Category Archives: General

Time to clean the car out?

Get in the car this morning to go swimming, SB says ‘Why does this car get smellier and smellier?…….’

Minbari?

I don’t know, SB looked like a Bejoran at birth and BB a Klingon. Chris has swapped sci-fi programmes, and gone for a babylon 5 Minbari look!

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Grapes and Bikes

These are the biggest happenings of the day – so obviously a relaxed one. i have had a really heavy week at work, and working tomorrow, so did need relaxed. i also haven’t been quite so manic today as needed a bit more headspace.

SB got up at some ungodly hour, and got up chris as well. BB and I slept a while longer, and then I got breakfast in bed – very nice. [no I haven't done night weaning or controlled crying yet]. Meandered downstairs and the outside. We started off with making scrabble words. SB made 3 3 letter words [cvc] herself that joined and was proud, but that was enough. BB had a lot of fun on the rocker horse. SB then did a counting game with chinese chequers board with me, whose rules I misunderstood, so a ‘moment’ there. Book time to calm things down, and I was brough the space and the machines picturepedia of DK. I was surprised how much SB has remembered about space, as it must be quite a number of months since we last really looked at it. She also remebered the gluing shapoes space picture we did back in march or april – blogged so I can find it! Thisn time we concentrated more on galaxies and the lifecycle of stars. She liked the idea of constellations, so this eve tried to look for some, but too cloudy. Didn’t see Venus either, but not sure whether that is in an evening or morning phase at the mo. We also had a look around the garden at different leaf types – and took photos for potential use in future.

Some making up stories later, and we went to harvest lunch – potatoes, runner beans and sweetcorn. Also some figs. SB now good at spotting the ripe sweetcorn and figs too. That gave us the idea for checking on the grapes, and a short taste test and we harvested the first bunch!! – wow, we are really happy about this. And they are nice eaters. some of the smaller slightly tart, but not too much. the largest very juicy and sweet.

While chris cooked lunch, SB did some sticker sleeping beauty story book, I read it too her, and then she did all the stickers while I played peekaboo with BB. Before that, she was BB the destroyer, ripping up the not-brio track that SB had obviously put out while we were still in bed. Yummy lunch, and some general playing. A short amount of singapore maths while chris [and BB] got the tandem ready, and then they were off for a spin.

While I was slightly nervous, BB and I had fun walking round the room and general chuckling and 9 month interactions. I don’t often get the chance to play so much with BB without interruption. Its quite pleasant isn’t it, to just be playing with one for a change. [not that I would swap anything here!]

the bigger beans returned unharmed, and I got a blow by blow account. Mostly wildness, rollerskating and magazine reading, then lots and lots of beautiful colouring in – finally she does it in the lines and carefully. This is probably tieing in with her increased interest in writing – where is that sonlight order with the getty and dubay! Anyway, we did writing practice in a jolly phonics workbook. I got to play a lot more with BB as well, without feeling I was depriving SB. maybe i should be more laid back more often? Nah.

Anyway, baths and both asleep. SB wanted Thomas books again – obviously back on a train theme, so will perhaps do a train ride next week in somerset.

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nervous

Chris and SB gone for first ever tandem cycle ride …. on the roads. i had been thinkin g quiet estate or cycle track.
worried!
SB very excited

Quickety Quick

Beans seem to have a great day, they went to the mudpud group at Merry’s this pm. chris didn’t manage to make the animal halves, but it didn’t seem to matter. SB was full of playing whisper games and dragon chasing with Fran Maddy and E.

I was at work [and on call] and had to give my business plan type talk – was asked for a 1 1/2 hour talk on the future [to infinity and beyond...] – well, I’m afraid I find some of this management stuff a bit playacting at times. But was told this morning that they really wanted a SWOT analysis and 10 mins, so rewrote the whole bugger. [having googled for SWOT analysis!]

Actually it went well, i overan so was cut short, but fairly bounced like tigger around room with enthusiasm for my field, and apologised for my lack of management jargon [aka twaddle] due to not having an MBA [though didn't mention I had had to google SWOT analysis!], and stuffed talk full of incomprehensible speciality and health economics words instead As it happens, I actually had prepared talk properly [can't bear not to], and chief exec seemed impressed [good heavens].

Rather relieved to join the real world and speak plain english again. [well, for me, I know you think I write like dictation or telegram!]

home to the beans, and SB kisses and cuddles, and cupboard love and chuckles from BB. We have done some letter writing and sticker maths, and a bit of reading [a science encyclopaedia way over head about atoms, molecules and the periodic table. She did enjoy it, and we played find the element – wierd!]. Chris’s new tandem arrived, so duly oohed and aahed over it. SB very excited.

Edit – added by Chris.

As Merry has mentioned the Puddlers groups didn’t go quite to plan, but Merry’s house and garden were very accomodating, hope the carpet recovered ok. SB fell aslepp in the car on the way their and was still asleep when I put her in an armchair. Looked a little confused when she woke up, not expecting to be there. :-) Got upset on the way home though when she suddenly said ‘we didn’t go to the pirate place’ – (she means the hall, this is our second visit to the group – first time they were doing parents) – convinced her that she hadbeen, just at Merry’s house. She moslty did colouring in green and yellow of various animal printouts and then lost of playing and running around. Prised her away so that we could get home in time for the man from the bike shop to deliver the new toy. I gave it quick twirl, SB was really excited by it and wanted ago, but it was to late so she’ll have to wait until tomorrow. With petrol set to hit ?1 litre we will have to give it as much use as we can.

Helen has mentioned looking at the Science encylopedia, I do love the way she seems so interested in this stuff. Even when the book is pitched way above her age, she really does like you to read/tell her things about what it is showing.

Nothing to do with the above, I just love this url Raising Godly Tomatoes – not so sure of the content, TCS it ain’t. Came across it on another email list (CM4earlyears)

I have my flickr back!!

…and still loads of back catalog to do [grin!]

Anyway, SB and BB happy to see me on return from work – unlike JJ, we did NOT have sleeping baby last night [or bed on time Mum]. The storm was something though wasn’t it!

Our social diary prob full for this term, so very happy with that, and will fill up next as well. [though may squeeze a bit more in!]
We are def planning to have a no-school/housewarming next summer term start for SB, as that is her ‘official’

Today she has done a lovely painting at nursery and brought it back. We did more brio-alike [well tescos!] making up stories. She still insists the name is Hemery and Hemerietta though. While doing this BB fed for England [thank god, as so engorged could have knocked holes in concrete as no time to express at work today].

Chris found a cricket in the kitchen so we had a look at that, and then it jumpd all over the place before caught and shown the door!

Nice ‘Ken Hom’ made by chris for tea – though he needs to improve at stringing runners – while Sb counted mouthfuls in German. We also looked at a Marshalls veg catalogue to decide what to grow, and although she was haywire with page 50, she spotted 66 and 67 instantly – wierd]. some addition and subtraction went on as well.

me and SB did her phonics on the leappad. I got a box set of 10 phonics books with a multicartridge from american ebay and its brill. I had worried about the american accent, but SB either ignores or laughs as she repeats words such as fragile. of course being SB, we are not actually doing them in logical progression, so did book 10 – compound words! however, she is realising -gradually- that if she thinks about the letters she can read the simple words. Obviously she prefers wild guessing most of the time!

BB def 4 teeth now – ouch.

anyway, back to yesterday…..

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Humph

wore whole musing on ed philosophy and lost by webmarshall suspecting gambling

Protected: socialisation arrangements

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planning for garden

whilst pruning and training, thought of the trees we might remove
pic 1
pic2

we have plenty of tres, so not too awful an idea, and we are planning to put in loads of fruit – although mostly trained forms, so a net gain. We are in a conservation area, so not sure how that would go down

bank holiday weekend

My parents visited- which was nice. except that I was on duty for 48 hours of it!! [and manically busy]

When I got home yesterday we had a very lazy and relaxed garden day. read SB lots of books [ and I think mum read bookcases full the day before] fed and giggled with BB and generally just chilled.

SB did still do a fair number of maths workbooks pages, jigsaws, counting games [ludo, snakes and ladders etc], matching games [dominos and memory cards and snap] colouring and drawing and writing her name on all the muddlepuddle postcards. She’s getting the names of the continents from the globe, a lovely jigsaw or 2 and a new DK globe game which is like snakes and ladders, put a plane flying round the globe and getting sidetracked.

today we nipped to the garden centre and SB fell in love with a shed-house [ and me with a potting shed] we have done lots of gardening – pruning and weeding mainly. Much chilling and reading again. SB still having fun with patterns – this time connect 4, also reinforcing the 6 number bonds [which she clearly knows]. lots of just playing and imagination.

edit – forgot that we started another crystal experiment – time to buy in bulk!

Rather fun, we turned the garden sunshade into a den with prunings. we did weave some through, but SB was so enthusiastic that by the time photos taken, it was semi-rutus [?sp] but i like the word. We found lots of shield bugs on the branches to look in the bugfinder as well. tied in nicely with the new DK insects book I had ebayed….

SB sad as at new nursery, everyone left to start school, so she is starting again. She was very philosophical about it with Mum – which tugged my heartstrings a bit. I do think SB would prob love much of school, but I would hate it to crush her SB-ness!

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