50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.

"Research shows that fewer than one in ten of today's children have played in a wild place compared to half of their parents' generation."

Daily Mail online

Isnt that crazy? And sad? 

Here's the National Trust's 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ list designed to inspire both parents and kids alike. I like it!

For Caleb (age 3), we're doing not too bad....

1. Climb a tree

2. Roll down a really big hill

3. Camp out in the wild

4. Build a den

5. Skim a stone √

6. Run around in the rain √

7. Fly a kite

8. Catch a fish with a net

9. Eat an apple straight from a tree

10. Play conkers 

11. Throw some snow √

12. Hunt for treasure on the beach √

13. Make a mud pie

14. Dam a stream

15. Go sledging √

16. Bury someone in the sand

17. Set up a snail race

18. Balance on a fallen tree

19. Swing on a rope swing

20. Make a mud slide

21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild

22. Take a look inside a tree

23. Visit an island √

24. Feel like you're flying in the wind √

25. Make a grass trumpet √

26. Hunt for fossils and bones

27. Watch the sun wake up 

28. Climb a huge hill 

29. Get behind a waterfall

30. Feed a bird from your hand

31. Hunt for bugs √

32. Find some frogspawn

33. Catch a butterfly in a net

34. Track wild animals

35. Discover what's in a pond

36. Call an owl

37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool

38. Bring up a butterfly

39. Catch a crab

40. Go on a nature walk at night

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it √

42. Go wild swimming

43. Go rafting

44. Light a fire without matches

45. Find your way with a map and compass

46. Try bouldering

47. Cook on a campfire

48. Try abseiling

49. Find a geocache (this weekend hopefully!)

50. Canoe down a river

We're off to Loch Lomond today to have some more outdoor adventures!

Moany mum

As of the end of July, the wee one was crawling. Boy, does life get harder! Suddenly i appreciate how much easier newborn babies are. Sitting on the couch, watching tv and feeding baby for hours sounds like total bliss now. This crawling/pulling himself up to standing/falling over/bumping his head and crying coz that hurts phase is sooo hard! I cant divert my eyes for a minute. He's also at that age where i cant be out his sight for 30 seconds without starting to moan, crawling to find me and climbing up my legs until i pick him up (which sounds quite cute now im writing this but is actually a pain in the butt when im trying to make lunch or dinner etc) Plus he's teething, which doesn't help. He has 4 teeth now, the last of which just came in this week and i thought we'd get some respite before the others start to arrive but no, today i see more coming along the bottom. Give me strength. In addition to all those moans, the older one has been hard work, probably because so much of my time/attention is taken up dealing with Aaron. Im glad nursery school starts back next week, we are in need of our routine back again and Caleb needs more stimulation.

Oh and im still up through the night with Aaron and he's been waking for the day at 5.30am which, quite frankly, is killing me and turning me into a grumpy cow by 7pm. On the plus side, both my kids were sound asleep by 6.30pm tonight which is great. Shame im too tired to do anything with my time though....

Moan, moan, moan.

However, im grateful for my boys and i love them very much. Look at these faces! Too cute. Im just tired, busy, hormonal and grumpy :)

edit: My moaning must've been heard. Aaron slept alllllll night and mummy slept 9.30pm-6am! Hurrah

If you're in the Glasgow/west coast area...

Contact me for more information!

July

July seems to have flown by. We're keeping busy in the holidays, despite the terrible summer weather we are having. I spent a week at our church youth camp, which was fab! We had a great group of girls and it was the first year in a long time without any major hassles. I never thought id consider camp a holiday but it really was, i enjoyed it and had the benefit of sleeping at home each night too lol.

Ive signed up for the Great Scottish Run (10K) on 2nd September, which i ran 2 years ago. So im busy trying to train for that again! I do love running.

On Friday we seen a whale washed up on our local beach! It was dead and pretty gross (its tongue had swollen to an unbelievable balloon like size) so i will refrain from posting a picture but it was still really cool to see. We watched it get lifted from the beach onto a truck, which now sounds quite morbid but i didnt tell Caleb it was dead. There's  a Fireman Sam episode in which Sam saves a washed up whale so i think he thought that was what was going on :) He kept talking about how they needed to get the double harness on it :)

Just having a relaxing Monday after a busy but great weekend. I had dinner with 5 friends on Friday night, took Caleb for his first ever trip to the cinema on Saturday (we seen The Lorax) and had some good friends over after church on Sunday. Oh and we've been trying to watch as much of The Olympics as and when we can, i really enjoy the swimming. London has done a great job of hosting so far! Gotta love this guy.... Ryan Lochte, for his swimming ability, obviously ;)

Queen in town

On the 4th July the Queen and Prince Philip came to town! What a lovely day and a lovely event to happen in Inverclyde. This town could always do with some cheer. She looked lovely in her hot pink outfit and we got a great view of her

haha yeah right, that was not our view! This was my view (see below). I was so busy waving to her and actually watching all that was going on with my eyes rather than through a small screen, that my camera was pointing in the wrong direction. See the car wheels? Thats her ride. So we were really close and a got a good wave, you'll just have to take my word for it!

Calebs favourite bit was all the accompanying police and the royal helicopter. We positioned ourselves in the park where we knew she would be leaving from so we got to see the helicopter land, waited for her car (and all the police escorts) to arrive and then seen her take off in it. We were so close we got the downdraft of the helicopter, both boys were fascinated! The pilot spun around so that the Queen was facing the crowd and we got one final wave. It was great, a historic moment for Inverclyde.

You can see the Queen just behind the helicopter.

So, boys, if you ever look back at Mummys blog when you're older, Caleb (3.5 years) and Aaron (9 months) you "met" HR Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on 4th July 2012, her diamond jubilee year.

One final historic note, boys, tomorrow sees the first British (Scottish) male to get to a Wimbledon Tennis Final in 74 years. Go Andy Murray!

Happy Canada day y'all

Wowzers, June just flew by. My husband was away for 5days and that left me busy busy busy with the boys and around the house....the chores seem never-ending. 

Caleb finished his "ante pre-school year" at nursery. He loved it there and im sad he has to move to a new nursery but in the long-term it makes sense for him to do his pre-school nursery year in the school he will be starting next August (plus its a 5minute walk from my house). Im sad he has to leave his wee buddy Noah, the 2 of them get along so well and gravitate to each other every morning. However, i know at this age (3) that friends come and go and are quickly replaced by others.  

There was an end of term awards ceremony and the kids sang to all the parents. Too too cute. They were all individually presented with a book from the headteacher. I was very proud of my boy :) 

So now nursery school has come to an end we have 6 weeks of "summer" to pass. If the weather is dry this shouldnt be a problem but if it's as wet as it has been recently i do not know how we will fill the days!

Here's how i'd fill my days if i didnt have two little boys to entertain; stitching! Here's Aaron's birth sampler which i love working on

Finally, Happy Canada day! We didnt do anything to celebrate. I feel like we should, the boys are half Canadian after all. What do you Canadians do to celebrate? Matthew had no suggestions lol

Yiota's cross stitch

Ive been away from my blog all month, its been a busy one and i just havent had the time or inclination to sit at the computer recently. 

I was contacted by Yiota recently about reviewing one of her cross stitch kits. I was thrilled to! Who doesnt love a new start?! So, after perusing her website i picked this one. "Cottage by the Sea." Pretty huh? I want one of my spare rooms to be beach themed and running up my stairs i already have a selection of my favorite beach pictures, so this one would be perfect. It reminds me of Greece, one of my favourite holiday destinations.

Yiota's kits are lovely and included the chart, a needle, pre-wound threads and evenweave. Personally, im not a fan of madeira threads, i find them quite coarse, but the chart includes a DMC conversion if you are so inclined.  Speaking of the chart, its great. Big, clear symbols and easy to follow; so important when you have so much block stitching. It would make a good first time big project for someone. It's a big piece and i will be sure to mark off on my chart where i've stitched. I did make a small start in the centre, as suggested in the instruction page (which is a very helpful addition to the kit as well) but it was so small it didnt even warrant a picture!

In conclusion, judging by this kit, i would highly recommend Yiota's kits; so pretty, well presented and good value for money. Go check out her website!