Paddling Pool Cool

 I think as adults we forget how we didn't feel the cold as much when we were younger as we do now. I can recall my Mum always telling me to do my zip/buttons up on my coat/cardigan so that I would not feel the cold or get cold. I would moan that I wasn't cold and grumble as I had to stand and do as she asked, while all the time think to myself that there really wasn't any need and besides it wasn't cool (or whatever the equivalent in'word would have been back then in the early 1980's) to wear one's coat with it actually done up!! 

Now, as a Mum I am conscious of wanting to ensure my boys are kept cool when required on a hot day,  warm when it is cold and dry when it is wet, - standard parenting care. By and large at the moment I don't get any back chat (yet - I know this will come) when asking them to zip up their coats! I am always the first to do my coat up now too - no more wearing it unopened on a cold or blustery day!!

When it comes to sitting in a paddling pool on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, my children are so much braver about facing cold water than I am. The morning had started so well, blue sky, bright hot sunshine and a paddling pool which was yet to be used. So I spent about half an hour pumping it up, and getting a little red faced in the process, and then I filled it up with water and left it out in the sunshine to allow the water to warm up. Four hours later I told the boys they could go in, however because the sun had decided to hide away behind some clouds the water was not really that warm. I did add a couple of full kettles worth of boiling water which took the cold edge of the temperature, but basically I wouldn't have sat in there! 

As soon as they sat in I could tell from Jenson's pout it was cold and he almost started to cry and he grabbed his swim suit and wailed "but I am wet Mummy" - uhm well yes Jenson that is the purpose of a paddling pool! Anyway, give Burton his due he talked Jenson out of exiting the pool and soon the pair of them were laughing and splashing away furiously - even getting me wet in the process! And putting their faces in to the water to blow bubbles!! Madness I tell you, madness!

It was lovely to watch them and they did make me smile and made me wonder how long I would have braved that water at their age. I think they did well to sit inside it for almost 15 minutes, by which time Burton said through his teeth chattering that he was too cold and wanted to come out! 

A hot shower soon warmed them up as did cuddles with Daddy and some chocolate buttons!!

Butlin's Minehead : Smiles Better

When I received the news that I had been selected to be a Butlin's Ambassador I was pleased for at least two reasons:

1). I would be having a holiday at last after 5 years of not having one

2). Being able to take my two boys away on holiday to a resort that specialises in family holidays and caters for children.

Lets be honest, as an adult Butlin's is not a place that would spring to mind as a first choice as a holiday destination, and certainly throughout my adult life pre children I favoured holidays abroad in hot sunny climates with cocktails and beaches and bikini's. However, times have changed now that I am a Mum (as has my body - no more bikinis for me lol!), and my priority is the enjoyment my boys will get from a holiday. Obviously their Daddy and I want to enjoy ourselves too, but we want a family friendly destination where we know they will feel happy, safe and be able to have lots of FUN!

 I just knew that the boys would be entertained and would not be bored. I mean, how could you be bored with such a huge variety of amusements and activtiies catering for a wide range of ages and tastes. I was confident even before we arrived at Minehead that we would not be without something to do come rain or shine, because there is so much on offer! We didn't manage to do all of the activities or try out everything because there are only so many hours in each day! However, this is a good thing because it means that should we return again we will have new things to sample as well as being able to see and do all of the  activities we managed to participate in during our recent break and enjoyed so much.

I love the fact that the welcome sign that greets you as you enter the site informs you what Butlin's intends to do for you on your stay

We certainly were delighted by our stay and when I think back to our short break, it is filled with lots of happy memories of our first family holiday away together, but what I noticed the most as I look through all the photographs I took is that Burton and Jenson are smiling the biggest smiles in all of them! From the moment we arrived until we had to sadly depart, they were happy and had a ball!

 They really had such a great time and enjoyed all of the many facilities which the Minehead Butlin's resort has to offer.  In fact both their Daddy and I smiled a lot too - I guess it was the big kid in each of us coming out to play for those four days :)

But that is the great thing about staying at a resort like Butlin's - there is so much going on all day and in to the early hours if you are that way inclined (and without children I would imagine!). From soft play to outdoor playgrounds, from the fairground to Bob The Builders Yard, from the sand pits to the swimming pool, from football to archery and so so much more - it is hard not to find something you like as a child or as a parent. There are activities for the more adventurous with zip wires and huge climbing walls and the indoor bungee trampolines. 

Let me show you some of the fun we had and the activities we enjoyed during our stay which are available on site

And so much of this is included in your stay which makes your holiday such great value for money.

Butlin's Minehead really was smiles better all round :)

PART 1 of my Butlin's Minehead review can be found HERE

My family and I received a free holiday as part of my role as a Butlins Ambassador.

All comments made about my holiday are my own and honest.

My Week That Was #20 (Project 365)

Going On A Bluebell Hunt (131/365)

Me Drive Mummy's Car? (132/365)

HappyLand (133/365)

Soft Play Again (134/365)

Billy Bear Ham (135/365)

Blossom Snow (136/365)

Bath Letters (137/365)

Sunday - bit of a damp day weather wise but while Daddy watched the F1 I took the boys on a bluebell hunt. This afternoon we popped over to Granma and Grampy's to collect some 'stuff' which we had stored there when we moved house before Christmas - there will be some e-bay action soon as a lot of the stuff is now obsolete for us.

Monday - Ladybirds for Burton and toddler playgroup for Jenson and I. Whenever I arrive home in the car now, Jenson insists on getting out via my seat so he can have a go at driving it!!

Tuesday - it rained all day!! I tidied up the boys playroom first thing and rearranged a few things and then decided to set up their Happyland sets, animals and people on their road mat to amuse them for a while. It did until their Grandma and Gran arrived for a quick visit! After lunch more playing and then we watched Ice Age 3 and had a picnic tea while watching it in the lounge.

Wednesday - Another trip to the soft play - now I have paid my £9.95 annual membership, I only have to pay for Burton who is 1/2 price with my membership (under 3's are free) so its a cheap visit and an ideal place when its wet outside! I like this photo because it shows Jenson sat down and his fidget of a brother who cant sit still!!

Thursday - Burton off to Ladybirds again. Jenson and I did some housework - and I managed to sort my bedroom out at last! Yaaaay! Jenson loves helping me tidy up . At lunchtime he asked to sit at the table in a big boy chair (ie. no high chair) and I bought some 'Billy Bear' ham (I know its not actually ham) to see if he would like it. After our trip to Butlins last week and meeting the actual 'Billy Bear' , he was excited to try it and ate 2 slices and giggled the whole time.

Friday - we were outdoors after breakfast and while I hung the washing on the line the boys played with their remote cars. We saw that the tree was shedding blossom and it looked like snowflakes - the photo shows the boys watching it fall. Their cousin Laurel cane to play for a few hours and have lunch so lots of running around the garden and bouncing on the trampoline ensued.

Saturday - what a beautiful sunny and warm day it has been today! We went out on two outdoors adventures a National Trust visit and a trip to some woods, with lots of walking, climbing, stick finding, stone throwing (into water), ice cream eating and lots of fun and smiles!! By bedtime I had 2 sleepy boys who enjoyed their bathtime and have now gone to sleep!

Going On A Bluebell Hunt (Flashback Friday)

When we lived at our old house, we would walk to town through a churchyard as it was the quickest route which also avoided strolling past the park which when you have a child/children who would recognise the playground it is hard to walk past without pleas of "can we go to the park please mummy?".

Last year around about this time, the churchyard was full of bluebells and one sunny afternoon we stopped so Burton could get out of the buggy and go exploring and touch and take a closer look at these pretty blue springtime flowers. 

Bluebells don't seem to stay around for very long and the next time we walked through that churchyard they had all gone much to Burton's disappointment. He asked me where they had gone and I did my best to explain to a two and a half year old, and each time we walked through the churchyard he would ask me again where the bluebells were and when they would return. In the end after  lots of "but why mummy" replies I told him that the bluebells had gone to sleep and would be back next year after Jenson's birthday *ahem* 

So fast forward a year and of course Burton has forgotten all about those bluebells and how that now that Jenson has had his birthday and it is May, they are back once again! *kids!!* However, as we no longer make that trek to the town centre now that we have moved, I have been wanting to take both boys on a bluebell hunt for the past couple of weeks. Last Sunday it finally happened and I bundled the boys in the car and headed off for a place which OH suggested but I couldn't find it from his directions! So in the end I saw a sign saying public bridlepath, drove along, parked the car and off we went on our bluebell hunting adventure!! It was like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as we found everything but bluebells!

and finally we found our pot of gold - some bluebells at last!!

This post was brought to you as part of Flashback Friday

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Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post

Smoky BBQ Pork Chilli Con Carne

I love chilli con carne and I usually make it with beef mince, but the other week I bought some pork mince for a change (something we don't eat a lot of) and was wondering what to make with it when I found a recipe for smoky pork tacos and decided to adapt this recipe with what I had in my store cupboard.

Here is my version of a smoky bbq pork chilli con carne

Serves 8 (I froze half to use again)

Ingredients

500g pork mince

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped finely

1 tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce

6 tbsp bbq ketchup

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

500ml passatta

2 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika

To serve

boiled rice
tortilla chips
grated cheese

Method

Heat your oil in a large deep saucepan over a medium heat and add your onion and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes then add your spices
Add your pork and cook until the meat is cooked through
Add the peppers and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes.
Add the kidney beans, passatta, ketchup and bbq sauce and bring to the boil and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. I did this by placing a lid on the saucepan, reducing the heat and simmering for about 45 minutes stirring every now and then to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 Depending on how long your rice takes to cook, allow enough time before the 45 minutes is up to cook it

Serve the chilli with your rice and I like to add some cheese to melt on the top and some tortilla chips for dipping!

It must have been tasty because my OH who wont eat pork, agreed it was nice and had seconds! I am not a fan of pork either, but because the smoky sauce is so nice and it made for a very tasty meal.

 Its not spicy as I wanted it to be child friendly, but if you preferred it more spicy you could add some chilli powder.

It is a quick, easy and very tasty meal which is also fairly frugal as it came in at under 50p per head and it could probably be adapted to cook in the slow cooker, which I will try next time I make it.

The UK's Top 10 Boys And Girls Names 2012

I remember that when I was pregnant with each of my boys, although I never knew their gender until each of them were born, spending a lot of time thinking up names and compiling lists of my favourite girls and boys names. My partner and I read books and visited web sites and even downloaded an app to uncover so many different names and their meanings. I actually found it really interesting to discover how many names there are and find out about their origins and meanings: from the traditional names to the more wacky I never knew so many existed!

Choosing a name for your unborn child is such a huuuuge responsibility and for us it proved to be even harder coming up with a name we were both happy with because we didn't agree on many names!! 

When I was pregnant with my first born initially we chose Jack for a boy and Isabella for a girl but half way through the pregnancy we changed our mind about Jack because although we both loved the name, we thought about how popular a name it was (it was the top name back in 2008), and how at school our child, should it be a boy, would probably be one of many Jack's in his class or year! I am so pleased we changed our minds now because both his daddy and I LOVE and much prefer the name Burton, which doesn't even feature in the UK name charts!

Here are the top 10 names for boys and girls for 2012 - does your child's name feature?

This infographic has been featured in association with Bounty. My thoughts about naming a child are my own.