Golly! Where have we been?! Well, having summer fun mostly, while getting used to being a single mum. Leaving a job that made me miserable and starting up my own business too. But yes, the summer holidays happened and they were fab and busy.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I took the plunge and we went camping. Only for a couple of nights and at a small farm campsite just 20 miles from home, but I did it and I was bloody proud of myself. After all, getting a beast of a tent up on your own is no mean feat but I was not going to be beaten! The effort was so worthwhile though as it was perfect just hanging out with the girls – no distractions, no technology, just cooking, eating and laughing together.
I organised Bear’s 4th (can you believe she’s 4 already???) birthday party with a friend whose son was 4 a day later (and they were both in nursery together so would be inviting the same children) and it went pretty well. It was a bit chaotic, but that’s only to be expected when you get nearly 30 four year olds in a room together, mixed up with some older siblings and an awesome bouncy castle! I even made my first fairly successful cake which I was really proud of.
We spent lots of time at the annual local folk festival, Broadstairs Folk Week, which is fantastic for children as there’s music everywhere you go all day, every day. The weather wasn’t too unkind this year so we were able to enjoy lots of picnics and ice creams while listening and dancing to bands. I always hate the last day as it feels so final and the town appears so empty afterwards.
We went to Margate carnival, which was bigger, brighter and better than I’d expected with lots of colour and candy for the kids!
We went to Monkton Nature Reserve and met some stunning birds of prey before embarking on an adventure to discover fairy houses and an alphabet scavenger hunt.
We spent lots of time on the beach, playing in the sand, playing in the sea.
Eating more ice creams and picnics and watching Punch & Judy shows (one where Punch still hits all the characters with his stick – so un-PC but good to see traditions continue).
Enjoying the beach rides and trampolines, and wowed by incredible aerobatic displays and late night fireworks.
We’ve had barbecues, visited an art gallery and playgrounds as well as playing and painting in the garden at home.
And just before it all came to an end, we hopped on the Channel Tunnel and popped over to France for a few days with my sister and baby niece. Despite ridiculous amounts of illness and bad luck and everything seeming to be against us, we managed to enjoy ourselves and the girls loved the fantastic pools on the campsite and were impressed by Aurora’s castle and the fantastic costumes that were on display.
So that’s where we’ve been and why I’ve not been here. And even on the days I’ve not had the girls, I’ve been having rather a lot of grown up fun with old and new friends and family. I’ve been adult only camping and to events I wouldn’t have taken the children to and enjoyed kicking back with a glass of wine or beer (or three!), hanging out in sunny back gardens and beer gardens, and staying up well past my bedtime without fear of the kid noise hangover the next day.
It turns out being single and a part-time parent really isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I get to have me time to do all the boring stuff to ensure lots of ultra quality time with the girls. And in among all the fun, I’ve been able to really throw myself into my new virtual PA business and have already started working with a fabulous client.
I promised myself that by 40 I’d have my life sorted and although the occasion passed back in March, I’m not too far behind schedule! Onwards and upwards!
