NotSheep

It’s been nearly a week since I posted anything here. The reasons? We haven’t been doing anything much, never mind anything interesting (because I’m sick). I haven’t been spending much time upright (because I’m sick). I didn’t want to turn the blog into a whinge-fest (about being sick). I haven’t been in the mood (because I’m sick). Are you noticing a theme here?

All right, a very quick whinge and then I’ll move on: I’ve barely been out of bed for the past week or so, and I’ve not been well since about October 27th, if this blog is to be believed. That’s way too long to be laid up without going out of your mind. I hope that I’m now on the road to recovery: the barking cough which shook my entire body has mutated into a loose (and very productive) cough which only hurts above the waist, and I’ve been fever-free for about 36 hours now, I think. And I’m sitting up for long enough to write this - all I’ve done in the last few days is read lying down and write a few brief comments and responses to emails when I’ve been able to sit up for five minutes.

Right, that’s enough.

So, let me think whether there’s been anything worth blogging. Mostly the boys have been entertaining themselves, with the older ones taking responsibility for doing lunches etc. Having older kids is very useful at times like this, although I do wonder about their priorities sometimes. They taught Toby a new line. His speech is gradually improving and his brothers have been delighted to hear actual words, so at lunchtime yesterday, they set about teaching him more. And what did they teach him to say? “How you doin’?” - à la Joey Tribbiani. Like he needed coaching in how to flirt

We hope we’ve found a place where Barney can sit a couple of GCSEs next year - French in June and probably Maths in November. It’s a private school; I’ll have to call them and talk to them once I get my voice back.

I’ve been cruising around teh internets for Christmas presents, and have managed to find most of what my children have asked for. Jack has just told me what he wants, so I’ll have to start on his list soon - though one item’s already purchased and the rest of it includes “my very own hairbrush” and “loads of rulers and new pencils” so I don’t think I’ll be up at 1.30 a.m. bidding on ebay items from Canada, as I was with some of George’s items. (I won the auction, and I hope my brother-in-law is going to collect the items for me today. Much relief, since we weren’t able to source these anywhere else but ebay, and even on the US site, they were going for two to three times what we were willing to pay. And no, it wasn’t good for a sick person to be doing that in the middle of the night. And yes, I do have a snipe program, but I woke about the time the auction was due to close and I’d only have been lying awake wondering if I hadn’t looked. And since I was up, it made sense to ping my sister-in-law on instant-messenger to see if they’d collect it for me.)

We’re back at Beavers tonight; I would skip it for myself but one of the other leaders “booked off” for tonight months ago, and the other one hasn’t got her warrant yet. It would be more effort to ring all the parents and cancel than it is to show up and hide in the corner for an hour. We’ve got a professional soccer coach coming in to do soccer skills with the boys, so once we’ve done the opening ceremony and collected subs, I can sit back and watch for the next fifty minutes, until it’s time to close and send them all home.

And that is enough of me being upright for now, so I will see you when I emerge from under the covers again - soon, I hope.