Days 68 – 74 of Project 365

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Days 68 - 74 of Project 365

68. Free! (It was a beautiful day in south Wales with temperatures reaching 15°C. So we headed down to the barrage with Mr. TBaM's bike and the tag-along. The Boy absolutely loves cycling with daddy, and he is honestly screaming in glee in this photograph.)

69. Warning (I should have realised when he didn't want to play in the garden that something wasn't quite right with him. A headache all day in school and plenty of sobbing after school meant a rough night and buying a new bottle of calpol.)

70. Ill (The Boy was off school today with a trip to the doctor on the cards; third bout of ear infections this Winter, with tonsillitis added in for 'good' measure. I've not seen him so ill for a long time.)

71. Swish (We managed to do some craft after school using one of the silk painting kitsfollow that we'd bought from Baked By Me. A bargain at £2.00 from £8.99!)

72. 40.5 (Dreadful day and night. Horrendous. I was called out of school early because my mum was so worried about The Boy's temperature, and then that night he spiked at 40.5°C with a fever. It took a full two hours, both nurofen and calpol, a cold flannel, no duvet in the cover, and a fan on full pelt, to get his temperature under 39°C, and for him to manage to attempt sleep. At 2.30am he ended up in our room with me holding him all night for him to be able to sleep.)

73. On The Mend (The Boy was definitely beginning to feel better after the dreadfulness of the night before, we even managed to attempt some craft in the afternoon which resulted in a cheeky look for his lordship.)

74. Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do! (The first daisy of the year picked for mummy, I came home from the park that a school-friend's birthday party was held in with a pocket full of them. So pleased to see my little man out and about with a little colour in his cheeks.)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

A Bicycle Made For Two

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In the Spring of last year, my husband started a new job seven minutes walk from our house. Having spent the previous seven years commuting to work with anything from a fifteen minute to an hour long drive, this was a massive novelty for him. Therefore, when after three months he realised that he'd used his car three times, he decided to sell his car as it was no longer needed.

A month later his boss moved the office to Cardiff Bay.

And Mr. TBaM was left without any way of getting to the new office!

However, as he has The Best Boss In The Entire World™, this wasn't a problem because his boss just bought him a (rather expensive actually) new bike to use. When he was placing the order he also purchased a tag-along bike seat for The Boy. At the time The Boy was too young to use it as he'd only just started cycling on his own bike with stabilisers, but recently TBBITEW™ threatened to sell it due to lack of use, so we decided The Boy was old enough!

The best place in the area to try out something like this is the barrage in Cardiff Bay; no cars are allowed on it (except authorised vehicles) and it has a long, fairly straight and flat road which sees very little pedestrian or cycling traffic. We took Mr. TBaM's bike down as well as the tag-along, in the boot of my car, not telling The Boy what the plan was. At first, he was concerned as he thought it was a new bicycle for him without a front wheel, but he was overjoyed when he saw what it was!

TheBoyandMe: A Bicycle Made For Two

They cycled back and forth across the barrage about eight times in the half an hour we were there and every time The Boy passed me, he had the biggest grin and sense of achievement on his face. There were several times when Mr. TBaM actually stopped cycling and The Boy continued peddling, he was so strong that he was pushing them both along. We'll need to adjust his seat a little as it was slightly too high, but he managed brilliantly, and we're also hoping that it will teach him a little bit more about balance so we can build up to removing his stabilisers!

I'm going to be ticking this one off for the National Trust's 50 Things: Go on a long bike ride (it was very long for him!)

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country kids

Days 313 – 320 of Project 365

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314-320 of 365

314. Perfect (This was the morning after the night before, as we explored Highcliffe beach in the most glorious autumn sunshine.)

315. Exhaustion (When I went to pick The Boy up today from school, I found him holding the teacher's hand and looking very pale. He'd been unhappy most of the afternoon, had a slight temperature and complained of a headache. As soon as he saw me, he started sobbing and I had to carry him home with a very soggy neck. A temperature of 38.4°C saw a dose of the magic pink stuff and cuddles on the sofa. Here he's quietly playing with a new toy called Plus Plus.)

316. Botanist (We were in the garden examining the leaves while The Boy tried out his new Pink Lining satchel.)

317. Scooter (A quick scoot after school on a local pedastrianised street.)

318. Angry Birds (A birthday party for someone who seems to be his school best friend in a fab play centre to the north of Cardiff. These Angry Birds cakes were the ones given out in the party bags, aren't they awesome?)

319. Puntsey (Dressed up for school for Children in Need day, he can't say Pudsey and it's so cute that I don't correct him.)

320. Wiggins Junior (Last year, Mr. TBaM was bought a bicycle by his boss who also bought a tag-along bike which attaches from the back. It's sat in his boss' garage until now as we didn't think The Boy was ready for it, that was until his boss threatened to sell it! We took The Boy down to the barrage earlier and he tried it out for the first time; he was so excited it was amazing to see. I'm hoping that it will help him learn a little more about balance on a bike as at the moment he still had the stabilisers on his normal bike.)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Days 230-236 of Project 365

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230-236 of 365

230. Plopping (Following on from my brother's goodbye before he emigrates to Australia, I phoned my eldest brother to ask if he'd like to do something. We went to Southerndown beach further long the coast, which is one of my favourite beaches in Wales. The Boy and his Fiery Cousin plunged straight into the enormous rockpool splashing about, followed by a brief picnic and a quick departure from the beach as the tide was rapidly coming in; thank goodness for the RNLI warning klaxon. We then explored the ruined castle on the cliffs before plopping some stones into the tumultuous waves. One sibling may be moving to the other side of the world, but I still have two here to appreciate.)

231. The End Is In Sight (We went to Longleat for a Jungle Dogs event, and although we didn't venture into the safari, we did decided to have a go at the hedge maze. Big mistake. It's supposed to take 45 minutes, but after 55 minutes we were losing the will to live I was beginning to feel tetchy and claustrophobic, when fortunately The Boy found the 'This Way Out' sign. We finally crossed the final bridge to freedom!)

232. Small World (Tuesday was a quiet day after the frantic weekend travelling around the country, involving lots of outdoor play with The Boy's Playmobil pirates and the tuff spot. I love the reflection in this photo.)

233. Full (I decided to finally try out my hand at taking a photograph of the full moon using my tripod and the long – 55-250mm – lens that my husband bought me for my birthday. I'm quite pleased with the clarity of it, what do you think?)

234. Grip (We had a go at decorating a t-shirt for a review and I had to hold the fabric down and stretch it out to make it possible for The Boy to draw on. I like this photo for a few reasons; his pencil grip is cute, and I love the way he's holding my hand, his hand looks so small against mine.)

235. Manual (That photo there of The Boy balancing on a blue pole? I took than on manual settings. Fully manual. Not TV or AV or P. But M. For manual. Me.)

236. Drill (We've been doing a craft activity today which involves The Boy using a hand drill for the first time. I was stretched upwards with my camera pointing down to take an overhead view, and hadn't realised that he was so curious about it coming through the underneath, he'd ducked down. I like his inquisitive nature.)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Days 174-180 of Project 365

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174-180 of 365

174. Spiderman (We were fortunate enough to have a day sightseeing in London following the Britmums conference, and managed a trip on the London Eye for The Boy to locate the places he'd seen with Mr. TBaM the day before. Afterwards we were able to finally visit the Jubilee Gardens at its base, which we'd seen being built last year.)

175. Digging for Treasure (A simple day playing in the house and garden after an exhausting weekend. Nothing is better at the moment than digging for treasure. Especially with Toy Story sunglasses and a genuine pirate hat.)

176. Speedy (An absolutely beautiful evening meant that we were able to nip down to the local nature reserve, feed the swans and practice bike-riding amongst the bullrushes and bamboo.)

177. Playmobil World (More pirates, I know. What can I say? He's loving the hat at the moment. However, I returned home from work today to discover nearly every single piece of Playmobil he owns all spread out in the dining room, and 'pirate caves' created in the Ikea shelving. I love that his imagination is starting to kick in.)

178. Pavement artist (A simple activity which I often forget about; chalk drawing and writing on the patio, focusing on over-writing letters.)

179. On Target (We created a reward chart for The Boy this week, focusing not on behavioural issues, but on time and personal management. Having been for his Reception induction last week I'm very aware that he needs to speed up the rate at which he eats his meals – apart from anything else, the hour is driving us mad – as he won't have time in his lunch break to be chivied along. We've set him the target of eating within thirty minutes, and he's managed it at every mealtime! Other targets are getting dressed by himself – preparing for PE lessons – and tidying up. As a reward he was able to go to soft play with daddy while I was at the Summer Fayre this morning.)

180. Me and My Shadow (After the Summer Fayre, where I painted eleventy billion pink butterflies, we went for a long walk across Cardiff Bay Barrage to the pirate park, and scooted back. The sun was amazing and I love this shadow.)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky
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Days 27-33 of Project 365

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27-33 of 365

27. 'One Giant Leap' (Off to Porthkerry Park on Sunday to play in the sunshine and check out how high the water was in the brooks.)

28. 'Hello, Down There' (a trip to the local Victorian park on the way back from the supermarket. This is part of our bid to spend 15 minutes outside in the fresh air every day, inspired by Jenny from Mummy Mishaps and Cerys from Nature and Play. Some days are really easy, other days – like a work day – are harder. Today was also the day of the epic play-dough making session; three colours and still he wanted more?!)

29. 'Do You Like My New Hat?' (Big activity day today, Tuesdays often are as I try to cram as much quality and quantity time in as possible before having to go back to work the next day. We made a wintery hat which ended up looking more like a space hat, did a science experiment involving moving water, went to gymnastics and also went scooting in the pouring rain in Cardiff Bay. Thanks for that Jenny and Cerys!)

30. 'New Jigsaw' (A work day but when I came home The Boy was able to play with his brand new jigsaw from Orchard Toys. Watch this space for a review!)

31. 'The Gruffalo' (Thanks to a 'heart-pressing' session when The Boy saw one of his friend's wearing a Gruffalo hat, he decided he wanted to dress up in his costume. I got the mirror down so he could see what he looked like. The irony was that five minutes later, the nanosecond I'd finished taking photographs, he insisted the costume came off. I think he scared himself!)

32. 'Slumber' (Absolutely exhausted, I let him have a longer nap today. I certainly paid for it as we had a ridiculous wake-up time of 5.20 this morning. Now where's that Gro-clock I was sent for review?!)

33. 'Rebel!' (We nipped down to Cardiff Bay Barrage for a cycle and a scoot in glorious sunshine, but dear God it was Arctic! The road across the barrage isn't used by vehicles and is a safe route for cyclists of all ages. The Boy has a minimal awareness of the highway code and road signs, clearly!)

My favourite photo of the week is The Gruffalo photo.

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

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Country Kids: Practise Makes Perfect

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One of our favourite jaunts is across the Cardiff Bay Barrage to Pizza Express. Today was no exception, and so with The Boy's bike and scooter accompanying us we trotted off in search of dough balls and coffee ice-cream.

It's a beautiful walk on a sunny day and today was just that; the air was crisp and the gloves were on. I love this time of year because the sunsets are beautiful and the light for photography is amazing. And can I just point out that while he's cycling and scooting on a road, no cars are allowed on it so it's safe!

Two thirds of the way across the barrage is a skate park, and I knew that The Boy would find it fascinating as he'd been watching the teenage boys skateboarding past us and he was trying to position his feet in the same way as them.

Pretty soon it was time to continue our journey, but he couldn't quite take his eyes off the stunts they were pulling.

One day my boy, one day.

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coombe mill

Weekend Activity: First Weekend of Spring

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Saturday morning beckoned, bright and sunny. It was a refreshing change to the grey drudgery of the past week and so, after a slow start to the day, we headed down to Cardiff Bay Barrage to get some fresh air and blow the argumentative cobwebs away.

The Boy is becoming so confident on his scooter, it's fabulous to see. I just need to get daddy to have more confidence; he rushes over everytime he stumbles or crashes, whereas I'm the one who is standing back and saying "stand up then, brush your hands down!" to The Boy. It's hard work, but maybe it's the teacher in me, he'll cry if he's hurt himself and he's got a helmet on to protect his head. It's working too, so those parents who smirk at it can bugger off!

While on the barrage I managed to take these two photos, which I'm quite proud of. There's a lot of interesting angles and lines down there: the whole barrage is a real work of art. In the right hand picture, the 1950s style hut is actually a bright pink, but it didn't come out properly so I desaturated it.

And so to Sunday: I declare the 2012 season of sandcastle building well and truly open!

We built sandcastles, we went paddling in the sea (in our wellies), we played football, we ate sausage and chips on the beach (I had cheese and chips), we scooted along Barry Island promenade and we had a Mr. Creemy ice-cream. It was a balmy 15°C; madness for a Sunday in February!

When we came home, we decided to get a head start on planting some seeds we'd been sent.

I have a feeling that The Boy is going to love gardening this year.

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I'm linking this up to Country Kids

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