Before & After

okay okay ...

I am rubbish at blogging.

I have zillions of photos and its going to take me a few days to post everything I want to. I seem to spend my days apologising to people in real life and in the blog world about my tardiness. I have been so busy; decorating, coping with a 'little' issue regarding one of my children's health just now, exams and my own health. I have to get a couple lumps removed and got surgery in two weeks time. Looking like nothing sinister but will know for sure once they are removed and tested.

With regard to the decorating, it has been a nightmare couple months. We took out the fireplace in our dining room and blocked that up. What we didn't realise is that the chimneys were blocked from above and blocking up the fireplace was a huge mistake. So we got a damp patch that then once ventilation bricks and holes were added into the chimney it took two months to dry out.

The fireplace before



The fireplace after - behind the the sofa. The main wall is decorated with a red colour, I need to get complete photos done. I haven't got my floor finished, and I also want a large canvas photograph of the kids on the wall but its live-able now and definitely more than passable now.

Boats, Robes, Teeth.

Well the last couple of weeks have flown by - once again. Here's a round up.

Well last blog update I had shared that other half had got himself a little boat. He was so keen on getting out on it he managed to get the boat insured and a tow bar fitted on the car in less than a day. It is a pity that he wasn't so quick and effiecient at doing DIY. The only thing that held him back was the fact we had only two life jackets ....so we got some decent ones from eBay. And now its just a matter of towing the boat down to the harbour and launching it.

The view from the harbour.


Here's Mag all ready to sail!


Here's the boat ....

wait ..... wait.... its not

this is the boat!

Okay I have to add in this photo, I forgot to share it in a previous blog. This is Seb on his Boys Brigade award night receiving his badges.

This photo, which I took on my phone camera at Mag's insistence. Mag was tickled by the "wide range of trolleys" on offer at Tesco. Well that is what the sign says but I am not sure that there are many to chose from.

The tooth fairy visited Seb last week...

...and this again this week. Poor boy can hardly talk, he has a big lisp thing going on, its quite funny.

The robes we got for Toni ... they are installed and are looking good. We got them from Starplan, in fact my other half was so happy with them he 'let' me go order some more for our bedroom. So I went and ordered two x 2 metre robes for our room which will really help a lot with storage space. They will be delivered and installed in July so we need to get our skates on and get the room decorated ... we never do things by halves in our house.

Just now we have a little room which is actually like a box room, but it is used for clothes rather than a bedroom or anything else ..the room is kitted out with large 'built in' robes and we have all our clothes and bedding in it. Well getting the robes for our bedroom means it will free up some of the the robes in the little room we have, and in turn I can utilise that room for something else. Long story here, but we have an extension in the pipe line with a utility room, so I am going to use this little room for a utility room and that creates an extra room when the extension is done. PHEW are you still with me, because it sounds so complicate, it isn't really.

Wallace & Gromit

Going to W5 the science museum is certainly not new for us, and as usual there's always plenty of photographs. The children love it there but this time there was something special they wanted to see.

Anyway the 'ordinary' photos first.

Seb practising his boating skills.

Sol making music with lights.

What would you like to eat?

Siblings!

Seb playing the harp, this is no ordinary harp as it has no strings, yet it still makes music.

Animal dominos .... hhhmmm who is next to play?

'I like driving in my car.'

'I am sailing.'

Anyway ...this is the whole reason why we went this time. the children just love Wallace & Gromit. W5 is the venue of a Wallace & Gromit exhibition just now and is had actual sets and models from the film Wallace & Gromit And The Curse Of The Were-rabbit. How ccool are they? I loved the detail in every single piece.

Nuff Said

I suppose this ought to be a chat post, as I usually just post photographs on my blog.

The last two weeks have the usual blend of 'skooling' and every day life. Seb had his Boys Brigade parents night, he bagged himself a badge and made us proud as usual. Seb has tried so very hard at his BB, he is the smallest there.

Last week Mag went off kayaking in the Mourne Mountains with his Boys Brigade friends, they had a great weekend. I believe that they made water rockets with plastic bottles and a wooden launcher as well as hitting the amusements in Newcastle. He came home tired and happy.

Sol was at the zoo on yesterday with her Rainbows troop, she enjoyed seeing all the animals again. I had considered taking all of the children for the day and then perhaps taking summer to the gate when the rainbows were meeting but when I learned there would be 1400 there I decided to give it a miss. I let other hald take Sol up, and of course the other children wanted to go with him too. I spent four happy hours on my own, doing laundry, washing floors, and other jobs. As for other half and the kids they went and got fish and chips (without me).

Also yesterday Mag played chess at the UK Chess Challenge Mega Finals held in Belfast. He won first place for his age group so that makes him the the title of best player of his age group in Northern Ireland. He has to travel to England now to compete against the regional winners their ... then who knows what is next for him. Please wish him luck if you see him, he really needs the support. We have already booked his flight tickets, him and other half will go and make a weekend of it. We got return flights for the two of them to Liverpool for £83 from RyanAir ... not bad EH? So while the 'men' are off playing chess I get to spend a quiet weekend at home with my three babies.

This week has been a week of revision and that's how it will continue for the next month. Mag's final module for his Maths GCSE is split over two days in June. the first part on the 7th, and then on the 11th, I have no doubts in his ability to pass the exam with grades as good as he got for his other modules.

Oh and we decorated Toni's bedroom last week, what a marathon lightening fast job that was! We got it painted in the weekend and a carpet laid, all done in time for her new robes to fitted. I was feeling very pleased with how much we had achieved then came down to a bump remembering how long it is taking us to decorate the dining room.

And the final bit of news, and anyone who knows us is going to laugh their socks off. while my friends and neighbours are into caravaning and camping ..... drum role ..... other half bought a boat. NUFF SAID!

Strange Dream

I dreamt that Michael C Hall lived near me, he's the serial killer Dexter Morgan from the show Dexter. He came to our house one day for a cup of tea. The place was a mess and other half was decorating a living room at the front of the house. I was in the back living room with Michael C Hall asking the tea. The tea was actually little capsules, I'm thinking like a herbal type tea. Michael did not want milk in his. I had a cup and a mug but struggled to find another mug for other half. I was scrabbling in boxes of packed up stuff no joy. I stood and watched the tea capsules dissolve, Michael drank from the cup and he balanced it on top of my mug.

After a while I showed Michael around the house, he was amazed at the work other half was doing with the decorating, actually he wasn't doing so good. Anyway I left him there while I in went to find Mag so he could meet him too.

Michael and Mag were soon deep in conversation, he told Mag they were working on another series but this time about food. The title of the program was something like 'chicken to go'. After he left Mag quietly recounted to me what the series was and its title.

Then my dream then took me outside Michael's manager's office. He was in there and raging about what Mag had told me, how he knew I don't know, I guessed we were bugged. He snarled at Michael that he shouldn't have shared the name of the new show, and now it has to be changed.

Moths & Mammals

The Ulster Wildlife Trust held an event at the Balloo Wetlands on Saturday, the topics covered were moths & mammals. I usually try to go to these local talks with the children as they are small enough you can enjoy them and always very informative. The children had a great day, learned lots, and each came away with a bag of goodies.

A Star A Star

This is going to be a big brag post!

We home educate as you probably all know! Well my eldest son sat the first two modules of three, for his maths GCSE. The way it worked out he ended up doing two modules in one day back at the start of March this year. Anyhow the results are in, and he did very well. For Module 1 out of a possible score of 108, Mag achieved 101 and that is an A*, on Module 3 out of 162 he got 160 and that too is an A*. All that's left to do is Module 5 at the beginning of June and with a bit of luck he will do well in that one too.

There is always a 'problem' arranging for home educated kids to sit their GCSE exams, well its not really a problem but you have to contact a school and ask them if they will take a child as an external candidate. Not all schools will accommodate external candidates, not that its any trouble, but simply because they don't. So you may need to contact a few schools to get one that will let you sit an exam. Anyhow the school where Mag sat his exams have now come back to us and said he can do all of his exams there, which is a huge result for us. Prior to him getting his two A*s I was under the impression they wouldn't be able to accommodate him for everything so as you can imagine I am really pleased at how this has worked out for him. Mag is hoping to sit his next three GCSE exams starting with the first modules for those in November this year.

Okay another brag ...

Mag goes to a Company Section of the Boys Brigade in a near by town. He missed a lot of last years Boys Brigade due to illness so this was his first full year with that Company. Mag has been in the boys brigade for nine years working up through the various levels. Monday was the parents evening and the last night of this years BB. He received a few badges for various completed projects through out the year and also the award for BEST BOY! Once again, twice in less than a week I have to admit I was really really proud of him.