is what we have had over the last week. Seems hard to believe that it has almost been a week since xmas eve. In the run up to xmas we were busy with parties, last minute shopping, trips to the movies (we all three can all recommend eragon) and generally getting ready for the big event. Sam was so exicited by xmas eve that I am amazed that he went to sleep at all. The big day itself was nice-we were at home and spent the morning playing with toys and the afternoon munching and watching james bond movies. Boxing day M's parents came for lunch and we had a lovely time with them. M was back at work the next day and sam and I have spent this week just pottering and trying not to cough too much!
Sam was delighted with all his presents and has spent the past week making lego creations of all varieties. He just can't get enough of it and has taken to playing with it in bed after I put the light out. Don't ask me how-the nightlights must be stronger than I thought. He has also really enjoyed the game safari rush hour and so have I. It is very addictive and he is much better at it than I am. We have also spent hours playing his new zoo tycoon game-this edition has the option for a marine park and a dino park. He has taken great delight in letting his dinos loose on the zoo guests-needless to say that zoo went out of business very quickly! I think he is trying to recreate jurassic park!
A quiet night planned for tomorrow, munchies, a film and a bottle of bubbly. Doubt that we will even make it up to midnight. Monday sam and I are going to take down all the decorations and start on thank you notes. After that is back to normals with lots of birthdays to look forward to. All the boys have their birthdays in the next 3 months and not only is sam planning on what to get them already but he is also starting to plan his own party. The current thinking is a scooby doo party, where the guests have to solve a mystery. Could be fun as long a I don't have to dress up.
In case I don't get a chance to blog tomorrow Happy New Year to everyone and may you have a wonderful 2007.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
good for a giggle..
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Feeling human again..
both the monster and I have been laid up with the coldy/fluy thing that is going round. I have been out since last wednesday and things are finally starting to look up. The monster has only been poorly a few days so hopefully he will be well by xmas. M hasn't had it at all and is threating to stay at work until the house is germ free!! Fingers crossed he doesn't get it.
Things have been relatively quiet since the middle of last week. I haven't felt up to much and sam was happy to stick around here doing normals and xmas type stuff. We did miss my godson's debut performance on stage which I was very upset about-by all accounts he did well and is set to join his older brother on stage in the summer production. Will have to dose up on the vitamin C before hand to ensure none of us have colds.
The house is all decorated now and we finished the tree at the weekend. Sam and M did a fantastic job-it is very twinkly and festive. Have just about finished all the gift buying, now come the fun task of wrapping. I do miss the free gift wrapping that so many stores and malls do in the states. I don't know why more malls and stores don't do it here-that and validate parking. While I am having a mini rant why can't the supermarkets employ baggers at this time of the year? It is no fun trying to unload and pack a huge xmas food shop on your own. It is like some sadistic game show. Sam did his best to help but even he couldn't keep up with all the food that was coming down the belt.
Not sure how much 'normal' school work will get done this week. Thursday we have the xmas party with the boys and friday we are in serious holiday baking mode. I am also going to put him to work over the weekend helping me with the veg and other food for monday. He enjoys helping in the kitchen and is good company so it should be fun.
Things have been relatively quiet since the middle of last week. I haven't felt up to much and sam was happy to stick around here doing normals and xmas type stuff. We did miss my godson's debut performance on stage which I was very upset about-by all accounts he did well and is set to join his older brother on stage in the summer production. Will have to dose up on the vitamin C before hand to ensure none of us have colds.
The house is all decorated now and we finished the tree at the weekend. Sam and M did a fantastic job-it is very twinkly and festive. Have just about finished all the gift buying, now come the fun task of wrapping. I do miss the free gift wrapping that so many stores and malls do in the states. I don't know why more malls and stores don't do it here-that and validate parking. While I am having a mini rant why can't the supermarkets employ baggers at this time of the year? It is no fun trying to unload and pack a huge xmas food shop on your own. It is like some sadistic game show. Sam did his best to help but even he couldn't keep up with all the food that was coming down the belt.
Not sure how much 'normal' school work will get done this week. Thursday we have the xmas party with the boys and friday we are in serious holiday baking mode. I am also going to put him to work over the weekend helping me with the veg and other food for monday. He enjoys helping in the kitchen and is good company so it should be fun.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
presents neath the tree..
snuggled under the christmas tree are a selection of presents for sam ( thank you dad and AL) and for sam to give his friends. I have been very impressed by the fact that both he and the puppy have left them alone-after the initial shake (sam) and sniff (puppy). The bodes well for the rest of the presents that will join them. Perhaps everything will still tamper free on the big day. We have almost finished putting lights on the tree-after several trips out to get more. We usually only have a small tree so a string of 50 lights is perfect. This year however, we have gone for a 6 for model as we have the room and it takes zillions of lights! Thank goodness they are cheap and on sale at Asda. We have two popcorn/cranberry garlands on the tree and will decorate it properly once M has finished with the lights. It is starting to look festive here and thankfully all two legged and 4 legged creatures have resisted the temptation to play with the decorations.
Yesterday was standard start to the week-normals in the morning followed by a trip out with M to lay in provisions for xmas. The bulk of the shopping is being delivered next week but there were a few special bits that he wanted to pick up.
Today we made a flying trip to pborough to deliver usborne books, pick up more fimo (you didn't warn us it was addictive merry) and run a few errands. We took miko for a windblown walk in ferry meadows and she was baffled as to why the geese and swans didn't want to play with her! This evening we vegged out in front of Toy Story. Despite not remembering the movie sam was convinced that he didn't like it. I put it on to remind him what a good film it it. He was transfixed and has gone to bed believing that his toys do come alive while he is asleep. I remember believing the sam thing when I was his age and even older! It was lovely to see him talking with his toys and arranging them for bed-how he fit in there with them I am sure I don't know. He is looking forward to watching toy story 2 on thursday night and no doubt most of his fluffers will have to watch with him. Goodness help miko if she dares to even sniff one.
Spare a thought for Miko because she can't eat from tomorrow noon as she is going in thursday to be spayed. She is going to be so grumpy and pesty by dinner time don't know how I am going to cope! Will have to be extra vigilent with the cat bowls and the garbage can as she thinks both are good places to snack.
Yesterday was standard start to the week-normals in the morning followed by a trip out with M to lay in provisions for xmas. The bulk of the shopping is being delivered next week but there were a few special bits that he wanted to pick up.
Today we made a flying trip to pborough to deliver usborne books, pick up more fimo (you didn't warn us it was addictive merry) and run a few errands. We took miko for a windblown walk in ferry meadows and she was baffled as to why the geese and swans didn't want to play with her! This evening we vegged out in front of Toy Story. Despite not remembering the movie sam was convinced that he didn't like it. I put it on to remind him what a good film it it. He was transfixed and has gone to bed believing that his toys do come alive while he is asleep. I remember believing the sam thing when I was his age and even older! It was lovely to see him talking with his toys and arranging them for bed-how he fit in there with them I am sure I don't know. He is looking forward to watching toy story 2 on thursday night and no doubt most of his fluffers will have to watch with him. Goodness help miko if she dares to even sniff one.
Spare a thought for Miko because she can't eat from tomorrow noon as she is going in thursday to be spayed. She is going to be so grumpy and pesty by dinner time don't know how I am going to cope! Will have to be extra vigilent with the cat bowls and the garbage can as she thinks both are good places to snack.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Alert the authorities....
baby jesus has gone missing!! We got out all the xmas decs today only to find that the nativity set is missing. It is only a simple plastic one but one that has been out every xmas since I was a little girl. I have searched all the xmas boxes but no luck. I can only hope that it turns up in one of the other boxes that still have not been unpacked. Can't imagine xmas without that set. Things have started to look very xmasy here-the tree is up and most of the decorations are out. Having initally made a beline for the tree, Miko is now leaving it along. The cats are ignoring it, largely because they refuse to come in the living room when Miko is in here. Having the decorations up has made sam even more excited, goodness only knows what he will be like on xmas eve!!
A pottering weekend overall. M was on nights so he slept a good deal of each day and then we went out doing jobs when he got up. It wiil be nice to have him home tomorrow night
Sam is reading more now than ever as he has decided that he has to read to me each night before he goes to bed. We have recently discovered the Amelia Bedelia stories and he loves them so much that he wants to read them all the time. I had put a few away for xmas but have slowly been getting them out as he gets through one in about 3 or 4 days. It is wonderful that he is so enthusiastic and the stories are so funny that he often giggles the whole time he is reading. I hope this means that he is going to grow up to love books as much as M and I do.
Happy Birthday Mom!
A pottering weekend overall. M was on nights so he slept a good deal of each day and then we went out doing jobs when he got up. It wiil be nice to have him home tomorrow night
Sam is reading more now than ever as he has decided that he has to read to me each night before he goes to bed. We have recently discovered the Amelia Bedelia stories and he loves them so much that he wants to read them all the time. I had put a few away for xmas but have slowly been getting them out as he gets through one in about 3 or 4 days. It is wonderful that he is so enthusiastic and the stories are so funny that he often giggles the whole time he is reading. I hope this means that he is going to grow up to love books as much as M and I do.
Happy Birthday Mom!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Bit of a blurr
This week has passed by in a bit of a blur. We seem to have been busy all week with one thing and another. The first half of the week it was normals, mystery jobs and holiday cooking. The later half of the week it was visiting friends and going out. Sam's favorite things at the moment are languages-french and latin and education city. Following rave reviews on other bloggs (petite harriots) we decided to give it a try. I was amazed to find that despite the very obvious educational bent sam enjoyed it. Sam is usually very reluctant to try games and sites that he know are educational. Depite this he really seemed to enjoy the site and spent over an hour playing in the various areas. If it continues to be so popular may well subscribe at the end of the free trial period. The best bit is that it works on the mac (yeah!) unlike webland which will only work on my old and tired pc.
Yesterday we went to visit my friend L and her family. They have two dogs, panda a jack russell and magic a standard poodle. We took Miko with us and she had a ball. Not only did she have fun playing with panda and magic but she also behaved herself. I was pleased at how well she behaved-no accidents in the house, no jumping up, no chew furniture and no jumping up. She played mainly with panda as magic was a little shy. The two had great fun playing in the house and then between showers we let the three out for a good romp in the garden. Needless to say sam had to join in and I am not sure who had more fun, sam or the dogs!
M is on nights over the weekend so think things will be quiet. We got the tree in the week so will do doubt put it up and start to decorate it and the house. Must try and find the xmas decorations and get them up in the next week. Sam is very excited about trimming the tree and putting up decs. Not sure how many will be puppy proof!
Yesterday we went to visit my friend L and her family. They have two dogs, panda a jack russell and magic a standard poodle. We took Miko with us and she had a ball. Not only did she have fun playing with panda and magic but she also behaved herself. I was pleased at how well she behaved-no accidents in the house, no jumping up, no chew furniture and no jumping up. She played mainly with panda as magic was a little shy. The two had great fun playing in the house and then between showers we let the three out for a good romp in the garden. Needless to say sam had to join in and I am not sure who had more fun, sam or the dogs!
M is on nights over the weekend so think things will be quiet. We got the tree in the week so will do doubt put it up and start to decorate it and the house. Must try and find the xmas decorations and get them up in the next week. Sam is very excited about trimming the tree and putting up decs. Not sure how many will be puppy proof!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Space..the final frontier
As you can see from the pics below the boys made it to the space center last friday. Sam, M and my fil set off with great excitment mid afternoon to go to the astronaut Q & A. Sam went armed with his special columbia t-shirt (thank you grandpa) and permanent markers so that the they could autograph it. By all accounts they enjoyed the talk and sam was excited to see real live space travellers. Unfortunately, there was no autograph & photo session at the end which is a real shame. Sam was very disapointed as were all the other children and grown ups I should imagine. How often do you get the chance to shake hands with a real astronaut and get their autograph. I think it was very short site of the organisers, especailly as the astronauts were there well into the evening to attend a corporate function. I think they managed to console sam by a trip to the gift shop ( thank you grandad) where he got a cool poster and some tops trump cards on space. he and grandad had a couple of games while I got the dinner ready. Not sure who won but I think it was grandad. Playing trump cards has really helped sam's reading and number recognition. They are really educational but I wouldn't dream of saying that in front of him as that would make him stop playing. I think santa may stick a few more sets in his stocking.
While the boys were in space my mil and I went shopping. We had a nice time chatting and browsing and managed to find a few things to buy. It was a nice treat to be able to browse in the clothes section without a bored little boy in tow. All in all it was a nice day.
the weekend flew by, M worked saturday so sam and I pottered and took miko out for a long walk. We walked across fields that had been flooded earlier in the week and boy did we come home muddy. Miko's paws are still black from the mud. Sunday sam's friend P and his family came over for sunday lunch. It was lovely to see them and while the children played F and I had the opportunity to chat. Miko enjoyed playing with the boys and has discovered that she likes roast chicken.
A quieter day today, lots of normals, followed by a walk and making xmas decs out of fimo. We did candy canes and an xmas tree and they turned out rather well if I do say so myself. Now all we need is a tree to hang them on. The week ahead looks pretty average, lots of normals, several mystery jobs and swimming and french. Must also finish the xmas shopping-the children are all sorted out but haven't even started on the grown ups yet. I plan to do as much as possible on line to avoid the crowds.
While the boys were in space my mil and I went shopping. We had a nice time chatting and browsing and managed to find a few things to buy. It was a nice treat to be able to browse in the clothes section without a bored little boy in tow. All in all it was a nice day.
the weekend flew by, M worked saturday so sam and I pottered and took miko out for a long walk. We walked across fields that had been flooded earlier in the week and boy did we come home muddy. Miko's paws are still black from the mud. Sunday sam's friend P and his family came over for sunday lunch. It was lovely to see them and while the children played F and I had the opportunity to chat. Miko enjoyed playing with the boys and has discovered that she likes roast chicken.
A quieter day today, lots of normals, followed by a walk and making xmas decs out of fimo. We did candy canes and an xmas tree and they turned out rather well if I do say so myself. Now all we need is a tree to hang them on. The week ahead looks pretty average, lots of normals, several mystery jobs and swimming and french. Must also finish the xmas shopping-the children are all sorted out but haven't even started on the grown ups yet. I plan to do as much as possible on line to avoid the crowds.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Finding Fimo
Thanks to Merry we have discovered fimo (pics to follow). Sam has had a ball the last two days making a variety of creations. Yesterday he made a stegi, a pleaisour, miko, r2d2 and cp30. Today he has made marquesa and a cobra. He has had lots of fun and has taken great care to make his creations. We bought the xmas kit so will be doing candy cane and xmas stocking decorations for the tree.
We had a flying visit to merry's yesterday. Sam really enjoyed playing with the girls and Merry and I had a chance to catch up. It was lovely to see them, can't believe it has been so long since our last visit.
Lots of normals this week and sam is really enjoying the next math book. He immediately grasped the concept of greater than and less than and spent yesterday morning snapping like a crocodile. I explained that the symbol faces toward the larger number with the open end, like a crocodile eating the big number. The talk of crocodiles then prompted lots of steve irwin discussion and play and he tried to wrangle his fluffy dragon like steve wrangled crocs. All I can say is thank goodness it wasn't Miko or I! Who knew that math could be so dangerous!
He is beside himself with excitement about tomorrow as he is going to the space center with M and my fil to hear 5 shuttle astronauts give a talk. I think all the boys are excited, sam has been trying all week to think of a good question to ask them. No luck so far so we will have to work on it tomorrow morning. He is going to wear his commemorative Columbia T-Shirt from Dad and ask them to sign it. Am going to send them with the camera so hopefully there will be a few pics to post tomorrow night.
We had a flying visit to merry's yesterday. Sam really enjoyed playing with the girls and Merry and I had a chance to catch up. It was lovely to see them, can't believe it has been so long since our last visit.
Lots of normals this week and sam is really enjoying the next math book. He immediately grasped the concept of greater than and less than and spent yesterday morning snapping like a crocodile. I explained that the symbol faces toward the larger number with the open end, like a crocodile eating the big number. The talk of crocodiles then prompted lots of steve irwin discussion and play and he tried to wrangle his fluffy dragon like steve wrangled crocs. All I can say is thank goodness it wasn't Miko or I! Who knew that math could be so dangerous!
He is beside himself with excitement about tomorrow as he is going to the space center with M and my fil to hear 5 shuttle astronauts give a talk. I think all the boys are excited, sam has been trying all week to think of a good question to ask them. No luck so far so we will have to work on it tomorrow morning. He is going to wear his commemorative Columbia T-Shirt from Dad and ask them to sign it. Am going to send them with the camera so hopefully there will be a few pics to post tomorrow night.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Belated thanksgiving wishes..
I know it is a few days late but I wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. We had a lovely day and I hope that Matthew's colleague and his family enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed theirs. Sam and their daughter got on very well and he is very keen to play with her again. It was nice to be able to share the holiday with friends. Roll on christmas!!
The last week and a half have passed by quickly thanks to seeing lots of family and friends. We had great fun at the space centre with M and her boys and then a few days later we met up with my in laws to take my mil ice skating for her birthday. We managed to get tickets for the rink at the natural history museum and we were impressed with how well it was organised. We all had a lot of fun with minimal bumps and bruises. Sam stayed on the ice for the whole hour, though a lot of that was on his bottom! I am not sure which was more fun for him-skating or falling. He was giggling the whole time. We made a flying trip to the natural history museum-long enough for sam to buy yet another fluffy dino! I am sure that he has more dinos than jurassaic park, how he manages to sleep with them all in his bed is a mystery. All in all it was a wonderful day out.
It has been a quiet week as far as schooling-a lot of the time we spent getting ready for thanksgiving. Sam was a fantastic help in the kitchen and with the cleaning. We talked a lot about thanksgiving, its history and what he is thankful for. He really enjoyed talking about the fact that the president pardens a turkey every year so we visited the white house website and voted on the names for the presidental turkey. that then led on to a discussion about where the president lives, what the does and why he has so many pets! His two dogs and cats are quite the filmakers and have several short movies on the site. Sam now thinks that Miko should make a movie for our blog...watch this space!! We have also had interesting discussions about alexander the great and have started watching the dvd of "In the footsteps of Alexander" with Michael Wood. We have all been glued to it and are going to get more of his series as they are very compelling. Shame we can't find them at the library-those are the sort of things they ought to have really.
Miko is still loosing teeth and is getting bolder as far as food goes. If I leave something on the counter top she will try to get it when my back is turned. She managed to lick a whole pile of tortillas on friday so I had to throw them out. With what she snacks on the amount of germs in her mouth don't bear thinking about. We took her for a long watlk in bradgate today. She and sam were covered in mud by the time we got back to the car but we managed to tucker them both out. It is so beautiful up there, would love on one of the higher peaks in the park.
The last week and a half have passed by quickly thanks to seeing lots of family and friends. We had great fun at the space centre with M and her boys and then a few days later we met up with my in laws to take my mil ice skating for her birthday. We managed to get tickets for the rink at the natural history museum and we were impressed with how well it was organised. We all had a lot of fun with minimal bumps and bruises. Sam stayed on the ice for the whole hour, though a lot of that was on his bottom! I am not sure which was more fun for him-skating or falling. He was giggling the whole time. We made a flying trip to the natural history museum-long enough for sam to buy yet another fluffy dino! I am sure that he has more dinos than jurassaic park, how he manages to sleep with them all in his bed is a mystery. All in all it was a wonderful day out.
It has been a quiet week as far as schooling-a lot of the time we spent getting ready for thanksgiving. Sam was a fantastic help in the kitchen and with the cleaning. We talked a lot about thanksgiving, its history and what he is thankful for. He really enjoyed talking about the fact that the president pardens a turkey every year so we visited the white house website and voted on the names for the presidental turkey. that then led on to a discussion about where the president lives, what the does and why he has so many pets! His two dogs and cats are quite the filmakers and have several short movies on the site. Sam now thinks that Miko should make a movie for our blog...watch this space!! We have also had interesting discussions about alexander the great and have started watching the dvd of "In the footsteps of Alexander" with Michael Wood. We have all been glued to it and are going to get more of his series as they are very compelling. Shame we can't find them at the library-those are the sort of things they ought to have really.
Miko is still loosing teeth and is getting bolder as far as food goes. If I leave something on the counter top she will try to get it when my back is turned. She managed to lick a whole pile of tortillas on friday so I had to throw them out. With what she snacks on the amount of germs in her mouth don't bear thinking about. We took her for a long watlk in bradgate today. She and sam were covered in mud by the time we got back to the car but we managed to tucker them both out. It is so beautiful up there, would love on one of the higher peaks in the park.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
New Experiences
We have all had a few new experiences the past few days. Today sam and I went to a meeting of the leicester home ed group with our friends V & I. We went with open minds and were keen to meet people and make friends. Sadly we were disapointed as were V & I. It was so unstructed that nothing was laid on and there was a very loose theme of topps trump cards. We brought ours and sam and I had a good couple of games against V & I but he could not interest anyone else in playing. There were a few toys but they were all for much younger children and in the end sam and a few of the other boys played tag in the yard. We were so lucky with our old groups and really miss them and all our friends. Sadly, sam's french class clashes with it so not sure when we will be able to go back. V & I came away with the idea of starting our own group-a la muddlepuddle style and I think that we will have a go. There may well be other people out there in the area who would like something a bit more structured but also full of fun. We are seeing them later in the week so will have a go at a bit of planning.
Miko's new experience was Ikea. We pottered up there on sat and while they wouldn't let her in she had a good walk around the outside. She would have dearly loved a hot dog and an ice cream but we were afraid that it would be too rich for her tummy. It has been quite upset the last few days so she has been back in her crate at night. After getting up in the early hours of sunday morning to clean up lots of disgusting puddles we decided that was the best course of action. When everything has cleared up she can come back to our bedroom.
We are having guests for thanksgiving next thursday so prepartions are in full swing. Sam has decided that he wants to do table decorations so we are going crafty for the rest of the week. The lovely ocado man should be delivering all the food on monday so hopefully the cooking will be straight forward. Sam has promised to help with the pies-why am I not surprised!
We are both very excited as M and the boys are coming to visit and we are all going to the space centre. Sam is very put out that Miko can't come, after all he argued they have sent a dog into space so why can't she go and look at rockets. Can't fault his logic but I don't think they will see it that way.
Miko's new experience was Ikea. We pottered up there on sat and while they wouldn't let her in she had a good walk around the outside. She would have dearly loved a hot dog and an ice cream but we were afraid that it would be too rich for her tummy. It has been quite upset the last few days so she has been back in her crate at night. After getting up in the early hours of sunday morning to clean up lots of disgusting puddles we decided that was the best course of action. When everything has cleared up she can come back to our bedroom.
We are having guests for thanksgiving next thursday so prepartions are in full swing. Sam has decided that he wants to do table decorations so we are going crafty for the rest of the week. The lovely ocado man should be delivering all the food on monday so hopefully the cooking will be straight forward. Sam has promised to help with the pies-why am I not surprised!
We are both very excited as M and the boys are coming to visit and we are all going to the space centre. Sam is very put out that Miko can't come, after all he argued they have sent a dog into space so why can't she go and look at rockets. Can't fault his logic but I don't think they will see it that way.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Quiet times
things have been fairly quiet here recently, hence the lack of blogging. There have been lots of normals, visits with friends and lots of family time. We have explored local parks with Miko and just generally enjoyed ourselves. Made an impromtu visit to ashby castle this week as M had not been and it was too nice a day to stay in.
Schoolwise things are going well. Sam is almost finished Singapore 1B math and explode the code 3. He has settled into work and is happy most days to sit down and learn. We are both really enjoying french lessons, they are once a week a now and it is a really nice group. The children are all about sam's age and I think we spend as long after the lesson in the park with them as we do in the lesson itself. Sam is doing well at tennis and swimming and seems to be working hard and paying attention in both.
Schoolwise things are going well. Sam is almost finished Singapore 1B math and explode the code 3. He has settled into work and is happy most days to sit down and learn. We are both really enjoying french lessons, they are once a week a now and it is a really nice group. The children are all about sam's age and I think we spend as long after the lesson in the park with them as we do in the lesson itself. Sam is doing well at tennis and swimming and seems to be working hard and paying attention in both.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!!
A spooky hello to you all. We have had a fun day learning about the origins of halloween and watching clips of haunted houses on www.historychannel.com. The halloween discussion led to lots of other discussions about new religions and cultures adopting the celebrations of older traditions and making them their own. This then led to a discussion about the roman empire and the catholic church. All in all an interesting dashing around history. Did you know that trick or treating is originally english? On all hallows eve people would bake cakes and give them to the poor who would go door to door and offer to pray for the dead of the family in return for food. They really shouldn't give us americans a hard time about it then, since it was their own invention-we just expanded on it.
A quiet day yesterday, lots of normals and me feeling sorry for myself due to the sniffles. Miko had two walks and sam next door came over after school and the boys played with sam's new dino attack lego. Why with boys does it always come down to fighting and war?? When I tried to get them to have the dinos be nice and create a nice habitat for them they both looked at me like I was mad. Oh for the peaceful days of barbies!
A quiet day yesterday, lots of normals and me feeling sorry for myself due to the sniffles. Miko had two walks and sam next door came over after school and the boys played with sam's new dino attack lego. Why with boys does it always come down to fighting and war?? When I tried to get them to have the dinos be nice and create a nice habitat for them they both looked at me like I was mad. Oh for the peaceful days of barbies!
Monday, October 30, 2006
usborne christmas order
I have decided to have a cyber usborne party in the run up to christmas. If you would like a books for giving leaflet or full catalogue please let me know. You can also see the full range of books at www.usbornebooks.co.uk. I am offering 10% off all orders and will deliver/post out the books when they arrive. I will be placing the order on November 27th so if you want anything please let me know by then. If you need any info please don't hesitate to ask.
Quick catch up
sorry about about the lack of blogging. last week ended up being busier than I thought it was going to be and fell into bed shattered each night with out giving blogging a second thought. We saw lots of friends last week, which was lovely and went on lots of long walks with Miko. She is into chewing everything at the moment, nothing is safe, including bannisters! She and sam are getting on better now-provided she doesn't touch his fluffy toys or his lego. M's parents came up on saturday and we spent a nice day with them. They had a good holiday and came bearing lego for sam and lovely pressies for M and I as well. He is still working on putting it all together. He has done very well with it, considering it is all aimed at 8+ and has put it all together on the whole by himself.
We are all suffering a bit with colds so will try and have a quiet week this week, not sure if we will achieve it or not.
We are all suffering a bit with colds so will try and have a quiet week this week, not sure if we will achieve it or not.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Tuckered Out..
just about describes all of us ( except the cats of course). We had so much fun on M's week off that we are all knackered. We did trips out just about everyday as well as taking Miko on long walks. I think M went back to work today for a rest! Yesterday the boys planted a butterfly garden and bless him sam spent most of the day checking the plants for insect visitors. I tried to explain we probably wouldn't get any residents until the spring but he is undeterred and intends to check the plants every day. Hope we get a few winter visitor, don't know how he is going to wait until spring!
Today was back to school for us so while the rest of the children in the neigborhood were celebrating half term, evil mommy made sam do normals. He didn't mind too much though and quickly settled into work. We are taking it easy this week as we have a few playdates with school friends. M came with us to puppy class tonight and we all had fun. Miko had so much fun that she didn't want to leave! She tried to run back into the hall as we were putting her in the car. She is now sacked out in the kitchen, too pooped to lift a paw. She is a lot calmer tonight-the diwali fireworks the last few nights have really spooked her. She refused to even go out in the garden last night once it got dark. I don't know how she did it but she managed to make it through the night without a single puddle. She and the cats have reached an understanding, they won't swat her if she doesn't try and play with them. They are all quite relaxed about each other and Gizmo is currently asleep only a few feet away from her.
Sam is very good with her and loves taking her out for walks. The only problem is I am not sure who is walking who!
Today was back to school for us so while the rest of the children in the neigborhood were celebrating half term, evil mommy made sam do normals. He didn't mind too much though and quickly settled into work. We are taking it easy this week as we have a few playdates with school friends. M came with us to puppy class tonight and we all had fun. Miko had so much fun that she didn't want to leave! She tried to run back into the hall as we were putting her in the car. She is now sacked out in the kitchen, too pooped to lift a paw. She is a lot calmer tonight-the diwali fireworks the last few nights have really spooked her. She refused to even go out in the garden last night once it got dark. I don't know how she did it but she managed to make it through the night without a single puddle. She and the cats have reached an understanding, they won't swat her if she doesn't try and play with them. They are all quite relaxed about each other and Gizmo is currently asleep only a few feet away from her.
Sam is very good with her and loves taking her out for walks. The only problem is I am not sure who is walking who!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Brilliant Birmingham
Today we went to Birmingham to visit the sealife center. Birmingham is only about 50 miles away but with traffic and the wrong post-code in the tom-tom it took us almost 2 hours to get there. It was well worth the trip though as the aquarium was great. They made good use of the space they had and had lots of interesting creatures to look at. It didn't quite come up to the standard of the monterey bay aquarium but then I don't think that anywere can. We had a really enjoyable time there and had lunch in a great place next to the grand union canal. It was called the Handmade burger co. and the burgers were almost as good as homemade. It was a real find and we will definately be back on our next trip to birmingham. We didn't get to wander around too much as we had to get home to Miko. It looks like a great place to explore so we will be going back.
By the time we got back it was late afternoon, just time for a walk, then dinner, some Blue Planet and bed for the monster. He had quite a milestone today. On our walk we went down to the paper shop so that he could get this month's issue of the HotWheels magazine. They wouldn't allow Miko in the store though, and rather than leave him outsite with her I said that he could go in on his own. I could see him the whole time so I knew he would be safe. He had complete confidence in his mission and soon emerged triumphant with the magazine. I was so proud. He is such a fantastic child.
By the time we got back it was late afternoon, just time for a walk, then dinner, some Blue Planet and bed for the monster. He had quite a milestone today. On our walk we went down to the paper shop so that he could get this month's issue of the HotWheels magazine. They wouldn't allow Miko in the store though, and rather than leave him outsite with her I said that he could go in on his own. I could see him the whole time so I knew he would be safe. He had complete confidence in his mission and soon emerged triumphant with the magazine. I was so proud. He is such a fantastic child.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
family fun...
is what we have been having the last few days. M has been off since saturday and still has the rest of the the week off so we have been taking advantage of the nice weather by having lots of family days out. We have hit all the major local parks and few that aren't local. Having Miko has really helped us to get out and enjoy the beautiful country around us. Miko has gone everywhere with us and when she wasn't allowed in somewhere she slept in the car. She is almost better in the car than she is in her crate.
Today we ended up at burghley house and had a lovely wander in the grounds. The deer roam free and we were treated to lots of close encounters with them. Miko went crazy and thought that they were potential playmates-or possibly dinner! We ran into J and her boys which was a nice surprise. We helped them to gather chestnuts before heading home.
Yesterday we went to the coventry air museum ( the one sam and I visited while M was away). The boys had a ball and I had fun trying to convince Miko that rabbit droppings are not a new snack food. She is very good in new situations and meeting new people and didn't bat an eyelid at all the big planes and strange people. The boys bought an airfix model of the new Typhoon fighter which should keep them busy all winter.
Tomorrow we are off to the sea life center in birminghamm san is very excited. It should be a fun day out. Thursday morning we are going to a free screening of cars so the next few days should be pretty action packed.
We haven't done any normals so far this week but with all our field trips I think that he is still getting and education. We start back to work on monday, with science though, so he shouldn't mind too much.
Today we ended up at burghley house and had a lovely wander in the grounds. The deer roam free and we were treated to lots of close encounters with them. Miko went crazy and thought that they were potential playmates-or possibly dinner! We ran into J and her boys which was a nice surprise. We helped them to gather chestnuts before heading home.
Yesterday we went to the coventry air museum ( the one sam and I visited while M was away). The boys had a ball and I had fun trying to convince Miko that rabbit droppings are not a new snack food. She is very good in new situations and meeting new people and didn't bat an eyelid at all the big planes and strange people. The boys bought an airfix model of the new Typhoon fighter which should keep them busy all winter.
Tomorrow we are off to the sea life center in birminghamm san is very excited. It should be a fun day out. Thursday morning we are going to a free screening of cars so the next few days should be pretty action packed.
We haven't done any normals so far this week but with all our field trips I think that he is still getting and education. We start back to work on monday, with science though, so he shouldn't mind too much.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Settling in
We are all settling in to life with a puppy and are getting fitter for it! Two walks a day are tiring out both puppy and sam. He actually slept until 8am today, a record in our house! Miko seems to be adjusting to us but can be a bit standoffish. I think she would prefer to lie the garden on her own than cuddle us. From what I could see of her life at the breeders, the puppies were left to their own devices and spent lots of time going in and out to the back yard. We are working really hard to make her into a member of the family and I think she is responding. She spent ages today playing up in sam's room with us. She started puppy classes last night and she and sam had a ball. She made lots of friends and can now pretty much sit on command. Not bad for one evening. Sam was over the moon because not only did he get to help with the training but he also got to pet all the puppies in the class. He has now decided that he wants a house full of puppies and is going to save all his money to his end....HELP!!!
We have had lots of fun so far this week with art and history. We painted our own fresco (pics to follow). It was fun mixing the plaster and then seeing which type of paint worked best. The water paints were easier to use, so we did most of the painting with them. Sam chose the theme-it is a greek trimarine ship, off to do battle at troy. Don't you just love home education.
Today we braved the Boden Clearance sale at the local football ground-talk about a yummy mummy bun fight. Never have I seen women go so loopy at a sale and that includes nct nearly new sales. Women were filling basket after basket-the prices were good but they weren't that good. There was nothing at all left in sam's size and I couldn't even get near the women's clothes to have a good look. If I go next year I go early and I go alone.
We had a lovely day on saturday with M's parents. They came up to spend the day and we went to bradgate park. What a fantastic place!! Can't believe that it has taken us 6 months to get there. Lots of romantic ruins, deer and fantastic scenery. We will definately be going back there.
We have had lots of fun so far this week with art and history. We painted our own fresco (pics to follow). It was fun mixing the plaster and then seeing which type of paint worked best. The water paints were easier to use, so we did most of the painting with them. Sam chose the theme-it is a greek trimarine ship, off to do battle at troy. Don't you just love home education.
Today we braved the Boden Clearance sale at the local football ground-talk about a yummy mummy bun fight. Never have I seen women go so loopy at a sale and that includes nct nearly new sales. Women were filling basket after basket-the prices were good but they weren't that good. There was nothing at all left in sam's size and I couldn't even get near the women's clothes to have a good look. If I go next year I go early and I go alone.
We had a lovely day on saturday with M's parents. They came up to spend the day and we went to bradgate park. What a fantastic place!! Can't believe that it has taken us 6 months to get there. Lots of romantic ruins, deer and fantastic scenery. We will definately be going back there.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Puppy Love
It is official, despite the occasional accident and bad breath we all love Miko. She has now mastered both up and down on the stairs and can sort of walk on a leash. She went for 3 walks today to help her (and us practice). Sam is delighted with her and can't wait until they are both experienced enough for him to be able to walk her on the leash. I let him walk her within the courtyard but not out on the sidewalk. He thinks she is lots of fun and despite the rain has been happy to walk her and play with her outside. She and the cats are still wary of one another but she hasn't chased them and they in turn haven't swatted her so there must be some sort of understanding going on.
Sam thinks normals are much more fun with Miko around and insists that she snuggle up with us for read alouds. He is disapointed that she is not very good at math though! He made her watch Cats and Dogs with him the other night but I don't think that she was too impressed, she wasn't that fussed with Scooby Doo either which sam couldn't understand. I think that he is going to go through his entire DVD collection until he finds something she likes. As long as I don't have to sit through them all I don't mind.
Sam thinks normals are much more fun with Miko around and insists that she snuggle up with us for read alouds. He is disapointed that she is not very good at math though! He made her watch Cats and Dogs with him the other night but I don't think that she was too impressed, she wasn't that fussed with Scooby Doo either which sam couldn't understand. I think that he is going to go through his entire DVD collection until he finds something she likes. As long as I don't have to sit through them all I don't mind.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
An addition to the family
As you can see from the photos below our family has expanded to include another girl, albeit a canine one. Her name is Miko and she is a 14 week old japanese Akita. We got her from the japanese akita welfare trust as her breeder could no longer care for her. She is absolutely adorable and everyone (except possibly the cats is in love with her. Sam is beside himself to have a dog and M beamed from ear to ear when he saw her. I think she is adorble and look forward to the challenge of training her. We have decided that she is not going to be exclusively home educated-dog trainig is so out of my realm of experience that we are going to puppy classes. Our first one is monday night-maybe by then she might have learnt her name! Her big accomplishment of the day today was to master going up stairs. Going down them is proving somewhat trickier.
The rest of last week passed in a blur. M got home safely and had a good trip. We had fairly quiet days at the end of the week and a low key weekend. For most of the weekend I had two sons called sam as sam from next door decided that our house was the place to be. My sam was of course delighted and they were busy hatching plans for extended sleepovers. thankfully they are all for an unspecified time in the future.
We did very little seat work last week as we were busy on lots of field trips. Yesterday, despite driving 200 miles round trip to pick up Miko we managed to do all our work. Today Miko helped us with school work which delighed sam. She has agreed to teach him japanese and he in turn is going to teach her how to write the word dog. sounds like a great arrangement to me.
The rest of last week passed in a blur. M got home safely and had a good trip. We had fairly quiet days at the end of the week and a low key weekend. For most of the weekend I had two sons called sam as sam from next door decided that our house was the place to be. My sam was of course delighted and they were busy hatching plans for extended sleepovers. thankfully they are all for an unspecified time in the future.
We did very little seat work last week as we were busy on lots of field trips. Yesterday, despite driving 200 miles round trip to pick up Miko we managed to do all our work. Today Miko helped us with school work which delighed sam. She has agreed to teach him japanese and he in turn is going to teach her how to write the word dog. sounds like a great arrangement to me.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
A jolly good adventure..
Help! I have heard so much secret 7 and famous 5 over the last few days that I am in danger of starting to speak like them. We have spent a lot of time in the car the last few days and the story cds of choice (sam's not mine!) have been "three cheers for the secret 7" and "the 5 on billycock hill". The stories themselves are good but it is the language that drives me mad. They are so rude to people they don't like and don't hesitate to tell people to "shut up" and other such friendly phrases. I appreciate that this is a lot better than some of the things that children come out with these days but it is still not very nice. Sam loves the stories because the adventures are so exciting but even he agrees that the secret 7 are very mean to one of the character's little sister. Actually come to think of it there is a lot of rudeness in Enid Blyton's books, wonder why?
Anyway, despite missing M very much sam and I have had a nice couple of days-as evidenced by the photos. After droping M off at coventry airfield (don't think it is big enough to be called an airport) we visited Kenilworth Castle and then an air museum. I think sam enjoyed both equally but the castle was much more my thing. Sam took great delight in taking lots of photos-most of which turned out really well. He is getting to be quite a good photographer.
Monday was the big day...Legoland!! Both traffic and weather were kind to us (at least for most of the day) and we managed to spend nearly the whole day there. My friend Melanie and her youngest D (my goddaughter) met us and it was lovely to be able to spend time with them. Sam loved legoland and despite going on most of the rides, the thing he liked most was miniland. He loved following the trains, boats and cars as they moved round the various countries. I think that he could have easily spent most of the day in that part of the park. We did all the rides that he wanted to do, with minimum fuss. The lines were very short so we were able to get lots done. He had to visit each gift shop before deciding to part with his hard earned cash but in the end decided that three little things were better than one big thing-quite sensible if you ask me. The drive home seemed to take forever but was brigtened up by seeing a double rainbow.
Today we went to visit my friend Louisa and her family and sam had a glorious day playing with dogs and stomping around the countryside. It was a lovely visit and the weather was perfect for spending most of the day out of doors. We went sloe and blackberry picking so will be spending tomorrow making sloe gin and blackberry crumble. Sam had a ball playing with panda and magic the dogs and I am not sure who was more exhausted when we left him or them! We have spent this evening becomming totally addicted to the computer game Zoo Tycoon. We picked it up for 99p at sainsburys over the weekend and gave it a trial run tonight. What a fun game! Who knew that running a zoo could be so much fun and so educational! Not only did we have to learn about animals and there habitats but we also had to think about the finance of running our zoo-which we weren't too good at. When we ended the game we were in debt-but the zoo was fantastic.
A quiet day tomorrow I think and then off to coventry in the evening to pick up M.
Anyway, despite missing M very much sam and I have had a nice couple of days-as evidenced by the photos. After droping M off at coventry airfield (don't think it is big enough to be called an airport) we visited Kenilworth Castle and then an air museum. I think sam enjoyed both equally but the castle was much more my thing. Sam took great delight in taking lots of photos-most of which turned out really well. He is getting to be quite a good photographer.
Monday was the big day...Legoland!! Both traffic and weather were kind to us (at least for most of the day) and we managed to spend nearly the whole day there. My friend Melanie and her youngest D (my goddaughter) met us and it was lovely to be able to spend time with them. Sam loved legoland and despite going on most of the rides, the thing he liked most was miniland. He loved following the trains, boats and cars as they moved round the various countries. I think that he could have easily spent most of the day in that part of the park. We did all the rides that he wanted to do, with minimum fuss. The lines were very short so we were able to get lots done. He had to visit each gift shop before deciding to part with his hard earned cash but in the end decided that three little things were better than one big thing-quite sensible if you ask me. The drive home seemed to take forever but was brigtened up by seeing a double rainbow.
Today we went to visit my friend Louisa and her family and sam had a glorious day playing with dogs and stomping around the countryside. It was a lovely visit and the weather was perfect for spending most of the day out of doors. We went sloe and blackberry picking so will be spending tomorrow making sloe gin and blackberry crumble. Sam had a ball playing with panda and magic the dogs and I am not sure who was more exhausted when we left him or them! We have spent this evening becomming totally addicted to the computer game Zoo Tycoon. We picked it up for 99p at sainsburys over the weekend and gave it a trial run tonight. What a fun game! Who knew that running a zoo could be so much fun and so educational! Not only did we have to learn about animals and there habitats but we also had to think about the finance of running our zoo-which we weren't too good at. When we ended the game we were in debt-but the zoo was fantastic.
A quiet day tomorrow I think and then off to coventry in the evening to pick up M.
Monday, September 25, 2006
In a hurry to get to the gift shop
Our last stop of the day was the gift shop and here he is in a hurry to get there. He spend ages trying to decide what to spend his money on and in the end decided on three small things rather than one big thing.
captain sam
This is sam steering the boat on the boating school ride. Between the two of us we managed to end up going the wrong way on the one way system and had to be turned around by one of the legoland crew.
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