But I Smile Anyway…

Well, hello there, Peeps! How are you? I may sound full of beans, but they aren’t highly caffeinated, if that is the case, so energy is still pretty low, but…

Are you ready with your drink?

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that school is still here… I have to admit, there were moments I thought we weren’t going to manage, but with a couple of our SEND pupils off sick, it made the classroom a much calmer place. Never in a million years, would I wish ill on anyone, especially a child, but this really highlighted how much of a difference having these children in our provision makes. The average child was granted so much more attention, and I was able to jump in and do some spur of the moment interventions with some of the children who really need them. There has been staffing ups and downs across the school, too, which means that adult wise, we were robbing Peter to pay Paul, adult wise. Not easy, but we coped. I wasn’t in on the Friday, but couldn’t help keeping an eye on what was happening, as it was Children in Need, and the children were dressing up. Had I been in, I would have been dressing up as Pudsey, as per usual! The next thing now, is trying to decide what we are doing as a Nativity! I do love Christmas at school!
• If we were having chai I’d mention another thing, school related. Apparently we have a ghost! The building is over 200 years old, built in Victorian times, and there has been sightings of a white figure, but a few people, over the years. The part of the school we are based in is the original building, and below, in the basement, there is even an original Victorian stove! But, back to last week. My nursery teacher was in the Nursery at lunchtime, and he heard a funny noise from the small storage cupboard we have there, which has a staircase leading to the basement level. He heard knocking! And when he asked a ‘spirit’ to show a sign they were there, something fell down! Eek! And another member of staff was in the toilet, and someone knocked on the door. She hurried and opened the door, and no one was there! Double Eek!
• If we were having chai I’d say that, aside from school we had a special week, at home, as it was our twentieth anniversary. This was the reason for my day off on Friday. We celebrated with a lovely meal, and exchanged wonderful gifts, too. I got a specially commissioned piece of art for us, and he got me a car! (Along with flowers, and chanpagne for me, and a coffee machine for him!)

• If we were having chai I’d update you on Project House. The handyman was in, again. Blinds are all done. Yay! Amazon failed witha deliver of a curtain pole and bathroom heater, so that will be next week. Security cameras done. So pretty successful, I’d say!
• If we were having chai I’d also tell you that Pops had an operation on Thursday, too, for a very severe hernia. He will need another op after this, but thankfully the first appears to have been successful. We also had a funeral within the family on Friday, (not in this country) so there was a lot of emotion, up and down, all through the week…
• If we were having chai I’d say that I found a new yummy treat from the makers of Jaffa Cake… Jaffa Cake Donuts, or Jonuts!

• If we were having chai I’d share with you that Sonu Singh has been unhappy with us, for cutting his food down a little, but it’s for his own good! However, he still wakes us early, to miaow for his brekkie!

This week will be a little busy, with one member of staff isolating. I am lucky to have such a great team, and they have all already got set to chip in, to ensure the children have the least disruption to their week! We also have a twilight, which is when we have to stay until 6pm for training, on one evening. And Sonu is having his heart check, today (Monday) so we are a little nervous… Other than that, life is pretty much the same as usual… And I’ll be back on Monday to let you know!

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Week two of term two done… Boy, was I shattered!

So, have you got your drink handy?

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that, as usual, school was a bit crazy, what with staffing up in the air, we were all running from pillar to post daily, like headless chickens. We had interviews happening for one to one positions for some of my specials, as well as a lunchtime supervisor down, so me needing to be on the playground for part of my lunchtime, to support. The children had a good week, with a few crazy days thrown in. I have incomplete paperwork coming out of my ears, and the threat of Ofsted, possibly ringing at any time… it’s a nightmare… We also had the nurses in to administer the nasal flu sprays for the children whose parents signed up for it. On top of all that we had parents evening on Monday and Tuesday. I was shattered, by the end of the week, I’ll not lie. So tired that on Friday, I got home and fell asleep at 6.30pm, waking at 8pm disorientated, and worried that I hadn’t fed the kids!
• If we were having chai I’d mention that we have also decided on a Team Christmas meal (at a very unChristmassy Indian restaurant!) I feel that the team have been such troopers through a crazy couple of terms, that we need a team building evening. Oh, and talking of teams, Covid numbers are going up, and we are going to have to be a much stronger school team, as members of staff, or their families are beginning to test positive, again… We were all lucky to get our double vaccinations, however, jab two was in March, and it’s been over six months, and none of us have been offered any booster jabs because we are younger… yet slowly, people are getting ill again…

• If we were having chai I’d say that, on Thursday, it was Remembrance Day. We shared some videos with the children, and taalked aabout why we mark the 11th November as such an important date. It is fascinating to hear what the children think. Some have obviously been talked to at home, by consciencious parents. Some really didn’t have much of a clue, but they were all aware of Poppies, and the heros we will never forget by the end!

• If we were having chai I’d update you on Project House. So, we now have blinds in each room, though one set needs replacing, and the pelmets need to be attached (they forgot to send the relevant attachment!) We have roller blinds in the bathrooms. Lil Man’s shower extractor fan is working, again. The kids all have wardrobes, instead of clothing rails. All that is left is the dining table and sideboard, but we are leaving taht until the Christmas sales! Phew! Hubby Dearest has been a fantastic project manager for all of this. And on the way, we have found a great handyman, who knows how to do so much. He is Mauritian, and is trying to build up his ratings here, in the UK, where he has no recommendations, yet. He has been brilliant with all that he has done, and the experience he brings from working on similar jobs back in Mauritius, is blatant. Honestly, everyone needs a decent handyman, and I think we’ve found ours!

• If we were having chai I’d say that I spent a long time reading and relaxing, this weekend, even though I had work to do. I couldn’t focus, so retired to my reading nook, and finished a book I had been struggling with for a good ten days, due to tiredness, and then finished a whole other one!

• If we were having chai I’d share with you that Sonu Singh spent most of his Sunday hiding in a box under the coffee table. He had a vet appointment on Saturday for his annual check aand jabs. Yes, as we are aware, he is overweight (Please, Hubby Dearest and Lil Man, listen to me when I say that you don’t feed him every time he miaows!) However, we have also been advised to get a heart scan ECG for him, as the Vet thinks he detected a heart murmur. It could have been more anxiety based, as he had been in his carrier, and he hates it, but stoll, we are all a little worried, right now…

This week will be, as always, a busy one at school. I have no doubt. We are a lot of staff down, for various reasons. And I am off on Friday. (The Academy we are a part of, have offered two paid days off, during the year for each member of staff, as a reward for hard work.) It is actually our twentieth Anniversary on Thursday, so we decided that the Friday would be a good day to have off, to celebrate properly. I look forward to letting you know how we get on!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

I’m not quite sure how I will be wording this week’s update but believe me, it’s been a doozy… And not necessarily in a great way…

So, get a drink. I might need a stronger one, this week!

• If we were having chai I’d ask you first, if you read my Spidey post, yesterday? Because I have already typed out a huge amount of my frustrations, there. Life in my class is anything but idyllic, for the adults, but thankfully, the children seem to be blissfully unaware, and are engaged in the activities we have for them, so that is a blessing, at least. Times are getting tougher with the children with special needs, in a way that it feels like we are unable to support anyone else… I can’t keep on about it, but the struggle is real, Peeps. There is so much more, going on, but but I can’t even write about it here. At least I have a suportive management team, above me, and a fantastic team who I manage. And, to brighten your day, further, one of them managed to drop pants and have a number two in the sensory garden! And someone had to clean that up… The life we teachers live, eh! I got this from one of my team, on Friday, and it gave me the pick me up I needed, too,

• If we were having chai I’d say that, on Thursday, it was Diwali. Due to circumstanges beynd my control, (school. Say no more), I hadn’t slept particularly well, and after getting through the school day, I went to my in-laws, where we did a few fireworks, ate lots of yummy food, and then Lil Man went to his cricket. I fell asleep for a while on the sofa, waking in time to pick him up and head home, so it was a very understated day! It was Bonfire night the next day, so fireworks have been going off every evening, and we live close to Brands Hatch, where they have a huge display every year, so we saw a little of that through our windows.

• If we were having chai I’d tell you, (sorry, school, again!) we did have a Diwali DAy on the Friday. The children and adults were asked to wear either traditional or colourful outfits to school, and we learned about rangoli patterns, and made divas, and then, to top it off, we had a Diwali Dance workshop, too! It was really fun, and we enjoyed it. The kids were so happy to do something different!

• If we were having chai I’d say that a handyman came to help out with some jobs had around the house, and we also got the last of the flatpack furniture delivered on the Sunday. This time it is wardrobes, and I am not trying those! So someone should be coming this week, to put them together, and the kids will finally have their cupboards and storage!
• If we were having chai I’d mention that we popped out for dinner on Saturday night for a family meal. It was lovely. A local Indian restaurant with a great ambiance! We spent a good three hours there, enjoying lovely food and each others company, even though it too, the teens some time to warm to the idea that we were going out!
• If we were having chai, I’d excitedly tell you that I got another lovely review of Marriage Unarranged, too!

• If we were having chai I’d whisper that we are thinking of getting another cat/kitten, to keep Sonu Singh company, but it’s still at discussion stages! We would love to get a dog, but the practicality of that… not something we could do. No one will be home in the day, to walk, let out for loo breaks, etc. And we don’t want to get a dog, only to have to pay for someone else to dog sit every day, either. But we can dream, for now…

This week, I know, will be tough, as I am staff members down, on several of the days. (Thank goodness for volunteers!) We also have Parents Evening, for two of the evenings, a beautician appointment, and the dentist, as well as Sonu Singh’s vaccinations. I hope the furniture is all put together, so we can get the kids clothes all put away, and that we find someone to install the blinds we have purchased, too! I think that is enough, don’t you?

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

Seriously? Where did that half-term week go? I had so many intentions… but not many were fulfilled!

So, grab your drink, I’ll be hurrying back into school this week!

• If we were having chai I’d touch upon school a little bit. See, I had a couple of work based plans, and none of then required going into school. However they did need some time sitting at my work laptop… but I confess, I barely did that, at all. I touched base with my email, and watched part four of a traing course, that is really good, but I coulnd’t face any more. (Wrote five pages of nots, though!) I also had some paperwork I wanted to get my teeth into. Nope. That didn’t happen, either, however I did get some research done, and ordered a few books I think that my class would enjoy. Okay. Enough about school!
• If we were having chai I’d say that, typically, a couple of days into the break, the sniffles started. It happens every time. Run down from work, we get a break, and your average educator will fall ill. Because we finally sit down and relax. And it didn’t help that Hubby Dearest and both kids were snuffling, too. Still, I rested up, and it wasn’t as bad as it could have been because I insisted, to myself that I needed to rest. I read a couple of books, and then managed to get my flu jab done, too. So, try and hit me now, Winter germs! (No, seriously, don’t try. This term will be tough enough with out!)

• If we were having chai I’d have you know that there was a little bit more flat pack furniture to put together, in the form of Lil Princess’s desk, and chair. She is happy. Thank God! She’s not an easy one to please! The wardrobes that should arrive next weekend are too big for me to attempt so someone will be fixing them together for us… Then it’s just the dining room/ conservatory to furnish, as well as a sofa for the summer house. Getting there, Peeps!
• If we were having chai I’d reassure you that the cricket bruise is almost gone now, thankfully, but I seem to have accumulated plenty more little ones, as I find. myself walking into things all the time! I could be like a dot to dot, but you woulnd’t end up with a particularly pleansnt picture at the end! Lil Man did have his training on Thursday, but it was uneventful.
• If we were having chai I’d say that during the week, we ventured to Bluewater for an afternoon, and had lunch there. On Saturday, for Lil Princess, who was getting antsy at home, we went to Canary Wharf in London, and wandered around the shops there. All so expensive, but it was good to get out of the locality for once! Then we stopped off at the O2, o n the way home, and had dinner there. Then on Sunday, it rained something crazy! So we chilled at home, and I read a whole book, instead of looking at school stuff. It was also Halloween, and we got no trick or treaters, but, to be honest, with the weather, I wouldn’t want a child out there!

• If we were having chai I’d leave you with a photo my furbaby Sonu Singh, stretched out on my bed. He has kept me company a few times the last few days. I think he likes my cosy throw, and it compliments his colouring, too!

This week, I start with an INSET day at school, before the children start on Tuesday. My own two don’t go back until Wednesday. We have a book look evening for parents to check out their children’s books before parents evening, and I have a serious meeting with a parent of an older child, so I can act as translator. It is also Diwali on Thursday, and Bonfire night on Friday, so there will be plenty of fireworks, and food, too!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

And it’s a wrap! The first term of the year has finally come to an end, and I am exhausted!

So, got your drink ready? We had a busy one!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that the last week of term was not without it’s usual drama as always. From introducing and celebrating Halloween and Harvest festival, a little Active day, and the individual school photos, it was busy from start to finish! We had a lovely display of pumpkins which my specials took a particular liking to, and we wven foun done with a little bitemark in it! On Thursday, we had an Active day. The rest of the school were doing something we call personal best, which is when they come in to the hall and do a series of HITT style ecercises, and record on a sheet what they did. Then each term, they have another go to see if they have improved their scores. So, that would have been a little too much for reception, so we devised our own HITT training in the playground, and gave them all a good exercise! On Friday, it was the school photos as well as our mini Harvest festival. I was so touched by how much the families donated from our year group, and they performed their little song so well. We were very impressed! And the photos? I have to admit, we were dreading it, but they went the quickest and smoothest I have ever seen in the last twelve years! We managed to get our specials done first thing, and the rest were pretty amazing, I’ll have you know! Then we waved goodbye to the little lovelies and all collapsed. I thing we were all ready for the half term break! I’ll share a photo of our beautiful pumpkins and squashes that we had on display!

• If we were having chai I’d say that though cricket is meant to have been over, we are now in the midst of the Winter Cricket nets. That means Lil Princess and I hanging around until 9pm on a Thursday, until Lil Man has finished his session. It’s not so bad. Usually, I have to rush home, as it is getting dark quickly, now, because Lil Man wants to get a session in the garden before it gets too dark. This eevningtraining means that I can sit with my In Laws at least, for a while, and have a chat! This week, I left the session with my kids, the boot full of his equipment, and a bruise the size of a cricket ball on my knee. Yup, bad luck on my part. Lil Priness and I were standing at the exit with another of the mums and in the last moment, we heard a cracker of a shot, then realised it was coming our way, and no one was even attempting to stop it. It then cracked again, against my knee! The room went silent, before the adults in the room began coming over to ask if I was okay. I knew the bruise would be great. I wasn’t even kidding. When I got home, it was red, and the impact had been so great that you could even see the stitches of the ball on there! I am now nursing a very large purple bruise…

• If we were having chai I’d have you know, even though you would know this, already, that I was truly shattered, now. Howver, I read a little more, and now have only 1.5 arcs left on my Netgalley list, before I can make a start on some of my other books sitting on my TBR trolley, or something downloaded onto my Kindle… there is plenty of choice, I tell you! I also continued to squeeze in the odd episode of You, series two and finished that on Sunday. Only one series to go! What a totally mindblowing series, that is… twisted, but addictive!

• If we were having chai I’d regale you with stories of more flat pack furniture! The desk for Lil Man’s room arrived, in two boxes, then on Friday the coffee table came. On Saturday I had announced that I was not to be disturbed at all. I even decided that the grocer shopping could wait until tomorrow. I needed a day of nothing. Did it happen? Well, if you know me at least a little, you know that days of nothing come rarely… So the shopping did wait until Sunday. However Hubby Dearest decided to divvy up the boxes of furniture to assemble, taking the single box that contained the coffee table and leaving me with the desk. I was insistent that I wasn’t doing it, but seeing Lil Man’s face, as he just wants his room sorted out as soon as possible, I couldn’t say no. I got my little toolkit out (Yes, I have my own, it’s pink, and I even have a purple drill set!) and set to putting it together. And within three quarters of an hour, his desk was done and dusted. Not bad, even if I do say so myself. I knew what I would find in the living room… Hubby Dearest has a great eye for the aesthetic, but isn’t as blessed with the ability to put things together logically… so I ended up ‘helping’ him and we got the coffee table made up, too. It looks lovely! I have subjected myself to another session of flatpack assembly during the week, when the new desk for Lil Princess’s room arrives… The three wardrobes and bookshelf which arrive at the beginning of November? Nope, that is a job he can get someone in to do! But, we have new rugs, he has his office sorted, and aside from the dining table and side board, and a small sofa for the summer house, new blinds for some of the rooms, and some artwork and photos for the walls, I think we have done a pretty good job. It feels like home and we love it.
• If we were having chai I’d say that on Sunday, I was up a little earlier and went to Sainsbury’s for a change to do the weekly shop. My! Food shopping has become so expensive! Over £200 lighter in pocket, but with bags filled with the food and snacks that my gannet like teens would need, I stopped off at Macdonald’s to get them breakfast. Then we chilled for most of the day. However, I got my fair share of exercise, as the tumble dryer is not working – the drum is not turning – so I was up and down the stairs to get loads of washing out to hang up to dry!

• If we were having chai I’d leave you with a photo of our darling, Sonu Singh. He’s been watching all these developments, joining in with the flat pack assembly, trying to help out, by deciding which large, empty box is the best to sit in, you know, that important kind of assistance. And he also foudn time to explore the new fitted wardrobes in our bedroom, trying to find a good shelf to hide on… Here, check him out! He also managed to bury himself in Lil Man’s cricket bag, but that’s another picture for another day!

This week, we have nothing, per se, planned, but I am sure there will be plenty to do. I have work I need to do on a couple of days, at least. There is flat pack furniture arriving. No doubt, we will get a couple of day trips in to appease the bored teens… But, mainly, I hope to rest. I need it after a long term!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!