The Ordinary Moment // Cliff Caves

The bigger boys are reluctant to go out now, I think they have got to the point in this pandemic where they would rather hibernate until we are allowed to see friends again.  The littler two are much easier to persuade out and I thought we would explore a different part of the beach this week.  Just a little further round the cliff from our main sands is this beautiful stretch of beach with natural caves eroded into the chalk.  The ground is not the soft sand we usually visit but it is covered in stones and rocks, seaweed and sea shells and anything else nature leaves.  

We went exploring, making adventure trails across the rocks, looking at the spaces the tide has created and of course jumping in and out of the waves. Welly boots didn't stay dry for long and they loved this change of scenery that we managed without actually leaving our home town.  It is getting harder to think of things to do that aren't just the same walk and going to the same place and I know once we can travel again even going 10 miles down the road is going to feel exciting (for me at least!)

We didn't last long before the rain really started, the welly boots were too full of water and we needed to get home, but at the moment getting them out at all feels like an achievement.  Hopefully the return to school and the chance to see friends will  lift their moods and give them more enthusiasm to get out!  If nothing else it will give them more exercise and fresh air with the school runs and playgrounds at lunchtime.

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Staying Home

I love going into London, I tried to go once a month when I could, sometimes for work and meetings, sometimes for visits and sometimes just because I love being in the big city, wandering the streets and people watching.  I love travelling to different countries, travel has always been a priority to us as a family and we spend so much time planning where to visit and what we want to see and do.  I love where I live, but I love getting away too.

I spend far too much time looking at holidays we will be unlikely to take, planning days out that may not be what we want to do once we are actually able to do it.  Trying to change the attitude of feeling trapped at home is hard work but it is the challenge I am facing.  We are limited to exploring only places within walking distance of our house and with some members of the family having littler legs than others, that doesn't take us far.  We need to get out though, we need to walk and breath the outside air and feel a part of something bigger than our household so we are getting out, mostly to the same place but it is out and it is beautiful.

This is where I live, a tiny corner of the UK surrounded by coastline.  Sandy beaches, colourful beach huts, chalk cliffs, little harbours, dramatic skies.  We can walk to several different beaches from our house, we all have our favourites and they aren't all the same. Whichever one we end up at though, I feel better for seeing the sea.  The children love climbing on the sand that is piled up to protect the buildings, they love throwing stones in the sea, they love planning which boat they would choose in the harbour if they had enough money to buy one.  They love having a hot chocolate in their tin mugs and stopping for a cone of chips to accompany us on the way home.  The beach provides their imaginations with a holiday, with a day out, with a different backdrop to normal and different possibilities.

  I love the smell of the sea, the feel of the sand under my feet, the sound of the waves, the warmth of a hot drink in my hands on a cold day, the sight of the sun setting behind the boats as we walk up the hill back home.  I love staring into the sea on a good day, thinking I could be almost anywhere looking out at the same view, I love shouting into it on a bad day, wondering where my words will end up.

This post is a way for me to try and write down a little bit of how I feel and share the beauty of where I live, because all in all, staying home is a good place to be. 

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An Evening at the Beach

The sun has been shining and our little corner of the world is surrounded by beaches so we are usually able to find a quiet one.  We decided to head there on the afternoon of the Summer Solstice and celebrated the longest day of the year with a BBQ on the beach and a swim in the sea.  The children all chose some new sun wear  which was gifted from Reima and it was one of the best evenings we have had in a long time.

It was 9pm before I could peel them away from the water.  The beach had lost its appeal a bit in the past but I think the lockdown and the closing of a lot of places has made us all appreciate the nature around us a bit more.  I have seen people get more involved in their local forests, discover new fields and footpaths and get to know their areas more.  For us we have tried different beaches to normal to avoid any crowds and the children have rediscovered the love of the sand and the sea.  They have been much more confident in the water than before and I love watching their imaginations as they play in the sand.

Archie managed to find a dead fish which provided a lot of entertainment and discussion (basically a science lesson?) and they were all fascinated to prod and poke it and ask about how it had washed up here.  Finn and Cora loved climbing all over the rocks and Dylan wanted to be in the water all day and refused to take his shoes off.

The Reima swimwear is all UPF 50+ protected and I like the long sleeves option to know the boys are more protected.  All 4 children chose their own and Finn was so excited to see his pink top when it arrived.  Dylan is easy to spot in his bright orange and I love how you can see their personalities through their choices!

For my family, this is what this section of lockdown is all about.  Spending time together, enjoying each other, staying outdoors and in our own space but having the freedom to be here.  I have got into better habits of bringing all our own drinks and snacks after everything shut and it means we are spending less and have more freedom on where we go (the main sands have ice cream huts and chips etc but this beach doesn't have any food or drink ammenities).  I hope that when the children and I look back on this time, these are the memories that last.

Reima swimwear is available on their website and the sizing is best to base on their heights rather than ages.  (All the children are wearing the correct sizes for their height bracket but only two are in the correct age)

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Two and Two

The children are all really close in age, when Cora was born I had 4 aged 4 and under but the biggest age gap is in the middle.  They have always fallen into two pairs really, the bigger boys and the little ones (who until recently were referred to as the babies). Archie grew up faster to keep up with Dylan and the little ones seemed to even out somewhere in the middle, acting more like twins at times.  They have an amazing relationship most of the time (although they are more than capable of fighting too) and sometimes at the weekends now, we end up splitting the children so they can do different things.

These little ones still need to run around, they need fresh air and freedom and they are easier to handle outside the house rather than in it.  The older boys, whilst still only 7 and 8 can cope inside for longer and enjoy quiet time to do their Lego or play games.  Ed and I are very different here (which works well at these times) as I would always rather be out, and I opt to take these two usually and go exploring.  He loves being at home and has the patience for Monopoly with children which I am definitely lacking! It feels strange having such a gap in what they want to do when they are all so close but it is lovely having the opportunity to indulge them all too and we make sure to spend time as a family as well.

These photos are from a recent weekend where we drove to a different beach to normal armed with a bucket and a ball.  We walked around the town and stopped for pancakes with Grandma, their Aunty and cousin and played out until dinner time.  We had a wonderful day and I loved being out with them.  The bigger boys had an afternoon of board games at home and maintain that they had more fun! 

I know that this age gap grows and shrinks, that it may get bigger before it gets smaller again and eventually I will have four teenagers but for now I am enjoying being able to spend time with them in pairs doing the things they love.

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The Ordinary Moments - In The Storm

For two weekends in a row, the country was hit by storms and on the first occasion we welcomed the opportunity to stay in our pyjamas for the day, watching films, eating whatever snacks we could find and hiding in the safety of our house.  By the second weekend though, the outdoors was calling, children were climbing the walls and I knew we needed to get out, even if we didn't go far.

I took the three that wanted to get out to the little local supermarket to buy some popcorn in preparation for an evening in.  We made it there in one piece and they weren't done.  They asked if we could go down to the seafront for a hot chocolate to warm up our chilly hands and with an attitude of 'why not?' I said yes.  The wind was on our side and we made it there in record time.  We settled in an empty table and had our hot chocolates, the kind that comes as a solid square on a wooden spoon that you stir into a cup of hot milk.  

As we prepared to leave, the boys noticed the waves crashing on the sand and it was just too tempting.  We popped their scooters into an area of shade and went down onto the beach.  The sand whipped around our feet in a frenzy, the wind howled in our ears but nothing drowned out the sound of their laughter as they chased the waves and made the most of the deserted seafront.

There is a concrete platform that juts out over the dunes at one point, a small ice cream stall on top which of course was shut but underneath made the perfect shelter from the rain which was starting up.  The children made it into their house as their imaginations ran away with them and then they discovered a hole in the platform that dripped the rainwater down on to the sand.  

 I had to tear them all away when it was time to go home, they were soaked from playing in the water, their cheeks were rosy and their noses red.  It was nothing out of the ordinary for us, going to the beach in the winter but for some reason they played so much better and a dripping drain provided limitless amazement.  These are the ordinary moments that make up a childhood.

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The Week in the Middle

Christmas day has come and gone, the new year has yet to begin and we are stuck in a strange place, not quite here or there.  We have no concept of which day of the week it is, mornings and bedtimes are later than usual and biscuits are an acceptable meal.  I love this week, the one with no routine, no schedule or deadlines or school runs, the one where we make our own rules.  We eat when we are hungry which isn't always at the traditional mealtimes and we go out when we get bored indoors.  

The Christmas break is so short, not even two weeks for Dylan and in the midst of the mayhem this week feels unusually calm.  I love waking up in the morning with no real plans for the day, playing it by ear, enjoying lazy mornings in my dressing gown and watching the children play with their new toys, their imaginations taking them to new lands each day.  

The Christmas tree is still up, the sun sets so early, the weather is getting colder and no resolutions have yet been made.  The kitchen side is piled high with goodies and we are drinking more cups of tea than ever with the excuse that we really should get through those biscuits soon.  

Today we have had a lazy morning, a late lunch, a long play and a glow stick disco in the living room with just the twinkly tree lights and our flourescent sticks stopping us bumping in to each other.  The children got to stay up just a little longer and we are eating leftover pizza for dinner.

I took a few photos of the boys at the beach in their new Muddy Puddles coats, they loved the sand all piled up and we were surprised at how busy it was for a December afternoon.  The beach is our go-to place to waste an hour or two and it doesn't matter what season it is, they never get bored of it.

School and Preschool restart on Wednesday so we only have a few days of this limbo left to enjoy.  This week in the middle is definitely one of my favourites.

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