Super Saturday. I'm a lucky girl...

My how times change when we have kids, or they certainly have for me. Go back 6.5 years and you may find me enjoying a Saturday in London, spending money in the shops, having a lovely lunch at a swanky restaurant, meeting friends or dh, perhaps the theatre in the evening, another meal and maybe even stay over in a nice 4 or 5*. Not so any more, the money is not there and that is Ok as we consciously made the decision to have far less money and far more time with the children.

So what makes me feel like a lucky girl today? Well it is those simple things -

• dh getting up at 5am with pesky Miss M who wanted the toilet, her dummy, water, milk and anything else she could muster the strength to ask for
• getting cuddles with all 3 kids in my bed (whilst poor dh has gone to work)
• taking an hour to read a good book (in bed) whilst the kids played and did some drawing on the floor
• doing my toe and finger nails (in bed, can you see a theme for this morning??) with the girls trying to help me ('my help you mummy', 'ohh painting', 'pink, pretty!' etc)
• having a lovely shower and hair wash in peace whilst the kids all made music together (yes a bit of a din but at least they were not arguing)
• pottering about the house and getting the bathroom cleaned, my bed changed, upstairs tided, dishes sorted, washing on, all with double mini assistance (*ahem*)
• now we are off out for lunch at pizza hut (if the 50% off voucher ever arrives by email! grr)
• then tonight dh and I are off to a murder, mystery evening which should be good fun.

I am very grateful for my Saturdays. They used to be a busy day as I got up and dashed about in the same way that I do all 6 of the other days in the week. JJ went to a sports club and had to be there for 9am and as dh works on a Saturday that meant the girls had to be ready too. Now he does football after school and Beavers and has dropped this club and I am so pleased. I may never let anything steal my Saturday space again. I think everyone needs one chilled day per week. I know many do this on a Sunday but as we enjoy going to Church and it is the only day we are all together we tend to do things then.

I always said I would not be one of those Mums whose kids went to tons of clubs and they run round like loonies to accommodate the kids. I think what I specifically did not like was the competitive mums (you know the ones!) that had their children doing a club every day of the week - French Club, then maths tuition, then swimming, then violin lessons, then ballet and then a day of drama on Saturday. At one point JJ was doing Beavers and Boys Brigade on an evening and Sports Club on a Saturday morning and this felt like too much. When was his time just to play in the garden? and when was my time to just cuddle up with the kids? I think some of the problem comes that you get home from school at 3.40pm and then the club starts at 5.15pm so madly I cook dinner and shove it down their throats to rush out to drop off and then by 6.25pm I am out again to pick JJ up.

I dread when both girls want to go to clubs as well and then I will have 3 children to try and get to numerous places. Call me selfish but I think I will try and limit their activities to ensure there is a balance of getting the extra curricular fun and then taking time at home to be kids and to play.

How do you feel about the chasing around for clubs?