familytreehouse.co.uk

Archive for the ‘FTH’ Category

Well for us it has.. I am totally bed bound these days, and most of my day is spent trying to avoide the pain of the environment. Enviromental sensitivity is a massive problem for me, at the moment, noise, sound movement and light all effects my body and makes my body feel as if i have had a tonne of sugar, but at the same time i am exhausted and often dizzy, or even being sick, with my head in a bowl. This is how i spend most of my days. If i am lucky i may be able to post to my fb, wall, using my phone, and steve has set me an app up now so i can post to familytree house more easily.. It can also confuse me and frustrate me, as everything races around me, and its a sensory overload..

So why has today been so hectic? Well i finally fell asleep at gone half 6 this morning, having had massive sickness and body temp fluctuations in the night. My carer came and changed me this morning, and my prescription is still in the back of the pharmacy van, which has broken down.. This is essential medication! After over 12 months of asking, were finally getting medical waste bags, which means, our wheelie bin wont be full of my continence pads any more, yes i am double y incontinent due to ME . My gp took away with him a copy of ‘ voices from the shadows’ on tuesday, its an excellent video on the true impact of severe ME on human life. We got a phone call to say friends are coming to visit. I can normally only manage a short visit, and when people live so far away..its hard to ask them to visit. It really does me good when they come though, and asha loves the company.

Asha has had a tough two years, but she has coped very well, thanks to having a brilliant father, us having a few very good friends, and a home edd group who have constantly offered her support and a safe place to play. She is involved with the young carers now, and on saturday, is looking forwards to a trip to the zoo. On tuesday she starts her manderin lessons. And this friday is off to visit some friends with steve. She has played at home for a lot of the last two years, but she is happy, and although at times, weve considered school or flexi school for her, she has flatly refused such ideas.

She has recently been delving through beanos, and harry potter videos, like a child possed, luckily for us, a large second hand dealer, has kept up our trade relationship, and weve managed to get hold of old beanos at a reasonable price to satisfy her hunger! She also went through a massive myths buster obsession and was fascinated by the victorian era for a while.

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I could pretend that i had planned a break, but i didnt. The ME decided to catch up with me, amd throw me down a long long way. I’ve spent nearly four months in hospital then two years in bed. I am still very severely effected. But i am alive. And for that i am greatedul.

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A few things have happened here which to be honest, have made me feel very sad, and not like posting on Family tree house..

However now, we are moving forwards, Asha has had a LOVELY birthday with new friends at two new Home Education Groups and met up with some of her friends locally from CLAS.

We have been playing LOADS of board and card games lately, she really enjoys the RSPB bird card game, a flowers card game and an 1970′s card game called “around the world”

For her birthday we also bought her a co-operative game called “princesses” we have played it a few times, and we all enjoy it.

Yesterday we had a wet day on Anglesey with some lovely friends, and today we have been and got my wing mirror replaced.. yes it got smashed again :/

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In May we were listed in the top 100 parent blogs by http://gettingink.typepad.com/getting_ink/

I was sad to see we have fallen off the list, but not surprised, so many great blogs out there!

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We had a few problems getting our blog rings and our advert for Barefoot books to work with the last theme. Hopefully now we have it all working we will be far happier and familytreehouse can expand to take over erm…. My spare time!

Carry on enjoying the site wont you!

Vicki , Steve , and Asha !

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Well we all enjoy the effects of a newly painted house, but do you fancy the challenge of painting a light house?

BBC Penmon lighthouse on Anglesey

The Penmon Lighthouse on Anglesey seems a fair challenge, but what about Roman Rock in Simonstown, where great grandad used to work?

Roman Rock lighthouse is the only lighthouse in South Africa to stand on a rock. On account of high tides and gale-force winds, work could only be carried out 7 days a month and consequently it took 4 years to build – from 1857 to 1861.

Roman Rock lighthouse in 1910 with the lighthouse keeper and his assistant. The lighthouse keepers in 1910 were Charles H and Jeremias  B.

Great Grandad at work

pdf article on Roman Rock Light House

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Home education, de-schooling, education otherwise… There are loads of different terms used to describe those of us who educate outside the “school system” and then there is flexi schooling.

Where we live none of the shools do “flexi schooling”. But then our LEA has no information on its web site about home education either!

so what is home education? Well I have no interest in formal, 9-3 sat at a desk all day education. that isnt education for me, although there are some home edders who do that. for me home education is providing opertunity to learn, facilitating learning experiences and helping the child to develop there own cognitaive  and social skills.

Sounds good.. but in reality?  Well at the moment it is loads of play with outside toys, reading books, looking at insects and the world around us and enjoying life to the full.

And after camp, that has mainly involved sitting infront of the tv, as Asha has had something with milk in it,  and listening to the borrowers. She has listened to it as a book, a few weeks ago, listened to it as a tape this morning, and this afternoon she is watching it with daddy on T.V.

Tomorrow / later today, we may well make them a home :d

That is what I call home education.

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I have added a gallery from the CLAS camp last week. Link

I also noticed that the galleries weren’t working, preumably since the last update. They are now fixed.

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We have added a new gallery section to familytreehouse. Currently I am using it to catalogue my photoshops and to share them with the world. Soon we’ll have a load of of family and friends photos and probably loads of Asha.

The more I play about with wordpress, the more I like it.

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So I look at familytreehouse, and realise we havent written down half of what we have been doing for the last two weeks. Why? because we have been so busy, doing nothing

Granny was 65.
Daddy was 6 – well that’s what he says :d
We did painting and made cardboard animals at C.L.A.S
We made food, and cooked.
We made goats milk cheese – yummy.
We went shopping.
We sat and watched Mary Poppins.. (what a great film!)
We discussed chimney sweeps, musicals, dancing… and asha wants to return to ballet – so we shall
We have played ball, made bags out of felt, managed to jump down firemans poles unaided!!!
We have started to recognise D,B,S,M,A in capital letters and small letters. Expertly!
We have drawn pictures of flaminogoes, daffodils, puffins, grandads, and made dens and nests.
We have talked about the moon and the sun. How to make electricity, Why people need glasses, Why people live and die, what the difference is between a leaf eater bee and a bumble bee. The difference between wild and domestic animals….

We have practiced ballet, and drawing. We have made mud pies, eaten in restaurants. Tried oysters, and scallops.

Seen Oxford, Stratford, and slept at uncle andrews house. In fact all things considered, its no wonder i cant remeber what we have done this last few weeks, as all I have wanted to do is sleep, sleep sleep!

We have read books, and discussed the moon, time, our bodies, and why we have skin. We have talked about why some animals have fur (like cats) and some have a hide (like rino’s)

And to add to this medley of life, Steve has read her Jonathan Livingstone Seagull !

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Do ladybirds have teeth, and if not why not?

Why can we see the moon in the day time?

Why does it go dark at night?

How do bees make honey out of nectar and spit?

Why do some people need more sleep than others?

Why do people shout?

Why do peopls spit?

Why are flames sometimes blue?

Why do we get fog?

Why does the small hand on a clock never move when I am watching it mummy?

I am sure Steve will add to this list, but these are some of Asha’s questions for this week. If anyone fancies trying to answer them for me, all help appreciated!

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For a week or so now I havent blogged, I basically gave us as no one reads it anyway.. do they?

Anyway today someone approached me from CLAS to say it was family tree house they found the CLAS site, and that the blog was interesting… So this has spurred me on to keep on blogging.

Now two other people have added me to there Facebook accounts… the problem? I cant access mine!

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For a long time I used Textpattern as a CMS and for some blogging. After spending a couple of days messing about with Textpattern for this blog and not getting it to behave itself, I gave up and installed WP. I had used WP in the past, but had never got on with PHP and so found it very frustrating. So it was with some misgivings I installed it.

I still don’t like the layout of the Admin, I still don’t like the PHP or how complicated it is to change the style/theme. But, it has taken me 2 hours with WP to do what it had taken 2 days with TP and the TP site still didn’t work properly. I admit that the problems with TP are more to do with me than TP itself.

Perhaps in time me and WP will become friends.

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A few times I have been asked over the years, why have a web site?

I have had a few but I do feel this site is different. Why? Its a family one.

I like the idea of somewhere I can keep my ramblings as I try to put together the family tree. Where Steve and I can work on it, and as Asha grows she can find Answers, as can you!

It shall include all sorts of things.. and hopefully will become an interesting read.

First thing.

What am I currently reading?

Other than my O.U course work.. Leonardo Da Vinci, or for fun? for fun.. oh thats difficult. I am trying to find a new book, or more importantly a new author.. In the mean time, I am about to re-read the Narnia Chronicles.

Steve got me an old version of the film for Christmas on DVD, I havent watched it yet, as we did watch it over christmas anyway. But it has encouraged me to read the whole lot.

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