A week in the life of an ordinary home ed family (ok so not an ordinary family)

It's been one heck of a week, on Friday I had a friend come to stay, he's a really lovely bloke and it was nice to just sit and relax, we ate pizza with the kids and watched a film. Saturday was a lazy morning, the afternoon was busy though, housework and kids friends in and out all afternoon.  We had a huge drama on Sunday morning, our lives changed forever. At the time it was quite scary and at first I thought life had changed for the worst, but as the days have gone by I realise it was one of those events that needed to happen for us to move onto the next phase of our lives. The kids are coping really well and seem quite relieved (I do feel a bit stupid for not seeing the damage that was being done. But it's over now) So onwards we went.

We had to change our original plans for Sunday, so I took the kids to B&Q to let my Princess pick paint to decorate her bedroom, pink obviously :) so we headed home and the kids helped move the furniture, get the paintbrushes out and she even helped with the painting for a while.  The boys brought me drinks and a sandwich so I didn't have to break off, I painted a huge rainbow on one wall. It looks amazing!  As I was tidying up, the boys told me Princess was asleep on the sofa, I knew she must be ill cos she doesn't sleep in the day, they brought her upstairs and she was burning up, she climbed into bed and was soon being sick.  She fell asleep looking so tiny, I hate it when they are ill.  I knew this was the first challenge to overcome and we did, the boys were amazing, whilst I sat with her stroking her hair they cooked tea, now it was only food out the freezer but they were brilliant, they worked together and whilst it was cooking they tidied up and fed the animals. After they had served tea and eaten it they made sure the kitchen was tidy. Then went to bed and watched a film.  Princess was settled and hadn't been sick again so I fell asleep, waking up cold in her room I headed to my bed.

She woke up a little lethargic but hungry and she ate like a pig all day, by Monday evening she was back to normal and bouncing around.  We did some work, mostly discussions and Google searches about Venus Fly trap plants, as we had bought one the day before.  Princess wasn't up to doing much so mostly watched YouTube music videos.  Because she has some sort of dairy intolerance/reflux I worried that because she'd had a bug she may still be sick again, I was exhausted from all the decorating and not sleeping well the night before. Whilst I had a bath I knew StuntMan was playing with her, what I didn't realise till I went through into her room was that he had set himself a bed up on her floor, so that he could look after her if she was sick again. I was so proud of him.  Einstein had made sure everything was tidy and even washed some pots up (dishwasher is on the blink) he hates washing pots because of his sensory issues, but he did some. 

Everyone slept through the night :)  Tuesday was a busy day, we had music lessons here, the music teacher is absolutely amazing with them, she is happy for them to learn what ever piece they want, she doesn't mind if Einstein plays the keyboard sat with his knees touching his chin, or if StuntMan wants to learn Kid Rock instead of Oasis on the guitar, or if Princess wants to make up her own random piece.  I was telling her how I was having to take my key back into work (a volunteer position at a homeless centre)  because I no longer had child care in an evening, she has offered to help me out which is lovely, so maybe we can come to some arrangement and I may be able to start working there again.  After music lessons we drove to my work to take my key in and official quit :( I said goodbye to some of the residents, who all said they were sad that I wouldn't be back, it was lovely to hear them saying positive stuff about me and the sessions I ran. 

Then we headed off to the park to meet 2 other families, we had a lovely time, although for some reason StuntMan had it in his head that it was ok to ride his scooter inside the park whilst little ones were playing, so I had to tell him off a couple of times.  We headed onto the field and set up a game of cricket, boys and girls and mums, ages 3 to well I'll not include the mums ages, so 11 was the oldest kid, we had a lovely game, where there were very few rules except to have fun, the older ones encouraged the little ones which was lovely to see. We had such a good time.  Everyone found my inability to catch hilarious especially as I was bowler most of the time and was often seen dropping the ball, but it added to the fact that it was for fun. We then headed to the shops to buy supplies for the following days home ed group, Halloween themed arty stuff, paper, paint, stickers, etc. then home tea and an early night for all. 

Wednesday morning started like many, I logged online to find a family fairly local to us being harassed by the LA, so a phone call and a letter drafted for them, as I was drawing that to a close I had an email asking for support, so another letter was quickly drafted.  I then had to make a phone call to an EWO who thought doorstepping 3 times in one week was acceptable, to a family who have willingly chosen to home educate and have already put in writing that they are willing to engage with the EHE in writing.  Then I had a quick discussion with some fellow home edders about a family that we are trying to help and get rid of ridiculous social service involvement. I did all this before I was even out of bed, as I went to get out of bed, I put my weight onto one foot and realised my leg had gone dead and I fell over, hurting my other leg, so I spent the day limping.  Whilst I was working away, the boys were researching Napoleon, Einstein reading books, StuntMan googling, Princess decided she wanted to do a maths workbook instead. 

After a quick lunch and a mad 'quick print these sheets off for group' half hour, we headed to group. I cut out Halloween themed paper things, set out paint and pencils and paper, the kids had a brilliant time (I completely forgot to take photos). The older kids went off and built chair and table dens in the smaller rooms, then roamed around, did a bit of painting and the odd word search. The younger ones created some lovely artwork.  I chatted to some of the families, advised on one over zealous LA, was asked to support another family with some serious issues (obviously I can't share what) but it's gonna be a lot of work, but well worth it for such a lovely family. I came up with the idea for the next meeting (as some don't do Halloween) it's going to be a fancy dress party with buns etc and some games and making firework decorations.  We packed away and headed to Asda, bought way too many things we didn't need, such as Lego, a pretty top and boots ::) oh and Pizza for tea. Pizza cooked, laptop on and sit, and I didn't move till bedtime :) The kids played together for a while then read, then slept.

Today we are having a TV morning and playing games, then off to a birthday party and depending on what time we are home Princess has gymnastics later. 

Friday we are meant to be meeting one of the kids friends and mum, I might organise it to be here then we can sit and eat cake and drink tea whilst the kids play.  

Whilst I only mentioned my friend at the very beginning  I would like to add now, that throughout this stressful busy week, he has been at the end of the phone, FB or text anytime I have wanted a chat or cry (like Sunday morning), he is turning out to be a very influential part of my life, he actually cares that I get some rest, that I don't overdo it, he's also rather useful at making me feel absolutely bloody amazing. I would also like to mention that without some very good friends, I would not be able to work as hard as I do for families, I have the friend I can moan to, the friend that brightens dull moments, the friend that knows so much it's scary, the friend that taught me how to kick LA ass, and the friend that well it's her fault I know such a lovely man :)  Life might be crazy but I'll let you into a secret, I think things, whilst always being crazy, are about to get a whole lot better. 

The dating game the sequel

So as some of you may know, I stopped using dating sites a while ago, because there were developments in my love life. An online friend and I decided we really liked each other and started talking about getting together, now she lived a long way away, but I hoped this wouldn't become an issue, the more serious we got with our chats the more we fell for each other without even having met. We agreed we wouldn't see anyone else and classed ourselves as a couple, I was excited at the prospect of being with such a wonderful girl and we made plans to meet up, but things quickly went tits up when communication became an issue, I won't go into details but it ended before it had begun. Yes I was upset initially, angry even, but I soon realised she clearly wasn't any good for me. We no longer talk, but from what I can tell, I had a lucky escape, I have enough of my own baggage without bringing someone into my life that clearly has not dealt with her own stuff. I wish her well obviously but boy I'm so glad things didn't progress.

I decided fairly quickly that I was not going to let this little mishap put me off looking for mr or miss perfect, although after the stalker earlier in the year and now this situation, my thoughts towards a relationship with a woman have changed, for now I want a man, they are easier to suss :) So I signed back up to dating websites, I don't know what was different this time, but I have been inundated with men wanted to talk to me.  From all walks of life this time too.

There's still the 18-24 year olds that think they can handle a woman like me, oh how I would love to scare the crap out of them and show them a thing or two, but it'd probably put them off women for life lol.
Then there are the 25-32 year olds, they are living the single life, having seperated from a 3 year relationship, they live in a small flat, and spend all their wages on booze, going round the pubs that they have frequented for the last 10+years, with the same lads and they wonder why the longest relationship is 3 years!
The 32-40 year olds have split from their wife and see the kids every other weekend, they have jobs they hate and want a bit of fun, but when they realise that all the women interested in them are the same as their wives they suddenly just want sex and try it on big style.
The 40-52 year olds are turning out to be the most interesting to chat to, they have changed careers, kids are grown up and they know some interesting stuff, but they don't want to start again with a young family like mine.

So finding a decent date is a little tedious, ploughing through all the 'hi how r u ?' messages, the badly written profiles that actually are so badly written that they make no sense, and the foreigners, omg I won't get started on them, but come on really when you send me a message that says;

            i know i mite be upseting u by messaging you here people like me dont have any chance to be a friend                   to someone like u i do apologise if this message upset u

or

hi babe, its me krish from sheffield, u looking so good and ur profile sounding good. plz reply me if u interest in me

do you really think I am gonna reply? erm let me think about that for a moment.... NO! i'm not.

So after weeding my way through, and I really don't want to sound cocky, but I'm talking a lot of messages each day, I finally get talking to someone, he seems nice, but then you realise he lives 40 miles away and doesn't drive.  Or another guy comes along, really chatty and interesting, you talk for a few days then he suddenly tells you that he's actually 58 and his photo was 15 years ago.  There are of course those that are married, but they often attempt sex chat within a couple of minutes, the best antidote for them is to tell them about your day with the kids and that they are sat at the side of you as you are talking ;) really puts them off and they never message again.

So this last month or so I've chatted to some lovely people and had some lovely dates, although I did have a busy day a couple of weeks ago, I had 2 dates in one day within metres of each other lol, the first was an older guy, bit of a rocker, really interesting, he didn't work other than doing gigs, but he looked after the grandkids! we got on really well, and he was lovely and text quite a few times but think he realised he didn't want the lifestyle I could offer.

The second date, omg, I couldn't get out of there fast enough, he looked nothing like his photo, he behaved nothing like he sounded online. He was a bit of a geek and I think I would have overpowered him on so  many levels, I made my excuses to leave, but he insisted on walking me back to the car, he tried to kiss me twice! yuk! I jumped in the car before he could try again, he later text saying they were amazing kisses, ugghhhh I don't think so mate, your lips barely touched mine before I moved away. I politely told him i wasn't interested, but he replied saying he thought I was perfect. Hmm really ? well yeah i am, but not for you lol :)

I got talking to a guy one morning, and he was amazing, he works in the job I eventually want to be doing, he's got a history that makes him interesting and he is cute. We swapped numbers and text during the day, I went to work as normal in the evening and ten minutes into the session he text me saying hi. Luckily it transpired that the session I was doing was only gonna be an hour cos the lads wanted to watch the football, so I text the guy saying that it was a shame I didn't know him well enough to call round for a cuppa, he agreed and said especially as he lived behind where I was working. Well that was it, I said sod it I'm on my way, so I text my mate with the address so she knew where I was (just in case), I was there in 5 minutes, he was outside waiting. Cuter in real life, we sat and chatted for an hour, albeit he did most of the talking. It was lovely, I managed to blag another hour out of the house (told ex i was working late lol), I really didn't want to leave but after another hour I had to, so he walked me to my car and we chatted a little longer, he looked at my lips a couple of times and I thought he was gonna kiss me, but no :(  We've text loads and will maybe meet up again, but i'm not sure it'll go beyond friendship as we have a different outlook on life.

There's always the ones that appear from no-where, the ones that you least expect and I have a feeling that someone is about to be that someone, but I'm not gonna say anymore :)

I'm so happy with how my life is at the mo and i'm having so much fun dating even when I'm clearly way too good for them all LOL :)

Dyson's and music

It's been one of those lovely home ed days, Princess woke up about 8 and watched a dvd in her room, me and the boys woke about 9, well Einstein was nearer to 10am.  I pottered about in my room while the kids got their breakfast and fed the animals.  I've been keeping an eye on the news all day hoping and wishing for news of April Jones, the little 5 year old that has been abducted in Wales, but still no good news, it's so sad and it makes me more grateful to have my babies safe with me.    The kids came running upstairs with the Graze box that had just been delivered. Twice a week we climb into my bed and devour the contents, trying new seeds, or rice crackers, we love the flapjacks.

The kids swapped some washing over and emptied the dishwasher while I cleaned up after our old cat, poor thing is getting worse and most nights doesn't make it to the litter tray in time.  We then decided to explore the huge box that had been delivered on Monday, we'd been sent a Dyson, especially for schools/home edders, it contained a Dyson, lots of cleaner heads and screwdrivers and an instruction manual. Princess wasn't too interested so set herself up on the chaise with the laptop and went on youtube, she's obsessed with Bruno Mars's Lazy Song and is always looking for new versions, then she put Horrid Henry on. Me and the boys spent a couple of hours taking the Dyson apart, discussing why it was designed the way it was, how it worked and how other things are designed. I haven't seen StuntMan this interested in something for a while, they worked together too, was lovely to watch.

We had a lazy late lunch sat on the sofa watching Big Bang Theory, we love this programme, I know it has some adult content, but it has triggered some really interesting questions from the kids, as well as showing to them that sex isn't a taboo subject with me, today's episode was one of Einstein's favourites, the one with the cricket, he was in stitches laughing. StuntMan decided to go off and start building a den in his bedroom, the others eventually followed. There was a little bit of bickering and I've had to step in a couple of times and seperate them. But they then put some music on and danced and played upstairs for a couple of hours. I sat with my music on downstairs, and worked on my book. I think I have most of it done now, just a few bits to add and then I need someone to go through it and alter any layout and grammar problems with it. I'm quite excited that very soon I shall be looking at getting it published!  So for those of you that enjoy my blog or know me in real life, I think you will enjoy the book, it's my biography and I promise it's a good read (well I've got to say that cos I wrote it lol)

The evening has gone tits up, cos we had home made pizza for lunch, no one was ready for tea at tea time, so instead the kids have been drawing, but the bickering started, and StuntMan was nasty to Einstein (I missed what was said) but it resorted in Einstein screwing up his drawing. It's so sad when he does that, he has so little self worth and even when he's done something good he can soon be screwing it up and being upset that it was no good. So I've sent the boys to their room for a while to calm down. I'll feed them a snack and we'll all head upstairs. I'm dying my hair tonight, no idea what colour yet :) maybe a rainbow again :)