It's that time again when every mother wonders why on earth they had kids and how on earth they can stay sane while they count down the days till school goes back! Yes....it's school holiday time! And at the moment I am the first to put my hand up and say that my patience has been sorely tested for many, many days now. The sounds of bored or fighting kids are only broken by the sound of the television blaring children's shows out into our living room at regular intervals. The house naturally looks like a bomb's hit it and my polite requests of asking to 'clean up after yourselves' has turned to nagging and screeching! Hmmmmmm! Get the picture? It's not pretty!
So, apart from marking days off on my calendar, I currently have a new hobby which is called, 'Find out how many different ways we can entertain kids for the cheapest possible value'.
Naturally, because I am on holidays too, there has been the necessary threat of 'wake me up before 9 and you don't go anywhere today!' Then it's the usual go-slow around the house so that to even contemplate going anywhere before midday is a scary thought.
So these holidays, we have done the 'out to lunch' day (ie cheapest possible place to eat and still give us an outing which usually ends up being the local shopping centre eatery or McDonalds....hey...they have a playground!), and we have done the 'visit relatives and friends'. In fact, I got so enthusiastic, that we actually had a friend sleep over.....which we all survived. Tuesdays are always marked on our calendars as the days that we do movies and rent dvds ('Cheap Tuesday' around our neck of the woods!). We have ear-marked days to visit the local library for free activities and of course we always do a day or two of baking so this week we actually have real, home-made chocolate chip biscuits to offer visitors who drop in trying to escape their own holiday blues!
But my favourite today was the trip to the beach. Now last week, it rained and was unusually cold and miserable so we stayed warm and close to home. This week, however, we are back to the lovely Queensland winter days.....warm and blue skies all day and cold at night. So we ventured down to Redcliffe for fish and chips on the beach and walking, collecting shells, climbing trees on the foreshore, counting boats and ships sailing by and skipping rocks across the water.
For any Queenslanders reading this, I can recommend the very busy fish and chip shop called Red Dolphin Cafe at Margate for nice food . Once your food is cooked, you can cross the road, spread a rug out and eat while watching the water and small beach. Further up the road (and a nice little walk) are playgrounds and the like at Suttons Beach. Along the walk are clusters of volcanic rock mounds (leftover from deceased volcanoes) that make great exploration spots for the kids (make sure they wear shoes along them though). And there are walking paths adjacent to the beach for those who prefer to ride bikes, blades etc and just don't like getting sand between their toes. My kids, however enjoyed skipping the rocks across the water and collecting coral and shells along the beach. They both agreed that they had a great day, too, so it is well worth the trip just for the simple, inexpensive fun!
