Just Jo!

Yes! You read right!
Just as we were leaving this morning, the postman came. It looked a bit of a sombre letter, so I was going to leave it ’til we got home. But then I thought, “Oh what the heck! Let’s live dangerously!” And am I glad I opened it?!! It was the letter from Exeter City Council saying “I am pleased to tell you that the Committee has agreed to award you the full amount you requested….”
The grant I applied for! The grant so’s the kids can do the activities at the outdoor centre! We got the money! They can do it all!! I am seriously well-chuffed with myself!!
Just got to book it all up now, work out who’s doing what, who won’t be able to do everything ‘cos it’s over-subscribed, work out how to tell them they won’t be able to do everything, work out how to run away really quickly before anyone starts having a go at me….
Yeah, the grant application was the easy bit!

We went to Okehampton group today. Olivia wanted to take two of her kites, the two little ones, I put my foot down at the big one. She wanted to take them because we’d seen a bloke on one of the playing fields yesterday, with a huge stunt kite, almost being lifted off the ground. It would have been one of our Play prompt photos, but a) couldn’t get a decent photo (yeah, ‘cos the other’s are sooo professional!) and b) these kite fliers take it all so seriously, it couldn’t possibly count as play!

The trade-off for taking kites (I wasn’t going to let her take anything, because she’d done something to annoy me, can’t remember what now, probably not brushing her hair again….), was she’d have to do some maths and English on the bus, going there and coming back. It’s a 45 minute bus ride! We’re gallivanting a lot again this week! When else will we fit in proper work stuff??!

She did it though….trying different ways of multiplication….

Yes, I am a cruel, cruel mother who ‘makes’ her dearly beloved daughter do workbooks on the bus!
But you can see just how much she’s enjoying herself….
We got to Okehampton, and I triumphantly waved my letter from the council around.
Plenty of bikes to go round this time. The kites were a big success as well, being towed along behind the bikes all over the ramps and stuff…. “Um….are they electricity cables? Um….you might wanna watch out for them. They bite.”
Then the kite strings sort of bit the dust, so it was mere biking from then on….
But then….but then….much excitement….something was found. Something….yes, something that I’m not allowed to mention….because Olivia wants the honours. I’ll just say that one of the mum’s really didn’t want it anywhere near her, not even for a second.
Like her daughter said, “Well, she sort of had a bad experience once….” Mind boggles. But they have gerbils, so….
Anyways, after the geat excitement, we said our goodbyes and got supplies from Lidl’s, also saved a fortune by running very quickly past Waitrose.
Spent some of the saved fortune by buying a book while we waited almost an hour for the bus back to Exeter. A multiple choice history book. Quite basic, but it helped pass the time waiting for the bus. A lot of the questions she knew easily, some she could make an educated guess and the rest were wild stabs in the dark.
On the bus coming home, she continued with maths, asking at one point, “But why, if 9 and 9 is 18, why is 8 and 8, 16?”
“Wha….?!! I’m sorry, I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that my brain has just exploded ‘cos of sheer bewilderment!!”
She did apologise.
We got home, she blogged, I read a bit, we cooked dinner, Spag Bol, and then we ate it.
Adam came down and asked if we were having pies at all this week. “Um….don’t know. Why?”
“Because I’ll have dinner with you.”
“I’m not feeding you.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“I’m coming up for a skint week, so I’m definitely not feeding you!”
“Mother! I’m not asking you to!!”
“What are you asking then?”
“If you’re having pies at all this week, ‘cos then I’ll have my own pie with you.”
“I’m not giving you potatoes and veg.”
“I’m not asking you to!!!”
“Oh….so you just want to have a meal with us then?”
“YES!”
“Oh….OK then. We’ll probably have pies on Thursday.”
Adam buys his own food, and does all his own cooking. I used to insist on a weekly family night where we eat together, but the last one was ages ago. And that was only because he didn’t have any money for two weeks when he started his new job at Tesco’s, so you can understand my suspicion.
But he really does want to have a meal with us.
Actually spend time with us one evening this week.
I haven’t had to nag him into it.
Gosh, he’ll be suggesting we all play a game together next.
Excuse me while I pick myself up from the floor! The last few days, getting on for weeks now actually, have all been very jolly. And nice. And joyous. And lovely. And good things happening….
Really could do with a healthy dose of cynicism….just to keep things balanced you understand.

Yeah, a joke from Prydwen is what’s required here methinks….

A couple were driving to a church to get married. On the way, they got into a car accident and died. When they arrive in heaven, they see St. Peter at the gate. They ask him if he could arrange it so they could marry in heaven.
St. Peter tells them that he’ll do his best to work on it for them.

Three months pass by and the couple hear nothing. They bump into St. Peter and ask him about the marriage.

He says, “I’m still working on it.”

Two years pass by and no marriage.

St. Peter again assures them that he’s working on it.

Finally after twenty long years, St. Peter comes running with a priest and tells the couple it’s time for their wedding.

The couple marry and live happily for a while. But after a few months the couple go and find St. Peter and tell him things are not working out, and that they want to get a divorce.

“Can you arrange it for us?” they ask.

St. Peter replies, “Are you kidding?! It took me twenty years to find a priest up here. How am I gonna find you a lawyer?”