all going well – very nice time by all, weather lovely. Some of the blogring [and ex blogring] got sunburned by sitting drinking in one position for far too long [avoided pressure sores though]. A rather close to home member of the blogring forgot to take poles for the tent, so is still be very nice to me to make up!! Thank Goodness that the HEMUK crew took a spare tent!
Busy back at work, so no time to go into any details. Wish you all were there enjoying too though
Posted in General, Out and About, Stringbean's HE
I think we may have what is called a mouser!
Does anyone want a mouse to dissect at kessie??
It was POETS day today for a change, so did some good sorting at work – a bit of clinical stuff, and then sourcing as cheap a touchscreen option as I could to use with a questionnaire.
Came home to find Chris had done emergency dash to Lidl, and bought the wooden no-pedal bike and a chair hammock. Ideally we wanted the no-peddler last year, but will still help SB balance, and will bring to Kessie. [we will have 2 cars]
could we have an idea on when any of the activities are planned? we know the wildlife thing on the tues and the lake on the wed. can’t think of anything good that i could do, especially as I’m working half the week. We will bring the lining paper and paints along though. just don’t want to miss basket weaving.
Also, although we are not exactly en route, if anyone wants a stop over on the fri, feel free. [cambridgeshire]
Anyway digression over. SB and BB were a nursery day. SB did some nice piccies there. when she returned, SB thought bike great, but preferred my hammock – we have piccies to upload at some time. Had a nice play in the garden – but very hot! Nice veggie curry for tea and then watermelon. More playing, and bath. both sb and bb being v slow to settle tonight
oh and i was the savador dali clocks, but there was at least 2 options that siuted me for each question, so not too sure!
Posted in General, Out and About, Stringbean
we have had a great holiday. the campsite is in a super league. pitches gorgeous, shady and sheltered – such that the night of high wind barely affected tent. we like our vango nightstop dome [venture 500 i think??]. Beach huge, sandy, dunes and shells. gently sloping into sea [warm] with a sandbar. Ideal, i think so! As if not enough, also 2 pool complexes, the nearest to us with a ring pool – with current to get you around it in the rings – SB v keen!] 2 round pools with jets and jacuzzi effect, large gentle sloping tots to toddler pool with slides and waterfall, and a lap pool for the straight swimmers! The further away one had landscaped sandy [read small gravel!] beaches, a samller ring pool, a jaccuzy like bit, and a water volcano, different depth areas in a big water complex joined with small slides, and a climbing frame with lots of water slides off it. A wooded area with swing/playpark etc.|Very nice too! 5 restaurants, 2 beach bar/grills, 3 other bar/grills, 2 supermarkets, baker,grocer, pizza takeaway, creperie, gelateria, hairdresser, numerous buying things shops so no real reason to leave – except venice! If you wanted it, there is kids activites in the days 2 hours am and pm, so you candrop them off, sports such as golf etc in complex across road, and a spa thing with thermal thises and thats.
my parents and sister and family were already there [hired caravan each] and we ad an easy journey out with SB and BB being well behaved on flights and transit. Having dad meet us at marco polo airport did make whole thing more civilised! Unfortunately, heavy hints on others putting up tent were disregarded, but they did save good pitch! SB and cousin M have great times together, and were off playing in sand and dirt immediately. my niece E had decided she didn’t like heat, sand or water, so sister Vivien rather stressed! Weather good, apart fro 2 days
the days activities: we ate croissants and rolls at breakfast fresh from bakers at tent, wandered over to the caravans to go to beach/pool, back for lunch – roll, cheese, salad and wine usually prepared by mum. then pool in the afternoon. a takeaway or restaurant usual for tea – though I cooked 3 times in a fortnight as did my mum. baby disco in the evening, and a night train ride. Baby disco was a bit of a hoot, with the under 12′s – on the whole much younger – dancing eurobop routines with the childrens camp people showing them how at the front. Very good for counting to 8 in german, as this was often done over the words! SB had some favourite bits. The night train wandered around the campsite in the evening with little ones on board shouting something untranslatable in german, and slapping hands of passers by.
bits that stand out -
me not gauging depth of one pool and stepping off side with B in arms, and holding her over head as I go under – she didn’t get wet, dad prepared to dive in hasselhof style, but relieved I didn’t need it. Jarred ankle badly, and scraped other foot [still painful] but BB unruffled!
BB learning to ROLL OVER!! fanfare for that one
SB asking for icecreams in italian and saying please and thankyou nicely.
SB just generally being happy and having fun. Playing with german girls in tent nearbye, even though minimal crossover of language, with no problems.
lazydays and evenings. I went to this campsite every other year for about 10 years, so it was actually quite a sentimental return for me!
venice was gorgeous – I have been lots before, but first for chrsi and girls. SB particularly wanted to go in the church, so duly done, where she was very impressed by it all. chris took her up to top, where she noticed the horses were boys! Gondolas, canals, bridges and the rialto ummed and ahhed over. icecreams consumed! SB was knackered by end, so good old bushbaby backpack!
HE on the hoof: We read usborne pocket science books, painted, dot the dotted, counted, and spoke italian and german. discussed weather, stars, vision [spontaneously SB came out with the fact that our eyes 'see' upside down]. lots of dinosaur hunting for fossils in the dirt and sand. A bit of ‘gunning’ as playing with a boy – hmm!! lots of singing and SB dancing. she even managed to swim some strokes before sinking by end of hols.
will prob add more including piccies given time. would recommend though!
Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, General, geography, history, language, numeracy, Out and About, SB-PE, science, socialisation, Stringbean
So it’s just as well we are having one 
We head off tomorow morning, feel dreafully disorganised, but have a nice pile of bulging bags in front of me so must have most things. Anyway we are staying near Venice – here.
Looks nice and warm, though the BBC is not quite so warm.
We are camping, Helen’s Mum and Dad, Sister, BIL and the nephew and neice are coming as well, so family time. Nephew is 6 months older than SB, so they will have a ball together
We’ve had busy few days, today H had a pretty crap day at work by all accounts, and they managed to cock up her pay and under pay her by a significant amount. Yestderday her Nan came home from hospital, we took our freezer down for her to put in porch, she was originally meant to have been home by about 2, but in the end it was past 5.30 pm. If we’d known we’d have gone and got her. Anyway she is looking well, and will hopefully get on ok. Theu keep changing what they are saying about exactly what support she will ahve at home to start with. I don’t tthink she really needs much help really, esp. with all the friends and family to help out etc. but it would be good if they could just say what they intend and stick to it.
So didn’t really start packing and sorting until yesterday, so quite please I managed to get it pretty much finished tonight without to much hassle.
SB went with my parents to visit the Raptor Foundation Saw various birds of prey, watched them flying, had a owl or something perch on her arm, sound like she really enjoyed it. Though when she spoke to me on the phone, she told me about some feathers she had found bought a big rubbery Eagle toy thing, which she used to chase all the other kids around with at nursey this morning Though she did go on about them eating bread (as we feed the birds in the garden) so an essential fact seems to have passed her by……….
Well time for bed and a good start in the morning, y’all have fun now ya hear. Might even do a holiday blog or two if there is internet access, otherwise see you in 2 weeks.
Posted in Out and About
And i think we have deserved one!
Went to Stagecoach [drama/music/dance] in the morning, and SB really enjoyed it this time, and was happy to let me wander off with SB rather than wait outside [good as it was tipping it down!] Whilst waiting for it to start, I had chatted to a few other parents and B had learnt their children’s names.
got home, and a black hole in time so very late setting off for the ruby wedding. Got to chris’s aunty Pam and uncle roberts in time for chinwag and catchup and then off to barn dance to celebrate Uncle Ivor and Aunty barbara’s 40th wedding anniversary. We had a great time, doing the dances with SB, she also made some friends – so easy socialising at events like this, but more nervous when a larger group of same age?? most knackering moment came when SB wanted to dance tango with me, but insited on being carried – that def is more of a Chris thing! I was proud of the way she swapped partners in some of the dances, and really loved it.
Today we did more chatting and setting world to rights, also inviting back to our house tomorrow for a nose. The lovely lunch at a restaurant in Harlow. SB and BB were great kids the whole time, and it is great to have a chat and catch up with chris’s family. In between times, SB has asked loads of questions about how to be a doctor, what different doctors do, if she could work with me. Also read some more of the usbourne pocket science – a real fave! We did the illness one to tie in.
Best SB line was when we were discussing foods and if you could work out what they were made of – weetabix has wheat, what is in cornflakes…wheat…no corn……what is in rice crispies…… ah, crisps so that means potatoes……….very good thinking, but no, rice! We had been having a convuluted conversation about wheat and not everyone being able to eat it, saw it growing in a field, what it was used for etc as well.
Feel have done lots of on the hoof ed, lots of socialising and being jolly. A weekend I really needed. Connected to my family [and chris's]
read the roald dahl poem book at bedtonight – also enjoyed! BB played with an apple for almost 10 mins with a look of real concentration – rolling it, fiddling with the stalk and trying to eat it!
My Nanny improving, Guinness still not found though. Supposed to be writing a teaching on preterm labour [sigh] / tidying house/ squirtling/ thinking of holiday packing. Ah no, bugger it, I will blog instead! Also think I will send up some piccies!
Posted in Butterbean, General, Out and About, Stringbean's HE
we all went to norfolk and norwich. nan in 3rd ward in 3 days – got moved at about 3am she thinks. nice sideroom though. Seen by community assessment team who were cheery and encouraging. likely thing is she fell down stairs. Mum has bought bed as well for dining room. Nanny has walked some steps with zimmer as well. still a lot of pain – only to be expected.
Anyway we all went. little beans being v good medicine. said goodbye to dad. hope solo drive to italy not too bad. he has gone for a route he has done before.SB monopolised mum, me and BB chatted with nanny, and she just enjoyed seeing us all – though we were a bit exhausting. mum read SB phonics books and bambi – who SB insists is female, so makes story a bit unusual! Nanny liked the oatbiscuits.
Although i drove there, nice for chris to drive home. BB feeding all night so i am v sleep deprived [hollow laugh to joanna!]. read usbourne castle time traveller at home with SB. she helped chris refill bird feeders. fun bath and bedtime stories. Now feeding BB – again!
so nanny now a lighter straw, as temp settling and she has chosen to fight to regaon independence.
Another possible straw lightening is there is a half hopeful sighting of guinness near fish and chip shop. a scared small black near siamese eating food and scarpering – does sound guiness like.
Posted in General, Out and About, Stringbean's HE
Helen has had to do another resident on call 24 hour shift 
– no this won’t be the normal arrrangement. If the house was fitted with an Infinite Improbability Drive (yep, just watched the rerun of HHGTTG), I would have whiled away the evening in peace on the sofa, beer in hand, laptop at hand to catch up on the ring and things with the shiny new ADSL connection (a man of simple pleasures…).
Back in this reality, managed to get Stringbean off to bed while Butterbean played in her cot reasonably happily, but then she spent the evening either drinking a modicum of milk, stopping, having another doze in bit while I cuddled her etc. but as soon as I went off to do something – 10 inutes later – ‘Wahhh’…… Daft thing is all she really want’s is a right good feed I suspect, she can now happily slurp it down from bottle if she wants to. But all she does is drink at most an ounze then stop, so of course feels like some more a bit later. For a normal working day, drinking just enough to wet her whistle is ok, in a situation like this it can make things a bit harder (though she was happier on Sunday). Anyway, grabbing a few minutes whle I can. If the kitchen table is still covered in the muffin making remains tomorrow Karen you know why
Still quiet, so here was today:
Beans all up by time H was off to work, spent a pleasant 1 1/2 hours or so breakfasting, feeding Butterbean, well moslty making mess really. helping SB do this alphabet block puzzle thing I scavenged from a closing school. Easy for her really, as she know s the letters and the alphabet, though she can’t always yet say what letter comes after another without ‘singing the alphabet song’. Spent an inordinate amount of time getting ready to go out – to SB ‘ Go and get some clothes while I change BB’ . 10 minutes later she is still faffing around in her favoured unclothed state….. What with having to take dolly out in her pushcahir as well, and of course the library only being a minutes walk or so around the corner we were of course late (but only just) for Story Time. The reader (it’s all a voluntary thing) was reading storys with froggy themes. I particulalry liked the Hoppameleon which I’d not come across before. Finished off with a froggy sticky crafty thing which kept SB happy while I chatted a bit. Back home via the shops, big buggy + SB and dolly buggy = a fair bit of chaos I did well to restrain myself to just a loaf of (very yummy) bread in the bakers.
At home, SB played beautifully with BB and by herself when BB got fed up while I fiddled about trying to get the ADSL connection to work properly, after calls to tech support, reboots, trying different ‘putes etc. I of course tried the obvious in retrospect option of resetting the router and redoing the setup, after which it did the inscrutable computer thing and worked……
Ahh, I hear BB calling, time for bed. Rest of day involved, lunching, pottering about outside, reading, trying to find something for SB to do with Boggle, trip to check out the local playground (never one near enought to our old house so that was nice), muffin making, dinner, bed etc.
Night all
Pah, and now I can’t contact the websrver to upload the post…..
Posted in Butterbean, Cooking, Out and About, Stringbean's HE
