Category Archives: General

For all the other bits of info on mumof2.com that just don’t seem to fit anywhere else!

cycling, mumof2, magic moments, countrykids

Cycling : New birthday bike

cycling, mumof2, magic moments, countrykidsCycling through Thetford Forest

Cycling is something that just happens in our family. We’re lucky enough to live in a quiet village and have loads of fields surrounding us.

We started both our boys off on the 3 wheeler scooters where you have to lean to turn.  They were then upgraded to a balance bike at age 18 months or so and both of them just loved it.

For their 3rd birthday, they were given a ‘proper’ bike and with only 30 mins of ‘active help’ they were off on their own. No side wheels, no stabilisers. Just a helmut and a high vis jacket.

The bikes admittedly, have been used for more than one owner. We have high pressure washed and changed stickers, along with new lights etc.

The one thing we have felt is that our youngest son deserved a brand new bike for his 6th birthday. Not a hand me down. There are some things that just need to be new sometimes. So, we took him down to our local bike shop and he chose his very own bigger bike…WITH gears!

We also planned to collect it early, as we had my father-in-law over for a visit and wanted him to be part of the collection excitement too.

The very next day, we headed over to Thetford Forsest and had a super day climbing in the trees and then a lovely relaxed time cycling around the forest. Not only did he have to get use to 5 more gears than he had on his old bike, but brakes with his hands as his old bike had pedal brakes.

He did really well and a 5 mile ride on a brand new bike that was slightly on the big side was a walk in the park.

 

 
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

The Click & Chat Social Media Link up Party #23!

 

The Click and Chat Social Media Link  Up!  Ready to grow your social media like a champ? Come on by and take part in this awesomely effective link up party!  @ Adventures in Mindful Living

The Click & Chat Social Media Link up Party #23!

Thank you so much for stopping by The Click and Chat Social Media Link up Party!

We are all about networking and helping you grow your social media numbers!

This month we are excited to announce that this linkup will appear on 14 amazing blogs!! That is 14 times the exposure for you and your links!

We are also looking for co-hosts for the coming up months, so if you are interested please contact either Amber or Kim on any of their social media and we will chat about it!

We will also have a featured blogger every week. Being chosen for our featured blogger spot means that we will share your picture (or logo) and your social media links just to let even more people see your awesome blog! To be considered for that spot you must have shared about the link up on at least one of your social medias and of course had good blogging manners and followed or liked the hosts and co-hosts on at least one or more of their social medias.

Ready to meet this weeks featured blogger?

Jennifer-Kitchen Serf

KitchenSerf

Blog / FB /Pinterest / Twitter

Go on by and say hi and check out all of her great social media links!

Now come and meet your hosts and co-hosts!

September link up

Amber- Adventures In Mindful Living / Kim- This Ole Mom /

Rebecca Futures / Katie/ SarahBaking with Mom

KatMamaBirds Nest /SarahLife in a Breakdown / Evelyne- kiddy fantasticos

Tiffany- A Journey with Tiffany / Kelly-Mum of 2

Heather- Krafts and Kiddos / Miranda- A July Dreamer

Anna- Just a Mum / Shauncey- Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy

 

To make it easier for you to follow your hosts and co-hosts we have put them in the first couple of spots in each link up section.

Ready to link up? Great!

Some quick and easy rules-

1. Please follow your hosts and co-hosts on at least one or more of their social medias! It is just good blogging manners! . You can find all of our social media in the links below! Have you already followed us on one? Find another one to follow us on! We post great stuff on all of them, you won’t be disappointed!

2. This link up is all about networking and meeting new friends! Make sure to visit some other links on any list you leave your link on!This makes it fun and really helps get the exposure on all the blogs that they deserve! You are all awesome- now go meet some other awesome people! Now if you want to be super awesome you can always tweet, share,+, or pin this link up!

facebook1


twitter1

bloglovin1


Pinterest1

instagram1



 

Thanks for stopping by The Click and Chat Social Media Link up party!!

magic moments, nature at it's best, mumof2

Love our Mr Cool : Magic Moments 1 Sep 2014

magic moments, nature at it's best, mumof2

 

Recently, we’ve been asked a couple of times whether our boys are twins. They are age 8 and 6, so unless by some miracle that is possible…err..they aren’t.

They definitely are brothers, without a shadow of a doubt on the looks front, but they couldn’t be more different if they tried on the personality stakes.

Our eldest son is very much a black and white type of kid where the rules are the rules. He is determined and really hard on himself if things aren’t perfect. So much so, that yesterday he had the huff at the driving range whilst hitting golf balls. I managed to get it out of him that the reason he was cross with himself if that he couldn’t hit the balls as far and high as his dad.

I love the ambition and the fact that at 8 he thinks his can match his dad on anything he puts his mind to. I then explained that currently, it’s not a fair game as it’s like me challenging him to a race in my car and our son has to run. He finally got there in the end and reckons when he is 20 he will outdrive his dad on the golf course. I can’t wait to see it!

Our youngest son is more relaxed about things and with this approach many things come easy to him. Don’t get me wrong, he still gets irritated with himself if he can’t do something at times. But with his relaxed approach, there is a clown in the making.

We went for a ride through the forest last week on his new birthday bike and stopped for a drink and a snack. The next thing we know, he is lying on the floor, next to his bike, having a rest.

He is conscious of clothes and is the first one to tell me if he likes my shoes or hair. At the same time, he isn’t too bothered about looking (or being) silly.

We love both our boys just as much as the other and are so blessed to have them in our lives.

 

nature at it's best, mumof2

Nature at it’s best!

Nature at it's best, mumof2

Nature at it’s best!

Nature at it’s best is very often all the time! Except when you are stuck in a hurricane, tornado etc etc. The watching of those is amazing but not being in the middle.

Well, this week, we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing nature at it’s best!

nature at it's best, mumof2

Tree art from bits and bobs including a frame!

We pottered about Hatfield Forest today and foraged for some bits and bobs to make our natural art picture with frame. Our oldest son chose an Autumnal theme, probably because there were a few leaves on the ground and it was easier to go that route with sticks.

den building, mumof2, nature at it's best

A lovely den we discovered

We went between the red and orange routes around the forest and came upon this super den! We had just been building our own but this one caught the boys attention.

Nature at it's best, mumof2

The boys had more fun climbing on this log pile house! I don’t think they even thought of looking for the Gruffalo or even a snake! But they had a whale of a time climbing all over it. In fact they had given up on their own den building as this log castle was for the taking.

More importantly, they’ve had good ol fashioned outdoor fun! The weather hasn’t been what it was, but that hasn’t stopped us. We even went for a cycle around Thetford Forest and it was just so beautiful!

nature at it's best, mumof2

In fact it was so relaxing, that our youngest son decided he was going to park off and have a rest (as you do…in a forest on the side of a cycle track!)

We had just picked up his birthday bike  little early so that he could enjoy being out and about. Whilst he didn’t have to work as hard as with his old bike, the amount of times we had to stop to sort his gears out and get starting again probably mentally finished him lol!

What are you favourite bits of nature?
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Magic Moments, mumof2

Magic Moments 25 Aug 2014

Magic Moments, mumof2

Magic Moments during Harvest Time!

First things first, I am not wishing our English Summer away at all! However, I do love this time of year when the crops have done all the growing they possibly can and the farmers are busy harvesting them.

The hive of activity around us at the moment, can at times be a little much when it is at 2am and then I have a word with myself and think it’s not all year round and 90% of the time we have such a nice quiet peaceful time.

Whilst it has been a bit on the chilly side for me, most evenings, we’ve had the most stunning sunsets and the best part was when the  combine harvester had been, we popped into the fields to look at the patterns and watch the sun catch the hay bales whilst setting.

It’s been a time to just be and appreciate our surroundings for what they are.

That said, could we please have some of our Summer back!

 

 

skateboarding, mumof2

Learning the art of skateboarding

skateboarding, mumof2

Skateboarding – it looks so easy doesn’t it?

Our eldest son decided a couple of years ago that he wanted to learn the art of skateboarding. He had seen the pro’s make it look so easy on the tv and he decided that it looked fun too. I mean how hard can it be to propel yourself at such speeds with what appears to be little or not effort?

I was happy for him to get one on the basis that he can do it when his dad is about. We originally started off with pushing him along to get the feel of the balance and the steering. Whilst it’s like a scooter…it’s not.  I could see myself being the engine and pushing him around the entire village, whilst looking after our other son whizzing about on his scooter and our 2 dogs.

We also haven’t pushed him to do it (except when he is getting frustrated and we are on the opposite end of the village to our house and he either carries it home himself or valiantly continues skateboarding home!) The boys are given an option of scooters or bikes if we are heading out and then every now and then, our eldest son asks if he can take his skateboard out.

skateboarding, mumof2

We’re really lucky in that our little village doesn’t have any through traffic and is set in the shape of a square. So, most of the time you can take up the whole road in the knowledge that the majority of people coming through it are coming or going from home. We also generally tend to have the boys in high vis vests and believe me, these have come in handy on more than one occasion.  Generally, folks tend to slow right down if they see them.

Last weekend, with a break in the sudden onslaught of rain and wind, we took the opportunity to get some fresh air and he asked if he could go skateboarding. There are a couple of gentle slopes where you can use gravity to do most of the work. He is able to gently push himself along and it’s a slow process to build up speed from his own leg pushes, but he does really well on the hills. He’s learnt the art of jumping off and running to avoid a fall now and can turn left and right and go around the corners.

It will be great when he has the power to full speed along and not have to concentrate too much on all the aspects of skateboarding and enjoy the view. What is lovely is that he is enjoying it at his own pace.
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

pigeon pair, dad, boys, simple fun, mumof2. mum of 2, beach, #50things, pigeon pair

Pigeon Pair – is it the bee all and end all?

mumof2, pigeon pair
Waterfight…here we come!

 Pigeon Pairs – are they the bee all and end all?

 

I wrote a post a while ago on pigeon pairs  – check it out to give some clarity on my thought processes.

I’m a boy mom and love the title and all that goes with it.  Our boys are now 8 and practically 6 and we have such a great time doing loads of boy (and girl!)stuff. Yes, I am the only girl in our house and give most things a go.

I know for a fact, that their are loads of girl dad’s who are in the same boat and wouldn’t change their world. They too find themselves doing girl (and boy) stuff and love the time and memories they have with daughters.

So,  when I am still asked whether we are going to ‘try for a girl’ or I hear people saying ‘ooo! a perfect pigeon pair’ when someone has a baby that is the opposite sex to the child they currently have, I have to turn and walk away.

There is no point in trying to explain that a healthy baby is the most important thing of the entire family creation process and that whilst it’s human nature to label everything and anything, a ‘perfect’ pigeon pair to some is not what every parent thinks of as perfection.

I have mentioned our boys age, and so I can sort of see when they were toddlers, that the question of having more children may have been a bit more ‘acceptable’ to ask. But…asking me about it now, means one of 2 things :

      1. Maybe, we have been trying to have another baby and not been successful (this is NOT the case!!)
      2. We’re happy with our family the way we are and don’t need to explain that principle (this IS the case!!)

Just to be clear, we are not doing number 1, but what happens if whoever asks someone who is in that situation? How thoughtless!

The flip side of all of this nonsense talk is that there are loads of people who would give their right arm for just a child…1! You just have to look at the latest news with the Australian/Thai surrogacy items.

I think you are blessed with what you are blessed with. One thing I am going to carry on doing, is making sure that when someone asks me ‘Oh, you have 2 boys. Are you going to try for a girl?’ and it’s in front of our boys, is to remain calm and give them the honest answer of ‘No, we’re super happy with our boys and wouldn’t change a thing!’