I’m not sure what has happened to my blogging recently as I’m struggling to write posts, not from lack of inspiration but a real lack of time.  Time is such a precious commodity and I try to be very organised but an early Easter has caught us out.  I know both at my work and at the children’s school that what should be a lazy last week full of Easter celebrations has been something different this year as we try and fit in all the pre Easter jobs normally spread over a few more weeks.  At the children’s school this week I have had parent teacher consultations, a phonics testing meeting and an annual review in addition to the Easter parade too.  It feels like I’ve spent more time at this school this week than my own!  If you fit in all the after school clubs with their viewing classes too it’s not surprising I’m feeling rather frazzled.  I love Easter and have missed the preparation and anticipation of the celebration this year, it just arrived rather suddenly.

Sparkle 1 : Easter Bonnets

Our sparkles are mainly seasonal this week and start with the annual Easter parade.  This takes place at the children’s school and is a tradition which dates back through the history of the school, which is nearly 120 years old.  It is a big thing and also one of my favourite things of the school year, cute beyond description.  This year we kept the bonnets simple, Little Miss wanted a pretty and traditional bonnet whilst as in previous years Little Man wanted to include something personal, he chose Minions and we used some of his Kinder Egg Minion toys which were just the right height as Easter chicks, it was a great effect together.  There were some stunning bonnets, I loved a huge fried egg made from some kind of builders foam, a beautiful blossom fascinator and a crochet rabbit.    Such traditions should be continued and valued, they are the little things which make life sparkle.

Sparkle 2 : Easter Preparations

Another seasonal sparkle is getting the house decorated for Easter. I will do a post on this as this is me in my element, but in the meantime here is a selection of my decorations, there are more!

Sparkle 3 : Hot Cross Buns

The final Easter sparkle is hot cross buns on Good Friday and more traditions.  As a child I always remember going out with my Dad to buy hot cross buns from a local bakery on Good Friday morning.  This year Little Miss and Mr S went out to do this at our local bakery whose buns are perfect, nothing beats opening a white paper bag and the sensory delights of fresh hot cross buns.

Sparkle 4 : Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive

Surprisingly there has been time for other sparkles too.  I finished Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive and it is a book which will stay with me for a long time, it is excellent.  I started it before the sad events which have affected our community in the past few weeks but it has made me much more aware and compassionate about depression.  The words in the book are so simple and thoughtful, I folded so many pages over, definitely a book to share and recommend.

Sparkle 5 : Little Miss’ First Run

I have been delighted that Little Miss has been asking if she can come running with me. I love running and all the benefits it offers me and would love her to feel the same about it too.  She has been so keen that I agreed that we would go out after one of my long runs and do a short, flat run.  When I arrived home from my run at 8am there she was in the garden, kitted up and raring to go so we did our first run together which was lovely, she just had one stitch but ran well and strongly.  We’ve got our next run organised and are hoping to do a Junior Park Run when we’ve trained for the 2km distance.   She drew this picture on our return (I am taller than her in real life) and here’s hoping that she will develop a love of running.

I’m looking forward to the Easter weekend, a lovely long weekend with the Sparkles family and one in which I get to plan our Easter holiday mini adventures, this is a lovely long holiday with lots of days out to explore.