Category Archives: photos

Who lives in Canada. We had a day of her busy itinerary, looking into the family history – see post below! So we did try and madly clean and declutter, and didn’t look too bad.

SO very excited, we made cakes, got lunch ready and waited! Chris also went and picked up Little Nanny to take to Mum and Dads. Wish Dad had been there too so that all 3 siblings could be together. Hmm. Anyway, we had a great fun time together, particularly playing dinosaur ludo.

Sb and BB got a toy that has a website, so SB got herself hooked up with that. BB also impressed with her IT skills on starfall. SB read , sang, played the piano and was generally charming. BB was a munchkin of cuddliness, and also played and pattern blocked. By 6, when the guests all left, SB and BB had had enough, and in fact SB has gone to bed without tea as she was exhausted. Well, she has also been to rainbows, and we had a HUGE lunch. Both now asleep before 8!!

Thankyou for visiting Aunty Marylyn. Must save my pennies so we can all visit you in Canada.

Caught up with blogging, even over here!

Planning ahead

Posted on September 17, 2007 by HHaricot | 17 comments

I love thinking about the Muddlepuddle Winter camp. SB and Chris will have their birthdays there this time, and apparently Babs is being inundated with forms [if the camps list of senders is to be believed!] I imagine at this rate it will be full in a fortnight!

SB went to sports session this morning, and I did some tidying, and set off some oven dried toms - they are STILL oven drying! Merry and girls arrived before chris back, but did at least feed them swiftly, even if the main attraction of SB was still missing.

Lots of girls playing happily sounds, and then SB off to ballet, so Merry got to enjoy magic schoolbus for her girls. Jan/Jonathan – Chris can’t find many, where did you get yours from?? SB back, and a great clothes swap about. I find it offputting to see so many SB’s running about – as of course they wear SB’s clothes, and I usually see them and think SB before brain processes! Amelie is so like SB to cuddle as well.

Merry and I had a good gossip, and a play with the pentomino based games. I love them! might buy one for my Nan for Xmas actually, I think she would enjoy the solitaire one. [so don’t sell out and not replace Merry! Can’t find it on your site yet Merry, otherwise would link. BB had great fun playing with a mouse in a corridor game – which I am sure Merry might supply the link to too!

Girls wound down having a chippy tea watching magic school bus. SB now watching Nina and the neurons – arrgh we still haven’t done any SOTW, music practice or anything today!! But we have had fun. oh, and we have nearly finished that window mosaic now.

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Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, Cooking, Dance/drama, General, photos, SB-PE, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

Christenings and Chatting

Posted on September 16, 2007 by HHaricot | 2 comments

We went to A’s Christening [the Deep End] today. Sang one of my favourite hymns [always good]. Baby A had a comical expression when being liberally doused with the water. And after the baptism, when the children left for the creche/sunday school, there were periodic loud shrieks from that direction – often v clearly my two!

Chris was particulary impressed by the apple bread pudding cake – as were most of the rest of us, though the flapjack was my fav. Got to chat to Babs and Chris and some other home educators I haven’t seen since 1st Melrose. Children were like loons.

Back to one of the godparents houses [did they know what they were letting themselves in for?] for a very relaxed bring something lunch and out in the garden afternoon. Apart from a bit of adjudicating periodically at the trampoline, the children were all v autonomous, having great fun. Also managed to give Melrose form to Babs – talk about speedy!
Thanks Bob and Katy for invite, and to godparents for hosting the afternoon.

We are home now, still full from lunch – well, the girls are having tea, watching the dinosaur one of the magic school bus. I have to say, thanks to the SOTP crew for introducing us to the delights, but a lot of info is stuffed in these programmes. So tempted to buy all the books! SB also been making great 3d shapes with polydrons.

Need to do manic house tidying tonight as Canadian Aunt visiting on Wed – woohoo!! am really really looking forward to it. I haven’t seen her since my sister’s wedding

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Posted in General, music, numeracy, Out and About, photos, science, socialisation

Don’t Forget The Bacon !

Posted on September 15, 2007 by Daddybean | 1 comment

No, we haven’t suddenly turned carnivorous, this has been Butterbean’s saying of the week, they got it from the eponymously named book that we had from the library recently. So she has been running around shouting this a lot

Last couple of days they have been staying at my Mum and Dads, while I attacked a bit more of the arched window. Thursday they went to Mount Fitchet Castle, which was rather drier than when we were there last year.

Friday I think they just pottered about at their house. SB never had the chance for this at BB’s age, as they were all to far away. They do both enjoy going to stay there.
Rest of week, Tuesday is library day, so much reading of old books before we go. Made masks at Storytime:

Then home to read the new stash of books:

followed by a bit of tandem Starfalling:

After lunch, and bit of playing in the garden, Maths and Getty Dubay and then time to get going for swimming lesson, with a short play at the park in between.

Wednesday, umm…. There was some Maths and Getty Dubay, and Education city and maybe some other computery things in the morning, we did something else as well, which eludes me right now – I read something to SB. Afternoon seems to have disappeared. More reading though:

- Helen was back home from work by then. Until I took SB out for her Rainbows boat trip. She had a good time, hooked up with another girl there, R and they were getting on like a house on fire according to her mum who had gone on the boat as well. They had a bit more of a run around while we chatted until SB hit her head on a wall and we left wailing…. We will hopefully arrange a playdate soon. While we were out BB and Helen made another Chocolate Spread Cake:

A couple of snippets from Monday:

BB helped make scrambled egg:

They made this construction from chairs in the kitchen. It is apparently some sort of cot/bed/desk/sofa thing, with built in drinks thing for the baby:

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Posted in Books, Butterbean, Daft Stuff, IT, literacy, numeracy, Out and About, photos, socialisation, Stringbean, writing

A few photo’s

Posted on September 14, 2007 by HHaricot | 1 comment

1 Comment

Posted in General, photos

I’ll get told off again…….

Posted on September 8, 2007 by Daddybean | 6 comments

…if i don’t blog But I do have photos as well in mitigation.

So today, SB has read loads. Usborne Book of Ledgends before breakfast (Hercules I think), as well as a bit of Little hippo DVD (in German) which is one BB’s favourites -she can get it playing now, and select an episode sometimes. And if the folder of downloaded kiddy programs is open she can pick one of those and start that, though she hasn’t worked out how to make it full screen yet (“bigger! bigger!”). She is scarily competent at working the mouse for a not yet 3 yo. Thats’ what having an elder sister does I think.

We had a good sort out of the playroom, clearing up all sorts of detritus from the floor, under and behind sofas etc. SB did a great job at vacuuming it. I rather like the room when not carpeted with crap, just wish we could keep the table even sort of clearish for more than 3 seconds.

Put away more clothes in the girls room. I think that all their clothes that are washed and dried are now put away, a rare event indeed. SB tidied the floor again and made beds as she is on tidy room hit at the moment, then I vacuumed it for her. Did the bathroom as well while I was at it. 3 rooms, that’s plenty for one day .

More reading, she is very keen on the My little Treasury of Stories and Rhymes that she got from the library the other day. She spent an hour or so, before and over lunch reading it. By this point BB had decided to have napped, so it was all rather peaceful.

After lunch is was bit of maths – measuring from Singapore 2A, so pretty simple stuff really. A bit of Getty and Dubay, then they both went off into the garden to play for a bit whilst I started on dinner. Playing seemed to involve most jumping in the paddling pool, getting wet, and then running around like loons shouting ‘I’m bare , I’m bare” Had to make an impromptu run up to the potato farm for potatoes for dinner, where they managed to get a free apple each, by dint of being cute really I think..

Dinner made and in oven, SB had a go at some secret/magic writing, as H had brought home some Tincture of iodine which we had needed. Basically, write/paint of the paper with lemon juice, dip it in water with a bit of TOI in. Paper goes a darkish blue colour due to the starch. THE bit where the juice was stays lighter so you can read it, as there is a different chemical reaction between the acid in the juice and the TOI solution.

BB had been playing and pottering, but noticed she’d put on more Little Hippo This took us pretty much up to dinner time really.

After bath, (H was home by now) there was playing with the wooden train track, with the customary wailing from both children , a bit more Little Hippo. A bit of Education City (apparently i hadn’t let her earlier….???) and then bed. EVen BB who had napped for an hour was asleep by 9.

Started watching Regenesis last night, watched another tonight, quite enjoying them. Makes a change from the normal ‘policy’ type things. Though it is a bit like a microbiological Numb3rs when they launch of into an explanation of some aspect. Been also flipping between Eureka, which is enjoyable and lighthearted – reminds me a bit of Northern Exposure with it’s collection of slightly kooky characters, and Space Above and Beyond, which is mildly diverting, but a bit rubbish overall really. It’s getting bit repetitive now. It has an excellent collection of corny lines though, which is fun

6 Comments

Posted in Books, Butterbean, IT, language, literacy, numeracy, online resources, photos, science, Stringbean, writing

Blogging for Chris – updated by Chris :-)

Posted on September 4, 2007 by HHaricot | 5 comments

Edited to add:

Pah! Gone back to Opera, forgot it doesn’t play ball with the editor in WordPress , does weired things to the formatting of the text. Don’t like it that much anyway, might go back to Livewriter. Though WP editor is better for adding photos with Joe Tan’s Flickr Photo Album Plugin

He can pad this out perhaps?

He can try…. Can’t much get into blogging lately – always seems a bit insubstantial, haven’t really read any or Twitter much either, I did add some bolding though. And capitalised – which bugs me.

Library – finished Wild Read. No certificates, medals, presentations or anything! nic, do you have any spare certificates??

It’s all pretty low key at ours, then again it isn’t proper library and is run by volunteers, i’m not sure exactly how the whole thing is arranged anyway. Some of the local town libraries are having a presentation of some sorts. Anyway SB was excited with her magic bookmark Girls sat down on the floor whilst having the ’1st of the month bikkies’ and sat reading books, so a good little advert for HE there

SB done some maths and getty and dubay.Her writing is getting very neat know, when she wants to make is so. I was encouraging her to write smaller to fir the writing in the boxes in the maths book, which seemed to make it neater for some reason. Maths was measuring things and estimating measurements. One bit was about picking the right scale of units for things – so she got highly amused by the idea of very big and very small things for a while.
SHe is v proud bedroom now spotless.Yup, she has organised the wardrobe – he clothes (arranged of course) at one end, BB’s at the other, all the empty hangers in the middle – who does that remind you of… ;-). She was going on about tidying things away a few times a day, and I did hear myself saying one of those ‘OMG I said a parenty thing’ things ‘yes, if you put things away when you’ve finished it odoesn’t get so much of a mess’. Now if only this parent could apply that…..

random playing – some naked playing in the paddling pool, a bit too much screaming and shouting indoors. Some drawing/colouring etc. BB is very much into ‘cooking’ with the play cooker. Have to do something about storing all the food bits though. We’ve got more than we had with SB, and it all now seems to end up all over the floor, and then take ages to tidy up. BB is also very much into playing with various people/animals etc. characters and can sit for ages playing little games.

Swimming – has level 3 and nearly level 4 sign off.Shame dad didn’t have enough change (£2.50) to get the certificate and badge though (shame she didn’t get it to this term, they are included in the cost now). In some ways it’s good to get back to having some things to hang our week on and structure it around, but I do find trisping off to things later afternoon a bit of a pain.

lots of DS-ing, and has finally got her dog trained to some commands!she waited up until 9 for me to get home, and put her to bed, chatting all the while, proud of her swimming, tidying and DSing. we also chatted about rods and cones in eyes.

BTW, last week they stayed over with my parents, went to Hunstanton, for a summer seaside trip. SB likes the seafront fairground there, as was excitedly telling BB about what things she might like to go on BB stayed awake until about midnight it seems…. (sleeping on the way home)

re-edited by Helen – what on earth did you do to the length of the text lines Chris – a right old mess!!

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Posted in art and crafts, Books, Butterbean, General, literacy, numeracy, Out and About, photos, SB-PE, Stringbean, writing

Popping to add this – hunstanton with grandparents

Posted on August 31, 2007 by HHaricot | Leave a comment

SB and BB spent last thurs [30/31 aug] with grandparents to allow chris to do more windowing. They all had a fab time, particularly enjoying the fair and the sea. A proper day trip.