Let's...: What now?

It's half past eleven in the morning. The dishwasher's unstacked and re-stacked, the washing's on, I've done a bit of tidying... what now?

This is week 3 in my life with no kids, or at least not between 8.50am and 3.15 pm. My younger son started school in September.

Everyone had been asking, "What are you going to do with yourself?" To be honest, I didn't think about it that much. Too busy worrying how number 2 would settle at school, having only turned 4 the week before, and kidding myself that I would finally become the perfect housewife now that I wasn't a full-time mummy.

Now everyone's asking, "How are you enjoying having all that free time?" and the answer is NOT AT ALL!

I hate cleaning, and surprisingly that hasn't suddenly changed now I've got all the time in the world to do it, even with the excitement of a new Dyson.

I've been attempting to get some part time work back in the classroom (I was a primary teacher in my previous incarnation.) But seemingly no-one wants to employ someone who has enough experience to be expensive, but has been out of the classroom for 4 years. I'm not much of a lady-who-lunches, especially since I'm not earning and it seems a bit much to spend the husband's hard-earned cash on cake and gossip time.

OK enough self-pity.

This morning there was a younger sibling on the school playground with a plastic bag on a piece of string. His kite. We did that, with nappy bags, and they flew much more easily than the real thing- so much so that they usually ended up in the next village; not very environmentally friendly, but good fun. Someone commented that the best toys and games are the ones you don't spend money on, and I agree.

I like kids (especially boys) best when they are occupied, energetic, outside and preferably doing something that they are learning from without being taught anything. Nappy bag kites being the perfect example.

So having been through the baby and toddler years with two boys with quite different interests and personalities, I thought I could use some of my "new found freedom" to Blog about stuff you can do for practically nothing to keep the little critters entertained and on their toes.

Warning. My kids are never clean, unless the entertainment involves being in the bath, and are often bruised, scraped, stung etc tho rarely to the point of needing adult attention!