Halloween Party 2012

Looks like this is going to be a yearly event.  People seem to just expect it of us.  This year we even re-introduced the fireworks element!!

Taking note of previous parties, see: http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/happy-halloween.html and http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/pirate-party.html we decided to stick to the usual Halloween food - hot dogs and mushy peas with mint sauce.  Cobbs brought some chilli and more hot dogs, nana brought some pumpkin soup and there was plenty of cakes and crisps brought as well!  I didn't buy many sweets this year as I was conscious of Jamie's teeth and him not really liking them, but it seems he may be in the minority, as the morning after there were sweet wrappers (and cheese puffs) everywhere.  Lots of paper plates and cups made the washing up easier and I used Jamie's plastic pirate tablecloth to reduce the mess.

Prior to the party we had to make sure the garden was child friendly and spent last weekend sorting out the garden, the shed and the garage; putting away a lot of the summer items, cleaning all Jamie's outdoor toys and generally clearing out and away.  Daddy bought some new black wall units for the garage so that he could get most things off the floor and away.  Then he started on the transformation....

I did go in during the week and suggest it might need toning down for the 3 year olds, but he still managed to scare them.  Even Jamie refused to go in at first!  Forgot to use the bubble machine and there has been a request for a new smoke machine as it was felt this would have added to the spooky atmosphere, but no one said it didn't feel like Halloween!!

The house was tame by comparison with lots of Halloween balloons and orange and black tinsel as well as my new pumpkin lights and the 'Trick or Treat' sign we bought at Butlins a few weeks ago!  Kerry and the girls brought a carved pumpkin which we had in the garden.  I bought a fantastic 3 CD Halloween collection for the party and we had one disc playing in the dining room and one on in the garage.

I did (once again) buy a multi pack of toilet rolls to play the 'mummy' game but the children seemed to organise themselves quite happily on Jamie's park and in Jamie's room.  For those that braved daddy's garage there was some dancing and glow sticks!  I had printed off some Halloween pictures for them to colour in if bored, but these did not get used until Sunday morning.

We had 23 people attend altogether; 13 adults and 10 children.  Glad to say most of them came in fancy dress!!  Again, it took ages for some of the adults to get ready; what with all their make up.  Poor old Jamie got told off after I found he had scribbled felt pen over his face.  But he was only copying daddy, uncle Dean and auntie Chrissie.

We weren't going to have fireworks but after someone suggested it we did buy a few, as well as some sparklers - which everyone loved!!   Jack started a fire; which was well needed with some of daddy's rubbish from the garden, but it still wasn't enough to keep us all warm once the sun had gone down.  Seeing as there had been snow on the garden first thing however, it could have been a lot colder!  But the weather was rather cold and not many made it to the end of the fireworks.  The little ones were inside watching Peppa Pig soon after the sparklers. 

Thank god we turned the clocks back the next day.  Lucy and Jamie were still up early but at least we had an extra hour to clean up!  And then we all relaxed watching Carry On Screaming.

Daddy has already started planning next years party....

Jamie hasn't realised the clocks have changed....

Still up at the crack of dawn - 5.45am this morning!

Primary School Decision Changed??

Oh no, still confused..... 

I am honestly having sleepless nights.  I have been waking in the night with thoughts of schools and Jamie's little face next to mine (but that's because he is still in our bed!)

For a couple of days following my last entry regarding our school decision http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/primary-school-decision-made.html  I was happy.  Then daddy started to put doubts into my mind.....

Consequently, we have decided to go back to the second (bigger) school on the list and have booked an appointment to take Jamie around next Tuesday.  I went out with a friend this week whose two children already go there and I was impressed at what she had to say.  I also know that she thought long and hard about where she was going to send them and visited more schools that we have so far.  And I keep going back to the 'feeling' I had from that school on the open evening.....

Perhaps the small, friendly school is too small and could get unfriendly very quickly.  The more I think about the parents that were helping out that day, the more I wonder whether we would really fit in and if we don't what happens then?  A few people have mentioned to me that they thought the school was a bit 'snobby' and one parent with her children already there said it could be a bit 'clicky'.

I also wonder that with a small school, Jamie could end up being singled out for something and having that tag all the way through school.....

Also, is it good that two (small) year groups are taught together, with a total of only 5 classes in the whole school.   At least at the bigger school if classes are merged it is because of ability rather than necessity! 

And don't get me started on the Ofsted results.  Yes, I have checked them for all the local schools so I do know how they all compare with each other.  It's just another factor to get confused about.  Just going for a long lie down in a dark room.

Let it be noted...

.......that at 12:48pm on Wednesday 24th October 2012, Jamie Simpson's bedroom was clean and tidy with everything in its place!

Taking bets on how long it will last...

Monster Toddler......

.......and its not even Halloween!

What a day!!  Jamie has been carrying around his Ben and Holly party invitation ever since Sophie sent it to him.  When I announced to him this morning that today was the day of the party he was really excited.  Mummy was looking forward to it as well, as she had not seen Sophie's mum and dad for ages and there was lots to catch up on!!

However, after loading the car with bags and presents and mummies camera, and driving the 20 minutes to the sports centre; when we got there, Jamie refused to stay.   He just walked into the gymnasium where it was being held and then ran out.

I tried a number of times to get him to go back in.  Carrying him, dragging him, being nice, being nasty, but to no avail.  The tears were streaming down his face and he truly was distraught.  We went back to sit in the car and calm down, but even then I could not get him to go back into the party.  So we went home.

When me and daddy asked him why he wouldn't stay, he said it was "Too loud".  Later on he said it was "not a pirate bouncy castle".  Good job we have got that one for the Christmas party!!

Primary School Decision Made?

Confused and exhausted, but I think we have made our decision about which school we are going to apply to for Jamie to start next September.  

We saw the (final) two schools today on our list, and were certainly impressed with the one this morning.  It had a lot in common with the larger of the two we saw last week - both had very similar facilities and set up -  but discussions as we left seemed to favour that one rather than this.  This mornings school just seemed a bit more chaotic and it was the 'feeling' from the one last week that had stayed with me!

This afternoon and we visited the school that initially - pre-visits - that we had favoured.  This is the smallest of the schools and although not the nearest to us, it is the nearest to Nana.  Whereas we have seen two schools with 3 classes of 30 in each year, this one has only 5 classes in the whole school.  This means smaller class sizes with often two year groups in the same class.

Do we choose a large school with fantastic facilities where Jamie might be 'drowned' amongst the other children, or a small school with a family feel that might actually feel oppressive as there would be no hiding amongst the other children?   I do like the idea of everyone knowing everyone else, and I also liked the idea that the school have a series of 'induction' evenings for the children prior to their start.  This means Jamie will know names and faces before he starts.

What was weird was that mummy knew a lot of faces this afternoon.  A couple of the teachers / teaching assistants go to the same Zumba class as me, and one of the 'Friends of School' said she recognised me.  The headmaster was at the same secondary school as me - although a few years older! 

Numbers

Since starting pre-school, going on holiday with Lucy, and thinking about Jamie starting 'real' school this time next year, I have begun to wonder about Jamie's intellectual development.  I admit to letting him watch too much TV and so decided this week to try to limit TV and increase his reading.

This didn't last very long as a DVD I had bought him of Superted (remember him?) arrived and then we ended up borrowing another DVD of Dora's Halloween from the library (well we do need to get in the mood for the party!)

We stayed quite a while at the library on Monday and I was able to pick up a number of books relating to numbers and the alphabet (Ladybird First Steps abc and First Picture Dictionary).  Daddy has been teaching Jamie the letter J but any further than that and we are struggling. 

We are however, having better luck with the numbers.  A few months ago I bought a BBC magazine for Jamie and it came with a set of 'NumberJacks'.  Jamie enjoys playing with these and he has started to recognise what they represent.   He even asked to watch NumberJacks yesterday but unfortunately it is not on the i-player. I have just however, discovered they have their own website at:  www.numberjacks.co.uk/kids/ 

Jamie still has a tendency to just count very quickly once he is past 4 and then all numbers seem to merge into each other.  I think this is just a lack of concentration and possibly being lazy.  However, after only a day or two with the new book - Making Numbers: A Very First Counting Book, published by Andromeda - I do believe the numbers are beginning to make sense to him. 

"Don't want a new nursery mummy"

This morning we had a few tears prior to Nursery as Jamie thought that we were taking him to a different nursery without his friends. I tried to explain that he would not be changing schools until he was much bigger, but he still seemsed confused.   I don't think we will take him on another school tour.

Two down....

....two to go!

Yesterday Daddy and I visited two of the local schools that Jamie could attend when he starts school this time next year.  The first school we visited was the only school of the four we have chosen to visit that doesn't have an open day, so we had arranged a tour with the headmistress.  As Jamie was not in nursery we took him with us. 

This school was the primary school I attended throughout my junior years.  It is also the school that 'the girls' go / went to.  Had much changed in 30ish years?  It has been extended and did look very different as classrooms have changed, the library has moved, and there is no longer a dedicated canteen.  That is now the room where Jamie would start next year.   What did I think?  Wasn't quite sure at the time, but Daddy thought it looked 'scruffy'.

However, a couple of hours later and Nana arrived to look after Jamie for just over half an hour while we visited another school. This time as part of an open evening.  This school certainly helped us make up our minds about the first!  There was no comparison.  I was very impressed with the way the headmistress greeted us all individually (she recognised me from Park Nursery) and we were shown around by one of the year 6 pupils.  All the children we met seemed very well behaved and happy, and the teachers also seemed happy.  I was really impressed with what I saw in the ICT suite and the teacher who we spoke to there.

This school is the school that Jamie's cousin currently attends as well as a few other friends children.  They all seem to love it and it has done wonders with Alannah!

We have two more open days next Wednesday.  After which we will need to make a decision.....

I have seen the future....

....and I don't like it!

Just taken Jamie for his first pre-school session that is not included in one of his nursery days.

I was a little bit early and ended up queueing outside the Pre-School room with all the other mothers (and fathers).

I felt quite intimidated and I could see Jamie didn't like all the people around him.

Is this what it is going to be like at the school gates next year?

I don't think I like it.

First Joke

Last night, while I was having a bath, Jamie came in and asked:

Why was the chicken on the road?

He was looking for his house!  came the reply.

I think that was his first attempt at a joke!!

Butlins!!!

Just come back from a fantastic week at Skegness Butlins.  Jamie and Lucy had a wonderful week.  The grown ups? Well, its not about us anymore is it? We were shattered and my back may never recover from the state of the beds!!  

The swimming pool (Splash Waterworld) was full of excitement.  Jamie took a while to get used to it, but loved the crocodile and the turtle in the small wave pool.  Mummy even went on the big slides!!  Jamie and Lucy loved BobsVille as we called it with the Bob the Builder rides, the fairground, the amusements and their first time Bowling (Daddy still very upset as Jamie beat him!)  We had a couple of trips into Skegness and went to the Seal Sanctuary which they both loved. 

 

The only drawback with Butlins is the amount of large characters that wander around - people dressed up.  The first time I saw Billy Bear, I did not have time to turn around before Jamie was out of the Skyline Pavilion and into the arms of a RedCoat.   'Billy Bear?' she said.  And one breakfast was nearly ruined after Jamie came face to face with the Butlins big green dinosaur.  This made it difficult to watch a lot of the shows.  Jamie didn't know what to make of a life sized Fireman Sam and Norman.  I have spoken to a few people about Jamie's 'phobia' and it seems it is not uncommon.  However, I have yet to find a girl with the same phobia.  Lucy loved all the shows and on the last night we did get Jamie to sit down at the back and watch the Halloween Spooktacular.  He was drawn in by the music and even announced This is ABBA during Mummy, Mummy, Mummy.

 

The highlight for Jamie I think was seeing I Can Cook Katy in the flesh.  She did two shows while we were there and we were lucky enough to get tickets.  When we arrived we ended up sitting towards the back but still had a good view.  Both Jamie and Lucy wanted to go on the stage with her but I think both were too young.  (It was amazing how many older children were there seeing as how we went during the school term!).  It was a good job Jamie didn't go on the stage as there was another character - SALT - which seemed to frighten him with her appearance! 

 

Will we do it again?  Let wait and see....  The price was very good as Dean got 40% off the brochure price.  So, for what we got it was great. And did I mention Mummy and Auntie Chrissie had a lovely morning in the Spa?   We just need to do something about Jamie's 'phobia'.