Sunday 25 December 2016

Merry christmas

Merry Christmas everyone, James is off at the moment...

...so blogging will commence next year :).

Friday 16 December 2016

happy birthday

Its Evies 5th birthday :)

happy birthday my darling little girl

I have to make up some jelly for one of her presents.

And we have her Christmas Extravaganze this afternoon - she is an angel :)

Thursday 15 December 2016

Toast to school

Yesterday Evie ate her toast on the way to school and it looks like we will be doing the same today.

I have even tried telling her that if she doesn't get dressed quick enough until school breaks up then Santa will take some of her  presents away, but that doesn't seem to be working either.

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Cycling improficciency

I was walking Evie to school...
...on our way we use a shortcut that takes us past 2 children's play areas.
There are 2 prohibitive cycling road signs either end of the footpath.
Some of the cyclists ignore the signs.
I heard a woman say this morning that the sign means its a cycle path.
Perhaps they should bring back cycling profficency tests back in primary schools.

in our pjs

Tonight after school we have to go back in in our pjs for Christmas stories and songs :)

It should be great fun :)

Tuesday 13 December 2016

lunches and stars that look like rockets

Yesterday while Evie was at school I got a message on parentmail that next years lunches can now be booked (and the new lunch menu would come home in Evies bookbag).

So I have booked her lunches until Easter, there are a couple of new dishes on there so I will have to ask her if they get a "tick" or a "cross" :)

Last Friday I put up our Christmas tree, when Evie came home I let her help decorate it and then she said that "there is something missing" and she said it was the Christmas star, remembering that we made one last year, I had a look for it but couldnt find it.

So I got a cereal box and a toilet roll tube and cut out a star "freehand" but it looks more like a rocket :)

the one that I decorated (Evie added the glasses so I can see)
the one that Evie decorated
As they look so good a christmas rocket may be our new "Christmas custom" :)

Monday 12 December 2016

Santa and Panto

We have had a bit of a busy weekend :)

On Saturday we went to see the panto, we saw Jack and The beanstalk, this was the first time that Evie realy got into it...

...she looked scared at the right places and was cheering and booing when she was supposed to too.

Then yesterday we took her to see Santa (as her birthday treat) LOL she has been to two different Santas and has asked him for two different presents :)

and we had lunch in Wagamama which is Evies favourite restaurant :)

And I weighed myself on Saturday and have lost another four pounds so that is 25 in total or 1 stone and 11lbs.

And Evie was so late getting dressed that she ate her breakfast on the way to school!

Friday 9 December 2016

seven fifty four

Yesterday Evie ended up coming down at 8.08 bearing in mind we go to the loo before we leave at 8.10.

She started screaming at me when I would let her have the tv on and I told her that she didnt even have time for a tantrum :)

This morning she finally came down at 7.54 a slight improvement on yesterday but nit as well as Wednesday.

So she is watching a little bit of tv and eating chocolate spread on toast :)

Thursday 8 December 2016

Wednesday 7 December 2016

24 minute improvement

On Monday I finally cracked up (where it comes to Evie getting herself dressed) and told her (after finding her playing with our pillows on the floor) that In wasnt going to sit there and watch her get dressed.

On Monday she finally came down dressed at 8 am (we go up to the toilet before leaving at 8.10 am).

Yesterday she didnt come down until 8.05 (giving her 5 minutes to eat).

This morning (admittedly she was half dressed before I had even got downstairs) she came down at 7,43 am :)

So she actually has time to watch one of her programmes too :)

Sunday 4 December 2016

18 yesses

Out of 28 invites we have 18 yesses 9 nos and 1 couldnt be bothered to let me know!

I will contact the softplay place in the week to let them know the numbers :)

I cant believe its come around so quickly :)


Friday 2 December 2016

flu for two

When I dropped Evie off at school yesterday I reminded her about the nasal flu spray - just hoping that she would let them give it to her :)

Yesterday I went into town while I was there James asked me to get his prescription...

...I decided to get it done in Tesco, while I was in there I saw a sign for flu jabs being done for £9.

As I dont want to be ill for Evies birthday party I decided to get it done, they gave me £1 off and I also got clubcard points on it too :).

When I picked Evie up I saw that she had a flu fighter sticker on her dress so I was pleased that she had let them do it :)

I also saw in her bag a party invite - so whilst rsvping I asked her Mum if she would like to come to Evies party :)  She has said that she thinks they are free but its dependent on when they are booked to see Santa :)

And we opened our chocolate advent calendars yesterday (I asked James to get himself one on the way home too to ensure that my one was safe :)), as I remembered that Evie would want to eat my chocolate too! :)

Thursday 1 December 2016

spraysers

Yesterday I picked Evie up from school and noticed that she was wearing different trousers.

So I asked her what happened and she told me that she was wearing boys trousers but had girls knickers on.

As yesterday was PE day she was wearing trousers (hence them putting her back in trousers rather than a dress and tights).

She told me that she didnt make it to the toilet in time.

Today at school she has her flu nasal spray - I have told her that it will be happening today so hopefully she will let them do it :).

A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from the doctors surgery telling me that Evie was eligible for the flu nasal spray and to let them know if we dont want her to have it.

It doesnt even give us the option to say that she is having it done at school, so Im waiting to make sure she gets it done at school before I let the surgery know that she doesnt need it done there.

Wednesday 30 November 2016

lets look at the next page!

Yesterday when I picked Evie up her teacher reminded us of the book look...

...as I knew that Evie would not want to come out of the playground if we had gone there she just had a run around on the grass in the school grounds :)

When we could go in she clearly didnt want to go in but she followed me in anyway :)

We found her books and then found somewhere to sit down...

...everytime I tried to read a page she kept on saying "lets look at the next page"...

...there was some new stuff in there which was good :)

She even had a fourth book (but I cant remember what it was).

Tuesday 29 November 2016

after school book look

Tonight after school they have a book look where the children can show off their work :)

It is on from 15.30 to 16.30 so its too early for both parents to see it (which is a shame).

Her school holds these in the half terms that there isnt a parents evening :)  the teachers arent present though so there isnt any discussing anything.

So our plan is to go to the playground inbetween school and home and Evie can have a short play and then we will go back to school and we can look at her work together :)

I have explained it to Evie but no doubt she will still want to have a longer play in the playground.

Monday 28 November 2016

party yesterday

Yesterday Evie went to a birthday party :)

She had a much better time than the last one she went to and was dancing more and was joining in the games :)

When we got there she was even holding hands and running around with "J" :)

I also weighed myself on Saturday and have lost another 2 lbs - so that 21 lbs in total or 1 and a half stones :)

Friday 25 November 2016

a proud "mum"my

Yesterday after her bath Evie was doing some drawing....

...I saw her drawing someone with big purple eyes so I asked Evie if it was me and she said yes, and then she started to draw a smaller person so I asked her if it was her and she said yes...

then she said that she would write "Evie" and she did in a roundabout way and then she surprised me by writing "Mum" :)

Im even smiling :)
so I did her a wow star too :)

Thursday 24 November 2016

talking and reading

Last night was the literacy evening at Evies school...

...it was good it started with a presentation with another presentation in teh middle and another one at the end...

...inbetween there were activities :)

there was role playing where her teacher dressed up like Goldilocks and she talked about herself and we were invited to ask her questions  - I asked her "what is your favourite topping to have on your porridge?" and she said she "loved jam especially strawberry jam!" :).

another one was describing an animal on a farm and then the other person had to guess what it was.

another one was breaking down the words into separate phonies (dont know if that is the correct spelling or not) such us f-i-sh :)

Another one was reading books without words - to enable the child to look at the pictures (rather than worry about the words) and to guess what will happen next.

Another one was to do with letters and how they sing songs with the sounds in and practice different ways of writing the letters.

But the main thing was to read to/with Evie and do lots of talking :)

It was really good :)

Wednesday 23 November 2016

literacy evening tonight

Tonight at Evies school I have a literacy evening to go to...

..its 7pm to 9pm (so Im going to miss giving Evie her kiss and cuddle at bedtime).

We are learning how they teach phonics so we can do them at home too :)

I will have to make sure I have my dinner early too otherwise I will be grumpy if Im hungry in there :)

Tuesday 22 November 2016

no shushing

The library job that I applied for closed on Sunday, so yesterday I kept my phone with me all day (just in case they called to offer me an interview), but nothing.

Then yesterday after I picked Evie up from school my phone pinged and it was an e-mail saying "I hadnt been shortlisted" oh well...

I asked Ecie whet she did with Sidney at school and she said she "didnt know" I suppose it makes a change from her usual answer of "everything" :)

Monday 21 November 2016

he will be looked after

On Friday when I picked Evie up from school Mr F said that the children have to bring in their favourite teddy bear and "not to worry, they will be looked after" :)

So I told Evie this when we got home and she is going to bring Sidney (her monkey hand puppet).

I have explained to her again this morning that she can only bring him in today and that he will have to stay at home with me tomorrow.

Last time she was able to take him in it was a comfort thing, and she was so brave the day that she wasnt allowed to bring him in (it still makes me feel upset that she was struggling so much).

Sunday 20 November 2016

no toads

Ever since Evie has been having school dinners she has started to like yorkshire puddings...

...so I bought her some and she has had one each night with her dinner....

...and as she likes sausages and bacon, last night I did her some pigs in blankets (ready made) especially as they are everywhere for the run up to Christmas :)

So yesterday (as we were going food shopping) I asked Evie if she would like to try a toad in the hole and she looked at me in disgust and said that she doesnt want to eat a toad :)

So after some reassurance and explaining its just a silly name and its actually sausage in yorkshire pudding and showing her a packet of it she said that she will try it :).

Friday 18 November 2016

flamingo dress

At Evies school for Children in Need the theme is to wear something spotty :)

So I trawled through Evies stuff and found a flamenco dress that we bought her on holiday a couple of years ago.

She has been telling me that she has been telling people that she is going to wear a flamingo dress :)

so here she is in her flamingo dress :)

ole :)

Thursday 17 November 2016

double up wisdom

Yesterday in Sainsburys their double up promotion started...

..as the deal includes clothing and toys I decided to make use of it :)

As I have started applying for jobs I thought I should get an interview outfit, so I got this blouse and trousers.

I also looked at the toys for presents for my antenatal friends kids parties and got a couple of these :)

So not only did I not spend any proper money I also got them for half price :)

Tuesday 15 November 2016

still in the bag

Yesterday I was looking forward to getting some more rsvps (and more mobile Mums numbers) from Evies birthday party invites.

I looked in her bookbag when we got home and not only were her invites still in there but also her book hadnt been changed (despite being read three times over the weekend).

When she goes in today I will mention to her teacher (or whoever is on the door) about the invites, I know they went into her bag because there was a coloured in teddy shape in there.

The next day for them to change her book is Wednesday, so hopefully she will get a new book then.

Monday 14 November 2016

school invites

After chasing up the remaining friends who hadnt rsvp'd I now know how many from Evies class I can invite...

...I have gone for her two friends in her class and a girl who has taken her "under her wing" as Mr F put it, and a boy who she plays with in the playground (when we walk home from school) and another boy whose Mum works for Starbucks :)

I have given them until 1st December to come back to me and it then gives me a few more days if I need to invite anyone else :)

Sunday 13 November 2016

six in four

As I had a few calorific things I decided to forego weighing myself a couple of weeks ago and finally weighed myself yesterday...

I was hoping for four pounds but would have been happy with two, but was well surprised that I had lost six pounds...

...so that is 19 pounds in total or one stone five pounds in 12 weeks :)

I have applied for another job in a library of all places :) so sssshhhhhhhh :)

Friday 11 November 2016

Hats

As its chilly today me and Evie are going to wear our hats :)

Thursday 10 November 2016

tutt tutt jeans and pjs

Yesterday when I picked Evie up from school her teacher said that now the kiddies are bringing home books we should record that they have read it twice before they will change the book on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - so I told him that Evie had read her book so it would be changed :)

As it has been getting colder (together with my weightloss) I have started to feel colder during the day so I decided to treat myself to some pjs and as I had a points voucher if I spent over £25.

I found some nice pjs, so I looked in the kids clothes to see if there was anything to buy for Evie but nothing shouted out to me, so I went back to the ladies and looked at jeans...

...I found some the question was what size to get so I went for the size 16  (the pjs were size 18), amd when I got home they fitted perfectly :)

Tuesday 8 November 2016

wordless story book

Yesterday Evie bought home her first story book (it is wordless) :)


the old man is growing his turnips

he cant pull the turnip up, so his wife tries to help

and the kids try too

and the dog and the cat

and the mouse

theyve done it :)


Sunday 6 November 2016

proper homework to do

During half term week we were given proper homework to do (it was finding things with the letters Evie had previously learned and drawing them or cutting out pictures and glueing them to the sheet of paper).

When I opened her book bag on Friday there is another homework sheet - this time we have to find things beginning with i and n and some words to practice with actions too :)

mum made me laugh the most :)

Friday 4 November 2016

a coat with pockets

I have been on the lookout for a new coat (James is using the cheap one he got me in Aldi the other year).

After not finding one (in my size) that I liked in Sainsburys I had a look in Primark I saw a coat that was ok but it didnt have real pockets - it just had the flaps but not a pocket!

I then looked in Asda I didnt find the coat I exactly wanted but I did get one that was cheap and it does have pockets :)

Wednesday 2 November 2016

road safety walk

Today me & Evie have a road safety walk to go on.

I have to go to her school and a group of parents and children get spoken to about road safety :)

I just hope that Evie isnt too annoyed that it wont be going home time when I arrive :)

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Singing and tears

This morning on our way to school Evie was singing "were going to big school" all the way there.

I thought great she is obviously really enjoying it now :)

Then just before going into her classroom she was queuing and I could tell that she was getting tearful, so I asked her what was wrong and she said "I'm alright" so I have told her teacher and he said that he will have a chat with her :)

I think it must be catching as "f" didn't want to go in and a boy was being very vocal too in miss S's class.

Monday 31 October 2016

happy halloween

Last week we bought a pumpkin to carve...

my first pumpkin carve :)
...considering its my first time doing a pumpkin its not too bad :)

evie is saying this is nothing to do with me
happy halloween :)

all by herself

Evie got up just after me this morning, and did her usual (lying on her bed until I told her it was 7 am (breakfast time)), then at 7.20 I had to go to the loo and she told me that she wanted to get dressed downstairs, so she bought her clothes downstairs.

She then put on her polo top then her dress and next it was her tights, so I asked her if she wanted to give them a try and she said for me to do them so she then started putting them on and did it all by herself - so I have done a "wow star" for school.

her wow star
I have Evies  PE kit and bookbag by the door (I shall have to try to remember to bring down a pair of socks to put in her bag incase I forget to put her in trousers on PE day) :)

and happy birthday Eileen :)

Sunday 30 October 2016

so many rsvps

I would like to say that I have had so many rsvps that my sms text messages have stopped working :)

Well I have only had one response and that was a "no" "F's great grandmother is 90 and they are having a party for her".

In reality I have only sent nine invitations so far with one acceptance and two declines.

I shall go trough the list in the week with Evie and decide who else to invite (and hopefully I will have had a few more replies by then).

Its back to rushing about again from tomorrow...

Friday 28 October 2016

reaching the postbox

Yesterday we sent out our first invitations (to my antenatal friends)...

...on our way to the post box I asked Evie who was going to post the invitations.  Was it going to be me or her.  She said that she would do it and I would lift her up :)

So we got to the post box and I asked Evie to see if she could reach it...

...and she could (so there was no lifting needed :)) so I handed her each invitation and told her who it was for and she put it in the box (there were only five to do :)).

We have another one to post this morning, so I will let Evie post that one too on our way to the play date that we postponed earlier in the week.

Tuesday 25 October 2016

more excited than Evie

I have booked Evies fifth birthday party :)

Its going to be at a soft play place, as Evie doesnt really join in that much at the parties we have gone to with a disco etc, and we know she will enjoy herself more doing soft play :).

We are now deciding who to invite (and there is a set of twins in her class so I dont want to invite one and not the other :)).

we need a minimum of 16 kids, so we will be inviting our friends kids first and then decide who else to invite after that :).

As its just before Christmas I know that not everyone will be able make it.

Monday 24 October 2016

postponed play date

Ive just had a text from my friend, her daughter isnt well, so were going to meet the Friday instead.

soft play date

We are going to a soft play place today with a friend from Tumble Tots.

Evie has already said she doesnt want to go :)

But I know she will have fun once we get there :)

Sunday 23 October 2016

lunches booked to Christmas

Evies school lunches are on a four week rota.

As she has now done five weeks (and its half term) I have booked all of Evies lunches up until Christmas (which is as far as they will let me do it anyway).

Every day I have asked her if her lunch gets a tick or a cross and she always says a tick so apart from the first day when she said that she wanted pepperoni pizza and not cheese and tomato we have stuck to our original choices.

I will now put a reminder in for the start of the Christmas holidays :)

no new negatives

On Thursday I had our first school parents evening...

...a friend had already told me to look out for the pictures that the kids had done of themselves on the wall outside


So I got into the classroom and found Evies books

there was her learning journal which had pictures of her and what she had been getting upto :)

maths - which was all things numbers

literacy - which was all things words :)

then came to the chat with the teacher...

...he told me that she was very quiet at first and not joining in but just hovering and that she doesnt hover so much anymore but she still isnt really playing with the other children yet.

I told him that she has told me that she has made some friends and he said that it was good that she was talking about other children.

He also mentioned that she was slow eating her lunch and that she doesnt have time for a play after (she has told me that she does have a little play after her lunch) he said that it was important that she eats her lunch and that as she spends so long in there its hard to know how much she has eaten - I said that she doesnt come home starving so she must be eating enough at lunchtime.

He then said that she is slow getting dressed /before/after PE, I told him that she does take a long time - he then said which did annoy me that he thought she had trouble putting her PE kit on (its a t-shirt and shorts) so I said she can get dressed she just takes "a hell of a long time" he thinks that I should get her to practice!

He also said that he thinks she had difficulty moving - I told him she can move but she just does it in her own time.

He said that they will work on getting Evie to play withe the other kids more, and I said that she has always don activities with other children such as Tumble Tots and tap dancing and swimming lessons.

But he was impressed that she knew all of her shapes so that was good :)

And that she is now going to the snack table to get herself a snack too :)

Her next parents evening is in March - so hopefully she has improved a bit :)

Thursday 20 October 2016

parents evening tonight

We have Evies very first school parents evening tonight :)

Unfortunately we cant take Evie with us (as they say that they have no facitilites for keeping the kids entertained - and the kids know how they are doing anyway) so I will be going alone...

...I asked James if he wanted to go instead and he said "no!".

I looked in Evies bookbag yesterday and she has done P


we tried the peter piper tongue twister but Evie found it too hard, so we went for Paul picked posies and had pizza and punch :)

So Evie can now write past, taps, pats and spat :)

Wednesday 19 October 2016

noT A boyfriend

On our way home Evie wanted to play in the playgound that we walk past, so we went in.

Evie then pulled a picture out of her pocket and told me that J had drawn it for her.

Evie did the scribbles in felt tip

So I asked her is J your boyfriend and she said "no I dont have a boyfriend I only have girlfriends, A, S & F"

So I asked her if she drew a picture for J and she said no, so I then asked if J drew a picture for anyone else and she said no.

When we got home I looked in her bookbag and she had more homework...




...so we have come up with Toby the toad trod on the trampoline and had teacake and tea for his tea :)

Evie can now (if she wants to) write the word "sat"

Sunday 16 October 2016

calorific weeks

I weighed myself yesterday and I have lost another 3 lbs - so thats 13 lbs (almost a stone) in 8 weeks :)

I probably wont be weighing myself for a few weeks now as I have a few calorific weeks coming up.

Im meeting up with friends for lunch next Saturday and lunching with James' family one lunchtime during half term week.

And Im meeting a friend for a playdate probably at a softplay place on the Monday too.

Thursday 13 October 2016

As

On Tuesday Evie had S to learn and yesterday it was A



we came up with Abigail the ant ate asparagus, apples and apricots while ascending down the avenue :)  Hee hee James pointed out that you ascend up!

So if she ever wants to she can write the word as :)

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Liebster Award

Yay I have been awarded the Liebster Award from Captain Kirt :)

thanks Kirt

What I like about Kirts blog is that he is honest and writes about his homelife with his daughters and his wife and his job and manages to fit star trek/star wars in it too :)

One of the things that I have to do is write a short essay about someones blog that I like...

...well Im going to go for Eileen and her blog Yet Another Coffee To Go, she writes honestly and candidly about her homelife with her husband and their adorable rescue dog Annie, and the things that they get upto whether good or bad and the friends (mainly with 4 legs) that they meet along the way, and their visits to the park and the beach (when out of season), and showing us the dog friendly cafes that she finds so she can of course have her "coffee to go" :)

She is like a second Mum :) and I have great respect for her and her family because of all the kind things that they do for dogs.

I also have to answer the 10 questions that Kirt has asked...

1- why did you start blogging? it was to write about my diet experiences - I had just lost 4 1/2 stone in wight :)
2 - if you were a time traveler would you go forwards or backwards? oh definitely backwards (but making sure that I didnt effect anything).
3 - what is your idea of a great evening? Getting Evie to bead early and having a nice relaxing time watching tv :)
4 - who would you love to be stuck in a lift with? a tricky one mmmmmmm Gary & George from Australian Masterchef I think
5 - what scares you - I mean really scares you? crossing the road - I got knocked down when I was 20 (and I still hate crossing the road even now).
6 - if you were a cartoon character which one would you be? Bob Goblin from Wallykazan
7 - If you won the lottery (or came into a large sum of money) what would you go out and buy first? a new house with lots of room and a huge garden
8 - When you're in the car alone (if you don't drive then think of a similar circumstance where you're alone with a radio) what would you turn the radio on to? Mark Kermodes Film Review show
9 - star wars or star trek - it has to be star wars
10 - gravy or no gravy - has to be no gravy.

gosh now my questions...

1 - what is your favourite chocolate bar?
2 - what colour eyes have you got?
3 - do you prefer cats or dogs?
4 - drink in or take out?
5 - who is your favourite band?
6 - what colour describes you best?
7 - what is your favourite smell?
8 - describe the cup you drink your first cuppa from?
9 - what do you collect?
10 - what socks are you wearing?

Now I have to do my own nominations (I am supposed to do between 5 and 10 (but I honestly dont follow that many)...

I know that Kirt has already done Eileen (so I wont do her)

The only one who blogs (and doesnt already have an award) is Timothy aka Agent 54 he has a great sense of humour and is totally wacky :)

As I have only nominated one person - if you chose to accept please read the rules (there is a link to the top of the page)

I hope that I have covered everything...

And if anyone else wishes to answer my questions, please feel free to comment :)

first homework

I opened Evies bookbag when we got home from school and I found homework in ther for us to do :)




we practices them in the bath last night

the silly stinky spider wore socks and skates and had sausages for her supper and she slid and slipped down the slope :)

Tuesday 11 October 2016

school picture day

Today Evie has her school photo done :)

I have written her name on her hairbrush and will pop it into her bookbag (for if they need to do her hair).

It will be the first time that I havent been with her for her photo being done.

I remember when I was at school my Mum would always tell me to make sure I took my glasses off for the photo (but I dont think I ever remembered :)).

Sunday 9 October 2016

booksale book

When I picked Evie up from school, I asked her what book she had bought and she said that she had bought a book about princesses :)

So when we got home I opened her bookbag and found the book...



LOL some of the things are quite hard to find.

it took a while to find the crown (even with my new glasses)

And everytime I try to look in the book Evie takes it off of me.

this was as far as I was allowed to look!

Friday 7 October 2016

new glasses

Here I am wearing my new glasses :)

my new glasses
Theyre good but its blurry if I look out of the side of the lens, I have been told to go back in 2 weeks if it hasnt improved by then (so I get used to my new prescription).

error of the human kind

When I got my eyes tested I was told that my glasses would be ready in about 2 weeks...

...so on Monday I rang the opticians and were told that one pair was in and the other pair would be in later in the week, amd that they would call me when they were in.

Yesterday I still hadnt got a call so I rang them, I spoke to B and she told me that my distance glasses were in but my reading glasses still werent in and she looked at the date that they were ordered and said that she would chase them up for me, and she would call me back at some point.

I finally got a phone call and was told that it wasnt good news...

...my lenses hadnt passed quality control due to human error (by the people who do the lenses) and that it would be another 2 weeks before my reading glasses are ready!  till she did say that she was sorry.

Im going to go into town today as I want to pick up my glasses and I dont really want to have to wait another 2 weeks before getting them.

Today Evie's school has a second hand bookstall so I have put 50p in her bookbag, it will be interesting to see what book she chooses :)

We also have a parents evening coming up in a few weeks and the school doesnt trust us to do it electronically and we have to fill out a form with our first, second and third choices of time slots.

Also we cant both go as we cant take Evie with us which is a shame.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

job application

Well...

...I have applied for a job :)

As a Lunch Time Assistant (a posh word for a dinner lady), at Evies school.

Perhaps I should watch dinnerladies so I can know what to expect :)

Sunday 2 October 2016

school cold

On Friday morning Evie did a few sneezes and when she was queuing to go into her classroom I noticed her wipe her nose on her sleeve...

...I did offer to blow her nose for her but she didnt want me to.

She came home at the normal time and definitely had a cold.

On Friday night she went to bed early (she wanted to go to bed after she had finished her dinner) and she woke up at about 1.30 am and had a temperature so I gave her some medicine and she went off to sleep.

She has had a cough and didnt feel upto doing her swimming lesson or tap dancing.

I think she is hoping that she "can not feel upto going to school" too tomorrow so that will be fun :)

The new John Lewis has opened in town, so I went there on Friday and bought some of my favourite bodywash although I havent tried that flavour yet :) and Hotel Chocolat has opened too :)

I weighed myself yesterday and have lost another 3 lbs, so that 10 lbs in 6 weeks :)

Wednesday 28 September 2016

school birthday party invite

Yesterday I opened Evies book bag and found a red envelope in it...

...I was all excited as I knew it meant an invite :)

The invite is for T (the name could be either a girl or a boy) in my opinion, and nowadays you cant be too sure.

So I asked Evie is T a girl or a boy? Evie said shes a girl :)

So I texted T's Mum to accept and asked if she had any present suggestions?

And she said "anything, he is such a boyish boy" :)

Evie was wrong (but in her defence, I think I know who T is and he does have long hair).

Tuesday 27 September 2016

another relief

When I dropped Evie off at school yesterday, I saw Mrs S monitoring the kids coming in, so I asked her if Evie plays at playtime as she tells me that she doesnt,..

...and she said "yes she does" :).

Evie even reiterated it by playing on the slide while waiting for the tachers to open the EYFS classrooms :)

Thats another relief :)

When we were waiting to go in we saw a load of kids with suitcases where they are going on their school adventure holiday, so I told Evie this and I heard one Mum cheer loudly :)

I cant believe that that will be Evie in 6 years time!

Sunday 25 September 2016

no tears Friday

On Friday I was all set for the tears as we were about to get ready to leave, and surprisingly enough she didnt cry...

...it could have been to do with the fact that |I told her that she could buy a cake or just that she is getting more used to it now :)

Talking of cakes Evie chose a chocolate one (no surprise there) and I had 2 as it was £1 for 1 or £1.50 for 2, and a cup of tea was £1 too.

I had a butterfly cake and a chocolate cake pop and they were both lovely :)

I did think about saving 1 for James but decided not to as he probably wouldnt eat it :)

Lunchwise she says that she has liked everything, so I will update her lunch menu until half term at the end of October.

When I was leaving school on Friday it was playtime I looked in the EYFS playground to see if I could see Evie and she wasnt playing, then I saw her in the classroom doing something with Mrs C.

I asked her about whether she plays out at playtime and she says that she doesnt :(.

Hopefully soon enough she will realise how much fun she can have.

Friday 23 September 2016

she can chose a cake today

Today is an exciting day at school (and not just because its Friday) :)

Her school are holding a MacMillan coffee morning this morning.

I have faked it and bought a swiss roll from M&S :)

I spoke to Evies teacher yesterday and he said that she does eat slowly but is enjoying her lunch, but they will keep an eye on her and will let me know how she gets on :)

And crucially she isnt left on her own and the dinner ladies are still in there with her, so thats good too :)

She had meatballs for lunch yesterday and again she said that she liked them and chocolate arctic roll for dessert which she liked too :)

And she said that she had a play after her lunch so she must have been a bit quicker at eating :)

Thursday 22 September 2016

eat lunch a little quicker please

Yesterday we went to Sainsburys for our mid week top up shop.

I was looking around the clothes (as they have 25% off at the moment) and James and Evie found me and James said that they saw one of Evies classmates outside :) He couldnt remember which one and Evie cant remember her name either.

So James asked her if Evie ate all of her lunch (Evie said she had) the girl then said that Evie was the only one left in the lunch hall.

Evie actually got dressed quickly this morning (so no shouting from me :)).

So I asked her if she could try eating her lunch a bit quicker and she said no she is going to eat super slow!

I told her that the other children then get to play after they have eaten their lunch, so I asked her if she enjoyed eating on her own and she said that she prefers eating with her friends.

She told me that she liked her roast turkey lunch so that was good :)

I will ask her teacher about it today...

Wednesday 21 September 2016

stair tumble

After Evie had her bath last night she was walking down the stairs and she must have missed a stair and she tumbled to the bottom :(

We checked that she could wiggle her fingers and toes and that she didnt have a headache and looked to make sure that nothing was swollen, so she is alright in that respect.

She has a slight black eye from where her glasses pushed into her face when she hit the banister at the bottom.

She has PE today so when I drop her off I will have to tell her teacher incase they worry that she got it from doing PE.

She loved her southern fried chicken yesterday.

And she still isnt dressed yet...

...so it looks like I am going to be one of those bad Mums whose kid is walking to school eating their breakfast on the go :)

And she has made a friend and even told me who she sat next to to have her lunch :)

Tuesday 20 September 2016

not smaller print

Yesterday I had my eye test, at least it wasnt as bad as the one I had last year :).

I had started to notice though that I was needing to use my reading glasses more!

They did the eye test and told me that my eyes have got worse and significantly enough for me to need new glasses...

I started looking at the Ted Baker ones as they were 2 for 1 but couldnt find 2 pairs that I liked.

So I ended up getting Ralph Lauren (with my second pair being half price).

On the plus side school dinnerwise Evie loved the pepperoni pizza :) today she has southern fried chicken fillet with herby potatoes and baked beans or garden peas and for dessert a fruit corner yoghurt or an apple & banana crisp :)

Monday 19 September 2016

Only with daddies help

James booked today and tomorrow off so he could take Evie to school and pick her up for her first couple of days.

I got him to set his alarm for 6.30 to give us time to get up and ready.

While Evie was going to the toilet I put her clothes on the bed and while I was having a shower james helped her get dressed.

She is currently eating coco pops watching Dora and friends :)

She has already said that she doesnt want to go in today.

I have got an eye test today.

Sunday 18 September 2016

Choices chmoices

On Tuesday I went through the school lunch menu with evie asking her what she would like...

...tomorrow she has pizza the choice was pepperoni or cheese and tomato (she asked for cheese & tomato saying that she would take off the tomato).

Everyday I have double checked with her that she still wanted the vegetarian one and she said yes.

Tonight just as she was having her bath she said that she wanted pepperoni!

Luckily we have until the evening before to change our mind on what to have.

first week done and plan of action

Evie finished her first week of afternoons at school :)

It didnt go too bad and even though she cried each day about having to go in she didnt have any meltdowns while we were at the gates or anything so that was a real bonus :)

Each day I have asked Evie "who did you sit with today?" and she says "I dnnt know"

I ask her "what did you do at school" and she says "everything" :)

As Evie isnt very good at getting dressed in the mornings, I have told her what we will be doing during the week...

  • When she gets up she will have to get herself dressed (I will get dressed too), 
  • Have breakfast (as near to 7 am as we can), 
  • Go to the toilet once we have finished breakfast and 
  • Clean our teeth (by 8.10 at the latest).
  • Go to school
Fingers crossed that we can get there in time :)

I weighed myself yesterday and I have lost another 2lbs so that is 7lbs in total :)



Friday 16 September 2016

first wobble & chocolate spread on onion bagel

Yesterday Evie had a packed lunch at school..

I knew that she wanted a chocolate spread sandwich so I asked her if she wanted it on bread or an onion bagel?  She said an onion bagel.

As I had already had half a bagel for my breakfast (less calories than a whole one :)) I used the other half for her, and put it in her lunch box, with some bacon rashers also.

I chopped up a huge bit of cucumber and gave her some grapes :)

I packed it all in her lunchbag with an empty water bottle.

Just as we were about to go up to the toilet before leaving for school I noticed that she looked like she was about to cry...

...so I asked her what was wrong and she said that she didnt want to go to school, so I asked her why and she said that "she doesnt like playing" so I gave her a hug and we went upstairs.

When we got to school there was a huge box to put the lunchbags into.

When I picked her up I picked up her lunchbag and asked her how she got on with her lunch and she said that she had eaten some of it (at least she ate something).

So when we got home I checked her lunchbag and apart from a couple of pieces of cucumber everything was eaten apart from the chocolate spread on onion bagel, so I asked her if she didnt like it and she said that she didnt.

At least I will remember that for next time :)

Its her last afternoon today and then its all day next week!

Thursday 15 September 2016

smiley face tick packed lunch

Yesterday when I picked Evie up from school I looked in her learning journal and saw that she got a smiley face and a tick from her teacher for the drawing she did of her hair on the floor at the hairdressers.

the whole page
the drawing of her hair on the floor
the smiley face and tick
Today Evie goes in abit earlier so she can eat a packed lunch :)

Wednesday 14 September 2016

simianus non gratia

Yesterday (apart from crying when she woke up) Evie was quite happy to go to school (because Sidney went with her),

After she had her lunch we were getting ready, she suddenly said that she wanted to get Sidney, so I told her that Mr F might not let her take him in again, and she said that he would :)

We got upto school and the EYFS gate was already open so we stood outside of the classroom and the teacher then welcomed the kids in.

So I asked Evie if she would like me to take Sidney home with me and Mr F said "if you dont mind"...

...so I gently asked her to hand Sidney back to me and she stood in the doorway probably for no more than 30 seconds and gave Sidney a kiss and then kissed her care bear charm (on her book bag) and let me take Sidney home.

I didnt get to see if she was upset or not, but she went in.

Just as I was leaving I saw a Mum walk up carrying her crying daughter :(, and I saw Mrs S sitting outside with her :)

When I came to pick Evie up I saw her teacher leading them back from the playground, I asked her what they were playing and she didnt know! :)

I have booked Evies first month of school lunches online, hopefully she will tell me then what she likes and I can do her packed lunches on the days that she doesnt like the food.

I have also signed up to parentmail and have downloaded the app :)

And have been given a whole load of diary dates - I will have to ask if the KS1 things include EYFS.

And I have also written her first book in her reading record.

Tuesday 13 September 2016

a new classmate

This week Evie has a week of afternoons.

When I told her that she had school again yesterday she said that she didnt want to go, so I asked her why and she said that it was because she doesnt like playing!  So I asked her what the difference was playing at school to playing at home and she said that she prefers playing at home.

Just as we were leaving to go to school Evie was holding her toy monkey Sidney and told me that I could bring him home with me, so I said to her "yes that will be fine"

So on the way there I asked her a few times if she wanted me to tell Mr F that she doesnt like playing and she said "yes".

We got to school and we were second in line this time :)

We werre let in and I told her teacher that she said that she doesnt like playing!  And he said that he was sure that she would change her mind once she got in the classroom.  I tried to take Sidney but she was holding onto him for dear life so the teacher told her that he was sure that Mrs S would like to see him and she poked her head around the door, and said that she remembered him from when she came to our house and asked what his name was again :)

When I picked her up she said that she enjoyed it and even had a little bag of sweeties for being good :)

I asked Evie last night if Sidney was going to go again tomorrow and she said that he was going to stay at home.

Sunday 11 September 2016

first afternoon

Evie stayed not being upset about going to big school until 5 minutes before we were due to leave...

...I asked her to go to the toilet and she started going upstairs and started crying telling me that she didnt want to go.

So I told her that she would have fun, and that there would be a story and a song and drawing like there was when she had her short session in July.

And I told her that she had to go!

So we left and she carried her book bag and I lugged everything else :)

We got there and we were first in the queue...

Finally the gate was opened at 1.15 and the parents and children were let in and then we lined up outside our classroom and the teacher was letting the kiddies in and getting them to hang up their bookbags onto their peg (complete with a photo just to make sure you get the right one) :).

I went home and then went to pick her up at hometime and she was happy to see me and said that she had a great time :)

And she was even singing on her way home :)

Im not sure if she is going to be too happy about going again tomorrow and all week (even though she still is only doing afternoons).

all ready for school

Friday 9 September 2016

check check check check check

Its Evies first afternoon at school today :)

PE bag - check

All about me box - check

raincoat - check

school uniform hanging up - check

wellies - check

Evie woke up this morning and asked what we were doing today and I told her that it was her first afternoon at big school, and she didnt start to cry (so thats good).

She is sitting at the moment going through the pictures and toys in her box :)

Thursday 8 September 2016

Mr F was off sick

Yesterday morning I got a phone call asking if I was Mrs G, so I said no then she said to me are you F's Mum and I said no Im Evies Mum, then she said "Oh, I need to speak to you anyway", its Mrs C, Mr F is unfortunately off sick so he cant do the teachers visit, but me and Mrs S can come instead. Or if you want to see Mr F then it can be rearranged as an after school visit.

As I wanted to get it over and done with I decided to let them come anyway.

I was looking out of the window around the time they were due and saw a car pull up so I opened the front door and they started waving at us :) so I knew it was going to be ok :)

I spoke with Mrs C and Evie spoke with Mrs S...

...the first thing that Mrs S wanted to do was take Evies picture and one with her holding her favoirite toy :)

I spoke with Mrs C about what Evie is able and not able to do...

I have now got to buy her a waterproof coat (as they go out and play in all weathers) I have already picked up her spare pair of wellies (that I had forgotten to pick up from pre school).

And I have been given a "learning journey" to write in about fun things that Evies does outside of school, our first entry is going to be "getting her haircut ready for school" which we are doing today:)

Wednesday 7 September 2016

teacher visit day

Evie woke up this morning and asked me "mummy, what are we doing today?"  she normally asks and I always tell her in a upbeat way what we are doing :)

So I told her tat her teacher Mr F was coming today and she started crying saying "not today" and I told her that it will be ok and on Friday we will have her first afternoon at school.

We were then chatting about all of the fun things that she had done when we went to the transition sessions.

The lunch (which she now has decided she didnt like), story time and her getting to know her new teacher session

I just hope she doesnt decide to run upstairs when he comes (perhaps I will close the stairgate) but I think she is too nosey and will want to know whats going on :)

Tuesday 6 September 2016

nightie nickers

As up until a few weeks ago Evie was dry at night, so after our holiday we decided to let Evie just sleep in her knickers and not a pull up nappy.

It was all going well with her having dry nights and even waking up to say that she needed to go.

In the last few weeks she has started not waking up when she needs to go and just sleeping through.

So yesterday I asked her how she would feel if we put a nappy on her to go to sleep in and she said she didnt want to as they were for babies and she is a big girl.

So we showed her the packet how it says "pyjama pants" then I said to her but you dont wear pyjamas so perhaps we should call them "nightie knickers" :)

So that is what she wore last night to go to sleep in :)

This morning when she woke up she had gone in the night, so at least that saves me having to do a load today...

Monday 5 September 2016

trying the sensor

Yesterday I had to do another load of washing and decided to use the timer on the new tumble dryer.

As I have had to do another load today (with big items such as a duvet cover and sheet) I am trying the "cupboard dry" setting :)

It says in the manual that its the most economical as well...

Sunday 4 September 2016

weighting for the tumble dryer

not really because it has already been delivered :)

*phone rings* "hello, Mr Murdoch...

...Im glad you like what I did with my blog post title, oh, you know just the site you want to submit it to

thank you

have a fantastic Sunday,

thanks I will too, bye bye"

So after the tumble dryer broke I looked in the Argos catalog to see what tumble dryers they had, I fund on e that looked good and even better than that it said that they could do next day delivery, so I looked online and the earliest delivery they could do (because out of the 3 tumble dryers I checked none of them were in stock) was Thursday 15th September, so I decided to try Currys instead.

So I saw a tumble dryer (that was in stock so meant it could be delivered today) and ordered it to be delivered between 1pm and 5pm and we got a phone call saying that they had some cancellations so they could deliver it at 12.30pm :)

I was really surprised that James started mowing the grass as that meant that he would be in the prime position to deal with the delivery driver :).

and now for the "weight" bit...

I weighed myself yesterday morning and I have lost 5lbs :)

Saturday 3 September 2016

Broken

Our tumble dryer Is broken...

...at least (fingers crossed while touching wood and whistling) the weather is good enough to hang the washing outside.

I have seen a nice one in Argos that has sensors in it for when the washing is dry :)

Friday 2 September 2016

Nick Jr ok but on demand not working!

So I rebooted the box, and left it for a few minutes and then turned it on and I got the banner up that the tv must be connected to broadband to get on demand tv!

At least Evie is happy again as her tv channel is back working again :)

Im just waiting for James to remind me of the combination when rebooting the sky box to get it back!

the wrong channel to go wrong

I wa upstairs and hears Evie shouting "Mummy, the tv has gone funny" so I came downstairs and saw that the tv is all pixelated.

the tv has gone funny
so I checked the other channels and they are ok, so I put it on another channel for her that she would like.

She then asked to watch Team Umizoomi so I put it on for her and that was pixelated too, so I checked other recordings that werent on the offending channel and they are ok.

Now that the box has stopped recording Coach Trip: Road to Ibiza, I am going to reboot the box to see if that clears the problem.

see the next post for details :)

Thursday 1 September 2016

labelling up

As Evie has her first afternoon at school next Friday, I thought that I had better start labelling up her clothes...

...the stuff bought from the school shops have labels on them :)

school dress label for writing on

some are big and some are small

We are supposed to label everything...

...so how do you label socks?

Sunday 28 August 2016

substitute

When Im flagging in the afternoon I tend to go for something chocolatty (like a mars bar or snickers bar).

So now that I am on a diet I have had to have something different...

so I have been eating 2 apricots instead at 37 calories as opposed to 177 (mars bar) or 211 (snickers bar)!

I tried having half a mars bar the other day (before deciding the apricots would be better) but ended up eating the whole thing.

They get me through but in all honesty I would still go for the chocolate everytime :)

Friday 26 August 2016

why didnt I think of this 2 years ago?

When we go into town Evies choice of drink is always hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, she always eats the whipped cream and sometimes drinks the drink.

Yesterday we were in town and Evie wanted her usual drink so I got her a mocha babyccino with whipped cream (that way I only have to pay for the cream).

So Evie ate the cream and had her lunch, I went for an iced skinny latte (as it was such a warm day).

So after we had finished I asked Evie if she wanted anymore of her drink (and she said "no thank you") so I poured it into my cup and she immediately started drinking it :)

So on our way home we kept on stopping so she could have another sip :)

drinking her drink her way

So next time we are in town (tomorrow) I will make sure (depending on what Im having) that I also ask for a plastic cup with a lid :)

Thursday 25 August 2016

its getting close

I was just looking on my smartphone and saw on my calendar widget that the teachers home visit is only in a couple of weeks!



Tuesday 23 August 2016

buying the weather

Quite a few weeks ago on the Film Review podcast Simon Mayo was saying about  a podcast that he listened to.

So I added it to my memory bank and looked to download the episodes the next day.

The podcast is a show on a community radio station in a city in the desert where every conspiracy theory is true :)

A segment in the show is the weather and a song is played.

The song I heard last night was Evelyn by Kim Tillman & Silent Films (I actually found it cheaper on I Tunes).

I really liked the song and not just because of the name (but it did help to clinch the deal) :)

Sunday 21 August 2016

target set

Following my shock (ok truth be known not so much of a shock) weight gain I have set myself a target of 4 stone that I would like to lose (I will make do with 3 and a half stone) and would still be chuffed to lose a stone and a half to be at less than I was when I had my hernia operation.

Yesterday while doing our food shop I made sure that I got myself some lowish calorie desserts and something to satisfy my chocolate fix.

I have now set up my food diary (and I can get to it on my smartphone too) and it shows on there my starting weight, the goal that I want to lose and my % towards it :).

With Evie now its not so easy to go out for long walks especially when James is at work or out doing his Ingress stuff.

Saturday 20 August 2016

Couldve been

Better or worse.

I weighed myself this morning (I was hoping to do it before I ate my breakfast) but couldn't get to the weighing machine.

When we do our food shopping I will make sure that I don't buy any yummy bits that I usually snack on.

Thursday 18 August 2016

back to the food diary

For the past few days I have been looking for a gillet...

I looked in Primark and found one but didnt like the zip, then yesterday I had an e-mail from Sainsburys saying that they have 25% off clothing so as we were going in there for our midweek top up I had a look in there.

I found this one...

...I tried on the size that I thought I was and I couldnt get it on, so I tried the next size up and it fitted and did up but was very tight, so I ended up getting the next size up (and the largest size they do in store) :(

So to make myself feel better I bought a huge bread and butter pudding (which I had a quarter of last night - and didnt even bother heating it up) and a four pack of mars bars and snickers bars (which I havent opened yet).

I am going to weigh myself on Saturday just to see what I am looking at...

Wednesday 17 August 2016

good vs bad

Yesterday me & Evie went into town and we got both good and bad customer service...

the bad was in Tesco of all places.

I had to take back a pair of trainers that we had bought for Evie 6 weeks ago as the top of the trainer was starting to wear away...

...the woman at customer services asked me if I had a receipt (I didnt) and she said that without proof of purchase Evie could have worn the shoes for the past 2 years and that is why they are worn out!

Apart from not being dishonest like that, surely when she put the code into the it would say that the product hadnt been available for 18 months, and Evies feet grow every 6 months so she wouldnt be wearing the same pair for 2 years.

I bought her some nice frozen ones and some frozen slippers too that she wanted :).

And the good was from Gems when we bought her tap dancing shoes.

The nice lady fitted Evies shoes and even recommended going up half a size (which it says on the website now as they come up small) and we even got a 10% discount because of the dance school she goes to :).

Monday 15 August 2016

not for proper shoes

Today we are going to go into town to get Evies feet measured.

As she has already got some shoes for school we dont need to buy any and the only other thing she wants to wear are either her trainers or crocs and they are both size 8 (which is the next half size up anyway).

If her feet have grown then we will have to get her some new tap dancing shoes as long as we get the nice lady or man rather than the woman who couldnt be bothered!

I have explained to Evie already that we wont be buying new shoes today whether her feet have grown or not so we will have to see.

Sunday 14 August 2016

Wednesday and Thursday

On Wednesday me & Evie went to Southend with James Mum & Dad

Evie with the sandcastles she made with her granddad
On Thursday I had my (horrible) appointment so we went into town early to have a treat

Evie sipping her chocolate milkshake
Evie pulling her humpy face
mummys treat
The appointment itself went well and I should get the results back in a month

Thursday 11 August 2016

a pre appointment treat

When me & Evie were in town on Monday we were looking in the window of Patisserie Valerie which has recently opened in Debenhams, we were looking at the cakes in the window and Evie said that she would like to try the strawberry one (as she LOVES strawberries).

So today after we have had our lunch we will go into town and have a pre (horrible) appointment treat.

I already know what I am going to go for :)

and yes it will be chocolatty.

Wednesday 10 August 2016

From the bathroom

I noticed the other day on the sky+ app that you can view the planner too (showing what programmes have been recorded) as well as adding programmes to it.

So while Evie was watching something I tried to watch something on the planner on my phone but all it did was play the programme on the main TV - oh well.

So this morning I was in the bathroom and Evie was downstairs and she shouted up that she wanted to watch something so as I had my phone with me I was able to put her programme on for her :)

Sunday 7 August 2016

Chelmsford Chocolat

On Friday me & Evie were in town and we were walking in a different direction as I wanted to look at the new restaurants in the restaurant quarter...

I was walking past the new John Lewis development and saw that Hotel Chocolat will be opening in Chelmsford so I just looked at their careers page and the only job in Chelmsford on offer is for a shop manager:(

I shall keep checking back...

...you may never know :)

Thursday 4 August 2016

booking appointments

When we came back from holiday I had a couple of reminders in the post...

...one saying that my horrible nurses visit needs to be done (the thing that is done is horrible not the nurse (she is nice) ;o)).

And dental checkups for me & Evie...

...so this morning I booked them up and they are both next week.

The nurses one will be late in the afternoon meaning that James can take Evie home or they can have a drink somewhere and I come and meet them after.

I just have to start naming all of Evies uniform now (we have a laundry pen so I may use that on some of the bits) and iron in the others.