Half Term Holidays! February 2015!

Half-Term!!!!!!

This needs no introduction!

I just love the holidays! Long or short, a day or a week off is always appreciated in my household.

It's a welcome break from the usual hustle and bustle of the school runs. The more children you have, the more hectic the school runs get especially when you have two children in two different institutions and then taking your other baby to playgroups everyday. Yes, the life of a mother is very hectic. We don't complain because we were not forced into this and of course it is the best job ever.

So, this is the first holiday I am spending with my children in a few years so I made it my intention to give them the best half term experience ever without going overboard. Yes, not doing the school runs is awesome but it doesn't mean you are any less busy. Rather than have one full packed adventure/activity day, I decided to break it down to little nice fun days so every day is memorable and I am not breaking the bank either. Bearing in mind that my children are all 7 and under, any activity has to be child friendly and age appropriate. For example, I won't take them skiing in the Alps just yet! The trick is finding the balance and pleasing everyone at the same time. 

As the week draws to a successful close, here is a breakdown of all the activities we got up to.

Saturday 14th February

This day was of course Valentines Day. My husband is currently working abroad so I was all by myself relationship-wise. But don't feel sorry for me just yet! My awesome husband had something special up his sleeve.... 

Rather than sit at home twiddling my thumbs, I woke the children up super early, gave them chocolate flowers and took them to the cinema for an early bird movie. In our local cinema, if you take your children to the cinema early on the weekend, you can watch a children's movie at a really affordable price. Such offers really help when you have a number of children you will like to take to the cinema. Suffice to say we watched Fairytale: Story of the Seven Dwarves. Lovely movie. We had popcorn, coke, the works.

Just when the kids thought the fun was all over, my nephew arrived, with a ton of energy shortly after we got home. Whilst my sister went on a date with her hubby, we danced, jumped around, made a mess and made some noise. When my sister came back, we had pizza and ice cream, watched Rio 2  and then put the kids to bed. Not bad for a day on a budget!

Sunday 15th February

We went to church! Church is always an amazing experience as the children go to Sunday School and they learn something new and insightful. After church service we went for a little boy's birthday party. So that was nice. The food on display was glorious! Jollof rice, fried rice, moin moin, fried chicken, barbecued chicken, coconut chicken curry, salad, white soup, pounded yam, pepper soup etc. After all that joy, dancing and merriment and eating, the kids were exhausted and full! I took them home and they went straight to bed.

Monday 16th February

Of course after a hectic two days, today was a day to relax, tidy up the house, cook, do some homework with the children, learning, laundry and everything else that comes with staying at home. Monday was a "have no business going out today" day.

Tuesday 17th February

Pancake Day!!!!!! Yes!!!!! My children dreamt about this day for a week! So we were all glad it was finally here. Every Pancake day, we make pancakes of course. But this year, it was a lot simpler to buy it! They ate it with chocolate spread and strawberries. Honestly, making my children happy is my hobby. That would have been the highlight of their day but I had something planned for them........ Swimming!!!! The weather is always so cold so we don't go often. Plus as a parent, you have this constant fear of trying to keep them alive and safe at all times. This is the first time I took them swimming all by myself. Boy, did they have fun. The best thing about going swimming was the waves. It makes you feel like you are on the beach. The waves were awesome and so much fun. When I noticed they were getting cold and had had enough, we rounded up and left. After drying up and getting changed, we went to grab some dinner at Nandos.

Wednesday 18th February 

We woke up late, got ready and met my sister and nephew for lunch at McDonalds. Seeing as this is the first time I am taking them to McDonalds since we got back from Nigeria they were super excited! We then took the kids for a spot of sight-seeing in London. We went to Trafalgar Square, sat by the lion statue and the fountain, soaked up the ambience of the square and felt the military history of England and the kids got to chase a few pigeons around. We also watched two street performances, one by a stand up comedian/entertainer and the other by four Asian drummers. That was so cool. As we felt like tourists for the day, we also popped into the National Gallery. Walking out, we saw Minnie and Mickey Mouse, a levitating sliver and gold man, a gold King and his Queen, Yoda and even a witch on a broom made an appearance. Soon after that, we went home. The kids couldn't wait to tell their daddy about their day. 

Thursday 19th February

My plan for this day was to take them to the London Eye and then a short cruise on the River Thames. Well, let's just say our plans were thwarted due to the heavens opening on us. Disappointed? Yes. But not giving up. My Plan B mode activated. I do love having fun but I am also a parent that wants her children to understand the importance of having fun while learning. There are so many ways and outlets you could teach a child especially through interactive learning. I've been caught out a few times with my head buried into my phone but once I put it down, I always get into the zone. So while it rained and poured outside, I decided to use it as a break day. To stay nice and cosy indoors but also use it as an opportunity to learn. So we went through a few activity books, read some other books and did what we usually do on a stay at home day. 

Friday 20th February 2014

Recuperation over. We didn't do anything dramatic today really. All we did was go to the park, play on the swings and kick a ball about. This day felt like one of those days you attach to the common saying "the best things in life are free". We had everything we needed. Kids, green space, good weather, fun, laughter and a good song-a-long. The only thing missing was a boom box. Lol. Also the kids got to go on their scooters and their bikes that they love so much. I felt like Julie Andrews in Sound of Music. 

Saturday 21st February 

Officially the last day of their half term break, we had to end it with a special  unapologetic bang. Still in a budget, we went to Hatfield Galleria. The galleria on its own is nice but we couldn't go all the way there without the kids going into Get Wild! I mean, that was why we went there in the first place. After having tremendous fun, I was almost cajoled into purchasing the whole Frozen toys and merchandise.  But don't worry, I didn't give in. After a lot of pouts, winging, pleading and almost tantrums, we settled on purple glitter nail polish as a treat and a promise to personally apply it on their fingers and toes the moment we get home. My beautiful kids are so easy to please.

Phew, that was the end of an epic half term. It wasnt planned and we really just went with the flow and saw how the week went. The intention was to have fun. We didn't go to Butlins, Disneyland, Blackpool or Alton Towers but we sure got to have fun together. Plus we threw in a trip to the museum! I will still take the kids to the London Eye and that river cruise. But on the weekend. I won't wait for another holiday to take them. 

The kids are back to school and their routine tomorrow. 

If they did learn anything from this week, I hope they learnt that mummy and daddy will do anything to keep them smiling. 

Be Inspired

xoxo