Chewy's Adventure

Archie's birthday fell slap bang in the middle of half term and we used it as an excuse to get out as a family and have an adventure.  There is a local wildlife park that seemed the perfect venue as the sun was shining and we had such a good day we ended our day by upgrading our tickets to annual passes.  Finn was sent 'Chewy', a teething toy from the people behind Cheeky Chompers bibs and it was the perfect toy to keep him entertained as he isn't as delighted by the animals as his brothers.

The park has a great variety of animals and is big enough to make a great day out but small enough that it isn't too much for little legs.  Finn spent most of the walk round in his buggy and he alternated between watching the animals and playing with his toy and he loved the fact it had handles as well as apparently tasting good!  It had a handy strap for attaching it to the buggy which was rather useful as the park was pretty muddy!

I love the fact that there are animals roaming the park or in areas that we can walk through, partly as they seem more free and partly as it is much easier to take photos without glass or bars in the way!  Dylan wasn't nearly as keen and much preferred the big cats and reptiles that were safely seperated from us.  Archie loved pretty much everything, especially the penguins (which made the bloke very happy!).  Finn seemed transfixed by the glorious peacock that was proudly showing us his feathers.

I think one of the highlights for the boys was the ride on trucks, although Archie's little legs couldn't always keep the pedal down so Daddy had to join him.  Finn fell asleep clasping his chewy at this point, adventures are exhausting for little people!

I think we must have picked the busiest day of the week but even so there was plenty of space and the day was cold but without the wind that makes you uncomfortable.  All boots and outer layers had to be removed before the boys got in their car seats as the park at the end of the day made everything a little brown and all three boys fell asleep on the twenty minute journey home! 

We loved bringing Chewy on our adventure and I am sure he will be coming along for many more.  Finn only has two teeth at the moment so I think he will be teething for many months to come! 

Disclaimer : In collaboration with Cheeky Chompers

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We Love Rain - Natural Retreats

I love showing my children the world.  There are so many beautiful sights, so many amazing experiences to be had and you don't always have to travel far.  They delight in exploring the local park as much as they do a foreign country, but we are always looking for adventure.

Our stay at Natural Retreats, Trewhiddle was the perfect base for experiencing Cornwall and our villa was simply stunning.  With four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two balconies and enough social space for a family much bigger than mine, it gave us freedom, comfort and beauty.  

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A Mini Adventure

It is a well known fact that I don't get to do nearly enough puddle splashing on my birthday.  That is one of the biggest problems with August birthdays it seems, my wellies are usually left dry in the cupboard whilst my sandals enjoy pride of place on my feet.  This year we managed to change that, and I believe I am due warm and sunny birthdays for the next few years.

We live quite close to Dover, and when I had an email through earlier in the year telling me about discounted ferry sailings, I thought I would book a day, with the idea that if it was bad weather we just wouldn't go.  They were offering sailings for £1 return, and as infants don't becoming paying children until they turn 4, it meant £2 return for the whole family for a day trip!  We already have our passports and I booked the bank holiday Monday, forgetting about it soon afterwards.

As it happened, we decided not to be put off by a little bit of rain (OK, a lot of it), and just go prepared, so with our wellies and rain coats, we travelled down to Dover for a mini adventure.  

It was the boys' first time on a boat and they loved it.  From exploring the various restaurants, cafes and the (minuscule) play area to standing outside and watching the waves, they were curious and excited and I think even if we had stayed on the ferry and sailed straight home, they would have had a good day out.

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An Adventure at Whitstable Beach

whitstable, beach kids, adventures, adventure at whitstable beach

'Would you like to come into my adventure, mummy?'

Sometimes I worry that he hasn't quite got it, but then he makes me hop from cushion to cushion as we jump on the train, or he takes me into the 'jungle', where in reality no plant is higher than our knees and the most exotic animal you will find is a squirrel.  

Dylan is nearly three and I can see his imagination growing every day.  He loves to play pretend, making whole scenarios in his head and his favourite place to have these adventures is outdoors.  The park, the beach, the alley down the side of our house - it doesn't really matter when you are two, what matters is who you are with and what you are doing.

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Little Explorers

We are a family who loves to be outdoors, from festival loving parents, to the little boy who could have a picnic everyday of the year, to the baby who spends all morning bringing me random shoes until I finally take him outside.  We love exploring and we love adventure.

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'Let's have an adventure'

I have to admit to being a soft play convert.  Whilst we still love days out at the park and the beach, there are times when soft play is exactly what we need - a secure space to climb and explore (with coffee and cake).

Soft play is still a treat rather than a regular thing, but the boys love it and it really encourages Dylan with his climbing and co-ordination.  The most well used phrase whilst we are there though?  'Let's have an adventure'.

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Wildlife Park Adventures

There are some definite advantages to being a stay at home mum and one of them is getting to go on little adventures when everyone else is at school or work.  Today we went to Wingham Wildlife Park to see the Tigers and penguins and had beautiful luck with the weather.  One of the best things about our day was that the zoo was so quiet, we could mooch at our leisure and enjoy the animals.

We set out nice and early (I still consider

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Mummy Adventure on a Taste Adventure

Parents preparing to wean a child are faced with a multitude of questions; when is the best time to wean?  How do I know my child is ready? What foods should I start them with?  Plum baby invited us to a lovely event to find out more about their answers, and the products they have designed to make this taste adventure easier.

They make food for a variety of stages, with your stage 1 first foods which are simple combinations to get baby used to having something more solid.  Stage 2 is for babies 7+ months, and are fork mash texture, to get little jaws working in preparation for talking, and filling up little tummies with energy for mastering all those new skills.  Stage 3, which Dylan is ready for now although it is aimed at babies 10 months + is about bigger and chunkier textures, and is a final stage before they are introduced to more 'adult' foods.

Their new range of stage 3 meals are called 'taste adventures' as they are based on dishes from around the world, giving your child a varied yet balanced diet, and encouraging their taste buds to discover new flavours.  At the event, we were presented with some lovely little canapés, delicate little crisp breads with a meaty paste and light humus topping.  They were passed around and consumed by the parents as the children ate the lovely snacks that Plum had provided them.  We were later told that we had in fact been eating baby food!

They made an excellent point, how can we expect our children to eat something that we would not?  I try everything that Dylan eats, and we always try and go for the nice tasting purees (just in case he can't finish them!)  The new taste adventures went down a treat with both parents and babies, as they genuinely taste like the dishes they claim to be.

The new taste adventures range consists of 4 flavours:

-Sweet cape curry with beef

-Chickpea and chicken tagine

-Mediterranean paella and salmon

-Aubergine and lamb moussaka (my favourite)

The handy 190g pots are priced at £1.79 and available in Sainsburys and Ocado from mid June, and Tesco, Asda and Boots during July/August.  They are perfect for babies ready to explore and looking for new tastes and textures.  To find out more, check out the plum baby website

We had a lovely day out, and Dylan enjoyed playing with Oliver from Mum of three boys and Kai from Always a Mummy and we met lots of other lovely bloggers.  After meeting his Aunty Nat for the afternoon he was very tired by the time we got on the train and chilled out with his books.

Reading his books on the train journey home

Disclaimer: We were invited to a blogger event by Plum and provided with a goody bag to take home.  All thoughts and opinions are my own, and we genuinely liked these products.

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Our Adventure Begins

My partner and I sat down one weekend in December 2010 and started planning our adventure.  We were going to travel the world- Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and anywhere else that took our fancy.  We set August as our departure date and created savings goals and a joint bank account.  I had been travelling straight after graduating from university, but my partner at the age of 27, had never been on an airplane before.


My partner and I sat down the next weekend in December 2010 and started planning a rather different adventure.  We kept the joint bank account and savings goals, but swapped our August destination from exotic lands to the labour suite at the local hospital.


The blog is called 'The Mummy Adventure', as I swapped one kind of adventure for a much messier, much longer and much more expensive one.  Having a baby is exciting, rewarding and I am always learning something new, and it doesn't have to stop us seeing the world.  Dylan is not even 6 months old and has already taken in the sights of Austria and Czech Republic, and hopefully he will be a very well travelled child- (providing he is always as cheap and well behaved as he was previously) as there as so many places I still want to see.

At 6 months old my son seems to have come so far from that helpless newborn baby, and I think the next chapter of our adventure will be noisier and messier but just as exciting!

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