Wedding preparations

The Podlings making their wedding cards this morning

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It's all go here today. My sister is getting married tomorrow and we're heading down to Devon at the crack of dawn tomorrow to make sure we are there in plenty of time before the wedding. We plan to wake the children early, bundle them into the car with blankets and a drink of warm milk and get as far as we can before we have to stop.

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Because we're setting off so early, we have lots to do today. We're folding, packing, cleaning, wrapping, making cards and generally all of a bustle. I have some baking to do later so we can have breakfast and snacks in the car tomorrow. I've got to get the Podlings' car entertainment bags ready and their ceremony distraction packs together (I dread them causing a scene in the middle of the ceremony, so I'm packing stickers, books, etc., for during the ceremony). In short, we're busy, busy busy! I'm so excited about tomorrow though and Lily and I have been singing "Auntie Lainey's getting married in the morning, Ding Dong the Bells are going to chime!" at the top of our lungs as we go about our business (Tom doesn't sing much). We're not worrying too much about accuracy in our singing on the grounds that the wedding isn't until 5 O'clock in the afternoon!

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I know we're going to have a wonderful day tomorrow, but for now I'd better get back to work. I'm sure to have lots of pictures of the wedding to share later in the week!

Gingerbread family

"Run, run as fast as you can, You can't catch me,

I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

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It rained again this morning, so instead of playing outside, which is what we ought to be doing in August, the Podlings and I made some gingerbread men. As we rolled out the dough and cut out the shapes, I told them the story of the Gingerbread Man, which I can recite verbatim from the Ladybird First Favourite Tales version we have. The finished products are proving popular with the Podlings, with Tom already having consumed about three gingerbread Toms and one gingerbread Lily. Lily quickly cottoned on to the size advantage of the parents and asked for a gingerbread Daddy!

Halfway up the stairs

Halfway down the stairs Is a stair where I sit:
There isn't any other stair quite like it.
I'm not at the bottom, I'm not at the top:
So this is the stair where I always stop
A.A. Milne

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This is the stairgate arrangement we have in our hallway. Because we have always had odd shaped stairways, we haven't been able to use normal, fixable stairgates. This one is three sections of a Baby Dan playpen. We've never had to actually fix it to the wall as the Podlings never seemed to twig that they could just push it out of the way. Until now! Several times in the last few days, Lily has followed me upstairs when the gate was shut, and this morning I heard her inform me "I upstairs!" in exultant tones when I was in the playroom and thought she was in the kitchen. She simply moves the gate away from the wall and squeezes through the gap. So, the question is, what do we do now? Do we nail the thing to the wall and scupper any future escape attempts, or do we move on to 'The Next Stage" and get rid of the gate all together? Both children are able to go up the stairs with confidence, but I like to accompany Lily downstairs just to be on the safe side. I'm looking for some advice from the parents amongst you. What age/stage did you allow your children free reign to go up and down stairs on their own? Is Lily too young to be allowed to use the stairs if I'm not right there with her? Am I worrying too much?! I really would like some advice here, so please leave a comment and let me know what has worked for you and your families.

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PS. Pardon the paintwork in the hallway. One of the reasons we could afford this house was that it was in poor decorative order. We've been here a year now, but still have a lot to do. We figure there isn't much point doing too much while the Podlings are young and in full destruction mode!

"We love Daddy" cake

This afternoon the Podlings and I made a "We love Daddy" cake because, as Lily said, it would "make Daddy happy". We made a chocolate Victoria sponge, sandwiched it with chocolate spread, melted chocolate over the top and decorated it with chocolate chips. That's a cake to put a smile on anybody's face!

Aprons and smiles must be worn at all times whilst baking cakes.

It's important to make sure your son comes in and tips large amounts of flour and cocoa powder over himself and the floor!

She then walked off with the bowl, put it on her head and licked the bottom!

Since we were melting chocolate anyway, I made some chocolate covered bananas for our pudding. Mmmm!

Moor fun with the family

We got back very early this morning from a fun weekend in Devon with my family. On Saturday, Mark, the Podlings and I went to Torquay to meet up with some old work colleagues. We had glorious weather and enjoyed a barbecue together on the green before heading down to the beach. The Podlings and I made sandcastles, dug holes and collected pretty pebbles while Mark played boules with our old colleagues.

On Sunday, we packed up a picnic and went up to Dartmoor with my parents, my sister, her fiance Gareth and the three dogs. We used to spend a lot of time on Dartmoor growing up and it is one of my favourite places to be. This weekend we went to Cadover Bridge, which is somewhere we used to go to a lot as children, but we've not been back together as a whole family for years. It was so lovely to take my children somewhere that I know so well from my own childhood and they had a fabulous time splashing in the river and playing on the bank.

Lily trying on my sunglasses.

The weather was fantastic and it was so nice to spend time with family. Elaine and Gareth have only just moved back to Devon from Aberdeen, so we haven't seen much of them in the last few years. They are getting married next month, so we had a fun time trying on wedding clothes (I will be matron of honour, Lily will be a bridesmaid and Tom will be the ring bearer) and looking at all Elaine's wedding paraphernalia. My mum is a very talented dressmaker and has made Lily's dress and Tom's waistcoat. The clothes are amazing and the Podlings look so adorable in them. I am really looking forward to the wedding, which is only a fortnight away. It will be such a special event.

My sister Elaine, her fiance Gareth and their dogs Willow and Glynn

As ever with any weekend away, I now have lots of unpacking and laundry to do, on top of my usual Monday cleaning, so I'd better get back to it. It's easy to get on with things when you've had such a nice weekend to relax you. I just wish we didn't live so far from my family, I always miss them dreadfully when we leave them behind.

Kisses from mummy

Fun on the farm

Yesterday morning the Podlings and I went to a nearby farm with a lovely lady we met at the toddler group we go to. She came out and picked us up and drove us to the farm, where we met up with her daughter-in-law and two of her grandchildren. We know little Jack from toddler group, but we were able to meet his older sister Georgia, who Tom took quite a shine to. They were often walking hand in hand as we wandered round looking at the animals.

There was a wonderful play area for the children, which they spent ages in. Lily, being the thrill seeker that she is, soon noticed the 8ft slide and was trotting up the ramp and shooting down it as if it were only 3 ft off the ground. Tom got to the top of the slide, thought better of it and walked back down the ramp again!

As we wandered around looking at the animals, I had the dubious pleasure of watching a calf being born. I didn't think the Podlings were old enough to watch such a thing, so I scooted them past and then watched from a distance when the children were distracted by the sheep. It was really fascinating (though a bit gory) to watch, but I don't know if the calf was born alive as it took two grown men to pull it out and they quickly hurried the calf off to a shed.

The children loved the animals and Lily particularly liked to touch them. She seemed to like the sheep best. "I luff him" she told me as she petted the one in the picture. Tom told me he liked the pig best, though he also said he liked the flies that were buzzing around a sleeping calf. Strange boy!

Enjoying some chocolate

We had a little picnic lunch on the grass, played some more and then Sue brought us home again. We're planning to do something together next week too, which I'm looking forward to. She is a really lovely person and the children seem very fond of her. I am so grateful that she has taken the trouble to spend some time with us. It has been hard to get to know people since we moved here last year and I have been a little lonely at times.

A blustery day at the beach

Last Sunday we decided to take the Podlings to the beach. It was quite cold and windy, but we're never ones to let a little inclement weather stop us from having fun. This is England after all, we'd never have any fun if we only went out in good weather!

We packed up a picnic and drove to Prestatyn in North Wales, about 90 minutes drive away. It was lovely and sunny when we pulled into the car park. It wasn't until we got out of the car and the wind hit us that we realised it was FREEZING! It was so windy, we abandoned our original idea of having our picnic on the beach and ate it in the car instead. The Podlings thought this was great, but it did mean we had to wash the car seats when we got home!

Once we'd eaten, we put coats on, grabbed buckets and spades and headed down to the beach. The second we stepped onto the sand, Lily started jumping up and down shouting, "Woo hoo, woo hoo!". I think she was excited! We all had a lovely time walking on the beach, building sand castles and collecting shells.

Here is picture of a very cold me, sporting my 'beach jumper'. I always take this jumper to the beach. I bought it in California when I was presenting at a conference in Long Beach a few years ago. It's made of a towelling material and has 'Long Beach, California' stitched across the front. The picture amused me because anything less like the sunny climes of Long Beach than our trip to North Wales would be hard to imagine. If you look closely, you can see goose bumps!

We all had a wonderful time at the beach, despite the cold and wind. We will be having a reunion with some old work colleagues this Saturday which will also be on a beach. However, this meeting will take place in Devon, so, barring torrential downpours, it ought to be warmer (you've got to love that Gulf Stream!). I know the Podlings will enjoy it, whatever the weather!