Who’s Normal Anyway?

This weekend we had the District Centenary Camp Together at the District’s campsite in Thetford forest. The Cubs, Scouts and Explorers camped the whole weekend but the Beavers just visited for the day yesterday.

A disappeared early on Friday morning to help pack all of our Group’s camping equipment and then get it to the site and put up. It took them all day but luckily the rain held off for them. There was a huge marquee, 6 large Vangos and assorted other tents and then all the cooking equipment and food and tables and benches. They had it really well set up. It was a bit of a squash on the tent site though with so many people all camping together.

Friday for me and the boys was mainly doing last minute bits for M’s kit - last couple of name tapes, checking he had everything on his kit list etc. We packed and repacked his kit bag several times until M could get it all in in a sensible order for himself. I was a bit worried how M would cope at camp because he still doesn’t like to be upstairs by himself and likes us to be near as he falls asleep and he’s scared of the dark. I thought keeping track of his kit and whatnot on top might be a bit too much. So we made sure he knew what was packed and how to do it himself!

On Saturday morning we had an early start because I needed to leave the house by 7.45 to get M to camp by 8.30 to book in. We managed to leave by 8am and got there OK, meeting A and A at the entrance who were efficiently checking off our Cubs and Scouts and had a good system going. Parents weren’t allowed on the campsite and there was a strict security pass system all weekend. But I was booked as a Beaver Leader and leaders were welcome for the whole weekend, except the bookers-in hadn’t actually expected any Beaver leaders might show up on the Saturday so I caused some pass confusion for a while. Once L and I were checked in we walked down to the tent field and said hello to the other leaders and looked around, saw M was in his tent and getting sorted and helped hang a few uniforms onto coat hangars. Some kids had no idea how to do even that and bags and kit was rather strewn about as they all got changed and headed up to the opening ceremony.

The activity stations started at 10am and all the Cubs and Scouts were split into 7 patrols with about 30 in each to do each base. L and I wandered over to the climbing tower and watched A on the climbing and abseiling tower for a while. A leader I met on the first aid course was there with her small grandkids so we chatted for a while and watched the abseiling. It started to drizzle so we went to look around the craft hall instead. M was in that group so we chatted to some of our Group’s cubs and watched them doing shrinkies and beadman keyrings and I helped on the rope making for a bit. L wouldn’t stay in the hall so every couple of mins I had to dash out after him. Then I found him trying to eat someone’s clay creation so I quickly put that back together and hoped for the best. He played for a while with our camera and stayed sat in the middle of the floor taking random photos to the other leaders’ amusement.

We left camp before lunch as L was getting tired and it was still wet and I took him to the garden centre because they have a nice cafe. After lunch we had a quick stop at the supermarket and then I took L home and he had a very long nap until 5pm. We had some food at home and then went back to camp for the evening activities. We picked our passes back up and walked down to the campsite but passed M’s group at the archery so stopped to watch. I got to have a go too - it was great, really looking forward to the activity day for Beaver Leaders to try outdoor activities in a couple of weeks so I can have another go. We chatted to A while they closed up the climbing tower and L helped with A’s kit, lol.

*** Vegetarians please avert your eyes for the next section ***

There was a hog roast at 8pm for the evening meal, but a long queue waiting to be served. It was extremely tasty. We got a plate for L too so had plenty of food between the 3 of us.

A band played while we were eating and afterwards, but alot of oldies the kids didn’t know. Which would’ve been more OK, except that at 9.30pm when our Group’s leaders decided it was about time to get the Cubs back to the tents for bed (not sure who was more tired, kids or leaders!) we were told we couldn’t leave the marquee and I wasn’t allowed to leave the site via car. It turned out there was a medical emergency down on the campsite and we all had to stay put until the ambulance had been and gone. So we sat back down and tried to keep the Cubs cheery as they dropped with tiredness and were getting bored. We heard the same tunes several times, though the band were doing their best to keep them entertained in difficult circumstances. M had a boogie and made us giggle. One of the Cubs had a homesick wobble but I was pleased in wasn’t M. We could finally get off site and come home gone 11pm. L lasted really well but zonked in the car so he went to bed in his clothes. I’ll blog the Beaver Day separately as this is already long.

Yesterday we got up early and M played Runescape for a while then did some maths while L and I hung out washing and watered the plants in the garden. We had a fairly shouty morning, although I can’t think what about now. I think mainly we were all tired from late nights and early mornings.

Late morning we went out to the supermarket and had some lunch there and then got the shopping. I remembered to buy some more ice cream, which we usually don’t get because the shopping sits in the boot of the car while we go to music in the afternoon after the supermarket (both in same direction so we do them the same day), as music wasn’t on this week.

When we got home and got the shopping put away things got shouty again because M can’t find anything to do if it doesn’t involve staring at a screen and then he went to call for the boy next door and he wasn’t allowed to play, so M was in an even worse mood. He said he had a funny tummy and was too tired to go to rollerskating. We had to pop out for half an hour and sort out keys for the other Beaver Leaders to get into the building but the kids stayed in the car while I did that. I didn’t go to Beavers because I was supposed to be taking M to rollerskating with A being away and there was no way I was taking both children to Beavers with me! We came home and had pizza and it was early nights all round.

Today we had a better start to the morning (well, once M got over a maths paddy but we’ll gloss over that bit) and played lots of card games. M was asking me about poker and betting but I know very little about either, so we played a simple 3 sets of 3 game and then played Go Fish ina not very successful modified version but M still enjoyed it. Today we were doing about animal classifications and so I printed out these cards and we played the game with those.

Spelling was straightforward (The Writing Road to Reading scheme for sounding out words is still working really well for M and he says he likes doing spelling, he’s learning a lot through his Runescape typing too lol) and then we did an experiment with a candle, blowing it out and then lighting it again from the wax vapour (last week’s Krampf experiment).

L and I went for a walk to post a letter while M played a computer game. He likes posting letters. L is coming on with his signing but isn’t making many inroads into talking as yet. He signs for alot of things like drink and potty but recently is signing much more about what’s going on around him. His newest signs are aircraft (needs a bit of interpretation, though usually one is overhead so we know that is what he’s trying to sign!), milk, teddy, baby (any small child, especially if crying), crying and train. He makes himself understood pretty well with signs and looking and pointing at what he wants, but it would be nice if he would talk a bit more. I expect he’ll get there eventually, he’s so interested in everything maybe its just not a top priority at the moment lol.

When we got back M was bored so I sent him to look for inspiration in his bedroom and have a tidy up. After a little while I went to help with the tidying and suggested starting the Puddle Monster kit he got for Christmas (we were waiting for warmer brighter weather). We made some space on the top of a unit and got as far as putting compost around the pond part (this kit has a section to grow grass round the pond) and then stopped to make fajitas for tea. Fajitas are always popular here and even L ate loads and was covered in sauce. He had a quick bath and I put his pyjamas on and then we all drove to M’s ju jitsu class at the leisure centre about 40 mins away. We listened to our latest Audible download that I quickly put onto CD after tea - Narnia’s The Silver Chair dramatisation on the way there and back and L fell asleep. I dropped M off at the door and then had an hour to read a magazine before I needed to wake L to go in and find M.

When we got home M went straight to bed and I took L to settle down for the night and watched The Apprentice while he nodded off. Then A phoned just as Sir Alan was deciding whether to fire Adam or Paul, so I was trying to talk to A, listen to the TV and explain what the task was all at the same time.

Now I’m going to get another drink and check my beetles won’t eat each other overnight, the progress of my wine making and that my sheep have enough onions in Egypt, and then I’m off to bed

Yes we are still here, I’m just not keeping up with this blogging malarkey at the moment. Been busy with the Beavers and my Egypt game and general life and home ed lol.

A is away on a climbing course this week, so days seem much longer without him coming home at teatime. Today we’ve had a day in at home. L took me outside to do gardening this morning, he was most insistent! M was doing maths - set himself a target of doing 7 pages today so that for April he would’ve finished more pages than in January (he colours in the blocks in the back of the Miquon book) but he flagged at 4 So I was in and out helping M and supervising L. We watered all the seedlings then weeded part of the veg patch and resowed mangetout. Theoretically A put them in about a month or so ago but nothing had grown, so either he never planted them or else the birds got them or they rotted or something. I also planted out the only woad plant that grew from all the seeds I planted - must do some more. When we came in we listened to some Mozart as part of our last week of A Cricket in Times Square (Beyond FIAR) and then had some lunch. L played with his garage and M and I played Civ3 together which he bought a week ago.

In the afternoon we went for a short drive to drop off some Beaver notices and to get L off for a sleep easily, then M did some painting for a while. We sorted through some photos and got together the things for a Cub badge he wants to do - it’s Cubs this evening so he can take everything with him to show Akela. When L woke up we went out into the garden again to bring the washing in and tidy up and then I made some fish pie for tea while L went to play with the lad next door. We’ve had tea and walked to the shop for ice creams, though L dropped his on the ground fairly quickly. L’s been amusing us by chasing us and blowing raspberries on our legs, something he’s come up with today by himself because we didn’t start it! Now I’d better stop this and go chase M to get ready for Cubs lol.

As part of his Cricket in Times Square topic at the moment M did a bit of a project on Italian food, finishing off by making his own Italian food last Friday.

He decided to make pasta for a main course and weighed and mixed it all himself.

When it had stood for a while I helped him get it started with in the pasta maker, and then together we rolled it thinner and thinner. A came in from work just in time to do the strip cutting right before we cooked it for tea. I made some meatballs to go with tomato and chilli sauce and we had that with the pasta - yum!

For dessert M chose to make ice cream. We found a recipe for vanilla ice cream and set to with separating the eggs. I wanted M to manage it all himself but every egg he cracked he split the yolk. We had a fridge full of broken yolk eggs very quickly! He must have done about half a dozen that way so eventually I took over the cracking part and then M separated them LOL. The rest of the ice cream making was much simpler. I was surprised how well it worked just putting the mixture in the freezer and stirring it every hour. M added some choc chips just before it froze completely.

It was ice cream to die for. So much more delicious than bought ice cream. We will be making it again

A went away walking and climbing in Scotland with some friends for a long weekend, setting off Friday morning. So on Friday we did that great cure all for fed-up-ness - shopping! LOL We went into town at lunchtime and got a McDonalds and then went all round the shops. I wanted to get a navy skirt to go with my Scout Leader shirt for things like the St George’s Day parade and other ceremony things but didn’t fancy the official one so I tried lots on and found one eventually. M got a new hooded sweatshirt with some room in the arms and the length for him to grow. He’s in age 10 stuff at the moment but I had to order him size 11-12 for some waterproof trousers for his cub camp - can’t keep up with him L was treated to a Brio builder set of a wooden car with very simple pegs and a hammer to fix it together. But mainly we had a wander around out in the sunshine without getting cross at each other.

On Saturday the weather was gorgeous and so I made some sandwiches and sorted out drinks and snacks and we went out caching in Thetfrd forest. There were several caches within walking distance but the first we tried was close to a road and we realised a car had drawn up near is and we were being watched which was unpleasant, so we walked on and left it. Then we tried another cache with clues which we solved OK but then couldn’t find the location they were leading to. We walked around in the woods a while but the tree cover was interfering and we couldn’t figure the cache out even with the clue so we abandoned that for another day. We then went on to find a micro cache (film canister) though, so not a complete failure. L walked quite a way copying M with finding sticks to carry. Then we walked back to the car and had a picnic before driving home for the loo!

In the evening we had “taco and film night” at M’s request. His latest DVD had come that morning from Amazon so I made the taco meat, warmed the shells and did cheese and lettuce then we assembled everything and ate in front of the TV. We watched Narnia for the first time - why did they have to fiddle with the story? Seemed like they just reduced it down to Edmund not being obedient and changed bits there was no need to change. But anyway, we still enjoyed it.

Yesterday we went to Church in the morning and chatted to people. L went off with the other kids to Sunday school quite happily. Still can’t get used to how different he is to M! He went in and we found a toy he liked and then I left him there and went back to the service. He reportedly coloured quite happily. He does love fiddling with pens and pencils so I’m sure he did. LOL

The weather was still lovely so in the afternoon we went out in the garden and I sorted out and planted some seeds and M dug a big hole in the veggie patch for ages. He said he was training to be the next Tony Robinson but only found a bit of broken plastic plant pot. He and L also played with the swing ball for a bit and chased about.

And today we are just getting through the day without getting too mad with each other and waiting for A to get back - probably about tea time. M has Cubs this evening. L has just started a cold and has a very runny nose and keeps sneezing all over everything - nice!

We didn’t get anything much done on Thursday morning. M was tired from 3 late nights in a row and feeling tearful. I was planning on sewing badges onto A’s and M’s camp blankets as they were pinned on but not stitched, so M wanted to look at those and my old Guider one. But he got upset about whether he would ever be a Sixer at Cubs and would he ever be a Scout and would he ever be a Scouter like Daddy and got quite worked up about it all and about Daddy having more badges on his.

After lunch we drove off to the leisure centre for the new group. We arrived when it was due to start but as all home ed events, no one was there. Shortly we did meet one family and said hello. There was a large hall for racing about in and some girls were on rollerskates so M thought he might take his along another time. Then off the side of the hall was a smaller hall with some large soft play pieces and then a small wooden climbing frame. The soft play stuff was mainly used for jumping on and for climbing up to throw yourself at a long triangle shape stood high on end so that it fell over with a huge “whop” with the child on top of it and hopefully no small child (or larger one for that matter!) beneath it! This room was where the teenage boys hung out and all the other parents mainly stayed away. I stayed in there to keep an eye on L who couldn’t be expected to be wary (yet at least) of the falling soft play stuff! He had a go on the wooden climbing frame.

M ran about with his friend S and seemed to be having fun but then my attention was finally drawn to the fact he was about to have a punch up with some of the other boys! He and S were building with 2 soft play pieces and some of the regular boys decided they wanted all of it to build a big pile to sit in in one corner and took the pieces M and S had. M says he tried to tell me before but I hadn’t really taken in what he was telling me and was paying more attention to what L was up to. But whatever, glowering at someone and trying to snatch back the piece and fighting over it is not a good way to act and I told him to come away. His friend had just walked away and not got mad. So M was angry at the boys and angry at me and I was very embarrassed he could get into a big row on our first visit to a strange group. Although in hindsight its not fair or logical, I felt like why couldn’t he just back down and keep out of the way as he was the new person. Really he needed me to intervene somehow much earlier, before things got so far.

The parent we met when we first arrived came over and said boys will be boys (along those lines anyway) and the other parents just left them to it and wanted them to sort it out themselves - wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be reassuring that it was fine for him to fight or warning me off interfering.

I noticed there were no other under 5s so parents didn’t need to be helping small children and of the boys, M must have been one of the youngest. He might look like he’s 10 or 11 but he is only 8 and of course he still needs guidance and help in resolving things, but I don’t think I helped at all.

Apart from the first person we met when we arrived and the parents of S and also the person collecting the money, no one else said a word to us. I do find these Norfolk things very hard. People are quite standoffish and speak to their little clique, even when you’ve been going to things for ages. I can’t sit and try and join in with the other parents all sat along the edge of the big hall and leave L to the mercies of the big kids with the whopping soft play pieces! So I potter with him, can’t see very well how things are going with M and it’s hard.

The second hour was swimming and both M and L love being in the water. M can swim well enough to swim about and I do my best to keep an eye on where he is, though that is hard while keeping watch on what L is up to - he moves so fast! So I followed L and M swam with S for a while and got upset about getting stuck in the rapids. I tried to take him round but he ended up pulling me out of my depth so I had to swim, very hampered by carrying L at the same time, so I shan’t be trying that again. Then M got upset about me saying we needed to go home soon to get tea because I was going out, while other people were going to stay for chips. I felt like there was just no pleasing him!

We stayed long enough for a quick drink and a packet of crisps and a chat with S’s family and then drove home. By then it was rush hour and the traffic home was bad so we got back later than I’d hoped. I rushed about getting tea. A was out at a camp planning meeting til about 20 mins before I needed to go out. He came in and asked about our day and I ended up having a blazing row about it all with the whole frustration of everything. I got a pounding headache and didn’t go out, and I really upset M. So terrible day really.

If M wants to go to that group again then I suppose we will, but I feel very “take it or leave it” with the home ed scene at the moment. If we do go back I’ll suggest taking his roller blades and work out in advance with him what we are going to do such as staying for chips and going in the rapids. I’m not sure what we got out of it overall. L liked trying out the climbing frame I suppose and M got to see his friend S and both L and M got to swim which is rare lately. It’s not really likely to enhance our social circle because of where people travel from and the whole cliquey thing and we can go swimming other times so we’ll see. There may be more home ed boys and boys closer to M’s age in Norfolk and there are more organised activities, but overall I think I much preferred being in Yorkshire.

This week has been pretty busy. Monday was an at home day and M did some more of his Cricket in Times Square stuff. Then he had Cubs in the evening. I spent alot of Monday sorting out Beavers paperwork for 2 different trips they are going on but which parents appear to have combined in their heads making getting the right forms in and signed and what-have-you on time a bit difficult. Then in the evening while L was asleep and M was out I drew a life size picture of a Beaver (less said about my artistic skills the better) for our Tuesday meeting all about the beaver animal.

We had music on Tuesday afternoon so in the morning we did some maths and things quickly then went out to the supoermarket near the music class to do the shopping and get some lunch. Music is the best bunch of home edders we mix with regularly and the teacher from the Norfolk music service is lovely, but the class doesn’t seem to be progressing at all lately. I’m not sure if he is working to the new people or the younger ones, but every week they just repeat almost exactly the content of the lesson before. I don’t know how I would like them to develop but it feels like they have stalled and I would like for M to learn more about music as he enjoys it so much. He wants to keep going to the group regardless though. L has fun there too, sometimes sitting with me and listening but also doing colouring and this week he was trying out some happy mais too. In the evening I went out to Beavers while M, L and A went off to rollerskating. When I got home we had pizza.

I can’t remember now what we did on Wednesday other than me sorting out more paperwork and money from Beavers and M being excited about the thought of going to a “sports” come swimming home ed group the next day, so I phoned to get more details about it and let them know we were planning on coming. In the evening M had ju jitsu.

And the rest of the week will have to wait til I have time to type it!

Last week started off quite well and then went downhill rapidly And I started writing this and then had it in draft for ages, so now I’m forgetting the details lol.

On Monday M started Beyond Five in a Row with the book A Cricket in Times Square. So far that’s been going really well - it’s like FIAR but with a chapter book and slightly more involved activities to do based on the chapters in the story. We have much more successful mornings when I have some things planned. L pottered about as usual. He is very into felt tip pens at the moment and decorates all sorts of things with them, though not often things we’d like to have decorated with pen lol. Monday evening was Cubs for M. They’re doing an ongoing project about the environment and global concerns at the moment.

Tuesday was a busy day. We did a few things at home then rushed out to the supermarket for food for the week. We got some lunch there and went on to music, which this week was a samba session. The teacher had everyone joining in so L and I were on cow bells (though after initial enthusiasm he wandered off to the table and the colouring things) and M was on a tamborine. We learnt some rhythms and marched around the hall playing together. In the evening M, L and A went to rollerskating and I had Beavers. This week went much better than last - must’ve been testing us last week I think. Also we didn’t have as much to fit in this week (the week before we had a swimming up ceremony and lots to remember) so everything was calmer.

On Tuesday evening L went to bed OK but woke up burning hot and cranky just before I went to bed. We ended up dosing him up with ibuprofen (he won’t take paracetamol usually and even the ibuprofen takes alot of coaxing and I often end up wearing it!) and had a rough night.

By Wednesday he was not himself at all, very hot and upset and couldn’t sleep without being held. I think he had a sore throat and he had trouble swallowing. That evening he started with a rash too. He was also pretty bad on Thursday so we were all tired and fed up of staying in the house. I can’t remember Friday now, but I think he was starting to improve a bit.

Saturday morning I was desperate to go somewhere and do something other than sit and feed and cuddle L and L was more perky and getting his appetite back. We had a drive out to pick up some Scout stuff and visited a new garden centre which we’ve only ever driven past before. It had a good range of all the gardeny things we usually look for and L pottered about the plants happily. Their cafe was also very good so we had drinks and cakes in there before coming home.

We’ve had a good day of few arguments and getting stuff done we wanted to today M did all his maths with no problems and didn’t get frustrated with himself. He also typed up an amazing page of things he’d found out about some sea creatures and added pictures. He wrote it very chattily, calmly asked for help with some spellings (though he did think the computer should’ve recognised that moonjellies was a word LOL) and sat and tapped away happily for quite a while. He was upset when L found his printout and drew all over it before I noticed , but thank goodness for saving and for printers! Meanwhile L pottered about.

We rearranged the TV and stereo area in the living room to put the DVD/video stand behind the TV unit right in the corner where L can’t reach it, because I found he’d cracked one of his DVDs. Though what to do with the drawerful of videos he can still get at? So I had a good vac out behind there and tidied up.

L joined M in doing some art with some oil pastels. M practised drawing a boat and then did a boat on the sea at night, with waves and reflections. L sat up to the table in his highchair and had some paper like M’s and was enthusiastic about using the oil pastels too, so that kept him engaged for ages My little righthander LOL - going to be the odd one out!

We made some chocolate biscuits together and then later I made tortillas for our chicken fajitas for tea. In and among we had a short walk out to the park too.

This evening A and M have been out to ju jitsu and I took L to church for the Ash Wednesday service. He was very well behaved in church but still rather a distraction I think, rustling his plastic bags of cereal and raisins and pushing his car around. Then he spent a while emptying out wet wipes, washing his head and then the carpet. He was taking it all in during communion and the bit with the ashes though. I thought I’d have him playing quietly on the floor of a pew where no one would see him but it turned out we were all sitting right up round the altar as there were only a few of us, so everyone got to watch his antics. I stopped for a quick coffee afterwards (L had a nap so I knew he wouldn’t be early to bed) but when he decided spitting on the tables (where do they get these ideas?) was fun I decided it was bedtime

This past week has been half term here, which affected us only in that there were more places open and things to go out and do than usual. We had a fairly quiet beginning of the week but then Wednesday M had ju jitsu. The previous week M brought home a flyer from rollerskating all about the half term playscheme in the local leisure centre. He was keen to go to that on Thursday and Friday morning, even though he didn’t know anyone else who was going as far as we could tell. I thought that was pretty brave!

Thursday morning’s session started with rollerskating and then after the break they played on a bouncy castle. M was pleased to see his friend J from rollerskating was there along with a couple of other people he knows. He had a great time and was chuffed to get a roller skating development book off the rollerskating coach - looks like he is going to be giving the regulars more points to work on for their development. He’s trying to find new talent for the 2012 Olympics LOL.

While M was at that L and I went to Waitrose for a few bits and then came home. What is it with the snooty attitude in Waitrose? We had to wait ages for customer services to help by finding blue roll to dry the trolley so L wouldn’t get soaked from it and none of the staff ever smile, they just look at you as if they are deigning to serve you. It’s always full of old well off people, rather than anyone else with kids and the prices are silly. But it was conveniently on the way home so we went there anyway LOL.

After collecting M at lunchtime we drove to Gressenhall to spend the afternoon as it was such a lovely day weatherwise. We had some lunch in the cafe and bumped into a family we know from music, then played in the adventure playground for quite a while. L figured out how to go down the slides by himself. It was fascinating to watch him. He needed a little bit of help up the steep ramp, then he managed the wooden steps by crawling up each and standing up again (very funny with him in his wellies and waterproof trousers, because he can’t bend his feet as normal). Then he sat down and bum shuffled to the edge of the slide slope, worked out he needed to raise his feet or he got stuck, and off he slid. He was having trouble with the bum shuffle part and tried another technique, which was crawling onto the slide and then manoevering his feet round to a sitting position. He soon gave up the trying to sit and came down on his tummy instead LOL. He enjoyed himself for ages with it. Meanwhile M was racing about as usual.

We had a look around the museum for a little while after the playground. It closes for the winter and was only open for this week because it was half term. It opens again in March. They’ve redone some parts of the museum so we had a look at the changes and explored the laundry yard for a while.

On Friday M had another session at the leisure centre with games and a water fight. On the way home from dropping M off, L fell asleep in the car and slept for ages, so I got a quiet morning! We picked M back up and had some lunch out. I can’t remember what we did in the afternoon, but I was going downhill fast with a throat infection and swollen glands.

Yesterday I got up late and had a day at home, while A took the boys out shopping. He rarely has both boys and he’s not very confident having L without me around. When M was little M used to scream the place down on the odd occasion only A was there so A never got any confidence with him. A copes much better with L and vice versa, but he still worries about L getting upset if they go out without me. They are getting more practice recently though, with me going out to the ladies group at Church on a Thursday and A taking both boys to rollerskating while I’m at Beavers. I’m booking to do a first aid course in March for the whole day, so that’ll keep A busy. He said this morning he’d be glad to get back to work tomorrow for some peace and to relax LOL. I suppose he doesn’t get much time to purely do his own thing like when he used to go out with Mountain Rescue. But I rarely get time to do my own thing with no responsibilities here either, it’s just things I like doing more easily fit around what M and L are up to.

So anyway A took the boys round the shops and exchanged L’s CD player that he got for Christmas - it had suddenly come up with a wierd code not in the instruction booklet and refused to play CDs anymore. They went to the supermarket and then to McDonalds and sounds like they had a good morning. A even remembered to take L to the toilet, which sounds silly but isn’t something he has programmed in to think about usually LOL.

In the afternoon A washed the car and when L noticed he was outside he insisted on getting his waterproof trousers on and joining him. He was so sweet trying to copy Daddy.

Today A took the boys to Church this morning and this afternoon we went out to a couple of garden centres for a look around and to get bird food and ideas. But mainly a quiet day.