Author Archives: HHaricot

it has been a hard week working against their clock. really disappointed that it isnt going to be ready for xmas, just hoping for as much function as possible. DH is working very very hard. trying to cover all the other bases meant i was given the ocado login and ordered lots of stuff i just haven’t got round to making . kept the house going, and in fact have done a fab 40 days tidy on conservatory and dining room. so now should go round tomorrow taking photos! [of the downstairs] AM v proud of how hard DH is working x x

bb did prob 15 things, mostly reading, crafts and piano. however nanna titied up and threw away the ticksheet so no photo! next week will be games, craft and laughter. some reading may happen but it is christmas!!!!

this probably should be called minecraft and skating wednesday, as that is mostly what happened! i had worked too much the night before but was raring to go ok so i drank lots of cups of tea. jax couldnt make it due to illness and kfish was in london. so we had a chilled time minecrafting and chatting, and went skating, where we met up with theB and co. kids had a great time. bb was twiling and jumping.

bb had made a minecraft christmas extravaganza world, and there was lots of giggling and laughing. the rest of us tried a complicared game of settlers with both knights and seafarers expansion

thursday bb managed to skate again with cubs, and we had nanna over to help make the house reasonable for xmas

still snowing in france! this weekend SB had a religious cultural experience, as the scouts took part in a special service for the last sunday before xmas [yep, its that xmas word - panic panic panic] . I think she enjoyed it. She was enthusing over the gifts she and frb have planned for each other they do appear to be getting on really well . still no photos for me tho – sigh! i think her french family are getting a bit bored of vegetarianism tho! they have been wonderful accommodating her diet, and i said this to sb, but she said she realises why jfish stopped being veggie on the exchange, as it is harder. i reminded her that it was her choice whilst she was there, but if she stays veggie, to appreciate the effort the family has made to give her good healthy veggie food. she agreed, and then asked why she could eat hens eggs and not fish eggs! explained… i think christmas approaching is making her feel more homesick again, and certainly isn’t easy, but accentuate the positives. I think this exchange has been really good for her, and i think she is and will continue to be glad and proud she did it.

bb on the phone to big sis, in lieu of any other pics

the shower is tiled and grouted. unfortunately we have had to do another stud wall as the window wall was so far out of true, and the lime plaster not good in places. yes, we should perhaps have stripped all the plaster and started from scratch, but then we might never have finished the job! at least we are progressing. I have closed my mind to the fact christmas guests come next weekend. argh! i let the thought in for a second!!! aaaarrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. deep breathe, deep breathe, deep breathe! oh, and we have insulated the bath, for a nice long warm soak!

Bb evinced huge disappointment on tues eve that it wasn’t a weds4ed the next day. So a txt to theB -knowing her house germ free- and we went across for lunch time. Had a great afternoon. I brought a fimo craft – glass jar tea lights – we all enjoyed it and B did a partic fab one for a school secret Santa. Swimming happened, bb did some home ed, some games happened and lots of chatting. Lovely day. Managed to make it back for last judo

although after a full on little sleep week i would have thought this weekend would be all about sleep, it was all about tidying . I 40 daysed the whole playroom – yippee! and most of the front room – not yet a yippee, but should finish it this week. Enough so that we could get the trees up. SO here is christmas 2013, the countdown! the 2 trees are up.

BB did some home ed type stuff as pre-agreed, but we kept it simple . We also did lots of snuggled up reading. I used to read to SB loads and loads, but somehow have got out of reading out loud to the girls, and BB specifically, and I miss it. SO we read some topical books – Mandela long walk to freedom childrens version; while the bear sleeps – and had a go at something new – Ovids metamorphosis. A few more poems there than she liked, but we are going to stick with it for now.

DH has been working really hard in the bathroom. AIm is for it to be useable at christmas, even if not fully decorated. SO, tiling begins – the shower is half tiled. It seems like such a huge step forwards.