But I Smile Anyway…

Hey there Peeps! I hope you’re ready with a large one… I’ve had one heck of a week!

• If we were sipping chai together I’d probably whimper (through tiredness) that we made it to week two with no in-laws!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that when the kids are ill, appreciation for my in-laws peaks. Lil Princess started with a headache on the Sunday evening, which didn’t disappear overnight. She battled through school on the Monday, and was in tears by the end of the day. Obviously, I had Parents Evening too, so was reassured by the fact she could go home to my brother-in -law and rest up. By the end of the day she was full of cold, and a cough was coming too. Total head cold, poor thing. My dilemma was the next day. There was no way she could go to school, but I knew her uncle, and aunt, were working from home so they were more than willing to have her. I still had another parents evening to go though. I toyed with the idea of missing it, as my co teacher would be there, but bless her, she was also suffering with a lack of voice. We were in a dilemma. Do we cancel and reschedule or tough it out, as no matter what, this evening would have to happen some time? In the end after consulting my daughter and sis in law, it was decided that I finish up my work resonsibilities. She was in good hands. But it didn’t stop that motherly guilt that I should be with my kid, not worrying about 30 other children. She needed the next day off too, and thankfully, her uncle was home again too. Finally, Thursday came and she began to perk up… the ups and downs of being a working mum…
• If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, on the flip side, both Parents Evenings went pretty smoothly, all things considered, but they were LOOOOOONG days! No more this academic year now!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that World Book Day was on Thursday, and we love to celebrate it at school We encourage the children to dress up as their favourite book characters, though most end up wearing the latest costumes on sale in Asda… And as a staff, we usually have a theme for the year. This year was Witches and Wizards. And I, not one to follow the crowd, decided to be the witch’s cat, Wilbur, from Winnie the Witch books!

• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that after the positive rejection last week, there was more news! I logged into Twitter on Thursday, and learned about a hashtag called #PitMad. It happens quarterly, and basically writers can pitch their written novel in 280 characters to agents. Only agents are to like the pitches but you can support one another as a writers community by retweeting and commenting on the pitches. Many people will spend months tweaking their pitch… I wrote one in a few moments, and didn’t expect a thing.
• If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that I got a genuine agent like!!! And over the last 24 hours we have been emailing. She loves the idea of the book, the story, and said it needs to be heard, and gave me some amazing feedback on what she had read, with really workable critique suggestions. She also suggested that I get a critique partner and, once polished, she would love to read it again!

• If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I acted upon her advice and I have ordered another craft book to help me wean out the show vs tell issues, and I have approached an editor to help with with critiquing and advising me where to go next. I have the problem that I am too close to the book, and I can’t change anything as I can’t look at it objectively!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I went a bit Easter Egg mad too… We will be holding a Nursery Easter Egg hunt on the last day of term for the nursery students and their parents, and I decided that instead of trying to hide millions of eggs, I would find lots of Easter themed items, such as chicks, rabbits, and little eggs, to hide around the allotment, for them to look for, and use a tick sheet to say they found them. Then at the end, they could get a prize. And then I saw Tesco had a deal on 75p medium sized eggs…. and I ended up ordering 55! Enough for the children, and for my team too! Lil Man’s face was priceless as he saw the guy unloading my home delivery. I did have to explain to the guy I was a teacher and that these were student gifts, and not that I was some sort of Easter Egg trader, or chocaholic! So now they are hidden away from anyone with a sweet tooth, in the hope that they will last until the end of term!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I celebrated my favourite inspirational woman on International Woman’s Day on Friday… my mum ❤

• If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that we kept the weekend very down low. Everyone needed a rest and, aside from the kids playing badminton and cricket, we did nothing! And I scheduled posts and read. Perfect!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d have to admit that the end of Sunday was not as smooth as I hoped, as teenage hormones coursed around the house and Lil Man showed his attitude BIG TIME. Actually just trying to take deep breaths right now so I don’t go and strangle him… Seriously, parenting teens and tweens is no fun a lot of the time (though there are ups too!)

• If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you aside from one late evening at moderation, so we can see if our kids are progressing as others are, there should be no more late ones, phew!
• If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I am so excited for the weekend as Pops and Mum are coming to spend it with us!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!