7/30/2004
Lovely visit
We've spent a lovely couple of days having a visit from Merry and girls. They've played really nicely together, mostly outside on the swings. Yesterday Kirsty and family and Jax and kids came over, so I was doubly glad it was warm and dry. We had quite an eventful day, but since most of the events involved Merry's children, I'll leave it to her to blog.
Late in the afternoon, after Kirsty had gone home, there was a heavy rain shower and they all came piling in from the garden. They had a tea party with the plastic food while Jax made some playdough, then they sat at the kitchen table to play with it for ages. After a while they started telling jokes and making up silly stories, taking turns to say something silly, such as 'I had a little girl stuck on my finger and it wouldn't come off and then I threw it into the sky' which would then be greeted by shrieks of laughter from all six of them. This game went on for ages, and baffled me entirely.
And the grownups had some time to look at books, which is always good. All of us were vowing to try to stop buying so many books (perhaps we need some sort of book-buying addiction self help group...) but I managed to persuade Merry she needed to buy some!
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We've spent a lovely couple of days having a visit from Merry and girls. They've played really nicely together, mostly outside on the swings. Yesterday Kirsty and family and Jax and kids came over, so I was doubly glad it was warm and dry. We had quite an eventful day, but since most of the events involved Merry's children, I'll leave it to her to blog.
Late in the afternoon, after Kirsty had gone home, there was a heavy rain shower and they all came piling in from the garden. They had a tea party with the plastic food while Jax made some playdough, then they sat at the kitchen table to play with it for ages. After a while they started telling jokes and making up silly stories, taking turns to say something silly, such as 'I had a little girl stuck on my finger and it wouldn't come off and then I threw it into the sky' which would then be greeted by shrieks of laughter from all six of them. This game went on for ages, and baffled me entirely.
And the grownups had some time to look at books, which is always good. All of us were vowing to try to stop buying so many books (perhaps we need some sort of book-buying addiction self help group...) but I managed to persuade Merry she needed to buy some!
7/27/2004
M's speech is coming on in leaps and bounds at the moment. She had a week off nursery last week, and when I went to pick her up today it struck me how much more she was able to tell me about her day than last time she went two weeks ago. C was extremely forward with her speech, and it's been frustrating at times having M learn at the normal rate, but now she's full of observations and questions, and she just seems to be on a mission to acquire vocabulary.
She's really into letters too. When we're out and about she has to stop and look at manhole covers for the C for Tatie (phonics could be a bit of a problem unless we can get that one sorted out) and the M for Megan. Her favourite is I for Isobel, a little friend at nursery, but she thinks they are the same upside down, so every exclamation mark is an I for Isobel!
I just wish she'd sleep a bit better. She was up at 11, 1.30, 4, 5, and 6 last night, then had to be woken at 7.45 to go out this morning. She's not up for long, and doesn't wake C in the same room, nor Jonathan, just me.
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She's really into letters too. When we're out and about she has to stop and look at manhole covers for the C for Tatie (phonics could be a bit of a problem unless we can get that one sorted out) and the M for Megan. Her favourite is I for Isobel, a little friend at nursery, but she thinks they are the same upside down, so every exclamation mark is an I for Isobel!
I just wish she'd sleep a bit better. She was up at 11, 1.30, 4, 5, and 6 last night, then had to be woken at 7.45 to go out this morning. She's not up for long, and doesn't wake C in the same room, nor Jonathan, just me.
7/26/2004
Fight Club!
What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla
Hmmn, not at all sure about this!
Children have been pretty tired and whingey today, but I decided we'd have a booky morning at home and got quite a lot done. C was playing with her pattern blocks for quite a long time and made a concentric pattern that looked like a mandala. So we talked about those and I showed her a picture of one in a book, then I showed her some colouring sheets we bought from Tesco which are a bit mandala-y. I think they're the same ones Fran has been getting into recently, and C, too, has never been much of a colouring fan. but she coloured one in really beautifully, and concentrated for ages on doing it nicely. I was quite pleased with M's colourful effort too, and I put them both up on the wall.
This afternoon I acted as a schoolfriends introduction agency. The son of someone I work with is going to be in the same class as M's friend Alex next term, so I thought it would be nice for them to meet beforehand, especially as Thomas is quite apprehensive about starting school. So they all came here and played for a couple of hours. Beth and Alex stayed for tea too. C and M both needed an early night, and for once C was asleep well before 8.00. (usually nearer 10.00)
7/25/2004
Not blogged much lately as I couldn't think of much to say. But we've had a good weekend so I guess I can put my head up and write something before people start to think I've disappeared.
We had a good trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with Jax, Barbara and the Portico yesterday. The children all ran around a lot and enjoyed each other's company, which was lovely to see.
Jonathan and I never seem to have time to actually have a whole conversation together, so last night my Mum came round to babysit and I took Jonathan out to a local pub, where they brew their own beer so we could actually talk to each other.
Just before we went out last night, our friend Steve phoned to check on the arrangements for us doing the music in church today, and we both had to confess we had no idea we were supposed to be playing. It's just as well Steve's there to organise us. All we have to do is turn up with our guitars, Steve puts the music in front of us, and off we go. But we thought a run through before the service started would be a good idea, so that meant an early start for us this morning.
The music went OK, but M was a bit of a problem. Normally there are some teenage girls there who are more than happy to look after her, but they were all on holiday today, and M wouldn't go in the creche without one of us there because of the little boy who is such a bully. So just before the last song there was quite a pause while I tried to work out what she wanted to do while we played. She ended up on the OHP person's knee with a book to look at. which worked fine.
Mum and Dad came for lunch, and Mum brought a yummy raspberry pavlova for pudding. Mandy and Steve, Callum and Bethan came for tea, but they came quite late, for various reasons, and M fell asleep for a bit, so I enjoyed some time to read to C. We're working our way through my old book of fairy tales at the moment, which I'm really enjoying - reading some of them is just like meeting old friends. We had no time constraints for booting our friends out today, so they finally left about 9.20. The children had just been playing out in the garden and the grownups were just enjoying having the time to chat together without the deadline of schoolday bedtime. That reminds me, the children picked quite a lot of fruit out there, I'd better go and do something with it.
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We had a good trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with Jax, Barbara and the Portico yesterday. The children all ran around a lot and enjoyed each other's company, which was lovely to see.
Jonathan and I never seem to have time to actually have a whole conversation together, so last night my Mum came round to babysit and I took Jonathan out to a local pub, where they brew their own beer so we could actually talk to each other.
Just before we went out last night, our friend Steve phoned to check on the arrangements for us doing the music in church today, and we both had to confess we had no idea we were supposed to be playing. It's just as well Steve's there to organise us. All we have to do is turn up with our guitars, Steve puts the music in front of us, and off we go. But we thought a run through before the service started would be a good idea, so that meant an early start for us this morning.
The music went OK, but M was a bit of a problem. Normally there are some teenage girls there who are more than happy to look after her, but they were all on holiday today, and M wouldn't go in the creche without one of us there because of the little boy who is such a bully. So just before the last song there was quite a pause while I tried to work out what she wanted to do while we played. She ended up on the OHP person's knee with a book to look at. which worked fine.
Mum and Dad came for lunch, and Mum brought a yummy raspberry pavlova for pudding. Mandy and Steve, Callum and Bethan came for tea, but they came quite late, for various reasons, and M fell asleep for a bit, so I enjoyed some time to read to C. We're working our way through my old book of fairy tales at the moment, which I'm really enjoying - reading some of them is just like meeting old friends. We had no time constraints for booting our friends out today, so they finally left about 9.20. The children had just been playing out in the garden and the grownups were just enjoying having the time to chat together without the deadline of schoolday bedtime. That reminds me, the children picked quite a lot of fruit out there, I'd better go and do something with it.
7/21/2004
In-laws visiting
Jonathan's parents have been visiting since Monday and they're going home tomorrow. I know they come to see the children really, so I've been making the most of it. Both children stayed at home yesterday (normally M goes to nursery on a Tuesday and C goes to my Mum's), and today they were up at 6.15 (unusual for them) and went straight upstairs to the spare room for stories without waking me at all. Actually I did get woken a bit, but dozed back off and didn't get up till nearly 9.00.
Then I went shopping to Huddersfield on my own. Mostly I had some errands to do, rather than shopping, but there was quite a lot of walking, and I was surprised how much smaller Huddersfield seems when there isn't a child hanging on each arm. I booked C some gym classes for later in the summer, and also found a watch that I like. My parents wanted to buy me a watch for my birthday a couple of years ago, but said I needed to choose it myself, and I've never had time to look for what I really want, which was a strap with Celtic knotwork on it. Anyway, I saw one today and bought it, and it even comes with a matching bracelet. I haven't had a watch at all for a few years, and I think it'll take me a while to get out of the habit of asking someone else when I want to know what the time is!
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Jonathan's parents have been visiting since Monday and they're going home tomorrow. I know they come to see the children really, so I've been making the most of it. Both children stayed at home yesterday (normally M goes to nursery on a Tuesday and C goes to my Mum's), and today they were up at 6.15 (unusual for them) and went straight upstairs to the spare room for stories without waking me at all. Actually I did get woken a bit, but dozed back off and didn't get up till nearly 9.00.
Then I went shopping to Huddersfield on my own. Mostly I had some errands to do, rather than shopping, but there was quite a lot of walking, and I was surprised how much smaller Huddersfield seems when there isn't a child hanging on each arm. I booked C some gym classes for later in the summer, and also found a watch that I like. My parents wanted to buy me a watch for my birthday a couple of years ago, but said I needed to choose it myself, and I've never had time to look for what I really want, which was a strap with Celtic knotwork on it. Anyway, I saw one today and bought it, and it even comes with a matching bracelet. I haven't had a watch at all for a few years, and I think it'll take me a while to get out of the habit of asking someone else when I want to know what the time is!
7/19/2004
Gulliver's World
This morning M was poorly again, only briefly, but long enough to ensure that she got to spend the day with Granny and Grandpa while C and I went to Gulliver's World near Warrington (blogger's not letting me put links in :( ) with Beth and her family. It was a nasty journey, and C refused to go on any of the first few rides we saw, so I was beginning to wonder what we were doing there, but then she found something that caught her interest and the day began to get better. There were loads of different rides there, and we didn't get round all of it. C was gradually getting bolder as the day went on; she was pleased with herself for trying the log flume before lunch, and she even almost went on the rollercoaster, except that just as she got to the front of the queue it stopped working properly.
We got home at just about the same moment that Jonathan's parents arrived for a three-day visit, and then Beth came round too, for a sleepover. It's the first time she's slept here, though C has slept at her house a couple of times, and C has been excited for days. Beth is normally asleep by seven, but it's nearly nine now and I can still hear them chatting and giggling. I did warn Beth's mum that C doesn't normally sleep till about ten.
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This morning M was poorly again, only briefly, but long enough to ensure that she got to spend the day with Granny and Grandpa while C and I went to Gulliver's World near Warrington (blogger's not letting me put links in :( ) with Beth and her family. It was a nasty journey, and C refused to go on any of the first few rides we saw, so I was beginning to wonder what we were doing there, but then she found something that caught her interest and the day began to get better. There were loads of different rides there, and we didn't get round all of it. C was gradually getting bolder as the day went on; she was pleased with herself for trying the log flume before lunch, and she even almost went on the rollercoaster, except that just as she got to the front of the queue it stopped working properly.
We got home at just about the same moment that Jonathan's parents arrived for a three-day visit, and then Beth came round too, for a sleepover. It's the first time she's slept here, though C has slept at her house a couple of times, and C has been excited for days. Beth is normally asleep by seven, but it's nearly nine now and I can still hear them chatting and giggling. I did warn Beth's mum that C doesn't normally sleep till about ten.
7/18/2004
At our church there is a little boy who's a day younger than M who hits and pushes all the other children, even the big ones, and it's becoming more and more of an issue. M's getting frightened to let me out of her sight in case he appears, and her fear of him is starting to dominate her experience of church. His family situation is difficult. He comes to church with his grandma, who is churchwarden (ie she has various responsibilities in church, and has to be there each week) His mum was adopted into the family at age six after an appalling early childhood, which has left her with some learning disabilities and her own behavioural issues. Her parents have bought her a little house near theirs so she can have some independence, and when she sets her mind to it she does quite a good job of looking after her son. He does spend quite a lot of time with his grandparents, but discipline at home is inconsistent. I'm not sure there's much anyone can do really, but it doesn't seem to be a good situation for anyone, least of all the little boy himself.
This afternoon Mum and Dad came round and we did lots of weeding. I think we took four wheelbarrowfuls of weeds into the field for the ponies. I also found our first ripe loganberry of the year and our first ripe raspberry. Jonathan did some more work on the climbing frame - it should all be finished soon I hope.
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This afternoon Mum and Dad came round and we did lots of weeding. I think we took four wheelbarrowfuls of weeds into the field for the ponies. I also found our first ripe loganberry of the year and our first ripe raspberry. Jonathan did some more work on the climbing frame - it should all be finished soon I hope.
7/17/2004
M's been mostly better today - she was sick at breakfast time and very clingy at teatime, but mostly OK in between, so hopefully that's the end of that. The night was OK, and she stopped clinging this morning in time for me to get some housework done.
It's Jonathan's birthday today, and C made him a lovely card. She drew a cat from an Usborne book we got recently of simple ways to draw things, then stuck it on a card and did all the writing, copying what I wrote for her, as her spelling if she writes it all herself is wildly imaginative. My Mum made a chocolate cake and we started it with Auntie Edna and Uncle Charles from New Zealand who visited this afternoon. It was really nice to see them. I think they were last over three years ago but they had never been to our house or met M. They've been in Europe since May and have had a couple of intensive weeks in Italy, and a few weeks of moseying around Britain. C was very excited about their visit and was just bursting to show them how well she could bounce on her trampoline, and all her things etc.
C's drama lesson was better this morning. Jonathan took her and waited just outside in case there was a problem, but she had a good time and declared she wants to go back next week.
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It's Jonathan's birthday today, and C made him a lovely card. She drew a cat from an Usborne book we got recently of simple ways to draw things, then stuck it on a card and did all the writing, copying what I wrote for her, as her spelling if she writes it all herself is wildly imaginative. My Mum made a chocolate cake and we started it with Auntie Edna and Uncle Charles from New Zealand who visited this afternoon. It was really nice to see them. I think they were last over three years ago but they had never been to our house or met M. They've been in Europe since May and have had a couple of intensive weeks in Italy, and a few weeks of moseying around Britain. C was very excited about their visit and was just bursting to show them how well she could bounce on her trampoline, and all her things etc.
C's drama lesson was better this morning. Jonathan took her and waited just outside in case there was a problem, but she had a good time and declared she wants to go back next week.
7/16/2004
Poorly M
Jonathan phoned me at work at lunchtime to tell me M had been sick, something she never does, not even as a baby. She perked up for most of the afternoon, then asked to go to bed about 6.30. When I came in she was still awake and I went up and sang to her a bit, then she wouldn''t let me leave the room and I had to sit there next to her for ages. (She did let me fetch my book and a cup of tea). This child is just never ill. She was once off colour for a day with a cold, but that's really about it, and she was just so sad this evening, not knowing what was happening.
Tomorrow is Jonathan's birthday, also C's second attempt at drama class in the morning. On Wednesday evening, Jonathan's aunt and uncle who are over visiting from New Zealand phoned to ask if they could drop in tomorrow afternoon. It will be lovely to see them, as I don't think they've been over here since C was a baby, but with a little more warning I might have been able to clean the house a bit. Just at the moment I think I should be satisfied if I get some sleep tonight, though both girls have been peacefully asleep for a couple of hours now. Fingers crossed...
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Jonathan phoned me at work at lunchtime to tell me M had been sick, something she never does, not even as a baby. She perked up for most of the afternoon, then asked to go to bed about 6.30. When I came in she was still awake and I went up and sang to her a bit, then she wouldn''t let me leave the room and I had to sit there next to her for ages. (She did let me fetch my book and a cup of tea). This child is just never ill. She was once off colour for a day with a cold, but that's really about it, and she was just so sad this evening, not knowing what was happening.
Tomorrow is Jonathan's birthday, also C's second attempt at drama class in the morning. On Wednesday evening, Jonathan's aunt and uncle who are over visiting from New Zealand phoned to ask if they could drop in tomorrow afternoon. It will be lovely to see them, as I don't think they've been over here since C was a baby, but with a little more warning I might have been able to clean the house a bit. Just at the moment I think I should be satisfied if I get some sleep tonight, though both girls have been peacefully asleep for a couple of hours now. Fingers crossed...
7/15/2004
I decided this morning that the key to successful mornings was to be organised. And I wasn't. I did wake up early enough to get up and deal with some of yesterday's clutter before anyone else woke up, but then I went back to sleep. And when I next woke, I heard C and M playing very nicely in their room, and I just didn't want to disturb them by getting out of bed myself! So I was trying to clear up at the same time as trying to get them to sit down and do something useful, which didn't work very well.
Anyway, we got a bit done, then had an early lunch and went out to a soft play place. It's not something we do very often, but I realised that I'm not going to want to go at all during the next six weeks, so we might as well go this week. Ever the optimist, I took a book, but M just would not go and play without me, so I'm sure I got at least as tired as they did. I had a trump card up my sleeve for extracting C from there when it was time to leave - a plan to go to play at Beth's for a couple of hours.
During the last 24 hours our cabbage white butterflies have been emerging from their pupae, which has been fascinating to watch. We haven't yet managed to catch one in the act of actually starting to break out, but we've seen a few finishing, and spreading out their wings.
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Anyway, we got a bit done, then had an early lunch and went out to a soft play place. It's not something we do very often, but I realised that I'm not going to want to go at all during the next six weeks, so we might as well go this week. Ever the optimist, I took a book, but M just would not go and play without me, so I'm sure I got at least as tired as they did. I had a trump card up my sleeve for extracting C from there when it was time to leave - a plan to go to play at Beth's for a couple of hours.
During the last 24 hours our cabbage white butterflies have been emerging from their pupae, which has been fascinating to watch. We haven't yet managed to catch one in the act of actually starting to break out, but we've seen a few finishing, and spreading out their wings.
7/14/2004
Reading ponderings
M went to playgroup this morning, so I had an hour or so with C at home, then we picked up M and went swimming. There were quite a few people there that we knew - only one other school-age HE'er, but quite a few three and four year olds and they all had a lovely time playing in the pool and afterwards, charging round in the cafe together. So plenty of PE and socialisation. And that's just for the mums.
M fell asleep on the way home. I did have to drive a slightly long way round to make sure she was really asleep, but once we got home she slept for about three hours. So I got lots of reading to C done. It lulled me to sleep for a bit, so I sent her off to do some drawing while I had a power nap on the sofa, and a bit later I did wonder if it might be fun to make something, a bit of cutting and sticking or some such, but she wasn't having any of it - we were doing 'you choose, I choose' but she said I was only allowed to choose books! At one point my sister-in-law phoned to say she was back from holiday, and I offered C to speak to her, but C just said 'when are you going to get off the phone and finish this chapter?'
I followed a link from Layla's blog to Tanglewood a CM/classical curriculum, with a wonderful list of recommended books (I've always been a sucker for book lists) and they suggest you read at least nine of these books each year. NINE books in a year! There were 16 of similar quality in the Sonlight K package which we began in September, and we've read at least twenty more, in and amongst. We rarely do anything more with them than just reading - perhaps that will seem more appropriate as time goes on. And now she can read for herself, she's often got her nose in a book when I'm asking her to do something (mutters: she's as bad as her father) This really was what I wanted for her; I think it was how I was as a child, but obviously I got to do all the crafty stuff at school, so I didn't miss out on any of that. M's much more hands-on, and I think as she gets more expressive about wanting to do cutting and sticking and making, we'll all end up doing more. And once she doesn't sleep in the afternoon we'll lose that big chunk of reading time too, so I guess I'd better make the most of it while I've got it.
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M went to playgroup this morning, so I had an hour or so with C at home, then we picked up M and went swimming. There were quite a few people there that we knew - only one other school-age HE'er, but quite a few three and four year olds and they all had a lovely time playing in the pool and afterwards, charging round in the cafe together. So plenty of PE and socialisation. And that's just for the mums.
M fell asleep on the way home. I did have to drive a slightly long way round to make sure she was really asleep, but once we got home she slept for about three hours. So I got lots of reading to C done. It lulled me to sleep for a bit, so I sent her off to do some drawing while I had a power nap on the sofa, and a bit later I did wonder if it might be fun to make something, a bit of cutting and sticking or some such, but she wasn't having any of it - we were doing 'you choose, I choose' but she said I was only allowed to choose books! At one point my sister-in-law phoned to say she was back from holiday, and I offered C to speak to her, but C just said 'when are you going to get off the phone and finish this chapter?'
I followed a link from Layla's blog to Tanglewood a CM/classical curriculum, with a wonderful list of recommended books (I've always been a sucker for book lists) and they suggest you read at least nine of these books each year. NINE books in a year! There were 16 of similar quality in the Sonlight K package which we began in September, and we've read at least twenty more, in and amongst. We rarely do anything more with them than just reading - perhaps that will seem more appropriate as time goes on. And now she can read for herself, she's often got her nose in a book when I'm asking her to do something (mutters: she's as bad as her father) This really was what I wanted for her; I think it was how I was as a child, but obviously I got to do all the crafty stuff at school, so I didn't miss out on any of that. M's much more hands-on, and I think as she gets more expressive about wanting to do cutting and sticking and making, we'll all end up doing more. And once she doesn't sleep in the afternoon we'll lose that big chunk of reading time too, so I guess I'd better make the most of it while I've got it.
7/13/2004
Catie's day
I went to Granny and Grandpa's and I did everything usual, like having pancakes for tea, going to ballet and watching TV at teatime when I was having my pancakes.
Dictated to Jan by Catie
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I went to Granny and Grandpa's and I did everything usual, like having pancakes for tea, going to ballet and watching TV at teatime when I was having my pancakes.
Dictated to Jan by Catie
7/12/2004
Farms
In an attempt to engage M in what we're doing at home, I decided to do a mini-unit study thing on farms, as I thought that would be accessible for her. So today we've looked at The Year at Maple Hill Farm which was a big hit with them both, and a book called Thank you for a Drink of Milk. Our local milkman delivers farm-bottled milk from local cows, and I'd like to arrange a visit to see in real life the chain of events that goes into producing our milk.
This afternoon we went out to Cannon Hall Farm where, for once, there was much greater enthusiasm for the animals than for the playground. We haven't been there for a long time, and M didn't remember ever having gone before, so it was all fresh and exciting. Incidentally, the NFU has quite an interesting website.
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In an attempt to engage M in what we're doing at home, I decided to do a mini-unit study thing on farms, as I thought that would be accessible for her. So today we've looked at The Year at Maple Hill Farm which was a big hit with them both, and a book called Thank you for a Drink of Milk. Our local milkman delivers farm-bottled milk from local cows, and I'd like to arrange a visit to see in real life the chain of events that goes into producing our milk.
This afternoon we went out to Cannon Hall Farm where, for once, there was much greater enthusiasm for the animals than for the playground. We haven't been there for a long time, and M didn't remember ever having gone before, so it was all fresh and exciting. Incidentally, the NFU has quite an interesting website.
7/10/2004
Drama drama
C's been wanting to do drama classes for a while, so I finally got organised about it, and she started today. 9.00-9.45 on a Saturday sounds bad, but it does leave the rest of the day free. We managed to get there in time, which felt like an achievement. I think she enjoyed most of it, but they were playing some running around game in the last few minutes which really upset her for some reason, and she's taking a bit of persuading that it will be OK to go back next week. I think she also wanted a bit more of 'putting on shows' like she does at home, but she does play a lot of roleplaying games at home too, so that bit should have been easy enough for her.
Then we went to Holmfirth Civic Hall to look at the big art show which is part of Holmfirth Art Week. There are a couple of big rooms filled with very assorted art works, many by local artists, including watercolours by our curate and embroidery by his wife, also glass and ceramics, metalwork and wood, mosaics, jewellery, lots of paintings in various media, and many other things. Jonathan's favourite was a huge impressionistic landscape of the bleak moors around here, done in oils and peat. C liked a couple of pieces each called Big Head, which were heads about four feet tall made of scrap metal.
Then we decided C deserved ice cream for her stressful drama experience, so we went to Longley's, the coffee shop outlet of Longley Farm, which is nearby, and had lots of very yummy ice cream. As we were almost leaving, Beth and Alex and their mum Fiona came in and helped to finish our ice cream, before ordering their own, then after a brief wander through the craft market, we went home.
The intention was to spend the afternoon in the garden, and Mum and Dad came round to help too, but we'd been outside about ten minutes before the rain got too much for us. I did dig up some potatoes and pick mangetout though, and we had them for tea. M discovered that riding her tricyle over the bubble wrap with the big bubbles makes an excellent noise, so she rode round and round in the kitchen.
C and M did some threading of some foam beads I bought this morning, then when they ran out of those, some other beads that we had. M was getting very tired and stroppy, so I sang her to sleep, and had a nice couple of hours just pottering with C. Jonathan bought a gyroscope with LED display yesterday and we played with that for a bit (anyone know any good websites or explaining how they work?) then I had some sewing to do and C spent ages sorting the beads different ways. Sorting is something she's never done very much, not sure why. Then she did some stickers and colouring.
I've made a list of all the books, resources etc. we have sitting about that might be useful in the next year or so, and Jonathan spent part of this afternoon fixing my computer so it will talk to the printer, so now my big list is printed out, I'm going to go and make a bit of a plan for the next few months. I'm good at making plans, just very bad at sticking to them...
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C's been wanting to do drama classes for a while, so I finally got organised about it, and she started today. 9.00-9.45 on a Saturday sounds bad, but it does leave the rest of the day free. We managed to get there in time, which felt like an achievement. I think she enjoyed most of it, but they were playing some running around game in the last few minutes which really upset her for some reason, and she's taking a bit of persuading that it will be OK to go back next week. I think she also wanted a bit more of 'putting on shows' like she does at home, but she does play a lot of roleplaying games at home too, so that bit should have been easy enough for her.
Then we went to Holmfirth Civic Hall to look at the big art show which is part of Holmfirth Art Week. There are a couple of big rooms filled with very assorted art works, many by local artists, including watercolours by our curate and embroidery by his wife, also glass and ceramics, metalwork and wood, mosaics, jewellery, lots of paintings in various media, and many other things. Jonathan's favourite was a huge impressionistic landscape of the bleak moors around here, done in oils and peat. C liked a couple of pieces each called Big Head, which were heads about four feet tall made of scrap metal.
Then we decided C deserved ice cream for her stressful drama experience, so we went to Longley's, the coffee shop outlet of Longley Farm, which is nearby, and had lots of very yummy ice cream. As we were almost leaving, Beth and Alex and their mum Fiona came in and helped to finish our ice cream, before ordering their own, then after a brief wander through the craft market, we went home.
The intention was to spend the afternoon in the garden, and Mum and Dad came round to help too, but we'd been outside about ten minutes before the rain got too much for us. I did dig up some potatoes and pick mangetout though, and we had them for tea. M discovered that riding her tricyle over the bubble wrap with the big bubbles makes an excellent noise, so she rode round and round in the kitchen.
C and M did some threading of some foam beads I bought this morning, then when they ran out of those, some other beads that we had. M was getting very tired and stroppy, so I sang her to sleep, and had a nice couple of hours just pottering with C. Jonathan bought a gyroscope with LED display yesterday and we played with that for a bit (anyone know any good websites or explaining how they work?) then I had some sewing to do and C spent ages sorting the beads different ways. Sorting is something she's never done very much, not sure why. Then she did some stickers and colouring.
I've made a list of all the books, resources etc. we have sitting about that might be useful in the next year or so, and Jonathan spent part of this afternoon fixing my computer so it will talk to the printer, so now my big list is printed out, I'm going to go and make a bit of a plan for the next few months. I'm good at making plans, just very bad at sticking to them...
7/09/2004
MY M-BAG ARRIVED! HOORAY!
12 weeks and I really was wondering where it had got to. Just in time as it had Jonathan's birthday present in it, which is a week tomorrow.
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12 weeks and I really was wondering where it had got to. Just in time as it had Jonathan's birthday present in it, which is a week tomorrow.
Sarah's Friday Four
1. How many times have you moved house in your life (now, work out the average number of moves per year of your life ... !! We all know Merry is a hot favourite for the most here but her children might do better ...)
I've moved eleven times, so not all that many, compared to some of you. (once every three years on average) We lived in Twickenham till I was eleven, then my parents moved to Guildford and I went to boarding school, so I feel like I lived in two places simultaneously, and had to pack up all my belongings and move at the end of each term and each holiday. I lived in three different houses at school, but I've not counted school at all.
Then to Sheffield to Uni, where I lived in hall for a year, then moved into a friend's house for two years. I moved out of there because I was buying a house of my own but it took ages so I had a slightly nomadic five months (see below) before getting my own place a week before my 21st birthday.
After I graduated I worked in Weymouth for six months and then Portsmouth for six months, then moved back to Sheffield to my own house. In 1997 we lived in Balham for a few months then moved to Redhill where we rented for a year then bought a house, and in 2000 we moved back to Yorkshire to where we are now. And there we intend to stay.
2. Do you have a moving highlight or disaster you can tell us about?
A moving highlight? Is there such a thing?
When I bought my first house, it all took ages to go through as I was gazumped and had bad surveys on a couple of houses. The friend whose house I lived in needed to be able to let out my room for the new academic year, so I told her I would move out in the September, and I went to stay in the house of some friends who were away at Bible College. Unfortunately, they came back most weekends and I had to find somewhere else to go, and most of their stuff was still in the house, so it never felt at all like home.
3. What's your favourite place you've lived and why?
I love where we live now. We definitely didn't want to bring up children in the southeast, and we wanted a bit more space. Where we are now is quite rural but only an hour from Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bradford.
We had lots of criteria for a place to live and we were lucky enough to be able to choose the place we wanted and move there, as Jonathan took his job with him and I can work pretty much anywhere. So we wanted somewhere with hills, off the beaten track but with reasonable access to Sheff, Leeds and Bradford, where we had friends, and also from an employment point of view. We wanted to be close to a Multiplex cinema (!) but most other facilities were optional. And we wanted to be near the sea. Which we're not, but you can't have everything.
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
All my life I've wanted to live on my uncle's farm in the North York Moors where I spent many childhood holidays. And now it's on the market, and recently a job came up in the next village I could have had. But Jonathan couldn't commute to Manchester, we're settled where we are, with my parents in the same village, and it's way out of our price range.
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1. How many times have you moved house in your life (now, work out the average number of moves per year of your life ... !! We all know Merry is a hot favourite for the most here but her children might do better ...)
I've moved eleven times, so not all that many, compared to some of you. (once every three years on average) We lived in Twickenham till I was eleven, then my parents moved to Guildford and I went to boarding school, so I feel like I lived in two places simultaneously, and had to pack up all my belongings and move at the end of each term and each holiday. I lived in three different houses at school, but I've not counted school at all.
Then to Sheffield to Uni, where I lived in hall for a year, then moved into a friend's house for two years. I moved out of there because I was buying a house of my own but it took ages so I had a slightly nomadic five months (see below) before getting my own place a week before my 21st birthday.
After I graduated I worked in Weymouth for six months and then Portsmouth for six months, then moved back to Sheffield to my own house. In 1997 we lived in Balham for a few months then moved to Redhill where we rented for a year then bought a house, and in 2000 we moved back to Yorkshire to where we are now. And there we intend to stay.
2. Do you have a moving highlight or disaster you can tell us about?
A moving highlight? Is there such a thing?
When I bought my first house, it all took ages to go through as I was gazumped and had bad surveys on a couple of houses. The friend whose house I lived in needed to be able to let out my room for the new academic year, so I told her I would move out in the September, and I went to stay in the house of some friends who were away at Bible College. Unfortunately, they came back most weekends and I had to find somewhere else to go, and most of their stuff was still in the house, so it never felt at all like home.
3. What's your favourite place you've lived and why?
I love where we live now. We definitely didn't want to bring up children in the southeast, and we wanted a bit more space. Where we are now is quite rural but only an hour from Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bradford.
We had lots of criteria for a place to live and we were lucky enough to be able to choose the place we wanted and move there, as Jonathan took his job with him and I can work pretty much anywhere. So we wanted somewhere with hills, off the beaten track but with reasonable access to Sheff, Leeds and Bradford, where we had friends, and also from an employment point of view. We wanted to be close to a Multiplex cinema (!) but most other facilities were optional. And we wanted to be near the sea. Which we're not, but you can't have everything.
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
All my life I've wanted to live on my uncle's farm in the North York Moors where I spent many childhood holidays. And now it's on the market, and recently a job came up in the next village I could have had. But Jonathan couldn't commute to Manchester, we're settled where we are, with my parents in the same village, and it's way out of our price range.
7/08/2004
Much better day today, probably because there was nothing I had to do. M came in to our room at 6.40 this morning, declaring very precisely and articulately "Don't want in my bed any more," and she was so cute with it that I gave in and let her in next to me where she proceeded to wriggle and kick constantly until I gave up half an hour later and got up. Just as well I didn't give in to her first request at 2am!
One achievement early in the day was the uncovering of the bottom of the washing basket. Unfortunately I've slightly exceeded my drying capacity (I don't have a tumble drier) especially as our tent is spread out to air in the house, so the clothes are a bit cramped.
As the end of term approaches, it's time to think again about M's pre-not-school education. I've been really pleased with the Montessori, and I've put her down for two mornings there next term, and she will continue to have a day in nursery. She has quite enjoyed being in playgroup, but I would be quite happy to drop that, were it not for the fact that she is enormously disruptive of anything I try to do with C, snatching books out of my hands, sweeping everything off the table etc, so my current plan is to keep her place at playgroup open for now, but to spend the next couple of months trying to find a better way of working together so we can all co-exist happily at home.
I'm very happy with where C's up to, so I plan to focus a bit more on M's needs and her level. Yes, I know she's only two, but I guess she feels left out, so I plan to do a bit of B4FIAR, and more crafty, hands-on stuff, which she is into much more than C. So today we read Ask Mr Bear, which she enjoyed, but didn't want to do any more with just at the moment. I had asked C to get on with a jigsaw while I had some time with M, and I pulled her out one which is a map of Europe which she hadn't seen for a while, and she said when she saw it that it would be too hard, but she had a go anyway (unusual but good), and stuck with it (likewise) and actually managed most of it without help from me at all.
We made some yellow playdough, which they both played with for ages, and we made some cheese scones to take round to Beth and Alex's house in the afternoon, and they spent a good while chasing each other round and tickling each other. We listened to some music, including C's Angelina Ballerina CD, and I was trying to demonstrate the Can-Can for them, which caused much amusement. M went to sleep early so C got another 3 chapters of The Road to Oz and quite a lot of other reading, which was good. I must look back on days like this when I feel like I never get anything done and remember that it all evens out in the end. I have to say I'm grateful for the rain keeping us indoors today, as we've had a lovely day.
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One achievement early in the day was the uncovering of the bottom of the washing basket. Unfortunately I've slightly exceeded my drying capacity (I don't have a tumble drier) especially as our tent is spread out to air in the house, so the clothes are a bit cramped.
As the end of term approaches, it's time to think again about M's pre-not-school education. I've been really pleased with the Montessori, and I've put her down for two mornings there next term, and she will continue to have a day in nursery. She has quite enjoyed being in playgroup, but I would be quite happy to drop that, were it not for the fact that she is enormously disruptive of anything I try to do with C, snatching books out of my hands, sweeping everything off the table etc, so my current plan is to keep her place at playgroup open for now, but to spend the next couple of months trying to find a better way of working together so we can all co-exist happily at home.
I'm very happy with where C's up to, so I plan to focus a bit more on M's needs and her level. Yes, I know she's only two, but I guess she feels left out, so I plan to do a bit of B4FIAR, and more crafty, hands-on stuff, which she is into much more than C. So today we read Ask Mr Bear, which she enjoyed, but didn't want to do any more with just at the moment. I had asked C to get on with a jigsaw while I had some time with M, and I pulled her out one which is a map of Europe which she hadn't seen for a while, and she said when she saw it that it would be too hard, but she had a go anyway (unusual but good), and stuck with it (likewise) and actually managed most of it without help from me at all.
We made some yellow playdough, which they both played with for ages, and we made some cheese scones to take round to Beth and Alex's house in the afternoon, and they spent a good while chasing each other round and tickling each other. We listened to some music, including C's Angelina Ballerina CD, and I was trying to demonstrate the Can-Can for them, which caused much amusement. M went to sleep early so C got another 3 chapters of The Road to Oz and quite a lot of other reading, which was good. I must look back on days like this when I feel like I never get anything done and remember that it all evens out in the end. I have to say I'm grateful for the rain keeping us indoors today, as we've had a lovely day.
7/07/2004
A ropy start, but it did get better
This morning I really wanted M to go to playgroup and to be on time because I felt like I needed some one to one time with C. But it took half an hour - I timed it - to get them both into knickers, trousers, tops and socks, with me nagging them constantly to get on with it. Then M wouldn't sit still to eat breakfast, and we arrived at playgroup half an hour late, with me very uptight and grumpy. M was a bit reluctant to stay, presumably because it was was quite noisy there, but I sat her down at the playdough table and she was OK.
I got a bit done with C. We're reading 'The Road to Oz' now (thanks Alison) and I also have a plan to read a lot of fairy tales and traditional stories over the next year. I recently rediscovered the fairy tale book I had as a child, which has been at my uncle and aunt's house for a couple of decades, and it's funny how well I remember all the pictures. And there are some stories in there I haven't found anywhere else, but that I have fond memories of. Now I've got that book again, I guess I can call off the search for those stories, which means I'll have to stop buying books of fairy tales! Anyway, we read one called the Fairies, and also Jack the Giant Killer.
Then we picked M up and went swimming. M has been asking to go swimming each day since we got back from Kessingland, and although I expected most of the other HEers who go on a Wednesday to be at Peak Camp, there were several families we knew there, so the children had a lovely play together, and now that M is so much more independent in the water, I had a lovely chat with the other mums too.
We had to buy hen food on the way home which extended the journey enough for M to fall asleep, which was just what she (and I) needed. She slept for about 2 1/2 hours and woke up much less grumpy and contrary than she's been the past couple of days. And as she was being nice we did some painting after tea, rather than going straight into the stories and bath routine. We made some butterflies, where you put paint on one side and fold them over, which M thought was great. M's sleep got me some more time with C, and we did 'I choose, you choose', where we alternate choices for stories / reading / book-type activities.
And by coincidence, since people seem to be talking about art today, we started Come Look with Me- enjoying art with children by Gladys S Blizzard, a Sonlight book, which is an introduction to art appreciation. I've been meaning to get it out for a while, and I was quite pleased with how well it went down, and also where the conversation went from a picture of Edward VI as a small boy by Holbein - we had a quick overview of Henry VIII, and talked about the line of succession to the throne.
For pudding at teatime we had our strawberries, and Mum's allotment raspberries. And for main course we had apple (Uncle John's, out of the freezer) and rhubarb (ours) crumble and custard (needed to use up some eggs). There's so much fruit to be eaten at the moment, that I think we'll have to eat a lot of pudding in the next few weeks.
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This morning I really wanted M to go to playgroup and to be on time because I felt like I needed some one to one time with C. But it took half an hour - I timed it - to get them both into knickers, trousers, tops and socks, with me nagging them constantly to get on with it. Then M wouldn't sit still to eat breakfast, and we arrived at playgroup half an hour late, with me very uptight and grumpy. M was a bit reluctant to stay, presumably because it was was quite noisy there, but I sat her down at the playdough table and she was OK.
I got a bit done with C. We're reading 'The Road to Oz' now (thanks Alison) and I also have a plan to read a lot of fairy tales and traditional stories over the next year. I recently rediscovered the fairy tale book I had as a child, which has been at my uncle and aunt's house for a couple of decades, and it's funny how well I remember all the pictures. And there are some stories in there I haven't found anywhere else, but that I have fond memories of. Now I've got that book again, I guess I can call off the search for those stories, which means I'll have to stop buying books of fairy tales! Anyway, we read one called the Fairies, and also Jack the Giant Killer.
Then we picked M up and went swimming. M has been asking to go swimming each day since we got back from Kessingland, and although I expected most of the other HEers who go on a Wednesday to be at Peak Camp, there were several families we knew there, so the children had a lovely play together, and now that M is so much more independent in the water, I had a lovely chat with the other mums too.
We had to buy hen food on the way home which extended the journey enough for M to fall asleep, which was just what she (and I) needed. She slept for about 2 1/2 hours and woke up much less grumpy and contrary than she's been the past couple of days. And as she was being nice we did some painting after tea, rather than going straight into the stories and bath routine. We made some butterflies, where you put paint on one side and fold them over, which M thought was great. M's sleep got me some more time with C, and we did 'I choose, you choose', where we alternate choices for stories / reading / book-type activities.
And by coincidence, since people seem to be talking about art today, we started Come Look with Me- enjoying art with children by Gladys S Blizzard, a Sonlight book, which is an introduction to art appreciation. I've been meaning to get it out for a while, and I was quite pleased with how well it went down, and also where the conversation went from a picture of Edward VI as a small boy by Holbein - we had a quick overview of Henry VIII, and talked about the line of succession to the throne.
For pudding at teatime we had our strawberries, and Mum's allotment raspberries. And for main course we had apple (Uncle John's, out of the freezer) and rhubarb (ours) crumble and custard (needed to use up some eggs). There's so much fruit to be eaten at the moment, that I think we'll have to eat a lot of pudding in the next few weeks.
7/05/2004
Getting straightened out
I came back from camp with lots of good intentions about educating the children, as that seems to have been a bit lacking recently, but there's so much to do when you come back from holiday, and I've been much too grumpy. I'm not properly unpacked yet, I've done three loads of washing but there's still more to do, there was no food in the house, so we had to go to Tesco this morning, which is always fun for the first 20 minutes or so, but then goes downhill fast. Thank goodness for Tesco online - I hardly ever go in person any more, but we really did need food today.
The garden has got very overgrown in the past week. Well OK, nearly all of it was overgrown before we went away, but the strawberry plants had entirely vanished in a sea of chickweed which was harbouring fat, hungry slugs. So today Mum and I have weeded that, and it looks much better. The mangetouts are coming on - we've eaten them yesterday and today, along with homegrown potatoes. Yum.
Katya and Vikka and their Mum called round this afternoon, which was good. C says her favourite thing to do in the whole world is play with Katya or Beth, two of our neighbours. The girls all enjoyed the new swings, and I had a nice chat with Heather.
Our cabbage white caterpillars very conveniently all pupated the day before we went away, which was fascinating to watch, so now we're just waiting for them to emerge. Then we'll have to decide what to do with them - I'm not setting them loose in my garden.
M has been impossibly two today. I feel like I've spent most of the day negotiating with her in order to avoid meltdown. She's very tired after last week but she will not go for a sleep in the day, and I had a job getting her to sleep at 8.30 this evening.
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I came back from camp with lots of good intentions about educating the children, as that seems to have been a bit lacking recently, but there's so much to do when you come back from holiday, and I've been much too grumpy. I'm not properly unpacked yet, I've done three loads of washing but there's still more to do, there was no food in the house, so we had to go to Tesco this morning, which is always fun for the first 20 minutes or so, but then goes downhill fast. Thank goodness for Tesco online - I hardly ever go in person any more, but we really did need food today.
The garden has got very overgrown in the past week. Well OK, nearly all of it was overgrown before we went away, but the strawberry plants had entirely vanished in a sea of chickweed which was harbouring fat, hungry slugs. So today Mum and I have weeded that, and it looks much better. The mangetouts are coming on - we've eaten them yesterday and today, along with homegrown potatoes. Yum.
Katya and Vikka and their Mum called round this afternoon, which was good. C says her favourite thing to do in the whole world is play with Katya or Beth, two of our neighbours. The girls all enjoyed the new swings, and I had a nice chat with Heather.
Our cabbage white caterpillars very conveniently all pupated the day before we went away, which was fascinating to watch, so now we're just waiting for them to emerge. Then we'll have to decide what to do with them - I'm not setting them loose in my garden.
M has been impossibly two today. I feel like I've spent most of the day negotiating with her in order to avoid meltdown. She's very tired after last week but she will not go for a sleep in the day, and I had a job getting her to sleep at 8.30 this evening.
