NO!

Today was a defining day in the life of Tom...today he mastered the word we have been dreading. Today he said 'No' and not just 'No', but 'NO!'...'NOOOOOO!!!!!!!' not good.

Oh hum, we still managed a good day. In fact, our weekend started yesterday, not today. Matt had found out about a fun day at Himley Hall in Dudley for the under 5s, where they have a beach, donkey rides, arts and crafts etc etc. As it dawned bright and sunny we thought we would give it a go. Rachel M and Mae joined us. We really didn't know what to expect and were pleasantly surprised, it was a very well organised and attended event. The beach was huge, we took bucket and spade and it was put to good use. There was also mini golf, which Matt and Tom enjoyed (Tom actually concentrated - so he can do it!)

Mae and Tom then did some arts and crafts before lunch, after which they decided to play football with Matt, they played really nicely with each other - Rachel and I sat back and enjoyed watching them. We were going to have a go at the face painting, but the queue was huge, so we went to the bouncy castles, after which Tom showed signs of tiredness, so we made our way home. It was a really good day out though, we would definitely go back if we are still here next year.

Friday evening I spent out with some of the BEST girls as it was Sammie's 40th birthday. I managed 2 gin and tonics and a glass of wine and didn't get tipsy - a record for me! As I had predicted we were the last ones in the restaurant (none of us get out much), a good time was had by all.

Saturday morning we did our usual Wellington trip - I was running low on ribbons, so visited the market to stock up, followed by sharing a combo platter at The Beacon. Then home for nap and then we cycled to The Shropshire for their Family Fun Day. We think it was in its first year as there wasn't that much to do and attendance was quite low. As is usual in these events the music was blasting out, which ruined any pleasure (wow - do I sound middle aged?!). Tom didn't like the music either I hasten to add. There was another mini golf course there for him and Matt to try out - quite a bit of cheating went on, but but they had fun. We then had dinner and then cycled home. As I said earlier the big news was that Tom said 'No' - we were at the Golf Club, I went to hold his hand, it got hastily withdrawn and a big fat 'NO' came out, followed by another and another. Matt and I looked at each other with trepidation!

Other new words: juice, please, Dadu (yet another name for Matt), truck, star and others I'm sure.

I won't go on the bike unless Mummy comes with us!

Once behind I am behind on the blog, I blame cakes, I had a mega week last week - a Ford Capri, a F1 car, a massive globe cake with canoe and mountain bike, a wedding cupcake tower AND some confirmation cupcakes - which is more than enough, well in fact it is too much for 2 mornings a week, Tom ended up in nursery again on Friday morning so I could do the cupcakes, but even with an extra morning, I still struggled to get it all done. However, I had all happy customers, and earned more money this week than I have done in some months, so can't complain too much. As you can see I've put one of the cakes up here (Matt says this is his favourite from the week) If you want to see the others, take a look at my website: www.lilypadbakery.co.uk or if you are on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LilyPadBakery. If anyone reading this has had one of my cakes and would like to be included in my new testimonial section on my website, let me know, I would be most grateful.

Anyhow, all this meant that no blog got written last week. Mind you, there wasn't much to talk about. Saturday was spent delivering cakes and waiting for cakes to be collected, followed by a bike trip to Wyevale to visit a food fair (where Matt got his most favourite sausage rolls in the world for a bargain price, so now our house smells of garlic and harissa - nice!) We had quite a few 'episodes' on Saturday. As I was out delivering cakes, Matt thought it would be nice to take Tom out for a bike ride, but it wasn't to be, Tom got very upset and screamed for me. He didn't stop. Matt had to turn round and come back in the end, he was worried that people would think that he had abducted Tom AND it was an unpleasant experience - Matt was quite disappointed as was I.

Sunday was Father's Day. We were going to do the BEST walk and picnic, but after yesterday's episodes, Matt decided he wanted to take Tom for a long bike ride, so we rode to The Fox in Chetwynd Aston had a snack and rode back again. All was good, but Tom did get a little worried until he was sure I was going with him. The ride was just over 13 miles, however, both of us felt reasonably good (even though my bike decided it didn't have a 3rd gear) - guess the 4 mile daily circuit is having some affect on our fitness.

Anyway, it was a good day. Tom almost fell asleep on the way home, and it managed not to rain which was an added blessing.

Oh and this weekend, Tom had his first lesson in cake decoration - you can see the results - I think he shows potential...

Soggy Weekend

What a soggy weekend! Saturday we had a bbq to attend in the afternoon. First thing though we were free and decided to brace ourselves to another trip to the barber's with Tom as his hair has got out of control again. It was as bad as last time! He was fine waiting and watching but when it came to be his turn, he turned beetroot red and snot came out of every orifice - I ended up having to hold him and slowly turned into a blonde hairy monster as his hair and snot transferred onto me. Both us and the barber decided that it would be better to cut his hair short so he wouldn't have to return for a while. We still don't know how the barber managed not to stab him - years of experience I guess.

Came home, gentleman came by to pick up 60 cupcakes and a cutting cake for a christening - liked it so much he asked for business cards for his friends who are organising similar events - which is good.

We then piled in the car and headed off to Solihull for a West Midlands Translator BBQ (Tom and I being hangers on). Unfortunately the weather didn't play ball, however, it was in a huge garden with a big marquee so we managed to stay outside. Tom didn't seem to notice the rain, whilst we all huddled under the marquee, he continued to play out in the rain - bless him. It was a fantastic garden for a little boy - huge veggie garden and green house and lots of hidden footballs to find and play with - he even helped out Brian by watering the tomatoes. Anyway a good time was had by all and before we knew it, it was home time.

Sunday was revolting. Our original plan was for Jude to come down to us and then all head off to the Cosford Airshow as we thought Tom would really enjoy it. However, we woke to rain and it didn't let up at all. Plan B was to go to Shrewsbury for a spot of shopping and lunch at The Armoury. Tom was in his all in one waterproof suit and seemed very happy - didn't notice the rain at all and walked really nicely round the shopping centres (luckily there weren't many people around so he didn't get in too many people's way). Oh and we saw the red arrows practising in Shrewsbury anyway which was a bonus.

That's about it really, not much to report, as not much happening. I've got lots of cakes on at the moment and Matt is pretty busy with work too. Tom as you can see has now grown enough to be able to mount his bike. Just needs to find his sense of balance now so he can ride it. Talking of bikes, Matt and I are in a new 'get fit' phase and are going for bike rides every evening once Tom is in bed - we have a nice 4 mile circuit we do through the nature reserve here.

New words: a horse goes 'may', pigs go 'oink - not the word oink, but the snorting of nose noise), cows say 'ooo', dogs say 'oof' we now have 'Daddy' as well as 'Dada' and 'Dardar', 'sky', 'more'. He is now trying to repeat words when you say them to him, sometimes they come out more or less right, others just come out as babble as he still doesn't have all the sounds. However he is really trying to talk now which is great.

Oh and we seem to have weaned him off the dummy - we had a bit of a wobble last week - including one night when he cried for 1.5 hours, but he now goes to bed happy and wakes up happy and we don't hear from him through the night, so fingers crossed we are there now.

AND he is eating for England at the moment, some nights we think he might burst with the amount of food he consumes, it really is incredible. He still doesn't really like bits of food he hasn't seen before, but he is definitely less fussy about putting bits of meat in his mouth if it is mixed in with cous cous or rice etc.

Islay Holiday - Part 8

Friday

Believe it or not, today was even more gorgeous than yesterday – how lucky we are – my luck with weather whilst visiting Scotland seems to have held. We decided we would stick closer to home today. Morning was spent visiting Islay House Square and the craft shops located there. Then we found ourselves a beach to play on. We found a huge beach at the top of Loch Indaal which we had completely to ourselves. The beach was a little too wet for sandcastle building, but we all had a dip in the sea (toes, not bodies) and played a good game of football.

We then headed off to Port Charlotte for lunch at the Croft Kitchen, where Tom disgraced himself by refusing to eat anything – he can be really stubborn when he wants to. We then had a play on the beach there – Tom decided to swim on the sand (it was very fine here) – very bizarre watching him to so, sand went everywhere, I have a feeling we will be finding it on him for a couple of days, but he seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it.

We then headed off home. I kept him awake in the car on the way home. This week we have been conducting an experiment, trying to wean him off his dummy (best time to do it as neither of us have work pressures which can be upset due to shorter / non-existent nap times). We have been refusing him his dummy for afternoon naps, but he kept falling asleep in the car, meaning when we brought him in to his cot, he was rested enough to be awake and cry for the rest of his nap time. Today, he didn’t sleep in the car. When I put him down for his nap in his cot he was very unhappy, he cried for half an hour but then all went quiet. We heard him wake up, but after some whimpers he got himself back to sleep again – a potential victory?

At 5.30 we were back in Port Charlotte at the hotel for our last treat and dinner. I had scallops, Matt some beef (lots of cows on the island) and Tom sausages. All was good and we even had time for sticky toffee pudding afterwards – yummy. Came home, Tom had his bath and then went to bed. We didn’t give him his dummy as an experiment, and guess what after about 1 minute of crying he stopped. Fingers crossed for tonight, but it would be good if we have cracked it.

So tomorrow we head back home. Such a shame, we have settled in quite nicely and although we have done our best to see the island, there are still big chunks of it we haven’t explored, we all wish we were staying longer, especially as the weather has been so good, but I have cakes to bake and Matt has translations to do – real shame!

New words:
Wow, sea, house (pronounced ‘how’), boat (pronounced ‘bo’), a snake says ‘ssss' and we have our first verb 'look' which is fab - it comes out as "Mummy ock!"

Islay Holiday - Part 7

Thursday

It dawned lovely and clear today. We decided that the food at the Ardbeg distillery was just too good not to experience again so thought that we should go back down, explore the Mull of Oa next to Port Ellen and then have lunch. It was a fair old slug down to the Mull of Oa, but we were rewarded with a beautiful scene: deep blue skies, highland moos (or ‘woollies’ as we now call them) and lovely green rolling hills. We decided to do the circular route and were glad we did. Tom started off well, happily toddling along the path but fell over in a muddy puddle which caused lots of tears (we discovered later on that he scuffed his knees so must have been some stones at the bottom) so I ended up with him on my back. Just as well really because the path went quite close to the edge of the cliffs – I wouldn’t have trusted him on his own.

The sea was calm, we could see the mainland and Northern Ireland quite clearly and even saw some freight ships heading off to North America, and one on its way to Scotland. We really could see for miles. It got a little windy once we got to the very tip of the Mull, but nothing bad, looked round the monument (in remembrance of some US Naval personnel who were torpedoed in 1918) and then made our way back.

Once out of the wind and on the down hill section I let Tom out of the rucksack so he could toddle on down. He wasn’t happy, in fact he was livid – he cried and snot and tears covered his face, but Matt was insistent (he has more patience than me) and forced him to walk. There was nothing wrong with him – he just was being stubborn. It spoiled the end of what was a lovely walk, but hey ho – tantrums are part of being a toddler!

Next stop was Ardbeg. I had been dreaming of having Seafood Paella again, but it wasn’t on the menu – instead I settled for Moules Marinere which once again was very good. It came with garlic bread which Tom decided was his (he gave me back the crusts). He then went on to have a scone with butter, jam and cream – greedy thing. Matt had a haggis and red onion baked potato which he devoured in no time at all. We then had another look round Ardbeg. We didn’t realise last time we were here that you could walk down to the shore – so we did this and took yet more photos – the distillery was looking very pretty in the sun.

Next stop was Port Ellen to pick up some meat and veg for dinner and then home.

Islay Holiday - Part 6

Wednesday

Today, the weather wasn’t as good – it had clouded over, so we decided to go over to the North East of the island and finish off our tour of the distilleries. We headed off to Bunnahabhain, where once again Tom went mad in the shop (just as well we were the only customers). I got a sample of a nice Whisky, but Matt went for the peaty one (yuck). We went for a wonder along the shore – Tom threw many stones into the sea – finding the largest ones on the shore of course.

Next stop was Caol Ila, where Tom was more interested in the building works than the whisky! This didn’t stop Matt though who bought his 7^th bottle of whisky. That brought our tour to an end, so we headed off to Port Askaig to the hotel there for lunch (which was run by the most stressed staff I have ever seen – couldn't find a reason for their stress as the restaurant wasn’t full, but by time we left, I was stressing for them – all very strange).

Next stop was Finlaggan, the ancient seat of the Lords of the Isles. A very very windy place – I almost got blown away, and I was weighed down with Tom on my back! We had a good clamber around and I found a patch (yahoo!). Then back home.

Islay Holiday - Part 5

Tuesday

We woke up to no wind and a blue sky this morning, so decided to go looking for a beach to play on. First stop was the Post Office in Portnahaven to buy a bucket and spade, then we headed off to Machir Bay. First stop was the war cemetery that overlooks the bay, then down to the beach. It was an amazing beach, fine, yellow sand which was warm on top and perfect for sandcastle building. We found a sheltered spot and made ourselves at home. We had the beach more or less to ourselves – it wouldn’t have been out of place in Spain (except of course for the lack of buildings and annoying Brits). It even had a boat wreck to explore.

After a couple of hours play, we headed off to the Kilchoman distillery for lunch (how handy that there was a distillery within a mile of the beach). We each had some Cullen Skink soup (Tom this time wasn’t playing ball and refused point blank) and Matt purchased a bottle.

On the way home, we decided to stop in at Bruichladdich distillery (our local one). Tom was just about asleep as we arrived, but as soon as he got into the shop, he went mad and ran round and round (must be the whisky fumes). This distillery makes gin as well as whisky, so for once I had a taster and we ended up spending a lot more than usual (oops).

Got home around 4pm.

Islay Holiday - Part 4

Monday

Weather forecast for today was bad – wind and rain, so we decided to start our tour of the distilleries. We headed off down to the South East of the island. First stop was Laphroaig where Matt claimed his square foot of peat bog (he’s a Friend of Laphroaig), and got his certificate and free dram. The girl in the shop took a liking to Tom (who was being simultaneously mad and shy) so he became a member too, as did I. Tom got his free dram which we have confiscated until he is 18. We then got some flags and went across to the peat bog to claim our land. A good marketing ploy, we enjoyed ourselves, and Matt spent more money in the shop as a result.

Forgot to say, the weather man got it very wrong today, it was gorgeous – clear blue sky, Laphroaig was nestled right on the shore, a stunning location, so we explored a little and took many photos.

Next stop was Lagavulin. A much smaller shop, and believe it or not, Matt wasn’t tempted by any of their whisky, but another stunning setting on the coast, near a ruined castle.

We then drove about 7 miles along the coast, past palm trees, to the Kildalton Cross, one of the oldest (8^th century) and best preserved Celtic crosses anywhere in the Celtic lands – it was in remarkable condition for its age. There was nobody about, so we larked about in the church yard for a bit – even Wilby had a run out, much to his enjoyment. This is the sheltered side of the island, and as a result is much lusher and less bleak than the wind-blasted hillside where we’re staying.

By now it was lunchtime and we were hungry, so we headed off to Ardbeg, whose restaurant has had nothing but good write-ups. We were found a table and looked at the menu - the Argyll Paella tempted me, and WOW, it was one of the best dishes I have had in ages – beautiful rice and sauce with the softest calamari I have ever had, mussels and langoustines. Everything about it was amazing. Unfortunately Tom thought so too and ate pretty much half the rice, 3 calamaris and 2 mussels (can’t complain though, he had good taste!) I, once again ended up having pudding to make up for my lack of lunch, and Matt ended up purchasing a bottle.

It was getting on for 3pm by now so we headed off to Bowmore to stock up on meat for the week. I was hoping to find a butcher but failed so ended up buying everything in Co-op (only to discover a butcher on the way out of town). We visited the distillery shop, but left empty-handed. Explored the shops on the high street – looking for souvenirs, couldn’t find much – Islay is one of the least known of the Hebrides and as a result isn’t really set up for souvenirs.

We then headed back home, almost 5pm before we got back. A fantastic day, the good weather really making it for us.

Islay Holiday - Part 3

Sunday

Not a great weather day, very very windy and some rain. We figured that most places would be closed today, so we decided to stay near the cottage and explore our immediate surroundings, especially as we have spent so much time in the car the last couple of days. We headed down to Portnahaven where we had a toddle around. The sea was looking really angry in the wind, but we spotted some seals in the harbour and watched them bobbing around for a while. To our surprise we found the Post Office open and also a pottery / tea room open, so we decided to have tea and a bun whilst we recovered from being battered by the wind. We then headed off to Port Charlotte, where we found a secluded little beach which was sheltered from the wind, so we went for a play – in full British beachwear: fleece, Gore-tex jacket, jeans and boots. It didn’t matter, we all had fun and the sand was great fun. Tom decided it would be fun to try and bury me – I couldn’t stop him, so relented and was covered in sand as a result.

We popped into the Port Charlotte Hotel for lunch. We just had sandwiches, but the people next to us had seafood and it looked wonderful. Pricey, but think it will be worth it, must go back for dinner.

Once done, we headed back to the cottage, put Tom down for his nap and then spent the afternoon playing in the garden (when not shooing black sheep from the garden)

Islay Holiday - Part 2

Today was a very long day. Neither Matt or I slept very well, both of us very aware that Tom was in the room and not wanting to wake him up. Tom, in his little tent faired much better and slept soundly for the whole night! Got up, had a quick breakfast and then headed off to Ardrossan to get the ferry to Brodick on Arran. The crossing was an hour long, during which Tom didn’t stop. He was into everything and would have tripped up everyone in the boat given half the chance. Luckily there was a toddler play room where he spent some time and he also asked to go outside which amazed us as it was very windy and he hates the wind! As long as I held him and he had his hood up he was quite happy – I guess a novel experience and lots of things to see.

We got to Arran at lunchtime. I had discovered that there was a cheese factory in Brodick next to a tearoom, so it seemed the perfect place to go. We turned up at the factory for a look around. Wouldn’t quite say it was a factory, more a shop with a window into the cheese waxing room. Somehow, though, we managed to find something we both liked and left the shop poorer but with enough cheese to see us through the week. Next stop was the tea room for a sandwich and then we headed off to the other side of the island towards the next ferry port. We were going to have a look at some of the points of interest, but Tom fell asleep, so we kept going and before we knew it we had arrived there. Not to worry though, Lochranza is the location of Arran’s only distillery, so off we went (we had to practice for Islay). Found a lovely shop with a friendly manager who didn’t seem to mind that there was a mad 2 year old running around it (with frantic, embarrassed mother close behind). Matt got talking and tasting and before he knew it, his first purchase of the holiday had been made.

Today’s weather was changeable: one minute cloudy and rainy, next minute clear and sunny. A clear and sunny patch had arrived so we decided to explore Lochranza castle by the harbour. Tom did some good clambering and surprised us as it was very very windy, and he didn’t complain too much – a good sign for the week ahead.

We got the next ferry to Claonaig on the Mull of Kintyre on the mainland. This was a small roll on roll off ferry, just us, another car and a couple of cyclists on board the 30 minute journey. Arrived to a sunny mainland, we drove straight across to the coast on the other side (only about 5 miles) towards the next ferry port – there was nothing going on there, so we carried up to the next town, Tarbert which was hosting a yacht race and was therefore very busy. A nice atmosphere, and luckily we managed to find a parking space, so had the opportunity to have a look around and find tea and a bun. We even came across the local pipers who gave us a rendition of ‘Scotland the Brave’ in their kilts. How much more Scottish can you get? Tom wasn’t too sure – a bit too noisy for him I think, but as long as I held him and reassured him, he was fine.

Our last ferry of the day was on time, we got on board and went straight to the restaurant for dinner. Matt had curry this time and therefore lost half his meal to a small boy. The crossing to Port Askaig was just over 2 hours, but we managed to keep Tom amused for most of it. He had a moment when another toddler tripped him up, but it was 2 hours after his bedtime, so it wasn’t surprising. He was asleep within 5 minutes of us landing on Islay. We drove straight to the house and put Tom to bed. He was whimpering as I changed him into his pyjamas, but went straight to sleep, giving us a chance to unpack the car and get ourselves settled in. The cottage was lovely, very comfortable, and one more bedroom than we remembered, meaning we have more than enough room. Location is very remote – in the middle of the Western peninsula towards Portnahaven – basically in the middle of nowhere. We have two neighbours as well as a lot of sheep and cows.

Islay Holiday - Part 1

Friday

Not too much to say about today, it was a driving day: from Telford to Kilmarnock. Took about 5 hours in total. Stopped off at our favourite supermarket restaurant – Booths in Garstang for lunch. This restaurant does the most wonderful food for very decent prices, is large and airy and has an interactive children’s play area, meaning we were all happy.

Tom was impeccably behaved in the car, didn’t moan once. He slept for about an hour and happily amused himself with books and toys I had put out for him. Got to the Travelodge, where to our surprise they had a travel cot which they gave us free of charge, so we put up our tent shelter around it meaning Tom had his private room within our room.

Next stop was Asda to get some food in for the week (don’t think there is much in the way of supermarkets in Islay and pretty sure most will be closed tomorrow), found some haggis and potato scones, so certainly getting in the mood for Scotland.

We then found a family friendly pub for dinner (so family friendly, each booth had a TV in it – no good for us as Tom doesn’t ‘do’ TV). Matt dived straight in for Haggis, whilst I went for curry. Tom decided my dinner looked better and ate it! And I mean that, he ate a good ¾ of my rice and half my chicken and sauce. It was so bad, that I ended up getting a pudding to fill me up (Tom would have eaten that too, except Matt wouldn’t let him!)