I've been on eBay to order some signs for the new house.
Living amidst the business (boarding kennels) is going to stress me out big time as you have NO privacy. When we arrived this morning a customer had just left their Land Rover part blocking the main road through, so we couldn't get past and had to park at the back of the car park. It was laziness as there were other spaces in the car park just further away. We had a legitimate reason for needing to be close to the house as Laura was in the car. I went to complain to the dog trainer as it was one of her clients. I know they are customers but they are going to have to learn some manners or I will put a sticker on their windscreen!!
So I have bought 3 signs:
Private Property - No access ... this is for on the house to stop nosey people thinking it's access all areas!!!
Private - No Parking ... for my parking space at the rear of the house (Jim thinks people will ignore this though and we may well have to get those posts that can retract into the ground).
Disabled access required at all times ... this is also for the parking spaces as there are two of them. I need one for the school bus.
I also bought a house name sign in slate. I've decided to name the house "Orchard House". I felt it appropriate given it and the business have the same postal address, plus it sounds grand and I've always wanted to live in a house with a name!!!!!! (Snob)
Saturday, 28 February 2009
A break
I've just booked a break in Norfolk (Burnham Market). It's the Wed-Sat after my birthday so only a couple of weeks away. We both need a break before we move and Laura is already booked into the hospice for those nights, so we really needed to take advantage of that.
Usually when we go to Norfolk we stay at the Lifeboat at Thornham, but we've decided to go for a cottage for a change. We've not stayed at Burnham Market before although have visited a few times. It's rather a yuppie area, Chelsea by the sea! The cottage looks nice and is close to the centre with shops and pubs so that will be handy! It will be nice to have a bit more space than you get in a hotel room. We won't cook though as there are lots of good pubs for eating out.
Laura was coughing a lot again last night but is fine during the day. I have cough medicine for her but am not sure if it needs to be swallowed to be effective. She won't swallow it and so it would have to go down her g-tube but that seems like it would bypass the area needed (but maybe I am wrong!).
We went up to the kennels with Laura this morning. She stayed in the car and was happy enough although got impatient to leave after 20 minutes!! The kitchen is taking shape. The back window is in now the doors have been bricked up. French windows waiting to go in at the front on Monday. Bathroom has had a first fix of all the appliances (loo etc!!) and the dado rails etc have been stripped off ready for tiling to start sometimes soon. The Rhinofloor is in at Potters so that's good and actually I should ring them to let them know it can't be laid yet. I need to get a Private sign for the side door as one nosey customer was making towards going into the house for a look around!! I had to get out the car and redirect him!! He knew the Reception had moved so was just being nosey!
Usually when we go to Norfolk we stay at the Lifeboat at Thornham, but we've decided to go for a cottage for a change. We've not stayed at Burnham Market before although have visited a few times. It's rather a yuppie area, Chelsea by the sea! The cottage looks nice and is close to the centre with shops and pubs so that will be handy! It will be nice to have a bit more space than you get in a hotel room. We won't cook though as there are lots of good pubs for eating out.
Laura was coughing a lot again last night but is fine during the day. I have cough medicine for her but am not sure if it needs to be swallowed to be effective. She won't swallow it and so it would have to go down her g-tube but that seems like it would bypass the area needed (but maybe I am wrong!).
We went up to the kennels with Laura this morning. She stayed in the car and was happy enough although got impatient to leave after 20 minutes!! The kitchen is taking shape. The back window is in now the doors have been bricked up. French windows waiting to go in at the front on Monday. Bathroom has had a first fix of all the appliances (loo etc!!) and the dado rails etc have been stripped off ready for tiling to start sometimes soon. The Rhinofloor is in at Potters so that's good and actually I should ring them to let them know it can't be laid yet. I need to get a Private sign for the side door as one nosey customer was making towards going into the house for a look around!! I had to get out the car and redirect him!! He knew the Reception had moved so was just being nosey!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Unwell
Laura looked rather dark under her eyes last night and was a little subdued. She was coughing on and off through the night and has woken with bags under her eyes. She's brighter though and so has gone to school but hopefully won't go downhill during the day.
David Cameron's son died from a seizure yesterday which brought it home to parents like me. I didn't actually hear the news till later in the day as I was at a Parents' meeting at Rainbows for most of the day. Coincidentally we had a talk at Rainbows from the Family Liaison worker who leads on Bereavement. We also heard about the new extension to the hospice which looks and sounds fabulous.
I've started clearing out some paperwork from the study and have filled about 4 recycling bags so far and still have heaps more to do. The study/office at the new house is a little smaller and so we really do need to lose some of our clutter. Actually Mick has archived most of his half so it's mainly my junk!! Some of mine dates back to teacher training 13 years ago so that is going first as it is very outdated now anyway. Teachers are big on hoarding!!! I'm not going to ditch all my stuff, just old paperwork that is outdated.
David Cameron's son died from a seizure yesterday which brought it home to parents like me. I didn't actually hear the news till later in the day as I was at a Parents' meeting at Rainbows for most of the day. Coincidentally we had a talk at Rainbows from the Family Liaison worker who leads on Bereavement. We also heard about the new extension to the hospice which looks and sounds fabulous.
I've started clearing out some paperwork from the study and have filled about 4 recycling bags so far and still have heaps more to do. The study/office at the new house is a little smaller and so we really do need to lose some of our clutter. Actually Mick has archived most of his half so it's mainly my junk!! Some of mine dates back to teacher training 13 years ago so that is going first as it is very outdated now anyway. Teachers are big on hoarding!!! I'm not going to ditch all my stuff, just old paperwork that is outdated.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
The new house
The new house is starting to take shape.
I went up on Thursday and the bricklayer was there bricking in two side windows in the new kitchen/diner. Apparently the doorway from the utility to the existing kitchen has been bricked up today and a new doorway made from the new kitchen to the utility room. work starts on Laura's bathroom on Monday. So it's starting to take shape. I really ought to start taking Laura for drives up there so it's not a total shock when we move in there!
We're planning on moving in on 18th April or thereabouts. Laura is at Glenfield that weekend so that's convenient. The existing occupiers are due to move out by 1st April. At the moment they can't move to their new place as the existing occupiers there have nowhere to go, so it looks like they will have to rent. We discussed this as a possibility a few months ago (thank goodness) but didn't expect it to be a reality. Hopefully this won't become a problem for us.
I went up on Thursday and the bricklayer was there bricking in two side windows in the new kitchen/diner. Apparently the doorway from the utility to the existing kitchen has been bricked up today and a new doorway made from the new kitchen to the utility room. work starts on Laura's bathroom on Monday. So it's starting to take shape. I really ought to start taking Laura for drives up there so it's not a total shock when we move in there!
We're planning on moving in on 18th April or thereabouts. Laura is at Glenfield that weekend so that's convenient. The existing occupiers are due to move out by 1st April. At the moment they can't move to their new place as the existing occupiers there have nowhere to go, so it looks like they will have to rent. We discussed this as a possibility a few months ago (thank goodness) but didn't expect it to be a reality. Hopefully this won't become a problem for us.
Teeth
I was brushing Laura's teeth when one came out, but unfortunately she swallowed it! This is the 9th baby tooth she's lost and the first in about 2 years.
She's pretty early losing her teeth, as was Alex. The one below obviously pushed it out as it is visible already. It's a shame she is so early getting her adult teeth as she is so small sized and has a tiny mouth so they are a little crowded.
She's pretty early losing her teeth, as was Alex. The one below obviously pushed it out as it is visible already. It's a shame she is so early getting her adult teeth as she is so small sized and has a tiny mouth so they are a little crowded.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Busy morning
A busy morning this morning! My new leather sofas for the back room arrived. They were so well packaged it took me a couple of hours to get them unwrapped! They look very good although are really for the new house and will fit better in the downstairs lounge which is slightly bigger. They are very comfy. I freecycled one of the old sofas to a woman and her son in law. She told me her daughter ran off with the furniture leaving her son in law with nothing to sit on! Mick is very skeptical everytime a freecycler comes out with a sob story but really I just wanted rid of it to whoever could pick up on the day.
Then the wheelchair repair people came out to replace a missing bolt from one of the footplates. Kind chap left me a spare too which is handy to have.
I freecycled a load of Laura's toys too. We won't have a playroom as such at the new house so I am trying to scale down her toys. It's tricky as she has lots she plays with but others she mostly ignores but may play with in the future. I think it's time to be ruthless as we really won't have much storage room in the house.
It's snowed again this evening, not forecast much in advance so rather a surprise. Hopefully rain is following on and will wash it all away by the morning. I'm going into school tomorrow morning for some meetings and then out to lunch with friends, so don't want to be stuck at home Laura-sitting again!
Then the wheelchair repair people came out to replace a missing bolt from one of the footplates. Kind chap left me a spare too which is handy to have.
I freecycled a load of Laura's toys too. We won't have a playroom as such at the new house so I am trying to scale down her toys. It's tricky as she has lots she plays with but others she mostly ignores but may play with in the future. I think it's time to be ruthless as we really won't have much storage room in the house.
It's snowed again this evening, not forecast much in advance so rather a surprise. Hopefully rain is following on and will wash it all away by the morning. I'm going into school tomorrow morning for some meetings and then out to lunch with friends, so don't want to be stuck at home Laura-sitting again!
Monday, 9 February 2009
Exciting news!
I got an email from Charlotte (Dravet) today. She invited me to attend a Dravet conference in Italy in October. Wow I am so thrilled and proud to be invited. It's all expenses paid too!
Friday, 6 February 2009
Snow snow go away!!
We've had a lot of snow this week, by "a lot" I mean a lot for SN school transport to have a problem, but certainly not a lot by Canadian standards!!
So SN transport was off Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week, and probably would have been today if I hadn't kicked up a stink with the Leader of the County Council! He's a very nice man, apart from when he went on the news on Tuesday and blamed school closures on lazy teachers and said he had written to Heads to tell them to dock teachers pay if they didn't make "reasonable efforts" to get to work. That was like a red rag to a bull for me, so I got on the internet, found his email address and sent him an angry email telling him that this teacher would have gone into work if his council hadn't cancelled all SN transport!!! The official reply yesterday (after a number of personal emails from him that were very supportive) was along the lines of 'elf and safety' with icy roads blah blah blah. To which I replied, hang about, the roads are too dangerous for SN transport but OK for teachers to use!!??!!! But that was a side issue by this point as I had realised that many of the mainstream schools made an effort to open but all special schools automatically shut when SN transport was cancelled. My school was open foru days and on the fifth staff were still expected in by 9.30 but of course I couldn't go as Laura was off.
There shouldn't automatically be a correlation between SN transport being cancelled and special schools being closed, as some parents may live in accessible parts of the area and be able to take their SN child to school (as I would have done on Tuesday at least). Certainly there isn't a correlation in other parts of the country. He is investigating that one for me and providing some statistics, such as what percentage of SN schools were shut each day (my guess after listening to the lists on radio Leicester is 100%!!!) and how many special schools were open to pupils if transport was cancellled (definitely think this was 0%). Meanwhile I have rung Laura's school and asked what their school policy - they're getting back to me shortly.
So SN transport was off Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week, and probably would have been today if I hadn't kicked up a stink with the Leader of the County Council! He's a very nice man, apart from when he went on the news on Tuesday and blamed school closures on lazy teachers and said he had written to Heads to tell them to dock teachers pay if they didn't make "reasonable efforts" to get to work. That was like a red rag to a bull for me, so I got on the internet, found his email address and sent him an angry email telling him that this teacher would have gone into work if his council hadn't cancelled all SN transport!!! The official reply yesterday (after a number of personal emails from him that were very supportive) was along the lines of 'elf and safety' with icy roads blah blah blah. To which I replied, hang about, the roads are too dangerous for SN transport but OK for teachers to use!!??!!! But that was a side issue by this point as I had realised that many of the mainstream schools made an effort to open but all special schools automatically shut when SN transport was cancelled. My school was open foru days and on the fifth staff were still expected in by 9.30 but of course I couldn't go as Laura was off.
There shouldn't automatically be a correlation between SN transport being cancelled and special schools being closed, as some parents may live in accessible parts of the area and be able to take their SN child to school (as I would have done on Tuesday at least). Certainly there isn't a correlation in other parts of the country. He is investigating that one for me and providing some statistics, such as what percentage of SN schools were shut each day (my guess after listening to the lists on radio Leicester is 100%!!!) and how many special schools were open to pupils if transport was cancellled (definitely think this was 0%). Meanwhile I have rung Laura's school and asked what their school policy - they're getting back to me shortly.
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