Random 5 on Friday- 22nd November

1.  Do you always win when you really don't suspect to? I've noticed that I tend to, whether it be a raffle or the lottery. We aren't big lottery players in the Quirky Mama household, we probably only play a handful of times in the year. But I was waiting in the Co-Op and the lady in front of me was getting the cashier to process her lottery ticket and I thought what the heck I'll give it a go.I forgot all about it and it was only when I was sorting out the money for our weekly shop that I saw the lottery ticket in my purse and went and checked the numbers.I had 3 numbers and because of the recent changes I won £25. Which covered the cut in hours that I had this week : )

2.I know were not yet into December but we are all really looking forward to Christmas. The girls have been dancing around to Walking in a Winter Wonderland, Mary's Boy Child and Jingle Bells the last few mornings whilst I've been doing the housework before lessons start.

3.The house that we rent hasn't been properly decorated since the 60's so it's always good to get some hand-made Christmas decorations up.

Here's ours from last year-

Louise making the Noel sign.

Our replacement Christmas tree.

Our candy cane stair rail.

Christmas bow.

Our Christmas wreath.

4. We had a phone call from Adam's school yesterday informing us that he had managed to trip over a stone, knock himself out and make himself concussed. He's absolutely fine he just managed to wrangle the afternoon off school and a trip to A&E into the bargain.


5. We've hopefully solved the problem with our landline phone. For some reason the whole of this week we haven't been able to speak to people that have phoned us. We could hear them but they couldn't  hear us. Which has been more than helpful seeing as we are trying to set up a business from home.

The Quirky Mama's guide to surviving the first year and a little bit of homeschooling!

Seeing as we are fast approaching the end of the first term of the second year we have been homeschooling. I thought I would write some quick notes about what I've found out so far.


Numero Uno:

When strangers come up to Louise or us  and asks what school she goes to  and she / we tell them we homeschool people tend to give you a look like you are crazy- as a side not we probably are  ; )


Numero Dos:

I once came across a homeschool blog called (may not be quite exact) 3 kids and a gluestick....and it really does sum up our family experiences that you really don't need to buy anything special to start homeschooling a child, Adam is probably 3 times more expensive to send to school than keeping Louise at home and homeschooling her by the time you factor in school lunches and money to the school for x,y and z.


Numero Tres:

There's lessons in  every day life. For example we stopped our Maths lesson yesterday when it was hailing and we talked about why it was hailing, why the hail turned to water when it hit the ground? why is it different to snow etc

Numero Cuatro:

Louise has really enjoyed looking back  at what she has accomplished, such as her attempting to learn her alphabet. So we definitely intend to film more of her learning so  she can see her progression.


Numero Cinco:

Practice, practice, practice!

Louise definitely accomplishes things quicker if we spend time doing the same things every day. We read and do 3 spellings everyday.

Numero Seis:

Oops I was actually gonna just post five but this is a big one for us, have activities on hand to keep the toddler entertained at the same time that school commences. Otherwise Marie demands that she want's her Playmate back. For some reason turning your elder sister into a horse is much more fun than watching her do her school work!

Aw, is it really the end of Autumn?

I do really quite like Autumn, I like the fact that there's beautiful colored scrunchy leaves on the ground that the kids can entertain themselves with outside whilst we run errands and that the nights draw in early and we can all snuggle on the sofa and the kids aren't trying to come up with arguments that it's way to early for bed because at 8 or 9 o'clock it's still light outside! Yep, that old chestnut. And this Autumn has been fab because it's been so mild but today feels like we are definitely into Winter.

I caught the weather forecast this morning whilst feeding Marie and on the weather map there was snow flakes coming down and at about 11 o'clock we opened the back door to see the hailstones coming down and they were literally bouncing from the courtyard into the kitchen.

My Mum and Dad also came over this morning so Louise spent most of the time at the dining table reading to Grandad. She loves sharing with others what she can do and she happily read the entire Husky Adventure tale to him. She was also head of heels that they came bearing gifts, My sister Bethany who is 17 found a white sparkly top ( completely up Louise's street) that she wore when she was a couple of year's older than her and my Gran had sent down via my Mum a knitting doll ( a knitting Nancy to be precise ) which completely made her eyes light up.

Scripture & a snapshot.

This looked like fun so here is my first attempt  and contribution  :) The picture was taken in a beautiful public garden over the Summer holidays.

Switching rooms around.

It's flu season aka taking calpol time of  the year again. The girls have been bunged up and stuffed up and trying to master the art of breathing through your mouth.

We've also completely changed around the upstairs space in the house to make room for  a much needed office/ nursery for the toddler.

We seriously have fulled 4 black bags of toys that are broken or no longer fit for purpose to dispose of....I'm not sure how we managed to have ownership to so many toys, books and puzzles!

Just as a side note - Do you think a  real Christmas tree is worth the bother or would you use a re-usable one?

Our reusable one is knackered, we actually didn't put it up last year because we made a educated guess that it would be more hassle than it was worth because Marie would just pull it down all the time and it would turn into a mega hazard. So,me and Louise  made a paper christmas tree  instead and placed it on the wall  in the living room and on Christmas Eve we put the presents underneath it.

I just have this feeling.....

I'm gonna be dreaming of coffee machines all night long.


On Sunday evening I had a telephone call from the manager of a local restaurant/ cafe opening in town, offering me a waitress position.The hours slot in well with homeschooling and family life so that's all good.

Today I had a training day on how to make coffee.

I'm pretty sure that if it was a coffee making comp my coffee would of come last.


Oops.

What can I say prehaps I'm coffee making retarded.


Tomorrow I have a shift with the general public. Is it wrong to hope it's quiet tomorrow ? so that the manager assists that I can practice on whole batch of his  coffee.

 I love this, I only saw the saying about a month ago  and this probably is the point when someone tells me it's an extremely well know quote.

The building that Louise does her ballet lesson every Saturday also doubles up as the church hall and this saying was on the wall.