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!
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!
— Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 #ChickPeaCurryLit (@RituBhathal) April 7, 2019
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!
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!
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!
Hey there Peeps! I hope you have your beverage of choice ready!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – “Week Five– In-Law-less – done! and 10 days to go!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I woke up on Monday aching! all that walking on the weekend meant I was physically exhausted! But it was great fun! so much so, that I ended up joining in again this weekend just gone! Obviously, not with as much gusto as it was Mother’s Day on Sunday, but I did get to first place at one point on the Saturday!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that school was great fun, with the introduction of Space. The kids loved their new play area and joined in the learning with gusto! It’s a shame we can’t continue it until after the holidays, but we have to cover Easter this week! But there was a great moment when we were debating about Pluto and it’s planet status…
5 yo: Mrs B, I said there are 9 planets but 2 girls keep saying there are 8.
Me: well, you're both sort of right. Pluto was a planet, now its a dwarf planet.
Other 5 yo: yes, Pluto's not a planet any more. Now its Mickey Mouse's dog!
— Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 #ChickPeaCurryLit (@RituBhathal) March 27, 2019
If we were sipping chai together I’d say Nursery was wonderful, with us getting ready for Mother’s Day. They all had a chance to paint their mummy for our I Love Mum Because… gallery! They saw my paintings of my mum and them did their own. Too cute! I loved getting their mummies to come in and have a look!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that generally, the rest of the week went pretty smoothly. Lil Man had his badmindon academy training on the Thursday, and he actually gets coached by someone who was seeded #8 in the UK when she played for England! Pretty special! Lil Princess enjoyed her swimming and has now decided that the thing to wear to her lessons, (not during, though. That would be silly…) is a onesie! She saw some other girls doing the same and decided that was it. Her thing for next week!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, speaking of Lil Princess and her healthy endeavours, she is also playing badminton, and doing really well. This week, I dropped her off, hoping to get back and do some ironing, but we arrived at the leisure center to find she had decided that Silver sparkly pumps were the right footwear for sport! Cue me rushing off like a loon to get her trainers, and haring back!
I mean… really?
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you I am trying very hard to read fast. I joined NetGalley at the end of last year and have been happily reading and reviewing arcs for authors and leaving reviews, but my biggest problem is that I get excited and end up with too many books to read! And that is not counting the TBR list on my Kindle, or the pile by my bed! Eeeeks!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that I had a most wonderful Sunday. It was Mother’s Day here in the UK and I woke early, as I usually do, to a bunch of flowers, chocolates, cards and my new mug as my last Mum one broke. There was also a little Pandora charm tucked into the gifts too, followed by a trip to Bluewater where we had lunch together, and I was able to peruse the bookshops.. but I didn’t buy! A few pink bubbles at the end of the day really set it off as the best day!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that there is one week left of term then the Easter holidays are upon us! Whoopee!!!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that I still need to be prepared for Thursday night’s School Easter Disco, and the Nursery Easter Egg hunt on Friday (times two; once for each session!)
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say I am rather excited about Saturday, as my bestie is coming to stay with her hearly two year old!!!!!
Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!
Hey there Peeps! I hope you have your beverage of choice ready!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – “Week Four – In-Law-less – smashed it!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you about ‘that’ observation. Yes it happened. I was so worried about it, but even though there were some silly niggles (there always are!) I didn’t need to have it postponed, or anything, and I got the most lovely comment from my team leader!
My observation feedback included the following comment…
"Class teacher has a wonderful aura around her that makes the classroom environment inviting, entertaining and the children wanting to learn."
— Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 #ChickPeaCurryLit (@RituBhathal) March 19, 2019
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, the next bit of fun has been getting our new topic set up for the class. We are introducing Space to the Reception year, and have never done this before, so it has been all systems go, trying to get everything together for a fresh start on Monday. Seriously, new roleplay area, which is a space station, new resources for the learning, new everything! I had a mad dash into town to get bits for the topic on Thursday with my children, after school and I was buzzing, rushing around like a headless chicken. The kids were exhausted with keeping up with me!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that it’s been quite a calm week with the kids, as Lil Man has given his a self-imposed reward chart as he wants to earn money for a new badminton racquet. I’m not complaining. It means there aren’t as many arguments, and I have NEVER seen his room so tidy! Oh and his first session at the Badminton Academy went really well. There was an England coach there too, so he was stoked!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, I have been working very hard on making sure my new Zen-like kitchen is kept pristine… but why do others NEVER put things back where they are meant to be??? Mentioning no names here… If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you I still had to get up early on Saturday morning for Lil Princess’s swimming lesson.. What I wouldn’t give for a little lie in… but the thing is, I can never actually stay asleep more!
If we were sipping chai together I’d say that despite intending on a really quiet weekend, I woke on the Saturday to a challenge. A FitBit challenge! One of my friends added me to a Weekend Warrior challenge, to see who in the group could get more steps in over the weekend. Well, usually this is my chill time… but I can’t step away (see what I did there!) from a challenge, and I ended up walking around my living room, and even ended up doing a 3 mile walk in the afternoon! I was aching by the end of the Saturday, but felt quite invigorated! Saturday steps were over 25K in the end! Sunday, nowhere near as many, but I was going to relax, no matter what!
If we were sipping chai together I’d also say we had a sleepover on the Saturday night too, with the Brother and Sister -in-Law! The parent’s in- law are still away but we thought it would be lovely to chill out together on the Saturday evening, and it was lovely, but I ahve to say, I really don’t like not having my own bed at the end of the night!
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that I did something… something HUGE… I finally sent that WIP off to my editor…EEEEEEKS!!!!!! Could 2019 be the year for me???
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that it’s nearly time for holidays… I am crawling towards that goal that will be here in two weeks!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that it’s ~Mothers Day here in the UK on Sunday… Hmmm… I wonder what we will be doing to celebrate?
Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!
But I Smile Anyway... 