Our Half Term

We had a really lovely half term. It was a busy week with lots of time outdoors and even once indoors there wasn't much free time to go online so I need to do a marathon post to catch up.

Let's go back and start with Sunday 17th. T decided he would like to go and see his Grandma in Salisbury so he went off on the train and me, G and S went to the Common for a short walk. The sun was out and there were lots of others having a gentle Sunday stroll too.

Monday was a bit of strange one. I normally work 4 hours on a Wednesday fitting in with school hours, but last week decided to swap days and do the 4 hours on a Monday afternoon instead. The theory being that that way a whole day wouldn't be lost as I knew the children would appreciate a lazy day to the start of their week off. So I was up early doing as much housework as I could (part of my normal Monday routine), then there was a bit of shopping to do and then a trip to the church to leave some Spring flowers I had potted up for my dad as it would have been his 72nd birthday.

Then I picked up my mum bought her back to our house and left for work.

Half an hour later I was home again as my train had been cancelled!

I tried for the next train (they go hourly) and that was delayed and when eventually information came through it was to say it would terminate at a station before my stop, therefore I couldn't get into work. A little frustrating!

Tuesday was the best day of the week weather wise. T was making arrangements to meet up with friends so S and I took ourselves out for a walk. We walked along the shore

which leads to a playground but once there found that she has really grown a bit too big for the equipment!

S wondered how it was decided which house was painted which colour in this neat little row just opposite the park. Would they agree amicably or would there be wrangles over who got the blue?

The reason I chose this walk was so we would end up in Netley where we could have lunch in a little deli/sandwich shop which had opened last year and which we yet to try. Well worth the walk I'd say, I had the most delicious egg mayonnaise sandwich I have ever eaten, chock full of filing, and S was chuffed with the amount of chocolate sprinkled on her babycino.

We had a little mooch around a second hand furniture shop and I found this (new) cute little cushion which I am going to give my mum for Mother's day, a bargain at only £3.00. 

On the way back to the car S walked along by the water, throwing stones and jumping into the rippling waves as they broke.

Wednesday morning we had to go into town for eye tests. T 's vision remains good and S didn't need a change in prescription so that's us all done there for a while.
Back home in the afternoon the children had more fun than I would ever imagine they could have when they washed, tidied and hoovered out the car. THEY WANTED TO DO THIS! It was me that had to be persuaded to get out there and do it. A jolly good job of it they did too.

Thursday it was perishingly cold but we went out for the day anyway. A friend had told me about the offer on at Monkeyworld for half term whereby the child's entrance fee was just £1.00 as long as you donated a clean piece of old bed linen or an old towel for each child you took along.
I shared this by emailed with other friends thinking it may be useful as a day out for them, it's not easily accessible by public transport so it was a no go for us.
Until one friend got in touch and asked if we would like to go with her and her son as she was happy to drive.

It was a really fab day. We didn't get to see very many of the larger monkeys, for some reason they preferred the indoors to the cold wind which was blowing.

but lots of the smaller monkeys were busy scampering around and playing.

Here are my two very own moneys on the spectacular climbing equipment in the play area. It was a shame it was so cold as I think they would have played on it for ages. Let's face it if T was enticed on at his age it must be good!

Friday I did manage to get into work and G was at home. In the evening I got off the train and he got on as he was off out to see a band with his brother down in Boscombe.
Once the children were in bed I settled down to making up paper chains.
I hung these from the door frames to their bedrooms along with lengths of ribbon and banners so that when they woke up the next morning and left their rooms they were greeted with a curtain of birthday wishes.

As you can see Malcolm made use of the present box as it was emptied and a bit of room was created!

T had tried to arrange a trip to the cinema with friends for his birthday treat which didn't happen for various reasons and so he had to come along to S's birthday treat at the soft play centre with 3 of her friends. The four of us went bowling in the evening and I had to snap S's score on one of her goes as she managed to knock down the number of pins the same as her new age.

The closest I could get to T's age is his final score in the first game, 103. Remove the 0 and you'll see that he is now a teenager!

So here is the birthday girl with her new pillow pet, a pastel coloured unicorn

 and here is the birthday boy, resolutely refusing to be photographed, with one of his presents.