Week Commencing 16th January.

Monday:
Monthly Forest School.  The day starts at 5am.  No day should start at 5am, it's simply rude.
The journey is OK, bit faffy with a replacement bus, but manageable.  Rye is excited we are going on an adventure together; the knee has kept me mostly housebound.  I've invited Rose Howey's Canadian guest to come with us too, and it's nice to have another adult present.

While walking from the train station to the centre, I feel a tearing sensation in my calf, which hurts like the beejeebus.

Forest School starts, I hobble to the cafe, feeling sorry for myself and  I buy a slice of cake.  Raw eating be damned.   J follows one of the walks around the forest, while she's gone I crochet, drink coffee and slowly eat the massive slice of  Red Velvet cake.  It's ok, nothing to write home about.

At lunch time I arrange with a fellow home edding mum to get a lift to the station, which eases the worry about trying to walk back.

Rye is happy as Larry.  Friends, both old and new to play with, and at Forest School they are building bird feeders, and using tools.  The fresh air, seeing different people, the adventure is clearly doing him good.  We have been rather like hermits because of my injured knee.

Tuesday:
Quiet day.  Yesterday was exhausting and we both sleep way longer than normal.  My calf is wince inducing painful, and it feels like it can't take my full weight.  I'm hobbling worst than ever.  Much later in the evening I realise I forgot about taking Rye to the Black-e for Circus Skills.

Wednesday:
Today we are going to Manchester Science and Technology Museum for an explosions workshop.  The workshop is shorter than I imagined, nonetheless, Rye enjoys it.  A friend gave us a lift into Manchester and because she has to leave, we do not stay long.

 Thursday:
Ah, creative writing, I'm thankful we host this activity.  My calf is feeling much stronger, still I'm nervous of going too far.  Today in creative writing the kids are drawing and describing the characters for a story.   Rye is being obtuse, he wants to do his own thing.  I feel frustrated and annoyed, he's been attending creative writing long enough now, to know the deal - and I'm tired of his need to show off and try and be clever with me in front of his peers.  I'm also exasperated by how much he allows H to wind him up.  She's critiquing his drawings and he's whining at her to stop looking.  Eventually, he does the task - it's a bit like trying to bleed a stone and I can't decide if he's truly not understood what describing the character means or if he's being extra obtuse.

After creative writing, our friend gives us a lift to Trampolining.  Rye, when I suggested the activity was hardly enthusiastic.  "I know how to trampoline, we have one in the garden." he cockily says to me.  I insist, and clearly, mother does know best, because he has a whale of a time and wants to go again.

Friday:
Lots of playing and hanging out with our new members.  K is a young father as well as enjoying video games, electronics etc.  He and Rye have hit it off, and Rye spends most of his time talking about what he and K are going to do, and the robot they are going to build.   Electronic appliances are suddenly not safe in the house as Rye is desperate to take them all to pieces for parts for his robot.
The evening comes and we go out, with our guest to the World Museum.  There's a stargazing and astronomy event on - the sky is beautifully clear and we are looking forward to it.  When we arrive, there is a long queue.  After about ten minutes, staff from the museum begin to come outside, they are clearly looking at the long queue which is getting longer and longer.  Eventually, the director of the museum comes out and apologies profusely but suggests people go home because interest has far exceeded their expectations and inside there are really long queues too for each of the activities.   Reluctantly we leave, I physically can't stand in queues all evening on the off chance we might get to use the telescopes, so we go home.

At home my American housemate is making pizza and the Presidential Inauguration is being projected.   I don't really want to watch it.  I cannot fathom how on earth he managed to win, and it all leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.  I quietly leave after showing my face for a wee while.

Saturday:
Early start, I'm babysitting for a friend.  Rye is grumpy and being controlling.  I suspect he's still processing the altercation we had last night which resulted in me sending him to bed.  I make a mental note to talk to him about it, once the girls are picked up by their dad at lunch time.

Irritatingly, the short amount of walking I did last night, for the aborted World Museum visit has caused my calf to be exceedingly painful and tight again.  I guess I really have hurt the calf after all.

Feeling sorry for myself I make microwave flourless brownie (quite tasty) and share it with Rye, adding black cherry pie filling and custard too.  Later I allow Rye to talk me into a takeaway, which I thoroughly regret after stuffing my face.  Oh well, on wards and up wards.

Sunday:
Chilled day  mooching around doing very little.  It is also very, very cold.  Rye is pestering his new friend, a young dad who has moved into the house with his small family.  Its a case of instant hero worship, Rye of course doesn't know when to back off, so we have a wee chat.  Honestly, I'm not sure he's really taken on board the conversation - probably one of those that has to be repeated very often before it sinks in.
Once it's dark, I project  a couple of episodes of Librarians for us to watch, and then bed for Rye; hilariously, he tries to order me to let him watch another episode.  It's ten to ten though, so not a chance in hell.

Outdoor Challenge Update.

We failed.  Not long after I decided to join in, illness struck and many weeks past.

However, with weather as beautiful as of late, we've been more than making up for it:

Trips to the park have been frequent, sometimes during the day, and often in the evening after mindie has left.

Hmm, I do wish he'd stop watching the wheels spinning as he rides, I spend a lot of time calling out, "Watch where you are going, not the wheels!"

Ok, how on earth did my cute, but, admittedly, rather scrawny baby turn into this strapping lad???

 

We went to the beach on Tuesday, gosh the sun was bright.  Honestly, Rye was a bit off, we'd gone with another home edding family and he whined and moaned that he didn't want help digging his hole, he didn't want to share his bucket and spade etc. Kinda spoilt brat stuff, amazing considering the day before he had played beautifully with my friend's children and they had together, built the most amazing train track filling the entire playroom, and right along her rather big hallway!  Late night and early morning rise did not mix, clearly.

Bless him, you'd never know looking at the photo, not five mins before I'd become rather exasperated with him and told him to stop whining and just get over himself.

Wednesday I decided a mostly home day was in order, so Rye and mindie played in the garden mostly, we did pop down to the village to pick up Rye's other bike and I bought a vacuum cleaner (a Henry).  Once mindie left, I took Rye over to the little park.

And today is again Thursday and home ed group day.

 Although first we popped through to Dover to pick up my new car.  Gosh it's lovely.  I have managed for 5years without owning a car, however, increasingly, it's become apparent that the combination of childminding and home education, means a car is a useful tool, and honestly, I was simply tired of how long it takes to get anywhere without a car, not to mention the long, long train journeys to get to any camping meet ups.

So the car.  I've bought a 2011 Vauxhill Zafira, quite a fancy one too.  I didn't realise initially;  its got partial leather seats, front and back parking sensors, cruise control, six gears (not that I know what the 6th gear is for lol.. I assume motorway driving), air conditioning and at the press of a button it will check the tyre pressure is correct, and other stuff.  Oooh, it is lovely to drive too, after my friend's van, it feels so smooth and quiet. 

After picking up the car, and then queuing for diesel (don't get me started on that!), I drove back to Folkestone and we joined the home ed group down at the Coastal Park.  Rye had a fabulous time on his friend's scooter and another friend's trike.   There was some panic when I realised my friend's 3yr old, whom I was watching for her, was no longer in sight.  Big search, beginnings of real panic, before I was told he had been found - really quite far away, bless him, he's decided to go look for his mum.   Needless to say, I had eagle eyes on him after that and until his mum arrived back! 

Weekend plans, well, Rye goes to his dad's tomorrow and is not back until Sunday evening.  Ideal as I really, really need to blitz the house and garden. 

Green Parent Meet - May 2011.

This weekend was the Green Parent meet in the Forest of Dean.

Lovely, lovely weekend, with lots of lovely people, quite a few I've not met before, and familiar faces too.  The weekend made just that little bit better because my wonderful friend and her husband, lent me their car so I could drive over rather than trek across country on train and coach. 

 This year, Rye played much more with the other children, which was so lovely to see.  And of course, he was very excited to see Alice again. 

 The BBQ,  I love how relaxed these weekends are.  We all brought some food to share as well as making some for ourselves, we sat, we ate, we chatted and laughed, I watched Rye nervously around the fire, lol, and had a sip or two of pear cider.  Steady the nerves, you understand ;-)

 I wonder what he was thinking here.  Something in Rye seems to have changed a little this weekend.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but he looks a bit different; hmmm can't really explain anymore than that.

 Playing cars with other children in our bedroom.  This is the first time he's invited people to come and play in "his" room.  I was really proud of him; another milestone reached.

 Woke up on Sunday morning to find Rye asleep like this, lol.   And wow, did he sleep late, ok very late nights.. but it was around 11am when he woke up!

 The children playing with Martin.  Beautiful to watch, Jack, the dark haired little boy, was telling Martin what movements to make; and Alice and Rye joined in..

 And of course, it was inevitable that Martin would become a human horse......

 And on our last evening, we sat in the common room, chatted, the girls knitted/crochet and the boys attempted cat's cradle, lol. 

 Speaking of crochet, I started a blanket for Rye on Saturday night.  A chevron stripe.  It's looking very blue/green at the moment, but I think I will add in other colours, Rye has said to me he would like it be colourful like the granny stripe.  Pleased with how it's progressing, although this isn't quite as mindless crochet as the the granny stripe, because I have to make sure I keep to the stitch pattern so the chevrons work.  But now I'm 18 or so rows into it, it's become pretty automatic.

 

Ahhhhhh yes, a grand weekend.  Tiring, but at the same time I feel shored up too; being around similar yet different mamas and dads is so wonderful; just things like women nursing their babies as and when they need to, the different slings, babies, toddlers and children enjoying freedom, sat on an evening, some kiddies in bed, some not, Rye was one of the children who stayed up and I took him to bed when I went.  We sat and crochet and knitted and chatted.  It was easy and it was companionable.  I loved it.

I think too the Women's Circle went well; I was mildly terrified, being that I've not led such a circle before, and I did find myself forgetting my carefully rehearsed deep breathing/relaxing speel... but I don't think anyone noticed too much...shhhh lol.  But anyway, I'll leave it there for that, as what happens in circle stays in circle :-)  Just to say, I for one, enjoyed the experience.

London Zoo.

It has to be said, first off, that I wasn't impressed in the slightest - in fact, I found it a rather distressing experience.

The first enclosure we came to was that of the Vultures... and it seemed rather small for such large birds... birds that were sharing with a couple other species too!

Rye did like the monkeys.  There's an enclosure where you can walk through and actually be with monkeys - we were stood so close to some that had we reached out we could have stroked them... but of course there are warning signs not to touch the animals.

The food was extortinate, £14.95 for a vege burger+ chips and a chicken nuggest and chips, plus a bottle of water and a bottle of 7up. 

Rye was so very keen to go on this, and once on, he seemed really disappointed.  I think he thought the animals would rock or something.  He did want to go on the much large Victoria paraol roundabout - is that what they are called?  Can't think at the moment.  But that would have been £5 for the both us, and as I'd just spent £14.95 on food - not to mention £30.90 to get in, plus train travel.. I wasn't that keen to be forking out even more!  LOL  I came over all Yorkshire.

Armadillos!  Odd looking creatures.  There were tunnels under here that you could go through too, I'm not really made for climbing through tunnels.  Rye did quite fancy it, but as I couldn't go in, he changed his mind.

This was probably Rye's favourite part.  He was very lucky to get 2 goes.  First time a young lad asked his granma if he could go in the car wiht the "little boy",  and then I paid for him to have a go too. 

Bless, all the walking tired him out - even after I paid for a taxi from the Zoo back to the station rather than walk the 15 mins or so it took, to walk to the zoo in the first place. 

We did manage to navigate the train/tube gates without him getting crushed this time - although the damn things closed on me a few times - so in the end I insisted the guards let us through the disable gates - I wasn't overly impressed to be jovially told,  "that happens sometimes."  Well it bloody well shouldn't!  The damn things hurt.   I was rather impressed Rye was so good on the escalators too, after the way I grabbed and threw him clear when he fell on one of the escalators at the weekend.  Mind, I did try to keep it light, and we would hold hands count 123 and get on the escalator and then near the bottom, I would say..."ready...... JUMP" and he loved that. 

And then today - Rachael (GP Mama), her sister, Tansy and the dog visited briefly, so we went down to the harbour for a walk and an icecream, before waving them off to go to Canterbury.  Rye was very taken with the dog, I can see myself at some point seriously considering a dog for him, hmm, have to see as it is a big committment.

Rather hoping too, that next time we pop back up to London (do the museums, as I didn't do them on Monday as planned), we get to meet up again.  I'd love to take Rye to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum - I think he'd love it.. and well, I adore the Natural History Museum - although its been many, many a year since I last visited.

LOL I'm going to need another week A/L to recover from all this activity!  Tomorrow it's toddler group in the morning, and then in the afternoon, weather permitting, Brockhill Park with the HE group and Friday I have an optician appointment about having contacts lenses fitted... and probably Saturday I will take Rye to Canterbury for the day.. I've not done the Catherdral yet, so we may have to have a nosey in there.. and I'd love to go to the teddy bear museum too.

Sunday I'm doing sweet FA, that I can promise you!  lol.

Hampshire.

This will be a quicky - tis late, I'm tired and we're up early again in the morning to go back up to London.


Had a lovely time visiting family.  Nothing special, sat, chatted, watched the final of the football and Formula 1 - well my family did, I crocheted, not a huge fan of sport.
Rye enjoyed getting to know his Uncle, Aunt and cousins again - particularly my niece, who, it has to be said - is a pretty young lass - and yes my boy was making eyes at her at every chance.  He was tad in awe of my nephew, who is a tall lad but loved it when my nephew showed him some tricks with the basketball.  And wow, Rye was catching the ball too!

The idea was to visit the museums today - but I ended up staying with my family as I'd taken the trolley up with me, and getting on the escalators with that and Rye was a bit difficult as he was a bit more wary of the bigger ones.  So we took Rye to the park - lol and made him a bit green playing on the roundabout thingy.  He loved it.. but we perhaps got a little too over enthusiastic - because at the end he definitely looked green.  Once back at my brother's, Rye settled on the sofa and had a sleep.  So, we stayed later than I planned - arriving home this evening around half ten-ish.

He is getting a little more confident with the escalators - even after he fell near the bottom and I had to sort of grab his arm and throw him because I was terrified the bit where the steps flatten and go back under the ground would actually take his fingers off, (he sprawled forward), and I only had time to grab his arm, pull him up and throw.  He howled but he wasn't hurt - more the shock I think.  Lots of cuddles and he was fine and happy to go back on the escalators.

Train journey home was amusing - Rye talks pretty much constantly these days - and often the conversations are rather surreal.  A fella as he was getting off the train, complimented on Rye, saying he was a lovely boy, and it had been lovely to listen to his chatter.  Proud mama moment :-)  Turns out he's a Druid too, as he commented on my pentacle necklace, I always wear.

Anyhoos, no photos, I suspect there will be plenty from tomorrow's adventure though.  I'm taking Rye back up to London to go to the Zoo.  Yes, I know we have zoos in Kent - which I've not been to either.... I just really fancy London Zoo.

Right better get some kip now.

GP Mama Meet.

Gosh, what can I say? We had a marvelous time. Rye laughed, ran about like a looney, had 2 goes on the zip wire, thanks to Rachel and Ian, played in the rain, went to bed far, far too late and played with fire. Pretty successful weekend for a 3 1/2 year old :-)

Actually, I must firstly, thank Rachel, Ian and Jennifer for a wonderful weekend. Rachel and Jennifer did a bang up job organising it all, and were up each morning to cook porriage and get out breakfast things for the rest of us lugabugs :-) And, Ian for letting us take over the centre and cause chaos.

But anyway, the photos :-) I took over 70 photos, so I'm only going to show a selection, otherwise I'd be here all day lol.

On the train to Lydney.  We saw Sky_Curl and her family on the train and sat together for most of it.  The kids drawing happily.

Playing with clay - we were suppose to be making candle holders, Rye just liked bashing the clay into the table.

The wet felting table.

Playing out in the rain with someone's umbrella was more fun, tho.

Our walk on Saturday.  Rye wasn't too keen on meeting the horses and stayed well back.

Playing in very muddy puddles.  Rye's wellie's were full of water and mud by the time we moved on..which he believed entitled him to being carried back to the Centre - ouch, my poor knee!  lol.

Rye desperate to have a go on the zipwire, and me quietly freaking out at the idea of it.

This is the second time he went down the zipwire, this time with Ian.  He went down the first time with Rachel, while I stood at the otherside, quietly having a heart attack and fighting back stupid tears that threatened at the sight of my baby, confidently climbing a rather big ladder, I thought, and then whizzing down what look really quite flimsy, (obviously, it's not, all perfectly safe) wire to the other end, dangling mid air and then gentle being lowered to the ground.  He spent the rest of the day asking to go back on this.  I think I might have a daredevil for a son!

Playing with Jake on the "swing".  I'm not entirely sure what this is, something to do with the terrifying climbing wires etc that are very high above this. 

Sensible mamas sitting and enjoying the forest and sun, rather than dangling midair from zip wires, or climbing crazily high walls, poles etc.  ((shudder))

The BBQ on Sunday evening.  Men making fire... well, actually, sorry fellas - making a pigs ear of making fire and having to nick embers from Aisling's lad's camp fire that was blazing away merrily.

The canoe made a very popular "toy" for all the kids.

Jake and Rye, in the flesh, do not look that much alike - although they could pass for brothers and have some similar mannerism :-)

Playing with fire.  This took a great deal of self control - on my part - not to screech at Rye to get away from the fire!

Monday at the pub for lunch.  The parasols made great twirling tops!