- Usually I’m someone who regularly uses the phrase “this is a task for future Sam”. This week I’ve been giving future me an easy time by unloading the dishwasher before I go to bed. Leading to blissful, stress-free breakfast prep in the morning.
- Hot isn’t it. So hot that our youngest’s nursery got their huge paddling pool out and every night she came home bubbling with stories about what had happened at the “swimming pool” that day. She was in tucks of laughter telling me how all the kids had got on the “Step bit” and it had squashed… I have no idea what any of this meant.
- All five of the butterflies we’d cultivated from caterpillars all grew into successful flying nature paintings. The kids re-wilded them from the green roof on top of the bike-shed. Cuddled together waving at each one as they flew up into the sky to join the circle of life.
- The sports in the youngest’s Tuesday sports day were all variations on ‘run to a cone and back then sit at the back of the line.’ The youngest has been practicing for weeks. The variations were;
- Lime + spoon race; did well at balancing the lime, steady pace
- Run + jump in a hoop race; held Dad’s hand and walked
- Space hopper race; held Dad’s hand and walked holding the space hopper.
- Successfully took the kids camping to our friends joint 40th/10 year wedding anniversary in the Cotswolds. They booked out the whole of a back-to-basics campsite. There was a wood fired sauna and they’d arranged a stonebaked pizza van for the saturday night. 10/10 for organisation. The families there are mostly mutual friends and their kids are friends with our kids so overall it was less parenting for everyone than a normal camping trip.
- The eldest was in her element running barefoot through the dry grass, jumping through bushes and in-and-out of woods, shouting at the top of her voice, squirting water guns, shooting bow-and-arrows and retrieving aforementioned arrows, star-gazing, forming clubs (including a homework club !?), playing cricket and team-building. Generally with no parental nagging/tell-offing/moaning.