Oooh look, we’re even named on the Motor Show website! Not that the Guildhall shopping centre website generates that much traffic, I shouldn’t imagine, but nice to get a mention anyway. If anyone local is in town on Saturday or Sunday please come and say hello to me/us, we’ll be behind the little church in the middle somewhere.
We’re back down to earth with a bump here. Last week my sister was staying, which was really nice, but we didn’t get an awful lot done as we were still in definite holiday mode! We did do a couple of nice things including a mooch around town to show her the sights (or at least the good coffee shops!), church followed by a BBQ with friends on Sunday, a trip to Dartington Crystal (because we’d won free tickets) on Monday, and a fair bit of dossing around at home.
Yesterday we had Caitlin and Riona with us, took Esther back to the station early afternoon, and then the new term began with Anna’s first cello lesson later on in the afternoon. Incidentally, she passed her Grade 4 cello (108), don’t think I ever blogged that. And Abbie passed both the Grade 1s (piano 114 & recorder 107) that she took at the same time.
In the evening the girls both sharpened all their pencils and got their uniforms ready, and I think they even managed an early night – certainly they were in bed by the time I got home from an aborted Miscarriage Support Group meeting (forgot the keys, oops. still saw one person though and had a good chat on the stairs instead!).
Today the girls were back at school, and obviously pleased about it as they were both up and ready way earlier than necessary!
Josiah and I have had a relatively good home-ed day too. He did a couple of workbook pages from a music and a maths book, just to try and get back into the swing of doing something each day. He seems to have forgotten how to write all his numbers!
Then we did his music practices together, then made a picnic while signing up for Education City again, in order that I don’t feel too guilty about hours spent in the office, our next destination. By the way, does anyone still have a valid ‘refer a friend’ code that I could use when I actually have to sign up properly in 10 days’ time? Steve and I had a business meeting to attend together so Josiah amused himself with Education City on the computer at work while we did that.
The plan after that was to head to Home Ed group, which I assumed would have started back today, but the park was empty. Joe was a bit disappointed – I really should have checked beforehand as I probably had the info in an email somewhere. Ah well, there’s always next week. We had our lunch in the park anyway, and it gave us the chance to have a good chat about a couple of goals for home ed, which was good. Joe’s decided he’d like to try making a lapbook about the Romans, so that gives us something projecty to do alongside basic workbook things. He was only 18 months old when the girls did their first ever home ed project on the Romans so I don’t suppose he can remember much about it – in fact thinking about it, they did it with Aunty Jacky and I took him out to the park while she was there, so I can’t remember much either!
Anyway, then we headed back to the garage to get a few more things sorted; we’ve got a stand in the local shopping centre’s ‘Motor Show’ next weekend so there are some extra things that need doing for that.
Now we’re home for piano lessons. Still chasing my tail with lots of paperwork to catch up on so better stop blogging and get on with it!
Well, every day is a denim day for me as I do tend to live in jeans, but the kids got to wear jeans to school today as a non-uniform/fundraiser day for diabetes, so they thought that was great fun 
It has been an incredibly boring day in the office for me, I know I used to have difficult days when we were home educating but they were never this boring! I guess I answered the phone about 6 times, spoke to one existing customer, someone who wanted to sell us a car 
and various people trying to sell advertising of one sort or another. Attempted to chivvy accountants and bank people along but to no avail (nothing new there then!). Delivered a car. No real sales customers on site at all 
Friends popped in for coffee which was the highlight of the day but they only stayed 20 minutes or so!
Anyway, escaped to pick the children up; took Joe to his violin lesson, and now we’re home with a whole load of sorting out that none of us are motivated to do! Ah well, better get to it. It’s half term and we’re off to see friends and family for the week, which we are all really excited about! I may still be blogging but on the other hand I may not 
I cycled to work today and now my legs ache. Must do it more often, as that’s utterly pathetic!
Did a full day’s work for once as Russ was on a day off There’s lots to do at the moment as we’re in the process of going limited, which will be good in the long run, but is an administrative nightmare at the moment!
We have an elderly gentleman who visits us in the office most days, just for a chat – don’t think he has many other people to talk to in his day. Steve helped him with something yesterday, so today he tried to pay Steve for it; Steve refused, at which point he offered the fiver to me ‘for the children’, so I accepted as it seemed rude not to. Bought them all an ice cream with it on the way home from school, and I quote Anna’s incredulous voice ‘you mean we can have whatever we want, not just a mini-milk?!’
Since we’ve been home they’ve played outside together, then they had baths and I chatted to them while they were getting clean. Filled pasta for tea, walnut & gorgonzola, because I’m sick of that line ‘I do like a bit of gorgonzola’ from Wallace & Gromit which Joe *keeps* repeating, didn’t think they’d like it, but they do!
Steve’s gone out to some ‘strictly men only’ boxing dinner with work (is that because women have some sense and wouldn’t want to go anyway? ) so the children and I are watching the Corpse Bride together. Loving it so far, I have to say!