Tying up loose ends

Well, the cat has mended and is back to his old tricks of shedding everywhere (doesn't he know it is winter?) School finishes this Friday and we are off to South Africa to visit DH's family. My PGCE student is leaving and I am getting a new one at the end of January. I will miss this one. She's gone from zero to sixty in a very short time and I am really proud of her. I would like to take just a little itty bit of credit for her progress, but I wouldn't want to take anything away from her accomplishment. School is good. I recruited another pupil so now our year 9 and 10 classes are full. This is great for a school like ours during a recession. I am getting at least two new pupils in my form in January, so this a bonus too. Glad to see the school healthier than ever.

My Christmas choir concert on Saturday was fab-really an all around Christmas experience as our audience reported by email and in the newspaper review. It was such a joy to sing Britten's A Ceremony of Carols again. It brought back such fond memories of singing it with Bruce Pullen, a former King's Singer from Cambridge, who was our conductor in the Vancouver Bach Children's Choir. I am so grateful that he came to Vancouver all those years ago. My life would have been so different if he had not. I think I underrate the influence singing in a choir has had on my life and how much it has contributed to my happiness. And this is totally self-indulgent. I hate listening to other people sing. I want to be the one singing! I love the camaraderie and intimacy singing in harmony induces.

It is time for bed and my arms are going numb from typing this on my iPad. Good night!

The Herminator

I haven't written for a long time because I have been rather emotional about the apparent demise of our lovely fluffball of a cat called Hermes.  He was last seen by us Tuesday a week ago.  I had lost hope come Monday because I thought that if he got caught in someone's house and s/he went away for the weekend, s/he'd be back and Hermes would be freed.  Alas, no.  It has been freezing cold, the ground is covered with snow and ice, and my imagination started to go wild.  Was it a fox? A badger?  Not the friendly, ironic kind from the Wind in the Willows or Fantastic Mr Fox, but a ferocious, jagged toothed rabid monster.  And our boy Hermes has no claws! He was once an apartment cat and everyone in the USA declaws indoor cats.

And then today was declared a Snow Day at school, but not until after we got dressed and braved the icy roads to get to school.  The whole website announcement by 7am routine fell flat on its face.  Anyway, this meant that we were at home all day, and at 11:30, we all went out to Beeston to run some errands and get lunch.  Lo and behold we opened our door and there in the next door flat's bay window was our rather skinnier fluffball, Hermes.  He was meowing and clawing at the window.  We tried to get into the building, but no one was home at all.  When I got home, I called the vet for advice.  She said to call the council.  The council tried to contact the landlord and the tenant, but had no luck, so I called the RSPCA.  I was on hold for almost an hour, but the lady was really nice and empathised with my rising panic.  The action man was called, but he pooh poohed the urgency of the situation because the cat didn't actually look deadish, and so in this cold snap, did not constitute an emergency.  Other tenants started coming home late in the evening and I managed to shove a tray of water under the door and some dry pellets to keep him going overnight until the property management company comes around in the morning.

Anyway, I got a ton done today during the snow day.  Moved some furniture around, put tons of piles of CRAP away, set up the Christmas tree, played with my kids. All in all, a good day.

Sianora...

Off the boil

Had a very long parents' evening tonight with Year 10's, a tough crowd.  My roughest encounters weren't with the kids who weren't going to do well on exams.  For the most part, their parents had realistic expectations for them and knew their child's strengths and weaknesses and behaviour issues better than I do.  It was the boy who could be doing so much better, but who can't be bothered to do a good job on his homework or to revise for tests, mostly because he spends all his time playing on his Xbox or whatever handheld machine kids have these days (it's been a long time since Donkey Kong).  These things are evil.  I now sit across from my DH who is sitting slouched and crouched over our blessed new iPad, playing this obsessive game called Angry Birds.  While there is some Physics in it (trajectory and elastic potential energy), I cannot see the appeal.  What is it with boys and these games?  I like a game of scrabble and quite enjoyed a go at the formula 1 racing game, I do not feel the urge to hit RESTART over and over again to get to the next level.  What should that parent do? What should I do?  The parent decided that a ban on games would be necessary until after mock exams (oooh, a whole week away - too little too late?)  Husband? Better keep drinking the wine.  I am wearing my new black boots...

iPad frenzy

Today my family invested in the ultimate gadget, the iPad. I am typing on it right now. OMG, I love it. We have been fighting over it already, and that is just me and DH. The battery is already down to 50% and that is mostly because of me and Paul. The children have taken to it like ducks to water.

Symbiosis interruptus

Today, DH came to my school and delivered a great interactive lecture on nuclear power. The pupils were well behaved for the most part but I still feel exhasuted by the experience of being in charge of the entire class of year 11s. This lovely family/professional symbiosis was interrupted by the year 6 teacher beckoning me out of the theatre to try to tear me a new one because she thought I was responsible for all the toing and froing with sets and ladders etc. from the play which had its last performance the night before. I was in there during the lunch hour when I was in the theatre trying to get my laptop set up in my only free 15 minutes of the entire day because I was on duty. The juniors, however are back in lessons by then and were using the theatre for a music lesson, including my DS1. Anyway, I had one of those classic regret moments when she asked rhetirically whether I had people waltzing through my lessons. I didn't think of a good response till later that indeed I did during musical season when for two weeks straight I teach around fully made up and costumed characters walking right across the front of my classroom so they can get to the stage right entrance! We all have to be flexible. Anyway, she apologised after school because she had finally processed the message that I had only been in there to sort out my laptop as previously arranged with her. I am not sure, however, if she is stilled livid with the English teacher and his set breaking... All in a day's work I supposed. Just emotional stress I didn't need.

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Walking and the Big Society

I walked to work today for my 9:30 start for the first time in eons. The planets were aligned to allow me the gift of a small burden which fit into my college backpack and pretty clear skies. On way way, I ran into half a dozen people I knew: the husband of a babygroup friend, another member of said babygroup, my cousin on his way to work at the university and the owners of several local shops I used to frequent regularly. We stopped and chatted and caught up ans commiserated and celebrated. It was better than trollong through updates on facebook! It was great to see a live person face to face. Needless to say, I was almost late for work, but these real social interactions put a smile on my face for the rest of the day, not to mention how good it feels to get some exercise. On my way home from work, I dropped into every local business and asked if I could put up a flyer in their shop window for my choir's imminent local christmas performance. Every single one said yes. It made me realise what a great community we are and how our social connections can so easily be reinforced but also taken for granted.

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Cats cradle

When my auntie was here over half term, we found ourselves upstairs at the children's old nursery.  There was an eight year old girl trying to figure out how to do cat's cradle - by herself.  An impossibility.  I went over to help her, but found that it was impossible to explain to her what to do because I couldn't demonstrate it.  Her IQ and my explanatory ability aside, what happened was amazing.  Auntie jumped in the fray and the two of us became 12 year old girls playing a steaming match of cats cradle.  Three generations in one place playing a lovely traditional game.  Wonder if I will be able to get DS1 or DS2 to do it with me.

Climbing up the walls

Took the senior girls wall climbing last night after school. I did it too and had a ball. The harness is ever so flattering...unless you are into s&m. Anyway, it gave me the ides for the DSs' joint birthday pary next year: a spiderman themed wall climbing party. They will love it. Will ask Kat if she'll paint faces. Can bring or get food there. So psyched and relieved to have sorted that annual worry out. Now if I could just get rid of worrying about letting out the other house by selling it, that would be great. Hope current tenant passes his phd, gets a job in the vicinity and earns enough to get a mortgage.

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On the go

I am trying to think of things to downlad (for free of course) to my android phone from the marketplace and I just realised that there must be a special interface for mobile blogging.
Am now chowing down some Thai food before getting a fascial on my afternoon off. The bread of this relaxation sandwich is so hectic, however, with cars needing to go to the shop and the transport implications, not to mention teaching and parents' evenings today, i'm not sure if I'll alctually get much out of it. Boohoo me.
Choir was good last night. Spent most of the time on Ceremony of Carols and started Elgar's Dream of Gerontius (with a hard 'g' I have been informed) for January's course which I am not sure if I can do, what with plans moving forward with our move to Vancouver. It is starting to feel more real and like a real possibility now. Calling in favours right left and centre to get jobs and the kids into schools. Fingers crossed.

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Bugs Alive

Colleagues and family are falling like flies.  Runs and voms here there and everywhere. Just waiting till I come down with it.  Wonder if I will have to take the day off school.  Double edged sword. More of a pain to organise and mark cover than it is to just come in when sick and teach the damn material.
Plugging along with life and work. The DS's are polishing their shoes with DH. So cute.  DS1 is still turning off at school, but then telling us all the things he was supposed to have learned at school.  Teacher told me he wasn't doing any work because he wasn't doing the writing portion of his work, but he had participated in the reading comprehension and the discussion. That is still work!  Yes,  it won't count on an exam, but he is still processing the information and learning. Gosh, the exam obsession has already started!
Not much else to report other than I am dying under the marking load.

Easy Street

Something's wrong.  Sundays are getting easier and I am less stressed.  Just like everyone said they would be.  Just think how nice life will be come May when the Year 11's leave.  I have nine periods of Year 11!  That's like an extra whole day off a week!.  Yes I will have to cover and invigilate, but that's not the same as TEACHING, waving my arms around, jumping around like an idiot trying to make Physics memorable.

DH and I are feeling more and more justified not supporting Operation Christmas Child through the school.  We originally decided not to when we found out that religious literature was included inside the shoebox as we are very anti-prosletyzing.  Then this weekend, my fellow teacher trainee forwarded us an email from the atheist science teacher at her school denouncing the scheme and making everyone aware that the scheme is led by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who has made anti-Muslim and anti-Hindu comments on record, and is also that person banging on about how Obama was born a Muslim, like this should somehow preclude him from being President of the USA.  How to tell my school about this???

Accomplished a lot towards our planned move to Vancouver.  I sent my letter to my mentor about my dream job.  I scanned DS1's school report and wrote a rough draft for the school statements.  Not sure what to do about DS2's schooling as he will only be ready for pre-kindergarten, AKA pre-school in Canada!!! There are only half day programmes available unless we put him in, eeggads, DAYCARE. I hate that word.

Anyway, must get off my duff.  Luckily my hip has healed and I can sit for more than half an hour without stiffening up.  Better go watch some TV before bed.

I've turned into one of those mums

When a teacher has to call a parent because of their son's poor behaviour, the parents are usually shocked to hear their son's actions.  "But he is always a gentleman at home, so helpful and polite."  This week, I was called in to see DS1's teacher and had to listen in horror to what he had done on the playground to one of his friends.  Apparently, he had his friend up against a brick wall and was punching him.  Now, both boys take karate together, and I can only hope that they were acting out their karate fantasies, and were not actually fighting with malice, as they are best friends after all.  Anyway, DS1 was put on formal warning, which lasts a week.  I will speak to his Sensei and a lecture coming from him will get through better than any number of tellings off or quiet, kind, encouraging chats about how to best behave.

To top it off, DS1 is also not completing his work during lessons and needs constant prodding to get on with tasks.  OMG, I cannot believe I may have one of those children!  So I asked his teacher if she would let us have his workbook for the weekend and we would see that he caught up.  He has 16 pages of half finished work to catch up on.  We wasn't allowed to watch TV or do anything fun until it was done.  I was very careful not to give him too much attention (I just gave him instructions on what he had to do on each page, and then went to sit in the living room with DS2 to cuddle and watch TV) because the teacher is afraid that he will prefer to do the work at home.  Anyway, he managed to catch up on all the work within about an hour in total.  This could be an interesting term.

DH and I are sitting next to each other in the living room, each with a laptop on our lap and the X-factor on the TV, but muted because they are all so horrendous, but I feel it is my duty to know who Cher and Wagner are because all the kids talk about them at school.

Nice day with the fandamily today.  Went to the kids' swimming lessons today for want of anything better to do having had my back cracked and my hip re-located after a sofa-sitting injury last night that left me in agony and unable to sit through my friend's amateur theatre performance.  I haven't been able to sit down for more than 10 minutes at a time today without it stiffening up, so I was very tired after a trip to the park with the kids and a long walk.  Luckily napping doesn't hurt my hip too badly although I can't sleep very well due to the discomfort.

Must consult on letter with DH
Night!

Breaking the Dam

I broke the dam this morning when I did catchup work for my job rather than taking the time off.  But I had to because I fell asleep in front of the television last night before I got around to do any marking.  Now I am in the coffee shop and just made a starter for next week's year 7 lesson. Yay wifi.  I'm blogging on the run. Must go back to school now to be Mrs. B and see DS1's entry in the big boat race.  He and DH made it over the holidays.  I think it will do well.  Well designed.  DS1 is looking more and more like his father every day, it is scary!
Just made an appointment to get my roots done. Hope I can tolerate two more weeks of gray hairs.
My PGCE student is improving exponentially. She is really taking on board everything I have been saying and I am able to give her tons of encouragment and positive feedback as well as the criticism.  Yay.

Must run and be Mummy...

Happy Hallowe'en

It has been three weeks since my last confession.  Threw one helluva Hallowe'en party for my children and 11 of their closest friends and their parents.  It was wicked in both senses of the word.  Cost a fortune though...all those little things add up.  But we haven't thrown a party on any scale since the kids' birthdays last spring.

Had my auntie here for two weeks.  She's 68, looks 50 and acts 30.  We had a ball together.  She was great with the kids and so helpful around the house it made me want her to stay forever. Really. I never thought I'd say that.

Anyway, we took her to Paris for a long weekend.  Thank goodness DH had booked us on the train and Eurostar so we didn't get caught up in the strikes and problems at the airport.  We saw NO disturbance whatsoever, and we even found ourselves outside the parliament buildings by accident on the Saturday on our way to the Eiffel Tower, which the kids adored.  Sons bought Eiffel Tower key chains for their friends and little models for themselves.  Soooooo cute.  No souvenirs for me.  Didn't have time to shop, and none of the shops we did go by had any merchandise within my price range.  The Champs Elysee was as disappointing as I remember it (were/they? plural?)

Clocks have gone back. I really must go to bed.  I am not sure how I will cope going to back to work tomorrow after this lovely holiday and DH is going to Spain on Tuesday for a few days for work. 

Must go. Snore snore.

Candle burning at both ends

I'm not quite sure how I got through the week.  I am so tired I can barely think.  I have been up until midnight every night planning and marking for the next day.  There's no reprieve on my system of marking.  I am hoping it will pay off in future, but I am not sure how yet. 
I am back to school in 15 minutes to chaperone the seniors' disco.  There are only four of us and sixty kids, half of whom are not from our school.  Pete is going to wear "what's left of his police uniform", that is, what he can still fit into.   I am seriously tempted to bring a hip flask into the dance!  How retro.  Must go decide on my outfit...

Falling with style

To quote the inestimable Buzz Lightyear, I fell with style today in the school cafeteria in front of all the Year 7's.  I received a 6.5 (I am assuming out of a skater's 7) for my slippage on a smushed grape.  Pride was bruised more than I was hurt, but we'll see if the back pain that set in soon afterwards was transient or more menacing. I managed to gather myself together after a few minutes.  The rest of the day I was bombarded with inquiries from staff and pupils as to my health.  So sweet.  I was, of course, suspicious, that the administrators were concerned about being sued.  I could never do that to my school!

Otherwise all my lessons went quite well. Behaviour was good, and it was not sympathy good behaviour because my tough lessons were all in the morning.

Had a mound of cover work to mark again this evening, but it should even out now.  I really like my system of marking because I will never again be faced with a stack of books with three or four weeks' work to mark for the next day.  Uhhh, except for last year's Year 9 folders.  Oh dear.  When am I supposed to get to them. I will have to start doing a few a day until half term...

Life is school. School is life.  The DS's are wound right up in it.  I just wish I could have had a hug from one of them after my fall like I am able to give to them if they have a fall because we are in the same establishment.  They were both in lessons at the time, unfortunately.

It is late.  I must sign off. I haven't been getting enough sleep for weeks now, and because I stayed up till 1 am on Saturday night, all the catching up I did on Saturday morning was pointless.

Not enough hours in the day

So I have planned tomorrow's lessons and marked all of the work for the pupils I will see tomorrow.  But I am not sure how I am going to set up and break down 5 different experiments, photocopy, AND organise things for my PGCE student before school starts.  At lunch I am tutoring pupils struggling with series and parallel circuit problems (which is most of Year 11).
Perhaps I can ask MDO to take care of my form in the morning at assembly to give me a few more minutes.
And after school, I have to run my film club - watching the Wizard of Oz on the big screen in the theatre, which is fabulous.

Just hope DSs' stomachs behave themselves because I don't think I could cope with any more cover work to mark and then to make up for with their lack of understanding...at least I can say that I am AfL-ing well as I can see from marking all their work after each lesson where I need to fix their understanding.  Even my top pupil tanked on a bunch of stuff.

Ahhhh, we'll see how I survive tomorrow...

Concert last night was super.  Came home on a real high.  Sold out audience. Had to turn a few people away lest the church violate the fire code.  Had to wash the tea duty dishes during the interval...that was not planned.

Weight Watcher

Low carb diet is working, by the way. I am down to 174 lbs. That's 12 quid off where I was in August. Not bad for a month's efforts. My trousers fit again.  I will have 6 more pairsI have never worn if I can get down to 169 lbs.

Mass in Blue

Just returned from a very long Friday night rehearsal for our concert tomorrow night. We are doing Will Todd's Mass in Blue at St John's Church in Carrington.  I just LOVE the music.  I wish we could do more jazz.

Strange week. DS2 vomitted on Tuesday morning so I had to take the day off work.  We tried to send him back 48 hours later (school policy for after the last puke), but he vomitted all over the cafeteria, so he was sent home and DH and I have had to do a ballet of work swapping. At least he can work from home!  If I am not in that classroom, someone else is being inconvenienced by having to cover my lessons, and copious amounts of mediocre written work are produced.  I will have to bring in some bikkies for my colleagues next week to thank them...that is, if I am in next week. I am coming down with something. Sore throat, headache, funny tummy, but not too bad.  Hope it at least holds off until Sunday because I need to be on my game for tomorrow night.  I have missed about three concerts in my seven years with EOES due to last minute illness.  I do NOT want to miss this one.

I have not found a babysitter so that DH can come to the concert.  Is this always my job?  Even when he is the one who wants to go out second...there is a race to the family calendar to check who has written their commitment down first. 

Year 7 Parents' Evening next week.  Should be fun.  Only two more weeks before half term and my father's sister visits for two weeks. We are taking her and the boys to Paris.  Hope we don't lose her there like we did in Rome. I don't think the French police are as sympatico or accommodating as the Italian Police were when she got lost and had no idea where she was staying. 

Been re-reading my Ph.D. thesis on the Erechtheion.  Need to because a Dartmouth professor will be calling me next week to advise some of his students on their independent study projects that will be testing the theory that the Erechtheion was not a temple but a sanctuary. Wonder what Greek words they will be relying on for this.  Also re-reading it because I am going to be interviewed for a TV pilot programme.  I have forgotten so much!  There are so many little tiny details that I used to know off by heart, as well as all the context around them.  My Athenian history is dreadful...I'd forgotten about all my arguments for the date fo the temple and the Reign of the Thirty Tyrants.  I have to look up words I once knew the meaning for (e.g., "irredentist"), not to mention the architectural terminology is rusty.

Anyway, I must catch some sleep.  The DS's will soon be up and I am behind on my sleep. I mistakenly drank caffinated tea at 9pm at the rehearsal tea break.

Busy weekend ahead of swimming, birthday party, concert, etc.  And that's just Saturday.

Exercise non-extant

My Thursday afternoon off this week was entirely taken up by getting my hair dyed.  Three hours!  At least 45 minutes was just waiting for the blow dry lady to finish up with another client and I was left to let the conditioner do its work as my neck cricked painfully in one of those tortuous sinks with the dips in them.  Needless to say, no exercise got done.  And I am 80 quid out of pocket including tips.

DH had a bad dream last night and now he is taking it out on me. I survived the week with him in Spain and out to dinner with his clients the days he was in town.  Friends came over last night and we watched Shirley Valentine.  I haven't seen it in a decade and I now understand so many more things having lived in England for eight years now.  The funny thing is that the film was dubbed for all the confusing Britishisms such as dubbing "suspenders" for "garter belt".  The film is still so relevant, even the socio-political comments, not to mention the retro scenes to British education in the 1960s and the obsession with housepoints that DS1 is just embarking on.

Which brings me to housepoints and nepotism.  Am I allowed to grant DS1 housepoints if he does school related good deeds?  We are in the same house at school so it could very well be construed as inappropriate.  I guess I can suggest to DS1's teacher to grant him a housepoint or two...

Going to see an old friend today in Birmingham today.  Haven't seen her or her baby daughter in a year.  That's what working full time will do to a friendship.

Must get some sandwiches ready for the DS's.  Hope DH is more in the mood to go on this outing - he certainly wasn't before.  Have offered to let him off the hook to stay home, but he didn't bite at the opportunity.

TTFN

A new approach

DH is away most of this week, so I am approaching my work a little differently.  I am planning just the night before rather than trying to do the whole week. That way I can get my marking done concurrently and it is like a little break from the planning.  Also, I don't have to remind myself what I planned to do the morning of the lessons.  Will see how that all works out when I have to have next week planned by Thursday for our lab technician.  Hmmm.  OK, just made an outline.  I feel much less stressed tonight, but it may bite me in the rear end later.  I guess this is the time to experiment.

DH ran the Robin Hood Marathon today.  He even made his target time.  We are all very very proud of him for setting the goal to run it in the first place, and then achieving it with such style.  I don't think the exhaustian factor will hit him until tomorrow as he was much to chipper later this afternoon.  The kids and I cheered him on at three points of the race: by the university, by the suspension bridge, and at the finish line.  Very good coordination and logistics managing on my part.

Hope I am not coming down with conjunctivitis.  I am already feeling a bit run down.  Paul and I both seem to have something bothering our intestines at the moment.  It is late, so I better get to bed.

Babysitting blues

Spending my Saturday night babysitting for a friend. They have an ipad. Actually the husband's school gave him an ipad! Maybe I should be in the state sector!! Oh my goodness, I am addicted and currently typing this blog on it. First I played solitaire then I checked my pupils' homework on the wikispace. Now I am playing on it. Battery life is fading fast though, but I could get used to plugging it in every night like I have to do for my phone. Too bad it does not automatically capitalise my i's and apostrophes are on a separate symbols page.
Anyway, you never know when you are going to get the chance to play with these things. I'm loving it!

First half day at work

The low-carb diet is paying off. Lost 8 pounds in two weeks.  I drew the line on it yesterday for a brief moment to share in my son's three and a half year birthday cake, but I only had a little slice.  Yes, half birthdays.  It is such a long time between birthdays for little people!  Ended up having 6 kids and all their parents and some friends over to celebrate.  Managed to put together a supper for them and some nibbles without too much effort. Why is this becoming so easy?  Many years of experience finally paying off?  Who knows.

I had my first late morning into work.  Only had to arrive at 9:30 for form time.  Later I have year 7 for a double period and then I am off again. It is almost like having a full day off work!  But boy, do those year 7's ask a LOT of unnecessary questions and those who had me last year for year 6 seem to think they can still ask to go to the toilet during the lesson.  Will have to nip that in the bud.

Went to the nearest cafe after dropping off DS1 and DS2 and acting as Mummy at the school gates for the first time ever.  Wanted to go deeper into town, but my new shoes were already rubbing on my baby toe.  Had a smoothie.  Healthy (fresh OJ!), but no low-carb.  Everyone around me is ill so I had the urge to down some vitamin C.

Year 7's coming in in a minute for their first lesson of the year with me. Will probably regret blogging during the day, but I am feeling a bit excited about this attempt to balance my work and my life.  If I weren't doing it here, I would be writing it in my log book!

Down in the Dumps

I've been feeling down for the past few days.  I hope I can just put it down to the low carb diet I have been on for the past 4 days.  I have returned to India Knight's Idiot Proof Diet, but I am not giving up caffeine this time.  I have started at Phase 1.5, so I am eating berries and drinking coffee and tea with milk.  Oh, and having a square (or two) of dark chocolate at night, purely for digestive purposes of course.  Not seeing any major improvements yet, but I can't seem to weigh myself at the true bottom mass owing to the plumbing being clogged, and each litre of water I drink to try to clear the clog has a mass of 1 kilogram, so I am keeping the faith that muscle weighs more than fat and that the exercise is paying off.

Kids are at King's Camp.  DS1's best friend isn't there today, so it took some convincing to get them to go.  I am sure I am not making the most of my free time.  I am usually so busy and never have time to do errands.  And here I am with time on my hands.  I have done everything on my list except for sewing on the badge to the blazers and ironing names into new school trousers which didn't get done by the MIL just in case the trousers weren't the right size.

Weather's better today.  I'm going to take a walk now - eeeek, before the kitchen is tidy and laundry has been put away.  This is my target for next year: to prioritise exercising over housework.

Inlaws relaunched

I have my house back after three weeks of inlaws.  MIL is fabulous.  The 8 hour car ride to and from Cornwall with her was very pleasant.  The cracks started to show in my patience with FILyesterday (separation anxiety) and we had a short sharing of feelings over breakfast this morning that strangely led to MIL losing her temper, she says, for the first time in years.  Kids were wide eyed. 

I have 6 hours of freedom left while the kids are at sports camp on Thursday and Friday morning before I go back to work next Thursday. What shall I do with them?  I really should do something pampery, but I am feeling short on cash.  The weather is too rubbish to exercise outside.  Cleaning the house is so 2008.  I have stopped freaking out if there's lego in the bos with the cars and cars in the box with the balls. 

I cannot for the life of me find the badge for DS1's new blazer.  Maybe that's what I will do tomorrow morning.  Will go buy another one and sew it on. MIL ironed on the name tags to DS1's new school shirts, jumper and tie.  The novelty of that went out in the Spring when I had to do DS2's school clothes.  Took ages!

Today went to the retail bead shop in town and bought some wire and clamps to fix my favourite fake pearl necklace.  Made some matching earrings while I was there.  Could get into that. Luckily none of  the beads was very interesting so I was not tempted to spend, although I do need to have another go at crimping the ends because I didn't do a very good job finishing the necklace off.  Oh well, live and learn.  Would like to attend a jewellery making workshop.  Every today's little lesson demystified the process. Just a matter of finding nice beads now.

DS2 wants a cuddle so I better go.