Making it up

works

Small and I spent a good 20 minutes looking at pictures, and he tried to say “Grapes” Now, why would he say that looking at a picture and not when I’m showing him the real object, or asking him what he wants to eat, I don’t know, but if I’ve got to print out pictures to get him to try, then I’ll print out pictures.

Big didn’t do a whole lot of anything much today, and it showed behaviourally. Caught her bullying Small - yelling at him to try to get him to get off his own new birthday scooter Had serious words - he idolises her, and he really doesn’t understand when she goes at him like that, it upsets him a lot. Then a friend of hers came round for a couple of hours and I caught the pair of them tormenting Small in the garden! (When I say caught I was in and out of the kitchen, so within earshot at all times - went rattling out there when I heard Small screaming and discovered that they had been flipping a skipping rope over his head so that he couldn’t reach it until he had given up and collapsed in a heap. I was not impressed.

But it tired him out - he fell asleep on my knee before 7pm! Which doesn’t explain why I haven’t done half the things I needed to do - so I’m going to go to bed now, and get up with the kids and do them in the morning before home ed group. Hm.

No I said I wasn’t going to do this again. Gill will think I am copying her.

Blog of the Day

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail-in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Post Secret

I think this one is my favourite.

Windshield Shade Solar Funnel Cooker

Now this I *have* to try…

Her: We talked about it when they were here!
Me: Who did?
Her: we did, you and me and Alison and Chris….
Me: You mean you and Alison talked about it and Chris and I stood there nodding and trying to look like we were listening and understanding?
Her: sigh….

Now that Small is two, he’s obviously started reading my blog. How else can you explain him coming out with two or three new words yesterday during his party (and therefore in front of witnesses!) *and* deciding to cooperate with me teaching him some new signs? Tonight he even put a couple together and came up with ‘want more’ - why does this not surprise me? Sigh. I’m still going to contact the health visitor or someone tomorrow and try for an external assessment, but I think he may just be coming to this in his own good time, much as he did with walking. Still can’t wait to be able to have conversations with him though.

Lots of time in the garden today. Big came in and asked for the suntan lotion, good girl, as I was sitting inside wrapped in a jumper shivering. Yeuch. Feeling a bit better this evening, but still looking forward to bed.

We went to the local shopping centre and got some squared paper for some ideas I’ve got cooking, and Small got his own Thomas workbook as well, in the hope it will stop him scrawling on Big’s stuff. So hard when she puts so much effort in, and I know he is actually trying to help but he ruins stuff. Big spent some of her money, after much agonising.

Actually, I could break from narrative there, and put out a plea for help. Does anyone know where I can get “Lil’ Handfuls” from? Toy shops I’ve tried so far don’t have them. She saw them in a service station on the way to Hesfes and I persuaded her not to buy them on the grounds that she might want money to spend during the week and we could get them on the way back if she didn’t spend anything there. Well, she didn’t spend anything there, but then I stopped at the wrong services on the way back, and they didn’t have them. Bad mummy So I could get them online, but it will cost as much to send them as they cost themselves! So, anyone?

So anyway, back to the agonising. She is desperate for the above mentioned dolls, but settled on some odd mermaid in a shell thing, and bought it with her own money after I managed to persuade her that 1.99 is less that 2 pounds. More work on money methinks.

So we’ve got lots planned for the rest of the week, blogging may be intermittent. Honest.

I love my daughter

She woke me this morning by asking me where the first man and woman came from, which lead to a good discussion about how various ppl believe different things, skirted quickly over a variety of creation stories, and landed on a discussion of the theory of evolution. Had to call Tim in at that point - I’d woken up with a really thick head, still not feeling 100% (actually feel hungover, which is grossly unfair considering I had nothing (alcoholic) to drink yesterday!) and could see that I wasn’t making sense for her.

So Tim discussed evolution, and we went back to creation as well, discussing where god (small g, not specifying any particular god here) might have come from, as that seemed to be a sticking point. And all that before (my) breakfast.

Now I’m going to have lunch, they’ve already eaten, and then we’re going to go out to see if we can find some graph paper. And we’re going to do a project around the question where did the first man and woman come from, which should cover *lots* of different things.

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

I’ve got back into a bad habit of frittering the evening, night and into the wee small hours away, and last night didn’t get to bed much before 2. So I wasn’t particularly happy when Small started bouncing on my head trying to persuade me to get up when I’d had less than 6 hours sleep, and then Big came in and stropped at me to get up NOW to pour the milk on her breakfast. Not a good start to a celebratory day, but I was trying to keep it fairly low key anyway, honest.

Took me til after lunch to pull myself together and clear off to do the bits of shopping necessary for a party-ish get together. We spaced presents out during the day - Big gave him his scooter just before I went out which worked marvellously to distract him from my departure. I was really impressed, we took it outside, and he just got on and set off! He was very pleased with it

Got back with most of the necessary shopping (forgot milk! doh) minutes before Barbara turned up with her younger two, closely followed by Sarah with her two. Finished washing up (!) then set to inflating things for children to bounce on or play in, and children set to playing. Small *very* happy to have his own buggy for his doll now, although I think Big may covet it quietly given that it is quite pink

Lovely, lovely afternoon with friends in the garden in just about perfect weather. Not too hot, not too cold, lots of children just happy to be about. Small played with his new toys, got a tiny bit stroppy about not sharing, but most of the time was lovely, and Big pulled it together and only had the occasional low level strop, for which I was extremely grateful. Oh, and Barbara brought me flowers! How thoughtful is that!

Ppl drifted away about 6ish, and I settled two tired children down to Cbeebies and went upstairs to run them a bath. When I came down they were running around the garden again! Eventually persuaded them upstairs and into the water, and took the opportunity to go try to sort the garden out. Lots of playballs, everywhere, and *why* isn’t it mandatory to have a decent way of getting the air out of inflatable toys? The castle thing just ended up bundled back in the shed, I couldn’t get it to go down properly.

Small listened to quite a bit of Big’s bedtime story tonight, and that was after he’d listened to his off the path present before his bath. Then he came downstairs for milk (hey, if he’s two, does that make me a *really* extended breastfeeder? Or is it wimping out if it’s only the one feed and that isn’t even every day? ) and fell asleep in my arms. Aww.

So, both children in bed by eight o clock ish! I got to put on some bizarre cop drama set in Newcastle, couldn’t tell you anything about the characters or plot (although Cole seemed familiar, is this a new series of something I could have seen before?) but got to listen to the accents…and then it was Castaway at 9pm. I’ve been wanting to see that for ages, and it’s always seemed like too long a film, so tonight I indulged myself, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Excellent day. Thank you Small. And now I’m going to put an investment into tomorrow by *going to bed*! More details and photos tomorrow.

off the path

Newest addition is cute, although he didn’t seem to be in a mood for cuddles today - never mind, an excuse to go back! (Like we *need* an excuse, :grin:) And as ever, a lovely time had by adults, chatting, and children, playing. Didn’t see Big dressed up in school uniform, but I think Jonathan got piccies

And then we went on to see a favourite aunt, and that was good too. Small especially enjoyed time in the playloft, with lots and lots and lots of cars. Bit of a tantrum when I took him down for tea in fact.

Then home. And both children in instant meltdown. Tough evening, was gone 9 when Small finally passed out (and I took him upstairs at eight) while Big threw mega strop on being told it was bathtime and was asleep, coughing, seconds after story time was over. I’m hoping that she was just overtired (she was up *ludicrously* early this morning, and then seeing two of her favourite sets of ppl was exciting) and that we haven’t imported lurgy into a house with a new baby.

Tim and I have spent time discussing more topics we want to approach with Big, but I’m going to keep them under my hat a little, will blog as we go along, as it’s all going to be a bit experimental. We’ve also spent more time discussing the communication issue with Small.

It is beginning to bother me that he won’t talk to us. I’ve started trying to introduce more signs, and tonight he hit himself in the face trying to sign drink, which I didn’t think was a positive achievement I’m really not sure where I’m going with this. Standback for a braindump - comments not particularly required, and please, no cliches about different children developing differently? Humour me here, I’m just using this space to explore my own feelings, and sharing it so that you know I have them.

He has a range of sounds, he has times when it sounds like he is talking in slightly distorted sentences, and that it’s just that you aren’t listening hard enough, and then there are other times when I think, whoa, he only has three words, and even they aren’t all that clear. (”‘ello”, “mammy” ???!, and “noooooooo”) I don’t want to get stressed about this as I know that will make what is a difficult situation worse (and it *is* difficult when you have a child in the kitchen who really wants something but is just pointing and grunting rather than offering any kind of specific indication. That happens several times a day here, and it’s beginning to wear me down.) but I also don’t want to miss something that I should be helping him with more. But I don’t know *how* to help him more. I talk to him. I read to him. I sing and sign to him (having typed those interchangeably!) We have music on, tv on, times with neither (probably not enough time with neither actually, but the screaming makes it difficult to do anything else ). I’ve asked Big not to talk for him and I’m running out of ideas on what to do next. And I *know* children develop at different stages, and I *know* that I do a good neurotic, but trust me here, this is a very coordinated and capable child with a good level of comprehension who just doesn’t seem to *get* talking or signing, so I’m beginning to think I’d be justified in getting an outside opinion. They don’t do standard developmental checks here - I think you just get a letter every once in a blue moon saying you should see them if you have a concern, and I didn’t have the last time I had a letter. But I think I do now.

Brain dumped, off to excavate the kitchen in the hope that Big isn’t ill and we can still have a Small celebration tomorrow.

And more fictional curse words

A Dilbert

In honour of our youngest child’s birthday on Sunday, we have decided to declared monday a public holiday.

Just sent off an email to Chesterfield Royal Infirmary complaining at being kept waiting for an hour and a quarter for an appointment to see a neurosurgeon. I told the receptionist I wasn’t prepared to wait any more and that I wanted her to arrange me an appointment with someone else - I have no confidence in letting someone who can’t even cope with managing their own time poke around in my back with sharp things - and walked out in disgust.

I see this as just plain, outright rudeness and incompetence. How would these people react if patients turned up for their appointments whenever they felt like it?

(Oh yes - add to that - the complaints form on their web site returns a 404 when you submit it)

for no apparent reason.

I have just screamed at Small for pulling down yet another item that I had just picked up. He is at that can it be picked up and thrown stage, and so far today, has destroyed a board game (just a freebie, but still unnecessary destruction), broken a china napkin ring (I have no napkins, *why* have I got napkin rings? Oh well, one less thing to put away) and pulled everything down off the table (which annoyed me greatly as I spent about 20 minutes yesterday tidying and sorting all the stuff that had accumulated on the floor under the table.

Right, I’m going to make them lunch, and while they are lunching go and grab a quick shower and hope I can recover the day. Wish me luck - they are fighting in the kitchen as I type this

Oh, and on another note, I got a newsletter from Schnews this morning, all about how we are rapidly running out of oil, and when we do we are all going to die horribly. Well, I think that was what it said. Am I alone in thinking that this way of spreading the news doesn’t work terribly well? All it has done is depress me, probably leading in part to my foul mood, as I feel guilty for switching the washing machine on and running hot water to wash up. I’m still going to go and have a power shower though. Back to the newsletter, it doesn’t offer any way forward, and that’s what makes me think it isn’t terribly successful, you can’t just tell ppl they are getting it all wrong without offering any alternatives, it’s just too depressing to think about, so ppl won’t. There’s my point of view anyway, and I’m unsubscribing from that newsletter now.

There, if that is not educational, I don’t know what is

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

And can’t help wondering if it’s because I encouraged a workbook session or two

We’re back to the Exeter maths. There’s been reading as well, sitting gazing blankly at class tv (she watched two episodes, back to back, of a spelling show!) A little more string art, this is obviously going to take a while. Which I don’t mind actually - I like that she keeps coming back to it. This afternoon we went to the library and to ballet - bought a book in the library sale on reproduction and the human body, which she is thrilled with. (Keep wondering if she wants all these books so she can work out how to do it and get on with it!)

Oh, odd happening on the way to the library, I popped into the post office to get some customs labels for these crochet squares (sigh, they are really getting on my nerves now….) and Small legged it out of the door with me in hot pursuit. When I dragged him back in I refused to put him down (there is a main road out there, although he’d have to climb up a ledge to get onto it) and he screamed and writhed. Woman in front of me in the queue, when she’d finished, turned around and gave him a pound coin and said “that’s for some sweets for you and your sister so that you stop crying.”

He stopped crying instantly, and I was there, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do? I mean, accepting money from strangers for sweets (we don’t really do sweets, horrid mummy that I am). But at the same time, turn down free money? Hey, I picked up £1.55 from the mud at Hesfes and was grateful for it! And she was still in the shop when we were done, so I took them to the sweets counter and they bought Milky way stars, and then I offered her the change….well, it seemed right….

sigh. Utterly bizarre. Big was very happy, and so was Small once he got into the sweets. Didn’t stop him making a break for it from the library - bet it isn’t so often they get ppl accelerating to a full out spring from one end to the other. This is going to get annoying if he keeps doing it.

Back from ballet and they made presents for Tim (shush, don’t tell him!) while tea was cooking. Was going to skip the bath, but Small got paint in his hair, and was incredibly grubby, so I sort of had to clean him. And then the evening evaporated trying to get him to go to sleep. And I’m knackered again. Night all.

ps nearly forgot. Got another call back from another agency, which means I’m definitely getting interest in my cv this time round. And this time she didn’t blink at my salary expectation, in fact, I’d say she thought it was a bit low, so that sounds quite positive, as I’d be well chuffed to get what I mentioned.

well, not quite actually.

The tent is clean, dry and put away. The groundsheet is clean, dry and put away. The most recent washing is wet, in the basket and waiting to go out on the line - would it be weird to hang it out in the evening? Not sure I care actually Good tip from someone somewhere - stop thinking of the washing as a job you can finish, it’s just something you have to keep ticking along. So you can’t get behind with it, it’s just always in process. Explained that incredibly badly, but it helped me.

Big has done more string art - I introduced the concept of tallying and she’s been keeping track of how many times she has done the pattern to complete the whatever-it-is we’re making. Just as well I don’t have educational categories any more, haven’t a clue where this would fit! She also read to her daddy this morning, and has watched Child of Our Time this afternoon, as well as copious amounts of running round the garden like a loon, and the occasional whinge and strop. That has been better today, vindicating my decision to stay home rather than going to Chesterfield group (which was a little disappointing as they were doing spinning, drop spindles and weaving, and *I* really wanted to do it! Ever noticed that that’s one of the good things about home ed? getting to try out things that you missed out on first time around? )

Small has been Small. He relocated apples to the sofa, wrecked the box for a set of animal snap cards, and thoroughly enjoyed running up and down the garden with Big’s doll pushchair. Wish I’d been organised enough to suggest to someone (anyone!) that they got one for him for his birthday. As it is we’re probably going to get the regulation pile of tat I’d imagine. Oh well. Tim is currently trying to persuade him that sleep is a good idea when you are tired - I took him up about 40 minutes ago, but got tired of being headbutted. Big isn’t the only one with a short straw atm.

Right, I’ve spent the day gathering bits of stuff I need to do paperwork, and I said somewhere else that I wouldn’t be back til I’d done it. I’d like to go back, so I’d better get on. I *hate* paperwork, did I already mention that?

Just this once The Daily Oliver

It rained again. The tent is *still* up in the garden, and after a horrendous night with Small (and also Big in bed with us briefly, or so I’m told) I really wasn’t chuffed to have an agency ring at 8.30 this morning. Still, a contract is a contract, and it’s good to get some followup, as it’s incredibly demoralising to send in application after application and get nothing. I’ve contacted one of the agencies that got me an interview in February, and they were happy to have an updated cv, so here’s hoping.

Children have been horrid and lovely in turns today. Small is beginning to get quite physical - he has this game where he drops himself on you, which is funny when you are playing too, and incredibly unfunny if you aren’t expecting 2 stone of child to suddenly land on you. Suspecting it wasn’t a very clever game to play in the first place, but (spot the anxious mum) I do worry that he doesn’t get enough physical rough and tumble. I’m sure I’ve read that it’s important for small children…

Big got her Jolly Phonics workbook out and did some more joined up writing, not quite sure where the motivation for that has come from, but I’m not going to argue. And they both spent quite a bit of time colouring in Thomas piccies for a competition. This afternoon Big spent ages on starting her string art - I’m taking piccies as we go, so I’ll be able to share. And I got really frustrated at how long it took me to find anything to be able to do the art in the first place.

I don’t know why it is, I barely seem to get anything done when I’ve got the kids around in the day time, and in the evening I don’t have the motivation to do anything. The house subsides slowly into a complete pit, and it gets more and more difficult to do the day to day jobs.

I came back from Hesfes feeling all recharged and ready to go - had a couple of great days, but now, with the behaviour rearing its incredibly ugly head, and the rain meaning I can’t get the tent down and I’m drying laundry in the bathroom *again* I’m feeling a bit flat. When’s the next camp anyone?

ps I missed my blogday! Blog was two years old two days ago. Why did I start a blog a week before a baby was due???

So far tonight I have ranted on feminist parents and ukparents, written to Vango complaining about my tent leaking, and informed Get Training (suppliers of my online training course for java) that I want my money back.

I enjoyed that. Oh, and I applied for some jobs. That’s not nearly so satisfying somehow.

Pleasant end to a difficult day - not quite sure what is going on with Big but her behaviour has been a touch variable today. She started off by being horrid and then redeemed herself this afternoon at home ed group (which went really well - nice to finally meet Rach and for a theme thrown together at 11 pm yesterday, I thought colours went really well! Jayne brought a book (what was that Jayne?) and some lovely fruit, and I’ve got a picture of a table full of children just doing stuff without an adult in sight. Result!

Then we got home and the behaviour went to pot again. Basically I ask her to do something (can’t think what the request was this evening, think it was something like “could you grab such and such for me” and the response was “if you ask me to do that, I’ll throw my shoes.” And then she did. ) So Big spent a lot of her evening in her room - I really don’t see why I should put up with being spoken to in that manner.

And then I’ve spent the evening complaining, and now I’m looking for crochet hat patterns, rather than doing any of the multitude of things I *should* be doing.

Tomorrow is another day. If it doesn’t rain I might be able to get the tent down!

-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6!

Guess that Exeter lesson stuck then

Reading is coming along - she read words not in a book (on the side of a baby monitor to be precise ) the other day. Music appreciation has had some serious work recently - two long car journeys with a little voice behind me joining in (”This is the chorus, isn’t it?”)

Actually, I should have blogged the journey back in its own right. They had the bag of toys between them on the back seat, and every time I looked to check, Small had another different item. I love the way he looks at books, ever so carefully. And he played with his cars, the little bead frame, cuddled a doll - he was cute. He does a good cute. Couldn’t really see what Big was doing, but just the fact that she didn’t ask every 5 miles when we were going to be there is blogworthy (she drove me up the wall on the way there, especially as we got stuck in traffic and made what should be a four hour journey into very nearly a six hour one. Still from other blogs sounds like it wasn’t such a bad idea, wasn’t very windy when I was putting my tent up )

The bit that made me giggle the most in the car though was the announcement that “2 + 3 + 1 is 6″. I have no idea where that came from!

Right, back into the swing of things today - meeting with feminist friends at M’hell this morning, then off to our puddlers group this aft. We’ve nicked the colour theme from Merry, although we aren’t nearly as organised as she was! It’ll be hama, colouring, maybe some spinners, and that should keep everyone out of mischief.