Country Kids: The Garden Of Eden

That right there is sunrise over the garden of Eden. No I don't mean the tourist attraction in Cornwall, I mean the wonderful valley which Coombe Mill nestles in. That was the view that we had each morning when we pulled back the curtains in our cabin.

Breathtaking isn't it?

Little wonder that the three of us spent the entire time smiling, laughing and enjoying the fresh air. The Boy enjoyed a plethora of new experiences, and we both were able to smile and revel in his new found confidence.

This is The Boy who strode into the poultry and wallaby pen on the first morning, who fed donkeys and stroked their noses, who glared down an alpaca. My little precious bundle who walked into the pigs' pen, cuddled their rumps and then uncurled their tails, who walked in amongst the goats and fed them, who walked within ten feet of a deer. This is The Boy who let a fragile chick stand on his head and arm.

coombe mill

And after he'd finished discovering all about the fauna, we popped over to the official Eden Project to take in the flora in the biomes where The Boy saw how bananas grow, that coffee comes in green beans, that those elusive tomatoes which mummy won't let him near (he's allergic) start out green.

The Eden Project

We even picked a grain of rice from their mini paddyfield and saw how hard they are when they come straight from the plant!

Arriving home , Mr. TBaM and I remarked to each other how much he'd grown over the weekend; and as parents isn't that our job? To guide them when exploring their new world.

coombe mill

I Want!

Being a Leo, I'm a little tempestuous and volatile. I know, big shock huh?! Those who only read this blog and have this as the only contact into my world will probably be surprised, those who follow me on twitter and have witnessed occasional but fairly restrained rants will smirk knowingly, those who actually know me (like my family, a few long-term friends, or one or two real-life blogging friends – MammyWoo and Mummy Mishaps) will not be surprised at my revelation that I'm a stroppy-arsed bugger sometimes.

I say all this to you because I have been asked by one of those blogging friends to have a temper tantrum, stamp my foot (it's usually the right one) and declare what I want. Not what needs doing in the house, not what The Boy wants, but me. What is it I want?

So here goes. I WANT:

  • To find something to wear to the MAD Blog Awards next Friday night in London. This is harder than it sounds because I'm a big bird and don't do dresses. Plus I'm going to be surrounded by glamorous mummies in beautiful dresses and my roots need doing.
  • To have a hair appointment magically available so I can get said roots sorted. And for it not to take four hours like the last time he cut and highlighted my hair.
  • To have a pair of ruby slippers or a transporter like on ST:TNG so that I can get to the MADs without having to deal with a two hour train journey to London (albeit in first class). And then to get home the next morning so I can see my boy. I'd also like to use this to nip down to Coombe Mill to enjoy the tractor run, or see the stars at night. Or to take The Boy to Barcelona, or Las Vegas. Be handy for getting a pizza in Capri too.
  • To not have a pile of ironing constantly on the dining table.
  • To have a gardener clear the weeds from my garden because my back and pelvis won't let me.
  • To have Eldorado back on television.
  • To not have to work.
  • To win the lottery so I can have our dream house built with one of those spiral staircase slides installed. And a swimming pool. And a cinema.
  • To not be a heffalump. This would make finding an outfit for the MADs easier.
  • To not feel like I'm losing the plot sometimes.
  • To have David Tennant back in Doctor Who. Matt Smith is bloody rubbish.
  • To have people in school realise that just because I'm the ICT co-ordinator it doesn't mean I'll help them buy a personal laptop, or sort out their mobile phones or change the ink cartridge, or be their personal assistant when creating a table in Publisher. None of this involves the teaching of ICT to the children.
  • To understand the Tots100.
  • To be able to eat what I want without gaining half a stone at each meal. (This is only slightly exaggerated.)
  • To have teeth that don't actually fall apart when I chew on a piece of cheese. (This is not exaggerated.)
  • To have people realise that when I say I'm an anonymous blogger that does not mean it's ok to share my name or a photo of me.
  • To know who Kat is sleeping with.
  • To find out why Sharon does that weirdy wide eye thingy.
  • To have ready access to new episodes of Gossip Girl that focus on Chuck Bass.
  • To be able to go to bed before eleven every night.
  • To not have low self-esteem.
  • To not have anxiety attacks that result in hysteria on a London tube platform.
  • To win the photography award next Friday. (There I said it!)
  • White chocolate.

Thursday 20th September 2012 – 'Spread' (264/366)

The Boy has been quite disturbed at around 5 o'clock every morning lately. This morning neither of us could deal with it, and as he was sobbing about how he wanted his sandwiches back, he was having a nightmare and needed a cwtch. Mr. TBaM brought him into bed with us and he cuddled up in my arms. After 45 minutes of being prodded in the face with his elbow, I let him settle in the middle of us and turned over to get an hour's sleep before the alarm went off. Mr. TBaM was under orders to turn it off straight away so as not to disturb The Boy, and when we both sat up to get to it quickly, The Boy stretched out. Clearly we weren't going to be sneaking an extra five minutes in!

Tini-Copter (Review & Giveaway)

Mr. TBaM is a typical man and likes playing with little gadgetty toys. Therefore when I was recently sent the Tini-Copter from 50fifty to try, I handed it over straightaway to him.

remote-contolled helicopter

Ok, in all honesty it wasn't straightaway because I had a play with it first and then we had a little battle over who was going to have the next go. Then we had a competition over who could get it to take off, could fly it without it crashing it into the ceiling and then started chasing each other with it.

Back to basics: the Tini-Copter is one of the smallest 3.5 channel infra-red helicopters on the market. It's approximately 2.5 inches long and incredibly lightweight, the remote control sits nicely in both hands with a joystick on each handle to steer the mini helicopter. There is a flip-up charger in the remote control which attaches into the Tini-Copter and charges up the helicopter within 20-30 minutes giving 5-8 minutes. The remote control takes six AAA batteries. I was concerned with it's robustness and the fragility of the propellors, however the amount of times I crashed it (not Mr. TBaM I hasten to add) indicated it was very flexible and robust.

It's a very nifty remote controlled helicopter and moves quickly, too quickly to video. It had us both competing to play with it and was great fun. The Tini-Copter is suitable for children 8 years+ and I'd agree with that, it would be a good present for boys that age or older. Or indeed middle-aged men! At £30.00 it does seem a little pricey but for a young teen it would be a good present.

I have four of these to give away just in time to start thinking about Christmas. Simply fill in the Rafflecopter form below to be in with a chance of winning.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was sent this product for the purpose of the review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Country Kids: At Home With Coombe Mill

We've come for a short break down to Coombe Mill for a few days and I have to say that I think I've found paradise on Earth! Having been to a few places that have Scandinavian lodges as their accommodation, it is refreshing to come to a similar place but with the difference that this has the great outdoors as the entertainment and what an outdoors it is.

This thirty acre site has a beautiful and melodic river running through it which is the soundtrack to our stay, a plethora of children's play areas for different abilities and desires, and the most fantastic animal farm we've seen.

Yesterday we had fun exploring the play areas…

… including some twilight trampoline jumping!

Today we set off after a hearty breakfast to enjoy the feed run. I'll admit I was sceptical about this as The Boy has always been apprehensive about animals, especially those which are similar in size to him, so I expected lots of, "Can you carry me?!"

However…

… he even told us he uncurled the pig's tail!

But for him the best bit of the day was this…

… under a small amount of direction, he was genuinely steering this tractor!

coombe mill