My special day

It's Mother's day here in the UK. A traditional celebration of the hard wotk your mother does, and a day to turn the tables and look after her for a change. It's been that way for hundreds of years. Even victorian labourers and kitchen girls would get the day off from work to see their mothers.

So today, I got up at 6.30am, with the kids, leaving Aggie in bed. I made them breakfast, I got them dressed. I phoned my mother to make sure she got the basket of fruit I sent her. I finidhe off Mstr A's tunic while Aggie played on the computer - he did buy me a pair of shoes off ebay, but I'd already found them & put them on the watch list:-) I sorted out the paints for the kids to do for the morning. I made everyone lunch. I finished digging up the first half of the old play ares and relaid the first third with the new rubber chippings (we're going to need more than I ordered!). I put the washing on and emptid and loaded the dishwasher. It's now 3pm, and I'm about to start cooking supper, while watching the kids (TV is grat sometimes), and Aggie - plays on the computer after all the hard work of raking the rubber chippings to sread them out a bit. I expect that after supper, I will bath the kids, wash their hair, and put them to bed.

Now, we don't do any of the comercialised nonsense that is Hallmark cards, flowers and such like. We have always said we don't need a special day to show our appreciation/love. But, whereas that used to because such things happened occasionally anyway, now it seems to because it's easier not to bother. Not sure I'm too keen on that reasoning!

UPDATE 6pm: Aggie managed to cook supper for everyone, which was nice. And I got an extra helping of vienetta for mothers day;-) Off to bath & bed the kids now and hopefully have a quiet-ish evening.

That's nice

When I went to collect LMB today, she jumped up to cuddle me, then immediately spun arund to cries of "kiss me bye bye LMB" as all the children in her class came over for a kiss and a hug before she left:-) One came back for seconds:-0 Then we trotted off downstairs to collect LMD, and had to wait while she waved and said goodbye to each individual child in her class too. I don't think they have any problems socialising:-)

At home I found a letter from the tax credit people telling they will be coughing up the vast majority of the £1200 I spend each month on child care (which is good, considering I only take home £600) which was nice.

I also had a letter from Bath Spa Uni inviting me to interview for the PGCE course starting in September.

Which was kind of nice. Although it means my 1st choice uni still turned me down *frown* Bath Spa isn't that close - but it's not too far either. probably an hours drive or 1 1/2 by public transport. So now I have to decide again. Law or teaching? Law has the bonus that I've already got the job & started the course, and it's working out well. But the comapany I am currently with pays shite to it's legal exec's. I would almost certainly have to move on once qualified:-( And I'm still not sure how good I'll be at the job. Teaching has the bonus that I am reasonably sure I will be good at it & enjoy it. it's more like the best bits of what I have done before. And I'd get all the school holidays off:-) But I'd be a full time student for a year on an even more pitiful income than I have now, but with worse hours, and it'll be another 18 months before I even start my career (again)

Dilemma time.

Is this a case of the grass always being greener?

I think i will attend the interview (but not tell my employers). I may not even get the place! If I do, much will depend on what has happened with Aggie, and what financial support I can get I think.

I have to think up a book that i would teach to 14 year olds for the interview. Any ideas?

Every day, in every way.....

Life is slowly getting sorted out here. Apart from the money thing, obviously. i don't know when that might happen:-( But I'm certainly feeling more positive about life in general.

Work is working:-) It's interesting enough, not too taxing, and the early finishes are just fantastic for my stress levels. As is not being stuck with the kids all day every day. i always said I wasn't cut out for motherhood. they really start to piss me off after a while;-)

Mstr A has settled in to hos school brilliantly. In fact, we haven't had any poblem since Xmas, and not only is he able to name a number of friends, and have them come to play, but they are starting to ASK to come back:-) When I nabbed his teacher yesterday to ask how he'd settled back in after half term I was told that his interactions with his peers in the classroom are now not noticably much different from the others! he sits with them at their desks, and now on the carpet for story time. He plays with other children, and has started joining in their imaginative games too. there is still an issue with personal space and consistancy of his academic work, but he has achieved so much. Pretty much everything i was hoping for.

plus, when I spoke to the new after-school club leader, to make sure she was aware of the issues, she told me that he plays well with the other kids there. then, just to reassue me that i wasn't projecting any neurosis onto my poor boy, she said she's worked with special needs kids for the past 17 years, and would say that Mstr A shows pretty much all the classic signs of Asbergers. Which in wierd way is nice to hear, because every time he achieves a bit of normality I start worrying that I'm making up excuses for his behaviour, which is one of the the worst things a parent can do for their child. it's horrible being torn between wanting him to get better, and wanting his behaviour to be defined as something specific, so absolving me of guilt:-)

Oh yes, and he re-starts swimming lessons next Tuesday. I wanted Monday, but they had sold out. Hopefully we'll get a swap soon, but we'll work with tuesday. I'm intending to take the girls along on alternate weeks so they can get back into swimming too, as they haven't been for ages. I loved swimming when i had the time to do it (hopefully i will again one day, when they are safe to leave in the pool), and want my kids to be able to experience that lovely feeling of peace & weightlessness and total isolation you can have under water.

I'm really looking forward to re-enactment season starting again. It'll be nice to spend the weekends outside again. Still got lots of stuff to do though. i really shouldn't spend the evenings blogging!