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Spring Break Nonsense | Pad Patter 3.29.17

We did not go anywhere for the kids' spring break....in fact I made them spring clean instead. We completely cleaned out their bedrooms. We are planning on having a yard sale in a few weeks, so we really de-cluttered (I promised them a new toy with the yard sale money. 1 new toy in exchange for literally boxes of outgrown clothes, toys and books is a good trade to me). We did go for doughnuts one morning, and watched more tv and played more wii than normal. It was nice not to have to prepare for a trip, go and then come home and try to get them settled back to home life for school to start up again. Plus, I think they were ready to go back to school so they didn't have to do any more spring cleaning with mom ;)
 
Do not feel guilty, @jenevang ! My parents came up for the week. My kids mostly did nothing, except one day, where my parents took them for a 2 hour drive so they could visit my Dad's childhood best friend and his wife. That's right. Their big March Break event was visiting a couple senior citizens living in a small town in eastern Ontario. But, life can't always be a trip to Disney World. Or, we'd never really appreciate those trips to Disney World. (For reference, I have two girls age 9 & 11. So, we're at almost peak snotty tween-ness).
 
Our Spring Break is next week.

We are driving over to Schaumburg for the day to visit the Legoland Discovery Center (and IKEA!) but otherwise we don't have much planned: a lunch with my grandfather, a couple of activities at the library, and a job interview for me.

We've never been anyplace cool on Spring Break so you're in good company. Our first family vacation ever was just last summer, and it was just hanging out at my husband's brother's lake cabin over the Fourth of July weekend.
 
i just wanna say congrats on challenging the current generation norms - if we went away as kids during school breaks it was every 2 or 3 years, and we're not talking international travel, just within the state or the next one over on a road trip! when did kids become so entitled to travelling so frequently?! #icantkeepupwiththejoneses (are the Jones's the people everyone keeps up with globally or just in Aust?!)
 
My kids have their spring break next week, but we aren't going anywhere either. We used to use our tax returns to pay for any fun vacations we wanted to take, but now my kids are in private school, so every dime of our tax refund goes towards tuition. My sister's two boys have the same week off this year and her husband is traveling that whole week, so she's driving over to stay at my house for 3 days during the week so the boys can all play together. I'm going to take one of those days off and we'll take the boys somewhere fun. Just not sure where yet. :giggle
 
MandaKay said:
Also the last 3 years my husband has been working construction project manager on some big school jobs and guess when they get busy??? When the kids aren't in the school, which is spring break and summers! They try to squeeze school building and remodels into a short short time period, so he has to bust it during those times. :( Not ideal for spring break and summer trips. Oh well...this too shall pass (I hope at least!)
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I totally get this! My husband is a retired firefighter, but retired after he took his current job. The state fire inspector, which means, yes summers are filled with doing school inspections that NEED to be complete while the children are on break still. So we have not had a summer vacation since he has been in that position.
 
gonewiththewind said:
watching The Office for the nine hundredth time. LOL

I often think as women especially, trying to do it all, that we overschedule ourselves and our families. I know so many of my friends are not only vacationing incessantly (or it seems like it), but their children are involved in so many activities that they are never home. I was raised and wasn't involved in anything . . . so my inclination is to do the same with my children . . . which works out great for my budget and for my scheduling. LOL Honestly, though, my back pain really limits our family, which is another whinefest for another day. But for a lot of reasons, we just stay at home a lot. It's a good and happy place, we enjoy the company of one another, and we are definitely rested and ready for whatever life brings our way.
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This has been our house for the past couple of summers. All I hear coming from the den is the music that tells me another episode of The Office just started. And laughing lots of laughing!

I'm the same as you! I totally get you!
 
LeeAndra said:
Our Spring Break is next week.

We are driving over to Schaumburg for the day to visit the Legoland Discovery Center (and IKEA!) but otherwise we don't have much planned: a lunch with my grandfather, a couple of activities at the library, and a job interview for me.

We've never been anyplace cool on Spring Break so you're in good company. Our first family vacation ever was just last summer, and it was just hanging out at my husband's brother's lake cabin over the Fourth of July weekend.
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Myself and my children would of loved this type of spring break! LEGOLAND for the kids and IKEA for mommy!

And you totally had me at the Lake Cabin!
 
bellbird said:
i just wanna say congrats on challenging the current generation norms - if we went away as kids during school breaks it was every 2 or 3 years, and we're not talking international travel, just within the state or the next one over on a road trip! when did kids become so entitled to travelling so frequently?! #icantkeepupwiththejoneses (are the Jones's the people everyone keeps up with globally or just in Aust?!)
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Yes, we keep up with the Joneses in the Canada here too. They are one jet set family!
 
I think it truly depends on where you live.

My granddaughter's junior class in NoVA went to London and Paris for spring break last year. This year she is in NC and there is no school trip for her senior year Spring Break. However, her former classmates in VA are going to Barcelona. International trips are the norm. And yes, most of her friends came from families who took international travel for granted and/or had 2nd homes. My son and family are not poor by any means but by comparison? Well he works for the govt. She's kind of bummed about the Spring Break difference but over spring break she's going on a college visit with her father. Going to a public hs school in a very wealthy area (I'm talking millionaires and above...) gave her some unrealistic expectations. I see her have to do some adulting which is a good thing though she doesn't know it.
 
Jenn,

Don't beat yourself up about not doing a BIG thing for Spring Break. Sometimes I really hate social media because we start comparing our families to others. We think that others' lives are somehow better than ours, or she's a better mom, etc. But in actuality, they have their problems too. We just don't see it, because they only post about the good stuff. Pat yourself on the back for not giving in to the pressure of spending money you didn't have for a vacation that wasn't necessary. Sure it's fun to go on vacation, but good memories can be made at home too. Plus the kids survived and it was good for them to do a little work. *wink

We've had our turn at going on vacations for Spring Break and staying home when it seemed like everyone else was off having fun on extravagant vacations. There's a time and a season for all and I've come to realize that I'm happier if I just enjoy my family the way we are and not try to compare to others. Keeping up with the Jones-es is too exhausting and I'd rather be doing other things.

We are going on a mini vacation for Spring Break next week. We decided to rent a condo a few hours south of here for a few days to get out of the cold. We are letting the girls each take a friend, so they have someone to hang out with... mom and dad aren't cool... hehe. Hubby has to work, so he's taking his laptop and will be working from the room. I'll take the girls shopping and exploring the town. We'll probably go to Beauty and the Beast and maybe do mini golf or bowling. Megan loves swimming, so I'm sure we'll be in the pool for a good portion of the trip. It'll be a low-key, just do what sounds fun type of vacation. We plan to take some board games and movies and just spend some time together. It's kinda like a stay-cation, but we'll be somewhere warm and have a pool and tennis court on site. We've never done this before, but thought it'd be fun. I'm so excited to get out of this cold weather.
 
I am gonna have a semi break! lol, my hubs is going out of town for our church and taking my 12 year old son and daughter with him. That means eating out for the other 2 and me! no cooking...and silly me, I am planning on scrubbing and steam cleaning my bedroom (and rearranging)
 
My daughter's spring break is the week of April 10th. We usually take a short road trip somewhere and spend the rest of the week at home.

I was feeling bad before about not taking a big trip, but then I thought about my own childhood. My parents were not able to be off work. We just enjoyed being able to sleep late and my older cousins would come over to stay with us or we'd spend the night with them. It wasn't a big deal to not have some big plans.
 
bellbird said:
#icantkeepupwiththejoneses (are the Jones's the people everyone keeps up with globally or just in Aust?!)
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Man, those Jones are super busy! They are in the US too. Even had a movie made about them.

keepscrappin said:
We decided to rent a condo a few hours south of here for a few days to get out of the cold.
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St. George? Are you coming close?
 
I don't have a defined spring break at my house (homeschooling). We did just go to Legoland, but that was for birthday. And no, there's not a trip every birthday! And I didn't instagram/Facebook/whatever it.
My nephew is on break next week, and is coming for a long weekend (Thurs - Mon) to spend time here. We won't do much, probably a park or two. Then I'm sending my munchkin to the grandparents for the rest of the week, and relaxing and doing nothing for about 2 days (trying for 3!) before we go up for Easter.
 
nope. we don't do anything. we need to go check out a couple colleges Courtney got into and see if she can decide what she wants to do. Other than that, yard work and hanging out. Good times ... 13 Reasons Why (a YA book that is going to be a Netflix Original Series) drops tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be some binging of that ...
 
We're the loser parents here as well!! And Easter isn't going to happen this year either; we get the keys to our new rental house on the 15th so we'll be moving. Is it wrong I secretly hope they forget Easter is that Sunday?
 
AnneofAlamo said:
That means eating out for the other 2 and me! no cooking...and silly me, I am planning on scrubbing and steam cleaning my bedroom (and rearranging)
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Anne, that is what my week is like when Dick goes to Florida (winter) or Myrtle Beach SC (other times) to go bike riding. The furniture is always different when he gets back! I do consider it a staycation.

I've also been remembering how few vacations at all we had when I was growing up. Both my parents worked and I was on my own during the summer etc from 3rd grade on. A true latchkey kid. In summer I often went into DC with my mother and wandered the city all day On My Own! Another time...

Many of my friends got to take that BIG East Coast trip during the summer - driving from MD to CA for a trip to Disneyland. I really wished we could have afforded that but there was neither time nor money. I survived, got over my envy and was determined to travel as an adult. That has happened in spades!
 
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