Ambling at Amble

Amble is a real gem, a small fishing village on the Northumberland coast, with a brill rocky area, which is great for playing, rock pooling and jumping on and a small secluded beach too.

We had the whole beach and rock area to ourselves and enjoyed a pleasant morning.  I had a great time taking photo's of the rocks, the wonderful amazing patterns that the sea makes on them.  Next time I will be taking paper and crayons to take rubbings of the rocks.

Writing Workshop - Hues of Orange

We had a caravan when I was growing up.  No, not one of those wonderful static caravans, no we had a box on wheels, so summers were spent setting off in the dead of the night to the English Riviera. 

Well before seat belts became compulsory, my parents would pack the cool box, the pillows and the duvets to make the back seat in to a makeshift bed for my younger brother and me and once we were asleep they would gently lift us to the car and start our adventure.

Often the we woke to the sound of cars thundering by, as my parents had a cup of tea from the thermos flask in a lay by before setting off again on what seemed like a never ending journey to the other end of the country.  A place where the sun shone and was much warmer than our little patch of the North East.  

Once we arrived at our destination we were dispatched to the park on the site whilst the van was prepared for that night, only returning when our stomachs started rumbling.  Left to make friends and leave the parents alone, so that they could open up the wine and get the windbreak pitched.

I remember these trips fondly.  Of baths in buckets and cold showers.  Of share toilet blocks and running in the dark and cold for a pee in the middle of the night.  I look back on the endless days playing swingball with my dad and my mum managing to cook a Sunday roast in a caravan oven and I want to repeat them with my children.

I grew up with regular visits to the English seaside.  Where you needed to have a windbreak and a great big towel for once we came out of the water.  I have memories of being in the sea in a blow up dinghy connected to my dads arm by a long piece of rope, of having the freedom to rock pool and build sandcastles.  The great big moats filling up as the tide came in.

The Breakfasts were always cooked by Dad and we would have sausages, bacon and eggs fresh from the closest farm.  We never had to have cereal like at home.  Holidays were special.  A break from the norm, something to be cherished. e feeling of sand between by toes and often between my teeth too.  

I used to hate the holiday coming to an end, I used to dread the packing up.  I loved spending time with my dad and this meant that he would be returning to work.  I was a real daddy's girl and we would be inseparable for most of the holiday.

We would always stop at a farm and pick up bags of plums and other fruit before making the long journey home, once home we would make jam or "sunshine in a jar" as it became known to me as a reminder of those heady days of high summer.

Those care free, heady days of the 70's, where everything seemed to be orange or brown or it is in my memory, but I wonder how much of that is due to the orange hue that the photographs have taken over time.

I loved the summer, I still do.

This was written for the writing workshop at Sleep is for the weak and I chose prompt 1. Summer

Halcyon days - An afternoon event at the school

MadDad and I spent a wonderful afternoon at Maxi's school last Wednesday.  We had been invited for a coffee, cake and fun with the children.

I had forgotten my camera, so I took these images with the histomatic application on the iPhone - yes I know old hat by now, but I am a late adopter!

We spent a brilliant 1 and half hours listening to all the children in the year singing songs and playing games.

The weather was perfect, not too sunny, but warm.

The teaching staff had all been very busy baking and the cakes were delicious.

But the best part for us was just watching Maxi have fun in his own environment.

To be able to chat to his teacher in a relaxed environment and meet up with more of the parents.

Yes it was all to raise funds for the year group trip, but it was a fun afternoon and I want to say thankyou very much for a great way to fundraise.

Writing Workshop - My Spring and Summer Manifesto

Dear Voters (well my boys in this one)

We will make life fun, we will focus on laughter and giggles and grasp what we can get out of the day.

We shall enjoy the seaside and I will ensure that we have the wet suits in the car at all time.

We shall endeavor to make the most of the sunshine and of the environment around us.

We shall picnic in our secret place and run free on the moors.

We shall barbecue in the garden on a Saturday evening focusing on good food and great company.

We shall enjoy the harvest from our garden.

We will make, bake and create on a regular basis. I will not worry about the mess, or stress about the outcome.

We with feed the ducks and float homemade paper boats on the pond.

We will go on family walks and use your maps to explore new places.

We will explore the wonderful parks in the local area and find our favorites.

We will camp and explore new areas, cuddling up under our canvass.

I will try not to shout, but you will need to listen and not just hear.

We will swim and play football.
I will try to say yes more.
I will try and be the best I can.

We will dream, we will grow and we will remain family.

This post was inspired by promt 4 What’s YOUR party manifesto? for Sleep is for the Week's Writing Workshop

Following the Sun

The forecast for today was not great, however, that is not unusual for a Bank Holiday Monday, but we are trying to make the most of every day before school starts next week, so decided to pack a picnic and to follow the sun via a trip to Ikea to check out beds for MiniMad!!!

So we looked and the bed we liked was out of stock - boohoo, but that means we can have a trip to Leeds on Wednesday to get it - yippee. The boys were very well behaved, but the promise of ice cream and play area might have had something to do with it (not that I am one to resort to bribes and emotional blackmail - oh no, not I)!!

We then decided to make the most of the warm weather and sun and go off to the coast and headed to Tynemouth for our picnic (yes we were at Ikea for opening) and spent the afternoon at Tynemouth Priory and Castle.

The boys loved running around the castle and really enjoyed the cannons and the gun battery. MadDad enjoyed telling them all about the reasons they were named (size of their ammo).

I just loved running free with the children and taking lots of pictures to remind me of a fab day. The beauty of English Heritage sites is the children can run and explore, climb on the ruins (within reason) and have a hands on experience of the wonder of history.

Best of all the day ended as it had started with ice cream and ice Lolly's, but unfortunately the rain caught up with us. By the time we got back to the car we were soaked though our rain coats and the boys traveled home in just T-shirts. But soon warmed up with a feast of crumpets and hot chocolate for supper.

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

We have had one of those rare things, a perfect Sunday afternoon. Everyone of us has had a ball doing things that family's do. The thing that makes it so perfect - well for me that is the people I spent it with, my boys and my wonderful husband.

It is days like these, simple days, where riding a bike, swinging in the park, flying a kite and eating an ice cream at the stray cafe make all the surgery worth while. It is days like these that make me thankful for small things, for old folk stopping and asking where we bought our kites (the pound shop), for people saying hello as they walk their dogs and the joy on the mini's faces at a really long stretch of pavement to ride like the wind.

The boys had so much fun at the park with MadDad, as he could lift them on to the monkey swing (it is too high for me)!!

We ended the evening with a family curry and then a lovley cuddle on our superkingsize bed. Wonderful all round.

The Gala

Today was the Gala and Fun day at my sister in law Debs and Brother Chris' Sports and Social Club and although there was some rain, we all had a fantastic time, all the proceeds were for the new local junior football club

My Niece the scary tiger

My Eldest Niece did all the face painting and was kept busy all day

Mini Mad was so excited


The boys in the junior race

Brothers - I love that they were holding hands

Hands in the air

A little bit about us all and the start of the holidays

We are a family of five, trying to get through life in a happy, but somewhat chaotic house. I am a little obsessive, MadDad is practically perfect in every way and the MiniMads are happy, joyful, curly haired monsters aged 4 and 3. We also have a really old long hair white cat Mr Smudge to you and me, he kind of some and goes as he pleases.

MadDad works Monday to Friday to keep us in pennies and I am a SAHM, who is going to tentatively start work part time over the summer at home.

This is our first summer before the eldest MiniMad starts school and is a really big milestone for us

I underwent a double mastectomy in February and didn't think I would be here to experience this summer at all, so I thought I would keep a record of what we did and are going to do.


Today is the first day of the holidays for us, Preschool finished last week and all our organised mum and toddlers finish this week too. So today has been a planning day and an imagination day for the boys.


Our dinning room has become a Bedouin tent with the dinning table and chairs covered with blankets and the floor with every cushion and pillow in the house.


We have made a tepee with garden canes and played at cowboys with woody and Jessie from Toy Storey.


I have also been declared heartless by the MiniMads when they were in their Doctor modes, as they could not discover a heartbeat at all (nothing new there then MadDad would declare)


We have also been planning what we want to get up to and the best way to show it. So have done a summer holiday planner and activities, which I am going to laminate and we can stick the activities on the right day.



We have also brainstormed the type of activity we want to do over the summer break.


Splitting it in to Go, Do, Make and Read. I guess that this will get added to quite a lot when we all think of things that we want to do or explore during the summer break.