School's out! Fun is in.

Each time it's school break, my kids metamorph.

The drill

My flamboyant K (#2) would start her countdown to school break. It usually starts from the moment she gets wind of school break being around the corner. Every morning she will check in with me to make sure she got her count down right and would have her travel bags packed and ready even if we are not travelling.

My eldest (the culprit who lets the cat out of the bag on school break) would start making calls, asking her cousins what they've got planned and start working on a game plan to get herself included.

She would take every necessary step to ensure her holiday is worry free. Usually this involves her homework (they are usually given homework during school break) getting completed even before the school holiday starts. She would skip her mid-morning breaks and use up her free periods in school to do as much as she can. School holidays means time spent away from home (does she need a break from me? I wonder), even if it is staying over at their cousins whom they meet every week.

I was nothing like my eldest when in school. I used to procrastinate and push all my work to the night before school starts. So I feel rather guilty when reprimanding #2. She is so like me. Without fail almost each school break I end up sitting with teary eyed K, trying frantically to finish her homework.

The glorious break

This August school break coincided with Ramadan holidays. Which means both working adults and school kids will have a long weekend together! So much has been planned by them that I fear ask because it's definitely a tall order for me and I don't like disappointing them.

The first week was glorious and glitch free. The kids got more than they bargained for and I felt like a superwoman for being able to do it without my better half by my side calming me down, every now and then.

Day #1

After travelling more than a hundred km with 4 girls and a boy, we safely arrived at my sister's place which by the way is a heaven-on-earth.

They managed to coax her into letting them tag along to her hair saloon appointment. One thing lead to another and a half hour visit turned into 2 hours. This happened to be their first time getting a hair wash in a saloon and they LIKED IT! Papa bear isn't going to be thrilled finding about this because it means one more thing added to their list of  'I Want'.

Day #2

Just next door to the hair saloon was a nails bar. Little K had made an appointment to get her nails done right under my nose. Her "Oh mama, I am only going to check out the nails bar" was a far cry from the real reason visiting it. I only became aware of this appointment the next day, when the nail's bar owner called me to remind me of 'my' appointment, for all FOUR of them!

Day #3

After spending a big sum on their 'I feel so pretty' adventure, it was time for some backyard science and food project. Since K hadn't start on her school break homework, I managed to get the girls involved in helping K out with her science project (operation kill two birds with one stone). It was fun watching them be awed experimenting what liquid soap can do (in a bowl of milk, add few drops of food colouring and then some dish drop in the middle). This kept them busy and they managed to learn a lot about colours and what happens when you mix two different colours.

They had just watched Ratatouille the night before and were quite eager to be little chefs like Remy. They mixed berries with yogurt to see what flavours and colours they would get. They even made overnight oats for all of us which was very tasty that even the youngest enjoyed eating it.

Dish drop (green) causes the milk to bubble and move

 strawberry and cherry mix was appealing and tasty too

overnight oats topped with fresh fruits and some jam

Day #7

My niece had been asking to pierce her ears since the last school break. With nothing planned for the weekend, on Sunday we headed off to the nearest shop to get her ears pierced. All the bravery and determination which she had shown me fluttered away the moment she saw the gun. Little K came to her rescue by going first and proving to her that it wasn't as bad as it looked. Watching how quick and easy it was, my niece sat on the dreaded stool and allowed two young ladies to 'shoot' her.

K piercing her ears

Not letting you feel left out

Since this was their first holiday away from their dad, they would call and share with him all the exciting things they had done. However,  it was hard to do because my youngest wouldn't let anyone else speak to him. The moment I took out my laptop, she would jump on my laps and cry out "Papa!" She would hold onto the laptop with dear life and not let anyone come near. 

Writing this post has been a challenge because to her this devise is only meant for talking to her dad. Thank god she still naps or this would have never happened.

How has your holiday been?

Lets get connected:

Now you can follow me by email (fill email address here) to get new post notifications delivered directly into your mailbox or you could follow my Facebook page Life Simplified to get more recipes and tips in making life a little more laid back or we can connect via twitter.


Thank you for stopping by at A cuppa for my thoughts

Linking up with Greta