Will Dig Life

Summer continues and with it, the challenge to find things to do with the kids. Learned today that Airhop (the trampoline place) isn't running any toddler sessions at all in summer. And N has been asking to go! Today we kept it pretty simple. Playgroup (highlight: a massive play dough on N's head and spread through her hair... but she had fun so why not) and a trip to the library in the afternoon. They each chose a book from the old faithful favourite, Julia Donaldson. Brains!?¿ Nah, play dough.   Digging for treasure Always fully immersed in the action!

Birthdays with a 0 are special... this weekend we got to celebrate Mr.'s 50th! (Yes I'm a lot younger!) We kicked it off with a cycle towards Bath along the old railway path. Unfortunately the weather - finally a bit of wet relief after the dry heatwave - put quite a few people off so we were a small and select group. Still, the cycle with a picnic at the end was a great way to celebrate Mr, exactly what he enjoys. Not looking impressed yet - waiting to set off! Just exploring the path.  The next day was his actual birthday. Instead of baking him a cake (although thanks to his lovely mum he didn't end up with no cake!) I bought 50 small chocolate bars, numbered them, and we presented them to him in this monstrosity of a cupcake pot found at a charity shop. Now he can take as long as he likes to go through his birthday chocolate and remember each year of his life as he tucks in. This might help him keep sunglasses for longer... he does have a tendency...

My certificate has arrived in the post, which means I can get insurance, which means I'm officially a fully fledged hairdresser now! Exciting times. As N was at nursery this morning, I took D to toddler group and just enjoyed being with my boy. He's such an interesting and fun person to be with! A novel use for scissors Am I a wizard? Or a unicorn? Coming through on crunchy leaves! The kids spent their afternoon with their grandparents again, giving me time for last preparations for the big weekend ahead (it's Mr's 50th!!) and I got this great picture of Fred with his mini-me...

 This morning's playgroup was fun... as I only ever hear about the boys at nursery I had an inkling that she prefers to play with boys, and today I saw her in action - running, jumping with them, and telling them all how to do it! Back at home we had a quick look at the strawberries but they're all gone now. In the afternoon we enjoyed a playdate with old friends who we hadn't seen in months, and again, I watched N as she picked up just where they'd left off and played beautifully with the boys (both older). D was happy playing mostly by himself and occasionally joined by N as I was cutting my friend's hair.

I love Wednesdays. In the morning I get to spend quality time with D(2) while N is at nursery. This morning I had to scramble for ideas as our usual toddler group is off for summer and decided to cool down by taking him swimming.  N has swimming lessons every week but it's been months since D has been in a pool. I'm pretty sure he had no memory of it! So he was pretty tentative at first, clung to me... yet after a little while he really got into it - by the end of the 40 minutes he was confidently moving around on his own, away from me, jumping in even! That's my boy! The grandparents took the kids for the afternoon, N having spent the nursery morning doing forest school there... safe to say they've both had a full day!

Wild Place this morning with a precious friend whom we don't get to see often. I'm amazed how well N remembers kids whom she sees maybe twice or three times a year! I'm in touch with the mum via Facebook and messages but for N there's really only that rare personal contact with certain friends but she completely remembers them and they just pick up where they left off! We love Wild Place. The kids really aren't that interested in the animals actually but they do love the playgrounds and to explore! In the afternoon I thought it would be a good idea to go to the central library, as I needed to go and renew some books anyway, and enjoy a special gelato from Swoon (vegan! chocolate!) on College Green. Pretty sure there's more of the stuff on his hands than in his mouth... Well that was exhausting. Keeping control of two walking toddlers near a busy road, carrying three ice cream cups as well as one child to cross the road to get to the green ...

A challenge, you say? Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Well that's how I'm trying to look at it. It's those 6 summer weeks when schools are out, all our regular activities stop, and any child friendly places like playgrounds are overrun with older kids. So instead of being grumpy about it, I'm looking at it as a challenge - find fun things to do every day for 6 weeks! It does come in handy that we now live in the suburbs where there are lots of families and therefore, lots of family services. We aren't the only ones facing this "challenge" - so there's actually a lot of things on offer if you know where to look. So this morning we started into summer with a "beach party" themed toddler group at a children's centre we hadn't been to before. Pretty nice and relaxed with only 8 kids there. When we were leaving, N ran straight into a door with her face. Ouch. I decided to go with the old faithful standby, Kingsw...

Maybe I'm more of an extrovert than I thought I was but somehow today felt less like hard work, even though we were around people the entire time. Then again, being other people means the kids don't depend on me to entertain them so that's easier for me. This morning was family service at church (which simply means the kids don't have their own activities) - cake, colouring in, and other kids meant that Mr and I were actually able to hear the entire sermon (on humility, really good stuff)! Afterwards we headed to a birthday BBQ for the 2nd birthday of a good friend's son, catching up with old friends from our previous church whom we hadn't seen in 2 years or so... great fun for all.

Sometimes days that, on paper, should be amazing just feel... hard. Today wasn't a bad day - we had so many experiences together - but many small things just added up to it all feeling like hard work. I think N is going through a phase of being difficult just for the sake of it (entirely age appropriate at nearly 4, and very mild, yet for us it's just not what we're used to with her!) and D just had a hard time in his own skin today. As 2 year olds can do. Nothing about this is extraordinary and I know others face much tougher challenges but this is my blog so I'll whine when I want to! N has a swimming lesson early on Saturday mornings. After a few somewhat tearful and fearful beginnings (after 5 minutes she always enjoys herself!) today she went in happily and had fun the whole time. As it was only 9.30 we went to town to catch an early glimpse of HarbourFest, before the crowds, so we went on a navy training ship, saw a bit of Cirque Bijou rehearsing and watch...

I love Fridays. On Fridays, Mr gets home early and we always have (vegan) nuggets and chips for dinner. On Fridays, the kids spend the afternoon with their grandparents which means either that us parents get quality time together - our equivalent of date night - or we get to do things in the house. Today this meant a nice long soak in the bath for me before tackling the bombsite we call home.... But in the morning, while N is at nursery, I take D to toddler group for some fun and quality time.

We spent the day today enjoying the perfect weather - not too hot, not too cold. Lots of climbing structures as well as a daunting slide to conquer at Blaise playground in the morning... Did it! For the afternoon we took Fred to Kingsweston - found a tree to climb, water to play in, and  N even set up a campfire! Hole created by Fred, filled with twigs by N. Teamwork!  Since Fred doesn't chase sticks or balls, these little guys had fun with the kids instead.  Speaking of Fred, he got some very special treatment today: a makeover. Which I'm not sure he appreciated that much. Send help!