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Summer Holiday Survival

ESDIL
Jul 26, 2016
2 min read

I am writing this on the first real day of the school Summer Holidays. And I’m hoarse already.

I have shouted more today than I have ever shouted. I have counted to ten more times than I can count. (Obviously more than 10…) I have breathed in, out, and successfully managed to not say the F word. I did say the S word, but that’s not SO bad, right?

Miss I // Miss A

It’s not Miss A that’s the problem, it’s Miss I. Today she has been even less responsive to my requests, which in all honesty I didn't realise was possible until today. We have sunk to a new low.

We have had refusal to eat breakfast, suncream rubbed into the carpet, a tantrum about a biscuit, refusal to eat lunch, throwing lunch on the floor, refusal to pick up lunch off the floor, and that was just this morning. Mix that with constant climbing, hair pulling, playing with doors, standing on all the sh*t that she’s gotten out that she won't put away, and I’m kinda over today if I’m honest.

Playroom Carnage // Talc on the suncream stain

So it dawned on me about 8:30am this morning that this is now life for the next six weeks. I’m acutely aware that my precious time with Miss A is exactly that, precious, and special and I don't want to waste all of it shouting at her sister. I want to do fun stuff, fill the days with memories.

On a slightly different note, for probably the 3rd or 4th time in a fortnight, I have woken up in the morning to find Miss A has stealthily snuck into our bed. And when I say morning, I mean about 5am when i’m getting arms thrown across my face and my ribs kicked. It can’t continue.

So this morning after a discussion with her about the ‘why’s’ and the ‘why its not a good idea’s’ I turned to my trusty friend Google to find me a reward chart for her. I stumbled across www.activityvillage.co.uk which i quickly discovered to be a very useful site with all manner of printable colouring pages, reward charts, plans, diary pages and lots more. So I got printing.

We now have a bright and colourful list of “To do’s”, and princess colouring, a reading reward chart, in addition to the book we bought her so she could write a little sentence about special days and draw a picture.

Miss A is currently colouring in her fairy reward chart which will hopefully keep her in her bed for at least 10 more nights. Winner. Miss I is trying to scribble on it in pencil, cue more fighting.