Author Archives: HHaricot

Back to Earth

we have done a fair bit of earth oriented thinking today! Unfortunately the beans conspired to make it a very very early start. Though SB did read me 2 books in bed, as I was refusing to be awake [chris just pretended to be asleep]. eventually I told him via SB that he needed to make me a cup of tea, so then had a catch up nap!

Urmmm, well I think we started with looking at the worm world thing that was picked up from the charity shop whilst looking for gists on thursday [rofl!] We duly all went out, filled with alternate sand and soil and liberated some juicy worms from the fruit bed to put in. BB was devastated that she didn’t get to play more with the snakes, but since at least 2 were put back on the garden as we were unsure whether they were really not working [her phrase] or playing dead, we felt the sooner out of her grasp the better. Later a ladybird also stopped working – she is a menace to our beneficials!!

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We had a look at our previous sowings, and a few broad beans have germinated, and we have a very thick row of radish seedlings – hopefully marking some carrot ones to follow! We also harvested loads of early sprouting brocolli – yum.

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it was a lovely day, so we did general playing in the garden, swings, playhouse etc etc until lunchtime, and I also pottered about with some weeding and feeding.

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After lunch we did simultaneous crafts [always slightly hair-raising! SB did a mosaic kit that Merry gave her for her birthday, BB did painting and stamping, and I lacquered the only bit of made fimo I could find from Melrose – the pendants and dragon appear to be awol.

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Hmm! then came a bit of awkwardness – SB and BB did colouring and then head over heelsing, and I asked that the felttips should be lidded and tidied – time to gloss! BB and SB did some violin practice [must get a shoulder rest!] , SB did some more area stuff with cuisinaire rods [from here to there] and BB and I read books and did pattern blocks and then had another gloss moment about being mean to SB!

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Daddy returned, so I took 5, they helped him find seed trays, and we reconvened to sow peppers, tomatoes and sunflowers. Watered in very well!! More playing outside and the SB did some piano practice, and BB fell asleep mid wail on my lap. have wound down with dinner and robin hood since then.

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Chris nearly managed to set fire to the house [sigh], luckilly I know if I think I smell something hot, I should immediately investigate [frying pan with oil]. Can’t get laptop keyboard to work either. Oh well. Early night tonight. Feeling much more whole – though frayed at the edges!

the balloon thief AKA grumpy old man!!

Honestly, he was about to put them all in the bin!! the girls love the balloons, BB will pop them soon enough! Rescued for now!

The Disappeared

That’s what I feel like as a working mother at the moment. Rather similar blog over at Jax’s as well. I have worked solidly since SB’s party day and am consequently well and truly knackered. All the days have been exceptionally long, and there has been some exceptionally stressful moments. I have had brief views of my children – so brief that I am not sure that they know who I am – but have [as is my style] been as manically interactive as possible – thus making me more shattered, but marginally less guilty.

SO today – my day off – where am I? In work of course. But did eventually leave – hopefully with a bit of a job plan thrashed out, and we hot footed it to Merry’s. SB was delighted to see the last part of her birthday present – the very delectable new member of our famly – a corolle doll lea. Merry had to buy them in 2′s so there is one more to go on the website, and if I were you, and you’re in the market for a trilingual talking and utterly adorable dol [it is too!] then I would be the one to buy the matching pair [even if BB and all Merry's children think they should be the proud mother!].

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I coo-ed over the other dolls in the range, and we lost the children to protracted mums and dads, and other games.

We were going to do science, but both Merry and I have had tough working week and both feeling the need to r and r, so the children played. [fran did french though]. BB and Josie were adorable together, and playing more and more. The cake SB and I made yesterday before bed was scoffed quickly [i said I had used my time to the max!]. BB is such a jumping girl at the moment, and does lovely ‘kiffs’ and cuddles. The older children fimo-ed as well – but we left SB’s there, and she forgot to bring home her camera – sigh!! Hopefully we will be reunited in Hunstanton.

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Back and more doll playing, SB is delighted with it, and played beautifully with BB being the big sister and helping – aw it is just so lovely that they play so nicely together – this is a real home ed achievment. And then we did playing in the dark with a glow stick, and more head over heels frenzy!

Bedtime for SB was with the new doll, and we read some more Britannia, and she read to me the usborne robots book [saw Merry's Alexander the great usborne book, so very tempted when finances next allow]. I feel much more whole for a day at home, spring has sprung [always improves the mood] Kessingland organised. Now just to make sure i have a life! Yippee for the weekend [le weekend of course]

totality

remembered to look at the moon. it certainly does look weird when it is the wrong colour! When I got home from work, SB and I read some of our new books – marie curie and the search for radium and eric the red and leif the lucky. She had lots of questions after the marie curie one about science and elements and atoms, but decided we would look at another book ‘tomorrow’

she has done a fair bit of webland today while I was out, and chris has done a grand job on sorting out this years propagatory – time to sow some seeds! bit late with peppers already – oops.

SB and BB both did some violin practice, and SB some piano. otherwise mostly chilled and did pattern blocks altogether. tonight before going to bed, I read SB some britannia and she read me clumsy crocodile from usborne young readers. Her flow at reading is really coming along, and she reads things all the time now during the day – fantastic.

I must make sure worries of work don’t eclipse the joys of home.

sonlight arrived!

actually ordered only in Jan, so nice and quick – was v careful to delete 2/3 of the order [having also taken notice of Jan's critiques of some!] before I actually paid for it though. I got the pattern block set, so SB has spent ages going through the cards and enjoying it. Also got some of the core 1 readers and books. I LIKE the science stories! will have to look out for the marconi and electricity ones elsewhre.

SB decided that the level 3 I can read books and the level 4 step into reading books I had got where just right for her. SO what with the usborne first readers we are well supplied for books at the mo for her to read.

I do think that if we ever did do a bought curriculum, sonlight would be the one for us, cos I like how the books are all interesting and around the timeframe. However, SB is def a follower of eclectic learning and the strewn book technique, and it does work for us. Just must make sure lots of strewn books!

it is about time actually to look at our books again, and remind ourselves and SB what we have, so that we can be more interesting.

BB has done loads of jigsaws today since I came home. She adores jigsaws. And both had fun blowing up balloons with the foot pump and letting them fuzzle away [though BB says 'I'm not doing that again' but does!] SB experimented ‘blowing’ it up with water from the tap, and of course realised the pressure thing that then makes the water spurt out and drench, rather than fuzzle like air – rofl!!

Sb also done some playing with birthday presents – thankyou all. in partic geomags, ocean mega puzzle, and a fight over ownership of the wooden maze [demonstrated by me in show of mode - rofl!] The pencils really are beautiful to use and the bionic putty is truly weird!

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Thanks again everyone for coming. SB really loved it, and was really happy to have her friends there and wasn’t at the end particularly phased by the lack of playbarn. Hope you all got home safely.

I can do a head over heels

well, BB was actually trying to do a headstand, cos she enjoys doing them, but found it even more exciting when she tipped into a head over heels, so did it lots more.

Birthday disasters

well, we did a modicum of tidying, got the food ready and then went to the play barn. disaster! the leccy was off, people were mending the overhead wires and it was shut! We texted those we had numbers for and rapidly thought of a plan B. The village chemist sells little toys, so I went there – shut! Ah well, bye bye plan B.

Guests arriving so I pillaged SB’s craft cupboard and found enough bits for pass the parcel, a treasure hunt and a prize. SB gutted that playbarn closed, but put brave face and decided the games sounded good, so once others arrived, they played in the garden, adults nattered and with help organised the pass the parcel. The games went well. Katy and children arrived eventually having had communication probs with our mobile – thank goodness for the balloons!

From then on, all the children had fun and plan C worked pretty well. SB said it had been a lovely birthday and she was very happy. Thanks to all the guests from near and far, it was lovely seeing and having you here [apologies for chaos - might have done a bit more cleaning and tidying if we had started off with plan C!].

SB and sleepover guest might now be asleep [with a bit of luck!] and hope all the rest went home safely with their treasures. I must now restock the craft cupboard as SB was saying she also had this and that when they were being won by others – oops!

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oh go on

i really should blog the weekend. we have had a lovely time, with my parents and sitster and family visiting. SB enjoyed her birthday and loved her presents – and had a surprise in the way of a camera as well as castle.

SB went to a fun rainbow birthday party of a friend sat morning, and that set us up for a weekend of fun. BB loved having the family there, and SB and M had a lovely time together. I haven’t seen mum and dad for ages, so I was really happy too.

I am entirely soppy by nature, but not so publicly on blog, but just thought I would say what a delight SB is for us. We had a long wait before we were lucky enough to have her, but it was worth it! This year has seen her transform from little girl into big girl, she is great fun, loving and brings a smile to my face 95% of the time.? Children are a privilege.

BB last night was somewhat less of a privilege due to her inability to recognise when her parents wished to stay asleep! oh well.

rewind to wed

we’re not really doing a good job of blogging in order are we?

I guess wed was really a game of 2 halves, but i didn’t balance them well. Sb def losing out to BB. Must do better really. we did get a fair bit of home ed done -sb mostly confident with the subtractions [54-28 type] now, and did a fair bit of maths on edu city – multiplying. Also her reading is nicely moving along. she is really enjoying reading, and a while back i bought a set of usborne young readers from the book people, and now she is racing through them, they are pretty much dead right for what she wants to read. must give back merry her ORT 8 as well as read well now.

She has done some more of the chinese books from enchanted learning, and liked the numbers. She is finding it particularly amusing that 2 looks like=. it is making the maths slightly tedious as we have ‘the joke’ about all the 2′s each time. But lets face it, its a good joke, and she is really happy saying it.

We read random pages out of an encyclopaedia – insects, industrial revolution, volcanos, and talked quite a lot about evolution.

BB and i did a lot of playing, cuddling and messing about. we built towers and boats out of blocks, and knocked them down again, read books, danced and messed about.

After lunch we piled outside to enjoy the sunshine, sowed some carrots and make a makeshift cloche/polytunnel affair to put over the row. I did a fair bit of weeding, and the girls did lots of playhouse and climbing frame play as well. They did help chris with pruning the grapevine, and i popped the babyswing seat on the tri-swing [just as BB growing too big!] She did love it, and SB pushed her as she giggled. Lovely.

When we came in, all girls [including me] turned into grumpalumps for some unknown reason. BB screeching like a banshee over who knows what, SB wailing and me stroppy. so we divvied up, and SB had piano and violin lesson and Daddy kept BB occupied. The peace restored, we read, played games [spot the animal!] and the day back on track.

Every evening this week, SB and I have had an extra 30 mins of games or reading – whatever she wants – before her bed following the departure of BB. SB is really appreciating this.

Today I got home earlier to have a bit more time, and we mostly played and did some tidying up. We made a chocolate brownies – didn’t get the timing right – they were in and out of the oven like yoyo’s! more games and reading and a nice bedtime.

SB’s birthday this sunday. have the castle, no wrapping paper, and family arriving tomorrow to house of chaos!

oh, and i forgot to say, that BB is quite insistant she is a boy ladybird!

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