What have we learned from our first term?

Phew the first week back of the second term is over and here is Elf whacked out watching The Clone Wars. Let's review what we've learned during the first term shall we?

You can get nits when you are not actually at school!
Children's behaviour in general deteriorates towards the end of term, it's not just my bad parenting
After No 2 occurs, a hard reining in needs to occur - it's not all because they are tired (see photo above, day 1 of term 2 and he's watched The Clone Wars after school in its entirety) but because you have taken your eye off the ball slightly. After all, we've got them at school now, what an achievement. What? I have to continue to parent? Oh right!
School makes Christmas even more exciting - all those external influences now manifesting in ways such as "Everyone else is getting a DS" etc
You will turn up at parties where you don't know anyone
You will turn up at the next party after the one where you didn't know anyone and expect to drop'n'run, only to find all the mums you like are staying and you have a good old gossip about the school
School letters don't always get to you and you don't realise it's school photo day/mufti day/dress-like-a-pirate day etc
When the school letter says a "child-led project", it actually means mum and dad work their socks off to produce something a child could NEVER have made
Although you are happy your child is a shepherd, you were quite hoping that they'd be Mary or Jospeh, or a narrator
When you are asked to bake cakes for a coffee morning, you should actually ice them to make them pretty enough for people to buy them. In fact you should realise that a coffee morning is when you are expected to buy the cakes that have been made along with stewed tea/muddy coffee - ie you should take money!
You realise you are going to be a competitive parent if you are not careful when you hear yourself saying "Well done for going up to Red reading level. Who else went up to that level?" and then asking the teacher of the next class up "What reading level do you expect them to be on when they come up to Year 1?"
Things work the way you don't expect - like when you are called into the school because your son has been given a black eye by someone (when you were expecting to be called in for the other way around!

I dare say I'll have another 12 lessons at the end of this term.

What have you learned from the first term?

Would I Lie To You board family game review

Would I Lie To You? "The game of believable lies and unbelievable lies ", linked into the TV show of the same name. Purchased: December 2017 in Waterstones, for around £20 In a nutshell: These TV show-affiliated games usually show themselves up (Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Top Gear) but this game is fun and easy to play (if a little modified) as a family. You don't really need specialist knowledge to play, just the ability to lie! Every year for Christmas, I like to buy a board game to play, even though no games better either Ludo (in which my dad is the reigning cheater-champion, and argues to high heaven over the rules about doubling up or how to place your counters in "Home") or Rummikub (which we can now play with two packs of cards lest we forget the game). This year, Would I Lie To You caught my eye in Waterstones (other emporiums - emporia? - for book lovers are [locally] unavailable). It's a game, it says, for 2-8 players; however we dec...

A walk from Portchester Castle to Salt Cafe

Well we just had to choose the worst day of the year to walk. The date had been set weeks before - who knew there would be the worst winds of the decade almost on this very day? But we didn't want to be beaten. We will walk to the cafe. At least it wasn't raining! Parking is free next the castle and obviously, it wasn't busy this day! We set off around the outside of this medieval monument. The sea wall affords views across to Portsmouth and Gosport, and Portsdown Hill if you look behind. You can see the Spinnaker Tower in my photos, but you'd have to zoom in. The sea wall leads to a walk along a path, switching between grass (a much more sheltered area) beside a playpark, and the beach. It is an easy, flat walk, made slightly harder in the wind. After 1.75 miles, you reach the Salt Cafe (@saltcafe66). This took us one hour - that wind did slow us down! I've had a breakfast bap there before and remember it being delicious, but slightly expensive. But today, we...

Ms Humdrum reviews: B Afternoon Tea Bus Tour around London

Family and friends, tasty tea, cute cakes, succulent sarnies, scrumptious scones… what more could you ask for? Some sightseeing around Central London please. Oh, and on a vintage red double decker bus, if you don’t mind. What I’ve described is exactly what you get from the B Afternoon Tea Bus Tour. Priced at around what I paid for the Ritz afternoon tea some five years ago, you rock up at Victoria bus station and check-in to board the bus. The waiting staff guide you on and you find your booth. I manged to get a photo before anyone arrived. The tea is set up for you and is sort of stuck down on the table with a little bit of material! Note the nice touches of the flowers adorning the sides of the bus and the tables with natty bus and shopper images. You settle in and order your first (of many) drinks. I had in my head that I’d be supping loose tea using a strainer out of a bone china cup and saucer. However that just isn’t going to work on a bus, I realise. So you are gi...

A Humdrum Mum

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