Last week my husband hit the big 40 so I’d been secretly planning a special birthday present – a four day trip to New York! When I told Mark about his surprise he very nervously asked whether the kids were coming… NO! My Mum and Dad had agreed to have the three children for us. Mark was over the moon and whispered in my ear that I could have taken him to Bournemouth if it meant we could spend some time alone together!

Mum and Dad decided to move into our house for the duration. It made sense as everything would be to hand, Alicia’s school is close by, the house is very child-friendly and the kids wouldn’t be unduly unsettled. Mum and Dad were very nervous – make that terrified – about the prospect of looking after three small children for such a long period. Their main concern was that they would find it too tiring, but I knew they would cope perfectly, and there’s nobody I’d rather leave my babies with. And the kids love Nana and Granddad so I hoped they would enjoy their time together. Of course I couldn’t leave without writing comprehensive notes, including a complete itinerary for the four days.

I’ve been excited about this trip all year, and couldn’t wait to be a wife for the weekend. So that they’d know what was going on, we started mentioning the trip to the girls a few weeks before, and they seemed fine with it. I was more concerned about Sonny who I thought, at only 14 months, wouldn’t understand why his Mummy was suddenly not there. We decided to leave after the kids were in bed so as not to upset them, as I was starting to get a little nervous just before we left this worked well for all of us.

On the plane I got a little tearful. What had I done? How could I possibly leave them and be so far away? What if something happened and it took ages to get to them? What if they were all very upset and missed us? I also felt guilty for wanting to spend time away from them. I phoned as soon as we landed to say goodnight to them and of course they were fine – in fact having fun and not missing us at all! After that I was able to relax. Mark and I had the best weekend with our itinerary led by what we wanted to do rather than revolving around the kids. We ate in lovely restaurants, walked for miles and woke up naturally without our kid alarm clocks! We phoned home once a day just before their bedtime to wish them goodnight. On the Sunday night Alicia said she had been upset because she missed us so much and wanted us to come home. I felt very guilty for leaving her and phoned Mum and Dad back after she had gone to bed, only to learn that she had been absolutely fine.

Being with the children all day, every day I rarely get a break, so although I felt a bit guilty, I really relished the time away. I felt like Emma rather than Mum, and had a spring in my step for the whole weekend. We brought back some fabulous presents including a children’s A-Z of New York so that we could explain what we had seen. I now feel fully recharged and much calmer. And after having a bit of time away I’m being much more patient with the kids, I feel like the break has made me a better Mum – at least for now! The best news is that Nana and Granddad enjoyed themselves so much that they have offered to do it once a year!!!     

Mark and I enjoying some time away from the kids:

We all loved Disneyland Paris!!!! The kids are still the perfect ages to enjoy it, and really believed that they had met Mini Mouse and all of their Disney friends. The place is so well organised it really was a magical experience. OK, so it is very commercial, VERY expensive, extremely busy and full of fast food places, but it is so worth every minute just to see the kids’ faces. We stayed in the New York hotel which was clean and close to the parks. We all stayed in one room, which we thought would be a nightmare but at the end of the day we were all so tired from Disney that kids and adults crashed straight out. I’ve included some pics of us all having a great time.

After three days and two nights at Disney we drove down to the South of France – so far down that we were almost in Spain.
Holiday myth no. 1: The kids will sleep in the car if we drive at night… not a chance. They were up for a lot of the way (and way back). We also discovered they get car sick if we drive too fast!
Holiday myth no. 2: It is cheaper and easier to drive to the South of France – again – not a chance. With fuel costs, channel tunnel fares and the motorway tolls we could have flown first class!

At 3 o’clock in the morning we arrived at Argelès-sur-mer. It was hot, the car stank of vomit (and still does even though we have been back for a week) but do you think we could find the campsite? NO!! I’d managed to navigate the length of the country but couldn’t find the campsite! We pulled over in a car park and all slept until 8am!

As it turned out we were just round the corner from the Key Camp site – it was so much easier to see in daylight, we must have driven past five or six times in the night! The reps were fantastic and booked us in to our mobile home straight away. We had a fabulous week – the site was clean, the mobile home was large and had everything we needed, there was even a Fun Station club which Alicia couldn’t get enough of. The pool area was large and kid friendly so we hardly left the site all week. We made some great French and German friends. It was strange but great to see the girls communicating with their little French friend Simon even though they couldn’t speak the same language. We did encourage the girls to speak a little French while we were there, and since getting home I have resolved to introduce them to languages. I bought a French/English nursery rhyme CD from www.babyboomboom.com. I’ll let you know how it goes! Au revoir!

Alicia in front of the Cinderella castle

Gracie with her tiger face paint

Dad and his girls

The girls enjoy their day

Sonny staying covered up in the sun

Alicia and her French friend Simon

Snack time by the pool

Our luxurious mobile home

When we started our own business we knew that Mark would have to work long hours, not to mention taking a huge cut in take home pay. Typically he will leave at 6.30am and not be home until at least 10pm, meaning that I don’t get any help with the children in the week, and he is tired from work at the weekends. We have been trading a year now and both desperately needed a break so Mark booked a week off. Being on a budget and having three children meant that a luxury break abroad was out of the question so we decided to spend a few days in St Ives. We were going to camp but the weather was a bit iffy so we got a last minute deal on a holiday cottage. It was nothing special, but was clean and well positioned, and besides, it was just so nice to get away from the house! It took 5 hours to get there (it would have been less if we hadn’t have left the changing bag at the first services we stopped in, meaning we had to go back to get it!) The kids were brilliant although Mark and I were a little bored of singing nursery rhymes by the time we arrived!

I have family in St Ives so we met with them for dinners and days out. The kids had a fantastic time playing on the beach and visiting the local bird park, Paradise Park. I have attached some pictures of the girls having fun.

Routines went out of the window – the younger two slept on the move and everyone stayed up far too late. This made their behaviour a little difficult but hey we were on holiday! Food was also administered on the go – I bought Sonny some jars of food but was a little bit bemused that he seemed to prefer these to my homemade dinners! Have a look at the picture of Mark feeding him in the car park.

We drove back at night so that the kids could sleep all the way home. This made it so much more enjoyable a journey for Mark and I, quicker too as we didn’t have to stop for breaks. The girls were so irritable today though – as the weather was lovely we went for a picnic and took along Alicia’s friend Annabelle – check out the girls looking angelic! All of them were asleep by 6.30 tonight so they must be worn out!

We still have our main holiday to look forward to in June – we are going to a Key Camp site in France… don’t tell the girls but we are stopping at Disney on the way down!!!

Fun times and meals on the move:

Trying to keep the girls entertained now that we are back at home – at least the sun is shining:

It was half term this week so Alicia didn’t have pre-school. This gave us a couple of free days so we took the opportunity to visit my friend (who recently moved out of Swindon) and my sister, both of whom live about an hour and a half away.  My husband is desperate to install DVD players in the headrests of the car to make long journeys easier. I have a real aversion to this as I feel strongly that in an age of TV children’s imaginations aren’t developing as they should, and that TV is increasingly being used to make life easier for parents rather than for the benefit of the kids.  Don’t get me wrong, we have the TV on when I am cooking dinner, or just before bedtime, but it’s not on all the time. I don’t see the need for it in the car when there is so much to look at. We have a nursery rhyme CD to sing along to and we play games. Favourites are ‘first person to spot a…’ where we search for anything from a horse, to a plane or a lorry, and counting games. I also keep a selection of books on the front seat to pass behind when needed, and a selection of snacks handy. Gracie still has a lunchtime nap so I try to plan car trips around that time as the car does tend to make both her and Sonny doze.  That said we are planning a long drive to the South of France in June so maybe the DVD’s will be a good idea for that journey!

When my friend Rachel’s boy Reuben and Alicia get together you never know whether they are going to fight like cat and dog, or be best friends. Thankfully on this visit they were best friends.  Rachel also has an 18 month-old daughter called Evie, who played really nicely with Gracie. At one stage they were all playing brilliantly together so Rachel and I praised them and told them how great it was that they were all getting along so nicely, at which point Reuben piped up ‘yes Mum but I have just done a poo on the bathroom carpet’! I had to leave the room as I seriously got the giggles. I was also secretly relieved that it was Reuben and not Alicia who had done this as I hate cleaning carpets.

My husband works so hard with our new business in the week that he is often not home before 10.30pm. At the weekends he usually helps with the kids to give me a break, meaning he doesn’t really get time-off for himself. This weekend I gave him a break and took the kids to my sister’s for the weekend. Kate and her husband Stephen tried for a couple of years to conceive and are now happily 27 weeks pregnant. I am so excited for them; we spent quite a long time on Saturday night just watching her tummy kick and move! Kate’s husband is in the forces and currently in the Falklands but he will be home in time for the birth. Gracie and Alicia didn’t go to sleep until 9pm and were up at 6am: it was just too exciting sleeping together in the same room in a different place.

On a separate note I got very upset when I saw a trailer for Emmerdale this week. The storyline is about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Even the clip I saw broke my heart and made me cry, so I knew that I couldn’t watch the episode. I immediately went and opened the window in Sonny’s room and turned down the thermostat; overheating is a factor and I know I have been guilty of turning up the heating during cold snaps. I also had a quick look at the Foundation for Sudden Infant Deaths website www.fsid.org.uk to make sure I was doing everything I could.  I gave all of the kids a big hug and was extremely tolerant of their behaviour all day – I’m so lucky to have them here even if they are sometimes naughty and noisy. That evening Alicia and Gracie were splashing so much in the bath that I got soaked, I looked at their faces and they had the biggest smiles and loveliest laughs. I laughed with them rather than getting cross: at the end of the day what does a little bit of water matter when they are alive and happy?