Tag: Greater Sydney Lockdown

Categories
Family

Lockdown Struggles

I don’t know about you but I have been struggling with working full time and kids doing homeschooling.

It basically has been a complete mess and a disaster in our house. For me the reason is clear, 2 kids are the same age and at the same level and 1 is not. The 1 who is not is the person who wants to play, have fun, not do school work or in fact anything he is supposed to do.

We are all keeping busy at home, what about you?

This means that the 2 kids that have work to do cannot do their work due to interruptions, tantrums and very bad behaviour. When this does occur I end up leaving my work to sort it out to then have to calm this child down and distract him from his sisters. However, this never lasts and there are many back and forth disasters that have to get sorted and then the kid in question wants you to stay with him and play. I would love to do this but I cannot due to the fact I need to work and get things done too.

We are approaching the end of the 9th week of lockdown…yes we have been in lockdown for 9 weeks! And have more to come.

It is not just homeschooling that I am having issues with, it is the fact that all kids are eating everything in sight (as soon as something is purchased it is gone in seconds, I kid you not!), not tidying up and arguing when they make a mess. It is a struggle and an argument to get them to anything you ask. Maybe this is their age or could it be lockdown is causing naughty behaviour? Please let me know. I do think it is an age thing as this was happening well before lockdown.

Today the NSW, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the back to school plan. I personally don’t think it will happen with the rate of infections but it does look like more and more are getting the vaccine so maybe this will let us reopen sooner. I do worry that if we open up people will go crazy and socialise and then we will be in lockdown yet again.

According to the ABC Website, this is what is going to happen or at least planned:

“A staggered return to face-to-face learning will begin on Monday, October 25. Students will return in the following order:

  • October 25: Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12 (some Year 12 students have already returned to classrooms in a limited way, but they will be back full-time from this date)
  • November 1: Year 2, 6 and 11
  • November 8: Year 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10

Currently, all of NSW is in lockdown. If stay-at-home orders are lifted in any part of the state before October 25, students will return to school then too.”

Kids don’t have to be vaccinated but it is encouraged and today the government has added kids from 12-15 years of age have been added to the vaccine rollout. However, even with this update, I cannot book my 12-year-old kids in anywhere. The booking systems are not accepting kids this age and the doctors haven’t been updated on the change, when I rang they said to try next week. Although if you have an underlying health condition that would change the eligibility for booking a child from 12-15 years in for a covid vaccination.

Although some reports online have said by the end of the year all kids in this age group should be vaccinated. Let’s hope that is correct.

Teachers need to be all vaccinated and masks are compulsory for teachers and from what I have seen a requirement for high school and recommended for primary school kids too.

I watch other social media updates from other parents and see their picture-perfect kids that have magically done every last piece of work that was assigned to them from school. It makes me wonder if my kids have done everything they need to do, and then I think of the craziness that is my house at the moment and the answer is NO, they have done as much as they can and probably not everything.

It would be nice to post these types of posts but maybe this is not my family. It could be possible that there were a few arguments behind the picture-perfect posts too that I have no idea of.

My kids have been cooking and helping around the house, helping with their baby brother and just trying to not go insane with the fact we cannot go anywhere. Our only solace is that we live in a very large LGA (Local Government Area/Council) and we can take refuge in some lovely bush walks.

So I am counting down the weeks left of lockdown and we have 5 more weeks, so that will total 11 weeks, and I don’t believe that will be the end of it.

I am sure we will be in lockdown until all the kids go back to school, possibly another 2 more months till November.

Do you believe NSW will be out of lockdown at the end of September? Do you think kids will go back as the government has outlined today? Also, when do you really think kids from 12 years onwards will be able to be vaccinated.

Once kids from 12 years on can get the jab, will they be giving it to younger kids? My little boy will then be the only one not vaccinated and he is under the age to get the jab at the moment.

Being at home with everyone constantly is very stressful and I for one am keen for it all to end. I hope you are feeling okay if you are in lockdown too.

Take care and if you wish to chat about this please send me an email.

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.





Categories
Family

After Lockdown I Need A Holiday Alone

We are about to enter our eighth week of lockdown. Yes, it will be nearly two months until we have been allowed to go anywhere other than our local LGA (council area).

Not only are we going stir crazy and getting frustrated, but it also looks like there is a huge possibility that the lockdown that was set to end at the end of August will be extended for another eleven weeks! However, this is not confirmed but has been a rumour, especially on Twitter.

So if it is true we have another few months of lockdown. It will end around the end of October or possibly be extended for Christmas and New Year, who knows at this stage.

A holiday at a hotel just for me!

It has been rather sad as the kids have missed out on their holidays as the lockdown started during the winter school holidays and it looks like the twins will celebrate their thirteenth birthday at home if we are still in lockdown in September.

I am sure I am not the only one that has missed alone time. With everyone at home there is nowhere to be and when you do finally stop working there is always something crazy going on with the kids that means that you are never truly relaxed.

I am living in a house that is constantly noisy, crazy with activity and with kids that don’t listen.

Not only is there no break but the kids have taken over my personal laptop for their school work, so that means that when I finally get some time for me, I cannot access my own computer due to the kids using it.

One thing that would make things much easier, is if all the kids could go back to school. It is a real struggle to get my five-year-old to do any school work and the constant arguments and negotiations are so draining.

After lockdown ends I know that many will be desperate to travel and I for one am one of those people, however, I have been thinking that after a huge lockdown trapped with family members that are making you frustrated, annoyed and making you feel like retreating.

I believe that holiday retreats for parents without kids or just the mum having some time out is what is going to happen. Bring it on I say!

I am drooling over the idea of going to a hotel all by myself. I don’t need to partake in all the services offered, however would be happy if the hotel of choice has a day spa. Mainly I would just enjoy the room on my own, sleeping in, watching my own tv and doing my own thing for a change. Oh and finally being able to not be responsible for the food and bedding would be awesome too!

Have you been thinking about the holiday you would take if you were not in lockdown? Currently, I don’t have to travel that far to get a nice hotel but as it is a huge cost staying at home is the cheaper option.

I am still getting emailed newsletters about holidays I can go on throughout Australia and also overseas, although with us not being able to travel at the moment, booking a holiday is not a good idea. I do spend a lot of time staring at the photos on the travel emails and wishing that I could go somewhere with the family or on my own. However, at this stage, it is not to be.

Wishing I was in the Maldives

Are you in the same boat? Wishing you could travel somewhere amazing? Are you also getting heaps of emails about booking your next holiday?

I know it sounds crazy that I wish to be alone after lockdown but with all the constant crazy energy I am seeking some calm time out. I am also wishing it would be nice to visit family and friends but mainly I am dreaming of a hotel room for just me.

Let me know if you are feeling the same.

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.




This post has affliate links

Categories
Family

Was It Me?

We have just finished week five of lockdown, and are set for another four weeks that will end at the end of August. However, I am thinking that it might be even longer than August as Sydney have been reporting constant high numbers of daily infections.

Lockdown started with the July school holidays, well in fact it started at the end of June to be precise.

Before lockdown began, I successfully purchased a really nice second-hand car and then was plunged into lockdown and now cannot go anywhere!

A fantasy photo of what I would look like in my new car. It is not a vintage car, but this is a nice dream.

So it made me think, is it now my action of buying a car that made lockdown happen?

It is like hanging clothes on the line to make it suddenly rain?

Booking a holiday to have other forces out of your control stop you from attending?

Or possibly excited to attend a concert or event and then can’t go!

I know this is silly but you never know, right? Maybe many of us decided to finally do a few things that we were desperate to do and then BAM lockdown hits us all. Yes, it was like the universe knew we were all happy to have a little bit more freedom while living with COVID and then it said, NO you don’t have this, and stopped everything.

COVID has defiantly stopped us in our tracks at the moment. The new strain is affecting younger people and even little kids whereas before it was only affecting older people.

What have you had planned before lockdown happened that you are now convinced that if you hadn’t organised then lockdown wouldn’t have happened?

The universe saw that a whole group of people in Australia were making plans and deciding to get outside and travel and then the lockdown hit again!

Maybe we are destined to never get toilet paper ever again!

Well, the majority of people affected are in the Greater Sydney region. Victoria, Northern Territory and South Australia have had a brief lockdown too, and unfortunately, as I write this Queensland has announced they are in lockdown again.

I do hope that we will get out of lockdown soon. The only time I will drive anywhere will be to finally get my Pfizer Vaccine.

Have you done something that now you think has impacted the lockdown? It could have been as simple as making plans to catch up with friends or family. Let me know.

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.




Categories
Family

Lockdown Extended

I know it was needed, I know that we are being safe staying at home, BUT it is very sad that this lockdown has happened at the start of the school holidays and will be for the whole duration as well!

We didn’t have grand plans but did think that we might be able to take the kids to the movies, mini-golf, go to a cafe or restaurant with the family and maybe visit some friends. However this never happened, we stayed at home and watched movies, played games and watched the youngest learn to ride his bike without training wheels.

I even have a new car (well secondhand but low km and hardly driven) that I was keen to take the kids out in, however, it has sat in the driveway other than trips to the supermarket to get food for the family. I suppose the lack of outings has saved us money but it would have been nice to have had the experiences, but these will have to wait for later.

As I write this it is the Sunday before school is meant to start again, yes Tuesday is the start of term 3 here in New South Wales and as lockdown has been extended all kids that in the lockdown zones will be learning online.

Hours after the NSW Department of Education announced that schools will be preparing for home learning, they were hit with a cyber attack. Yes, talk about horrible. All the teachers need to access the Google Classroom portal for their school to plan the content for the kids that will be learning from home.

Google Classroom unavailable – Now fixed and ready for term 3

“The timing of this creates considerable challenges for staff as we prepare for the start of Term 3,” she said in a statement. An education department source familiar with the attack said that, in line with security advice, the outage was initially reported as scheduled maintenance.
“Thankfully, our teams have been able to isolate the issues and we are working to reactivate services as soon as possible.” https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-education-department-hit-by-cyber-attack-hours-after-remote-learning-announcement-20210708-p587z7.html)

I just checked with my girls and they are now able to access their Google Classroom. Hopefully, this continues and is all good for the start of term 3. It would have made it so much worse to not be able to access their online learning portal.

Overnight we have had 77 cases, 55 known sources and 22 from unknown sources. We are lucky that where we are there are no infections, however, due to be grouped as Greater Sydney we are still in lockdown too.

I was meant to be at the Fresh Content Awards Night on the 21st of July, however, this has now been postponed till the 8th of September. I’m now worried that if the numbers don’t go down, the event in September might be postponed yet again or may be cancelled. I do hope that the event happens as I am so excited about being nominated and going to the awards night.

We were also set to see a short film the twins were involved in but the screening has been postponed until the lockdown is over. Currently, the organisers don’t want to set a date to cancel it again and are waiting until the lockdown is over. I was very keen to see the finished film and celebrate with everyone, but we will have to wait.

You would have thought that employers would be more compassionate due to lockdowns and also having kids at home. Bayside Council, in Sydney’s south-east, made employees fill out forms stating that they would not be looking after children under the age of 7 years while they are working from home.

Geez, how about really penalising families for having children?

Make it even tougher due to the sanctioned lockdown orders that are out of our control that dictates that everyone needs to stay home and kids are only able to go to school if their parents are essential workers. I would say that being a council worker is not considered essential, and therefore many would indeed have kids at home.

Working from home during the lockdown

The juggle is hard and stressful, but as we are in crisis with the new delta strain I would have thought that Bayside Council would more compassionate to their employee’s needs and help them more.

“A staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity described the council’s approach as “messy, unfair and unclear”. “It clearly shows an absolute disregard … for the health and wellbeing of employees, their families and the community,” the employee said. (https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-work-space-is-a-work-space-council-banned-staff-supervising-kids-while-working-from-home-20210708-p587vo.html)

Bayside Council said that staff can take annual leave to accommodate this time with kids learning from home. Personally, I think this is a shit offer and a horrible way to support their staff. Some people might not want to take leave or might not have available leave to take. Also what if the extra week lockdown extends for another 2 or more weeks? At this point with the number of infections are increasing, so a longer lockdown is a real possibility.

Lockdown could possibly extend to August and if that happens how much leave will you have to take from your job to accommodate homeschooling? Also how many staff would have to take leave? Will this be focused on the female staff members as they seem to shoulder most of the childcare?

Many are working remotely or not working at all due to being stuck at home while we wait for the numbers to go down. All companies and businesses need to be more supportive of their staff during these times and asking them to sign stupid forms getting them to agree that they will not be the sole caretaker of a child under 7 is bullshit in my book.

Currently, we have been given no choice to have kids at home while we work there too, It is not the employee’s fault for being put in this position and therefore should not have to sign paperwork to prove that they will not be a parent to their child in a time of need.

The below excerpt has been taken from the Grattan Website

“Australian women copped a triple-whammy:

  • they lost more jobs than men – almost 8 per cent at the peak of the crisis, compared to 4 per cent for men;
  • they shouldered more of the increase in unpaid work – including supervising children learning remotely – taking on an extra hour each day more than men, on top of their existing heavier load; and
  • they were less likely to get government support – JobKeeper excluded short-term casuals, who in the hardest-hit industries are mostly women.”

As homeschooling is set to commence on Tuesday I am not really looking forward to it. In 2020 we had about 4 months of homeschooling and it was rather painful as kids were not doing the work they were supposed to, and on top of that, the 4-year-old at the time thought it was playtime and would not let the older kids do their work. Flash forward to 2021, the 4-year-old is now a 5-year-old and in Kindergarten and the twins are now high school kids. It will be so interesting to see what a Kindy kid gets for school work. I do hope that all work well at home to get all their school work done and the arguments are kept to a minimum.

I am also amazed that many are breaching the lockdown orders. There has been a group that celebrated an 18th birthday party, a group of 15 men meeting to have a card game and many that are out in big groups and not following the restrictions.

I feel sad that many are doing the right thing and a small group is ignoring the rules. If we all stay home and the numbers go down, and the lockdown ends!

If you are in the lockdown too, what have you been doing to keep kids and yourself entertained? I spent the day yesterday cleaning the twin’s room, the outcome was good but the time doing it was painful.

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.