Who’s Normal Anyway?

Quick catch up of what we’ve been up to.

Thursday we did very little in the morning and in the afternoon we went out to Gressenhall, arriving in bright sunshine and then getting soaked in a heavy downpour about 10 mins later while we were playing in the wooden adventure playground. We met some other home edders there and M and his friend S got filmed for Anglia local news (though don’t think it was actually shown) having a fight with stone age weapons in a tiny stone age hut in a part of the museum we’ve never been round before. L toddled about finding puddles (thank goodness for his waterproof trousers!) making ti hard to keep an eye on M who kept on running ahead. We got home in time for M to get washed and changed and go back out to a Beavers bowling party (half term treat and farewell to people who’ve moved up to Cubs).

On Friday we had an early start to drive a good hour to a home ed meeting which was a talk about soap making. Talks are all very well, but difficult to go to with a toddler. L was playing very nicely on the floor but making happy noises and he (and the maybe 6mo baby girl sat in front and giving the ocassional happy burble) got some filthy looks. The talk wasn’t getting off to a good start as the bloke was fairly softly spoken, reading from a sheet of paper and not used to speaking to a group and the older kids weren’t looking too enthralled. I had just decided L was only going to get louder and was gathering up all of the toys he’d emptied from my bag to go out into the corridor with him when the organiser came up and said,”Can you take him out please?” in a very short, irritated and disapproving tone, definitely command not polite request. I’m sure he wasn’t the only one making any noise. So that was a bit humiliating. We sat in the cold corridor for a bit but then he started banging cars onto the stone tiles and I didn’t want to get told off for making too much noise in the corridor as well, so we went and sat outside in the car for an hour and a half. No one bothered to tell me when the talk was wrapping up and it wouldn’t matter if L was a bit noisy. M came rushing out wanting me to come in and write his name and address on a piece of paper, but when I went in to try and help I was getting the cold shoulder and no help or further info about what was happening, so we left as soon as we’d tidied some chairs away. Odd group, not social at all, a couple of people say hello but that’s about it.

Afterwards we went to the garden centre to get some lunch and then to Tesco for some bits and pieces before driving home. I’d suddenly decided to do an extra Christmas box and found lots of cheap but nice toys in Tesco, so that was good. Then in the evening we had a big problem with M that I’m not going to go into on the blog, but it was not pleasant and just rounded the day off really.

Yesterday we went shopping to get some more Christmas shopping done and some more bits to finish off the Christmas boxes. We’ve almost done now except I forgot to get an extra shoe box to put the things in. We also looked everywhere for a shirt for M for a family photos session on Friday but nowhere was doing nice clothes for boys, there were only hoodies and scruffy stuff. Afterwards we went to Matalan and found some trousers and a shirt that will be fine though.

In the afternoon A wrestled with washing machines and we got the old one drained and shifted in to the hall and the new washer plumbed in and checked to make sure it doesn’t leak.

Today we all got on each other’s nerves before church. A went out into the garden to put the plastic greenhouse down, M played on the computer and then listened to a story tape and L mooched while I sewed L a hooded swim towel from some towelling I bought yesterday. Then we went to Church which was OK, came home for bacon paninis and then went out swimming. On the way back we stopped off in part of Thetford Forest for a walk and we collected some autumn leaves and things to make autumn decorations. Then when we got home we put a roast on and the boys painted some paper mached (sp?) yogurt tubs ready for putting the autumn twigs and things in to.

On Monday we spent the morning reading stories and M did some maths and English things. Then both boys did some art. M was drawing and L was in his high chair doing some finger painting and carrot printing.

After lunch we did some baking. M mixed up and then rolled out some pastry for making another apple pie, while I peeled and chopped apples with help from L and tried to stop half chewed apple chunks being put back into the bowl LOL. Afterwards I mixed up some apple cinnamon dough (equal volumes apple sause and ground cinnamon) to make autumn ornaments. We all had a play and L ate some too. Then I realised where L was sat on the side on top of cinnamon and bits of dough, his legs were going bright red. Anywhere where mixture was on his skin was reacting. So I took him for a bath and his legs went down again in about an hour. Not sure whether he is allergic to cinnamon or to one of the preservatives and what-have-you in the bought apple sauce.

Yesterday I slept in til quarter past 8 and it took us all a while to get going. M did some stuff on the computer about salt (where it comes from, what it’s used for) and then we all went out to the playground for some fresh air before lunch. L toddled about going on the toddler slide and the see saw (tried to go down the slide head first on his tummy LOL) and then went in the swings. M mooched for a while and then a lad slightly older than M came in the park to play on the swings, so they had a completely bonkers (to me) game on the swings involving sitting sideways and trying to crash into each other. L had an unpleasant run in with a toddler swing that he tried to run through, and has a pink bump in the middle of his forehead. After that he found a nice big shallow leaf filled puddle in the park and splashed back and forth in that for a while.

We came home for lunch and the park boy, K, walked back with M and was all set to wait outside the house pulling faces through the window and ringing the doorbell, but I told himt o go home and M would call for him when he was done. Yes, I suppose I could’ve invited him in but we’ve never met him before and he was being very silly and I didn’t need the stress. M was a bit reluctant to call for him because K had been so persistent in not going away when M came in for lunch. You know those children who seem to be playing out all the time and witter on and on to be allowed in to play, trying to manipulate your child against what your child actually wants to do?

Anyway, M went back out and called for him after lunch, but K didn’t want to go back to the park, M isn’t allowed to play in other folks’ houses unless we’ve at least said hello to their parents (are we unusual in this? Other kids seem to go into strangers’ houses willy nilly) and he didn’t want to play in here with K, so they were struggling to find something to do. K wanted to wash cars and M radioed back to ask if he could but on further questioning it turned out they were meaning random cars in the street so I said no. Eventually another boy, D, that M knows from Beavers came along and they all went to the park together. M played out most of the afternoon in the end.

Meanwhile L and I did some baking, making parkin to store for a couple of weeks (got to eat parking on Bonfire night!) and then we made tortillas so we had them for fajitas at tea time. I’m trying to bake without eggs at the moment so that L isn’t eating them and also so he can’t come into contact with them and have a skin reaction. So far I’m finding things bake fine if I just leave the eggs out. Certainly scones work just the same with no eggs and the parkin tastes identical.

L didn’t have a nap, so by tea time he was past it and while we were eating he made it clear he wanted to just sniggle to sleep on my lap, which he did. He woke up just as M was going in the bath so went in too, then fell asleep again after M had had his bedtime story.

Today I am having quite a quiet day. We had an awful night because L couldn’t settle down and kept coughing. A and M have gone “up north” to collect a washing machine from my in laws and a high chair from a friend who’s on holiday in N Yorks, so they have a bit of a trek today. It’s very strange not having M here, just not the same. L and I have been out to the supermarket and had some lunch out and he’s napping at the moment.

We went to Church this morning, where I possibly upset the vicar when he said it was a back to normal standard C of E type service and I said (sort of joking), “Right, shall we just go home then?” He is a nice man though, I should be nicer back. M went out to Sunday School after the first hymn and it sounds as though they did something on topic and meaningful this week, which is better than them just chatting or running riot up and down the corridor - which is what it sometimes sounds like might be happening. L played on the floor pulling things out of my bag, then had a fight over a toy with the baby girl in the row behind, with both of then sitting under my legs and pushing the toy back and forth and protesting. I took him out to feed him in the end, not that I normally would, but he was trying to breastfeed during the Peace so everyone was getting up to shake hands while he was pulling my top up and latching on an off to breath through his mouth. I thought that was a bit much for most people to cope with and he was getting very distracted, so I took him for the toilet and then sat in the coffee room for a while til he settled down.

We came home for some paninis for lunch and then I made some bread dough before we went out again. Today was Gressenhall’s apple day. I hadn’t realised what a major event it is there, the car parking site was huge and the whole place was very busy. We looked around the apple tents and the craft/produce tent and I wished I’d taken a cheque book. We bought some more jam and pickles from Essence and tasted and then bought some local varieties of apple. There was a stall selling the most gorgeous woad-dyed things, including bamboo towels which were amazingly soft and I’d love to get some! We bought some woad seeds to try. There was a wooden toy stall there that I would have bought from if we’d had cash left. Oh, and I tried some organic chocolate truffles that were to die for!

We bumped into some friends and chatted for a couple of minutes and then we went off to the playground for a run around before it rained. We took it in turns swinging L on the swings while we forraged for sweet chestnuts at the edge of the playground. Once the rain started though we quickly went back to the car to come home.

This evening we’ve finished off the bread and made a roast chicken dinner. I showed M how to make “exploded apples” (cooking apples cored and filled with brown sugar and then cooked until they puff up out of the skins) and we also baked some bananas with chocolate drops because they were turning brown. L couldn’t get enough of the chicken or the apple and banana.

Yesterday we got up and off out to Norwich first thing, aiming to get some Christmas shopping done and dusted before the shops start to get heaving. It would help if we actually had an idea what to get some people of course, isn’t it always the way that there are some people who are easy to buy for and others where you are totally uninspired and end up going back close to Christmas when it’s very crowded and nightmareish? This year we’re going up north to visit family for a couple of days near the start of December, so I need to get shopping sorted.

We were also looking for L a waterproof jacket. (Why are so many toddler coats so heavy and not waterproof? They’re either weighed down with the bulk or going to be soaked through at first sight of a puddle!) We found one in M&S but decided to look around more before buying it and then ended up traipsing back there at the end of the day to get it anyway. We did get quite a lot of the things on the list, but A and I got more bad tempered as the day wore on. M was an absolute star, helpful and didn’t complain about anything at any point, and L was fine but snotty.

We stopped for lunch at the cafe in the Forum, which turned out to have a short queue and lots of seating left, and the food was lovely. Outside the Forum there were 4 bungee trampolines set up and M was really keen to have a go, so we agreed to an advance of pocket money so he could pay for a turn. It was very good, he bounced really high but had trouble bouncing straight up and down and kept going back and forth and coming close to missing the trampoline which was a bit scary for him. He was a bit sad he didn’t get the nerve to try a forward roll, but I think he did great to even have a go at all!

We came home and A washed the car and cooked tea (what did I do?) and then we sat down to eat. A had opened the dining room window to cool the room down and we had a great swarm of what I think must be fruit flies come in. Horrid annoying little things. We have had them off and on all year in the kitchen, they settle and you can’t see them and then you realise they are trying to breed in the kitchen compost bin or something. So I wasn’t best pleased to have dozens come in while we were eating and then for A to say we were making a fuss and to just ignore them. We seem to have spent a long time yesterday and today trying to squish them all and just when you think you’ve managed it another one flies past. Uggh.

Once the children were in bed I sat down to look at the paper and A was using his laptop and said he had a security alret and what should he do about it. I worked for a year in IT support but it was before M was born and I was no expert at the time. A ask me what to do which is flattering and all, except that I figure things out intuitively and don’t pay attention to exactly what menu items are called or exactly how I did something in the past. I find it very frustrating to try and talk him through sorting something when it would be so much faster to just sit directly at the laptop and go through it myself. And A just gets annoyed with me if I don’t give very specific instructions (as if I know what to do, I’m just making it up as I go along!) or make assumptions that I think are obvious and he swears he’s never heard of. So sort of together we wrote down what the pop ups he was getting said and then googled them. Then we tried to figure out which of the websites with solutions were the most reliable, not wanting to make the problem worse. Finally found some instructions for removing the thing he had (don’t know how he got it in the first place, either) and I talked through the instructions from the dining room PC while he ran them on the laptop. Thankfully it worked and his laptop seems to be OK now. But it took up a few hours of the evening.

Tuesday

We had a quiet day and M was pretty tired and lethargic after his late evening at Cubs. In the evening he had an early tea and then A took him out to rollerskating when he got inn from work. M had a bit of a disaster when he realised he’d lost 2 of the bolts holding the wheels of his skate on. He had to switch to borrowed skates for the rest of the session and A is looking into how to mend them if possible.

Wednesday

A was on a course all day, learning how to facilitate a new team building type course at work and do debriefing sessions. We also had an early start because we went into King’s Lynn to see Chicken Little as part of schools film week. I was really worried how we’d get on with L and if he’d sit through the film OK. When we got to the arts centre the main section of the theatre was packed with school kids, but there were 2 smaller aisles of seats at the back of the hall, behind where the stairs come up into the auditorium and the manager sat us in the front row of those so we had a great view, no one else in our row and I could get out easily with L if need be. He smiled around at people, watched the start of the film and then snuggled in to me for a feed and fell asleep through the whole film - bonus!

Afterwards we did a bit of shopping and went to BhS cafe for lunch. I ordered a tuna melt panini for us to share and had to wait 10 mins for them to warm it. When it came, M picked out a bit of what looked like grey plastic so I took the panini apart to see what it was - turned out to be red onion. The whole thing was full of large pieces of red onion and if there was even a teaspoonful of tuna in the whole panini I’d be very surprised. There was no sign of any cheese either. So M got a lesson in complaining and getting a refund and we got no lunch until we got home.

In the afternoon we got the painting things out and M and L sat at the table painting and drawing for a while. L is getting into doing hand prints. He didn’t distribute the paint into too many unwanted places.

A went out on Monday evening for a few drinks with the people from work, one of whom is the current GSL but he is moving away soon. A is assistant GSL with responsibility for training but had said he didn’t want to take on the actual GSL role because he’s happy just helping people get through their training and not having to sort out meetings etc. Anyway, he came back seriously thinking about doing GSL afterall and has taken it on now, so he’s going to have section leaders meetings to organise and go to district meetings and what not. Next year is the Scouts’ centenary year so there are lots of extra events happening. I suppose it’s as well he is doing GSL so the Group has some direction rather than all muddling along hoping for the best. But I’m not sure where he’s going to find any spare evenings!

Today

I slept really badly last night because L got snuffly as the night went on and woke up hourly from 2am. We went out to baby signing as usual anyway because we had other things to do in that direction and L was fine, possibly a bit more happy to sit with me and sing and do actions than he usually is. His latest sign is mouse, which is supposed to be index finger pointing to the side of the nose and rotating back and forth a bit - his sign starts out like that and then moves to finger rotating in nostril. Nice, especially with snot.

We did the supermarket shopping and had lunch in their cafe after signing and we also bought fireworks and sparklers for our Bonfire Night party. Then we rushed to M’s music class, arriving just as it was due to start. Luckily the teacher wasn’t running strictly to time and we had a good few minutes to say hello and what not before we got started. L fell asleep in the car on the way there and slept through the class on my knee, giving me an excellent excuse for not joining in. Afterwards L woke up and toddled outside for a bit while the older children played out in the play area, then I got a cup of tea and sat with the other mums chatting for a bit. I don’t know anyone there very well yet, they don’t live that close so don’t all go to the same home ed things.

We drove home and I made some pizza dough while M played on the computer. He was upset he couldn’t play with the lad next door because he’d gone to the tip with his dad and by the time they got back he was having tea and then it was his bedtime. We had pizza, watched TV and I bathed the boys. M stayed in the bath and was singing a beautiful made up song to God and got quite emotional and we had a long chat before he could settle down for a story and to go to sleep. He is very sensitive and easily gets upset and emotional about things, which is tough to help him with some times. Then while he dropped off I took L to our bed and tried to settle him down to sleep but it took ages because he was struggling to feed with a streaming nose. He’s been asleep a while now so I’d better head off soon and get some sleep before he wakes up again. A is away over night on an office related do, though he phoned to say he’s stopped drinking and was heading off to bed.

Last night I mixed up 4 loaves worth of bread dough using this recipe, having tried the beginner’s bread recipe on the same site with good results last week. So this morning A and M got up first and knocked the dough back for me and put it into loaf tins and on trays to make rolls, so it could get on with the second rising.

We had a slow start to the morning though because L slept until 9am so I didn’t like to disturb him by going back upstairs for a shower and for M to do all his bedroom jobs before L woke up. Once we got going M did some maths and we baked the bread and shared one of the rolls for elevenses. We all like the bread which is a bonus, though M thinks I should have made white bread not half wholemeal.

We’re re-rowing How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World this week. We did it before when M was 4 or 5 maybe, so this time we can talk about different things at a slightly deeper level. It’s funny how much we enjoyed reading the book together again, we haven’t got it out to read for ages. We talked about where all the ingredients for the food we’ve eaten today might have come from and about choosing local food over shipping it long distances.

This afternoon we had to wait in for a landlord’s gas safety check thing so we did some baking. M peeled and chopped apples and helped me make pastry and we made an apple pie for tea - it was gorgeous! When the gas man finished he said he had to leave the boiler off because there was a problem with the gas pressure - luckily the bloke from the gas supply company turned up anout an hour and a half later to change the regulator or something and get everything turned back on again. It’s a shame we had to stay in because it was a lovely sunny afternoon.

This evening A dropped M off to Cubs and L started pulling things out of one of our craft drawers and had a thing for a paint tub (realised afterwards the paint had dried in the pot and I needn’t have had all those palpitations about paint everywhere). I sat him at the table with a little bit of paint and a brush and he dabbled away for a while getting more and more covered in paint. We did some hand painting and prints too. A came back in and ran some warm water to wash him off with afterwards. L got very snuggly and fed off to sleep which was a bit difficult cos I’d promised M I’d go and watch his cub investiture. I managed to get L’s PJs and dressing gown and some socks on and put him in a front cross carry with the wrap and took him to Cubs like that still asleep, though he woke up there and played with the camera taking lots of photos of the Cubs. I found I’d missed lots of paint around his neck and head and he had an especially large patch of blue in his hair. M was invested and got his Cyclist badge so he was happy, though rather tearful at bedtime. Think it was all a bit too much of a long day for him.

On Saturday we went shopping in the morning and got quite a few things sorted out. We booked for family photos to be taken at the end of the month (but need to change the date cos A has come home to say he’d forgotten he’s on a course at work that day and can’t leave early). We got a couple of bits to finish off the Christmas boxes. Then we went to the mattress shop and laid around on some beds picking which mattress to buy. A said it made no difference to him what we chose so I picked a more pricey one that I liked best. It’s due to be delivered on Friday.

We had some lunch out and then drove to a swimming pool we haven’t been to before. It is much cheaper than the fun pool with wave machine and rapids but fine for us. There’s a kiddie pool that’s only 50cm at the shallow end so L could toddle in it, though he got a face full of water several times. M practiced his swimming and learnt to tread water and then played. The toilets were in a horrid state mind you, but pool toilets often are. L was like the incredible weeing baby, going of a long wee half way through swimming, then again at the end and then we had to stop part way home for another wee.

In the evening we had chilli with spinach in (A told M it was a type of herb and he ate it all and said it was lovely) and then watched Robin Hood together and the ballroom dancing.

Yesterday we went to Church in the morning which was heaving with people who don’t usually come to church but had been rallied to attend the baptisms of 3 young children. We sat at the back and L tipped my bag out, found a biscuit and made lots of crumbs and played noisily with some toys and M went out to Sunday school. The sermon was about baptism with The Lord of the Rings for examples which I didn’t exactly follow but mainly because I don’t know the story and got confused with the various people and I was somewhat distracted by L’s antics.

We cam home for some bacon sarnies and then went out geocaching to an iron age hill fort. The sheep were very wary of us and there was no one else there so it was quite peaceful.

We found the cache and just had time to go up the road a bit to a garden centre for a cuppa and to buy some more pansies and violas for the border under our front room window before the garden centre closed. Back at home we put a roast on for a late tea.

The start of last week we didn’t seem to get much done. I was tired with being woken more and for longer as L was teething and restless. M was tired and not feeling very well. Activity wise he got a fair amount of maths done each day and is finishing up in Miquon Green (doing division and ordering including fractions) and we also worked onlearning his 7 x table. We also did some activities around the FIAR book The Finest Horse in Town.

On Monday evening M had Cubs from 6 to 8.30pm because they were going on a visit to work on a badge. That is past his usual bed time, so although he really enjoyed it he was very tired when he got home and took a while to wind down and sleep. Then on Tuesday evening he went to the lad next door’s 9th birthday party and had another long evening. I can’t remember anything about what we did on Wednesday. Oh yes, one thing M did was find pictures and write out information about Russia and Egypt to make some posters to finish off his Friendship badge for Beavers.

On Thursday we did our usual rush out to baby signing first thing, then an early lunch and supermarket shopping. In the evening was M’s last Beaver meeting (except for a bowling night during half term he’s invited to go back for) andwe all went to watch him “swimming up” to Cubs. The Beaver leader was having a bit of a nightmare evening with having to stay later at work so she was late to Beavers and flustered and the Beavers play her up alot. We took a blue sheet because she hadn’t been able to get home and get her stuff, and the sheet was for water for the Beavers to swim up under. M and his friend stood at one side with the Beavers lined upholding the sheet up, then they dissappeared underneath, took off their Beaver sweatshirts leaving their Cub ones underneath and then came out to the Cub leader. On Monday he’s getting invested in Cubs.

On Friday we were supposed to be going to a soap making home ed workshop but it was cancelled at the last minute. Instead we had a bit of a science day. M wanted to do some more with his electronics kit and we spent ages with it once he got a bit stuck because nothing seemed to be working. Alot of time was going through testing the circuit to find what wasn’t working - we found the motor and the buzzer didn’t work and the copper wire wouldn’t conduct electricity (can’t figure out the why of that one - coated maybe? Though it came in the kit and was the part he was supposed to use).

In the afternoon we did one of the First Investigators sheets about rolling cans. M had 4 cans with labels removed and the idea was to roll them down a slope and measure how far they rolled and see if that related to what was in the cans in order to identify which was which. We did loads and it was really fun. L helped as a random environmental anomoly LOL moving the cans before we could measure them or sitting in the middle of the floor in the way. But he did help by bringing the cans back to the slope too. We talked about whether the experiment was reproducible and taking several readings and finding the average. We tried 2 different slope angles and drawing up tables in Word to present results neatly.

After tea we made our Christmas cake. L fell asleep after not napping all day (he seems to be growning out of a daytime nap very early, arghh…!) and so didn’t get to stir the cake and make a wish. M did lots of the mixing and tried to finish off the droplets of Brandy left in the bottle, saying “Mmm, nice”.

Woohoo! L’s just done his first independent potty poo this morning!

L was wandering around pantless after I took him for a wee in the garden (always a winner taking him to go outside) and I was taking no notice of him while I was on the PC. Then I looked round to check what he was up to, saw him sitting on the potty and walked over to him and he’d done a poo in there! (Well, he’d obviously felt it coming and tried to make it in time cos a little bit was out of the potty). So he’s worked out how to get on to the potty to sit now and been able to use it by himself. Hurray!

We’re still doing pretty well with toileting while we’re out of the house. L can wait long enough to go in public loos or if there are none we wee him at the side of the car (obviously if we’re on grass or a verge, not in a multistorey LOL!).

At home it’s much more hit and miss. When I’m more tuned in (like ooh it’s been a while, I’ll take him now) or if he signs we get lots of catches, other times he wets or starts pooing and finishes off when I’ve taken off his pants/nappy. Maybe I need to get him split crotch pants for at home now he’s figured out potty sitting, cos he can’t take his pants down by himself yet.

He usually prefers to be held for a wee and sat on the toilet on a Baby Bjorn seat insert for poos. Generally he doesn’t want to poo on the potty, so this morning was even more of a surprise. He holds poos when we’re out and sometimes refuses a wee opportunity because he’s holding out for a poo. I try and bear that in mind if he seems to not want a wee for ages.

I’m knitting him so more wool longies so he’ll have 2 pairs. The first pair I knitted are really handy. I made them with an elasticated waist so they are really easy on and off, even over shoes. I feel safer taking him out in training pants when he’s wearing his longies. It’s a shame I’m such a slow knitter though LOL.

M wanted to be Darth Maul and L was fascinated seeing M having his face painted, so I did him a little picture too, until he started wriggling too much.