Zoey and Chelsey are on spring break from school next week. I had thought I would just have Chelsey keep the kids - but Romans preschool/daycare is paid monthly and they're offering a spring break VBS style (vacation bible school) program. They are also open to siblings for the VBS for spring break and I could send Zoey for $25/day or $4/hour whichever is less per the paperwork. She wants to go.

I offered them a choice to go to VBS together or stay home and lounge around for a week with teenage big sister and they are going to go. I'm glad because as much as I'd love to save the cash I really think that 1. they'd be bored out of their minds after 2 days of staying home with teenage sister who talks on the phone, plays on the net etc. and 2. Chels might lose HER mind trying to be a sahm for a week lol.

So for the five days Chels will hang out here, help clean the house, make plans with her friends and run some errands I have for her to do. Zoey and Roman will go tthe VBS program at his school.

What will you do with your kids? Do you plan a week off around spring break or make other arrangements? And while we're at it - summer vacation? Zoey will go to Romans schools summer program all summer too - tho I have no clue how the heck we're going to afford it.

That is so tough when we have littles and have to work.

Your plan sounds perfect...wish we had that round here.

In the past I've always just had to scrape together a plan with friends and Grandmas. This year we are taking a family vacation to Florida!!

It's why I still teach although I really want to work as a biologist again.

Oh, ours was last week, and we had the week from hell. I mean, learning experience.
We had five different friends, watching her for the five different days, all over the city. There was such a lack of routine and so much stress running all over the place that by the end of the week we were all a mess, dd the worst. An absolute mess. By Friday she'd developed weird sychosomatic nervous tics that she's never had before.
If I could have a do-over, I'd pay one friend to watch her all five days, so she could have a little consistency.
We've had a serious "re-connecting" weekend, where I've poured major energy into bonding with her, and things are started to feel normal again.

I telecommute full time from home, but I did have my two youngest ones go to an in home daycare (a provider I have used for 12 years - she is more like family, really...) for Wed - Fri - those are my busiest days. I often pay my 14 year old to watch them but she wanted to have some freedom and I said ok.

In the past when I worked for someone, we planned our spring vacation around spring break and we always took off between Christmas and New Year's.

Now that I work for myself, I get the school schedule at the beginning of the year, talk over with my dh which days/times he is going to take off to help with childcare (for example, he does not get Presidents' or MLK off, so we split the day - he works the morning and I take the afternoon), after we have worked out about a grand total of 40 hours of time off for him, I hand the schedule to my secretary and she schedules me out. That includes winter break, spring break, two weeks at the start of the summer and two weeks at the end of the summer.

Thank goodness Abel and I have the same Spring break this year.

Lat year, we didn't, so he went to a week long nature day camp (the same place he goes in the summer when I have to work). My mom and dh took turns shuttling him over there.

This Year, we actually get to go on vacation together! We haven't done that since he was 2 and we went to New Orleans! this time we're going to DC to see the cherry blossoms and hit a coupla the museums.

My inlaws are taking them for Mon/Tues (even though Kelby's daycare is already pd for those days). Thurs. I might send rachel to a nature camp for the day. The following Monday I'll just take off.

Mine will be getting a fabulous all expense paid vacation where they will be waited on, pampered, with some spa time, and what ever meals they want to eat!!!




We are driving them from MI to WI so they can stay a week with my Parents :p who treat them like little queens. They get bubble baths, they sleep with my Mom, Grandpa has to move out to the guest room and tons of hugs and kisses!

Then at the end of the week G & G bring them home.




Oh, and did I forget to mention Dh and I will be kidless for a week!!!!! Spring cleaning here I come. My office (which my boss is commenting on) and the play room.

Win/win for all involved :happy:

but I will miss them.

Like you, I have a older teen (17 yrs old) and I also have another teen, and two pre-teens. Our youngest is nearly 8 years old. They are fine on their own with one of the oldest two holding the fort down.

Michelle