Category: Little Sparkles

Its been the second week of the Easter holidays this week and we’ve been at home for the week with lots of little trips out to keep us amused.

Sparkle 1 : My Lightbox

The unpredictable weather returned this week and we’ve had showers among the sunshine.  Our phrase this week reflects the weather but also a little game we’ve been playing on car trips.  I’ve been playing the Disney album and have been amazed how good Little Man is at identifying the songs and the films they are from.  This is the title of a song from Bambi to which we have all sang along to.

Sparkle 2 : A nature trail

The weather never puts us off on a little adventure and on Monday afternoon we went for a walk at a local nature reserve. It was just what was needed and we got very close to deer.  A little bonus was that a new cafe has just opened with what is being developed into a lovely nature garden for children.  The refreshments were much appreciated and it will be lovely to return later to see how the garden grows it looks like it has the potential to be an amazing area.

Sparkle 3: A military museum

Little Man adores soldiers and has a favourite local military museum.  It offers a ticket where you pay a fee once and can return as many times as you want in the year.  Being local this is brilliant for us, we get excellent value for our money.  Our visit this week was excellent, there was a new exhibition about the lives of 6 soldiers from World War 1, it was humbling and very well done, I was quite emotional explaining the stories to the children.  There was also an outdoor vehicle display at lunchtime which we enjoyed whilst having a picnic lunch on the grassy banks.  The display encouraged us to have a go in a tank, it was very rough and no photos were taken as we clung on!  However for the children the highlight was a new indoor soft play area with lots of military style activities and obstacles, it’s a fantastic idea and one we will return for.  It is a great museum and one of my favourite places to take the children.

Sparkle 4: Zootropolis

There have been lots of trips this week as Mr S worked from home on several days and given the nature of his work he needs quiet to concentrate.  He is very generous in providing a few pennies for our treats.  We saw the new Disney film, Zootropolis this week. I loved the themes in it, achieving your dreams by working hard, living together and respecting differences  etc…  A nice little film to watch with lots of humour and nice touches.

Sparke 5 : The new lifeboat

Today our town welcomed our new lifeboat.  The RNLI is a hugely important part of our town and the arrival of the new boat was a much anticipated event.  We went down to the pier to watch its arrival  and it was great to see it sail in, escorted by the current lifeboat, police boat, coastguard helicopter and a variety of other boats.  It was a real community event, the pier was bursting with people and there was real pride and excitement in the new boat.  It also made me think of the debt of gratitude, respect and commitment to the volunteers who rescue those who in need.  It was a moment of civic pride.

And finally

It’s back to school for me and the children next week, its been a good holiday and we’re now looking forward to our next where we will be going away, the countdown is on!

So the first week of our Easter holiday is over but we certainly crammed lots into it.  Easter weekend was different to what we had hoped for with Grandad being our guest. Storm Katie was pretty ferocious all over the weekend and caused lots of humour by sharing its name with my mum, who is known for a fiery temper, although much subdued with age. Much of the weekend was spent indoors because of the weather and illness, as Little Man was suffering with a really bad cough and cold which can trigger some quite serious chest infections with his asthma. He was so poorly on Saturday night that we ended up in our local hospital having him checked out and then spent a night sleeping lightly and listening for his coughing and breathing, I find these nights frightening.  Unsurprisingly given the circumstances and the lost hour thanks to BST I forgot to be the Easter bunny and had to run down and quickly put the eggs on the breakfast table, whilst Mr S distracted the children, fortunately no one was the wiser.  After our weekend at home, Mr S went away to work and the children and I went to Somerset to visit my parents, all being reunited tonight, Friday.

Sparkle 1 : The Easter Egg Hunt

Little Man was still poorly on Easter Sunday and promptly fell asleep as soon as we all sat down for Sunday lunch which I had carefully prepared and themed.  We took him upto bed and after a sleep he was keen to do our Easter egg hunt. I prepare a hunt every year with a list of things to find, this makes it not just about the chocolate and also develops the hunt into quite an event.  This year I added a matching challenge, words and pictures on eggs.  The children love the race and challenge and even though he didn’t want to eat the chocolate Little Man loved trying to beat his sister to finding all the clues.  I do love drawing the clue sheet and hiding the props it’s a special little family treat.

Sparkle 2 : Desert Island Discs

I enjoy listening weekly to my DID podcast and this week was an exceptional castaway,  businessman John Timpson of Timpson shoes.  I knew about his work with fostered and adopted children but did not realise the full extent of his personal commitment, fostering seventy children and adopting two.  His business style was inspiring and the company’s work to give prisoners a job on release another noble cause.  However it was his passion for life which just shone through and the love for his wife, a very special man.

Sparkle 3 : Fashion in 1oo Objects

Whilst away at my mum and dad’s I took up their kind offer of a day to myself and visited Bath. I had read about the new exhibition at the Fashion Museum, the history of fashion in 100 objects and was keen to see it. I really enjoyed the exhibition, whilst I admired the intricate embroidery and materials of the early fashions from the 17th century it was the 20th century exhibits which impressed me the most.  My personal highlight was a Dior New Look suit, classic and so stylish and it seemed the 50s reflected my style the most.

After a morning of being inspired and wowed by fashion I then popped to the shops and the clothes were so insipid and dull in comparison.  I need to develop my sewing skills so I can create the clothes I want to wear.

Sparkle 4 : New nail varnishes

Whilst I didn’t buy any new clothes I did choose two new nail varnishes.  I like pastel colours as my nails are kept fairly short and pastels suit this style.  I have the green on my fingers and toe nails  and they look lovely.

Sparkle 5 : Books

One of my treats this week was to go and browse in a bookshop, I could spend hours in a bookshop although I have noticed that with the advent of Amazon and Kindles that there are fewer books and variety in bookshops.  However I still managed to while away my time happily and came out with books for everyone!  I then started one, Black Eyed Susans which I had the guilty pleasure of reading in one sitting which went on to the early hours of the morning.

Sparkle 6 : The calm after the storm

This is not a metaphor for some deep and serious issue in my life it’s simply the relief at the end of what has seemed like weeks of storms and the dawning of British Summer time, light evenings and sunnier weather.  Spring has sprung and I’m a happier little bunny, Summer is my favourite time of year and it seems that this week we are getting closer to those hazy, lazy days of summer.

Sparkle 7 : The First of a Million Kisses by Fairground Attraction

I’m not sure what triggered this sparkle this week, possibly being at my parents home and surrounded by memories of my childhood but I started to think of this CD and downloaded it onto my iTunes account.  I loved this CD and played it to death as a teenager and was so pleased that it had the same positive feel many years later, a beautiful CD with amazing tracks.

And finally

I like that the Easter holiday is such a long and relaxed break, Mr S has a few days off next week and on his work days will be working at home so lots of family time together.  It’s easier if we give Mr S peace at home when he’s working so that’s 3 days out to plan a few surprises.

 

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.

A quiet week in the Sparkles household with our normal routine back in place after half term. It’s been a feisty week railing against ridiculous rules and procedures but my frustrations and complaints have not been personal but aimed at organisations I’ve been dealing with.

Lightbox

This week just a little reminder after all the bureaucratic mess I’ve experienced that we need to be silly. Sometimes we’re all far too serious than we need to be.

Cake Inspiration

Little Miss and I have read an excellent book by the baker Fiona Cairns this week and have noted down a few ideas for some cakes in the coming months. Whilst doing my ironing today I also watched Cake Boss, I love their cakes and would love to be so skilled.

Parental Help

I needed to attend a work event on Thursday evening which clashed with gymnastics class, tea and bedtimes so not the easiest timing to get a babysitter for. Fortunately my parents volunteered to come down and help. Not only were they fantastic with the children, they stayed the next day to be in for my rearranged fridge delivery and tidied up too. It was amazing to have that extra help.

My New fridge

It has taken hours on the phone, unbelievable delays and logistical problems but finally after 3 weeks my new fridge freezer has arrived to replace the one which broke. I am no longer hanging my milk out the kitchen window (a trick learnt from uni days) and am grateful for all the modern appliances we have to simplify and facilitate our lives, life without a fridge has been a challenge and meant daily shopping!

Denim Jackets

I bought Little Miss her first denim jacket this week. It’s the perfect piece to any outfit. I am still wearing my favourite Gap denim jacket which I realise must now be counted as vintage as I bought it when I was 17! One of my favourite looks is a summer dress, preferably floral with a denim jacket or in winter a polo neck and jacket.

Finally

As I wrote it’s been a very quiet week, early nights and everyday jobs have filled my time. Fortunately, our diary is filling with nice things to do in the coming weeks so plenty to look forward to. I’ve also been doing some prepping this week for future events, my main focus this week has been costumes for World Book day, I will reveal all next week.

 

It’s been half term week so lots of time to spend with my lovely little family, we’ve had a few days away at my parents and done a few things around home too. In fact all that has been missing is a lazy day at home, perhaps we’ll do that over the weekend.

Sparkle 1 : The Simple Things

I am a believer that it’s the simple things which create a happy, warm childhood. On Saturday morning it was just Little Man and me at home and we sat down together and played Minions. We created stories for some of the characters and then created our own little challenge the Great Draw Off using Colin the Minion as our model. It was a lovely time to spend one to one with my Little Man.  Simple as it seems we also had a really fun time at the local swimming pool, swimming has been curtailed recently as the pool has been closed for refurbishment so it was good to get back in for a splash

Sparkle 2 : Valentine Hearts

These beautiful crochet hearts are sold in our local haberdashery shop to raise funds for our local cottage hospital. The owner was describing to me how she hides them around her house on Valentine’s Day for her children to find with a little message. I loved this idea so did the same on Valentine’s Day for our two littles and Mr S, writing why I loved them on the paper heart. I didn’t hide them but had them on the breakfast table at the appropriate settings. The hearts went down really well and definitely a new little tradition I would like to celebrate on Valentine’s Day

Sparkle 3 : Dressing Up

For Valentine’s Day, Mr S organised a meal out for our little family. It was not simply a suggestion to go out but one he presented to me all booked and planned, with Mr S away so much at the moment it was so lovely not to have to think about planning and preparing a meal. However what makes this sparkle, is that on two opportunities this week we have enjoyed dressing up for an occasion, wearing our special clothes and spending time thinking about outfits, doing make-up and hair, wearing fancy jewellery etc. The first was our Valentines lunch and the second was going to the theatre with my parents. Day to day, I am very casual, life at the seaside is relaxed and informal, so it’s been a real treat this week to dress for an event.  I do think it’s polite to make an effort to look nice when someone is treating you to a special occasion and I’ve enjoyed dressing myself and the children smartly and stylishly. I even ensured that Little Miss and myself had a little girlie pink in our outfits for Valentines but resisted the challenge of dressing in a rainbow of colours for the theatre trip!

Sparkle 4 : Joseph

I have written a post about going to see the musical Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dream coat, but it was a truly brilliant show, so joyful and uplifting. It was a real highlight of the year so far and I am very grateful to my parents for the treat.

Sparkle 5 : Back to Mum and Dad’s

It is so lovely to go back home to my parents for a few days. I get to revert to daughter and simply potter around the house, the cupboards are full of my favourite foods and I get to try my Mum’s new lotions and potions. I also get loads of help with the children and generally the children are charming and very cute to their different audience. This week I managed a genuine lie in until 8am, read a whole book, escaped to the shops for a little mooch and didn’t need to cook any meals, I felt thoroughly spoilt.

Sparkle 6 : Alvin and the Chipmunks

To be honest I wasn’t expecting to have the children’s film Alvin and the Chipmunks as one of this week’s sparkles.  The trip to the cinema was a convenient thing to do whilst we waited for Mr S’ car to be serviced at the garage in the county town and the film was the children’s and definitely not my  choice, those squeaky voices!  It was the first time I’ve been to the new cinema and I loved the retro feel to it, it brought back happy memories of my time as a cinema usherette, one of my favourite jobs.  However the cinema isn’t the sparkle but the film itself for its very strong and positive messages about families and belonging.   Alvin is a little mischief and gets into lots of trouble but he is loved and cared for throughout by his Dad no matter what he does and the film ends with an adoption scene.  The children were excited to see this and talked about their meeting with the judge.  The film helped to reinforce the message we’re always giving that we are the children’s forever family and even when things get tough we will always be here for our children, forever and ever.  It was nice to see such a positive film about adoption.

And lastly

The half term is coming to close now and the routine beckons again on Monday. I hope to use the last few days just to recharge and get ready for the new half term. It’s a short one this half term and I’m looking forward to those first signs of Spring and the anticipation of longer and warmer days.

This week has been quiet and we just seem to be treading through the days, spring must be coming soon, please. Here are the sparkles for the week…

Sparkle 1 : The Lightbox Week 5

The light box comment was simple this week, with half term, pancake day and Chinese new year there is lots of fun to be had this month. I had planned on ‘Fun, frolicking February’ but didn’t have enough Fs! I am due a new order of letters and symbols this week, I love my lightbox in the kitchen injecting some light and fun!

Sparkle 2 : My new crush..

I have to admit to having a new crush, but I think it’s more a teacher infatuation as I am besotted with the astronaut Tim Peake. In my lessons we’ve been following his work at the Space Station and this week we got to watch the live link up, in the cosmic classroom project which was available to all schools. In a twenty minute session, he answered children’s questions about life in space. His broadcast was amazing and anyone I’ve spoken to who has watched it can’t stop praising and enthusing about the transmission, he was so entertaining and made space and learning so much fun for children and adults alike. I’ve watched it and Little Man and his class watched it too, his TA reported back that he sat completely mesmerised by the broadcast. He spoke so much about it at home, space ping pong, drinking bubbles etc.. I really love the education work Tim Peake is doing, he has been such a positive force for encouraging children and adults to get excited about space and want to learn more.

Sparkle 3 : Me Time at our local spa

This week I treated myself to an Indian Head Massage, for completing my detox. Of all the treatments this is my favourite, I think I get lots of stress and knots in my shoulders and the head massage helps to relieve some of the symptoms of my migraines. It was an extremely relaxing session and made me resolve to do a little treat like this more often.

Sparkle 4 : Deliciously Ella baking

I am still really focused on clean eating and following the guidelines remarkably well. Hard as it was, I never even succumbed to a crumb of the gingerbread cakes we made on Wednesday. However to satisfy my sweet tooth, I tried a Deliciously Ella recipe this week, baked orange and fruit bars which although are made of simply nuts and dried fruit are a gorgeous treat.

Sparkle 5 : Ballerina Necklace

I finally got round to choosing and ordering Little Miss’ ballet exam present and her new necklace arrived this week. Its lovely, just what I was looking for and the purple pearl matches her ballet uniform.

Sparkle 6 : Neighbours

Finally for this week, a special sparkle must go out to our neighbours who are so kind and thoughtful. Whilst Mr S is away one of my neighbours pops in to look after Little Man so I can pick up Little Miss from Brownies and he can go to bed at his normal time rather than having to come with me too. Normally it’s the same neighbour but as she was away this week another came instead, I’m so lucky to have neighbours to call on. I also received a phone call from the neighbours behind who phoned to apologise for the mess their new garden is causing with the dust from the stone cutting and offering to pay for our windows to be cleaned. We assured them that this was not necessary but it was a very kind and thoughtful gesture. A total contrast to their next door neighbours, a second home couple from London whose extension caused so much noise, inconvenience and who ignored planning permissions etc.. and never once apologised for the disruption. Such behaviour is quite typical of second home owners and does make them rather unpopular, they don’t seem to understand that you need to respect and become part of your community.

And finally ..

I’m looking forward to next week, its Chinese New Year and pancake day and early starts to half term for all of us, me from Wednesday lunchtime and the children from Thursday afternoon.  It’s time to make the final half term plans, including a visit to Grandma and Granfer’s with some special trips.

This has been a long month and one in which I have been very home focused, a month of home making, decluttering, adding a few sparkles and trying new recipes to feed and nurture us all. My sparkles this week reflect this home focus, perhaps I’m hibernating!

This week on my Lightbox

In a week of heavy rain and storms, I liked my little quote reminding us to dance in the rain. I’m a great believer in that there’s no thing as bad weather but the wrong clothes and even when it’s raining you can still have fun! The photo below is from Thursday on our walk to school, the only bright day of the week.

Pinafores! 

I love pinafores so am very excited about the new trend this year. I ordered one this week which has arrived and it’s gorgeous. Whilst I had imagined myself skipping along wearing it with a simple t-shirt, and converse pumps it’s been worn this week with a black roll neck jumper, boyfriend cardigan, leggings and boots.

Fitbit’s Shooting Star

I do like my Fitbit and even on my enforced exercise break I’m still trying to do 10k steps a day which is working pretty well. This week I got the Shooting star award for reaching 20000 floors since I began, propelling me as high as a shooting star. I like the imagery, I’m a shooting star!

Tooth Fairy 

It was very exciting in our household this week as two teeth were lost, Little Miss’ second tooth and Little Man’s first tooth. There was none of the drama from Little Man on his tooth, it just fell out unlike the wriggling we had with Little Miss. I did get a 3.50am wake up call from little Man who had woken up very excited that the tooth fairy had been and ran into my room to share the exciting news.

Eating well

This month I have looked very carefully at my diet and made a real effort towards cleaner nutrition. It needs to be workable and realistic but these two books have helped to develop my thoughts and opinions about healthy diets. I listened to Bee Wilson on Woman’s Hour, on which she was so brilliant that I was inspired to order her book. I also have been making every meal from scratch and have rediscovered the stunning flavours of herbs and spices in cooking. I don’t want this to be a fad diet but a real awakening of what healthy food means to me and how to feed and nourish my family.

This hasn’t been a very sparkly week as I was house bound for the start of the week with a sick Little Man and then was really poorly myself with a severe migraine and accompanying vomiting for most of the remainder of the week. This really wasn’t a good mummy week, far too much TV and Wii U after school and I’m not even sure how I managed the school run on a few days this week. However the children were amazing and were far more helpful and sympathetic than I could have hoped for. Treats are definitely in order this weekend. Consequently the little sparkles are quite limited this week but even amongst all the sickness there have been a few glimmers.

1. My lightbox.

  

After careful consideration, I chose part of a Winnie the Pooh quote this week. It was Winnie the Pooh day on Monday to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of A.A. Milne and at work we did some lovely sensory themed activities. I chose this quote as I am always in awe of my children who are so brave and strong for the life that they have lived at such a young age. They were separated from their birth mother, lived in foster care and finally came to us as their forever family through adoption, they have dealt with the trauma so resiliently. The quote is also to remind them to be strong and confident as they grow older.

Call the Midwife.

I really enjoy this series as I’ve always been keen on social history. The new series started last Sunday with a standout episode focusing on a baby born with deformities caused by thalidomide, it was a stunning hour of drama which has been much discussed and admired this week.

Get Well note.

I was so touched by this note from Little Miss and Little Man   accompanied by a play doh flower (which soon became another model!) They have been amazing this week and I am very lucky to have such kind and loving children.

Saturday Night Games

We always try to have a family time on Saturday evening and after an early tea we like to play board games, it’s always a fun time. This evening our choices were What a Performance and Frustration and it was a special, relaxed time just being us.

New Books

I want to try and read more this year and last weekend picked up a couple of books. Last night I started the first, Moving by Jenny Éclair. I love the premise of a house holding the memories of a family and have enjoyed the first few chapters. I am a real homebody and love our home, it felt like home the moment we stepped in. As we left our first viewing we turned around, negotiated a price and moved in six weeks later. Our home is full of very happy memories although I’m not sure of the plot line in the book will be so happy.

Next week, we should all be back to normal so hopefully there will be more sparkles to illuminate the week.

So it’s the second week in January and although quiet, I’m enjoying the relaxed start to the new year. Its giving me time to focus on the things I want to do this year and rather than buzzing around, on a couple of evenings I’ve sat down and simply read or listened to music and during my days off I’ve been home making. It’s been a peaceful and comforting week.

Sparkle 1

This is one picture which has a variety of meanings this week. After last week’s flower quote I thought it would be nice to see if I could find an appropriate comment each week to display in my light box. As there is a character limit of only 9 letters per line that’s few words to play with. I am missing There’s on this week’s quote but I think the abbreviated quote sums the theme up. Whilst it is a little homage to David Bowie, it also reflects the space theme which is strong in my life. I am teaching a space module at work this half term, it’s one of my favourite topics to teach and this week there is a CBeebies Stargazing special on each evening which Little Man has been fascinated with and we have watched avidly together. I am also really enjoying following Tim Peak the British astronaut in space and look forward to watching his space walk tomorrow. Consequently I think this lyric sums up this week nicely.

Sparkle 2

I was so proud of Little Miss this week as the ballet exam results from November have been published and she did exceptionally well. I was relieved for her as she had worked very hard and I wanted her to get a result which reflected her work and effort. She was so happy and excited when she came out of the exam room so I was hopeful that she had done well and it’s wonderful to have such an excellent outcome. The card is from my parents and I’ve promised her a little gift to celebrate, I need to look on Etsy today for a new ballet bag or possibly a ballerina necklace.

Sparkle 3

I have done week 1 of the 3 week detox and it is going very well, I think I am even enjoying it! I like healthy food and do cook a lot from scratch so its not too different from my normal eating but I’ve been recording the foods on My Fitness Pal app and the nutritional background has been very informative and surprising. I suppose the biggest change has been not eating fruit or dairy and this is ok in the short term but I couldn’t do it for much longer than the three weeks, I like a balanced diet. I am feeling well and probably have more energy than normal for January so all is going well.

Sparkle 4

My resolution for this year has to embrace my wellbeing, whilst it sounds a bit pretentious, recent health scares have made me realise I have to look after myself. One of the simple things I have done this week has been to burn some aromatherapy oils and book an aromatherapy massage to end the detox.

Sparkle 5

I have a new office at work this term as I have quite a unique role and spend a lot of my time supporting within the school. Its right in the middle of the classrooms (as it should be, that’s where I’m needed) and whilst it doesn’t have the magnificent sea views the main building offices do, I do appear to have a little companion. This little squirrel has kept me amused this week, he is so tame and confident and gets up to lots of little tricks, climbing the trees, walking along the fence and climbing over and into the bird box. He’s a lovely little distraction.

Sparkle 6

Not much explanation needed here, there is an advertising campaign by Weetabix where the cereal is made into a little face so Little Man wanted to do the same with his breakfast. It was a fun start to the day. Little Miss is a porridge girl so we did similar with honey and bananas too. It’s the little things which make us smile.