the kids


Altomincio family park – Italy 3

A little while back we were chosen as winners in Tots100’s Al Fresco Holidays competition. I could hardly believe it. First things first I had a little cry, and a panic about flying, then I went begging my children’s head teachers to let them have a week off. As Jen is at Infants and D is at a Grammar school this meant two lots of grovelling, of course officially they aren’t allowed to authorise time off anymore but I asked anyway and got the secret nod of approval. It was all rather a rush, from getting a tweet from Sally to travelling to the airport was just a few days. I wasn’t sure what to pack, and what we would need to take so I might have asked Sally some rather daft questions on the telephone. (Sorry again for that!) We flew from Gatwick, with easyJet at stupid O’clock in […]


Splashing pebbles 3

Yesterday we went to visit Blokey’s Grandad. He is a very elderly chap, who had a stroke a few years back so whenever we go round he’s always in his chair. The boys can’t remember him pre-stroke so they struggle a bit. I remember him being a bit chattier so I understand his speech. Although the kids like the great grandparents they do act like caged animals when we leave their house. Too much sitting still and behaving! So afterwards we went for a muck about at the park. It was a hot sunny day, so ice cream and a walk about the pond. This soon turned into chucking sticks into the water, then pebbles. A bit of tree climbing. Fishing out clumps of fish eggs or frog spawn using long twigs, but carefully so we didn’t kill anything, and we put it back in the same place we found […]


Goodbye Fajita 3

Today Freya Woof learnt to open the back door handle. Today she did this as I was in the garden feeding our chickens. She got Fajita, and I got to them so fast. I screamed at Freya and lifted my hand (a warning not being mean), she loosened her grip, but didn’t let go. I snatched my poor hen. Freya had her only by feathers at this point, so I inadvertently plucked a few more feathers from Fajita. Both our chickens ran for the house for safety and I got Freya’s collar and walked her to her crate for “time out”. I have kept them separate until this scuffle, and Freya is never allowed in the back garden.


Swans don’t like dogs! 8

Yesterday the kids were bored and moaning they didn’t want to go out. They’d gone a bit stir crazy in fact and all the overly aggressive “playing” was worrying me. It was one of them days. After another time-out moment Blokey and I told them to get coats, shoes and the woofs lead. We hadn’t had lunch yet, and Blokey and I just needed to get them out of the house. We popped to a certain popular drive through to grab lunch without leaving the woof.


Worried For Maggie 5

My little cutey with the attitude, Maggie rabbit, is ill. 50/50 chance ill. When I bought her for a tenner it felt like a rehome/rescue. She was living with a breeder who proudly said what a good mother Maggie was, and how I could get “decent money if you breed her.” Of course I wanted her to retire her immediately. The poor little bun was terrified of the people she was with and hated the male rabbits she was in tiny hutches next to.


The Christmas Bulbles Competition 3

Me and my eldest son have been “mucking about with craft fluff an’ stuff” and come up with 4 little “Christmas Bulbles”. Nope, that’s not an accidental typo, its Bulbs + Baubles = Bulbles. As I can’t resist a good blogger challenge type of competition I had to have a go at this one. So D and I sat down, and made rather a bit of mess, had some fun, and came out with these…. D isn’t a natural “crafter” so I set him going with a children’s sewing kit and he stitched together Mr Robin. Bright pink and cute he may be, but he has an evil eye, a glass eye in fact. My first creation was the biggest, of course. I threaded 20 glittery mini-baubles onto a festively red pipe cleaner, then wrapped it around the bulb tubes. Around the plastic cap section I then sticky taped on some […]


A Family Friendly Garden 1

We have two tiny gardens. The back garden is fenced and secure but a mess thanks to the pesky (but cute) chickens. This is the state of the garden, hardly any grass and waterlogged clayish soil. With the current rain it’s boggy out there! The front garden is smaller, and with no fencing but has better drainage and supports a lawn, woohoo. It’s good enough to keep trees alive and happy.