The final countdown..

has begun. Counting tonight, we only have 4 more nights left in this house. We have spent 10 happy years here, I still can't quite believe that we are going. The next few days are going to be very busy so not sure how much I will be able to post. M will shut down the network here on wed so we won't be up and running again until broadband is installed at the new house (should be friday).

We have had a busy weeek, HE wise we have gotten back on track and continued with the tudors. I think the session on friday went well, though I am not sure who enjoyed the butter making more, the parents or the children! Thank you everyone who helped out, I appreciate it. I hope the candles acutally burn. We are going to save ours for the new house. Not sure how much formal learning is going to go on this week, though I am sure there will be lots of informal learning-lots of opportunities to study physics (fitting thing round corners), language (swear words), geography ( us getting lost looking for the nearest homebase), PE (carrying boxes), diplomacy (mommy trying not to loose it when something goes wrong), archaeology (finding all those things we thought we had lost once the house is clear of furniture), animal science (trying to coax 3 cats into their cat baskets), the list of things to learn is endless, do you think the lea will approve?

She's the one..

at least we hope so. Got a call from the letting agent today-the woman that sam and I gave an impromptu showing to on monday has reserved the house!! Subject to credit checks and references it looks like we may have a tennant and all thanks to sam. We spent ages in the front yard on monday, gardening and playing with his new swing ball set (thank you nana!) and were in the middle of a sam suggested picnic when this woman drove by. I saw her stare at the house and then stop just down the block. She got out and came down to ask about the house. She seemed so keen that we gave her an quick viewing and boy was the house a mess. there were toys and clutter everywhere. Looks like she was able to see past that though. Hope she passes the checks it would be nice to have this house sorted out.

It has been a good week so far. We are back on track with normals and have spent a lot of time on the tudors in preparation for friday. We both enjoyed doing a tudor garden and sam's dragon is now sporting a ruff. He is excited about the CA project which we will start once we have moved. He is still not so keen on doing math so must think of some way to make it more fun. Any suggestions??

Had great fun yesterday with Merry & the girls and my friend miriam and her boys. The children devised some game involving resecuing playmobil people and drving cars down the bannister. they all got on really well and considering there were 7 children in the house they were remarkably quiet. It was probably the last time we will have friends to play in this house which is sad but hopefully they will all troop over to the new house once the toys are unpacked.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, Passover, Spring to everyone. S and I have had a nice day today while poor M had to work. Sam's day started with an easter egg treasure hunt thanks to the easter bunny. he was delighted to eventually find his easter basket hiding in dryer. The easter bunny had kindly given him a chocolate egg and a scooby doo dvd. Needless to say he was delighted and enjoyed the hunt and then watching the dvd. He is getting quite good at solving the mystery before the gang-perhaps we have a budding dective on our hands! We went down to my sister in law's to spend the day with them and my in laws. All the boys played well together and really enjoyed the easter egg hunt that Jo had organised. Not sure how much chocolate was consumed but it was probably way too much. Oh well, normal service will return tomorrow. My in laws gave sam a really cool swing tennis/soccer set so we had to set that up when we got home. We both enjoyed a quick game of swing tennis-no doubt this is going to be lots of use over the summer.

I don't usually get political on this blog but a news story this week made me really mad. I found it on the bbc and have included the site address below. Basically during the invasion in Iraq the coalition forces not only thought it was a good idea to build a landing pad smack dab in the middle of the ancient site of Babylon but they also allowed soldiers to fill sandbags with finds from the site!!! I can't believe that they were so ignorant that they didn't realise what they are doing-this is one fo the most famous sites in the world there is no excuse for abuse like this. they have now apologised but sadly the damage has been done. they also justified their actions by saying that worse may have happened if they hadn't been there. I am sorry but this is no justification for what they have done just a very poor excuse. I appreciate that I may be slightly biased when it comes to archaeological sites but what they did shows disrespect not only for our shared historical past but also for the local culture. How would we feel if foreign nation came in and set up camp at Mount Vernon or Plymouth Plantation? We would quite rightly be outraged. We owe history and the Iraqis more than an apology-the us government should not only pay for restoring the damage but also fund on going research indefinately. sorry to rant on what is probably not important to anyone else.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4908940.stm

The Easter Bunny Comes early..

in the form of M's grandmother and aunt and uncle. They came for a visit today and came bearing easter gifts for us all, most notably sam. It was lovely to see them, especially M's uncle who has been very ill but looks as if he is now on the road to recovery. Sam tormented auntie S until she constented to build a lego house for his new dragon. unfortunately it was a bit of an impossible task as he dragon is about 3 feet long and although we have a lot of lego we don't have quite that much! She was a good sport though and did her best.
Did some crafty stuff before they came and managed to squeeze in a chapter of our read aloud as well as having sam read to me. tomorrow I am going to sneak in math and explode the code. I think our next project will be on California, which will take a bit of thinking on my part as there is so much we could cover. I think we will start by doing a map and puting in the major cities and places that are significant to our family. We could also look at what dinos (if any) have been excavated there as well as the prehistoric creatures from the la brea tar pits. we could do some experiments about earthquakes. we could do a bit on native american tribes in CA as well as the white settlers. we can't of course miss out the gold rush! we could also do how our family came to life in CA and where they all are. we can look at native animals and the different climatic zones. we could talk about california as a magnet for immigrants and how they have shaped the state. we could eat mexican food-just about the closest thing ca has to native quisine. oh there is so much to do, i am feeling quite inspired. hope sam will be. will have to find something gory to hook him in. the dinos and la brea tar pits should definately capture him.

Stress free trip to Ikea yesterday. Can't believe that I just typed those words, they don't usually go together. they didn't have the flooring that we had originally gone for but did find something that we liked and it even cost less than our original choice. sam got a gaint dragon which has been draped over him ever since. He even brought it into our bed this morning, funny it didn't feel so soft when it wacked me on the head at 5am. We also got the lighting for the downstairs hallways. still lots more we need but the car and our bank account can only take so much! I suspect we are going to be very regular visitors there over the next few months.

Dino Delights

Had a lovely day (until rain stopped play) at the Dino park in Norwich with my friend M and her family. The park had something for everyone from a dino trail to a petting zoo to adventure playgrounds. Sam was delighed to be with H & F, M's two oldest and I was thrilled to be able to give my god daughter D a cuddle. Sam loved spotting the dinos on the trail and I have to say that for plaster dinos they were very well done. He would have also spent all afternoon in the adventure playground had the heavens not opened. It was great to catch up with M and her husband, it is such a shame that we don't livve closer. I enjoy M's company as much as I did when I was 11 and it incredible to think that we have known each other for about 27 years. God that makes me sound old!! I am so please that our children get along. Sam really looks up to H who is an expert in all things lego and star wars in his opinion. Before heading out to the park we did a short session on fossils and the geologic periods. Sam was amazed to discover how short a time humans have been around. Must do a geologic time line for our playroom in the next house. We can put a picture of a species or two from each period. Having had such a dinoriffic day we had to of course watch the rest of jurassic park tonight( we started it last night0 and all of jurassic park III. All the fluffy dinos had to watch with us but he made the babies cover their eyes at the scary parts!!

He is now asleep in my bed with all his fluffy dinos around him. Not sure there is any room for me, think I may have to sleep in his bed tonight!

Did a bit of painting once sam was in bed and am now avoiding finishing my book for book group. It is tomorrow night and at my house so I really ought to have finished the book. It is a bit of a strange one-it is The accidental by Ali Smith. Not sure if I am enjoying it or not. It is not an easy read and I still have 3/4 to go so not sure if I will finish in time. We have had a run of odd books so hope the next one is better.

A busy day tomorrow with a bday party. followed by a playdate, followed by Ikea and then book group. We are off to Ikea to get the flooring for the ground floor of the new house. M and his dad are going to be laying it a week on mondy. Can't believe that the movers will be here two weeks from tomorrow! Still so much decluttering to do. Had a start on the junk drawer but gave up after half an hour. Next house.. no junk drawer!

So long and thanks for all the fun..

Sold my little car today and as much as I know it was the right thing to do I still feel a little sad. Probably would help if I hadn't given the car a name. Sam and I had lots of fun in sebastian and hope he went to a good home.

Last week ended on a high note. Sam and I did a session on the Tudors for our Peterborough EO group and I think it went okay. No one complained at any rate. All of the boys present decided that they were going to spend the session being tudor ruffifans so they spent the whole session running around outside. Sam was absolutely filthy but I think he had fun. Our next session in a week on friday so back to the books to plan a few activities. Think we will do a bit on gardens, architecture and costume. Found an easy way to make ruffs out of doilies, think we had best try it out before we take it along!

Spent the weekend painting and tidying up the back garden. It is all starting to come together, nust need a tennant now. Fingers crossed that it happens soon.

A busy week ahead, off to the dino park near norwich tomorrow to meet up with friends. I hope the weather hold because sam is very excited about going.

well, we survived..

our trip to london with no major casualities (except my feet!) It was touch and go as to whether we made it there on time due to me getting turned around at hyde park corner. we ran most of the way and made it just in time. sorry to M and sam for choosing the wrong tube station!! The whole process took less than an hour and was trouble free. In two weeks Sam should have a new passport. We spent the rest of our time in london pottering-selfridges, the apple store and the science museum. No trip to london is complete without a trip to either the science musuem or the natural history musuem. One day we will get to the British Museum.

Phoned the estate agent when we got in only to discover the couple never showed up to veiw the house. Very frustrating. We have decided to drop the price a little to see if that gets more people through the door. Hope so.

Lots of castle building on the sofa by sam when we got home. He and his fluffly dinos were being beseiged by a polar allasaurous. talk about mixing different periods in history. we had a long discussion about what he needed for a long seige, after which he dug a well in the middle of the sofa so they could have fresh water and got lots of tins from the cupboard so they could have food! He is such cutie sometimes.
Almost ready for tudor day at home ed group tomorrow. Just hope I have enough to occupy everyone. have more ideas for next time. there is just so much to fit in, it is hard to know where to begin. I think if sam had his way he would have everyone make executioners blocks and swords/axes to go with them. Nothing like a little blood and gore.

Snow Days

Up in Stamford this afternoon, it was lovely and sunny and we were happily feeding the ducks-we were not expecting to be snowed on!! It wasn't much grant you but it was a bit of a shock. We got a bit more snow once we got home which put paid to my plans to trim the ivy. Didn't fancy using the electric hedge trimmer in the wet. I don't look good with my hair permed....

More of the tudors today, we played a version of tic-tac-toe, worked on the pomanders and made tudor cookies. Still have lots to prepare for friday so the next few days are going to be a bit crazy. Sam is slowly warming to the tudors, mainly, I think because of the amount of beheadings. He seems to be fascinated by the fact that so many people got their heads chopped off. Lady Jane Grey is his favorite tudor for just that reason. He can't remember the names of Henry's wives but he knows what happened to them all and he thinks that 6 wives isn't very many!

He is still very into scooby doo and his fluffy dog frolic (thank you auntie lynn!!) Today at one point I think frolic was pretending to be scooby. It is nice to see him finally doing some imaginative play as it is not usually his thing.

We have someone coming to look at the house on thursday so please keep your fingers crossed. It would be nice to know that we have someone sorted out before we leave. Tomorrow night should be fun, frantically cleaning while trying to sort out the tudor stuff.

Happy Birthday DAD!! Hope you have a great day.

A week of changes

What a week it has been here-we exchanaged contracts on the house, we swapped our jeep for our mechanics (a long story but it makes sense), my car is up for sale (anyone interested in a 2.5 year old red & black smart?), Sam's chicken pox have come back and M has tonsilitis. All in all, life has changed quite a bit this week.

The most exciting news is the house, all being well we should get the keys on April 27th. Now it is a mad panic to pitch & purge (thank you MK for the great phrase), sort out this house and get everything in order for moving. Thank goodness we don't have to pack ourselves, I don't think I could face that. Clearing off the bookshelves to paint them today was stressful enough. I am sure we have enough books to start library and what did I buy when we were out today..that's right more books!! In my defense we needed them for our tudor project.

M is chuffed to pieces to be back at the wheel of the jeep again and now that it is back in action we really don't need 3 cars. It makes sense to sell mine, as sam and I will be doing more cross country driving and will need a sturdier car. Just hope we have more luck selling the car than we have had letting the house. Am going to list it in autotrader and the friday free ads tomorrow, once I have got a good pic of it.

We have made a start on our tudor project and have a list of ideas for our home ed group. We had a stab at drawing tudor roses and then designing an emblem for our family. I thought that an eagle & bulldog facing each other on a backround of red, white and blue would be good, while sam felt we were best represented by a Hot Wheels Acceleracer of his own creation. Lots of normals this week, we are almost done with Explode the Code 2 and are half way through Singapore Math 1a. We are zooming through science, at this rate we will be on Sonlight's second grade science by September. We are doing Roald Dahl for our read alouds, S really enjoyed James and the Giant Peach so we are starting Danny Champion of the World next week.

Sam has had a new outbreak of spots around his mouth. They don't bother him but they do look painful. They seem to be drying up though so hopefully this is the end.

Spent most of the day doing the bookshelves while sam went through is magazine collection and played on the computer. His fav game at the moment is definately the Scooby Doo one we picked up in the sale at tesco. Listening to him shout at the screen is so funny-he shouts at all the ghosts and monsters as well as the computer when it doesn't do what he wants.

Hopefully tomorrow will be lovely and sunny again so that we can polish up my car and tackle the backgarden. If not there is plenty inside to be getting on with.