I can't believe my Selfie a day of Peter and I for a year is almost at an end. It's been fun to do, most days it's been a quick snap of us sitting on the sofa just before going to bed. There was a two week break when Stephanie died in October, can't believe I'm writing/saying those words.
I didn't manage to keep up with my reading challenge for 2024 with a book a week, but I don't think I was too far behind and I've yet to tot up how much I spent on clothing, but I don't think it has been much.
I'm still undecided as to whether I'll set myself any challenges for 2025. I do enjoy them, it helps me with taking photos.
We've had a busy and full house this weekend with child 4 and his family visiting from Northern Ireland. Child 2 with his family came to stay also and this is the last time that happens. Peter and I gave up our bed as both DILs are pregnant and we slept in the back room. But by April there will be 4 grandchildren and regardless of the whether we've got the space or not and whether or not we managed to raise 5 children in this house. We were in charge then and having 4 adults visiting with 2 different sets of parenting styles, plus all the stuff they brought with them for the grandchildren and the fact that our oven and fridge didn't like catering for that many people in one go. Child 2s solution is we'll just do take out next time, missed the point and he lives close enough to come up and down for the day next time.
344 Monday Work is getting busy. I'd planned some work for my students but ended up with all 8 coming in. My students are school avoiders and the Alternative Provision is working so well, that they're all coming into school. it was impossible to teach 3 different subjects to 4 year groups so I scrapped the plans and we looked at Persuasive writing techniques for English instead and for year 11 we did some exam practice papers looking at how we can get 3 marks on a question.
345 Tuesday Into Worcester after work, the River Severn is really high, there are warnings about flooding in the car parks so I moved the car to Asda. I did a non Christmas, Christmas shop for Stephanie. I didn't buy all the things that I had been thinking about getting her for Christmas, I needed to get the shopping list out of my head by picking things up and not buying them, it helped, but it was hard work. I wandered round in tears. Peter understood my need to go.
346 Wednesday I left work at lunch and drove to Ledbury to do a food shop for our Christmas dinner on Saturday then had a therapy session. Dropped the food at home then went to meet my frien] ]for our weekly coffee. Home to wrap the rest of the Christmas presents and start the tidying up.
347 Thursday I struggled to get into work today. Work went quickly with a full set of students. I stayed on for lunch with my old colleagues, then popped into town to collect a present for my friends son. Home to an empty house and sorted out beds and tidied our room ready for the kids arriving tomorrow. I had an early dinner, then sat and waited for Peter to get home. I spent the evening with a sore throat on the sofa just allowing the sadness to wash over me.
348 Friday Up early and I wrote up some student notes and started end of term reviews and plans for next year for support on those who will be going back into lessons and emailed teachers for next terms scheme of work so I can spend a bit of time in the holidays getting ahead. I return full time in the new year and the afternoons I'll be back tutoring Maths and English so it will come in handy for that as well. Home to a house full of kids and excitement. We walked grandson and Bailey to retail park for a coffee, he saw an old man with a white beard and thought he was the real Santa. Lots of playing, laughter, food and fun. We did Christmas with Child 2s family.
349 Saturday We had breakfast followed by a trip to the Worcester on the train with the grandkids and the dog, we had coffee out and a Christmas dinner late afternoon. One set of family went home and the rest of us spent the evening in front of the TV.
350 Sunday Child 4 and family went off for the day to visit the great grandparents and other family. Peter and I took Bailey and followed near by to do a present drop in Monmouth and the Forest of Dean for our friends children and we all got home around the same time. Our last day with Bailey. She goes home to Northern Ireland tomorrow. She'll be back again for visits. Christmas presents with child 4 exchanged.
Books read this week: endless children's stories.
Words written towards book: 0
Clothes bought: 0
On the blog this week: Goodbye 2024 - Hello 2025
Things that made me happy this week:
Grandchildren, Father Christmas, Camping in my own house, Bailey.
