I just want sympathy really. All over social media there has been stuff about how you only get 18 summers with your children, make memories etc. I have a 15 and 17 year olds (plus 3 younger ones) so I'm conscious that this could be the last or second to last summer holidays we are all together.
We are on a tight budget so in June I spent hours trawling through Google, looking for free/cheap stuff to do and trying to book stuff before it all got booked up. Dh has been working really long hours as he always has a deadline in the middle of the summer holidays. So I feel like I've barely seen him. Finally his deadline is today and I was looking forward to spending more time together as a family.
But the dc have been taking it in turns to vomit in the night since last Wednesday. We have had to cancel an activity that I'd really been looking forward to since last year and now won't be able to do until next summer. I am averaging 3 hours sleep a night. TMI but the older 2 manage to get it in the toilet but the younger 3 don't so I've been washing bedding, teddies and pyjamas in the night and scrubbing the carpets and last night the bedroom wall as well which had only recently been painted. My youngest threw up into a basket of clean washing that was waiting to be put away so that had to be washed again too. It still smells a bit of vomit in the youngest's bedroom and I'm worried I missed a bit when I was cleaning.
To top it all it keeps raining so I'm struggling to get washing dry. My MIL criticises the size of my laundry pile every time she comes round. It looks a lot but it's only ever 1 days worth of laundry in there at the most. It's just that one days worth of laundry in my house looks the same as a small family's laundry would look like if they left it for a fortnight.
They are back to school in 2 weeks. Second youngest's holiday diary (homework from school) contains mostly entrys about trips to various supermarkets. He also gets travel sick so I have had to clean vomit from the car twice as well. Oh and I haven't had the dreaded sickness bug yet and neither has one of the dc so I've got that to look forward to as well.
I thought it would be easier when the dc got older and the school holidays would be more fun. But the older ones find most outings boring and I have struggled to find stuff they would enjoy for less than £100+ for a day out. Even soft play costs £50+ these days and that's just for me and the younger 3. I don't know what I'm doing wrong as everyone on social media (I know that will be the edited version of people's lives) seems to be having a great time.
Thank you for reading my moany post. I had better go and do yet another load of laundry.