- done the holiday laundry (although I still haven't reached the bottom of the basket where the beach towels from our holiday nestle, safe in the knowledge they won't be used for some time - sob)
- done the shopping
- done the filing that had been building up for the last 3 months or so
- entered all our household expenses onto our incredibly exciting spreadsheet that keeps track of these things (OH MY GOD I SPENT HOW MUCH ON SHAMPOO AND MOISTURISER?)
- looked in the mirror and had a heart attack at all the wrinkles (no way am I spending less on moisturiser)
- gone through all the boys toyboxes (yes, that is ALL the Boys' toyboxes) and got rid of everything that was broken or came off the front of a magazine.
- made 4 of the 6 cakes I needed to for my mother's birthday
- gone to the cinema to see the latest Harry Potter (good, but if you're not into the books it might seem a little slow as really it's just setting the scene for the next - and final - installment)
And in the quiet stillness that the absence of small children can create, I have had the chance to come up with a couple of life lessons that I feel I must pass on...
- Do not, under any circumstances, make the mistake of trying to pull on a pair of tumble-dried jeans after a couple of weeks living it up on holiday on an exclusive diet of white bread, soft cheese, and rose. That way lies Despair.
- Do not, under any circumstances, then follow up the jeans experience by icing a chocolate cake before breakfast. Despair apparantly gives you a bit of an appetite
Tumble dried jeans are always to small. I think you need to dry your jeans on the clothing line if you want to always fit in them. Believe me, you will feel so much better. Don't you know that the dryer shrinks your clothes and that you have to wear them for a week in order to stretch them out to their proper size again? Just then you have to wash them again and the whole process starts all over again. Don't put the in the dryer! whatever you do! And wash them on 30 degrees.
ReplyDeleteKnow the feeling: both wrt tumble dryer effect on clothes (lycra mix stretchy dress anyone? hmmm make that a layered sausage wrapped in tight clingfilm for similar effect), and wrt absent children.
ReplyDeleteTwo eldest with my parents in Italy (lucky them), youngest out with other half on a 'tree fern hunt' round every local garden center.... and would you believe I spent 2 hours (yes TWO) wandering aimlessly round the house like a lost sheep not knowing what to do with myself.
Now they are all back in one place I can exercise my lungs again.
Ahhhhh, now that's what I call 'normality'.
I decided after our short break that there should be a post holiday dress-code. Tent dresses only for the week or so post holidays so you don't have to face the fact that your conscience was probably right about that little cafe that served the most delicious pastries. If we all adhered to this then it would be totally normal!
ReplyDeleteChocolate cake is a perfectly good breakfast food... esp if you are about to starve yourself from Chocolate for the rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteOh, I think coming back from holiday gives you an appetite, too. My kids are away, too, and I'm getting lots of stuff done as well.
ReplyDeleteOh I plan to eat only salads on my hols. I'm coming back slimmer than when I left.
ReplyDeleteBecause as we all know, booze has nno calories!
Irene, that;s the problem I think; normally I ONLY do the line drying thing. It was a huge shock to the system to realise what a difference tumble-dryers make. I mean, obviously it couldn't have been the 2 croissants for breakfast every day that made my trousers tighter...
ReplyDeleteLCM, thanks for commenting, and oh yes, that lung exercising is good for the soul AND the breathing, isn't it? Back with my boys now in any case. Quiet time is over.
Mummy McT - tent dresses. Now why didn't I think of that?
PippaD, I;m sorry; is chocolate NOT a part of healthy balanced diet then? (Curses).
Mwa; you're right, it does. If only an appetite to go back on holiday!
EPM, salads? You ARE coming to Blighty, right...? And yes, as for alcohol, I thought anything white(ish) was calorie free?
I am very impressed... although I have to say that I did see the bottom of my laundry basked briefly last week but when I looked again to check it was gone. Ah me ah my.
ReplyDeleteI've decided to bust the rainy summer blues by hosting a carnival of poo stories and I am certain you must have a few lurking in your archives... fancy sending one over?
Why does your mother need so many birthday cakes?
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Sparx, definitely, I'll get onto it!
ReplyDeleteIota, I've answered that one in my next post.
Leather Diaries, thanks for visiting...
Those are the sorts of things I do on my day off...what happened to just relaxing?!
ReplyDelete