Is it half term yet?

The excitement of being back at school is definitely wearing off in our house! It's a real struggle to get any of us up Monday to Friday (shame my kids wake early at the weekend!). Both children are working really hard in school and its making them grumpy and grotty at home.

 

My son is still dead keen on reading his books so he gets a new one each day. Sometimes he has to do this in the car on the way too and from school to fit it in! He is still eager to go into class each morning but year 1 is a lot tougher intellectually than reception so he needs to get his physical energy out after school. Swimming, jujitsu and football haven't burned it off though and he is finding being stuck indoors in the rain frustrating.

 

As for my daughter she has been a little devil in the mornings as I try to get her up and ready for school. Think her brain is in overdrive so she can't switch off at bedtime and so is short on sleep. She is following in my footsteps and reading in bed long after she is supposed to be asleep.. Just wish she would lie in at the weekend and catch up!

 

Myself I'm still trying to get to grips with my extra hours and longer commute. Everything I used to do on those mornings still needs doing but it's squeezed into 2 mornings and the brief gap between work and school run. Commitments I made for this blog with PRs before the extra job all need meeting and often have to wait until late in the evening. I'm also keeping up with my fitness campaign so that gets squashed in to. No wonder housework is even more behind than usual!

 

We still have another 4 1/2 weeks until half term to get through and I hope my energy lasts that long! I think I may need to book my kids into some play scheme for a couple of days just to catch up with the housework.. Just hoping that the extra money in the bank next pay day makes it all seem worth while.

 

Are you looking forward to the half term break yet?

When September comes....

When September comes my little boy starts big school. He will no longer spend most days in my care but will with the big children at primary school. It doesn't seem all that long since he was a baby:

When September comes my son will be having lunch at school so I will be on my own 5 days a week and won't have his company:

When September comes I won't have my little companion to accompany me out and pinch the froth off the top of my cappuccino:

When September comes activities like home baking will be confined to the weekends:

When September comes I will be able to do all the things I've been putting off until my son starts school. Here is hoping that I:

• finally manage to finish to sort the house out and move in properly after a year!
• can start to earn decent money through my self employment as an Usborne Independent Reseller and as Family History Researcher
• can seek some part time paid work

Not holding my breath on any of them and he doesn't actually go full time until the 19th but I can dream of what will happen when September comes.

A Tale of 4 Moves...

In advance of my 4th move in 11 years I started to reflect on how different each were and what significant changes they represented ...




Move 1 - First Own Home


My parents must have let off great sighs of relief when I finally moved out of their home at the grand old age of 28! A combination of student debt and high property prices meant I wasn't in a position to afford a mortgage until 4 years after I left university. This was a low key removal affair - my dad and I with a large transit van doing a couple of shuttle runs to move my hand me down furniture and personal possessions the 10 miles down the road. It was only a 2 bed flat so I needed very little and got a good deal buying my new cooker, fridge/freezer and TV as package. The only brand new furniture was an MFI wardrobe.




Move 2 - Togetherness


This was the start of life with my fiance. He had just agreed the purchase of 4 bedroom house to make more space for his 3 children to visit. I only saw the house the week we moved in. This time as we were combining two 2 bedroom properties we hired a Luton Van. With the help of a couple of mates we spent a day driving from one side of town to the other. Between us we completely furnished the place and only needed to buy a larger family size fridge freezer.



Move 3 - Expanding Family


When I became pregnant my husband wanted to reduce the mortgage payments and still have more space to we moved 100 miles to a 6 bedroom Edwardian terrace needing lots of renovation. I had sold my flat a few months previously so we had the funds to pay for a complete removal service. A team of men spent several days packing up all our possessions and transporting them in a full sized removal lorry. They transported the seats from my car so I could transport 2 rabbits plus hutch and a tropical fish tank plus its inhabitants.




Move 4 - Family Breakup


This latest move is having to be very low budget as I am on limited income. I've hired a van and hopefully a mate is driving or I have a quick round trip! Packing is going very slowly around other commitments and is being done by myself, a friend plus my parents when they can visit. I am going to a house about 1/3 the size of the current one and so have to dispose of a lot of things from the house. Some things that moved here from the previous property should have been binned before that move!! Selling some of the items is quite disheartening as you get nowhere near what you paid for them but they have to go so getting something is better than nothing...




I will be in the new place for a minimum of 12 months as that is the length of the lease so will probably be moving again in a year! At least by downsizing our possessions now that should be a lot less stressful - well I hope so...