The dreaded school holiday

Now that the Easter school holiday has well and truly begun I am already stressed beyond sanity.  My torment started earlier than most mums because the last day of term was an inset/teacher training day, so when all the other schools were still open, my daughter's was closed for the day.  Luckily on that day she just chilled and had a pyjama day and didn't do a lot.  Then it was the weekend and my husband was at home.  However, he may as well not have been because he was so busy getting on with a lot of his own things that he hardly spent any time with our little girl, who by Sunday was getting so fed up with not being able to spend any time with him that she was falling into one of her stroppy moods.

There are only so many times that a young child can play Monopoly and various other board games before losing interest, and so many times that we can draw, colour in pictures and make things.  The weather is too rubbish to go to the park where all the equipment are soaking wet and the air is so cold. Coupled with a screaming baby that won't sleep day or night and you have a mummy that's turned into a walking zombie!!

I'm all for short school holidays; at least for those who are working, trying to find childcare for such extended periods of time won't be such a monstrous task.  That is what I'm dreading when I return to work after my maternity leave, having to find childcare for both children during the school holidays, especially the 6week summer holiday will leave me at a loss - it will take up more than my monthly salary.  Is it really worth returning to work just for the sake of it?

Anyway, now the Easter Bank Holiday is coming up this weekend, we are all taking a trip to visit my mum and dad, which I am dreading because it means taking everything but the kitchen sink to accommodate our baby girl.  Also, because she doesn't sleep well most of the time, my mother is sure to moan about her own lack of sleep whilst we're there.  She's good at that, moaning and complaining about almost everything. She doesn't make allowances that our baby is still a baby (albeit almost a 9month old one) and that we are always the ones making the effort to visit her, she never comes to stay with us.

Hopefully over the weekend we will also be able to visit my cousin and her family who my daughter always enjoys playing with.  And my husband has taken a couple of days off which are tagged on the end of the Bank Holiday, so hopefully once we're back home, he will be able to spend some time with the eldest. However, I don't hold out much hope because he spends more time getting on with his own jobs than spending time with her or any of us really.

I hope these two weeks go quickly so that we can get back into the school routine and I can be less stressed....