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! 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.
Happy Monday to you all! I hope your week treated you well. Here’s my half term update!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that, though it was half term, that doesn’t meal total rest for me… I must be really wicked! It was a fun, jam-packed one though!
If we were sipping chai together I’d start off by saying that after 118 redials over half an hour, first thing on Monday morning, I managed to get through to the doctor and got a doctor’s appointment for 3.40pm that day. The doctor was baffled, and asked all the questions I’d expect, regarding sleep patterns, diet, stress at work or home, sudden weight loss (I wish!) etc, and ended up sending me for a whole host of blood tests to check pretty much everything he could… So off I went on Tuesday morning, all prepared for the wait, as I had a fasting blood test within all the others. It didn’t take as long as I expected, thankfully, so I was home within half an hour. I called up on Friday to see whether the results were back, and they all appear to have come back clear… so the reason for my tiredness is still a mystery. It’s a good thing I still kept that Friday appointment on the 1st November. I’ll be back to find out if the Dr has any more bright ideas.
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the rest of Tuesday was spent finishing off bits and bobs in my classroom, ready for next week, and then packing for our trip to Birmingham, to see Pops and Mum. I couldn’t wait!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that the journey was pretty smooth, on our way to Brum, for a change, and we got there within the 3 hours. The kids always want to go swimming there, so that was the first thing we ticked off our list of things to do! Then it was a chilled dinner at home. Thursday morning was a great time, where we ended up going through some of Mum’s old outfits. Lil Princess loved trying things on! And Lil Man did not want to be left behind. Mum found her brother’s old things too, old pullovers, pens and instruments from the 60’s when he was over here studying for a PhD! It is wonderful to look at these things, marvelling at how perfectly things have been kept, for so many years, so they still look like new!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that we then went shopping in Solihull which is where I went to school. I was also hoping to meet my dear blog pal, Shelley Wilson, and we did indeed manage to catch up for chai (me) and coffee (the rest!) My parents loved meeting her, and I’m sure Shelley can vouch for where my chatterbox nature comes from!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that on Friday, we had lunch out, at a local Nando’s and it was a funny trip as there was a server, an English guy, who was obviously taken by my Pops and his turban, so he took it upon himself to pop over to us and let Pops know he had been to a village near Ludhiana (a district in Punjab, India), before disappearing to his job. Then, as we started to eat, he came back and felt the need to sing a snippet of a Bollywood song, telling us he loved it! We got a good giggle from that! After our serenading server, we went to the cinema to watch The Addams Family. It was okay… not the best, but not the worst. (and Pops fell asleep before the film even began – don’t blame him – the adverts were over half and hour long!) The evening was spent with some family visiting, which is always fun!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the journey back was far from stressless on Saturday. We woke to heavy rain in Birmingham and so left at 10-30am to give us plenty of time to get back. I still had laundry, shopping and cleaning to do when I got home, what with it being diwali the next day. It was nearing 4pm when we actually arrived back at our house. Nope. not a smooth 3 hours. There was rain, traffic, rain, traffic, accidents, traffic… you get my drift? And I still had to unpack and do the rest upon arriving back home! (Another week off please? Anyone?)
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that other tham being with Pops and Mum, I also was back to my editing. I have decided to go Indie now, so I need to do those last changes to the MS so I can get ready to launch… ! Eeeeeek!!! And I found plenty of places to sit and write, in Brum, as well as back home. Oh, and somehow I managed to buy anpother notebook, and pen, but they match my MacBook bag, soI think that’s allowed!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that after taking Lil Princess to a birthday party, we did our preparations for Diwali on Sunday. A trip to the Gurdwara to pay our respects, plenty of food at the in-laws and then back to the temple to watch fireworks! It was a good day, all
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I would love another week off… but alas, that won’t happen! Back to school, my lovelies!
d possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that there is a Halloween school disco to look forward too… I think.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that we may go to the fireworks at the local prom on Friday too, for Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes night!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I hope the following weekend will be calm and quiet… I think I’dd need it!
Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.
