Hiding From The Kids

I love the school holidays for such a variety of reasons - the main one being that there is no obligation to get up early. My husband will tell you, I am most definitely not a morning person, and the pressure to get them to school on time each day is not something I relish.

Then there's the opportunity to spend more time with the kids during the summer holidays - the fact that you can go just about anywhere you want, and you don't have to think about being back for school pick-up at 3pm, or rushing off to after school clubs. This also includes a chance to just stay at home and relax a bit more, to take a step back from the constant running in and out of the house that we experience during term time. 

I have really enjoyed spending time with the girls over the last few weeks, and watching them play, develop and grow. It's great to just have fun together rather than having to be shouty mum ushering them here and there. 

Sometimes though...... just sometimes....the incessant chatter gets too much. The endless calls of "Mummmmeeeeyyyyy" become equivalent to someone scraping their nails down a blackboard. The inane sound of kids tv in the background on a loop, like groundhog day, and the bickering which cuts right through you like a knife gives you visions of booking a holiday to somewhere sunny.... for one.... 

Today, I've taken to hiding in the bathroom, seeking some solace from the noise, hoping they haven't noticed that I've disappeared for five minutes to think my own thoughts rather than have my mind consumed with theirs.

It seems that we are never happy - when they are at school we dream of long summer days when they are free, and we can go here and there, and when they are not at school, the fairytale soon shatters and we just want those precious few hours in the day back again. 

It is a reality that kids grow up so fast. Soon they will have flown the nest and we will be pining for the days when their little footsteps filled their lives, and their sounds filled the endless silence, but right now, in this moment, what I wouldn't do to just sit down for five minutes in peace!!!

Now, how many days until school starts again? 

An Update - Life over the last few months.

After a ridiculously crazy few months, I have finally got around to writing an update on what we have been up to over the last few months. However much I try to make this blog a more personalised record of our daily lives as the kids grow up, time just seems to run away with me and it ends up becoming more impersonal. Theoretically, from now on, I should have more time to be able to blog, and so hopefully, I will be able to inject a more personal feel into this blog - so here's an update of a few things we have been doing recently :-)

One of the big things we have been considering over the last couple of months is youngest making the move from pre-school to Big School. A few weeks ago, she had her last week at preschool (photos below) and celebrated with a teddy bears picnic. It will be strange not making the journey to nursery in September - since it's the place that my girls were so happy attending every day for five years, but life moves on, and we have to move on with it. Youngest will be starting Reception in September, at over half a year younger than eldest was when she started reception. It is very strange thinking of her in full time education at barely four - but I'm sure that she will take it in her stride. For me, it means only having one school run to do, rather than two, but more significantly, it truly means an end to the baby and pre-school phase after seven years, and a shift of moving on into the next phase of life and being a Mummy to two primary school-aged children who has her days free.

As the summer term has finished and the holidays have descended, we have had more time to spend together as a family, and of course, the glorious weather we have been experiencing has helped to move our fun into the outdoors. The kids love the outdoors as it gives them more independence, and more freedom to explore and play.

Recently the girls took part in their bi-annual dance show. It was youngest's first one and she was so excited. She keeps begging us to play the dvd so that she can see herself dancing - a future star perhaps? Youngest has been enjoying lots of meals out - a recent jaunt to the pub offered her a kids meal with six fish fingers! She didn't manage to eat it all...

We had fun cheering on Andy Murray and watching the tennis throughout wimbledon. Eldest displayed her "musical talents" at her music recital at school, whilst youngest enjoyed a couple of weeks having the reign of the garden before eldest broke up. Both girls have been making serious use of their paddling pool - much more than any other year. We have also enjoyed more visits to the beach, and some fun in the park climbing trees - a good start to the summer and hopefully more fun to come!!

So as you can see, the kids have been busy! I have also been busy lately - well  - more like, I've been busy for the last three years. When youngest was born, I decided to retrain so that I would have a career once the kids got older. I returned to study, studying to become an Antenatal Teacher with the NCT and an accredited university. It was a very long, hard journey - made especially harder with juggling study and the kids, but I am now a qualified Antenatal Teacher and Birth Companion - and I also now have letters after my name! I have already started teaching through the NCT and will hopefully be expanding my business as the kids go back to school.  I will be writing about my experiences of studying when you are a parent in a future post, but September will be all change in our house.

So that's what we have been up to lately! How are you enjoying the summer?