A Mother's Ramblings

The last week has gone so fast, I'm sure that I just blinked and it was the weekend again. Still, I've spent most of Saturday doing nothing (which was exactly what I wanted to do!) and will have a very Spiritual Sunday (again, it's what I'm wanting to do!) and plan on sitting in the garden eating marshmallows if the weather allows, so hopefully this next week will at least not be over before I blink! Anyway, it's now late and I need to write this quickly so excuse the no chat today! Saturday - Whatever we have at home! Sunday - Something from Costco (Flyfour is in charge!) Monday - Poor Man's Pasta Tuesday - Dirty Wedges Wednesday - Soup and Rolls Thursday - Sausage Pie Friday - Meatballs and Mash So there we go, meals for the week, that the children will eat, are fairly quick to do and won't mean I'm craving a takeaway like I have all of this week!

Oh, what a week. I am in such a joyous mood that I think I may spontaneously burst because I can't contain the joy. Honestly, I look like a quokka! I think in part it is because I've had a fabulous week at work with some staff that I haven't seen for a while, partly because I was so incredibly cheeky at work this week and partly because there is SUNSHINE COMING. Here's what we're eating this week!

I don't believe in coincidences. I mean, don't get me wrong I believe that sometimes there are things that happen, that you may call coincidences, but for me. Well, for me, something that seems like a coincidence is more like a sign or God pointing out to me the path I need to be going down. Like the time I found a Frozen costume in my size in Asda for a reduced price and it was the only one. Coincidence or perfect for me?

A few weeks back, I read something that made me think. I can't specifically remember what it was that I read, but basically, I realised that sometimes I'm a crappy wife to Flyfour and so I vowed to do better. How could I do this? Well, something that I thought was to show an interest in something that he found interesting that I didn't. Like Bond.

Over the last few weeks, Top Ender has taken an interest in baking. It started off that she was baking with Flyfour and then she started wanting to bake on her own and we let her because she had so little to do during the lockdown that would stretch her, seeing as how her GCSE's were cancelled and all she really has to do is watch a few films and read a few books in preparation for her A-Levels, that we figured learning some life skills was a good thing! The problem is, well it turns out she's rather good.

I've been sitting here for a little over an hour, trying to work out how to get the words in my head out on to this page. Every time I grab at a thought it swims away, meaning that I'm chasing thoughts that don't want to be articulated at this exact moment, leaving me feeling vacuous. I don't like feeling vacuous. I felt like this every minute of every day for at least three years (but possibly this has been an issue for over ten years) before I was given medication for a Thyroid issue about eight months ago. I hadn't noticed, that fog had slowly drifted into my mind, clouding not only my thoughts and hampering my ability to think, but had woven its way into all aspects of my health and life and so slowly that I didn't know that it was happening, didn't notice the small subtle changes that built upon each other until they slowly stopped and I could think again.

Our meals this week were written whilst I was sitting in the garden, in my PJ's waiting for the rest of the family to wake up. Luckily Flyfour was awake first so I had someone to run some ideas past! We're planning on the children cooking a lot more, just because it gives them good life skills not because I'm giving up cooking for everyone or getting super lazy in my old age! Anyway, here's what we're planning on eating.

Saturday evening, Flyfour and I were thinking of going out to gather some snacks from Waitrose, as when we'd been shopping earlier that day, we'd done the very clever thing of only getting the food we'd need for the week and completely forgetting that several times a week we go to our snack cupboard to get something and there wouldn't be anything as the cupboard was almost bare! As it had been raining on and off during the day, Flyfour opened the curtains to check before we made a run to the car, when he let out a giggle and said we were being watched. I rushed to the window and sure enough, there was something staring straight at our living room window.

Another week over with. I've been back at work full time (well almost, I get an hour "off" every evening), I've walked to work every day and even managed to read a book, do some family history and yes I'm still suffering from a bad back so I haven't been able to do much gardening, but you can't have everything right? Doesn't matter though because my driveway still looks great! Here's what we're eating this week.

When I got my Receptionist job at the local secondary school, part of my plan was that I would walk to work. The school is just under a mile away if you use the shortcuts and well, it's the healthy option isn't it? Not just for me, but for the environment and my wallet! That isn't the way it worked out however. No, come my first day I drove. And my second. And third and fourth and fifth and before I knew it I was giving the children a lift to school every day and whilst Dan Jon walked home every night, I was also giving lifts home to Top Ender for the majority of the week.

During the lockdown, I've remembered that I love to read. Well, that's not true, I didn't forget that I love to read, but I forgot that I love to devour books. I read at a lightning speed, immersing myself in a world, getting totally wrapped up in the characters and the plot and then BAM the book is over and I'm bereft of all that I held dear for the last couple of days. So I start a new book, with a new world and new characters to fall in love with and the cycle continues. As a child, I would constantly be reading, my nose forever in a book and the greatest gift that could be given to me were WH Smith book tokens. The ability to wander amongst the books, touching the spines, reading the blurbs and spending what I considered a fortune on something indulgent, hardback books, make up some of my best memories.

One thing that I've realised with all my gardening over the last ten weeks or so (it was a complete coincidence that lockdown started about then too, we were planning on doing the garden this Spring and Summer!) is that it's one of the most grown-up things that I do. Whilst I may want to colour the inside of my home like a children's paintbox with bright colours and funky shapes, the garden sees a more mature Pippa emerge. I'm going to blame my Nan for this grown-up taste, after all it was at her feet that I learnt how to care for plants, what seems like a bazillion plant names and even had gifted to me my favourite and nicest stoneware plant pots. What I don't know, or more likely don't remember, is easily fixed with a quick google, which why I was found researching Lavender a few days back and checking if it was a low maintenance plant or not.

If you know me in real life or have read my blog for any length of time, something that should be quite obvious to you is that I like hanging out with my family. It might be that we play a game together or go for a walk, or bake or just eat a meal together but as long as we are hanging out together I'm quite happy. A few weeks back now, Top Ender and I were talking about planning a day off from our usual chores and responsibilities in lockdown. It would be a day to hang out and do nothing other than what we wanted and it slowly progressed into an idea to spend the day in the garden, in the sun enjoying reading and watching movies on our tablets or laptops, listening to music and just being at one. The plan for the day ended with us having a BBQ and watching a film on Top Ender's projector, which suited me fine. Although I didn't want to clean our Big BBQ, so I cheated and purchased one of those small disposable ones instead!

Last week, I decided to have a day off. I was already not scheduled to work, and as it was half term I figured I could stay at home, lay about in the sun, read and snooze and just relax. As part of the aim was to get a suntan, I threw on my short leggings and a tank top. Two items of clothing that are normally underneath things which are a little too short. Basically, what I am saying is there was nothing to contain my bingo wings or stomach flab in and I looked an absolute mess, a slob if you will. I didn't expect to see anyone other than the immediate family and well, I don't care if they see me looking like a slob as two of them have lived in their PJ's for the last few weeks and the other was out at work and again wouldn't care if I was dressed in a ball gown, in a moth-eaten jumper or anything in between because he loves me. Sickening isn't it.