Holiday Blues / Weekly Wind Down 5.1

 I was so tempted to use 'catch flights, not feelings' for this title but I just couldn't. I am on a major come down this week after the whirlwind West Coast adventure we just had. I'm going to blog a little about it (and maybe my outfits? I was pretty pleased with my outfits) soon but in the meantime.. holiday blues have set in and they suck.I've basically spent the last 48hrs working out how to save for another break at the end of the year, booking a few days away down south in August and lamenting about the respective phases of the children. It can depend on the month or even the day as to how the kids are feeling/get along and with a 13 year old girl - well, she can be an entirely different person one day to the next.I appreciate the rough time that is puberty (and the 7 year old boy is going through his own attitude-giving phase) but ugh! What I wouldn't give for a little enthusiasm from time to time. When it comes to thinking of holidays right now it's bittersweet. We could get a great week or we could resent having spent money to be stuck in close quarters with these growing pains.I like a little goal to work towards so I'm choosing to be hopeful and stashing aside any spare cash just in case but if I'm totally honest (with myself) holidays can made or broken by the children and that adds a layer of anxiety to the count down these days. Not enough to choose to stay home (I would go stir crazy) but I'm treasuring our adults-only nights away all more now.When do you book your main holiday of the year? I always think Summer is too long to wait and Easter is the perfect break between the bitter cold and the warmer weather here at home but now it's May and it's all over I'm cursing my past self for her impatience, haha. We had such a glorious summer last year that I've risked booking a hotel with an outdoor pool in Devon - sorry if that negatively impacts the forecast! I am already dying to get back in a pool, in the sunshine. Perhaps I should clean out the LayZ Spa!In other news, Manny (the dog) has been under the weather. He jarred his neck and has been wailing in pain. The vet is hopeful that it will remedy itself over time and has prescribed doggy calpol for now but that's another weight. I have an ongoing shoulder pain that flares up when I'm tense so you can imagine. I'm definitely using these wind down posts as a bit of a 'woe is me', aren't I?I don't enjoy offloading my problems (first world or otherwise) on to other people in life because I don't think complaining makes me feel better but perhaps I'm using these posts to offload somewhere? In short, the holiday was great but the kids drove (are driving) me mad and the dog is poorly so it's been a rough week back.If anyone would like to buy a kidney so that I can book a trip somewhere in October, I'm open to offers