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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Garden Fun with a WigWam - Review

As I have mentioned before, we are refusing to be beaten by the cold weather and have spent just as much time playing outside as ever recently.  Playhouses have sent us a wigwam and with the move to a bigger house with a bigger garden it was perfect timing.  In between bouts of rain or when we just need to let of steam, Dylan and I have been exploring our new garden and playing plenty of peekabo with our new tent.

Although marketed as suitable for over 3's, I see no reason why a younger child cannot enjoy playing supervised with the wigwam and my 15 month old loved it!  Hopefully it will last him a good few years as his imagination grows and it becomes an army base, a hideaway from jungle monsters or even his own little den. the wigwam is covered with a waterproof PVC nylon fabric meaning should the showers start we can cower inside and enjoy a biscuit or two! It can be left outside

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Summer Sun - Ways to have Fun

The white midriffs, pasty legs and abundance of sunglasses tell me that summer is here. Time for pub gardens and ice cold cider  the park and a carton of ice cold juice.  Living so close to the beach has one major advantage - free entertainment.  It doesn't matter if you are one or one hundred, the beach seems to be a source of constant amusement in the summer.  From sandcastles, to sunbathing, to sitting in deckchairs scoffing fish'n'chips, we do like to be beside the seaside.

This summer the baby will need entertaining a lot more than last year.  Last year he spent half the summer as a bump, and the other half as a sleeping, feeding, pooing machine, waking up only to feed, and even then he seemed half asleep.  This year I will have a (presumably) mobile, active toddler on my hands.

So here are the things we plan to do if the glorious weather stays this way:

-Lots of trips to the beach.  We are lucky enough to be a 5 minute walk from a gorgeous sandy beach so any spare time will be spent down there. Dylan loves feeling the sand between his fingers but I have yet to convince him that the cold waves are actually a lot of fun!

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