NotSheep

We had a much quieter week last week. With the country being on holiday over Monday and Tuesday, we stayed home and tried to catch up on some skool. Barney is continuing with his OU course, and has some GCSEs planned over the next year, so he needs to keep on top of things, and he has taken a fair bit of time off studies recently, with all the other stuff he’s been doing, so he’s going to have to knuckle down over the next few weeks – at least when he’s at home. Next weekend he’s leaving for a week-long Air Cadet Camp, and later in August he has a shorter residential with GY. So he’s sitting here beside me now, studying for the next OU TMA, which isn’t due for more than two weeks, but I suspect he’ll need a couple of days to recover when he gets back from Camp. He has long-term plans involving the OU’s 2+2 scheme, in which you do two years part-time with the OU, then go to one of their partner universities and enter the second year of your degree course. We’ve talked to the OU and the relevant partner uni, and they’re all happy with that – he just has to keep his marks up now. How old do I feel, talking about university plans for one of my children…

George and I went to Ikea on Saturday morning, mainly because there was something on sale that I wanted (although when I saw it for real, rather than on-line, it wasn’t so impressive, so I didn’t buy it anyway), but also to have a look around and think about how we’re going to organise the back bedroom in preparation for our new French son’s arrival. We had breakfast together there too, which I enjoyed – it’s nice to get the chance to spend one-to-one time.

Freddy and George are both spending this week doing the RYA Stage 1 course. I left them at the Sailing Club this morning, with packed lunches and towels – and in Freddy’s case, a change of clothes, just in case. George was also supposed to have a change of clothes, but seemed unable to understand the concept of packing things which were light to carry and not going to end up soaking wet if they got splashed, or rained on, or wet in any other way. After being told three times that he shouldn’t pack jeans, guess what I found in his bag? Anyway, I hope they enjoy the course; it certainly cost enough…

Jack has been very…Jack-like. He’s become part of a little gang of kids who flit up and down our street, with or without their bikes, calling for each other and running in and out of each other’s back gardens. When the doorbell rings, it’s odds-on it will be someone calling for Jack. At one point yesterday E and A (both girls) were here in the garden, and when it started to rain they came in and went up to his room – and tidied it up for him. I don’t think he even asked them – in fact I’m sure he didn’t, because he doesn’t give two hoots about the state of his room. I’m a bit at a loss about what to make of this turn of events!

I’ve been reading more Harry Potter to Jack (who has only read bits of the first two books) and Freddy (who has read up to about book five, I think, but who loves hearing it all read aloud), and after dinner yesterday, when I was in the bath, Jack asked me to read more. So I lay there in my bubbles, reading – until the doorbell rang. Jack ran downstairs to answer it, leaving the bathroom door wide open – which turned out to be just as well, because it meant I was able to hear him say to his friends, “Do you want to come in and listen to my mum reading Harry Potter?” – I very quickly shouted down that this was an exclusive event! At least when Freddy invited half the kids on the street into my bedroom to see newborn-Toby, I had clothes on!

Speaking of Toby…I wonder where he is? I think I’d better go and find out where he is and what he’s doing…