Verging on the side of mental

4 weeks of the summer holidays done, cabin fever has well and truly set in. Just glad hubbie has been home for this last week to help stem the madness. The kids are as usual totally inspirational in their thinking. From Ninja deciding his daddy was a stream train, to Mooki being pretty sure that the bunch of ladybirds on a bush would be a bit peeved that they were all wearing the same outfit to the bugball. We've defiantly managed to get some things done, the front garden looks so much better and the house is starting to resemble a home not a pigsty. It all just goes to reinforce my belief that this family would be much better off with Hubbie working alot closer to home. I have total respect for those families that deal with one parent or the other spending a good portion of the week away from their family working. I just think this family doesn't cope well with that. Don't get me wrong, the kids are fed and watered and they get to school on time clean and ironed. Its just that I think they need the balance of mum and dad in their lives. I'm the first one to admit my desire for an easy life over rules many of the tougher decisions I should take. Crisps and chocolate for breakfast happens more often than is probably good. I am also pretty disorganised most of the time leaving me with many school trip money and pe kit moments. But more important than any of that, is my family desire to discuss and enquire. All my children are very inquisitive wanting to discuss and analysis many different aspects of their lives and to be honest their dad is amazing at doing this with them. He has the most patience and the biggest desire to help them through their tumbling thoughts (mine too for that matter). He always stops whatever he is doing to pay them attention, even when it annoys him, and makes them feel important and valued. He is level headed and allows me to have my "moments" without exposing the children to it. He is clear thinking and hard working and is such a positive influence that I have no doubt that when he goes back to working 14 hours a day again there will be a gaping hole in our lives. So my plan of action has to be, above all else, finding away to keep him from having to do work those long hours and getting him to be able to spend more time at home.