Crystal Clear

WHAT'S YOUR VIEW OF HOME EDUCATION?

2014-12-19T17:44:00.001+00:00

It's all about me

2014-12-12T23:37:00.000+00:00

I haven't posted for a few days because I have had a bad lurgy, haven't slept either, going through a book a night, I have been in agony. (didn't stop hairball wanting to play fetch with the sponge at whatever time am....

Picture of innocence....)

During which time it felt like I was on a ship and I managed to bump my head while trying to clear the cat poop in the middle of the night as I fell to the floor.

Thankfully I asked Bigs dad to stay over in case I needed to go to hospital (Yeah!! a use for the bedroom tax).

Went to the doctors and was given Oxytetracycline turns out I am allergic to them:
So have felt even worse the last couple of days. In fact worse doesn't cover it, was in agony, sore throat, glands swelling, couldn't wear the hearing aids, sharp pains in my left jaw same side as tinnitus and hyperacusis (told you I should do a health blog) anyway I only took 5 of these tablets and I was so ill.

I couldn't go near the fridge because I was shivering, which made meal times great fun, have been in bed by 7 with electric blanket on, running to the toilet find the seat freezing and drinking lots and lots of water through the night, jug fulls. cold water so painful but the thirst was worse, probably my body telling me to flush this crap out.

Why does it always happen on a Friday?, anyway rung the doctors, he confirmed what I suspected and new antibiotics have been dispensed, which I will get tomorrow.

It has been an art and craft week for the girls because I have been so ill, but Big has done lots of English and read all the books we got Monday.
girls have made some amazing Lego creations and done lots of computer work.

I had lots to do but had to cancel and rest up concentrating on getting well, the girls have had a fab time.

Our wonderful Auntie Grace babysat while I went to the doctors Monday and took the girls to the dentist for me. Big has to go to the orthodontist.
I am so grateful, I have not felt this ill in a very long time.

There is yet another medical issue and I am being referred to neurology.

A week until we go away, caravan needs to be changed too far from the shops etc and no telling when I can or can't walk, it's all a bit of a nightmare, I should be getting things ready instead I am ill, must admit it's only been a few hours off the Oxy and I feel heaps better, glands have gone down, no sharp pains and ear ok to use hearing aids again.

Thank goodness for neighbour doctor, ibuprofen been a life saver and tens machine. I am blessed.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be well enough to start getting things sorted.

TGIF

Have a fantastic week-end!

I need my bed.....

2014-12-09T17:25:00.000+00:00

Duvet Day today, had to pop out with the small one briefly needed some essentials.

Finally managed to get 2 doctors appointments for tomorrow deep joy. Nice and early, I will look like the living dead by then.

Girls have their dentist appointment in the afternoon, thinking of wearing gloves and a mask.

Had to stock up on aloe vera tissues my nose is raw and still blocked yet constantly sneezing.

At the moment I am wired up to a tens machine, thought somebody had chopped me in the neck when I first turned it on, comfortable on number 3 setting, 4 feels like electrocution.

I have had 2 Lemsips and a nasal spray to try and clear my sinuses (was meant to last 12 hours). Nope. I feel like death. Am going to try Marilyn's suggestion of the menthol steam later, after a soak.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-97857/The-definitive-guide-cold-cures.html

I think I might start a separate health Blog, different pain every day and all that.

Girls have had a creative day, well it is December Art & Craft month, and after all the work Big done yesterday she deserves a break, so she is having a play with her HE friends. Small has made many creations. Unfortunately no pictures as yet.

Waitrose still doing 2 for a fiver on those nice sausages so we are having sausage mash and hoops for dinner tonight (Smalls choice).

Funny how illnesses get worse in the evening, I am feeling gradually worse if that is possible.

An early night will be had by all tonight.

Hope you all avoid this lurgy if that's what it is, hopefully catch up tomorrow....

Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is said to have bathed her ass in milk?

2014-12-08T17:49:00.003+00:00

Well GS went off leaving his lurgy behind.

Small has been very miserable today, didn't manage to get half the things done I wanted to.

Dentist appointment then we went to town.

Kept ringing but couldn't get through to the doctors in time for an appointment today, need some antibiotics for the tooth and chest feeling very tight again..... Will try again tomorrow.

We did hit the charity shops and I actually managed to take some pictures but I need to get a new hard drive and sd card desperately, I had to upload the pictures using my email address on Big's Laptop, then view the original and move it into a folder, took ages.

We got some more books for the collection and Big Straight away started reading this one.

She has spent ages today on Study Ladder doing English and is doing an amazing job.

Very, Very proud of her.

We got a new globe (£2.50) for her collection, which is growing.
(We also got another few bears, I must remember to take a picture of Smalls bear collection ).

Lilly was fascinated because it played a tune.

Also got a beautiful box.

More books for the collection.

It's getting colder, I have bubble wrapped the inside of the girls bedroom window because their room was always freezing, on an average window you lose 10% of the heat from a room, in the girls room the amount lost must have been way more then that.
Anyway the bubble wrap works like a charm.
I will do my own bedroom later and the front room.

Anyway hope everyone is having a fun Monday and

to a special little man Harrison.

Our dinner was made by Big and it was scrumptious

Chicken, stir fry veg, soy sauce and egg noodles.

T-14 Days until we are out of London for a week, can't wait and Big has butterfly's in her tum she is so excited.

All that swimming to look forward too.

Grumpy cat Sleepy Saturday

2014-12-06T23:36:00.000+00:00

Well there was all 4 of us in my small bed last night, it was quite a squeeze.
I think Small trapped Poppy in the girls bedroom yesterday accidentally so she decided to wee and poop on Big's quilt....

Just one of those things, but it meant all the quilts had to be washed and the plastic bleached 0.o

I said Big could jump in with me and I was asleep by 7, woke up at 11 being roasted, some joker ad turned the heating on and my room is 7 foot nothing, bed right next to the radiator, I was sweltering.

So I was running scans until 1.20 trying to keep this old girl (not me) alive, I finally cracked and went to bed.

Come 3.30, Small regular as clockwork gets up for a toilet break, see's Big isn't in her bed and doesn't like to sleep/be alone so then she jumps in with us.

Tiny bed, 3 girls and 2 cats later, I got a couple of hours sleep.

Today son took me to Yates dahling!! near Croydon, never been there before it was an experience, very nice apart from the chill coming down the stairs and GS wanting to go to the toilet for half an hour during which time because of the chill the food was stone cold.

The food was ok but the sauces I think were invented, most were vile and the waitress couldn't even pronounce the name of the sauce in the metal basket, we asked because we couldn't either and I wasn't brave enough to try it, it looked a bit spicy.

But it was lovely for me and no 2 son to have a day out and just the 2 of us! No one else.

Little fella has the lurg so has had calpol and is giving it Zzzzzzz's as it Paige.

Hope everyone is having a FAB Saturday <3

TGIF

2014-12-05T17:28:00.000+00:00

The wonders of life

What a day, Big spent an hour on English then we watched a dead shark , poor thing looked like it had been fished for sport, thank goodness there are some wonderful human beings still in the world and I hope the 3 babies made it.

Then we went to the hospital for yet another ENT appt this time to raise the white noise and hearing capabilities of my hearing aids.

The girls grilled my doctor on all ear aspects and are now clued up on how we hear :D

They had many questions and were fascinated to see how my hearing aids worked.

When we got out it was chucking it down.

we hit Wimbledon and I started getting pains so needed to stop and take painkillers. Hate random pains.

The toilet at Morrisons is still out of order, must be going on a month now so we popped into Weatherspoons and used their facilities. The girls had food from the children's menu and I had a garlic cheese ciabatta.

Then we caught the bus home, it was freezing!!!!!

Now they are playing Minecraft, I swear Small is way better then me, it's quite amazing to watch her.

Spent a lot of time yesterday on this:

If you can work out the answer please let me know........ It's torture ;)

Right time to chillax.

Have a FAB week-end <3

Launch unable to go ahead next possible launch at 7.05 ET Friday

2014-12-04T14:07:00.000+00:00

LIVE on NASA TV: Orion Launch Coverage :

Still an hour to go for possible launch if the winds die down, very exciting. Watch live at the link below.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/6540154

http://www.nasa.gov/

Critical Step on Journey to Mars

Watch NASA TV for live coverage of today's launch on NASA'S new Orion spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch window extends until 9:44 a. m. Eastern

The un-crewed Orion will orbit 3,600 miles above Earth before splashing down in the Pacific. Orion is being designed to carry astronautson exploration missions into deep space, including a trip to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.

Latest Updates on Orion Blogs

https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/

Latest Orion Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTsI3Io_hsI&list=PLiuUQ9asub3STzGKMhwHUTdqyiiXFCSBY

Charles Babbage, Java, Variables and Frozen

2014-12-04T12:50:00.000+00:00

Yeah! Caught up at last! At the moment Big is hard at it with her Maths, she is doing amazingly well, then after English we might venture into town and pay some bills, get some groceries and see what reading and learning treasures are to be had at the charity shops.

Unfortunately I had to resuscitate the computer yet again this week, how it's still going is beyond me, it's ancient.

(While it's a beautiful piece of engineering, it's actually not a computer. It's a calculator. Charles Babbage did design a mechanical computer)

I best shake a leg, have given up on the parcel turning up or getting a response to the Emails and screenshots sent, tempted to name the company but I will give them a week and see what occurs, then I might give them a Tweet ;)

Apparently it is -1 today Brrrr

Wednesday

Waited in all day for a parcel that didn't arrive, apparently they had tried to deliver on the 2 previous days so I emailed to say I would wait in and they didn't even have the courtesy to respond. So it was a stay at home study day, well the weather was awful so it gave us the chance to catch up on a few things.

Unfortunately the phone is still broken so wasn't able to make any calls or receive and texts, it's showing 14 missed calls and countless unread texts, it's impossible to do anything with, I think I accidentally deleted a vital part when I was trying to tune it up Ooops...

Small (Ariels new name plagerised from a very clever friend) is taking photos and making Christmas Cards to send to her friends and Big is doing her favorite subject Maths (the dreaded numberline )at the moment giving me time for a cuppa and a quick update.

What you can see below is c & p from the Wordpress blog that I have just started hence the funny looking text (Will link when I fill it out a bit and have a clue what I'm doing).

TUESDAY

Today I had to go back to the hospital for a hearing catch up, need the aids adjusted so probably be back there on Friday. The Tinnitus is still as loud as ever but touch wood since HE the Hyperacusis seems to be behaving itself at the moment.

Also tried to make an appointment for the Sleep Clinic. Long story. Anyway waiting to hear back on that one.

Small is on Studyladder at the moment so I am grabbing a quick cuppa then back to the grind. Big is watching Paddington.

I’m on week 3 of Part 2 Teaching Computing and trying to learn coding using Khan Academy, was going quite well until I hit variables, seemed to have a brain block anyway some of the kind teachers on my computing course have sent me some links (Thank You) So as soon as I get time I will be watching some coding for dummies videos, I have to crack this, I will crack this!!!

Well it appears the weather has changed for the worse, considering Saturday was like a summers day. Today was absolutely freezing and I had plenty of layers on.

So it’s time to call out the big guns, start wearing the BIG arctic winter coat complete with furry hood.

That’s the great thing about being ancient, fashion? What fashion :D

Monday

We had to go to Kingston and then back for more bloods. It was a long day and I forgot to put the casserole on before I went out so that didn’t happen until 4, but as usual it was delicious when ready.

The girls had baked potato and pigs in blankets, we popped into the local Waitrose to see if we could get an Organic Cob but no joy and spotted the sausages wrapped in bacon on special offer. They were delicious!

Big went off to nannies for the night, tomorrow they are off to see Paddington Bear at the cinema, and Small jumped in with me and the cats, she doesn't like sleeping by herself, well she is only Small.

Don't forget to do your Hour of Drawing with code o.0 Using Khan (Great resource)

https://www.khanacademy.org/

Also learning Intro into JS: Drawing and Animation

Ok this is my dinner creation (Don't laugh) you can vaguely make out the fish, chips, peas and ketchup....

The Variables are another matter, thankfully on my Teaching Computing course, some of the wonderful teachers have given me some links so I can learn coding for Dummies..... Thanks guys really appreciate it!!

Sunday Winter Wonderland

Had an exhausting but amazing day. Left home early to get there for the 12pm Kickoff and it was already in full swing by the time we arrived. We spoke to the Town Crier, seen the Mayor of Merton http://www.lovewimbledon.org/news/wimbledon-winter-wonderland-2014/ and Small had her picture taken with a snowman on stilts.

Unbelievably I had put the camera battery onto charge and left without putting it in the camera but luckily after all the fun we went and had food with the family and some pictures were taken there. Enjoy.

Small as Elsa

Enjoy your day!!

Wimbledon Winter Wonderland 12-6 pm Sunday (Tomorrow) 30th November 2014

2014-11-29T20:46:00.000+00:00

Ok so today I had a day off the girls went gardening to nannies

So I decided to have a go at a Wordpress Blog, have been meaning to start one for ages but have been so busy, anyway https://crystalclearmusings.wordpress.com/ Day 1.....

What can I say, Blogger is the baby, if you are new to Blogging (like me) then hit Blogger first.

If on the other hand you are a sadist go for Wordpress, only joking. Seriously it is amazing and really helps with me learning to code. It will take a while to get my head round this one for sure.

The thing that is winding me up about it atm is I can't work out how to change the header font, like a fool I went for the fancy option and it looks awful, never mind I will work it out eventually ;) Anyone out there that can offer advice? I went for the free blog so the controls are different....

Also my phone is dead, people are trying to ring, email, text and I can't do anything, so am waiting on son to bring his old phone round, hopefully before Christmas.....

Speaking of Christmas I have changed all profile pictures to holly, just to confuse everyone, so if you follow me on FB, Twitter, G+ etc and see the above pic, you found me.

Don't forget WWW tomorrow, 1pm for the Frozen song

I know it's the adult version but I love it, anyway you will be able to sing along to the proper version tomorrow and........ hot off the press

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/movie-news/frozen-2-the-sequel-is-happening-says-idina-menzel-who-voices-elsa-30784596.html

Yeap Frozen 2 is in the making.... 4 yo will be over the moon.

Am sooooo tempted to let her wear her dress tomorrow instead of waiting until Christmas.

Yes for this post I have enlarged the text to large, would welcome feed back, I can see it much clearer but not sure how it looks on the blog itself, I know sis will love it :P

This is the tree I want, I think it's lovely. Unfortunately the girls want me to drag the 7 footer out, once again the learning area will be transformed, considering the room is 13 ft by 15 ft there won't be much room left for moving about but if it makes them happy what the heck.

I still remember Poppy's expression last year when the bloomin thing fell over about 3am

Same expression but she was asleep on my bed, anyway this year I think Lilly will be the one knocking the tree over that's why I will attach it to the ceiling :)

Speaking of Christmas (again) a reminder One of Santa's elves..... Has an important message: (aka the wonderful hardworking Nicola)

Christmas letters to Santa

Santa is extremely busy at the North Pole, making sure all the presents, including yours, are ready and wrapped for Christmas Eve.

It’s a very exciting time for all; Rudolph and Santa can’t wait to land at your home with all your gifts. Rudolph is especially looking forward to eating the carrots you kindly leave and maybe a mince pie for Santa…

To ensure Santa receives your letter on time please can you send to the following address:

Santa/Father Christmas,
Santa’s Grotto,
Reindeerland,
XM4 5HQ

Santa will respond to as many letters as possible, in between getting the sleigh ready for the long journey on Christmas Eve.

To receive your card back from Santa, please make sure you write to him using the correct address on a stamped envelope. Don't forget Santa needs to know your full name and address to reply.

Santa is happy to receive your cards and letters now but because of a very busy Xmas ahead could you please write to him by no later than Saturday 6th December.

Be good and enjoy your holidays,
Santa

See you all tomorrow, enjoy your Saturday night

The Challenges of Learning ;)

2014-11-28T16:02:00.000+00:00

You can now follow me by Email (on the right, finally worked out how to fix it)

Now comments can be made without having to log in etc :)

Thanks for your continued support. I'm slowly getting my head around coding so watch out for further updates/improvements as our journey continues.

Wimbledon Winter Wonderland

2014-11-27T23:41:00.000+00:00

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE 12 - 6 PM

Singalong and 'Let it Go' with Elsa, Anna and Olaf

Live Long & Prosper

2014-11-27T21:59:00.000+00:00

I was brave today, I have a massive phobia of Moths, Deaths-heads etc Completely ridiculous but there ya go, not that I have seen any in years, which in itself is odd because they used always come in, hit the light then no matter who was in the room do a kamikaze until they got me. It got to the point soon as the fecker flew in I was out the door. Anyway.........

(I'm such a saddo) Today 9 yo spots a butterfly stuck to a signpost o.0, I tried to free it with a stick but it was held fast by something, not web or it would have been gone. The poor thing hanging there trying to flutter away, prob thinking a big hairy spider is about to eat it every time I try and break whatever was holding it.

Normally I have scissors in my bag, but oh no not today.
Well I couldn't just walk away could I, so I mustered all my courage grabbed the thing, it was stuck really badly and I pulled, it immediately fell to the ground into the road.

Ok so now I got to pick it up, the 9 yo and 4 yo are watching and I can't bear to see an animal hurt  so I picked it up and tried to get as much of the 'stuff' looked like glue tbh, off the poor things back end.
Then gave it to 9 year old, it sat in her hand quivering, I'm thinking we need to get a rock the poor thing is in pain, obviously the girls wouldn't hear of it, (it was a hard choice  )

Next thing we know the little fecker must have been shivering to get the crap off it's wings and it flew and flew and our hearts soared  Shay called him Sidney.
So this goes out to Sidney wherever you are, may you live long and prosper

Remember When We Were Teenagers Back in the 70's?

2014-11-18T17:40:00.000+00:00

Just loved this pic (thanks sis) http://www.grammarly.com/

Well What a day, got an unbelievable amount of maths done, found the most awesome site studyladder. co.uk thanks to a fellow HE edder and just WOW the girls love it so signed up for 18 months.

So the whole day has been spent between Shay doing Math and Art and Ariel doing Art, Numbers and more Art, they both earned a silver certificate which has been printed off and laminated and placed in the appropriate folder.

Then they went out for an hour to burn off some energy and now they are chillaxing. You could hear a pin drop....

Just what I needed after all the drama yesterday, things were going swimmingly, my nephew turned up to do me washing machine, <3 you cus & co.

Then got taken out to dinner, nicest sit down and relax in ages, got back and suddenly Kevin appeared.

HORMONE OVERLOAD!!!!

I just love this stage (NOT)

So it all got a bit chaotic as it does when your at that 'stage' what an evening....

Anyway

Peace is restored once more I was about to say, guess I spoke too soon......

Ariel being a right pain, still bedtime soon :)

The Periodic Table (Rapping the elements!)

2014-11-18T11:59:00.001+00:00

What Are the Signs of Mice in Your House?

2014-11-13T11:05:00.002+00:00

Friday 7th

Was woken up by Ariel at 8! Thank goodness, totally forgot we had to go see Rio2 today, so a mad dash was had by all, we still managed to get there 1st so chose the premium seats.

Gradually the school classes arrived, suddenly there were screams and crying from the girls (probably boys too) mice everywhere running up and down the cinema.

Well me and the girls were in hysterics laughing, the boys were shouting rats to wind the girls up.
We have had Russian dwarf hamsters (10 when the sons were small) Got told we had 3 boys came back from holiday and found 10. The good old days .....

Anyway Rio 2, I give it 5/10 but the girls enjoyed it so it was a success then we had lunch and now indoors in the warm.

TGIF

Must remember got to go see 'escape from planet Earth' on the 19th if we all well.
Loving these freebie films!!!

Friday night Shayla went to see the fireworks with auntie :)

Saturday the family caught up for lunch as usual, followed by our own display outback with all the neighbours and kids (thanks Sean for lighting them - brave man).

I washed a quilt in the washing machine on Friday and it stopped working, so myself and son took it apart, cleaned and tested the relevant areas, grease up to my elbows but we have narrowed it down to a couple of possibilities so we are getting there. Always something.......

Sunday

Finally decided to join the Minecraft gang so I could get a better perspective of the problems the kids were having on the HE server, sadly now I'm hooked :) Have been unwell hence the lack of blogs so gave me the perfect excuse to relax for a change and hone my skills ;)

This below is not me, it's Shayla changing her skins, something else I thought her this week :)

Monday

We done our usual, found the most amazing jacket for Shayla.

A bright cardie her nan (god rest her soul) would be proud of. You need shades to look at it. I love her taste :)

We also got a few books :) and Ariel has been practicing her watercolours.

Got a lovely book to hold pictures or photos, the cinnamon on the front still smells, there's a shell, I love it.

The cold sore is back an hurts soooooooooo much.

Please note: Cold sore stages #2 thru #8 are active stages and are very contagious. Usually 3 to 4 weeks is the average life-span of a cold sore; from first to last sore appearance. Much depends on your health and choice of treatments for each of your cold sore stages.

Cold Sore Stage 1 — LATENT:

Here the cold sore herpes simplex virus is hiding in the nerve ganglia near the back of the jaw on the same side as your cold sore usually appears. The cold sore virus may "sleep" for weeks or years without incident. Your body's defense "soldiers" keep them in check. When there is stress in another part of your body, your defenses may drop at this location. Then the cold sore virus can escape and travel to the surface to reproduce, thus beginning the active cold sore stages.

Cold Sore Stage 2 — PRODROME:

The cold sore virus reproductive cycle begins here. The cold sore virus travels down your nerve fibers to the surface. This movement causes your cold sore target area to itch or tingle. You may notice a burning or dryness sensation. This stage could last a few hours to a few days before entering the more intense cold sore stages.

Cold Sore Stage 3 — INFLAMMATION:

Your cold sore virus has now arrived at the surface and begins it's reproductive cycle by entering the cells at the end of the nerve. This causes a lot of swelling and redness at the cold sore site as your cells react to being invaded by the herpes cold sore virus.

Cold Sore Stage 4 — PRE-SORE:

Cold sores at this stage are defined by the appearance of cold sore vesicles. A full blown cold sore is not one big blister but a grouping of small blisters called vesicles. You will notice these vesicles as tiny, hard pimples or red bumps that are painfully sensitive to the touch.

Cold Sore Stage 5 — OPEN SORE:

Your most painful and contagious of the cold sore stages. All the vesicles break open and merge to create one big open, weeping sore. Depending on the severity, you may develop a fever and swollen lymph glands under the jaw. The weeping fluid is teaming with newly born cold sore viruses. Touching this fluid, you could easily spread the cold sore virus to another part of your own body or to someone else - either by direct touch or sharing objects such as hand towels, telephones, and faucets.

Cold Sore Stage 6 — CRUSTING:

A cold sore will develop a yellowish crust or scab as it begins to finally start the healing process. Your cold sore is still painful at this stage. More painful, however, is the constant cracking and bleeding of your cold sore scab when you move or stretch your lips, as when smiling.

Cold Sore Stage 7 — HEALING:

Cold sores, once scabbed over, begin healing from the inside out. As new skin forms under the crust, you will experience continued itching, irritation and some pain. Your cold sore virus is now retreating back to the nerve ganglia area where it will sleep until the next opportunity.

Cold Sore Stage 8 — POST SCAB:

Cold sores at this stage no longer have a visible cold sore scab and your skin has totally healed. Under your new skin, healing is still taking place as the destroyed cells are regenerated. This produces a red spot that may linger for another 2 to 14 days - depending on your personal healing speed. You are still contagious until this red spot disappears. This waiting is the most frustrating of the cold sore stages.

Thanks to http://www.colonhealth.net/healtharticles/8-critical-cold-sore-stages-and-natural-remedies.html for the above info.

Just what I needed to hear arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Only just got rid of the last one, the one that caused the 'wart finger' that lasted for a good couple of months until I used ACV. Lesson learned not touching this with my finger will put the Aciclovir on with a cotton bud this time.......

Tuesday

Played Mincraft with son and Shay, still not well so had a lazy day, got a cold from hell for the last few months, still here, new inhaler, hopefully it will kick in soon.
Ariel had an arty day.

Wednesday

Have to go to Wim but still feel awful and the cold sore is looking worse, deep joy. Trying to get myself motivated.

Ariel decided to put a peg on poppy's tail so Elsa is now hanging by a peg on the washing line.....

Well we went to the park, took some wonderful Autumnal pictures, today we were learning about photography and the different effects you could make with a camera.
After spending several hours playing and taking many many pictures we carried on to Wim to do some shopping.

We got some lovely bits, a clock, some winter woolies, a musical box, more books on watercolours a pretty butterfly nightlight holder, a cheerleader baton etc

I took pictures as I usually do....

Shayla had a bit of a meltdown last evening as you do when you are 9.
About volcano's, (She has always had this 'thing' about volcano's) How long the Earth has been around, when will it cease to exist, why, where do we go when we die, do we have to come back to Earth again, Do they have laptops in Heaven, can you do what you want etc

Quite a deep conversation, anyway we all ended up in my bed, chatting away. Then about 3am Ariel jumped in (she wakes for a toilet break, sees Shayla gone and knows where she is) So I was awake most of the night squished between the 2 girls and the 2 cats, my bed is only small :)

Today

I have woken up even more full of cold, I feel dreadful. Tried to upload yesterday's pictures and the phone is broken too, so we lost all that work, so annoying some of the pictures were beautiful but what can you do, so now I'm on the lookout for a camera asap.

Shayla is busy on the laptop and Ariel is playing with her fairies so I'm off to make another coffee.... tbc

It's "Super-Venus"! (of Willendorf )

2014-11-06T14:47:00.001+00:00

Tuesday Shayla got her new glasses, she looks awesome and is so happy she can see clearly now. Of course she chose the funkiest teenage pairs Looking very cool and beautiful.

Ok so today was one of those days, we didn't go to any firework displays last night, Ariel was exhausted and asleep by 6.30, we had done a fair bit of walking yesterday.

Shayla wasn't in the least bit bothered, we could see plenty from the window and it saved paying an absolute fortune to stand in the cold, listening to dreadful music which is horrendously loud every year and getting covered in mud, which is what we normally do. Also auntie is taking her to a display Friday. Shhh she doesn't know ;)

We did spend yesterday, visiting the doctor for the second time in 2 days, for me, stiff neck and Asthma, then we wondered about our favorite places again... never know if you might miss something :) (charity shops) picked up some lovely bits as usual, Shay got a beautiful velvet scarf and super soft pair of gloves, it was very chilly yesterday. She also got a pretty decoration which is now hanging in the hall.

As usual our collection of books increased.

Yes it says boys but who cares :)

The storybook that has been read already.....

I got son a lovely silver box (he collects unique things, gets that from his mother).

We cracked and bought the 2 silver cushions we had noticed last week (£1.50 each).

Also got some new bed sheets and quilt covers, perfect condition £2 each and pillowcases for 50P plus a large white one which can be used as a template for repairing the sofas large cushions (recycling) 2 lovely brown cushion covers perfect for the 2 small cushions.

The girls were up early as usual, Ariel wrote our instructions for the day on the whiteboard

She also made some amazing pictures using buttons and wrote 'frozen' so clearly, she decided to have a Frozen day and has been watching and singing along with the DVD.

Flowers made with buttons

This is Elsa making her bridge in frozen

Ariel has now moved on to Barbie so some interesting artwork later I expect.

We don't really watch television, only once every 2 weeks when GS is over or if it's Bear Grylls, Shay loves survival programmes) so DVD's are a treat

Shazzy has been hard at it on you guessed it Minecraft

Don't ever tell me Minecraft isn't educational, ask Shay how to make cakes, glass, what that tree is called, what that rock is called etc etc Amazing learning tool!

So today we finally signed up to the Khan Academy after cuz sent us the link reminding us :) https://www.khanacademy.org/ Shayla starting with Paleolithic Art, currently working on Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf ) 50% complete and achieved badge of persistence.

Now She is doing an hour of Scratch and laughing so much.

Followed by 5 minutes on a Miniclip game called Sushi, which she explained all about to me, involving decision making, maths etc http://www.miniclip.com/games/en/

I have Torticollis at the moment so am taking things easy (ish)

Disaster of the day... Double quilt and cover shredded in the washing machine!!!

Never mind these things happen.

I am listening to this:

and Shayla is listening to this:

What did the squid say

Ariel is watching Frozen for the 2nd time today, I guess it's a winner :)

This is my favourite:)))

Let it Blow

We have just made a huge veg casserole that will feed us for days :) and Shayla has come up with a new experiment for next week, following on from our OU science course about solids and liquids and how they behave, she want's to see if she can make chocolate jelly so watch this space....

Ariel singing Let it Go

2014-11-03T17:08:00.001+00:00

Midges Still Biting Due to Mild November Weather

2014-11-03T15:25:00.000+00:00

Had a nice relaxing half term, got both girls eyes tested, we pick Shazzy's glasses up tomorrow. Ariel's sight is fine. Decided to do no further English or Maths until we have the glasses.

Managed to go out for a couple of hours on Wednesday with BFF and sister made a nice change.

Well after putting up the Halloween decorations on 24th ( I done it a week early because I didn't want to leave it until the last minute) then my right leg seized up for 2 days then the left knee :) I had 2 bad asthma attacks so I won't be doing Halloween next year it's sis turn phew!!!

Had to turn our learning space into a Halloween party space, the girls loved it.

They made bats and skeletons and all sorts for the wall

BFF and girls made a fab gingerbread house!!

I carved the pumpkin

The skull lost 2 teeth so I managed to give him a filling on the bottom.

Stuck this to the kitchen door and once removed it had left a nice red imprint :)

It was such a nice day we decided to move the party outside.

and once it got dark and cold we went inside.

A great time was had by all.

It is now November 3rd and I have been laid up all day yesterday with neck pain, no doctor appointments until tomorrow, when I have the men coming to do the door, got to collect and have a further test for Shay with the glasses and we were supposed to be going to see House of Magic at Kingston Odeon, never mind nanny is taking Shay to see the Book of Life instead , and we have 3 more films lined up for this month.

So today I am giving the girls a free day, so far have listened to them singing 'what did the squid say' for a couple hours, I managed to video some because I was so impressed :) Might upload to you tube.

Casserole on even though it was really painful to cut the veg, smells lovely.
Still the odd decoration about I need to restore our learning space it will be done by Wednesday hopefully.

Hopefully catch up with the rest of the family sometime soon <3 you were missed xx

Hope everyone had a great half term <3 Back to the grind

Dyspraxia Part 1

2014-10-28T22:45:00.001+00:00

Chemical Chaos

2014-10-27T21:24:00.001+00:00

What a day!
We started early.
Went to Sainsburys to get some Halloween bits, so much choice..

Check the syrup out :)

LARGE pumpkin

Then we had lunch and hit the charity shops, had to get some wool for the spiderweb game.... Found lots of treasures while we were there....

More globes, suddenly we have a collection...

One from Russia

Science experiment

Star Chart

Random Books

A pretty mirror

Sparkly S ring for Shayla

Got Duck Shoot for a fiver, we all had a go, will play this on Halloween

Ariel loved it :0)

Sharpshooter

Shayla played on the new HE server

Deep concentration

Myridas

Creeper

Witch

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the most beautiful of them all

Got a few more decorations ;) Will put up tomo.

Sat outside with the patient enjoying the night. Looking forward to Friday :)

Experience A Real Family Adventure

2014-10-26T21:00:00.001+00:00

Started another forensic Science course Friday, could barely move after putting the decorations up for Halloween, but the brain is still working ;)

Sadly the H on my keyboard is dying this could get flamin annoying.....

Went to the park

Found some more Fungi

What a nice week end, had lunch with the family yesterday, then hit the charity shops and stocked up on books :) (For me for a change)

Had a lovely lunch with the kids and grand kids :)

They can't even leave Scratch alone when we are having a meal :)

Spent Saturday evening with my wonderful neighbours, lots of delicious foods and great company.

I lay awake most of the night contemplating the universe, as you do :)

Son took me, Kat and Shayla to McDonald's for breakfast and then himself and Shayla made their first video, battling Herobrian,

My little Kat wasn't well bless her <3 so she ad a kip
whilst the small ones had a dressing up and dancing contest ..... battling goblins :)))

Myles was Iron man and Ariel was a princess

Myles got the usual cows horn, running into a door this time o.0

Very peaceful and fun week end was had by all <3

Some dancing

Posing

Drinking...

Learning

Dressing up

Poppy rose above it all ;)

5 days till the party :))) Catching up wit the rest of the family. Can't wait.

The New Periodic Table Song

2014-10-25T09:59:00.000+01:00

Modern Techniques of Relaxation.......

2014-10-24T19:55:00.000+01:00

It's half term at school so we are having half term too, a week to relax and just enjoy family time. A normal week but without lessons...

Easier said then done...

Shay is making words with Lego <3

Says 'MUM' awww

Ariel is doing amazing work with her pictures and letters

Translation: Happy Halloween :)

We are having a Fancy Dress Halloween party, so she has been making invitations.

Well it took most of the day to put the Halloween decorations up, our work space is now looking spooky!

If I hear 'Another one bites the dust' one more time.... The girls played and danced to it for about an hour ^^^^

This one freaked my poor Lilly out because it moves ^^^^

Still got to make the gingerbread house :) and do the outside decorations but will do that next week sometime.

BFF in charge of the games, it's going to get messy!!!!

TGIF

What Makes A Good Pizza?

2014-10-23T22:41:00.000+01:00

It's been weeks since I last blogged, I had a chest infection and wart finger (3) that wouldn't go using Bazooka so rather them getting it frozen I decided to use ACV unfortunately in my haste I used too much and ended up taking most of my skin off my index finger, so now I am typing with my middle fingers.

The carnation experiment failed, we got a tiny bit of pink in one flower but mostly we got mould in the water....

We have since tried the milk experiment with the same food colouring using both semi skinned and full fat and that experiment failed too so I'm thinking I need to try a different food colouring.......

The ACV is working a dream, just using on the wart with a cotton bud now, dabbing a bit on and keeping covered with a plaster. Hopefully soon the bloomin thing will be gone.

Anyway since I last blogged, Shay has turned 9, she had an amazing Minecraft birthday with family and friends.

BFF made the most amazing cake ever!!!

We completed the Science course learning about solids and liquids.

and about DNA. Pronounced (dee-oxy-rye-bow-nu-clee-ik acid).

Whilst doing English, we came across a question about a lion, Shayla asked does Lion poo contain DNA? So we researched Lion poo. I draw the line at extracting DNA from one of our cats poops. Yes you can, but no I won't.

I also completed pt 1 of Learning Coding, really enjoyed the course and looking forward to part 2.

During the course I learnt about a programme called Scratch and we have incorporated that into our IT lessons. We have had so much fun trying to use it.

Ariel is learning the time...

We received our maps and stickers from Bear so that's another project to start soon. Sent 20 bar codes and received 2 maps and 2 lots of stickers. 1 each for the girls. Very impressed.

We had a camp night and turned the bunk beds into a tent and read stories in the dark....

Ariel has been working hard

Shay having a relax

I still haven't used the sewing machine, bought plenty of material from the charity shops but we decided they were too nice to cut up.

However we got a cardboard doll yesterday that came with lots of material and the girls made outfits and Shay made a cushion.

They had fantastic fun and now Shay is addicted to sewing :)

She has also worked out how to make music in Minecraft and is working hard at her English & Maths although her favorite is IT and Science and Reading.

We just found out tonight that The Magic Faraway Tree is to be made into a film!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29706443

Ariel has been very creative of late

This is her in the rain...

A rainbow

Contemplating Autumn....

Shay getting ready to go to a wedding, she had a fantastic day :)

Sunday night Shay decided to learn some more about Egyptians

She wrote her name in hieroglyphics

Monday we decided to do a bit of History and hit the park again....

Seen the biggest pumpkin ever

Chillaxed in the woods

Shay waiving her bamboo

Fungi

Lots of climbing on trees

Seen some beautiful birds

Found some strange trees we couldn't identify...

Started a new topic for Shayla

Paige wanted to learn to belly dance

Got some more bits from the charity shops

The girls decided they wanted to make pizzas for dinner

They were actually really nice, BBQ chicken, pineapple, choritzo ...

We got a 3D puzzle from the charity shop, WOW how hard are they, anyway we finally finished it and it was so pretty we put it in a frame.

The owl turned out beautiful

Today we decided the Halloween party would be at ours so made lots of scary creatures

Scary Skeleton!!!

Then the girls made the Nether using Lego.

Tomorrow we put the Halloween decorations up, BFF is in charge of the games and it's fancy dress, the girls can't wait they <3 this time of year.

Finally HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SIS love you loads, she is off doing an English course tonight so we will have a double celebration on Halloween!!!

20 Great Reasons You Homeschool

2014-10-10T12:32:00.004+01:00

Have been unwell so behind in the blog but I will catch up soon :)

Crystal Clear

WHAT'S YOUR VIEW OF HOME EDUCATION?

It's all about me

I need my bed.....

Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is said to have bathed her ass in milk?

Grumpy cat Sleepy Saturday

TGIF

The wonders of life

Launch unable to go ahead next possible launch at 7.05 ET Friday

LIVE on NASA TV: Orion Launch Coverage :

Critical Step on Journey to Mars

Latest Orion Videos

Charles Babbage, Java, Variables and Frozen

Yeah! Caught up at last! At the moment Big is hard at it with her Maths, she is doing amazingly well, then after English we might venture into town and pay some bills, get some groceries and see what reading and learning treasures are to be had at the charity shops.

Don't forget to do your Hour of Drawing with code o.0 Using Khan (Great resource)

Also learning Intro into JS: Drawing and Animation

Sunday Winter Wonderland

Wimbledon Winter Wonderland 12-6 pm Sunday (Tomorrow) 30th November 2014

See you all tomorrow, enjoy your Saturday night

The Challenges of Learning ;)

Wimbledon Winter Wonderland

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE 12 - 6 PM

Singalong and 'Let it Go' with Elsa, Anna and Olaf

Live Long & Prosper

Remember When We Were Teenagers Back in the 70's?

The Periodic Table (Rapping the elements!)

What Are the Signs of Mice in Your House?

Friday 7th

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Today

It's "Super-Venus"! (of Willendorf )

Ariel singing Let it Go

Midges Still Biting Due to Mild November Weather

Dyspraxia Part 1

Chemical Chaos

Experience A Real Family Adventure

The New Periodic Table Song

Modern Techniques of Relaxation.......

What Makes A Good Pizza?

20 Great Reasons You Homeschool