Travel helpers from Munchkin: Review

Keeping the kids occupied during half term inevitably involves a fair amount of travelling around for us. As we're well versed in long journeys I like to prepare with plenty to keep the boys busy including snacks and games. Big Boy watches movies or plays games on a small handheld console and we have found this seat back organiser is perfect for holding spare games, small toys and even a drink or snack bag. He is old enough now to manage his own entertainment so we let him play with what he chooses and if he wants to take a nap he switches off the games or movie and has a sleep.

Munchkin Backseat and Pushchair Organiser 

Baby Boy enjoys looking out of the window and spotting animals or other exciting scenery. His particular favourite on the drive down to Cornwall is spotting the wind fans that we see dotted around the landscape. I've shown him a hand sign to help identify them without the high pitched squeal of delight that he currently emits which is pretty off-putting when you're driving. The other device that we've found really helpful is this seat back mirror and music player which plays soothing tunes or nursery rhymes. When we're on a long drive he likes to listen to the music and at night time the twinkling lights help settle him down. It's easily attached the the headrest of the seat in front and you have a small remote to control it from the front of the car as well.

Munchkin In-sight Magical Firefly auto mirror 

Most importantly when we're travelling we have to have snacks and drinks to hand for the boys - including Hubbie ! I found that these snack pods were just brilliant to help manage days out on holiday too. I pop small snacks in the blue pot which has an opening that stops everything falling onto the floor and the other side has a cup holder which I put a sippy cup in for Baby Boy and a non spill cup for Big Boy. The adjustable holder can attach to the side of a car seat, but I found it worked really well attached to the inside of the door where they could reach their own drinks and snacks without spillage.

Munchkin deluxe snack pod and drink pod 

I know when I was a kid long journeys there weren't so many gadgets to keep us occupied. We would play games or look for animals out of the windows. I do this with my boys too, but I'm not a luddite. To be honest when it comes to travelling with small children anything that makes the journey easier for all of us is going to appeal. These travel helpers from Munchkin have been great for us and I can see they will get a lot more use during half term too.

Disclosure: We were sent these travel items for an honest review by the lovely people at Munchkin.  

Half term adventures by road and river

Half term is always a bundle of laughs in London with road closures and diversions as standard - I know it's easier to do this work when the kids are off school, but it's still very annoying ! I'm not sure what possessed us when we decided to go into central London for a day out with the boys. It turned out to be the day before the state opening of parliament and also the day of a protest by London taxi drivers. To say it was eventful would not be an overstatement.

As we arrived at Victoria and went to collect our tickets for the Big Bus Tour the boys were very excited about riding an open top bus. Big boy has been on one before, but baby boy hasn't so he loved hanging over the side - which gave my arm muscles a workout holding onto his legs to keep him from falling - I didn't want a Michael Jackson style incident ! There are different tours and you can take a circular tour and you can also hop on and hop off at points of interest. It was a lovely sunny day, but we had already decided we were going to take a boat trip so we got out at the South Bank / London Eye stop. Originally we were going to take the boys to the London Eye and The Aquarium, but I'm glad we didn't as both were heaving with half term kids and tourists.

Instead we boarded a big boat under the London Eye - a city cruise is included in the ticket for Big Bus Tours and as we had a three day ticket we were able to travel all the way to Greenwich. City Cruises aren't guided trips, but you can buy a recorded guide in a range of languages if you want to. We were accompanied by Dean who gave us an amusing commentary on the sights en route.

Greenwich has very special memories for me as I lived there in my early childhood and when I was younger all the museums and sights were free so we used to visit the Observatory and the Naval College during school holidays. I remember rolling down the hills in Greenwich Park with my friend Nichola and riding on the boats in the small boating lake. I hope the boys have lovely recollections of childhood when they grow up. There's a photo of me and my brother standing at the base of the rudder of the Cutty Sark. After a horrific fire a few years ago the tea clipper has been restored to pristine condition and you can visit again. There's even a cafe inside these days.

As we made our way home we decided to walk from Westminster Pier as the taxi protest was well underway and the vehicles on the roads were immoveable. We had clearly made the right choice with our river travel. As we made our way to Victoria Station to take the train home we spotted this bus sculpture. You may recall an earlier adventure featuring these bus sculptures so it was lovely to see another one. 

We're hoping to take a grown up night tour to make the most of the three day ticket. I highly recommend Big Bus Tours as a great way to see London by road and river. The guides are knowledgable and helpful and it's a great way to learn about the city even if you have lived here for years - like me - or if you are visiting from elsewhere. If you would like to book tickets you can find out more and book online here

Disclosure: The lovely folks at the Big Bus Tour London gave us a three day ticket for two adults (the children were free)

This post is being shared with the fab Country Kids link hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill. 

  

Grr, I'm a sleepasaurus

I'm typing this post with one hand - yes be impressed, its not easy. With the other hand I'm holding the cat's paw - he's asleep with his head hanging off the sofa and I'm thinking if he slips I can stop him falling off. Ok, you're not impressed any more are you ? It's alright for him - he spends more hours asleep than awake and when the kids are annoying he just leaves the house. I wish I could do that.

At the moment I'm sleep deprived to the point of hallucination and every screech from either of my boys or the cat sets my teeth on edge. I'm annoyed all the time and so clumsy it's not even funny. I have to double check I'm wearing actual shoes when I leave the house these days. I've developed that phantom hearing where I am convinced I can hear the sound of my kids even when the whole house is asleep and I'm not. How is it that when we're tired it's so difficult to actually fall asleep ?

Anyway, I've been forcing myself to go to sleep earlier every night to counteract the waking up to a screeching infant at 3am and 5am. Last night just before I peeled myself off the sofa to go to bed with a book that I never actually read I saw a link to this song. I played it and it took me back to my uni days - when sleep deprivation was voluntary. I have no memory of how it feels to have the luxury of choosing to stay up late and not having to wake up at dawn to attend to the needs of two boys, a cat and a husband. Mind you at this point I have no memory of what I ate for breakfast.

So, as I carry my sorry and tired self up to bed early I leave you with this little tune - with a warning that there is some language that you may not want your kids to hear in this.

Enjoy :)

zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

No camping please, I'm squeamish :)

This weekend the festival season starts in earnest with the behemoth that is Glastonbury Festival. As you probably know I'm not a camping type and I don't do crowds very well - being 5 foot and not much else means I'm eye level with belt buckles and chests which isn't nearly as appealing as it sounds.

I've been compiling my radio show covering the best family festivals including hints and tips on how to manage little ones when you go to a festival. I hope that in time we will feel confident enough to take our boy for the full festival experience. I may even consider glamping - I said maybe. We took him to Ben & Jerry's Big Sundae when he was still in my belly and then when he was 10 months. Free ice cream and outdoor music was just the thing for our little muso - he loved bopping along to Billy Bragg - but, sadly, the event seems to have been discontinued since.

It's the PIXIES !!!! 

Hubbie and I went to one festival last year, the Edge of the Sea which is held in Brighton and hosted by Dave Gedge of The Wedding Present. It's been going for years, but it was our first time and it was brilliant fun and didn't involve camping - win !  This year we'll go again and the boy will stay with Grandma and Grandpa again. We've already been to Field Day this year which is a festival for grown ups only and we saw the Pixies and a few bands we'd sort of heard of. As we ambled around Victoria Park in East London admiring the artisan food stalls I thought about how many open air gigs we'd been to in the past and as I was just remembering our friend Gareth who had been to the Innocent Fruitstock festival with us I spotted him coming towards us !! Weird and psychic coincidence it wasn't though, as apparently he goes every year.

artisan food van

Gareth and Hubbie 'watching' a band 

couscous as street food ?

My Mum and brother kept the boy out of trouble while me and Hubbie made a middle-aged road trip to the festival and patted ourselves on the back when we found parking close to the site. I know, I know, judge away.

Done ? Ok. I will continue.

While we spent some grown up time together I spotted some fabulous festival archetypes:

• The man with the open shirt drunk and asking random strangers for a light - this one is harmless if a bit annoying 

Bridget 

• The skinny 'Bridget Bardot' type complete with floppy hat, brocade bandeau and hot pants and vertiginous wedge sandals - alone, but getting a lot of looks

• Girl talking to her friend while they were trying to watch a band - her story just had to be told then and there, no one was rude enough to tell her to wind her neck in

• Looky likeys: this is a game that me and Hubbie play, even thought it's very silly. I spotted Steve Tyler, Michael Hutchence, Zach Galifianakis, Anne Hathaway (the movie star, not the queen)

I cannot explain this

A highlight was watching 2 security men take a man down. He was wearing a high-vis vest and no shirt, we're not entirely sure why. This may not sound interesting, but then another man dressed as Captain America went over and shook his hand with the hilarious offer, "how can I help ?"

The slight cat hair in the ointment was that we were surrounded by hipsters and they inspire my pogonophobia. Yes, I have an irrational fear/dislike of beards - and now also of top knots when worn by men who are not Sikh. I don't get it. They look ridiculous. I just wish they'd stop.

Nice to see that Thurston Moore has a sideline

So, we're getting the hang of festivals as parents who've left the boy behind. I think this might be the way forward. We love music. We love nice food. We love being together. I think we can take this to the next level and maybe even introduce the random element of a child into the mix - or camping. Not both. I'm not that brave (or insane !)

I challenge any festival to prove to me that it is possible to have a good time when camping at a festival. Go on, I'm waiting to be converted :)

Shiny happy people :) 

'tis the season to take the kids out

I know it's just about to be Christmas and you have plans up the yin yang with family, friends and assorted hangers on who you met on holiday and now have to send cards to. However, school holidays being as they are there will be a period between bank holidays and the children going back when they will be at home with you while you try and find another use for leftover turkey and keep telling yourself that you'll diet tomorrow - after all the chocolates are finished.

On my radio show the most popular topic is days out with kids and I am a keen advocate of cheap or free things to do as a family. Being one of 4 siblings we knew every place that you could go to for nothing and living in London made it even easier as we had all the parks, museums and various city farms to visit too.

Winter is no less fruitful for days out so here is my seasonal round up of my top things to do with kids (mostly in London - sorry, it's where I live so I know it best !)

Christmas lights: 

As kids we always went into central London to see the Christmas lights and my Dad would drive the car while we peered out of the windows and went 'Ooh' and 'Aah' at the amazing illuminations. In those heady pre-congestion charge days he also used to stop outside Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nicks, Dickens and Jones and Hamleys so we could get out and look at the Christmas window displays. I still love the windows and hope to take my son when he's old enough to enjoy them. We also go and see the local houses that have decorated their front gardens and windows with themed lights and inflatable snowmen and santas. My son loves it and it's all free !  Some of them do collect donations for children's charities - which has to be worth it to justify the electricity bill :)

Meet Father Christmas:

Now I know that grottos aren't strictly free, but I have found some really reasonable activities for kids. Kiddicare are doing a workshop with Santa's elves where you sing songs, make reindeer food and meet the big man and he gives the children a present. Our closest store did all this for £3 and I'm pretty sure the gift is worth more than that ! We both enjoyed this one very much and will definitely be doing it again if they do it next year.

Another one that was local to us was by the Beefeater that does a 'breakfast with Father Christmas' where adults pay for breakfast, kids eat free and Father Christmas goes around the tables to say hello to the children and they all get a small something (a pencil or bag of sweets). We've never been to this venue before so it was a nice treat to have a big Sunday brunch and our boy loved the breakfast buffet almost as much as meeting FC !! I think next year we will invite grandparents too as they might like it. 

Real reindeer: 

Where we live there are quite a few garden centres and some of them have real reindeer - and in one case Canadian huskies - visiting for the Christmas season. I took my boy to see some early in December and he was a little baffled - none of the reindeer had a red nose for a start. Visiting is free and I always check that they are animal welfare friendly before taking my boy as it's important to me. 

Woodland walk: 

On a rare sunny day last week I took the boy on a walk in our neighbourhood where we have woodlands and some great walking routes. He really loved it and I'm keen to do this with him more often as it's something we've not done much of in the past, but as he's older now and can walk further without getting tired it's great fun. While doing this one you can also look for ...

Pine cones, acorns, holly & berries:

Every year Hubbie prepares Christmas dinner and we go into the garden to pick holly and berries for a table centrepiece. We are lucky that we have it in our garden, but there is plenty of holly growing on bushes along the path that runs past our house. It is a bit tricky so you might need to take scissors and wear gloves, but it's lovely to have holly, acorns and pine cones that you have picked up yourself as decorations in the house. My rule is nothing muddy though - if it's not dry we don't pick it up !

If you want to hear more seasonal ideas for days out here are the links to my shows:

Are We Nearly There Yet ? Winter Wonderland

Are We Nearly There Yet ? Winter Fun

I'll be back with another post about fun winter things to do with kids the other side of Christmas :o) 

InRealLife - a movie you have to watch

You know how you behave when you go somewhere for the first time on a holiday or a city break ? When me and Hubbie went to New York for our honeymoon I recall looking up in wonderment at the familiar sights and scenes and gasping as I saw the setting of so many movies and shows that I love. All the while we were awestruck by the place other people were going about their day and doing their jobs and buying lunch and picking up dry cleaning, etc.

I was reminded of this as I weaved through all the visitors to Covent Garden on Friday on my way to a preview screening of InRealLife - a new documentary by Beeban Kidron. People's fascination in the piazza (which no Londoner goes to - naturally) reminded how interested people were when I did a job where I visited prisons. There is a morbid fascination with this forbidden and closed world that isn't all that interesting to those inside it at all, not least as it's where they live and work and do their stuff. Just like those Manhattanites going about their day and me wandering through the sights of London that I have seen all my life and barely register any more. 

InRealLife explores a world that is just as alien and at times frightening - the universe occupied by teens and their use of the internet. Parents may use the internet, but whether we are infrequent visitors or regular users the teenagers in this film live and breathe the internet. As adults and parents we navigate the edges of the internet in their wake, often because it's changing so fast and we just don't get the nuance or norms.

While I realise that this blog exists on the internet and I use email and social media and all of those things, they haven't always been part of my life. Kids now have all these resources to hand from the moment they are alive. We are in an age where children do not play outside, they don't walk to school, they're discouraged from befriending anyone we don't know or approve of first. Of course they live on the internet - it is their window to the world and it is in their hands. One of the stats that comes up first in this documentary is that teenagers spend almost as much time online with friends as they do in person with them. Not that the perspective of the movie is that the internet is bad, more that we have no idea what young people use it for.

Beeban Kidron asks teens what they do online and they are shockingly honest about it. She has an uncanny ability to make gritty films that engage on a human level. I was captivated all those years ago when I watched, 'Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and their Johns' and mistakenly thought she must be a New Yorker. In this film she is heard - and occasionally seen - talking to teens whose bravery in talking so openly about their online lives is breathtaking.

Ryan names all the types of porn sites he looks at and we see the 15 year old and his friends on a night out chatting up real girls and later admitting to camera that he hopes that a real girl will do what he's watched online and if she does he judges her for it. I was actually frightened by this young man and his brazen sexual hypocrisy - I cannot imagine how a young woman of his own age would feel if she was in his sights as a potential partner.

A young woman whose identity is protected talks about having to do sexual 'stuff' to get her phone back from a group of lads who took it from her. She acknowledges that if she hadn't placed such a high value on her phone she wouldn't have been lured to a strange house by her multiple abusers. The film does not judge any of these young people for their choices. Tom has come out online, but not told his Mother he is gay. He has a boyfriend, but their relationship has been carried out online and he hasn't met him yet. Once he has come out to his Mother we follow him to their first meeting and my heart was in my mouth the whole time. I won't spoil it for you.

As vignettes of teen life this film gives a stark view of how much time and energy is invested in an online existence and an almost complete lack of privacy. There is no value placed on protecting their own information and the company executives we see interviewed have no qualms at all about harvesting this information to target young people. The man from EA sports left me open-mouthed and speechless. The eerie background music and images of vast warehouses where all our private information is stored offer little solace for adults either. It's not meant to be an easy watch.

I have a massive fear and sense of unease about what it will mean for my boy who already knows how to work an iphone and a tablet computer and he's not even 3 yet. Of course the world will have moved on even more by the time he is a teenager and I won't have a clue what he is into. For now it is every parent's duty to watch this film. It might scare you stupid, but at least you won't be ignorant of what life is like for teens right now.

On Sunday 22nd September cinemas across the land will mark the release of InRealLife with a special panel discussion live event - broadcast live from the Ritzy cinema in Brixton.
The panel will be hosted by Jon Show with panelists including director Beeban Kidron, Government advisor on Online Child Safety John Carr and Editorial Director of the Sunday Times (and mother of two) Eleanor Mills.
You can find out more about how to book here: http://inreallifefilm.com/Satellite-Event

I'll be there for you (even if you're not there for me)

Apparently Sunday evening at 6pm is when we get that 'school tomorrow' feeling which transports us back to childhood and the doom laden realisation that the weekend is now over. I offer this as an explanation for the 'misery memoir' tone of this post as I began writing it at 6 this evening. I've been pondering the things that disappoint me in life - initially this was prompted by a few instances of food related disappointments:

1. The bottle of water I bought from Boots that smelled and tasted like sewage - I found this out as I took a swig of it during my Zumba class <retch>

2. As I finished tucking into a delicious dish at a ball in a posh golf club I found the bar code sticker that had been left on the stuffed aubergine I'd just been eating.

3. The middle of my pizza fell through the shelf onto the floor of the oven. I was left with half a pizza -  presumably that is why it's advertised as low fat ?

4. I opened a pouch of toddler food to give my son only to find it was mouldy. However, Ella's Kitchen sent me a freepost envelope to return it to them and responded very quickly. All in all great customer service.

Then there are the emotional matters that cause more of a deep rooted upset than these pretty minor irks.

Years ago my Mother told me that I do too much for my friends and when they don't reciprocate I get hurt. Of course she knows me better than anyone and has watched me people please my entire life and get walked over or ignored instead of acknowledged or appreciated. I'm still learning who deserves the time and effort and have realised that in life we have friends we do for and friends who do for us. A friend who is in both categories is a rare find and I'm very blessed to have a few of those too - they're precious and I hope they know who they are (they tell me they read this and that's one of the reasons I love them so).

One of the things that concerns me is when people I think I know and actually like share photos or updates on Facebook that are offensive. In the last week I've had shared with me two posts that are racist, uninformed or just plain wrong. How these people can agree with those views and be friends of mine just baffles me.

Then there are the friends who disappear. When my son was born I met some other first time mums who I became close to and we met up and our children became quite good friends. Then they both fell pregnant again and I didn't so they stopped being friends with me. I'm making a causal link here, but in the absence of an explanation that's all I can do. It hurt and I was upset, but let's face it, if all we had in common was our children then we weren't really friends were we ?

Then the cause of this post in the first place. I was up early and out all day helping someone who has never yet thanked me for a single thing. I always think I'm just being petty for wanting to be thanked, but being actively rude to me when I try to help and making a point of effusing over everyone else and ignoring my contribution is a step too far.

This is also one of two people I've had as guests on my radio show who have shown little to no interest in what I've tried to do to help them. I present a radio show on which I invite guests to talk about their work and to help them promote their local businesses. Most guests are very positive and kind about being invited on and make an effort to get their friends and family to listen as well as using the appearance to build their profile.

I have invited onto my show some folks who I know quite well who have behaved as though they are doing me a favour by being on. One of them completely ignored my questions and just delivered a monologue, therefore missing the entire point of it being an interview. I have also asked them to help me promote my show and blog and they haven't been willing to do it, so clearly this is a one way street in which I mistakenly think we're friends and we're not really.

I'm having a bit of an audit of people who are worth the effort and those who aren't and I'm not sure they will make the cut. Not that they'll notice of course. In case you are wondering why I'm sharing here, I am safe in the knowledge that neither of them read this blog.

Thank you for reading though, you're lovely. Will you be my friend ? :o)