Hi @Misty9. It's a bugger to know what to do with holidays isn't it? Could you rebook now for next year if your refund is through?
Ugh, have your kids got hollow legs at the minute too. I swear that I can't wait for mine to be old enough to say "there's the fridge, there's the microwave, make something". Drives me mental. I think sometimes they eat through boredom too.
Can you sort a load of snacks out in the morning into a box each for them and tell them those are the days snacks, they can eat them whenever, but won't be getting anything else aside from their proper meals? Also, if you bung jacket potatoes in the oven to cook with dinner, you could just reheat them for lunch the next day. And if the shells are washed well, eggs can be hardboiled while pasta is cooking. Then you are always a bit ahead of yourself for thr next day. I just tend to tell mine what she is having for lunch and dinner now. It's too much hassle to involve her because she changes her mind a million times. So I make something I know she likes but she doesn't get a say in what it is.
As for chores.....just do the basics and leave the rest. Bugger it! My dust bunnies are so bad they have mated, got kids and grandkids and the originals are dying of mxymytosis! Sod it! Once we are back to normal, get a cleaning company in to do a deep clean one day and you are sorted.
I would be pissed off about the phone too. Are they too little for pocket money to be docked? If they are bored, can you divide the day into three the night before and plan an activity to go in each bit. Like art, Lego and aerobics or something? And do the PE first to knacker them out? I just find it easier when I have a vague plan what's going to happen. And DD is more settled because she knows what's happening when.
Never apologise for ranting. That's what the thread is for! Rant away. We are ALL under pressure and it's hard to decompress and let it out when we're single. Wonder if you would feel better if you had a punchbag to beat the shit out of? Just go easy on yourself. You are so so hard on yourself. I just want to hug you and have you realise that you are great and doing brilliantly just as you are 
My dalliance with my Mr Grey type is going to be ended by me. We were discussing sex, and I am so glad we did. I knew he was kinky and a bit of slap and tickle is fine - turns out that he likes putting role round women's necks and gently pulling as a woman orgasms to enhance it. I joked about passing out and he said "that's half the fun" 
. More red flags than a Chairman Mao tribute! What kind of bloke is turned on by the idea of his partner losing consciousness? Other than a bloody dangerous one?
I chatted to a couple of male friends who are into BDSM and stuff and they were like "run! Like the wind!" They were saying that what he's into isn't BDSM, it's more on the road to being a serial killer type. As they pointed out, how can a woman consent to anything if she is unconscious? And these mates of mine are very very very open minded and into whips, chains and the whole shebang. They were horrified by what the bloke had said to me. Said he was an abuser hiding behind BDSM as a way to assault women. I tend to agree.
So I am ditching him. Problem is, I have no idea what to say and i think he could turn verbally nasty. Any ideas? Other than "you are a psychopathic lunatic"?