NotSheep

Bit of a slow start this morning - I was to be found making breakfast at 9.20 - but once we got going, we seemed to catch up pretty well. Toby didn’t really settle all morning though - poor thing still has a runny nose and a hoarse little cough, and I think he just isn’t feeling great - and by noon I’d sent the boys off to play so I could feed him to sleep in peace. A bit later, Barney made some lunch for everyone, and I decided I was bored, plus it seemed like everyone needed to get out for a while, so I suggested we could walk into town to go to the library. Last time we walked into town, they all moaned that it was too far, so I wasn’t expecting a very positive response, but they were all keen, so off we went.

I carried Toby in the Storchie rather than take the stroller, which meant someone had to carry the books… Barney, George and Freddy took turns to carry the bag and complain. Barney carried them most, but probably did the least complaining. I think if we do that again, I’ll suggest they take a small bag each - hey, we’ll look like schoolies coming home!

I had to go to the bank, but we passed the library on our way, so I asked Barney and George if they wanted to go on in, and said I’d be back with the others in ten minutes or so. That turned out to be more than slightly optimistic - there was a huge queue in the bank (not a good idea to do that on a Friday afternoon then…) and I got sidetracked in a couple of charity shops too. When I got back to the library, I found Barney by the front desk in tears - he’d been worried about me because we’d taken so long He’d very sensibly gone to the librarian and asked her to phone me, which she did, but my phone either doesn’t ring or it doesn’t ring loudly enough so I didn’t know. It was only a few more minutes before I got back, but poor Barney

In the meantime, George was sitting reading and not bothered about where I’d got to at all

Barney did cheer up quite quickly when he saw our charity-shop haul though. Before we got to the bank, we went into one shop and saw a bunch of Bionicles, but I wondered if all the pieces would be there, so we didn’t buy any. After the library, we stopped at another shop, and discovered they’d quite a collection of Action Men in very good condition. We’ve never actually owned any Action Men, and it’s not something I’ve ever thought much about, but I suppose they’re all right really. They’re not Barbies, so they gain lots of points for that anyway There were a couple with great big torpedo-gun things, and I said we’d leave those for someone else - but we offered the charity shop woman a tenner for the rest of them, and so we’ve brought eight Action Men home (unless you count Scratchy, in which case it’s still eight ;-)) The other woman in the shop came over and handed us another plastic bag of small toys with the words “Here, have these too, they’ll enjoy them” - very nice

Leaving that shop, Freddy mentioned that some of the Bionicles in the first shop had been models that he and Barney had been wanting for ages… call me a sucker, but we went back. They’d a big plastic crate full of various kinds of Bionicles; Freddy opened a few and said they had all their parts (though how he could be sure, I don’t know!) and I asked if they’d give me them cheaper as a job-lot. She had to go ask, and she came back with a price of £20, which was a bit higher than I’d hoped, to be honest - but she also threw in a model of a Mini that Jack was eye-ing, and a recorder (which means we now have three, which works well since we have three recorder-playing kids).

So… chose books, got them out, Scratchy picked us up, and the kids spread out all the new toys across the kitchen floor while dinner cooked. It seems the Bionicles do indeed have all their parts Then I lay down with Toby while Scratchy and Barney headed off to play basketball. The others were told that their room needs to be tidy before they go swimming tomorrow morning, but I have no idea whether it is or not, and I’m not going to look