Saturday windy Flying with the Family

[wendyhappysmile]

Hi all

Sorry for absence!
Swan you made me smile with the Naked Chef party!! Sounds like fun I had a Pampered Chef party on Thursday night, to clarify! LOL. It is posh very very good kitchen stuff. It was fab! All went very well, everyone enjoyed it, drank lots of wine and there were lots of sales which means lots of freebies and half price stuff for me!! Haven't quite chosen what I'm getting yet but it's very exciting!
Quick update on my life, then, been so hectic this week:
Monday spent most of day in and out of vet's. Cat had operation on two manky abscesses. All is well now!
Tuesday and Wednesday - usual stuff plus lots of last minute sorting out in the house for the party, and baking!
Thursday - spent ALL day cleaning and sorting out - DD was at MIL's
Friday - usual stuff, meant to get an early night and read a book instead

So - will catch up with you lot later when I get chance to read threads, hope all of you dear people are ok?!

Party today at Build a Bear with DS
BBL

Morning all

Scatty We have like you, I wash it and bung on the line, but also pop over a towel rail in the bathroom between uses.

Wendy Glad the party went well, sounds cool

I was in bed and asleep by 9.30 last night I think the week had caught up with me.

Meeting at sschool was a pile of pants really, we are already doing all the things they want us too and they want me to be seen individually, I wish they had told me that prior to the meeting. DS1 is alrady way ahead on FS2 mathmatics on to and above a lot of key stage 1, but he doesnt have the writing skills etc to match.

smae with DS2 in nursery, he is on to and exceeding the FS2

We are off to York in a mo, for a lazy day enjoying the sights and the sqiggles.

BBL

Tea it sounds like your school is doing a lot with your DSs. I wish I had the same problem! My DS just started in UF can read past Year 2 level but they haven't noticed yet and is still on the 1st book of Oxford Reading Tree. He is also very advanced in numeracy but they haven't said anything yet about it. We don't have any sort of written records from the teacher or even for us when we read with the children, to record what we hear. I am reluctant to say anything as it's only 4 weeks into term and I don't want to be pushy!
It's hard balancing it, I just keep thinking, it doesn't matter, he's only 4! But it does annoy me when DS is upset as another boy in his class (whose mother goes to church with DS's teacher ) is on book 6 of reading tree. again. I'm not worried about how well he is doing, I just don't want him to be disillusioned. He is already complaining he is bored with reading! This from a boy who loves it.

Hi All

Wendy - Your party sounds great but surely there should be a reading record from school. Personally I would question this or how can they check that parents are reading with their children.

Tea - I hope you benefitted from your early night - sounds just like you you needed. Enjoy York - I love that City

I'm out all day tomorrow and going out for a meal for my anniversary this evening so I have 1/2 a day to do the cleaning. So far I have tided the kitchen and put a load of washing in. I think I'm going to use whoevers timer idea it was from earlier in the week. I think I will set the timer for 15 minutes and do 15 minutes in each room and then at least I will feel like I have done something.

Hope you are all well

BBL

Morning all TM&wendy It gets very confusing, (not quite the word I'm looking for) hard to balance maybe better, not be been seen as a difficult parent but, ensure your child is receive the schooling he needs and the right instruction from the family. (see I didn't get that, as I'm sure other could have used less words)
Ds hasn't, doesn't find formal learning easy. He is very articulate and remembers the most amazing facts but finds the 3'R' difficult like his mother
Wendy Could you just buy him the set and let him take his own books to school (is that too subversive!!) If the teacher hasn't noticed you have and I think he'll respond well to Mum taking the law into her on hands.
Well it looks like a lost weekend here for me I'm still in my nightie!.
Boys are at Gymnastics. BIL & niece & nephew popping around in the afternoon and DH will take Ds to Rugby at about 4.30pm while I babysit for a friend's kids. Fair swap for last weekend for us.
haven't a clue if something important is happening Sunday!
Back with my boring list

Makingchanges Oooo! You celebrate your anniversary how lucky. We always forget ours! Have a lovely time.
Ok!
D/W & W/M on (white wash)
I am ashamed to say dark wash is still out on the line from Wednesday! I'll have to bung it back in the machine I think!
Kitchen tidy
To do
Wash & dress me
make beds
get clothes off line and bung in machine!
Clean recycling bin
A little food shopping.
Collect curtains from shop
make lunch for us
No dinner as we are all out
Chilli for Sunday dinner.

Hello to all. Sorry, I've barely skim read the thread as I need to get back to what I'm half way through doing.

scatty I think it was you asking about bath mats? I bought a duck board for my ensuite shower (It was in a M & S sale and was £30 full price but I think I paid about £8) and that seems to work well. Here is the item code of a similar one:- M & S. Bamboo duck board. £29.50. Product Code: T365750M. I wouldn't want to have one for the other shower that is over the bath as the bath has a side piece which I think could break if the wood of a duck board banged against it and it is curved not straight. Seeing as ds prefers to use our ensuite shower, it's only dd who uses the bath mat and it doesn't seem to get too wet. I put it on the chrome radiator to dry and wash it once in a blue moon!

Bye for now!

Hello Ladies

Sorry I haven't been around, I've been super busy and haven't had a chance. Hope you and DCs are all well and all that.

GOjr at MIL's and MrGO is at Elland Road. I've blessed/rescued/whatever it's called the front room. Dusted, wiped, vacced, put away stuff. I've also sewn on another badge on his Beaver uniform, done some laundry, emptied DW, put away and I'm having a nap now.

So night night for now

It seems you're all out doing fun things.
Well before I sit down with a cuppa to watch something girly I just want to get my to do list ticked off (a bit addicted to this bit)
D/W & W/M on, Unloaded & re loaded Done
Wednesday's wash off the line and put away!
Didn't bother with re wash Done
White wash hanging Done
Kitchen tidy Done
Wash & dress Done
make bedsDone
Clean recycling bin X2 Done
Recycling Done
A little food shopping.Done
Collect curtains from shop Done By DH
make lunch for us Done
The boys are going to Rugby. Not sure about dh's idea of dressing son in football shorts & football t-shirt while everyone else is dressed in woolly jumpers He has a change of trousers with him! Wish I dressed him before DH came home. Going to buy more England Rugby tops & keeps my boy cosy in future. (Rugby top in wash!)

Hi grouchy Hope you enjoyed your nap

afternoon all

day was going well... Orchard Apple Day was good....lots of apples LOL and craft type things, made a bird box, wooden necklaces, pressed apple juice,did a treasure hunt...All a bit blustery but still fun!

excavated loft in search of old textbooks....sadly seem to have dissappeared
Did get down all the winter clothes though and made some start on saorting them out ....

Have unfortunately just had traditional weekend argument with DH though so things going downhill now....

BBL

Hello
Been a while since i popped in i think.

Not doing to well with housework but getting by! I am just not a naturally tidy person.

Been doing lots of selling on Ebay which is helping me to buy a few bits here and there for Xmas.
DS's 10th Birthday next Saturday so i had to get some bits for him yesterday while i had some money!

Hope everyone is OK?

We have had a lovley day out at York and now have 3.5 kg of pears (from SIL's tree) simmering so I can make pear butter/jam.

Wendy They noticed DS's talent in preschool, plus I am not backwards at coming forwards. We are keen to expliot DS's wish to learn whilst we can. I dont want him to be labled disruptive, so met with his teacher before the start of school (on the advice of Preschool teacher. We also have formal reading book (only a line or so for each night), where we right about the book and the teacher also sends any communicatuin home too. He also has a project book too!!!

Ah fight ensuing must dash

galen Hate it when we have argument. I've never been a big fan of weekends. I always used to work at the weekends & sort of miss it now! DH never understand that! I now try and do as much housework as possible keep the boys happy & enjoy the week days off especially now that Ds is in school. Do like our Saturday & Sundays dinners when we have friends around the table.
Tortoise can't get my head around ebay it seems so much work on the Internet I can't get to grips with it that's why my loft is full & then give up and give it away to charity shops!
About to go to mates house to babysit Making this house warm & cosy for the boys as the weather has turned very cold!
Hope it's okay for Ds's Birthday treat next weekend

Star It really isn't too much hard work to use Ebay. I find the worst bit is packaging items and taking to the PO! Although, if i wasn't so skint i probably wouldn't bother so much!

Hi Tortoise and Starbear,
Apple day sounds fab, Galen,
pear butter sounds like lovely potential Xmas presents TM
not really out doing FUN things, but out at least, away from rather grumpy dh and half kids
Learning how to be a catechist, less frightening than I thought, 2 other untrained people as well
Music school, sat in on dd's violin lesson as usual
Then took ds1 to altar serving training.
He had tantrum on way there was only persuaded by dire threats, said candlesticks were too heavy etc, but immediately cheered up when saw ALL familiar faces there and I wasn't the meanest mother in the world to make him involved.
bought two new bath mat sets with matching loo mats [thank you Scatty] v cheaply
public library and charity shop, loads of lovely books to read, Enchanted April video music to sightread (me) and Arthurian stuff too for Merlin fanatics

think I have just about got through the day anyway [fixed
Looking forward to books, soup and bed

sorry Wendy about the Chef, fag-ending as usual - will research on internet.

Wendy, you are not being pushy if you buy one, more advanced ORT book, read it with him, send it in with him and ask teacher to listen to him read it. She will expect feedback from you, (esp if no reading record as yet) - that's not pushiness.

Thanks guys, for all your feedback on DS's reading - we do have the set of 8 oxford reading tree books which go up to Level 4 - he reads the level 4 books with ease. I am trying to give the teachers the benefit of the doubt for a few weeks, they have 44 children in Upper Foundation in the one class and it must be difficult to get their heads round them all! Perhaps a reading record will appear when all the children have books - some are still just learning their words. The children all have a tub of words they bring home which they seem to be 'tested' on each day - what bugs me is DS can obviously read all the words he is given but still is being given one word per day if we're lucky - and he has lost interest in the whole thing. As a teacher myself I would always try to differentiate work for less and more able, but perhaps it's just time that is needed.

Phew, sorry for rant.
Party at Build a bear was ok - not my cup of tea really. Don't know if you have ever been to one but they're just in the shop, and being Saturday the shop was rammed with people.
Eaten lots and lots today, sitting here on the sofa feeling fat now.
swan don't worry about the Chef thing - it really made me laugh!!

Not being pushy at all with the reading books. GOjr has just started Yr2 and I've spent 2 years badgering the teachers for harder/more books for him. He was bringing home 2ORT books a week last year. the new Y2 teacher beat me too it this year and has given him a book he's having to really tackle. He told me that it's the only range they can give him as he knows all the Year 2 and 3 words So I'm a pushy mum I'm afraid

Hello everyone. My dinner is ready so I must go. Have nice evenings all

Wendy Make an appointment to see the teacher. 44 children seems far too many for me. DS has 24 in his class with 1 teacher and 1 TA. There are 3 classes in his year with 70 odd pupils

He should be engrossed and happy to read, do it yourself with him. We have those ORT books too

I would rather have a happy engaged child and a pee'd off teacher TBH. I dont mind if they think I am a oushy parent.

Hiya all Good morning!
Thanks for input again. Will wait another few days on reading and see if situation improves.
Nice sunny day, off to Fountain's Abbey today. Hope you all have a lovely day!

morning all

slow sart here....drank some wine last night which is never a good idea for me LOL (only 3 glasses but it still leaves me V grumpy the next day LOL)

Still will persevere!

Plans for the day:

Walk in local woods as it is nice and sunny again
Finish sorting out bags of winter clothes, put summer clothes in loft.
Big laundry catch up, sort uniforms for tomorrow..
Seem to be skipping church today...
Shopping :groceries, glue sticks ,printer ink and paper....
Still need to menu plan for the week...

right well better get on then....

wendy 44 does sound a lot....there is a legal limit of 30 for one class for KS1 , but maybe foundation is different, not sure...I would go and talk to teacher though. I my experience teachers are normally very recetive to being approached about such matters.(I have often put off talking to a teacher , not wanting to seem pushy and then found the teacher was rreally glad I had talked to her!) It is definitely worth it as it would be such a shame for your DS to become bored.... it is a wonderful thing to foster a love of reading and putting him off at this stage would be such a waste. My DS1 was always a brilliant reader.I had to push for him a couple of times in KS1 and am so glad I did cause he is now a huge bookworm with a reading age of 16+ at the age of 11, but more importantly he still LOVES books and reading(not bad for an 11 year old boy LOL)

other individuals to follow!

Morning all I should be at the gym but not keen on the idea, but I've got no excuses now as I completed most of the house work yesterday. Just Chilli gone Barmy to cook for dinner! Maybe I'll fake it and just walk along the river with my kit, as long as I smell showered he won't notice. Must Go tomorrow as I don't want to fall apart in my old age.
galen I think that why I will do anything to help Ds read. Once you conquer reading and writing the world is your oyster! I was heart broken at 10 that I couldn't read a pirate girls book written for my age range. Following year it all came together, I have read tons. Never retain any useful information but hey! No, that's not true I read today that spiders don't like conkers.
Have a good Sunday

star spiders dont like conkers... LOL

Have spent ALL morning sorting out clothes....summer clothes bagged and sorted into charity/ebay/loft to be grown into by next DD LOL
Winter clothes sorted into age and hung up
Winter coats found
Halloween costumes retrieved from loft (yay! one more thing sorted LOL)
Laundry updated and ongoing...

DH now attempting homework with DD's....lots of shouting from DD2 so dont think it's going too well...

Now off shopping, then walking in woods with doggy and new 3 wheeler buggy (which turned out to be a bit scruffy, but great to push on rough paths and OK for £15 LOL)

Right, need to go and rescue DD2....BBL