Birthday celebrations

Well this year's birthday celebration was a first...although a trip to the seaside wasn't that unique...a trip to Peppa Pig World certainly was!

Even when Baby R was just a bump we promised E a trip if he was a good big brother and he really has been. Always wanting to kiss her, always telling me if she is crying and always putting her dummy back in. So another deal had been made.

We drove down to the coast on my birthday in one go, not bad going for a 3 hour drive with an 8 week old and a 3 year old. We went for lunch in the lovely Lymington at a really nice boutique hotel, Stanwell House Hotel, which offered a great lunch and children's menu. A great find considering we were about to go in to a Costa for a sandwich! After a feed for all of us we headed down to find the sea and had an ice cream at the harbour.

We then set off to continue the journey to Bournemouth to check into our room for the night, a Premier Inn Family Room. A sleep on the way revived us all (apart from our driver, Mr B!) and after a little play in our hotel room, possibly the biggest I have ever seen, we headed down to Bournemouth for dinner.

If I have ever been to Bournemouth then I can't remember it but we were pleasantly impressed. A very long beach, a pier to wander down, boats to spot and money to 'gamble'. Time was ticking on and tummy's rumbling so we went to find somewhere to eat. I had seen Aruba mentioned in a leaflet and am so glad we decided to try it, despite the many stairs to get in. It was as much a bar as it was a restaurant but the atmosphere and music with it being my birthday was perfect. Some great menu choices, especially for vegetarian Mr B and I even had a cheeky glass of wine.

 

 

 

The perfect birthday, even if E didn't go to sleep til about 11pm!

The next day meant Peppa Pig World and despite us trying to leave early we were too busy eating breakfast. Even though we didn't arrive until 11am it wasn't too busy, and was much better than I was expecting. Paulton's Park where it is based was very well looked after, lovely gardens but the Peppa Pig area was clearly the place to be. We probably queued for a maximum of 40 minutes for any one ride and went on Daddy Pig's cars, Peppa's house, the Dinosaur Adventure, Helicopter Flight, Grandpa Pig's little train (baby R even joined us on that one), Grandpa Pig's boat trip and the play area. The food was reasonable and there were plenty of places to sit and park the buggy. We would definitely go back but might try and wait a couple of years first!

We left around 4pm and with a sleepy E in the car headed back. After freshening up at the hotel we decided that Poole harbour was worth a visit. There was a Mini meet on the harbour so there was lots of reminiscing from me about my first car, and no interest whatsoever from E. We walked around  for a bit and chose Pizza Express for dinner, a bit of a cop-out but you know it will always be good.

Soon it was Saturday and our last day. Despite being at the seaside for a couple of days we still hadn't ventured on to the sand and with a day of sun forecast we headed to Boscombe Beach. It was only a 10 minute walk according to Google and after a look on satellite view it looked like we could walk their via a park. Well I am glad I found that shortcut, it was beautiful. Called the Boscombe Chine Gardens it was a Victorian park with an adventure golf course and great kids playground. Well we were more than impressed when we reached the seafront, it was stunning. First, a quick stop at a shop to buy a towel and couple of bottles of water, we had not come prepared for the Mediterranean temperatures! A walk along the front and we picked our spot on the beach and dragged the pushchair kicking and screaming on to the sand, I am not loving having to take the pushchair everywhere again! Within 30 seconds E and Mr B were paddling and then I headed in for R's first paddle. It was obviously met with cries but that's another milestone passed. After a couple of hours on the beach, two wet boys and two hot girls we headed for lunch. We spotted Urban Reef, a great modern looking, family friendly restaurant. The food was very nice and I went all out and ordered half a lobster. Well it was my birthday weekend after all.

We headed home with the usual conversations of 'shall we move to the seaside' knowing we never will. But we were refreshed and bizarrely slightly sun kissed!

Until the next time, seaside x

I'm linking up with Country Kids again, championing the outdoors!

Adventures in the deep dark wood

As I am sure is the case in many homes The Gruffalo is a popular choice at bedtime. When I saw that the Forestry Commission were helping to celebrate the Gruffalo's 15th anniversary with a number of activities I was intrigued.

After a quick search I found our closest Gruffalo sculpture and activity trail was at Sherwood Pines in Nottingham and although an hours drive away we decided to add it to our Summer to do list.

We had never been to Sherwood Pines but were pleasantly impressed. Despite the rain and being quite ill prepared (I keep forgetting you have to remember so many extra things with a baby!) we ventured out of the car to track down the cafe to purchase the activity leaflet. I wouldn't bother with that again although we did all get a sticker!

Attention quickly turned to trying to find the trail. The first thing we spotted was the Gruffalo. At first we weren't sure whether this was the sculpture we thought we would be looking for in the deep dark woods. Turned out it was. Luckily E wasn't bothered and still wanted to explore. It did however seem a bit strange to put the 'treasure' of the hunt at the beginning?

We carried on to find the trail which included all the characters you would recognise, the mouse, owl, snake. There were other activities along the way which would probably help keep older children's attention but E was a little too young.

At Sherwood Pines the trail is amongst the other play areas for children which were all excellent. We eventually teared E away with the lure of cake in the cafe. Towards the end of the day there wasn't much choice left but Baby R needed feeding and there were a couple of chocolate options :)

We will definitely be going back to Sherwood Pines in the future and there is another chance to meet the Gruffalo in August, a little closer to home in Leicestershire for the Gruffalo tour. We may just have to convince E that that Gruffalo is still just a 'pretend' one!

I am also linking up with Country Kids!

She's here

Well this is a very belated post but I had forgotten how hard it is to get even 10 minutes to yourself with a newborn baby, let alone with a 3 year old too.

So baby R arrived, slightly by surprise, on the 9th May 2014. I really need to find the time to write up her birth story which was amazing but in the meantime here are our first few weeks. How is she a week old already?!

She arrived perfectly and her big brother loved her immediately.

Feeding is going well (especially compared to last time) and she has been putting on weight since she was born. At one point at least 1oz per day. She is still small but a lot bigger than the 6lb 1oz she was at birth.

She has fitted into our family with ease and is happily very content.

The weeks are going far too fast and we are starting to go out and meet new friends and reconnect with old.

Life with a family of four is pretty damn good!

The Gallery: Faces

I knew it had been sometime since I took part in Tara's weekly linky, The Gallery. What I didn't expect was when I checked when it was, it is almost 3 years ago!

My last link up was in June 2011 and focused on E being 4 months old. Now as we await the arrival of baby number 2 (less than a week and a half away!) it was quite a timely read and made me remember how precious those first few weeks and months are. They really don't last long.

This week's prompt is 'faces'. One thing we have always done with E is to take family selfies. I love doing this as they really catch a moment. The expressions, the location, the feelings at the time. Here are three of our most recent taken at Christmas and on our holiday back in March.

I really am looking forward to there being four of us in the next family shot!

If you hadn't guessed it yet I am linking up with Sticky Fingers The Gallery.

My little sister

E has been a major part of our journey with baby. Right from when he was eating his dinner with Mr B and I read out the pregnancy test result. He has even chosen her name (more on that in the future!) and is constantly hugging and kissing my bump.

He's always asking 'what's baby doing', 'does baby want some juice', 'is baby OK mummy?'. Occasionally he will kick me when playing and when I tell him to be careful the answer is always 'it wasn't me it was baby' said with his trademark cheeky smile.

I, being an only child, always wanted to be able to have a brother or sister for E but part of me was always worried about him feeling left out and us not being able to devote as much attention to him. I guess this is what all parents go through when deciding to have a second baby. However, these past 8/9 months he has really taken to the idea and is very excited about getting his new little sister.

The shouts of 'baby get out' are becoming more often and he wants baby here now. We have tried to explain that she is not going to do much when she arrives - just cry, sleep and have cuddles. Despite this I do wonder whether he thinks she's going to come out a fully working playmate.

Since I started drafting this post we have had the ECV to try and move baby which was unforunately unsucessful. We now have to decide whether to go for an elective c-section or to attempt a 'natural' breech birth. Just re-reading this has actually reminded me what is important. The birth is such a small part of her overall story and that is what I need to focus on whilst I tie myself up in knots trying to make a decision which is best for all of us, as a family of four.

x

Easter...time for a break

The week before Easter was always going to be a momentous one for us. It was my last week at work before maternity leave and Mr B's first week in a new job. Thank god it was only a four day week!

We had a lovely long weekend kicking off with some much needed jobs around the house on Good Friday, and some baking on Saturday. Now this might not sound very impressive but it is VERY rare and E had started to think it was only possible to make cakes at Nan-nans house. E and I had a lovely time together mixing and making. We even produced some edible crispy cakes and biscuits!

On Saturday we ventured out of the house to see my parents and visit a vintage fair at the great, Great Central Railway which we are very lucky to have on our doorstep.

Sunday brought not only the Easter Bunny but also Nan-nans birthday so we packaged up some of the products of our labour and off we went to see the other side of the family. The annual Easter Egg hunt (which I have been taking part in since Mr B and I got together 13 years ago!) was as fruitful as always. It is not unheard of us to have Easter chocolate left at Christmas.

By Monday we wanted some time on our own so waited for the sun to come out playing in the garden and after a lovely lunch prepared by Mr B we took the short 5 minute drive to our local woods (Martinshaw Woods) to spot the bluebells. I love this time of year!

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we dropped E off at grandparents for a sleepover ready for our early scan at the hospital on Tuesday. Unfortunately baby girl is still breech so after chatting through things with the doctor we are booked in for a ECV next week. Fingers crossed we can get this little monkey moving!

I am linking up with Country Kids from Coombe Mill.

A break in Sunny Hunny!

We wanted one last holiday just the three of us so booked 5 days away in Hunstanton.

Arriving just after 5pm on Monday we pulled up to the holiday house which we had studied closely online since booking it. It was the house that had dictated the holiday, it could have been anywhere to be honest, but the mid-century feel was what attracted us. We figured going away in early March could mean five days couped up in a house so it may aswell be nice. We certainly weren't disappointed. Bramley, is beautiful with a capital B!

The house which was virtually saved from redevelopment by owners Hannah and Tim was built in 1971. Having been carefully restored and filled with era evoking furniture, furnishings and decor it balances great interior design with being a very practical and well-stocked, family friendly house. They really have thought of everything! A cupboard full of games, box of lego, G Plan sideboard full of DVDs and LPs, a bookshelf full of design/lifestyle books, a pool table in the garage and every gadget you could dream off in the kitchen (including a very cool ice cream scoop). Our favourite features included the open plan kitchen (we need one of these!), the cork floor (so comfy!), the light from the ceiling to floor windows, Elsie Dodd cushions (may go on my Christmas list), and well I could list everything. E's favourite features were the floor (perfect for trains!), there being two toilets (a real novelty for him) and there being TV's in the bedrooms (we don't have one in ours).

We took a lot of photos before filling it with our stuff (can you tell!), it really was like staying for a week in a magazine feature. After unpacking and a little playing we headed out for dinner at a local pub (The Lodge a short walk from the house) and to plan the next few days.

Tuesday saw an early wake up at 7am and a slow breakfast. We headed in to Hunstanton which we knew very little about. A very short drive, and probably walkable if you weren't restricted by a 'little legs'. Quite 'old British seaside' and being pre-season very quiet but you can see some glimpses of what it may become in the coming years. The excellent Norfolk Deli amongst the best indications... where we had lunch, definitely not. Chosen purely because you could see the sea it was like being in a 70s timewarp, and not in a good way like at Bramley. The clouds started to come in so we headed back to the house to try and convince E to sleep. The lure of his trains was just too strong though so he played, and we wanted to sleep. About 4pm we gave up and headed around the coastal road to Brancaster beach. The beach was deserted and the fresh air certainly blew away the cobwebs so after about an hour we went back to the house for nibbles we had picked up from the deli earlier, and pizza.

Wednesday started early for E and I, eating breakfast at the table and enjoying a lovely conversation about how Nana and Grandpa liked Cornflakes too. I am loving the things he notices and comes out with just now. Favourite of the holiday had to be (on repeat) 'Mummy/Daddy what you say?!'. We made the most of another early start (!) and headed to Wells on the coastal road. Not as much there as we were expecting but being only 10am and pre-season probably didn't help that. A stroll around, coffee in The Picnic Hut and a quick walk along the beach we had set off again by 12.30pm.

Carrying on along the coastal road we passed through Sheringham (which we will definitely go back to) and on to Cromer. Starting with lunch in No1 Cromer, which was great. E's was served in a bucket with a spade (genious idea!) and was the best fish and chips I have had in a long time. They even had great vegetarian options for Mr B (try the mushy pea fritter).

We strolled, slowly due to how many chips we had just eaten, to the pier which was being fixed following the recent storm damage. At the end is the Cromer Lifeboat station in which we were able to see the lifeboat which E loved. Although he was quite concerned that there was a hole in it, which there wasn't! Next on the list was an ice cream, we found a great place near the promenade which made one very happy little boy.

Having felt we had ticked Cromer off the list we headed inland to Holt, a small market town. We headed straight to a shoe shop we had found on the internet (E was well overdue some new shoes) and managed to get a new pair of trainers that he was more than happy with. We also discovered the local post office which is also a vinyl shop and I gazed around in awe in The Pied Piper Shop buying some fabric and choosing a teddy for baby girl. After all that we were ready to head back to the holiday house for more playing and relaxing.

Thursday started early again but E was happy playing with his trains and I even managed to pick up my book for the first time all holiday. We had some brunch and once the rain had stopped headed to Burnham Market, known as Chelsea-On-Sea having lots of small independent shops. After waking a reluctant E from the drive we wandered around the shops and were particulary impressed with BKidz buying a present for our neice, E and baby girl. Although the town was lovely it was all shops so we moved on to the nearby Creake Abbey for some tea and cake. A great cafe that served a very wide range of cake (the orange and almond gluten free cake was delicious!). The site also had a deli, and some more shops. We were going to walk around the Abbey ruins but the cloud was coming in and the wind picking up so decided to save that for another visit. Asking E what he wanted to do next he said 'feed the quack quacks' so off we went to find some ducks. We drove down to Thornham 'harbour' which looked devasted from the recent storms but alas no ducks, we didn't think the RSPB reserve would take kindly to our bread offering so carried on driving back through to Hunstanton. On Hunstanton front we saw some ducks wandering along the roadside so pulled up and fed them from the car. It was hilarious! Within seconds we were descended on by what felt like hundreds of seagulls. A glass roof has never been so useful. E loved it! The light was fading so we headed back to play with lego. All feeling a bit 'chipped out' we referred to the local dining recommendations and decided to go for Chinese food at Silk Road II. Very nice, fresh tasting Chinese food which I would definitely recommend and E's first experience of crispy duck...although we didn't actually tell him what he was eating!

The thought of the holiday ending was definitely creeping in by bed time so I stayed up late looking through the great design/interior library in the house, and admiring the surroundings.

Friday had come round far to quickly and having to leave the house by 10am meant a hectic morning packing to leave. The weather had promised to be sunny by lunchtime and having had no beach time the day before we hung around to squeeze in one last beach visit. We passed the time by feeding the birds at Hunstanton again before moving on to Norfolk Lavender for a cooked breakfast (a very nice cafe but not cheap at £4.50 for one slice of toast with scrambled egg!). There was also an animal farm and indoor play area but we managed to divert E's attentions from these with the lure of the 'seaside'.

We drove to see what Heacham beach was like and were not disappointed. Again almost deserted it was a great mix of sandcastles, searching for shells and rocks to rummage around. Around 1pm we admitted we should probably head home.

 

Having Thomas on the iPad all the way back for E helped pass the 2.5 hr journey and we stopped off in Stamford for dinner. After walking (or in E's case being carried) around for a while we decided on Ask which certainly surpassed our expectations. Great food, great with children, and really nice interior design. The perfect end to our holiday.

A fact that we are all trying to forget as we headed back for another week of work. We would definitely recommend North Norfolk for a week away and will be going back. As for Bramley, we would LOVE to go back in the Summer months to make the most of the short walk to Old Hunstanton beach but that may have to be finance dependant what with maternity leave on the horizon!