Tuesday 17 June 2014

Caterpillar success!

After almost 4 weeks of nurture 5 butterflies emerged from their cocoons. What a fantastic experience!

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Light bulb moments

Did you ever start to tell someone something, that someone else has recently said to you, that made sense at the time but wasn't life changing, then as you start to say it out loud, you make sense of it in a way that you didn't before. As you say it, you add to it and fit it into all the places where it makes sense. Almost explaining it to yourself now you finally get it.
That happened to me today. It was all about my beautiful son and our relationship. 

Wednesday 26 March 2014

What is busy?

Move contents of one wardrobe to sofa down stairs.
Move shelf unit downstairs and empty old bits of wood and rolls of wallpaper from the wardrobe.
Pile scarves onto a chair.
Cram purfumes onto the bedside table. 
Take spare duvet to the lounge and berate eldest child for not setting alarm and waking independently.
Encourage said child to get in the shower.
Ask husband to empty the contents of his wardrobe and put it in the lounge.
Get housemate to move boxes from the top of the wardrobe.
Remind husband to write his Mother's Day card and find 2 year old stamp from the misc box in the hall.
Wake youngest child.
Make tea, hot cross bun and cereal for children's breakfast.
Clear random items from the hallway and shout up three flights of stairs to son to come and eat breakfast.
Discuss with son why he can't take his bass guitar to school today.
Make my own breakfast.
Encourage son to pack his school bag with only the items he actually needs. No PE kit as no PE today.
Remove discarded PE kit from the middle of the hallway and get a bag to put it in.
Then, to be as succinct as possible.....
Boot eldest out for the bus.
Have a shower and get dressed.
Take daughter to school.
Discuss with carpenter what wardrobes in our bedroom dimensions should be.
Research this afternoons French lesson.
Give statement to the police about crime witnessed last Saturday.
Heat up our of date prawn spaghetti and eat it.
Pack school bag.
Make carpenter tea.
Collect courtesy car.
Drive to school.
Contact after school club to cancel.
Confirm daughters attendance at a birthday tea.
Set up classroom.
Struggle to be heard and teach French.
Take year 4/5 to singing.
Give out 2 letters to each child.
Attend a staff meeting.
Find a parking space for the car.
Encourage son to ring a friend to sort lifts and get ready for scouts.
Run a bath for daughter and wash, condition, brush and nit comb really long hair.
Feed friends 2 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs and cat.
Replace Mars bar for sons cooking ingredients at cost cutter.
Buy a snickers by mistake and ask husband to get a mars on the way to scouts.
Chat on the phone about nothing with mother for 20mins.
Try to set up housemates new phone for Internet and apps and fail.
Weigh out sons cooking ingredients and try to find a suitable container for a tablespoon of golden syrup.
Put whole pot of golden syrup in a bag.
Give daughter grapes to address her lack of fruit and veg.
Discuss husbands youth work assessment interview and work through answers to potential questions.
Pour a cheap imitation baileys and sip before tipping down the sink and pouring a port.
Search Argos for my daughters classmates birthday present for Friday.
Open multipack of blue rolls.
Sigh at the mess in the playroom. 
Discuss size and style of hinges for the new wardrobes.
Clear exploded bolognese from the inside of the microwave.
Chat with housemate.
Discuss with son returned from scouts why he mustn't fall asleep in his clothes.
Have son strop off saying it's really unfair and slamming the bathroom door.
I can't even finish this...... Too tired, need to sleep more than I need to get this off my chest!

Sunday 16 March 2014

Sporadic at the mo

,I'm just adjusting to my new routines and haven't had time to process all the new experiences yet so I haven't been able to write much. It's been three weeks now and I'm quite enjoying my new roles but I don't feel any less busy. I just redistribute my time in different services and am feeling that the recipients are generally more apt and deserving ie. my own children, husband etc and therefore I feel less guilt, less run ragged and more fulfilled in one sense. I still haven't found any time to do something I want to do for myself though, and I still feel lazy if I sit and relax for 1/2 an hour........... I get very tired. Every experience in life seems so full and engaging that it takes a huge amount of energy just to get through each day!

Thursday 20 February 2014

Days of little action but much thought are tiring too!

It's been so long since I had the time to really think. I love it! Too long wouldn't be good but just a bit of reflection and projection and pondering is such a pleasurable luxury. My little girl is at a sleepover and I miss her, and my son hasn't ventured much from his room and his gaming. That's my next job! I rang my Mum and asked to set up online shopping for her but she said she didn't need anything at the moment. She will tomorrow though!

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Over a month later.

Well the day finally arrived. I am the class teacher no more. It's sad but the right thing. I got scared as it approached, I had nightmares in the final week as I relinquished control and then I experienced an understated sense of liberation. With trepidation I dared to imagine my new life. I required plans. For my sanity, not to improve my future I hasten to add. I undoubtedly won't stick to them but I feel secure in the knowledge that they're in place. I shall develop active learning strategies for ks1 maths and literacy learning to incorporate play whilst fulfilling the criteria for the new 2014 curriculum and I shall use my Fridays as research and to test out my ideas. Sounds good doesn't it lol! I shall collect driftwood and other beach debris and use my glue gun to make fun stuff. I shall walk and run and stretch regularly. I is gonna cook yummy meals for the whole family to enjoy whilst rearranging and cleaning the house from top to bottom. That's before I start on the spring garden jobs. I'll support my children in their learning and help my son specifically to learn to touch type (and spell better). We will go on dates and have special grown up time, us parents need to put our relationship back on the map! For this to work I need botox and a major wardrobe overhaul as well as home hair dye and some plucking and pruning. I also need to make more time for relaxing, I need some me time and to read a few books just for pleasure. That will probably have to wait until I've sorted my mother out. Of course it goes without saying that I shall spend loads of fun time with my children and invite their friends over and enjoy all the things together that we all missed when I worked so much. Gosh, I seem to have more to do now than I did when I was working!!!!!

Sunday 5 January 2014

Will we make it on time and in one piece?

After 2 weeks of waking up at the usual time but going back to sleep for 3 hours, and the kids staying asleep until 9.30 (Flo) 11.45 (Joe) the first day back at school and work for all of us is going to be a challenge. Flo has already come down twice tonight because she can't sleep. David Walliams has had her in tears coz his book about scary dentists is just too frightening! I don't want to be a working Mum at times like these. Her tummy pains are back, (she hasn't mentioned them for 2 weeks so that's pretty conclusive. Roll on 6 weeks when I'll be working one day a week. I've done 19 hours of assessment and planning this weekend. If you add that to the time I spend in school over and above the statutory 5.5 hours each day I spend at school then I probably earn around £4 an hour! 
Anyway, rant over. Flo's party today at Pecorama was brill. Her friends are all so lovely and she enjoyed it very much. The cake that my friend made was amazing x

Saturday 4 January 2014

Better late than never.....

Resolved to start writing again and it's taken 5 days to get round to it, so I can't promise a daily installment. I have so much to write now, so I really do hope I find the time. My six months of full time teaching covering a maternity leave is reaching it's end. I am sad, scared and elated all at the same time. There are lots of suitable local jobs advertised at the moment, and I am perhaps foolishly not applying for them. I'm following my intuition and persevering for what I think I want. Time will tell if I have made the right decision or not. I keep falling back on the line "my children need me back!" And of  course that's true - to an extent (I need them back is probably more accurate!)