In on Sunday, pottering.
Out on Monday, leaving Bob to work from home in peace while the children and I went to the Fenland Country Fair where we met up with Gina and co to watch dog agility (the fun classes, which means the dogs may or may not perform, depending on how they feel 😉 ), fly casting by a champion (J’s choice, but we didn’t watch for long, I’m afraid), falconry displays (K’s choice), vintage vehicles (S was transfixed) and more. The children’s favourite bit was the funfair section, though, where they all bounced on inflatables, L rode on the carousel, J and J and then E and K went on the “cooperative swings” and A rode a motorbike round and round in small circles with great aplomb 🙂 Actually, I’m not certain that was entirely the favourite bit for E, L and K. They all chose to go into the arena to meet the foxhounds and were incredibly hard to get out again…
In on Tuesday, as far as I remember, pottering. Although we could have been doing almost anything. I have a memory like a sieve just now :frog: Oh yes, in the afternoon we popped out to collect a Freecycled Cub uniform for M, then came home via Sainsbury’s and Bad News from Bob which put the kibosh (temporarily at least) on the projected trip to Ikea en route to London on Wednesday 🙁
Out on Wednesday, meeting imaginary friends at the British Museum. We all had lunch together and a little impromptu wrapping session, as well as baby cuddling, DS-ing, running around, playing, chatting and general niceness. Then we wandered around the Egyptian galleries together before heading off our separate ways – in our case back into the museum to look at Indian silk paintings, community art elephants and Indian rooms and a money-free mosey round the shop. We found a burger bar near Holborn where a grinning assistant did us an excellent falafel burger and the most enormous portion of chips I’ve ever seen for well under £5 and then caught the train home 🙂
That means Thursday should have been in, when in fact we were at Tots, but that is so much a second home now that it almost feels like being in! It was very much a Tots session this week, with several new babies/toddlers and very few older children (in fact, I think the only children over 4 were mine!) but knowing that next week will be busy and mostly Nots-oriented that was probably not a bad thing. Gina phoned to ask if we wanted to join them on an Expotition, but we had already arranged with Susan to do things at home (she very kindly offered to help after seeing my determinedly not worrying post on Facebook) so we came home via another freecycle pick-up (CD/cassette player so I can do more French teaching more easily) and a car hiccup which left us sitting waiting for the car to decide to work again at the time we should have been at home waiting for Susan to arrive. Fortunately Gina then texted to say their expotition had ended in failure so we were able to phone her and ask a) if she could let Susan know we were delayed and b) if they wanted to come to ours instead 🙂 So the afternoon was very definitely in, with help blitzing the hall (Susan) and hoovering the stairs (Gina) while I got cracking on the kitchen and the children amused themselves (Gina’s plus Susan’s plus mine makes for nice even pairings 😉 ). I think the working parties we occasionally talk about organising are a seriously good idea – it’s so much less of a big deal when you’re not tackling it alone! Actually, I don’t think I’d have managed it at all without help, particularly this week, thanks to some fairly hefty blood loss which left me sitting down suddenly at random intervals (Floradix is my friend!) so huge thanks to both of you 🙂 I’m assuming I can come and repay the favour some time 😉
On Friday Susan, obviously a glutton for punishment, came back and proved that our kitchen does actually have work surfaces 😀 Not many, admittedly, but what it has she found 😉 And I collapsed and watched her work and did as I was told when handed papers to sort. Better that week than this, I guess. Hoping it’s a one-off though, and that I can get enough energy back for a busy week/month/term.
And so it was Saturday. En Famille day – and I spent the morning doing sling demos while Bob and the children finished things off at home…
