Elevenses !!!!!!

[MaryAnnSingleton]

ah, we can only do 1000, so here's the new one, hope you find it !

Thanks both of you. That book does look lovely MAS. B really likes Badgers Parting Gifts too. I was really surprised at how badly B felt the loss. She is a very sensitive, caring sort of child though, so I guess it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Did O and E go to school happily this morning Hippi? B was looking forward to it, but it was a bit of a shock not seeing many of her friends as they're in the other class. I left her sitting on the carpet alone, and came home in floods of tears I really don't think the school have handled the split with regard to friendship groups at all well. B isn't with her two very best friends, which is very sad. I know she'll be fine, but it was still a bit IYKWIM?

The house feels very quiet and empty ATM, so I'm cleaning and tidying. boring, but long overdue!

Badgers Parting Gifts is a lovely book - same kind of gentle thing as Frog...
we're waiting in for gas man to do boiler service -between 12 and 6 ! T is convinced they'll ring before coming as in the British Gas adverts -we'll see. Hope it's soon as I need to do the shopping at Sainsb.

Hi MAS! Hope the gas man has been or comes quickly. Nothing more irritating than hanging about the house not knowing exactly when someone will arrive.

I'm waiting for the rain to ease so I can take doggle for a walk. The forecast suggested it'd be dry today, so I wasn't rushing to get him taken...

OMG Hotcross - they have split B fromher friends, did I miss that?? Poor little B
O was very keen to go in this morning, so am sure he will ahve had a good day. E does not start until tomorrow. But today she had a birthday party to attend and lots of her classmates were there so that was lovely She is very very keen to go back to school!
The party was in Woking so we cycled there along the canal. Then I had lunch in Woking with one of my friends whilst the dc were partying (bowling at the Big Apple)

Dilly had his 2-day post op check today and the nurse is concerned he is too swollen. Have to try and keep him quieter and bring him back on Monday.

The SENCO from O's school has just rung and asked me to meet her in the library after I ahve picked O up. Wonder what she wants [fret] She co-ordinates the Toe by Toe so perhaps it is about that....

Has the gas-man been yet MAS?

poor Dillydog..gentle hugs for him...
Yes,gas man came just after 2 ish and all ok - he was nice and jolly and he did ring just before arrival,just like the adverts ! Been to Sainsbury's too. Hope B ok, and also O and E. Did you hear back from SENCO yet hippi ?

Morning Glad gasman came MAS. Am impressed he rang first!

Hope E went into school happily today, and that O had a good day yesterday.

There was a little wobble from B this morning - the first ever - but she eventually stopped clinging on and went into class

There are two parallel classes which are mainly Year Two, with six Year Ones mixed in. So the school have to mix the children each year to fit into five classes, as county wont pay for another teacher to fill the last classroom Last year B was fortunate to be in a sole Year One class, but this year they have had to split it between two classes, and unfortunately B's two best friends are in the other class She has a couple of friends in this class, but not close friends, and she told me she played with her original friends in the playground. I'm sure it will all be fine, but it's all a bit strange and difficult at the moment. At least she seems to like her teacher!

How's Dillydog today? Hope the swelling has gone down and he's more comfortable. I have to take an itchy scratchy doggle to the vet this afternoon. He's being driven demented by the itching, and de-fleaing treatments haven't stopped it... I wonder if he has mange again? Apparently the foxes round here are rife with it, and they use our garden as a shortcut.... Lovely!

Oh, poor B
E quite often plays with children from another class - so in that respect all will be fine for B

E went in very happily today - she was sooo excited
O went in happy too.

Right, my big news is:

I HAVE A JOB!!!! Eek....

The SENCO has offered me 12 - 15 hours(exact amount to be decided) to work as a 1 to 1 TA / assistant with a boy in Year 5 who for various family reasons has never been to school. They don't have any paperwork on him but I spent a bit of time with him this morning and I don't think he can read at all
So my job will be to support him in class and to do work with him outside class to bring him up to speed. Eek again...

Hotcross, you are a teacher, I will probably need to pick your brain for this a lot!! I was thinking about getting him familiar with the alphabet to see if he recognises any numbers and then start with basic phonics to start him reading. Much like reception work really.

So there you go I am very very excited and ridiculously pleased to be asked. Hopefully this boy stays in school. Apparently his sister tried school last year and lasted all of 3 weeks. If this boy leaves school, I am out of a job because I am tied to his statement. But we will see.

Dillydog is much bouncier today but his scar looks a bit red and sore so am taking him back to the vet at 2 to be checked over.

We have a lot of foxes too - in fact last night they woke me up 'crying'. Horrid noise. And yes, they much be harbouring fleas! Hope doggle is less itchy soon hotcross

doh! The alphabet has letters, not numbers...

WOW! WOW! WOW! You dream of this happening. How fantastic! Well done Hippi!

Gosh, he can't read at all... That's very exciting, but quite overwhelming. Will you have to plan his activities, or will the teacher plan them and you carry them out? What about maths etc? It's quite unusual for a child not to have ever attended school and also not been learning at home... Poor soul has a lot of ground to make up Lucky him having you to help

B will be fine I'm sure. She is a very sociable little girl, my big concern is that she will become close friends with the Year one girls in her class (5/6 of them) and then 'lose' them when she goes to Junior School. Also one of her best friends was incredibly able and B pulled herself up to be able to do everything that J could do. The only children from her literacy and numeracy groups from last year are boys... T'will be fine I'm sure. Just a period of adjustment.

I still can't believe it - I keep having to pinch myself....

It was pure luck - normally they advertise TA positions and competition is fierce. But they only found out yesterday this boy was coming, teh SENCO remembered I had expressed an interest in special needs to her 2 years ago (when I started doing Toe by Toe), so when the headmaster announced that they needed someone to work with this boy and could anyone recommend anyone at such short notice my name was mentioned Hence the phonecall, and here we are

The boy is from a traveller's family and has not attended school much. The family has just moved to the area and mum (or stepmum, not sure) wants the boy to go to school. They reckon he is about 5 years behind (which would make him 4) in terms of reading, writing, maths etc.

The teachers will identify areas they want me to work on with him but it is up to me to do the planning [fret] It is also up to me to decide how much class time (as in I sit next to him and keep him on task) and how much 1 to 1 time to give the boy. But am hoping for some guidance from his teacher on that one [fret again]

It has not really sunk in yet, it was sooo sudden, but am sure I can make this work [fingers crossed]

Oooh, have just re-read your post and you reckon doggle may have mange? Yikes. Is that easy to treat? Poor doggle. And poor you, it is no fun listening to scratch scratch scratch....

v brief post as dh working from home and wants to get on computer...
but WELL DONE HIPPI - am so,so pleased for you - it's brilliant news and you deserve it - huge hugs and kisses !
Hope all dcs happy after school today - T went in to find out when his singing lesson is on Monday but was alarmed to see children he thought were in his year there in uniform -he ran home again in a panic,thinking we'd got the date wrong..we hadn't and when he calmed down and went back he realised that it was probably new yr 7s from his old school who looked familiar !!
Anyway, off to try on new shoes which have arrived.
Hope all ok at vets with Dillydog and that Hotcrosshound isn't mangey xxxx

Just checking in to say goodmorning

Am bracing myself for a horrible day today.
Dh cut the hedges yesterday and got a bit carried away - lopping too much off the neighbours side. Neighbour vary funny about his hedge and whilst a nice man can be very shouty so am bracing myself for a confrontation. Am terrified - I don't do confrontation [fret]
Dh is in Manchester for the week again so it will be me dealing with irate neighbour [quiver]

Then I have to go tot he dentist to have a filling. Which is horrid in itself. Dh had an appointment there Friday eve and when he got there the surgery was closed. Am worried they are going to say we missed the appointment and have to pay the penalty for that. Dh was not late but we have no written proof of the time of the appointment, we thought it was 5.15 they obviously thought it was earlier or else they would not have closed the surgery at 5. Am bracing myself for a possible confrontation there. [fret again]

And then dillydog has the vet, his scar is looking a bit red and weepy. Sob.

And I am very very very nervous about work next week. The SENCO does not work Monday/Tuesday (she had a baby last year and now does p/t) so she is not there to help guide me. And my biggest fret is that I ahve had two conflicting conversations regarding my hours and have no idea how long to work for on Tues, Weds, Thurs next week.

Aaaaaa, can I go back to bed please and hibernate until next week, when everything will have been sorted out.....

I hope you are all well and T enjoys going back to school

not vary funny, very funny!

Morning! You are still losing so much weight Hippi - WOW!

Sorry you're feeling so stressed TBH, the neighbour should just be grateful your dh has done the hedges, surely?? Not that it always happens like that...

Yuck about the filling I share your feelings about that - am long overdue to visit the dentist, I suspect I need root canal work, but am hiding behind not being able to find an NHS dentist. Must be brave and try to find one... It sounds like they aren't terribly well organised if they gave dh the wrong appointment. You shouldn't have to pay.

Poor old Dillydog. Definitely sounds like the vet needs to take a look. Give him a pat from me - am desperate to meet him!

Try not to worry about work. They wouldn't have given it to you, if they thought you couldn't do it... Why don't you pop into the office and say you're a bit confused about which hours you're needed? School should have a timetable for you, or can check with the SENCO.

I know how you feel about trouble with the neighbours. We don't get on with ours particularly well - we're the neighbours form hell in her eyes - but she's trying to sell her house, so wants to keep on good terms with us. Anyway, last week a fence panel came down between our gardens, and she raced round to tell us 'our' panel was down...We queried it was ours and she was adamant it was, and that our vine had made another panel fall over. Anyway, dh has dug out the deeds and it's definitely her fence! Now she's away for 2 weeks, so dh has wired it all together, but I'm sure she'll come back for a fight! It's grand. Am praying for friendly lovely neighbours to move in...

B has gone into school slightly unwillingly again, but at least her wee Polish friend is back, albeit in the other class, so she'll be able to see her at break. It's breaking my heart to see my previously very happy at school child so unsure Will just try to stay positive and smiley for her...

Gosh this is long... Must go and clean. Hope T has a good first day back MAS and that you've had a good weekend!

Oh poor B Am sure she will find her feet soon and make some nice friends in her own class, but it is heartbreaking sto see them so down
I am very much against classes being mixed up every year, it is just too much for them, they are still so young and need the security of their pals.

Not too sure about neighbour - last time dh chopped the hedge back quite dramatically and he threatened to sue us for lack of privacy He never did, calmed down and apologized but still...

Dentist issue is sorted - they rang dh to apologise but his appointment was not on the system... So no need to pay for an appointment we missed and they have re-booked him for later this week.
Still my filling to do though, am terrified...

Popped into school this morning to clarify my hours - SENCO not here till Weds, office lady did not know.
Will make packed lunch just in case I am doing longer days to cover the 12 hours...

Nurse was happy with my weightloss, so at least that went well this morning

Right, need to dash to postoffice and then dentist.
Back later (with a swollen cheek [worry])

Hippi - I echo all that Hotcross has said - try not to fret about the job - you'll be absolutely fine and they certainly wouldn't have asked you to do it if you hadn't been the right person...have confidence in you !!! lots of love to Dillydog and good luck with dentist - tell yourself it will soon pass.
Am sure neighbour will be very grateful - I would be
Took my first tamoxifen this morning - sleepless night partly because I was over tired.

oh, we must've been typing the last 2 posts at the same time !

Well done MAS! FWIW I think it sounded a good idea, but I think you were right to take the time to think it all through. Hopefully you will have no ill-effects and were worrying unnecessarily . How was T this morning? I did feel sorry for him when you said he thought he'd got the day wrong - that heart in your mouth feeling is horrid!

Am glad you asked school Hippi - you've done all that you can to find out your hours, so they can't say you got it wrong! It'll be fine Hope the dentist is nearly over and done with!

Have cleaned the bathroom - a good scrub, so am sitting down for a quick cuppa. Aaaah!

thanks hotcross - I guess any side effects would take a few days to kick in - am going to not look out for any and hope they pass me by. Apparently different brands of tamoxifen can have fewer SEs - it's all very complicated !!
T was ok about going - must put his new shoes out to try indoors for a few days....
well done for bathroom cleaning - am off to shops shortly-are you two chilly btw ? I'm freezing here xx

Hello you two Well done MAS, I too think it is the right decision and I hope all side effects pass you by

Well, I am back. Dentist had me in tears as he warned me he had to do the full anaestetic block and that is an "uncomfortable" (his words)injection, but actually it wasn't too bad. Filling itself was fine. Am nearly £50 poorer and have an appointment with the hygienist for next month. Sigh. But needs must. Have a funny tingling face though and am unable to sip my water as it dribbles straight back out so have resorted to a straw!

Met neighbour and apologised for the hedge. He was a bit shocked but not cross because I volunteered dh's services to cut his other hedge so they both matched

So just the vet to go now and my horrible day is over.
Great, just in time to start panicking about work tomorrow....

well done for surviving dentist hippi - frankly I think hygienists are a waste of money -they are sadistic failed dentists in my opinion !
Hope vet visit ok and try not to fret about tomorrow...
and look forward to your special day !

Oh no, really? I thought it may be a good way of giving my teeth a very good clean and maybe prevent some further cavities? Dh has never gone to a hygienist and has lots of fillings, his brother goes to the hygienist twice a year and does not have a single filling....
Mmm, may have to rethink it then.

Am dreading tomorrow. Am very worreid about not being useful and just being in the way and evryone thinking 'what on earth is she here for?'
Will be glad when it is over....

You will be fine! You will be fine! Try not to worry, you are a lovely, warm, capable woman and they have chosen you to do this job. I still think some pre-guidance would have come in handy, but I'm guessing the teacher will direct you a bit until you both get to know the boy. You will be fine!

Hope the vet went OK!

you will be more than fine, you'll be fantastic - try not to worry...
hygienist thing is only my opinion but I've only ever been twice and they really didn't do anything more than what the dentist will do except make my gums bleed by hacking at them and telling me how to floss (my dentist always told me I kept my teeth pretty squeaky clean !) I do have a zillion fillings but they're old ones and most of my repairs these days are to crumbling ancient jobs !!
Good luck tomorrow xxxxx