The sun has got his hat on

The sun has got his hat on hip hip hip hooray the sun has got his hat on and we've been out to play :d.

So Lucy's book arrived this morning, this one and it got her crafty juices flowing so we decided to go to the park and then pick up some art supplies on the way back.

The park was lovely still really quiet as it was quite early we went into the walled garden first and it really is like stepping back in time to a Victorian garden , its just really really beautiful full of arches and an old fountain with ducks waddling around, the roses smelt beautiful I could have stayed there all day, especially when  Lucy and Lola found a little hidden spot and we watched 2 squirrels sat on a picnic bench eating some breakfast, it was very cute.

We set off to the main park and discovered some new park equipment, a huge hammock and a climbing frame made from ropes, the girls had me pushing them around on the hammock and Lola had a huge tantrum and I had to wrestle her back in her pram.

Found a craft shop and the lady who ran it was brilliant she gave us loads of free loyalty points because it was our first visit and told us about the classes she runs one sounds interesting for Lucy filmo modelling, think we are definitely going to go along on Saturday.

DIY ANGST

Its been a pretty lazy week if I'm honest MrB had a week off and that tends to make me go into weekend mode and want to slob around in my PJ's /blush/ I do think it has the same effect on him as none of the DIY jobs he was going to do are done, the stairs are still banisterless  (is that a word?) and the bbanister is unpainted in the porch, the lawn is still long and the bedroom still has the old wallpaper up. I am hopeless at DIY but I am seriously thinking of looking for a local college course and learning some skills.

Thursday 5/5

Ok so the past two days have been fun, We have decided to get a rabbit, 2 rabbits if the kids have their way, 1 if I get mine and none if MrB gets his ! We have a hutch all ready now we just need to find a bunny or two.
Lucy had an art pack I picked up in Homebargains last week and it had instructions on how to draw a dog this led to Lucy drawing all kinds of things from a bee to teapots.
Cleaned the garden, Lucy read a chapter of Danny The Champion Of The World to me and then did some maths work online, we watched a recorded programe Junk Food Baby which was interesting and inspired Lou to research healthy food and plan a meal for next week, she also asked if we could have a go at making lemonade.
Today MrB, me, Lucy and Lola ended up messing about with rubber bands for the morning it was more fun then it sounds! Lucy has made a catapult and has basically played with it all day we worked out what stuff worked best with it and found out why lighter things went further then heavy things and she has been using old cans as target practise. We also tried to make whistles from sticks and failed miserably but hey ho never mind.
We were going to do some maths this afternoon but my brother and  nephew turned up and we haven't seen him since Christmas so we had a lovely afternoon in the garden watching Lucy, Lola and my nephew bounce around on the trampoline, he has grown so fast it was lovely to be able to give him a big hug I've missed him so much.

Baked risotto

Than is is a very simple midweek recipe brilliant to do after a busy day, it's just a chuck it in a dish and bung in the oven type meal (my favourite kind).
I have linked to the recipe below but I left out the prawns and added in bacon, it is the type of dish in which you can add anything to and is really filling.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11451/baked-spanish-risotto

Onwards and Upwards

Am breaking blogger silence, I seriously can't believe how fast this month has gone! They say time flies when your having fun and we certainly have been with the hot weather and double bank holidays everyone seems to have been in laid back holiday mode, today was the first day of normality and routine for a long time.

We haven't done much apart from hang about in the garden and catch up with friends and family but the down time was very much appreciated and needed. It was lovely to just sit and listen to the children laugh and have fun outdoors, Lola loves to be outside and  toddles around examining everything she finds, the other girls love to ride round on their bikes or learn new tricks on the trampoline, even the teen ;) came out of his room and sat with me in the sun and he didn't mention Xbox for a whole 15 minutes.

I just hope this warm weather is here to stay until October for a while.

Have sort of lost our mojo with regards to Lucy's home education probably due to the other kids been at home from school and the fact that I have discovered that Lucy and I are just not the sit down and do three lessons a day type people [blush].

So I have done what all the books and forums said I would eventually do and decided to let Lucy take the lead, (I'm just textbook me!). Anyway instead of the usual mumbles I have been getting from Lou lately she was very excited and came up with loads of ideas including wanting to learn about Italy, baking, cooking French food, making her own bath products and trying to design and make candles, growing stuff in the garden and having her own small patch, making bouncy balls, photography, redesigning and helping to decorate her bedroom and so on and so on.
We have decided that on top of this we will sit down and do some maths at least twice a week and she will do some sort of written work every day, we will also continue with reading of course but after that I am just going to follow her lead.

I so hope that this new routine works for us, it does feel as though a weight has been taken from my shoulders I was trying too hard and it was almost as though Lucy was back in school and the strain was starting to show with both of us. We have only been HE for 4 months so I suppose we were bound to hit teething problems, but now the only way is UP :).

Living Well Is The Best Revenge

I love that quote because it is so true. If you really want to piss someone off then do it by living your life to its fullest and not giving them a second thought. It will give them complete satisfaction if you wither and die like they expect so don't do it, bloom and shine and smile and enjoy every minute.

The story behind the photo

So my brother decided to be embarrassing as is his right as an annoying younger brother, but be warned I shall have my revenge! He went up to the loft in Mum's house and went through all the old photos  and posted them on facebook.
Among all the laughter and pointing at old hairstyles and clothes, he posted a picture of me holding my son when he was first born and it made me gasp!
I looked like a baby, I thought I was so grown up back then but there I am looking like I am posing with a new baby brother rather than my own son.
It is astonishing to realise that my own (not so little anymore) boy is only around 5 years younger than I was when I had him.

I keep going back to look at it and wonder why I thought I could do it, it never occurred to me that I couldn't do it which I suppose was the stubborn teenager coming out in me,  although other people were probably thinking I was doing the wrong thing and I know a few thought my Mum was going to end up looking after him, my Grandma used to say I would be propping a book up in one hand and the baby in another, actually she was right about that but he does like to read himself now so yay me.
It was hard he was a lovely baby but his first year was spent among packing boxes, a rowing family (they do like a drama!) and me being pregnant again when he was around 5 months old.
Yes it was hard and in no way would I recommend teenage pregnancy to anyone but when I look at that photo I do feel a little bit of pride at what me and Mr B achieved when a lot of people said we wouldn't cope. But we did and 13 years on all is good .
Dylan had his progress day yesterday and he is predicted to gain A* results in his GCSE'S  if he continues keeping his grades up. I am so proud of him.