Sea-gulls Crying

Well, hello November!

October was just a mite stressful which is a shame because it's my favourite month. We had lots of events squished together all at once- all fun things we wanted to do but having a gig, a wrestling show and a comic convention all on the same weekend took its toll.

Saurus was due to go to American to visit his girlfriend and indeed, got halfway to the airport before it was discovered he didn't have all the documentation he needed to get in. Luckily he and his girlfriend were able to cancel the flights and get the money back as she had got insurance on the purchase, phew! After much discussion and scrutinisation of all the rules and regulations they've decided to postpone the trip until next summer, giving him time to get more funds together and iron out all the other little details like phone network provision and health insurance. Yes these are all things we mentioned and discussed with him well beforehand but oh well, he's living and learning!

Roo had his parents evening and got a glowing report from his tutor who is very happy with him. I am not, now, so happy with his tutor as we've just discovered Roo's been told to organise his work experience. Himself. No guidance, no list of approved sites, nothing. Utter madness! This is a class of sixteen year olds who have been told, essentially, to cold call building sites to get themselves on them! No risk assessment, no insurance, no health and safety regs, nothing. To say I am fuming is an understatement.

Wig seems to be doing fine at school, still enjoying it, still eager to go. I have doubts as to how much quality education actually goes on during the school day but he seems to be thriving and they seem very happy with him so I'm not getting pushy about it. He does seem to have hit the typical grumbly teen phaze, but that's to be expected.

Here at home we've moved on from Ivan the Terrible's fascinating life to the history and origins of language. So far we've investigated Nicaraguan sign language, started reading Gilgamesh and are looking into the development of anatomy that allows speech. We're enjoying Strictly Come Dancing, Blue Planet 2 and the new series of Robot Wars. Ballet, football and karate continue, as do forest school, minecraft club and various meets. Hoof does all his alphabet flash cards by himself now and needs very little assistance. He knows each letter's name and sound and we're just beginning to put them together to make words. Dot has discovered the Dairy of a Whimpy kid and Captain Underpants, Fluff is onto the second book of Lord of the Rings and Petal and I have a date to go shopping for crop tops. They're all growing up so fast!

I'm involved in a dance show with the adult dance school I take classes with. It seemed like a fabulous fun idea back in April but in fact has become something I've begun dragging myself to with dread, mostly because the classes I am in are really above my ability. Still, now there's only the dress rehearsal and performances to go, so I only have to survive two more days. I say survive advisedly, I have a stinking cold and sore throat and feel dire and I've managed to pick up a massive burn on my chin from eating pizza, would you believe!