Can I teach espanish?

So, I've been looking in to teaching. Spanish (obviously, need to use that degree somehow). To teenagers. Am I mad? Well, I don't think so. My love of languages came from my secondary school spanish teacher. She was an amazing teacher who inspired me to carry on with spanish to college. She listened when you spoke to her, gave you help when you asked for it, never made you feel stupid. So surely it would be a good thing to pass that on to others?

How do you teach a child to read?

This is the main question that has been puzzling me for the past few days, having been trying to get Emilia to read. We were making good progress before, but now I realise that she was only remembering the story, not learning how to read. It doesn't seem as though the school is helping, which is often the case, as they leave struggling children behind. She is interested in stories and books. We went to the library this morning, and we read some books there. Well, I read them, she listened. I point to the words when reading, but it is very difficult to get her to look at the words. She is forever looking around the room or at the pictures. She faces the book when I get her to read her school book to me, but her eyes are off to the side. I am at a loss as to how to get her to pay attention. We took out 10 books from the library, and now Edd's dad and I have spent an hour going over the letters F, U and N to get her to sound them out and put them together to make a word. She is so easily distracted and would so anything not to do as she was asked. It's trying my patience, yet I know that the only way she will learn is if I have patience with her and keep encouraging her. I also found out that her maternal grandfather had told her not to learn to read and that she is stupid and will never learn to read. It's going to take years to undo that damage. I want her to learn to love books as much as I do. I can't believe someone would want to ruin another persons life like that before they've even had a chance. The world is full of some horrible people.

3 years today, I'll be getting married

Big thing eh? It kind of scares me in a good way. I mean, we have pleanty of time to plan and save, but still. 3 years isn't long. But then, I'll be 28 then, I'll be old. I feel old already. Although I seem to be bypassing the glamorous part of being in your late 20s. I need to find a look. I've had the same look for years and I feel it's high time I have a new look. A new style. I have no idea what, but that is what's mainly on my mind today.

To elope or not to elope...

... that is indeed the question. I'm excited about having a big day. Yet one more objection about our choice of date and I'm seriously considering buggering off to Vegas and getting married there with no one to tell us that the chosen date isn't practical because so and so will be away/somebody's birthday is in the same month/the hamster has to go to have a haircut etc etc. Why did no one warn me about this stressful side of the wedding? It's our bloody day and I don't really mind if it's autumn and there won't be any leaves coming out on the trees, we want to get married then, and that's when we're getting married.

Please, someone tell me it gets better? Please?

Raspberry Pavlova ice cream? Don't mind if I do!

Edd's parents are back from Sweden. This means Emilia is back, yay! This also means that the clashing of opinions has started and in the past 4 days there have been plenty of raised voices, boo. It's just getting used to all 5 of us living under the same roof again, but still, the stress levels are high at the moment. Hence the ice cream.

In other news, we have pretty much booked the wedding reception venue! Yay! It's all suddenly getting really real now. Oddly enough, all I can think about is having a little baby boy to be a page boy in a cute little suit.... got to stop being broody!

Emilia has now decided that when she is an adult, she's going to be a doctor. I was her first patient...

Nothing beats a haircut

Or the posing you do after!