Catch Up | But I Smile Anyway...

Chai And A Chat #33 #ChaiAndAChat

20 May 2019 42 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: #ChaiAndAChat, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up, get that drink ready!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that it’s been another week of rushing around… And it won’t end anytimes soon either… not whilst that cast is still on Hubby Dearest’s foot…
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that this week we had to tiptoe around Lil Princess… Yes, I know she is moody at the best of times, but the past week was stressful for her and her compadres, as it was SATs week. The time the government wants us to test the 7 and 11 year olds, supposedly to see how the school is doing, but inevitably, it ends up stressing the kids out too, no matter how much we try to play them down at school. At 7 it’s a lot easier to make things seem like a usual school day, but at 11 the classrooms change round, with display boards covered up, and desks lined up in exam formation, so even if we are trying not to make things different, they are. She was okay with the English tests but he is not a fan of Maths and they stressed her out, especially the reasoning papers… Still, they all got through and I am told the papers appeared to be pretty fair. So it’s up to the children, as to how they perform. We try, at home, not to make too much of a big deal about it all, but she is old enough to understand that she is being tested and marked… and it affects a child. We celebrated the end by going for icecream at the local Treatz dessert place! (Maybe more my treat than theirs…!)

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you the usual backs and forths occured with training and tuition, from Tuesday to Sunday… and culminated in a cricket match on Sunday morning, which they lost… but Lil Man bowled pretty fantastically in. Though there were no blue skies this time!

If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that, if you remember, I am the head of the School Council, and we have been raising funds for improvements within the school. One idea we had last year, was to provide books for the three playgrounds for use during lunch time. Not every child wants to run around like a loony, so I made this my project, but time was always against me. Last week, I was informed that I needed to spend the year’s budget, so off I went on Saturday and spent a cool £100 on books for my playground boxes. I also raided my kids bookshelves as there are so many books there that they havem but don’t or won’t read… and hey presto, we have three fantastic boxes ready for the children to dip into!

If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that the rest of the week went relatively smoothly, but I am still tired!

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week cannot go fast enough, as we will be on our half term break from Friday for TWO weeks! Even though it feels like a short while since we had Easter break, the past 5 weeks have been crazy, and I can’t wait!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention we have meetings with the Head this coming week to discuss our futures at school, and possible classes for next week… who knows what it may hold????

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

Chai And A Chat #31 #ChaiAndAChat

06 May 2019 44 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat, Finndians

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up and you know I’ve had an exciting weekend! (I apologise in advance if anything doesn’tmake sense, this was written late at night with a very tired, but happy head!)

If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that I managed to write a whole 1000+ words on a new story, a spin off of my original WIP that is sitting at the editors, at the moment. I sketched out plans for a possible two novellas or even novels if they become long enough, and started to write!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the school week has been pretty good. The course was an interesting one, to do with the teaching of phonics within school, and a sort of project to get going on, teamng up with other local schools to share best practice, etc.
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that Hubby Dearest is still obviously sofa bound, but we’re 3 weeks in and he has another 3 weeks to go until this cast gets changed for something he can move around in easier. He’s been a better patient than usual, and is becoming pretty self sufficient, and proficient at balancing things he needs along with his crutches. A good job as he was home alone for the weekend, with intermittent visits from his parents… because…well, you know where I was!
If we were sipping chai together I’d gush about our weekend with my Finndian family! We battled with traffic, roadworks and rain to get to my parents after school on Friday night, determined to be there for when my nephews woke up on the Saturday. It was nearly 9pm when we arrived, so they were most definitely asleep then. It was wonderful to be there with my brother, and sister-in-law. We get such little time together, that each moment we were able to sit together and talk, we savoured as if they were hours long.
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you how I was awake at 6am, impatient for 7am to come round, as that was when the little ones would wake. The first moment of seeing my baby nephew was just magical. He was laying in his cot, and his daddy, my brother, opened the door and said good morning gently to him. He heard another person in the room, and looked at me for a while, then hearing my voice, gave a tentative smile. All I can say is thank goodness for video calling. Because we try to speak and see each other weekly, he was familiar with our faces and voices, and it helped. But nothing beat that moment when I could finally hold him. Even as I type this, my heart flutters. He has a way of greeting, which is to touch your cheek with his hand, and when he did that to me, it felt as if I had been accepted by him as someone special. I spent a lot of time with him, learning his routine, feeding him, changing his nappies, playing with him, and those moments are etched on my heart forever, and in my phone’s photo album!

If we were sipping chai together I’d not forget to say the reunion of the cousins was also a huge success. My Finndian #1 nephew is such a character and speaks fantastic English, and fluent Finnish, with a few Punjabi words dotted around so we can all understand him. He speaks English with a beautiful Finnish lilt, and it sounds so cute, I can’t explain! We played Lego, baked cakes, read stories, and even tried to play his own made up version of Scrabble! And how can I forget, he even helped to make my porridge on the first day we were there! On Sunday night, I read him his bedtime story, and he told me he loved me so, so much, spreading his arms as wide as he could… I’m gonna miss these munchkins…

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that my kids had wonderful bonding time with their uncle and aunt too. Lil Man received two intensive coaching sessions for his cricket, and even went for a 4 km run in the morning with him! Lil Princess got some cricket training too, and collaborative art was done as well!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that the prayers function my parents had organised, to bless the little one, went smoothly too. There was a huge amount of family there that I hadn’t seen for many years, so the catching up was fun, though short, for individual people as not only was I trying to mingle, but also needed to be on hand for my sister-in-law and nephews, and my own in-laws who were there for the function too. It was quite a full on 3/4 hours for us all, so it was even more so for the smaller members of the family. Many new faces determined to meet the ‘special guest’ of the function, pinching cheeks etc, coupled with him teething and having a slight runny nose meant he was fine for a while, then things got too much. I don’t blame him. But once he was home, everything was perfe

I’m not looking forward to the leaving on Monday morning. There will be tears and upsets, and that’s not the kids I’m talking about either! I wish we were all geographically closer. I thank God that we are close as a family at least, so we keep the links alive.

I’d love to share photos of my beautiful family more, but we have agreed not to share their images on social media, so the pictures above have been taken in as artistic a manner as I could so share them, and the joy of being with them, as well as keeping them unidentifyable!

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that know I’ll be tired again this week, but thank goodness for a bank holiday, eh! As you read this I’ll probably be driving home, ready to get unpacked, laundry washed and ironed, shopping done, and getting set for the school week. thankfully only 4 days long!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that aside from keeping awake for long enough to get through the day, I’m not planning anything major at all this week… apart from resting in the evenings… will see how that goes!

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

Chai And A Chat #30 #ChaiAndAChat

29 Apr 2019 45 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up! Back to School Edition!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – I was kinda dreading going back to school, leaving Hubby Dearest at home alone, and yet I was looking forward to the break too!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you the bank holiday Monday was a lovely, quiet one, and the weather was fine – in fact it has been pretty beautiful most of the week… until Storm Hannah paid a visit, swooshing in from Friday and blowing around for the weekend!

Before the Storm hit, another session at the temple park, using my new reading mat!

If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that work has been pretty cool. An invitation to a wedding, notification for a course I have to go on next week, lovely catch ups with the children. Generally it has been pretty smooth sailing.
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that Hubby Dearest has settled into working from home for the long haul, setting up office in the dining room, hobbling around, but I don’t envy him. It’s hard staring at the same 4 walls day in, day out.
If we were sipping chai together I’d get a little excited as I tell you I had a very delayed but kinda exciting box opening of a bulk amount of my poetry books. It has been 3 years since I published it, yet at the time I couldn’t afford to purchase large amounts via Createspace. The shipping costs were ridiculous… Then the whole KDP change thing happened, and cetain things are more accessible, including ordering copies for myself, and at a much more reasonable price! I was so excited and feel a bit more ‘authorly’ now with a pile of books that I can send to others or flash about!

If we were sipping chai together I’d sigh and say I’m really tired. Work is always there, it won’t go anywhere. My kids need me. Hubby Dearest needs me. I have been run a bit ragged, getting kids to various trainings and sports clubs, which I wouldn’t drop for anything. I am glad my kids are not just stuck on screens constantly. But, it is taking its toll, me having to do all the rushing around everywhere. Usually, Hubby Dearest and I share the responsibilities, but obviously, he can’t drive at the moment… so it falls on me. And I also am conscious of his mental wellbeing, not being able to go anywhere himself, so I need to be available, after school if he wants to get out for a bit. It’s hard… but hye, it could be worse, eh!
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know the boys in the family were rather excited about the new Avengers film… Sorry. It’s not my thing, or Lil Princess’s either. We went to the last one, and she spent most of the time laid on the floor moaning that she was bored! Waste of a good film ticket really! Anyway, they thought they would like to go this weekend, but obviously, left it too late and there were no decent tickets, or ones that would be suitable for a crutch bound film watcher! So I guess they’ll have to wait a couple of weeks!

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I am strangly excited about the course I am attending this week… possibly shades of things to come at work…
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I am trying to lose weight again… hopefully I can stay on track foodwise… though it may not be easy
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say I am uber excited! Because at the weekend, and it’s another long one, we will be travelling to Brum to seem Pops and Mum, AND my brother, sis in law, and my two beautiful Finndian nephews! I can’t wait! Finally I can get baby cuddles with my #2 nephew, even though he will be nearly 10 months old!!! The weekend cannot come quick enough!!!

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

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Chai And A Chat #28 #ChaiAndAChat

15 Apr 2019 43 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: #ChaiAndAChat, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, center parcs, Chai and a Chat, Vaisakhi

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – The IN-LAWS are back!!! They arrived on Wednesday night, late and were very tired but glad to be home, and we were glad to have them back too!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I have truly embraced the Spring holidays, as should everyone. On Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday, I did nothing apart from read! I think I got thought around 6-7 books ! Of course I didn’t totally neglect my family. I took the kids out briefly, fed them, did a bit of housework and laundry, but the rest of the time, I was either in bed or on my sofa, with a cuppa and my Kindle! What bliss! And the plan is to continue reading more until the end of the break!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I have started to be a bit more active on Twitter as part of the #Writing Community and I think I had as close as I will ever get to a viral tweet… in that there was loads of interaction!

If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that we had to take Sonu Singh to the vet for his annual vaccinations and check up, and it was reported that he is getting rather big… as in heavy. Now, Sonu is a house cat so his natural exercise is not as much as an outdoor cat. I limit his food intake, but there are some who like to sneak him treats… because he asks for them (big softie, my Hubby Dearest!) but this time he put on, in six months, the equivelant of two stone in a human, so something’s gotta give… reduction of food, and being hard to the constant miaows… not easy when we are on break and he is just there, looking at you… And with Lil Man asking to give treats, as it looks like he must have already lost lots of weight in 3 days… just look at those eyes…

If we were sipping chai together I’d say that we decided to travel much lighter for our Center Parcs trip this weekend. I’m fed up of packing for every eventuality, and too much food, so we decided to wing it… Actually, as you read this, we are probably on our way home!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you there was a bit of traffic.. but we arrived safely, and though not sunny, it was dry. The Accomodation is fine, enough for us, with the kids getting their own rooms, but only one bathroom between all four of us… I’m sure we’ll cope!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you our lodge was in a beautiful spot and we have been able to really enjoy nature, with various birds, squirrels and even deer were on our patio, feeding on our birdseed! We have Street-Karted, played badminton, the kids have perfected their Pool game and enjoyed swimming too. And Me? Well, As I promised myself, I have read, read and read!
If we were sipping chai together I’d have to add that as a last minute change, I would be doing the driving, as Hubby Dearest managed to possibly rip his Achilles Tendon whilst playing Badminton… That means I have to drive… his huge automatic car… and I’m scared!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that for the first time on a long while, we missed the Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan on Saturday. This is a religious parade that celebrates the Birth of the Khalsa in Sikhism. It is usually a great day filled with spirituality, commeraderie food and fun! My children used to be on the trailers at the back, playing their drums, but they have since grown up and are too big to do this apparently now, according to them!

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you I might just have to pop into school to make sure we are all set for the first week back… but I might not!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that seeing as we missed the Vaisakhi parade here this year, we will be visiting the temple at some point this week to pay our respects.
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say I am hoping to enjoy the last week of the break,a nd hopefully not eat too many chocolate eggs on Easter weekend!

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

Chai And A Chat #27 #ChaiAndAChat

08 Apr 2019 52 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #ChaiAndAChat, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – “Week six– In-Law-less – smashed it, and now I’m on break there are no more worries… until next year!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that Monday should have been the start of a fantastic Easter week at school… and it was, but we walked around with a fog – well the staff, anyway. We were given the news first thing on Monday morning that a former pupil had passed away suddenly, on the weekend. She was 13. Many of us had taught her, or her siblings. Her mother is active within our school community. It was horrific to even contemplate. 13. That is no age. I cried several times this week. She was a beautiful soul, and my heart goes out to her family at this extremely tough time… Her younger sister was in towards the end of the week, showing such strength. All I kept thinking was how would I ever manage through a situation like that… losing your child… and not knowing yet, what had happened…
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that we did continue the week, as we were meant too. Hard to actually say, but the world still keeps turning… So we taught the children about the Easter story. We discussed resurrection and new life. We sang silly songs. We made Easter cards and chocolate Easter nests for the children to take home and though it was fun, my mind stayed with that family who weren’t thinking of celebrations at this time…
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that we had to put on an even happier face on Thursday, as it was the School Easter disco. I usually stay for both, the Key Stage 1 one, as that is the age group I teach, and the Key Stage 2 one, as that is where my is, so did the same and ended up having a great time with the wonderful children, followed by housework at home, that meant that I had been rather active that day!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv2RtavFXjP/

If we were sipping chai together I’d say the end of the week brought the end of this term, and boy do I need the break! We had an Easter Treasure Hunt (rather than a chocolate egg hunt – that is not Healthy Schools friendly!) for the nursery (x2 as we have two sessions!) which went really well, and the children disappeared with their parents happy that the Easter Bunny had seen how well they had looked for things, and sent them home with an Easter Egg… I couldn’t send them with nothing, could I? The rest of the time in the day was devoted to getting classrooms ready, and creating a display for the reception classes… and a cheeky pop into the pub together with my colleagues at the end, for a well desereved diet Coke ( I had to go shopping after).

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you I have been playing nurse to Lil Princess and her injuries this week too. She took a tumble (more like a shove from an over eager classmate, on their way out to lunch ) on Monday and ended up with a gouge on her left knee and really deep scratches down her shin, a grazed right knee and deeps cuts on her left palm and finger… and she’s a leftie so that wasn’t great, poor baby…
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know the weekend was not a walking marathon as I had visitors. My best friend stayed with us for a night with her beautiful nearly two year old daughter and we had such fun together! My sister-in-law’s sister was also over, at the in-laws house with her family so my kids were in their element, with all the fresh company! It’s hard being a mum to a little one, and easy for us with older ones to forget, so after a nigt of helicopter baby sharing the bed with me and my bestie, she woke up at 6.30am and decided it was time to get up properly. My friend was exhausted, and had a long journey ahead of her so I took my little babe downstairs to give her a lie in. As I type this, I am exhausted from just one night of interrupted sleep… did I really do this regularly???

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that the in-laws are back this week so I know we will be in for a treat, having them back, finally!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that two days after they arrive, we will be off on our own mini holiday which I am so looking forward to!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say I am planning on reading LOADS this holiday! One book is already done!

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