Week 30th March 2015

K

Arrrghhh clock changes ...moving on..

Owen decided to stay in bed and finish Diary of a Wimpy Kid this morning. He came down calm and happily ate his breakfast at 9:30. Sam had been up for ages and had finished his breakfast a while ago, so was amusing himself in a happy manner.

I had put some experiments out incase the boys fancied doing some things together. They did and after breakfast we built a hovercraft. It worked really well and we discussed friction as we built and played with it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we tried, it made a high pitched squealing as we used it. So both boys and the dogs we rather disturbed by that! 

On checking on our pop up gardens, both boys were amazed at how fast they have grown. They had put their spring chicks nearby to 'watch'. Sam tried some of the cress...he didn't like it and I just managed to catch the green splodge as he spat it out suddenly ...the things we mums have to do. 

In between this I make soup, cooked some beetroots and marvelled at now far black currant  can reach , when dropped by a small boy. In the interests of full disclosure, he did catch it on the way down, which minimised the collateral damage considerably.

After which we enjoyed a fun time making a parachute out of a carrier bag, some nuts, string and a pipe cleaner. There followed much hilarity as the boys tested it out of the window. There was a tense moment as 'little man' got stuck on the outside light but the wind freed him and we managed some great launches .

We took delivery of some canvases and more crayons. So the next day the boys decided to do some work. They chose the colours they wanted and we taped then to their canvases, before melting them with a hairdryer . Good job we put plenty of paper down...it was very messy. 4 days later I am still finding bits of melted crayons on the floor and table.

We saw a link for Www.Bighistory.com so we registered our details and completed stage 1 of the course. It's aimed at high school children, but the boys still got a lot out of it and it sparked some great discussions. Light years, stars, the sheer vastness of space and how we are all made of stars.

Owen started a discussion about what racism was. When I explained he still couldn't get his head round it. Mainly because he finds the concept so hard to grasp as it's very alien to him. I used the blue eye/ brown eye theory to explain. On saying what if someone said 'everyone with blue eyes was evil?'. Well, he says 'that's stupid because everyone knows that, when someone's evil their eyes turn red.' *chuckle*

This week so lots of problem solving using the logic game Winky Think. They are rattling through the levels and it's interesting watching, how each of them has a different approach to find a solution to the puzzles.

Sam got out his Lazer Maze box and worked through some of the problems on the cards. We played Three Little Pigs board game . Owen was struggling with his anxiety this week, mainly because we have been stuck in with no car and the weather has stopped us from cycling...I feared we would get blown off in the high winds and hail!

Sam and I played with the dogs in the garden when we could and on the Wii fit when it was too wild to go out. Owen spent more time doing quiet activities such as reading and tweaking his server on Minecraft. We also played a lot of the Dots 2 game and are stuck on a very tricky level.

The boys decided they wanted to make some Easter cards, so I printed templates off and we coloured them in and sent them to our family. 

On Thursday Sam asked if he could make brownies, so we cracked on as soon as breakfast and my chores were done.

Afterwards Owen wanted to work on a couple of experiments from our science box. We made a water vortex and a diver. It took a while to get the right air/water ratio in the 'diver' we built but once it was sorted Owen enjoyed making it go up and down by squeezing the bottle. It decends on squeezing and floats back up when you let go.

I am very tired tonight and glad Blokey is home for the Bank holidays, he has hired a car so we can get out over the long weekend...*whoop* . He's been working very hard again lately so it's nice he can have a break from routine .

Week commencing 23rd March 2015

There have been quite a few changes this week. My ECG has come back ok , so I can increase the medication again.

We have been restricted in our movements, as our car is still at the local garage whilst we negotiate terms with the garage we got the car from. It's tense!

We took a trip to the park on our bikes and managed to avoid the showers.

The children have been keeping themselves very busy reading and using their PC's. Owen is a lot calmer and when I check on him, he has bits of paper round his workstation and is plotting ..hope it's not world domination just yet. I fret about screen time and sit on my hands. Well actually I clean and crochet, helping the boys as they need me. Sam and I play in the garden more and they attend Jujitsu on Tuesday night as usual.

The next day, whilst Owen is eating his breakfast, all manner of things start appearing on the table . Blokey has bought the boys a 'pop up' garden. In between the breakfast dishes , compost, pens and scissors are put to good use. We have a really fun time designing and planting our mini gardens.

Then Sam and Owen want to do some word work using Scribblenauts DC Unmasked. As this isn't yet loaded onto the new PC, I crack on with that whilst Owen helps Sam with his spelling. There is the occasional shout for help and I run between downloading items and spell checking. Then suddenly they are hungry and I rustle up lunch.

This week I have my treatment review at neurology. I always get incredibly nervous about these things and have trouble controlling my shakes. Mum and Dad come over to help out and Dad runs me to the clinic. Mum stays at home,takes the boys for a walk and plays various board games. The meeting with the neuro team is successful and the necessary changes are made to my treatment plan. I feel more hopeful that there are better times ahead ( no pun intended) . Back home we have a nice time just sat chatting and laughing with the family before my parents left. We also had a surprise package from a friend with a great activity for the children. I tuck them into bed,they talk about the books they are reading and I leave them feeling very contented.

Today Owen wanted to build his catapult, so we cracked on with that. Sam was working how much money he still needs to save for his latest 'precious thing'...I believe £60 is the totally, he has a long way to go just yet.

Owen has now saved enough for a couple of games, Octodad Dadliest and ( don't ask me why) Goat Simulator. I misheard him the first time, thus being slightly concerned at the title 'Goat Stimulator' ...it's an easy mistake *ekk*. We sourced the best price on Steam, got code keys and loaded them up to the PC. 'Haven't you always wanted to be a goat Mum?' He asks....well ..erm..I can't say that I have.

It's been one of those days , where we have all been really busy and suddenly we realise we haven't had lunch and it's now after 2 pm. Needless to say all food supplied was gobbled down very quickly by two hungry boys.

After lunch Sam wants to build his catapult and we spend time doing that. We head outside to play with the dogs and test the range of his machine. He thinks this is hilarious and we measure who can get the tin foil ball the furthest ..he is delighted to thrash me at nearly every launch.

I am tired now , so we all head off to do our own things..me with a cuppa, them working on something together online. The spring breeze has nearly dried all my washing, I pick up my crochet and wait for Blokey to return from work.

Other things that happened this week:

Playing the problem solving game Winky Think ( the name makes us laugh everytime). Echolalia always kicks in and I have small voices repeating 'winky' to add to the internal monologue of my own 'winkiness'. Am saying it again as I type..winky, winky, winky.....

Winky Think Logic Puzzles by Spinlight Studio

https://appsto.re/gb/SApb3.i

I went round wiping footmarks off all the walls as usual ( I kid you not...spider child Sam) ...lets gloss over the bogeys.

We made bread and reinstated the children's server on Minecraft. Sam did some building, Owen 'griefed' it, etiquette was talked about, apologies given.

We played snap with French word cards and giggled at Poupee. 

There was also a great deal of reading and Sam in particular made some huge leaps forward again this week. He was incredibly pleased to be able to see it himself and takes great pleasure in counting and telling us how many pages he can read in one sitting. 

The weekend was spent at home , due to us still having no resolution on the car issue. We took the time to try a spot of decluttering and moving things around. With Sam's blessing we moved his room round and rescued various socks and under crackers from their secret hidey holes. We couldn't do much outside this weekend, the weather was either howling a gale, bucketing it down or doing both together. We did enjoy a beautiful rainbow though.

Bread was baked, the garage was put in order ( again) and games were played with friends online. We also met a nice lady who maybe able to do some dog sitting for us and watched Dr Who.

March 2015 week commencing 16th

Saturday

We have been out most of the day..a trip to the sawmill..which was closed for lunch. Then on to the DIY shoppe..but we went the back roads, which meandered us in a lovely spring time , enchanted woods fashion. 

We realised we were by a nice pub we used to go to, that has a restaurant in railway carriages and decided to stop for lunch. 

It was great fun and we were all full as eggs when we came out.

On to the DIY place where we grabbed outdoor paint, compost, a few plants and looked at Arbours and seating.

Off to Maplins next. Our old hard drive decided to fail when Blokey tried to build it into the new PC ( he was gutted). Down the road is a fab coal fired bakery, but sadly it had already closed when we arrived.

Back to the Sawmill and we found the perfect seat at a very good price. We also took a shine to the guy running the place and he showed us round the old buildings and talked about its history when we expressed and interest. After offering us a discount, he followed us home with the seat/arbor in his pick up and it's now in our garden..*happy dance* he also gave a delighted Sam a bird box for free and explained all about making sure it faced South . Apparently the extra warmth can bring the chicks to flight quicker and mean you may be fortunate to get a second brood. Sam's face as he was listening was rapt..he loves his birds.

I was looking for Sam later and found him here, looking very happy.

We are all still really full from lunch so are having sandwiches in front of Dr Who later... I hope he doesn't mind ;-)

Sunday

The men were up early for swimming and plotting in a giggle fashion. I assume it's Mother's Day stuff. There is a great deal of winking and gurning. Whilst they are out, I play with the dogs outside and get the weeks bread on the go. 

 They all came back in foul moods after braving the shops and I tried really hard not to laugh at their grumpy faces. I mean bless them..they hate going to the shops and it was all for my benefit, which makes it a bit special .

Woke up without a headache , which is wonderful, but it's getting all shadowy again now. I get an attack at this time of day ( 9 am) every day and another biggie round 3 pm. The term shadowing is when you have pain around your affected side that usually signals an attack coming. With the new meds I am getting more shadowing without major break throughs. I am still getting up to eight attacks a day but quite a few of them are not full blown...think 'Clusterlite'. I am starting to have issues with side effects now so am debating staying on the current dose. I know they really want to 'turn off' all the attacks and keep increasing the meds but I honestly don't know if I want to keep going. I always knew this would be a huge dilemma for me. Fact is there's a sort of odd reasoning that 'I know where I am' with the attacks and the introvert in me hates all the appointments and fighting over the treatment plan stuff. That side of managing the treatment really ramps up my anxiety and makes me want to draw the curtains and hide.

 Anyhooooo........I did some baking, was instructed to sit quiet and dinner would be served at 5-5:30... It was and it was delicious. Had a couple of glasses of fizz..which I enjoyed but it woke beastie up..boo hiss.

We sat and watched Masterchef together and the boys made me smile with their added commentaries. We were incredibly enamoured by the gentle man with who resembled a Black and White movie villain ...epic moustashe..Blokey is contemplating a copy cat restyling. 

Monday

I had a lot of chores, *shudder*,paperwork, *bigger shudder* and wanted to look at suitable resources for the day ahead. So I got in with that whilst the boys played with a friend online, building etc.

After lunch we used some of the 'youcubed' activities and resources for some number work. I am trying to introduce the concept of multiplication, which has proved hard in the past. We played a brilliant game called 'how close to 100'.

The boys really enjoyed it and grasped the 'lots of' and then moved on to seeing it as 'times'..break through. We spent some time talking about the concept of 1x another number,which Sam was struggling to understand. Using the grid as a visual tool he worked it out. I can remember having exactly the same confusion about this myself when younger, so it was nice for him to be able to see how it worked. They enjoyed the game and I quickly had to copy some more sheets as they wanted to try again.

http://youcubed.stanford.edu/category/teaching-ideas/number-sense/

I had planned on looking at some science videos afterwards but both boys wanted a bike ride , so we did that instead. It was cold but dry and we explored the developments on the estate, which houses were sold and finished off having races up and down the lanes.

When we came back Owen wanted to play Top Trumps, so we used our creatures of the deep packs and he laughed every time I cringed at the picture of the angler fish. The freak is high with that fish. *aarrrghh*

The evening was spent eating curry ( three of us) and Owen having cheese crackers and fruit. After which we played 2dots ( ok I admit I maybe a little addicted to this) and watch Christopher Ecclestone in Dr Who.

Tuesday

Woke up feeling pretty yucky, Owen slept in and Sam decided he wanted to 'do some mopping'. Sam then spent some time on Minecraft and working out how many jobs he would have to do to make £40. Then whilst Owen ate breakfast Sam wanted to  work out, how much £7 per week would work out at over a year. There was then a long discussion about if that was per day..and they tried to convince me that this is what I should be giving them. Me: Nice one boys, but no cigar.

Boys: it was worth a try though?

We talked about the pros and cons of getting another PC and where it could be stored. This brought up a few issues and the children decided this could all be settled with a contract about usage and sharing. This has worked well in the past so I will talk to Blokey about making this happen.

After lunch we worked on some coding, played in the garden with the dogs and did lots of chatting about EVERYTHING. Back indoors it was Top Trumps, more coding, more strategy with Dots, then an exhausting round of boxing, golf and tennis on the Wii.

Owen enjoyed this but completed it easily, so I will look at something more involved for him to have a try at. This is listed as age range 4-8 but it's a little easy for most savvy 8 yr olds I know but a good taster into building a website as it's very basic.

CodeQuest - Learn how to Code on a Magical Quest with Games by Codarica Inc

https://appsto.re/gb/99y12.i

Snack time and I was relieved when they requested the film UP, so I could grab a cuppa....we are nearly at the bit that makes me cry EVERYTIME. Sniff...we are there, I am blubbing and they are laughing at me.

I look across at Shadow...I think we wore him out?

Sam did some pictures and we discussed why we think Pixar are FAB.

Wednesday

Owen is always tired after jujitsu so has had a lie in. Sam and I looked at a puzzle book from the library and some creatures from the deep statistics.

Later Owen and I took a look at coding with Code Academy, had a look at how to build a website moonfruit.co.uk.

It was lovely outside so I spent some time doing jobs in the garden and started painting one of my planters...Shadow was very interested in what I was doing,so it proved difficult to carry on and I abandoned the job with only one side completed. He then chased me round whilst I swept the paving stones.

After lunch Sam and I played with the dogs outside and he helped me put the water butt back and move some bits and pieces around. Owen was still struggling with his mood but I managed to get him engaged in some sports activities and we looked at our animal books. His mood picked up a bit after that and he joined in a jogging game in the wii with Sam till he was tired. He then had a little meltdown but after some chatting he decided he wanted to play Cars Operation. We had a really happy hour on that whilst Sam the work out ninja did yoga, star jumps and press ups in the background. I often wish I had half his stamina.

Some 'demand' issues have been rearing their head again in recent weeks, it always catches me out. This always comes as a timely reminder that, when I am ill myself,  I may not be phrasing things as carefully as I could be. I am noticing heels being dug firmly in on even the smallest request and that is why I am sitting reading up on strategies. Reminding myself I need to back off and trust the children to do what they need to do....without me fussing and interfering.

Even when you are aware of issues, it's easy to take your eye off the ball and I am very tired, i find I am making more work for us all, instead of less. However, I also realise that unless I deal with these issues correctly, we are heading for a non productive, stressful, shit storm of frustration (technical term). So I need to step back, remember what worked and implement it like a drowning woman scrabbling for buoyancy aide. It helped that a friend posted a useful article on PDA today, you could have seen the lightbulb ping above my head as I went....'oh yeah..that'. Thanks L for doing that. 

This is why I love Facebook, yes it's a distraction but it also puts me in touch with a wealth of people , people who have changed our lives for the better and information and ideas that have helped me immensely.

Oh and the car is very poorly...sounds expensive poorly too..booooo.

Thursday

3 am wake up call with the beastie..darn him...serves me right for thinking..'oh no night time attacks for two weeks' . Couldn't get back to sleep after so did more reading on PDA..oh...more and more interesting and it's explaining a lot of what happens here. On reading some of the posts I am once again relieved the children aren't in school.

http://understandingpda.com/strategies-that-do-work-for-mollie-and-strategies-that-dont/

I am really tired after a tough night and the boys are happy to amuse themselves whilst I do more research. During the day the children bring me various things to do together and the whole house ticks along in harmony. Sam and I have a kick about with the football. That means I wince at getting smacked in the face, as he misjudges the force of his kicks...at least I think that's what it is *eek*. We play with the dogs and water the plants...that means I get squirted in the face and he laughs. There is some science stuff to do with the eclipse and camera obscurer's tomorrow and we look at wildlife facts and figures, then more Top Trumps.

Friday

Owen gets up early for the eclipse. Read: Owen gets up early to ask me a million questions about whether he will actually watch the eclipse and whether he is going to experiment with going blind or not. Sam is already up and concerned about the cloud coverage. I explain that even if we can't use our Pinhole cameras to get an image, it will still be worth observing what happens , as it will go stormy looking and the birds may all go quiet.

We all pile outside with our stuff and Sam is instantly terrified of going blind. It takes ages to persuade Sam that, just standing in the garden with his eyes open,will not make him lose his sight. Owen and I watched as he bumps off the planters like a human pinball...not only is he insisting that he have them shut, he is also covering them with his hands. 

We get a good image of the eclipse but the boys were slightly disappointed that the UK isn't plunged into complete darkness...bad move Moon, they were expecting full gothic horror. They went on to search more about the different types of eclipse and look at photos and reports from around the UK

http://www.meteorwatch.org/solar-eclipse-march-20th-2015-easy-guide/

Over the weekend Blokey built and installed the extra PC we discussed, so that the boys can both access one independently. Owen was very excited about all this and once it was in place, took time to personalise the new one how he liked it.

As I wasn't feeling too well over the weekend, Blokey took them to the swimming baths. I was hesitant because it wasn't their normal swim session and had reservations over him taking them to the inflatable assault course session.

There was no need, I was happily proved wrong and both boys enjoyed themselves and came back tired. Sam struggled a bit with it being so busy and noisy, so he is going to have a think about whether he wants to have another go. Owen definitely would like to do it again, it's a reminder about how far he has travelled.

Spring is coming

Spring

Trying not to get too excited that my pain is becoming more manageable this last week. I am finding I have to be careful what I do, no where too noisy of frenetic etc. Which is limiting but not impossible and MUCH better than a few weeks ago.

It's hard to tell whether this is due to the new medication starting to kick in or I am coming into a more settled bout....but with these types of neuro disorders any relief is welcomed with glee from me.

Today we all went swimming, something I normally find impossible to handle. I was able to see how far Blokey has progressed with the children and how much stronger they are getting in the water.

Owen finds it hardest as coping with his gross coordination is challenging. Most of us would not have to think about keeping our arms and legs going together ...but it takes him an enormous amount of energy and concentration for him to remember how to move effectively in the water and just stay afloat. We are very proud at how hard both the children work to overcome these issues.

Blokey is building a new PC for the children as our old one was getting a bit laggy on certain operations. He's been working hard soldering and building and getting a bit tetchy on and off. We managed to persuade him to take a break yesterday and get out cycling in the sunshine. We stopped at the park so the boys could play footie with the other children, then cycled on down a bridle way for a few miles.  Everyone's humour had returned after some fresh air and there were big appitites at the tea table. Sam enjoyed his first ever steak and Owen tried english mustard (!) ...he had a tingly nose and decided 'I may not be quite ready for mustard just yet'.

We all cuddled up under blankets to watch some Dr Who later and after the children were tucked up with their books, Blokey completed the PC. I crocheted and watched some more episodes of Scrubs ...bliss.

Monday

Owen woke VERY early and is clearly struggling. They both played online with friends on Minecraft in the morning whilst I did chores. After lunch we played at money games. I was amazed at how much their skills are developing and the game flowed much better than previous times. 

Owen complained he was cold and didn't look himself, so we bundled him up in blankets. Sam played nurse and brought cushions and extra covers for him, he's such a caring boy.

I put a documentary about light on for Owen to watch whilst Sam and I played  a game of Speedy match...he's beating more often now and in the end he declared a draw and decided to watch the documentary with Owen.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Inbetween Minecraft and baking bread Owen asked to 'do some experiments'. We recreated the ones I did with Sam last week at his request. So volcanoes and firing foam rockets.

The boys went to their regularly Jujitsu lesson in the evening, they always return tired but very giggly. Tuesday night's bed time routine always resembles two parents herding cats and we collapse on to the sofas once they are tucked up with their books.

The next day always starts out slow after their jujitsu. Horrible History Top Trumps were requested and we researched further information on some of the more gruesome characters we came across. Ivan the Terrible, Henry VIII and King Herod to name a few.

After lunch Sam and I looked at 'Wonders of the World' using Top Trumps as a starting point and finding out about the items in more depth on the iPad as they grabbed his interest. I love how excited he gets about the more hard to believe facts.

We played with our Blend Blocks and did a rhyming word game Sam made up. Also hangman and noughts and crosses.

We played Cars Operation..which always makes us jump.

Also this week our garden work was completed, we are really pleased with what has been done and can't wait to get some plants in. It's already meant we have spent more time out there playing because we are no longer wading through a soggy lawn. We still have a large grassed area, with trees to the side of the house but plan to make this newly landscaped area a sensory garden, which is more 'Shadow Proof' ( hopefully) and easier for me to maintain if I am unwell. That way the boys can pick, plant flowers, herbs etc to make their 'potions' with.

We had a very busy day Thursday, I needed my ECG done and frankly it's a faff. We have to tear round to various places and back. The boys were fabulous and really helpful, despite Owen having a really tricky start to the day.

Once the medical stuff was done, we headed off to the library, Owen ordered some books and both boys grabbed fresh reading materials and puzzles. They also requested a new information poster they saw whilst we were in there. We have had a few of these and try and buy a new one every so often. Today's was British Wildlife.

We dashed back home to make sandwiches and walk the dogs, then scooted off out again to meet friends at Trentham Gardens. By chance, we also met up with some new Home ed families whilst we were there and all had a fabulous afternoon climbing , chatting and playing. We finished off a perfect but cold afternoon out with a walk through the grounds, looked at the spring flowers, spotted water boatmen in the ponds and looked across the formal gardens from the viewing platform. We found a beautiful but sadly, dead, Jay bird too. I did a mental count down as to which of my boys would poke it with a stick first. We played pooh sticks on the bridge for a while, tried not to swallow midges and said our goodbyes to our lovely friends. All the children we tired but happy and Sam and Owen kept telling me how much they had enjoyed the afternoon as we drove back home.

Thursday 

As Owen has been struggling with the breakfast routine we discussed changing things around a bit. It went well and Owen was far less stressed today. It also gave me a chance to spend some one to one time with him talking about how we can ease him through transitions.

We then researched some helpful apps and games and had a happy time discussing the pros and cons. This lead us on to completing some word searches and a brilliant puzzle app:

TwoDots by Playdots, Inc.

https://appsto.re/gb/yrND0.i

It's very easy to start with but gets more challenging quite quickly, it's also free and has many levels to progress through. 

Sadly Terry Pratchett died today, I felt upset even though it was expected, he had such a cruel illness and his loss will be felt by many. The boys asked about him, what type of a person he was etc. Hopefully his legacy will live in in the boys once day..I hope so.

We were pointed to this site this week by another Home Ed family:

http://learningworksforkids.com/playbooks/

It's is a fantastic resource for finding specific apps and games to facilitate learning. I liked the fact it explains what skills each recommendation can help with. It also has some nice videos and write ups explaining why we use certain, different types of skills. Owen and I watched some together and I loved how he pieced together and worked out how he can sometimes struggle with certain things. We talked about how he has managed to overcome some of these difficulties and how I believed in time he would find new strategies to overcome some of the frustrations he has now. He pulled his chair closer and gave me a huge hug.

They children have spent time this morning talking to friends online about Minecraft related things...they never run out of 'stuff' to talk about where Minecraft is concerned. 

In the afternoon we met up with more friends at the Ice rink and had a skating session. We all really enjoyed ourselves and our companions have been taking lessons, so very kindly gave us some tips. Owen is getting more confident and released his vice like grip on his support penguin . Sam is whizzing round rather confidently, he does this little,half run, half skate shuffle, that's working well for him.

Friday evenings have become takeaway night and I am delighted to see the children trying new things. We get a selection of starters or share three meals and sides. Sam prefers indian food, Owen loves the crispy and surprisingly spicy chicken from the Chinese . I am just happy not to have to cook ;-)