Weekends Mean Work

It's the weekend, so the mental list of tasks which must be completed has begun to build in my head. It is very rare to have a weekend without the to do list these days and I long for the times when I can simply ask C 'what shall we do this weekend?' But it hardly ever happens.

So far the to do list for this weekend consists of:

• Mark two sets of books - English (extended piece of writing, so in depth marking of 27 books) and Science (and intensive week's work in all 30 books). I reckon this is a solid five hours work, or longer since it will almost certain only happen once C is asleep, I am tired and not terribly efficient.
• Remove and replace the marking symbols sheet in the front of my English books
• Laundry
• Change the three blown light bulbs around the house. I've been putting this off for a few weeks now because of painful shoulders, but the house is starting to get dark.
• Book a groom for Wicket. He can't see properly!
• Grocery shopping. This is actually getting a bit urgent!
• File household paperwork and tidy the dining table so we can actually dine at it
• Take C's 4th birthday photo
• Empty the bins (yes, I know this is a small task but it all adds up)

This is all before I add in time for cooking and clearing away meals and other general bits of housework (thank goodness for my brilliant cleaner!).

Obviously the most glaring omission in the list is spending quality time with C, which is the most important item on the to do list. It means that a lot of the rest of the to dos are shoved into the post 7:30pm slot, when C is in bed and hopefully asleep. It means a lot of pressure to get the jobs done in limited time, and it usually means some of that time comes from sleep time.

When I write it all out like this I can understand why I start most weekends feeling like they have already gone!

Friday night, on the way home I am always full of great intentions of knocking several items off the list. In reality, with a small child in the mix, it never quite happens. Perhaps I should just post this, do the bedtime routine and then pop on a wash load.

Just Call Me Mummy...

Five years ago I was heartbroken at the prospect of never being a mum. I was starting to resign myself to the fact that I might never have children. In May 2010 I made a decision not to resign myself to childlessness, but to adopt a child who needed the kind of loving family I could give.

At the end of March this year, to mark the end of three days of prep group training, we all placed a star in a cake and made a wish for the future. Yesterday I came one step closer to that wish becoming reality. I recieved the phone call which confirmed that I have officially been approved as an adopter.

Today there is no doubt, I am going to be a mum, now it is just a question of when.

Et voilà, c'est fini...

Finally, the room is finished. It is lovely and I really think it was worth the wait. I am very relieved to be back to normality for sure but the memory of the inconvenience and stress fades fast.

The photos really don't do it justice!

Now We're Cooking!

For one reason or another this redecorate has been a very slow job. Last week the white base coat went on and then all progress ground to a halt. It's been frustrating, and living on my bed surrounded by clutter is now getting to me. Still, today the work started moving forwards again and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now...which is just as well since the sofa arrives on Monday!

White base coat goes on

The gas fire in place

The green goes on

Window frame painted white

Getting Plastered

For the last few years I have opted to alternate getting away for the summer and getting a room in the flat redecorated. Since I went to Spain last year, this year it was the turn of the front room for a makeover. It is the last room in the flat to receive proper attention since I moved in. Other projects are still on the cards - the double glazing is shocking and the windows will need replacing soon, but that is the next project.

So once again I am living with half of my flat stuffed into my bedroom and spare room and I am living on my bed. I have to admit that at the end of day four the dust and disruption is starting to get to me. Still, the plastering is now finished and the walls and ceiling looks brilliant. I can see that the room is going to look better and better from this point on.

Clearing the room on day 1

It's amazing what shelves hide

New socket locations

The chaos begins

Day 2 - the boards come down...

...revealing a large area of blown plaster

Plaster board is the only answer

Walls PVA'ed

Day 4 - The plaster goes on

It's goodbye to the rustic walls

My Little Wildlife Sanctuary

I recently had a visit from a council tree surgeon regarding the big Leylandii trees overhanging my garden. He concluded the trees were fine and healthy, so I'll have to live with them. However he was also quite taken with my garden. He liked the willows and commented the garden was 'lovely and a haven for wildlife'. A few days later he was proved right. This beautiful bird sat in my largest willow for long enough for us to see it, exclaim, run up the stairs for a camera, take a photo and watch it some more. I'm not yet convinced of the species of bird. We think it might be a sparrow hawk, but I welcome other suggestions!

Endings and Beginnings

I have a new bedroom. After five weeks of hard work it is finally finished, and it is beautiful! I love it. I've gone from what felt like a cramped and cluttered hole to waking up in luxury and it just doesn't feel like my room! It leaves only one room in my little flat that hasn't been redecorated since I moved in and it is now shouting at me to be done. I guess I need to start saving.

The new bedroom has prompted all sorts of fresh starts for me. I have got back on track with WeightWatchers and I am starting to see losses again. I am clearing out cupboards and have been ruthless about throwing out a large part of my video and cassette collection (I bet the bin men love me!). I have had a new cupboard built in the front room which is big enough to hold the snake's vivarium. It is enormous so has swallowed a lot of my (now sorted) clutter. And of course the snake is home. It is lovely that he is back here finally and it seems only fair that his last days are free from the noise of a classroom. Having said that he seems robust and healthy just now and his no food fad seems to have passed. He certainly had no problem getting outside of his welcome home mouse!

All of this has left me feeling optimistic and ready to tackle the pile (literally) of organising that I still have to face in school. I am in a new classroom and I now is definitely the right time for a fresh start.