The Dreaded School Holiday…. And do I have a plan?

where to begin….

Many parents, whatever they like you to believe look forward to the school holidays. I, on the other hand don’t. Especially the summer holidays. Six delightful weeks of complete mayhem and stress. 

Routine in our house is pretty important. School provides a routine. Not only that but I get a much needed break.  I seem however to spectacularly fail to provide any real sort of routine during the holidays, apart from at bedtime.  And needless to say, I get no break until after they are both asleep, which is why bedtime routine NEVER changes.  I confess I am slightly crazy about sticking to the bedtime routine.  God help me if someone tells me, it’s the holidays, it doesn’t matter if they go to bed a big late.  Yes it does sodding matter if you don’t want me to be taken away in a straight jacket!

Anyway I drift…. T asks me everyday before he leaves to work, have you any plans for today. One day I might just flip at that question. Of course I’ve no bloody plans today, apart from to survive and not to bury the children in the garden.  

Ironically I spend my life planning because of C.  He has to know what is happening all the time.  Things can’t just happen without warning or stress levels rise and meltdowns result. 

I would love to go places during the holidays. Go on outings to the zoo or ride a train.  Visit the beach, meet friends in the park.  You know the things that families are meant to do during the summer. But that not only involves leaving the house, it also involves being around other people and in places that I haven’t risk assessed to an extreme level.   

Having a child who has no idea what danager is.  Does not listen, ever, to the warnings that running out into the middle of a road might not be the brightest idea.  Never responds to his name being called and then when things suddenly get too much bolts with no warming, makes for any visit anywhere, interesting.  C without doubt is a 1:1 child.  Now if we add G into the mix, well this mummy is not leaving the house!!

We spend a lot of time at home and when I feel brave and I know my parents are at home we go and visit them. Thankfully since moving to be close to them (lucky them), they now only live 10 minutes down the road and on the family farm.  Which is without question the boys favourite place. 

So three weeks into the holidays what have we actually done. I think the answer to that is sod all.  Ok I may be being slightly unfair.  I have hoovered once, cut the grass three times, made 24 cupcakes, half painted the chicken coop and half a poor chicken.  Gone combine chasing, had a ride on a combine; twice.  Run along two hundred big round straw bails. Been to a wedding (mother in law drove 6 hours to babysit so T and I could both go).  And we have been to Devon for 6 nights to stay with T’s  mum, where we went rock climbing on Dartmoor (I have no words to describe how stressful this was) and managed to visit a beach!  We have had friends to stay who thankfully know us very well and had one of C’s Godfathers round for tea (beer).  So even we can manage something!!

We also have had several meltdowns resulting in broken bowls, Mr Tesco’s having to leave all our food delivery on the doorstep, me being completely locked out the house with C and G both inside (funny now, not funny at the time).  My bad back being made so much worse that I couldn’t walk downstairs in under 5 minutes. And the postman now signs for stuff for me, so he doesn’t have to ring the bell; he just opens the front door, dumps the parcel and runs!

So hears to three more delightful weeks before school starts again. And then the joys of a new class, a new teacher and 15 more children in his class than before.