Author: seasidesparkles

I think this is probably the craziest, manic week of the year, double the Christmas school events for me and the children, parties and viewing classes for after school clubs and just the general busyness of daily life, school, work and home making. It was fun but I am relieved that its holidays now and we can have a few lazy, quiet (ish) days before the true festivities begin.

READ

On Saturday we did a un Christmassy activity by going to the Dinosaur museum as part of our day out.  Following the Good Dinosaur, dinosaurs are pick of the pops in our household again, with Little Man particularly keen to learn more.  This meant that I was reading aloud lots of information plaques at the museum.  Its a brilliant interactive  museum and well worth a visit.

This year I felt that our Christmas books were a little young for the children, we have had great fun over the past 5 years reading our much loved favourites but it was time for some new age appropriate ( check out the teacher speak there! ) books. I have ordered a couple but the only one to arrive so far has been Michael Morpurgo’s Christmas Stories so we have been reading this every evening. What could be more special than reading a story under the twinkling Christmas lights?

WATCHED

On Wednesday afternoon, I watched the children at the local theatre performing their Christmas school play. It’s a great idea to have it at the theatre, nice tiered seating helps everyone to see well and there’s no queuing as we all have allocated seats. It’s a great experience for the children too with the excitement of a stage, professional lighting and sound and it’s always a sell-out, appreciative audience. As Mr S is away my parents came this year and they were really excited and proud to be there. The play was amazing in all aspects, beautiful scenery, costumes and the children were brilliant. Little Miss is confident and had a humorous role, she can play this so well and really did light up the stage when she came on in different scenes. Little Man looked comfortable and confident for the first time in a school performance, he sang so well and knew all the actions for the songs. He was at the end of a row so that he could nip into the wings if it was a little bit too much. Whilst lots of people have congratulated me about Little Miss I really am equally proud of both of the children’s performances. I know Little Man and his TA worked really hard to get him on stage relaxed and happy and it’s that sort of thing that makes me teary at school plays, I don’t really do cutsie.

As well as my children’s school performance I also watched our school’s Christmas production. It gives me goose bumps to see all our special needs children perform. Our secret is to record a video in class of their song and play it on our big screen in the performance which means everyone participates.

I also watched Little Miss in her gymnastics viewing class. From her dancing and gymnastics she has so much grace, poise and suppleness. She got her first badge, it seems gymnastic badges starts at 8 now, I remember passing my badges 4 to 1. Little Miss was quite unbelieving that I got to Badge 1.

Given my busy schedule the only other things I have watched have been Strictly at the weekend and the interview episode of the Apprentice which is always amusing as the candidates squirm at the questioning and the posturing gets blown away.

LISTENED

My Christmas playlists have been played repeatedly with the added extra of MTV Xmas too to provide a few videos. The children are now singing all the Christmas pop classics. It’s fabulous.

MADE

I’ve made very little food wise this week, just a few soups and simple, quick meals. Fortunately one of my work day’s coincided with my school’s Christmas dinner and it was fantastic. Our kitchen cooks everything from scratch and the quality rivals the best kitchens. There have also been some amazing flakey mince pies, often straight out of the oven in the staff room throughout the week, they certainly help to create a Christmassy atmosphere.

I suppose the best make I can come up with this week is making space in the play room. I have been quite ruthless in binning broken toys and recycling those grown out of toys. It took time as there was a lot of reminiscing with the realisation that the children are growing up quickly.

WORE

I am a teacher so it’s pretty much compulsory to wear Santa hats and Christmas jumpers all this week. Christmas can be very jolly for some but it can be difficult for others and at our school we really make this week special in all sorts of ways. If dressing up, singing and dancing helps to makes someone’s Christmas then I’m up for it.

And finally

After a very hectic last week, I try and make the first few days of holidays calm and simple. On one evening we’ll do the Christmas lights tour driving around with our Christmas music playing and there’s the Rudolph Ramble at the local country park too. Mr S is away until Wednesday evening and then Christmas can really begin for the Sparkles family.

This was a very different week as it was the first with Mr S working away, he left Sunday afternoon and has just returned this Friday evening. It was a week of new routines and expectations but the children have been brilliant and it’s been a lot more relaxed than I expected. Before the children Mr S used to work away a lot so I am used to his absence but there is a big difference between just looking after myself and now the children too. However I am content how this week went and generally positive about the next few months. With Mr S away I have tried to keep Christmas traditions and activities for our time together and have ‘just’ done our Elf OnThe Shelf Tommy every evening. I love Tommy and so do the children, it’s the 3^rd year of doing him and is one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

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With Mr S away in the evenings, I’ve had the much needed opportunity to catch up with some statutory professional development which has involved lots of reading on a range of topics. I did it over two evenings and am pleased to have ticked it off. I’ve also been reading the Christmas Vegetarian Good Food magazine and planning menus for the Christmas period.

LISTENED

I downloaded the new Adele album and have enjoyed listening to it, it’s relaxed and chilled and perfect for quiet reflective times in the evenings.

From  December 1st I have my Christmas music on loop. I love it, both pop and classical depending on my mood and have been playing lots this week, singling along in the privacy of my home or car. I love the feel good, sentimentality of the songs and so many happy memories of Christmases past.

WATCHED

On Saturday we were looking for a family trip out on a pretty miserable day and we went to the cinema to see the new Pixar film, The Good Dinosaur.  The animation was stunning and it was nice film but it was a bit of a nightmare with badly behaved children running all around the cinema, up and down the stairs, in front of the screen.  I think we’ll stick to our little town cinema rather than the multiplex next time.

On Thursday evening, my Mum and I took Little Miss to see the ballet the Nutcracker. I have it on my bucket list to see the Nutcracker at the English National Ballet at Christmas. We didn’t make it to London this week, but watched it at our local theatre and still loved it, the story, music and costumes were delightful. We sat close to the stage and I was surprised at the toned and muscular bodies of the ballerinas, they had beautiful bodies but rather than the skeletal dancers they can be portrayed as these were healthy strong defined bodies. Little Miss loved the ballet and I can’t wait to take her to London one Christmas. It’s lovely that she enjoys dancing so much, I’m enjoying taking her to the theatre to see more performances. I think it’s time to introduce her to musicals too as she loves singing and dancing.

I also watched the children meet Father Christmas at the school fair. He was a lovely Santa and his grotto was so beautiful. The children loved him and chatted away, full of innocence and awe.

MADE

Ok, this may be a little contrived but I hope that this week with the return of Tommy that I’ve been making precious memories for us all. Tommy merits his own blog post but each night, I hide him in a themed tableau, write a letter and wait for the children to find him. They love him and it so adorable to hear them talking to him. I took a few photos of Tommy at the children’s school this week and sent some to Little Man’s TA who showed them to him on the iPad so now he’s convinced Tommy pops into school to see him doing great work too!

WORE

Another bandage on my hand, this running injury is a nightmare and I returned for a 3^rd hospital appointment this week! It appears I may have punched the pavement as I fell thus the deep, awkward cuts which are difficult to heal. I’m really hopeful that I’ll be able to remove the bandages at my next hospital appointment on Sunday.

I wore my sparkly shoes to the ballet on Thursday and then again on the school run on Friday! I was leaving to pick up the children on time but a top secret delivery arrived that I needed to hide and the sparkly shoes were first to hand as I ran out the door late. It added a little sparkle to the pick up!

And Lastly …

This weekend it’s my Christmas Saturday, I’m off with our neighbour to the county town for shopping, lunch and hair appointments and Mr S and the children are Christmas tree shopping in preparation for dressing the house on Sunday.

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.

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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!