Achieved:
- Cleared out my wardrobe & chest-of-drawers ~ two big bin bags of clothes taken out. One went to charity shops and rag bags, the other to the loft just-in-case I ever do succeed in losing some of my excess weight. I won't be able to afford a new wardrobe then, so I have a few 'favourites' in reserve :). I also realised that Minnie was now big enough to inherit some special things I'd hung on to for rather a long time ~ namely the tops from my 'going away' outfit! They haven't dated (being bought on the Indian street stalls outside The London hospital) and she looks gorgeous in it :D. I'll post a pic next time she wears them.
- I wanted to take the children out for a walk and a 'fungus hunt' one day, so we achieved that Wednesday afternoon (Taz's birthday) by having a jaunt in Delamere forest. Taz loves it there ~ it's brilliant for biking :D
- Getting the children's clothes washed and put away ~ until the tumble dryer packed up on Friday, and now I'm behind again!
- A catch-up with my online photography course ~ which obviously means taking and editing lots of pictures ;)
- Took Minnie charity shop shopping for a stash of winter tops. She doesn't get hand-me-downs any more, as she's taller than all her friends! And she was lacking in a winter wardrobe, so charity shops it had to be. But we did really well and she got some gorgeous clothes for a tiny fraction of what I'd have paid new. And as an added bonus we found here a great winter coat, that is trendy and she looks amazing in ~ for £6!! :D
- Enjoy having some lay-ins and easy mornings :)
Failed:
- I have a stack of marking to get through, but I have only managed to work through one and a half boy's worth! Admittedly this was the older boys work, which takes longer to mark and requires a lot more brain-power, but it is nowhere near as prolific as the girls! This leaves me with a mountain still to climb! I'm not sure why I put it off so much. I actually don't mind it and I quite enjoy reading their work ~ it often brings a smile to my face! I need to find a way of motivating myself to do little and often, instead of letting it mount up so much. One child a night should do it, but most nights I just can't face it at the end of the day. I love teaching my kids, but I like to stop teaching them too (in a formal sense). 'School' is brought to an abrupt end three days of the week when someone has to be out and about somewhere, be it gym, swimming, prayer group, dance... Chip is often napping at this time too, so I usually take the opportunity to breath a little (usually I hit the study and catch up on the virtual world!!) ~ marking is not at the top of my 'wish list' of things to do!!
- To sort out DD's Leapfrog Explorer and try to get it synching with SOMETHING! It's a major headache ~ great toy, rubbish software ~ same old!
- To do any gardening ~ I'm woos when it comes to the cold! Paul & a friend have chopped up a lot of wood (mostly for kindling so far) and have another pile to do & he has also taken down the old trampoline frame at last, so despite no actual gardening it does look a little bit better out the back anyway. All the same ~ the overgrown shrubs at the front need hacking back for winter and I must do it soon!
- Finding the bottom of the wash-bin (for reasons already explained).
I REALLY MUST put the marking FIRST next week. It's important to me, but more than that, it is important to the CHILDREN. Taz is desperate for me to read a certain piece of work he's done!
BUT... tomorrow morning is already planned out as I need to accompany my Nanna to a hospital appointment. She hasn't been well for about three months now. She is in constant 'pain/discomfort', is gradually losing weight and her appetite is definitely not what it was. Her toilet habits have recently changed too ~ and that is worrying her possibly the most.
She is happy in her new home, settled in and making friends, but right now she doesn't feel well enough to join in with many of the activities and is staying in her flat more than either she or I are happy with. She admits she is feeling quite 'down' but says that it's because she is fed up with feeling unwell.
She's had all sorts of blood tests since she's been up here (so in the last year), which have all been fine. But my/her GP is not happy with her symptoms, and I am glad about that, because upping pain-killers does not get to the root of the problem, plus Nan avoids taking them because they upset her tummy even more! So she's been referred to the gastroenterologist, and we have her first O.P. appointment in the morning.
The rest of the week I think we are going to, as I said, do lots of making and baking! I fancy having some kitchen sessions with the children and getting some goodies in the cupboard! Any kid-friendly recipes to recommend anyone? :) I quite fancy trying some of OTP's Cranberry and Chocolate Cookies ~ they sound mouthwatering! This baking plan does also serves a dual purpose - we have a cake-sale on Saturday to cook for, so we might do some double, double batches!!
The making will consist of some of those craft-kits we have lying around in drawers, lego, Knex, etc... Might even suggest a lego project or two ~ that tends to keep them busy for a few hours when I do!
OK ~ I'm posting now ~ it's time for Downton!!!!
To see a little extra fun/learning we did this week see here;
http://www.frog-photoblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/autumn-on-farm.html
