Cars

31 May 2012

I have been to a big city today, it is always such a shock compared to the small village I live in. City life is not for me. It reminded me though, of something I heard on the radio recently.

The declining amount of time that children spend outside is a topic often under discussion.  It should be an integral part of a child's life, but for so many it rarely is. I have heard several reasons suggested for this, stranger danger, our aversion to risk, not wanting them to get dirty are a few, the media coverage of certain events in the last few years, has I am sure, also played a part. Television has gone from a few hours in the day to 24 hours a day, with hundreds of channels, during the last 30 years. We often hear of reports into the ever increasing number of hours of television watched by children. There is also gaming consoles, computers and the Internet which can keep children inside. Once a child is outside what are they actually going to do? If they are spending most of their time inside watching t.v. or on the internet, a activity which gives little opportunity for imagination to grow, if they then go to pay outside where there are massive opportunities for the imaginative child, they will not find it easy to know what to do.

One reason, for this decline, I heard suggested recently is that of cars. Again, there has been a massive increase in car ownership in the last 30 years. Roads that were once safe for children to play are now full of cars. They have priority over pedestrians in most places, they travel very fast even when there is a speed limit. The pavement, for some, has not been a place of safety.  Perhaps we should be looking more closely at the planning in towns and cities to encourage more priority for people over the car, particularly in housing areas. I am not suggesting that this is the only reason, this is a complex issue that has many, many layers to it. But I do feel that it is vital that we as a society address it sooner rather than later, when it may be a harder issue to solve.

Tabbouleh

29 May 2012

I have decided to start sharing a recipe each week. As the weather has got warmer we have been enjoying lots of salads at the moment. This one is a particular favourite, there is rarely any left for another day.

It is made using bulgar wheat, derived from wheat berries which are cooked, the bran removed and then crushed. It is often used in salads, but can be cooked and used for bread making. Traditionally tabbouleh is made with tomatoes, but I do not eat them as they set off my crohns so I make it without. I am sure the purists would find this recipe wanting and not call it tabbouleh, but we love it.

This recipe is taken from the 1985 version of the Cranks Recipe book, it was the first recipe book I bought in 1991 (I have dated when I bought it!) and have used it so much that it is falling apart.

Tabbouleh
Bulgar wheat 8oz (225g)
Medium sized onion 1
Fresh mint chopped 1tbsp
Fresh parsley chopped 6 tbsp

Dressing:
Olive oil 50 ml
White wine vinegar 50ml
Spring onions or chives chopped 1 1/2 tsp
Demerara sugar 1/2 tsp
Paprika 1/4 tsp
Soya sauce 1/2 tsp
Salt pinch
Whole grain mustard 1/2 tsp
Pepper to taste

Place the bulgar wheat in a dish and pour over enough boiling water to cover.
Leave to soak for at least half an hour.
Finely chop the onion.
Combine the onion and herbs into the bulgar wheat.
Make the dressing up and mix well.
Pour the dressing over the salad and combine.
Cover and chill until required, this salad will dry out on the top if not covered.

We have been mainly ............

28 May 2012

alternating between revelling in the sunshine and hiding in the shade to cool down this week. It has been wonderful to finally feel some sun on our skin, but a bit of shock as the temperature rose by about 20 degrees in the space of a few days.

We started the week with our usual trip into the local town. We did our food shopping and visited the library we found a lovely book by Alan Durant, illustrated by Debi Gliori, Always and Forever. I did not realise until we got home and read it that the book was about death, it is written in a lovely gentle way that is perfect for explaining this sometimes difficult and awkward subject to children.

The following day we had our weekly play date at a friends house. It was such a beautiful day that I packed clothes to go to the river with, as I felt that that is what we might do. We took our picnic and sure enough we spent a glorious day by the river. We were really late home as they were having so much fun paddling in the river and playing games in the large field along side.

We were up and out again early the next day with another picnic for another sunny day out. This time we travelled to a nearby town to meet friends for a walk along an old railway line to find another river for paddling. We were glad of the trees on the way back. Our friends had to go off for an appointment, but we went in search of ice creams and a play in the excellent playground nearby.

We had a day at home the next day. I had quite a lot to do preparing food and making a cake for my youngest's birthday the following day. I had one of those days when I felt that I was not achieving very much, I seemed to be good a starting jobs but no good at getting them completed. I had finished making her birthday present the night before, a project that had taken about two months, I was not sure it would be ready in time. Whenever I complete something important, such as this was, in time I usually feel very tired for a period afterwards. I think it must be the relief at getting it finished and the ceasing of worrying that I might not be ready in time. I am sure that this accounted for the feeling that all tasks that I tried to do during the day seemed enormous. I felt like I was wading through treacle!

The next day we celebrated my youngest's birthday which you can read about here.

Over the weekend I had planned to go to a local country fayre. My eldest however woke with really sore feet. They have been a bit dry and sore since we went on a canoeing expedition and I thought it was clearing up however it was much worse. After a bit if research I established that he has athlete's foot. We have been applying coconut oil to help with the stinging and soreness which has helped a lot and it improved over the weekend. Some friends dropped by for a cuppa and to drop off a birthday present. We also spent some time in the garden which you can read about here.

I hope you too have been able to get outside and enjoy the warm weather.

Gardening

I have managed to spend some time in my garden today, it was looking a little neglected. I was expecting a hot day so I started early to catch the cooler weather. The warmer weather we have been having has meant that everything in the garden is blooming including the weeds. My youngest loves to join me in the garden, so whilst she was busy digging holes with the new trowel that she got for her birthday, I love those presents, when they are exactly what your child loves, and you did not think of it yourself, I set too weeding. We spent a couple of hours at the task before having to retreat inside as it was just too hot.

Much later when it had cooled a little, we went out again to plant out seedlings and sow seeds. We managed to plant out the cabbage, broccoli and kale seedlings and sow spinach, carrot, turnip, beetroot and leeks. I am not sure how much of this will actually grow big enough before the daylight reduces and the air turns cooler. The soil has been so cold that any seeds I have sown already have just not germinated.

As we were working away I reflected on how mature our garden is looking now. We have lived in our house for over nine years now and the first summer after we moved in we started work on it. You access the garden up some steps, along a path down the side of the garage/workshop. It is a long narrow garden, which was almost entirely grass when we moved in, immediately behind the garage there was a half built patio and there was a raised patio area at the top end that you would not have been able to use as it was far from flat, down both sides of the garden was a row of rose hip bushes. We finished off the patio, fenced the garden up both sides, with rabbit proof fence, took the patio at the top and reduced it in size to make a substantial raised bed, we re-used the paviors to make a wiggly path through the garden, built a small wildlife pond, erected a trellis to support a large honeysuckle and a hammock, erected a poly tunnel and built two large compost bins. We acquired a womery and have planted a plum tree and several fruit bushes. The birds have bequeathed us several hawthorns, a rowan and a willow tree. The whole garden slopes uphill, so we used all the stones that we found under the top patio when we demolished it to make small stones walls to create stepped beds.

 The garden now is a mix of trees, fruit bushes, shrubs and climbers which are in a fixed position. The 'empty' parts of each bed are used for the vegetables that we attempt to grow. Each year we have successes and failures. We have a short growing season so I have stopped trying to grow any of the tender plants such a tomatoes, peppers or aubergines, they will not even bear fruit in the poly tunnel! I usually manage to grow cucumbers, courgettes and salad leaves in the poly tunnel, these rarely thrive outdoors. What does do well is potatoes, garlic ( I have not bought any for five years now), root vegetables and hardy brassicas. I noticed today that I have a number of strawberry plants that have come up, I have no idea where they have come from, I pulled up all the plants we had several years ago as the the fruit never ripened, I am not sure these will either a they are in a very shady spot, but as I didn't buy the plants if they don't it hardly matters.

I love gardening, especially if can produce plants to eat, for me it is well worth the effort. Do you have a garden? What are you growing?

Parenting

26 May 2012

I have never been that keen on labelling when it comes to human behaviour, often the label can be loaded depending how, when and why it was coined.

Around the time that my eldest child was starting to play and interact with other objects, I made a conscious decision to rarely initiate play myself. I would be in the same room, usually right next to him, but I would take my lead from him. A s he got older I would still be nearby but may be engaged in other activities myself such as reading, knitting or writing. I have adopted the same approach for my youngest child too. This does not mean that I never initiate any activities, but most of the time this comes from them.

I have recently read in several places about a parenting approach or philosophy called benign neglect. I was really intrigued by this label, as for me it seemed rather negative. The word neglect in our society can conjure up many of the horrific stories of children's sadly short lives, that have been portrayed in the media in the last few years. It does after all mean a failure to take proper care. Benign neglect is about letting your children develop their own fun and games by taking a step back and not interfering, thus allowing spontaneity and resilience to develop. It is not about ignoring them, more about finding a balance between this and more planned and/or structured activity. If we over structure our children's lives ferrying them from one activity to another, whilst they may always be busy, which you may feel is a good thing, there is little opportunity for imagination and spontaneity to flourish. I wonder if you are following a schedule such as this, are your children bored when presented with unstructured time, perhaps this is when they are watching tv. Where are the leaders of the future going to come from if children are not given the opportunity to do activities that they themselves have initiated and therefore have ownership of.

For me this philosophy extends beyond play to parenting as a whole, this requires an immense amount of trust on my part. I have never, for example, expected my children to stay right by my side when we are out and about, now they are able to make the judgement for themselves as to whether that is where they want to be. We live in a small rural village, any outings to a big busy city means they are usually glued to my side, often holding my hand, but that is not at my instigation.

I am not sure that, even as a proponent of benign neglect, I wish to use this label of myself. How about you?

Celebration

Today we celebrated my youngest's third birthday. The day dawned hot and sunny just like she day she was born.

 I had made her a Waldorf style doll as a present, a project which has taken over two months. I didn't think I would finish it in time as I could only work on it after she had gone to bed which is not that early some nights. When I came to wrap it up last night it felt like I was parting with something of my own it was really strange. I also found that I did not have a piece of wrapping paper big enough so I found a piece of material and a length of ribbon and used that instead. Her face when she opened it this morning was wonderful to see. I will post a picture and how I made it another day.

We had her two little friends join us for lunch with their older brothers who played with her older brother. We had a picnic in the sun, played, talked and had a lovely time. At 2.30pm the time if her birth she spontaneously climbed into my lap and had a nurse, it made me feel incredibly close to her and as I sat with her in my arms I could picture the moment when I first set eyes on her three years ago. I waited as long as possible to do the cake as I wanted daddy to join us on Skype when he had finished work, which he was able to do.

When our friends had left we skyped Granma and Grandad and had a chat with them, we completed a birthday jigsaw and played with her new gruffalo dominoes. After tidying up all the toys and food we headed off to a friends house for tea. We had a lovely evening eating in their garden with wonderful views of the surrounding countryside, the sunset was amazing. It was a perfect end to the day.

Unschooling?

24 May 2012

There are many many reasons why parents choose to home educate, like wise there are also many and varied approaches to the 'delivery'. Some choose to have structure perhaps using topics, lesson plans or directed learning and may follow a curriculum such as Steiner, Waldorf, Montessori, Charlotte Mason or the National Curriculum itself to name but a few. Others choose to have no structure at all or maybe somewhere in the middle mixing both approaches.

To have no structure at all may seem like a huge leap of faith especially since a school environment is highly structured in comparison. We are a society that measures and compares. We have league tables and targets for so many aspects of public life. Taking an unstructured approach makes measuring progress difficult or well nigh impossible, it has no place, and for those that choose this route that is the intention. The learning is wholly child centred, it can happen at their pace, little if anything is taught. If this seems like an unattainable direction think back to your child starting to walk or talk, did you teach them these skills? Having autonomy over your learning and the direction it takes, allows confidence to blossom, you will never be put into the position of being expected to learn something that you are not ready too. You are always engaged whole heartedly with what you are doing. Perhaps this seems utopian and unrealistic, I disagree. If we view particular tasks and activities as negative and a drudge every time we do them they will forever remain that way, especially if they are something that we need do on a regular basis. I have always viewed this approach as an autonomous one but I was talking recently with another mum who is home educating about radical unschooling. It seems that this is another way of labelling an autonomous direction, one which was coined in the States, but does not really seem to have been embraced in the UK. There is a wealth of information out there about it, including forums and blogs. Like autonomous home education it is a way of life which you embrace as a family.

When we started our official home education journey (at the time that my eldest would have been starting school) I tried the structured approach, I lasted only a few days before I realised that my eldest did not want to be taught by me, and would prefer that I returned to being just mum. I have not looked back since. I did have a few wobbles in the beginning when I worried unnecessarily about the whole 'measuring' and comparing with other children of the same age. But I soon realised that there was little point in worrying, learning is going on all the time in our house, I am learning too! So to return to radical unschooling, it sounds like an interesting ideology one which I will now devote some time to investigating. Do you have any knowledge of radical unschooling to share?

We have been mainly............

22 May 2012

outside this week, the weather was dry and cool with the odd moment of brightness.

We started the week with our usual trip into town, for shopping and the library.  We found a great book about worms, Yucky Worms beautifully illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg, whose parents have written many wonderful books, Peepo, Each Peach Pear Plum and The Jolly Postman to name but a few.  My youngest walked up the village to drop her brother off at Beavers in the evening, it is over a mile there and back and she did not asked to be carried, she went to bed much earlier than usual.

We had our regular play date the next day.  We took lunch with us this time.  Many games were played and the trampoline bounced on, we returned home tired and happy.

The next day dawned bright, as forecast, we had decided to meet friends at a local open farm.  We had a great day out.  The farmer introduced as to all his livestock, some of which we could handle and feed, and told us a bit about the breeds.  We had a picnic lunch and play followed by a walk alongside a river.  It was the perfect river for throwing stones in, the banks was a awash with them all perfectly round.

We visited our friends further south on Thursday.  We joined them for lunch and a short play before visiting a museum in the town.  It was larger than I was expecting and full of information.  The children really want to run around though, not the best environment for that activity!

On Friday we had a family day, we had hoped to go canoeing but it was cold, wet and windy.  We opted to stay at home and enjoy each other's company before daddy goes away again.  We play games, lego and watched a DVD together.

Over the weekend we visited a garden centre to get some much needed tools that have given up the ghost or fallen apart, said our goodbyes to daddy and did our monthly wood walk.  It was a warm sunny day perfect for a walk in the woods.  The wild flowers are now starting to come out in abundance and we enjoyed identifying them in our new flower book.  We watched a woodpecker come and go from his nest in the trunk of a tree.  We also tried out our new Kelly Kettle to boil water for tea and hot chocolate, the children thought it was great fun, I think it will have many outings in the future especially if we have a cool summer.  I hope you had a fun week too.

Shampooless

19 May 2012

In November last year I was forced for health reasons, see this post, to stop using my shampoo and conditioner.  I had to come up with an alternative.  After searching in all the shops in my local town I was unable to find one that contained ingredients that I could tolerate.  Not wanting to be in a situation where I would have to drive miles or having to order on the internet each time I ran out, I thought about making my own.  After much searching it seemed there were recipes to make shampoo and conditioner which involved lots of ingredients and you ended up with a shampoo and or conditioner not unlike one which you would buy, except that you have total control over the ingredients.  The alternative was much simpler, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.  I was really sceptical that this combination could leave my hair feeling and looking clean but my hair desperately needed a clean and in the absence of anything else, I gave it a go.

I started off with a mix of 1teaspoon of bicarb in a pint of hot water which I poured over my scalp and hair, I massaged my scalp and rinsed this off.  I followed this with 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar in the same quantity of water which I again rinsed off.  I found this combination made my hair very dry so I reduced the amount of vinegar to 1 teaspoon to a pint of hot water.  This seemed to be alright but after a month or so my hair still seemed to be fairly dry.  So I tried a different method with the bicarb.  First I tried making a paste with a teaspoon of bicarb and a little amount of water.  I rubbed this paste gently into my scalp.  I have fairly long hair which is quite thick so found this method difficult to apply.  I made the paste a bit runnier the next time and applied to my scalp and this is the perfect combination for my hair.  I have also reduced the amount of vinegar slightly.  I have been using this combination for about three months and my hair is definitely less dry.

I am now washing my hair every 5 to 6 days and my scalp is far less itchy than it used to be.  I live in a soft water area.  Before trying this method my hair would be greasy after about 2 to 3 days.  Most shampoos strip your hair and scalp of the natural oils that you produce.  Your body tries adjusts to having the oil stripped by going into overdrive and producing loads, therefore your hair will look greasy.  When you stop using shampoo you will probably go through a detox period when you hair will look really greasy.  You body is still in overdrive.  If you are patient then it is worth the wait.

Swallows

18 May 2012

The swallows have finally returned to our terrace.  I have seen them in the area including much further north of here, but they had not return to us yet.  We have been reading a book from the library The Journey of a Swallow in anticipation of their return.

Their migration and that of so many birds is truly amazing, it would be interesting to know exactly where the birds that come to our terrace go to over winter.  The journey takes many months and crosses some very inhospitable terrain on the way, such as the sahara desert.  It is also intriging that they take three to four months to fly south to their overwintering grounds where they only remain for a few months.  The journey north takes far less time a matter of weeks racing back to their breeding to build their nest in their favoured spot.

I love to sit and watch them flying around in the early evening catching insects on the wing and returning to the nest to feed their young.  They are also a good way of forecasting the weather, when they fly low it because the insects are low it is likely to rain or be cold.  There is a saying I believe it goes 'Low flies the swallow, rain to follow'.  So why?  The drop in air density and the increase in moisture that accompanies cold and wet weather pushes the insects down as they find it harder to fly and the swallows follows its source of food.

I always feel it is the finally the start of spring when they arrive to make their nests, maybe it will warm up now.  Do you have swallows near you, have they returned to build their nests?

Porter

16 May 2012

I feel like a porter these days every time we go out of the house.  It is worst when we go out for the day.  In the winter, where I live, at least you know it is going to be cold and often wet, so you take clothing suitable for that weather.  At the moment we seem to be having four seasons a day, the result, clothes for four seasons.

Today we left the house to go out, it was warm, really warm we were all wearing short sleeved t-shirts for the first time in weeks.  I had this feeling that the warmth would not last, as it does not seem to at the moment.  So I packed a bag of waterproof coats and trousers, a bag of thick coats, a bag of jumpers and body warmers/gillets, a bag of wellies, my bag with change of clothes, wallet etc and we were out for the day so we had a picnic bag.  I need a cart to lug it all to the car, no that would not work there are two many steps, maybe I could keep a donkey.  When I get home I lug it all back into the house where it sits taking up most of the hall, there is no point unpacking all of it as we are off out again tomorrow.  I could leave it in the car, but I have done that before and then one day when we were due to go out it was pouring with rain.  Did the warmth last today?  No, it was really cold when we got to where we were going so I was glad of my lugging and loading

Anyone else feel like they are constantly packing and unpacking, loading and unloading stuff for a day out?

Crohns

15 May 2012

I have been living with this disease for over fifteen years, this is about my journey.  Crohns disease is a inflammation of the digestive tract.  It has similar symptoms as ulcerative colitis.  Along with this condition they are sometimes both referred to as irritable bowel disorder or IBD.  They are often referred to as a Western disease.

My journey started with a flare up which left me utterly exhausted, I was barely able to leave the house and had no idea what was causing it.  I visited the GP and was referred to a consultant for further tests.  I was given the diagnosis of unspecified colitis at this point.  This was the first of many such visits to several different consultants in various parts of the country, I was moving about a lot at this time as the work I was doing was mostly fixed term contracts.  After a few years, many lesser flare ups, and many tests I was given a diagnosis of crohns disease.  I took steriods during the first and worst flare up and anti-inflammatories from time to time from there on for a few years, that is until I started to feel run down and lacking in energy without a crohns flare up.  I had various tests and it was established that my bilirubin count was raised, the GP concluded that it was probably a side effect of the medication I had been taking.  Around the same time I consulted the GP about my diet and was informed that what I eat has no effect on crohns.  This was a turning point for me.  The medication I was taking was now effecting other vital organs and how could a disease of the digestive tract not be effected by what you are eating.  I had established that the long term prognosis of crohns is not good, I was, at some point in the future, most likely to need operations on my digestive tract to remove unhealthy, worn out sections.  I was young, single with my future in front of me, I would not be able to enjoy this if I was struggling now.  I had an active job, working outdoors, although I in future I may not continue to work outdoors, I wanted to enjoy it walking, canoeing etc.

I then started to research alternatives.  This was the days before the internet was the mass of information that it is today, so it was not that easy.  In the end it was my Granmother who came up trumps.  She found someone who could do a food test which I hoped would establish which foods I should avoid eating.  The test, for me, was a turning point.  Sadly in my naivety, eagerness to find a solution and moving house I no longer have any information on who carried out the test or what kind of test it was.  I also did not ask why I needed to exclude my particular list of foods.  My list is:
cow's milk, tea, coffee, red wine, all citrus fruit, raspberries, cranberries, elderflower, tomatoes and peppers.  I am vegetarian so was not tested for meat or fish.  Cow's milk is only in it's raw state as milk or cream all other milk products (cheese or yoghurt) are fine.  So I started to exclude these foods from my diet, within a week I felt different and within a month I felt really well, my energy levels were good and the bloating feeling I had after every meal had gone completely.

I met and married my husband and five years after the test I got pregnant with my first child.  I had been led to believe that crohns often goes into remission during pregnancy.  As my crohns was very much in remission already I was not sure if I would notice any difference.  I got lazy about sticking to my diet and 7 months into the pregnancy I developed obstetric cholestatis.  This is a condition whereby the liver function is impaired and there are toxins in your blood as it is not cleaned properly.  A symptom is itchy hands and feet which are worse at night.  Sadly for me this led to a chain of events which ended four months later with me in hospital with a crohns flare up, unable to keep food down and a 10 week old baby who I could no longer breastfeed.  After a few days in hospital I discharged myself, I was there to be fed and nurtured back to health but the hospital was experiencing a prolonged power cut due to stormy weather and nearly every meal was cheese sandwiches.  After a period of soul searching as I was not longer able to breast feed, could I have done things differently, what if's, I realised that actually what was more important was getting strong and well and staying that way so I that I could look after my baby and be there for him as he grew up.

I now had a consultant who wanted to see me on a regular basis.  I returned to the hospital a few weeks later for a check up and again six months later, thereafter an annual check up or sooner if things got bad again.  A year later I had a colonoscopy (a camera that goes into your digestive tract) to check the extent of the crohns.  For the next few years I continued with an annual appointment.  It takes over an hour to get to the hospital, I would usually wait 2 1/2 to 3 hours to see the consultant and spend a maximum of five minutes with him.  Five hours per appointment with a young child, not my idea of a fun day out.  I then got pregnant again.  I was strict with my diet and the cholestatis did not return.  After forty weeks I gave birth to  a 9lb 11oz baby with a very thick cord and huge placenta (the midwife's comments not mine), I successfully breastfed and still am.   Now that I had 2 children I did not relish the thought of spending five hours of a day on a five minute conversation with a consultant to inform him that all was well.  I approached my GP.  I now have a blood test there with a follow up appointment if necessary (any abnormalities).  The results of the test are sent to my consultant along with a report on my crohns.

About a year ago I started to get itchy patches on my hands, after many months I established this was urticaria and again this was likely to be linked to my diet.  As part of my investigation into likely causes I came across information on histamine intolerance.  I was intrigued to see that on the list of foods that are high in histamine, many of them were already excluded from my diet to manage crohns.  Throughout my urticaria flare up my crohns stayed in remission.  My list of excluded foods has now got longer!  I have included all alcohol, pineapple, chocolate, food colouring, and preservatives sulphites and glutamates.  I am still not sure why I cannot tolerate coffee or milk.  I had given up drinking coffee many years before I had the test as I felt awful drinking it, the test results also indicated an extreme reaction to it.

I am aware that for some alternative treatments are seen as bogus and untested, but they have worked for me.  I will always be grateful for my dear departed granma who found and paid for my food test.  It started me on a journey which has given me the opportunity to enjoy my life to full and to become a mother to two children which she sadly never met.  My crohns has been in remission for over seven years and I hope it continues to stay that way and I live a long, healthy and fulfilled life.  Thank you for reading my story.

We have been mainly...............

14 May 2012

out of sync and out and about this week, with the week starting with a bank holiday I was thrown out of rhythm for a few days.

So the week started with a bank holiday, which meant that we stayed at home.  It poured with rain all day..  We stayed at home and played.  There were cars everywhere at one point, not sure what the game was but you couldn't sit on the sofas (unless you like to sit on metal cars) the floor was like a hazard zone for those of us with bigger feet and the windowsills were covered too.  Getting to the fridge (in the dining room) from the kitchen was a interesting journey too, how I did not slide on a car I don't know!

As the shops we use and library were shut on bank holiday we had our weekly trip into town on a different day.  We had to compete for space in library with a toddler sing a long, getting to the books was interesting amongst all the prams.  We had a quick lunch at home before getting a lift into another town for a play at a soft play place.  Our play date had been moved for the day as they were having work done on the house.  Much fun was had by all and after our session was over we all moved to an outside park for another hour of running around.  My two both feel asleep in the car on the way home, so a late night it was!

We had arranged to meet another family at a local bird of prey centre the next day and were hoping the weather forecast was accurate.  Luckily for us it was better than forecast, it was a beautiful, warm sunny day.  We had a lovely morning in an old walled garden looking at the birds, eating a picnic, running around and a great game of hide and seek there were so many good hiding places.  We watched a flying display with a very interesting talk before heading home.  We have never visited the centre, despite living in the area for over 10 years, we will definitely go back when they are flying different birds.

The following day we went for a day out as a family.  We used the train and tram to go to an excellent museum on a subject that my eldest is investigating at the moment World War One and Two.  It was a long day out for us all but a really good museum.

We had friends to play at our house on Friday.  The day flew past and we were sad to say goodbye.  The two littlies were starting to play together, as they are beginning to get used to each other now.  They have only known each other about 6 weeks and a week is long time when you are 3.  After they had left some new sleeping bags arrived for me any my husband.  Our old ones were getting rather thin and on our recent expedition we were both really cold at night, unlike the children in the their new thick bags.  We got the old one's out to compare them and the children started to play with them.  In the end they had built a den underneath the bed my husband is building for our youngest and slept the night in there.  It was the first time in years that we have not had a child sleeping in the room with us, it was very strange.

Over the weekend we visited the local farmers market, played, ran lots of errands, played, had friends over for dinner, played, listened to lots of music (and danced to it) and played in the den.  We also said goodbye to Daddy again who is away for a short trip this week.

Oh

13 May 2012

I had a situation today which pulled my heart in two opposite directions.  I had dashed out of the house to get the washing in as it was just starting to rain.  As I ran out I shouted to my children to let them know where I was going.  I guess my youngest did not hear me and as you cannot see the washing line from the downstairs of my house she could not find or see me.  As I was getting the last few bits of the line I heard the back door shutting and a distraught 'Mama'.  I grabbed the washing basket calling 'I'm coming' as I got to where you could see the back door I was greeted with a wonderful, but sad, sight.  Clearly upset, my youngest was standing in wellies (on the wrong feet), with a pair of sunglasses on (weather overcast and wet) and was carrying a small bag in one hand!  Trying hard not to laugh and smile I hugged and comforted.  Oh the spontaneity of a child, within minutes the laundry basket (now empty) had become a boat for her teddy bear.

Confused

When you make the decision to home educate it is one that I would expect as a family, you have given much thought to.  I am always interested to hear why families decide to home educate as the reasons are usually really varied.

I live in a village in a rural area.  The village itself has many facilities, most of which we make use of, it also has a good bus service which we use occasionally.  We have a car for the journeys that are impossible or more difficult by bus.  Part of our family discussion about home educating included how much travelling we would have to do.  To visit friends (I know most families in the village and am not aware of any others who are home educating), museums, go out for the day etc we realised that most if not all these trips would necessitate us leaving the village, in reality this has been the case.

I was surprised by a recent conversation with a friend which left me wondering why her family were home educating.  The family live fairly near us in another much smaller village, one with far less facilities than ours.  They are getting fed up with the lack of children for their own children to socialise with (we are one of the only families they see on a regular basis) and were starting the process of placing their school age child in a school (not the most local).  They are also getting fed up with the amount of travelling that they have to do to, to take their children to activities and to meet other children.  It seemed to me (and was confirmed on more discussion) that they wanted to home educate but did not want to have to travel much, if at all, for their children to socialise and do activities.  They also do not wish to move to a bigger town or city.   Hmmm..........having it both ways?

Deodorant

08 May 2012

For some time now I have been trying to find a deodorant that works for me.  Last year I started to have symptoms of Urticaria a skin condition that you can read about here.  The upshot of this is that most skin products or products that come in to contact with my skin have ingredients that make me itch.  I tried using bicarb on its own for a while.  I found it difficult to apply and it make my skin a bit red, dry and itchy.  After doing some research I realised that bicarb on its own may be a bit strong for my skin and it would be better to mix it with something else to tone it down.

I have now settled on the following recipe:

Homemade Deodorant
1/4 cup bicarb
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
5 tbsp coconut oil

Coconut oil is solid a room temperature.  I placed it in a glass bowl and put the bowl in another bowl of boiling water and left it to melt.  I then stirred in the bicarb and arrowroot.  I left this to cool a little before putting into an old deodorant stick that I had cleaned.  I bought all these ingredients in my local health food shop.

I have been using this for the last month and it seems to be working.  We have had the occasional warm day but admittedly it has been cold on most days.  It remains to be seen (and smelt!) as to whether it works in hot weather, if we get any this year that is.

We have been mainly................

07 May 2012

spending time again as a family this week.  However I have not been able to work what day of the week it was on any day, I had to look at a calender on one day as I did not have a clue!

We started the week with our usual trip into town for shopping and a trip to the library.

The following day we had our regular play date with friends.  The weather was just about good enough for outside play, bit showery and cold tho.  One of my friends children was a changed person after having had some cranial sacral therapy.  I could not believe how calm he was, it was an unbelievable difference and, so positive for him and his lovely mama.

We also met up with friends the next day, we had lunch with them before going off for a walk along an old railway line.  Our friends took bikes, we took scooters.  My oldest is not interested in riding a bike at all.  It was a lovely warm afternoon with loads of beautiful spring flowers.

We had a day at home following this, much time was spent playing with lego and a farm set with buildings, fences, animals and machinery, the day just disappeared.

Went to a Scarecrow Festival with friends on friday.  Was not sure what to expect, I have heard lots about these but never visited one.  It was great, some were really funny.  The themes were varied, but as you would expect, mostly about major events of the year, austerity, olympics and the jubilee.

Over the weekend we had time in the garden planting the potatoes and starting to harden off various seedlings.  I forgot about them on the first night so they had a shock start!  We have had a frost overnight this week so I hope they don't all die of the cold.  We also went for a walk in a local wood to collect wild garlic leaves.  We got a huge crop which I have made into pesto.  It smells delicious and cannot wait to try it this week.

Wild Garlic Pesto recipe
100g Wild Garlic leaves
50g Nuts (I used walnuts and sunflower seeds)
50 - 100g Olive oil
50g hard cheese finely grated

Put the leaves, nuts and some of the oil in the blender and whizz, add more oil if you prefer your pesto runnier.  Stir in the cheese.

Put into a sterilised jar and pour oil over the top.  Each time you use the pesto stir in the oil, use the pesto and then pour more oil on.  I have also frozen a large quantity to use at a later date.

Exploring

06 May 2012

On several occasions over the last few weeks I have had a new sensation of not actually knowing where my youngest is.  She is now venturing away from me and starting the next chapter of her life.  I remember this vividly with my oldest.  It seemed so odd for me, but made me feel so proud that he was ready to move on and be more independent.  I have always endeavoured to ensure that I do not push my children to do anything that I can see makes them unhappy and to create an environment for them to grow, learn and explore at their own pace.  I will never know if I have got this right but I do hope so.

She is now occasionally playing in a different part of the house to me.  We have a regular play date one day a week at the same house, we have been going there for over six months.  In the last couple of weeks she has spent time playing with other children rather than me, in a place where she cannot see me at all.

I am sad and happy at the same time.  My little one is growing up and finding her place in the big wide world.

Food

05 May 2012

Humans seem to have lost their way when it comes to food and eating.  We should be intuitively eating what is good for us, but the intuition seems to be eroding.  When you go food shopping now it is totally different from how my mother shopped when I was a child.   We can now go into one shop, where we can buy food including out of season fruit and vegetables and a plethora of other non food items.  An overweight person thirty years ago was a rare sight nowadays you will probably see one every time you go out.

We are bombarded with information about what we should be eating, foods that are labelled super foods, foods that can prevent cancer, foods that are low in cholesterol or fat etc.   The government have had various campaigns to get us all eating a healthy diet most recently 5 a day and Change4Life.  It is hardly surprising these campaigns are necessary as food seems to play such a minor role in the lives of most people.

We can, if we want to, buy food that has already been cooked into a meal.  Such food has many labels convenience food, ready meals, etc., it has been created with the busy person in mind, or has it?  Has it created a society where we can be busy because we know that we can pop to the shop and buy a meal that can be put into the oven or microwave, heated up and eaten within minutes.   I wonder how many of the people that live on such meals have read the ingredients.  I wonder how many of them know what half the ingredients are.  I wonder how many of them know what those same ingredients are doing to their body.

If, day in day out, you were to eat food that has been processed, that has a list of ingredients that includes preservatives, colourings, flavourings or sweeteners to name but a few, how nutritious is that food.  If the food you eat has no nutritional value you will break it down quickly.  Your digestive system will get lazy because it is not having to work very hard.  Your body will not receive the nutrients it needs to function, so your body indicates to you that you need more food, you feel hungry and eat more.  Many of the preservatives, colourings, flavourings and sweeteners in processed foods are chemical based.  They contain ingredients that not only do our bodies not need to function normally but that the body is not actually able to process successfully, they very often have side effects which are common complaints such as asthma, headaches, eczema, or hay fever to name but a few 

We could, if we so desired, survive many days without food however we would not be able to function normally after a few days.  Food nourishes our bodies, it keeps our body working properly, our immune system strong and in the case of children, growth.  Why if it so important, do so many pay so little attention to what they put into their mouths.