There's a lot going on in my head right now, and I've found it a little hard to concentrate on any one particular thing the last few days. I'm going to try not to turn this post into a long, rambling mess, but bear with me, ok? There's nothing particularly bad - this home is still a contented one, happily - but I have been worrying a bit about Joe and how he is coping at school, and it's been niggling away at the back of my mind for a while. Basically, he is doing fine, but seems to struggle with concentration and confidence. He's also a very solitary little boy, in a world of his own a lot of the time, and, although he does have friends, just doesn't seem to know how to connect with them. It's very hard to explain or to put my finger on anything specific but I just felt that he has some issues and wanted to discuss this with someone - even if it was just to be told that I was worrying about nothing. This week we had parent/teacher consultations, and I made an appointment to see Joe's teacher this afternoon so that I could voice my concerns. But she actually phoned me earlier on today to say that the AEN lady had been doing a routine class observation and had felt that Joe could do with some extra help, and would it be ok if she sat in on our meeting? This was so well timed, I felt very reassured that they had noticed something before I'd had the chance to flag it up first. So we had the meeting and they are going to ask some communication and behaviour specialists to come and observe him, and hopefully give some advice and guidance on how best to support him at school. I'm now feeling a lot happier now that the ball is rolling and I'm not just being a paranoid mother!
Also going on in my head:
Trying to plan Joe's birthday in a few weeks. I'd been agonising over what kind of party to give him, but in fact I think he finds big groups of children quite overwhelming, so I've decided to ditch the party idea and just keep it very quiet whilst still making a big fuss of him. So it will be some kind of family outing instead I think, and maybe one friend home for tea after school on the actual day.
I've also been thinking about the Christmas swap. I am DEFINITELY not doing a bag for this one, partly because I've made bags for both of the other swaps I've done, but also because my partner makes some very gorgeous bags herself, with clever things like zips too! So I've come up with an idea that I think will be really fun, and after a bit of experimentation, have just started working on the project "proper". As always, you'll have to wait a while to see the finished article!
I've been toying with the idea of opening an Etsy shop and trying to sell maybe some tote bags, maybe some felty bird brooches? A little extra money is always useful, especially in the current climate. What do you reckon? Shall I give it a whirl?
Gosh, I have gone on a bit, sorry! I'll leave you with some photos from our weekend. We went to a wedding and it was the most beautiful sunny day! The whole thing was so lovely. The reception was at this stunning venue.
The Spa Valley Railway actually passed the venue, and look who chuffed past while we were having pre-dinner drinks on the patio!
There was a lovely meal and a great disco in the evening. A good time was had by all - Peter even got up and danced with me!
Me and my lovely hubby.
R x