October flowers, Trentham, sculptures, new hats, problem solving and Big Biology Day...

OIt was chilly and misty here this morning and the boys were a little slow to surface and achy after their jujitsu course yesterday. We had a quiet start and offered to take them to a few places in the afternoon because the sun was breaking through.

They decided they wanted to go the Trentham gardens ..so off we went. It was a little cold so Owen bought himself a cosy hat.

We found lovely shiny 'conkernuts'.

Went to the play area

Rolled down hills

Did a barefoot walk ( brrrr) 

Checked out the still copious amounts of Wild flowers

Admired the new sculptures 

Hiding

And leaned over the bridge across the river watching lots of rainbow trout leisurely gliding by.

A great afternoon out..now home for tea!

Sam decided to play Uno after breakfast.

Owen came in and joined us before he ate...that's keen! Then whilst he was eating we learnt about honey badgers.

Sam and I emailed the person who runs our server course because we are having a few issues connecting and weren't able to iron them out. We decided to carry on with the rest of the course work, until we receive a response. Then on doing so we realised why we couldn't sign in and corrected our rookie error.

We then learned how to set up groups, including donator , member and owner ranks. Following on from that we found out how to input permissions and colour code. This was quite intense , additionally so because Owen wanted to always race ahead. I finally managed to explain the need for a process when he wiped all our coding. After that he paced himself more and learnt the virtue of saving his work...he needed a little lie down first to calm himself. *eek*

Concentrating on how to install the different types of plugin files where.

Sam inputting essential command permissions..we needed lots of concentration but soon got the hang of it.

I even remembered how to check YML and it was correct...thankfully.

The boys are still having trouble remembering it's a process, where all things have to be in turn and link together. Having a couple of issues to solve today, underlined the need to progress steadily, although it's nice they are so eager for it to be set up fully. At least they can play on it in its basic form with friends today. We finished up just before lunch but were pleased with how much we had done.

In the afternoon it was free play at home because they have their jujitsu class tonight. They happily went to jujitsu where Owen was sparring with his nemesis. Then we had to herd them into the shower and into bed...which wasn't an easy job as they are always rather hyper after class.

Owen wanted to make a Hama bead design at 6:30am ...so that's what we did. He finds sorting the colours hard unless they are in a separate bag , so I helped him with that. He nows seems to need no other input from me about building his designs...I just have to do the ironing job at the end.

Sam wanted to do some Khan academy and I managed to persuade him to try a new set of problems. He made the usual noises about new things but when I gave him and example of division and decimals he quickly got it. Hopefully he won't be so anxious about it next time.

In the morning I needed to do some jobs around the house. Both sets of grand parents were coming to visit , at different times and Blokey and I had a busy day ahead. Thankfully the boys were up early. Owen at 6am , so he breakfasted and did his activities first. These included making a Ghost and some maths problems.

As both boys read copious amounts of their books every day and type message and check spellings in their day to day play for the sheer joy of it, I have no need to plan any specific activities for this. 

Sam got up soon after Owen had finished and wanted to watch some wildlife programmes and work on some Khan academy. I then cracked on with jobs until my parents arrived to look after the boys. 

Blokey came home from work at lunchtime because we had an appointment with Sam's Peadiatric consultant to discuss his ADHD issues. This is the 2nd time we have met up and it was an hour long consultation, where she went through all our options and what treatments are on offer, risks, benefits etc. It was very informative and due to her personal experience and interest in children like Sam, Dr Jones is just perfect for us. We are very happy with the care she has shown us and she knows how much of a balancing act it is both as parents and treatment wise. It was lovely not to be criticised as a parent and for her to 'get' us all, our strengths and issues . I was initially nervous but came away feeling more at ease about everything. I once again we felt glad we had her onboard.

Whilst we were at Leamington Spa seeing Dr J, the children played scrabble and I spy with my parents. They were also taken out to lunch and played at the park. After my parents left ( looking tired), we had a sandwiches and waited for Blokeys parents to arrive because we were going with Shadow to dog training. 

Whilst we were out the boys played chess and watched a film with their grand parents. The boys then carried on reading their books. Sam is currently on Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire and Owen has a new Wimpy Kid book, The Long Haul.

Such a busy day yesterday has left me tired. Pain management is proving tough again. Owen was up at 6 am and keen to make another Hamma bead ghost, he wants to do a whole Pacman series. So far we have an orange and red one..I forget the names.

He then worked on some maths problems 

Whilst I waited for Sam to surface I responded to emails and did some planning. One email is a lively conversation with the young guy who designed the server course. Over the last two days we have been chatting about what sort of games the children would like to see developed...he's a game designer and was home educated himself. So ideas are flying back and forth between us..it's fun and one of those great interactions the Internet can spark. I really enjoy this sort of happy occurrence and the boys take a great interest in what Justin has to say.

After watching Wildlife programmes and eating breakfast, Sam wanted to do more of our server building course.

This morning he was making users kits for different level players on our server, the idea being some are free to all members , some have to be bought. So we discussed what people may be enticed into buying and what they should have free. I had to remind him a few times that everything he decided to use had to be typed and listed fully in the config files because he was getting a bit carried away ..so funny. Being a generous child, he wanted to give everybody 'all the things', he's such a sweetheart.

Justin the guy I mentioned above, gave us tips on how to work more efficiently when setting this up..which really helped Sam stay focused one this part of the process. I am finding that watching the tutorials before the boys is helping me flow the information they need better and makes it less frustrating. I can explain what's going on and follow the steps more fluidly, which makes it easier for them to process.

We got in to the next stage but are having issues with one of the plugins glitching out. Sam was incredibly patient as we tried for two hours to sort the problem...but to no avail. We decided to have a break for today and email Justin later to see what he can suggest. It's a shame because we figured out all the next steps and were ready to edit the config files, thankfully I saw the issue before Sam had done all the edits...that would have been a lot of wasted work otherwise ...phew!

More server work this morning. We got everything working , edited the files, made kits and ran tests. It all worked and the children were so happy. There are more things we can tweak but they wanted to try out the various features they had installed and do some builds etc. 

I took my chance to get in the garden and they ran in and out, calling me back to see their work. It was nice to see them excited by what they had made, especially as they had worked so hard all week.

We also had this little chap visit the garden..I was pretty sure it was a Nuthatch so we doubled checked to confirm. So happy as we've never seen one before.

By this point it was lunch time and I needed to get some food in the hungry boys..where has the morning gone??

There was a Biology Day at Stafford University, so we asked the boys if they wanted to go and visit. They were keen so left early to avoid the crowds as much as possible. It was a truly fantastic experience.

We made 'animal cell' biscuits and admired the students cake entrys 

Dug for Bobs bones  and looked at many insects..we also dressed up as Mosquitoes to see how diseases can be spread.

Talked about parasites and looked at them through the microscope

Learnt all about bees, dressed up as a beekeeper, tasted honey from the hive and whatched a waggle dance bee lady.

Sam was brave and fell in love with the Milk Snake. He also, after hanging back, touched the Python and became much less fearful. The rest of us got a chance to meet and greet the snakes too.

We tested soil, hair and fingerprints at a 'crime scene' to work out who the murderer was. It was a fair cop.

Owen fell in love with huge millipedes and cockroaches and kept going back for more. 

We saw a huge pair of inflatable lungs, but the children we slightly disappointed it wasn't a bouncy castle.

All the time there were many questions about how Universities work, what subjects could they take and how old they needed to be to go. We have often said that University is very different to school and this event really cemented this in their heads. On the way home Owen announced he wanted to be an entomologist and Sam a 'mad scientist'. 

After the University we went to the shops , grabbed some food and looked at some possible ideas to boost the capacity of Sam's PC.

Swimming this morning....Sam bombs up and down the length of the pool and Owen did a lot of diving practice. Back home we all had oatcakes for lunch and settled into our own interests. We seem to have crammed a lot in this week and children have coped really well...however Owen is a bit strung out today, as he had a tough night..so we have got him relaxing in front of the TV.

New beginnings

Blokey started his new hours today, so he left at 7am. Despite this and the heavy rain, Owen still got up and walked the dogs with him..I was amazed.

So he was wide awake and decided he wanted to start his first Hamma bead project. It took some time to decide on a design, he changed his mind three times during the process and finally worked out his own Quebert pattern. I was amazed at how hard he worked, especially as it's such a fiddly thing to do. I worked alongside him on my own design. He was really chuffed when it was ironed and finished.

My coaster..along side his design.

We attempted another one, but it didn't work out how he imagined and he decided to do some maths instead. 

Sam was eating breakfast and watching us work and became interested in what he could make. After breakfast he asked me to find a minion design, Owen put some music on whilst we worked. Sam was really good at following the pattern and preferred to work that way, rather than designing his own. 

It was interesting watching the different skills the children have.

Sam was incredibly pleased with his Minion!

I noticed that the most frustration was about finding the correct coloured beads, out of a mixed tub..I will definitely buy the separate bags of colours next time, to make the process flow better for them. I am assured they want to do more of these.

After we finished Sam decided to do some Khan academy and I could see doing a little bit per day is helping him remember the processes better. He rattled through two sections of work more easily today.

Sam was up early with me and we watched Life of Mammals and played a complicated board game about herbs and flowers. He also helped put the shopping away, as it was delivered whilst he was setting the game up.

Owen had a lie in today and finally surfaced at 9:30, so he missed dog walking with his dad. However it gave me chance to sort out my shopping and get the washing on the line.

Things got a bit tricksy at this point but we managed to work through it, after Owen had eaten he was much happier about the world...so I think it was a case of the 'hangries' ( hunger and anger). He really wanted to do more Hama beads, so I facilitated that with glee. He enjoyed watching me 'cook' his creation with the iron and even accepted that it was still good work, even if he deviated from the pattern he was following slightly.

A cupcake for Dad...he tells me.

After this he watched a wildlife programme, extolling the virtues of various creatures as he did. As usual I have scheduled a free play afternoon today because they have a jujitsu class tonight. So I am around if they want help or crocheting if they are happily engaged alone.

Jujitsu went well and Owen even managed to deal with someone else's difficult behaviour very maturely, despite severe provocation. We were so proud of him. At bed time he asked me to tell Blokey to make sure he was really awake tomorrow, because he really wanted to walk the dogs at 6:30. *blinks*

Owen shot out of bed to got out with Blokey and the dogs, it definitely helps improve his mood and we are both delighted he is enjoying the time alone with his dad. Sam was up too and made more of an effort to sort his breakfast out himself.

I am having a hard time emotionally after Sam's ASD/PDA report came through. It's really hard reading in places, no surprises but seeing your lives in black and white from a clinical perspective can be rather soul destroying. I make a point to speaking to supportive friends at times like these..it really helps remind me that, we all are more than a report. The children are well and happy, they are progressing in all areas of their lives and studies ...what we do here works...if it doesn't we change it. We are not at the whim of an educational system that the boys can't fit..we are good..more than that. 

I put the report away, take a deep breathe and reassess...all is well..onwards now. I know I need to rest as its all been exhausting and my Cluster Headaches and migraines are ramping up. They do that this time of year but the added worry of the last few months of assessment have added to it all. 

I take a deep breath and enjoy some laughs with the boys. I am so grateful for the children and having a supportive and understanding network of people around me...it wasn't always that way.

We are starting to build our hosting server today, using plugins. These are new skills, so we enrolled on a course to show us how. We managed to set it up and learnt how to load plugins. It was quite a lot to learn and we were juggling multiple screens and instructions, so there was also some impatience from the boys at times to manage. After a lot more hard work we managed to get our server online, understand file editing and got 3 plugins installed. 

Inbetween the boys would suddenly go...'oh I know this bit!' and explain what the file intructions meant and why they wanted to alter them. 

I also learnt that YAML parse can be really finicky and was showed a shortcut on how to check it. We can now check it but would still be a bit lost as to how to correct it. All a learning curve and my head hurts now.

After a few intense hours we decided to have a break..I felt my head would explode and I need to ask Blokey about a couple of issues we are not sure about. Even so we got far more done than I expected. I think when we reconvene I will go through the course work first before doing it with the boys, then I can explain things with a better flow.

Lovely sun rise here. Feeling brighter because I know Blokey is off work for 4 days after today. Whoop.

Sam managed to take a tablet for the first time today..he wasn't overly chuffed about the prospect but he managed fine. But 'I am never doing it ever again' ..deep joy.

I did the Hokey Cokey with our bins today..lacking in cognitive ability to read the collection day calendar..can't imagine what the neighbours thought as the watched me go back and forth looking puzzled.

Sam watched his wildlife programmes, Wildkratts and Life of Mammals after breakfast. Owen had a lie in and we sang along to Adventure Time as he ate his breakfast. I then taught the boys how to play Uno..a good game for mental focus.

Owen watched Life of Mammals and was engrossed whilst David Attenborough talked about

Marmoset monkeys.

Sam did some Khan Academy maths problems and wanted to practice writing his '9's' because he said he 'wanted to get them to look right' lol....he had them looking how he wanted after much persistence on his part.

The boys played for a short time whilst I made lunch, then we went out to visit friends. We all had a brilliant time. Me catching up with a friend and her new baby, them playing with her older child. We smiled and watched from the other room as they giggled and negotiated with each other.

After tea, Blokey played games on the PC with them and read out some interesting information about Tesla he had discovered. Both boys were fascinated with the information he had found and I looked up resources whilst half listening.

Today is Blokeys new rota day off, we had decided that if the weather was kind, we would got out for  the day. We got up to beautiful sunshine and took off to Moreton Hall and to join the National Trust...something we had been thinking about for a while.

It was a brilliant day out and we learnt many things about the Tudor Hall..they even had Carp in the moat.

Small 'secret doors'.

Walking round the Knot garden and moat..lots of kitchen garden plants still growing.

Sam loved the fireplaces, I loved the stone flag floors

Decorative plaster work

Tudor wallpaper

Tudor food and preparation 

Sam checking his list

The 'enormous gold fishes ' ( carp) in the Moat.

Beautiful stained glass..this one in the chapel 

The courtyard..the boys loved this because it reminded them of Harry Potter!

Both boys bought little toys from the gift shop with their pocket money and afterwards we enjoyed a family lunch on the way home. There was lots of rolling down hills and they enthusiastically filled-out their Adventure Scrapbooks.

They were very happy to find they had completed many of the '50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4'....'we need to do canoeing mum"....it's on the list. 

When we got home Owen wanted to 'excavate his dinosaur' from his gift shop haul.

Today we tried to go swimming..and failed. Our usual swimming baths had changed the timetable , so we tired another one. On entering the pool area we noticed that only 1/3rd of the pool was open to swim and that was rammed full of people unable to move round. None of us felt there was any point in getting in and we were irritated that we hadn't been informed before we paid.

The boys steadfastly said they didn't want to swim there, so we managed to get our money back and leave. The children were understandably grouchy at all out plans going haywire, so we took them to the park for a run round and played games there instead.

Blokey introduced the children to a new game called Sandbox Universe. They all had great fun moving the universe around, adding new planets and generally getting a feel of it.

After lunch we played a lot of Uno, made bread and then followed our own interests. Then had family film evening with the muppets.

I had a really rough night with my cluster headaches and Shadow had a poorly tummy, so we kept each other company during the small hours. Once he was settled I took myself into the spare room so I didn't disturb Blokey.

In the morning Sam got up early and sorted his own breakfast out ( que huge amounts of clattering and banging) , whilst Owen and Blokey walked the dogs together. They left me to have a lie in and when I came downstairs, Blokey had hung the washing out and cleaned the kitchen..I was very grateful.

Later children had a jujitsu course this afternoon for a few hours so we dropped them off and enjoyed a quiet lunch together before doing a bit of shopping.

The boys passed their course and really enjoyed the experience. They ate the doughnuts we had bought on the way home and there were lots of giggles about what they had been doing.

Back home Owen played with friends online and Sam and I went foraging for elderberries in the hedgerows. He likes asking about the different plants and trees and I enjoy having time to chat with him as we wander round. He remembered that last year I made a 'delicious elderberry drink for my colds', so was keen to gather as many berries as we could. I reminded him that it was important to leave plenty for the birds over winter so we took a few bunches from each bush.

http://www.greenmanherbalist.co.uk/elderberry_syrup

We looked for some hazelnuts but the bushes had been cut back quite hard and we failed to get any this year.

Later at home I made the syrup and the boys had their evening meal, after which we settled down to watch last nights Dr Who together.