Piles....

...no not THOSE sort of piles (ya see what I did there!? A cheap way to get attention I know!) I am, however, suffering from the worst kind of piles; piles of junk mail; school letters; THINGS that need immediate attention (my sense of the immediate is ahem...a rather delayed reaction). These piles though, they just grow; they breed over night. What started out as a relatively modest pile snowballs into mountains of paper and plastic and library books and...well the list goes on.

Childbirth brings about the worst, most painful sort of piles (I did it again....;-) because those are the piles that need to be dealt with; envelopes that need to be opened: the child trust fund, the school targets, which I kind of ignore; hey, I'm a teacher I know where my kids are at....honestly. I won't get started on target setting for our wee ones, those who should be playing and not worrying about sub levels and SAT's. Suffice to say, have no fear, if I ever happened to teach your child I would target set until the cows come home (it comes with the role, no matter how ridiculous I find it!). The most dreaded source of piles though it the WORKING TAX CREDIT THINGYS. How many pieces of paper does that one use???!!! I have studied each and every correspondence from a variety of angles but, nope, it makes no sense to me.

So, these piles are building up and are being ever so neatly stacked on any available surface and I look and think 'Goodness, must do something about that lot' but still they grow. Of course immediate filing would sooth the problem but then that would dispel my assumption that I'm suffering from some sort of chronic disorganisation disorder. It's real, honestly! Google it..there are specialists in the States who deal with this sort of thing. So, you see, it's catch 22. WHAT should I do about my piles?? More than likely, stop this procrastination and starting acting....oh well, mañana.

PS: Mum with carrot in her hair tagged me in a meme (that always make me laugh as son#2 calls his blanket Meme) I haven't forgotten Mum....and I will do (it's the Chronic dis......yeah, yeah!)

The problem with...

work. The problem with work is that you actually have to be prepared to turn up and do it. Since going back to work (albeit part time), I realise I don't feel the same anymore. Sorry work, we used to have a connection but it's all over...it's not you, it's me. Work has definitely been supplanted by family (this was always the case) and, dare I say it, domesticity. Honestly, pre-kids I didn't care what state the house was in, as long as it was basically clean (not quite as bad as the friend who, after a break in at her flat called the police, they were commiserating with her, over the appalling state the reprobates had left her room in, it was with some huge embarrassment that she had to admit that this was her natural habitat).

Anyway, work. I basically like my job, I don't like box ticking, continual monitoring, huge workloads that insist on an invite home. 'Why do you stay up until 3am working?' asked one of my childless colleagues. She's planning a baby, 'you'll find out' I said, hopefully in enigmatic tones, but more likely in a weary drawl enhanced by the eye tick, the signifier of the permanently knackered.

So, I'm (hopefully) shipping out; well, for a bit anyway. I reduced my hours, changed my role, been very pro-active but I'm sick of snapping at my own kids because I've been pushed to the limit at work. I'm sick of rejecting nights out because there is still one more job to do.

Sooooo, any suggesting for 'life after teaching?'. Or, alternatively, is there a school out that that still trust teachers enough to teach? C'mon...there must be one or two?

I don't like going out....

...but I did and it was ace. I'm not a fan of "going out"; I used to be, I used to be very spur of the moment/fly by the seat of my pants but now, well, if you can't guarantee that, once out, I can sit down and be home by a certain hour, I tend to find it a chore. I guess it's more the thought of getting out of the house that's the chore, I usually end up enjoying myself.
I blame sleep deprivation and work but that's another moan. So, I went out not once but 3 times. Unprecedented. Mum's night, evening with a friend and the icing on the cake, the "going out" highlight of the past decade, last night was Public Image Limited. Unbelievable. One minute we had stomped into the Manchester Academy, leaving behind the slushy streets of Oxford Road and the next we were watching an icon. Mr John Lydon; Johnny Rotten I salute you...one of a kind.

WORKING!!!!!

I'm sort of here but not, work has claimed me and it's getting harder to clean the house, prepare for work and spend quality time with my kids...poor blogging, taken a back seat again. I'm not saying my job is more demanding or anything because it is (joke, just joking it probably isn't). Teaching, however, has become A LOT more full on since I class taught last (not PPA cover or supply) so whilst it's good, I'm feeling the pressure. My job share is off sick (and he is quite ill, get well soon) so, I have increased my days and have planning and assessment all to myself (the joys). The school? It's great, tough but great. I can't make any comment about it on a public forum, suffice to say that some of the individual cases I have come across make me realise how lucky we, as a family, are to have each other to love and support. I'm no stranger to inner city, urban environments but this time round I feel sad because I KNOW any effect I make will be temporary. So I will be back soon and for now I must dedicate my time to my own kids and my slightly eccentric, very noisy class (if you can't see us, you'll definitely hear us)

I am still here..honest

Where have I been? We did I stop blogging? I never intended to...I know, the 6 weeks holiday might have had something to do with it, oh and starting back at work. I missed it though, I really missed it; so I'm trying to be back properly, or at least every couple of weeks!!

Annabel Karmel's Pasta....a review....

The review was, or rather is for Annabel Karmel's Make it Easy pasta range. I say "was" because as a written review it's actually been ready for some time, BUT I had no camera to document with. Therefore,I must apologise, no grovel, to Sian at Clear as PR, who has been very patient.

Right, onward! The pasta initially appealed because it had the words "Make it Easy" emblazoned on the packet...ahhh..music to my ears. And was it? Yep, cooked in 5 minutes, no problems. The other positive, was the fact that it is gluten free. Now, I'm no expert on nutrition but serving gluten to a delicate digestive system does concern me somewhat; ergo, the promise of "gluten free" was again, music to my ears.

Another plus point with this product was, a little went a long way. It has fed my 4 and 6 year old over the past few days, as well as the baby and, as the picture shows, there's still plenty left. I used it in a stew:"Yum" says Lily, 6; I used it with pesto :"Don't like pesto!" says Zak, 4 but Archie did and here's the photographic evidence to prove it

Above: eagerly anticipating cheesy pasta and pesto; doesn't that face just say "Feed me NOW mummy!" Below: one satisfied customer and I do hope he remembered to compliment the chef!

So, the last word to baby Archie. Will it be an optimistic "Ah Da" or a wholly negative "DA DA DA"; he said "Ah Da". The right result and a ringing endorsement!




Finally, don't forget to get yourself over to Brits in Bosnia and enjoy the best of what the mummy blogger's have to offer this fortnight. Better than a magazine and much more economical!!

Sports Day!!!!

It's that time of year again: the egg and spoon race, the sack race, tug of war, the humiliation of being dragged along in the three legged race and all to mark the end of the school year. Fun, fun, fun; or not, if you're a non-competitive, competition hater such as myself. Actually, I tell a lie, I did love the warm orange squash and biscuit we were awarded as a treat after the event, and running. Running was fun too but just running; that is running, without the encumbrance of having to balance a quoit on my head (see picture for some stellar examples of quoits). We were in teams: red, blue, yellow and green, primarily because they were the colours of the sashes one was forced to wear, which in turn, matched the colours of quoits and bean bags (integral to sports day) and, ohhh, the responsibility! The responsibility that came with that sash, the pressure not to let the rest of the time down. Now, I'm talking here, as one who was always the last to be picked at sports. Give me a spelling test and I was there; but sports? I think the main problem was, I didn't "get" having to come 1st. Well, someone had to be 4th, or even last. Put that sash on, however, and you were at the mercy of THE most competitive child in form 2B, as they systematically shattered your illusion of that coveted 4th place. They would FORCE you into athletic prowess, just because you both HAPPENED to be wearing a blue sash and quoit. It's not that I don't see the value in a little competition, it's just that I'm very non-competitive. I like to do well, but if my best means 4th place and I've tried hard then that's fine too. Now, though, schools seem to have done away with sports day. In my 8 years at the "chalkface", I have participated in any number of "fun days" but no traditional, sash wearing, bean bag swinging sports days. The school that D#1 and S#1 attend don't seem to do anything to mark the end of the year; well, there is a teddy bears picnic, plus a few games for s#1. Having said that, I am infamous for misreading letters (in my defence, the amount of letters sent home from my kid's school would paper the walls of a small mansion at the very least) so D#1 could be on for a full on athletic extravaganza soon. Y'know what though? I kind of miss it. Not so much for s#1, he is like me, he hates competitive events; but d#1 would be in her element. She loves a bit of competition, well a lot, if I'm honest; it kind of, drives her forward. My only sigh of relief would have to be, not running the mums race. D#1 would demand it and would expect a win, and it would all end in (my) tears. I can almost hear it: "No mother of mine come in 4th, you go out there and you win!" Hang on a minute, I seem to be raising that child that doesn't value 4th place...how can that be?

Strangely enough, it seems the traditional school sports day is making a come back in some sectors; check this out. When you have tell, please tell me me why? Would YOU put yourself through a sport day type event 30 years after you HAD to do it the first time round?