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This summer I have written so little on my blog, the good news is that I’ve been too busy living the holidays. Last year the awful weather meant lots of time indoors and the opportunity to write, this year after  months of moaning about the weather since the children broke up the weather has improved dramatically and I feel that we’ve lived outside this summer.  I’ve been checking my phone for photos to remind me of what we’ve been doing as I love snapping away and remembering our special times.  My phone is brimming with photos, summer at a seaside resort is brilliant and we’ve had a bit of extra excitement with Warner Brothers filming their new blockbuster on location in town too.  We have spent so much time outside this summer, we’ve enjoyed nights out in the tent . I really didn’t expect both children to stay the whole night in the tent but both did and loved it.  Whilst we slept in the garden I’m inspired to camp away from home next year.  We also had fun making dens at the local National Trust property where we spent a day on trails and adventures.  We’ve done plenty of walks, trips to the beach and park and simply playing in the garden, today we set up the train set in the garden simple but fun.  Pirate weekend preceded carnival and we went to our first outdoor production and explored a pirate ship as part of the activities on offer. Carnival week was great, we did the traditional what’s not my line finding the rogue items in the shops’ window displays, watched the parade, went to the dog show, saw Titan the robot and lots of other random activities.  One of my favourite evenings was the four of us watching the fireworks on the beach and then tucking into a bag of chips.

Our holiday to Mallorca was amazing but I’ll write a blog on the trip, so many happy memories.  We’re just back from a few days with my parents too and are currently hosting Grandad, we have our final treat this weekend with the county show.  It’s one of my favourite weekends of the year, it’s normally when we’re back at school but this year has been brought forward, you’ll find me in the craft tents and sampling local foods.

This really has been one of our best summer holidays, the weather has really made it and the children are at a great age to do things.  As the holidays draw to a close and we get back into routines,  I’m looking forward to catching up with my blog writing to keep all the memories sparkling.

I’m so behind this week in writing this post, but the bonus is that I can add my Friday night to the mix!

The summer finally arrived this week, so it was  week of outdoors fun and end of term treats.  I have had two very hot, tired and grumpy children most evenings this week, the heat was too much and bedtimes became a battle.  We’ve ended up going out for late walks to cool off which have helped and I think we’ve acclimatised now!

READ

 I’ve started Anna McPartlin’s Somewhere Inside of Happy and am enjoying the strong female characters in the novel, I’m willing for a happy ending but I don’t think it can happen, I might need some tissues ready.

Little Miss and I have been reading Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson. We’re new to Wilson although I’m aware of her themes and content.  I can either shy away from such themes or read and answer Little Miss’ questions as they arise.  In practical terms we’re going for the latter as I cannot possibly read all Little Miss’ choices in advance to vet them but I also believe that honesty and talking will help us with those difficult topics.

WATCHED

On Saturday night Mr S was watching the film Everest whilst I flitted in and out doing a few jobs, the more I saw the more interested I got and ended watching it more carefully. Although a sad and true story the filmography was stunning and I imagine it would have been quite spectacular on the big cinema screen.

I also watched Little Man have his first horse ride. We had gone to the stables so Little Miss could have a lesson, however as its in the grounds of a lovely holiday park they offer little 10 minute rides, groom ponies etc.. to the guests.  Whilst Little Miss was riding I asked him if he wanted to have a go and he was quite adamant that he didn’t, however he cautiously approached the horses and started petting them and started to relax, when I asked him again he agreed to a ride if I walked with him.  Needless to say he loved the ride and was disappointed his horse don’t go faster. I have one of my favourite ever photos of him on the horse, his smile is beaming.

MADE

We started to make our bucket list for the summer holidays when we broke up, there’s still a little work to do on it it its looking good.  We even managed to tick one event off last night!

HEARD

Last night we went to a local Young Farmers event to hear an Abba tribute band.  I’m not ashamed to say that I love Abba and the band were brilliant, it was such a warm, friendly atmosphere and so much fun I had a bit of a hoarse voice from singing and loved dancing.  It was an outdoor event and the night was perfect, bright sunshine and warm. There was also a fantastic local support band who played a great mix, Coldplay, George Ezra, Divine Comedy, Bruno Mars, Muse, James so the whole night was full of excellent music. One of the advantages of a YF event is that the caterers are local farmers so the food was delicious and locally sourced.

WORE

Shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits, sun cream, sun hats, beach dresses, sunglasses, flip flops.  Yep summer is here and I’m going to rock my wardrobe.

AND LASTLY

So next week it’s the first full week of the holidays, we only had two days this week.  It’s swimming week next week, we have to be in the neighbouring town for 9am each morning for a lesson, so no holiday lie ins quite yet.  It’s also a big week in town, the pirates are invading and a major film is being filmed here so there may be a little celeb spotting to be done, keep an eye on my Twitter account for updates!

I’m now off to read and comment on last week’s #littleloves, apologies for the delay but my evenings were taken up with long bedtimes.  I’m linking up with Morgana at http://coffeeworksleeprepeat.com and her lovely contributors for this week’s #litteloves.

Well the countdown to the end of term is definitely dragging now, lots of schools seem to have broken up today, but we’re still at school until next Wednesday.  It’s been a quieter week as some clubs have already stopped and the most excruciating back pain stopped my normal frenetic pace for a few days.  A ‘quieter’ week still has included a Brownie adventure day on Saturday, two trips to the beach, a class assembly and school music concert (that’s 3 in the last month) gymnastics class, a training day in the county town for work, shopping trip to ‘big’ town for all the little things I need for the summer (shopping with my two is too stressful) and a busy time at work, if this was quiet can you imagine what my normal week looks like?

READ

At the weekend, I picked up the latest half price paperback in WHSmith.  This week’s book was We were Liars by E.Lockheart and although I didn’t realise it at the time it’s a Young Adult read.  Don’t let this put you off, it was brilliant and one of the best books I’ve read in a while. It’s the story of four teenagers on their annual summer holiday, there’s a great twist in it and although I had my suspicions I was so keen to know how it had happened it didn’t distract.

As a parent and teacher, I have also read loads of school reports this week.  I have to check the department’s reports at work for content, spelling and grammar and then I have read my own children’s reports brought home this week. I was impressed by my children’s reports, they were really personal and thoughtful and I was delighted how well the children have done at school this year.  My department have also written some stunning reports, I felt quite emotional reading them, I’m so proud of our students.

WATCHED

I’ve not been able to watch lots of the tennis but ensured I was in front of the television for the final.  I was so relaxed watching Murray win Wimbledon, the nerves and butterflies I often have disappeared as he seemed so in control of the match from the start.  It made it so much more enjoyable!

I also watched Little Man’s class assembly on dinosaurs, it was brilliant and the children were amazing, they had so many words of rhymes, prose and songs to memorise but performed faultlessly.  Little Miss was also really impressive in her music concert playing the ukulele, she has the confidence and poise to entertain and certainly makes sure all notice her enthusiasm!

MADE

I made a mushroom risotto this week which was delicious, it was  an adaption (OK perhaps a mash up) of various recipes I’ve used in the past to use up some of the ingredients in the fridge and a little bit of jiggling with ingredients I didn’t have although Phildelphia was a great alternative to Parmesan. Amazingly it all worked really well and was one of the tastiest risottos I’ve made.

WORE

A bit of a tenuous link here as its about wearing those sticky disposable heat pads.  I have no idea what I did to my back but I woke up in the early hours of Sat morning in excruciating pain from the upper / mid back.  It was so awful, by 8am I went to our local hospital as I couldn’t cope with the pain, every few minutes I was doubled over in agony, crying and screaming it was the worst pain I have ever experienced.  I got pain relief at the hospital and the diagnosis was that I had probably torn or twisted a back muscle some time before.  As a consequence I have worn lots of the heated muscle pads to try and relieve the pain, alongside prescribed pain relief medication and alternative remedies. I’m not sure how effective the disposable heat pads were but I have now bought a hot water bottle infused with some essential oils to do the same job as the heat pads, should be cheaper in the long run. I hardly slept at the weekend and Monday was really tough at work but as the week has progressed the pain has dramatically reduced.

HEARD

What a week in politics, it’s unbelievable what has happened since the referendum.  I listened to Cameron’s leaving speech live on the radio and was surprised by the things achieved under his premiership.  Interestingly he mentioned the rise in children moving from care to adoption and it is true that when he became PM both our children were in care, Little Miss had been so for more than two years and both children were adopted by us during his tenure.  I think work had already begun before his government but it has continued to develop a lot of adoption friendly policies, PPG, ASF, first choice guarantees for school places so I do have something positive to take from his premiership.  I also listened to Theresa May’s first speech, I think she could make a very interesting PM.

My quote of the week was from Little Miss, I had written my  Light box to reflect the changing of the guard and we were talking about Theresa May being a woman, she innocently asked so do boys and girls take it in turns to be PM? If only.  She was genuinely puzzled that May was only the second female PM.

AND LASTLY

I am so looking forward to Wednesday, oh the pleasure of not doing the school run and no more busy mornings, from Thursday its just planning our day on mood and weather.  Last year we made a bucket list for the summer holidays which was brilliant and it’s my intention to do this as our first holiday job.

I’m linking up with Morgana and her lovely contributors for this week’s Litle Loves http://coffeeworksleeprepeat.com

The countdown to the end of the term seems real this week, we’ve had viewing classes and final sessions of some of our clubs and the week has been full of special events and trips.  Shame the weather didn’t play ball, the Beavers beach party wasn’t quite the same on a cold, grey evening whilst the girls at Brownies thought the heavy fog just made the geo -caching they were doing in the local country park more atmospheric!  At home, its been a noisy and dusty week, the bathroom renovation is going well and now the floor has been renewed it all should be finished in the next few days. I’ve needed to spend quite a lot of my time at home this week to accommodate the builders, so I feel I have had a little more time to myself which has been nice and some of how I’ve spent my time has made it into Little Loves.

READ

I have read and finished Mary Portas’ autobiography Shop Girl.  Its an easy read with  very short chapters but is really addictive.  The book perfectly evokes the period she was growing up in with lots of detail on the 70s music and fashions, but the book is so much more than a social commentary.  The effect of her mother’s death is devastating on the family and in some ways the narrative is more of a tribute and love letter to her Mum and the quiet ways in which she held the family together than the author’s life, its a heart-breaking theme.  On a  similar theme, Caitlin Moran produced another cracking column about love this week and the excerpt above (Times magazine, 2.7.16)reflects how I say I love you to my children too, minus the cat texts!

WATCHED

This video is doing the rounds on social media and is a brilliant reworking of the Spice girls Wannabe from the UN project The Global Goals.  #whatireallyreallywant

Girl power is alive and strong!

On Saturday I sat down with the children to watch the Ghostbusters film.  They have seen the new trailer and as there are a few similarities I thought we’d watch the original.  I remember watching this film at the cinema when I was a little girl and getting so scared in places, so I sat with the children reassuring them etc.. I recall jumping out of my seat at the cinema at the start with the old lady in the library, but there was nothing from them and I did wonder how I had been so scared, I’m blaming the darkness and big screen.  I’m not sure it’s a film which has survived the passing of time, it’s funny in places but didn’t have the wow factor for the children.

MADE

There’s very little in this category this week, no crafting with the children as we had parties at the weekend and with the builders in and out of the kitchen, meals have been simple and quick.  I have made a few packed lunches for trips and treats and do try to make these a bit special to add to the occasion.

WORE

Again nothing of note here, at the moment it’s finding an outfit which can serve all four seasons in the one day.

LISTENED

So I’m late to the party but I discovered Spotify this week and love it.  I’m on a free premium trial but think I’ll sign up for it at the end of the month. I can’t believe the tunes I’ve found.  I’ve started creating a few playlists and was delighted that it was so easy to find a rare French song which reminds me of my year abroad.  This of course made me even more curious on what I could find and I have not defeated Spotify yet with my music choices.  My music has gone in so many directions this week.

AND FINALLY

Next week is the final full week for the children and it’s nice that things are slowing down.  We have been doing some amazing things recently but it’s time to relax, play on the beach and simply enjoy each day without a schedule to follow.

I’m linking up with Morgana and her lovely contributors for this week’s Litle Loves http://coffeeworksleeprepeat.com

There is little variety in my blog writing at present, I am in one of those periods when life takes over and at least little sparkles is a way to catch up on our past week.  I am writing down ideas for new blog posts its just finding time to write.  I was reading a professional blog from someone who dictates their posts on their commute home, great time saving but as I work less than 5 minutes from home and am normally doing a mad dash to get from work to school on time I don’t think that strategy will work for me.

This week we enjoyed our weekend away in Devon with Mr S’ family to celebrate his Dad’s birthday and then just to prove how rock and roll our life is we got new windows and repairs this week which has been my highlight and something I’m very excited about, how life changes over the years…

Sparkle 1 : A weekend in Devon

This could constitute a whole post of its own as we had a fantastic weekend in Devon.  We all met at Pecorama in Beer which has model railway displays, a light railway and beautiful gardens to explore with stunning views of the bay.  It was a lovely place to spend a bright and chilly day and the children loved it.  We moved on to Exeter in the evening for a family meal and then drove to Exmouth on Sunday for a gorgeous, sunny walk along the beach and birthday lunch for Grandad.  It was relaxed and fun, the children fell in love with my sister in law’s menagerie of dog, cat and chickens and even me who is not a cat person may have fell a little bit in love with the cat too, for the first time ever I could imagine having a cat in the house, although it would need the temperament and character of their lovely little cat.

Sparkle 2 : My Light box message

As well as being my Father In Law’s birthday, its also been the Queen’s 90th birthday this week and as well as my light box message, Little Miss got this badge from Brownies on Monday to celebrate.  (A Brownies session I accompanied her to as her adult partner for games and challenges, I’m great at moving marshmallows with chopsticks, a talent I’ve not had much call for before!)  Whilst the message is a little tongue in cheek, I’m not a fervent royalist and have mixed feelings about the Royal family, I do have a lot of respect for the Queen who has served the country dutifully and diligently.  The more I read of her I think she is a pretty sparky, intelligent and witty woman.  As my light box message is a way of celebrating the week it seems an appropriate phrase.

Sparkle 3 : Star Wars

Yeah the Star Wars DVD came out this week and we have our copy.  Little Man is made up and has been creating so many Star Wars inspired Lego models this week and reading all his Star Wars books.  He even got to go to a Star Wars birthday party today (with a stunning Millennium Falcon cake) I love the film on so many levels and its definitely in my top 5 films.

Sparkle 4 : New windows

A little bit tragic but I have been so excited by our new windows, the children have windows in their bedrooms which they can open now ( of course with special child restrictors) and the clouded windows have been replaced, which makes the rooms look so much lighter.  As we had to move furniture to prepare for the work, I also had a little change around in some of the rooms and am particularly happy with how the space is being used in our bedroom now.  Its been a real homely week.

Sparkle 5 : A present for Mr S

In the first Spring I knew him Mr S asked me to get the new edition of Playfair.  I had no idea what this was and to be honest it sounded like a dodgy, girlie publication with a name like that.  Fortunately, its not, rather its the annual publication for cricket stats and information and I picked it up today for him.  Mr S is so difficult to buy presents for and to find it for him and get it without being asked made it even more special, bonus wife points for me.  As you can see from the picture, he has a lot of Playfairs and Wisdens they are double stacked on the wide shelves in the Dining Room and we have many other cricket books on our bookshelves elsewhere!

And finally

Its a time of change at work for me at present.  I will be taking on significant additional responsibilities from Monday and have rearranged my hours to make my working time more efficient and effective.  Work have been very accommodating but its time to deliver, inspire and lead, I’m excited but aware of the role I  need to play.  My challenge is to have a decent balance in all areas of my life, I think I can do it but am mindful of how organised and efficient I’m going to need to be, its quite a daunting thought.