Happy Monday to you all! And it’s the first Monday of December. Seriously, where has the year gone? Right, you got your drink? I’ve got mine!
If we were sipping chai together I’d start by telling you that illness appears to have left the building… well, for now, anyway. Though Hubby Dearest was complaining of another sore throat last night… *Go away evil bugs!!!* And the kids at school appear to be a lot more hardy too this week. There were a couple off, but not the hoard we had last week. Good thing too, as we have to start the Nativity rehearsals!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I do love the lead up to Christmas in school. The children have been practicing their play songs, and slowly, the parents are getting the costumes in. I just hope they are all in by today as we need them for rehearsals! I was busy on Friday, with one of my dear colleague friends, creating a Post Office for the children, removing the Superhero HQ that they have loved so far. Just hope they aren’t disappointed with the change! And I put a few decorations up ready for December too. The children will help us decorate the tree this week.
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention my observation. I am pretty confident as a teacher. I know the children and their wellbeing, as well as their learning will always come first to me, but when I am being watched, I end up like a bowl of jelly… I know I will do everything, but I will forget little things. I even got the wrong group of kids to come to work with me! But realised pretty fast, and changed over. Aside from a couple of silly mishaps, it all went well, and my feedback was pretty much all positive. I don’t know why I worry, but you know, I’m only human!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to say that it was my five year Blogiversary too! I am always amazed that this little blog that I started on a whim, has now got just shy of 8,000 WP followers, and over 14,000 when all followers are included! Awards won, blogiversaries celebrated – that’s all fantastic, but the biggest things to have come out of my blog are the friends and Blogily I have met and the encouragement to write. Thank you all for that. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for you all!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I am aiming to get my time management into gear, thanks to a great book I read at the weekend. I feel quite fired up, and have even written some goals out too! Time Management for Writers, by Katie Forrest. Available on Amazon, if you are interested!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that we had a lovely chilled weekend again. After swimming, Lil Princess and I went to get nails done and my eyebrows threaded, then we had a takeaway dinner, and it was great to be able to switch off from the madness that is my life usually.
If we were sipping chai together I’d also have to tell you that on Saturday was my Finndian nephew #1’s fifth birthday! I’m always gutted that we aren’t close by, but a video call with him and the rest of my Finndian family made things a lot better! He is such a little clown, and makes us all laugh!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention that it is now December! Yes, the decorations came out and the household was Chrismassed up! Advent calendars were opened and all is well!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that we are going to be busy this week, getting all festive at school! There will be rehearsals, and Christmas crafts starting up, and to top it off, the children will be having their Flu Spray immunisations too! fun and games!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I have another Dr’s appointment on Friday. Let’s see if there is any other joy as to why I am still getting these pains. Tiredness has been less, thankfully, but I still need that hot water bottle on my knees every night… Ow!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
Happy Monday to you all! Can you believe it? we’ve been sharing a cuppa every Monday for 60 weeks now? That’s mad! Now, if you’re ready with yours, let’s go!
If we were sipping chai together I’d start by telling you the lurgy hit the household this week! Hubby Dearest and Lil Man were struck down by Man Flu, then Lil Princess did something to her neck, and was full of sniffles too. The bins have been overflowing with tissues… perfect! And me? Well, I think I have saved myself mostly from the lurgy, but the pains, well they are still around. Anopther Dr’s appointment has been booked but it’s not for another two weeks… And at school we haven’t been safe either. On Monday I had 21 students in, instead of 29, many off with a Norovirus style bug. Then we ended the week with one confirmed Chicken Pox case… let’s see what this week brings…! I’m due to have my flu jab on Friday. Hope I can last until then!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that we had our anniversary last Monday. Being a school/work night, we didn’t really do too much, and with Hubby’s Man Flu, we’ve kept our celebration on ice for now. But I was gifted beautiful flowers and a gorgeous figurine by my wonderful man, as well as a T-Shirt I was joking about… what do you think?
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention that despite my aches and pains, I had a date with Lil Princess and our friends, to go and watch the real Little Mix in concert on the Thursday night! It was a rush to get there, after school on Thursday, but we did it, and had a great meal together, before watching the band. The girls loved it, and I think is mums might just have enjoyed it a little more!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I was shattered by Friday. This out on a school night really is too much for me now! I got through the school day, and rushed home to get cleaning done, and then whizzed to the shops for the grocery, then once I got home, I was ready for bed. I had a fantastic sleep! And we did nothing this weekend, bar rest, eat, read and watch TV. A much needed set of downtime!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to tell you about something really fun that we did at school this week. We have been learning about seasons and decided to make season bottles with the children. I have to say, I was pretty proud of the ones we made with the kids in our class… Check them out below! And nativity song practice is in full flow too. We have been singing our play songs each day, and the children have really impressed me with how well they have picked up the words! And I have mentioned this before, but they really do sound so angelic. I can’t wait for the performance!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that the week may involve less children, due to sickness, but it also affects adults, and I already know one of our team is going to be off for one day, due to her own kids… Tis the season to be sicky, fa la la la la, la la la la!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I am a little nervous as I am being observed on Thursday too. Being observed is never fun. I hate that we have to be judged on a 20-30 minute lesson, when I KNOW I am a good teacher… but hey, at least I know my observer well!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d let you know that it will be my Finndian nephew #1’s fifth birthday too this week… where did that time go? And that means that I’ll be celebrating my five year Blogiversary too this week!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
Happy Monday to you all! Another week has passed. Where does the time go? And yes, another busy one for me too! Settled with that cuppa? Right then…
If we were sipping chai together I’d start by giving you the next update on the health situation. I spent most of the week with just dull aches in my knees and one shoulder, but nothing debilitating. I hoped that maybe it was just something viral. The Drs appointmet didn’t give me much more, other than another clear set of bloods, checking off inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis. I told the Dr that I wasn’t in awful pain, at the moment, but the tiredness, and headaches were still around. He said things like fibryomalgia are hard to diagnose, and often a process of elimination. There are meds he could give me, but do I want to start existing on tablets that could end up giving me other side effects? No. I think at the moment I can manage the pains tht creep up. He sent me off with some exercises and told me to take Pops’ advice with some yoga breathing and massages. All was fine… until Saturday. The knees were really painful, but not as bad as that awful day 3 weeks ago. I lay in bed with a hot water bottle on them. The heat soothed the pain away for a while. Then we went to Bluewater on Sunday and all was fine, until I had a sudden pain on my ankle as I was walking around. It came along so suddenly, I just don’t know what is going on. Another visit back to the GP? Who knows when I’ll get an appointment now… Long soak in a warm bath for me and more hot water bottles, along with ibuprofen if needed, I think…
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that school has been good too. We started the week with Armistice Day on Monday. It’s not easy to explain to children aged 4-5, what Poppy Day is, but we tried our best, and they made some lovely pictures of poppy fields. Then Monday and Tuesday evening were late ones for us as it was parents evening time. For the most part, things went well. It just left us all very tired. The next fun thing we did was sensory spaghetti play! I spent a good hour and a half one night, cooking and colouring spaghetti so they could hide letters and numbers in it and try and fish them out using gian tweezers! They loved it! And Friday was Children in Need, as I posted about earlier. The children love it when they get a chance to be involved in anything and dressing up is of their favourite things. What better, than to be able to dress up, and raise money for charity too?
If we were sipping chai together I’d just have to slip this one in… One of my beauts always brings in pictures and ‘gifts’ for us and this week, I was given a cut out picture from an LOL Surprise magazine. “This is you, Mrs Bhathal!” What do you think? I am starting to feel delusions of grandeur… may just ask you to call me Queen Ritu soon… 😜
If we were sipping chai together I’d leave the best news to last… I finally revealed my cover! I have been toying with the idea of revealing it a lot recently, but wasn’t sure, especially as I haven’t got a solid publish date yet. But, to be honest, it shouldn’t be long now. I’ll get my final draft back from the editor in a couple of weeks. I just need to write a blurb I am happy with, and add the ‘weird’ pages, like acknowlegements, dedications, about me, and that published on page to the manuscript. I have started formatting, and hopefully any changes to the script will be minor, which I can do in my formatting programme. Then I can let my dear cover designer how many actual pages the paperback will be, so she can send me the relevant cover, complete with blurb and spine. A wrestle with KDP, and hopefully I can get myself set, and announce a pre-order and publication date for you all! But if you did happen to miss it… here is my book baby!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I must be really wicked, because, honestly, there is no rest to be had for me here! We will be upping the ante with beginning Nativity rehearsals, to start off with this week.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that Lil Man and Lil Princess have another day off school on the Wednesday, so Lil Princess will be coming in to help me for the day, and then I have to take her to the dentist.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d let you know that I will also be hosting my first ever parent meeting to discuss our Phonics scheme to the reception parents, as this is my subject responsibility this year. And on the same day, I will have to hare out early as Lil Princess and I are off to see Little Mix in concert too! I am already tired, and it’s only the beginning of the week. Hope my aches and pains hold out!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d also slip in that today, Monday, is our wedding anniversary. It falls on a Monday so there won’t be much celebrating, but plenty of time together. ❤ 18 years… where did they go?
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
Happy Monday to you all! It’s the start of week three back at school, and plenty is going on around us!
If we were sipping chai together I’d start by telling you that I am still standing! Yes, the aches and pains are drifting from here to there, but they are not bad. My knees still hurt, but not as extreme as the week before. My shoulder aches. But, over all, it’s not too bad at the moment. I ran to the hospital on Tuesday in my lunch break to have the next set of bloods taken. So now it’s waiting until this Friday for the next Drs appointment.
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that my dear Beauts in my class are such a lovely bunch! They are still enjoying our Superhero topic, and they love dressing up in capes and masks, and rescuing everyone! And the idea that if they are Super helpful and Super friendly, they have more of a chance of getting on the class rainbow, has worked a treat! They aren’t allowed to tell me themselves, but if another classmate comes and says someone has been Super in any way, to me, they get to be my Superkids for the day!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that on Wednesday, we were all dreading our twilight evening. It would mean 2 hours after school, not actually training, but meeting with other teachers in our age group from our academy, and comparing classes and attainment. Thankfully, our Reception meeting didn’t take as long as we hd anticipated, so that was a result!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the weekend arrived, quick as a flash, and it was a busier one than the last few weeks. We spent Saturday evening with the in-laws, and the night, I was up most of the night with Lil Man, who was sporting a raging temperature and a really sore throat. As he is prone to tonsillitis, I took him to our local walk in doctors surgery and after a two hour wait, we were told that yes, his tonsils were mildly inflamed, but not infected (thank goodness). So, no antibiotics, but lots of salt water gargles and keeping his neck warm.
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that Lil Princess had a great afternoon as she had arranged a visit to one of her new secondary school friends’ house. We both had a lovely time, as I got to have a cuppa and chat with her new friend’s parents and the girls spent the afternoon esperiementing with makeup and hairstyles. Makes me feel happier, that I know some of her new friends.
If we were sipping chai together I’d not forget to mention that I have mad a plan to do a cover reveal for THE BOOK soon, possibly this week, so if you haven’t already, make sure you follow my author blog, http://www.ritubhathal.com, so you don’t miss out! I have been very busy, editing crutch words out of the manuscript this week, and from a list of arounbd 10 words, there are 2 left to check. That means I have been through the manuscript 8 times in the last 3 weeks, adjusting and deleting! Once I finish this time consuming task, I need to spell check and read myself to make sure it all makes sense, then I can send to my editor for the final read through! OMG, so nervewracking….! I still have to write a proper blurb yet!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that today and tomorrow I will be at school until late as it is that time of year again… parents evenings! I actually quite enjoy them, speaking to the parents about how their darlings are coming along! But it’ll be tiring.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that obviously, Friday I will have my Dr’s appointment, so fingers crossed there will be something to discuss, after all the blood tests.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d let you know that I already can’t wait for the weekend!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
Happy Monday to you all! I hope your week treated you well. Back to school is nothing short of exciting, every time!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the start of school went really well. The kids seemed to have a relaxing break, and enjoyed relaying details of their week off, and celebrating Diwali too! We had a Diwali day at school, where the children learned some Bhangra dancing too! And we had a Halloween disco, which was a baptism of fire for some. The first time they have been left alone somewhere when it is dark outside and loud music. But we all had great fun! The topic this next few weeks will be superheroes, and they love acting like real life superheroes. I have told them they are all super kids and when they do super kind things, they get on the class rainbow. One way to get some great behaviour!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to mention my health. Things haven’t been great over here. From Tuesday evening, I started to get strange pains in my knees. On Thursday morning, when I woke up, they were so sore that I could barely walk down the stairs at home. I got ready, and went to school, promptly bursting into tears with my phase leader. She ws so worried, massaging my knees, telling me to go home, but I don’t think I would have been any better at home either. The pains didn’t go away all day, despite taking anti-inflammatories and painkillers. I was even given a hot water bottle to help me. I got through the day, and the only thing that really relieved the pain was a hot bath. I woke on Friday with lessened knee pain (though it hadn’t gone away totally) but more pain in my shoulder. Now, when I went to the doctor last week, he asked me about pains, but at that time I had none. When I was chatting to Pops during my few days back home, he mentioned that he had been diagnosed with fibryomalgia around twenty years ago. I was totally unaware of this. The recent pains made me realise that over the last few months, I have actually been having a lot of strange pains, including in my wrists, elbows and knees, but they were never as severe as the ones on Thursday. They are pains in the bones and joints. As I sit here typing on a Sunday night, my shoulder still hurts, and knees are still painful as I bend them. I have had shooting pains in my legs, ankles and toes too.
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I went to the Doctor for my initial blood test results. The results have ruled out Vitamin B12 and D deficiencies, iron levels are normal, as are all my blood counts in general, including blood sugars and hormones. We discussed the pains I had this week, and over the last few months too, as well as the migraines I have had over the last few years, bad skin which has started recently (never suffered with spots), weight gain and the tiredness. So, guess who is back for more blood tests next week? This time to rule out inflammation and rheumatoid artheritic pains. The next step would be either treatment for the above, or looking at other auto immune issues, such as Fibryomalgia. Wonderful!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention the other elephant in the room… NaNoWriMo. I had actually signed up this year, knowing full well that I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up, but the intention to start writing book two properly was there. Now, with this stuff going on with my health, I don’t think it is likely. Never mind, I shall spend time erasing crutch words from my existing manuscript. Who knew I used the word ‘that’ so much??
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that we did get a chance to go out on Friday evening. The local fireworks display was on at the Prom. Last year it was cancelled as there was a stray beluga whale who had swum into the Thames Estuary, and taken up residence in the Gravesend waters. Our fireworks are usually set off on the river, so they were cancelled, so as not to disturb poor Benny. He was with us for quite a while, actually, then managed to find his way out. This year, we thought the same would happen, as a humpback whale strayed into the Estuary a few weeks ago. Sadly, he died, of malnourishment, and being hit by a ship. Then another dead whale was found, this time a Sei whale. Apparently a mixture of Global Warming and the threats of polluted water in certain seas might be responsible for these poor creatures straying so badly. But the waters were finally whale-free, so we trotted off to watch the fireworks. I had the class teddy with me too, so he watched with us!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the rest of the weekend just melted away into a mixture of bed and books… or sofa and books. Perfect recuperation time for me!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that we have our first moderation evening on Tuesday. This is when we get together with the other schools in our academy, and compare our judgements on the children in our classes. It is always interesting to see how their children are doing, as well as how they are approaching any difficulties.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I will have to squeeze the blood tests in to one day too, as the Phlebotomy dept is only open from 9-2pm Monday to Friday… Need to get that booked in with my Head teacher asap!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that Monday might be ‘interesting’ as one of my teaching assistants is not around as she has to take her daughter to a hosiptal appointment, my one to one teaching assistant for my special Beaut, has to go on a school trip with another one to one child she used to work with, and my other Teaching assistant will be late as she has an appointment… So, I might be all alone!!!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I am hoping for another quiet weekend… please!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
