Tuesday 22 April 2014

Easter eggstavaganza.....

Just like the majority of families with school aged children, many of us folk who home educate their children also feel the need for a much needed break from routine and schooly stuff at this time of the year. So two weeks of absolute pleasure it has indeed been.

This holiday has been a bit of a strange one for us. It seemed like everyone who is anyone went away and we were left with extra children and guinea pigs!


 



 
What's this???


The house has quite literally seen a steady flow of children coming and going. I love them all dearly but jeee whiz do I now need a break!

Perhaps I just need a little time for me and mine? Guess that calls for another week off then….because we can J ……

Having visiting little people and duties of the ‘rodent caring nature’ hasn’t dampened our adventurous side in the slightest, in fact, we’ve had some rather lovely and memorable times this holiday.

In the first week the Little Lady participated in a ‘Bikeability course’ (that’s cycling proficiency to those of us who are Old School). Of course bikeability came around at rapid speed and followed one visitors stay. It was Sunday night at 10pm that the haunting sounds of ’Muuuuum, my bike has a puncture and the front brakes don’t work’ that caused my little ticker to quite literally miss a beat or two. Rather too late to call Dad or a neighbourly friend to pop by and rectify the problem. Time to call the services of You Tube ….

I actually thought that men were really quite clever to be able to mend a bike, but having watched a three minute clip and performed the task in under five…hmmmm sorry chaps it’s easy!

With one child cycling, another with a friend and the third at a holiday club for a couple of hours, I relished the opportunity to be a ‘woman who lunches’ (actually I didn’t ‘lunch’ but supped hot choc with a lovely friend outside one of my favourite bookshops). I hoover up any opportunity for a dose of ‘child-free time’. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little darlings beyond words but sometimes one does need a little head-space…..just space, period! During one two hour slot I firstly did the business woman ‘shoe selling bit’ and then donned my trainers and walking gear and set off for a five mile power walk. Blimin heck! I have to confess that having not been out for sometime the burn to my shins was a tad sore, but I battled on and as I neared my final destination I realised that in fact the pain had gone (either that or the damage was done and the feelings ceased!)…anyway, I was really quite impressed with myself that I could actually walk at speed (4mph), that was what I managed three years ago when I trained for the London Moonwalk. Not bad hey! Well in true Wyld woman style of course the potential physical challenges that could be so just buzzed through my veins.

I always like to pack in few little excursions during the hols. I’m not really into big theme parks or ridiculously expensive days out but rather try for ‘fun for free’, that way I can exercise my creative side and still remain within my budget. There really are so many things that you can do out there.


 


 
Amazing rolling countryside

 
White Horse Hill in Uffington


Groupon has most definitely become my friend within the past year. I’m sure that by now most of you have heard or seen pop ups for Groupon. There really are some amazing and inspiring offers posted. Well you might guess that if you’ve read some of my previous posts…hehe!!


So in the first week we took advantage of the bowling offer. £10 for two games and a couple of hours of entertainment. Bowling isn’t something that we do on a regular basis, I actually find it boring after a while, but with a bit of competition encouraged for once it was quite a giggle………I got totally thrashed! C’est la vie!

The second Groupon deal that enticed us was a trip to Mrs Tiggywinkle’s animal hospital. They started as a wildlife rescue point in a garden shed and have grown into serious animal hospital for sick and injured wild animals. We took a couple of Canada geese there a few years back that we hatched out under a broody hen and then reared. Once they started to peck away at each others down I felt it was time to pass them on. Mrs Tigg’s would have brought them on and then released them into the wild. It’s all good and a brilliant learning experience for the children. Talking of chicks, we’ve been eying up some potential new feathery friends this week, hoping to finally have hens again having had a two year break J …we’re hatching out a plan! (yeah okay crap joke!!)


 



Easter weekend itself brought Grandma to visit. The pace and level of adventure had to be notched down a peg from that of the visiting children but we still had fun. We even got her on the roundabout yesterday at the park. Unfortunately she forgot herself and jumped from her bottom whilst it was still in motion only to land on her feet/bottom/back….poor Grandma, I had to remind her that after 40 it seems we no longer bounce!!





On a slightly less action packed note, we visited the Yellow Hat Gallery on the Burford to Stowe road. If you haven’t been it’s really worth a visit, the paintings are colourful and witty. The artist (Irene) is in residence and was very interesting to talk to. She has actually only been painting for fifteen years and her work is amazing. Her pictures depict comical scenes including little faceless folk with yellow hats. I asked her how the yellow hat folk had come into her life? She told me that she was pondering over an electricity bill she was struggling to pay one day when she doodled a little person with a yellow hat. Amazing and totally inspiring that she has been able to earn a living from such a doodle and a comfortable one too.

Of course being Easter, the children have been gorging on chocolate. Miss P tends to stash hers away and it becomes the following years mouse bait as it goes off, the Little Lady usually leaves hers around and the dog feasts on it at an opportune moment when we are out (I know dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolate but I’ve tried to tell her and she doesn’t listen), and Small Boy….well he cannot resist devouring his entire chocolate booty in one sitting!





I would personally rather they didn’t have any at all but it’s difficult when others present them. Having said that I do purchase a selection of mini eggs and hide them in the garden. They (not surprisingly) never tire of this annual little ritual.

Easter blessings to you all XXXXXXX

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