Teaching, trees & tantrums

Ah, I love the weekend. No lie-in today unfortunately as I and LMD were still up at 7am (and Mstr A & LMB only seconds behind us), although in a way it was a lie-in as usually Aggie gets up at 6am and wakes me up, so at least I actually got to sleep through till 7:-)

However, it was still a lazy morning as I didn't have to rush around getting the kids ready for school. they were all fed, washed & breakfasted by the time I left for work at 8.30, but it is so much less stressful just taking myself out, rather than the three of them!

The course went well. Slow, because they were nearly all new to first aid, but not to their sport, so had many questions. there were also a few different sports & professions represented, so i needed to cover a wider syllabus, but that was OK - it's fun to do some different stuff occasionally. I only found out that one of the candidates day job was as neo-natal nurse at the big maternity unit in bristol halfway through. it's always a bit scary when I have medical professionals on my courses, although they have always been very complimentary. I know in my mind that first aid is a different thing to "medicine", and my knowledge of my subject is very good, but it still feels that Dr's, nurses & paramedics know more. even when they obviously don't:-) anyway, they all passed, wrote nice evaluation sheets & paid me:-)

I got home just as the kids finished their lunch and we went almost straight off to Goblin Coombe, as we'd promised Mstr A he could go back, and LMB wanted to see the "helicopter trees" (sycmores). we had a lovely couple of hours strolling through the woods. i got to pick & eat blackberries & a not very nice apple - the kids wouldn't try them tho! What's that all about? I used to love stuffing my face on wild berries as a child! Mstr a remembered a fair few of the trees and plnts from last time we went (back in the spring), and was reminded of a few more. LMB started learning some too. We also taught them how to find creepy crawleys under rocks and branches, and to always put them back where they came from (& not pick plants etc). Mstr a learned how to do leaf rubbings, LMB brought a conker or three home, LMD ate some mud - a good time was had all round:-)

By the time we made it home, it was getting late, so Aggie kindly offered to go out & pick up some chinese for supper. mmmmmmm. Mstr A even tried a rib for the first time! LMB sulked and didn't eat anything. I have no idea why she was sulking. It's her new thing. She will suddenly make a stroppy face, say "egh!" to every question we ask & refuse to do anything! It's very, very annoying! I'm treating them like tantrums & ignoring them (or sending to her room till she can behave, depending on situation). i know she's not starving, and missing a meal really won't do her any harm at all, but i find it really, really difficult to stick to my guns when it means she misses a meal. i guess it's my roots showing. If I missed a meal as a child I went hungry until the next day's main meal. Whereas I don't give LMB an alternative meal if she doesn't eat the one I put in front of her, she has three meals and two snacks a day, and also has fruit, yoghurts etc available at any time. But i still feel terrible.

Oh well, she's fast asleep in bed now, so i guess it wasn't that bad;-)

Tomorrow is a real day off. hopefully we can get lots of house things done, sort out half term and start teaching Mstr A his new volume control techniques!