Y13 Summer term: Finishing Lessons, Starting Exams and leaving Sixth Form

[catslife]

So our dcs are now on the last term of sixth form, finishing off lessons and starting their exams.
How did that happen - doesn't seem that long ago since they started Y12.
This is the thread where we support each other as our dcs revise and start their exams, finish off coursework, leave sixth form and make plans for what to do with the rest of their lives. This may involve going to uni or other alternatives.
Every Y13 parent is welcome to join in whether new to these threads or if you have been with us for a while - the more the merrier.

nettles your garden sounds lovely.
Sorry to hear about your MIL. It must be doubly worrying to be far away.

Dd is another one who has to be sitting up in bed before I can be sure she is awake and even then it is not guaranteed.
She is mild compared to ds though.

dd is an odd teenager who always gets herself up. This week it's 9am on the dot. It's very impressive!

She's also suffering conflicts between thinking she should be studying none stop, but realised she can't. But then she won't do other stuff instead. So she stares at her phone feeling guilty.

Must drag her out when I finish work today.

DS was up early this morning to make sure he was on the internet to buy a Nigeria World Cup football shirt. Priorities.

That's clearly very important!

Emotional rollercoastering going on here. When a STEP paper goes well the afternoon is all happy and lovely. When it's not gone quite as well, it's not so good. I approach lunchtimes with trepidation.

We converted our garage to a beautiful utility room last year. We spent waaaay over budget on some custom built cupboards but it is perfect. Or would be, if the shelves each of the DC have for their sports gear had an extractor each.

I've given up asking DD where she's going. The lies are boring. Quite how she forgets we have Find My iPhone is beyond me.

Our garage was full of 27 years of stuff with a walkway through the middle. I've been working my way through it, the big woodworking equipment has gone out but the Christmas decorations have gone in as I don't want to be facing the loft on my own next year. We have been planning a new garage door for the last ten years, I am now looking at having an insulated sectional one. It's an integral garage (bedroom over it) and the freezer and pantry is out there so I'm in and out a lot. I've painted half of it, I need to rehome more stuff before I do the rest.

It's looking better, there's still a long way to go but part of my problem is I have no idea what I want to do with it. It's always been manspace and I've never considered what I would do with the space. I can't see past what is there now. Can you get garage designers like you get bathroom designers?

ah chocolate :( that's really annoying. Sometimes it's hard to see why they can't just be reasonable.

knitting garage designers is a great idea! We really need to do something with ours.

Wow, there's a whole world of garage stuff out there. Interlocking 7mm thick vinyl floor tiles for a start, that would really warm the place up. I have decided that I'm going to have a freestanding shelf unit and some boxes (many of which will be labelled "lego"), fill that with what's in the corner where I think the wood should live, order a load of firewood, cut up all the odd bits of wood using child labour and then live with it for a bit. Hopefully the lady that has been selling the contents of the garage for charity will have moved house by then and be back for phase four.

There - a decision and a way forward. Thank you all for helping me think about it.

Sounds like a great plan!

DS1 is happy today because Co-op have a big discount on Ben & Jerry's. He bought three large tubs for £5.

Well done Knitting. Am very impressed

Chocolate they seem to try and make everything harder than it needs to be!

Kitten when do the STEP exam happen?

We are meant to be watching Othello tonight. I bought her the DVD months ago but she has not bothered to watch it.

I don't want to watch Othello. I did it for A level and then again at University. I am Moored out.

I want to veg in the downstairs lounge, close to my chilled wine and my dog and watch the last of the Pompeii programmes.

I have checked on the Georges and they are all doing fine. I have had to move them because where they were gets the last of the evening sun and they got too warm last night. I have no idea how large the escape party was but there certainly was one because the outside of the worm coop was covered in what was previously inside.

I don't want to watch Othello either. I don't want to go to the gym but I am doing because when I go DS goes too.

Garages, worm bins, this truly is my happy place...

Our garage floor was a step down from the house. We put in a suspended floor (and replaced the door with a window) and it made a huge difference to the heat in the whole downstairs.

clearly ds did it the wrong way round. He watched it several times in several different versions. Then wrote lots of essays on racism in Othello (where mostly he missed the point). And finally has consented to read it and look up some of the quotes. This does not bode well for his literary analysis.

knitting that is very brave to go to the gym; I hate things like gyms and sports centres, and I know my kids only set foot in them when I prompt them, but then it is not so bad. But so noisy in there. And I always feel, I should be out walking the non-existent dog instead, or running half marathons, or ds should. School have invited us to train for half marathon. Just no!! Luckily I am away. I've met the trainer already, a kind but motivated lady who I've already fallen foul of last time I tried out "running" in a group.

I have to remind myself that actually this is a sign of how far she's come. The fact that she's confident enough to lie about her whereabouts because of a boy means that her mental health is pretty good.

So close to the end now

Kind of feels untidy leaving it this close to the end

I wonder if I should finish it off

then kitten can't tell me off for being on the new thread

Our garage. Our cars are not parked in it. It is not attached to the house. You may wonder what the point if it is ......

nearly there