..... to educate my children. They're just going to have to do it themselves!
Honestly, I just lose the time to all sorts of stuff and we just don't seem to be getting on with much at all. Yesterday, I was just getting started on an Lent chart (along the lines of this and this) with the girls when the phone rang, and there I was for an hour on the phone to a friend who was feeling rather down. When we finished I just had time to make a quick lunch for Jade, get her changed and rush her off for her afternoon at school.
Today I slept late, as I had a stinking headache, and had just staggered downstairs at about 9.30am when the phone rang, and it was my Mum needing advice about broadband. 55 minutes later I eventually got free and got myself some breakfast, and a second breakfast for Jade and Shannon. What with sorting out food, washing, a couple more vital phone calls and fighting terminal exhaustion we only managed to do a small amount of reading on the human body which Jade requested. I tried to set her up with an old DK CD-Rom on The Amazing Human Body but I couldn't load it on either the desktop or the laptop so that wasted half-an-hour. I eventually found a couple of interactive websites for her, so we heard some narrated clips about the brain and skeleton, built our own skeleton and that was about it. Then it was lunchtime, after which we went out swimming.
Swimming was good, though. Jade is now fairly confident swimming with her arm-bands, so I'll have to start gradually reducing the amount of air in them. She also took them off and swam holding one float in front of her. She was resistant at first because she didn't like how far down she went in the water, but when I showed her that when I did it, the tip of my chin was in the water but no further, she agreed to have another go and did it! Shannon discovered that she can get her feet on the bottom of the pool, so voluntarily let go of me for the first time ever and took a few steps here and there! It won't be long before she realises she can pick her feet up and not sink, and she'll be off with her armbands on too. And Jade actually let me wash and rinse her hair in the shower, which was a major, major achievement!! We've never managed hairwashing without major hysterics before, so I usually don't bother. She gets it wet in the bath and that manages to keep it OK, but I was relieved to give it a good wash for a change.
Anyway, head is still pounding and pizza and chips are just about ready in the oven (yes, terrible food I know but all I could manage feeling the way I do) so must go.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
So.....
So, none of you except Helen gives a monkeys that I've been at death's door then 
Honestly, what does a girl have to do round here to get a little attention, huh? Ah well, at least now I know who my friends are ;-)
For the benefit of the few who are interested, I'll just reassure you all that I am definitely on the mend. I did go to the Dr in the end but he diagnosed pharyngitis which is viral so no antibiotics required for which I was grateful. I did suggest ice-cream, though, so I wasted no time at all in going to the next-door supermarket for a big tub of Ben & Jerry's! And I'm NOT SHARING IT!
On top of all this, on Friday we had the trauma of taking the dog for surgery. She'd had a large lump appear in her groin, and they weren't sure what it was so it had to be removed. She's fine, though - it turned out to be a fatty lump which popped out with no trouble and apart from the 6 stitches to be taken out, she requires no further treatment. Can't say the same about our finances though which are going to need CPR any time now .......
Anyway, as I've mostly been in bed for the past 3 days I can't tell you much about what the girls have been up to, apart from running riot! DH is looking ragged, the house is..... erm.... a tip and Shannon has been distraught about being kept away from me while I've languished in bed so she's particularly clingy. Could somebody send in the cavalry, please?
Honestly, what does a girl have to do round here to get a little attention, huh? Ah well, at least now I know who my friends are ;-)For the benefit of the few who are interested, I'll just reassure you all that I am definitely on the mend. I did go to the Dr in the end but he diagnosed pharyngitis which is viral so no antibiotics required for which I was grateful. I did suggest ice-cream, though, so I wasted no time at all in going to the next-door supermarket for a big tub of Ben & Jerry's! And I'm NOT SHARING IT!
On top of all this, on Friday we had the trauma of taking the dog for surgery. She'd had a large lump appear in her groin, and they weren't sure what it was so it had to be removed. She's fine, though - it turned out to be a fatty lump which popped out with no trouble and apart from the 6 stitches to be taken out, she requires no further treatment. Can't say the same about our finances though which are going to need CPR any time now .......
Anyway, as I've mostly been in bed for the past 3 days I can't tell you much about what the girls have been up to, apart from running riot! DH is looking ragged, the house is..... erm.... a tip and Shannon has been distraught about being kept away from me while I've languished in bed so she's particularly clingy. Could somebody send in the cavalry, please?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Thump, pound, thump .... stab, stab, stab
So that would be the thumping and pounding in my head, and the stabbing in my throat .... I don't know if it's tonsillitis or some other sort of 'itis' but it's been accompanied by fever and all-over-body aches.
Fortunately it chose to strike on a Wednesday, when Bill's at home with the girls anyway, so I spent the day in bed - didn't have any choice actually as I couldn't manage vertical. Today there is juggling between grandpa, childminder and friends and Bill coming home early, so though I feel slightly better I should be able to stay in bed today mostly as well. I've broken out the laptop again and am blogging from bed!
Unfortunately it chose to strike when my colleague and I were supposed to be doing workshops about the work of our charity to an NHS Trust in Oxfordshire. I was supposed to be there today, while she had my kids, and she's there tomorrow while I'm supposed to have hers. So I've had to cancel today's, and K's arranged different childcare for tomorrow. Ah well, it's not the end of the world but it's stressful having to cancel something external rather than just a day in the office.
I don't think we've done much specifically educational since I last blogged. We certainly haven't done any more maths or Sonlight stuff. But there has been painting, drawing, sticking, cutting, dancing, reading and the like. We are racing through the series of Boxcar Children books that Katy lent me, which are going down very well with all of us. I have just bought the Story of the World Book 1 and Activity Book, which look fantastic so we'll be getting into that shortly. I looked through the first couple of chapters of the Activity book and reserved some of the 'additional reading' titles from the library so they should come through in a week or two. I don't suppose I'll be organised enough to always plan ahead like that but at least if I manage it sometimes it'll be good!
We did go to the Butterfly Farm in Stratford on Avon with the HE group on Tuesday. The girls and I went on our own about a year ago, and after managing well to start with Jade had not liked the butterflies flapping round her head and we'd cut the visit short. So I was not sure how it would go. She managed well, though, as did Shannon, although there was one particular butterfly that took a great liking to Shannon's hair as a safe place for her babies, and laid 4 eggs in her hair! We had a guide who took us round and did a bit of chat in each bit, and although I don't know what Jade learned, I learned that butterflies taste through their feet! I didn't know that! We saw the caterpillars and the pupae and the emerging from the pupa bit and of course tons of butterflies. It did get a bit much for us all towards the end, though, as although there's no rational reason for it I really didn't like the butterflies in my hair and Jade had had enough, so we came out early and missed the mini-beasts bit, which as far as I'm concerned is not a problem at all. I do not want to encourage my daughters to love spiders and cockroaches!
Last night at about 7pm Shannon surprised me by saying her sister's name properly for the first time! I don't think I'm giving too much away of the real name by saying that Shannon always called Jade "Dandrin", but suddenly last night, she just got it and said it properly! We were all very excited and she repeated it several times, but she's refused to do so this morning. Ah well, she is 2!
Ah, silence. The house is quiet. Nobody here but me. I'm going to sign off and just appreciate it.
Fortunately it chose to strike on a Wednesday, when Bill's at home with the girls anyway, so I spent the day in bed - didn't have any choice actually as I couldn't manage vertical. Today there is juggling between grandpa, childminder and friends and Bill coming home early, so though I feel slightly better I should be able to stay in bed today mostly as well. I've broken out the laptop again and am blogging from bed!
Unfortunately it chose to strike when my colleague and I were supposed to be doing workshops about the work of our charity to an NHS Trust in Oxfordshire. I was supposed to be there today, while she had my kids, and she's there tomorrow while I'm supposed to have hers. So I've had to cancel today's, and K's arranged different childcare for tomorrow. Ah well, it's not the end of the world but it's stressful having to cancel something external rather than just a day in the office.
I don't think we've done much specifically educational since I last blogged. We certainly haven't done any more maths or Sonlight stuff. But there has been painting, drawing, sticking, cutting, dancing, reading and the like. We are racing through the series of Boxcar Children books that Katy lent me, which are going down very well with all of us. I have just bought the Story of the World Book 1 and Activity Book, which look fantastic so we'll be getting into that shortly. I looked through the first couple of chapters of the Activity book and reserved some of the 'additional reading' titles from the library so they should come through in a week or two. I don't suppose I'll be organised enough to always plan ahead like that but at least if I manage it sometimes it'll be good!
We did go to the Butterfly Farm in Stratford on Avon with the HE group on Tuesday. The girls and I went on our own about a year ago, and after managing well to start with Jade had not liked the butterflies flapping round her head and we'd cut the visit short. So I was not sure how it would go. She managed well, though, as did Shannon, although there was one particular butterfly that took a great liking to Shannon's hair as a safe place for her babies, and laid 4 eggs in her hair! We had a guide who took us round and did a bit of chat in each bit, and although I don't know what Jade learned, I learned that butterflies taste through their feet! I didn't know that! We saw the caterpillars and the pupae and the emerging from the pupa bit and of course tons of butterflies. It did get a bit much for us all towards the end, though, as although there's no rational reason for it I really didn't like the butterflies in my hair and Jade had had enough, so we came out early and missed the mini-beasts bit, which as far as I'm concerned is not a problem at all. I do not want to encourage my daughters to love spiders and cockroaches!
Last night at about 7pm Shannon surprised me by saying her sister's name properly for the first time! I don't think I'm giving too much away of the real name by saying that Shannon always called Jade "Dandrin", but suddenly last night, she just got it and said it properly! We were all very excited and she repeated it several times, but she's refused to do so this morning. Ah well, she is 2!
Ah, silence. The house is quiet. Nobody here but me. I'm going to sign off and just appreciate it.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
It's been quite productive here lately. Yesterday (Monday) we started off with some Miquon Maths - using Cuisenaire rods to play around with all the number-bonds to 5. She can add higher numbers than that but I wanted her to get clear the point that you can write the sums any way round, and that they are all different but equivalent. Then we did her first 'official' recorder lesson - we have a book and we did Lesson 1 (the note B) and today we moved on to A. She did extremely well both days, especially the timing (crotchets and quavers) which she just 'got' instantly. She was mighty pleased with herself! I also read to her the first half of Capyboppy, a novel from Sonlight K which I realised the other day won't be scheduled for us as we are following (or not, as the case may be!) the 4-day programme rather than the 5-day. It really goes without saying that she looked at/read several books during the day too. I don't have to encourage her to do that.
Today we started with crafts. She had pulled out several cards from my '50 things to do on a rainy day' Usborne activity cards, and wanted to do them all, LOL! We partly managed 2 things - a joined-up row of paper hearts, decorated, followed by a princess hat - a tall cone decorated with pink and purple tissue paper and (later) to be decorated with glitter and sequins and tassels. We then did the 2nd recorder lesson (cue more excitement and pride!). I think after that (about noon) I actually persuaded her to get dressed, and then we had lunch. We were out this afternoon at the HE group - just a social/playing get-together with no particular activity or theme today. When we got home she sat down and read the ten Oxford Reading Tree books that we'd borrowed off someone there! So I guess that's literacy covered for today then!
It's funny - when I write stuff down like this it seems much less somehow. I probably forget some stuff, and of course with a 2yo around everything takes an awful lot longer than you expect, but anyway, they've felt like positive and productive days so that's what matters.
Today we started with crafts. She had pulled out several cards from my '50 things to do on a rainy day' Usborne activity cards, and wanted to do them all, LOL! We partly managed 2 things - a joined-up row of paper hearts, decorated, followed by a princess hat - a tall cone decorated with pink and purple tissue paper and (later) to be decorated with glitter and sequins and tassels. We then did the 2nd recorder lesson (cue more excitement and pride!). I think after that (about noon) I actually persuaded her to get dressed, and then we had lunch. We were out this afternoon at the HE group - just a social/playing get-together with no particular activity or theme today. When we got home she sat down and read the ten Oxford Reading Tree books that we'd borrowed off someone there! So I guess that's literacy covered for today then!
It's funny - when I write stuff down like this it seems much less somehow. I probably forget some stuff, and of course with a 2yo around everything takes an awful lot longer than you expect, but anyway, they've felt like positive and productive days so that's what matters.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Meet George
Say Hi to the quietest member of the family, although I suspect he may not stay long.Obviously much snowy play has taken place here yesterday and today, although Shannon definitely is not too impressed. She won't walk in the snow at all, insisting on being carried, nor does she want to pick any up.
As well as that, we've had quite a good day. At last (been meaning to get round to it all week) we picked up the Usborne Children's Encyclopedia, had a look at the Solar System pages and then went to the Internet-linked sites. Had a fab time with those, on a virtual tour through the solar system here and also the 'create your own planet' bit of the same website. We then got sidetracked onto all sorts of other websites. We went here but Jade hates timed games so we explored the rest of the site. She (with supervision/help) did a 'which state goes where' puzzle of the USA, virtually polished some gemstones and made them into jewellery, and created a safe path for a bug to get from a mushroom to a flower (!), when all the time I think we were really supposed to be here! Ah well, it won't be the first or last time that a little unplanned wandering pays more dividends than the original plan. All this time Shannon was sitting on my knee and watching transfixed. She mostly does that when Jade is on the computer.
When I needed to go off and get lunch or dinner or something, Jade went on to a Learning Land CD-Rom which again Shannon just watched her doing. Shannon has also played with Fun-Blox, playdough, floam-substitute and done lots of jumping (her current skill-to-be-worked-on-at-all-times), spinning round and round and of course having strops and wailing.
The other thing of utmost significance that I did today was to at last find a home for one of Shannon's big Christmas presents, which I realised I could slot onto a shelf if I turned the existing box on it short-end in instead of longways. It does mean both boxes stick out in front of the shelf somewhat, but they are under a little fold-out table bit which is always out and never down, so it doesn't show that much. Dunno why I never thought of it before! That meant I could at least clear a few more bits of toys and general clutter and clear a space that hadn't been empty since before Christmas. Just to prove it, I vacuumed up several pine needles which I hope will be the last!
I have also (strangely) swept the entire kitchen floor, bleached the sink, cleared and wiped off two work-tops and wiped down the door-seal of my fridge like FlyLady told me to! Phew! No wonder I need an early night.
BTW, just out of general curiosity - anyone else not yet completely unpacked from Melrose?
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Melrose
Loved it. Had a really good time. Much easier than last year, as Jade was actually able to leave my side and go off and play quite a bit. And I could even leave both of them in the Playroom while I went and had a nap, one day. Wow! How I longed for that last year! But I'm not in the mood to blog lots about it as I'm too tired by this stage of the day, and I can't blog coherently while the kids are around. So that's yer lot for now.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Getting ready
Going to Melrose is great, but it does mean you have to catch up on a huge pile of washing and ironing beforehand in order to have any clothes to take with you! As I stand at the ironing board (a very unaccustomed place for me) with the children playing at my feet, I'm imagining all my fellow-hostellers doing the same thing. I normally do very little ironing, but having been trying to avoid using the tumble dryer recently to save money, stuff has been left hanging over radiators and getting very creased. We'll be setting off some time tomorrow as we're staying with T-bird on the way up. Jade is very excited!
It seems like the right moment to record just how lovely both girls are being at the moment. Jade seems to go through phases of difficult behaviour sometimes (or maybe it's me!) but she's just being totally fantastic currently. She is a delight to be with and watch. She's funny and bright, and I'm loving to notice how her mind and thinking are developing, and her interesting use of words as she learns to use descriptive language. And of course she's very affectionate, wanting lots of cuddles during the day, writing notes to DH and I saying "I love you" and telling us she loves us "a hundred and billion"! Her reading is absolutely astonishing (she made a good attempt at "anesthesiologist" yesterday), although she is a good deal more reluctant to do much with maths. For anybody going to Melrose who hasn't met her before, please be aware that she will not speak to adults and don't take it personally! She will probably take a while to warm up to the children too, but will be fine once she's had time to settle in.
Shannon is totally adorable, apart from about 6-8 times per night! She is so funny, with great facial expressions, and she seems quite aware of her comic ability too. Her speech has come on in huge leaps and bounds over the past couple of weeks, with new words and phrases arriving every day, and she is very polite, saying "pardon me" after every fart and "please" when she wants something. In fact, she often just says "please .......... please" and it's a bit of a struggle to work out what she's actually after. Some of her lovely words are: "Bampa" for Grandpa, "butoo-hly" for butterfly, with the 'f' as a little blowing sound a bit like an 'h', and "bed-dik" for breadstick. She can count pretty well, being mostly reliable at 1 - 10 (occasionally missing out 8), quite good at the 'teens', and on one notable occasion recently she counted from 24 to 30, all on her own! Even Jade still sometimes can't remember what comes after 29, so I was astonished at Shannon, at age 2y 2 mo!
Anyway, I guess that's enough procrastination from the ironing/packing task, so I'd better stop there! See some of you on Sunday!
It seems like the right moment to record just how lovely both girls are being at the moment. Jade seems to go through phases of difficult behaviour sometimes (or maybe it's me!) but she's just being totally fantastic currently. She is a delight to be with and watch. She's funny and bright, and I'm loving to notice how her mind and thinking are developing, and her interesting use of words as she learns to use descriptive language. And of course she's very affectionate, wanting lots of cuddles during the day, writing notes to DH and I saying "I love you" and telling us she loves us "a hundred and billion"! Her reading is absolutely astonishing (she made a good attempt at "anesthesiologist" yesterday), although she is a good deal more reluctant to do much with maths. For anybody going to Melrose who hasn't met her before, please be aware that she will not speak to adults and don't take it personally! She will probably take a while to warm up to the children too, but will be fine once she's had time to settle in.
Shannon is totally adorable, apart from about 6-8 times per night! She is so funny, with great facial expressions, and she seems quite aware of her comic ability too. Her speech has come on in huge leaps and bounds over the past couple of weeks, with new words and phrases arriving every day, and she is very polite, saying "pardon me" after every fart and "please" when she wants something. In fact, she often just says "please .......... please" and it's a bit of a struggle to work out what she's actually after. Some of her lovely words are: "Bampa" for Grandpa, "butoo-hly" for butterfly, with the 'f' as a little blowing sound a bit like an 'h', and "bed-dik" for breadstick. She can count pretty well, being mostly reliable at 1 - 10 (occasionally missing out 8), quite good at the 'teens', and on one notable occasion recently she counted from 24 to 30, all on her own! Even Jade still sometimes can't remember what comes after 29, so I was astonished at Shannon, at age 2y 2 mo!
Anyway, I guess that's enough procrastination from the ironing/packing task, so I'd better stop there! See some of you on Sunday!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Phew!
You know the Bible 100%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes
I'd have been a bit embarrassed if I didn't, LOL!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Bits 'n' pieces
It's been a bitty sort of a day. We had to go out fairly early this morning (9.45!) to meet somebody and pass on something she needed, so after that was done we went to the nearest small town where I don't usually shop but I had heard there was a nice shoe shop there. Both girls needed their feet measuring as they were both done last September and I thought they might have grown since then. Jade surprisingly hasn't (yet) so she's still OK but Shannon is 2 sizes bigger. Luckily she is already wearing a pair of Jade's old trainers which are the right size so that was OK! Popped into a nearby charity shop and got 3 things for 50p each - a battery-powered bubble blower at Jade's request, a new 'princess-y' filofax type thing which will be good for a birthday prezzie if/when Jade goes to any parties this year, and a Dora flip-top cup similar to Jade's existing one, which means Shannon can have one too so there won't be arguments over Dora cups! So I was pleased with that little haul.
We got home, had snacks/food, then got the girls doing some colouring/cutting-out/sticking type activities while I attempted to beat the kitchen mess into submission. Then I got Jade busy on the computer and Shannon likes to sit and watch, so that kept them happy while I made lunch. This afternoon we were going to do some baking, but I started to measure out flour into a bowl and found the scales were not registering anything at all, so they seem to be kaput. Even though Jade had been nagging me all morning about the baking, she was pretty unfussed that we couldn't do it and instead I dragged them upstairs to do some tidying and sorting. I got the Christmas decorations back into the loft (!) along with several other boxes and bits and pieces, so that cleared a bit of space in the spare room (which used to be Jade's room) and in a cupboard in the corner of the girls' room. The plan is to move some of the downstairs toys into that upstairs cupboard, and hopefully keep the downstairs a little bit clearer and tidier. That's the theory, anyway! I did get as far as sorting out the 'general' toybox downstairs and throwing away all those Kinder Egg toys, cracker toys and general tatt that ends up hanging around. I was feeling ruthless so I threw away all the art creations Jade has been doing recently, that have been prolific, but it's definitely more about process than product so they've gone in the bin.
So the decks feel slightly clearer and the girls have mostly played happily today with this and that, although Shannon did fall asleep on the sofa in front of the TV at 6pm so I had better make sure of a reasonably early night as she'll be up early! Not to mention the several wakings during the night.
We got home, had snacks/food, then got the girls doing some colouring/cutting-out/sticking type activities while I attempted to beat the kitchen mess into submission. Then I got Jade busy on the computer and Shannon likes to sit and watch, so that kept them happy while I made lunch. This afternoon we were going to do some baking, but I started to measure out flour into a bowl and found the scales were not registering anything at all, so they seem to be kaput. Even though Jade had been nagging me all morning about the baking, she was pretty unfussed that we couldn't do it and instead I dragged them upstairs to do some tidying and sorting. I got the Christmas decorations back into the loft (!) along with several other boxes and bits and pieces, so that cleared a bit of space in the spare room (which used to be Jade's room) and in a cupboard in the corner of the girls' room. The plan is to move some of the downstairs toys into that upstairs cupboard, and hopefully keep the downstairs a little bit clearer and tidier. That's the theory, anyway! I did get as far as sorting out the 'general' toybox downstairs and throwing away all those Kinder Egg toys, cracker toys and general tatt that ends up hanging around. I was feeling ruthless so I threw away all the art creations Jade has been doing recently, that have been prolific, but it's definitely more about process than product so they've gone in the bin.
So the decks feel slightly clearer and the girls have mostly played happily today with this and that, although Shannon did fall asleep on the sofa in front of the TV at 6pm so I had better make sure of a reasonably early night as she'll be up early! Not to mention the several wakings during the night.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Sofa blog!
This is something of a milestone - I'm blogging from the sofa using the laptop on a wireless connection! Hooray! I still have all my e-mail settings etc on the desktop comp so am not in the habit of using this machine much but it's rather fun.
Anyway, I've just depressed myself by reading some Patch of Puddles archive - going back 3 years to see what they were doing when Fran was 5. Ooo-er! I am SO behind!
Our Tuesday went reasonably well - not quite as much done as Monday, but we did some more Bible, some more Hero Tales and some more Boxcar children. Can't remember what else filled the day but never mind. Wednesday I was out at work all day and DH was home with the girls. He looked at the Sonlight Instructors Guide and couldn't make head or tail of it, so didn't do any. Today I've been at work this morning with Shannon at the childminder and Jade at my friend Kate's, as my Dad has hurt his back and couldn't manage childcare. Actually he's been coming over once a week for over 8 years, since I was pregnant with Benjamin, and now he's approaching 75 he wants to stop. Which leaves me with a dilemma about what to do with Jade on a Thursday morning. We can't currently afford for her to go to the childminder as well. So that's weighing on my mind.
I've had a nice selection of packages in the post today. I got a selection of organic skincare products as a free gift with my Christmas present subscription to Green Parent magazine; a Little Hearts Matter teddy bear as a gift from them to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and an Usborne Books order which I only placed 2 days ago so that's impressive.
Since Jade came home from this afternoon's school, we haven't done much at all as I am again chronically tired from more terrible nights' sleep thanks to Shannon. Am pondering the possibility of getting some help in the daytime for a couple of weeks so that I can nap, and maybe if I know that I'll be able to catch up in the day I'll be able to stick to my guns in the middle of the night and refuse to feed Shannon, no matter how long she stays awake complaining about it.
And now I must go and do something useful.
Anyway, I've just depressed myself by reading some Patch of Puddles archive - going back 3 years to see what they were doing when Fran was 5. Ooo-er! I am SO behind!
Our Tuesday went reasonably well - not quite as much done as Monday, but we did some more Bible, some more Hero Tales and some more Boxcar children. Can't remember what else filled the day but never mind. Wednesday I was out at work all day and DH was home with the girls. He looked at the Sonlight Instructors Guide and couldn't make head or tail of it, so didn't do any. Today I've been at work this morning with Shannon at the childminder and Jade at my friend Kate's, as my Dad has hurt his back and couldn't manage childcare. Actually he's been coming over once a week for over 8 years, since I was pregnant with Benjamin, and now he's approaching 75 he wants to stop. Which leaves me with a dilemma about what to do with Jade on a Thursday morning. We can't currently afford for her to go to the childminder as well. So that's weighing on my mind.
I've had a nice selection of packages in the post today. I got a selection of organic skincare products as a free gift with my Christmas present subscription to Green Parent magazine; a Little Hearts Matter teddy bear as a gift from them to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and an Usborne Books order which I only placed 2 days ago so that's impressive.
Since Jade came home from this afternoon's school, we haven't done much at all as I am again chronically tired from more terrible nights' sleep thanks to Shannon. Am pondering the possibility of getting some help in the daytime for a couple of weeks so that I can nap, and maybe if I know that I'll be able to catch up in the day I'll be able to stick to my guns in the middle of the night and refuse to feed Shannon, no matter how long she stays awake complaining about it.
And now I must go and do something useful.
Monday, January 08, 2007
I want more like this!
What a good day we've had!
My plan was to start Sonlight K and stick to the Instructors Guide schedule as much as possible, to see if that works for us. Jade has been getting on fine in many ways, but I feel very disorganised and out-of-control and felt that many days slipped by with nothing much going on. Maybe that's just a perception thing, but I thought it would be good to try a different way and find out if it's better.
Things didn't start quite according to plan as Shannon and I slept till about 9am and Jade slept till 9.40am! Jade has been having great trouble falling asleep at bedtimes, despite a consistent bedtime routine, so she was awake very late and hence slept late. I was glad, though, as she needed to catch up, and so did I! She's doing it again tonight, though - she was settled down at 8pm after a nice bath and stories, and here we are at 9.25pm and she's still wide awake.
Once we were up, dressed and breakfasted, we started work. We started with a Bible reading (Beginner's Bible) and beginning to learn a memory verse. I wrote the verse down and Jade decorated it. She then asked to copy it out herself, and who am I to refuse, LOL! So we ruled some nice wide-apart lines on a sheet of paper and she got on with it. Excellent!
Then we moved on to 'Hero Tales' with the introduction to the story about Gladys Aylward. Jade and Shannon were playing with the Duplo while I read to them. We checked out the locations mentioned (London, China) on the globe. After that it was time to get Jade ready for her afternoon of school, so got her dressed and made her lunchbox up and took her off to school.
I came home with Shannon and we had lunch together while watching CBeebies. Shannon snuggled up next to me while I read a book. It was lovely and cosy. After that we went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and she came too and stood on a stool and played in a sinkful of water, and then played with a bowlful of flour. That took an hour, and afterwards I wanted to get some Usborne phonecalls done. So we sat at the table, and she scribbled and drew while I phoned round all the local schools getting the names of their Literacy Co-ordinators. When I had finished phone calls, I went through the pen/pencil box with Shannon, getting her to scribble with each pen and shouting out the name of the colour after me. She loved it and we did this for absolutely ages. I also demonstrated the pencil sharpener to her, and took the opportunity to throw away several felt-tip pens which were pretty much dried up.
Then it was time to get the dinner in the oven and then go and collect Jade from school. We came straight back home, I refused a request for the TV to go on (proud emoticon!) and instead we all played a game of Farm Lotto. This was Shannon's first try and she did really well! She seemed to get the hang quite quickly of taking it in turns, and then with a bit of encouragement, spotting when she had picked up an animal that was on her card and putting the picture piece onto it. We must do that again soon! We were all set for a second game but something distracted me/them (can't remember) and then Jade requested more of the 'learning books'. So I read the first section from the "Language and Thinking for Young Children" which was the story of the crow and the pitcher. It's a pretty short story, and then I gave her the option of either drawing a picture of the story, or doing an experiment with a jar of water and some stones and watching the water level rise. She chose the latter, was very excited to see it really did happen, and did it twice! Then we sat down and started on the story "The Boxcar Children" and by popular demand I did three chapters instead of just one.
By then it was time for me to prepare the veg for dinner so I left them playing. I got dinner on the table by 5.10pm (early for me!), then a bit of TV for them and a bit of computer time for me and upstairs for bath at 6.15pm. Jade loves a really long bath, so she was in there till about 7pm and then more stories and cuddles till Shannon fell asleep at 7.45pm and I left Jade to settle down for sleep. 2 hours later, we're still waiting. In the end I have told her to switch her lamp on and just read. She's always taken up to an hour to fall asleep but not this bad till recently.
Now I have to go into major planning mode for my Usborne 2007 Catalogue Launch party - need to order some new titles and get invites and posters done. Oh, and watch ER!!!!!
My plan was to start Sonlight K and stick to the Instructors Guide schedule as much as possible, to see if that works for us. Jade has been getting on fine in many ways, but I feel very disorganised and out-of-control and felt that many days slipped by with nothing much going on. Maybe that's just a perception thing, but I thought it would be good to try a different way and find out if it's better.
Things didn't start quite according to plan as Shannon and I slept till about 9am and Jade slept till 9.40am! Jade has been having great trouble falling asleep at bedtimes, despite a consistent bedtime routine, so she was awake very late and hence slept late. I was glad, though, as she needed to catch up, and so did I! She's doing it again tonight, though - she was settled down at 8pm after a nice bath and stories, and here we are at 9.25pm and she's still wide awake.
Once we were up, dressed and breakfasted, we started work. We started with a Bible reading (Beginner's Bible) and beginning to learn a memory verse. I wrote the verse down and Jade decorated it. She then asked to copy it out herself, and who am I to refuse, LOL! So we ruled some nice wide-apart lines on a sheet of paper and she got on with it. Excellent!
Then we moved on to 'Hero Tales' with the introduction to the story about Gladys Aylward. Jade and Shannon were playing with the Duplo while I read to them. We checked out the locations mentioned (London, China) on the globe. After that it was time to get Jade ready for her afternoon of school, so got her dressed and made her lunchbox up and took her off to school.
I came home with Shannon and we had lunch together while watching CBeebies. Shannon snuggled up next to me while I read a book. It was lovely and cosy. After that we went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and she came too and stood on a stool and played in a sinkful of water, and then played with a bowlful of flour. That took an hour, and afterwards I wanted to get some Usborne phonecalls done. So we sat at the table, and she scribbled and drew while I phoned round all the local schools getting the names of their Literacy Co-ordinators. When I had finished phone calls, I went through the pen/pencil box with Shannon, getting her to scribble with each pen and shouting out the name of the colour after me. She loved it and we did this for absolutely ages. I also demonstrated the pencil sharpener to her, and took the opportunity to throw away several felt-tip pens which were pretty much dried up.
Then it was time to get the dinner in the oven and then go and collect Jade from school. We came straight back home, I refused a request for the TV to go on (proud emoticon!) and instead we all played a game of Farm Lotto. This was Shannon's first try and she did really well! She seemed to get the hang quite quickly of taking it in turns, and then with a bit of encouragement, spotting when she had picked up an animal that was on her card and putting the picture piece onto it. We must do that again soon! We were all set for a second game but something distracted me/them (can't remember) and then Jade requested more of the 'learning books'. So I read the first section from the "Language and Thinking for Young Children" which was the story of the crow and the pitcher. It's a pretty short story, and then I gave her the option of either drawing a picture of the story, or doing an experiment with a jar of water and some stones and watching the water level rise. She chose the latter, was very excited to see it really did happen, and did it twice! Then we sat down and started on the story "The Boxcar Children" and by popular demand I did three chapters instead of just one.
By then it was time for me to prepare the veg for dinner so I left them playing. I got dinner on the table by 5.10pm (early for me!), then a bit of TV for them and a bit of computer time for me and upstairs for bath at 6.15pm. Jade loves a really long bath, so she was in there till about 7pm and then more stories and cuddles till Shannon fell asleep at 7.45pm and I left Jade to settle down for sleep. 2 hours later, we're still waiting. In the end I have told her to switch her lamp on and just read. She's always taken up to an hour to fall asleep but not this bad till recently.
Now I have to go into major planning mode for my Usborne 2007 Catalogue Launch party - need to order some new titles and get invites and posters done. Oh, and watch ER!!!!!
Six weird things about me
THE RULES
Each player of this game starts with the ’six weird things about you’ blog post. People who get tagged need to write their own six weird things post and state the rules clearly. At the end of the post tag six more people and don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog to tell them they have been tagged and tell them to read your blog.
1. Well I don't think this is weird but the majority of the rest of the population does. I breastfed Jade till she was 4.5 years old. In fact she still begs to have a quick go sometimes. Sometimes I let her.2. Even though it's about 25 years since I last played a piano, I still sometimes find myself fingering the notes of a tune as though I was playing.
3. I am a biker! My 30th birthday present to myself was a motorbike, and lessons. Although I love riding, I found it impractical as it's too cold in winter, too hot in summer and the clothing is too bulky to wear to do anything nice at the other end. I hope to be a motorbiking granny, though.
4. Although objectively I guess I am very intelligent (high IQ), I don't consider that my opinion is worth much. That's very weird.
5. I was absolutely fascinated by pregnancy and childbirth even when I was pretty sure I didn't want any children myself. I even took a module studying it at university. I contemplated becoming a midwife, till I realised I am not good in an emergency.
6. I am an introvert, and yet my favourite colour is red. Red is supposed to be loud, vibrant and outgoing. So not me, and yet I love it.
Difficult to know who to tag! I guess it will have to be:
Dagmar
Sally
Jax, has anybody tagged you yet?
Dawn
Claire, if she's not to busy with the new baby!
Katy or Bob
Phew!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Miscellany
Was back to work last week, and Jade went to school on Thursday afternoon only, but we're not back to any semi-formal HE stuff yet. My plan is to start trying our best to stick to the Sonlight schedule from Monday for a couple or three months and see if it works for us that way. Nevertheless, as usual education goes on anyway. In the past few days Jade has:
I spent Thursday night and all day Friday at the Usborne Gala Dinner and Conference, which was great fun - we won Sparkliest Table award! Also very informative and inspiring - I have big plans for going further with Usborne but whether I have enough me-time to actually get any of it organised, I'll have to wait and see. Watch this space for more Usborne stuff though!
After keeping my eyes open for years at Christmas time for a nice but not-too-expensive Nativity Set, I finally found one by luck in town while shopping for party poppers for the Usborne Gala Dinner! It's this one. Love it! There was a larger version, which I would have preferred, but couldn't afford it! Couldn't really afford this one, actually, but when you've been looking for something for years and then see one, and in a sale as well, then you've just got to get it!
And finally, today, I've had a long phone conversation with a woman living in my own street about HE! And they're Christians too! She has a 2y 8mo boy and an 8mo girl, and is starting to look around and decide what to do. She's not necessarily convinced by HE yet, but is certainly interested in seriously considering it, and the whole family is coming round one Saturday in February to have a chat and look through our stuff!
- made cards for her friends, involving sticking, decorating and writing in them - more writing than she usually does and she did it all herself! she usually starts and asks me to finish.
- Lots of reading, of course, both on her own and by me to her. I wouldn't say she's really reading books yet, but sometimes she will sit down with one and look all through it and is probably reading most of it, as long as there are only 1 or 2 sentences on a page. Technically she can read at a higher level than that but the size and amount of text makes a big difference. I'm trying to remember which books we've read but most of them I've forgotten - I know there has as usual been plenty of human body stuff, ancient greeks, unicorns (her current fave) and lots of Christmas stories.
- Being doing spontaneous sums with collections of items ("If I get 3 of these in one hand, and 3 in the other, I've got 6!)
- plus lots of role-playing (being a unicorn, being Mary while Shannon is baby Jesus, etc).
I spent Thursday night and all day Friday at the Usborne Gala Dinner and Conference, which was great fun - we won Sparkliest Table award! Also very informative and inspiring - I have big plans for going further with Usborne but whether I have enough me-time to actually get any of it organised, I'll have to wait and see. Watch this space for more Usborne stuff though!
After keeping my eyes open for years at Christmas time for a nice but not-too-expensive Nativity Set, I finally found one by luck in town while shopping for party poppers for the Usborne Gala Dinner! It's this one. Love it! There was a larger version, which I would have preferred, but couldn't afford it! Couldn't really afford this one, actually, but when you've been looking for something for years and then see one, and in a sale as well, then you've just got to get it!
And finally, today, I've had a long phone conversation with a woman living in my own street about HE! And they're Christians too! She has a 2y 8mo boy and an 8mo girl, and is starting to look around and decide what to do. She's not necessarily convinced by HE yet, but is certainly interested in seriously considering it, and the whole family is coming round one Saturday in February to have a chat and look through our stuff!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Tagged by Ali
Name three things:
That you had hanging on your tree:
1. A shooting star ornament in memory of Benjamin
2. ALL our tinsel (a lot!) because Jade decorated the tree!
3. Chocolate santas (for a short while, anyway)
That you’ve eaten / drunk lots of:
1. Baileys
2. Liqueur chocolates
3. Turkey
That you didn’t do this year but hope to do next year
1. Host a party/generally entertain more
2. Go to a pantomime
3. Go ice-skating somewhere
Favourite presents
1. Digital camera (from DH)
2. Subscription to Green Parent magazine
3. Fluffy cushion for the sofa
That you’re glad you didn’t get for Christmas
1. Smellies/bath stuff (I don't bath, I shower)
2. Anything hand-knitted
3. Plain chocolates
People to tag
1. Sally L.
2. Claire
3. Leandra
That you had hanging on your tree:
1. A shooting star ornament in memory of Benjamin
2. ALL our tinsel (a lot!) because Jade decorated the tree!
3. Chocolate santas (for a short while, anyway)
That you’ve eaten / drunk lots of:
1. Baileys
2. Liqueur chocolates
3. Turkey
That you didn’t do this year but hope to do next year
1. Host a party/generally entertain more
2. Go to a pantomime
3. Go ice-skating somewhere
Favourite presents
1. Digital camera (from DH)
2. Subscription to Green Parent magazine
3. Fluffy cushion for the sofa
That you’re glad you didn’t get for Christmas
1. Smellies/bath stuff (I don't bath, I shower)
2. Anything hand-knitted
3. Plain chocolates
People to tag
1. Sally L.
2. Claire
3. Leandra
Monday, January 01, 2007
2007
So here's the New Year. It's not an occasion I make a big thing of - don't usually bother staying up to see midnight pass, but I do like the feeling of a clean fresh year ahead of me, a mostly blank calendar and a new-ish start.
The past few days at home have been very relaxed - much playing, resting, eating chocolate and hanging out together. It's been nice
Then on Saturday we drove North to visit Bill's Dad and sister. We stayed overnight in a Travelodge on Saturday night - although I can hardly say we 'slept' there thanks to Jade, who woke up in the small hours with a headache, which then progressed to ear ache, and then just seemed to be general insomnia and we were all (except Shannon) awake for hours. So we slept in till about 10am on Sunday morning. Had another short visit to Bill's Dad over lunchtime and the early afternoon and then what seemed like a very loooooong drive home in torrential rain and high winds with both Bill and I needing time to sleep on the journey but the kids not seeming to need the same
Needless to say we didn't try staying up to see the New Year in as even if we'd wanted to we were just too tired, and today we have taken down all the decorations and attempted to get things back to some form of normality.
I am, along with the rest of the population, abysmal at keeping New Year's resolutions, but some how setting goals for the year doesn't seem to be quite the same, so after spending a little time musing and thinking this afternoon, here are my goals for the coming year:
Children:
The past few days at home have been very relaxed - much playing, resting, eating chocolate and hanging out together. It's been nice
Then on Saturday we drove North to visit Bill's Dad and sister. We stayed overnight in a Travelodge on Saturday night - although I can hardly say we 'slept' there thanks to Jade, who woke up in the small hours with a headache, which then progressed to ear ache, and then just seemed to be general insomnia and we were all (except Shannon) awake for hours. So we slept in till about 10am on Sunday morning. Had another short visit to Bill's Dad over lunchtime and the early afternoon and then what seemed like a very loooooong drive home in torrential rain and high winds with both Bill and I needing time to sleep on the journey but the kids not seeming to need the same
Needless to say we didn't try staying up to see the New Year in as even if we'd wanted to we were just too tired, and today we have taken down all the decorations and attempted to get things back to some form of normality.
I am, along with the rest of the population, abysmal at keeping New Year's resolutions, but some how setting goals for the year doesn't seem to be quite the same, so after spending a little time musing and thinking this afternoon, here are my goals for the coming year:
Children:
- Night-wean Shannon
- Get Jade doing regular chores
- Get Jade to usually sleep in her own bed all night
- Much less television - maximum half-an-hour in the morning while I have breakfast and 1 hour in the evening.
- Try actually sticking to the Sonlight K curriculum for at least 3 months to see if it works for us like that
- Otherwise concentrate with Jade on maths and writing
- Do more practical stuff like making historical meals, dressing up etc.
- Regular stretching exercise - I can feel myself stiffening up
- Regular prayer/quiet time
- More sex (once a year isn't enough, DH says.....)
- Less web-browsing
- more book reading
- Keep up-to-date with finances
- Reduce debt (currently £10,000 or £15,000 if you count the student loan which I am hoping never to have to pay back)
- 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.
- Get at least 2 more Usborne recruits by the end of April
- Do at least one event per week, preferably 2
- Organise paperwork
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Honoured!
 | My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Entirely Miss Reverend Lady Joanna the Defenestrated of Hoptonshire by Leer Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Christmas
Despite the trauma of the dishwasher breaking down a couple of days before Christmas, we had the nicest C. Day I can remember for quite a long time. Everybody was happy, the girls were delightful and the present opening was fun. The only slight problem was that Jade was unwell - she'd had a heavy cold and cough and a high temperature for a couple of days and was still not too good. So she stayed in pyjamas all day and we didn't go out to church in the morning. Lunch was delayed as the turkey was not properly defrosted in time, so we didn't sit down to eat till nearly 4pm, but that's fairly traditional anyway, and it certainly was lovely when we got to eat it. Quite the tastiest roast dinner I've ever cooked, I think!
We weren't woken too early. Jade did wake at about 1.30am as she often does, came into our bed and said, "I think Santa's been - I felt my stocking and it's really full!", but I suggested she should go back to sleep and open it in the morning and she did! In the morning she was astonished because she said she "didn't sleep a wink all night" but still hadn't heard Santa arrive! And the night had gone really fast! So we weren't woken properly till about 7.30am - I suspect it won't be so respectable a time next year! Shannon was still asleep, so Jade opened her stocking in our bed and was really thrilled with everything, especially the Pooping Reindeer!
After Shannon woke and opened her small stocking gifts, we went downstairs and the children launched into the presents! We used to insist on a proper breakfast before opening only one or two gifts, and then out to church, and opening the rest after lunch, but all restraint was out of the window this year and it was all Bill and I could do to keep track of what was being received from whom in order to facilitate the thank-you letters! We didn't get to open our own gifts until the kids were mostly all done!
Particularly appreciated by Jade was the Dora pull-along overnight case:
which, fairly uniquely this Christmas, I paid full price for.
and for Shannon, the Duplo, which entertained her mid-morning for a good hour or more:
which came as gifts from Grandpa and Nanny (2 boxes) and a large box second-hand via Bill's work.
Also from Bill's work was Jade's other favourite:
and, not photographed but enthusiastically played with by both girls was the Freecycled Fisher-Price Little People Royal Gift Set (this plus some extra buildings/pieces).
As for me, well I was very pleased with my replacement digital camera from DH, plus some MeatLoaf CDs, and he in turn was very happy with his dongle (I always want to blush at that word!) which turns a PC into a TV. And I even managed to keep smiling in the kitchen:
On Boxing Day we had a lovely muddy walk in the woods, all together, and today we've had a visit from my Dad and his wife Pat, so all in all a lovely time is being had, despite having to wash up by hand, grrrr!
We weren't woken too early. Jade did wake at about 1.30am as she often does, came into our bed and said, "I think Santa's been - I felt my stocking and it's really full!", but I suggested she should go back to sleep and open it in the morning and she did! In the morning she was astonished because she said she "didn't sleep a wink all night" but still hadn't heard Santa arrive! And the night had gone really fast! So we weren't woken properly till about 7.30am - I suspect it won't be so respectable a time next year! Shannon was still asleep, so Jade opened her stocking in our bed and was really thrilled with everything, especially the Pooping Reindeer!
After Shannon woke and opened her small stocking gifts, we went downstairs and the children launched into the presents! We used to insist on a proper breakfast before opening only one or two gifts, and then out to church, and opening the rest after lunch, but all restraint was out of the window this year and it was all Bill and I could do to keep track of what was being received from whom in order to facilitate the thank-you letters! We didn't get to open our own gifts until the kids were mostly all done!
Particularly appreciated by Jade was the Dora pull-along overnight case:
which, fairly uniquely this Christmas, I paid full price for.
and for Shannon, the Duplo, which entertained her mid-morning for a good hour or more:
which came as gifts from Grandpa and Nanny (2 boxes) and a large box second-hand via Bill's work.
Also from Bill's work was Jade's other favourite:
and, not photographed but enthusiastically played with by both girls was the Freecycled Fisher-Price Little People Royal Gift Set (this plus some extra buildings/pieces).
As for me, well I was very pleased with my replacement digital camera from DH, plus some MeatLoaf CDs, and he in turn was very happy with his dongle (I always want to blush at that word!) which turns a PC into a TV. And I even managed to keep smiling in the kitchen:
On Boxing Day we had a lovely muddy walk in the woods, all together, and today we've had a visit from my Dad and his wife Pat, so all in all a lovely time is being had, despite having to wash up by hand, grrrr!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Switch to Plan 'B'
I was supposed to be away with the girls at my Mum's now, but the foggy weather dissuaded me. I'm not a wimp about driving in all sorts of weather - it usually doesn't bother me too much - but with the girls on board I really didn't want to be either in an accident (obviously!) or stuck in miles of tailbacks because of someone else's pile-up. If the weather clears by Sunday we may do a quick pressie-swap at a suitable mid-point (usually Millett's Farm Garden Centre near Abingdon).
Anyway this has meant that I have been able to make some inroads at least into some of the mess and clutter round here and have cleared some space so we can move a bit. If only I had a nice chunk of spare dosh I'd hire one of those organisers/de-clutterers to come round and sort us out. It would save me from so much stress and irritability, and I'd get more done with the girls, I'm sure.
The girls have spent most of the day playing, aided by the girl-next-door who was here for most of the afternoon. They also made looooong paper-chains! That enabled me to get on with the said tidying up stuff, as well as loading Money 2007 Home & Business edition onto the laptop to see if it's better than what I'm currently running, in order to keep track of Usborne finances as well as household stuff. We have done some reading together, though, firstly of some Bible stories (Jade's choice) and then one of her Learning Land magazines which covered adding up in 10s which was new to her so I went into a bit more explanation about that. Don't know how much she 'got' it but it's a start.
Anyway this has meant that I have been able to make some inroads at least into some of the mess and clutter round here and have cleared some space so we can move a bit. If only I had a nice chunk of spare dosh I'd hire one of those organisers/de-clutterers to come round and sort us out. It would save me from so much stress and irritability, and I'd get more done with the girls, I'm sure.
The girls have spent most of the day playing, aided by the girl-next-door who was here for most of the afternoon. They also made looooong paper-chains! That enabled me to get on with the said tidying up stuff, as well as loading Money 2007 Home & Business edition onto the laptop to see if it's better than what I'm currently running, in order to keep track of Usborne finances as well as household stuff. We have done some reading together, though, firstly of some Bible stories (Jade's choice) and then one of her Learning Land magazines which covered adding up in 10s which was new to her so I went into a bit more explanation about that. Don't know how much she 'got' it but it's a start.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Hmmm
I don't know about going against the flow but I have obviously lost the flow. Must try and get back to blogging. I just don't feel I've got much to say. I've kind of given up on any even semi-formal educational stuff and we're just doing Christmas crafts, cards and that kind of thing, in the small amount of time there seems to be between dashing from one thing to another.
Jade was in the school nativity play on Tuesday evening - she was an angel! She decided not to sing most of the songs, even though I know she can as she has sung them endlessly at home. She mostly just smiled, waved at me and Shannon repeatedly, and watched what everyone else was doing. She looked very sweet though, and TBH I was just impressed that she agreed to stand up there in front of everybody. Progress, I think!
I feel moderately on top of Christmas, for a change. Our cards have nearly all gone in the post today (except not the HE list ones - need envelopes!) as has the package for the USA - so it's probably a couple of days past the last posting date but that's the nearest I've ever got in the past few years so I'm pretty proud of myself! I have nearly all presents purchased - just one or two difficult people I'm still wrestling over.
The house is still a complete wreck which is a shame because I was wanting to host a Boxing Day party but thinking about it I don't see how we can possibly fit more than about 4 people in, and I was more thinking about 6-8 adults plus all their kids ... just don't think it's going to work, not even using the traditional 'stash and dash' method of pre-party cleaning and tidying.
Oh, and just for Sally, if you read this - I can't seem to post a link on your blog comments, so comment here and I'll e-mail you with that yahoo group I mentioned.
Jade was in the school nativity play on Tuesday evening - she was an angel! She decided not to sing most of the songs, even though I know she can as she has sung them endlessly at home. She mostly just smiled, waved at me and Shannon repeatedly, and watched what everyone else was doing. She looked very sweet though, and TBH I was just impressed that she agreed to stand up there in front of everybody. Progress, I think!
I feel moderately on top of Christmas, for a change. Our cards have nearly all gone in the post today (except not the HE list ones - need envelopes!) as has the package for the USA - so it's probably a couple of days past the last posting date but that's the nearest I've ever got in the past few years so I'm pretty proud of myself! I have nearly all presents purchased - just one or two difficult people I'm still wrestling over.
The house is still a complete wreck which is a shame because I was wanting to host a Boxing Day party but thinking about it I don't see how we can possibly fit more than about 4 people in, and I was more thinking about 6-8 adults plus all their kids ... just don't think it's going to work, not even using the traditional 'stash and dash' method of pre-party cleaning and tidying.
Oh, and just for Sally, if you read this - I can't seem to post a link on your blog comments, so comment here and I'll e-mail you with that yahoo group I mentioned.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Still alive!
Yes, I am still here. Just, er ... overwhelmed with everything that's not getting done, really. I've been really busy with Usborne too although I haven't done the accounts yet to see if I've made any money! There doesn't seem to be much in my account, but I did buy some stuff in to sell at Christmas Fairs and some of that is still left over. I'm pretty much all done now till Christmas, though, as last ordering date is 11th December and I haven't got a booking for the coming weekend. I do have some for Jan/Feb though!
Hmm, what else is there to report? Jade was supposed to go to see a pantomime with her school this morning, but she woke up and didn't want to go. I took her to the school, and she still didn't want to go, so I drove her to the theatre to have a look round (she said she was scared of going somewhere new) and I could tell by her face that she loved the place but she still wouldn't stay without me. And as there wasn't a spare ticket for me, that was that! We all came home. Since then the girls have done playdough, sequins (all over the floor!), colouring, helping bring in the Tesco delivery, helping me stick address labels on Christmas card envelopes (cards not done yet!) and currently a bit of CBeebies. We have HE group social this afternoon.
What else of note? She's learned to play 'Jingle Bells' one-fingered on the 'baby piano' thing, which she's thrilled about. She's practising the odd bit of writing at her own pace, loves Numberjacks but keeps forgetting to watch it at the weekends, is still reading of course, but generally speaking we've been too busy to do anything much structured.
Hmm, what else is there to report? Jade was supposed to go to see a pantomime with her school this morning, but she woke up and didn't want to go. I took her to the school, and she still didn't want to go, so I drove her to the theatre to have a look round (she said she was scared of going somewhere new) and I could tell by her face that she loved the place but she still wouldn't stay without me. And as there wasn't a spare ticket for me, that was that! We all came home. Since then the girls have done playdough, sequins (all over the floor!), colouring, helping bring in the Tesco delivery, helping me stick address labels on Christmas card envelopes (cards not done yet!) and currently a bit of CBeebies. We have HE group social this afternoon.
What else of note? She's learned to play 'Jingle Bells' one-fingered on the 'baby piano' thing, which she's thrilled about. She's practising the odd bit of writing at her own pace, loves Numberjacks but keeps forgetting to watch it at the weekends, is still reading of course, but generally speaking we've been too busy to do anything much structured.
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