Confession of a messy Home Educator....

I had to laugh this morning when I read a post from someone on one of the Home Educating Facebook pages I read asking how other people manage to have the kids at home all day, home educate and keep the housework and household paperwork under control.....simple answer.......I DON'T!! My house is always a mess, stuff everywhere (not helped by piles of craft stuff for my business or a husband that thinks everything 'will come in handy one day') Only really good friends get invited around, ones that won't think anything of finding a pile of washing up in the sink, lego spread all over the floor or boxes of car parts in the living room (don't ask!!) I completely understand that some people really can't accept our way of living.....shame really but we'll move on...life really is too short to spend it keeping up with the Jones's.

Anyway it just reminded me of this great poem which I'm sure I've put up on the blog before but can't find now....(bit like most things in my house really!!) At the end of the day what matters most to you??

My dishes went unwashed today ...

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
 

Merlin in the Park...

There's a lovely park not far from us in Lancaster, Williamson Park. Each year there a local theatre company puts on a great outdoor show, last year was Peter Pan (in the pouring rain!) and this year it was Merlin in the beautiful sunshine....it was brilliant! It's a lot of money for us to go but it's the one thing which I can honestly say I'm happy to spend it on. The scenes are all set at different location around the park and everyone troops around with their picnic blankets, bubbly and chairs to enjoy each part..there's nothing quite as exciting as outdoor theatre!!

Ashton Memorial - in the middle of the park

Arthur killing the dragon

Birthday Blues and Vintage Tractors...

Not my birthday blues but our 'not so little' lad Ben.. It was his birthday this week, after getting himself totally over excited the previous week he ended up with a high temperature and feeling poorly for a few days, one being his birthday. As an early birthday treat we went to our very first Circus (for all of us!), it was great with loads of different acts and even stunt bikes and a comedy trampoline show, two of Ben's favourites. He managed to get through the show and enjoyed it but wasn't feeling too good, with a headache and funny tummy ....poor boy!  Still he had a good, if quiet birthday and just enjoyed playing with his new toys all day and then he felt well enough to hit Pizza Hut in the evening (YUMMY!)

Yesterday we woke up to discover the field opposite us which has always been used as grazing land since we moved here is being ploughed up! This may not seem too exciting but it is a little weird looking out and seeing brown instead of  lush green with sheep and cows. The other slightly weird thing is that they seem to be doing it with a couple of old 'vintage' tractors!! They have been at it all day today and it's slow work compared to the monster tractors of this day and age. Being the nosey neighbour types (!) we went over to have a gawp and one of the men told us they had offered to do it for the farmer as they wanted to try their old tractors and he had agreed, even saying if they did a good job they could do the next one along. It seems he's just ploughing it up and then re-seeding...not really sure why but I guess the farmer knows what he's doing!! It's been quite fun watching their progress through the day and they must be shattered, they don't seem to have stopped all day.

Cars, Fires and Sunshine!!

It's been a funny kind of week.... Not 'ha, ha'  funny most of the time but just weird and stressy on occasions. Firstly our beloved Subaru Forester (which was due to be sold on as it's getting on a bit and starting to cost money) suddenly started making very odd noises from the engine area and died an untimely death. As we live out of town and Dave needs a car for his work we were now stuck without any transport (his van is also off the road!!) My lovely MIL stepped in and offered to buy us a new (to us) one so after spending a couple of days trying to find one nearby we are now the proud (well relieved, more than proud!) owners of a little Citreon Saxo.


The day after getting the car Dave then had a phone call from the people he was working for (he's a self-employed Handyman) saying that they had lost confidence that he would finish the job to their time-scale and they would find someone else. Not quite sure how the guy thought we could have got a car any quicker but hey lets hope he doesn't have to wait weeks for someone else to take the job and charge him twice as much (said with a slightly bitter and sarcastic tone!!)

Then to top it all off we merrily lit the fire one evening to then have the whole chimney roar (literally!) and find we had a chimney fire....GRRRRRREAT!!  After slightly minor panic with big clouds of black smoke, flames leaping out of the top and the cowl melting the Fire Brigade turned up just as the flames went out!! Fortunately the chimney in our house must be rock solid as no smoke managed to get in the house at all and the kids carried on sleeping without the alarms going off! Even a houseful of firemen (and one firewoman) didn't wake Ben who was most miffed the next morning to find he had missed all the drama! 

Still......on the bright side we have had lovely sunshine for the last few days and we have spent a nice few days at home in the garden. This doesn't usually happen as I get fed up with our garden looking like Steptoe and Sons back yard and run away at any possible moment, but it's been remarkably relaxing pottering about actually getting some things done instead of trying to ignore it!! 

Sorting out the shed....even managed to paint it too!

Trampoline, tent and lego....what more could a child want??

Our fantastic little 70's play tent...a great find at a car boot sale with cowboys and indians fabric.