Category Archives: geography

white teeth and baking

the girls came back with chris’s parents this morning, they were really excited about what a lovely time they had had. they’d gone to a butterfly and animal place, and ran about lots. grandparents exhausted! at least the girls slept well for them.

After some general nattering, i went off to dentist. A filling i had as a teen was cracked, and needed replacing. the place was heaving – should have thought of school hols, as loads of families crammed in, and standing room only. There were 2 families, with? a fair number of kids, and the mums nattering. they decided they needed a cigarette and left the 5 kids alone in the waiting room – mostly under SB’s age, and one 8 year old. was impressed how well behaved the kids were when parents disappeared. finally after waiting neaarly the magic hour I went in. got a rather good injection, as within secnd half my face disappeared, including half my tongue! and was sent out for it to work [already is!] and 3 more people seen before i went in. SO after 2 hours and 85 lighter, I have a white filling instead of amalgam on one of my molars. When the injection wore off some 2 hours later it hurt like hell, and I wondered whether I should have been gritting my teeth so hard whilst interacting with the girls!! Seems to be settling down now though.

So why was i gritting teeth? well, we were baking, and both girls are being tetchy with each other, I was in pain, and they are tired – not a brill combo. But determined not to sound tetchy, and I only reduced SB to floods of tears once, when I suggested [through said gritted teeth] that shouting she was thirsty when I was covered in cake goo liberally applied by BB, and am trying to capture some of the remaining to actually bake in the tin was less than helpful, as she knew where tap and milk and cups were. We recovered as she almost single handedly made the brownies – lets see what they taste like! So for castle day, we have chocolate banana loaf and choc and raisin brownies – dairy free but contain eggs.

We have perhaps 30 children and 25 adults coming if all come, so doubt my baking will feed all anyway! But its a pot lunch affair, so I’m sure with a fair wind everyone will be filled with something!! will do a bit more baking anyway between now and then.

panicking a bit about this crafts bit too, and people seeing the house in its usual state of doom, and the weedy garden. But I think many people have caught it like this before!!

We had a major book reading session, both girls have now read, or i have read to BB, all their library books. SB has been reading the usborne children’s encyclopaedia alot. well, I read some to here whilst BB slept on my lap, and she then carried on when BB woke up and made a fuss!! Also lots of game playing. SB had a convoluted solitaire version of walk the plank going on at some point. Also a bit of singapore maths so that we didn’t appear autonomous!!

ABout to play games with girls who are down from bath. At present they are arguing about who can choose the game [its going to be SB's turn to have parental support]

Yay – sun!!

I got up late today – my treat for being able to I guess!! Chris brought me brekkie in bed – thanks love. I read a book, listening to SB trying to teach BB how to successfully play hide and seek ‘no, you have to hide somewhere’ ‘no, don’t call to me’ ‘you have to hide all of you’ etc. They were both laughing and giggling for a considerable amount of time about it. A good reason to stay in bed, so as not to disturb hey? I guess they might have had such a good relationship if SB had gone to school, as she is so very loving and tender to BB, but I like to believe that this is a very particular success of HE, since they spend so much time together.

Anyway, I did get up, read loads of books to BB whilst Sb was dancing around, drawing and also reading. BB is gradually getting an idea of colours, but is good at counting. SHe still adores the apple tree farm books, and anything with a metre to it.
we went outside – a request of experiments from SB, so we tied in birds and forces by doing lots of air experiments. So we have dropped things, thrown things, made parachutes, chased balloons, feathers and bubbles… When SB got carried away with flying thngs, BB insisted we did the next experiment on water resistance. Shockingly, she even toddled off and got the required bowl of water and a marble and pompom!! SB and I read about wind from my lovely book on the beaufort scale. We also looked at different cloud types - it has been a good day for wind and clouds. We were going to make an anemometer. But as i was trying to find the weather kit buried somewhere in the garden she got carried away with chasing feathers and balloons, so we left that!

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BB did do lots of the experiments too – just her kind of thing! But the books were tedious, so she also got herself the hama beads and the happy mais. mostly jumped all over me though! She was v proud of doing an experiment with me though.

Both girls did some chipping out of a smilodon from ice [a national geographic kit] and then just poured hot water over it till the ice melted. When SB bored with it or forgets it, I might ebay the kit. we always end up just pouring hot water over, and the tools with it aren’t brill. or maybe we need to have slushier ice? perhaps mix some alcohol with it!

Both girls came indoors, BB to poisson rouge – her mouse control is coming on in leaps and bounds and she really loves the site. SB was doing the latest webland . All outside again for chips – celebrating the reopening of the chippery. After bath BB went straight to bed, SB and I played loads of games – who’s who, landlocked and don’t wake dad. we like our games evenings. She has started another magic tree house book, and is prob still reading it upstairs!

i’m waiting for chris, and we’ll start on series 2 of prison break. So for all those who have gone, HP5 – good?

under the shade of a ‘cooliar’ tree

which is one of the many phrases from songs that BB likes to string together. At the moment she likes to tag different songs together. [in fact she is doing that at the mo - 22:43!]

Well, BB woke up v early, so we had a singing session whilst chris tried to stay asleep. eventually chris admitted to being awake, so BB made him get up, and I finished an Iain Banks book [inversions] until SB rousted me out.

Today was an outside day. Amazingly it didn’t rain. [how english of me!!] So we got out pool, our new camping table – obviously you can’t home-ed without a table! And our gazebo – perfect. SO we hama-ed. I’ve done another sort of dreamtime hama – when I put it on flickr, you can guess the story if you’re feeling bored. Also the girls splashed and raced about. SB also kept confetti-ing me with grass seeds, so I have itched all day.

SB did some maths – she insists on doing it all in her head rather than writing it out. fair enough. i just ask her to write it in columns if she gets it wrong – which she did once. though she did take 15 mins to do the first addition [looking at birds, BB, my hama design, discussing how biro's work - you get the picture!] She says she prefers subtraction. BB did some kids k’nex and fell asleep at lunchtime.

We did some SOTW – julius caesar attacking britain, falling for cleopatra and getting murdered. SB enjoyed this, and we looked at other books around things – celts, cleopatra etc. BB woke up, so more playing and then planted out the rest of our cucurbits – squash, pumpkins and courgettes. they are desperate and very late. the girls helped – bb putting the rooster in the hole, and SB the plant. i had to dig all the holes mind you! We picked a bowl of strawbs in the morning, and a huge bowl in the afternoon – far to many to eat raw! bit of garden maintenance whilst the girls did the picking.

Discussed all sorts of trivia – she has a good memory for things when she fancies it. Just a nice family day – and how i have needed it. SB is so loving and caring. even when she is being teethgrindingly flighty she is so precious to me. The girls had a wild bath and SB soaped BB’s hair – cue major wails. Much fussing to get BB to consent to me washing it out!

We made strawberry tart and strawberry milkshake for pud – yummy!! SB went to bed and read me stories – I have to say WOW for her reading now. she often forgets to read out loud, and the pages flip over quickly.

BB has now gone to bed – way later!! I have read her stories, she has watched baby einstein neptune – she likes the fish and she has bossed me around – a lot!! She is just so gorgeous, and such a strong will!!

Natural history museum

we went yesterday and it was fab. a full 12 hours out so we were exhausted on return! It did make the journey in easier in that we could swap to tube before the main London station which then took us to south ken. We had brekkie of cheese scones on the train, and a runabout when we got there.

SB chose the young explorers monster pack – which is the dinosaur one. I didn’t think it would take that much time, but it really captured her imagination. I thought there could have been a bit more, but it was free! There was a bag in it with 3 clues in it to identify your specimen. SB was so methodical that she had carefully scoured so well on this that we knew which specimen it was from clue 1, so it was a bit disappointing for us that clues 2 and 3 were the same one. However, we did expand it a bit! i loved her spottisorus [her spelling].

Chris took BB for a run around the whole museum in the end. She did come back and invented her own spider dinosaur! We had our packed lunch and made our way back, looking at the marine fossils, primates and then Chris took BB for a run in the garden outside, and SB and I went to the main dinosaur bit – which she really loved, espec the T-rex. We all joined up in the human biology segment. BB loved listening to the toddler talk and randomly pushing buttons, where SB tried a bit more! I don’t think we quite did enough homework to keep BB interested though, so Chris ended up not seeing much of the museum, and me not much of BB. we can work on that for another time. Chris and I were worn out, so had restorative coffee. we left the museum at 4pm!!

We caught a bus from Hyde Park to Trafalgar square and SB was desperate to climb a lion. We said she had to do it unaided, and she had a damn good try! We went to an Italian just of leicester square for a cheap dinner before heading off home. BB totally charmed the waiters there by scampering about, and giggling.
Such a great day. loads of conversations with Sb about allsorts [including congestion charges and car sharing which she was most taken by!] She def wants to go to the science museum and the earth bit if the natural history, an open top bus ride, the london eye [you get the drift] and would like to live in cenral london!! [no smallholding then!!]

great time out. we did take photos, but you may have noticed we are well behind on flickring again – oops.

rice pudding and strawberries.

Apart from madly thinking about various deadlines at work, I have had a gresat time.

SB is getting there with frere jaques – half speed though! hmmm for kessie! Hope Joe will be forgiving.

Girls did lots of playing – shops, families etc. also lots of playing with the book people boxes. In fact the boxes were prob the most looked at bit of the book people order! SB did get stuck straight into the poetry collection – she has athing for poetry at the moment. She is planning to recite a poem at Kessingland. its true that some of the books are more ‘future books’ – some diana wynne jones for me [rofl! i loved her charmed life as a girl] and the roman mysteries collection. But the DK animals collection really lovely, and the where on earth – so we had a look at those.

We also looked at SOTW again – its been ages, but Julius caesar – SB quite good on this from the horrible histories CD! Also continued with primary maths [i do think i prefer it to MPaH]
The strawberries in the title, well, we have LOADS ripe now, so our little birds were out picking them! At least i did get 4 this time. And I made rice puding with BB – yummy!

BB did lots of colouring and magic painting – which she is becoming very careful about. SB did colouring and made this sun catcher from beadmerrily. well i thought it was beadmerrily but I can’t find it!! Shame, because its lovely, and SB really enjoyed it!

forgot to say that we gave SB her DS today, she has been saving up beautifully and will now put that money towards a trampoline! Thankyou very much to Claire for her generosity. We have nintendogged until i went crazy!!!

Feeling blah

hmm, i spent most of last night awake or having parent type nightmares, so not full of any joys today, and have found it hard to engage. this on its own annoys me, as i have so little time with the family that i should use it to the full.

Girls did painting and playdough, handstand practice. SB can do that climbing up doors thing that Pea did with the portico walls a couple of years back. SHe read a DK book called time travellers, we did the roman and viking bit, then went to the exploration of america book about the vikings, and the eric the red and leif the lucky sonlight book. [i read those]. girls did lots of self directed play whilst i mooched.
piled out into the garden. chris mowed the lawn, i planted out some runner beans, and the girls helped/hindered each of us in turn. I mostly snuggled bb as she didn’t like the unaccustomed noise of the lawnmower!

thats about it. i made up a bit at bathtime and bedtime though. Sb and I are having a break from britannia and reading roald dahl

forgot, Sb has been goign on a bit about improbabilty of tooth fairies. and she noticed that father christmas seemed to have got some things from yellow moon. So she begged me to tell her the truth about tooth fairies. i temporised, but now after several days, with a direct tell me the honest truth, i have. so much desolation.

Boughton House Open day

We all went with the not very local group yesterday to the open day of Boughton House – looking at how an estate works. weather so so! Very interesting.

The girls particularly loved the dogs I think, gun dogs and hunting dogs, sheepdogs etc. They stroked ferrets, grassnakes and slowworms as well as all the dogs, and also some owl chicks and an owl [all supervised!] SB was v good at asking questions, whether it be about dog training, bees, logging or sheep shearing! There was a good not quite enactment of the problems with the enclosures act – something not commonly done, and sparked a few conversations. SB was most happy to get a freshly logged mushroom! Good chris comment – you know the dog chap sounded scottish [yessss] well, thats because he came from scotland [duh!] Apparently chris meant their scottish estate! I chatted to what was prob the duchess about the wonders of home-ed whilst BB played with her dog.
Anyway, pictures to follow on flikr.

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We got home and SB did her violin practice and read books. We britannia-ed at bedtime and read when the tiger came to tea.

Today BB has been to baby gym, they have shopped, and SB has been to ballet and done violin. not sure what else. We had lychees and asparagus for tea [separately] 2 treats! yummy. Game playing and more britannia and tut’s mummy at bedtime. we are with sir francis drake in the first, and about to enter the tomb in the second.

rainy day

well, we have had a fun day, though it seems unusual not to have been outside much! When I got up [i know, I know, really late!] SB was copying out the caterpillar poem from first language lessons for the well trained mind [lesson 2!!]. She really wants to improve her writing, but it doesn’t come easily to her. SO we are doing writing and getty and dubay to help.

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Hmm, trying to remember! SB certainly has done a fair bit of reading today. Ah, that’s right, she then got out an M and S body book and the DK pop out body book. SHe was particularly enjoying the fun facts. She has always had an interest in how the body works. I was reading to BB, who has been my little limpet today. SB also finished the polar bears magic tree house book – which she was very impressed with.

We had pancakes for lunch [rofl!] and then the girls did lots of playing with bricks. SB did a bit more writing, and BB and I sowed some melon and more runner and french beans. BB got a bit sleepy, so I read to her, and then she snuggled and fell asleep. SB did her gym practice – handstands, shoulder stands and trying backwards head over heels. SHe also did her violin practice.

I read the page of underground rivers from our lovely active geography of rivers book. We discussed the piccies, caves, what an acid was – remembered the coin in acid experiment! When BB had woken up, the girls played whilst i found the ingredients for the next experiment – making stalactites and stalagmites. Luckilly ours should be done within the week, rather than in years! SB did a line of writing on and off through the day. BB was keen to get out the gears, so we all ended up doing gears gears gears!

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so the rest

typing this round bb – so difficult!

I had a lie in. I’m not sleeping well, and tend to fall asleep 4am and wake wake up with BB at 6-ish and then where possible have a second shot at sleep. I am lucky that chris lets me do it, but it does take more time away form the children.

Whilst I was snoozing, both girls had a wild hama-fest. even BB did a lovely job with the midi beads. SB did me a pattern and put an M in it for mummy, and a lovely wrapping up [luov to mumee from SB]. BB also proud of hers, and we took a picture.

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Both girls also did some colouring in and then some drawing. I read some apple tree farm books to BB, SB read some to herself and then some magic tree house to me. SB then did some violin practice – she declares this new violin is too heavy to hold!
BB did some playdough before lunch and I read to SB some of the rivers book described below. We did the ill fated experiment after lunch! Weather ed indeed!!

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The girls then did lots of outdoor play and running about – getting v wet! Chris finished sorting out the greenhouse, so I moved loads of things there ready to get ready for the great ourdoors [toms for indoors, cucurbits, runner and french beans and sweetcorn] I gave them a good water and some rooster feed.

BB wanted to do happy maize [do you still have any Merry?], so she started on that, and SB did some fimo – she made a face pencil topper and some beads. When she did the hair with our garlic press [thanks merry!] BB also wanted a go. luckily BB made a nice colour rather than brown out of her bits squished together, and lot of hair!

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The girls watched some TV and I hoed the onions and chris made tea. BB fell asleep and had to be jiggled awake – and why I have been blogging with her in my arms! oh, we joined up the princess hats!
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obviously finishing this blog a bit later! SB had britannia and read me a story from usborne young readers for bed. i am getting mentally prepared to go back to work tomorrow. Have a presentation to write as well!

Anyone who hasn’t stated a castle day preference, either email me or go to the protected post below. Thanks

I am drenched, and its all my fault!

we have been doing some f the make it work rivers book we got from the library, and the first experiment is setting up a water cycle. So we set it up in the garden and although we got the water to condense, we didn’t get it to rain. I grumbled, and SB and I and BB all agreed we wished it would rain. Almost immediately it did – though unfortunately not in our experiment!

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So I took the camera in – it was only spitting, and then went outside for the washing – by whcih time it wa a torrential rainstorm and they were all drenched. SB and BB wanting umbrellas and coats – duly provided! I then noticed 2 of our gutters are not doing the job properly – well one gutter and one downpipe. In trying to get the downpipe not to spray allowver the wall, I succeeded in increasing the amount of rain over me – in fact a waterspout,

So I have retired inside, girls are playing like loons outside. The sun is coming out, however, so had better go outside and spot rainbows. Chris is safely inside the greenhouse sorting out the staging.