Holiday Blues

Five went to Scotland!

 

In the last week of the school holidays we managed to get away and skimmed stones, paddled on beaches, barbecued on the beach, built sand whales, watched the sun set, explored, ate sand filled sandwiches, climbed a lighthouse, painted stones, watched starlings fly and smiled a relaxed and happy smile. We smiled up at blue skies and dipped our toes into blue seas.

Inevitably holidays must end and now the blues of nature are replaced by a blue mood, catching sun bleached locks as they fall to the barbers floor, waving the children off on their first day back to school, hearing the sobs of the Wee One as Daddy goes back to work.

Sad that the summer is over, but full of happy memories to look back on while I sit in my PJ's.



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And with Make Do And Push - The week that was Instagrammed!

Seven Cures for a Confectionery Overdose

School holidays and confectionery overdose.
There is only one possible solution - throw them outside (suitably wrapped up) and let them burn off the sugar.

Yorkie Bar Egg = climb a tree
Bag of marshmallows = ride scooter around the patio in ever decreasing circles whilst wearing shades.
Two bags of Maltesers = over generous Grandparents and a walk around the allotments.
Mini Caramel Eggs x 2 = competitive bunny hunting at Burghley
Moshi Monsters Egg = make funny shadows in the garden
Chocolate Bear = self portrait I'm saving to show her therapist (JOKE!)
No more chocolate = cinema and Wreck It Ralph in Candy Land!

Hope you managed to keep some chocolate for yourself this week ;-)



Join The Boy and Me to see what they've been up to this week.

365project Week 33

I've been struggling this week with the school holiday blues.
Didn't I read somewhere that last Monday was supposed to be the most stressful day of the holidays for parents?
It has been a bit 'tense' in our house with children starting to irritate each other, tempers been well and truly lost (mine) and insufficient entertainment being provided (apparently).

I rebelled and told them all to get on with it and amuse themselves for a bit. They are still working on this.

Meanwhile I sighed a lot and looked skyward trying to zone out the sound of extreme bickering. Fortunately the sun was shining so the sky provided some photographic inspiration, evidenced by a significant proportion of sky and blue in my montage.

Blue shoes peekaboo
Blue skies soften the cathedral
Doodles chase away the grey
Entertaining himself
Afternoon skies sighing
The glisten of blue glass
Blue checks reflected on blue

But with only two weeks of the school holidays left I don't want to wish any time away before the Princess starts school, the Wee One starts nursery and The Big One starts key stage 2. The house will be very quiet without them.


Joining in with The Boy and Me.

If you would like to see any of this weeks photos in more detail, head over to my 365project.

What are we doing today Mummy?

There are some questions that I am dreading passing the lips of my children.

Questions like:

"How do babies get into their Mummy's tummy?"
"What does f**k mean?"
"Is the Tooth Fairy real?"
"Where have all my Haribos gone?"

There will be others that I haven't thought of that will floor me, render me speechless, grasping for an age appropriate response that doesn't then beg another question in reply, thus leading to a confusing tale of storks, gymnastics and thieving elves.

But one question that keeps being asked to the point that the Wee One, whose speech is coming along leaps and bounds, can repeat perfectly, is "What are we doing today, Mummy?"

*mutters "Well I know what Mummy would like to do today."*

"Playing." A simple one word response is deemed inadequate.
"Entertaining yourself." Progress. A two word response. Also deemed inadequate.
"Making an 'I'm Bored' jar." More words. Worthy of a little consideration this time. However this requires me helping and frankly I've got stuff I need to do.

Obviously I have stuff I would like to do (see first answer) but there is lots of stuff that NEEDS to be done, like cleaning, cooking, paying bills, repairing broken (by children) things, fixing stuff, dog walking, researching for (it may happen one day) project, tidying. My list is very long and there aren't enough hours in the day to do it all, especially when there are three children at home who have forgotten how to play.

There are snatches of time when they do play together, I hear the Big One issuing instructions, I hear the Princess challenging her role and the Wee One not doing exactly what he was told. A bit of a discussion ensues and assuming everyone has compromised and concluded that their role is satisfactory, play begins.

It is probably my fault for directing them too much, giving in when they say they have nothing to do and offering up suggestions (hardly any of which are taken mind you). I should just ignore them and let them work it out themselves, carry on flicking the duster around and wait for them to get bored of saying 'I'm bored' and go and find something to do.

I could spend hours with them, just playing, reading, helping, but I simply do not have time or patience so they have to remember how to entertain themselves. I can do it. I can entertain myself for hours (given the opportunity) so why can't they? Or I could spend a small fortune on activities for them to fill the hours of every single day but who has the budget for that?

I remember my own school holidays and they were filled with games, reading, a bit of TV, bike riding, den building, playing with friends but very few days out. I don't honestly remember my Mum playing with us. She may have, and I've forgotten, or she may not have and *gasp* we played by ourselves. We had a holiday but outside of that we were at home and largely entertained ourselves.

So in the 2 weeks remaining of the summer holiday, one will hopefully be spent away together, but one will be at home with a couple of play dates thrown in. The I'm Bored jar has dust on it (I haven't had time to do the cleaning because they want entertaining instead) so they need to entertain themselves preferably without killing each other.

So how can I educate them to play by themselves? Am I neglecting them by not providing entertainment for each waking hour of the day? All suggestions welcome.

365Project Week 30

30 is a significant age I think.
I remember working out when I was at primary school, what year it would be when I turned  30.
I did a similar calculation when I started my 365project. What month will it be when I hit week 30?
July.
Or more importantly first week of the school summer holidays.

I had visions of this week's photos showing all the adventures we had got up to, the action packed days we had filled.

Instead, I present you a block of ice, a blue tongue, a scooter, a shadow, some children (mine, 2 of) sat in the shade, a water fight and a spectacularly ugly fly. Not quite what I had in mind.

We may not have crammed every day full of special memories but we have had fun (when we remember to), just enjoying the weather while it lasts and relaxing.

Maybe a more eventful week next week.


If you would like to see these photos in more detail, please head over to my 365project where you can see them all in their glory.

Joining in with The Boy and Me for the 365 Project

You know it is the school summer holidays when...

• Your children suddenly wake earlier than they have done in the last 6 months rendering any hope of a lie-in null and void.
• Gin consumption increases. Substantially.
• As does chocolate consumption.
• The fridge is permanently empty...
• ... as is the fuel tank of the car from all the ferrying to and from friends...
• ... and so is your bank account.
• It rains when you plan a day out to the beach.
• It's 30 degrees when you plan a trip to the soft play center.
• Your previously happy-to-play-together children, refuse to play happily together.
• You let the children fight and don't intervene believing that this is an essential life skill, and you can't be arsed.
• You buy craft supplies in bulk...
• ... and borrow craft books from the library.
• Your recycling bin is full of your kids craft creations.
• You know exactly how many days it is till they are back at school.
• You have watched all the DVDs in the house 3 times over and it isn't even lunch time yet.
• You make enquiries for meals on wheels.
• You are actively looking for an Au Pair.
• You are actively looking for full time employment.
• The kids complain that they don't want to go to the park AGAIN.
• The ducks erect a sign politely requesting no more bread.
• Your facebook timeline is full of families lying about having fun...
• ... and pictures of their kids craft creations and baking acheivements.
• You have looked at your watch 15 times and it still only 9.30am.
• All your children get ill, staggered throughout the summer break.
• There is less traffic on the roads but you have nowhere to get to.
• Price of ice cream goes up.
• The old school shoes fit right up till the day before returning to school.
• Back to school stuff is on sale but when you remember, it will be sold out of any size you need.

I have faith that as the summer progresses there may be more examples to be added to this list. For this reason, this blog post will have the subtitle Part 1.

What have I missed? And can I plagiarise your ideas for Part 2?

Summer Bucket List

The children are compiling their Summer Bucket List. It is quite short but hideously expensive. I am informed that this is what will make their summer. Deep joy.

Children's Summer Bucket List:

• Go to the Cinema
• Visit Alton Towers
• Go to a 'real' Zoo (with elephants and giraffes)
• Get wet at the Garden of Surprises
• Go to the Cinema (again). (Different film presumably)
• Visit Abigail and Sam in Spain
• Go camping (not in the garden).
• Go on holiday (somewhere other than Spain or camping)
• Go to the Park (contribution from The Wee One)
• Go swimming.
• Go to Euro Disney.
• Eat sweets.

There are a couple of things on the Children's list that would be on my own - Result. There are more things that would not. For very good reasons I may add. Primarily cost. Secondly, the Mr has only a scant few days off through the summer and therefore major trips anywhere are more than this Mummy can cope with flying solo. Although I did find myself considering taking the children camping on my own for a brief moment or two, right after I'd poured a third glass of wine. This was after I discovered a parent at school was taking her two children on a road trip round Spain and France on her own for SIX weeks. Now that's a lot of gin. Anyway, we don't have a big enough tent so it's all hypothetical.

Seriously though, I have six weeks of nothingness on the family calendar and it needs to filled, or at least punctuated with activity that will entertain the children but preferably not by watching me drown under a sea of crafting supplies. I feel an overwhelming pressure to get planning which feels unnatural, but if I don't, six weeks will have flown by, the kids won't have anything except McDonald's receipts in their holiday scrapbooks and I will be entirely grey.

I've had a mooch about on Pinterest and have found some lovely looking bucket lists designed, imagined and knitted by Mums with way to much time on their hands. Listen to me, all bitter. I'm just jealous that they've got themselves organised and in such a creative, pretty and fun way.

So have I left planning my family Summer Bucket List too late or can I still salvage a shred of Mummy credibility even at this late stage?

Banana Muffins

The first day of the Easter Holidays and I have exhausted all my time filler ideas already!

Send help, or a nanny!

Today we washed the shed, travelled back in time and baked banana muffins.

Glossary:
'washed shed' - cleaned outside toys which, it was decided by those wiser than me, should include the shed.
'travelled back in time' - visited the newly installed and hugely condensed Stamford Museum exhibit at the library. They have a cool tapestry if you are passing.
'baked banana muffins' - err, baked banana muffins.

Taking a recipe from Allrecipies.co.uk we tackled the 'too-ripe-to-be-eaten' bunch of bananas.

Mashing and smashing them with a fork, adding sugar and an egg, and a dash of honey (not in the recipe but we were feeling all daring).
Folding in plain flour with a half teaspoon of baking powder and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
Adding raisins which was the Princess's idea.
Baking for 20 minutes.
Eating.

365project Week 7

Half term week was spent mostly in Wales, Porthmadog to be precise. A short notice holiday with friends was hard to refuse even if February probably isn't the ideal time of year for a beach holiday in that part of the country.

The week started with the Princess's party, swiftly followed by lunch with Grandma, a rendezvous with hearts and romance and then we reached the North Wales beach. Armed with raincoats, jumpers and wellies we found some great beaches and wildlife (check out the jellyfish), scaled mountains by steam train in pursuit of an evasive view of Snowdon and searched for the perfect pebble. The scenery was amazing, stark, shiny and wet and was all the more striking in the rain!

The highlight of the holiday was seeing the kids have so much fun on a deserted beach in the rain. The lowlight was the rickety cold steam train, travelling at 3 mph, in the rain, beside a lake, with no view of Snowdon. An hour of my life I will never get back, all the more painful because it was my idea.

I watched some intrepid hikers, weighed down with more wet weather gear than should be necessary that far above sea level, heads down against the driving rain and walking poles primed ready to tackle the mountain. As I watched them stride out, I loosened my scarf in the warmth provided by the cafe, looked down at my latte and figured I had made the better decision! Maybe next year.

See you next week.

I am linking up with The Boy And Me where more 365projects are underway.

The Great School Holiday Challenge - Week 6

I can't quite believe it but, yes, *checks calendar* I think we may have survived the school holidays.

And, *double checks calendar* it seems to have gone bloomin' fast.

Okay there was a week in the middle there, when we had cabin fever and there was a potentially large risk of developing a wee drinking problem (Me that is. Not the kids), but all in all it wasn't that bad. Even my Mummy Mojo made a brief appearance, sufficient to get through dull, wet, long, boring days, of which there were a few. But the fact that the last 2 weeks of the holiday were packed with visitors and Daddy was home so we could get away, was a fantastic finish to the summer, running on beaches, drinking with friends and eating lovely grub.

So here it is, the last week on the holidays and the point at which I have to find something else to write about!

Day 36: Lunch with Grandma at Strada was a bit of a wrestling match with the Wee One. Little houdini managed to climb out of the highchair despite a harness and had me eating my scallop risotto one handed through much of it. Only ice cream captured his attention sufficiently to sit still for more than 30 seconds. One bowl of ice cream later and normal houdini-ness was back in force. I think the waitress found it the most irritating. Tripping over a toddler with a tray of drinks was probably not the highlight of her day.

Day 37: A low flying Lancaster bomber passed over our garden. Not an everyday accurance so it got me wondering what it was doing there, and then I remembered that there was the annual Stamford Car Fair in town. So we toddled off to have a gander at some rather gorgeous cars. The Big One was rather taken with the long line of Ferraris whereas I prefered the 50's 60's and 70's classics like Cadillac, Camper Vans and a particularly lovely E-type. Ill-prepared as I was, I forgot my camera and my phone battery died half way round so next year I'll be getting there a bit earlier with a full compliment of photography equipment and batteries.

Day 38: Well we couldn't have a week go by and not go to Burghley now could we? I really ought to read the local paper because if I had, I would have known about the Car Fair and I would have also known about the Fine Foods Fair at Burghley and not bothered making dull tuna sandwiches when we could have enjoyed some lovely sausages and burgers from some of our local farms. The aromas drifting from their stalls was pretty darn good but instead we went for a couple of icecream cupcakes from the Stamford Cupcake Company. A quick jaunt around the Sculpture gardens and a dipping of the toes into the water gardens and a lovely day was had by all.

Day 39: Now the Big One is a bit of a Cars fan so when we heard that Cars 2 was coming out this summer he was rather excited. Today was the big day and Daddy took him to see it at the Stamford Arts Centre. Two hours later and Daddy passed it off with a noncommital shrug whereas the Big One thought it rocked. The highlight apparently was when Mater blew raspberry's at the baddies.

Day 40: Whoo Hoo. Norfolk here we come. My parents live in Hunstanton so we took them up on their offer of staying for a couple of days and using their house as a base for day trips further along the North Norfolk coast, a particular family favourite. To be honest we would have prefered to have stayed somewhere on our own but beggars and all that so Hunstanton it was. We got there in time to have lunch at the Jolly Sailors in Brancastor which is just lovely. They have a garden with a large climbing frame and slide for the kids, a pizza oven and a generally nice menu.

With full tummies we hit the beach there and had acres of space to run around in. It was low tide and the sea was about a mile out but there are enough creeks to paddle in to feel like you are dipping a toe in the sea. Sand dunes behind you and a vast beach in front of you make for happy children. There is a ship wreck on the beach which I thought I would wander out to see. the Mr said that it would take 30 minutes to get there and I would have to cross a creek, but undetered I headed off. The *ahem* creek was more like a river and not having brought a dingy I got no further than this:

which did actually take about 30 minutes. But with the fresh sea air and the sun on my face it was pretty darn nice.

Day 41: A stroll with the dog in the morning landed us at Boston Square Sensory Garden. A little hidden gem that in the height of summer would have looked stunning. As it was, it was still very pretty.

We packed a picnic and headed for Well-Next-The-Sea which, from previous visits I remembered as being another lovely beach. Disappointingly (it was now September after all) the wind was a tad brisk. Sheltered behind a groyne, we huddled up and watch braver souls having a paddle. The Wee One, oblivious to the wind, just wanted to get wet so we let him run around until his teeth chattered and then went home for fish and chips.

Day 42: After a round of crazy golf and icecream in Sunny Hunny, we decided to go back to Brancaster. I suppose, given it was a sunny day and the wind had died down and it was a Friday and the last weekend of the Summer Holidays, we should have expected more people. Surprise! More people. But Brancaster beach at low tide is big enough to accomodate huge crowds so we still managed to find a spot to claim as our own. It may have been tiredness, it may have been because we had to trek further to get a spot, it may have been because we knew we were going home that evening, but it was not quite the joyful, carefree afternoon I had envisaged. Instead we were the family from hell and I'm sure I heard applause when we left.

Day 43: This weekend we were house guests of friends in Hitchin. Having just written a post about house guests I was determined that we should be helpful, good company and not in the least bit demanding. Our hostess is a testimony in how to relax when you have guests, effortlessly accommodating young children, and whipping up nibbles with not even a hint of a sigh. We relaxed and had a lovely afternoon and evening, drinking too much and having a splendid time. We have missed our friends.

I *cough* may have been a little tipsy when I took this photo

Day 44: The remaining dribble of vodka in the bottle was a sorrowful reminder of why we felt so crap. I had to return to bed after my 'breakfast' of flat coke and the Mr had 3 (count them) attempts at staying vertical. Not even a gorgeous Sunday roast was enough to rouse him. Oh well, the price you pay.

And that, dear readers is the last installment of our Great Summer Holiday Challenge.

We thank you x

The Great School Holiday Challenge - Week 5

Week 5 already!

I actually think *pauses for breath* that we might just make it. I know I could be tempting fate here but we might actually survive 6 weeks school holidays with no packing cases type holiday, no major injuries or visits to A&E, no major damage to the credit card and, more importantly, survived with our sense of humour intact.
I know there is still time but let me have my moment OK?

Day 29: Car shopping. After 3 months of mostly managing without a car while the Mr is off hunting and gathering, today we went to buy him a runaround so I could have wheels. Yipeee! Interesting experience. First stop, a field and bunker, a moustachioed man and a potential car but the moustachioed man had lost the keys. Second stop, a level crossing and a potential motor with keys. One test drive later, a quick exchange of offers and a passing over of some notes and she was ours/his.

Day 30: Bouncy castle heaven for the kids. Friends had their 2 remarkably well behaved boys Christened and at the party afterwards the Princess and the Wee One had their first successful experience of a bouncy castle. No tears. Not one. I was happy.

Day 31: After an unplanned visit to the local soft play centre (which really must get some investment soon because it is falling apart but they can make a decent cup of tea) our friends from Sant Pol de Mar (Catalunya) arrived for a 3 day visit. Whooo hoooooo! You may have seen my earlier post about houseguests which was inspired, but by no means directed at them. We had a great time. The Princess was in total awe of the Tall One who is 10, my god-daughter, very slim and leggy and also very intelligent. She will go far. The Wee One was in total Awe of the Chatty One, my not god-son, who will undoubtably be in the media with his witty comebacks. The Big One was just as happy as he could be. Sleeping arrangements were tight, with me "shhhing" alot after the Wee One had gone to bed but it worked!

Day 32: I was super delighted and gushing with excitement to be invited to a Mothercare #MummyMeetUp at their Peterborough store. a) This was the first time I had been invited to anything as a blogger and b) this was the first time I would meet anyone in the flesh from twitter. I was surprisingly not nervous and it was a pleasure to meet some lovely bloggers and tweeters. We only had an hour so we didn't exactly have a huge amount of time to get to know each other and the time was also largely taken up by a representative from Medela who fought bravely through the toddler mayhem to educate us on breastfeeding and the equipment that is now available to support you. She did remarkably well given most of the audience was actually beyond that phase of parenting but I did get to play with a fake boobie and breast pump which have improved considerably since I fed the Big One (pumps not fake boobies that is).

Day 33: The sun shone (for once this week) so guess where we went? Regular readers will know that Burghley is my local attraction and I have a season ticket. So off we went. Sculpture garden where the Big One managed to roll around in some nettles (you probably heard his screams) and the water garden where, not surprisingly, we all got a bit wet.

Day 34: I'll let you into a little secret, the best cheese scone in Stamford is at the Stamford Arts Centre. So we went and I had a cheese scone which was still the best in Stamford. The Wee One ate ice cream. And then we waved bye bye to our visitors. Tears were shed when we all looked at each other and thought "Now what?". So we went to bed early.

Day 35: Boring bored sort of day today. Post visitor blues combined with rain and the essential cleaning requirements of a house of 5 people and a molting dog. There is no way I can glamourise the day. It was essentially dull.


And so I return to my hopeful opening paragraph and try not to tempt fate that we are now in the last week of the school holidays and we haven't killed each other. Mind you, there is still time.

School Holiday Alphabet Challenge - K

We had a double whammy yesterday. Whilst jumping up and down like a loon in the middle of a critical nailbiting football match against Daddy, the Big One was inspired for his next letter so we took it there and then. Well, technically I took it (again) but it was all his own footwork.

K is for Kick!

We'll back again tomorrow folks.

The Great School Holiday Challenge - Week 4

Welcome to our weekly catch up of what the Five have been up to over the school holidays. This is where I should be referencing back to the list I came up with before the holidays started and keep ticking off all those great ideas we had. *Ahem*  This list is remarkably intact.

Day 22: The good news was that Daddy was going to be home by mid afternoon. The bad news was that Daddy wouldn't be home until mid afternoon. *groundhog day*

Day 23: Yay, nice weather so we headed off to Burghley to the Gardens of Surprise to make good use of the season ticket. We set off before lunch with a plan to eat a picnic before we went in. Finding no where to sit we took advantage of some partially constructed seat terraces for the Horse trials. Who needs parks or water gardens when you can have pull down seats that you can run up and down.

Day 24: For reasons best known to themselves, today was deemed to be dressing up day. We are one the very rare households that hasn't got a dressing up box (I have no idea why) so dressing up involved Mummy popping into Sukies, the local costume hire and party one stop shop, to pick up the required bits and bobs. The result of hours of bending, taping and sewing were a pair of fairy wings and a pirate's bandana. I cheated and bought the eye patch though ;-)

Day 25: MY DAY. I took a day off being Mummy today. Having seen it on Kirstie Allsopp's Homemade Home programme, I went to the Lincolnshire Home and Antiques Fair indulging my crafting, recycling, vintage and thrifty gene. It was the third day of the fair so many stalls were already packing up but it is such a large fair that there was still so much to see and of course bargains to be had. I then had a NIGHT OUT and went to Tolethorpe (a local open air theatre) to see Shakespeare's The Winters Tale. I had a lovely time just being me, suiting myself, and being selfish. *grins* *and ticks off #23* *and finds shoe tidy for the hall (see below) so ticks off #35 too*

Day 26: Back to Burghley (not bored of it yet) to the Sculpture Gardens which are amazing for their originality and ability to amuse children despite it being art and a garden. We took our cameras, one each, and chased around taking hundreds of photos of sculpture (all), the ground (Princess), the children (me) and other unknown people (the Big One). I'm going to do another post on this one because it is worthy of it. (Note to self: remember spare batteries for camera next time).

Day 27: Puddles were splashed in. Snails were tormented. And tea was drunk in large quantities. There may also have been a few DVDs.

Day 28: Paaaarty! Paaaarty! Wave your hands in the air like you just don't care. And eat cake. Nothing like a 3 year old birthday party to make you smile and hit new sugar highs!

Phew. Another exhausting week where not enough sleep was had by Mummy. Maybe next week...

School Holiday Alphabet Challenge - J

We are already at the letter J in the School Holiday Alphabet Countdown which means that there are only 16 days left before school starts again. Yay! No, that isn't just me feeling the pressure of entertaining the children that is also a Yay from the Big One who really likes school and is missing his friends. We have caught up with some of them over the holidays but others he hasn't seen.

In the meantime this photography challenge is keeping him entertained for about 10 minutes a day. Just need to fill the other 1430!

Today the Big One wanted to star in his own photo so I was instructed to take the shot.

 

We have J for Jump!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for another riveting episode of Alphabet countdown x

School Holiday Alphabet Challenge - I

Another day and another letter. This time it is I.

Yesterday we went to the Sculpture Gardens at Burghley and there we found this:

This is I for Ice House.

Dating from the late 18th century, the Ice House at Burghley was used to store ice collected from the lake where it would stay frozen for up to 2 years! Amazing!

Come back tomorrow for J.

Photo credit: The Big One

School Holiday Alphabet Countdown - F, G & H

Opps, bit of a catch up required on the School Holiday Alphabet Countdown.

It's been an 'interesting' couple of days which have conspired to interrupt normal service.

On Monday we had a non-sleeping toddler who finally laid his head to rest at midnight completely sabotaging any attempt I would have to post the Big One's photographic project. And Tuesday was MY day where I went out without children and did grown up stuff that was just for ME. I left instructions for photographic project that were ignored.

Hence today we have catch up.

On Monday I was instructed to create fairy wings and pirate costumes. Which I duly did.

F is for Fairy:

On Tuesday the Big One went cycling.

G is for Gears

And today is H. Also following on the cycling theme...

H is for Helmet.

Tomorrow, I know you can't contain your excitement, will be I.

Feel free to join in and add your link in the comments x

Photo credit: The Big One

School Holiday Alphabet Countdown - E

Slightly tougher one today. We hadn't been to a zoo so Elephant and Emu were ruled out. As easy as a simple Egg would be it was deigned by the Big One as "boring". And then, in the blink of an eye...

the solution was there looking back at him.

Today's letter was E for Eyes.

Come back tomorrow for another great photo from the Big One beginning with F.

Photo credit: the Big one

School Holiday Alphabet Countdown - D

With a little bit of coercing the Big One was up and running on today's letter D and we were spoilt for choice.
Our list of ideas was as follows:

• Duck (thank you Melksham Mum for her D)
• Dinosaur
• Dalmatian (as in 101)
• Daddy (ahh)
• and Dog

There was a photo taken of Daddy but he censored it. It was taken very close and from a less than flattering angle. When he is ready to be launched to the world he would prefer it to be with a photo of his own choice I think.

But Daddy treated them this afternoon and while sat indulging in a Maltesers milk shake and waffle, the Big one spotted this:

So he gives you D for Dog. No it isn't our dog, Misty Moo, and no we don't know these people. That would have been too easy I suppose!

Pop back tomorrow for E.

Until then.

Photo credit: The Big One

The Great School Holiday Challenge Week 3

The Great School Holiday Challenge whizzes into its third week (well not quite whizzes, more like drifts).

Day 15: I have learned that Misty Moo is not entirely appreciative of being tied up outside the library for 30 minutes while the Big One and Princess 'debate' which film they are going to borrow. Neither does she like Waitrose car park while the same two children decide which comics they are going to buy. Having said that, the Big One chose a great "Make and do" comic and made a shark.

Day 16: My brother and his family popped over for the day on the way to their caravan. When I say popped, they actually drove about 2 hours out of their way so bless them. It was a joy to see the children playing with their big cousins and brought a lovely big grin to my face!

Day 17: Sent the Big One off to a friends for the morning where a snow storm was artificially created in their living room. Lesson: do not allow boys and polystyrene packaging to mix! One part of me wishes I had been there to capture the scene for posterity. The other part of me is soooo glad I wasn't. Hoovering hell! They were suitably admonished, given a carrier bag each and sent to clear it up.

Day 18: A Pizza Express voucher magically appeared in my hot little hand inbox so we HAD to go! A family favourite. They have had a makeover and have some lovely art on the walls. One of which is this bull. Along side it a plaque describes the traditional bull-running that took place in my own town, albeit up until 674 years ago. See, Pizza Express is educational.

In other news, the Big One gained a new bike and lost a tooth.

Day 19: Cycling practice with gears for the first time had the Big One flummoxed for a bit until I explained that it wasn't obligatory to only use gears 1 and 6. You hear that clunking whirring grinding noise every time you go between gear 1 and 6? That's the other 4 gears you could be using. To unwind we baked these fab cookies from Sticky Fingers blog.

Day 20: Today was a bit of a non-day :-( You know, when you don't achieve anything. When nothing really gets done and the kids watch a wee bit too much telly. I have admonished myself sufficiently to ensure that this will not happen again. The "I'm Bored" box was used and bubbles were blown (thereby ticking off #42 on the Challenge list - yay).

Day 21: Secret Seven lives again (apparently). I was a HUGE Secret Seven fan in my youth and the love of mysteries has stayed with me. A friend of the Big One has just discovered the series with the help of his Mum (another big fan) and has instigated a Secret Seven Club all of his own. The Big one is a member and a meeting was called today. I would love to tell you what they did, what plans were concocted, what mysteries were solved but I can't. They're secret. And hence, no photo.

Three down and three to go. School holiday fatigue is starting to kick in so the bottoms of barrels may be scraped shortly. Stay tuned to see what new depths we can reach!