For the first five years of motherhood I lived nearly 5000 miles away from my family. It’s my fault – I chose to up sticks and move away. When we were just a couple I was fine with a visit from my parents once a year, a yearly trip home for us and weekly phone calls, but somehow, having babies made me feel closer to my family despite the vast distance between us. I realised how much a rookie mom needs her mom.
As Pickle grew and Bowser arrived seeing my family only once or twice a year and the limited time my parents had with their grandchildren fanned the flames of my smoldering feelings of homesickness. Surviving the nine hour flight and the accompanying jet lag also made traveling home less appealing. So, when Pickle was five and Bowser 18 months we packed up and went home. Now we are a much more sensible 60 miles apart and can see them, if not whenever we want, at least 6 or so times a year.
So that’s how we’ll be spending our upcoming school break – with Nanny and Grandad. We won’t do anything terribly exciting; it’s very relaxed. We might visit with some extended family. I usually get to have some precious ‘me time’ and have a couple of nights out catching up with old friends. We may see a family movie (currently trying to decide between The Muppets and Puss in Boots). Pickle in particular is just as excited about seeing Nanny and Grandad as she is about what we will do when we’re there. For her it’s all about being together. It’s like she’s making up for lost time.
Pickle would like if we were part of an African or Indian culture where the extended family all live together under one roof, but we adults know that we also need our own space. We always try to explain to her that if we spent all of our time together then we wouldn’t be able to look forward to visits. However, when we leave there are always tears that last for at least the first 15 minutes of the journey.
Nanny always has a little welcome gift for them, usually a sticker book and a craft kit for Pickle, a couple of Hot Wheels for Bowser and always a pack of Kinder eggs each. When the Kinder eggs are opened this time I will have a little wry smile as I’ve just become a member of the #KINDERMom program with KINDER® Canada. I expect being a KINDERMom I will see more than usual of these little fellows in the next few months. Nobody around here has any complaints about that.
We’ve decided that we’d like to share a little of our KINDERMom KINDERFun with our blog readers. For a chance to win a 24 pack of KINDER® SURPRISE® eggs, (YES, 24!!!) simply leave a comment below telling us who you would share this delicious bounty with.
- Like The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms on facebook
- Like KINDER® Canada on facebook
- Retweet this giveaway ‘ Share a little #KINDERMom KINDERFun with a 24 pack of KINDER® SURPRISE® eggs via @RookieMommy http://wp.me/pC8a1-2PP #Giveaway ‘
Be sure to leave a separate comment below for each of your bonus entries.
- Giveaway is open to Canadian residents only
- Winner will be drawn at random
- Giveaway closes February 28th, 2012
Check out the KINDER® Canada Facebook page for a peek at the 2012 toy collection, and exclusive monthly contests through the My Kinder Moments application – this February they’re giving away $500 towards the ultimate staycation!
Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Filed under: Parenting | Tagged: children, Family, giveaway, Kinder Canada, Kinder Surprise Eggs, KINDERMom, March break activities, Motherhood, Parenting | 35 Comments »























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