Month: November 2015

I sometimes imagine my Little Sparkles weeks as a title from Friends. This week would be ‘The one with the bugs, bumps and ballet.’ We seem to have fitted a lot into this week, it started with Little Man being poorly with the bug which swept his school, my fall from which I am still hurting, last minute weekend ballet rehearsals and the exam on Wednesday and finishing on Thursday with a wonderful classical music concert for the children. This has definitely been a Mummy week and I appreciate how lucky I am to have such an understanding employer who has allowed me to swap hours to accommodate my needs this week.

READ

Today when they got home from school, Little Miss and Little Man discovered a postcard from Tommy our elf. They were so excited and I loved hearing Little Man asking Little Miss to read it to him and her reading it beautifully aloud. It was a warm, fuzzy moment and I was so pleased I had made the effort to send the postcard.

WATCHED

I love the Blackpool Strictly episode so thoroughly enjoyed Saturday night’s television, the extra dancers and pizazz just make it even more sparkly and fun. My favourites are still in the competition and the programme is my tv highlight each week. Apart from Strictly I haven’t watched much tv this week, in the evenings I’ve been getting organised for Christmas, writing lists, gaining inspiration form the Internet and planning.

LISTENED

On Thursday afternoon, I accompanied Little Man’s class to a classical music concert. It was a delightful experience to introduce children to classical music. Little Miss also went with her class, we waved across the hall! I really like being a Mum helper on these type of trips, it’s why I work part time so I can volunteer some time to help on events such as this. It was a lovely community event with all the schools from our town and surrounding villages attending and some senior members of the community helping too. The children all brought their teddies and got to ‘dance’ with them during the concert, they also got to conduct and jump up and down in certain pieces of music too. I was so impressed by all the children they were really well behaved and all very actively participating in the concert. The orchestra were so friendly and welcoming, for some songs they came among the audience and all were dressed casually to be more approachable. It was such a pleasure to attend and enjoy the beautiful music played at this concert and to see the children’s discovery of classical music, a real musical treat for us all.

MADE

I love homemade soup and chunky granary bread, its my ultimate comfort food. Sometimes I will follow a recipe at other times it’s whatever vegetables I have at home chucked into a pot. This week I have made a few soups all of which have been delicious.

In a tenuous link, I have also made progress on my Christmas planning. Living in a small town with lots of independent shops, I have always tried to support my local commerce by shopping locally and I picked up a few things this week. I have also challenged myself not to simply shop locally but to try and buy goods made in the UK. This week I’ve chosen some Caroline Gardner Christmas cards and discovered Poppy Trewenny and their hand stitched goods made in Cornwall. Unfortunately despite my best intentions, there will be plastic imports from China among my shopping as Star Wars figures feature heavily on Christmas lists.

WORE

Little Miss wore her hair so beautifully and looked so neat and tidy for her ballet exam on Wednesday, I was so proud of my little dancer.   It was such an organised event and there were hairdressers on hand to put the girls’ hair into buns. I was so relieved, my hair is short so I have no experience in styling. I spent the morning at the base helping Little Miss to get dressed and then I waited whilst she did the exam. It was such a lovely morning, catching up with Mums, encouraging the dancers, congratulating them on their return and just being among the excitement.

I have worn bandages on my right hand this week. My running injury is still pretty ugly and I returned to the hospital today to have it checked and redressed. It is healing but part of the wound is still open. My hand is badly bruised with an odd mix of yellow and green bruising. I need to return again on Wednesday for another check. I am so grateful for our cottage hospital. There was a big campaign to save it a few years ago and I’m so pleased it was successful, it really is so important to our town.

AND FINALLY..

Next week is the first without Mr S who starts his new contract on Monday. It will be tough without my support team but we’ll make new routines and work together as Team Sparkles, wish me luck x

There are certain weeks when life just carries on regardless of all the chaos that surronds it, this week has been a week like that. The shock of the Paris terror attacks is still raw and real, whilst in our little household we are preparing for a change in our family life for a few months which will see Mr S working away during the week until Spring. This week has been organising the finer details, itineraries, hotels and travel as well as trying to plan the time to fit in all the family fun and traditions in the run up to Christmas. It’s going to be a challenging few months but hopefully the financial benefits and long term aim of more time together in the Summer will keep us all going, Mr S has promised us the best summer ever and it’s a promise we intend to keep.

READ

 

Words cannot describe the beauty, dignity and love in this Facebook post, it is the most moving prose I have read in a long time.

LISTENED

Some excellent listens this week, I’ve been at home a lot waiting in for people to call so have managed to catch up on lots of Podcasts. I’ve been enjoying the Woman’s Hour series on appearance, thought provoking and entertaining and loved this week’s Desert Island Discs with Nicola Sturgeon, undoubtedly my woman of the year. It’s rare to find a contemporary political role model so witty, interesting and lively. I liked her music choices too, lots of shared tunes there!

On a slightly different note, I was so impressed with the versions of La Marseillaise I have heard this week. Firstly sung in defiance as Parisiens left the Stade de France after the attacks, not scared silence but strong, proud and bold. Then La Marseillaise was sung at Wembley at the England vs France match to show unity and respect, two very powerful versions of the song.

WATCHED

On Saturday we’ve got into the habit of watching a film after Strictly. I really enjoyed our choice this week with the Steve Jobs film. I know it’s been criticised by his family, yet it it showed a genius and flawed character who was incredibly innovative and creative.

I also watched part of Little Miss’ ballet class but Little Man was not behaving well and sadly I needed to leave before his behaviour affected the students’ concentration. Little Miss and her peers have been working so hard for their ballet exam next week and what I saw was polished and well danced. Personally I’m terrified by the pressure of having her hair neat and tidy in a bun for the exam, I may need to call in a few favours!

MADE

Last Friday night, I started to make a list of Christmas things to do and make and we began the list on a wet and miserable Saturday afternoon with button decorations. They were fun to make and a good distraction to the weather. I prefer the tress they were simple and the children could choose the button sizes, Santa was more challenging.

WORE

After the wet weather of the past few weeks, the cold has suddenly arrived, so we’ve all been wrapped up in woolly jumpers, thick scarves and bobble hats. I do like a bobble hat and how it can cover a bad hair day, of which I have many!

This has been an odd week in the Sparkles family as new opportunities have arisen and we have been carefully thinking about the direction our lives will lead in the coming year. It’s nothing untoward and professionally exciting for both of us but there are the practicalities of family life and our thoughts if we’re ready for the challenges. Fortunately both projects would dove tail each other so there would be someone able to fully focus on our home life, this is essential and non-negotiable. Our family are our lives and I would not be willing to compromise our family life for our professional life, even for financial reward. Everything is also confidential so it’s difficult to bounce ideas off friends and colleagues. Both professionally and socially, I seem to be keeping a lot of secrets and confidences at the moment and I’ve become quite quiet in conversations making sure I don’t say something revealing. It’s not been a very exciting week as I still don’t seem myself, the migraine has worn off but I’m really tired and don’t have my zest for life. This morning, I settled down to watch the Drew Barrymore film ‘Wild’ but was so exhausted I couldn’t focus on it and ended going back to bed at 10.30am, this really isn’t me, I buzz around like a little bee, ticking off my lists. Hopefully all my energy and verve will return next week.

READ

I read the poem Flanders Field by John Mcrae with one of my classes this week. I find this a very powerful poem and the imagery reminds us all to uphold the value for a fair and just world.   As part of the lesson we made 32 poppies for the 32 names on the remembrance board in our school chapel. Whilst we are a special needs school now, our school building is a former boy’s boarding school and their chapel is a beautiful building. We wrote a name on each poppy and I then decorated the board ready for our remembrance assembly, it was simple but very effective and emotional to remember those fallen 32 former pupils.

WATCHED

On Saturday night, Mr S started to watch the Sky Premiere American Sniper, based on a true story. It was a little violent and loud for me bit I did a quick internet search to discover the story and if it was worth watching to the end (I’m awful for wanting to know what happens.) The ending was unbelievable and I did watch it, an incredible story.

LISTENED

I have very little in this category, no new music on my itunes account, a few Podcasts and no outstanding radio programmes. I listened to the children riding their bikes through puddles and down hills at the country park on Sunday and their laughter filled the air. I suppose most of my listening has been listening to plans and ideas and doing lots of thinking and reflecting.

MADE

It was a really miserable Saturday morning so Little Miss and I participated in some cooking. We made a delicious Cheese and Potato pie, a Paul Hollywood recipe and a Rachel Allen recipe for Upside Down pudding. The pie was melt in your mouth perfection, although calorific. However for the taste and a luxury it was well worth the making and as I had done an hour’s early morning run I didn’t feel guilty enjoying it. The pudding was disappointing, when I read the recipe I wasn’t sure of it as I usually make it as a light sponge and this was a slightly different mixture which made it more dense. I prefer something lighter so will simply try a different recipe next time. The Rachel Allen recipe was from her book but the Paul Hollywood came from the BBC Good Food website. I’ve been using this a lot recently and find it a great site to browse ideas.

WORE

This week I wore my poppy with pride. It’s a small but powerful symbol.

This coming weekend is a quiet one with a few jobs required, I’m not sure what family time is planned but if the weather is as poor as suggested perhaps it’ll be a cinema trip or similar.

This has been a week of extremes, the first three days were manically busy with Mr S’ birthday preparations and celebrations, then two days back at work including a day of formal assessments, theory and practical for our behaviour support programme and then two days of utter exhaustion and a severe migraine which given the preceding days was not surprising. I have suffered migraine all my life and take daily medication but I knew my lifestyle was catching up with me over the weekend, I often think migraine is my safety valve against a nervous breakdown, it forces me to stop, lie in a darkened room with no distraction and rest. This evening I’m finally feeling myself again.  I always resolve not to let myself get into such a state but it always happens, I just can’t slow down.

READ

On Monday evening, I did make a start on The Girl on the Train but with my migraine I haven’t managed to read past the first chapter, I’m hoping to read some more tonight. I do have an inkling of the story as I did listen to some of it when it was serialised on the Book at Bedtime on Radio 4. Fortunately this hasn’t spoilt it but made me more interested in finding the whole story and how it all intertwines together.

I have also read an inordinate amount of correspondence from the children’s school, they have just started with Parent Mail an app that enables them to send messages to you. I think there’s been lots of experimenting and playing with the new toy this week!

WATCHED

On Friday night, we had a little firework fiesta to start Mr S birthday celebrations. It was fun and so mild to be outside. I do get a little anxious with fireworks in the garden but all went smoothly. Tomorrow night we’re off to the local army garrison to see their fireworks, this is more relaxing for me and I love oohing and arghing.

This week I also discovered and watched the beach huts on our sea front change colour in the dark. I was running along the seafront, sadly off road runs are out in these winter evenings and noticed that the huts were illuminated with changing colours. This made my run and splits more entertaining guessing which colour they would be when I ran pass them. The beach huts are new this season and this was one of the first times I had been out in the dark past them.

LISTENED

As part of the birthday celebrations, I researched the songs which featured in Mr S life, mainly number 1s at significant birthdays. I discovered that the song which was number 1 when we married was Daniel Benningfields ‘Never Gonna Leave Your Side’ so I‘ve listened to this one this week and think it’s a nicely appropriate song.

MADE

As hostess for the weekend, I made a lot of tea, meals and beds with a smile and gentle temperament. I definitely earnt many bonus points this week, now I have to think what to exchange them for!

For the past couple of days I have struggled to get through the day with my migraine and nausea and not been the fun, bubbly Mum I try to be. So this afternoon when I was feeling a bit brighter I made this snack for the children when they came home from school. It was a wicked afternoon, heavy rain and wind so I hope the fruit faces made everyone smile a little.

WORE

I wore some high heels on Saturday night to the restaurant which is so unusual for me, I prefer strappy sandals or sparkly flats on nights outs. You can dance, walk and drive in those shoes and I find high heels are only suitable for meals out. I did like wearing them and the extra height they gave me, I’m quite small so a few extra inches is always nice.

I have also been wearing some brighter lipsticks, my favourite is my latest Benefit colour but there was a Clinique cherry red lipstick free with a magazine so I had a go with this too and found it quite flattering.  I’m normally a very natural girl with make up but as I’m getting older colour is complementing my skin tone more than I expected.