Outdoor play | TheBoyandMe

Days 61 – 67 of Project 365

March 8, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 53 Comments

Days 61 - 67 of Project 365

61. From Where We Stand (We went to explore a new area of the coastline today, one I last went to around 23 years ago with my dad. However, this went to show that time is kind on memories because I don't remember it being such a pain to get down to, or it being quite so dirty with dog mess or general rubbish. We found an awesome ammonite fossil, but we won't be returning to that beach again.)

62. Contemplative (The Boy was shattered after school but I was blowed if we were staying in on such a nice afternoon! So off I dragged him to the clifftop park.)

63. Hello Gorgeous (I have always wanted a crotchetted blanket for The Boy, it's such a traditional item for a childhood and perfect for snuggling under when watching television or reading a book. Unlike all the other bloggers in the world at the moment, I have no idea how to make one. I do however follow an immensely talented lady called 'Hello Gorgeous' on Instagram who agreed to make one for The Boy. It arrived today and he was over the moon with it! )

64. Bookworm (Shattered after a long old day in work, I curled up on the sofa ready to collapse. The Boy picked up a book for his Tidy Books bookbox and came to sit with me. We looked through the pictures together but then he decided that he wanted to read the text by himself. So he did. Because he's four and is learning how to read. I'm so proud of him.)

65. Carefully Does It (We had a delayed Pancake Day due to Tuesday being a chockablock day which ended late. The Boy was determined to help me make his pancake so I tasked him with chopping the ham.)

66. Three Cousins and a Friend (The Boy went on a wonderful trip to the farm today and was physically drained after school. However, I plied him with milk and a sugary doughnut as he needed to go to a friend's birthday party in softplay from 4-6pm! Unfortunately, the poor girl came down with the nasty virus 'slapped cheek' and had to go to the doctor's during her own party so missed it. I'm hoping that The Boy doesn't contract it. On the way home, we called into his cousins' house where we all decided that 6.30pm wasn't too late to play outside. And the best bit was that it wasn't; it was still light!)

67. I'm Busy! (I love the eclectness of The Boy's ensemble here: hood up because it was windy, sunglasses on, one glove because we couldn't find the other, soaking trousers from jumping into his 'swimming pool'. Ahhh, the first trip to Barry Island of the season.)

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Days 40 – 46 of Project 365

February 15, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 50 Comments

Days 40-46 of Project 365

40. The Boy (Playing on the beach at sunset, plopping pebbles and making sand angels. I love my son.)

41. New Glasses? (The Boy's teacher had expressed concerns about his eyesight so he had drops in to dilate his pupils for an in-depth test. Nothing the matter with them, thank goodness, which is lucky considering how dreadful his paternal family's eyesight is.)

42. Scoot (A scoot along the promenade at dusk to make sure we just managed a small amount of fresh air! We're so fed up of this rain!)

43. Two-can (We've received a Toucanbox to review – good to see how they've progressed since we first reviewed them – and The Boy was getting to grips with all the activities and where to start! It's a great after-school play activity for us.)

44. Cheese (Thought it was a bit different from the standard sleeping Boy shot!)

45. Jump (There are oodles of puddles on the pavement outside of school, it comes from the council being so God-damned awful at repairing the highways and walkways. It does make for fun and games on the way home though!)

46. Destined Besties? (These two here. Born 11 hours and 55 minutes apart. In the same hospital. One room apart. Shared a pre-delivery room. Shared a post-delivery ward. Live one street away. Best friends in school. The absolute best friends. And his mum and I only discovered their connection a month ago.)

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When Only The Beach Will Do

February 14, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 15 Comments

Crashing waves.

Frothing, foamy, Neptune's white horses.

Gusting winds.

Sand blowing diagonally through the air.

Squeals of laughter from a gleeful and playful family enjoying the abandoned swathes of golden sands.

When Only The Beach Will Do

All that squelchy sand is a blank canvas for running, jumping and falling over in.

When Only The Beach Will Do

And do you know where he went after he's verified how saturated and sand encrusted his gloves were?

Yep, right to 'give mummy a cuddle'.

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Linking up to Country Kids, Outdoor Play Party and Flashback Friday

Days 33 – 39 of Project 365

February 8, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 47 Comments

Days 33-39 of Project 365

33. Timing (You'd think I've called this photo 'Timing' because of the good capture? Nope, it's ironic. I was aiming to get both of them splashing at the same time, but do you know how hard it is to get two children to play ball with a muddy puddle?)

34. Sprinkles (I had a go at making marshmallow from scratch last weekend, and set it up to photograph on Monday. Easy, yes? Not when I'd used pectin instead of gelatin so it was vegetarian but it's not such a good setting agent. When I was trying to coat it in the mixture it started glooping, acting quickly I put it in the fridge, went and set up the shoot and rushed the marshmallow through. Then I had to invoke the emergency spoons to contain it!)

35. Baby-face (A tired Boy after school today, he reminded me just how little he still is.)

36. Quiet Moment (The Boy absolutely loves his Tidy Books book box – competition live over here – and it was so lovely to see him sit down next to the box of his own accord, pick up a book and start to explore it himself. I've looked forward to this moment since having a child. That's after he'd built a tree up the wall out of train track. As you do.)

37. Focus (Bath time is becoming a real battle with The Boy. Not just bath time, but bedtime in general. We've moved getting ready for bed forward by 15 minutes from 7pm as there was just too much stroppiness. He looks really calm here, but dear God when he has to get out? Hell on Earth! He holds on to the bath taps, won't let go and you wouldn't believe how strong he is! Mr. TBaM has to call me to help him, otherwise The Boy is going to hurt himself.)

38. Ahoy there Cap'n (My obsession with ride-ons continues!)

39. Fresh (Today has not been a good day generally. It started well but then I became all depressed and could have locked myself away forever never to be found by anyone. Eventually I 'faked it until I could make it' and we managed to get to Barry Island for a huge blow through. I felt so much better afterwards, which just goes to prove the findings of the UNICEF survey which highlighted children in the UK as the most depressed in the western world in conjunction with the fact that we're the third worst in the world at getting children out doors. We all felt a damn sight better for the 'fresh air' i.e. 50mph+ gales.)

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Clothes In The Wash, Me In The Bath!

February 8, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 20 Comments

This has always been our motto with The Boy.

From a young age we've encouraged him to explore the natural world and allowed him to get as mucky as he wants to outside. Clothes after all are to keep us warm and protect our bodies, if they get dirty then they go in the washing machine. If The Boy gets dirty then he goes in the bath.

As far as I am concerned, there really is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. And there really is no excuse for preventing children to have fun in the natural environment. Least of all getting clothes dirty.

Which is why when the sun broke through the clouds last Sunday we met up with my brother and his family at the local nature reserve. Apart from a three minute downpour when we were feeding the swans, the sunlight was revitalising and much needed.

Especially for showing the way when climbing trees.

Clothes In The Wash, Me In The Bath

But then of course all that rain that we've had makes for some glorious squelchy fun. Mud, glorious mud.

Clothes In The Wash, Me In The Bath

So after some jumping up and down in muddy puddles, sliding down muddy banks and trying to catch squirrels, we had a small accident.

Clothes In The Wash, Me In The Bath

This is why we have a washing machine.

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Linking up to Country Kids, Outdoor Play Party and Flashback Friday

Winter Sunshine

February 3, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 12 Comments

We love going to the beach at any time of the year, but it's incredibly difficult to find the enthusiasm when it is pouring down, and there's been a terrific amount of precipitation recently! However, last Sunday when the sun made an appearance and reminded us all of how wonderful the Winter sunshine truly is, we set off further down the coast with my brother and his family to explore Ogmore beach.

The main beach was packed but we actually headed around the coastline a few hundred yards to a beach which is a bit tricky to get down to and therefore has less visitors. The point about how tricky (in wet conditions) it is was made when I slipped on the muddy path walking down and ended up with a derriere covered in mud within three minutes of leaving the car!

Winter Sunshine

However once we were down on the beach, the sunshine was warming and the conditions idyllic. We set out our picnic blanket and sat down on the rocks chatting and munching away on pasties and grapes while The Boy and his cousin roamed amongst the rockpools, collecting pebbles and creating some beach art.

Creating Beach Art

As witnessed in many episodes of Doctor Who, this stretch of coastline has a wonderful strata in the cliffs and the beaches are crammed with rockpools galore. The perfect place to find crabs or starfish!

Exploring Rockpools

Ogmore beach is well known for the wonderful array of fossils in the rocks and cliff-face, and under the guidance of my sister-in-law who has been beach schools trained, we all set to the task of finding a variety of fossils. Finding what was once a fish, or a barnacle-like creature, is absolutely amazing and so rewarding; it reminds you of your place in the history of our planet.

Finding Fossils

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country kids

Days 26 – 32 of Project 365

February 1, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 53 Comments

26-32 of 365

26. Breather (Rubbish day weatherwise and I was nervous about dental surgery the next day so the boys burnt off some energy in the local version of softplay hell! I tried to get the perfect ball-pit photograph, yet 140 photos later it was this one which appealed to me.)

27. Pitter-patter (New photographic challenge: trying to capture raindrops falling, I haven't managed it this time but the patio reflected my mood – flooded. Having had the first bit of dental surgery on Friday (to correct various screw-ups which have plagued my mouth for around three years), my mouth was aching a lot. Just another droplet in the puddle of bad dentistry I've suffered.)

28. Mummy (The Boy has been enjoying drawing pictures on the easel since we brought it back downstairs last week, today was a picture of mummy. I had two belly buttons though. Either that or he'd drawn my nipples down by my waist, not that far off then!)

29. Book worm (Snuggled down on a cushion, The Boy started exploring his own reading books nestled in his new Tidy Books book caddy – competition to follow this week.)

30. Squint (I struggled with the whole damn project today and desperately wanted to just stop. However, the good folk of the 365 Facebook group buoyed me back up again and this is my scrumpybum boy after his bath. This is the day I realised he really needed his hair cut.)

31. 恭禧發財 (Bring on the year of the horse.)

32. Fresh (No editing, just my beautiful boy enjoying a gale force wind on the beach.)

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Days 19 -25 of Project 365

January 25, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 62 Comments

19-23 of 365

24-25 of 365

19. Silhouette #1 (The most glorious day in weeks and we met up with my brother, sister-in-law and their daughter further along the coastline to spend the afternoon at Ogmore Beach fossil hunting. We even had a picnic on the rocks with a blazing sun overheard and minimal breeze to drop the temperature.)

20. Silhouette #2 (An after school trip down to the nature reserve to feed the swans, and the sunset cast an impressive backdrop.)

21. Scarecrow (The Boy was very keen to do some painting, specifically mixing brown. Once he'd not quite managed to do that, he decided to paint a scarecrow. I'm not entirely sure that this is a particularly effective scarecrow, but hey-ho!)

22. Froggy Legs (The Boy has brought home spellings for each week, his school uses the 'Look, Cover, Write, Check' method which he seems very happy with and he was keen to make a start on them.)

23. Numicon (I've borrowed a maths resource from school which The Boy absolutely loves. Numicon helps to develop number bonds, counting and adding skills. If anyone is looking for something like this for their child then, while pricey, I'd really recommend it.)

24. Maestro (I had to go to the dental hospital today for a root extraction from a botched molar extraction 16 months ago; they snapped off the fourth root but as most molars only have three they didn't think to check for a fourth. By the time I'd arrived home I wasn't fit for much but managed to sneak a picture of The Boy playing on the piano before bedtime.)

25. Mad Science (We finally managed to have a go this afternoon at a science activity that I've wanted to try for ages, more on the blog next week!)

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Days 12 – 18 Of Project 365

January 18, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 52 Comments

12-18 of 365

(Some of these are the wrong order to fit in the collage)

12. Lego Head (The Boy is getting quite good at deciphering the LEGO instructions although he does need some guidance as they seem to miss steps often. Sunday was a quite day of playing in the house.)

13. The Big Bear (After the CBeebies Stargazing focus last week, The Boy has been passionate about stars and the constellations. I sent Mr. TBaM into the loft to retrieve my grandad's constellation globe which is around 35 years old. We spend a good half an hour examining the different 'people' in the sky.)

14. Astronomer (I gathered together all of the resources I could think of in the house, and set up a stargazing den for him in the corner of the dining room complete with a battery-operated orrery.)

15. Hello! (Wednesday evening, I couldn't bear to put another sleeping child photo in, no matter how cute he is asleep. This is him using the slinky as a megaphone. Because he's 4.)

16. The Boot (We bought The Boy a globe at Christmas as he often asks where some countries are, and he was eager to find out where Italy was after school on Thursday.)

17. Dusk (After a relatively mediocre day at home on my own feeling very meh, I decided that we were going down the beach after school. We togged up in wellies and waterproofs and went and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset while throwing all our energy into plopping pebbles.)

18. Mr. Fix-it (Mr. TBaM fell over cycling home from work and damaged his gear slightly, which completely fell of into the spokes causing more damage! The Boy helped him fix it this afternoon following a busy morning at a new soft-play centre.)

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A Winter's Day On The Beach

January 17, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 24 Comments

It feels like weeks since the weather has been anywhere near pleasant enough to enjoy when out and about, indeed it was last year for us! The last day of 2013 saw The Boy and I pop down to the beach for a scoot and cycle. As we curved around the hillside road leading down to the beach, I saw that the tide was at its lowest for quite some time, and so we drove home again to pick up my wellies as I didn't feel that my trainers would survive the beach.

I was right.

A Winter's Day On The Beach 1

After a quick cycle on the pier, where The Boy discovered why cycling down a ramp at speed into a pole isn't a good idea, we picked our way across the smooth, round, grey pebbles and over the swathe of sand. I thought that we'd be stopping to examine the rock pools which are visible at low tide, but the lure of the squelchy mud at the water's edge was too much for a four year old boy to bear.

A Winter's Day On The Beach 2