If you had to stay out of the house 9-3 everyday with 2.5yo & 6mo WWYD?

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

We are moving about 15/20 odd miles away for a while so every day I need to drive DH to work, DS to school (we have 2 cars but dhs work & school are quite close & timings are good) but I think it'll be timely & costly (&boring!) to drive back 'home' again to come back out again. So I have 6 hours to fill but no idea what to do (DS2 is very niosy so not library!) Any ideas...? :)

Yes I know, that was our situation too that the child's school was 40 mins away, we were waiting to move to the area too.
As I said I lasted a week because although you can fill your days easily when the weathers good especially it was hard blooming work being out with a couple of toddlers for 5.5 hours a day.

find a childminder DH can drop son off at first thing. She can then walk him on to school at 9. DH can do the pick up if son joins after school club.

our dds school has a breakfast club, check it out, most schools do

I agree this idea is madness! Getting DH to drop DS1 at a childminder for school drop-off is a much better solution.

After school club is £9 & morning childminer £5-10 (?) - cheaper for me to drive back

One car is really good on diesel, the other does about 15/20 mpg so using one car for the whole thing I thought would be best

I'm thinking I'll just drive back, except the days DS2 is in pre-school (max 2 I guess for now) so have 3 hours with 2, 3 hours just baby. Not so bad in summer hopefully...

its only 20 miles ffs - go home

I know custy but I'll be back and forth like a yoyo & the whole morning run is going to be 3 hours to allow for twats traffic and it's not home, it's MILs... [sob] What a choice, soft play vs. mils

oh MILS? completely agree - stay out all day.

what about a travel lodge £9 a night deal? cheaper n petrol

ha, it's for the forseeable future, hopefully only a few months but... you know...

When you put it like that, soft play it is

Can I ask why the move and why it is likely to be just for a few months? Am now curious.

OP- don't do it 5 days a week. One day, maybe. 2 if you can sort out some regular things to go to with the smaller kids.

I've been doing pretty much what the OP is suggesting one day a week since September - BUT without the children.
Drop DH and car sharer at work 8.30 , fill car with fuel,drive to preschool to drop off DS at 9.15. mooch a bout and try and not spend tooo much money till 3.20 preschool pick up, then kill time with DS till 5pm pick up of DH and car sharer.

Its bloody hard not to spend much money,and thats with out any small children in tow for middle of day. I do the weekly supermarket shop, have a cuppa and cake at supermarket cafe, go for a walk, read in the car, knit in the car, go to library, do any "town " chores, some weeks I arrange to meet up with a friend for a cuppa.

DS starts school on Tuesday , near home, I won't miss my " days in town".

Investigate what is available in the local area... you may find there are toddler groups, SureStart Stay&Play sessions, that sort of thing to while away an hour or 2.

A cafe can be attractive to a young child, especially if they get a BabyCino and a Gingerbread Person. Costs start to spiral though.

Maybe post on the relevant Mumsnet Local to see what local people know of in the area for young children to do.

If there are major shops in the area... then pre-school children often quite like Lifts and Escalators. While it may seem a bit mad to go up and down all the escalators and lifts in John Lewis (Reading branch in my case) but it keeps a pre-school child very happy and whiles away a bit of time.

Is there a childminder close to your DS's school who could talk him for an hour before and after? Then your DH could drop off and collect, and you could stay at home with the other two.

Sorry but I am roaring with laughter at spending my days riding up and down the lifts in Reading John Lewis!

Weeeeell... DH is joining (fingers crossed ) the forces so we are selling up or renting out as the training wage/starting wage is about half what he is on now so am hoping we will have married quarters in 6-12m (or be stuck at MILs ) I don't want to move DSs school too much so keeping him where he is for now.

I can see this all going terribly terribly wrong...

Toddling round and round and round the oracle.... Boy you will be bored of playing pooh sticks in the kennet.

Does Reading museum still have a biscuit gallery? Its an ok place for a visit every now and then, but not daily for months.

Yes it UniS, plus a few stuffed animals. 2y11mth old liked the lift best though I think!

ASLD - your children not into riding lifts then, or escalators? Must be just us country folk when we go to the big city

£9 for the after school club, I am guessing £5-10 for a morning childminder. What a pickle

Nick, my DSs are too feral to take anywhere as civilised as John Lewis , I may have to resort to riding driving the roundabouts of Bracknell all day

I just worked out the days DH and I go training I have to drive 123 miles

Oh I now get it, Lemonade, I thought it was all mysterious. Hope that you get some new accomo asap. Am now a bit concerned that your are up in the middle of the night, worrying about this...!

Find a CM who can can do two or three mornings - DH drops child at CM at 7.30 and she then takes him to school. My CM charges £3.25 per hour so it would cost less than the petrol to to and fro every day and definitely less than you'd spend on snacks and entertainment whilst out and about. You might start with good intentions to to packed lunches etc but with a six month old you are going to need to change nappies and will end up lured into Starbucks just for the warmth. There's £3+ gone in a pop.

On other days either spend the day out in town (would be enjoyable once or twice a week - library/sure start centre/doing food shop etc) or do the round trip home.

I do quite a big round trip through country roads to take DH and DS to work and CM before going to work, and then in reverse, but it is cheaper than running two cars.

I'm not sure a CM in this area would be that cheap I'm afraid. I'm in Shinfield (school runs in Arborfield) and I charge £4.30ph, before 8am is £5ph. The school I go to has a breakfast club which would probably be cheaper. The after school club is also cheaper than me (but has a terrible rep).

There are local children's centres with free activities but I'm not sure I could do that every day. And I'd have thought would be worth going home (although are you living with MIL? or does she live in the area you need to be hanging out in?)

Well, I have a husband who works two night shifts a week (is a SAHD while I work three days a week) and our flat is small so I clear out the flat with our 2 year old for about 5-6 hours a day on those days. We've done this since being back in London when she was 7 months.

Mind you, we're in London so there's plenty to do.

I tend to go to a playgroup and park in the morning, then sling her for a nap at midday either before or after a picnic lunch, then onto the train and tube to somewhere such as the Zoo, aquarium and walk down the South Bank, Science Museum, V&A (often have craft activities there) Natural History museum, Toy Museum, libraries etc etc.

My husband also takes her out every day from midmorning to midafternoon. And we both do this at the weekend. Say, some activity for her, nap in sling, lunch out for all of us and something nice in the afternoon.

Back at home it's crafts, playing and a bit of her addiction, Tom and Jerry.

I have only spent a day in doors when we all had swine flu.

Bracknell - Does this mean you are (or will be travelling) in my area ASLDrinker?

Is training going to be taking place in Bracknell area? Pirbright / Aldershot more likely I would have thought.

A drop-in creche I know of will be charging £4.50 an hour per child, so childcare costs in this area are reasonably high.

Perhaps telling us exactly where you will be going would help - as locals can then suggest things.