I've got two many favourite colours to pick just one, I have a favourite shade of every colour. Today my favourite colour is red; the red of the flowers in the organic garden at Yeo Valley, the red of the confit on the cheesecakes that their head chef made for us for lunch, the red of the sweet peas on the table while we ate a delicious meal, and the red of the home-made strawberry jam on the home-made scones for afternoon tea.
A Natural Path To Follow?
I suppose that as I live in the same town as I grew up in, there are some aspects of my early life which are inevitably and unavoidably repeatable. For example, I'm a primary school teacher and while there are five schools here which I could work in, I teach in my own childhood primary school. I've been there seven and a half years and to be honest I find it comforting that I work in the place that I was so happy to attend as a child. And yes, I did manage to play on the past pupil aspect to get my CV in to my old headmaster for the possibility of an interview.
Another aspect of my own life which I find amusing to have repeated is that I have decided to not send The Boy to state nursery. It was a big decision for me (surely as a state employed teacher I should be supporting the education system?) but the reason it wryly amuses me is because my mum didn't send me to school at the normal age either. Technically I should have started in Reception three weeks after I turned four years old, but my mum fought the LEA's pressure and refused to send me to school until I was a year older where I went straight into Year One. She felt I was too young being an August baby, and kept me in private nursery a few mornings a week. Now it's time to send my son to state nursery, I'm pointing out how young he is and am refusing to launch him into the education system until he starts Reception. And he goes to the same private nursery as I did.
As a child I didn't attend any clubs or groups. I'd try them for one session but something would always crop up to put me off. In Sunday School, I fell and sprained my wrist (serves me right for running when I should have been) and didn't want to go back. Roller skating club? I fell and sprained my ankle. The concept of me on roller skates now makes me snort with derision as I have no sense of balance whatsoever. Mum was happy for me to stay at home and play, and money was tight so expensive sessions weren't an option either.
But this is where I want repetition to not occur. We attended Monkey Music for a year until The Boy absolutely refused to join in singing or playing instruments anymore. We have now been going to Tumble Tots instead since January and have re-enrolled for the Autumns term because he loves the physical challenge so much. I've already decided he'll go to Cubs etc. because I never did the the Brownies route. I think these organisations offer so much, and I do regret not having gone to them myself.
And this is where I find myself looking at my son and wondering about his future path. What will his hobbies be? Is this a case of nurture or nature? Am I sending him off to these extra curricular sessions because I never did them, or because he wants to? What will his preferences be? Is he sporty or am I making him so? I'm not into physical exercise at all, but Mr. TBaM was a cross country runner in secondary school. As it so happens, I genuinely think The Boy loves exercise which is why he goes to Tumble Tots.
Will he be musical? I'm not, although sometimes I itch to play the piano in our dining room (which incidentally is the old one from my infant school). I have no idea about what to do with the left hand, or any sense of tempo, but I love the idea of making music. We bought the piano (for £100! Bargain!) with the sole intent of our children being taught it, I think it is therapeutic and a valuable skill. The Boy genuinely loves tinkering around on it and I find him playing little melodies which are quite tuneful. I'm constantly singing him little songs that I've made up and the other day he made one up all by himself. Admittedly it only had one line repeated several times, but the tune was lovely and he changed the pitch a few times.
We love doing craft together, but yet again this is a hobby of mine. I did art GCSE, A level and specialism in university; am I enforcing this on him? Regardless he seems to love it, and it's food for the soul. We really enjoy cooking together, will he be a chef like his uncle? He adores technology, will he be a computer geek like daddy? He's handy with a screwdriver, will he be a mechanic like grandad? A gardener like my bampi?
There are so many avenues that he could follow and I wonder which path he'll choose. Will he have inherited a talent from his family? Will my encouragement for certain activities which I didn't experience, force his hand?
Do you wonder what your child will be when they are older? Do you worry you're developing their 'likes' for them?
Monday 9th July 2012 – 'Big' (191/366)
It might seem an odd shot for the title, but basically he's too big for his seat and we need to get him a new one. I'm a little gutted because I love the Maxi-Cosi Axiss and it also means that if he falls asleep that I can't tilt him up to make him more comfortable. He is only just three years old as well.
Meal Planning Monday #13
It's been a few weeks since I joined in with Meal Planning Monday but this week I'm back!
- Sunday: We were a bit full after lunch so we decided to finish off the stash of cheeses in the fridge.
- Monday: Quorn & salad wraps with pommels frites
- Tuesday: I'm off to Yeo Valley for the day so it will be whatever leftovers I can find in the freezer!
- Wednesday: A long work day so Mr. TBaM will be cooking cheese souffle (Asda), salad and baby new potatoes in butter and herbs (Aldi)
- Thursday: Work again so pizza and chips
- Friday: Mediterranean vegetables with rice, and grilled halloumi
- Saturday: Chinese of course! We're trying to cut down to once a fortnight, not good for our waistlines, hearts or wallets to have it once a week!
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I'm joining in with Mrs. M's Meal Planning Monday
Sunday 8th July 2012 – 'Lunch' (190/366)
366 #27
Day 190! Well done us!
Time to link up with your favourite photo of the week:
- Choose your favourite photo from the past week and link it up below.
- Please add the badge to your linked-up post so that other people know how to find all the other fabulous entries.
- If you can spare five minutes to comment on just a few other entries I know they'd appreciate it!

#27:52
Saturday 7th July 2012 – 'Garden' (189/366)
My garden. Beyond The (splashing) Boy you will see lush, green leaves and the bushes and tress flourishing. As is the grass. Unfortunately it's at least six inches long and hasn't been cut in three weeks. The flowerbeds are full of weeds that I can't get out to to remove. His toys stand there looking forlorn begging to be played with, while raindrops glisten like diamonds before plopping onto the waterlogged lawn. And it's the 7th July.
This Summer sucks.
LolliBop 2012
Last August the bloggosphere was filled with talk of the LolliBop Festival in London. At the time I was still quite new to the blogging world and was unaware of the wonders of the fantastic children's festival. However this year it's returning to Regent's Park with another fantastic line up and we will most definitely be there!
Completely created as 'The Big Bash for Little People', LolliBop takes place on the weekend of Friday 17th August until Sunday 19th, and while its main audience is intended to be children up to the age of 10, I suspect big kids of all ages will enjoy it with a plethora of wonderful activities.
I'm a little overawed at the huge range of acts, stageshows and activities taking place during those three days, it really will provide something for every child, no matter what the age.
Personally, we're looking forward to:
- seeing The ZingZillas perform on the LolliBop Live stage;
- the story of The Gruffalo in the Lollipaladium;
- getting crafty with Mister Maker;
- yoga sessions with Waybuloo;
- an Alice In Wonderland tea party;
- meeting ‘Tiny’ the 125 million years young dinosaur;
- cooking with My Daddy Cooks in the LolliBop Kitchen;
- the Halfords Bike City (which will include a Wacky Races obstacle course for under 5’s);
- the Mr Men & Little Miss Party Roadshow;
- LolliBop Animal Curiosities, which features animals including a polar bear, a dinosaur and gorillas (!);
- the Disco Shed which will have mini boppers dancing the day away;
- finding out what's in The Enchanted Forest;
- the Village Green as the perfect spot to chill out and enjoy some street theatre.
Rest assured though, there are plenty of other activities for younger children with the the '3ft & Under' area (with a mini disco, tiny play, little arts, baby ballet, yoga, teddy bears picnic and sing and sign), and oodles for older children; Dick and Dom, a Moshi Monsters Mash Up Tournament (where children are challenged to put their Mash Up skills to the test with free Mash Up cards), the life-size Transformers Optimus Prime Truck, workshops by Horrible Histories and the Roald Dahl Museum, performances by 8ft Titan the Robot, the Tween Town area (with street dance, hula-hooping, magic and beat-boxing workshops, plus an older arts and crafts tent and a brand new laser room), a BMX stunt display and demo area, and the Science Museum are preparing for a triumphant return to Regent’s Park with an expanded area and dedicated Science Zone.
Reassuringly this is one festival which is completely geared towards the family ethos with two 'boob and botty boudoirs' and covered buggy parks and lollishade areas. There will also be a good selection of food and drink options available.
I'm really looking forward to experiencing the fun and games at LolliBop and as all activities inside the event are free, then I think that the £22 a person ticket is excellent value for money.
LolliBop takes place in Regent’s Park, London on August 17-19. Tickets are priced at £22 per person (adults and children pay the same price) but babies under 12 months old are free.
The Boy… Aged 3
Lately I've started to realise just how quickly our babies grow up to be their own person. I know it's come about with the prospect of school next year and so I am making more of an effort to remember the little moments.
The Boy celebrated his third birthday last month and I decided to follow Emma from A Matter of Choice's lead and video him answering a set twenty questions. What resulted was a fantastic moment in time, really showing off his personality and voice at this age.
What would be on your child's photo?

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