ShowOff ShowCase: The One About Birthdays

by 1 Comment

My gorgeous little son, The Boy, is going to be two this Sunday.

This time two years ago, I was happily preparing to go in and be induced. This time one year ago, I was busy sewing triangles of Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric onto 50 metres of ribbon to make bunting. Today I am considering practising making a birthday cake and panicking about the weather.

Therefore the theme for this weekend's ShowOff ShowCase is birthdays. I'd like you to dig out a post that you have on celebrating getting older; you, your children, your parents, when you were a teenager, a 'special' birthday, a magical party that you've been to, a dodgy party that you've been to!

Come join me on Saturday at 8am when I open the linky and add your post. Then please add the badge using the html to your post and pop back and read all the other little party stories!

The Unofficial Gallery: My Trip

by 13 Comments

Tara is taking time off this week, and the lovely Michelle has stepped in to host an unofficial Gallery linky in her place.

You don't need to do a prompt if you don't want to but if you do then let's see what you come up with 'My trip…….'.

I don't like to break the rules, so if Michelle issues a theme, then I must comply!

For me, there was only one possible choice this week and it was photographs of our trip to America in August 2005. It was a once in a lifetime trip and we decided that we'd hit all the major locations while we were there: New York (3 nights), fly to San Francisco (2 nights), drive down to Los Angeles (2 nights), fly to Las Vegas (5 nights) and then back to New York (3 nights). We were exhausted, but had the time of our lives!

[nggallery id=11]

How many of the places from My Trip can you identify?

When Will He Say It?

by 11 Comments

The Boy loves me. I know he does because I am his mummy and it's a natural reaction. I also know he does because of the way that he calls for me, asks for "uppies" (cuddles) and asks for "tisses". After a short absence (I'm talking about being in the other room!) his face lights up when he sees me.

In the last week or so, I've been asking The Boy a certain question which he refuses to verbally answer. He knows the question, he knows what it means and he does demonstrate the response. Hubby has been trying hard to get him to say the answer. I have heard him say it in a muffled manner and from afar but he won't say it to me.

Today he did. I asked him, not holding up much hope, but he just came out with it before he realised that he was saying it.

Today he said "lubb…" and then kissed me.

He said 'love mummy' for the first time.

My heart swelled with complete adoration and my eyes welled. I love my son so much.

Muddy Puddles? Yes Please!

by 5 Comments

This weekend we headed down to Hampshire. Our trip had two purposes; the first was to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday on Saturday, the second was to visit her Royal Oinkness in Paultons Park. Oh yes, I am talking about the one and only Peppa Pig!

Now, why couldn't we have had the weather on Sunday that we had on Saturday when we were stuck indoors? I am Welsh; the rain shall not deter me! "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" is a very good saying if you haven't left your waterproof in south Wales, 140+ miles away. Never mind!

Peppa Pig World opened in April of this year as a section of the rather brilliant Paultons Park, nestled in the New Forest. My husband is from the area but had never been to Paultons so this was a new trip for all of us. What struck me about Paultons is how unlike most theme parks it is; lots of family orientated rides, gardens, wildlife and birds, etc. There isn't screeching and flashing lights like in others; it's just fun.

The Peppa Pig World in Paultons is the only one in the world, and oh my, it is good. Bearing in mind it is aimed at toddlers and infants who don't want to walk far, the attraction is in a small-ish area which is really cunningly filled with seven rides, attractions and play areas.

Of the seven rides, we went on six of them (weather and The Boy's tiredness prevented us from enjoying the other one). On the right you can see:

  • Windy Castle (all three of us)
  • Daddy Pig's Car Ride (daddy and The Boy)
  • George's Dinosaur Adventure (The Boy and me)
  • Miss Rabbit's Helicopter Flight (all three of us).

The Boy and hubby also went on Grandpa Pig's Boat Ride, which both of them loved, especially The Boy. I haven't got a picture of that because they kept moving too fast to get one. I also went on Grandpa Pig's Little Train with him, which was a more sedate ride. He absolutely adored all of the rides, and would quite happily have stayed all day on them! In particular, favourites were George's Dinosaur Adventure and Miss Rabbit's Helicopter Ride. He hasn't stopped talking about them ever since.

In between all the little paths connecting the rides there are all sorts of delighful things to get the children excited. There's a play area with a row of Peppa Pig style houses, which lots of children were thoroughly enjoying. There's also a section called Muddy Puddles which initially I wanted to go and play in. When the rain started pelting down though, there didn't seem much point! There was also Madam Gazelle's School House and Peppa Pig's House. In that attraction there was a moving display telling the story of the Pig family having pancakes for breakfast which get stuck to the ceiling. The Boy was captivated by it.

Another thing that I really liked was that on the edge of Peppa Pig World were a few animal enclosures; Meerkat Manor (hubby's favourite animals, and now I think The Boy's too), tropical birds, rheas and emus, and penguins! They have two times during the day when they feed the penguins, unfortunately, we missed it by about 10 minutes.

On a practical note there are really good facilities in Peppa Pig World: plenty of clean toilets which have the two-in-one trainer seats for toddlers/adults, a cafe and a couple of snack bars, a big soft-play indoor area, and plenty of benches or tables and chairs for eating lunches, either bought or brought. There are plenty of bins and the whole area is tidy and very attractive to look at. They even have a smoking area tucked away in a corner out of the way.

We were lucky enough to even catch the special lady and her younger brother in pig-son, and The Boy brought home a memento of his trip! We really enjoyed our time at Peppa Pig World and didn't want to leave, but we were drenched and had a long car journey ahead of us. I am desperate to go again on a drier day, preferably mid-week. We went on a Sunday and before the rain started we waited about thirty minutes for a ride. As the ride lasted ten minutes, that wasn't too much I felt. If it had been busy I can see that the waiting time would be greater. When it rained we either walked straight on or waited five-ten minutes.

I now completely understand the appeal of Peppa Pig to The Boy, who says it's just for children?

—

I was provided with free entrance tickets for the purpose of this review. However the fact that I loved it and want to go again is completely my own opinion. Oh and that of The Boy. And daddy.

Are you there Charley Bear?

by

As readers of this blog will know, I'm a fussy mother-hen when it comes to what programmes, and channels, that I allow The Boy to watch. The all-time favourite channel before any other is CBeebies, and our favourite time is 'Discover and Do' and therefore any of the programmes on during that time. He has particular favourites, one of them is that cheeky little bundle of teddiness called Charley Bear.

I like the silent little fella for several reasons. James Corden is an amazing narrator, I liked him on The Gruffalo, and love his voice for this. The other reason is the development of the imagination that happens when Charley visits all his marvellous little places. I love the episode on the beach when he's trying to take pictures and the penguin keeps popping up in every shot. One minute Charley is a sheriff in the wild west, the next he's taking photos on the beach. The simple animated images against unfussy backgrounds really draw the attention of The Boy. He's happy, I'm happy: win-win!

We've been lucky enough to have been sent a copy of Charley Bear's first-ever DVD for a preview, and it's good! It's very good. There are seven fun-filled episodes, including PopStar Charley, Big Little Charley (love this one) and Art in the Park. Also on the DVD are a host of DVD extras including a bonus episode, an introduction to Charley and his friends and some downloadable colouring sheets, plenty to do once you've seen the DVD twenty seven times.

Competition

To celebrate the release of Charley Bear's first ever DVD, Are you there, Charley Bear, tomorrow (Monday 6th June 2011) I am able to offer one lucky reader a copy.

To enter, simply tell me why you like Charley Bear below in the comments box and then tweet this message:

I've entered to win a CharleyBear DVD with @TheBoyandMe's blog https://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=3024

T&C

Competition closes on Monday 13th June 2011 at 8pm. I'll draw a winner at random and notify them that night. If they have not replied within 24 hours, I'll draw another winner. UK entrants only.