On, Off, On, Off...

That's the way the internet has been for the last few days! On one minute and gone the next - wonder if it will stay on long enough to write this post...

Working backwards...
This morning we have been up to our allotment.  It's looking slightly better this year than it did same time last year.  This morning we planted the runner beans and and courgettes we have been hardening off in the cold frame.  Hopefully we'll get a sprinkling of rain soon just to settle them in.  So far we have: Runner beans, Courgettes, Red Onions, 3 varieties of carrots, chives and so much more to do, best get our fingers out!!  I have cauli seedlings hardening off now, they don't look anything like I thought they would. We grew too many bean plants so are going to put some in the back garden enabling the LOs to see how they grow.



Yesterday Mum came up for a visit and very kindly did a 'tip run' for me allowing me to get a lot of the rubbish from the boys' new furniture (boxes etc) out of the garden.  Now the spring is here it's good to be able to get the little ones out in the fresh air so all important to have a nice, clean, tidy and safe garden.  Jack and I moved the shed to another part of the garden having the effect of opening up quite  large space that can be used when it's wet (ie it's paved/gravelled not grassed/muddy).  Max and Mum watched and kept the dog out of the way...

I finished reading The Time Travellers Wife.  It predictably jumped about a bit which was hard to get into at first but once into it I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Now I can see it on film, wonder what I'll think of it.

On the subject of film, I notice Avatar comes out tomorrow, we never did get around to seeing it at the cinema so providing the internet lasts long enough I'm going to check how much it is on blue ray and think about pre ordering.

New router due on Thursday so if I don't 'see' you before, I'll see you then! ;)

Searching Questions...

After reading a friend's blogpost about listening to your children I was deep in thought.  I know I don't listen to my kids enough.  I'm a typical working parent who is either too busy or too knackered to be a great parent.  That has to change!  Unfortunately I have to work to support the kids so that cannot change which means my attitude has to.  From somewhere I have to dredge up the strength, time and determination to connect properly with my kids again, if I don't it will soon be too late. In two short years the eldest could leave home, in four he could get married...

I asked my boys very similar questions to the ones Jules asked hers.  Both boys answered pretty honestly, Max brutally honestly, he really doesn't do shades of grey, lol!  Jack is happy to share his answers, Max wants his to remain private - something I am eternally grateful for as they don't paint me in a very good light...  I wanted to print them on here nonetheless because I wanted to shame myself into changing but then I wouldn't be actually  listening to him if I did that would I.  I'm just gonna have to change things without having it all on here...

So to the questions...
Jack
"What do you like about HE?"
I don't know I just like it...  I don't have to be with loads and loads of other kids that I don't like.  I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to go to school.  I get more choice about what I do, I like doing science its quite easy.

"What would you do differently"
I don't think I'd change anything, if I think of something I'll let you know
(later, after I'd said what I thought he'd say...)  I'd like less structure and more sorting myself out. Not sitting up to the table and doing xyz and xyz time.  Not sure how I'd do it though.

"What do you not like?"
Can't think of anything.

"Would you like to go to school?"
NO!

"Why?"
Pretty much for the reasons I said I like HE, because I was comparing it with school.

So, it looks as if mostly I am doing things right for Jack but not so right for Max.  I need to find more ways for Max to meet up with other kids, no mean feat cos he hates going to anything new.  More than that I cannot say.

Back to normal...

Well the schools went back today which meant I had to be on my toes this morning and up and out of bed at stupid o'clock to start work at 7.30.

Got back from the school run to find the boys had got all their books etc out and were sitting nicely working away.  This is rare and I was so pleased with them. They're currently using the Galore Park books for KS3 which seem to work very well for them - thank goodness you can also buy answer books which mean they do very well for me too, lol!

I had a friend pop over during the morning so had some adult company for an hour whilst the munchkins had little friends for company, always a good combination.  Not so good for the boys having to work with 5 little munchkins making a racket but they coped and survived so all is well.  I keep reminding myself it would be far worse in a class full of teenagers...

I went to a toddler group in the afternoon and came home to find the boys had a quick tidy up for me!  No idea what's going on here but I like it!  I'm seriously thinking about employing a cleaner as its so hard to find time to do everything but it means I will be working just to pay her (or him) which seems a bit futile.  Maybe I will try a bit harder to do more in the evenings instead of collapsing in a heap in front of a heap of paperwork.

Spent the early art of the evening worrying myself sick as the area near where my oldest son lives is on fire (very badly, needing 16 fire crews) and I couldn't get hold of him on the phone.  No matter how old they are you never seem to stop worrying about them!  So relieved to finally talk with him and find he was ok and well away from the fire...

Just got to feed/water the rabbits now and then it's movie time.  We're finally catching up with the world and watching New Moon tonight.

Ah yes I must get the courgette seedlings in too...

Another fabulous sunny day

and this time I've been able to get out in it!

Had a house full today - 7 of them! - so we've had a bit of an open door policy and them going between the garden (water play, slides, bikes etc) and house as they wish.  Several hours later there were 4 pretty wet and very happy munchkins and 3 really chilled teens.  An ideal day. :)  Tomorrow the Argos man is delivering the play pit sand so the exercise may well be repeated if the weather stays good and the volcanic ash stays away...  The boys have made the most of their schooled friend's last day off and had a day of messing about on table football, video games and just hanging out.  The holiday seems to have gone far too quickly - not quickly enough for some parents overheard earlier who 'can't wait 'til school is back on again...' so sad. :(  Roll on the long summer vacation :)

Max has spent some of the day playing his new Star Wars game and seems to be doing quite well in it.  Beats me though how he manages to remember everything when he cannot remember to look before he crosses the road...  Just one of the wonders of dyspraxia I guess.

The new power adaptor came for Max's keyboards today thus allowing him to practice a little bit before his music lesson on Friday.  Due to having no power he hasn't practised for 2 weeks, hopefully he'll just slip into it again, although the lure of the Wii seems far too great at the mo and apparently he doesn't know where his music is - ho hum

I'm also probably gonna have to nag Jack to practice guitar - wouldn't it be great if kids just got on and did it without being nagger, coerced or bribed?  I keep telling them when they can play really well they'll be glad they learned but unfortunately in this instant gratification world long term planning seems to mean nothing.  Perhaps they will read this and surprise me, lol! ;)

Talking of nagging, I'd best nag myself to go and get on with the dinner so this family of mine can eat at some point before it gets dark and I turn into a snoring zombie.  Think I can stay awake long enough? ;)

The sun has got his hat on

and the boys are out to play...

Not literally, but they've gone out with their dad for the day and are enjoying this fab weather.  :)

Meanwhile, I'm stuck indoors doing all the mundane things that need doing such as cleaning and tidying, washing and ironing - did I say ironing?  I jest, washing and drying it should have been ;)I cannot remember the last time I ironed something, one of the bonus points of not having a school uniform methinks...

I also have to put the finishing touches on the boys bedroom.  Jack has very kindly helped me put together heaps of flat pack furniture and made high sleeper beds with me - not an easy task I'll have you know, although these which we bought from Next are much better than the old ones which came from Argos, they have decent instructions and shock horror the parts actually fit together properly!!!  During this task, he has of course learnt to paint, read instructions (never a bad thing for a male person!), work as part of a team, get shouted at (and apologised to) by 'the boss' and let it roll off his back and have a sense of pride in his achievements.  And all the while he just thought he was helping his Mum do his bedroom, gotta love HE!

I also have to take Sam (our Lab) out for a run at some point.  Lots of learning going on there too, but mainly by me trying not to trip over him!

Think I'd better get off the 'puter and get something done! Coffee break is over...

To Blog or Not to Blog - That is the question...

Ok so a few years ago I was an avid blogger. I couldn't do anything in my life without blogging about it. It was almost as if I was trying to gain acceptance in the HE world.

I went through stages of feeling totally inadequate and trying to live up to everybody else's home schooling experiences to thinking 'ok, now we're doing it right' cos we were keeping up with everybody else - turns out we weren't doing it right for us but that's a whole other story!

We're: Jack, whose 14 into gaming in a big way and who spends most of his free time on various social websites chatting to his mates - about gaming - pretty much a normal teenage boy I think; Max whose equally into gaming but tends to be much more specific as is his way, at the moment he's really into Star Wars on the Wii. Max likes doing things over and over again and will happily sit and watch a movie five or six time in a week... Then there's me! I'm a single mum who works full time (from home) to provide for my family and who is not into gaming at all - I seem to have lost the ability to sit still and do anything. We also do lots of interesting, nature loving, physical and scientific, investigating and learning as I'm sure will become apparent throughout the life of this blog.

The boys have been homeschooled pretty much since they left infant school. They have been back to school during that time but it wasn't for us as a family. That doesn't mean to say I'd rule it out in the future if it was the right thing to do but at the moment could not imagine them going back to school.

The blog is primarily for me to continue to record my children's journey to adulthood on. My old blog is now private and will remain so. It was very nice looking through it and seeing the way our family bloomed and grew despite the difficulties we faced but I feel it is 'our' scrapbook on life now and not to be shared with the world. You are welcome to tag along with us and even pop in and say hi from time to time if you are friendly. Spam and abusive comments will not be shown so please don't waste your time or mine.

And so we begin again...