Holiday at home

It's day two of my 'holiday at home'. I'm taking two weeks off, but the severe cash crisis caused by one year's worth of reduced (maternity) pay over the last two years is preventing us jetting off somewhere sunny. Thus it's a good job that a bit of sunshine has finally arrived in the UK. It's going to be an interesting experiment, seeing whether 'a change is as good as a rest.' I have this suspicion that spending two weeks at home looking after three children will definitely feel like a change, but almost certainly not feel 'as good as a rest'! We're going to be hanging out around the parks and cafes of south east London, poddling about in the back garden and maybe making a day trip or two to the seaside. Eden (5 1/2) is simply delighted to have me at home. Exotic holidays interest her not one jot. It just about kills me when she exclaims, "That was the best day EVER!', after accompanying me around Sainsburies and then going for a cycle ride in Dulwich Park. Oh, to be so easily pleased again! One thing I've noticed already is how much more I notice the little incremental changes in the kids when I'm hanging out at home with them. Nathan (2 1/2) is really growing into a little tyke; he pushes the boundaries just a little further each day. And quite how he ends each day smeared in mud, covered in poster paint and bedecked with bruises and cuts I really don't know. Ava (11 months now) has somehow managed to sprout six teeth in the course of the last couple of weeks (accompanied by much wailing, pooing and, yes, gnashing of teeth!) and suddenly seems to be attempting to crawl, stand up and talk all at once. The blog may be rather intermittent over the next couple of weeks. I may not be getting much rest, but I'm going to give it a damned good try!