Milking Those Summer Days | Life Love and Hiccups: Milking Those Summer Days
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Tuesday 22 January 2013

Milking Those Summer Days

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I go back to work next week - please hand me the tissues and the vodka and lime, I'm gonna have a moment now!

Its not that I dislike work, its just that I love being on holidays more. 

I dipped into my long service leave this summer so I could take the whole school holidays off with my kids. I needed a break and they needed some devoted time to drive me a completely loopy for a while. It was a win win for all but its now coming to an end.


We haven't done a great deal these holidays. I was going to try and write a book and that most definately didnt happen. But we did tackle a lot of projects we were busting to try and all in all we pretty much had a ball. 

We have enjoyed some of the more simple pleasures of things like dinner down the beach, playing in the park, and riding our bikes to the shops for dinner supplies. We sat in coffee shops and wasted so much time people watching, we completely waterlogged ourselves in the pool and we learnt to knit. 

No bull at nearly 40 years of age I finally sat down to You Tube and taught myself how to knit. AND I taught the kids too!

Excuse me while I be a total tool and gloat over that one for a little bit.




If I could start the holidays over, I wouldn't change a thing. But I did get to thinking about how we can make that summer holiday feeling last, you know keep that relaxed holiday vibe buzzing for a while after we have gone back to work and school and settled into our normal busy routines.

I'm probably kidding myself here, but I am determined to milk every last drop of this summer so the essence stays with me for a at least a little while longer.



And in true list loving style I have managed to come up with a list of ways I can make our family feel like we are still on summer holidays once work and school have taken their hold and started sucking the life out of us. Dramatic right? I told you I was gonna have a moment!

And because I am such an over sharer I have decided to share my list with you.

* Febreeze
* Pine O'Cleen
* Bleach
* Bulk Garbage Bags
* Restock Pantry
* Book Carpet Cleaners
* Put Vacuum cleaner in for repairs

Oops sorry that is my post holidays clean up shopping list. Let's try again.


1. Scatter swimming costumes from one end of the house to the other and change my clothes at least 5 times a day so I get that summer feeling every time I visit my laundry (suffocating under the avalanche of clothes that greets me).

2. Throw a single Paddle Pop to the children to evoke the sounds of summer (them attempting to kill each other in an attempt to be the one who gets to scoff the last Paddle Pop).

3. Dump a bucket of sand in the car, making sure to grind it in really well so it is completely impossible to vacuum out.

4. Blow up the vacuum cleaner so you have to resort to trying to vacuum the sand out of the car and the mess out of the house with a handheld that is almost constantly out of charge.

5. Keep the children up really late at night so they are grumpy and totally uncooperative the next day.

6. Invite the neighbourhood kids around to have a free for all on your pantry.

7. Borrow some movies from Blockbuster and forget to take them back so I can get a daily text reminder from them right through until winter. I'll consider it to be like a daily postcard from a vacation destination.

8. Tidy the house up until my back is aching and every surfaces gleams, then scatter as much rubbish as I can around the joint in a 10 minute period, clean and repeat multiple times a day.

9. Make an appointment with my local GP. Ok so no I don't have an ear infection, infected graze or Spotty Tick Fever but hey we have become friends right? *Insert hysteric sob* I THOUGHT you would be happy to see me!!!!

10. Set my iPod to play Gangnam Style, I Love It and Back In Time on loop for 10 hours a day until I know how to sing all those songs word for word, and backwards and then watch myself totally rock the dance moves in the back deck windows.



Alright! Yes! I am being a smart arse ... again.

But I do really want to keep that summer holiday feeling just a little bit longer. 

So I am thinking we will keep the weekly beach dinners going through until it gets too cold in the evening.

We wont overbook weekends so we that we have plenty of time to just chill out by the pool and enjoy making meals together.

We will try not to let the routine of school and sports become so important that the kids don't have enough time to be .... well to be kids. 

And we will continue to ride our bikes to the shops after work to get fresh supplies for dinner or an icecream treat.

I wont get so hung up on keeping the house perfect or missing a moment with the boys because I am busy tidying up.

I will finish work on time as often as possible and I will make sure that blogging doesn't eat up too much of 'their' time with me.

I will keep on knitting that God Damn Throw rug and it will be the most awesomest, slightly wonky throw rug that darn well ever existed!



They are simple pleasures, but given that was the change we wanted to introduce for our family in 2013 - to live more simply, then I am thinking I am on to something here. Humour me OK?

Ask me again in a few weeks time and we will see if I'm so confident.

Here's hoping! :)



How do you keep your holiday feeling alive after you have settled back into your normal routine?