Waiting

It's been a long time since I have written.  I have mentally started a few blog posts and had it on various to do lists, but never got around to it.  There is really no excuse now as I am on maternity leave and am busy doing nothing!  So I have started writing this afternoon without any great agenda and I will see where I get.

This is day 3 of maternity leave.  I have been really surprised how tired I have been these three days.  I have a bunged up nose which I am blaming slightly for slowing me down.  I also believe in the situation that when you stop, that's when tiredness hits.  When you have to keep going, you have the energy for it and don't have time to realise you're tired.  Lots of people told me to make sure I rest in this time.  I was a little apprehensive about that as during half-term and snow days, being at home resting just made me realise how sick and heartburn-y I felt whereas being at school I was better distracted.  I have definitely been feeling heartburn-y but not as destructively as I feared.  John gave me a book to read on mat leave, and a lovely card that made me cry lots when I got home from school on Friday.  I started reading the book on Monday morning in bed and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I kept stopping during the day on Monday to sit on the sofa to read it for great chunks and by the end of the day had read 3/4 of it and finished it on Tuesday morning in bed.  Also on Monday morning I did a little sorting in the spare room and then took the bus into town, something I had been planning and looking forward to.  I went to the central library to see what had changed since the new shopping centre (not a lot that I could see!) and enjoyed reading in there for an hour.  Then I browsed the covered market and had a late lunch at Georgina's.  Tuesday I had a lazy morning and then picked up Mamma from the station.  We drove to Aston Pottery where we had a good lunch in the nice cafe and browsed the large shop.  We also drove on to Bampton to see the Downton sights.  Back at the flat we sorted through all the generous gifts I had been given at school, then I was exhausted!  Today has been mainly lazy again.  I drove Mum to the station then sorted through my hospital bag and then have been watching lots of episodes of friends while knitting. I am off to Malvern this evening to see family.

I had a nice end to teaching at school.  At the end of half term holiday, I was thinking that three more weeks sounded quite a lot of teaching.  So I was very pleasantly surprised that when I came back on the Monday morning, I discovered that my replacement was starting that day for a three week handover.  She was really nice and a great extra pair of hands to have in the classroom.  The first week she was mainly observing, then the second week started some teaching and then by the third week was doing most of the teaching.  She asked all the right questions and I felt confident handing my class over to her.  The final week was a little crazy with me covering another class for a few half days, but it was still nice.  Then I felt Friday was a lovely final day for me, and hopefully the class.  I had made some cakes the night before to take in for the staffroom.  I managed to do quite a bit of the final classroom sorting I had on my list of things to do before school. The day started with assembly and then I TA'd during English and also ran some errands.  After break in fruit time, I just about finished HP and the Philospher's Stone.  Then it was Big Write where all the class worked very hard which was lovely to see.  Lunch was nice and relaxed and also a few more jobs in classroom.  After lunch I had put up 'celebration' on the visual timetable.  That consisted of me opening the very generous gifts that many of the class had brought in which they were all excited by.  Then I read the final page of HP and then they loaded up their bags with home things.  We then went to the hall to do the Harry Potter Cosmic Yoga which they seemed to enjoy.  I carried on Cosmic Yoga during Golden Time then for the 15 mins before hometime, I gave the class a pep talk on carrying on being great and also gave them each a sherbet lemon and an Easter Lollipop.  I was just sitting down again after seeing the class out when head of KS1 and my pregnant buddy came to ask me to go to the spare classroom.  During the day lots of people had been asking how I was doing and I has always answered that I was fine and it wouldn't hit till at least Monday.  But walking into the spare classroom I was quite overwhelmed that they had set it up with pink and blue bunting and there was a whole spread of cakes and food and a room full of people. I made a short speech and mingled.    Then it was time to finished up in the classroom and make my departure.  I am planning on going back for Parent's Evening next week so I know I am not gone for good and have also promised my class that I will bring the baby in after Easter although they aren't impressed that I haven't given them an exact date!

Well I feel it is time to get off the sofa and to a little more sorting, just a little.  Hopefully I will be able to do another update before baby makes an arrival.

Musicals - Woman in White and Phantom of the Opera

This was a very exciting day living the theatre-goers dream: I went to a matinee and then an evening musical!  I was keen to get in some musical time before baby makes an appearance.  I felt I wanted to see Phantom again in case it should close before I can easily head to the theatre again.  I was also interested that the Woman in White was having its first (limited run) revival since its debut in 2004.  I realised I could maybe do them as a double and asked Mum if she wanted to join me for either and was delighted that she said yes to both!

The Woman in White

I went for this for the matinee mainly because the reviews weren't as strong and I felt it would be better to end the day with Phantom on a high. Although this was the final day of the 12 week run for Woman in White so the evening might have been special as the final performance. I had read the novel since the show first was done and loved the book.  I couldn't actually remember much of the story line by now, I just remembered the feeling of racing through the book and being desperate for my next opportunity to read it.  I did a bit of research on the musical and the revival and learnt that it was now in a much more intimate theatre and the critics said that was a great improvement for the show.

 At the Charing Cross Theatre which was small but very pleasant and comfy seats (I may even have closed my eyes at points!) and leg room.

I enjoyed it although not as much as the book.  There weren't really any memorable songs and it was one of Andrew Lloyd Weber's operatic sort of musicals, quite like Phantom in many ways.  There was a comical number for the Count in the second half which was fun and stood out as different and a break from the rest of the show.  The staging with the train tunnel and the smoky fog was very good.

Phantom of the Opera

After a Garfunkel's tea it was on to Her Majesty's Theatre.  We were in the third tier and there was still a balcony above us.  We were pretty level with the chandelier which was exciting.  The contrast in the two theatres that day was great: one small, comfy and intimate; the second wonderfully grand and full of an audience speaking many different languages seem quite appropriate for the French Opera House. 

I had seen Phantom twice before, once probably as a young teen, and then with a friend in our gap year.  Mum remembered seeing it early when it came out (1986) and has now found the programmes of when she went.

The opening scenes and music lived up to the hype I had given them and Mum and I clutched hands excitedly.  I do find the whole fact of the chandelier magnificent.  I had read the book at Christmas so was slightly more aware and interested in how they did the story line.  I think I prefer the story in the musical perhaps.  There are lots of good and memorable and especially rousing songs in Phantom which I really like and I am always a fan of grand staging so it was right up my street there.  I seem to remember thinking the second time I saw it, how surprised and impressed I was by the illusions in it.  That only really happened at the end this time, probably because I was looking out for it more. Interestingly, the more I have thought about Phantom since going, the more creeped out I have been by the show.  I don't think I will be going to see it again, but very pleased I went again while I still could to satisfy my curiosity and memory.

Musical - School of Rock, again

I did enjoy going to see School of Rock in March.  I loved the feeling of being so uplifted and impressed with the performers.  John then suggested they perform it as their end of Year 6 production.  It was quite an effort but suited the year group well and I really enjoyed getting to listen to the songs again.  And my class loved watching it and we recreated it lots in the classroom! 

I decided I wanted to see it again and suggested to my girl friends that we might like to go as part of our Christmas outing.  They were all game so we went on Friday 1st December.  First we went to the soft opening of a steak restaurant.  It made me feel very hip and trendy to be going to a soft opening!  And it really was just opening.  They were still putting signs up outside and taking covers off chairs.  We had a funny time when we sat down at our table and tried to order from the menu.  It seemed everything we decided on then wasn't available!  We couldn't really complain though as we knew it was a the soft opening and the food was going to be half price - a good job really as the steaks were £30-something and then the sides were extra.  The restaurant did start to smoke up, but we enjoyed our food and our time.  We were then utterly gobsmacked when the bill for the 4 of us came to £27...??? It turned out that all the food was on the house - £150 off our bill.  We wished we hadn't shared the sides!!

Then it was on to the show.  I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of the theatre and Andrew Lloyd Weber and trying not to give to much away.  The show was good again and I was pleased to get up and dance at the end.  There were a few minor differences that I noticed from the songs (which I now know so well!) and from last time.  Dewey seemed more a physical actor this time and didn't do the very high singing at the end.  The girls seemed to enjoy it which pleased me greatly and we listened to the soundtrack the next day in the car. My fave songs were still You're in the Band, Stick it to the Man and the only ALW sounding song, the ballad Where Did the Rock Go.

This was the first one on my list that I was hoping to see before life changes in March!  I also hope to see Phantom (having just read the book) and The Woman in White which is back for a limited run.

Baking - pear cake

The children get given fruit every day at school.  This year my class really aren't keen on pears and some weeks in autumn we were getting pears twice a week.  There were always bags left at the end of the week so in the end (post horrible morning sickness times) I decided to try take them home and make a cake.  I often took it back to school for the staffroom and it proved popular.

I've used this Genius Kitchen recipe and though it takes a long time to peel and chop and mash the pears, it seems to work ok in the end although I haven't succeeded with the topping yet.

Apple or Pear Cake

READY IN:

1hr 5mins                                                                                   

• CAKE

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 cups raw diced apples or 4 cups pears

• TOPPING

• ¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar
• ¹⁄₄ cup milk
• ¹⁄₄ lb butter

Directions

1. Cake:
2. Mix all cake ingredients by hand in order given.
3. Pour in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan or springform pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and remove.
5. Topping:
6. In saucepan mix all ingredients and bring to a slow boil for 3 minutes.
7. Pour over cake and return to oven for 4 minutes.

Baking - cookies

I love eating cookies!  Chocolate chip ones really.  I have tried a few recipes and still don't feel I have really got it sorted.  This one from All Recipes I did for a second time recently and really love the texture they produce - soft and gooey which is the best.  I don't think the flavour was quite right last time, but I shall certainly try some more times to be sure. I feel there's lots more info on the website that would help me perfect.

Best big, fat, chewy chocolate chip cookies                 

         Ingredients
Serves: 18 

• 250g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 170g unsalted butter, melted
• 200g dark brown soft sugar

• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 325g chocolate chips

         Method
Prep:10min  ›  Cook:15min  ›  Ready in:25min 

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C / Gas mark 3. Grease baking trays or line with parchment.
2. Sift together the flour, bicarb and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough onto the prepared baking trays, with each cookie around 4 tablespoons of dough (for smaller cookies, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful and adjust baking time as necessary). Do not flatten the dough. Cookies should be about 8cm apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking trays for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Washing Alpaca

I got some lovely Alpaca jumpers in Peru and I want to try to keep them as nice and cosy for as long as possible.  So I haven't washed them very often and I have tried to follow the proper instructions online.  I follow the ones on the Novica website which has lots of information on Alpaca clothing in general.

How to clean your alpaca clothing

1. Fill a clean sink or tub with cold water and a small amount of mild liquid detergent like baby shampoo or a fine fibers formula. (Using hot water, or even two different temperatures of water, will “shock” the fibers, making them mat together and start turning into felt.) Do not use chlorine bleach or even gentle Woolite, as these harsh cleaners will cause damage.
2. Soak the garment for 3 to 5 minutes, gently squeezing the suds through the garment. Avoid twisting, wringing, scrubbing, or otherwise agitating it, as this will cause felting. Dyed garments will have some chance of bleed, but since alpaca fiber takes dyeing better than most other fibers, this shouldn’t be a problem after the first wash.
3. Rinse the garment twice in clean, cold water and gently squeeze out the excess. Be gentle handling it to avoid wrinkles and distortion.
4. Lay the garment between two towels, roll up the towels and set it aside for a few minutes.
5. Place the garment on a dry towel or sweater rack and reshape (do not hang to dry). Let it dry away from sunlight and direct heat.
6. If the garment is wrinkled after drying, you can steam it lightly with an iron, or simply hang it up in the bathroom, run the shower, and let the steam ease away the creases.

Early Pregnancy Thoughts

I'm copying over somethings I wrote in the early weeks of pregnancy on my phone.  I only kept it up for a few weeks but I felt worth putting on here anyway.

Friday 4th August - week 6

Two weeks ago my period didn't come and I started to wonder. It still didn't come and I started to feel occasionally more nauseous than normal, just like I sometimes feel in the car. I started to read more of the NHS website pregnancy section and read that the bad gums I had could be a pregnancy sign. On Wednesday 2nd August I felt nauseous all morning and didn't really want to do anything. It felt a bit better after lunch and reading some Harry Potter. I felt fine in the evening at Scottish dancing and figured it was probably fairly psychosomatic and if I was distracted I'd be fine. I took a pregnancy test that I'd bought at a local chemist. It was about as inconclusive as it could possibly be. The second line that should say whether you're pregnant was so faint that you had to squint in some lights and we weren't sure if we were imagining it. I bought another one from the supermarket along with some pregnacare vitamin tablets. I took it Thursday morning and it was quickly conclusive. I rang to make an appointment at the doctors and the first one was for 3 weeks time...! Oh well, at least I'm booked in. My biggest challenge at the moment is trying to remember which foods I should and shouldn't eat. No real other signs or symptoms at the moment other than some sore boobs and a slight aversion to eating as much as I normally do.


Friday 11th August - Week 7

Not a lot to report this week. The only (and omnipresent) noteworthy occurrence has been the fairly constant nausea. It has been slightly better in the evenings but it has felt present all the time. Sometimes worse than others. And I think it's still the case that if I'm distracted then it's better for me. I'm nauseous, tired, listless and pathetic on the days spent just at home. John has been great at letting me rest and not complaining at my complete lack of cooking or washing up or tidying. Nausea often increases when I open the fridge. Monday and Tuesday I had sleeps during the day which I really enjoyed and is very unusual for me. Wednesday morning I had my first actual being sick, which was disappointing as I'd hoped that maybe I wouldn't actually do that and so now I'm more on edge when I'm feeling nauseous in public. On Sunday I'd gone to get a pan while eating breakfast as it did seem like a possibility. I think on Wednesday I'd left it too long after waking before actually eating and had been in and out of the fridge a bit and then when I started to feel really bad it was too late for me to eat anything to settle my stomach which is what normally seems to help. We had JR staying with us and I managed to get to the bedroom where there was a plastic empty food pot that did the trick. It just seemed to be the orange juice that I had drunk. I thought that was all I was going to have to report but Thursday night I was sick in the sink after brushing my teeth. I do often gag a little when finishing brushing my teeth and sadly this time a small portion of dinner came up too. Then after a moment pause, the rest of the sausage, mash and courgettes came up too and filled the whole sink. Yuck! Oddly today I have felt much better and far less nauseous. I had a low moment about 12 o'clock where I went back to full on nauseous but after forcing some crackers down and a little burp it went away again. Hopefully this is an encouraging sign of things to come. The other thing I have found hard to get used to is appetite and feeling full. I definitely have to eat frequently and can't wait half an hour or more for food which I would have done easily before. It's then really weird that there haven't been many meals that I have been able to finish - so not like me! Still have firmer sorer boobs but nothing else yet.




Friday 18th August - Week 8
(Although actually writing on Monday 21st)

Not too much to report this week. Continued to feel sick and was sick about 4 times I think at all different times of day and stages of digesting. Had a horrible spell on Thursday morning of retching without being sick. Eating continued to be tricky, the standard being small meals as was quickly full and a Crisp Kingdom with me constantly to help me out between meals. On Thursday morning I went to the dentist and he was the first person I told I was pregnant. He was very nice and helpful and mainly talked with a short look in my mouth at the end.
Thursday night and Friday I felt far less nauseous and ate normally which was exciting and encouraging!

Friday 25th August - Week 9

After a good start to the weekend, I was sick again on Sunday. It's been a tricky week in that we have spent every evening with different people but managed to contain sick so far...