The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

Can I just say that kelp isn't a miracle cure. I have had good results, maybe not as dramatic as Shegar but def good. I still get knackered and would say I've now got the energy of a middle-aged slug instead of a geriatric dying one
It will only help you, I think, if you already had low thyroid function.
I've had several busy days and today got up late and did nothing. The RV and I are officially "NOT SPEAKING" and a state of armed neutrality exists in my livingroom. Any territorial disputes will flare into outright warfare I feel.

Yes mar you are right , as I said in a earlier thread that its worked well for me , but it may not to other people........Youve really been out and about the past couple of weeks , you may just be tired today......I had a thyroid test in March this year and nothing was wrong, also dr done anaemia blood tests they come back okay, only thing showed up from the bloods was low in Vit D.......Which they did treat me for .........

I woke this morning at 6 , got up had 2 huge mugs tea, then went to beach with the dogs and walked a lot further than I have in years, with out getting breathless, I come back then went to a boot sale at 7.30 , I try to get hubby as many war/history books as I possibly can now , so that come winter he as plenty of books to read........

I got back at 9 I got him up and dressed, had breakfast , then I went and cleaned the pond out got loads of blanket weed out and topped it up, plus cleaned all the filters, hubby was the one that started the pond , he was well up for it, but since the stroke he hardly mentions it , or says to me " oh dont bother with it" it was is pride and joy 5 years ago...........

Ive cut the grass, done some weeding , cleaned my windows.......

One thing I will say about the sea kelp, what ive read about it alot of people take it to lose weight , well I am 3 stone over weight which I really want out of the way , past few years been comfort eating ,put on 3 stone ,:eek: but my appetite has dropped in the past week , which is brill, as a result I havent eaten any junk food , biscuits etc , and im not missing them, weird for me..:eek:......So by losing that horrendous appetite and working more it would be nice to shed some surplus....Sugar levels are very good too..........I test my blood about 6 times daily........

My indigestion has gone:T, so perhaps I may lose a bit in the process ..........I dont take a afternoon nap , which was getting a real habit everyday , as I couldnt keep my eyes open.......

MONNAGRAN.....Always make a habit of putting your tablets on the table at a certain time of day then you wont forget to take them, thats what I do........You are not getting enough in your system to make any difference if your not taking regular......Or perhaps the tablets dont work for you ....

I did hear from our local vet that as from 2015, all pets by law have to be micro chipped, just thought id let you all know , dont know how on earth they will police that......Sheila....

elisamoose

amber03 wrote: »

So annoying why does the government prosecute the parents and not the travel industry, they are the ones who decided the prices. I'm lucky my kids have now left school. We did occasionally take them out of school for the odd week during their schooling and it didn't disrupt their education. x

The travel industry operates in a market economy just like all other businesses and will charge what they can- supply and demand!

Gove wants shorter school holidays so it can only get worse! We school staff suffer too............we can't book any time off in term time even for exceptional circumstances.......and late changes of training days can catch is out when we book flights well in advance.

From a school perspective we are targeted and judged on our attendance levels just as on attainment and SATs results.Ifvall kids have an extra 2 weeks off a year, on top of any illness,hospital appointments,dentists etc etc then the figures soon look poor.
.And although you may think your child's education won't be affected , just imagine in that class of 30 1 or 2 kids off every week.The teacher has to cover that lost time with those kids and when she is doing that she can't be teaching the others.I know this happens with illness , but most kids have one or two days off sick at a time not a week or two.

So , in my opinion ,time off in term time should be avoided whenever possible.But I am biased because my personal performance targets include the whole school attendance! Which I have to rely on parents to help me with !

Cheapskate

Evening everyone

We've had another long, busy week and weekend, gardening, taking kids to the park, sorting out rellie from abroad into her accommodation, gardening (including re-potting plants that the kids had knocked over! :mad:), so only had time to read, not post.

Still got to order kelp, thanks to the person who PM'd me for info by the way, so on the list for tomorrow. I'm glad it's working for those of you who've been taking it for a while.

Re the term time holiday topic, we did take out our older children years ago, before all sorts of things had changed. DH couldn't have summer hols - always booked by certain people at his work a year in advance (swine!), we never took more than a week (tacking onto an existing school hol), they kids were always near the top of their classes and the schools were good about giving them tasks to do relating to their holiday. It was always a sensible approach from our schools, they had the measure of parents who did it regularly, we only did it 2 or 3 times in nearly 20 years, but I do realise how things have changed, and would be very reluctant to do it now.

I'm not too bad in this heat, but as it's so dry and breezy here my hayfever is chronic - not been so bad in years. I've been drinking a certain antihistamine syrup like pop all week! Works better than the tablets I usually take, though. A friend swears by taking local honey all winter, as a pre-emptive strike, and says it works out cheaper than medicine all summer - might give it a go, her hayfever is worse than mine, so the honey must be doing something. I bet it works a bit like homeopathy, taking small quantities to build up immunity.

A xo

VJsmum

Exactly that, Elisamoose, I was going to say similar myself. It is harsh, but they will charge what people will pay. I am also governed by school holidays - even taking my children out of the equation.

The party is still going, after 5 1/2 Hours :eek:

I guess they must be enjoying themselves

fuddle

All that is fine but what about the children getting a few days away with their family where there's no stress, just fun and all attention on them and new experiences?

There is no way we can afford to go away in any school holiday but are lucky we have a tent as a father-in-law in a caravan. Those circumstances still have their stresses. These couple of days were supposed to be stress free, child centred time away, in circumstances we could afford and use of the free pool every day to teach the girls to swim.

Everything these days are about rules and regulations. I feel my children are being persecuted for their few days because other children go away for 2 weeks to Florida and take the pee.

But I do understand that if you try to break the rules you will get burned. We won't e going on our break now, it's not worth the wonder and stress if sickness makes their attendance falls below 85% and I, a law abiding citizen that ensures her children attend school day in and day out, ends up being criminalised (I mean that's what it entails doesn't it? A fine because you broke an amendment in the law) oh... And with it means a fine PER PARENT per child, DH will be too.

I cannot afford £200+ for a fine so not even risking it.

A tent it is, with the daft dog up to Fort William so eldest can see sisters staircase. At least My family have that option. Others won't. Children will be back to never leaving their locality or experiencing anything at this rate.

Can some one tell me how league tables, other children's attendance and teaching assessments based on these figures increase my children's learning?

Pooky

Each to their own with holidays and schools but I can't understand blaming the travel industry or the schools. Holidays aren't essential, they're a luxury. As with all luxuries you have to weigh up the cost, if that means that holidays during school holidays are more expensive then factor that into your budget.

Just caught up with that benefit programme from the other night, I think it really shows the need for basic life skills to be taught in school. Basic cooking and housekeeping (sorry but there's no need for house to be so unkempt if you're home all day).

Big air display of spitfires over the cliffs here today, doing barrel rolls over the garden was amazing to watch. Lots of air action planned tomorrow too so may have to take DH up to a good vantage point to watch the planes come in from France.

kittiej

Hi everyone

I've been mia just lately it's been a bit hectic with school stuff and having to remember everything the boys need for different things eg food for parties, costumes for assemblies, change of clothes for sports days - it's exhausting trying to think what they need, some days I don't even know what day it is and panic

Along side this we're a person down in work so there's a shortfall and I had an assignment to hand in for my Open Uni course.

I have only read the last pages so I've missed loads and will try to catch up.

Speaking of schools, my youngest son starts Junior school in September and we've been asked to show his birth certificate, is this a legal thing? We're in Wales btw. It seems a bit odd tbh and the head didn't explain why it is needed but I have never had to do this before.

Oh it's too hot, especially with this laptop on my knee! I prefer cooler weather - at least I can put a jumper on and be comfortable instead of being a perspiring mess :rotfl:

kidcat

Fuddle - I know it seems harsh but as Elisa says it does seriously impact on a class, we have 29 children in DD7 class this year, of these 12 have taken three holidays this year some for two weeks at a time, 3 during SATs week, another 10 have had a fortnight off as well, and the gaps in the class knowledge show - they all had to attend catch up classes to try to get their levels up before SATs this year.

And yes I took mine all out for a week recently, and I felt guilty - we had no other option due to the boys disabilities, but I still felt guilt knowing the impact it had on the schools figures.
The trouble is that in the last couple of years term time holidays have become the norm for the majority which means that everyone, even the genuine cases will now suffer.

Elisa I dont envy your role next year, our governors were grilled by OFSTED on the attendance figures this year and had to justify them, I know the staff were grilled more. Its going to be very hard times ahead enforcing this and I have already heard many parents say that they will simply call in sick next year and still go away - my guess is that within a few years we will all need sick notes if a child is off more than two days.

fuddle

I'm talking about a Friday afternoon and a Monday as part of a long weekend break.

Possession

For us, DS will be starting secondary this year so our intention is to not take any more holidays in term time, but if they were both in primary Fuddle I wouldn't worry about a long weekend if it's a one-off and they have good school attendance anyway.
Off to bed now and hoping to actually get some sleep which has been thin on the ground lately.