...was great fun! The weather was gorgeous which helps, although of course that meant colder nights. But hurrah, The Mum's copious duvets coped. So the secret to good camping? I recommend going with experts. Everything was organised. There were facilities. It was glorious. Check out breakfast for example:
Now that's camping. Just add a group of wonderful people and, like us, you will be sorted.
Thanks Mr and Mrs Bushcraft!
...within these statements:
Slight trepidation as we prepare to camp for two nights in a venue you can't even drive to which is many miles from the nearest branch of Sainsburys. Its going to be great fun I am sure, but The Mum is a bit of an amateur at all this. Especially as not only is Him Indoors actually an outdoors type (ask him about camping without a tent during a snowstorm - fun apparently), but also present is going to be Mr Expert Bushcraft Man who might spot the three duvets and furry hot water bottle I am planning to smuggle in to supplment the warmth of my 12 season sleeping bag.
So what is The Mum's excuse for not writing for ages? Well, yes Facebook is a distraction. (Can't blame Twitter. Yet.) But I have been working in the virtual world too. In addition to online bookselling, we have been experimenting with online book buying. Check out www.booksintobeer.com for the most cynical/offensive/funny (delete as you will) business idea I have had to date. Coming soon is www.theliterarygiftcompany.com which will do exactly what it says on the tin, and I am enjoying setting it up. Please do register with the site if you are interested in hearing more and finding out when it is launched. If you do Twitter then The Literary Gift Company will shortly be twittering back as literarytwit. What fun.
So The Mum was looking after O and The Small Pink One yesterday and it was going swimmingly. We'd played, interacted, explored etc. We'd a trip-out planned and I had to get stuff together so I switched on the telly for a few minutes. And yes, the planned few minutes turned into half an hour: being realistic about the time it might take to collect 2 spare nappies, some wipes and a couple of drinks, I'd sensibly decided the whole thing would be better accomplished if incorporating a sit-down and a cuppa. So anyway, I popped in to check on the little ones and find them both parked at different corners of the room having turned their backs to the telly so they could concentrate on leafing through storybooks. There is something to be learned from this. I wonder what?
You are all goddesses!
Anyone else having Woolworths moments? You are walking down the highstreet with a list. Hmmm... where's best for kids t-shirts/clothes hangers/knicker elastic? Oh, I know, I'll go to Wool... oh I can't. I don't miss it, but it was useful. Where else could you find play-dough, velcro, grass seed, pink tellies and plastic santa outfits all under one roof?
The Mum is just beginning to realise that T loses the plot at around the same time each evening. It really is like clockwork. Everything can be going swimmingly (playing and sharing nicely etc.) and then BOOM! suddenly it is about twenty to six. Immediately all grown-ups become smelly bossy people and the simplest request is interpreted as a declaration of war. Not only is the plot lost, but we can't remember where we had it last. Hmmm, what are the chances of persuading a 5 year old that he needs an afternoon nap?
Its just great for parents when you can begin to establish the odd routine. It gives The Mum a sense of control, to realise that your children are no longer agents of chaos, to feel that you are beginning to civillise them. So now we've got a great nighttime routine going. T will invariably stay awake until around 9pm bashing around in his room and occasionally popping down with a really really important lego-based query. O waits until 9.30pmish to wake up, squwark, and need tucking in. The Small Pink One has settled on a 3amish slot; her needs inevitably rotate between drink, cuddle, or drink and cuddle. How organised are we?
The Mum slept very well last night. Until then it had been a while. Just when you think they've all learned the knack of sleeping through then Christmas happens. And The End of Term. And flu/colds. And croup. And cold snaps. And the odd eyebrow stitch. And overindulgence. And... well I guess life happens. So hey its been a month now of Not Sleeping Through, and I've had enough. Back then, when they were proper babies, I was young, energetic, and full of vigour (oh so laughing out loud). Even Him Indoors (who basically is up more often in the night than I am) was younger then than he is now. But we're ancient now. We can't cope. Stop it now.
Satoshi Kitamura: Duck Is Dirty (Satoshi Kitamura Board Books)
Werner Holzwarth: The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business
Lauren Child: But Excuse Me That Is My Book (Charlie & Lola S.)
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