Not so much new romantic as old spice

Today I was thinking about that early bit of courtship where you do things your partner loves. You know the whole, "Oh we have so much in common, isn't that wonderful. We are so made for each other." That period of time when me and Hubbie were getting to know each other.

I watched non league football - I even travelled to watch games. Not many, but enough to show that I care about what he cares about. In return he went ice skating with me - he's not a fan. He went to a Green Day concert with me - again not his thing at all, but he made a good attempt at looking like he didn't completely hate it.

You see we don't do soppy. He calls me cloth ears when I don't hear him. I complain that he mumbles. He rolls his eyes at the ceiling, I mutter about the half done DIY. We joke that the only time we talk to each other is when we present a radio show together. We live with each other's quirks. He with my aversion to custard and I with his pathological hatred of cauliflower, eggs and picking up his own socks. A habit he has passed onto both our sons - much to my chagrin.

In reality though, we are a team. We have been since we met 12 years ago. Back then we kind of knew we wanted to be together. So got married ten years ago - in a simple ceremony with friends and a few family members present. Then we got on with our lives.

We adopted a cat together - well Neo chose us actually. That's how it works with cats isn't it ? They decide who they will live with and he deigned to assign this role to us.

Neo undertaking a rigorous interview

When it became clear that having a baby wasn't going to be straightforward he went along with all of my crazy schemes from shamanic drumming (no we didn't do this, but he said he'd do it) to hypnosis. He went along with my plan to adopt despite having never considered it before we met so we had a year of being asked about everything and having absolutely no privacy. It was horrible.

Then we had a baby and it was amazing and tiring. After night feeds he would sit downstairs watching baseball with the baby on his knees rocking him to sleep. Every night that we have been parents - with very few exceptions - he's been home for their bedtime. He is every bit the wonderful father I knew he'd be.

When we became three

Then we had the whole adoption process all over again to become parents to our second beautiful boy. * So, now Hubbie has a 'mini-me' and I'm outnumbered by male hormones and smelly socks !! He takes two boys to football with him and I decipher baskets of laundry filled with various sized jeans, t-shirts and pants. The older of our two boys raids Daddy's toiletries for hair gel and the younger copies what his older brother does. He doesn't have enough hair to style yet, but he does like to brush it. 

Is that how you brush your hair baby ? 

This weekend we're away together on a short break for the first time since December 2009. We are spending time without our boys and while I miss them - of course I do - it's reminded me that we have so much fun together and make each other laugh.

Happy Anniversary to us.

Oh and we went ice skating today - because I love it. I think the socks are a small price to pay.

*I've written posts about adoption all this week so you can read those for more about this.

The real Father Christmas and amazing ice skating - it's all at Eden.

I promised an update on our visit to the Eden Project while we were in Cornwall over Christmas. We were there in the summer and I was interested to see how much it changes in the winter. We had a whole day of activities planned taking in a visit to the Father Christmas experience, some ice skating and lunch as well as the land train which my boy loved so much on his first visit.

On arrival we were directed by elves to the trail where we had to find some corn to help make reindeer food to give to Father Christmas when we met him. As it was a dry day we walked all the way down instead of taking the land train saving that treat for later. 

Christmas explorer

The biomes are quieter that in the summer and if you are a regular you may recall this is an update of a photo taken in the summer when there were sunflowers planted next to the wall my boy is walking along. We found the corn and put it into the tiny velvet pouch we had been given and my boy kept it safe in his pocket. We also had a bit of a stroll round the Mediterranean biome to look for the 'reindeer facts' that included 'whisper words' to write down to show that we had taken the trail. By the time we had done this it was time to go and queue to meet Father Christmas. Our boy was quite excited as we passed the ice rink and he could see the big machine smoothing the ice for the first skating session of the day. 

Storytelling with the REAL Father Christmas ! 

One to one time with My Boy 

Now bear in mind we've seen the big man a few times this year so my boy does have some expectations. When we got to the Father Christmas experience we were greeted by singing and dancing elves who were lovely with all the children and gave a fitting introduction to father Christmas himself. I have to say he was the most amazing Father Christmas I've ever seen. From the outfit, to the rosy cheeks and the wonderful storytelling style he just had us all captivated. Each child had the chance to go up and meet him and he gave them all a special crystal to take home. Our boy was so lucky that Father Christmas spotted Jiggles the Bear and made sure he had his own crystal too.

Once everyone had met the man of the moment there were other activities to take part in. These included writing a note to Father Christmas and playing games with the elves who sing and entertain the children including showing them how reindeer food is made. The elf in this photo showed my boy how to power up the crystal Father Christmas gave him to ensure it had plenty of magic powers in it then they made light pattens on the floor. As we left everyone was given a chocolate elf which didn't last long I can tell you !

Elf and bear in perfect harmony

There are craft activities taking place inside the Mediterranean biome during the day which when we went included making peg reindeer, handmade gift tags and an elf hat with ears. Of course we had to make the hat didn't we ? My boy even took off his pudding hat so that he could wear this one instead. 

Climbing fun 

Tractors 

Our ice skating session was booked for the afternoon so we made the most of the dry weather and went for a play outside. These tractors are new since we last visited and they are just behind the Wee man made of recycled items that in front of the biomes. There is also a climbing area - well there were children climbing on it, so we took that to mean that's what it was for. Our boy is getting so brave now he insisted on doing it all himself until right at the end when he asked to hold my hand to get down. 

It was time for lunch and the food at Eden is amazingly good. The canteen food is prepared fresh and there is always a lovely smell when you walk around to get from one biome to the other. I had my eye on the stuffed butternut squash, but when we actually got to choosing lunch I had the spiced veggie pie with crushed potatoes and veg and it was lovely. There is always a great veggie selection and the cakes are phenomenal too. My boy had his heart set on having a cupcake so I promised he could have one after ice skating. He also had a babyccino which the lovely Leah made from hot chocolate as a special treat.

I can't keep up with him !

Then we came to the highlight for my boy which was the ice skating. There has been skating at Eden for ten years and it is in a spectacular setting with a lovely cafe to get drinks and small snacks and the skate hire and drop off is very efficient and simple. It's only the second time I've taken my boy skating and all the penguins were booked out so he had to cling onto the side rail or mine and Hubbie's hands at first, but despite a few slips and falls on the ice he was smiling the whole time. A kindly parent offered us the penguin her son's had finished with so he did get to whizz around on the ice eventually. It was great fun and the skating is open until the new year so there is still time to go. I would recommend it, but it does get very busy and the penguins get booked up early so do book in advance as the only have ten penguins for hire. 

The Eden Project is a great day out and you can do so much in one day it's worth arriving early so you can make the most of your visit. You don't need to bring much with you and the food is reasonably priced, there are plenty of toilets, cloakrooms to keep large bags and things. If you travel by public transport or bike there is a discount on entry, but there is also a lot of parking available.

To find out more and to plan your day you can go here: www.edenproject.com. If you book online you also get a 15% discount

Disclosure: We are members of Eden and paid for the Father Christmas Experience, but were very kindly given complimentary tickets for ice skating. 

Countdown to Christmas: Ice Skating with my boy

In the countdown to Christmas there is always the speculation about whether or not it will snow and if we will have a 'white Christmas.' I'm a big fan of snow and love skiing, even though I'm not that good at it. I also love ice skating, although I'm pretty ropey at that too. I really want my son to try all the things I love to do, so I booked for us to go together for a special Mummy and Boy day out. 

When me and Hubbie were first dating we went ice skating at the Natural History Museum one evening and we had a great time. It was Christmassy, it was romantic and atmospheric. We bought the photo and it was one of our early memories of Christmas together. I decided to take my boy to the Natural History Museum for his inaugural skate as they do a specific session for parents and toddlers and it's a place we love to go to anyway so I figured that even if he didn't enjoy the skating we'd be able to go and see the dinosaurs to cheer him up.

Boy and penguin in perfect harmony

Actually he did really well and didn't fall over once, but for some reason when he was telling Daddy later he said I fell over and he "brushed snow off Mummy's bottom" which is so not true, but I admire his ability to tell a story ! He had the assistance of a penguin helper and it was really great to see how quickly he gained confidence on his skates. Especially as there was a school party there at the same time and they were tumbling onto the ice all around us.

Yum, hot chocolate

Ooh snow !

The session we booked also included a hot chocolate for both of us, but I changed mine for a cup of tea in the lovely cafe upstairs. It really resembles a ski lodge, complete with cuckoo clocks that my boy loved. He insisted I take his photo with the clocks to show Daddy (who is obsessed with clocks).

Cuckoo !

Holiday season

We had such a lovely time and did have a look around the museum afterwards with a few trips up the long escalator that takes you into the centre of the Earth to look at volcanoes and earthquakes. Then on the bus on our way home we saw some Christmas lights. It really is starting to feel like Christmas isn't it ? 

Admiring Christmas lights

This post is being shared on the #countrykids linky hosted by lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill