After 7 weeks of routine free fun in the sun, I felt especially obliged to be really rant-y tonight when putting the three kiddies to bed.
"It's a school night!' I blazed. "NO, you can't listen to that story until midnight".
You see, I needed to prove to myself that I've still got it.
After weeks of 'Sure, eat another bowl of cereal, you've only had three meals of weetbix today!', or "Sure, you don't need to wear undies", or "Yes, sleep in your clothes", or "Yes, lets go back to the beach" or "Yes, stay up and play spotlight in the dark", or "Yes, lets play cards all morning and make ray guns all afternoon", I just needed to check I can make the rules, that I'm the adult again, (rather than the leader of the gang who happens to have a visa card and a driver's liscence.)
We have had fun with these cool little people that we are so priviledged to drive around, spend money on, beat at cards, and during term time, parent.
They have all handled the long break in their own way.
Big Brother has been reading up on war. Following a christmas present of "War stories for young boys" - he has read it cover to cover a few times, and filled me in on tank warfare, aircraft firing, how to escape from prisoner of war camps, and how to get across a field littered with land mines (they started to demonstrate this by mining the front lawn of the bach, but someone was going to break an ankle, let alone be blown to bits by the hand crafted lego mines).
He also spent hours drawing. We compiled a 2cm thick book of compiled artistic creations by the end of the holidays and stapled them together for future wet weather reading on holiday.
Little Brother still inhabits the superhero Ninja world, where a beach full of pumice and sticks provides a weapons cache that would put General Gentry (aka older brother ) to shame.
"Can I get some weights, Mum?"he asked
"ah, why? " I asked
"Because I want to get muscles. When I grow up I want to be a Fat Ninja"
One day he spent hours drawing a picture and dictated to me a 7 page book describing his superhero powers (blue lightning, ice), his team of superhero warriors, and of course the enemies.
Another day I was helping him into his togs and commented on the 2 pairs of undies he was wearing (more than sum total of whole holiday that far). "Well, ' he says, " every time I lose a pair of undies I lose a life. Look, over there" - he indicated the discarded pair by the toilet - " I died over there, today".
(He's saving his pocket money to buy himself an Iphone. At the current rate he'll be 27 when he can afford it.)
Little Miss attacked her holidays with typical cheerfulness, expanding vocabulary, and multiple costume changes a day while still managing to spend most of her time naked.
"When I an adult", she confided in me one day while I was making a cup of tea, " I GOING to drink tea. " Then she lent forward and whispered ' "and, wine!"
Another day she was moaning after a walk across the long grass.
"I have scratchy ball-ies!" She said
"What's that?" I asked not quite sure I heard her correctly.
"I have scratchy balls-ies! " She yelled
"Which part exactly is scratchy? "
She pointed at her bitten ankles -
"You mean you have scratchy ankles," I corrected.
"No, they look like little balls! "