That golden childhood I was harping on about

I have a tendency towards rose tinted day dreaming.
I guess you could say that I'm romantic and idealistic at times when a more pragmatic, realistic approach would work much much better.
I've always viewed the school summer break with a mixture of delight
( lie-ins, soft focus walks with the puppy in the park ) and white knuckled horror (summer holiday cabin fever)
Whilst I try to avoid turning C and R into children-who-demand-constant-entertainment-round-the-clock, I attempt what I refer to as 'laundry days' from time to time. These entail me playing catch up on the more mundane aspects of domestic slavery whilst chucking comics, paper, felt tips and arty crafty items at the girls with the instruction to
'go forth and be creative, preferably with the volume down or on mute for a while'
Today made me realize that the best way to promote compliance in kids is to wear them out thoroughly to the point of near exhaustion.
Wear them out with 3 mile walks, noisy sessions in the local swimming pool and energetic playtimes in the airless hell of KidsWorld, a soft play area near us which serves bland food in a gloomy windowless room which children absolutely adore.
Today, I scrubbed the karndean floors, polished the glass and wood, worked through a depressing pile of laundry, hung two lots of washing out, all to the grating tune of 'she called me stupid idiot' and 'why can't we go to Legoland' and 'my friends have all got one' etc. etc. ad infinitum.
I might continue this blog later, when I've fed the girls and closed this Cafe ( where are my sodding tips, then? ) for the evening.
Ah, the simple joys of a golden childhood;
those halycon days where home cooked food and endless trips to feed the swans are all the blessed chidlets need to appreciate your efforts. If it were that easy !