Well there is big news today! For the first time since the start of this diary we have a change of scenery as we took the plunge and headed north to take advantage of the relaxation of lockdown rules in Scotland. We packed the car and drove for most of the day, and are now safely and happily ensconced in my mum’s house in Aberdeen.
Whilst the emotional reuniting of Grandma with her grandkids was a definite highlight of the day and in itself made the long journey worthwhile, the change of backdrop has already done us all the power of good (and we’ve only been here a few hours!)
It’s been a long day so I’m doing a quick post tonight and am focussing on the 5 things I learnt today:
1. Don’t bother packing anything for a holiday. Anything I pack gets very quickly unpacked by my wife as she is the only one who knows how to pack properly in our house. Apparently. This is then repeated when I take the bags out to the car and put them in the boot. As soon as my back is turned, everything has been taken out and repacked “properly”. I don’t know why I get bothered about it as I should just leave her to it! At some point tomorrow I’m sure I’ll find out what my wardrobe will be for the next few days! 🧳
2. My kids are pigs. Now during lockdown none of our family have been remotely bothered about the loss of fast food. That’s surprised me a little as the kids like a McDonald’s the same as the next kid but it just hasn’t been mentioned at any point. Even when the drive throughs opened again we haven’t contemplated going. But today, with the long drive, the easiest stop for lunch was the old faithful at Berwick. The kids were delighted with their Happy Meals but M decided to channel his inner pig by burying his face into the box to try and gobble his chips without any assistance from his hands. Perhaps I’ve been eating chips the wrong way for my whole life! 🍟
3. I think I should invest in some family singing lessons. Long car journeys are never going to be brilliant from start to finish and keeping the kids entertained is always the biggest challenge. We did pretty well today I think although some screen time came in very handy. After finishing their lunch both darlings dropped off for a nap but before too long they were wide away and in need of engagement. Steph decided to put on some Disney songs and they happily listened to that for a bit. They both love to sing along, particularly to the Frozen 2 soundtrack. I must be on holiday as I suddenly found myself singing along too yet we all seemed to hit slightly different notes at the climax of each song. The result was some pretty ear shattering harmonies which does not bode well for our trip back home. Maybe some professional help is in order! 🎤
4. Assuming tired kids will go to sleep is a dangerous game. The kids were overjoyed with their little gifts from Grandma and used their new plates and cups at the BBQ tea. It must be the Scottish meat because they just ate and ate and ate. No meat in the chocolate desserts but they still finished those off as well. That appears to give them lots of energy as they have charged round like headless chickens including giving each other tractor rides. I mistakenly then thought that a bedtime routine would see them tucked up and snoring away in double quick time. They have been in 3 different beds, either together or apart, and have been down to bug us at least 8 times so far. E is hungry and thirsty and needs the toilet. M just wants to play or do anything that doesn’t involve sleeping. E, to her credit, did try to read him a story and sing him a lullaby but that just got him determined to spend more time with her. I tell you now, they had better have a long lie tomorrow! 😴
5. Saturday night and I like the way you quiz! As has become the norm, I had back to back quizzes tonight (whilst trying to ignore the kids). The swimming club quiz had to be mainly written during the drive north but we did have time to come up with some pretty random topics such as balls and Disney sequels. The family quiz that followed was just a lot of fun with the usual heated discussions whilst we tried to agree on our team answer. I jest, of course, and we’ve done so many quizzes now over the last 15 weeks that we’ve already heard every single possible quiz question ever written! 🤓
LawyerLow Diaries 