Activities

Have I ever blogged about my kids and their after school activities? I don't think so, or not for a long time.


Eldest went to a myriad of activities when she was little. Around the time she was in nursery and reception she tried ballet, disco, swimming, gymnastics and rainbows.

Disco was the only one of these things that was ok, she went with my friend and her son for a while. Ballet was an absolute disaster. She rocked under a chair in the corner, wouldn't even come out and sit on my knee, and was distraught if spoken to.

Swimming went ok but not brilliant. She hated the water. She was ok in the learner pool but wouldn't do anything resembling much swimming, kept her head well out and wouldn't lift her feet up. Rainbows likewise was ok but she didn't enjoy it and kept asking to leave so after a while I let her.

Gymnastics was the worst. She got so upset at that one she actually ended up covered ina rash from head to toe! No idea what that was, but I took her out thinking she was ill, only to find the rash disappeared immediately. Ho hum.

We pretty much gave up on it all apart from dipping in and out of swimming, if you'll pardon the pun. Then along came the boy.

When the boy got to about that sort of age it was, if anything, worse. He tried Karate but kept running out of the door, I kept having to catch him and take him back in. It was on a main road so I wasn't impressed. Plus Mrs Smug Mam Superbitch, my Arch Nemesis from up the road, happened to be dropping her two off just as he was clinging to my legs. Oh joy. I can still remember the sneer on her face.

The same happened at a summer sports day. I actually had to ring the people inside informing him that he was no longer under their care, he had turned up at my car just as I was leaving! At least by then eldest was staying at that, a bit happier because the same boy she'd swam with was there. Both big kids still swam on and off, they seemed to reasonably join in though neither could swim at all yet.

Boys Brigade was the worst with Son. He didn't want to go after a couple of tries but we made the foolish decision to try to encourage him. He walked in the next week, stormed up to some display they had at the front, and kicked the whole thing over!! He was six at the time, about to leave year two. Oh my goodness me. It was about a year after that when we pulled him out of school, the girls too. It was more about him that them.

We never tried anything again for years, he's only just started scouts now at ten. He also goes to a church group now which is unbelievable amounts of socialising for a child of ours! He doesn't like the Sunday school at our new church, prefers to stay in the service, and is happy to listen to the sermon. We know better than to force him. He learned how to swim evenutally, we paid for a one off block of four private lessons when he just wasn't taking his last toe off the bottom and that cracked it.

Eldest eventually started Brownies at age eight, bit later than the others, and settled right up until we moved to Yorkshire when she didn't like her new Guides. She swam after a lot of lessons over the years. She goes into Sunday school and does art on Mondays with a couple of other home educated kids. We all go to a craft group together about once a month. It's very small which suits them.

Second daughter, however, went the other way. She was happy to go to dancing when she was little, I wouldn't've considered it but her little friend was going. She didn't like it when she got a bit older and they started talking about exams all the time. But she's less keen now if anything. She hated brownies. We managed to persuade her to try Sunday school because she hates sermons and fidgets in church, but it's been a struggle. The fact that they told her there'd be maltesers worked this week! She'll only go to the midweek Church group if her brother is going too. That's at the church we used to go to. A kind lady drives past on her way home and offers to drop them back, but that's the end of the world for dd2. She likes us to pick her up.

At swimming she wouldn't even get in the water. Now that the big two can swim, and she can reach the bottom comfortably, I just take them myself. We go most weeks with a lovely Portuguese family in Leeds. I'll reassess in a couple of years but actually she can now do a metre or so with no floatation aids so I think she'll get there that way.

I don't know what I've done to create such kids! Thankfully the real dramatics were years ago, these days we have a bit of reluctance but we don't push it.

Fourth child is now four. She saw some ballet on TV the other day. The following conversation then took place.

'Can I do ballet?' (twirling about the kitchen.)

'Maybe. There's a different type of dancing in the village if you'd like to give it a try.'

'No Mammy! You don't understand. I don't want to go to anything. I want to watch it and play it at home! I'm a stay at home person!'

'That's fine.'

Maybe I've finally gained some wisdom! It's only taken twelve years.

Money/car woes

Ok, so last time I posted I had money safely in two savings accounts, and a car with a light on the dash that I was ignoring - who needs traction control anyway? Car was also a bit sluggish and refusing to restart when still warm the first time. I was happily burying my head in the sand. Couldn't afford to use it much anyway with diesel at £1.30 a litre.

Anyway, now I have virtually nothing in savings and a car that's got lots of new bits in it. A new turbo, traction control fixed because after all if the kids died because I skidded would I forgive myself easily? Plus it's the same warning light for when the ABS goes and we wouldn't know if it was already on.

And now no holiday this year. Or nice things at all. We've overspent as well, which has become a bigger issue with the car bill. Need to seriously just stop. So ironically still can't buy much diesel! Fixed up car sitting, well, for now still sitting in the repair place, hubby is picking it up later, I assume nothing else went wrong!!

Bye bye New York next year. It feels as if God really doesn't want me to go there! Maybe it's just not right.

Bye bye taking the kids to France, possibly indefinitely. I wish I could switch off my itchy feet. There's a whole world out there and I've been to Milan once, Toulouse once, Paris once, Champagne, Belfast and...that's about it. But that's the decision you make when you decide to Home Educate I suppose. I could put them all in school now and from next year only two of the four would need after school club fees which is a huge milestone, before now school and working would cost more than home educating.

We've really been enjoying our new church. If we can afford the diesel to go the six miles it would be nice to continue there at least for now. So far it seems more accepting, a divorced remarried woman was there last week, that would have been a huge no no at the other church.

Water and bread for the next year or so then. And a machine on the drive I can't afford to use much. Pah!!! Ok rant over, time to look at the positives.

We probably will manage to get into Huddersfield to church. I live in a gorgeous village and don't have to go anywhere for walks in relative countryside. Beer is very cheap in the Lidl which is just a mile away. Clothes seem to arrive at the door for the children, someone put a jacket for the youngest through the letterbox this morning! And I'm going to Glasgow to stay with a friend for £20 going and £5.50 coming back, at a push we can run to more of those sorts of trips. So I stay sane, wanderlust partially quenched. We have a beer festival right here in the village, and a folk festival a couple of miles away where hopefully, while I can't afford the proper thing I'll be able to get to the fringe stuff, I've been promised dancing in the streets!!

I have a roof over my head that's still affordable since they made us remortgage over 25 years, and I have a box of wine in the fridge. And my kids are great.

So life is good...I think! I will stay positive.