Keep up-to-date with finances Nope.
* Reduce debt (currently £10,000 or £15,000 if you count the student loan which I am hoping never to have to pay back) - see above. I haven't kept up with the finances so I don't currently know how much it all adds up to.
* Redecorate at least some of the areas in this house that have never been done since we moved here 10 years ago, i.e. dining room; hall/stairs/landing; kitchen. - Not done. Still planning!
Business:
* Get at least 2 more Usborne recruits by the end of April
* Do at least one event per week, preferably 2
* Organise paperwork
None of these done. In fact, I did one Usborne event in March, one in November, and that was it!!!!
Hmmm, not such a good showing then. I'd better sleep on it and decide what to carry forward to 2008!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Parenting problems
Had to take the Christmas tree down this evening. Jade (who surely is old enough to know better) simply cannot keep her hands off the ornaments. She has broken 3 of my favourite ones so far, and was told very clearly and firmly NOT to take any more stuff off the tree. She has since taken two more down, both of them my most precious ones, so I told her that since she couldn't seem to control herself, the tree and its ornaments would have to be removed. So DH and I instantly packed everything away and took it down.
Actually she is severely testing our patience in many ways lately. I hate to say it, because naturally I love her anyway but it has to be admitted that she is rather selfish and badly-behaved quite often. I am torn between wanting to rant about it, and not wanting to set out all her worst behaviour in public. It probably doesn't help, from Jade's point of view, that Shannon is incredibly sweet-natured and adorable, so the contrast between the two is particularly stark. We are planning a couple of ways to try and address the problem, but unfortunately my natural reaction is to yell and shout and come down on her very hard, and it has little effect, except possibly to make the situation worse. And then I'm conscious that if my self-control isn't that good, then why should hers be?
I once read that parenting is the most intensive self-development course you can ever undergo. That person was right.
Actually she is severely testing our patience in many ways lately. I hate to say it, because naturally I love her anyway but it has to be admitted that she is rather selfish and badly-behaved quite often. I am torn between wanting to rant about it, and not wanting to set out all her worst behaviour in public. It probably doesn't help, from Jade's point of view, that Shannon is incredibly sweet-natured and adorable, so the contrast between the two is particularly stark. We are planning a couple of ways to try and address the problem, but unfortunately my natural reaction is to yell and shout and come down on her very hard, and it has little effect, except possibly to make the situation worse. And then I'm conscious that if my self-control isn't that good, then why should hers be?
I once read that parenting is the most intensive self-development course you can ever undergo. That person was right.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
And so this is Christmas...
Can you imagine the awful feeling in my stomach when I woke in the middle of the night and realised I had forgotten to do Jade's main present!!!!!!! As she's been completely pony-mad for the last 6 months, I decided to give her what my parents gave me one Christmas (only I was about 10 years old, not 6) and pay for some riding lessons. During last evening I was browsing online clip art, trying to find a nice outline of a horse I could arrange the text in and print out, couldn't find anything suitable and shut it down .... and promptly forgot all about it in the rush of finishing wrapping presents, finding all the other things that I'd hidden round the house over the past few weeks, and collapsing exhausted into bed. So that middle-of-the-night stomach-clenching realisation was a bit of a shock to the system, and put the final touch to an already disturbed night of Shannon's usual 2-hourly wakings and Jade waking at some phenomenally early hour and chattering away about how she hates it when her stocking is empty (it wasn't - I don't think she'd even checked it at that stage) and keeping me awake for ages before finally falling asleep again. I contemplated going downstairs to quickly write a card for Jade in the middle of the night, but because I as usual fell asleep while waiting for Shannon to go into a deep enough sleep to leave her, I didn't manage it. So when Jade showed up just after 8am and had to be reminded to go and check if Santa had been and filled her stocking and getting both girls installed in our big bed opening presents, I nipped downstairs, cut out a quick pic from her pony magazine, stuck it in a Christmas card and wrote a few words. Phew!!! One day maybe I'll learn not to procrastinate so much .... but not yet, I'll leave it till later.
Aside from that, a good time has been had by all! Stocking gifts were received with delight and then we all came downstairs. Shannon has a perfect breathy "Wow" that warms the heart, this time at the pile of presents under the tree. As expected, Jade rushed through her gifts one after another, very pleased with each one but then rushing on to see more and more.... whereas 20 minutes after opening her first gift (Charlie & Lola books) Shannon was still sitting looking through them. Jade was thankfully particularly pleased at the Pegasus horse (from Barbie & the Magic of Pegasus film) which was the only thing she'd repeatedly asked for (and bought at a rather high price second-hand off Ebay - it was the one gift I simply had to get) but she wasn't expecting the matching Barbie with her wand of light (bought gratifyingly cheaply brand-new off Ebay due to a poor title in the listing) and she's thrilled with that too. Shannon loves her Talking Upsy-Daisy, her pink and white hobby-unicorn to match Jade's purple one, and both of them have loved Shannon's kitchen from Grandpa, with cooking noises and flashing lights! I can see myself tearing the batteries out of it before too long, but we'll see! Jade hasn't made much comment about the riding lessons, but when the time comes and it's more real I know she's going to be over the moon. As for me, I was surprised and very pleased to find a fab new camera from DH, as I lost my old one a few months ago, kept expecting it to turn up somewhere round the house but it hasn't so must be very careful with this one!
We went out to church this morning, got back and I prepared lunch while everyone else played/tidied and lunch was finally ready around 2.45pm and was excellent! The girls have played like mad for the rest of the day, going from Barbie/Pegasus games to cooking/kitchen games to doll's house games and then back to Barbie/Pegasus again, with not too many altercations along the way. At 5pm we all settled on the sofa to watch Polar Express which I hadn't seen before and I thought was fab, so I'm glad I videoed that one for future use! Didn't bother doing any tea, just nibbles, and then the girls went to bed around 7.30pm.
There's still loads more for us all to explore over the next few days, like the WebKinz toys the girls got from their American cousins, the Pony Club PC game we got for Jade and some craft kits and games, so hoping for a continuation of the nice relaxing holiday feel.
Aside from that, a good time has been had by all! Stocking gifts were received with delight and then we all came downstairs. Shannon has a perfect breathy "Wow" that warms the heart, this time at the pile of presents under the tree. As expected, Jade rushed through her gifts one after another, very pleased with each one but then rushing on to see more and more.... whereas 20 minutes after opening her first gift (Charlie & Lola books) Shannon was still sitting looking through them. Jade was thankfully particularly pleased at the Pegasus horse (from Barbie & the Magic of Pegasus film) which was the only thing she'd repeatedly asked for (and bought at a rather high price second-hand off Ebay - it was the one gift I simply had to get) but she wasn't expecting the matching Barbie with her wand of light (bought gratifyingly cheaply brand-new off Ebay due to a poor title in the listing) and she's thrilled with that too. Shannon loves her Talking Upsy-Daisy, her pink and white hobby-unicorn to match Jade's purple one, and both of them have loved Shannon's kitchen from Grandpa, with cooking noises and flashing lights! I can see myself tearing the batteries out of it before too long, but we'll see! Jade hasn't made much comment about the riding lessons, but when the time comes and it's more real I know she's going to be over the moon. As for me, I was surprised and very pleased to find a fab new camera from DH, as I lost my old one a few months ago, kept expecting it to turn up somewhere round the house but it hasn't so must be very careful with this one!
We went out to church this morning, got back and I prepared lunch while everyone else played/tidied and lunch was finally ready around 2.45pm and was excellent! The girls have played like mad for the rest of the day, going from Barbie/Pegasus games to cooking/kitchen games to doll's house games and then back to Barbie/Pegasus again, with not too many altercations along the way. At 5pm we all settled on the sofa to watch Polar Express which I hadn't seen before and I thought was fab, so I'm glad I videoed that one for future use! Didn't bother doing any tea, just nibbles, and then the girls went to bed around 7.30pm.
There's still loads more for us all to explore over the next few days, like the WebKinz toys the girls got from their American cousins, the Pony Club PC game we got for Jade and some craft kits and games, so hoping for a continuation of the nice relaxing holiday feel.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Yes, we have Christmas lunch! (just)
I really must stop being so haphazard about things. Not having got round to planning anything much about Christmas food or gone food shopping till today (partly because I refused to go with the children, and partly 'cos I'm plain lazy), I confidently told Bill to go out this morning and I would go and sort out the food after we'd been out to visit our friends this afternoon. Surely shops stay open late just before Christmas and Tesco would be open till about 10pm? I was a bit taken aback when said friends told me, just as we were leaving at around 5pm, that they thought pretty much everywhere was shutting early... Well, of course they're shutting early, it's Christmas Eve - where on earth was my brain when I needed it earlier??! I dropped everybody off at home and went off to Tesco - got there at 5.15 to find they shut at 5pm. Oh well, I thought, we've got the turkey (no carrots, hardly any potatoes), we've got sprouts, (no Christmas pudding), but we do have one box of mince pies (no cream or brandy butter) ... well it would have been a bit of a disappointing Christmas lunch but we wouldn't starve ..... But thank goodness Budgens was open (till 7pm!) so I spent plenty of money and got us a feast!!!! No croissants or brioche for breakfast, disappointingly, but plenty of other yummy stuff.
The other thing I've been haphazard about is the Jesse Tree. We've frequently missed days and had to catch up 2 or 3 days in a row, and tomorrow we're going to have to do the last 4 days all at once!! (sigh) I never was much good at routine.
Still, presents are purchased and (mostly) wrapped - just stocking stuff to do now. Jade is excited but under instructions not to open her stocking if she wakes when it's still dark - well, it's worth a try even though I don't suppose she'll take any notice.
So, I'd better press on and tie up the last few loose ends. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!
The other thing I've been haphazard about is the Jesse Tree. We've frequently missed days and had to catch up 2 or 3 days in a row, and tomorrow we're going to have to do the last 4 days all at once!! (sigh) I never was much good at routine.
Still, presents are purchased and (mostly) wrapped - just stocking stuff to do now. Jade is excited but under instructions not to open her stocking if she wakes when it's still dark - well, it's worth a try even though I don't suppose she'll take any notice.
So, I'd better press on and tie up the last few loose ends. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Nice weekend
To church this morning, where Jade's little group of 5-8 year olds practised for next week's nativity performance - Jade's going to be an angel and I think Shannon's supposed to be a shepherd (aaaahhh!). And there was a lovely moment for me when I was chatting to a woman, and commented that I'd better be getting going because (and then I turned to Jade and said) "What are we going to do this afternoon?" (not expecting a verbal answer, just excited jumping up and down or something, and she shouted out loud "Christmas Tree"!!! In front of someone who was looking at her!!! Wow, I hardly dare imagine her starting to talk to people, but it is so thrilling to see these little steps of progress!
Then home for a quick lunch and tidy up to make space for the imminent arrival of the Tree! Took the girls off to the garden centre to choose an appropriate specimen, and then home for decorating fun. To the accompaniment of Christmas music, of course. I love that bit of christmas! While I was busy doing the bits only I could do, the girls (including L from next door) were acting out the nativity story. We got many of the other decs up in the past couple of days. Just need to do the wreath with the greenery that we collected in our walk in the woods on Friday.
Took a few moments here and there through the day to remember that 9 years ago today, Bill and I went for my 20 week scan in my first pregnancy very excited and looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby, only to find out a whole lot more and ending the day a whole lot sadder and wiser. Dec 16th will be engraved on my heart for the rest of my life as the day I really lost my innocence, I think.
Yesterday the whole family tripped off to Oxford to meet my Mum and cousin to exchange Christmas presents. We had lunch at the Ashmolean Museum cafe and had a quick look at some of the Egyptian artefacts they have there, and then went over to the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum for the rest of the afternoon. So lots and lots of informal and fun learning went on, for everyone! If I was Nic I would describe each and every piece we looked at and discussed, but instead, it's 10.45pm and I just want to go to bed (could do with some matchsticks for the eyelids actually) so I can't be bothered!!
Jade did a lovely bit of spontaneous writing on Friday (we'll gloss over the fact that it was in my notebook where I (sometimes) keep track of our finances). She did a bit of contemporaneous reporting on what she and Shannon were up to: "Shannon's in the box. Now she's out. Now she's spilled her drink. Now she's on the sofa. reading my book! grrrrrrr shannon!! Now we are waching Tom and jerry. Now she's stoped... playing with my book. Like I said I Thingkck i did. eeeek! it's nearly cristmas!" followed by a lovely toothy, curly-haired self-portrait!!! One to keep for posterity, I think!
Then home for a quick lunch and tidy up to make space for the imminent arrival of the Tree! Took the girls off to the garden centre to choose an appropriate specimen, and then home for decorating fun. To the accompaniment of Christmas music, of course. I love that bit of christmas! While I was busy doing the bits only I could do, the girls (including L from next door) were acting out the nativity story. We got many of the other decs up in the past couple of days. Just need to do the wreath with the greenery that we collected in our walk in the woods on Friday.
Took a few moments here and there through the day to remember that 9 years ago today, Bill and I went for my 20 week scan in my first pregnancy very excited and looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby, only to find out a whole lot more and ending the day a whole lot sadder and wiser. Dec 16th will be engraved on my heart for the rest of my life as the day I really lost my innocence, I think.
Yesterday the whole family tripped off to Oxford to meet my Mum and cousin to exchange Christmas presents. We had lunch at the Ashmolean Museum cafe and had a quick look at some of the Egyptian artefacts they have there, and then went over to the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum for the rest of the afternoon. So lots and lots of informal and fun learning went on, for everyone! If I was Nic I would describe each and every piece we looked at and discussed, but instead, it's 10.45pm and I just want to go to bed (could do with some matchsticks for the eyelids actually) so I can't be bothered!!
Jade did a lovely bit of spontaneous writing on Friday (we'll gloss over the fact that it was in my notebook where I (sometimes) keep track of our finances). She did a bit of contemporaneous reporting on what she and Shannon were up to: "Shannon's in the box. Now she's out. Now she's spilled her drink. Now she's on the sofa. reading my book! grrrrrrr shannon!! Now we are waching Tom and jerry. Now she's stoped... playing with my book. Like I said I Thingkck i did. eeeek! it's nearly cristmas!" followed by a lovely toothy, curly-haired self-portrait!!! One to keep for posterity, I think!
Friday, December 14, 2007
I will blog.....
...when I feel like I've got something to say.
I will just note that speech therapy for Jade is still going well, and that all pretence of educating Jade has gone out of the window for the past week or two, and normal service won't be resumed till some time in January. Shannon, however, is speeding along learning Letterland letters (at her insistence) and spending much time poring over books.
I will just note that speech therapy for Jade is still going well, and that all pretence of educating Jade has gone out of the window for the past week or two, and normal service won't be resumed till some time in January. Shannon, however, is speeding along learning Letterland letters (at her insistence) and spending much time poring over books.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Feels like whatever I blog this evening will be boring - just don't feel inspired. I'm sure you can find entertaining blogging somewhere else if you wish. We've been doing the usual stuff - Sonlight, Beyond the Code, a lovely walk in the woods on Monday, and the rest. We had a good visit to Playschool yesterday morning, which Jade thoroughly enjoyed as well as Shannon! I think she would love to go back and is disappointed that she's too old! Shannon played very happily with her friend who already goes there, and I'm sure she'll settle in just fine. She'll start going in January, and I think I'll be sending her on a Thursday morning instead of going to the childminder, who I will ask to go and collect her, and I'll pick her up about an hour later. I may even send her on a Tuesday morning as well, if not straight away then before too long. I'm sure she'll love it, and it will be useful to have a bit of toddler-free time to do stuff with Jade.
We had a good session with the Speech Therapist on Tuesday. In the space of a 45-minute session, Jade was at the end able to say single-word responses to my questions with the ST right there in the room! Quietly, but in a normal voice, not whispering! I thought that was fabulous. She's coming again next Tuesday so hoping for more progress then too, even if it's just speaking in a louder voice. We're planning the next steps, too, along the lines of getting her similarly comfortable with speaking to another adult at church, who could then go with her into her Sunday School group instead of me going with her each week. Need to find a willing volunteer!
While I was at work today, Jade and DH had been talking about doing some sort of treasure hunt, with clues to find things, and after dinner she wanted to start straightaway. It was pretty close to bedtime, but while Jade and I were reading a Christmas story (the real St. Nicholas story), he devised a couple of rhyming clues, and then she had a fabulous time working them out and finding the hidden toys. Then, even more wonderfully, she started writing her own clues and sending me to find stuff! She did several before I finally insisted it was bed-time.
Tomorrow morning is work again, Jade coming with me while Shannon goes to the childminder. I'll get Jade doing Education City, among other things, while I'm working as that all went quite well last week. We may go up to Stratford in the afternoon as there is a book waiting for me at the library about making dolls' house furniture.
We had a good session with the Speech Therapist on Tuesday. In the space of a 45-minute session, Jade was at the end able to say single-word responses to my questions with the ST right there in the room! Quietly, but in a normal voice, not whispering! I thought that was fabulous. She's coming again next Tuesday so hoping for more progress then too, even if it's just speaking in a louder voice. We're planning the next steps, too, along the lines of getting her similarly comfortable with speaking to another adult at church, who could then go with her into her Sunday School group instead of me going with her each week. Need to find a willing volunteer!
While I was at work today, Jade and DH had been talking about doing some sort of treasure hunt, with clues to find things, and after dinner she wanted to start straightaway. It was pretty close to bedtime, but while Jade and I were reading a Christmas story (the real St. Nicholas story), he devised a couple of rhyming clues, and then she had a fabulous time working them out and finding the hidden toys. Then, even more wonderfully, she started writing her own clues and sending me to find stuff! She did several before I finally insisted it was bed-time.
Tomorrow morning is work again, Jade coming with me while Shannon goes to the childminder. I'll get Jade doing Education City, among other things, while I'm working as that all went quite well last week. We may go up to Stratford in the afternoon as there is a book waiting for me at the library about making dolls' house furniture.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
There goes another week...
Well, I've been busy! Have had various of my own organisational projects going on, and have mostly left the girls to fend for themselves. So what have I been doing, I hear you ask?!!
Well, I had a brainwave last week that, despite being signed up to Flylady and getting the e-mails every day, I didn't have a permanent list up in my house of what needs doing so that I can look at it whenever I want and see what I'm supposed to be doing today. A bit like I do with my calendar. So I made one! I have no idea how to display it in this blog but there is a list down the left-hand side of daily jobs that need doing, with a little box to tick for each day, and then on the right-hand half of the page there are jobs to do for each day of the week, i.e. the weekly jobs, OK? And the motto (from FlyLady) is "Progress, not Perfection" so even though I'm not getting it all done, at least I am doing better than I did before, so that's progress!
The other thing I've finally done today is to re-hash the menu plan I made about a year ago. I'd made several changes for a summer menu, but we've been back to the winter menu for a while now. However Jade has one-by-one decided that she doesn't like several of my staple meals. I've been in a bit of a dilemma whether to just stick to making them in the hope that she eventually gets to like them, but it's rather demoralising to have her frequently not eating the healthy dinner I've cooked and ending up with just a sandwich yet again (same as lunchtime, usually!). It's also a bit difficult when she's declared she's a vegetarian (with the exception of roast chicken which she loves, and bacon, and sausages!!!) but Shannon is a confirmed carnivore who always picks out all the meat in whatever I've cooked so she can eat it first. Anyway I've found a few different dishes which we'll try out and if that fails I'll teach her how to make her own cheese sandwich and she can do it herself every day!!
We have done some Sonlight stuff this week, including another chapter of Story of the World, a science experiment, some Beyond the Code, (but no maths). We still haven't done any more of the germs lapbook we started before we all got ill. Maybe this week! Last night she read out all the question and answer cards from the Alpha Animals game, and she's done some Education City. And endless reading in bed at night - that goes without saying!
Shannon, in the meantime, is sneaking up on the rails, and when we pulled out the Junior Scrabble board on Friday, totally astonished me by instantly taking the letter tiles and starting to match them up with the letters printed on the board. I had no idea she could do that! Bill tells me she can recognise some letters, such as pointing to 'S' and saying "that's sssssss...". I haven't been paying enough attention, obviously!!! Her counting from 1-12 is very well established, although she's still somewhat wobbly on her colours! When I was tidying up the educational bookshelves this morning, I noticed that I have several books of early play-type learning stuff that I could be doing with her, so I guess I need to start planning that in instead of just palming her off with toys while I do stuff with Jade. However we're also going to be making a visit to playschool on Tuesday morning to introduce Shannon to it, and so that I can meet the new playleader who has taken over since Jade used to go there. I can't quite decide whether to send Shannon there instead of going to the childminder on a Thursday morning, or on a different morning as an addition to it! I love the idea of saving the money I'm spending on the childminder, but OTOH Shannon gets on really well there and is very happy, and I'm reluctant to break up a happy and useful relationship. It's really useful when I need some extra childcare for either or both girls every now and then to be able to ask the childminder. I'll have to keep musing on that one. She's not going to start till January, although as I type that I realise it's only a month away!! Somehow I still thought I had a couple of months to think about it!
Finally, we have started a Jesse Tree for the first time for Advent, which I have been really looking forward to, and started that this evening.
Well, I had a brainwave last week that, despite being signed up to Flylady and getting the e-mails every day, I didn't have a permanent list up in my house of what needs doing so that I can look at it whenever I want and see what I'm supposed to be doing today. A bit like I do with my calendar. So I made one! I have no idea how to display it in this blog but there is a list down the left-hand side of daily jobs that need doing, with a little box to tick for each day, and then on the right-hand half of the page there are jobs to do for each day of the week, i.e. the weekly jobs, OK? And the motto (from FlyLady) is "Progress, not Perfection" so even though I'm not getting it all done, at least I am doing better than I did before, so that's progress!
The other thing I've finally done today is to re-hash the menu plan I made about a year ago. I'd made several changes for a summer menu, but we've been back to the winter menu for a while now. However Jade has one-by-one decided that she doesn't like several of my staple meals. I've been in a bit of a dilemma whether to just stick to making them in the hope that she eventually gets to like them, but it's rather demoralising to have her frequently not eating the healthy dinner I've cooked and ending up with just a sandwich yet again (same as lunchtime, usually!). It's also a bit difficult when she's declared she's a vegetarian (with the exception of roast chicken which she loves, and bacon, and sausages!!!) but Shannon is a confirmed carnivore who always picks out all the meat in whatever I've cooked so she can eat it first. Anyway I've found a few different dishes which we'll try out and if that fails I'll teach her how to make her own cheese sandwich and she can do it herself every day!!
We have done some Sonlight stuff this week, including another chapter of Story of the World, a science experiment, some Beyond the Code, (but no maths). We still haven't done any more of the germs lapbook we started before we all got ill. Maybe this week! Last night she read out all the question and answer cards from the Alpha Animals game, and she's done some Education City. And endless reading in bed at night - that goes without saying!
Shannon, in the meantime, is sneaking up on the rails, and when we pulled out the Junior Scrabble board on Friday, totally astonished me by instantly taking the letter tiles and starting to match them up with the letters printed on the board. I had no idea she could do that! Bill tells me she can recognise some letters, such as pointing to 'S' and saying "that's sssssss...". I haven't been paying enough attention, obviously!!! Her counting from 1-12 is very well established, although she's still somewhat wobbly on her colours! When I was tidying up the educational bookshelves this morning, I noticed that I have several books of early play-type learning stuff that I could be doing with her, so I guess I need to start planning that in instead of just palming her off with toys while I do stuff with Jade. However we're also going to be making a visit to playschool on Tuesday morning to introduce Shannon to it, and so that I can meet the new playleader who has taken over since Jade used to go there. I can't quite decide whether to send Shannon there instead of going to the childminder on a Thursday morning, or on a different morning as an addition to it! I love the idea of saving the money I'm spending on the childminder, but OTOH Shannon gets on really well there and is very happy, and I'm reluctant to break up a happy and useful relationship. It's really useful when I need some extra childcare for either or both girls every now and then to be able to ask the childminder. I'll have to keep musing on that one. She's not going to start till January, although as I type that I realise it's only a month away!! Somehow I still thought I had a couple of months to think about it!
Finally, we have started a Jesse Tree for the first time for Advent, which I have been really looking forward to, and started that this evening.
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