To soft play or not to soft play?

We tried a new soft play area near us this week. More expensive than the ones we usually visit as they don't do a half price day during term time like some of the others. £11 later we were finally in....after reading the many signs warning that only food and drink purchased on the premises were allowed to be eaten on site and kindly asking that customers witnessing others breaching these rules to inform the management immediately. Now that is fair enough and I understand that they want/ need to make money. However food etc was very expensive  for what it was and they had a limited menu. Nothing gluten/ dairy free or vegan. Not even a bowl of chips wish is usually a last resort for us as the usual sandwich selections are out of the question. The main reason we went is because they have a go ape type area for the older ones ....although the smaller ones soon got bored with everything else. You just can't please everyone it seems.

After some initial reluctance Munch managed to over come some of her fears and have a go....mostly because her friends were to be honest.

Now we are off for a family yard day at my grandparents....which could go either way as one or 2 of my family are very......forceful in their opinions of our choice to home ed and quite derogatory of my husband, who has decided to stay at home rather than risk telling anyone exactly where to go when they ask him if he has a job yet/ has pulled himself together. Wish me luck, I may be coming home early :-)

........

Saturday we took an unexpectedly pleasant trip to the coast. We had to pick up an ebay purchase from Bexhill so decided to pop along to Hastings for a wander and fish and chip lunch. Munch was out with Nanny 1 visiting some friends so left us with some precious one to one time with Tinkerbell. Was a surprising lovely day weather wise, started off blowing a gale but wind soon died down and a lovely day was had by all. Tink especially loved the new pirate play area. She is obsessed with pirates in general and often wanders around the house with junk mail or random bits of paper pretending they are treasure maps with a pair of binoculars around her neck.

 After having no plans for Bonfire night  were invited to friends for bangers and bbq on Sunday night. Was great to catch up with some of friends we hadn't seen in a while and the children loved running around and watching a large amount of fireworks....I dread to think how much the hubby stretched his budget. Cue much hilarity and mud. A very late night but a good time was had by all.

We have been trying to take things slowly as SPD is getting worse, slowly but surely, just when I feel I need to be doing more. So lots of home days watching wartime farm, reading and lots of DVD afternoons since we got a TV from freecycle and borrowed a DVD player from FIL. All mixed with library and park visits along with our regular fortnightly Tuesday  Faversham group meet this week. It was also Mad Science which is meeting mixed reviews from the children involved. This week was finger prints and blood grouping I think. Not too sure actually as it is something which munch enjoys but usually doesn't talk about much, at least to start with. However, over the next couple of days she usually slowly lets slip what she has learned during conversations about other seemingly unrelated things.

Also lots of craft activities in the art room afterwards, mostly glitter fights with her friend Abi whilst flirting with A....not that they would call it flirting at their young age. lol.

Wednesday Munch had her regular craft sessions with a group of friends run by the lovely Rekela....who must have the patience of a saint to run a craft class for 4 1/2 hours in her conservatory with at least 6 teen and pre-teens and lots of dye, hot glue guns and several amazingly ambitious/ complex craft ideas. This week  was geometric pin pictures (reminiscent of the 70's) but not only a simple design...oh no no half measures here. Several practice patterns are needed first....making embroidered/embossed designs on card...almost like embroidered Christmas cards, plus lots of theory, printing of other designs and instructions and discussions of threads, colours etc. Then a large model with pins, embroidery floss and pins before framing and completing. I am exhausted just writing it let alone trying to help half a dozen or so children do it. It is lovely though to see the craft folders they come home with expanding week by week and to see how much Munch is growing in confidence and ability. Next week rag rugs......can't wait to see what she comes up with.

out and about

We did manage to get out and about  during breaks in the rain last week. We were on the hunt for acorns, chestnuts  and conkers for some craft activities I had planed. Unfortunately the very wet weather this year seems to have had an adverse effect on the nuts and the few that we did find were already nibbled by the birds and squirrels. So that put paid to that idea. However, the children had fun running around and exploring the new play area....until Tinkerbell slipped and cut her lip open. Quick cuddle and everything was fine again....once it stopped bleeding. We did find lots of fungi though.....more than  I had seen for a while actually....the girls loved looking for them and pointing out the different types. If only we knew which ones could be safely eaten we could have come home with a veritable feast of fungi. (I do have photos when hubby gives me his phone to upload them).

We have also done a fair bit of visiting family and friends. Munch's friends are off to Romania again soon so we have been cramming in weekly visits before they go again .....it is not too far but a 45km round trip is rather expensive in fuel when we are on a restricted budget at the moment. We can't exactly have them round ours at the moment either with the chaos of packing etc that surrounds us still at present. Hopefully by the time they come back for christmas we will have finally moved and things will be a bit more settled.

We have also discovered a new board game that my hubby remembered playing from his childhood. http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/game-of-life/The Game of Life is similar to monopoly in that there is money involved but lots can happen along the way. Kept everybody amused for hours even the baby was joining in spinning the dial and moving counters. A rather pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon...and not bad for a charity shop find.

We are really loving some of our local charity shops and jumble sales recently......not least as we are experimenting with living on £1 a day per person. Mostly because we have to at present and partly as an experiment to see just how much money we were wasting on things unnecessarily.

raining again....

what a surprise. I am sad about it as really want to enjoy the autumn. I love to watch the seasons change and was hoping to get out and about to do a little foraging...mostly sweet chestnuts, pine cones and acorns for some craft ideas I had. Now I don't mind the rain as a general rule but it is lashing it down again...almost constantly it seems and with both myself and the ninja lacking our full mobility it seems we are also lacking motivation.

Still, on a brighter note we have had trips to the library and several visits to meet our friends who have been away all summer....they didn't even know we were having a baby so they really had been away for a while. Munch really enjoyed seeing them again and I always enjoy the random chats we have about news articles and life in Romania (where they spent most of the summer).

At least the rain has meant that the majority of the packing is now done...we just need somewhere to move to now. Also lots of reading has been done by all....including Tinkerbell..who reads upside and often back to front.....still her teddy bears seem to understand her.

don't fence me in ........

Despite constant checks and nagging we still seem to be getting no where fast with our desperate housing situation. Makes it so much worse that I am beginning to really appreciate the space we have available in this one and will be reluctant to leave it. If I knew anyone with half an acre or so I am pretty sure I could borrow a caravan and plant myself on it with relish......unfortunately my grandparents sold theirs several years ago....would love a yurt or bender but think I would need the 'solid' walls of a caravan for security with the new arrival due in the new year. Still we can all dream ......

Meanwhile we have been busy....fighting colds and spending time with friends....some of whom we have not seen since before the summer as they were travelling. So good to have long chats about everything and nothing whilst the children all play happily.

Also lots of crafting although sadly Munch's craft club has finished for this term and we cannot afford the next term. Still once we move the financial worries should sort themselves out as we wont be running at such a huge deficit each month.

Will just be glad to unpack some boxes and be able to find everything again when we finally do move....living in limbo is getting boring now.

not forgotten.

I haven't forgotten to post as such....just can't find my phone cable to add photos (which I actually remembered to take :-(

The weather has been a bit hit and miss with some beautiful autumn days mixed with some very wet and wild days so a mixed bag of activity here. Still sorting through, de-cluttering and packing whilst waiting to hear about our move.....and waiting.

Munch has got the baking bug so has been very keen to try things herself and doing very well. Lots of cupcakes and cereal bars have been forthcoming, the perfect accompaniment to afternoon movie time when feeling uncomfortable and relaxing on the sofa.

Mixed in to this have been a few adventures to local soft play areas (well it is rude not to take advantage of the half price term time offers that mean so much more can be done by us home edders on a budget. Not forgetting home ed group, madscience and craft club....where the girls dyed their hands as much as their t-shirts (photos to follow as soon as the colours/patterns have had time to develop).

I am still struggling with the SPD which is making things more difficult as my mobility is affected, especially as the ginger ninja has also been struggling with his ME ....although DR has given him some new meds which will hopefully take the edge of so he is more able to do things with the children....or at least help with some of the more basic household chores.

HE in action

Just popping in before I forget the positives (as I so often do) waiting for the opticians appointment today Munch was reading posters and asking about them. It was a sale sign offering 25% off new frames, which led to a lovely discussion about what percentages meant and how to work it out. Not bad for 2 total math phobics on a rainy afternoon :-)