Half Term Fun

THE SUN WAS OUT AND WE HAD A GOOD WEEK...
ENTERTAINING CHILDREN IS NOT FOR THE MEEK....
THE BOYS SAID WRESTLING WAS THE BEST....
AND NOW I’M GOING BACK TO WORK FOR A REST!

I have survived Half term, hooray!

Hasn’t the weather been lovely? And what a relief that was. If you haven’t actually booked a holiday away, you do have to think up things to do to keep boredom at bay; kid’s boredom is the enemy of all parents and if left untreated can cause mayhem and destruction. I was lucky enough to have the week off work too, and although it is nice to have some time to spend with the kids, had we been stuck indoors, I think I may have been driven mad!

I warmed up for the week ahead with a treasure hunt around Clevedon, wondering whether my local knowledge would be good enough to win. We were given a map with a list of 20 place names, the idea being to cross of all the place names found from the clues they give you, as fast as you can. The last place name left on your map holds the key to the treasure, so the first team to get back and declare the answer wins a prize. ..

We got the correct answer, and set off back to declare ourselves the winners. Racing in the hot weather meant stopping for refreshments several times along the way, so unfortunately, by the time we get back, the other teams were ready to go home! It was still a great day and although we walked nearly three miles by the end, constantly looking for the next clue, we all enjoyed ourselves.

The boys have also spent a lot of time at the fun fair and out on their J.D bug scooters this week. As a resourceful mum I now carry an Allen key in my handbag wherever we go as Sam’s wheels frequently fall off from all his stunts. Real mum’s not only shop at Iceland, they also carry out minor mechanical duties where needed! Sam loves to go on all the rides at the fair but I must admit to being quite a wimp. I can’t even sit on a roundabout without feeling sick, so my job is always to hold the coats and take photos. Oh and buy the candy floss of course!

On Thursday we spent a lovely day with my mum. We went on a boat trip from Bristol docks down the river stopping as usual for refreshments en route, with a lunch in a lovely pub on the way round. It was a really hot sunny day and I made sure I had covered the boys with sun screen as always. During the trip I was just sitting quietly on the boat, enjoying the views of Bristol and thinking about what to order for lunch, when suddenly I felt something very cold on my back. I nearly jumped off in shock. It was my mum, who had crept up behind me applying sun screen to my shoulders without warning. I let out a scream which the boys thought was hilarious, and it just goes to prove that mums never stop being mums, even when their “babies” are nearly 40 years old.

The final treat of the holiday was going to see wrestlers in Weston Super Mare. When I say it was a treat, I obviously mean for the boys more than me, as seriously, I can live without watching men in tights throwing each other around and grunting at each other! The boys absolutely loved it though as they follow WWE wrestling and get all the magazines, but they had never been to an actual match before. I persuaded my friend Helen to come with us at the last minute for a bit of moral support; we had asked Granny if she wanted to come, but her response was that she would ‘rather watch paint drying on a bench’, so I took that as a no!


It was very pantomime style with the baddie coming out first and everyone encouraged to shout Boo and Hiss. The boys loved all the drama and jumped up to shout at the baddies and shake hands with the goodies as we were very near the front. Helen sat with me for the first half with her eyes out on stalks saying what ARE we doing here Ellie?! I suggested a small glass of wine in the interval and it seemed to help my Helen’s enjoyment of the second half. She went from sitting quietly as a very demure lady , to standing up with the boys and shouting “Come on hit him you pansy and get a haircut!” and saying to me, “well I think you just have to get into the spirit of the thing to enjoy it” I was just trying not to fall off my chair laughing!

We have also filled the gaps in between days out by playing Monopoly. I think it is a great game for children, as soon as they are old enough to understand how to play. I encourage them to take turns being banker as I think this really helps with maths, it also teaches how to negotiate and bargain, and most of all it teaches them some things are down to luck and not always fair! All good lessons for life I think. Rob hates playing with us though because as soon as he starts to win we tend to all team up and pick on him. Well, I always find it hard to make the children pay up when they are nearly bankrupt and land on my properties so I usually let them off. Perhaps not a good lesson for life that one, mum will always bail you out! But I probably always will.

Please come back next week when I can tell you how I have been preparing for the next important date with Iceland, screen test auditions! Did I ever tell you that I’ve dreamed of being on TV since I was 10…?

Ellie x