Center Parcs - hurray!

We're now back in sunny Scotland after our first ever Center Parcs holiday, and I have to say we had a great time!I was fully expecting the trip to be as challenging as our first 'holiday' with my daughter when she was nine months old, but I was in for a pleasant surprise. The entire place is designed, obviously, to be very child friendly with lots of nice wide paths for buggy pushing, family restaurants (not that we went to these) and a great pool. We didn't really go for all the paid activities on offer but just used the pool a lot.

The two that we did pay for were Messy Play (Me: what was your favourite bit? Her: washing my hands... Me: sigh) and the creche. Ahhh 3 hours of child free bliss.

Is it wrong that the best part of my family holiday was the bit without the kids?!

Adventures in Epilation...

We are officially joining the middle class next week by taking our very first holiday to Center Parcs. We've been very excited about our little mini break as a family, at least until with dawning horror, I began to contemplate a swimming costume and my current body condition (3 months post birth is not very pleasant on the eye!).

And so I decided that 3 days before our visit was PLENTY of time to get myself into the kind of shape that can be seen poolside without causing undue distress to passing children (or their fathers). With my trusty credit card in hand (no crash diets for me, I hear they are VERY bad for you...) I set off to M&S, that bastion of the 'helpful' swimming costume. I chose from a selection of two colours in the 'tummy control' area and cheerfully bought myself a 'Plain Betty' costume - they are not really helping with that kind of marketing are they?

I then continued on my mission to Boots to view the various hair removal options. After checking some online reviews that morning, I had decided to bite the bullet and bought myself my first epilator.

Fast forward to last night. When I had settled both the wee ones, I ran myself a nice warm bath, relaxed for a few minutes (as per instructions) and then grabbed my trusted wet and dry gadget. I started slowly, with the lower leg. oO far so good, a bit nippy, perhaps, but nothing I couldn't take. Feeling buoyed up with confidence and ignoring my giggling husband who had popped his head round the corner to check on deforestation progress, I moved onto, well, a more sensitive area. Yes, he had left the room again by this point!

Now, please bear in mind that 3 months ago, almost to the day, I managed to deliver an 8lb 13oz baby with the help of only 2 paracetamol and a warm bath. Even worse, on inspection by the health visitor, it was declared that his head circumference was on the 95th percentile. Oh yes.

Now, back to that bathtub. I only have two words to describe epilating, well, you can imagine where.

Good Lord.

Has anyone ever done that twice??



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Two kids + bad cold = bad day

Don't you just hate that weird feeling you get at the back of your throat that means you have a cold coming?

Just over two years ago (i.e. PB or pre-baby) a part of me quite liked having a cold. The prospect of a few days in bed, eating chocolate, watching trashy TV and reading even trashier fiction made the head ache and sore throat not just bearable but, with enough sympathy, even part way enjoyable. Now add a demanding toddler and a cranky baby into the mix and it's just not like it used to be!

A good friend of mine has suggested spending the afternoon on the sofa letting the toddler watch TV and cuddling the baby, but clearly she does not know my toddler too well. TV? Hah. I wish. Most mothers in the competitive baby circles I skirt are to be found bemoaning the television and discussing ways to get the children away from it - not me. If I could get her to watch even half an hour I'd be thrilled. She never even makes it through the credits before she's up, up and away wanting more exciting and, frankly, exhausting forms of activity.

Life in the country is as Scottish as ever today, as through one window I have lashing rain and through the other bright sunshine. Making it a little tricky choosing what to wear. Still, that surely has to be good for the veggies?

Always the last to join

I'm a mum

I live in the countryside

I spend a lot of time on the internet

And until 5 minutes ago, I didn't have a blog.

A paradox that surely could not be maintained indefinitely?!

I must be the very last woman in my situation to catch onto this craze, clearly it's a valid use of time judging by the sheer number of blogs about being a mother in the country. I'm already planning my conversation with my husband when he gets home from work.

It usually goes along these lines...

Him: So, how was your day?

Me: Well, I changed 6 nappies and two baby outfits, wiped milky sick off my shoulder a seemingly infinite number of times and spent about 2 hours on mumsnet. How about you, dear?

Him: Ah, well, I spent my day being a valuable and contributing member of society...

Well, no longer! Now I can hold my head high and say "Darling, I have started an exciting and enthralling blog into my life as the mother of a toddler and baby! Within days I anticipate having readers in the triple, nay, quadruple figures and becoming a local media sensation...!"

Ok, so maybe not. But hey, it's something to do during the bliss of the long lunchtime sleep while I'm ignoring the washing up.

So. What to write about? Well, a little more about me perhaps as this is my blog and thus I am entirely justified in being a little introspective (or should that just be self obsessed?). I moved to Scotland with my husband 5 years ago, we were married 4 years ago and had the first of my children, a wee girl, two years ago. I am now once again in the throes of maternity leave with a 12 week old baby boy.

Although we initially moved to a nice little town I am now a countryside dweller. And not just the kind of 'countryside' that means you have a nice view, but proper, bona fide countryside - the kind where we got snowed in for a month in January and I very nearly had to be taken to the hospital to give birth in the bucket of my friendly local farmer's JCB.

So I shall close my very first blog here with this one thought uppermost in my mind - why is that the word 'blog' is showing up as a spelling error?