At the wet n windy part #2 (take2)

Land Ahoy Me Hearties!

I'm Jonah, here's the whale

Aye, Aye Cap'n

So, we can't swing, we'll do the next best thing!

Wheeee!

argh.

i still can't upload my pics. i'm annoyed. they're cute (in my not so humble opinion!) oh, i have Flickr... i think. maybe i'll try from there.

Sainsburys quality of food is naff. i bought kids pita from there weds. it's sunday. use by Feb 20. today (jan 27) it's moldy- in an UNOPENED packet. and i have to throw fruit/veg away like 2 days after i've bought it. I'm not getting fresh produce from there any more. they never seem to have our goats milk anyway!

The kids carry ons are short a couple bits (think cuddly toy and couple nappies) and their suitcases need undies and towels and toothbrushes. mostly last minute bits. I'll get onto DH and mine soon. mind you, i need what clothes i have for the week!

I'm giving up on my weightloss efforts for now. I can't find the motivation to keep it up. I think I'm too excited about Disney! Mind you, I plan on trying to swim at least every other day for 10 lengths! And I will continue my crunches streak I started (i'm on day 16 so far!) 2 things I WILL continue however are to drink my water and make sure I get my 5 a day. I'll also try to keep my calorie intake down to 1500 but not going to be too fussed if it goes to 2000.

At The Wet N Windy Park (2)

or at least. that's waht it was *meant to be.

blogger and ie don't want to let me upload any more pics. and i'm nowhere near my space limits. off to mail and see what's wrong. and maybe try again later (3hrs last night resulted in nothing)

At The Wet N Windy Park (1)

On the See Saw (the dryer end!)


And more See-Saw-ing. With added wind chill!


Beth going for a run


Sian wanting to disobey.


Well, if *WE* can't go on the swings....

cycling and scootering

Sian ready for the off. The pedals are a little stiff for her.

Both girls ready and waiting, why must they always shut their eyes when i snap?!

Just a gorgeous pic of Baby Beth

Cheeky Monkeys Peeking out the Door- Not quite what I wanted, but still cute!

Sian can finally reach the pedals AND pedal on her bike (remember our Ebay bargain from the Summer before last?) Daddy tightened up the seat and adjusted it to fit properly a while back. Then Sian didn't want to ride *right at that minute* so he got grumpy. Well, she's taken to asking to go on her bike in the least suitable weather lately (think strong wind/howling rain). So we took advantage of this chilly but still day to go in the garden and play.

Terminal 5 is

MASSIVE!!!

I'm so not joking when I say we walked round it for over 3hrs on Saturday. Clive and Sian went one way and Beth and I the other.

G/B: LHR-Moscow; Inverness-LHR; LHR-Miami; NY-LHR
C/S: LHR- Moscow; (don't know!); LHR-NY; (don't know)

they got back before us though and met us at arrivals. we had so much fun (and travelled so far in 4hrs LOL) The girls Terrence and Trixi Trunki's got a good run for their money! Although the "horns" on Sian's Terrence seem to be a bit loose, and Trixi, well she doesn't like to be opened! THe signage still needs a little work on it (some is lacking!) and they ran out of "luggage" Goodness knows where they'd got all their suitcases from, but there was loads!
Clive and Sian got to ride the transit, and all four of us went on the Shuttle bus.

We weren't allowed to take pics though (pity, cause I'd have LOVED to get one of the girls riding their trunkis) and the lifts aren't operational yet- like shafts with no lifts in! But they ahve the escalators going and a section of the transit working.

What Kind of Mother Hen are You?

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

So, we very excitedly went off to the "Kidzone" Sound and Light Exhibition. It was advertised as an installation that worked on movement and sound (so, if the kids moved, the picture changed, same if they talked/shouted) Let's jsut say I'm glad we didn't have to pay for it. The whole thing appeared to be on a continouus loop- we could see it changing from where we were standing waiting for GrannyJan and Grandad. So much for that experiemnt then. But I did get some pictures and the girls enjoyed jumping around on the light pattern on the floor and shouting trying to get it to work!

(the pics should be here, but i can't edit them without the PC crashing)

Cheese Graters are EVIL

I seem to have grated teh top 5 layers of skin off the knuckle of my thumb. Can I say OOOWWWWWEEEEEE!!! It, of course, bled profusely for a while there. Why do the small cuts n grazes DO that?! I did however get the macaroni cheese done. If there's one meal i can guarentee the whole family will eat it's macaroni cheese. wait, pretty much any pasta, but the macaroni is a favourite in this house.

Domitoes.

That's what they are according to Sian. Who's not bad at the game (well, with a little prompting!) Mind you, I call them Donimoes and always have done! We picked up a Dora the Explorer set for 50p missing ONE peice. Of course, now it's missing two. I wonder if we can get some spares...... guess I'll have to go through the tin and find an address. That reminds me. We need more pens for Doodle Daisy.

Brownie Uniforms.

My sister is starting a Brownie Pack near where she lives (the nearest one previously was a good 30mins walk) and if you know anyone who can donate some second hand uniform, they'd be most greatful.

And the heating/hot water saga continues...

So, a very nice man from teh gas repair company came to fix it. He ahd teh part orderd with teh number and reference from the boiler...

IT DIDN'T FIT!!

Apparently the style of boiler we have is notorious for breaking dwon. Great. Oh and without this part being fixed? We're stuck with water hot enough to scald in literally seconds. Guess I'm still bathing the girls in the baby bath then.

I did ask how much it'd be to get teh oven sorted out (remember the 3hr chicken that was still raw?) Got told it'd be safer and cheaper to replace it. Defintley DON'T try to adjust the thermostat myself (like the landlord said when we told him)

MMM HEEEEAT!

They managed to patch up the boiler. They were *this* close to condemming it though. We need a new memory circuit (Monday, earliest) at best but this is the expensive option. Really, the whole system needs replacing, but it's time consuming.

The poor apprentice that came with the plumber scalded his hand on the hot water... that there's nothing wrong with (temp is set right down cause of kids) so, imagine a grown mans hand lobster red- transfer that onto the delicate skin of a 2yo &4yo, and clive wonders why they yell and cry when the shower does it's "I'm going to heat up now" trick

Must go and freecycle my two unused but pretty sure they still work printers (teh last pc was literally chugging along!) and set up the current one. the details to fix teh jam are in my email, just not got round to it yet. i may end up freecycling the baby stuff, but not too sure as yet, i'd like to get something for it really. i do have a pile of cloth nappies taht i can't ebay though.............

I managed to get an appointement with Val on Tuesday mornign (10.50) so, will my PF go up, down, stick around? I've done the last 2 days of pred and still taking the increased symbicort. not sure wehter to carry on the pred or not. proably will keep teh symbicort increased though.

Tomorrow.

With any luck we'll have heat and hot water again. I counted it up. 5 heatin malfunctions since we moved in .. that's in less than 3yrs. so we need one more by Aug 8th and we'll average 2/yr.

Did a bit more bargain shoppng today. Only trouble being the shorts are too small and teh trousers too big! ah well. the jeans were only £5 and teh shorts £3 each. i WILL fit those shorts btw so I'm not returning them! the bottoms, i'm goig to try and find a smaller pair they're so comfy and a belt won't cut it!

2nd day of a new year and

our heating and hot water has broken AGAIN. The girls have gone to bed in PJs and Jumpers and Socks. I'm seriously considering socks (i don't wear them much as I wear crocs 99.9% of the time) and i have a jumper on.

It could have been fixed TODAY. If the landlord had got back to us with an authorisation code. Instaed, we have to call housing first thimg tomrow and hope to goodness taht someone answers and does something about it before we all freeze.

Happy New Year!

So, 2008 Begins.

This is my year to be a loser, in the best sense of course! My year to meet Mickey Mouse! My year to focus on ME!

The TV stays OFF for a large portion of when teh girls are up (they may watch till 8.45am when we leave the house and then 2hrs later on) If they want to play Wii Games, that comes out of their TV allowance.

Screaming, Hitting, Biting and Pinching are NOT being tolerated by me (now to get DH on board as he shouts just as quickly) Trouble is, the girls are VERY like their father who has a volatile temper and is quick to fisticuffs... he's one of 4 boys.

Fruit, Veg, Water and Excersize are going to become a priority here. Even if the excersize is just walking the 0.7mile to Stay & Play (and the same back, turns into over a mile/day) I'm going to make the effort to stick the sling in a bag and leave the stroller indoors... unless it is absolutley freeeezing! Sian would rather ride if the stroller is there, then it ends up with a big arguement.

We bought new suit cases yesterday. Now we need the room for them! Ebay currently has a whole bunch of trousers that are too big for me (ID: wheezeybouncer) but soon there'll be a moses basket, stand, high chair, bed rails (2), booster chairs (2) and a giant toy on there.

Good Bye 2007....

THis will be my last blog entry for this year (funny that!) Next year, I'm going to try even harder to keep it up. The new camera will help, I'll jsut want to share pics of the kids and the new slimline me!

New Years GOALS (not resolutions, you notice!)

with the help of Spark People (my user name is wheezeybouncer there too), drop to a size 14/16

learn to drive

I AM A SIZE TWENTY!!!

OK so it's not something most people would be shouting about, but for me it marks the start of being able to shop in high street stores. Back in August I was a size 24 all over. Now, I am a 20 on the bottom (the boobage I have no hope with till I'm done nursing)

Over the past couple of days I have bought...

White (brave!) Shorts, Red 3/4 length trousers, Black trousers all size 20 from NEXT! Never thought I'd fit there 3mos after starting to change my lifestyle for the better.

Black 3/4 length trousers, grey sparkly trousers and grey with a pink pinstripe (realy nice!) trousers all a 20 and a nice top in a 24 (it's those boobs again) from MK1.

Sooo, I'm mid Ebay listing to find some room for them. I have some maternity bits n bobs to put on there as well. Photos I'm going to add in the morning though!

Home School

Education happens all round us. NOT JUST IN SCHOOLS!!! And if one more person asks me "When are you going to start Sian's education?" I may just have to SCREEEEEAAAAAAM!

Sian and Beth have been learning since they were born... all babies do. In their case though, I started to teach them "Baby Sign Language" and even now they do it. It's just one of the reasons they're staying home to learn though (none of the schools teach BSL to mainstream kids - only one primary and one secondary school have "Hearing Impaired Units")

Take the kids to parent & baby groups, swimming lessons (v important), toddler group? they're learning. Do you go to the library, let them play on the computer (CBeebies is fab according to my two), Go to teh park? They're learning. Even watching TV and DVDs can help in the learning process.

Bake Cakes, Look for numbers and letters on road signs and doors. Count steps, count cars. find colors. It's all about LEARNING!

As they get older, they'll need other outlets for meeting up with kids and adults alike (after all you don't see people born the same school year as you for 5-6hrs/day 5days/wk when you leave school do you? So, with the new year approaching. We're going to be aiming to make the nearest Home School group every otehr Thursday... Let's see if I can manage it this time! Shouldn't be too hard as my courses are both on a Friday and I can arrange driving lessons after the kids are in bed! Just need to find out when the group starts back up again now! Last time I went both girls were still in nappies and Beth was just about crawling!

Sian on the subject of parents

C: We're going to see Grandma and Richard now (R is C's step father)
S: Is Richard your Daddy?
C: No, but he's a bit like a dad to me
S: Oh, is he your father then?

Christmas Day Pics...

Bethy opening her stocking with a *just* awake Daddy.

Sian playing with her playsilk.. they got them in place of cuddly toys this year. HIT!

The girls all nice and clean(ish) in their Christmas outfits. Santa always brings new clothes.

My little Angels... I know the truth! Under there they have Disney Princess Slippers!

Me n my girlies. They're HEAVY when you try and lift them both simultaenously now. Yup, I'm grimacing!

Beth got a LOT of "In the Night Garden" related things... well, a CD, DVD, 2 books and the Ninky Nonk! Every time she unwrapped on of them she'd scream "My Night Garden!" Not saying she's a fan or anything but......

Sian got the Doodle Daisy (BIG hit) and Doodle Bear she asked for (we got them both a doodle bear) but when asked today what her favourite gift was? "My new socks Mama"

Clive got a new Wii game that he ended up playing for over 3hrs last night (ok, i played some with him, but he was coming to bed at MIDNIGHT!!!) and 2 jumpers he chose.

I got my "Strictly Come Dancersize" DVD just need room and time to do it now. I can't wait.

Decorating the tree.

So, there's no room for a tree at our house (it resides on top of the TV) BUT GrannyJan asked if Sian and Beth would like to help with her tree this year. As you can see, they did. It did need a little tweaking at the end... all the decorations seemed to end up at the front on one side.. but i think it looks good for a 2yo & 4yo.

http://www.noradsanta.org go here and watch santa's progress around the world tomorrow night. have you been naughty or nice? he's made his list, and checking it twice.

you're gonna get sick of 'em!

me n my girls... testing the timer, not a great pic!





a rare treat, mama TOLD us we could sit here!



does she HAVE to keep taking photos?



i'm doing my cat impression!

On Your Marks.....

Get set, GO!

I'm just a cutie pie!

Well, If you can't tell, I LOVE the new camera. The zoom is awesome (I used it on these two pics and one standing by the house I have the clearest pic of the street sign at the end of the road)

Test Run Pics... I LIIIIKE!

jsut for once she WASN'T gurning for the camera!

Oops, sorry you'll have to stand or lie on your side for this, i forgot to rotate it!

I love this one. She looks so high... 2" off the ground!

Super jumper... nope. She wasn't jumpin' at all!

I'm putting myself up for adoption!

It's been a few of those days in a row. The girls have been constantly sniping, whinging and scrapping with each other. Clive is putting all the blame on me, and then leaving me to deal with whatever is going on. And the kids cap it by TELLING him to go away (so the asshole does). Add to that S having a few "terrible two's" days and B getting incredibly physical with other children (she bit one Friday, Mama was NOT impressed) I just want to leave them all to it... would i come back to a whole house?! The calmest time today was (beleive it or not!) at the SUPERMARKET of all places. Daddy and Sian took their shoping list and Mama and Beth did their shopping... and the highlight of Boo's day... she got a talking MakkaPakka!

All Wrapped Up

The christmas presents that is. I wonder if DH will wrap my stocking or I'll have to do it myself... lets see if I even HAVE a stocking come christmas eve. His is done (with the exception of a drink and peice of fruit) Still waiting for Beth's last gift... but she's got plenty even if it doesn't come. Dozy Dora here decided to take the WOOL jumper DH chose for himself out the bag to wrap. It soon went back int! My hand and arm still itch :o/

Labrynthitis

That's what the dizziness was. Most people get one attack... i got 2 in 2 weeks. And the all too familiar dizzy sensation is back again. At least I know waht it is now *and* i have meds for it! Speaking of, somewhere I have some symbicort..... but where (50 million question!)

Sleep

Thats where i'm headed now. just post this, finish chatting, empty the bed (remember the christmas presents!) and hit the sack. my matchsticks are broken and i'm cold. I'll tyr and get pics off th ecamera tomrow.

Randomness from the week.

We bought a new digicam. A joint present to us, mainly cause we wanted a DECENT one to take to Florida. Should I tell DH I just saw the same one for £20 less online? It's a snazzy Fujifilm Finepix S5700. (I told him, half asleep, his reaction? "oh well") Can't wait to actually USE the thing. I'm thinking the Sure Start Christmas Party Next week! Maybe I'll offer my services as Photographer! After all, they can only say "No!" I might persuade them to get the memory card if they do want me to though

For the girls to take to FL we found for Beth an "In the Night Garden" Rucksack, and for Sian a "Peppa Pig" one. They have a new outfit each (have to choose, ones a fairy princess and ones a pirate) and some stickers to start on their activities for the plane. Sian will be taking Terence Trunki (http://www.trunki.co.uk) and in the new year we'll get Beth a Trixi Trunki (I'm not paying the £5 extra for the few extras) What I want to do now is find a bricks & mortar shop to buy one in and save shipping charges!

FINALLY! I got my mammoth crocs (http://www.lookatmycrazyshoes.com/mammoth-crocs-p-1780.html) After teh first 30mins or so when I thought they were too small.... I didn't want to take them off. You really could wear them as slippers. So warm and cozy. My feet love me again (they do NOT love trainers any more, not even Reeboks!)

Today we went to Hammersmith to go to the Disney Store... DH wanted a new mug. The girls got new PJs ... must go through theirs, I'm sure Sian only has about 3 pairs now that fit. Sian and Beth picked up a Little Einsteins Puzzle... then saw a Minnie Mouse Ears and Dress. I managed a minor miracle. SHE PUT THE PUZZLE BACK! Mind you, the ears & dress cost about £20 more! Luckily (I think!) the dress is a 7-8 so should fit for some time. Both kids looked gorgeous in it. It's defintely NOT an outfit I jsut want to chuck in their toy basket though.

Beth saw "kimmas" and had THE biggest grin when he said hello, then went all shy when he actually got down to the nitty gritty LOL. She still had the goofy grin on though, it was SOOOO CUTE! They got to tell father christmas what they want as a present (i told for beth, and then sian got shy so daddy said anything) and his helper let them dip into her sack for a pre-christmas treat each (selection box of chocolates, very nice too)

To finish it all off we hit the toy store (well, did that BEFORE we went to DIsney really) and got teh girls a toy cow each (don't ask, they chose! i think it was an influence from watching "airport" earlier) i picked them up a learn to write book each (they fought over the magazine and got me VERY frustrated) and a BIG TUB of Megablocks for £15 instead of £30.. all with 20% off. Yay!

Christmas is a comin'...

and I have got almost everything wrapped up! WooHoo! It took less tahn £100 in Toys R Us (wow) and DH and I even got some bits for the FL trip.

Both girls are getting a Doodle Bear (the large was £2 cheaper than the small!) They have a CD from each other and a CD each from us. Books and a "Something Special" DVD each. Even now they will sit and watch a whole "Justin" DVD. I don't mind. It consolidates what signs they've learnt already. They're also getting a Wii game each. Shrimp's is here and wrapped. Boo's is awaiting delivery.... I hope it's here for christmas! and to share they've some dressing up shoes.

From Santa they're getting

Playfood, a new outfit and their stockings (chocolate, drink, £1, fruit, book, toy, hair bow clippie & socks)

Christmas Eve always brings a new pair of PJs... this year they chose their own. Both have christmassy ones... but Boo chose ones in the sale (£3, bargain!) and Shrimp chose "The Snowman" at £12!!

For her birthday I think we're just taking Shrimpy shopping and seeing waht she'd like. I do know that her Uncle Stevie has got her a talking Upsy Daisy... Cause I bought it for her LOL. We were looking to see who found it first! (He got Boo talking IgglePiggle for her birthday present BIG HIT!) Psst. Don't tell the girls but he's got them Disney Crocs for their Christmas Presents!

DH chose himself a couple of Jumpers for this year. One of them is wool so goodness knows how i'm going to wrap that up! He's getting a Wii game too... just not the one he's expecting! Got to give him *some* suprises!

OMG It's a YES!!

Never for a MOMENT thinking we'd actually be accepted, DH and I decided to apply for a loan. A big one. DH knew if they said yes he'd be working overtime for the next 7yrs.

THEY SAID YES!!!! We got the loan. Of course, with that loan came a few conditions (from him)

#1 we take the girls to WDW FL for a trip of a lifetime
#2 i pay off one credit card (old one, not used for several years)
#3 i get my provisional drivers liscence

#1 is booked and paid for... we fly to MCO on Feb 2nd 2008. Staying at the All Star Resort, with a Disney Dining Plan. We also have tickets to the "Princess and Pirates Party" and 7day base passes with water fun.

#2 is all paid off. and as the company did me a deal i only had to pay back part of what i owed (always good)

#3 i've sent off for and am waiting to get back... had to get my passport first so i didn't need to send out anything else!

At this moment in time, I'm the only person with a passport! And it came back within 2weeks of me sending it, very impressive. I need to send DH and DD2s birth certificates back- will do that monday. SPECIAL DELIVERY. Mam sent DD1s back Registered and I've heard nothing. Must see how things are going with that one. I have all the reference numbers and the posting card for DD1s so we'll look at that tomrow (too lazy to go downstairs now!)

One of DHs ex-colleagues is training to be a driving instructor. Hopefullly by the time i can afford lessons he'll be ready to teach me! I can' tgo out earlier than 8pm anyways LOL

Why is it soooo easy for some people

to get pregnant? and generally the ones who DON'T want to be. I really shouldn't moan. It took over 3yrs for us to conceive Sian. But we were spoilt with Beth and conceived the first real try (1month after Sian's 1st birthday) It's a month after Boo's 2nd birthday and we're still trying. Mind you it'd be nice to wrap an HPT and stick it in Clive's stocking... hmmm wonder if that's a feasibilty! Guess he's getting jumped on every day till AF is here again (hope she's not as mean this time as she has been in the past!)

Must make myself an

appointemnt with my GP. I'm still feeling dizzy off and on. And nauseous (defintley NOT pregnant!!) and my knee is still playing up. More if anything now that i've actually got a support for it. it hurts just walking the 0.7mi to stay and play whereas a few mos ago it only hurt when i was trampolining

Sian's growing up far too

fast for me! she's been going to bed with no nappy for a week. 4/7 nights she was dry. 1 she wet literally 30mins before waking. 1 she was out so late that she was drinking right up to bedtime and 1 jsut the luck of the draw. I've taken to plonkin' her on the pot before i go to sleep though. and varying the time! sometimes it works otehr she jsut whispers no and goes back to sleep.

There's been a

French market (dreadfully sinful biscuits!), funfair and ice rink locally this weekend. The funfair sucked (think 3 kids rides and 3 adult rides plus 2 take all your money stalls and a funhouse) and the icerink was barely big enough to take one stride on. I'd planned to elt the girls try skateing- and get DH and I back into it- but 1) they were frozen solid and 2) I wasn't paying £20 for 30mins of skating on cardboard. The girls are now the proud owners of new hats and gloves though FINALLY! and a new sweater each as previously they only had 2 each. mind you they still only have enough for one on and one in the wash the way they go through clothes!

I'm too old for theme parks!

Or at least, my body is trying to tell me something of that sort. Else it's berating me for not eating totally healthy on Sunday (whilst *at* said theme park!)

All I know is the porcelain throne and 3am should only been seen together when pregnant. Which I'm not (well, as far as I know...CD18 is a tad early to tell, even with a 24day cycle) Today. I ache ALL OVER. Even trying to take my Peak Flow and Symbicort had to be done holding my ribs. That gotta give an indication of which muscles (all!) i used up yesterday.

I walked up to Hounslow West earlier...only about a mile... and didn't have the energy to take the girls to the park on teh way home. lucky for me it started to rain! (sian by the way likes the rain, but not the wind) The kids were happy though. THey got pic n mix and some my little ponies... now sian knows how to wrangle things out of mama. wait till she's ill and she says yes to most anything!

shower and bed in order now. hope thers some hot water this time. the poor kids froze in tehir shower earlier. it is so getting old. acn't wait to be moved from here. maybe now *is* a good time to get pregnant again! might even get moved by christmas (that'd be a lovely xmas presssie!)

The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List

(shamelessly pinched from elsewhere!)
From Secular Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1

1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?

2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.

3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.

4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.

5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.

6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.

7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.

8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.

9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.

10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.

11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.

12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.

13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.

14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.

15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.

16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.

17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.

18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.

19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.

20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.

21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.

22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.

23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.

24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.

25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!

Brrr! Heating broke. AGAIN

yup, you read right. our heating packed up for the second time this year (so, we're onto 3 heating malfunctions in 2 years. brilliatn) The engineer came to fix it today. Told him the whole system had been flushed out and he phone through for the part needed to fix it (hopefully once and for all) he'll be back tomrow- a hwole day earlier than i expected!

The Monster (AKA asthma)

I'm bidding on a nebuliser on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160173942831&ssPageName=STRK:MEBI:IT&ih=006) and have defintley gone over what i can realistically afford. but i really do benefit from a neb treatment when the ventolin needs taking every 1-3hrs (and that tends to be when i'm on max symbicort and prednisone as well.) i don't even want to use it ALL. the time. probably only 2-3x year.

Weightloss (1/4 of the way there and....)

i seem to have plateaued the weight loss a little bit. but not gained either which is good! i will get back on track with it. in spite of us having our wedding anniversary chinese tonight instead of tomrow (ok, it's pizza tomorrow but thats for the kids)


Babies!

No secret that I would love one more. Our health visitor rang me earlier. will i go accross the road and say hi to a new mum in the area. She has a little girl. Didn't tell me said little girl is a 2wk old cutie pie! Beth now wants to share her birthday with a baby. And Sian jsut wants a baby! Oh, they'd both like Mamma to have a girl LOL i todl them we get what we're given. I'm jsut glad they haven't asked *how* the baby gets there yet!!

HATS!

getting ready to show them off!
checking their hair and make up.... and hats!
sian, sucking a lemon! (she wasn't)
beth looking anywhere but at the camera!
finally! sian and beth showing of their creations

Breathe!

"If you know the art of breathing you have the strength, wisdom, and courage of ten tigers."
-Anonymous Chinese Adage

Breathing is one of the most overlooked aspects of good health. Oxygen is fuel for the brain and for the body. Good, clean amounts of it boost physical and mental performance and lowers stress. Whatever area you're building a foundation upon, your progress will only be helped by plenty of fresh oxygen supplied by proper Breathing.
(Courtesy of Sparkpeople.com )

I found this while searching for a motivational quote to keep me focused. I'm thinking "baby steps" is always a good one for me, I tend to try and run before I can walk. That, or "aim for the sky, you may hit the top of a tree" the sky is 140lbs.... the top of the tree is 150lbs. I'll be happy with the top of the tree.

I like this one too....

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence."
-Calvin Coolidge

Being persistent is extremely important when you are trying to implement a change in your life. You will accomplish much more by constantly trying than constantly giving up. Consistency is how you build a solid foundation. Without consistency forming good habits to replace bad ones or new habits to make life better will be virtually impossible. Of course, there will be failure…but that is when persistence becomes even more important. You must remind yourself of the concept two steps forward, one step back. You will overcome the failure and bypass it with even more success.

It's true for me too. I've had some set backs, but it really ahs been persistence that's seen me lose 32lbs in 2mos. I've gained and lost a few here and there (just about to do it again, darned periods!) but I know if i stick to it, I'll make it. Soooooo, I'm sticking to it!

Hampton Court

Thats where we went today. We were going to go to the Tower Of London, but weatehr and lack of funds stopped us. At least, we would have had to pay for transport to the Tower, we'd have got free admission (thanks to a lovely Mummy who works for Historic Royal Palaces!)

S&B made hats (will get pics of them off C's camera later...) and then S tried on a REAL one. And Mum did a copy of an edwardian outfit... quite well too! But the highlight of the Clore Learning Center was...... the dragon hanging from the ceiling! we found a dragon outside too... and a lion and a unicorn. The doors to the centre were amazing. Solid bronze mini statues depicting various activities that would take place at Hampton Court.

After that we walked the mile (the long way!) to ride the Land Train roudn the gardens (rip off at £2/each for a 15min ride) oh, via the Privy Kitchens for a coffee break for dad. Biiiig problem in their! They do *THE* best fridge cake .... highly calorific... so i shared it with the kids! All the foods are made on teh premises, daily. If you ever want a proper fresh meal (although expensive, Mums staff pass comes into it's own there) then I highly reccomend Hampton Court.

Grabbed our Lunches and ate in the rain... yup, you read that right. We headed to the Tiltyard Cafe for lunch, buit it was sooo busy they shut it. Clive, Sian, Beth and I ate in the rain otuside. Poor kids were frrrrreeeeeezin' ah, they loved it though, specially when they'd finished and were running in and out of the grasses nearby (muddy clothes they have!) went home soon after that. Kids and Grandparents were too tired to stay. Wouldn't beleive it the way S&B didn't go to sleep till 8pm though!

Pierrot

As promised, a photo of Pierrot. Of course, you have to bend to one side to see him! The sizes need a little refinement, but he WORKS!

If anyone has any ideas how I can cut my oldests nails without a force 5 freak out... while she's *awake* i'll be grateful. Bribery doesnt work, nor does reasoning (she is only 3 LOL) while she's asleep is no longer an option either *sigh*

Oh dear me...

I came downstairs and found Sian had cut her sisters hair *EEK* with my hairdressing scissors *EEEEEEEK* NOT amused! Mind you, she didn't do too bad a job, and it doesn't show too much eitehr. There is now hair all over my living room!

i made a cardboard pierrot marrionette in art over the past two weeks (photo to follow!) and donated it to the family room for their "Pink Week" in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness. Next week they're doing all sorts of fundraisers and fun things including a disco, penny jar and raffle.

I made the decision to not do the virgin vie and stick to avon. cause all the people i know bar ONE are avon people. and whatever the area manager says, it's NOT that easy to get VV customers round here with 2 U5s tagging along and no transport (although London has a good public transport system, it can still be very unreliable)

We got the wii... can't remember if i said! And at the moment i'm the house boxing champion. Not that DH will let me beat him at even that for very long *sigh* I never can have something for myself!

Silly Soup

Prize for anyone who can guess what the soup du jour was at the community cafe today from that title!

We had a "try new foods" day today. lunch time was "silly soup" (yes, i'll let you know at the end!) and at tea time i mashed some butternut squash up with some sunflower spread. Sian didn't like either, Beth liked both. It was Sian who wanted the squash and Beth the soup LOL. Must say, the soup was rather peppery. I didn't like the roasted squash when i did it when Sian was teeny tiny.

Ok, Silly Soup was.... Celery. I don't like celery but I did like the soup. I liked the butternut squash mash too, and put it ontop of some veggie mince mix to freeze for later use.

BABY FEVER

I have it, bad. My freind had her 2nd baby last monday. I avoided her like the plague all the time I was on abx. didn't think she needed her own bout of tonsillitis to deal wiht as well as a toddler and new born! But i'm better now and we had gifts to deliver. So the girls and I went round to see A and Baby S. A was ecstatic with his mask (he loved the girls ones, and Sian chose him a blue one the same style but different design). I can't wait for N to bring the baby to be weighed LOL. I'll let her family get new baby fever out of their systems first!

SOMETHING SPECIAL

That was flavour of the day today. The girls watched all 4 DVDs over the course of the day. They know all the signs now though. Must try and get the 2 new DVDs for them for christmas. And find somewhere to learn BSL for myself as the person I had lined up to teach them hasn't contacted me at all. They were really looking forward to learning to talk without speaking.

Long one from me...

Sian and Beth modelling Granny Mary's handiwork. I couldn't get them to take them off!


Oh thank goodness for that! I'm no longer on Dial Up (thank you DH and the world of credit! but £12/month for 4yrs isn't too bad.. we need £400 for a new sofa in 6mos and i'm really struggling to keep the £100/mos i put aside!

Since my last post we've been on holiday (free is always good!), Baby Beth turned 2 (not really a baby any more), We bought a Wii.... good workout. I love the boxing! and a lovely parcel turned up from my Mum in America .. I've added the picture which isn't super cause i took it with my camera phone which is rather naff!

TODAY...

I took the girls to Snakes and Ladders (£10 entry OUCH), fed them tehre (another £13 double ouch), let them have a couple of rides (£1.50) and then we went for a walk in Syon Gardens (bargain of the day £1) oh, and they had cake in teh cafe there (£5 more EEK!) and let me not forget the sweeties they bought as we left S&L another £1.75.. needless to say out of £40 I didn't have too much left!

WE FOUND...

Mr Saunders house (which if you're familiar with AA Milne, you'll know is where Winnie ther Pooh lives) we didn't find Piglets house though. We saw some GIANT Gunnera's... Rhubarbs are descended from them.... and the girls saw different mosses and algae as well as geese and swans.

I MUST

tell you about my new venture and goals...



Get a Free Online Diet

so far i'm down between 20-25lbs depending on the day! but it's working well and I fit in clothes i haven't for some time.

IN FACT

I went into NEXT the other day and tried on a size 18 dress... that fitted! I've decided that my ultimate reward will be a new outfit from NEXT. I've already earned (bought too!) a new pair of tracksuit bottoms. Mind you I NEEDED them as well! Now i need a new sports bra!

IT'S BEEN

A bad year for me health wise... to date i've had laryngitis 6x (got so i can tell when i'm in for another bout of it!), tonsillitis 2x - jsut finished my abx for taht... thank goodness. I just had to experience the side effects didn't i? My asthma has been super hard to control... to the tune of pred at least every 6wks (yucky, yucky, yucky!)

now i have repeat prescriptions for the symbicort and ventolin for 6mos at the chemist and a rx at home for pred. and abx. mind you, the asthma rarely flares up from infection. And i need to find out about a nebulizer, but i think that isn't going ot happen as they can't be prescribed.... i jsut don't HAVE a spare £100. so it's "haler and spacer" for me then.

WE'RE STILL

trying to move out of this property... and still TTC our last munchkin. although after the 2.5hrs before I got her to bed iwth Sian i wonder if i'm mad! She's normally very sweet, but when she's bad, she's horrid!

Random Pics...

Sian looking down a cardboard tube. I love how this came out!

Sian and Beth at Paultons Park on the Kids "Log Flume" Sian was a smidge too short for me to let her on the big ride (she wanted to go, and would have loved it)

Sian and Beth on the Ladybirds. The girls went on more rides than Clive and I did in the end LOL. Ah well.

Even Daddy's can nurse if the babe wants it enough! I always knew he had a feminine side ;o)

All dressed up to go round the chocolate factory. Beth wouldn't keep the hairnet on so she ended up in the stroller with the hood up (which she hates just as much as hats)

Cookery Lesson

today we baked an apple cake with fresh apples. mmm. mind you, we have NOOO idea how it came out yet! i'll find out later i hope.

APPLE CAKE

4tbsp (appr. 4oz) self raising flour
4tbsp (appr. 40z) caster sugar
4 oz (ish!!) butter
2 medium eggs
2 large(ish) cooking apples, peeled & grated
1tsp cinnamon

grease a cake tin well and bake in a preheated oven at 200 for 20mins (roughly)

Beth counted out the spoons of sugar- wiht a little assistance. Sian did the flour all by herself and then they "miscked" those two ingredients together. Both kids (with help) cracked an egg into the mix and stirred it. Then Mama added the butter and apple/cinnamon mix and we gave it a good ol' stirring together. add a couple of kisses for luck! transfer to greased cake tin. give the kids the bowl to lick out and put in hot oven.

Paulton's Park

Requires a picnic for 9. Yup, nine people. So we went to tescos to get the ingredients for it. The girls had to remember certain items. And Beth excelled as she remembered the milk that Mama forgot! MInd you, she also started eating the cheese triangles before i'd even got to the checkout LOL.

Signing with Justin

aka 20mins in front of the box. There was an episode I've never seen today. The girls both picked up the sign for "digger" and later on, they both used signs around and about. Sian noticed that some toys had been placed in a box so they looked like they were signing "butterfly"

Yesterday we

put on some rock n roll and had a "dance lesson" for 30mins. who said pe had to be football/netball/rounders LOL. Today, Sian tried out some ballet and she's not too bad at a couple of karate moves either (front kick & basic punch) pity i can't get her into a karate session till she's 5.

we played with

my brother in law's Wii today. Great fun! I was teh only one to KO in the boxing first round. i also found that i can use it in either hand so thats good too. the kids tried the golf (but found that a bit hard) and managed pretty well with bowling. we'll defintley get kids games for them. oh, and yes, we're DEFINTLY getting one for christmas!! the question is (as we're planning on getting it in Nov.) will it stay in the box till christmas??

we were meant to go to a freinds yesterday. in the end i felt so bad with stomach cramps that we didn't. instead, we went to DFS and bought a sofa! about time mind, we've been making do wiht a few chairs. and this one reclines- on both seats!

i also set us up with more tv channels... jsut so we had teh sports for his highness. mind you, i'm looking foreward to haveing someo f th eother channels. and i can also use them for the kids to learn!

where did my baby go?

Beth has decided that it's "big girl knickers" for her as well. she went from 8.30am to 3.30pm with NO accidents. and then Sian decided that she was going to sit on the potty for 5mins when Beth needed to go. Methinks we may need a new potty chair for Beth LOL

It's not funny but...

i seem to have a HUGE bruise on my humorus (pun intended)i can't *see* it but by heck it hurts to lean on my right elbow. And it aches very easily when i'm doing chores.

I have 4 BOXES

of avon stock in my house at the moment. I'm not sure waht to do with it. Wonder if I'll ever get an answer as to how much it will cost me to hire the creative space up at the hub. that would be an ideal space as ALL the mums go there at some point. And they can also get a coffee (tea/juice), use the library or make use of stay and play.

Clive finished work

for the summer Saturday. He has a whopping 2wks off. And he's working tomrow! Ah well. I have pinned him down to a trip to Swindon to see a freind on Saturday and we're going to www.paultonspark.co.uk for a trip on AUG 22. now, will i get my pics off the camera before we go.. and will i remember to download the ones i take when we're at the theme park? We shall see LOL