Easter holidays

I’ve been incredibly slack with my blog these last few weeks but gave myself that allowance because of the (seemingly endless) Easter holidays. I was not looking forward to it a huge amount but we’ve all survived hurrayyyy Well…I shouldn’t jinx it; there’s one day left for Jude and two for Elsa so I guess there’s still time. Emmeline is back at nursery on Tuesday and she’s very much looking forward to seeing her friends and showing them her new shoes. Ha!

Overall, it has been pretty cool. I’ve worked the large majority of the holidays but took days off here and there to be with the gang and I think that meant we had a really nice time together.

So what have we been up to?

Elsa and I snuck off for a few days together in Edinburgh. My goodness, it was fantastic. Blessed with decent weather, we were able to wander around the beautiful city and just enjoy some Elsa/Mumma time. We ate a LOT. Found a wonderful vegan bakery so of course we had to buy some doughnuts each 🙂

I think Elsa needed some one to one time and hopefully it was beneficial all round. We had our nails done, went out for dinner both nights, visited the castle as well as the Museum of Childhood. Elsa relished in the fact that I am officially SO old that my childhood is already museum-worthy. Cheeky cow. Everyone remembers Game Gears, right?!

A scooter from the dark ages – can you even imagine strapping your child’s leg to this and letting them whizz away?!

Back late at night on the middle Saturday, Elsa then learnt some fantastic new phrases as we shared a midnight train home with a load of drunk socialisers and groups of football fans. One guy was taking photos of his incredibly wasted, sleeping friend which Elsa found hilarious. We’ll get a cab from St. Pancras next time…

But what of Jude

Jude has had a really good holiday. Moments of anxiety and a couple of melt downs however, the majority of the time has been spent happy and laughing. Jude met a new Support Worker who he seems to really like and who we will use in the future for ad hoc dates. It was amazing how well he coped with a new face in the house because sometimes he can react negatively and this can have a bit of a snowball effect throughout the rest of the holidays. Even more exciting – Jude and his Support Worker had a rather magnificent breakthrough which I was so so proud of – Jude went on the bus! It’s something he’s has wanted to do for ages so I can imagine how happy he was to finally do so. They wanted to get pizza so Jude had to choose between getting the bus or walking into town. We all know how lazy this boy can be at times so naturally he chose the former option.

Super proud Jude on the bus!

We spent Easter Sunday at my parents house for a bbq and the now infamous Easter egg hunt(s).

Mum decorates the trees and hedges with little eggs and the children absolutely love it.

In fact, from now on for the next six months I predict we’ll be having egg hunts every time we visit my parents. Why wait for Easter? Jude coped well. He got a little anxious at one point in the afternoon so he and I went for a drive and a quick ride on the nearby lifts and he was all good again.

Jude also came out for a trip to the park a few times with the whole crew. He played on the swings and sat on the nearby bench when the hectic nature of such an environment got too much for him. He really enjoyed it and was able to tell me when he’d had enough. It was amazing.

Jude even agreed to go shoe shopping with the whole family today. Once in the shop he curled up in a ball on the seat and wouldn’t try anything on so my back up tactic was to ask Elsa to try them on. My theory being that if they are slightly too big for her, they’ll fit Jude. So far my technique has worked…

Overall analysis…

In all, a very happy, if not incredibly hectic easter holidays. Needless to say, none of this would have been possible without my mum. Her help was invaluable and she picked up the childcare when she knew we had gaps in the week. She also admitted to popping by just to make sure everyone was ok on her days away from the children.

A final super happy image of Jude and Emmeline because she’s going to miss his company when he’s back at school later this week <3