Let this be a warning - To all parents everywhere.

I am fully aware of the fact it is now the 9th of January and I still have not posted any Christmas photos or stories ...

Well here is a warning for all parents out there.

Back in November Argos and Tesco were competing with each other and had a massive sale on many toys. We took advantage of that and managed to get three of the children new bikes and they all got scooters too! For six weeks those bikes nestled in the garage, for six weeks they were cosy under blankets and other boxes. They lay undiscovered until Christmas eve ...

On Christmas eve night Roy went out to the garage and started building those bikes, each one a master-piece in its own right. Roy was so proud, never before had he made up so many bikes in such a short space of time. Come midnight with tools and cardboard discarded he wheeled the bikes and scooters into the house.

Christmas morning was started when Sol 'discovered' three shiny new bicycles in the dining room, from there on in the place was alive with screeches of excitement.

Weeks go by and the children are well trained at putting the bikes away when they have finished playing with them.

Yesterday whilst Seb, Mag & Toni were sat at the table doing a project we had a visitor. Out of the blue during this visit Hollie said she saw boxes for the bikes and helmets in the garage. Wide eyed I just stared at my visitor, "got out of that one!" she was saying to me whilst trying to stifle laughter.

Well ... I had to think quick and I explained that there were so many bicycles on Santa's sleigh that he had to put them in boxes, that Santa was worried the pedals of each bike would get caught in the next bike's wheels.

"But mummy, I thought Santa was Magic, and why would he leave the empty boxes in the garage?" Hollie puzzled further.

Well that Santa guy is a scruffy old man - he left those boxes on the driveway and daddy could not believe the mess he had left behind. Daddy put the boxes in the garage so that he could recycle them, but I am telling you that we will have to ask him next Christmas to to take his rubbish with him when he leaves.

So just let this be a warning to you all.

Hot chocolate & grass growing

Today the 5th January - we thought we would get up early and start the year enthusiastically ... except that despite the children being up early every day for a fortnight they decided to over sleep. Roy had to go and do the 'work' thing and I had to make start with the children. It has been three weeks since we have done anything that resembled skool.

Couldn't start the day without a giant mug of Cadbury's fudge flavour hot chocolate from the lovely mug that Santa brought me.

We decided to use one of the Christmas gifts given to Roy and I from our neighbours who are also very good friends. They had got a chuckle out of this grass 'monster', they bought it thinking it was rather rude looking. The children oblivious to what us adults find funny duly watered the monster and we talked about what is needed to make things grow .. uhhum.

This month brings us to two years of home educating. We have evolved as a family and enjoyed the enhanced lifestyle that education at home has brought us all.

I personally have read many more books than I ever did, a few of them about other peoples theories on education, some of those books were quite alarming or disturbing in a good way of course. Things I had never thought of about the school system before, things to make you think about how you are bringing your children up. Not that we ever had any issues with Mag's prior schooling. Mag's school was unique, his school had 26 children and boasted as close to one on one attention a child could get whilst being in an education establishment. When his school closed down we looked at alternative schools. The other schools could not offer to us that same environment so we took fear and decided to try teaching the children at home. I wont say it was an easy decision to make, but once we did we embraced it whole heartedly - I think I always was a home educator just waiting for the chance to do so.

Anyways - I don't want to ramble (or maybe I do) ... this WAS leading somewhere at some stage ...

We took the last week or two off from real life as an opportunity to discuss what direction we are going in this year with regard to the children's education. Mag is still intent on doing his first GCSE this year though I am not sure he is quite ready. He has been working incredibly hard at a subject he loves (amongst others) - mathematics. The exam forms need to be filled in this month, and he has a school who will take him as an external candidate if we decide to go ahead.

With regard to learning, Mag follows a slightly structured style, following on from what he did in school just came naturally to him. We have found he is learning a broader range of things that he would have been in school, his appetite for knowledge is huge.

For the younger children we are not quite unschoolers, yet we are not strict schoolers. We do skool every day but when life gets in the way we don't! The children do spend their mornings making things, doing 'projects', they love nature work, stories, drawing etc. Toni is an excellent reader, and Seb is brilliant with numbers. Sol has a great imagination and can role play many situations. We do what I call 'structured' work too but the emphasis is on making the time the children have fun and rewarding.

Materials we have purchased this last year have been minimal, I was lucky enough to get to go and scavenge when our local school closed down. We got loads of reading books, drawing paper, exercise books, jigsaws etc We have purchased workbooks from an education website and a few books from amazon too but on the whole we didn't need much which makes life easier.

The Launch of SHAE

Yesterday the 30th December 2008!

 Roy had asked for a boat from Santa Clause - and a boat he got!

Yesterday it was dull but dry so we decided to head into a nearby town called Bangor and launch Shae the speed boat at Pickie Park.

The promenade.



Waiting ever so patiently for the time to launch



This is it ...




And she is off like a good un...

Shae's maiden voyage was successful, well almost. She had a bit of propeller stutter and started off going round in circles but once she got the hang of it all there was no stopping her. Shae whizzed around the pond like a good un until she ran out of puff. It was then she was packed into a bag and marched around the park with the children.

Some views from around Bangor Marina.

The completed job (almost)

It has only taken since last Wednesday for this 'bug' that we have to get round our family. I think we must be almost over it,Seb this morning was ill but he seems to be okay now. After changing his bed yet again we live in hope that tomorrow I might get that mountain of washing down a bit so it is not holding me to ransom any more.



I want to share something - a friend in the USA sent me an ornament. We do an ornament exchange every year, it makes it special to have something different, especially one sent by a good friend. This is what I got ...



Thankyou Kim XOXO







Today was a long one - I am trying (like everyone else) to get things ready for the big day.



We made some buns, the children decorated them .....



My kitchen - the longest drawn out decorating project in the history of mankind.

This has been going on since October, we had various things happen in between like a lovely big leak in the pipes under our sink.

S0 we have taken various shots from around the kitchen, all except the sink wall ... two reasons we have a gaping big hole where the cupboard should be,I am hoping we will get it put back tomorrow. Secondly we haven't finished that bit of tiles and it is not so pretty - I will slot those photos in as we get done.

anyway - so far ... The kids computer corner, this is where the kids play if I am cooking or what ever.


The breakfast bar.

todays things

Oh this is going to be the stupidist blog post ever!

Just had a really stupid day.

The day started early for me - at some point after one am my younest daughter woke. After positioning her on the sofa so I could go make a drink she leant over and barfed down the back of it. YUCK. Then she held her hands to her mouth so she could fan out the next barf. Okay Okay too much detail I just wanted you all to know. I knew there was a reason why we bought furniture with removable covers - today our sofa looks like a checkers board with white cushions and terrecotta cushions.

I think it was somewhere around three am was the next time I was up, then eight. I felt totally punch drunk and I had an queezy tummy too. Mag got up and complained of a sore tummy, he disapeared of to the bathroom to be sick.

My cleaner arrived at ten - the plan was that she would do her two or three hours and then I would head off to a friends house for a late lunch and a chat. Well that didn't happen, just the thought of driving to Carrickfergus with sick children in the car was enough to put me off. The day wore on I discovered a couple of things amiss in the kitchen - I found the salt grinder hidden behind some jars in the cupboard. hhhmmmm thats odd, then on closer inspection it was empty and wet inside. I questioned the children but it seemed that Mr Nobody was at work (do you have a Mr Nobody in your house?). Later a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious), last night Mag and I ate dinner after all the other children went to bed, we had the salt out and it was working!

Later on last night my glass was sat in the kitchen I still had juice in it so I took a swig - urrggghhh it was salty! Why would my orange juice be salty? So back to the salt grinder - all the little children were in bed, Mag ate with me, come to think of it Mag carried the salt and pepper through to the kitchen (he gets his pocket money if he clears the table each night) .. it wasn't me who poured out the salt and wet the inside of the grinder, it wasn't me who salted my orange juice .... hhhmmmm will he admit it? NO.

Ebay

If you are like me and a little 'Web Wise@ thwn you will have done some of your Christmas shopping on Ebay!

I have heard this song before but I still think it is funny!


EBAY by WEIRD AL

Star of the Show

Sol was the star of her playgroup Nativity show - along with 30 other stars that is. the children were brilliant! I wasn't able to take photos of the show - child protection and all that but I am hoping to get a copy of the DVD film in the new year.

As you can see Sol was (and still is sometimes) and angel. Oh and she LOVED Santa in a big way. When Toni and Seb were her age they cried their lamps out when Santa appeared so Sol is obviously the brave one of the family.






The lights - I cannot leave these out. This house is in the paper every year, they collect money for charity and as you can see put on a proud display. I wonder if they collect more money than the electric costs to run the lights - maybe they should donate the money saved in energy hhhmmm - BAH HUMBUG.