Countdown to Witney - 14 days to go....

Here's a pic of Witney town centre, and no, it's not much bigger than what you see here. Luckily for a city gal like me there are mini-me versions of WHSmiths, Dorothy Perkins, Fatface, Costa Coffee, Adams, Waterstones and Boots (not to mentions some rather quaint shops/boutiques/pubs). Now they're not the shops I frequent most, but they do make me feel a little more at home and less like I'm out in the boonies. Being a sucker for programes lik 'Escape to the country' and 'relocation, relocation', it is quite easy for me to be drawn into the fantasy of country living, but realistically, I think the idyll would fade the first time I got the munchies after 10pm at night and there was not a shop open after 5pm. Or, when the only multi-culturism comes via the TV. Nope, proper rural country life is not for me, but market town life is a more realistic expectation. In fact I am really excited about this move, now that I've gotten over my initial reservations about being so far from family and friends.

So much for 'summer' holidays

Well, it is only officially day 3 of the summer holidays and we are going stir crazy!!! The weather has been so awful that we have been housebound and are suffering a severe case of cabin fever. In all honesty the kids are driving me mad cause there's only so many DVD's and colouring activities that you can subject them to before sheer boredom sets in and they start whining for attention. So, in order to try and engage us all in something fun together I submitted to their constant demands to have their faces painted and I must say, we were all rather pleased with the results :



I'm sure you can tell that Ben is a pirate, but that Jasmine is a lion I suspect may be a little harder to discern - I think I need a little more practice.....
Another project of mine these last couple of weeks has been to start creating a dressing up box for Ben and Jas. I keep a look out for reduced price costumes and so far have found a fairy princess outfit, a scooby doo, a superman, a fireperson (got to be pc!) and a policeperson. Once we are settled in the new house I'm going to look around carboots and second-hand shops for items such as costume jewellery and other accessories. I am also going to invest in some proper face paints because the kids absolutely love being made up.
We have had a few dress-up sessions and even Jasmine's baby doll (whom she named 'Amen') joined in the fun. I think she looks quite scary to be honest, but Ben and Jas look soooo adorable :-)








BATDOLL - how freaky does she look :-)

'Bring your Parents to school Day'

Last week I got to spend the afternoon at school with Ben and it was so cute how excited he was to see me in his class :-) First off it was the afternoon F1 Children's day to have lunch at school to prepare them for full-time school and Ben had decided he wanted a packed lunch....cue Earth Mother fantasies about baking cookies, putting fruit into cute little tupperware, frying some homemade chicken strips and packing it all lovingly the night before. Reality was quite different...I didn't get chance to go shopping for all the ingredients and ended up whizzing round tesco just half an hour before he was due at school. I grabbed chicken from the deli, a multigrain bagel from the bakery, some frommage frais from the chilled section, organic crisps from the baby food aisle and grapes and apples from the fruit and veg aisle. Not bad for a last minute dash. Next dilemma: what to put it all in....well I had remebered to bring this mini cooler bag that I had bought for Nick to take his sandwhiches to work in (he just got laughed at by his colleaugues to my dismay), then I improvised with some bags nicked from the veg aisles, and spoon nicked from the cafe (for his yoghurt). Whew, sorted! He actually ate most of it and when I arrived to join him in class, his little face lit up and he proceeded to take me around various activities from playing in the sand, to painting, to cutting and sticking, to puzzles. On talking to his teacher Miss Pinnegar and the teaching assistant Miss Nott, I was very proud to learn that he is a very confident and attentive, inquisitive boy, who is very creative and can concentrate on tasks for extended periods of time. This was also confirmed by his first school report which I received a few days later. I always knew he is a bright child, but it is very pleasing to have it confirmed by his teachers.


Ben and his teacher Miss Pinnegar


I have been preparing Ben for his new school by telling when I was going to visit them, as well as about the clubs there and describing the playground and so on, and he is so excited by it all, that he doesn't seem to mind that he will be leaving his friends behind - kids are amazingly resilient and I have no worries about him settling in when we do move.

Jasmine hasn't really been at nursery long enough to really have any problems readjusting and anyway, she is a really confident, headstrong girl who knows her own mind - they will both really thrive in the new school.
Here's a few pics of her on her last day at Glebelands pre-school.




Isn't she gorgeous :-)

Countdown to Witney.....

Days to go: 17.....

Last saturday Nick put down the deposit on our new home in Madley Park, Witney - HOOORRRAAAYYY! As of 1st of August we will once again have our own home and be a proper family again, I can't wait! We have also secured a place at a small school in the nearby village of North Leigh for Ben and Jasmine will attend their pre-school 3 mornings a week. What I didn't realise when we were visiting the schools is that in Oxfordshire children are first offered a part-time place the term after they turn 4, not 3 like in Leicestershire. This means that Ben will have to do another year part-time. I was a little disappointed at first, but have now come around to thinking that it is actually a good thing. There is so much more I wanted to do with the children when I left work to stay at home that I didn't get to because I still don't drive, so I feel I have been given a second chance to do more with them before they start on the treadmill that is full time education. It also means that both Ben and Jas have time to settle in to a completely new way of life. Downside for Jasmine is that she won't get a place until January 2009 and if the school doesn't do mid-year intakes, then September 2009!

Anyway, more about the new house.....It is a newbuild so a blank canvas, has a separate dining room, a downstairs wc, an en-suite (which means the kids have the family bathroom to themselves!) and the cherry on the top? A DISHWASHER yay!!! I'm so excited...

The kids are already picking things that they want in their new bedroom, and with Ben's birthday just a week away, I'm sure we'll have more than enough things to fill all this new space.
He spent his last day at school friday just gone and when I explained that he probably wouldn't see his friends again (even his best friend Kieron) he said 'well I'm going to get some new ones', and didn't seem fazed at all.

Now I just have to find a dentist, a doctor and a part-time job for when both kids are at school (I figure it's the best way to meet new people and get to know the area). My first priority personally is to finally take my driving test so I am free to take the kids around the countryside that is all around us - I just found out that witney is in the Cotswolds, how quaint :-) Me in the Cotswolds! I think I'm going to have to take up the art of Jam making and cake baking!

watch this space for pics of the new house...