The new bike

Just a quick post this time, but we thought you might like to see some video of our latest family activity. We've bought a proper mountain bike with a seat on thew back for Tom to ride in. We wondered how he might take to it, given that we haven't managed to get his helmet on him until now. No need to worry though - he loved it straightaway and seems more than happy to wear his lid.

2 weekends

Wow, I really have got behind this time!

I didn't post anything for the first weekend in May as nothing really happened. Matt was away at a conference, so I was home alone. It rained on Saturday, so I nipped into the shopping centre for a few essentials and that was about as exciting as it got. Sunday was better weather, so we went out - wasn't too exciting as I can't remember what we did!

Monday was my birthday and Matt decided to take the day off as he hadn't seen Tom all weekend. We went to Blists Hill, but ended up having to duck inside the buildings as it kept raining. Meant we learnt a new word 'spirtle' which is a tool for making sauces - it gets into the corners of a saucepan to stop any burning. Apparently it's Scottish, anyway the wood carver made one for us and we bought it.

We had a small lunch at the pub there before heading over the river to investigate bikes (our new fitness plan is to take Tom bike riding - he gets more outside time and we get fit) Man in the bike shop was very helpful, so we ended up buying all the kit - scary and exciting all at the same time.

This weekend was a bit more exciting. Mum and Dad came up to stay and they looked after Tom on Sunday and Monday so we could go off on a spa break. Tom had a wonderful time and was saying a lot more words on our return (guess he needs stimulation from an outside source to get him going!) Mum and Dad didn't look as tired as I expected, said that he was very well behaved, slept well, ate ok and full of giggles, so that was good.

We also had a fab time, went to a spa hotel in the Sherwood Forest, had full use of the facilities (sauna, steam room, pool, loungers etc) and...AND a 50 minute deep tissue massage which was WONDERFUL, didn't want it to end - felt so so so so so so so so good. After turning pink in the sauna one last time, we headed off to Worksop to find a restaurant. Not much was open, so we ended up in a cheap Chinese. Wasn't too bad, and the service was good.

Morning was spent eating cheese scones for breakfast, then another dip in the pool and sweat in the sauna before regrettably saying goodbye. We then headed into Bakewell for lunch and then headed across country back home. Took an absolute age, but got there in the end.

That's about it. We took delivery of the bike today, gave it a test run with Tom who loved it - giggles all the way and didn't complain when I put his helmet on, so that's a result. I took some pics and film and will post them once they are downloaded.

New words: hot, cold, bubble, yummy, pop, wow, bye, (I'm sure there are others, but can't think of them right now) Oh and apparently at nursery he said 'look Emma' when he was playing with the playdoh which is a huge break through and his first verb. He hasn't repeated it for us yet though...

Another gorgeous long weekend

So, another fabulous weekend. Not quite as hot as last week, but sunny everyday, meaning we were out and about every day enjoying the good weather.

Friday

Today was the Royal Wedding, I wasn't that interested, Matt was very uninterested and of course Tom didn't care less. So, we decided to continue with Tom's train education and took him on the Severn Valley Railway. It was completely empty which was fab, got to sit in the best carriages and lots of attention. We stopped off at Highley to look in the Engine Shed and to have lunch whilst watching the trains go past. We then headed off to Kidderminster and back again. Tom was on good form and managed to last until 3.30 when we got back to Bridgnorth. (He was asleep in seconds in the car home). I spent the evening babysitting Mae and catching up with my cake accounts and The Royal Wedding. April was my best month by over 50% - I haven't stopped, hence why you haven't seen any of my latest creations here and why I am always behind on the blog, I literally have no time to do it with all the cake things I am doing. However, I am enjoying it, so am not complaining, just it would be nice to have about 30 hours in a day instead of 24!

Saturday

This morning we met up with Rachel, Phil and Mae and took them on the walk we did with Jude last week, as it is perfect for toddlers - lots of different environments and not too long. Mae was on good form and went toddling off at a great speed whilst Tom decided he was going to grizzle and refuse to walk! Typical! I ended up carrying him about half the way round, but he did eventually warm up and walk the end bit. We then went down to the park in Ironbridge for a play where we bumped into Jane and Daisy prior to a quick visit to the Town Centre for provisions and a picnic in the park. In the evening Rachel came round to babysit and Matt and I headed off to Wolverhampton to try out a steak house that Rachel recommended. We were very glad we did - it was wonderful, made us realise how tasteless most of the b

eef we have eaten recently has been. Anyway a lovely night out. Been having quite a few recently which is nice.

Sunday

Finally, I had managed to nail Helen down and get her to agree to meet up with us. I found a park half way between us where she could bring her dog, so we met up for a picnic and a walk. They were all doing well, and we had a lovely afternoon catching up with the various trials and tribulations of our lives. Finn had changed so much since we last saw him. Last time we saw him he was a stocky rugby player toddler type with bright red curly hair. He has slimmed down and lost his curls which is a shame. Anyway he was in good spirits and they all looked happy.

Monday

We decided to go to Ashes Hollow to build a dam. Tom hasn't been here before, but we took Jacob and Laura when they were toddlers and remember they enjoyed it. Tom wasn't on best form today, he had a nose bleed (second one recently, not sure what is causing them) and he kept falling over making us think something was wrong with his legs, but we couldn't find anything and he certainly wasn't in pain, just that he couldn't seem to stay upright. Anyway, he loved dam building and did quite a good job helping us put (well throw) stones into their place. He even managed not to get wet which was quite an achievement.

Before we knew it, we had been there for over 2 hours and we were all in need of lunch, so headed back to Church Stretton to our favourite cafe where they serve really good cheese scones. Tom was very naughty, initially refusing to eat and wriggling, kicking etc etc. In the end we found a high chair and put him in it. He still kicked his legs and fidgeted, but at least this was I wasn't being kicked and punched!

That's about it - no nose bleed and legs working fine today, so I guess it was just 'one of those things' that never gets explained. I'm back doing my sugarcraft course on Tuesday nights, and have a load of cake orders to get out, so busy busy busy.

New Words: Mine and Emma (his key worker at nursery)