A Day at the Fayre

We love finding new things to do locally and a May fayre at the end of our road was too good to miss.  There is a big park with a small kids play area in one corner, but today it was transformed and I have never seen it as busy.  There was a dog show, beer tent, every variety of bouncy castle and a few little fairground rides.  The sun shone, the whole town came out, the ice cream van was never without a queue and there were free bus rides from the park to the harbour all afternoon.

Archie had a little snooze whilst we examined the tombolas, climbed aboard an ambulance, spun in the teacups and swung on the roundabout chairs.  He woke up the moment the word ice cream was mentioned of course, and the boys had fun exploring, choosing which flavour fudge to buy (cherry bakewell), hooking ducks and seeing so many of their friends.  I took my proper camera with me and snapped a few pictures, although I still haven't mastered the focus on fast shots, as you will be able to see.

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A Day out at Dover Castle

We love a family day out, and with Dover Castle so close, it was definitely time that we took the boys for the first time.  We managed to choose a beautifully warm day, and so headed to Tesco first to buy a picnic feast for 6 and to grab some petrol.

The boys love to explore, and there is nowhere better than a castle and its grounds.  From the moment we let them out the car they were off, Dylan in search of Mike the Knight and Archie looking for stones.  

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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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Forget the routine

Our lives are mostly ruled by routine.  Our mornings are spent between a variety of playgroups and the odd morning at the beach.  We come home for a picnic lunch on the living room  floor and then nap time for the littlies and a bit of work (or a nap) for me.  Our afternoons are about play dates and trips to the park and dinner is followed by a bath (sometimes), book and bed.  

Every now and again, we break the routine, and these days are the most exciting.  We woke up yesterday with plans for playgroup, but blew them off for a train ride into the city, armed with a bag of stale bread, plenty of sunscreen and a camera.

It took twice as long to get to the train station as we stopped to sniff flowers, entertain Archie and let Dylan walk along every wall he could manage.  A quick train ride into the city and a short walk to the beautiful gardens that run along the river.  We fed the ducks with our slices of bread, taking it in turns to throw chunks in, watching the ducks swim towards us, huddling in anticipation.

When our bread ran out, we went on adventures, through 'the deep, dark woods' (can you guess which book we have been reading recently?) and into 'the jungle'.  Dylan loved exploring the different areas and finding flowers hidden in the bushes.  Archie loved the pine cones - mostly throwing them to be honest.  

They ended up muddy, with leaves in their pockets and smiles on their faces (and they took a lovely long nap together in the double buggy whilst I shopped!).  Our day carried on with babyccinos and gingerbread men in the cafe and a wander round the town before meeting Daddy from work to travel home together.

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When the Sun is Shining

There are days where even the best of plans can be ruined by the great British weather and those ever trendy ponchos are on standby even in August.  There are also times when everything comes together though, where the sun is on our side, the wind is low and the back up plans can stay just that, and this weekend was one of those.

After Saturday's showers, Sunday gave us beautiful sunshine and with a big family picnic planned it could not have been better timing.  Aunts, Uncles and cousins came from all over and the boys were in their element with green space, sea air,  picnic food and plenty of entertainers.  

We met in 'the dip', a dipped park on the sea front and played rounders and football, enjoyed ice creams and blueberries and had more fun than you can possibly believe with a stack of cones.  We took two exhausted boys back to their beds at the end of a perfect day.  

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Making the most of it

 Since my return to work in January, our family time has been cut in half.  I only do ten hours per week in my current role, but most of that falls on a Saturday, and with the bloke being at work Monday to Friday, it gives us only one day all together.

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A Day at the Zoo

I love being a stay at home parent, but I do look forward to the weekends and some family time together.  Seeing my boys playing together, getting some one on one time with each of them and of course having someone to help during the more demanding times.  This weekend we enjoyed some wonderful family time and set off to London for a day at the zoo.  Dylan is at the perfect age for it and I got to have a play with my new camera as well (sorry for the photo overdose!)

Dylan made it very clear that the gorillas and giraffes were our priorities and he loved exploring and watching everything from the penguins to the monkeys.  

He wasn't so keen on the pigs and tigers but he was desperate to feed the giraffes and zebras and I think he would have taken a gorilla home given half the chance.

I popped Archie in a sling on my back so that he could see everything as the pushchair is quite low and he was silent and wide eyed the whole way round, taking everything in as he snuggled. (well until he fell asleep at least)

A lovely walk through the beautiful Regent's park where autumnal colours and fallen leaves lined the paths, and we stopped to take in some Christmas lights (and enjoy some gingerbread men) before heading home worn out for a quiet family day in on Sunday.

I love visiting the zoo this time of year and we were lucky it was such a mild and dry day.  The paths are quieter, queues shorter and the animals are busy and active which is great to watch.  I love showing the boys new things and Dylan hasn't stopped talking about our day out.

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Staying In

I am really good at getting out and about with the boys, and despite not having a car, I am not afraid to take them anywhere.  Everyday we are at the park, the beach, a baby group, the shops or out on a play date.  I want them to grow up having a natural childhood and we spend as much time as we can outdoors whatever the weather.  After a busy week followed by an even busier weekend though, I decided it was about time we had a day IN.

It is not often that we slow down the pace, forget about routine for a little while and just go with the flow but that is what we needed to do for a little while.  No structure, just a calmness that our days often lack.

It reminded me quite how much I love playing. Sitting on the floor doing Duplo with Dylan, singing silly songs to Archie and crawling round the house being the tickle monster.  Little things that put a big smile on my childrens faces also put a big smile on mine.  No distractions, travelling or friends, just our family of four all together.

It was a beautifully hot day and we set out blankets and the paddling pool in our little garden.  We got out Dylan's teepee, his mini motorbike and a football. We didn't bother getting dressed all day and we didn't care.  We had a BBQ outside followed by frozen frubes as ice lollies and chocolate & marshmallow stuffed bananas slowly melted on the coals.

We spent the day just being us, just being together and I remembered how much I love their company; my three boys.  My boys love their busy social life, seeing new things and exploring their world, but they also love spending quality time with our undivided attention.  They love playing with their toys, helping cook dinner and just being a family together.

Rather than vowing to do more, my new resolution is to have more days in, days where we just enjoy each other with no distractions.

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Legoland Day Out

I was over the moon to find out that I was a finalist in the 'best pregnancy blog' category for the 2013 MAD blog awards earlier this year, and when they announced a trip to Legoland for all the shortlisted bloggers and their families, the little kid inside me was jumping around in delight.  

The day finally arrived and well rested after staying in a hotel the night before, we made it to the Legoland hotel for 8am.  We had an exclusive screeing of the new Chima 4d movie before the park even opened and then we were let loose with the most amazing wrist bands ever.  Not only could we use the Q-bot entrances all day, if the ride didn't have one, we simply show up at the exit, flash our gold bands and got straight on the rides! This was priceless with a toddler who has no concept of patience.

Taken by the lovely K from My Two Mums

We went on rides, got soaked to the skin, enjoyed delicious pizza and made the most of synchronised napping by getting on the big rides.  We spent the day with

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