Disappearing Baby :-(

While the girls are out enjoying themselves visting Jax I’m left at home (well I was supposed to be at work…). I’ve been sorting out enormous washing piles, and the big box full of the next lot (well now in fact) of clothes for Butterbean. Packing away the 3-6 months clothes already seems silly, especially as some of the 6-9 month ones are already looking like a good fit (partly helped by big cuddly cloth nappies of course).

But it also seems a bit sad, we sort of feel that we haven’t had little baby to enjoy for very long, becuase she already is so big (stuck right up in the 100th centile and staying there), ah well, plenty to cuddle :-)

Now, back to work……

Edit – Arrgh!!!! and they have too many clothes :mad:

Edit – Arrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!! and now I’ve just found some more, hiding in a ‘viking longship…’ :mad:

10% frustration [helen typing - written for benefit of Karenb!]

Gym day today, so SB had a good workout in the morning. I’m so used to us being late, that i managed to be early!! Sad that she has only one more class to go. Must find somewhere when we move. only an hour between getting home and setting off for Home Ed viking workshop. SB insisted on me cutting out her coloured in henry 8th and armour to stick on. She did do it beautifully, while I chanted ‘eat’ like some demented mantra. We touched on a bit of who he was, as she asked – 6 wives, beheaded them, tudor [not roman - lol] castles, jousting etc on a freeform.

vikings – Managed to get out of the house – at last – and we weren’t desperately late for a change. this lady has only done school groups before, so at one point asked whether we were happy with that level of mayhem! I think she did really well as it was supposed to be for 7 up, but she had a very mixed age group. It was on runes and games, so learnt each others viking names and appellations – SB decided to be ‘the beautiful’, not a surprise! We looked at runes and matched them up, and wrote our names. At this point SB wandered off and played with the gears and trainsets set up for the littlies. She returned when they got to the games, and enjoyed pulling the oar – especially as the older lads kept letting her win! She decided she must be very strong. They weren’t mad enough to let her throw the rolling pin, instead she was the fetcher. She did get 2 goes at throwing the spear outside, so is now a warrior!! Def a good afternoon for her.

On returning we were supposed to be starting on her birthday party cake – she wants a carrot cake. Instead we did some more of the exeter maths bigger or less than, and too my eternal shame [LOL!!!] i haven’t yet made cards with the signs on that she can use, or sorted out bits to do with them. Better had tonight then.

She also made a freeform ‘something’ with the Ikea starter meccano-alike set. First time she has just made something up from imagination with it, so although it is unrecognisable as something, I am very pleased.

Chris came home, and so fed up with loony tunes school that he has cancelled returning thurs and friday. Must be really bad then, as he’s never done that before, and the money is needed. Cup of tea and teacake to the rescue!

So, finally started on carrot cake – trying to make it and tea [pasta and sauce, so not high cuisine] at the same time, when SB says we are making one for Jax and Big tomorrow. We haven’t got enough baking powder, light brown sugar or wholewheat flour. Aaargh. She was insistent, so this really is a bodge job. had some tartare powder and baking soda, and it says you can make baking powder from that, so I have [I hope!] Some bread flour – perhaps a bit stodgy, and some preserving sugar! Anyway, try it out on Jax tomorrow. Managed to mix things in the wrong order due to severe levels of distraction, so really will only work if a cooking miracle happens. I will be the only parent to have provided a homemade cake, so I will just feel superior, even if inedible! [ps, i mixed all the ingredients, so no cake superior to another, as rereading this it sounds like Jax getting poisonous variety]

The the 10% frustration bit- why do we have to have such a song and dance about actually eating???? She always ends up eating it all up. She does like it, but after 2 spoonfuls shes full, and wants to mess about instead. Antoher Aaarrrgggggggggh. Especially when she says in a sweet, enquiring voice ‘are you cross yet mummy?’

SO Chris is doing bath [and getting earbending at volume 11] while I breathe in seclusion if not peace.

patched but imperfect

still sticking and repeating the headings on the DK science. sigh.

shades of melrose?

shades of melrose?

fun day

SB
nursery in the morning – which she had fun with, and showed off how good she is getting with numbers apparently. Also played a lot with her 2 best friends making sparkly pictures.

I picked her up after lunch and we went to gingerbread cottage – a really nice fun soft play area, v safe. it was my postnatal group!! She manically ran around wiht her friends while I got up to make sure she was still OK once in a while.

My Aunty Margaret visited when we got home, and did the Ikea version of beginners meccano to make a digger. SB started off helping, but then left Aunty to it!
MANY THANKS TO NIC as the crazy creatures got here today – that was quick!! So we made some crazy creatures together. I actually like playdough when we make crazy creatures with it!

We then showed Aunty Margaret how good at maths SB is, as she found the next 10 worksheet pages of 1a exeter maths, and proceded to romp through it. Our main problem is that it is obviously written for a child with reasonable manual dexterity and pen control – SB’s is all over the place. Normally i would have a manipulative around for her to show me she was getting it right. And I was going to go through the sheets and see how we could adjust them, rather than being caught on the hop. i prob help her a bit with the reading of instructions though, but he did seem to be understanding the more than less than sign and equals, it was just when they were more than or equal to that there was a glitch. I hadn’t planned to do all these in a row though, so we will backtrack and do some of the supporting activities. i do wish though that early maths books were written for those without much manual dexterity.

Still awaiting chris to sort out the cdroms – apparently joyce might have a patch he says, so fingers crossed!!
our chilli seeds have sprouted – so we decided that was exciting. We now need to put them ins ome compost – they actually have sprouted much more quickly than they do when sown – the power of chitting!

Ken Hom for tea – yummy, and the SB coloured in the armour of Henry 8th to stick on tomorrow. No we are not doing tudors, but got these sheets from visiting the royal armouries. there are quite a few work sheets on their website.

BB
giggling with jiggling skills training today [for my fun] and lots of grasping. She seems particularly fascinated with her left thumb! Still drinking well, and being a jolly baby. Was v well behaved when I was at Doctors, and had receptionist cuddling her for about 30 mins.

Me
mirena fitted this am – oh what joy. not particularly painful, and no probs now, so thats sorted! played with SB in the morning and had lots of cuddles, then picked SB up from nursery. I do like chatting with my postnatal group – so relaxing. ALso seeing the kids growing up together. 2 things in post, one from life insurance saying I need a medical as too fat – so excessively depressed. they are right of course, but I don’t like knowing about it, and a medical plus the fact I know they will hike premiums when we are already going to have such a tight budget is a real pain. The other was my purse – i had left it at my parents again – oops.

Chris
Still at dreadful south leeds loony tunes school. We are right to home ed!

edited for last word! SB obviously picked up the sign word for look, as kerfuffling not finding her pj’s, so stropped out of bedroom with hands on hips, shouting look, then doing the sign over and over, but with both hands at the same time – very emphatic! It is chris’s turn for the frustrating business of getting SB from naked into pj’s!

hmm, getting cd’s to work

Well, I got the DK world and science explorers from ebay, they work on windows 98 and we have XP. chris can normally fiddle with things to get them to work, but not this time. Grump.
Anyone use them on XP, and have a fiddle that gets them to work??
Was thinking of a few other cdroms including zoombinis, but they are also ’98, so a bit reluctant to buy something else that doesn’t work. [obviously ebay only at the mo!]

Work has emailed re contract, and I think finally we might get that sorted out. After all, I was only employed in October!!

On house move front, spoke to solicitor re the indemnity thing, as Chris wrote to them agreeing, but as it is *my* house, i have to confirm it!! He said sale might fall through without, so gritting teeth and paying up.

SB
A nursery day, which she seems to have had fun in. Certainly a really jolly gorgeous girl all evening when she got home, and remarkably easy to go to bed. bit miserable that we still can’t get the science explorer to work, as she wants to have a go.

BB
Well, a giggly girl now. Unfortunately, she enjoys ‘near throws’ up in the air – and at the weight she is, I can’t do many in a row! Certainly having great fun with rattles, baby gym and a pudding club cube that MIL got her from ELC. Squawking again, so I am making this quick!

Me
well, I think I have a lurgy, as soooooooo tired, hot and bothered etc. Think i need some sunshine!

Chris
also knackered – his head was lolling every 5 seconds or so watching the treasures programme this eve on TV!

as for car seats
? bebe confort hipsos
? recaro start – wow on price though
? britax kid
? recaro young style

Catch up blog – concerts etc

While Chris was entertaining our beans at my parents, I was putting violin practice to good use. 20 years ago [my god that long ago - i must have been about 4 LOL] with my mum and some of her friends and colleagues we set up a small chamber orchestra, which grew into a symphony orchestra [Wycombe Sinfonia]. This weekend was its birthday concert, so i went back to play again. Mum and sister also playing with dad proud in audience!! It was great fun, I wasn’t as crap as feared, and I will def join an amateur orchestra when we move.

I had no mothers day this year. reading sarahs blog though, i asked SB what she loved about me – my voice and my happy cheeks apparently. On pushing for something else, she decided I was a good tickler!

Lots of socialising and on-the-hoof ed. Some leap pad and jump ahead maths. Fri was a lot of painting, our friday treat of popcorn making and domestic skills [LOL]

Manic week ahead, and may try and sort out a viking type costume for wed home ed group.

three of the grandchildren

three of the grandchildren

Away for the Weekend.

We are away at H’s parents for the weekend. She is playing in concert in an orchestra which she and her mum got going, was feeling rather nervous as she is a bit rusty, so hope it has gone ok. Everyone excpet me and the beans is out, we sat down on the sofa and watche d abit of program about the ‘Last Dragon’ SB fell asleep, but I dare’nt move as Bb was onn the otherside and kept waking and grumbling, she won’t take milk yet from bottle, so if she wakes sill just fuss. Though she does chew it for bit and that keeps aher a bit happy, and she can grab and hold the bottle as well, just won’t suck, silly girl.

We popped over to vists M her cousin, so they had some fun together. at Christmas they both got Leappads, with the backpacks to go with them, SB specifically brought hers down so they could play with them again, they both put hem on and pretend to be Astronauts – it was funny watching M try to teach her how to walk slowly like an Astronauts.

Speaking of BB, I can hear her dulcet tones calling………

quick question – car seats

any ideas for really safe ones for 16 kg tall 4 year old to take her to about 11, SI protection a must, like the backed versions? Anyone any idea on which the safest?