Surviving the Summer!!

Hey everyone!

Sorry, it’s been a while. I’ve been focused on surviving the first two full weeks of the summer holidays! It’s hard being pretty much housebound this summer with three kids and a 5 month old puppy. I don’t like leaving pup for too long so all of our outings have had to be pup inclusive. I’ve made the odd little trip out to make sure she’s used to being crate trained so going back on school run in September won’t be an issue, but the difficult weather hasn’t helped with consistency.

So… what have we been up to you ask? Well I was on a top secret mission the first week of the holidays so my Mum came to stay for a week to help with the kids and aid me in my everlasting mission to get the house under control… which I’m pleased to say I am maintaining quite well at the moment. My bedroom is the tidiest it’s ever been and for the longest time ever – and it’s staying that way! I know I’m 32 and I really should have my “shit together” by now, however, no matter how old I am, I still stamp my feet and protest when I’m told to tidy my room by my Mum. In the end I made her come do it with me! She’s brutal at bedroom tidies!! I treated her with a trip to the pub, so that’s okay!

The kids have been loud, and messy, and smelly and I’m looking forward to school re-starting, but I’m really enjoying this time with them. Despite the tellings off, trips to the naughty step, child explosions in the playroom and requests falling on deaf ears.

As I’ve mentioned before Moo (aged 7, my eldest) has Epilepsy and is under investigation for SEN. We, and his pediatricians are 98% sure he has Autism and ADHD but CAMHS waiting lists are ridiculous so we won’t have official confirmation for at least a year!! I have to be quite strict with him and reign him in quite a lot. He works well with lists and timetables so this summer, because I knew we would be home a lot, I set up a “Summer Routine” and taped it to the kitchen wall. I implemented this on DAY ONE of the holidays so he could get used to it being the way the majority of his home days would work, and prevent arguments about when he is allowed screen time. So far it seems to be working even though we’ve had a few hiccups.

The way we do screen time is using Time Tokens, which we found on Amazon after seeing a Facebook ad. Good old social media! Whenever Moo does something that gets him time tokens we put the voucher in his wallet and he can bank them to use after lunch, he doesn’t have to use all of them and he can save some for the next day if he likes. We NEVER deduct time tokens for misbehaviour, he’s earnt those, they’re his. That would be like your boss asking for your wages back after you’d been paid! You’d hate that right? So instead we remove a gadget until he runs out of tech to use the tokens on.

We have a variety of consoles, TV’s, tablets and computers so he’s only ended up on a one day gadget ban twice so far. For the record we are a gadget obsessed family, my husband and I have been gamers since we were children – I started off with a BBC Micro as my first computer. Due to this we have a strict “no gadgets before lunch” rule, else we all end up going down the rabbit-hole. This summer the mornings are for learning and helping, and the afternoons are for playing. It’s been working well. Moo has had a few bumps but is doing great overall.

This summer the kids at Moo’s school were sent home with a bookmark and set the challenge to read 6 books over the holidays, I incorporated this into his timetable and so far he has read 11 books this holiday!! I’ve had to flip to the back of his bookmark. When they return to school they’re supposed to bring in a scene in a shoebox of their favourite book – he’s going to struggle to choose!! It will be a great crafts project. I miss art, having time to paint and make things… I studied Art at GCSE and loved it, turns out Moo loves Art, Science, IT and Maths! Sounds like a good blend of both his parents!

It hasn’t all been staying at home, we’ve had a few trips to local parks, dog walks, a trip to emergency doctors because Moo had a UTI and needed antibiotics. We’ve got a couple trips to hospitals lined up. Bash has a visit to his Paediatrician next week to see if there’s any more than can do for his hypermobility as he’s falling over a lot, his foot seems more crooked and he’s had a few nasty scrapes. Moo has a review with his Neurologist at the end of the month for an Epilepsy check up and blood tests. We normally incorporate a treat into hospital days – usually a trip to a soft play or toy shop and lunch out.

Today, it’s Saturday and there’s strong winds. Hubby is at Parkrun, I’m hoping he’ll come back with a new PB and no injuries. I’ll take the dog out a bit later for my daily leg stretch.

I’m currently listening to 90’s pop-rock and writing. I’m considering going to pick up all the windfall apples in the garden. We’re making a trip to DIY shop later to get a water butt stand and connection kit, flashroll and a bit of mesh to stop leaves going down our drains. It’s all fun here, living in the “house that Jack built” and repairing bodge job after bodge job. I’ve become quite good at plumbing and electrics since I’ve lived here and our drill is now my best friend!!

Hope you’re having a good summer holiday, or at least surviving it!

Love,

Pixie xxx

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