Rain Rain Go Away!

With the end of the summer holidays nearing the end there is a definite chill to the air.  I would prefer not to have been woken up this early but when I got up at 6.30 this morning it was only 12 degrees outside.

There are lots of positives about being a teacher but I am starting to come to the conclusion that the holidays are too long as I have almost managed to convince myself that I no longer work.  However unfortunately this is not the case and it is now dawning on me that on Tuesday I will have to walk back through the school gates!

The weather has been pretty shocking over the last couple of days.  One minute it is raining cats and dogs and freezing and the next its brilliant sunshine and you are sweltering under your fleece.

This is exactly what happened on Thursday when I took Mimi to Dover.  We went to see if there were any baby joules clothes on sale at De Bradelei Wharf.  Mike had gone the day before and said that there were loads.  However I am not sure what he was looking at because we couldn't find much.  It was all for children about 3 years older than Mimi.

By the time we came out of De Bradelei Wharf it was seriously warm and the sun was shining.  So we decided to go for a walk along the promenade.  Mimi insisted on pushing Mr Doggy in the buggy.  She was really cute, we had to stop every few mins to check that he was ok.

If you look carefully in the photos you can just about see Dover Castle on top of the hill.

It was so bright I could hardly see anything.  When we set off from home it was dull so I hadn't bothered with my sunglasses.

Mimi made a horrible mess with her ice cream and we were chased by a swarm of wasps that were in her hair and sitting on her hands.  A swarm might be a slight exaggeration but there were at least 5 or more.  In the end I had to literally throw her in the buggy and run with her to get away from them.

Then Friday evening my mum came to babysit for Mimi and we went down to see some friends for the most amazing supper.  Slow roasted belly pork.  It was seriously delicious.  When people talk about Belly Pork it always brings back horrid memories of the pork my mum use to do.  But this has made me a convert and I am off to try a belly pork recipe I found in this months Women & Home Feel Good Food.

On Friday I came across pininterest.  I have heard people talking about it on other blogs but I finally got the gist of it on Friday and I have to say I have become quite addicted with it ever since.  I have come across some great people, new blogs and great ideas for both, home and school.   One of the best ideas I have come across in ages is this organisation system.  So simple yet so effective.  I am definitely going to be using this from now on.

Check it out on Jen & Jakes Blog.

After a lovely evening and not too much alcohol we set off early for a trip to Canterbury as I had my hair cut at 8.30am.  I go to this really cute hairdressers called the Chair.  As I have really curly hair in the past I have really struggled to find someone who can cut my hair well and this is the first place I have been where they know how to deal with it.  Then I had my eyes tested at Vision Express (they had sent me a free voucher plus £50 off).  I have really noticed that when I am tiered I struggle with my vision and have to squint lots.  I find it difficult to read in bed and after a while on the computer I notice it.  Anyway the upshot is that my eyes are ok, but they are just on the edge.  So  I decided that I would get a pair.  However they first pointed me towards these great glasses but at £395 a pair not including the lenses, I thought that they were having a laugh.  Eventually I did find a pair that were considerably cheaper and with my free eye test voucher and £50 off they seemed much more reasonable.

Final choice.  Very similar to the Tiffany ones but at a third of the price!

After a few other errands we were home by 11.30 which in Mikes book is a good shopping trip!  Mike was supposed to go on a sailing expedition with the sailing club but just as he left to go to the club a huge thunderstorm came through with squalling winds.  Hence he didn't go and was then under my feet for the afternoon.  Had I known I would have gone to Canterbury on my own.

In the afternoon I made a jacket for my note book.  I have been struggling to find a good note book for the start of the new year.  

Then last night in an effort to be more economical and waste less (we had some left over Gammon in the fridge) I made a Ham, Peas and Cream Pasta for dinner.  It was a slight adaptation on the recipe I found in The Geometry of Pasta book.

Now on a very different note I have just been to the toilet to find a "WHOLE" toilet roll stuck down there!  I wonder who did that?

Happy Days

This weekend we have

• Tidied the house and then trashed it again
• Had a BBQ
• Played in the paddling pool
• Drunk far too much alcohol
• Been eaten out of house and home
• Not ventured far from the house 
• had our first biting experience (Mimi was the one who got bitten!)
• And witnessed a true toddler melt down 

Aside from the above we have had a great weekend old friends, great company and great weather.

My old uni friend came down from London for the weekend with her little girl and her partner.  It was really good to catch up apart from Mimi being bitten the girls played together beautifully.  I love watching Mimi interacting with other children.  

We made it to the beach on Saturday and we attempted a trip down to the sailing club yesterday to watch Mike go sailing but L had a proper melt down.  (I thought Mimi could throw a good temper tantrum but by these standards Mimi is a pussy cat.)  So we had to turn back, at which point Mimi then kicked off because she didn't want to go home.  Mimi was easily placified with a jelly sweet and Tangled.  I think that L was just really tiered as she was ok once she had woken back up.

Once L woke up we all had the best retro lunch I have had in ages.  Fish-Finger sandwiches, chips,  chicken nuggets and white bread.  Yum Yum.  I used to live off fish-finger sandwiches when I was a child and they still form one of my favourite snacks.  Quite often when I am cooking them for Mimi I will chuck a few extra in for a sandwich.

Retro lunch in the garden

After our friends left I caught Daddy and Mimi taking a break on the sofa together.  They really made me laugh reading their papers together.

My Mum and Dad came up for a quick cup of tea and to collect their plant.  Mimi was most upset and kept asking why Grandma was taking Mummy's flowers.  Whilst they were here this really strange lady walked up the field stopped right outside our lounge window, clambered into the undergrowth and dug something up.  She them put what ever it was into a bag and then walked off with it.  Honestly!  We even went out in the garden to see what she was up to and she didn't even bat an eyelid.

Now why is it children wait until you have just dropped off to sleep when they decide that they are going to wake up?  Ever since we went camping back at the start of July Mimi's sleeping pattern has been knocked out.  Daddy made the fatal mistake of giving her some Milk and this appears to have set a really unhealthy precedent.  Also the Snail and Slug nightmares continue.  We have decided that there will be no more milk after bedtime from now on.

       

Happy Days

Wow what a lovely day.  Living so close to the beach we are just so lucky to be able to take full advantage of it.



Sunday

After waving goodbye to A we went to the beach to watch Daddy sailing.

We had a great morning romping all over the beach collecting pebbles and beach treasure.  However in the short space of time we were out Mimi managed to do a wee in the car seat, a wee on me and another wee just as we were about to get into the car (although most of this was caught in the potty!)  

Mimi left the house lovely and clean and in the space of a couple of hours look at the state of her. 

Mike then took Mimi down to the swings & slides on his bike.  

Today

I had already thought about painting some pebbles with Mimi, then last night when I was on the internet I came across a great article on Red Ted Art's Blog.  I had never thought of painting them and then drawing on them with Sharpie pens.  (The kids at school love Sharpie's for some bizarre reason).  So with today's project in mind we set out to collect all of the necessary resources.  First up we went up to Tesco to get the pens; which were half price!  Bargain!

Then having sent Mrs R a text message we went down to the beach again to collect pebbles and have a lovely picnic lunch.  Mrs R has two of the most beautiful girls, who are just great with Mimi.

Some of them were a either a little mad or brave depending on which way you want to look at it and went swimming.  However they weren't in too long as the tide was a bit too strong today.

Then whilst we were eating the chickens started clucking because they had laid some eggs.  The girls took Mimi off to have a look and this is what she came back with.  

A very proud Mimi with her freshly laid egg.

After an extended trip to the beach and a late lunch we finally got round to painting our stones ready for the Sharpie pens tomorrow.

Great Weekend

First up.  I would like to thank TOTS 100 for the mention.  We were reviewed in this months top new blogs which I am really chuffed about.  Its always great to hear that people value and actually read my blog.  

We have had a lovely weekend with my brother and his girlfriend.

As always Mimi worshipped the ground they walk on and has been crazy all weekend.

Potty training seems to have taken a move in the right direction - Peppa Pig Chair is definitely a winner especially when combined with special treats.  On Friday we went to Tesco and brought a lot of inexpensive toys and gifts such as bubbles, little cars, chocolate bars, a shaker which was 50p in the sale. I put them all in a special bag which only comes out when we have managed to do a wee wee in the potty.

Last night I cooked the most amazing slow roast lamb (originally we were going to have a BBQ but in typical British style it rained!)  We had a great evening just the four of us and a few bottles of wine.  My younger brother was originally going to join us but got a better offer (after watching the rugby with his mates).

Then today we have had a bit of a lazy day.  We spent the day at home chatting and playing with Mimi.

When we got up at 6.30am we looked out of the window and these people were already outside clambering all over the bank stripping the Blackberry bushes right outside our window.  And I mean RIGHT outside our window.  They were there last night too.  They picked so many in their rather large black bucket that they had to carry it over their shoulder.

Now I don't want to be mean there are loads there but this is actually on the land that belongs to the house.  We would never pick them all and I think that its great that people can pick such a great fruit; however I think that people should be considerate of others.  What they are intending to do with so many is beyond me anyway.

Photo taken from our kitchen window.

After my little moan Mimi found her Daddy's DIY knee pads this morning and found a new use for them.  She made us laugh as she looked like she should audition for a job in Dallas.  

Mike managed to get a Windsurf in before lunch as it was seriously windy this morning way too windy for sailing.  The weather finally decided to be kind to us and we had a great BBQ.  My younger brother eventually put in a belated appearance (looking a little worse for ware!) and we had a lovely lunch.

Then coffee/tea in the garden where Mimi continued to run around like a mad child.

Don't like Mummy - Where's Daddy?

If I hear that line once more today I think I am going to scream!

Weather was looking good this morning so I decided we would stop at home and get the paddling pool out.  All sounds good but things didn't go to plan.

First off the paddling pool seems to have developed a puncture so as quick as I was pumping it up it was deflating - needless to say Mimi jumping on it wasn't helping.  Luckily the paddling pool is made up of several separate rings so we ignored the puncture and moved on to the next ring where we found another puncture although not as bad.  Eventually we managed to get enough air into it to keep it up.

Then the fun of filling it.  Our garden is to the side of the house.  You can not see it from the kitchen so every time I went inside to get warm water she had to come with me and each time I got the Oh No Mimi's crying - Big Tears and the don't like Mummy - where's Daddy?

Finally we did manage to get in to the pool and it did hold up for the day even with all the jumping on it.

This business of playing Mummy and Daddy off against one another is really starting to show its ugly head.  Tonight when Daddy was bringing her in from the garden she said "No like Daddy - Like Mummy".  I think it is being made worse by the fact that Daddy has his own business and works from home.

lovely day for the beach.

What a beautiful day for a trip to the beach with my old friend J and her little girl I.  We all had a great afternoon burying each others feet in the sand and building sand castles - none of which lasted long enough for photos to be taken as I thought it was great fun to jump on them.

Beach was a bit on the busy side.  Jos Bay is one of only 3 "Blue Flag" Beaches in Kent and there is even a surf school there too.  Well worth the visit although maybe outside of school holidays!

Yum - Ice cream and Sand!

Camping in France

A soggy summer holiday in France.

Sometime ago on the back of the stunning weather we had at Easter we decided to plan and book a camping trip to France as part of our summer holiday.  Having checked the forecast the day before we went we were excited at the prospect of wall to wall summer sun.  Oh how the weather can change in a matter of days!!!  Apart from a few days of intermittent sunshine we spent the majority of the 10 days taking shelter in our tent from the torrential rain.

Day 1

Still recovering from too much sun the day before I felt a bit out of sorts when the alarm clock went off at 5am.  We then had the usual arguments about the car been packed incorrectly, who was going to sort Mimi out & collect the ever mounting pile of must remember items.   

View from our tent looking back at the Château. 

Looking across the lake back towards our tent.

All is well that ends well and we made it to our lovely campsite Le Brevedent in the grounds of a Château with enough time for an afternoon swim. Our pitch was near the swimming pool and over looking the lake.  I would highly recommend this site to anayone looking to camp in France.  Mimi had a fab time.  They have load as of animals and toys for children to play on.  Mimi is obsessed with the guinea pigs which seem to run free.

Poor Mimi was so excited and tired this evening as she didn't have a mid afternoon sleep yesterday or today that she could hardly keep her poor little eyes open.   Although she did make laugh quite a bit when I found her curled up in the washing basket.

Day 2

I should have known that this may have been make or break at 2am when Mimi decided she was going to throw a temper tantrum and scream her head off because she wanted more milk.  I reckon she managed to wake up most of the campsite.  Eventually she went back to sleep but I had to hold her hand.  Every once in a while a little hand would touch my face to check I was still there.
Once the sun came up things didn't improve very much as it proceeded to pour with rain for the majority of the day.  The tent developed some worrying puddles in the roof.  Our trip to Deauville was a bit of a wash out which is a shame as they had lots of lovely shops.  I was tempted by some shoes but with mike in tow and our up and coming trip to Venice I decided against it.

Lots of Muddy Puddles!

Mimi has gone to bed without a squeak, with what I hope is a fully tummy of milk. I think it will be an early night for me and hopefully better weather for the morning.


Day 3

Mimi slept all the way through the night yippee all we had to contend with was the snoring from the next tent.

Early start today as we are moving on further south to see G&A.  Mimi said she has had dreams about the guinea pigs and ducks.  So after feeding the ducks, checking out the guinea pigs, playing ball and in between packing the tent we are finally in the car heading south hopefully to more sunshine.  Luckily it start to rain once we were all packed up.

We attempted to visit Le Mont St Michel which was beautiful although we conceded that if you have a toddler in a buggy then this is probably not the best place to visit during height of season as it is a series of steep narrow cobbled streets and steps which were very crowded with other like minded tourists.  Well worth a visit but maybe not with a toddler.

Le Mont St Michel

Day 4 & 5
Mimi failed to sleep either night and seems to have decided that there is now no need for an afternoon nap.  Drank too much with G&A so made the midnight wake up call seem that much worse.

Day 6 &7
Left G&A after a series hiccups one of which was where we had put our credit cards and money.  Once a near crisis was averted we managed to leave only about an hour behind Mikes start time of 9am!
We caught a ferry over from Royan which G told us would take an hour so after buying a coffee & settling down for the journey we realised it was only about 15mins so we had to neck our coffee, missed our arrival from the deck & had to run for our car which was a bit of a shame.


We arrived at our campsite camping de l'ocean on the Atlantic Coast  just before two which was good.   We set up camp and went to the beach to build sand castles.  We had been promising sand castle building to Mimi since we left home!  Great surf beach, sun was shining and it was lovely & warm. 

Mimi struggled with the concept of bed but once she did eventually go she managed to sleep through the loudest firework display.

Woke up to rain! What a bummer!  Spent the morning visiting Soulac-sur-Mer which was broke the rain up a bit.  A weary Mimi finally fell asleep in the car and we had a peaceful lunch.  Rain cleared enough in the afternoon for a damp trip back to the beach where we watched the French equivalent of the coast guard land and take off in their helicopter.

Mimi had a bath in a bucket of water and when she should have been sleeping emptied all of her clothes bag out and dressed up as a princess.

Mimi as a Princess!!!

Days 8,9& 10


The rain continued and we moved on to Hauteforte and yet another argument about the Sat Nav.  We eventually arrived at our beautiful campsite Belle Vue in the Dordogne which sat on the valley over looking Hautefort Chateau  

View from our tent over the valley

What an amazing campsite with great hosts, when we arrived we were offered a drink and given a guided tour.  All the facilities were spotless and they even have an on site restaurant (which you need to book in in advance).  You can order your croissants and bread the evening before and they are elegantly delivered to your tent the next morning in a basket on a tray.  Shame we weren't so lucky with the weather - it continued to pour with rain for the remainder of the trip although we did managed to get to Hautefort and Sarlat in the dry.


The rain was so loud on the tent that you couldn't hear Mimi talking to you!!


Then a trip back to G&A's with yet more heated discussions about the Suzie Sat Nav and then Home (we managed this without the sat nav as it is a well trodden route from the days of having our house in Deux-Sevres.) 


We all had a good holiday although obviously the weather was disappointing.  I think that we attempted to cram too much in to too few days and more Mimi had to spend long stints in her car seat - however by moving on every two days it did break up the rain as I think we would have started to run out of things to do. 

Things we would take next time:

• Dust pan and brush and or a broom - especially if you are going to a sandy beach.
• Having camped recently and missed my duvet I thought it would be an idea to take this instead of my sleeping bag.  All I can say is don't be tempted when camping a sleeping bag is definitely the way to go.
• A cool box that actually works.
• Some form of clothes dryer - if you are going for any length of time with the possibility of rain some way of drying towels/wet clothes etc without pulling the tent down would have been useful.
• An in car charger for the ipad rather than relying on the iphone charger as it does not provide enough power!
• Washing powder.

Must Have's

• Toilet rolls - my husband laughed at me for packing these but they proved very useful especially as camping de l'ocean did not have toilet rolls.
• Pegs these were invaluable (in between the torrential downpours) to stop our towels from being permanently damp.
• I have learnt from previous experience if you are planning on going to France Nappies and Baby-wipes are very expensive so definitely bring them from home.  (I saw a special offer of  16 euros for 6 packs of baby wipes this is the equivalent of about £14.00)