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Disneyland Paris Hacks
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Packing Essentials
I am the Queen of overpacking, but this year WILL be different, I am quite determined.
You know that there is no way of packing for 3 people for a 6 week trip without needing to do some laundry. Camp site machines are often expensive, not terribly efficient and there can be great competition for them, so about 3 years ago I invested in one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Washing-Machine-Camping-Motorhome/dp/B00NVEJP8K
It paid for itself the very first trip we did with it and now saves time and money every year. This year I am determined that it is going to save packing space as well.
Reading Light
Whether it is in Chloe's Campervan or a budget hotel, a reading light makes a huge difference to settling down with a book at bed time. Often in the budget hotels the only light in the room is a central strip light of some description, not conducive to anyone's comfort or helpful when small people want to sleep, so a bedside light creates a more pleasant ambience and everyone is happy.
You know that there is no way of packing for 3 people for a 6 week trip without needing to do some laundry. Camp site machines are often expensive, not terribly efficient and there can be great competition for them, so about 3 years ago I invested in one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Washing-Machine-Camping-Motorhome/dp/B00NVEJP8K
It paid for itself the very first trip we did with it and now saves time and money every year. This year I am determined that it is going to save packing space as well.
Reading Light
Whether it is in Chloe's Campervan or a budget hotel, a reading light makes a huge difference to settling down with a book at bed time. Often in the budget hotels the only light in the room is a central strip light of some description, not conducive to anyone's comfort or helpful when small people want to sleep, so a bedside light creates a more pleasant ambience and everyone is happy.
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Money money money - or lack thereof
*sigh*
It is that time of year again, the holiday is due to be paid, Chloe's Campervan needed a new clutch (nearly £700, oh my!), the rental property seems to need work done to it every week so the income is down while the bills relentlessly demand paying. March also sees 2 family birthdays and a mindee's birthday *weep*.
We have hit frugal mode. This week we are living out of our freezer and store cupboards, and the boy forgot to tell me that we were out of dog food, so the dogs are on emergency rations (scraps, leftovers etc) until Friday as well. It is not a dire as you might fear however, as I have so many bits and pieces squirrelled away. Last night we had pasta with a very nice roasted vegetable sauce and some gammon chopped through it, and I also made butter using two tubs of whipping cream, also hiding in the freezer. The dogs dined enthusiastically, if not ideally, on the dregs of various cereals that filled a large Kilner jar, mixed with some leftover curry (mild) from the fridge that had been sitting too long to risk feeding to the family and nobody went to bed hungry.
Today the small girl and small mindee have lunched on rice with tuna, peas and a dash of soy sauce, and the boy has polished off the rest of last night's pasta. Tonight the two mindees and the small girl will enjoy pizza, and garlic bread made from rolls in the freezer and some of my home made butter, while the boy and I will use up some M&S chicken Kiev and roast potatoes. The dogs will be dining on any leftovers we may have, supplemented by a block of vegan cheese (vile stuff!), bread sauce and some bread.
I am looking forward to getting some proper dog food on Friday, as I don't think this is a sustainable way for the girls to eat long term, but I am very much relishing the challenge for the rest of us.
It is that time of year again, the holiday is due to be paid, Chloe's Campervan needed a new clutch (nearly £700, oh my!), the rental property seems to need work done to it every week so the income is down while the bills relentlessly demand paying. March also sees 2 family birthdays and a mindee's birthday *weep*.
We have hit frugal mode. This week we are living out of our freezer and store cupboards, and the boy forgot to tell me that we were out of dog food, so the dogs are on emergency rations (scraps, leftovers etc) until Friday as well. It is not a dire as you might fear however, as I have so many bits and pieces squirrelled away. Last night we had pasta with a very nice roasted vegetable sauce and some gammon chopped through it, and I also made butter using two tubs of whipping cream, also hiding in the freezer. The dogs dined enthusiastically, if not ideally, on the dregs of various cereals that filled a large Kilner jar, mixed with some leftover curry (mild) from the fridge that had been sitting too long to risk feeding to the family and nobody went to bed hungry.
Today the small girl and small mindee have lunched on rice with tuna, peas and a dash of soy sauce, and the boy has polished off the rest of last night's pasta. Tonight the two mindees and the small girl will enjoy pizza, and garlic bread made from rolls in the freezer and some of my home made butter, while the boy and I will use up some M&S chicken Kiev and roast potatoes. The dogs will be dining on any leftovers we may have, supplemented by a block of vegan cheese (vile stuff!), bread sauce and some bread.
I am looking forward to getting some proper dog food on Friday, as I don't think this is a sustainable way for the girls to eat long term, but I am very much relishing the challenge for the rest of us.
Friday 20 March 2015
Not only was it my "small" son's 17th birthday today, we were treated to a solar eclipse, losing 98% of the sun. I didn't manage to get a shot of it myself, but here is a picture taken just round the corner from me by Shaun Donaldson.
It was quite an experience to watch, and marvel at the poor, confused birds who couldn't decide whether to roost or riot. Chloe is working on her Space badge for Beavers, and today's events really put a unique slant to her badge.
Thursday 19 March 2015
Food!
More set up
Our Set Up
Our set up consists of Chloe's Campervan, AKA the yellow bus, and a drive away awning. Last year we used the bedroom pod for the boy, but we are thinking of something a little different this year to give us a bit more living space. I do love wicker baskets, and we used the ones you can see there for clothes storage, but again this year we are going to try a slightly different approach.
I do love vintage bits and pieces, here we have an enamelled tea/coffee pot that we use for hot chocolate on those colder nights.
Versailles
The sweetest old couple, taking their afternoon constitutional in the outer reaches of the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.
Memories of last years Trip
A rather wonderful campsite just outside Munich, there is even a vending machine for cold bottled beer! Yes beer!
I need to learn to crochet
I found this today, how amazing would it look on the back window of Chloe's Campervan instead of the usual curtains? Think I might still need a blind of some sort for privacy in the evenings, but how lovely to leave this up all day. Imagine the talking point it would create for anyone following us down the road.
Being a bright spark this summer.
As thoughts turn more seriously to our summer adventure in Chloe's Campervan, we took a trip out to Knowepark Caravans http://www.kpcm.co.uk/ for some inspiration. It was pointed out to me that because I use EHU, I have already paid for power when on site, so why on earth would I want to pay more on top to use gas powered appliances? This was not something I had thought about before, automatically turning to gas burners for cooking and boiling water for drinks, so the search for appliances began. Most camp sites have restricted power, around 10A, possibly up to 16A if you are very lucky, but some rural sites, and many in Europe, may be as low as 5A. Clearly you cannot simply take the contents of your kitchen with you as many modern kitchen appliances will take you up to the site limit by themselves (kettles and microwaves especially) so low power appliances are essential. I am already fortunate enough to own a 3-way fridge which has a low power rating, as well as a washing machine (yes you read that correctly, a washing machine, but more of that another day), a low power kettle and I many electrical bits and bobs tucked away in my attic, but what could I actually use without tripping the circuit breakers every time?
Appliances are rated in Watts, while supply is rated in Amps. Here is a quick check sheet to help me to stay within limits.
1300W = 5.65 Amp
1400W = 6.09 Amp
1500W = 6.52 Amp
1600W = 6.96 Amp
1700W = 7.39 Amp
1800W = 7.83 Amp
1900W = 8.26 Amp
2000W = 8.70 Amp
2100W = 9.13 Amp
2200W = 9.57 Amp
2300W = 10.00 Amp
2400W = 10.43 Amp
2500W = 10.87 Amp
2600W = 11.30 Amp
2700W = 11.74 Amp
2800W = 12.17 Amp
2900W = 12.61 Amp
3000W = 13.04 Amp
3100W = 13.48 Amp
3200W = 13.91 Amp
3300W = 14.35 Amp
3400W = 14.78 Amp
3500W = 15.22 Amp
Saturday 14 March 2015
Condemned before they start
Every so often I read something that strengthens my resolve that home education is the way forward for my child. Today it was a discussion about SATS and how they may be used to pigeon hole children when they get to secondary level. Someone in the discussion pointed out that they are aware of at least one secondary local to them using a far more unpleasant way of predicting the outcome of the pupils in their school from the moment they walk through the gates of the primary school for the very first time. GCSE grades are predicted, not on academic ability, but on social background, ethnicity, family life and gender! Nothing whatsoever to do with how clever you are or how hard you work.
White skinned British girls who live in a household with married parents are predicted Grade As, white British boys come next with predicted grade Bs. A black boy who consistently scores As in tests is only predicted a C at GCSE level because of the way this scoring system is set up! It is horrific. How can children be encouraged to achieve and strive for their dreams if they are constantly told that they will only ever amount to C grades, and worse, they don't even know why this is happening. If these children are trying for a place at university or college, and conditional places are offered on the strength of predicated grades, surely white British children will stand more chance of being offered places at an establishment of their choice, while anyone else will have to take what they can get from clearing after the results come out, even though they may be A* students.
If this is true then it is an absolute disgrace and I am very glad that my child will be no part of this discriminatory process.
White skinned British girls who live in a household with married parents are predicted Grade As, white British boys come next with predicted grade Bs. A black boy who consistently scores As in tests is only predicted a C at GCSE level because of the way this scoring system is set up! It is horrific. How can children be encouraged to achieve and strive for their dreams if they are constantly told that they will only ever amount to C grades, and worse, they don't even know why this is happening. If these children are trying for a place at university or college, and conditional places are offered on the strength of predicated grades, surely white British children will stand more chance of being offered places at an establishment of their choice, while anyone else will have to take what they can get from clearing after the results come out, even though they may be A* students.
If this is true then it is an absolute disgrace and I am very glad that my child will be no part of this discriminatory process.
Monday 9 March 2015
Making musical Instruments
Making Jingle bells from bamboo, coloured duct tape, ribbons and beads - ah yes, and bells of course.
Small boy is very happy with his set of jingle bells.
We also created rain sticks using cardboard tubes with nails hammered into them and filled with rice and beans to give different sounds. The best part was decorating them.
Wrapping paper was cut to size, big enough to wrap around the tube (can you see the nails?), copious amounts of glue applied, and then rolled around the tube.
The ends were sealed shut with some amazing tie dyed duct tape - saves beans and rice flying everywhere.
Decorations were added, and tah dah, one very cool rain stick.
We also created rain sticks using cardboard tubes with nails hammered into them and filled with rice and beans to give different sounds. The best part was decorating them.
Sourced from http://www.bespokevdubs.co.uk/
Sunday 8 March 2015
Welcome to our crazy world
Hi,
my name is Andi and I am a working, home educating mother of four
wonderful children ranging in age from 22 down to 6. I have learned
along the way that life can, and will throw you curve balls and we
can rarely predict what is around the corner, but despite the moments
of blind panic, the adaptability this can bring means life is always
an adventure. Welcome to our messy romp, accompanied on many occasions by two silly dogs and an assortment of other children, through lifestyle, travel and home education.
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