Sickness and Paint

After my last post, we had a bit of an eventful time.  I picked the children up from school on Friday and Mathew said he was not feeling very well.  He did not look like he was feeling great either.  Once we got home both kids went to the living room but only a few minutes later Mathew was standing in front of me in the kitchen vomiting.  UGH!  The flooring in the kitchen is not the best to puke or spill anything on.  The wood floors have some large gaps in them that everything gets stuck in so when he vomited all over the floor he did it good.  To make matters worse, I had to cook soon after this and cleaning up vomit and the smell of it still lingering did not make for a great cooking experience.  So needless to say, Friday he was on the couch in the living room until Saturday morning.

Saturday morning, he was feeling much better in the morning which I was happy about but did not have a great appetite.  We had some errands to run so that we could get started with Painting the house.  I had done the entrance but needed a second coat on the top and had run out of the Lovely Green color I needed. So we went to B&Q in Peterborough to get some more.  While we were there, we looked for a color for the living area.  We knew we wanted to get rid of the yellow color but we were not sure on what beige color we wanted.  Beige is always the go to when we have a home because it always goes with all our decor.  We chose a color and of course they did not have 4 -2.5L containers of it... so we moved on to another to see if we could come close to what we had decided.  We finally found Toasted Almond.  It was a deeper beige color and I thought it would look nice on the walls.  So we grabbed up 4 cans hoping it would be enough to do the living space!

Morning Fog

Sunday we had church and then fellowship followed.  It was a nice service and the food was delicious afterwards.  We always like to take some time out of our Sundays and get to know people from church at functions like this.  This is why we liked Fort Dix Chapel before it all changed over.  It was nice to just sit, relax and enjoy company there.  Once we left, Paige said she was not feeling well.. UH OH.... We came home and she was on the couch.  She said she could feel her tummy was just not right.  She did not vomit but she seemed as she might.  I was really hoping we could get past her being sick but I guess not.  So Sunday was a pretty lazy day for us.  Mathew of course is always on his bike.

Monday was Mat and I's only day off together without kids but of course Paige woke up not feeling well and so I kept her home.  It was a not what we had planned but heck... when does it ever go as planned when you have kiddos.  She was confined to my bedroom and only out when she needed a bite to eat or needed to use the bathroom.  She tried several times to come out but I refused to play that game.  You are sick, you are in the bed!  I finished painting the entrance and then started on the living room. UGH!  I do not like edging or painting anymore!  It was a paint in the booty to get to done and took 3 days to complete.  I felt like I got into a good rhythm and then had to stop to do something else.  Cleaning was put on hold for the most part on Monday.

Tuesday both kids were well and so off to school they went.  More painting done and some breaks to get cleaning done as well.  Time goes so fast during the day.  The kids came home from school and then Mat.  We had dinner and then decided to take the kids to the Tops In Blues concert at RAF Molesworth.  The concert was great but it got late and so we had to leave before it was over.  The performers did a wonderful job keeping everyone interested and kept the energy up.  We arrived home and the kiddos were off to bed as were Mat and I.

Wednesday was another day of school.  The kids were a bit hard to get moving but that is expected from the late night at the concert.  Paige had a play date that night so we were getting everything ready for that as well as school.  Mathew was sad that he was not able to go over to someone house but he doesn't realize that you can not just go to other peoples' houses and that you must be invited.  He also feels that at 5 he should have friends like Paige and that parents should be ok with their children coming over to play.  Not everyone is at ease with that as I am leery because at 5 you are not as aware as you are at 9... even though still at 9 it is hard for me to let go of control of Paige.  There are too many bad things that can happen.  After school Paige walked home with her friend and we headed back to the house.  We waited for Mat to get home and then Mat, Mathew and I went for an exploration at the Great Fen.  What a BEAUTIFUL place!  It is very natural and we were able to catch site of some Deer there.  Too bad I could not get a clear photo since they were in the distance.  After that we headed to pick up Paige.  Her friends house is pretty close to ours so it was easy to find.  The family is super nice and very inviting.  They have 3 girls and each girl had a playmate over for the evening.  It was hard to pull Paige from her friend but we managed after about 30 minutes.  It is nice that she can have such a great friend with a wonderful family.

Thursday was an eventful  day.  We woke and there was a gorgeous sunrise.  Many mornings we wake and are able to see the sun as it comes up.  This morning the colors were amazing!  I got the kids ready and headed to the school.  Moments after arriving home and grabbing my coffee, I received a call from Mat that he needed me to head to base.  Not too many details were given but when he says he needs me, it is obviously important so I headed out.  I was not too far from the house when he called and said nevermind but I continued and we decided to have lunch together.  He filled me in on the situation that was going on while I was on the phone and when we got to lunch, he received several calls and it turns out that I was needed.  One of the troops had a family emergency and were at the hospital.  They have 2 young children, 1 and 3, and the wife's sister wanted to go to the hospital to be with them.  So I went over with Mat and grabbed the kiddos up and placed them into the car.  What I did not know before arriving at the house was that this family is spanish speaking and only speak a little English.  The children do not speak it at all.  So there was going to be a big language barrier for me but I knew we would work through it.  I felt horrible that I could not understand the little girl but she seemed to understand me and we used pointing and signing to make it through the day.  Mom and Dad returned home around the time I had to pick up the kids from school so I took the kiddos to pick up my kids and then once we got back home, Mat took the little ones back to base to be with their parents.  I do not want to go into many details of the families situation but they do need some prayers so if you could say a few for comfort, they would be appreciated.  Once we were home it was time to get dinner together.  Mat's buddy Ross was headed over because they were headed to Germany for their Knights Of Columbus ceremonies.  Mat will come back a 4th degree knight as well as Ross.  It is a big event.  I wish we could have went but it was not possible this time.

Today, we woke and I WAS EXHAUSTED and my body aches.  I did not sleep well at all and so I was up half the night.  Mathew was up with Mat and Paige was in my bed when I woke... so they too did not sleep well.  Maybe it was the weather.  It rained all night and was windy.  Now I sit here trying to relax and get this body in order to clean house before the kids come home.  I am enjoying the quiet day right now and just relaxing.
  

First week of School

SCHOOLS IN SESSION!!!!!

 This week was the first week of school for the kids.  They started in the British School at Upwood Primary School on Monday.  Mathew is in Year 1 and Paige in Year 5.

We had purchased their GREEN wear from the school on the day of our visit.  They were out of a lot of the sizes so we had to get Mathew a jumper (Sweatshirt) and Paige a fleece jacket (I am not sure if they have a separate name for that).  They have to wear the standard white shirt and black or grey bottoms.  I have seen some children with different colored shoes and socks so I am guessing that those are optional with color but they just need to wear something on their feet.  They can also wear grey or black sweaters to school over their white shirts.  I LOVE how they look heading out to school each morning and they seem to like getting their uniforms on each day.  It makes it very easy to get ready for the day.  The only thing we have to worry about is which shirt or for Paige, skirt or pants.  We do have things to remember such as PE Kits.  They change for PE two days a week.  Mathew has PE Wednesday and Thursday and Paige has PE Thursday and Friday.  So on these days they have to have their green PE Kit bags with their items inside.  We have decided to pack lunches this year. School lunches are 2 pounds = $3.20 a day and I knew I could pack lunches cheaper than that.  They do however have great choices for the kids.  The food is catered into the school.  It all sounds super yummy so maybe we will choose a day to buy and the rest pack lunch.  I can control what they eat when we pack so right now I like this option best for the cost!

On Monday I met with Paige's teacher, Miss Clarke.  She seems very nice and wanted to chat about what they were going to work on for the year.  I had questions as to where they were and she assured me that they would assess Paige and put her where she needed to be.  She was set up with the higher level spelling words (some words are in the British spelling and not American such as neighbour) as well as a book that she was to read in order to earn GOLDEN time ( Free Time).  The book is an interesting choice (The Railway Children) and I was concerned that she would not have any interest in it but she has diligently read a chapter a night.  The chapters are 18 pages each.  I am not sure how fast they expect her to read it but I think she is doing good if she can get that much done in one night.

Mathew's teacher stopped me and said that he did well on his first day but he is a bit behind because they start reading in reception (Pre school) so all the children in his class are reading while Mathew is not.  UGH! I knew that might be an issue when we started there because I had heard that they were already reading but it puts more stress on him and us to get him to the point that his peers are at.  He does not like to be pushed to do things and his attention level is not to a point that he wants to sit and learn at home.  I am hoping reading at home with him and his teacher working on sounding words out will help push him to where he needs to go fast.  I do not know what else to do with him more at home.  We have his word wall up and that seems to be going okay in order to allow him to go outside but he has lost his bike privileges a couple times due to not sitting to listen to books so then the word wall goes out the door.  

The kids had Sports Day on Tuesday and they seemed to have fun with that.  They came home tired and sore from all the activities.  Paige has not stopped complaining about how sore her legs are from it.  I guess that is what you get when you sit idle for the summer while everyone else runs and plays.  Mathew was sore and he rides his bike and runs all day so I guess they must had been doing things with other parts of the body that he was not used to.

Paige also received a note saying that she had been accepted into the football club ( Soccer) at school.  I was happy about this and think it will be good for her to learn some other techniques that she needs work on.  She was telling me how the PE teacher was making them look up for the colors when they were dribbling the ball instead of calling out red/ green/ blue/ ect.  I told her that it was like Coach John did and you had to look up instead of watching the ball at all times.  She agreed but I thought that was an interesting way of doing it and a great way to get the kids to look up and not just listen.  Something that I can pass on to her old team. ;)

Mathew is really wanting to Golf and do Karate.  I have not seen anything about these on base so we are going to have to look elsewhere for him.  He needs to be able to get out and do things as well and I think one of these would be perfect.  We just needs to make sure to find a place that we can go and Mat will have time to take him to it.  

Mat has been extremely busy with work.  It seems to be one thing after another when it comes to work.  If it is not dealing with his troops, then it is studying for his test and once this test is over, I know it will be him studying for the next rank.  Sports may be up to me for a bit. He does make it home for dinner and we all  are able to sit together and eat which is always very nice.  

Mathew got us all laughing the other night when he told us that during the night he woke up sitting on the toilet.  He said, "I woke up and I was on the toilet, I was like, how did I get in here?"  LOL  He went on to say," I guess I must have had the go to the bathroom and sleeped walked into there." Gotta love that kid.  

Yesterday Paige received her first bit of homework.  Each week they are given a Math paper as well as a Literacy assignment.  They have a week to work on these and then must turn them in each Wednesday.  This seems to be a lot less than what we are used to when it comes to homework.  She is given spelling words each week to test over every Friday as well but it is up to the child to learn these words.  I am glad that Paige has learned some techniques on learning how to remember spelling words.  I am not sure if they work on vocabulary for these words but we also went through working on sentences for each just in case.  I hope that she was prepared for her test today!  

Mathew's only homework so far is to read.  I think I am going to add things to his day after school so that we can push on. I am waiting for a meeting with his teacher to see exactly where they are in school first and where they will be at the end of the term.  I know after this term they start doing spelling words and tests.  That is only a couple months away.  

Mathew came home from school and asked if he could have a friend come over.  Come to find out this friend is a GIRL and she said that she could beat him in a race on his bike. So for Mathew the challenge was on.  He said he needed to be outside practicing for the race and that he had to train so he could make sure he won the race.  Oh I love that boy!

Today, one of Paige's classmates' mother came to me and said that her daughter, Katie, wanted a playdate with Paige next week and wanted to know if that would be okay.  Paige's face lit up and it was so good to see that she has already made some friends in her class.  Right now she says she has 6 good friends.  A positive sign!  Sometimes she gets so inward that I worry about her but I guess when mom is away, she does okay on her own.  

This weekend we will be catching up with some family time.  We have some running to do.  We need to find some black joggers for Mathew for PE.  We also need to get more Green paint for the entrance as I have ran out and need a second coat on the top of walls.  Once we get that, it is onto the next room. I have decided that we need to finish one before moving onto the next that way they will get done and we will not have half done projects throughout the house.