12/30/2004
Nothing to do and no-one to see
Or nothing we had to do at any rate, which was just what we needed.
After breakfast we were talking with C about the tsunami, and trying to think of something she could be involved in to offer help. We thought about taking unwanted things to the local charity shop which will undoubtedly be making a sizeable donation. I wondered if there was anything we could make to sell, and C suggested making a robot out of cardboard boxes, but we all agreed that we couldn't think of anyone who would buy it. Then we thought of baking things to take to church on Sunday morning - gingerbread and fairy cakes to sell with coffee at the end, or, if there are enough, for people to take home. So, if we can get baking before then, we'll do that. (note to tomorrow's visitors - you might get roped into this too!) Then I got an email letting me know the churches together in Meltham are doing a fundraising sale of gifts and stuff in the church hall on Monday, so we can take things along there too.
Some time ago I did some modelling with Das clay with the girls, and the resulting creations have been sitting around waiting to be painted. I don't know what anyone else paints clay with, but I thought they'd be better painted with acrylic paint rather than poster paint, and Jonathan is the expert in acrylic paint in this house, so this morning, he and C painted some of her clay badgers. It wa a good exercise in colour science, as the black was all dried up, so they had to make do with a mixture of dark green, brown and dark purple.
Meanwhile my Mum and Dad came round. Because we live in the country, we don't have any wheelie bins, just an old fashioned bin with a black bag in, and no recycling bin at all. When we first lived here I used to save up all my recycling rubbish and take it to the tip every so often, but Mum and Dad have a green wheelie bin for their recyclables, and they asked the council for another one to live at their house for our rubbish. We were over-run with cardboard boxes and paper after Christmas, so Mum came round to take some of that away for us, and to have a nice play with the children, especially M, as C was upstairs painting with Jonathan. M concentrated for ages on a Letterland puzzle that was really quite hard for her - it's great to see her so keen on learning letters - and Mum and I played a shopping game with her too.
In the afternoon we watched Mary Poppins, which, if you can turn a deaf ear to Dick Van Dyke's appalling cockney accent, is an excellent film, and C in particular, really enjoyed it. M enjoyed the singing and dancing, but she had had enough of the talking by well before the end.
All in all a good relaxing day. I especially wanted to have a normal evening routine, as evenings have been very disrupted recently, so we had tea at six, then plenty of time for stories. I read the whole of the Light at Tern Rock to C, which we both enjoyed, then they had a long bath and played really nicely together in it. Now they're quiet and I need to finish learning how to put photos up on my own without waiting for Jonathan to do it for me. Illustrations may follow later (but don't hold your breath)
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Or nothing we had to do at any rate, which was just what we needed.
After breakfast we were talking with C about the tsunami, and trying to think of something she could be involved in to offer help. We thought about taking unwanted things to the local charity shop which will undoubtedly be making a sizeable donation. I wondered if there was anything we could make to sell, and C suggested making a robot out of cardboard boxes, but we all agreed that we couldn't think of anyone who would buy it. Then we thought of baking things to take to church on Sunday morning - gingerbread and fairy cakes to sell with coffee at the end, or, if there are enough, for people to take home. So, if we can get baking before then, we'll do that. (note to tomorrow's visitors - you might get roped into this too!) Then I got an email letting me know the churches together in Meltham are doing a fundraising sale of gifts and stuff in the church hall on Monday, so we can take things along there too.
Some time ago I did some modelling with Das clay with the girls, and the resulting creations have been sitting around waiting to be painted. I don't know what anyone else paints clay with, but I thought they'd be better painted with acrylic paint rather than poster paint, and Jonathan is the expert in acrylic paint in this house, so this morning, he and C painted some of her clay badgers. It wa a good exercise in colour science, as the black was all dried up, so they had to make do with a mixture of dark green, brown and dark purple.
Meanwhile my Mum and Dad came round. Because we live in the country, we don't have any wheelie bins, just an old fashioned bin with a black bag in, and no recycling bin at all. When we first lived here I used to save up all my recycling rubbish and take it to the tip every so often, but Mum and Dad have a green wheelie bin for their recyclables, and they asked the council for another one to live at their house for our rubbish. We were over-run with cardboard boxes and paper after Christmas, so Mum came round to take some of that away for us, and to have a nice play with the children, especially M, as C was upstairs painting with Jonathan. M concentrated for ages on a Letterland puzzle that was really quite hard for her - it's great to see her so keen on learning letters - and Mum and I played a shopping game with her too.
In the afternoon we watched Mary Poppins, which, if you can turn a deaf ear to Dick Van Dyke's appalling cockney accent, is an excellent film, and C in particular, really enjoyed it. M enjoyed the singing and dancing, but she had had enough of the talking by well before the end.
All in all a good relaxing day. I especially wanted to have a normal evening routine, as evenings have been very disrupted recently, so we had tea at six, then plenty of time for stories. I read the whole of the Light at Tern Rock to C, which we both enjoyed, then they had a long bath and played really nicely together in it. Now they're quiet and I need to finish learning how to put photos up on my own without waiting for Jonathan to do it for me. Illustrations may follow later (but don't hold your breath)
Oh dear I'm getting hooked
Set in 3min 38s.
Quiddler 73.
Not bad for a beginner.
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Set in 3min 38s.
Quiddler 73.
Not bad for a beginner.
12/29/2004
Spent the first part of this morning finishing tidying and then vacuuming the living room, and have regained some of my sense of control, which I find very important, especially at stressful times like Christmas. Then I sat down with the girls at the table and we did cutting, sticking, drawing etc, with the newly re-organised crafty stuff, with Radio3 in the background, and it was all nice and calm. Jonathan came and did some as well, which C then copied, which was cool.
In the afternoon, M wanted to play with her new Pingu CDROM, so Jonathan did that with her and I played Junior Monopoly (also new) with C. We didn't play a full game but she was well in the lead when we stopped, so she's keen to play again. Then C played with Geomags, M came and played snap and pairs with me, then we went round to Mandy and Steve, Callum and Bethan's for music practice and tea.
M's quote of the day: "Glue's yummy". I know it's not poisonous, but I'm sure you're not supposed to eat it. All the excitement of the past few days has definitely got to her, and she's been throwing spectacular tantrums at the slightest provocation, which we do try not to laugh at, but it's very funny.
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In the afternoon, M wanted to play with her new Pingu CDROM, so Jonathan did that with her and I played Junior Monopoly (also new) with C. We didn't play a full game but she was well in the lead when we stopped, so she's keen to play again. Then C played with Geomags, M came and played snap and pairs with me, then we went round to Mandy and Steve, Callum and Bethan's for music practice and tea.
M's quote of the day: "Glue's yummy". I know it's not poisonous, but I'm sure you're not supposed to eat it. All the excitement of the past few days has definitely got to her, and she's been throwing spectacular tantrums at the slightest provocation, which we do try not to laugh at, but it's very funny.
12/28/2004
This morning I did some tidying and decluttering of toys, partly to try to accommodate new stuff and partly because Jonathan has appropriated some toy space for the new living room computer. Most of the toys live in a series of big pink boxes, which were becoming unmanageable, so we've managed to remove two for now which mostly contain baby stuff. The real challenge is what to do with the stuff that doesn't have a pink box. Games and kits in boxes etc go on the shelves, and pink boxes are things like tea party stuff, duplo, train track, doll stuff etc. I've managed to get rid of some of the other things using the slightly risky strategy of the bin, for which I may get into trouble, and it was important that C, in particular, was well out of the way while I did this, so she was enjoying one of her new CDROMs. I've still got quite a way to go, and I have to do something with the craft stuff, which is threatening to take over, especially after the Christmas influx.
In the afternoon we went to Bradford to see some old friends who have twins a year older than C. The big ones had a nice time playing but M really wasn't in the mood and kept saying she wanted to go home, and being naughty parents we stayed for ages so we could talk with our friends. Even though Bradford's not that far away, we see them far too rarely.
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In the afternoon we went to Bradford to see some old friends who have twins a year older than C. The big ones had a nice time playing but M really wasn't in the mood and kept saying she wanted to go home, and being naughty parents we stayed for ages so we could talk with our friends. Even though Bradford's not that far away, we see them far too rarely.
12/27/2004
All Gone
Visitors, snow, and my energy. Not all the food just yet, but we're working on it.
We had quite a quiet day yesterday. Our visitors went out to church in the morning, came home for lunch and went out for a walk in the snowy sunshine in the afternoon. We had a nice time playing with our Christmas presents, well, we mostly had a nice time playing with C's presents, as she got Geomags and Tantrix. We also got a games compendium, and C wanted to start learning chess, and I'd like to learn with her, so we got out a book called Chess for Children that Jonathan learned from and made a start on that.
I read the children their new books and had some time to read mine too. As Jonathan said, it comes to something when your favourite present is the one you buy for yourself, but when I was buying books from the BookPeople for everyone else, I spotted a book about the Medici family which I thought looked interesting, so I bought it for myself, and I'm really enjoying it. I gave up history at school at 13, but it really interests me now, and this book is very narratively written, with lots of character detail, much of which may of course be entirely speculative, but it makes it very readable.
Jonathan's family left after lunch today, and we had a couple of hours to ourselves, then my parents came round with my half-sister and her daughter, who has just started university. They stayed for tea and cake and played with geomags, but unfortunately I was feeling too tired to carry on much of a conversation.
I haven't been sleeping very well, partly because of having lots of people in the house, and the children in our bedroom, and aprtly it's a pregnancy thing. I went to bed early last night because I'd had enough of being up, then it took me ages to get to sleep, then by 6.30 I'd had enough of being in bed, so I got up early and did some sorting out before everyone else came down.
In September I started a file to keep a record of what we did with C, but whilst the education has pretty much kept going while I've been feeling rough, the record-keeping has seriously lapsed. So I had a pile of worksheets she's done to file away, and I tried to remember some of what we've done so I could fill it in under the appropriate headings. Now I feel I've caught up it will be easier to get back in the habit of keeping records in the New Year. And I had a bit of a think about what we'll be doing in the next couple of months, but I'll save that for another post.
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Visitors, snow, and my energy. Not all the food just yet, but we're working on it.
We had quite a quiet day yesterday. Our visitors went out to church in the morning, came home for lunch and went out for a walk in the snowy sunshine in the afternoon. We had a nice time playing with our Christmas presents, well, we mostly had a nice time playing with C's presents, as she got Geomags and Tantrix. We also got a games compendium, and C wanted to start learning chess, and I'd like to learn with her, so we got out a book called Chess for Children that Jonathan learned from and made a start on that.
I read the children their new books and had some time to read mine too. As Jonathan said, it comes to something when your favourite present is the one you buy for yourself, but when I was buying books from the BookPeople for everyone else, I spotted a book about the Medici family which I thought looked interesting, so I bought it for myself, and I'm really enjoying it. I gave up history at school at 13, but it really interests me now, and this book is very narratively written, with lots of character detail, much of which may of course be entirely speculative, but it makes it very readable.
Jonathan's family left after lunch today, and we had a couple of hours to ourselves, then my parents came round with my half-sister and her daughter, who has just started university. They stayed for tea and cake and played with geomags, but unfortunately I was feeling too tired to carry on much of a conversation.
I haven't been sleeping very well, partly because of having lots of people in the house, and the children in our bedroom, and aprtly it's a pregnancy thing. I went to bed early last night because I'd had enough of being up, then it took me ages to get to sleep, then by 6.30 I'd had enough of being in bed, so I got up early and did some sorting out before everyone else came down.
In September I started a file to keep a record of what we did with C, but whilst the education has pretty much kept going while I've been feeling rough, the record-keeping has seriously lapsed. So I had a pile of worksheets she's done to file away, and I tried to remember some of what we've done so I could fill it in under the appropriate headings. Now I feel I've caught up it will be easier to get back in the habit of keeping records in the New Year. And I had a bit of a think about what we'll be doing in the next couple of months, but I'll save that for another post.
12/25/2004
I don't have to dream of a white Christmas...
It's been snowing on and off all day here and it's white over, with some drifting round the edges.
It's a long time since C's been so tired and excited that she was sick, but she was last night. She used to do it in the evening after grandparents had been visiting for a few days, and would need a day to floop about afterwards to be fully back to normal. Well, we haven't had the luxury of a day for that today, and she seems to be OK so far, but it reminds me again how much I hate all the hype of Christmas. We had been doing quite well, I thought, not letting the excitement build up too much, but Jonathan's family just have this effect on C, especially when they're here en masse.
I didn't sleep well last night as I kept waking up every time I heard C fidgeting, worried that she was going to be sick again, but she wasn't, and in the end I was first up this morning. I finally gave up on lying awake in bed about 6.30 and went downstairs, made a cup of tea, put the tree lights on and watched the snow flurrying outside. It was so peaceful and magical I was feeling quite optimistic about the whole Christmas thing. The girls woke a little before 8.00 and opened their stockings, which was fun.
We had Panettone for breakfast (apparently traditional in Italy, with champagne, which we unfortunately did not have to hand), and Lebkuchen, for an even more international feel. I shuttled people to church in the Freelander as we weren't sure a normal car would be able to get back up the lane afterwards. The making of lunch was a very communal affair, which was good - I mostly co-ordinated it, and it all tasted lovely. There's just so much left though - can anyone come over and help us eat it in the next few days?
Rant following, related to my personal opinions, which I know not all agree with, but please comment gently, I'm feeling fragile:
Then after lunch we settled down for the opening of presents. There was a mountain of presents surrounding the tree, more than we've had for a year or two. It was the first time we'd had both sets of grandparents together on Christmas Day, and although I had told my Mum about how many presents there were, she was still quite shocked by the reality. Each member of the family gives several things to each other member and the result is a HUGE pile of stuff, much of which is useful, little of which is actually expensive, but the sheer excess of it upsets me every year. This year C has become much more aware of consumption, moderation and excess, and of those who have much less than we do. It is an ongoing theme, one which is important to me, and one of my reasons for home-education - a firmly held belief that the prevailing and pervasive consumerism in popular culture is something which can and should be opposed.
I was very proud of C and M in the buildup to Christmas. Everyone was asking them about what Santa was bringing, and were they excited about getting all their presents, and they just weren't. They were excited because family were coming to visit, they were excited because we were making presents for other people, and we've enjoyed lots of carols and decorations and Christmas stories. To be honest I think they get a bit overwhelmed by the present mountain too.
We are lucky with our families that almost all members of the family are very supportive of our decision to home-educate, but I have to say I feel very undermined by the excess of Christmas. The one thing that has really upset me is the arrival of two Barbie-alikes. I have quite strong opinions about Barbie, and none of the well-trained grandparents would have thought to buy them, but, unfortunately not everyone was in the know. C has long wanted a Barbie, but it is a long time since I attempted to explain why I wouldn't buy her one, and I am left feeling like evil Mummy. I had a word with C about my objections, but I don't think I got through really. In previous years some presents have simply disappeared, and, up to now, a few rocks missing from the mountain have not been noticed at all, but I'm not going to get away with that this time, with regard to any of it, least of all the Barbies.
I was proud of the home-made gifts we made this year, and they were appreciated by their recipients. The children have worked hard, and I have been particularly impressed with M's concentration on making things. We also had some beautiful home-made gifts from Jonathan's Mum, who is very creative, and that was lovely.
Ah well, better go and deal with the evening. I can be evil Mummy again, suggesting such a dreadful thing as bedtime.
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It's been snowing on and off all day here and it's white over, with some drifting round the edges.
It's a long time since C's been so tired and excited that she was sick, but she was last night. She used to do it in the evening after grandparents had been visiting for a few days, and would need a day to floop about afterwards to be fully back to normal. Well, we haven't had the luxury of a day for that today, and she seems to be OK so far, but it reminds me again how much I hate all the hype of Christmas. We had been doing quite well, I thought, not letting the excitement build up too much, but Jonathan's family just have this effect on C, especially when they're here en masse.
I didn't sleep well last night as I kept waking up every time I heard C fidgeting, worried that she was going to be sick again, but she wasn't, and in the end I was first up this morning. I finally gave up on lying awake in bed about 6.30 and went downstairs, made a cup of tea, put the tree lights on and watched the snow flurrying outside. It was so peaceful and magical I was feeling quite optimistic about the whole Christmas thing. The girls woke a little before 8.00 and opened their stockings, which was fun.
We had Panettone for breakfast (apparently traditional in Italy, with champagne, which we unfortunately did not have to hand), and Lebkuchen, for an even more international feel. I shuttled people to church in the Freelander as we weren't sure a normal car would be able to get back up the lane afterwards. The making of lunch was a very communal affair, which was good - I mostly co-ordinated it, and it all tasted lovely. There's just so much left though - can anyone come over and help us eat it in the next few days?
Rant following, related to my personal opinions, which I know not all agree with, but please comment gently, I'm feeling fragile:
Then after lunch we settled down for the opening of presents. There was a mountain of presents surrounding the tree, more than we've had for a year or two. It was the first time we'd had both sets of grandparents together on Christmas Day, and although I had told my Mum about how many presents there were, she was still quite shocked by the reality. Each member of the family gives several things to each other member and the result is a HUGE pile of stuff, much of which is useful, little of which is actually expensive, but the sheer excess of it upsets me every year. This year C has become much more aware of consumption, moderation and excess, and of those who have much less than we do. It is an ongoing theme, one which is important to me, and one of my reasons for home-education - a firmly held belief that the prevailing and pervasive consumerism in popular culture is something which can and should be opposed.
I was very proud of C and M in the buildup to Christmas. Everyone was asking them about what Santa was bringing, and were they excited about getting all their presents, and they just weren't. They were excited because family were coming to visit, they were excited because we were making presents for other people, and we've enjoyed lots of carols and decorations and Christmas stories. To be honest I think they get a bit overwhelmed by the present mountain too.
We are lucky with our families that almost all members of the family are very supportive of our decision to home-educate, but I have to say I feel very undermined by the excess of Christmas. The one thing that has really upset me is the arrival of two Barbie-alikes. I have quite strong opinions about Barbie, and none of the well-trained grandparents would have thought to buy them, but, unfortunately not everyone was in the know. C has long wanted a Barbie, but it is a long time since I attempted to explain why I wouldn't buy her one, and I am left feeling like evil Mummy. I had a word with C about my objections, but I don't think I got through really. In previous years some presents have simply disappeared, and, up to now, a few rocks missing from the mountain have not been noticed at all, but I'm not going to get away with that this time, with regard to any of it, least of all the Barbies.
I was proud of the home-made gifts we made this year, and they were appreciated by their recipients. The children have worked hard, and I have been particularly impressed with M's concentration on making things. We also had some beautiful home-made gifts from Jonathan's Mum, who is very creative, and that was lovely.
Ah well, better go and deal with the evening. I can be evil Mummy again, suggesting such a dreadful thing as bedtime.
12/23/2004
Nearly ready!
I have to work tomorrow, potentially till 6.30, and our houseful of visitors are arriving this evening, in fact, any minute now, so I really wanted everything to be done by today. Well, we did our last shopping and errands this morning, in a really strong wind. We've finished making all our presents, and the last few need wrapping this evening, the house is clean and tidy apart from the living room, and I'm feeling quite proud of myself.
Perhaps next year I'll make an even bigger effort to achieve calm and creative Christmas, rather than spending a day (yesterday) doing horrid housework and getting grumpy with the children for not helping more, and just being grumpy myself because I hate housework and I'm tired. Still, we got most of the boring stuff done yesterday and had a bit more fun today.
Better go, the inlaws have just arrived. Someone will be sleeping in my study, so I might not be able to get to the computer much in the next few days. Merry Christmas everyone!
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I have to work tomorrow, potentially till 6.30, and our houseful of visitors are arriving this evening, in fact, any minute now, so I really wanted everything to be done by today. Well, we did our last shopping and errands this morning, in a really strong wind. We've finished making all our presents, and the last few need wrapping this evening, the house is clean and tidy apart from the living room, and I'm feeling quite proud of myself.
Perhaps next year I'll make an even bigger effort to achieve calm and creative Christmas, rather than spending a day (yesterday) doing horrid housework and getting grumpy with the children for not helping more, and just being grumpy myself because I hate housework and I'm tired. Still, we got most of the boring stuff done yesterday and had a bit more fun today.
Better go, the inlaws have just arrived. Someone will be sleeping in my study, so I might not be able to get to the computer much in the next few days. Merry Christmas everyone!
12/20/2004
I have trouble with going to soft-play places because M always wants me to go round with her. I have never yet managed to sit and read the book I always, optimistically, tuck into my bag. And recently I have had neither the energy nor the flexibility to even contemplate going, and I'm convinced I would get wedged somewhere and have to be rescued. So when Fiona told me on the phone that she was going with Beth and Alex and a few more boys, and Beth might feel a bit left out, I quickly suggested she borrow a five-year-old girl to keep Beth company. So C had a lovely time out, and I had a lovely morning at home with M.
I rarely get a lot of time with M alone, so it was lovely to plan things we could enjoy doing together. She has missed out on time on the computer, because I've never seemed to have much time to sit down and help her with mouse skills etc. C was playing on the computer yesterday, and M really wanted to have a go, so I promised her a go this morning. I thought we'd try Reader Rabbit Toddler, as you just have to move the mouse and not worry about clicking, but I couldn't get it to work, so we put in Maisy's playhouse instead, and I discovered that she's very good at moving the mouse and clicking and everything, and didn't even get frustrated when I left her to it for a few minutes.
Until recently we've had some magnetic poetry words on our magnetic board, but almost no-one played with them, so the other day I changed them for letters, and M is really enjoying playing with those. She recognises most of the letters, and sometimes can pick out the first sound in a word, which I'm really pleased about. I remember spending ages trying to help C 'get' hearing the first sound, then she suddenly grasped it while staying for a few days with Jonathan's parents. I'm sure it's just one of those developmental things they just do when they're ready, and all a parent can do is point out the next stage they should be moving towards.
Then we made some mince pies, as they seem a good thing to have around at this time of year, and they don't stay around for long, then we made some sweets out of a Christmas craft book. Actually M's interest in cooking was waning by this point, but she did a bit of mixing and we just enjoyed chatting in the kitchen.
Then C came back with Beth, Alex and Fiona, and we realised we had forgotten to have lunch ;) A, B and C decided they wanted to go in the garden. The snow had stopped and it was slushy and sleety but I dressed them all up anyway. It took me a while to dig out wellies in the right sizes for A and B, and kit each of them out with gloves, scarves and hats, then they went outside for a couple of minutes, got cold and damp and came in again. I think C would have stayed out longer, she just doesn't seem to feel the cold. M had a sandwich, the other children drew and coloured for a bit, Fiona and I had tea and mince pies, then they had to go.
Then Mum and Dad turned up. Mum had kindly offered to defrost the freezer for me. It's been left open a few times, not long enough to melt things, just long enough to get all iced up and harder to shut than before, and it was on my list to do before Christmas. Actually it's the only thing on my list I can cross off today, as I've felt a bit rubbish and not up to housework at all. So while she was doing that I tried to think of things the children could do without making enough noise to upset Dad, and without me having to move from my curled up on the sofa position. They (separately) both spent a while playing with sorting buttons, which haven't been out for a while, and C read to Dad for a bit. C was in her element as I found 2 trays of ice cubes in the freezer, which she munched her way through. She thinks ice is a fantastic treat for some reason.
C's been going to sleep very late recently, 10.30 or later, some nights. I'm not sure how to deal with it. Sometimes I wonder if she gets enough sleep, but she can just lie in bed awake at night, and be OK getting up with M at 7.30 or so in the morning. Sometimes I just need her to stay in her room because I've had enough of them by 8.30, but today I've said she can come downstairs and read to me while I do some sewing, now that M's asleep, so that's where I'm off to now.
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I rarely get a lot of time with M alone, so it was lovely to plan things we could enjoy doing together. She has missed out on time on the computer, because I've never seemed to have much time to sit down and help her with mouse skills etc. C was playing on the computer yesterday, and M really wanted to have a go, so I promised her a go this morning. I thought we'd try Reader Rabbit Toddler, as you just have to move the mouse and not worry about clicking, but I couldn't get it to work, so we put in Maisy's playhouse instead, and I discovered that she's very good at moving the mouse and clicking and everything, and didn't even get frustrated when I left her to it for a few minutes.
Until recently we've had some magnetic poetry words on our magnetic board, but almost no-one played with them, so the other day I changed them for letters, and M is really enjoying playing with those. She recognises most of the letters, and sometimes can pick out the first sound in a word, which I'm really pleased about. I remember spending ages trying to help C 'get' hearing the first sound, then she suddenly grasped it while staying for a few days with Jonathan's parents. I'm sure it's just one of those developmental things they just do when they're ready, and all a parent can do is point out the next stage they should be moving towards.
Then we made some mince pies, as they seem a good thing to have around at this time of year, and they don't stay around for long, then we made some sweets out of a Christmas craft book. Actually M's interest in cooking was waning by this point, but she did a bit of mixing and we just enjoyed chatting in the kitchen.
Then C came back with Beth, Alex and Fiona, and we realised we had forgotten to have lunch ;) A, B and C decided they wanted to go in the garden. The snow had stopped and it was slushy and sleety but I dressed them all up anyway. It took me a while to dig out wellies in the right sizes for A and B, and kit each of them out with gloves, scarves and hats, then they went outside for a couple of minutes, got cold and damp and came in again. I think C would have stayed out longer, she just doesn't seem to feel the cold. M had a sandwich, the other children drew and coloured for a bit, Fiona and I had tea and mince pies, then they had to go.
Then Mum and Dad turned up. Mum had kindly offered to defrost the freezer for me. It's been left open a few times, not long enough to melt things, just long enough to get all iced up and harder to shut than before, and it was on my list to do before Christmas. Actually it's the only thing on my list I can cross off today, as I've felt a bit rubbish and not up to housework at all. So while she was doing that I tried to think of things the children could do without making enough noise to upset Dad, and without me having to move from my curled up on the sofa position. They (separately) both spent a while playing with sorting buttons, which haven't been out for a while, and C read to Dad for a bit. C was in her element as I found 2 trays of ice cubes in the freezer, which she munched her way through. She thinks ice is a fantastic treat for some reason.
C's been going to sleep very late recently, 10.30 or later, some nights. I'm not sure how to deal with it. Sometimes I wonder if she gets enough sleep, but she can just lie in bed awake at night, and be OK getting up with M at 7.30 or so in the morning. Sometimes I just need her to stay in her room because I've had enough of them by 8.30, but today I've said she can come downstairs and read to me while I do some sewing, now that M's asleep, so that's where I'm off to now.
You are Jan
You have more skills that a highly-skilled ferret
from Worksop. Undoubtedly one of the cleverest
bloggers the only negative in your life is the
amount of hair you have to deal with on a daily
basis.
Which MP Blogring Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Got myself on the third try, after a brief stint as Merry
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You have more skills that a highly-skilled ferret
from Worksop. Undoubtedly one of the cleverest
bloggers the only negative in your life is the
amount of hair you have to deal with on a daily
basis.
Which MP Blogring Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Got myself on the third try, after a brief stint as Merry
You are Layla
You are an oasis of calm in the maelstrom of
opinion of the ring. You are a people person.
You care about all your fellow beings and
creatures, compassion and tolerance are your
middle names.
You give the world an example in how to respect
others, in particular your partner.
Which MP Blogring Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Laughing loud and long. Thanks Chris!
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You are an oasis of calm in the maelstrom of
opinion of the ring. You are a people person.
You care about all your fellow beings and
creatures, compassion and tolerance are your
middle names.
You give the world an example in how to respect
others, in particular your partner.
Which MP Blogring Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Laughing loud and long. Thanks Chris!
12/18/2004
Getting through the list
Today I've ticked off post Christmas cards. We missed the last post for second class delivery for Christmas but they'll probably get there, and if they don't then at least it will be better than the year we posted them on the way to the midnight service on Christmas Eve.
We've put up our tree. I'm not a real tree purist, so we have a plastic one, but I bought a new one this year because everyone's coming here and I wanted to make it nice, and it does look lovely. Jonathan put it up, I put the lights on, then the children did the rest of the decorating, and they did a really good job, with me directing from the sofa a bit. When they had hung everything on it, M stood back and said "that looks beautiful!" It was very sweet.
I've ordered a Tesco shop to come tomorrow. Just in time, as there were only a few delivery slots left. And while C was in drama this morning, M and I went to a really good independent supermarket up the road and bought lots of yummy Christmas goodies. I've cleared the dresser of all its usual clutter to accommodate Christmas food. Plenty of Lebkuchen, a Panettone (apparently the Italians have Panettone and champagne for Christmas Day breakfast), Pringles, nuts, olives... mmmm
I've achieved tidying and cleaning my study, which anyone who's seen it in the past year or so will agree, is quite some achievement. I may even dare to post a photo of my desk, something I would not have even contemplated before, as it was embarrassingly hidden under piles of clutter, and so was the floor. But we've got people staying over Christmas, so I thought I need to at least be able to unfold the bed in here, and carried on from there.
Jonathan's been sorting out a new computer set-up which means we can watch DVDs etc in the living room,even if he's using his laptop elsewhere (previously we've only watched them on the laptop) and today the children have enjoyed Bod (M's choice) and a documentary from the Discovery channel about digging up mammoth remains in the Siberian permafrost (Jonathan's choice, but C was really into it.) C gets very upset about extinct things, but interested too, so she enjoyed that.
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Today I've ticked off post Christmas cards. We missed the last post for second class delivery for Christmas but they'll probably get there, and if they don't then at least it will be better than the year we posted them on the way to the midnight service on Christmas Eve.
We've put up our tree. I'm not a real tree purist, so we have a plastic one, but I bought a new one this year because everyone's coming here and I wanted to make it nice, and it does look lovely. Jonathan put it up, I put the lights on, then the children did the rest of the decorating, and they did a really good job, with me directing from the sofa a bit. When they had hung everything on it, M stood back and said "that looks beautiful!" It was very sweet.
I've ordered a Tesco shop to come tomorrow. Just in time, as there were only a few delivery slots left. And while C was in drama this morning, M and I went to a really good independent supermarket up the road and bought lots of yummy Christmas goodies. I've cleared the dresser of all its usual clutter to accommodate Christmas food. Plenty of Lebkuchen, a Panettone (apparently the Italians have Panettone and champagne for Christmas Day breakfast), Pringles, nuts, olives... mmmm
I've achieved tidying and cleaning my study, which anyone who's seen it in the past year or so will agree, is quite some achievement. I may even dare to post a photo of my desk, something I would not have even contemplated before, as it was embarrassingly hidden under piles of clutter, and so was the floor. But we've got people staying over Christmas, so I thought I need to at least be able to unfold the bed in here, and carried on from there.
Jonathan's been sorting out a new computer set-up which means we can watch DVDs etc in the living room,even if he's using his laptop elsewhere (previously we've only watched them on the laptop) and today the children have enjoyed Bod (M's choice) and a documentary from the Discovery channel about digging up mammoth remains in the Siberian permafrost (Jonathan's choice, but C was really into it.) C gets very upset about extinct things, but interested too, so she enjoyed that.
12/17/2004
You are 'Silent Night'! You really enjoy
Christmas, and you like your Christmases
conventional. For you, Christmas is about
family and traditions, and you rather enjoy the
rituals of going to church at midnight and
turning off the lights before flaming the plum
pudding. Although you find Christmas shopping
frustrating, you like the excitement of
wrapping and hiding presents, and opening a
single door on the Advent Calendar each day.
You like the traditional carols, and probably
teach the children to sing along to them. More
than anyone else, you will probably actually
have a merry Christmas.
What Christmas Carol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
I think I'm probably a bit more Bah Humbug than this, but it's not far off
12/16/2004
Small victories
Not at all education related, but today I have managed to post both of my Christmas parcels, and obtain a pair of support stockings. Pregnancy is full of the most unglamorous ailments, and I apologise, but I have been really struggling with varicose veins, and have had useless advice from the midwife, then one GP, then the district nurses, so I finally went to another GP, who gave me a prescription for what I wanted, but the pharmacist said I had to measure my leg first thing in the morning, to make sure I got the right size, so I duly measured it, and took the measurements back to the chemist, and now have a much more comfortable leg.
I mentioned I made a list of things to do before Christmas that I thought seemed to be achievable. I reckoned without M's help. It took all morning to pack up two parcels today, and I did try to put some cards in envelopes too, but she just wanted to help too much, and it all got a bit fraught, so I gave up.
After the post office we called round to Mum and Dad's and watched A Different Life, which Mum videoed for us as we don't have a TV. We really enjoyed it but I would agree that it isn't a programme about home-education, it's a programme about Anna and her family. A programme about HE would have to talk about different approaches, statistics, the legal side etc. But you all came over very well. Mum's planning to hang on to the video, so if Caroline or anyone else wants to borrow it, you can. The sound's a bit crackly because C5 reception's not very good, but it's watchable.
Then we came home and made popcorn to put in the soup we were having for tea. Very strange idea, but it did work well, so we'll do that again!
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Not at all education related, but today I have managed to post both of my Christmas parcels, and obtain a pair of support stockings. Pregnancy is full of the most unglamorous ailments, and I apologise, but I have been really struggling with varicose veins, and have had useless advice from the midwife, then one GP, then the district nurses, so I finally went to another GP, who gave me a prescription for what I wanted, but the pharmacist said I had to measure my leg first thing in the morning, to make sure I got the right size, so I duly measured it, and took the measurements back to the chemist, and now have a much more comfortable leg.
I mentioned I made a list of things to do before Christmas that I thought seemed to be achievable. I reckoned without M's help. It took all morning to pack up two parcels today, and I did try to put some cards in envelopes too, but she just wanted to help too much, and it all got a bit fraught, so I gave up.
After the post office we called round to Mum and Dad's and watched A Different Life, which Mum videoed for us as we don't have a TV. We really enjoyed it but I would agree that it isn't a programme about home-education, it's a programme about Anna and her family. A programme about HE would have to talk about different approaches, statistics, the legal side etc. But you all came over very well. Mum's planning to hang on to the video, so if Caroline or anyone else wants to borrow it, you can. The sound's a bit crackly because C5 reception's not very good, but it's watchable.
Then we came home and made popcorn to put in the soup we were having for tea. Very strange idea, but it did work well, so we'll do that again!
12/15/2004
I had some annual leave to use up before the end of the month. so yesterday I had a DAY TO MYSELF. Looking back I seem to get about one a year, so I had a lot to get done. I mostly did shopping, but I've now got everything I need to buy for Christmas, apart from a Tesco shop which I'll do online in the next few days, and I even bought myself some clothes - some jeans and a top from Mothercare, and some new shoes. I'm dreadful at buying things for myself; the pair of shoes I usually wear, I bought when C was a baby, and the soles are seriously disintegrating. And I finished up with hot chocolate and cake in a favourite cafe, where I just enjoyed sitting for a bit and reading a trashy magazine undisturbed.
I made myself a list of things I need to get done before Christmas, and although it is a long one, I think it's probably achievable, and if not, to be honest, who cares? Really ought to get some cards in the post though. The last posting date for Germany was last Monday, so Jonathan's sister may not get her present on Christmas Day as we only made it today.
Today we've had a baking day. I bought a load of brown-looking bananas the other day and so I've made double quantites of Nigella's banana loaf (yum), and we made some other stuff too. The sun was shining in the middle of the day, so I sent C into the garden to play for an hour or so, and, as if she hadn't just done enough cooking, she spent her time making 'stew' out of sand, earth and herbs etc. Because of where the hills are, the sun actually sets about 2.15 at the moment, and it gets very cold soon after, so I was glad she could make the most of the bit of nice weather we had.
In the afternoon we went to Katya and Vikka's for playing and tea, which was fun but very noisy. K and V are close in age and very good friends, so it took a little persuading for them to let C and M join in their game, but all very good-natured. But sadly it felt like there was too much child-managing, and not enough mums' chat time.
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I made myself a list of things I need to get done before Christmas, and although it is a long one, I think it's probably achievable, and if not, to be honest, who cares? Really ought to get some cards in the post though. The last posting date for Germany was last Monday, so Jonathan's sister may not get her present on Christmas Day as we only made it today.
Today we've had a baking day. I bought a load of brown-looking bananas the other day and so I've made double quantites of Nigella's banana loaf (yum), and we made some other stuff too. The sun was shining in the middle of the day, so I sent C into the garden to play for an hour or so, and, as if she hadn't just done enough cooking, she spent her time making 'stew' out of sand, earth and herbs etc. Because of where the hills are, the sun actually sets about 2.15 at the moment, and it gets very cold soon after, so I was glad she could make the most of the bit of nice weather we had.
In the afternoon we went to Katya and Vikka's for playing and tea, which was fun but very noisy. K and V are close in age and very good friends, so it took a little persuading for them to let C and M join in their game, but all very good-natured. But sadly it felt like there was too much child-managing, and not enough mums' chat time.
12/13/2004
I was grumpy Mummy yesterday, mainly due to having such a busy day, and I've made a big effort to be less shouty today. I've done quite well, and it always amazes me how quickly a change in my behaviour causes a change in C and M's behaviour too.
We're not doing very well for sleeping at the moment. By 8.00 this morning, M was on the floor in my bedroom, C was in M's bed, I was in C's bed and only Jonathan was in the right place. M woke to go to the loo at 2.00, then didn't want to get back in her own bed, and we don't let her in ours because we just don't sleep, so she has a folded up duvet on the floor that she sleeps on. Then C came in about 4.00 to say she was lonely and needed to sleep in a room with someone else, either on our floor with M, or someone come to her room. Last time she and M slept on our floor they squabbled, I think due to lack of space because of all the clothes on the floor, so I figured the easiest thing was for me to go to their room, but M has a toddler bed and C a full size one, so we swapped. I've ordered a child that sleeps for the next one, though I have to admit I did that last time too.
M's Montessori term finished on Friday, but I'm still trying to do something structured with C in the mornings. Today's English lesson involved a story narration, which is something she finds quite hard, and it was a bit of a struggle to keep M occupied while we did that, because she's not very good at playing by herself, but we got there eventually.
We had a call from Fiona to say Beth and Alex were off school, not very well, but not very ill either, so would we like to go round and play. So I dropped the girls off there and went to Morrisons by myself, which, sad bunny that I am, was quite an enjoyable experience. I don't mind going with one child, either one, but both together is a nightmare. Then I went back and drank tea while children played, Heather called in with Katya and Vikka on their way home from school, so more tea and playing went on. Then, having nagged the children to get their shoes and coats on, we did that hypocritical Mummy thing of gossipping by the door instead of going when we said it was time to go now.
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We're not doing very well for sleeping at the moment. By 8.00 this morning, M was on the floor in my bedroom, C was in M's bed, I was in C's bed and only Jonathan was in the right place. M woke to go to the loo at 2.00, then didn't want to get back in her own bed, and we don't let her in ours because we just don't sleep, so she has a folded up duvet on the floor that she sleeps on. Then C came in about 4.00 to say she was lonely and needed to sleep in a room with someone else, either on our floor with M, or someone come to her room. Last time she and M slept on our floor they squabbled, I think due to lack of space because of all the clothes on the floor, so I figured the easiest thing was for me to go to their room, but M has a toddler bed and C a full size one, so we swapped. I've ordered a child that sleeps for the next one, though I have to admit I did that last time too.
M's Montessori term finished on Friday, but I'm still trying to do something structured with C in the mornings. Today's English lesson involved a story narration, which is something she finds quite hard, and it was a bit of a struggle to keep M occupied while we did that, because she's not very good at playing by herself, but we got there eventually.
We had a call from Fiona to say Beth and Alex were off school, not very well, but not very ill either, so would we like to go round and play. So I dropped the girls off there and went to Morrisons by myself, which, sad bunny that I am, was quite an enjoyable experience. I don't mind going with one child, either one, but both together is a nightmare. Then I went back and drank tea while children played, Heather called in with Katya and Vikka on their way home from school, so more tea and playing went on. Then, having nagged the children to get their shoes and coats on, we did that hypocritical Mummy thing of gossipping by the door instead of going when we said it was time to go now.
12/12/2004
Carols in the Park
Before I went to work on Friday I told Jonathan how to make mince pies, and there's just no stopping him; he's made dozens. Most of them were, however, for taking down to the local park this afternoon, where our church were doing a big carol singing thing. It's the first time we've tried it; previous years a group have gone round some of the estates singing in the roads, but that's been less and less well-attended, and we thought we'd do something different this time.
The park is just out the back of the church, and there is a useful bandstand where the singers and musicians stood, which was decorated with the fairy lights that normally hang in C and M's bedroom. We hired some PA equipment and a generator, gave out mince pies, song sheets, and candles to read them by, and I think about 350 people came, which wasn't bad for a first attempt.
C and M were very excited. M knew we were doing carols in the park today but hadn't really grasped about afternoons, so she couldn't work out why we were in church and not in the park this morning. She was also slightly disappointed this afternoon because her usual definition of park is more to do with the part where the swings are! C has been singing carols round the house for days, and knew quite a few off by heart by the time we got there. I just love singing carols and the sight of a big crowd of people with candles, all singing together, was just magical.
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Before I went to work on Friday I told Jonathan how to make mince pies, and there's just no stopping him; he's made dozens. Most of them were, however, for taking down to the local park this afternoon, where our church were doing a big carol singing thing. It's the first time we've tried it; previous years a group have gone round some of the estates singing in the roads, but that's been less and less well-attended, and we thought we'd do something different this time.
The park is just out the back of the church, and there is a useful bandstand where the singers and musicians stood, which was decorated with the fairy lights that normally hang in C and M's bedroom. We hired some PA equipment and a generator, gave out mince pies, song sheets, and candles to read them by, and I think about 350 people came, which wasn't bad for a first attempt.
C and M were very excited. M knew we were doing carols in the park today but hadn't really grasped about afternoons, so she couldn't work out why we were in church and not in the park this morning. She was also slightly disappointed this afternoon because her usual definition of park is more to do with the part where the swings are! C has been singing carols round the house for days, and knew quite a few off by heart by the time we got there. I just love singing carols and the sight of a big crowd of people with candles, all singing together, was just magical.
Catie's first sketch
Part of our Christmas present plan involves calendars, consisting of a laminated picture, with one of those little calendars stuck on the bottom. Here's C's picture for one of them, which she drew from life - she was sitting watching Jonathan read a story to M, and filled in the banisters behind and the bookshelf on the left. In the real thing M's clothes are not quite the same colour as the sofa and it works better.
C's been spending lots of time drawing recently and her drawing's really coming on. It's very exciting to watch.
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Part of our Christmas present plan involves calendars, consisting of a laminated picture, with one of those little calendars stuck on the bottom. Here's C's picture for one of them, which she drew from life - she was sitting watching Jonathan read a story to M, and filled in the banisters behind and the bookshelf on the left. In the real thing M's clothes are not quite the same colour as the sofa and it works better.
C's been spending lots of time drawing recently and her drawing's really coming on. It's very exciting to watch.
12/09/2004
So busy there's no time to blog
Yesterday was the first meeting of a new Huddersfield home-ed venture. A group of about four mums had got organised enough to book a scout hall, arrange a topic with crafts, stories and a speaker, and we just went along and did things to do with bats all day. I hadn't seen anyone much since early summer as I've not had the energy to go swimming this term. I did wonder if anyone might have thought I'd put C in school in September! I met some new people too, and the girls and I all had a great time. The speaker, from the bat conservation trust, or some such, had quite a hard time with such a wide spread of ages, or rather, the little ones had a hard time sitting still enough, but there were a few children who paid good attention, answered and asked questions etc, and he was certainly interesting enough for adults. We really enjoyed ourselves, although M was losing the plot a bit towards the end, and was asleep within about three minutes of getting in the car. It's going to be monthly, and the next one will be about Romans, so I can take some ideas from some of the things we did at Melrose last February.
When we got home I finished reading The Christmas Blizzard to C, M slept on the sofa till I woke her up for tea, well, it would be more accurate to say I woke her so she could shout at her tea. After tea Mum came round to babysit while Jonathan and I went out for dinner with all my work colleagues, and we had a good evening, but I was much too tired, and have paid for it by feeling a bit crap today.
This morning, after we dropped M at Montessori, C and I had a wander round our garden and field. There's not a great deal to look at out there at this time of year, but it was a sunny, still morning, and it was nice just wandering about together and chatting.
Our English lesson today (from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind) was about names of places and involved looking at at maps, so we got diverted into the Atlas for a while, and ended up spending some time talking about Hawaii for some reason.
After we collected M we called at the bottle bank with a load of bottles and both girls enjoyed dropping them in, then we went to try and source a free-range turkey from a local farm shop and had lunch in the cafe there. We failed on the turkey front, although I do have somewhere else I can try tomorrow, but lunch was very successful. The last time I took them out to a cafe for lunch was quite a few months ago, and they both messed about and refused to eat their food, so I haven't repeated the exercise, but I was really pleased with them today. They both sat and ate their sandwiches very nicely.
We came home and made a few Christmas cards, and listened to Christmas carol CDs. C made some Christmas decorations, M decided she wanted to play with some playdough, so she did that for a bit, and she wanted to be read The Tiger who Came to Tea, because they had read that at Monte this morning, so we read that twice.
Then it was time for tea, stories, bath and bed. M went off to sleep pretty much straight away, but C's lying there reading Calvin and Hobbes to herself. I really must put a stop to that before she gets any more ideas of mischief.
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Yesterday was the first meeting of a new Huddersfield home-ed venture. A group of about four mums had got organised enough to book a scout hall, arrange a topic with crafts, stories and a speaker, and we just went along and did things to do with bats all day. I hadn't seen anyone much since early summer as I've not had the energy to go swimming this term. I did wonder if anyone might have thought I'd put C in school in September! I met some new people too, and the girls and I all had a great time. The speaker, from the bat conservation trust, or some such, had quite a hard time with such a wide spread of ages, or rather, the little ones had a hard time sitting still enough, but there were a few children who paid good attention, answered and asked questions etc, and he was certainly interesting enough for adults. We really enjoyed ourselves, although M was losing the plot a bit towards the end, and was asleep within about three minutes of getting in the car. It's going to be monthly, and the next one will be about Romans, so I can take some ideas from some of the things we did at Melrose last February.
When we got home I finished reading The Christmas Blizzard to C, M slept on the sofa till I woke her up for tea, well, it would be more accurate to say I woke her so she could shout at her tea. After tea Mum came round to babysit while Jonathan and I went out for dinner with all my work colleagues, and we had a good evening, but I was much too tired, and have paid for it by feeling a bit crap today.
This morning, after we dropped M at Montessori, C and I had a wander round our garden and field. There's not a great deal to look at out there at this time of year, but it was a sunny, still morning, and it was nice just wandering about together and chatting.
Our English lesson today (from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind) was about names of places and involved looking at at maps, so we got diverted into the Atlas for a while, and ended up spending some time talking about Hawaii for some reason.
After we collected M we called at the bottle bank with a load of bottles and both girls enjoyed dropping them in, then we went to try and source a free-range turkey from a local farm shop and had lunch in the cafe there. We failed on the turkey front, although I do have somewhere else I can try tomorrow, but lunch was very successful. The last time I took them out to a cafe for lunch was quite a few months ago, and they both messed about and refused to eat their food, so I haven't repeated the exercise, but I was really pleased with them today. They both sat and ate their sandwiches very nicely.
We came home and made a few Christmas cards, and listened to Christmas carol CDs. C made some Christmas decorations, M decided she wanted to play with some playdough, so she did that for a bit, and she wanted to be read The Tiger who Came to Tea, because they had read that at Monte this morning, so we read that twice.
Then it was time for tea, stories, bath and bed. M went off to sleep pretty much straight away, but C's lying there reading Calvin and Hobbes to herself. I really must put a stop to that before she gets any more ideas of mischief.
12/07/2004
I've got a new computer! It's small, it's quiet, it's in a trendy black box, and best of all, it works. So now Jonathan and I can stop confusing the world by pretending to be each other!
Today at work I reviewed the child I signed off school because of bullying, saw another child who'd been headbutted in the face quite badly by another child at school, and a patient who works as a teacher phoned to say she would be late because she had to deal with another child who had tried to slit their wrists. I think I'll keep my children at home.
I had a successful trip to see my endocrinologist in Leeds this evening. It's quite a faff braving the rush hour traffic on the M62 after a day at work, and I must have frowned when he said he wanted to see me again in about 10 weeks, so he's agreed not to see me again till after I've finished breastfeeding this baby. I expect he thinks he'll see me in a year or so, but I'll be happy if it's nearer 2 1/2. And I called in for a cup of tea with my friend Sally who lives just round the corner from the hospital, which was good.
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Today at work I reviewed the child I signed off school because of bullying, saw another child who'd been headbutted in the face quite badly by another child at school, and a patient who works as a teacher phoned to say she would be late because she had to deal with another child who had tried to slit their wrists. I think I'll keep my children at home.
I had a successful trip to see my endocrinologist in Leeds this evening. It's quite a faff braving the rush hour traffic on the M62 after a day at work, and I must have frowned when he said he wanted to see me again in about 10 weeks, so he's agreed not to see me again till after I've finished breastfeeding this baby. I expect he thinks he'll see me in a year or so, but I'll be happy if it's nearer 2 1/2. And I called in for a cup of tea with my friend Sally who lives just round the corner from the hospital, which was good.
12/05/2004
Busy Sunday
M was just getting over her last cold, and was just still coughing a bit, but now she seems to have come down with another one, and came into our room asking for medicine at 6.20. She fell asleep on the sofa for 2 1/2 hours yesterday afternoon, and has been a bit pale and pathetic all day today, so it was a shame we had so much to fit in.
We were up early to get to church by 8.30 (or not long after, anyway) to set up and run through the music we were playing in the morning service. Last time we played, about a month ago, I felt quite despondent about it, but today went well, I felt we had chosen songs that fitted well together and with the service, and people enjoyed the music too. Only hitch was just as we were about to sing during Communion, M fell headlong on the hard part of the floor, so I sat out most of that song till I could give her to someone else to cuddle.
Then home for a quick lunch before taking C down to the village hall to get ready for her drama class Christmas show. She has been very excited about doing it for weeks. She played an elf, along with four or so others, and they were supposed to all say their lines in unison. Fortunately the biggest elf had lots of confidence and spoke the lines clearly, because it was only in the last couple of spoken lines that C was starting to have the courage to actually speak herself. However, she did say she had really enjoyed doing it and is already looking forward to next year's show! Mum and Dad came to watch her, as did C's best friend Beth and her mum, and we saw Trog and family, including baby Kara, very sweet.
There was a raffle to raise money towards costumes etc, with some excellent prizes, such as tickets on local steam railways, a day pass to Cannon Hall Open Farm, season ticket to the local soft play place, an ice cream voucher at Longley's cafe in Holmfirth etc, and what did I win? A day pass for two to a Total Fitness gym place, to be used before the end of January. Apparently there are pools there, so I could swim, but I wouldn't be allowed in the jacuzzi or anything else much, and I wouldn't have the energy for, well, anything that required any energy, really. So I passed that on to Fiona, Beth's mum, and hope she can make use of it. If not, well at least I've given some money towards excellent costumes.
When we came back, Callum and Bethan, Mandy and Steve came round. We didn't need to practise any music today, but it's been ages since they came round for Sunday tea, and it was good to see them and have a chat. C and M had been playing with Maxi beads yesterday and they were still out on the kitchen table, so Callum and Bethan and C decided they wanted to play with them today, then they all wanted their creations ironed. Those Maxi beads take some ironing, don't they? And now I'll need to put in an order for some more, as there are hardly any left.
And all that doesn't seem to have tired C out. I can hear her upstairs, humming one of the tunes from the show.
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M was just getting over her last cold, and was just still coughing a bit, but now she seems to have come down with another one, and came into our room asking for medicine at 6.20. She fell asleep on the sofa for 2 1/2 hours yesterday afternoon, and has been a bit pale and pathetic all day today, so it was a shame we had so much to fit in.
We were up early to get to church by 8.30 (or not long after, anyway) to set up and run through the music we were playing in the morning service. Last time we played, about a month ago, I felt quite despondent about it, but today went well, I felt we had chosen songs that fitted well together and with the service, and people enjoyed the music too. Only hitch was just as we were about to sing during Communion, M fell headlong on the hard part of the floor, so I sat out most of that song till I could give her to someone else to cuddle.
Then home for a quick lunch before taking C down to the village hall to get ready for her drama class Christmas show. She has been very excited about doing it for weeks. She played an elf, along with four or so others, and they were supposed to all say their lines in unison. Fortunately the biggest elf had lots of confidence and spoke the lines clearly, because it was only in the last couple of spoken lines that C was starting to have the courage to actually speak herself. However, she did say she had really enjoyed doing it and is already looking forward to next year's show! Mum and Dad came to watch her, as did C's best friend Beth and her mum, and we saw Trog and family, including baby Kara, very sweet.
There was a raffle to raise money towards costumes etc, with some excellent prizes, such as tickets on local steam railways, a day pass to Cannon Hall Open Farm, season ticket to the local soft play place, an ice cream voucher at Longley's cafe in Holmfirth etc, and what did I win? A day pass for two to a Total Fitness gym place, to be used before the end of January. Apparently there are pools there, so I could swim, but I wouldn't be allowed in the jacuzzi or anything else much, and I wouldn't have the energy for, well, anything that required any energy, really. So I passed that on to Fiona, Beth's mum, and hope she can make use of it. If not, well at least I've given some money towards excellent costumes.
When we came back, Callum and Bethan, Mandy and Steve came round. We didn't need to practise any music today, but it's been ages since they came round for Sunday tea, and it was good to see them and have a chat. C and M had been playing with Maxi beads yesterday and they were still out on the kitchen table, so Callum and Bethan and C decided they wanted to play with them today, then they all wanted their creations ironed. Those Maxi beads take some ironing, don't they? And now I'll need to put in an order for some more, as there are hardly any left.
And all that doesn't seem to have tired C out. I can hear her upstairs, humming one of the tunes from the show.
12/04/2004
I am The Name of the Rose
I am Windows XP
I am HTML
I am the Eggman,
They are the Eggmen
I am the Walrus,
Goo goo g'joob.
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I am Windows XP
I am HTML
I am the Eggman,
They are the Eggmen
I am the Walrus,
Goo goo g'joob.
12/03/2004
Soundtrack
I'm currently mostly computerless at home, so I've had a day or two to mull this over, before I stun you all into silence with obscure music. Apologies for some poor quality links, even Google was struggling a bit.
Early childhood - Grease and Abba, like every child of the '70s
Secondary school- Duran Duran - Girls on Film, Rio.
Jon and Vangelis - Somehow I'll find my way home.
Theme from life and times of David Lloyd George
In the sixth form I listened to Faure's Requiem over and over, such beautiful music.
U2, Joshua Tree came out while I was studying for mock A levels and we were snowed in at school for what seemed like ages but probably wasn't much more than a week.
Also, my favourite band from 16 to 19 or so: Fat and Frantic.
University - Discos in the Hall of residence - House Martins
Orbital - Chime, reminds me of my friend Myk.
Theme music from The Mission.
Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy played in my head while I walked around the suburbs of Sheffield.
I discovered the band Iona, and their music has been the soundtrack to much of my life from age 20 to the present. (their lead guitarist's autistic son, incidentally, is home-educated)
Then I moved to the south coast, in part to be near my boyfriend, and we soon broke up. I remember going to the beach at night with my Walkman playing Roxy Music greatest hits, and dancing on the beach in the dark.
He was into Depeche Mode, and although I wasn't, Blasphemous Rumours echoed round my head aptly.
Then I moved again, bought a CD player with a repeat function and spent the summer playing Sting's Fields of Gold. I met Jonathan and moved away almost as soon as we started going out, so our song was Promise Me, by Beverly Craven.
We got married, and walked out of the church to My Baby Just Cares for Me, which still never fails to make me smile with the memory.
I was at the time working for a hotshot young surgeon who liked to play music in the operating theatre, and reminisce about his own life's soundtrack. He was very put out to discover that his Alevel music was around when I was starting primary school. But he mostly played the Best of the Eagles, and the first chord of Take it Easy takes me right back there.
We moved to London and I discovered Afro Celt Sound System and Banco de Gaia. We came upon SinE by accident when we visited an exhibition of custom Harley Davidsons at the Barbican and they were playing in the atrium. I had a bit of a techno-trance phase and listened to Hydro a lot.
C was born to Mellowosity by the Peatbog Faeries, an excellent random buy in the petrol station in Broadford, Skye. When she was tiny she and I listened to a lot of Ozric Tentacles and The Doors.
M was born to Strange Cargo 3, by William Orbit, which was also part of the soundtrack of my early twenties, but bears much listening.
Family fave CD - Skinless, by the Chipolatas. If it comes on on the car there is general enthusiasm from everyone. Kate Rusby is also popular with everyone; my favourite track of hers is My Young Man, also featuring the marvellous Grimethorpe Colliery Band
My favourite CD of this year is Sweet England by Jim Moray, which we first came across on Radio 3's Late Junction, the source of much that is strange and eclectic.
The soundtrack to Christmas in our house comes from Maddy Prior: a Tapestry of Carols, and Carols and Capers.
|
I'm currently mostly computerless at home, so I've had a day or two to mull this over, before I stun you all into silence with obscure music. Apologies for some poor quality links, even Google was struggling a bit.
Early childhood - Grease and Abba, like every child of the '70s
Secondary school- Duran Duran - Girls on Film, Rio.
Jon and Vangelis - Somehow I'll find my way home.
Theme from life and times of David Lloyd George
In the sixth form I listened to Faure's Requiem over and over, such beautiful music.
U2, Joshua Tree came out while I was studying for mock A levels and we were snowed in at school for what seemed like ages but probably wasn't much more than a week.
Also, my favourite band from 16 to 19 or so: Fat and Frantic.
University - Discos in the Hall of residence - House Martins
Orbital - Chime, reminds me of my friend Myk.
Theme music from The Mission.
Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy played in my head while I walked around the suburbs of Sheffield.
I discovered the band Iona, and their music has been the soundtrack to much of my life from age 20 to the present. (their lead guitarist's autistic son, incidentally, is home-educated)
Then I moved to the south coast, in part to be near my boyfriend, and we soon broke up. I remember going to the beach at night with my Walkman playing Roxy Music greatest hits, and dancing on the beach in the dark.
He was into Depeche Mode, and although I wasn't, Blasphemous Rumours echoed round my head aptly.
Then I moved again, bought a CD player with a repeat function and spent the summer playing Sting's Fields of Gold. I met Jonathan and moved away almost as soon as we started going out, so our song was Promise Me, by Beverly Craven.
We got married, and walked out of the church to My Baby Just Cares for Me, which still never fails to make me smile with the memory.
I was at the time working for a hotshot young surgeon who liked to play music in the operating theatre, and reminisce about his own life's soundtrack. He was very put out to discover that his Alevel music was around when I was starting primary school. But he mostly played the Best of the Eagles, and the first chord of Take it Easy takes me right back there.
We moved to London and I discovered Afro Celt Sound System and Banco de Gaia. We came upon SinE by accident when we visited an exhibition of custom Harley Davidsons at the Barbican and they were playing in the atrium. I had a bit of a techno-trance phase and listened to Hydro a lot.
C was born to Mellowosity by the Peatbog Faeries, an excellent random buy in the petrol station in Broadford, Skye. When she was tiny she and I listened to a lot of Ozric Tentacles and The Doors.
M was born to Strange Cargo 3, by William Orbit, which was also part of the soundtrack of my early twenties, but bears much listening.
Family fave CD - Skinless, by the Chipolatas. If it comes on on the car there is general enthusiasm from everyone. Kate Rusby is also popular with everyone; my favourite track of hers is My Young Man, also featuring the marvellous Grimethorpe Colliery Band
My favourite CD of this year is Sweet England by Jim Moray, which we first came across on Radio 3's Late Junction, the source of much that is strange and eclectic.
The soundtrack to Christmas in our house comes from Maddy Prior: a Tapestry of Carols, and Carols and Capers.
