Happy Birthday Fran
She’s 6! Gulp!
Had a lovely day, early pressies and then a day at the beach and tea at Auntie Sue’s. Too sleepy to write more!
Archive for May, 2004
Mottos
I’ve decided that Fran’s motto for life might well be “why have a dog and then bark yourself….” and that Moo might on the other hand have one along the lines of “I’m sure i can work out how to BE a dog…” I’m going to try not to think about the fact that that probably means Ammi’s would be “I’m gonna make you my BITCH!!!!”
However.
Moo has amused me enormously today by wearing an orange dress, putting her front hair up in a topnot and pretending to be Abbie :~)) ALL day…..
I’ve been out buying Fran’s pressies for tomorrow which mainly consist of Sylvanian Family stuff, Brother Bear and some Harry Potter lego. I’ve pre-empted the birthday money which is undoubtedly in her cards and bought her a Sylvannian house… lol… to be populated by a family of dalmations. I kid you not. I can’t believe she’s 6.
I’ve also been asleep most of the day due to staying up late to watch Pirates of the Caribbean last night - what a GREAT film - i loved it!
Ammi has been dancing - Fran has made it through the Year One reader rabbit twice (i think maybe its time for a new one! lol!) and Moo has been reading lots and generally recovering - she slept and cuddled a lot today.
I noticed new leap pad books in town today - cat in the hat, toy story 2 and a double pack with a cartridge with a mic attached.
Back to reality
Nice long sleep last night and feel a lot better - less said about the colour of the girls bathwater the better!
Had a slightly odd start to the day by suddenly getting really spooked by how quiet the baby was and called my midwife out for a listen, but all is fine. My sister has been bleeding which is not so good, but they reckon its her cervix - that still doesn’t sound ideal somehow though :~(
Girls seem loads better for a good break. Today they made a playdough cake shop and bought and sold with real money, including doing change, they did pictures with stick on stuff and Frans was “autumn” and then they also played on Reader Rabbit for a good while. They were all very tired but generally had a nice time.
Ammi has new words “cuddle” “that’s mine” and “my chair” - the last two seem to be directly related to her HESFES experiences!!!! She also now says “Dora” as “Dorwah” which is very cute.
I’ve spent the day snoozing and reading a Charlotte Mason how to manual that came while i was away. In one way its great because its how i was school and is giving me lots of reminders of things i would like to do and on the other its extremely odd. The writer seems remarkably prusdish and puts post-it note over “objectionable body parts” in art masterpieces and censors books with ghosts or halloween in them (she is very christian). Now personally the very first thing that a post-it note over a willy would have done was make me desperate to look!!!!! I really can’t see the point of that at all. I can understand (’maybe’ i can, if i am honest) why a Christian might avoid evolution (cue old kitchen conversations!) but body parts???? Surely God made them?
Anyway. Its food for thought. Once i have finished it you can borrow it Kirsty if you want!
Moo did a good thing today - she was following a numberline on a game board and couting up - she got to 13 which she ALWAYS misses when counting (hence nursery wil only put she can count to 12) and pointing at 13 she said “14″ - then she stopped, looked some more and eventually said “mummy - whats this number? Its NOT 14″
I was proud anyway.
HESFES
What a great week - even if we are home early! Where to start?
Well - the weather was great all week so i am glad i didn’t get the waterproof trousers but the girls seemed to survive without sunsuits even so. My “Portico clothes policy” of pack then remove half seemed to work very well, i even came home with a crate of unused clothes mainly due to Moo wearing a pink velvety sparkly dress ALL week with only 2 brief exceptions! I had “nearly” enough bedding although Ammi refused to go in the travel cot so a bit of rearranging was called for. This year we did discover the chip shop which took the heat out of cooking, if you pardon the pun, but still managed to do various combos of beans, pasta and rice most nights. No one got sun burnt, scalded, abducted or any of my other paranoias and Moo only got properly lost once. Slightly bizarrely the person returning her had apparently said “she was heading for the top field but i figured she was too clean to belong there” And this was before i succumbed to peer pressure and washed them!!! Camping in a puddlers group seemed to work very very well - it was great to have people about to share the effort with and i really appreciated the watching eyes for washing up/loo breaks and the fateful afternoon where lack of sleep caught up with me and Joyce adopted Ammi!
So what was good. Well both Fran and Moo got a bit more freedom than last year and managed going to and from the playground and main marquee area very well. Fran also changed hugely in terms of what she would do; went shopping in the little shop, attended a yoga workshop on her own, managed money and so on, so i was really pleased with her. I don’t find having them out of my sight in that environment very easy but i coped and after all its not lie i have teenagers attached to my apron strings, they are only 4 and 6!
I got to attend a few more talks, particularly the Murphys Breakfasts which i really enjoyed and a couple of conference items on legalities, home educated adults and “personalised education”. The HE’d adults were fab - a really positive listen and i particularly liked the girl who when asked what parents worrying about “what was being done” should do, replied “oh go get yourself a hobby!!!!!”
The muddlepuddle friendships of both adults and children really grew too i think and all in all the week was a pleasure. It was still right to leave late last night as all the girls were wacked and tearful by thursday and i was glad to be home at midnight last night to a comfy warm bed. Still, i think i count as a HEFES veteran now :~)
Unfortunately i forgot to do any pics at all so you’ll have to see what everyone else produces - i will try to do one of the girls in the (highly successful) jamas though!
I’m done
All packed, the car still has spaces, i’m feeling good.
Ammi has been a complete star today and taken her inhaler twice while awake - boy am i proud.
See you in a week.
Right
“Mummy……”
“Mmmmmmm….”
“Did the world make us or did someone else make us?”
“Er… um….. i made you”
“No - thats not what i mean - i mean did someone make all of us specially or did the world do it?”
ARGH!
I was also amused recently by Fran suddenly recalling seeing a funeral outside the church we pass every day.
“Mummy - do you remember when we saw a dead man in a box going to church in a taxi?”
Chuckled at her linking taxis and hearses… not entirely unreasonable given the way our taxi’s drive - although they are more likely to be responsible for putting you in a hearse than anything else!
Anyway - finished the jamas - i’m quite proud of them. Now - where’s the camping stuff? Has anyone made a list yet?
Slightly irate with the Speech therapist today i think who seemed oh.. i dunno…. argh… a bit funny with me. I just don’t think ST would be very helpful right now.
Mildly amused by nursery who have scheduled a “special day” for each child and sent home a note asking for us to all make sure we make our child feel special on that day too. WTF?
Ammi is loads better - managed to project antibiotics back into my face last night though. Please no one hate me at HESFES when you see me doing this - i’ve had to resort to the James Herriot approach now and its not pretty.On reflection this sounds like i am shoving them up her bum - i do actually mean the hold her mouth open and tap her sharply under the chin… actually that sounds worse :~(
Everyone else has a cough. Gggrrrrrrrr…..
Probably ought to start packing. Someone bring me a tin opener. Matches.. i need matches!
Chuckle
Facts About Dihydrogen Monoxide
I saw this in text form on a list the other day… but i did like this!
Being calm about fallow periods…
…is not particularly easy so i am ignoring it. I KNOW lots is going on but its not terribly measurable really. I’m not bothered, i know we do this and i know we have lots else on but hmmm… you know.
Ammi had a good night with no coughing. That was great. Did i already say that?
I’ve finished the 6 pairs of jamas bar the waits, collars and cuffs and i need to trim the seams but the look okay i think considering the speed. My guessimate of fabric was right to the inch! lol!
All the girls skated today - Fran was great and really worked, although she did throw a “my body won’t do it right” artistic tantrum of a proportion i have only seen in one other girl i know and love! lol!
Ammi “snowbabied” and loved it and Moo is really coming on too.
Fran had a massive role play period with the dolls house today - i was half snoozy and listening in, it sounded such fun.
Moo coped really well with a shoe swap crisis at nursery so i am proud of her for that.
Right… HESFES.. whens that start then?
Planning for HESFES is educational…
Ahem!
Yesterday mainly revolved around buying 10 pairs of shoes for the girls - both Fran and Ammi had grown a size and a half - to a 12 and a 6, which probably explains why they have been moaning about their shoes! and both had to have new trainers, wellies, sandals and doodles while Moo stayed the same at a 9 (how beautiful spaced they are - justl ike their ages!) so she just got new trainers (identical to the old ones please!) and sandals plus a load of old hand-me-downs. Middle child syndrome is a terrible thing! Ammi charmingly has the narrowest width foot while the other two have wide feet, so none of the stored up doodles actually fit her. Grrrrr….
Have responded to peer pressure and started getting ready for HESFES - yesterday bought a couple of mugs, new tentpegs and the afore mentioned wellies - might go for waterproof troos today although the forecast is pretty good really. Sneaked in some suncream while the gods weren’t looking but i’m not sure i have done enough to counteract all those hopefully purchased sunsuits!
Started making jamas last night - want 6 pairs to avoid vomit or weeing incidents - if i only have one pair each there is sure to be disasters (hmmm… i see a pattern developing here!) - shall go get some storage today. Max bought a few pasta ‘n sauces for us last night! I know i had a car full of stuff last year but i can’t quite remember what - i daresay i will find a list somewhere between now and saturday. I could plan from here on in 48 hours a day, and i’ll still forget a tin opener, so i think i shall take the relaxed approach!
Did manage to have several thoroughly interesting conversations with Fran - one over the definition of liquids which was good and included honey, glass, pebbles in an avalanche, moved on to changing the state of water to a gas or solid and then went on to density of different liquids, finishing up with a long conversation on oil spillage disaster, environmental effects and the uses of oil in our world. So i think that makes it okay :~)
Girls getting excited now. I could use more sleep but seem to have hit the insomnia part of pregnancy.
Oh yes - the other event of the day was Ammi getting diagnosed with Asthma (honestly just ONE child without issues would be good!) Its not severe but she did have a rotten night while we were away and i knew our time was up really. Its been obviously an issue for a while and with the eczema it was hardly surprising. She now has a puffer which she is not prepared to “take” so 3 times a day could be tough but last night she was coughing in her sleep and i used it a bit like an oxygen mask just held near her face - the effect was instant and she then got a peaceful nights sleep with no coughing. She has taken violently against her antibiotics though and i have actually had to sit on her and wait till she screams to squirt it in on an in-breath, which is hardly ideal. Little monkey will take calpol, but the minute she saw something orange she went mad, before she had even tasted it! *rolls eyes*
This morning has started fairly interestingly with the baliffs turning up to steal my chattels but fortunately they believed that i was not the previous tenants and went away!
Is that good?
Will Turner
Pirates of the Caribbean - Which character are you?
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