What week is this again? Oh yeah… week 3.
For those of you who have been following, you would know that we have been in my hometown, London, this week with Grands and Grandpa and the rest of the family.
And the sun in London was blazing!
The strategist in me needed a plan for activities—yes, I am that kind of mom! I had planned museum trips, and during this week it was going to be my daughter’s 6th birthday, my friend’s PhD graduation surprise party, and my dad’s birthday, so the pressure was on!!
I was staying with my sister-in-law this week, and she has two boys, ages 6 and 11, so that makes six kids, and my other sister-in-law brought her daughter, so that made 7 kids—are you following the math? And imagining the sound?
So obviously my activities would include all the kids!
I started the week off with a trip to the Paradox Museum.
The illusions and the props were exciting to the kids. The younger ones didn’t quite get the fun in the illusion, but they enjoyed the pictures where it looked like we were defying gravity, seeing symmetry using a mirror, and the illusion of big and small in the slanted room. Moreover, it was just a fine day out in central London with alllllll the kids.
I had my spider senses on the entire time, making sure each child could be accounted for. When we got home that day, everyone was tired—SCORE!
One of the days in the week saw us go on a long walk with my OTHER sister-in-law (you might have been able to guess that my husband comes from a big family). The walk took us to two parks and near the side of a big riverbank to say hello to some ducks. The vim for the walk back of tired little soldiers was the ice cream I had promised them! Even I needed an ice cream after all those gazillion steps we did.
With all the kids and the amount of eye movement and ‘no, come this way, please’ I have to say when we go outside—I made my daughter’s birthday an indoor one. Can you blame me?
Catch up on Summer Holiday Takeover Week 2
I had themed the birthday party as ‘Six slices and scoops,’ so you guessed it!
They would make their own pizzas and decorate their own ice cream with toppings. I created some garden activities using sidewalk chalk that I quickly got from Asda. I got popcorn for them to have whilst watching a movie too. It was intense! The cleanup was endless, but hearts were full, and the kids were tired by the end of it! Another SCORE!
This is where I give a shout-out to my family, who took care of the kids whilst I went to celebrate my dearest friend’s PhD graduation party. After the party, I and the kids were going back to stay with my parents since it was Grandpa’s birthday the next day! And we had planned to take Grandpa to … drum roll please … The London Transport Museum.
We took the train to Covent Garden that faithful morning, and the kids were enamoured by the platform and the train, the ‘woahhh’ and ‘that’s so fast’ commentary made me know that the day would be amazing and indeed, it was!
With so many areas to play, interactive trains, and of course the gift shop that attempted to bleed me dry, the children enjoyed walking about and taking pictures!
We also went to the cafe to have lunch with Grandpa in honour of his birthday.
On the train back, all three eyes were getting droopy, fidgeting was minimal, and there were zero questions but lots of heads nodding off!
They were extra tired. Grandma had made them dinner, offered to bathe them, and put them to bed—I agreed!
I thought I could have a moment to catch my breath, but instead I dozed off on the couch too!
Week 3 was activities galore but filled with good sleep! Lol
For them, that is! So, I know they are pumped up for Week 4!
