A Week Housesitting at Mama's.

I'll be honest. We couldn't afford to go on a proper holiday this year. We chose this and we don't feel too bad about it. However, any opportunity for a 'holiday' will always be grabbed at, so when my mother-in-law asked if we could feed her cats while she went away, we took the opportunity to house sit, and spend a week in Derby, my husband's hometown.

The boys and I left on Tuesday night after a day playing with friends, and the boys slept the whole way.

Peace and quiet for a whole two hours.

On arrival, we found that Mama had (as promised, because the boys tend to break things) put most of the breakables away in one of the bedrooms, but still there was a lot of trinkets and things to worry about in all the bedrooms, so we decided we'd be safer if we all slept together on the living room floor. Plus, my husband and I find it difficult to sleep on a soft mattress, so we knew the floor would be better than Mama's bed.

So, we gathered together some bedding and built our camp.

Sleeping beauties.

On our first day (Wednesday) we met up with an old friend of mine, L and went to Markeaton Park for a play in the adventure playground and a little wander.

Steam was burnt off, sticks were found, ponds were investigated, fun was had by all.

Ed & Bean at the top of 
the crow's nest.

Bean trying to copy his older 
& braver brother.

Ed enjoyed going down the slide backwards, but when Bean tried it he panicked and got stuck. Daddy had to go rescue him, which was hilarious because no-one realised his trainers wouldn't hold him on the slope so he slid straight down to Bean. Bean burst into laughter and forgot why he was worried.

The pond in Markeaton Park gardens.

On Thursday, Daddy took us all to his childhood haunt, Allestree Park.

We had a wander through the woods, along the lakeside and up to the old derelict house. It took hours and poor Bean's little legs struggled, but we had a completely lovely time.

'Sweeping out' the 'stick tent'.

We found a great den, which the boys insisted needed a bit of a sweep out, so they grabbed some sticks and scraped away at the floor.

Popping seed pods.

Daddy showed us all these crazy exploding seed pods. I think it's this but I'm not sure.

They were too much fun, and the boys & I found we just couldn't stop popping them!

I pocketed some seeds, so maybe we'll grow them, though obviously with such a prolific method of spreading, I may regret that!

On the hunt for bugs.

Found: millipede.

We had a little hunt to see what we could find. It took milli-seconds to find a millipede, which was then lost, but then found again.

In Allestree woods with Daddy.

Bean looking for fishes.

Ed & Bean in a tree.

Happy Ed.

Ed, just before he realised 
he couldn't get down.

Ed got stuck up here.

Call me mean, but it was hilarious.

Ed will climb anything he can get a foot hold on. He climbed up onto the fallen tree, along the trunk and then up to the top of the root ball. He can jump really far and from really high, but it turns out over 6 foot is too high for him (I would've worried about his little ankles anyway). So I stood underneath and offered to catch him, until i realised there was a little notch of a broken root just in front of his crotch. If he had jumped, he would've scraped his man bits right off (!), so between us, Daddy & I had to lift him over it somehow, then catch him. Ridiculousness.

On Friday, Daddy had to drive back home to go to work for the day, so we went back to Markeaton Park for a paddle in the pool. The boys spent an hour in the cold water having a whale of a time. Then they got dry & dressed and warmed up while playing in the adventure park.

Markeaton Park paddling pool.

Ed in the paddling pool.

Bean stomping through the paddling pond.

Ed. Rocking.

Playing on the slide together.

On Saturday Daddy went fishing on his own all day, so we had a chill day, watching TV, playing in the garden, playing board games and doing some workbooks.

Mama's house is pretty pristine, so the clean up operation had to begin on Saturday.

The boys found it impossible to eat anything without spilling it, so we had a hell of a time cleaning up after them. 

There was one horrible moment when Bean sat at the table eating pizza. 

Everything was protected from spillages, etc, when all of a sudden he dropped his pizza on the silk curtain behind him! 

Holy crap! 

Thankfully, science gave us baby wipes, which are of course incredible at getting any stain out so long as you get there fast enough. 

There is no trace of Bean's boo boo.

The bathroom was a tad skanky, after having little boys in it for a few days. I'm sure anyone with little boys knows what they do to the back of the toilet....

Plus I have the thickest, blackest hair which unfortunately falls out everywhere so I felt inclined to tidy all that nonsense up. After all, who wants to come home to find their bathroom full of someone else's hair? Yuck.

Breakfast at Mama's.

Naked vacuum cleaning. 
Of course.

Playing in Mama's garden.

Jumping off Mama's garden wall.

Bean enjoying Mama's cat, Kiwi.

Ed brushing Kiwi's fur with a 
handmade lego brush.

Both my boys love all kinds of animals, so of course Mama's cats were over loved and chased around the garden. Many hissy fits were had when they managed to escape into next door's garden. Thankfully, they are very easy going cats.

But man, we missed our little doggie.

Sunday was our last day, but a full day it was.

Proud boys showing me the ladybird they found.

The boys and I went to join Daddy where he was fishing with Uncle D & his two children.

Harlequin ladybird

Walking through 
Allestree woods.

Spotted! Daddy fishing on the other side of the lake. But how do we get there?

The lake's overflow hole.

After a mammoth walk around the whole lake (should've gone the other way around), we finally found Daddy.

The boys weren't nearly as interested in fishing as Daddy had hoped, but Ed managed to make himself a fishing rod using a stick he'd found, with some old line tied on. He was pleased as punch when I tied and old screw to the old so it gave him a good plopping sound when he cast out.

Bean simply enjoyed 'stirring' the water and throwing random leaves in.

Ever the homeschoolers these days, we of course had a quick game of 'will in float or sink, and why'.

While I was holding Daddy's rod, I accidentally caught a fish.

Yes.

I haven't a clue.

My fish!

Fishing with his stick.

Fishing with his new rod.

When the boys had had enough of that, we left Daddy and Uncle D to it and went to the park with Auntie L and baby Nile.

Ed doing something Bean just can't 
bring himself to do - the fireman's pole.

Then we went back to Mama's, packed up the car and headed to Darley Park, where Derby Live was hosting a classical music concert. It's on every year and when we lived in Derby we usually went.

Ed's oreo eyes.

It's always a fantastic evening, which culminates in some awesome fireworks set to some epic music. I can't remember how many times we've braved it with two little boys who can't sit down for more than 5 minutes, but we were nervous about how they'd behave. They proved to us we needn't have worried and behaved delightfully. No-one ran off, or wee'd themselves, or anything too horrid. They did however eat too many biscuits, but it was nothing a little walk couldn't solve.

 

Gorgeous pink sunset.

L had bought them both a glow-in-the-dark sword, which was a massive hit. I had intended to get them something glowy, knowing there'd be flashy light up toys for sale from expensive vendors, but it had slipped my mind.

Awesome Auntie L saved the day!

(3 days later, and they are still playing with them).

Watching the fireworks.

Fireworks over Darley park.

Bean & I watching the fireworks.

Glamping at Warwick Castle

While investigating a Summer discount for castle tickets, I accidentally came across a new venture at Warwick Castle.
Glamping.
It didn't take long for me to get a bit excited.
Camping but posher. That's for me!
(We have a long and rather damp history with summer camping holidays in Cornwall & Wales).
Within a few days we'd booked all four of us & my sister's little family into one bell tent.
By the time I called, the day we booked was the only weekday still available.
It was £200 per night for a week night or £250 for a weekend, so we needed a weekday. For us, it was easier to use up 2 days holiday than find another £50.
Yay!
We were so excited.
I made all three little boys little tunics. I tried to make helmets too, but it didn't work out and at the time I was inundated with superhero cape orders so it wasn't top of my priority list.

Leaving at 7am, nope, 8am, in a rather full car.

So off we went. Nice and early so we could make the most of our two full days at the castle....but of course we were running an hour late.
With us driving down and my sister driving up with a baby, we didn't get into the castle until 12 ish. Never mind.

Ready to storm the castle.

One of many peacocks.

Cute baby ducks

Ed & Bean

Rowing a viking long boat.

Ed playing in the courtyard.

Watching the Warwick Warriors.

I'm the king! No! I'm the king!

Of course we had a lovely day. Warwick castle has a lot to offer, but mostly the boys (aged 5, 4 and 1) all enjoyed simply running free in the sunshine.

After watching the 'Sword in the stone' story, Bean shoved his wooden sword in the stone. Him, Ed and some random little boys had a whale of a time with it.

The Warwick Warriors were doing the same show (with all the same jokes) that they were doing last year, but the whole castle had been overrun with five different Horrible History's areas which were lots of fun.
And of course the trebuchet is just awesome. 
Every single time.

Watching the trebuchet from the top of the hill.

Ed trying on 
Norman armour.

Ed & Bean fighting with Auntie H.

The Glampsite was amazing.
It was just a small patch of woodland filled with little rows of bell tents. There was only about 35, so it felt really intimate and cosy. Each little area was adorned with it's own flag, presumably to help small people find their way to their tent. We had to go through what the number 30 (our tent number) looks like a few times before Ed & Bean stopped going into other people's tents.

The glampsite.

In the play area of the glampsite.

Our 'village' flag.

We had booked us all into the BBQ dinner, so after we'd stuffed ourselves silly, we headed out to the entertainment area. There were some giant games to play with as well as Jester school, Knight school and Archery. 

Archery practice.

We queued for a while for the archery because we all wanted to have a go, then Ed & Bean queued for Knight school. They thought it was amazing, but my husband & I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the knights, who had obviously worked all day in the castle, only to have their working hours extended to 8:30pm. They were clearly shattered.

Knight school

I don't envy anyone who has to be nice to a child while he beats you with a sword all bloody day (yes, I speak of my own...at the
beginning of his turn in Knight school, Bean picked up two swords and ran at the poor guy. Thankfully, he has obviously dealt with this often enough, and corrected my little monster accordingly).

Dusk in the glampsite.

The tents and the whole camp were strewn with lights, so when darkness fell, the camp lit up.
It was beautiful.

The Glampsite really was fantastic, but, review wise, here's a few of my humble opinions;
-The staff are brilliant.
-Some of the toilet trailers ran out of water in their taps by the time we came to brush our teeth.
-There were just 3 showers because there was 3 trailers, each with one door (which didn't lock!), 2 showers inside, a bench & lots of space to dress. A 'family' shower room is a lovely idea, except if the other parent is with the kids in the tent. Then you're just one parent using a whole trailer to yourself with no lock on the door, just hoping no-one wanders in. Though I must say, I never queued - I got up at 7am and ran for my life.
-Some lovely child-friendly touches to the whole 'look' of the place. The flags, the sheepskin rugs, the hay bales, it all added to the feel of it. we even had a faux quiver of arrows in our tent but i snuck them into the chest before the boys noticed it (they break almost everything they touch).
-All those gorgeous fairy lights, in and out of the tents.
-Tea and coffee on tap 24/7! Yay!

Cue our second day in the castle.

Obligatory Warwick castle stocks photo.

Emptying the sluice 
bucket in the Tudor area.

Same child, photoshop'ed.

Choosing their ideal armour.

The trebuchet.

It doesn't seem to matter how many times I watch them, I love the trebuchet and the knights!

Jousting knights.

Knights in battle.

Since the boys both behaved impeccably on the second day (no sulking or wandering off), they both earned themselves a shield. (I had investigated how much a wooden shield would cost on eBay and was shocked to find it would be at least £10 for a plain one & I knew it was £8 at Warwick Castle to paint your own). While they were watching the Warwick Warriors (again), I snuck off and got the shields backgrounds pre-painted for them so they would be dry when they came to paint them later on. They were so pleased! Unbelievably, Ed seemed to know exactly what he was going to do, having spoken about it the day before. I offered to help  but he immediately declined and got on with painting his 'x's. Genius! Bean needed a bit more help. He chose his stencil and helped me dab the paint. They're really fantastic and a great reminder of our awesome time at the castle.

My own little knight, Bean.

I've heard the info request list for next year's glamping is already humongous so I don't think it will be the same experience if they chose to expand it, though a few more showers may not go amiss.

Back home with their hand painted shields.

The Importance of Me Time

Well, it was bound to happen at some time.

When it came to writing this, I had no idea which blog to put it in.

Such is life.

I've gone for this one because though it is a 'how I survive being a home school mum', it doesn't have that much to do with our learning adventure, it just keeps us on it.

It's more a 'how I survive being me' post.

So here it is;

My gym membership makes me a better mummy.

Fact.

Last night, while I was frazzled over a sudden influx of commission orders, the opportunity cropped up to join an old friend at the gym, rather than go a few hours later after putting the kids to bed. I grabbed it, knowing that if there was one thing my fried mind needed, it was a blast at the gym while catching up with a friend.

I came home a few hours later revived and ready to cook Daddy & I a very late dinner while he put the boys to bed.

It meant that at 10pm, when Ed crept downstairs while we were watching TV, having still not gone to sleep, rather than yell at him I simply asked what was stressing him out. He calmly explained that the clock was ticking too loudly.

How relieved was I that I'd asked! It was so simple and so easy to solve.

Yesterday, I started redecorating the bathroom, which means that the contents of the bathroom is in the hall, including a very noisy clock.

The boy was right. That'd keep me awake too.

I think he was also a tad stressed about another mummy fail. I'd forgotten to buy more pull ups, so he was trying to go to sleep, despite the 'will I wee when I'm asleep?' fear. We heard him get up again about 10:30pm to visit the bathroom and in the morning he was dry - yay!! Oddly, I tried to praise him and he told me I was being stupid, so I stopped. Whatever. It's only him that gives him a hard time about this, not me. 

This morning, for some random reason I woke up at 6:30am, and grabbed the opportunity to get some work done while the boys were asleep. I managed to cut out, sew together & post everything I needed to. Then I took the boys out to town and to the library, as promised. Go me!

So I could've stayed in last night, got more and more stressed about my commissions, in between trying to get two boys in bed and cooking dinner, and ended up staying up late slaving away at the sewing machine. 

But instead I went out, got all those lovely natural exercise related chemicals surging through my body, had a good sleep and approached my work with a clean head.

My overpriced gym membership gives me 3 evenings a week to myself, where I get some exercise done, maybe a nice swim, a jaunt in a steam room, a relax in the jacuzzi and an hour long shower (anyone who has kids knows how complicated a shower can be). 

Priceless, almost.

As a work from home, homeschooling mummy, me time is more than important. 

It's essential to our survival as a family.

I hope none of you lovely ladies out there ever feel bad for taking a moment for yourself.

You earned it xxx

What kind of things do you use as an escape from the daily grind of motherhood? How do you relax?

My Husband Suffers from ARF (Asshole Resting Face)

I quite recently came across this;
If you think a woman looks sad or angry they may just be suffering from ‘bitchy resting face’, a disorder ‘that affects millions of women every day’ making them look bitchy when they’re really not. Turns out men also have a similar problem.
and I found it hilarious, until I realised....this is me.
And worse, much worse, it definitely describes my husband.

how can you be grumpy while having a snuggle with Gandalf?

It'll be our 6th wedding anniversary in a few weeks, and over this time, I've realised how badly he comes across to people, especially people who don't know him well. When we go to parties, he tends to sit in a corner with the kids and mope. Well, it looks like moping/sulking/general moodiness to other people, until you speak to him and realise he's having a lovely time playing with our boys.

how can you be moody while holding your first born?

It's a real issue because people judge him, and really if you catch him in the right moment, he's a super fun, giggling, playful guy, admittedly he does have a terrible sense of humour.

And of course he can be really grumpy, but generally he's not, he just hasn't put any ought into letting his emotions show on his face.

There was one delightful day when my sister & her family had been staying at ours. As they were leaving, while everyone was saying goodbye, he sat at the dining table, looking lost in his own grumpiness. When they had left I had a huge go at him for being so rude & not saying goodbye to everyone. He replied saying he hadn't even realised they'd left, he was just thinking about his sheds (he does have a lot of sheds). He was gutted he hadn't got to say goodbye, despite being convinced that my sister hates him, he actually really likes her and her fiance (who is impossible to dislike). Silly man. His sheds of all things.

we're on holiday! seriously?!

But then I'm the same. My mind is usually full of my next project, to do lists & what the kids need next. I don't usually notice the world around me, let alone smile at it.

oh look! actually, he's really handsome and friendly looking!

For an end note, I'd like to include a link to this fabulous blog post by a chick about her bitch face, simply because she makes some great points;
Yup, I don't smile all the time. 
Yup, that's OK, there will be a smile on my face when it's deserved. 
And this is the case with Justin. He smiles only when it is necessary, though in my personal opinion, he could do it a little often, because he is sooooo much prettier when he does! Finding these photos has actually reminded me how handsome my husband is, what a lucky girl I am.