Snow school!

Well the kids' school has done pretty well at keeping going this week, but today the heavy snowfall finally meant a day off for Honor and Henry. They had to go to Mummy's snow school where they did some snow related dot-to-dots and because Honor has been learning about writing instructions at school, they both had a go at writing instructions for building a snowman. Henry wrote some nice, clear sentences and Honor (year 5) attempted to use more ambitious vocabulary and time connectives.


They did, of course, get to go out for some sledging fun with Daddy. Henry found it a bit much though. He did not enjoy getting cold, wet and very tired and cried a lot when he got back. I had the hot chocolate with squirty cream and little fudge pieces on top ready for them.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Snowmaggedon!

I'm having to post yesterday's news today because I've been having problems with viruses and stuff.
Snowmaggedon... it arrived much to Hubby's annoyance because he had to bring the kids back home again as school was shut! He did, however, get to go skiing in the afternoon along with Honor on her sledge. (Henry had to stay home as a result of not so good behaviour!) Before the outdoor fun we got some studying done. Well, they don't get out of it that easy! Honor worked very well on number sequencing and her Kumon. I also gave Henry some simple number sequences to complete. Both of them began with a Montessori style activity, completing sequences on a mat and then progressed to workbooks/sheets. After that, they played snakes and ladders together on the Numbertime website:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games/snakes.shtml


Then we made some heart shaped butter biscuits using this recipe http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/598125. The kids need to take them to school today to sell on the cake stall. The proceeds are going to the Haiti Earthquake Fund.

We then decorated our biscuits with pink icing and pink sugar sprinkles.

Lovely!

Lunch time.

Well, it's not quite 'snowmaggedon' out there yet. I made it to Tesco by myself (and baby). I had quite a lot to get so I was hoping that the cashier would say to me "would you like any help with your packing?" like they usually do, and I always say "no". But not today. I was feeling very restricted, wearing about 10 jumpers and having the baby strapped to me, so a little help would not have been turned down. Unfortunately all she said was "do you need carrier bags?" and then looked very disapprovingly at me when I said "yes".

Anyway. It's nearly 2pm. Baby is having her nap so I'm going to have a break with this lunch: ham, tomato, onion and mayonnaise roll, apple and coffee and browse through this reading material. Yes, I bought 'Have a new kid by Friday' from Amazon and it arrived this morning. I think I first saw it recommended on one of the Faith and Family forums. Hubby and I have watched a few Youtube clips of Dr Kevin Leman. He is very entertaining and we've already tried out some of his suggestions. So now we can read it properly.

Nice and warm now. Mmmmmmmm

It's snowing... again!

Hubby said it was coming on Wednesday. I have no food in. I can't drive in this. I wonder if he'll drive me to the supermarket later? S'pect he will when his tummy starts rumbling!

Good news

This blog is mainly a record of my time with the kids but I also like to write about, though not too often, about how I'm feeling and other stuff that goes on. It's therapeutic and anyway, these things affect the atmosphere in the house. The last 2 weeks have been on a bit of a downer but there's no point dwelling on them. And anyway I find the not-so-good times make you appreciate the good times all the more. So today I made the effort to get out a bit more because I've been stuck in for far too long and definitely need a distraction. I took the baby to the garden centre for a bit of a mooch about. We are very short of money this month so I had to be strong and resist blowing my housekeeping budget on some of the pretty things in the sale. Though, I might go back next week and see if things get reduced even further. I did buy some seeds, though. A mix of vegetables and flowers. I don't have the compost yet but I hope to start some seeds of sometime in the next 2 weeks.

I also went to pick the kids up from school ( because Hubby has been doing this job since Christmas) and was very glad I did. There are some lovely Mums on that school run and it was nice to see and have a little chat with some of them. Best of all was hearing the news that a friend is pregnant. We were both pregnant at the same time (while I was expecting Hope) but very sadly her baby died just before he was due. I know she is excited but I can imagine the anxiety and fear she must have to deal with too.

The snow is beginning to disappear. Fortunately the kids had a chance to go out this afternoon and have a snowball fight with the neighbours before it vanishes altogether. Honor made the most of it but Henry quickly feels the cold and wet and gives up to come indoors.

Finally, I've just been reading the latest post from Unplug Your Kids. It reminds me that we also need to revisit our discipline strategy. We do something similar with a smiley face board but it has been neglected a bit and the reward and consequence part of it has become unclear. I like the idea of a 'chore basket' so I'm going to get thinking about how to incorporate one into our household routine. I'm not sure if I want to use it as a punishment, though. Maybe they use it as taking responsibility for things that need to be done around the house, but the lucky dip element of it to make it fun. I'll have to think about it.

The Great Escape.

I've just been out for the first time in seven days. There's still loads of snow everywhere. I just got Hubby to drive me to Tesco's as I'm not brave enough to make the journey myself. It was nice and quiet in there. I bumped into someone I know who told me all about her Christmas, cooking dinner for the 5000, setting the alarm for 5am but struggling to get up to get on with all the work with a hangover. She said she enjoyed doing it because otherwise I just don't get why I often hear women lamenting about how much they have to do at Christmas. What would happen if they didn't get up at 5am and start peeling potatoes and sprouts. Would it be like in LOST where poor Desmond has to reset a button every 108 minutes or the world will blow up? Would Christmas come to an end if we put our feet up with chicken nuggets (like Bianca's family in Eastenders... and they seemed to be having the better day) or fish n chips instead of turkey?
Well. I suppose we have a choice. Personally, I prefer less of a hoo-haa but then I did really appreciate the beautiful dinner Hubby made for us. And he did it cheerfully. I can't bear to watch anyone making a martyr of themselves. Especially me... hee, hee!

Anyway. I think a little trip out was just what the doc ordered. One is starting to go a little stir crazy!

COOL!

Seeing as how I'm missing out on all the fun, I thought I'd shamelessly pinch these facebook pics of our friends handywork in the snow.

Excellent!

Sick, sick, sick of snow!

I haven't had much time for blogging the last few days. The snow has been steadily piling up outside and while (as I see occasionally from pictures on facebook) everyone else is outside having fun on sledges, making huge snowmen, building igloos or making perilous trips to Tescos, we've been stuck indoors for days with a nasty flu-like infection. Hubby has been very ill and will have to go to the doctors tomorrow. Henry is quite poorly and the baby has been very ill too. We rang Candoc late last night just for some advice on keeping the fever down. I wanted to know if we could alternate between Calpol and Neurofen. I got a bit confused with the info on the internet. So, a nurse on the helpdesk said we could do that and told me to give her a warm bath and then lay her naked on a towel to air dry. She also told me to reduce the layers of clothing and blankets. This advice surprised me as it's so cold and I've been having chills and sweats too but have been wanting to wrap myself up in loads of layers and duvets. But anyway, I did as I was told and although I still had to attend to her a few times in the night, she slept a bit more than the previous night and didn't seem so hot. Her temperature today has still been high though she seems happier under the effects of the medicines. She has, especially yesterday, been extremely clingy and I've really had to just hold her and let her nurse all the time. I watched 3 episodes of LOST (season 5 which we had to get on dvd cos we don't have sky) yesterday afternoon while she dozed and nursed on me.

Here is a scene from the bottom of our garden. The kids really want to go out and play but can't incase they get something worse and Hubby is so disappointed - he loves snow. So tempers in the house are getting frayed and we're all feeling pretty low. I can really appreciate what it is like in the Big Brother House!!! We've spent this afternoon watching loads of Little House episodes.

Just to finish off..

While on holiday we watched the film Miss Potter and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even Henry 'cos it had Obi wan Kenobi in it! (That's Ewan McGregor as Mr Warne). The kids had hot chocolate with squirty cream, marshmallows and white chocolate mice and jelly worms on the side. As we already have a bedtime routine that is centered around a story and 'the bedtime tray' we decided to make Friday night Beatrix Potter night, with one of her stories and these yummy drinks. So here is Honor-May with hers, waiting for the story of Jemima Puddleduck.

Scenes of Yule and snow!

This morning I have been having a good tidy up while Hubby cleans the car out (boy, does that need doing!) and the kids keep me entertained with songs from The Wriggly Nativity. So I've just posted some pics of the Christmassy and snowy bits and pieces from around the home today. I'm not sure if the snow will last much longer but even if it's gone by Christmas Day, it's been lovely to have it around during the advent season to go with the decs and make the lead up to Christmas extra special.

Last night Hubby and I went to the Italian for our anniversary meal. We had a really lovely time. We don't get out much so we really appreciate it when we do. Well, I do, anyway and got quite giggly on the white wine which seemed to be served in fish bowls rather than glasses. It was very cold in the restaurant. We had a very nice table by the window and next to the radiator. There was a large table beside us of people celebrating a birthday (I know that 'cos they had helium balloons on the table wot said 'Happy Birthday'!) and some of those people were still sitting in their coats. They were looking at us as we got seated and I could hear them muttering "look at them, they're next to the radiator!" It was still bloomin' cold though. We stopped off at the local village pub on the way home and I had an even bigger glass of wine! I'm surprised not to have a hangover this morning. Then Grandma went home and Hubby and I opened our Christmas presents (yes, already!) while we watched Moonlighting. One of my pressies was a trug decoupaged with Cath Kidston paper (see pic). Lovely.

Finally, 'Happy Birthday' to my brother, Down Under. Bet you're nice 'n warm. xxxx

Let it snow...

No day off for these two today as they can walk to school. Nevermind. It IS the end of term and from tomorrow we are on holiday for two weeks.
This morning we went to see Henry in The Wriggly Nativity at the village church. It was very well done. A special stage was put up so all the children could be seen and the front pews were reserved for Reception parents so we were guaranteed a good view. Henry was the innkeeper and did his part well. Being the 'wriggly nativity', the children were required to wriggle and fidget - VERY appropriate! And they sang loudly to the very catchy songs. I was particularly impressed with the camel outfits. Not sure if the Mums had to make them or if they were bought. Well done, teacher!