Guinness – aka ‘Demon Cat’ (look at the picture larger, check out the eyes.), shows off his bald patch from his op. Had his stitches out today, walking pretty well, little bit of limp. But he can’t run yet, if he tries it, three legs work and the last one can’t keep up, rather comical.
Posted in General
has been rather grand!
we have kirsty and co staying, and merry and co round for the day.
it was nice to get in from work to a houseful yesterday. Kirsty’s 2 and SB were demonstrating nicely one of the reasons we bought the house – it is a fantastic place for children to run around madly shrieking!! They played together, watched shrek and investigated the house together. unsurprisingly very late bedtime. foolishly i’d said we read 1 book for each – andthey all chose long ones. kirsty giggled as i started to paraphrase! not that they then fell asleep……… We got in a good natter before my eyes refused to stay open anyway. I did check out the sonlight manuals though.
Today they all demanded we bake so i checked ingredients and recipe. SOme nice drawing occurred while we adults had a cup of tea! they then ran around indoors and out like loons while I tidied some of the disaster from yesterday! once the floor was visible, it was quite clear that happy street should be done, and the 3 worked nicely to get the track to go around the mat – even with BB ‘helping’!
Kirsty here! Helen forgot to add in the huge conversation she and Marcus had about hearts and discussing the different parts of it using her freebie heart model she got ages ago. We must get one of those! This was started by looking at a big body book so loads of discussion there too. Marcus was beign very brave I must say, talking to both Helen and Chris like they were normal people (which of course they are lol!) and not like he normally talks to adults! He’s getting better!
oops edit no 2 – forgot to also add that on asking for a paracetamol for a headache Chris supplied me with 2 double strength cocodomal (sp?) which resulted in me being stoned for the whole day!! erm, oops!
When Merry and co arrived, Fran settled down to read numerous books to SB [what a great idea!], before they got more adventurous. the littlies demolished the happy street of course. While we grownups discussed sonlight, usborne and brownie-style badges for bloggers. was a great natter.
Chris edit – Whilst those adults nattered. This adult was in the kitchen organising lunches for the hoards. Much uproar was caused over instant needs for Pitta Bread ! there should be some sort of rule that all children will eat baked beans….
Children went outside and climbing framed and sandpitted [great!] when started to look overly excited we went to plan B which was drawing in the conservatory – some great pictures done. Included discussion on growing grapes, why they have pips, the solar system and order of planets.
When Merry went we had pasta tea, and the children counted to 10 in all known languages. Chris read some of our pre-loved ladybird books – greek legends and dinosaurs. They all did a lot of counting and adding, and some shops playing. I insisted only one book read to nigt, but they still spread it out by doing a full home-ed thing by discussing each page – counting, spotting differences etc etc. sigh!! Still awake. Anyway we actually did a lot of autonomous home ed.
now, have flickred, so may do a badge whilst drinking wine!
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ok, better late than never!
Posted in art and crafts, Blogging, Butterbean, General, history, language, literacy, numeracy, photos, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE
I should really be blogging about today and Kirsty’s arrival etc. But I’m going to bed. (in short, we had nice morning, library, sun etc. K and gang arrived, ran around outside and in, with LOTS of screaming, children did not all manage to get to sleep in the same room were moslty still on the go at 10.30. Only one glass of Archers Aqua stuff (odd stuff, bit like peachy, alochoklic lemonade…) was consumed, obviously pacing herself – she’s got two bottles 
So I leave you with the latest quiz from the BBC, this one on Physics.
Luckily, to save on any embarassment for me I did get 10/10, though I had a wobble on one question when I had bit of mental blank.
Posted in General
‘Sun is shining in the sky…’
It’s lovely October day, I should be inside doing some (more) tidying, pending arrival of the Barthlomews
But………
Was IM-ing Nic, and we got on to HE – like you do. We were generally commenting on how many different parenting setups/ styles and HE emphasis on the blogring, and how great it is to be able to read from them and learn from them. I also find it a relief that many of us seem to have our insecurities, rather than just me! I feel often that i would like to do x like a does and y like b does etc etc. however….
Yet when all the children get together, what do we see – a horde of bright and shiny happy, often too articulate children which on the whole get on well with each other – who they see rarely. OK, we don’t sit them down to SATS [ROFL!], but it suggests to me that the common thread – which is that we all love and care enough – is probably going to be the key one to our children’s happiness.
Does this mean that i am going to stop stressing -ROFLMHO – I doubt it!!
And, I have different trousers on now, not inside out! I believe SB has mostly weblanded today, and some tidying.
Posted in General, Ponderings
would be nice.
updates
HE
Sat - some explode the code [2 pages] and some singapore maths [2 pages] read 2 of the red nose readers. I read loads of other books. Discussion around romans. Army and costume mainly. Watched Muzzy. Went to stagecoach. mostly played though – chris feeling ill.
Sun – Chris a zombie, me with migraine. 2 pages explode the code 1, and 2 [just] of singapore earlybird 2b. read another red nose reader, some phonics cards. painted a lovely picture which she told me was a dreamtime story – and the story involved. heard her tell inlaws about how days and nights worked
Chris’s parents came over for sunday lunch and prob wished they hadn’t as we were in a bit of a state – house in uproar and dishevelled parents and children.
BB getting good at crawling forward now – at last! and likes to push along a car or other toy as well. good fine movt fingers – picks up the smallest speck of rubbish off the floor to eat!!
unfortunatley no sleeping skills – i closed my eyes at 6.30 am for alarm 15 mins later. dead on feet. In fact so dead, hace reallised i hav gone to work with trousers inside out – and done a whole clinic like this!!!! ROFL
Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, Daft Stuff, Dance/drama, General, history, language, literacy, numeracy, Stringbean's HE
Yesterday – well BB can clap beautifully now, and very proud of this. Had fun in a baby walker. can walk sideways for a few steps along furniture.
The pub opposite [with missing landlord] has withdrawn its application for more music – yay!
Posted in Butterbean, General
just realised near the month end and not done the back flikr – aargh
sb and bb at nursery. me at work chris also at work
SB had ballet [with both shoes!]
Posted in General
we started lots of things, but not so good at completing! Sb still recovering from cold, and me from maudlin-ness. So a partial duvet day!!
We started off well though, had a look at various seed heads around the garden – the water iris and sweet chestnut the most fantastic. Picked up a few of other kinds too, and used them in a sticking picture of Autumn. We had a chat about seasons as we did it, what autumn meant, the how behind it etc. As we had done this in the conservatory, SB wanted to watch telly – so had a spanish Muzzy. Neither of us comprehended much, so we watched the english version – aha!! We were supposed to have the spanish back, but SB spied the bugs life video….. lunch was a good distraction, and after that we did some looking at our fly on the wall ancient egypt book and DK egypt book. We spied egypt on a map – SB a bit put out that it wasn’t ‘ancient egypt’. I tried to explain a bit about the country being more or less the same through the ages [yes, I know]. She did know the big river was the nile though – good-oh. She has decided that the first pharoah entombed in a pyramid was Josie Jo [close, as Djoser! - i wont let practical archaeology get to far Merry!!!!] We had a very brief look at the mediaeval bit of the DK history explorer – she was collecting stickers, and a blink at the solar system one. [and I mean a blink].
Moved on to Happy Street, and making stories. Getting better still with BB destroying as she goes [though the peace was uneasy!]. Some climbing about on the climbing frame, and then brought me the usborne greek myths and waved it about saying she wanted ulysses. i explained that was the other one, but she knows best and shows there is a woooden horse piccie in it. She’s right, the Ulysses story is in there too near the end. Odysseus here though – so we discussed name changing. She sat rapt by it, and insisted we went on to Theseus and the Minotaur.
What we haven’t done is any learning to read stuff and singapore or miquon maths for a while. I am gald we did some language though. knowing she would have it regularly at school does up the stakes doesn’t it. even for us, who are not trying to school at home. I know she will prob have a mad day of non-stop maths soon though, but I think we would like to encourage a daily habit as well. i have therefore taken photos of the front of some of these resources, and will cut them out into ? laminated magnetic stickers, or have a sheet with a certain number of them on, so she can get used to choosing which one to do, finidng matching book and getting on. How controlling. Once we’ve slipped back into the habit, we can just let go a bit again.
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Posted in art and crafts, General, history, language, photos, science, Stringbean's HE
As reminded, it will be hard to keep calling her this, as she graduates soon into toddlerhood.
I feel really blessed with my girls. they are both happy and loving, and make my home life a joy. [yep, even when SB being super clingy/awkward/loud and BB being snack attack queen all night!]. Sometimes I concentrate so muich on the what we did/ HE bit of this blog that perhaps I don’t emphasise the gratitude i feel for the time we have, and the deep contentedness I have. OK, I want to spend far more time actually with them, and the work/life balance is totally wrong for me, but they have 2 loving, caring parents spending time with them, and are less fussed which one it is on the whole. Good thing I’m not on ‘just a minute’ as lots of deviation and hesitation in this post! I also think that the blogs concentrate more on SB because of it being a home ed blog. IRL is not so organised, most things are done with both of them, and splitting my time. I am trying to do seperate things too – easier with SB when BB asleep than the other way round. Anyway, in summary, life flows on here with lots of fun and laughter as often as possible.
BB is very mobile now – in a funny crawl way. She has her left foot leading, and drags her right knee – very odd. also tends to spin her round in a circle, so she has to sit up and readjust her direction frequently. She is very proud of this movement, so seems unfair for the family to laugh at it, but today needed laughter too. She regularly stops for a bottom in the air position too! She can pull to standing, and loves walking holding onto hands. She is a lovely communicator. Smiley and loving. she waves and gesticulates, rars, babbles, points. She strokes my arm gently while feeding, and when investigating something new, often uses this gentle stroke first. She loves music and rhythm. She is mad for chris’s throwing abouts. She, unfortunately likes all the flashing lights associated with laptops! She is an explorer, peering in and at everything with great concentration. She is also the great baby destroyer at the moment, scrumpling paper/books, SB’s jigsaws, puffling the games and constructions. pulling at hair and lips is also a favourite. She loves the limelight, but is quite happy to explore on her own. She has more freedom than SB – partly because we give her more, but also she likes it, whereas SB has always been an interact with me/join at the hip type. She also clearly adores SB – just as well it is mutual. physically she is still a lovely chubby bundle, but some of her bracelets are now disappearing. she has 5 teeth now [and don't i know it sometimes!]
today was the funeral of aunty peggy. due to my not particularly good state, we managed to get the time wrong, and got to the crematorium 2 hours early, so went to pizza hut for a buffet lunch, and then tried again. SB still recovering from tiredness and cold, so the delay wasn’t good for her, and BB needed a sleep. however they wer both reasonably good, though at the end i did feed BB [seemed odd, but aunty peggy wouldn't have cared, she was always showing her breast prosthesis to all and sundry after all]. I like singing the lord is my shepherd anyway. Oddly, at the end uncle robert and his family left one way, and aunty peggy’s side went to the wake arranged by her brother reggie. Does this mean that he doesn’t feel part of our family any more?? or maybe just to upset to go ahead with a wake at this time. brother reggie is an odd concept. All my life I knew Little Nanny had a brother who didn’t gel with the family and was?disowned. She han’t seen him for years etc. however she has been writing apparently for 5 years, and they finally made contact at uncle harry’s funeral earlier on in this year. So I got to meet him. lots of family came. including cousin Liz from Germany [Anne's twin]. stayed late to talk. will flickr
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Posted in Blogging, Butterbean, General, Out and About, photos, Ponderings