On my own with 5 kids including visiting 'livewire'. PLEASE give me tips on how to get through this.

[Spidermama]

DH is working away throughout half term. I have an 11 year old DD plus three dss (9,7 & 4). The 9 year old has a friend coming and both are pretty full on, testosterone wise, particularly when they get together.

He's staying for two days.

I really need some ideas as to how to keep them all happy.

You need to get out as much as poss, the beach, a country walk, bike rides,

It needs to be on public transport as they won't all fit in the car.

I can get to the beach easily enough. So that's a half day. There's the velodrome for bike rides.

Anything else?

Cinema afternoon? Bowling - might be half term BOGOF available?

Good idea about the bowling Sassy if it's raining certainly. I can get there on the bus.

what about a treasure hunt

Beach is a full day if you take enough. Flasks of hot chos for lunch, or have lunch out, and have a 'build a sand sculpture' competition.
Don't know where you are but do you have a decent museum with a good exhibit? There was the wallace and gromit one at the science museum recently.
Um. Laser quest and bowling?

Don't be scared by the number of kids use it your advantage!

get them to the park and play:

44

do a 'sports day'

touch british bull dog

at home:

get them to do a show with jokes/songs/a play with homemade props

to play an invented game around their favourite books/films

board games

teach them so easy card games

tidying up:

organise a rota, put them in two groups, and one tidies/one cooks one day and visa versa (they have to think up food which is healthish and easy to cook)

good luck, been there it is fun but mental!

Oh ps be strict -

no telly til it's tidy

no eating between meals/set snacks because it gets out of hand.

any fighting of toys ends up in either them sorting out some fair way of sharing or it is confiscated

etc

Ooh, that reminds me, when I was younger we got a 'new' videocamera and spent a week making a film (we did some dross about a ghost who lived in our house, veyr halloweeny), we were 2, 9, 12, 14 and 16. we wrote it, made props/costumes and filmed the lot and then did a 'premiere' with popcorn and stuff. was so muhc fun.
My 2 year old little bro was the ghost, he had much fun chasing us all going woooo

Jackbau if only!!
Sadly they are really keen on the boys against girls thing so I can't imagine them working together on anything.

If it's weather like this it will be fine.

I'll get a couple of dvds in for the indoor part.

DS and this boy both have Type 1 diabetes which means they have a really good bond and their relationship is very important because they don't really know anyone else with the condition.

It also means they both are prone to very challenging behaviour which can be amplified when they get together.

I'm hoping it goes smoothly. It's so touching to see him with a friend who can honestly understand this awful condidtion which so bights their lives.

That's interesting as I was actually going to suggest something else we used to do oncea month. We wuold hunt through books and find recipes for a dinner party, then budget, buy the food and cook it all ourselves (in pairs) with menus written up and posh clothes.
Although I grew up in a farmhouse with a restaurant, so it may have been slightly easier for us
But they could do food appropriate for their diabetes? (I forget the difference between Type 1 and 2, sorry!)

Jack that's a great idea! I will get them to shop for and make their own lunch on one of the days. Brilliant!

T1 is the sort of diabetes which tends to have an early onset. Your body kills off its own islet cells and can no longer make insulin so you need to inject daily and carry out loads of blood tests to try and keep blood sugars within normal range. It's a real pain and involves loads of concentration and calculations and highs and lows. It'sw very frustrating for a 9 year old boy and high blood sugars affect moods.

T2 happens in later life and is often the result of bad habits. The body becomes resistant to insulin and sufferers need to take pills or it can be controlled with diet.

Thanks for that, so they need to inject as well as watching diet? I can see what you mean about it beng nice for them to have someone that understands.
When is he arriving then? Good luck! Although I was one of 5 the thought of being responsible for 5 kids in my house makes me want to lie down in a dark room