Author Archives: Daddybean

The hours before the dawn…

Posted on January 21, 2006 | Leave a comment

Well, the positive first. Butterbeans endless desire at times to feed away the night has been somewhat controlled the last few nights, but dint of BB not getting to see Helen.Wed night when she started to fuss I just took her off to the spare room, when she settled down again without to much fuss. Moved her cot yesterday into another room (the ‘spare bathroom’) ok didn’t actually sleep in it a lot, but she was in it asleep when we went to bed. Sadly she woke at around 3.30 am and I gave her a cuddle in the bed in the room but she didn’t overly make? fuss, but didn’t feel the need to go back to sleep until I took her back into Helen and 6.15 when of course? she then felll asleep when getting up time was going to be 7.30…….

Main event of the day was the Puddlers group, where there were some rather good actvities arranaged on the topic of Healthy Eating . I particularly liked Lydias blindfolded fruit tasting one.

'Guess that Fruit'

Stringbean made a beeline of course for the sticking activity – it was supposed to be ’5 a day’ maybe she’s forgotten how to count to 5? And she doesn’t even like mushrooms. She wasn’t really to interested in anything to educational, she wasn’t even sure what the theme was when Helen asked her at home :roll:
Five? a Day

As Merry has mentioned there were some new families there today as well as plenty of the regulars, so there was a good buzz in the hall. I’m just quite useless at getting around to chatting to people, or remembering their names, lots of babies and littlies as well. Plenty of running around and playing tag etc. A nice time.

BB was entertaining in Sainsburys on the way home, she’d see things she would like the look of and recognise – such as oranges, bananas, cherry toms and she would start making such a fuss , me and SB had to hide things so she didn’t see them until they were in the trolley. She wanted a magazine as well (fimbles, Tweenies/thomas etc.) Had been a discussion at home the other day about getting ones with enough stories as she likes that. So she sat and looked through everyone to check the story quotient – glad there were only eight.

Nothing really more interesting to say really. Photos are in the usual place.

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Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, photos, socialisation, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE

On the radio

Posted on January 19, 2006 | 9 comments

Just had an email read out on the radio :-)

Home Education is one of the topics featured on the Andy Harper show today (they had a bit earlier about? family home educating becuase of bullying of their daughter.) Another lsitener made the old comment about children needing to go to school to socialise, know how to gte on in the real world so I whacked of? quick email which they then read out. Plenty to be critical about on re-reading of course, but it was a bit of? quickie:

Just been listening to? the bits on Home education on your program.

why do some people seem to think that Home education means that children sit at home and never get out and meet other children? That certainly isn’t true of any of the children I know, nor of our daughter – in Cambridgeshire there is? thriving HE community, with lots of different actives going on every week. There are all the classes that children can attend such as ballet & swimming lessons, brownies, scouts, youth clubs, play schemes? etc. as well as more informal contacts.

We as a family will be going away for a week with 18 other HE families in Feb and later on in the year again, and as for the 10 HE children filing up our house
yesterday…..

It’s interesting that this issue of ‘socialising’ is one that is so often raised.
- yes it is something to be considered, but people who start home educating soon realise it isn’t really an issue but yoiu might just need to be? a bit proactive.

To be honest, when the it seems someone’s argument for school is that children get to meet other children it doesn’t seem much of an argument to me.

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Posted in General

A social kind of day

Posted on January 18, 2006 | 3 comments

We had the puddles and porticos over today. Although there were some concerns that it may be a bit princessy for Ernest, he raced away! Master of events was Violet – organising them into a game of sardines [which our house is well suited to], and we didn’t really see them until lunch was called

time to eat

Merry tried twins out for size, and decided it was far to heavy!

trying twin for size

After lunch there was some more violet in charge of line ups..
eldest portico said line up...

But due to some global tiredness, a bit more chilling including DVD and cbeebies. Ernest and SB played schools – very odd concept!

SB devastated when they all left. For a start, she had just put on her princess clothes! Thought that an overnight stay at least should happen.

We adults gossiped, cuddled assorted children and looked at blog updates.

Sorry Merry about Amelies itchy eyes. Hope they settle soon. Also took outrageously few – and crap – photos!
Thankyou Alison/Gwenny for green bead bracelet. BB is still not to be parted from it. She is now dressed in a different sleepsuit!

After everyone had gone, SB did some drawing, I read her a story or 2, and she cbeebied. Now hopefully fast asleep. BB is shouting very very loudly at the moment – she collapsed asleep when everyone left, so a late nap means a late evening sleep. I guess we should tidy up…

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Posted in General, socialisation

Getting going

Posted on January 17, 2006 | Leave a comment

a bit of a slow start to the morning due to feeling tired and lethargic, nothing much really happened between getting up and getting girls into the car to go to my parenst house. Had nice time there SB did some painting, sat with Nanny making some little William Morris cardboard boxe, A bit ofreading, playing with a few toys, such as some of the old toy cars from my childhood. Butterbean beaning around as usual, trying to sneak up the stairs – open treaded bare wooden ones so not very toddler friendly.

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She even got my Dad to read bit of a book to her, which is pretty unusal, not because he doesn’t really want to, but becuase he finds sustained reading a bit hard work as this ability was affected by the brain damage he suffered with his botched operation (years ago when I wasn’t even 2) and he finds it hard to concentrate on the words. Bit unfortunate that the book she had picked was a rather wordy one rather than nice simple book with not so many words. Anyway, it was nice to see.

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Had nice lunch there, went out to help my Dad measure up their garden. BB insisted on coming out as well, so got rather wet tights as the grass is damp and she has no shoes yet, she also kept scampering down the drive, where there is no gate yet. Guess it’s time to get some shoes. Got home with just about enough time to get swimming stuff organised, then off to swimming lesson for SB. home, pasta tea, Helen home, happy children, bath and bed. SB is getting to sleep much better recently.

Re BB and sleep, plan is to move her out into spare room /bathroom – it has a bath and handbasin, but shower doesn’t work and proper guestroom has a handbasin so not really used as a bathroom anyway see if that will help.

Alison and the gang are here tomorrow along with Merry and co – upping the ante on last week there will be 10 kids here – kitchen and play room in particualr are disaster zones, half wonder if there is any point in tidying them up ;-)

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Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, Out and About, photos, SB-PE, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

Well, better…

Posted on January 17, 2006 | 5 comments

Well it would have been helpful if Butterbean ahd gone to sleep properly rather earlier than 11.30pm or so, but the night was a bit better. I took her with me into the spare room to give Helen as much chance as possible to sleep. She did wake at around 3 am – ish, but went back to sleep with just a bit of fussing, woke again somewhere around 5.30 -5.45 but was happy enough so didn’t have to disturb Helen until it was nearer time to get up. Was full of beans and seemed to be awake, but when I went to get her, she had gone back to sleep at about 7 and still snoozing……

So not brilliant on the sleeping front, but better, and she did go without a feed and without all the mad screaming and fighting we sometimes have. I’m wondering if it may be partly down to the environment – her associating our bedroom – her cot is stilll in there with Helen and food etc? Then again it might just be fror some random baby reason.

Anyway, off to visit my Mum and Dad’s today so time to get organised.
Before I go though just though I’d draw attention this, which was taken a couple of weeks ago, but deserves to be blogged as it is such a classic Butterbean face:

A typical BB face

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Posted in General

Dare I go to bed…….

Posted on January 17, 2006 | 2 comments

BB is alseep at last I don’t want to disturb her.
Yes I know I should have been in bed but I’m not. Though Helen was in bed at 7.30pm and asleep before the girls – some sort of first I think. Butterbean enterntained me this evening by not wanting to go to sleep…… :roll:

Left her having a feed with Helen while I put SB to bed, hoping she would drop off . But she was as perky as, well, a very perky thing afterwards so I took her off downstairs got coffee and blobbed on front of TV while trying to convince her to sleep. She dropped off ok after a fuss, but wouldn’t settle into a proper sleep, but whinged if just put down to potter about. been in and out of sleep a few times, even ahd a bit of milk from a bottle, had another feed from Helen, fell asleep but then woken by SB wailing on the landing becuase she had woken up. But has finally been asleep on the sofa near me for the last 30 -40 mins or so. so I haven’t done the tidying I needed to do (playroom and kitchen a disaster zone), haven’t gone to bed as early as I intended, etc. etc. – But I do need my post child-gone-to-sleep time before bed. Lay bets now on the first waking time of BB, how long I can put up with the woailing before I crack – or Helen does.

Enough of that, a quick summary of today, then I am off to bed. SB was up with me first so she sat and watched some Milkshake on Channel 5, packed Helen off to work which was a bit sad. We slipped into a different routine really and I was quite happy with us both being here, so missed her once she had gone and felt a bit lost as I’d sort of forgotten how we did stuff.

So drunk tea and sat with SB for bit while I woke up properly. Then breakfast. BB then woke up once we had had breakfast so got her up, and gave her breakfast whilst read bit to SB, then she did some drawing, experimented with different effects with crayons, some Hama-ing:

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BB came up with a new game with Hama beads – popped them in her mouth then looked at you expectantly, you put your hand out and she spits it out into you hand she thought this was great fun. so we pottered like this for a couple of hours, whilst I looked for afew different recipes to cook and made a veg list. WQe were then goign to take the Beanmobile (aka tandem and trailer) up to the farm shop but BB decides that 2 hours was enough and she needed some more sleep – so deferred that until the afternoon.

Did a bit of Maths 1A weekly revision book, it was about spotting, working out patterns of numbers going up and down. bit slow to start with, but was better by the end.

bit vague after that, lunch happened, Helen came home, some more Explode the Code got done , me and SB did the veg run – they were technically closed as they were putting a new shel unit thing, but he let me in and I got most things, there was some Cbeebies website going on, some rather nice saucepans came (Ebay of course…) – a couple of medium largish ones, decided that all we need for now is a proper steamer as that is how lots of the veg get cooked (or stir fryed) I took too long cooking the rather tasty dinner so BB fell asleep before tea (probably leading to the problems later….)

Time for my bed I think……

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Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, General, literacy, numeracy, photos, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE

‘I don’t think we will do anymore cooking for a while…’

Posted on January 14, 2006 | 2 comments

The title is a quote from Helen just overheard from the kitchen – said in that quietly despairing tone…..

Helen is in the kichen making Lemon Curd (no Limes) with Stringbean, all is not going smoothly…..

Despite being told to be very careful, SB lost a load of the carefully measured Lemon juice when she just tipped up the bowl. She was sent into the playroom while Helen cleared up, worked out how much more was needed etc. SB of course then sulked for bit and didn’t want to carry on.

Harmony was restored, but then SB has just spilt some of the sugar on the floor….

Helen is staying calm though….

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Posted in Cooking, Daft Stuff, Stringbean

Catch up flickr from last weekend

Posted on January 12, 2006 | 1 comment

I feel sad when the back flickr’s get buried! so a summary!So, just for the record, we also messy baking then!

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and some violin playing

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When our guests left, we had belated 12th night little presents

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and visited little Nanny

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Posted in General

A bit of Flickr-ing

Posted on January 12, 2006 | 1 comment

Bit behind with the old Flicker-ing – all this socialising :-)

However, first batch are up, of the visit by the ‘Puddles and Muddies‘ yesterday.My favortites:

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Playing Cindys/Barbies, like most compact digicams ours doesn’t do so well at natural light indoors, so liked the light through the big stairs window here. shame about the clothes on the banisters.

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I’ll get them all to pop up one way or another !

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Icing fun

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Ok, guess what colour the icing was here :-)

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Yum.

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Posted in photos, socialisation

Where did she go?

Posted on January 11, 2006 | 6 comments

Dear Butterbean, she used to be such an easy going babe (and in manyways still is), as anyone at Melrose last year would remember. So where did she go?

Tonight had a feed from Helen about 7.45 and was soon asleep with me by about 8, Put her down after a bit, but she awoke at 9, cried and fussed a bit, sat awake for a while and then went back to sleep with acuddle. But only lightly, any attmept to put her down had her wailing. Once she spotted Helen at about 9.30 she was on full, ‘I’ve seen mummy wail mode’.

I put her down again at 10, within 5-10 mins she was awake again. Cried/fussed/wailed with me for 30 mins, off to Helen for another feed, but didn’t go back to sleep. I took her off to our bed at about 11, but took another hour before she went back to sleep, mostly not fussing, just being awake and wanting to crawl about, but she awoke crying again at about 12.50……… H is with her.
just up to bed now, after some belated kitchen tidying, ok lay your bets on how many times she wil wake up…..

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Posted in Butterbean