But I Smile Anyway…

And here was me, thinking I may just be able to wrap up the #CoronaDiaries hashtag, when BoZo BoJo and his gang decide to announce Lockdown #2! A lockdown with differences…

• If we were having chai I’d start with school. Oh, no, I don’t have to, because we were on half term, weren’t we? So no thinking about school, or work, planning, staffing. In your dreams, Ritu! But more about that later!
• If we were having chai I’d tell you that we didn’t end up getting the skip, even though it was on the list of things to do. I think we have all been a bit deflated of energy, and the will to do anything was just gone, so I moved bits about in the garden, but the stuff that needs to go, is still there!
• If we were having chai I’d say that we did get our valuations done, and out of three, we found who I hope will be our dream agent, with a great valuation of our property, and a very reasonable fee… however… more on that, too…
• If we were having chai I’d mention that Sonu Singh had his stint at the vets, for his scale and polish, and the removal of one broken tooth. Poor thing was still high on his painkillers, when he came back, and once he remembered food, it was like he had the munchies, darting from bowl to bowl, licking anything he thought would have food in, and even dipped half his head into his water bowl, unaware that he was soaking wet on one side, as he tried to snuffle for more food! My boy is fine now, though, thank goodness!

• If we were having chai I’d have to let you know that we are on a mission to get Lil Man in the kitchen! My brother had a chat with him, one day, and told him, that it was really important for him to learn how to cook. Obviously, I have been trying to instil this in him, and Lil Princess, but coming from his on so cool uncle, he took heed. The challenge was on, for him to learn how to make eggs, at least two ways, and the boy done good! We started with omelette, me making one first, and him copying and following my lead. Apparently it didn’t taste good “because someone else hadn’t made it for me!” But it was good. Then day two was scrambled eggs, which he did really well with. I went shopping on the Saturday and came back to a sink filled with dishes, but there was still a proud mum moment, as he had made himself scrambled eggs, with no supervision! (Now to get cool uncle to challenge him to tidy up after himself!)

• If we were having chai I’d get back to that news I keep hinting at… the announcement of a second lockdown. Yup. It was that news we were all expecting, yet hoping not to have to endure. That news that we dreaded, but knew was inevitable. England is officially in it’s second national lockdown from Thursday. But it’s a lockdown with a difference. All non essential businesses have to stop, including bars/restaurants, retail shops, gyms, hair salons and beauty bars. If you can work from home, you have to. Unless you are in the construction industry, or in manufacturing of essential goods, Emergency services, and health care, and education. Yup, so we at school are still same as before, soldiering on, with our children coming in, so the kids have the least amount of disruption. There is plenty to worry about, but we just have to keep going. We are a staff member down this week, due to a necessary medical procedure, and her needing to quarantine before it, I have 4 prospective members of staff to meet and observe, my classroom needs to be totally reset, as it was left in a tip on the Friday before breaking up due to the flooring being done, and I have a new boy starting tomorrow, too! So all these things meant there was a certain amount of school encroaching upon my week… And now, I worry about whether we can still go ahead with the house sale, etc… if we are in lockdown? Oh, well. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?

This week, it’ll all be about school, preparations for the next four weeks, drawing up virtual learning plans, just in case, and interviews. Oh, and juggling staff where we have a shortage… And thinking about my own two, and possible childcare, as I don’t want to drop them to my in-laws, as they are classed as vulnerable, unless absolutely necessary. I guess we’ll just wait and see. I mean, we haven’t been given the official guidance, yet, and that might add a whole heap of extra touble on our plates!

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!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps!

Honestly, the way I am feeling, I’m not sure I have the energy for a drink, let alone a chat, today, but I will stop, and sit down for a short one with you, because it has been another crazy week, and thankfully, today is the first day of half term… and, boy, do I need the break!

• If we were having chai I’d take a huge sip, before starting up with school.Week eight of the term that feels like it’s been going on forever, in a surreal parallel universe… Well, the Pumpkin Soup learning went down well, and then we got the beginning of a Chicken Pox run in my class… then, as we crawled towards the end of the week, the inevitable happened… and we ended up with three bubbles closing within school as we had four cases of Covid-19 positive results. A nightmare to end a term that has been hacking away at all of us. Thankfully, it wasn’t our bubble, but still, that’s a lot of potential people it could affect… I’m glad we’re all home for a week, now, to have that total break.
• If we were having chai I’d remind you that in the summer, my classroom floor was meant to have been sanded and polished, but due to the guy being quarantined, it got postponed. Well, as we are off this week, it was booked in, so Friday evening saw me humping furniture off the flooring, onto the carpeted area, again, and though the floor will be lovely, shiny and new, it also means that I have to be in on the Monday, brighter and earlier than usual, to get everything put back into place! I need something to cheer me up, so here is a little gallery of prints (swipe on the Instagram post to see the different ones) of portraits done by my students over the last few years!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that though nothing major happened with the house, it has been great to have no one around, tinkering with things! And I did manage to contact some estate agents, who will be coming round this week to give us valuations. It’s really happening, y’all!
• If we were having chai I’d tell you that I was pretty excited to have finally hit the 2k follower mark on Instagram, too, last week! Its gone up and down, since that post, but still… 2k!!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that we managed a brisk faamily walk to the local prom on Sunday afternoon, after an extremely lazy day, since the clocks went back, allowing for a lie in! I needed that blast of cool, refreshing air.

This week, it’s my brother’s birthday so I’ll be celebrating from afar, seeing as he is in Finland, and, even though we are on half term, there are countless things to do, including getting another skip to do more clearing out, taking Sonu Singh to the cat dentist as he has bad teeth (and it’s so expensive!), and ferrying Lil Man to get measured for his new cricket bat, as well as getting valuations done on the house. But, my top priority will be rest.

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!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps!

The weeks are just blurring into one another, aren’t they? I feel like I’m living a Groundhog day life, right now, but hopefully it will change soon enough!

I haav my chai, what about you?

• If we were having chai I’d start with school life, as always. It’s never the same, at school. Each week brings it’s own brand of happiness, craziness and complexity. So this week, I’ve dealt with a biting, classroom destroying, heaad-banging lunatic (and his mother), vomit, prepping for new children, approaching parents about possible needs their children may have, creating an Action Plan for my subject role, meeting with my new mentor regarding leadership… Yes, it’s definitely not been a quiet one… but I’m still standing. We all are!
• If we were having chai I’d then swiftly move on to house updates. WE HAVE NEW CARPET! (In the bedrooms, at least. The stairs and hallway will be done tomorrow, but that is a simple job.) Friday night was a craazy rush for me, with a trip to Bluewater (more on that, later), then coming back and stripping all the bedrooms of anything, other than the beds, so the old carpet could be lifted, and the new laid. I ached like a good un, but the kids did help, so that was a blessing. Then on Saturday, they were dropped to the grandparents, while Hubby Dearest and I waited for the fitters to arrive. There were meant to be two, but only one man came. He was an older gentleman, with a slight limp. We felt awful that he was doing this alone, to be honest, and offered to help with the moving around of furniture, but, do you know what? He was amazing! Three bedrooms done and dusted in two hours, with no help from us, moving furniture, including a really heavy bed frame! Good old Denver (that was his name), highly recommended! I have hoovered around seventy six billion times, and that carpet fluff keeps giving, but it’s done! We then moved all the furniture back where it needed to go, and I had to construct two new clothes rails as two of the more flimsy ones we were using, collapsed. (Sometimes, I wish we hadn’t demolished the wardrobes, but then, we would have had to, with the carpets, as they were too heavy to move, and not nice enouch to keep). I think the kids are happy. The carpet is so soft and bouncy, with the new underlay, too! I actually typed half this post laying on the ground, with Lil Man looking at me like I was mad. And the paint is pretty much done. Just touch ups. However, the Summerhouse sprung a leak, so there is that to fix if possible.
• If we were having chai I’d say that we have been online viewing prospective houses, and there are already arguments between the household members, where one is only concerned about the garden, one wants a big bedroom and ensuite, one wants space for a chill room or a gym, and me? Well, as long as I have a study/work/writing room, I’d be happy… Our dream forever home is out there, I’m sure… We’ll find it soon enough.
• If we were having chai I’d let you know about good old Bluewater. So, Lil Princess and her social life meant that she had another trip to meet friends planned for the Friday, after school. Lil Man decided he wanted to tag along and go wandering around with me, while she socialised. (Damn. That meant less time to sit and chill in Costa with my book!) She met her friend, and we walzed from sports shop to sports shop, as he wanted trainers. It wasn’t as hard as I thought, but rather expensive, but then, he’d saved up, so kudos to him. Then we managed a half an hour sit down in Costa, before I ended up in a stationery shop. But I just looked, promise! I have decided I can’t buy more anything, until we find our dream home, because I don’t have anywhere to put anything! But I did find something that made me giggle. Nowadays, manufacturers make machines for everything, and I was surprised to see this, a Samosa maker! What a way to cheat! You could never make proper Indian samosas in that, but these would create the little cocktail filo pastry ones. Not a real samosa!

• If we were having chai I’d end with telling you that after carpet-gate, we chilled… I stayed in bed until 9.30am on Sunday, which is unheard of, then after grocery shopping (we need food, too!), I relaxed for the rest of the day. My body is still aching from moving furniture and stuff around over Friday and Saturday – Bubble bath time! Sonu Singh is just wondering around not quite sure what is going on, most of the time. Will he be stuck in one room, today, with myriad strangers wandering in and out? Or does he get to lord it around the whole of the kingdom? Thankfully, after Tuesday, the house will be his again, but until then, here’s a pic of him using me as his pillow!

This week, the carpet WILL BE DONE, fully! I hope to ring up some estate agents to get valuations, before we get this baby on the market. Then it will be mortgage time, to see what our budget really will be, along with beginning to do some viewings of properties. It’s really happening, y’all! I have a course to do this week, which will result in me being a qualified DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) for if there are any worries or concerns about a child… serious stuff. I also have a meeting with a parent (that bitey, head banging one…) Wish us luck!

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!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps!