7:15am – No 6am alarm this morning, but we still manage to wake before the children. Carl and I lie in silence, relishing the peace and quiet. I pop to the bathroom and return to find Izzy in our bed. Soon Jesse is calling out to us from the landing and we invite him to join us for a cuddle. He’s excited at the prospect of a week off school.
9.00am – While Carl and I remain tired and dazed, the children are engrossed in Netflix. We drink tea and slowly prepare breakfast. Jesse demolishes a bowl of porridge while Izzy eats Cheerios and crumpets smothered in peanut butter. I have two slices of honey on toast and another mug of strong tea.
11:00am – Almost four hours after getting up, the children and I are finally dressed and ready to leave the house. We shout goodbye to Carl who is working upstairs in the attic and head to the supermarket for baking supplies. 
11:15am – We walk through the park. It’s cold, wet and deserted, but the children don’t mind. A few early signs of spring catch our eye and Izzy talks excitedly about Easter and all that it entails. I silently will the daffodils to bloom and long to see the trees break into blossom.
11:45am – We return home. As they peel off their damp coats and muddy shoes, the children beg me to start baking right away, but I insist they eat lunch first.
2:30pm – After a meal of leftovers and some time spent playing with Lego, Izzy and Jesse are ready to join me in the kitchen and make a butterscotch layer cake. We slowly boil sugar and water to make caramel and mix up the cake batter in the Kitchenaid. Izzy greases the tins and Jesse nags me to let him lick the spoon. I relent and they both sit cross legged on the floor until I decide they’ve probably had enough.
3:30pm – I assemble the cake and the children delight in drizzling the last of the caramel over the top. Carl joins us for a slice and a cup of coffee before returning to his work. I read Ideal Home magazine while the children watch a film.
4:30pm – I peel potatoes for supper before changing into my painting clothes and making a start on the undercoat for our alcove shelving.
5:00pm – While dinner cooks, Carl joins me in the garage to paint and we’re soon half way through the first coat. We head back inside to check on the children and lay the table for supper.
6:00pm – We sit down for a meal of vegetarian pies, roast potatoes, peas, carrots and gravy followed by a thin slither of cake. After we’ve finished eating, Carl takes the children upstairs for their bath and I pull out my laptop to start work, pausing only to kiss Jesse goodnight.
7:00pm – I speed through my emails, flagging a handful to action early tomorrow morning. I’m feeling sleepy and consider making a cup of tea to help me concentrate.
8:10pm – I shut down my email and fire up wordpress to write this post. Once I hit publish, I’ll venture upstairs and slip on my pyjamas. Eventually I’ll climb into bed and watch The Good Wife on Carl’s laptop until I can’t keep my eyes open.
Love Audrey xxx
Agh the bliss of half term! Um not quite! I awake to hear an alarm but coming from downstairs Cirán (hubby and also a teacher ) had left his old phone and now the alarm clock downstairs and still on as if it was a school day!! This reminded me that I hadn’t turned off my alarm. C then woke up at about 7 and went off to the gym. Blissfully I managed to sleep and about 8:40am woke up and found Meg my youngest still asleep and Molly vegging in her bed! 1st day of half term mooching about the house and then going out for a meal (yes on a Monday night) because we can!! Whoop love the holidays and meals together! Happy half term
Happy halft term to you too! Mooching and a meal out sounds fabulous.
xxx
We too did some baking on the first day of half term ( after a morning play date and childrens friends round for tea). Stanley woke this morning at 5! He was marched back into bed and back to sleep he was very proud of himself ( as were we) when he realised he’d actually waited for Mr Sunshine (gro clock).
This morning we went on the bus into town, they loved this….as all cool kids do they headed straight for the back seats. We went it the cinema and then home for lunch. I tidied while they played. Winnie has a friend over and this has just reminded me of the banana and chocolate loaf ….time for a coffee!
We need to get cupboard and shelves in our alcoves; was hoping to get a handyman or carpenter in to build them. Any tips?
Your day sounds quite lovely, especially the banana and chocolate loaf. Yum!
I will be blogging about our aloves in full as soon as the work is finished, but we’re using a friendly carpenter who was suggested by a work colleague. Really impressed with his work so far.
xxx
Sounds like a fabulous beginning to half-term! I am struggling to remember yesterday–I’ll blame that on banging my head rather than old age–but I do remember everyone eagerly anticipating dinner. (Lucas coming into the kitchen every ten minutes to ask if dinner is ready yet, does not help food cook any faster!) I did slow-roasted pork (16 hours!) with barbecue sauce and crispy sweet potato fries.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather stays semi-decent for the rest of the week…
Slow roasted pork sounds AAAAMAZING!
xxx
Baking and the first signs of spring blooming, what better way could you possibly spend the first day of half term….The Good Wife, that’s how!
🙂
Practically perfect in every way 🙂