Whoopee we now have a car!

After putting it off for what must have seem like an eternity, we are finally a part of the car generation. I have nothing against public transport but honestly with a child in tow, it is a pain. Apart from the constant dragging around, the inconveniences of getting somewhere quick or the lack thereof of being able to get somewhere without having to connect to several lines or modes of transportation, I was sick of the manners or lack of one and the language T and I have to often put up with from others on public transport. Now that we got a car, we can get so much done within a limited space of time and there are more options to get out and about and explore places that would have been so difficult to get to on public transport. And the best part is I don't have to be worried about some idiot with a potty mouth corrupting T when all we want to do is travel around and get to places in peace. Yes, cars are expensive, but boy they sure are worth it.

Summer's here!

Which means all the splash pads and pools are gradually opening their gates and doors to the public. I love summer and I hope this year's is just as nice as last year's.

Day out to Bournemouth Beach

It was my birthday over the weekend and as a treat, our neighbours and very good friends took us out for the day to Bournemouth Beach. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is. I had always imagined all British seaside towns to be run down and full of bland dodgy gaming centres and amusement arcades hence why I don't associate beach holidays with being in the UK but Bournemouth changed my opinion slightly. Yes the water was not exactly very warm but it was manageable and the beach was very clean. Plus the gradient at the beach is not very steep meaning the water is shallow enough to make dipping with T a much pleasurable experience. I will like to try the Torbay area next. With companies especially airlines bumping up their prices during school holidays and with T starting school real soon, it is worth investigating the options available within the UK.

Visit to Legoland

Just had a fantastic visit to Legoland Windsor resort to mark T's second 'celebration day'. It was a very wet day, probably not the best weather to head out to a theme park in, nevertheless it didn't seem to matter once we got there and at the end of the day, our visit regardless of the rain was well worth it. T and his friend who we went with had so much fun and no surprises he is already asking to go there again. As a result I am hoping to do it big next time and take him on holiday to the original Legoland resort in Billund, Denmark. Fingers crossed!

A huge lesson

On our way to meet a friend, T and I stopped over at a playground to play. We hadn't been there 10 minutes when this lady and her daughter walked in and instantly some "Mompetition" ensued. For those who are not in the know, the urban dictionary defines "Mompetition" as the one-up rivalry Mums (who are seen as primary givers) play in order to make their children seem better, smarter, and/or more advanced than your child. Anyway back to this lady and her daughter: everything T did, the little girl with mum urging her on did. She was faster taking turns on the slide and was happy to shout about it with mum applauding, and when they played on the carousel she had a good laugh about how terrified T was and how she wasn't when it was spinning really fast. We went on the swing and there she was on the next swing. T started to sing and of course so did she, only louder. When T asked to go higher, she also requested that her mum pushed her higher. Mum of course pushed so hard I thought her daughter might fall out of the swing at any minute. Wanting to shake the irritating duo off, T and I headed to the jungle gym in a different part of the playground but to our annoyance they weren't too far behind. The jungle gym had different levels of difficulty so I followed T and kept instructing him to hold on and pay attention as he made his way along. Little Miss duplicator soon caught up of course, I mean she is only about year or two older and as a result was quicker. I watched as she shoved T out of the way, raced past him, completed the course and then embarked on it again. Moments later she reached a portion of the course that involved crossing via a narrow piece of rectangular wooden log. Intent on catching up with T again so she could show him up, she was going quite fast and was looking right ahead at us instead of at the obstacle in front of her. Suddenly she tripped and fell. She let out a loud painful scream as she landed hard on the wooden log and was only saved from falling off completely by the safety ropes that were tied into a mesh on both sides of the wooden log. I could only watch in horror as Mum came to her aid clearly distressed and filled with pity. She picked her up and they both walked off nursing her bruised elbow and ego. When I saw them leaving the park, I was tempted to run after them and ask if the daughter was alright but I had my own child who was still on the jungle gym to look after plus I had just won a game of "Mompetition" so I just looked on and hoped both mother and child had learned their lesson.

When T grows older, I will tell him this story and the moral of it being worry less about what others are doing and focus on what you are doing for you could end up loosing all that you have worked hard for trying to keep up with others if you do not keep up with your own self. 

An afternoon with daddy at the cinema

T has been asking to see The Muppets: Most Wanted ever since he saw the trailer and since I am a big fan of The Muppets I thought why not. He had been to the cinema before with my other half to see Mr Peabody and Sherman and I was told he was good through most of the showing. Anyway I should have known he had other plans today when just as we were leaving home he said, ‘yes I am going to go to the cinema and the man there will give me a big bag of popcorn’. We got to the cinema and sure enough he asked for and got popcorn. The rest of our time in the cinema was then spent concentrating on the overpriced popcorn and half-watching the movie. Other than when Miss Piggy performed the Macarena which he actually got up and danced to, he was like whatever, eating loudly and yapping away the whole time. He only really seemed to go quiet and pay attention to the movie whenever there was a loud bang or when Miss Piggy was on screen.  Big Miss Piggy fan like me then I think.  The movie was actually very good and I enjoyed it very much by the way. As we left the cinema, T pointed to a poster of Rio 2. He thinks he is going back to the cinema again next week to see it. However I think he can wait until it comes out on DVD. If he wants popcorn I will gladly buy it for him at the local supermarket for a fraction of what they sell it for at the cinema.

Trip to Warks and the Black Country

T has his first proper trip in the UK this week. As part of the trip, we took in Warwick, Royal Lemington Spa and the West Midlands Safari park. We also had quite the drive around the UK's second largest city, Birmingham, and the towns of Stourbridge, Hagley and Kidderminster, thanks to not having Sat-Nav and getting lost at the interchange between the M40 and the M42 on the journey westwards. All in all we had a great time. I was particularly in awe of the striking dissimilarities between  the architecture in Royal Lemington Spa and Warwick, and I loved the Safari Park tour. T on the other hand preferred his time chilling in the hotel and was quite keen to get the Safari tour ended so he could head straight to the rides at the Safari theme park. Certainly can't wait for our next trip.

See ya later Winter

I want to say it has been a long dark winter but I cannot remember waking up in the morning to any snow or icy frost this winter; all I remember is there was a lot of rain. Anyways, over the last few days the sun has been making a much welcome and needed appearance and oh boy am I glad. At some point yesterday the temperature on my phone was indicating 20 degrees... in March!!! Well that wass just fantastic and we made sure we made the most of it by spending a good part of the afternoon in the park. Hopefully the sunny weather is here to stay because Lord knows we have had enough rain and staying indoors this year already. I will be keeping my fingers very crossed indeed.

Smart pants

There I was singing "Hip Hop Reindeer", while we were walking down the street when T goes, 'Stop singing that, it is not Christmas'! I turned to him and asked how he knew it wasn't Christmas. 'The lights aren't on. There is no snow. The trees are gone. Santa and the Elves aren't here. And it is just winter', he responded. This boy LOL... such smarty pants!

Flight chaos/Back home

Wow! What a journey. But we are glad to be home. After our flight cancellation three days ago, we turned up at the airport the next day only to be told our flight was delayed and because we had a connecting flight to make we had been transferred to another airline. As a result we were rushed off our feet as our flight was leaving earlier than anticipated and did not get the proper time to say goodbye to the family. Instead of connecting in Philadelphia, we found ourselves flying to Atlanta to connect onward to London. The worst part was we had reserved a taxi to wait for us in London a what was now a different terminal, luckily that was rectified by sister-in-law while we were en-route. I wish I could say T was as good as he was on our outbound flight but unfortunately he wasn't. He was tired, grumpy and miserable; thankfully he was able to sleep for a few hours while we crossed the Atlantic. I on the other hand could not.
We landed in London yesterday morning and are beyond jet-lagged right now. Holiday is over. Back to reality.

Still buzzing like a bee

Some quick computer time! T's christening and my wedding went well in case you are wondering. It was a small event and close friends and family members were there to help share in our joy and celebrate; we all had such an amazing time. Poor T was so exhausted from all the activities and having to smile the whole time for the camera, he actually fell asleep with me carrying him at some point.
We still haven't had anytime to sit still and are getting ready to head to the zoo as I type. I hope T has a good time because it is cold and the ground is all covered in snow which fell last Saturday at the moment.

Indulging in snowy activities

Hello from New York state where T  is having a whale of a good time. It snowed here a couple of days ago, not London snow, I am talking proper snow. It all started as a small dusting the day after we arrived. T was loving it praying and asking for more big snow so he can go out sledding and build a snow man with his cousins. And his prayers were certainly answered because it snowed heavily overnight and he had tons of fun playing in the snow this afternoon. Now if he could just get himself up the slope the next time instead of asking me to ferry him. All the same it was quite an experience.

His first flight

T embarked on his first trip on an airplane last week and he was exceptional throughout the 8 hour flight. He smiled at everyone through check-in, sat in his seat without much fussing, ate the in-flight meals without much prompting and even took a 2 hour nap at one point. Upon our landing he was getting compliments left, right and centre. 'Oh wow I didn't know you had a toddler with you there', an older lady commented. 'He was extraordinarily quiet throughout that flight'. Let's just say I wasn't the only one that was impressed.

When T met Santa at Harrods

T went to see Santa at Harrods on Thursday and it was quite an experience. As soon as he saw the grotto and the Christmas decorations, he went absolutely nuts jumping up and down and grinning widely. When he met Santa, he walked up and said hi before requesting Woody (from Toy Story) for Christmas; he always told me he wanted Buzz but hey. I have to say I was well and truly impressed by the whole experience, it was well organised, we didn't have to wait long, and our Santa was as pleasant, believable and magical as ever. Can't wait to do it again next year.

His first trip abroad

Finally after over a year of deliberation, we are going abroad on our first proper holiday away from home together as a family. We are flying over to the States to see relatives and everyone is so excited. It will be T's first time meeting the extended family as well as travelling in an airplane and he is so excited about the whole experience he has been screaming wildly at every plane that flies past us in the sky for the past few weeks. I hope he keeps the excitement and enthusiasm going especially on the long flight there because the last thing I want to be dealing with at 40,000ft locked up in a tube is a grumpy toddler.

Halloween

We had such a fabulous Halloween this year thank heavens. Aside from the usual pumpkin carving, T had his friends over for a kiddie Halloween themed party and it was so much fun.
After the fiasco that was last year that saw no one knocking on our door to trick or treat even though we had lit pumpkins out and lots of candy to hand out, we decided to hit the town this year. At first we were not sure where to go having scouted the local area and noticed there wasn't much going on in terms of pumpkins on display outside houses however after some brief research online, we decided to go to St Johns Wood. It was a great decision because the whole area was packed with kids trick or treating and locals playing music and handing out candy to all the little ghouls and monsters that knocked on their door. T was dressed as Spongebob and his outfit was highly complimented by the many people we encountered on the night. The best part as well was rain which was forecast, stayed away. All in all, it was a great night and T got a massive haul of sweets and candy I needn't return to the store for at least the next few months. We can't wait to do it again next year.

Children centres

If you don't make use of your local children centre, you need to have a change of heart and start using it. Other than the free range of support and services it may offer, the amount of freebies you can receive there have to be seen to be believed. Books, baby products, household products, toys, activity fun days, luncheons...  these are just some of the things I have received free of charge from the children centres I used in the last year. But it doesn't stop there. In the last year, I have been to over six different children centres in my area. They really do do a difficult but they do it very fantastically well. So far, I have had no reason to be unhappy or to complain about them. If you haven't done it yet, go check out the children centres around you, after all it is your taxes that goes towards funding them.

The music box

Once in a while I visit the charity shops on our high road to see what hidden treasures are lurking in them at dirt cheap prices. Thrifty I know! I could not believe my eyes while we were in one today and T found a toy music box underneath a pile of cuddly toys I had been looking at. He had wanted one for ages having played with a similar toy at a playgroup we go until the battery in that died and was never replaced. At 99p, this music box is a bargain that should keep him entertained for quite a while.

Change of season

It is that time of the year when T and I sadly have to start cutting back on our outdoor play and indulging in a lot more indoor fun activities. At some point this week I am going to have to do the rounds of children's centres and playgroups around the area to pick up their winter schedules. As much as I have lived through many winters in my lifetime I can never seem to get used to the cold or the limitations it places on our lifestyle especially when it comes to the outdoors. The snow that comes with it might be beautiful and offer its own range of activities to indulge in but personally I hate the cold and all the layering of clothing to keep warm!!! Still I cannot complain because after many years of disappointments we have had a nice summer indeed this year; one that was sizzling and perfect for the outdoors. With Halloween, Fireworks night, Thanksgiving and Christmas still on the way, the cold weather might not yet dampen my spirits yet. But once that is all over and January hits, it becomes a tough road until Easter.

'No way'!

T has been saying 'no way' a lot lately when I try to get him to do sometthing and I am slightly baffled by where he got it from considering that is not a phrase we use in our household. That was until yesterday when I saw him try to get past a young girl on the slide apparatus in the park and she screamed at him,'no way'! Good grief the things we come home with from the playground.