Caterpillar success!

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

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. 

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!

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!

Silent Sunday

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!

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!!!!!

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

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!)

Back to school for all of us today. Flo was sick last night at around 1am, all in the bed. Lovely! The joys of parenthood. Poor thing though, not a nice experience for anyone. She was fine this morning thankfully, so off she went. It was all a bit chaotic but I managed to get everything ready, only for the rest of them to leave after me and forget most things! Such is life.
My school day was fun. Thank heavens I'm not just teaching maths by itself anymore. I love teaching maths, but I like a bit of variety too.
Today I taught phonics to reception children. My three weeks worth of plans were a little ambitious ha ha! I'll be lucky to get past week 1 in the three weeks left. It's difficult to pitch a first lesson when you haven't observed the group previously though and I wasn't that far off the mark. I did describe it like trying to keep thousands of ants in a box which I shall hopefully address tomorrow with some more active learning.
The spelling research has started off well. I'm just going to look at planning for progress/next steps in writing at word level. This week i'll do some general research accross all three year groups. The I'll see who looks interesting and pursue 2-3 children in the following 2 weeks in more detail. I've never done research before so I need to read that book! How to do your research project (and finish it lol). Anyway, I've made some headway tonight but not enough (as usual). I'm prepared for phonics tomorrow which is the main thing. It's freezing and the heating has gone off so I need to head for my snuggly bed.

Crumbs it's been a long time!

I'd forgotten my password and can't remember how to do this. It's been a heck of a busy and manic and bizarre time. I'm now almost half way through my PGCE and it's every bit as tough as everyone told me it would be. I'm trying to work out how to do a small scale research based project at the moment. My class teacher has asked that I do something to do with spelling, which at first I thought would be really boring, but actually, having done some reading on the subject, I think it could be quite interesting, and could definitely be a useful learning experience for my future career as a teacher. That's if I can actually ever find a job in the wonderful county of Devon. I'm intrigued as to what will eventually happen to me. I really hope I'll get a job and be able to do all these things that I'm growing more and more passionate about every day. My friend from Uni is visiting tonight, she's just got a place at Newcastle Uni to study to be a psychiatric nurse. How bloody amazing! I can't wait to see her. She's really scared but I know she'll be fantastic.

Due home in 2 days. It's been a fantastic and busy couple of weeks and we are all ready to return now. Flo has her best friends Salome and Alize coming over this afternoon and Joe had a friend sleepover last night. I spent the evening at the Fontaine with my best friend last night which was really lovely. The house is getting in order, Stu has taken most of the contents of the shed to the dump this morning and I am ploughing through lots of washing....

I'm picking up free wifi at the house in France but its intermittent. Life here stands still, it's quite strange. There has been a warm welcome but we have all revisited old emotions which has been tough. Things have been really good for Joe, and it's really clear that both kids have matured a lot. The weather is amazing and I am looking forward to Mas Patoxas in Spain this weekend.

We are back in France in Prats de Mollo, and we are having a wonderful time. Stu especially is loving being back, and has felt really welcome. My children astound me. They are so plucky and clever and Joe has such integrity and strength. They are an inspiration. They have both been to the newly opened cinema twice, on their own. They are out more than we are!

Passports have been printed and are now just sitting there waiting to be collected by DX. It's torture! We have been into town to do some jobs and lots of stuff is packed. I am gradually ticking things off the list. The doggies are loving their new dog flap. It didn't take them any time at all to get the hang of it. The poor things are going to be awfully lonely. Especially in the evenings when they usually get lots of love and cuddles. I hope they don't hate us for abandoning them when we get back.
I'm really nervous about going to the house. I hope it isn't in a dreadful state. I have no recollection of what clothes I have left there, and I have very little room to take many with me. Or footwear. That makes me anxious lol. I can't really fit in much reading material for my course either. Just 2 letts revise science and maths books but I guess that will keep me going. I'll have to get stuck in when we return. We have Lucinda from Taiwan arriving on the 20th. She's a 33 year old lady on a workaway scheme. Her placement fell through for 10 days, so she is coming to us for board and lodging until 30th, in return for 24hours work a week. I am hoping she is a good cook and loves kids! (and dogs). Either that or she is into DIY!

Sorry for the blogging hiatus, on Thursday I received letters from the passport office, saying the children's passports couldn't be issued because the counter signatory appeared to be a relative....ahhhhhgggggggg!!! It has been stressful since then. I filled in new forms and got a friend to sign them and another photo, then sent them off recorded delivery, guaranteed next day. They weren't processed until the afternoon, which meant they couldn't be fast tracked until the next working day, today, Monday. Talk about cutting it fine. I have called this morning and made payment, a further £120, and in 4 hours they will be ready, in Peterborough. They will then go into the hands of DX the courier company, at the end of business today, when I shall be able to track them using my postcode. They SHOULD arrive between 9am and 5pm on Tuesday. We fly at 7.55am on Wednesday.
I haven't slept properly and there is loads to do. I can't wait until we get there and I can stop worrying!

Yes yes yes! Got my placements for my course. First is at Colyton Promary, 5 mins away, second is Feniton Primary, 28 mins away according to google maps, and that's through the lanes so no traffic jams I reckon. Feniton is ofsted outstanding, and I'll be teaching reception. At Colyton I'll be teaching yr1/2. I'm so excited.

Summer days.......

Slept like a log after taking night nurse. Day 2 of filling the trolley for the beach and it seemed a bit more arduous than yesterday, even though I actually feel less ill. I burnt my back where I couldn't reach to get the cream on, and now it feels like I've been whacked across the back with a bat! The children have had the time of their lives though. Flo is with all the bigger girls which she loves. They all went to the sweet shop today, each with a pound to spend, and she went along holding hands with everyone under strict instruction to keep her safe. Joe is a real water boy. He took his body board down today, and Dad came down after work and brought the fishing stuff, although they didn't catch anything. I lugged the trollies home and cooked up my birthday haggis, it was really yum, much to everyone's surprise. We had it with neeps and mash. All the kiddies are arriving at 10 in the morning to watch a film, before we head off for day 3 at the beach. STILL no passports ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

What a lovely day! Just goes to show, that even when you really can't be arsed, and feel like poo, you should always make that little bit of effort, because invariably, the effort really pays off.
I filled the shopping trolley for the beach, and we headed off at around 1pm. We took the doggies for a walk to the marshes first, then knocked for friends and headed down to the beach. It was gloriously sunny, and a lovely day was had by all. The forecast is good until Friday, so we plan to do the same all week. I still feel poo and full of cold, but I feel good for the sun on my skin, and the fresh air and good company.