My magic eyes

remember last time I went to the opticians? He told me I was "special" as my eyes had completely healed from the laser surgery I had years ago:)



Well, I went back to the opticians today - a different one from last time, and he told me that I had "lovely" eyes. Of course, from an opticians point of view that meant that I had good strong veins at the back of my eye, crystal clear lenses and a fluid pressure of 14, which is, apparently, just right! But more interestingly my astigmatism has improved somewhat over the past year or so! So I am one of the few people whose eyes get better as they get older and spend more time on the computer! Weird huh?!

Also talking about eyes, Mstr A is off to try colour therapy on Monday. That's the thing when they give people tinted glasses and it magically cures various things. Of course, only some things, and only some people, but..... When my kids can swim two full lengths of the pool without stopping, I let them have goggles. Mstr A got there a while ago, and said that he can see much better through his blue goggles than without them or even with his glasses. So we looked into it, and there is some evidence it MIGHT help some people with some autistic spectrum disorders. there are not many qualified colour therapy optomitrists in the UK, but fortunately one of them is just a few miles away, and for £28 for the appointment, what can it hurt?

Although we might be going back to her in the not too distant future, as apparently the school are getting LMB checked out for dyslexia, or similar. I'm not convinced myself - whereas I knew Mstr A had issues long before anyone else would admit it (or do anything about it), I don't get that feeling with LMB. She does still write a number of letters and numbers back to front (but she is only 5!), and she is not the most literate of 5 year olds (but she is only 5!), but she can read, and she can spell words out, recognise letters, numbers, shapes, use a computer....... Still, I'm not going to stop them testing her - even if all it does is stop them telling me how she doesn't have much self confidence! What they mean is she doesn't push herself forwards all the time, she doesn't insist on being the one picked first/most, and doesn't vie for attention all the time. But that doesn't mean she lacks self confidence - she happily chats to everyone she meets, she tries new things without batting an eyelid, and goes to new places and makes new friends easily. She agrees with me that she is big, clever, beautiful and brilliant at everything she tries:) she happily shows her friends (and others) how to do things, and regularly performs her "shows" and concert for lucky members of the family! I'm at a bit of a loss as to what else I can do to encourage her self confidence! Or how to explain tot he school that she does have it!

I don't think we'll have the same problem with LMD - she can't bear to let anyone else speak/do anything/get attention if she is there:) She soooooo wants to be at school - she insists on wearing school uniform every now and then to go to nursery. It does look extraordinarily cute:) But I'm sure she's planning just to sneak next door into the reception class when no-one is looking! Although in fact, she's more concerned about trying new things than LMB is - she worries that she won't be able to do it properly! But I don't think the teachers will be telling me she lacks self confidence!

It's half term next week, so it's going to be a busy week. Hopefully the weather will stay dry - it's a shame the snow didn't turn up a couple of weeks later really.

Much better

I am feeling much better now I'm part time. A two day week this week was great:-) I ws able to collect the kids form school yesterday and check in with Mstr A's teacher, which I haven't been able to do for ages. I now Aggie did, but I wnt to be involved too!

Plus I spent the day getting a load of shopping and stuff sorted out, and still had time to cook supper, have a chat to the kids then get ready and walk to college - which I could sit through without falling asleep:-)

today has been taken up with getting ready for the first re-enactment of the season over the weekend. Snow is forecast, so I've been busy making sure we have every bit of clothing & kit possible, as well as quickly running up new dresses for the girls who have grown too much again! I've still got to make them nice new warm hoods, but hopefully can get tha done tomorrow.

It's the Easter fayre at school today, so I'll have to let them spend money to win back the eggs that I donated to the school last week! Then my mother is coming to visit for a day (probably with more eggs for the kids). I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow - depends on the weather and what my mother fancies I suppose.

I'm off food sopping now - oh the excitement! But it needs to be done:-)

Kaput

My laptop is dead again. We've given up this time and admitted that, perhaps, we will have to spend a little bit of money and have paid for a brand new hard drive. It will be here in a few days and hopefully I will be back on line properly and permently. But things will be sporadic until then.

Remember the filling that took 5 months to get, and then my dentist complianed that I had "waited" too long before coming to see him? Well, it didn't take:-( So I've been in some pain for the last couple of weeks. I went back to see him last week and had my first root canal work. So I'm still in pain<:( But hopefuly it will be improving soon - I have to go back on Monday for the new filling which everyone tells me won't hurt at all. Lets hope it works.

LMD is growing at an amazing rate at the moment - and sleeping incredibly badly. Aggie reckons is growing pains making her whinge all night, but I'm inclined to believe it's bloody mindedness!

However, We have finally got LMB's bedroom redecorated to a proper standard. We're waiting to hear what "compensation" they are intending to offer on top. They suggested the idea, so who are we to argue?

No answer yet on the holiday though. Apart from a rather nice letter from Which! suggesting I contact Haven head office trading standards. I really must chase that up. We've definitely decided to go with Butlins next year, which I hope isn't a mistake! I've already buggered ny real hope of a quiet holiday by not only having my mother-in-law staying with us (as usual), but my mother, sister and niece are coming too! *gulp*

LMB loves school - she's staying for lunch now too which is great. It would've been even greater if I had been able to find the money to pay for them without raiding the kids money boxes this morning:-( I'm feeling a bit more at ease at college this year too - the work (so far) is making sense to me - it's subjects I'm more interested in (mostly) and I'm trying to learn it properly as I'm going along rather than cramming for two weeks before the exams again! I'm umming and ahhing about whether to move jobs. I can make a lot more money in Bristol, but it's an hours commute -and an hour away from the family if/when anything happens. The company I'm with is pretty shit on it's employee care/training/relations but the department I'm in is pretty good on all that. I think I'll probably debate it round in my mind a bit more - thereby making a decision by default!

Lets do it all again

Everything is starting over here.

I went back to college tonight. I'd forgotten how the tutor rambles on - it's amazing we learn anything really:-) Tonight was all the boring induction stuff, but this years course is mostly much more interesting subjects so I'm quite looking forward to it.

the insurance company called a couple of days ago in response to my letter of compliant. They sent a surveyor round today who was even more disgusted with the shoddy work done that I was! So that mollified me a little, and he agreed that they will have to come back and do the whole thing again. Some time. The insurance company did say they would get it fixed and then discuss compensation though, which will be nice.

Re-enactment season is over now, so it's back to the normal weekend's of kids activities and DIY etc. I'm hoping to get a nice dress made for me when i've bought some more linen, but I can't start the kids until after Xmas as they'll grow too much! But school's back so it's back to the mad rush every morning and keeping track of which child should be where, when. I can't wait for the kids to be old enough to take themselves off to all their activities!

Work has settled down a bit now too. Aggie is still off, but has been getting quite a bit oif stuff sorted out at last, so things are starting to move forward. we now have a nice new boiler, and a whole bunch of hand rails around the house so that he doesn't fall in and out of the front door, stairs and bath/shower. Even the garden is looking acceptable:-) Perhaps we can start inviting the kids friends round to play again soon.

It's all new

Everything is changing at the Aginoth household.

Mstr A is a junior, and seems to have settled in as well as can be expected to hus new class. His teacher is still a bit confused about how one makes him sit still for more than 10 seconds (i can't help - I've asked that if she finds the answer she pass it on to me!), but he is enjoying the harder work and seems happy with his new class mates.

He starts school swimming lessons tomorrow. I feel terribly bad that at age 7, he can barely struggle accross a width (10 metres). I am, after all, a qualified swimming teacher and adore the water myself. But, he is a natural sinker, was terrified of water as a toddler and still dislikes having his face covered (with anything, including water). Plus, I do not have the time to take him regualrly - they won't let me in with all three kids, they won't let Aggie in at all much of the time, and I can't afford the creche (and even when I have done, they won't keep crying babies (what kind of creche is that?!), so struggling across the width front and back is not that awful:-) But 12 lessons from now until Xmas will do him the world of good! At 8 years old he is allowed to go swimming on his own (regardless of ability - how stupid is THAT rule?), and I had promised myself that I would get him safe to do so by then, so this will help him get there.

LMB started school today. She went for three hours this morning. She happily went running in, and wasn't remotely interested when we left, so it seems to have gone pretty well. She could tell me who and what she played with, what her teacher was called, and what she ate, which is more information than I got out of Mstr A in the whole of his first year! Aggie said she was exhausted this afternoon though:-) Although some of that may be from the playing with another little girl at the re-enactment at the weekend - from dawn to dusk, non-stop running, chatting and dancing:-)

Clever Aggie found a fund that will pay for a new boiler for us cos he's a poor cripple;-) So that was fitted today (well, half of it - it will be finished tomorrow). As well as being quite a bit smaller than our previous boiler, this one has the bonus of a) working all the time (the old one tended to break down every couple of weeks during the winter) and b) being much more economical to run and enviromentally friendly, which will save us a bit of money each year. Yay Aggie.

I've had a letter back from both the holiday company and the insurance company saying they have recieved my complaint and are looking into it. Hopefully one will refund us some cash, and the other will redecorate LMB's room:-) well, they will eventually anyway! Which will be good, because Aggie is currently not working and not being paid anything either. Even civil servants run out of sick pay eventually! My £800 per month will not keep a family of 5 going for long:-( Although at least the nursery fees have halved from £205 per week to £135 per week now LMB is at school. (they put the prices up on 1st sept - Bast***s!), which will help. A bit. Not much really, as that is mostly covered by child tax credit, but not totally, so a bit. Whenever I get really pissed off with the gov't, I have to admit that child tax credit was a great concept. Although sometimes I wonder why I put myself through the stress of going to work for a net income of 0. Then again, when I was a SAHM, I wondered why I bothered not going to work and doing stuff with my kids for all the hassle it gained me! i guess the grass is always greener, and I am never satisfied.....

Which is nothing new:-)

When did this happen?

Mstr A starts Junior school today.

I remember starting junior school. i felt so grown up!

Although he is all grown up - reaching my chest and heavy enough to topple me over when he jumps on me!

In this picture, I could place his head in the palm of my hand and his feet would just about rest in the crook of my elbow!

How did that happen?!

One (green) finger one thumb keep moving

We've been busy busy busy again.

I have managed to completely (almost) unpack everything from the holiday (no mean feat for me, as I tend to leave everything wherever it is until needed), AND catch up with the laundry! I've written my letter of complaint, and looked up the details of local (to Weymounth) newspapers and Tourist Info places to cc it to:-) It's not sent yet though as I'm waiting for Aggie to burn off the photo's onto a CD.

With th first bank holiday Monday off for years, we decided to sort out the garden a bit (again!). We were doing really well through the spring, but then it rained, and rained, and rained for months on end, and everything grew and nothing was weeded, cut back or dug up! So yetsreday we spent the day out there cutting back everything we couldn't cut down, cuttimg down everything we could, and clearing away most of what was left. I had a great time burning half a bay tree - although it would have been easier if Aggie hadn't shredded all our old, dry wood with his new toy of a garden shredder! I pulled up the last of our spring onions. We had a fair few back in the spring when they were just perfect, but they are looking a bit past it now! Ho hum. I'm still impressed that we managed to grow them! The leeks are still growing and should be ready in another month or so. Aggie has to mow the lawn now - before my mother & sister turn up on Friday for LMB's birthday - which I hope will be held in the garden thereby saving me the effort of clearing up the house:-)

LMB is getting ever so excited about starting school now. We brought her new school shoes yesterday too. LMD was ever so put out that she didn't get any new shoes! Aggie brought all of the kids school uniform today (nearly). She looks so grown up (and cute) in her grey pinny. But I think she will probably prefer the gingham summer dresses!

I was back at work today. And straight into it. There were a few problems last week in the department, so there was plenty of "urgent" work to keep me busy. Which is better than twiddling my thimbs as I was doing just before I left. Although having to redo an hour work three times because of other peoples mistakes didn't go down fantastically well! I ahve written a couple of letters to companies I would like to work for - but haven't sent them yet. I'm still thinking about it......

LMD was back at pre-school today - on her own. She was fine about it, and not at all bothered that LMB wasn't with her. And she made it right through the whole, long day without needing a change once! That's the first time ever she's made it completely clean and dry through a day! watch me do the no more nappies dance:-))))))

Passing time

Yay me. I passed my exams. The results came in today - two days early! I hit a nice mid-range pass mark, which is pretty much what I expected. Now I am half way through the first half of my qualification:-) just another decade to go until it's all over!

Mstr A turned 7 yesterday. We had a bowling party for him at the weekend - which went pretty well. My mother stayed for the whole weekend, and I managed to only yell at her once, which is pretty good going with my mother;-) LMD got over her chicken pox nice & quickly - much to her disgust! every time I tell her she is all better now she tells me "NOT better - look, spots" and shows me the scars. i think she is determined to milk it for all it's worth!

LMB is growing up fast too. Its her last week at pre-school this week. We're off on holiday next week, then she has a week at home with daddy (hopefully learning to ride her bike) before starting big school. Well, for a couple of hours a day anyway. For 5 weeks! I'm sure it must be discrimination against working parents. 6 months ago I was really worried about her starting school just a few hours after she turns 4, but now I'm feeling much happier about it - I reckon she'll hold her own no problem.

LMD spent the whole day in big girl pants today! Yay yay yay! No more nappies? Or at least a start towards no more nappies:-)