Accidental House Life

With a sense of deja vu I feel the need to post a quick reminder to all the non house parents out there (and to reassure everyone like me it's ok, everything will be ok) that, all though you may be lucky enough to have time off work, you are now entering someone else's office. I know, I know, I've posted about this before, but a summer break is a lot different than Christmas. A quick calculation tells this stay at home parent that his world is about to turned upside down in 2 sleeps. Now for you mathematicians out there, you're right, that still several sleeps short of Christmas day, but for you stay at homers who feel my pain (stock up with Baileys, NOW!) it's about to be holiday time. You know it's coming, you think you've planned everything, all eventualities should be dealt with and yet....... Christmas is a different holiday to all the others and not just for the obvious reasons. Yes there's the stress of money, yes there's the stress of the...

The more astute amongst you would have seen a gap in posts with no new insight from the Castle for a week. This is down to a simple fact, I have nothing "fun" to write about. When I first embarked on this blog journey I wanted to give an honest but upbeat account of life as a stay at home parent. Too many times I've read through other peoples rants and thought "well that was a waste of my time" and I didn't want to be that kind of writer, but this past week (well, month actually) has seen a reversal on that position as life, at the moment, frankly sucks. Don't get me wrong, there are things that I shall be eternally grateful for. The wonderful wife, my two amazing children and doughnuts, but as the agonising search for the next chapter of my accidental house life continues, I feel a horrible sense of deja vu and a sinking feeling of monotony. My days are quickly blurring into one long continuous slog of dishwasher washing machine dinner making school ...

Another interview, another thanks but no thanks. Another day of application form filling followed by another morning lost to an interview to which the answer was a predictable "no". I know I'm not the only one in this boat but I do feel as though I'm sailing this one on my own. Don't get me wrong, the wonderful wife is very supportive, says all the right things and puts no pressure at all on my job hunting activities, but this is beginning to get to me. What makes this one worse is I didn't even want this job. Yep, you read that right, I applied for a job I knew I didn't want. I went to an interview for a job I didn't want, and you know what? If they had offered me the job I would have still said yes. This is the stage, after nearly 2 years of job hunting, that I am at. The confidence is gone. No longer am I looking at positions I think I can do, that work for the family and provide enough income to be viable, no longer am I reaching for that role th...

On the dining room door at the Castle is a league table. On that league table (carefully constructed with points awarded through a highly complex mathematical formula) are the results of our family games nights (and days). Now this may make some of you scratch your heads. "Aren't his kids 6 and 8? Why would you need a league table? Doesn't he let his kids win ?" Dear reader, at the Castle, we all play to win. I may have mentioned in previous musings that in my youth I was quite sporty, so my competitive streak stretches back many, many decades. But being British, it is a British competitive streak. I know in recent times that winning has become a bit of a habit for all teams British (even Football if you ignore the actual England Team), but it is a pretty recent phenomenon and for old folks like me it takes a bit of getting used to. No, I was raised the old fashioned British way. You remember, the "it's taking part that counts, winning isn't everythi...

Without going into detail children did not arrive easily to the Castle, so we are eternally grateful for our two amazing little people that now control every aspect of our lives (no really, we are). It's never too difficult to remember the times where laughter is the over-riding sound within the home and every day something new happens which stops me in my tracks. However, kids are kids. Not every moment is filled with sweetness and light, not everyday makes my heart burst with pride and not everyday has this writer reaching for the keyboard wanting to share with the world the wonder of being a stay at home parent. There are some days that end in a Y. Case in point. Eldest child wishes to go to a sleepover. No problem there you may think. Unfortunately the eldest child sometimes has an issue with attitude (8 going on 14) which sometimes results in child number 2 having some very difficult times. Now don't get me wrong, I was the youngest, I know how it goes. Unfortunately ...

As the dweller in a relatively modest home, one of the biggest issues I face on a daily basis is space. Or, more accurately, the lack of it. Cast your mind back to when you first viewed the home in which you're living. That first tentative viewing after scouring the internet (or papers, if you're my age) for hours and hours. That breath of excitement when you found the one you thought you could call home. Bet you thought it was huge didn't you? Not once did you think you'd fill it. "16 cupboards in a kitchen, who on earth needs 16 cupboards?"" Look, there's space under the stairs, oh, let's put our bikes there". "Have you seen the size of the spare room? Let's turn it into an office". All of these sentences, and many more, were said upon first entering the Castle as we marvelled at how we were moving up in the world. Then a very annoying thing happened. My children started growing. No warning, no "please Dad, I'm ju...

After time you realise that being a stay at home parent is your job. It's not well paid (0 hours contact and below minimum wage), the hours are long, the holidays are like working double shifts and, as previous posts have shown, your health suffers. But the perks are good (unlimited beverages and food), your employer loves you and the rewards, though few and far between, can be priceless. It's on certain mornings, the "clockwork" mornings, that you find yourself smiling. Before my accidental house life I had worked all my life. Even during college and university days I held a part time job (the later turning into a full time job hence the lack of a degree) but I struggle to recall ever being so settled in the workplace. Yes the hours are long, but I enjoy the setting and can take my breaks when I want to, and yes it can be repetitive, but you know what, I eat food and wear clothes too, just crack on. But a weird realisation hit me the other day, I've designated ...