From sun and sand to rain and clouds....welcome home

Last night, we returned from our 8 week summer holiday, all 8 weeks of which was planned two days before we actually went away. I am a planner, I love to make plans in advance and love to have everything planned out to the hour. In fact, this rarely happens, especially when it comes to family holidays, and I have now adapted and trying to enjoy to making last minute plans. With small children, you should always have a plan, and a back up plan. One of the biggest lessons I learnt about having children is: ALWAYS have a back up plan. Even if you don't have an original plan in the first place, but always, always ALWAYS have a back up plan.
Our flight was great. I actually managed to watch 4 films back to back! With a 4 year old child and a 2 year old toddler this is some achievement! I saw Wrecked (mysterious and with no closure), Something Borrowed (unoriginal and predictable), Midnight in Paris (fantastic) and almost all of Beautiful Boy (not enough depth of characters) The children watched Toy Story, Rio, Barney and Wall-E. With husband.
Arrival was not so great, queues were massive, baggage was very late and the airline lost our buggy.
It was strangely comforting to come home. I am the sort of person whose moods reflect the weather and leaving the hot sun and warm beaches behind and coming home to grey skies and gloomy rain can depress me for weeks. I usually dread the transition from holiday mode to the reality of the daily grind and it can take me up to 2 weeks to reacclimatise. I think the length of the holiday makes the difference. Also the fact that R is due to start Reception next week and we are all excited about it. I am probably more nervous than her, and I can't wait to see her in her uniform, a moment which I anticipate will be a major tearjerker. For me, that is.
By the time we collected the baggage, reported the missing buggy and came home, the children were extremely sleepy and tired with jetlag. But when they came home, a smile of recognition spread across their lips and their faces lit up at rediscovering all their toys, their bedrooms and their favourite things. They wanted to play with everything all at the same time, K opened all his favourite toys and within 5 minutes the living room floor looked as though it had been occupied for days. R got her kick from cutting and sticking bits of coloured paper. Home sweet home.
This morning it was lovely to wake up and have my grocery shopping delivered to my kitchen. Then I had my cleaner arrive and clean my whole house, including the inside of the fridge. The kitchen is back in action.