Trapped toddler parents: Inspiration and support needed through the summer hols!!

[PinkDaydreams]

Following on from the previous trapped toddler thread!
Sorry for rubbish title!

@Lostthetastefordahlias, yes, definitely know what you mean about the holiday packing. Also similar for days out. Any DH put together packed lunches? Nope.

We went to the indoor trampoline park. There was no underwater theme! To be fair they probably thought they couldn't be bothered. It was such a good place, a special under 5's hour so everything felt safe without bigger kids there. DS1 loved it. Ds2 wouldn't go on the trampolines himself as he refused to take his shoes off and you have to wear socks with grippers on which he hated also. I took him on and held him for a little bounce. Took me back to when I used to do trampolining competitions when I was 11. The funniest thing about the place is all the sweaty dads bouncing around after the kids. DH is exhausted, but he is almost 45 ha. Can really recommend it though if you have one near you.

Have had to order DS2 a pretend key fob with keys because he is literally crying for the key, but will a pretend one do? Probably not.

Hope everyone is ok.

In defence of DHs everywhere DH will make pack lunches (slightly wrong) and also tries to be helpful in the mornings - by emptying the dishwasher instead of dressing a kid Then when told to pick a kid to finish getting ready he put winter trousers on DS2 when I'd literally just put him in summer ones "I thought they were pjamas" (this morning )

I'm a bit scared of trampolines takes me back to being an awkward teen doing GCSE PE. Definitely an activity for the DHs

Let us know how the pretend key fob goes @chocolatetrifle Will DS2 be tricked or not?
I'm ok, thanks for asking - I am just a bit too hard on myself I think, and I compare my (perfectly nice) life to all my (better off) friends with kids and think I should try harder. Perfectionism/over thinking I guess?

Work day for me, DParents had both DC all day and took DS2 to get passport photos...I repaid them in donuts. They've got them next week too (couldn't afford 6 weeks of holiday club, plus DS1 would have been exhausted) so I'm going to have to think of something a bit better than donuts (maybe baklava from the bakery near work).

@Camomila I can definitely relate. That’s why I was asking about house tidying tips. My house is always a mess. I’m a SAHM with one toddler but still can’t seem to manage.
But then she is the happiest little girl, and learning so much (from me!). I keep trying to tell myself that. Keep enjoying your family days. They are so important.

@Chocolatetrifle I took DD to a trampoline park a couple of months ago. She LOVED it! We had been up all the night before so I felt awful. It’s hard work! But worth it because she had so much fun.
Groups are slowly opening up here again (on a smaller scale). This week, we have been to gymnastics and a church group. It’s been so nice. Hope you get something sorted.
Good luck with the key! DD likes to unlock our doors herself!

I’m happy things are opening back up again, but trying not to be nervous about it all. I do still worry. 🙈

Good morning!

I have caught up on all posts but can't remember who said what so not risking too much tagging - made the fatal mistake of putting a film on last night so went to bed really late and of course DS woke up at his usual time of 5.45am. Send caffeine.

@Chocolatetrifle DS sleeping much better, thanks for asking! Only wakes up a few times in the night and goes back to sleep almost immediately which is nice.

DH is fairly good at helping out with stuff, including packing, but only when explicitly asked and included in the drawing up of the packing list! Rubbish at packed lunches though, he does however make his own so that's nice. Very good at cooking though (now we have a dishwasher I don't mind that he uses most of the kitchen utensils...too much)

Feeling a bit bleh today, achy and a tickly throat. Have also done something to my shoulder so it twinges in pain if I move it a certain way. We're attending a wedding over Zoom today which should be interesting, was planning on getting properly dressed up but I'm shattered - so perhaps I'll just shove some makeup on and a nice dress and hope for the best

Hope you all have a good day!

Oh also forgot to say I hope you feel better @Lostthetastefordahlias!

Argh I meant @footprintsintheslow - toddling off to make more tea now...

@Chocolatetrifle

Anyone else feel like all DH does is get himself ready yet we have to get ourselves ready and the DC ready for going out then DH appears and says 'why is no one ready yet?' Plus put the wash on plus think ahead as to what is going to be for lunch and tea etc etc. Sorry, moan over! Hope everyone is ok.

Completely agree with this!! And if I ask DH to help (for example get ds dressed) I receive a "it's my day off you know, why can't you get him dressed?". Well whens my day off???!!!!!

It's rained all day here! We've had a quiet day. Have spent a good bit of time trying to distract DS2 from the garage key. The pretend key fob is here and providing some entertainment. But like any pretend play thing it doesn't have as much appeal as the real deal!

We also went swimming.

@squishymamma, hope you feel better soon.
@PinkDaydreams, ah, I know what you mean. Some days you just want a day off from it all and hide away with a big cup of tea and a big block of chocolate. But that day doesn't seem to come!!

Hope everyone is ok.

@Chocolatetrifle

Anyone else feel like all DH does is get himself ready yet we have to get ourselves ready and the DC ready for going out then DH appears and says 'why is no one ready yet?' Plus put the wash on plus think ahead as to what is going to be for lunch and tea etc etc. Sorry, moan over! Hope everyone is ok.

This image will sit well with you.

@squishymamma how did you get through you day?

Exciting day here and went to a newly opened Aldi. Very exciting!

Shingles is dreadful (I'm not contagious). But so so painful. Sleep is not existent here which is why I think it's one on.

I did cheer myself up with a little browse in the online Toby Tiger sale today though and spent just enough for free postage. 😇

@footprintsintheslow, I love that, so apt for me this week. It made me laugh thank you.
I've never heard of Toby Tiger, so just had a Google and I seem to have been completely missing out! Hope you got some nice things, they look lovely.

I hope the shingles settles down soon for you.

My DH had been off work since Wednesday, he said on Wednesday, 'I know you say it's hard but looking after the kids is not as hard as working full time'.(He seems to forget I did used to work full time in a rather demanding job). Anyway, fast forward to today he said, 'it's too much looking after two kids all day every day' . Made me laugh because it's like this every time he's off work. Day one all geared up then runs out of steam as the days progress .

Hope everyone has a good sleep. Any nice plans for tomorrow?

@Chocolatetrifle glad to hear the key fob is kind of working...you could also maybe try finding some real keys that don't open anything important and give those to him?

@footprintsintheslow I'd never heard of Toby Tiger either, looks like they have a lot of really nice stuff. Hope you're feeling a little better today.

We had a lovely cooked breakfast and are now watching a Disney film while DS has a nap. Having friends over for a roast today.

With all the working from home DH is under no illusions about how hard looking after kids is, thankfully! He does tend to do just the necessities though, which is a bit of a pain sometimes

Miserable weather to start so we watched a film snuggled up on the sofa. Then the sun came out so we've played in the garden, got the water pump dispenser thing out that a few of us have got on this thread....provided lots of fun! DS enjoyed soaping up his toys then rinsing them off under the water dispenser, to be honest I forgot we had it!!

It was such a wet and dreary start to the day, thank goodness the sun came out this afternoon. We had to go to Sainsburys this morning as it the only place open on a Sunday morning before 10 just to get out of the house. Note to self, I really need to get back to going to church and start taking DS1 again and introduce DS2 to it. We've only been once since lockdown and that was for DS2's christening last September. That's one of my homeworks to get us there soon.

Hope everyone has had a nice day.
@PinkDaydreams glad you had garden fun when the sun came out
@squishymamma, hope your roast dinner went well. No mention of the garage key here, and think the pretend key fobs and keys have been thrown behind the couch. Just thought I'd not seen them all day. Hopefully that's the key obsession tackled.

Night all.

Hiya sorry I haven’t been on we’ve all come down with a nasty bug (thankfully not covid). It’s meant I wasn’t able to go out with DM yesterday which is annoying. The weekend has been full of poorly cuddles and an insane amount of screen time😆.
@Lostthetastefordahlias haha your DD sounds like my little sister, she has to wear welly boots to the beach because she hates sand on her feet🤣. Glad you had a nice day🥰
@Camomila I’m glad your DS enjoyed soft play! I think we will try and go some time next week if we’re feeling well enough🤞🏻
@Chocolatetrifle I think 3 had been the hardest for me so far too, he can be so naughty!. I think DS2 might be the same as yours at soft play, I’ll have to try though I hope he eventually gets used to being around people! I’m glad you had a good time at the trampoline park, I’ll add that to list of things to do on a rainy day.
@footprintsintheslow oh no! I’m sorry to hear about the shingles, I hope you feel better soon❤️❤️
@squishymamma a zoom wedding sounds really interesting!
@PinkDaydreams I’m glad you managed to enjoy the sunny weather!!

I’m very lucky with DH, he does more than his fair share with the DC and never complains. But I do have to do all the cleaning because he’s awful at it😂
I was going to try and get back to sleep but I’m awake now as the happy birthday messages and coming through, I had a lovely one from one of my friends❤️. Both DS’s are cuddled up with me so it’s started out a very lovely birthday!

Happy birthday @flowerbus have you any plans for today?

Happy birthday @flowerbus. That's a really lovely photo

Happy birthday @flowerbus! Sad to hear you're all ill but sometimes the poorly cuddles are the best. Hope you feel well enough to celebrate a little today.

I'm sat in the doctor's doing this glucose test for gestational diabetes, despite the fact this is my second baby and you only need it if its either your first baby or you're over 35, which I'm not my doctor insisted though, so now I'm counting down the minutes until its over and I can finally eat!!

Our roast last night was lovely and DS had a good time playing with our friend's 4 year old. He was shattered this morning and did not want to go into nursery, poor thing. Sure he's occupied with toys now and having a blast.

Hope you all have a good day!

@flowerbus happy birthday . Hope you have a lovely day. Hope you all feel better soon. Lovely photo!

@squishymamma, oh hope the GTT goes ok for you. I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 36 weeks with my DS2 and had to take insulin.

@squishymamma those tests are tough aren't they. Are you trapped at the hospital whilst you wait?

Shingles update: rash not as painful. Energy zero.

Tree house summer project: finished!!! She has some second hand sylvanian family rabbits to play in it

@footprintsintheslow, wow, your tree house looks fantastic! Your DD will love it for her Sylvanian families. Hope you feel stronger soon. Is your rash going?

Comment of the day from DS1,' look at your jelly belly mummy!'

You're treehouse looks great @footprintsinthesnow.

They say the 'nicest' things don't they @chocolatetrifle. DS once asked me what was wrong with my tummy as it was getting bigger!

Today I took DS to the cinema for the first time to watch the Paw Patrol Movie. I was so focused on thinking he was going to be jumping round/ scared of the noise I didn't really check the story. It was good but had really sad bits so DS really really sobbed the whole way through and has been crying on and off all day saying he's sad.

@Motherofmonsters, ahh, I don't know the story of the film at all. Hopefully your DS will soon forget about the sad bits. It's hard when they are sensitive and things prey on their minds. My DS1 is very much like that.

dS2 was having one of his nights. He just went to bed at 9, wouldn't settle, I was like don't you know it's past my bedtime never mind yours!

Hope everyone has a decent night.

Good morning!

No diabetes here, but good to know your experience @Chocolatetrifle. Will keep an eye out in case it develops.

Amazing treehouse @footprintsintheslow, very inspiring. Your DD has done a fab job. Glad to hear you're slowly getting better, fingers crossed you get more energy back soon.

@Motherofmonsters I've heard good things about the Paw Patrol movie, so interesting to hear its also really sad - that was never mentioned. DS is a bit too small for the cinema yet (and hyperactive 24/7!) but I'm looking forward to taking him eventually. Hope your DS forgets the sad bits and remembers the fun experience.

I became shouty mummy last night, we had a blowout in the nappy...because I'd clocked he'd pooed a little while before and decided to wait with changing him as he was literally having a bath 10 minutes later (hope I'm not the only one that does that...) I was really annoyed with myself. And then of course DS manages to get it on his foot and on my top. Before reaching down to grab his bits and a load of poo. I did not react well! Felt really bad and apologised afterward, because it was mainly driven by my anger at myself. But is it only my DS who only seems interested in grabbing around down there when there's poo everywhere??

Anyway a long day of work ahead for me. Hope everyone has a lovely day!