Meet our new member of the family....

After much pestering from the children we have given in and got another cat (Keith was put down when Monty was about two but 'cat' was Monty's first word and he has always loved cats. Minnie just loves any animal but particularly wnated one she could stroke.

Thanks to the Blue Cross in Lewknor we have rehomed Simba (who may be renamed Mango/Tiger/Dorito/Pussy - Monty's number one choice, I didn't really know what to say!! 🐈🐈🐈)who is 2 and half and whose previous owner was never at home so Simba was very lonely. He would apparently catch the bus and go to to the shops just to find people to hang out with! 

Suffice to say that Minnie and Monty lavished attention on him all afternoon and he seemed very relaxed and settled. Although how we are going to keep him inside for 4 weeks I am not sure - he's got a very keen eye on all doors!!

 

Monty loses his first tooth!

He has been waiting for years to lose a tooth and is the last in his class ( and nearly 7!) so when his tooth finally came out at the weekend he said ‘It’s the best day of my life!!’ 

I am still getting used to his little gappie smile - it’s amazing how much it instantly changes their faces! 

You must watch Planet Child - it'll challenge your perceptions of keeping your kids 'safe'

 

We are huge Operation Ouch fans in our house and tonight we watched Chris and Xand’s new ITV show Planet Child. So fascinating how children from different countries grow up so differently and it's become quite a talking point. SOme parents couldn'tw atch the show as they were so freaked out!

In Namibia 3yros handle machetes and start fires, while in Japan 7yros travel across Tokyo catching buses and trains to go to school and back - all on their own! Which makes you realise how over protective we are of our kids - ironic when going outside their comfort zone and exploring is great for their growing brains.

So Chris and Xand sent a bunch of 5-7 yros to travel across London on their own. It’s very cute! Watch it with your kids - then wait for them to ask for more freedom! Minnie and Monty are now desperate to try going to the local shop to buy a pint of milk! Not sure if we are brave enough but will try to push outside our comfort zone too because they already have far less freedom than we did when we were kids. 

How much independence do your children have?

Monty falls in a bog.... and a New Forest Air BnB recommendation

It could only happen to Monty! We've spent a lush weekend at an Air BnB in the New Forest with my dear old school friend Scott and his wife Lindsay - the founder of brilliant card company The Right Lines - and their three kids. 

The house had a huge garden complete with rather enchanting woods and, it transpires, a few bogs! Monty got his wellington squelched off and had to be rescued. He looked like Stig of the Dump and needed a complete change of clothes. But we couldn't have been more happy that instead of asking us for their iPads the band of five of them were constantly asking if they could go into the garden to play a 'survival' game. Despite the fact that this came to a very sticky, muddy end it was all very Enid Blighton and Five Go On A Fabulous Adventure!!

 

Happy Easter - from our hot tub!!!

I didn’t know what to get James for his birthday next Wednesday - so I hired a hot tub for the weekend! It has been a total triumph, the kids are loving it, James is loving and it and even my mum has had a go in it! Plus we've never been so popular with local friends! 

And Leah who runs Mr Bubbles Hot Tub hire is a real inspiration  - she struggled to find flexible work after having her daughter Millie (now 3 and totally adorable) and so invested in a hot tub with a plan to rent it out. ‘My mum said I was mad,’ she told me. ‘But I thought, worse case scenario, we own a hot tub!’ Now she has lots of hot tubs and you have to book weeks in advance! Hurrah - neccessity is indeed the motherhood of invention - and entrepreneurship!!!

We've also had a lovely few days in Prague - travel review to come!

Happy Easter - from our hot tub!!!

I didn’t know what to get James for his birthday next Wednesday - so I hired a hot tub for the weekend! It has been a total triumph, the kids are loving it, James is loving and it and even my mum has had a go in it! Plus we've never been so popular with local friends! 

And Leah who runs Mr Bubbles Hot Tub hire is a real inspiration  - she struggled to find flexible work after having her daughter Millie (now 3 and totally adorable) and so invested in a hot tub with a plan to rent it out. ‘My mum said I was mad,’ she told me. ‘But I thought, worse case scenario, we own a hot tub!’ Now she has lots of hot tubs and you have to book weeks in advance! Hurrah - neccessity is indeed the motherhood of invention - and entrepreneurship!!!

We've also had a lovely few days in Prague - travel review to come!

Happy Easter holidays! What have you got planned? My top four suggestions...

I have this week off so have a few nice things planned:

1. Going to go and see Dumbo the movie - I'm a big Tim Burton fan so I am looking forward to it as much as the kids! 
   
   

2. A friend was telling me how good the Nets Kingdom is at Black Park Apparently the kids will love an hour in the nets and then there's also a lake to walk around, plus another adventure playground. Sounds like a great way to wear them out. Although having looked at the weather for the next few days we might take a rain check (literally!) on this one! 

3. This is another place I haven't checked out - Gulliver's Splash park and it's only £8 per child. 

4. While I plan all of this I am also reminding myself that very often Minnie and Monty enjoy doing precisely nothing. Not rushing anywhere, just chilling at home. Watching movies, playing Lego, winding each other up, wrestling, drawing and doing a bit of Minecraft. And this is ok. And perhaps that's good for me too sometimes! 

Whatever you have planned for Easter, enjoy! And remember to make some time to do NOTHING!

Tracey x

Happy Easter holidays! What have you got planned? My top three suggestions...

I have this week off so have a few nice things planned:

1. Going to go and see Dumbo the movie - I'm a big Tim Burton fan so I am looking forward to it as much as the kids! 
   
   

2. A friend was telling me how good the Nets Kingdom is at Black Park Apparently the kids will love an hour in the nets and then there's also a lake to walk around, plus another adventure playground. Sounds like a great way to wear them out. Although having looked at the weather for the next few days we might take a rain check (literally!) on this one! 

3. This is another place I haven't checked out - Gulliver's Splash park and it's only £8 per child. 

4. While I plan all of this I am also reminding myself that very often Minnie and Monty enjoy doing precisely nothing. Not rushing anywhere, just chilling at home. Watching movies, playing Lego, winding each other up, wrestling, drawing and doing a bit of Minecraft. And this is ok. And perhaps that's good for me too sometimes! 

Whatever you have planned for Easter, enjoy! And remember to make some time to do NOTHING!

Tracey x

Goodbye Mr Potato Head hello Mr Avo Head!

Love this! Hasbro has announced that one of our nation’s favourite characters, Mr Potato Head, will unfortunately become discontinued, and will be replaced by his brand new Insta-famous rival, Mr Avo Head.

Props to Hasbro for a totally plausibe April fool!!!!!

Monty has his first gig!

 

I was terrible at music when I was a child. In recorder lessons I would stand at the back and hope they didn't notice that I couldn't read music and was just tooting along in any old tune. 

Cut to Monty asking if he could join the Rock Steady group at school and play keyboards and I couldn't have been more pleased that my lack of musicality hasn't been handed down to him. It's an extra curricular thing so you have to pay for it but it's all done in school time so no worries about pick ups and collections. And the kids all get to form a band with their friends and they do an end of term show in front of parents as well as the whole school! Introducing Monty on keyboards! They played Shine Bright Like a Diamond and there was a lead singer, two guitarists and a drummer alongside Monty.

It was lovely and I thoroughly recommend it. Whether he'll learn to read music through it doesn't matter - he's having fun!

More details here