Bodmacity

We have just come back from an Easter weekend in Center Parcs and very good it was too. The journey there was very slow going. There was an accident on the A11 which resulted in a long tail back. To compound this on the way into Brandon again the traffic was backed up all the way.

Luckily coming into Center Parcs was relatively easy. Only a piffling 20 minute wait!

Jake was very excited to be there, baby Mia less so because she was extremely fed up with the journey. To show her protest, as we were sitting in the car waiting at the drive-through reception, her bottom erupted in a less than fragrant manner which resulted in poo seeping from her sleepsuit. This called for an in-car nappy change :-(.

At the lodge Jake was running around exploring while we unloaded the cars. That night it was difficult trying to get Jake to go to bed. He was very excited :-).

The next day Jake went to Cricket Club(he has now graduated from the Bumblebee Club that he went to before). He had a little wobble when we left but was otherwise fine. In the evening Amy and I went to the World Of Spa and then for a little cheeky drinkie while C&C babysat.

On the last full day we went on and bike treasure hunt and with Colin’s excellent homing skills we won!! Jake had fun sitting in the trailer while we pumped the pedals trying to get in front of the other hunters.

In the morning of our departure we lined up a special treat for Jake, namely mini crossbows, which it goes without saying HE LOVED!! They were little yellow plastic crossbows that fired little mupper/sucker darts.

All in all a great weekend was had by all.

We did a National Trust double whammy at the weekend.We arrived later than usual due to the clocks going forward(damn those clocks!). Of course when we arrived Adam, Jo, Sally and Roy were already there. Oops!

Jake loved Box Hill. He went charging up there as sure-footed as a mountain goat. Halfway up he ran out of puff so I took him on my shoulders. Poor Mia was struggling with 1. lack of sleep and 2. teething(we think) so was not very comfortable even in the baby carrier.

At the top we had coffee and cake to revive ourselves. There were lots of cyclists up there which reminded me of our impending bike ride from London to Brighton in May. Not long now!

It seems Mia has got off to an early start with her teething. Tell-tale signs were a white spot on her lower gum, red cheek, copious dribbling and of course erratic sleeping. Continue reading “Early teething”

The weather didn’t look promising for the party. Grey leaden skies were the order of the day with light drizzly rain. The bouncy castle man arrived at around midday. He asked us if we were sure that we wanted it seeing as the weather was bad.We were wavering until Jake came to the door and held onto my leg. His little expectant face swung the balance and we decided to go for it. Within 20 minutes the beast was up and Jake was having a jolly old bounce inside. I have to admit that Amy and I joined him and it was great fun. All poor Mia could do was look on from the kitchen :-(.

Amy did an excellent job with the spread. We had a light sabre cake, blueberry muffins, quiche, star sandwiches and cookies. All home-made. From 2.30pm our guests began to arrived. Initially the children all ran upstairs to Jake’s bedroom. I went up there and said “Okay who wants to go on the bouncy castle?” to which they all replied in unison “Me! Me! Me!”. Then they all charged downstairs and the fun began. We put down some towels next to the slide and another towel was gaffa-taped next to the back door.

They all ran into the bouncy castle and of course, started bouncing around. Martha spied the slide, which had just been soaked in a downpour. I grabbed some towels and dried it. Immediately the children were queueing up to try out the slide which proved more popular than the bouncing. Climbing onto the slide was proving a little tricky for some of them so Keelan gamely stepped in to help them down the slide. Well done Kee!

I think everyone enjoyed themselves, as Matt said afterwards on his facebook page “loves those kids partys with wine…” 🙂

Yesterday was Jake’s 4th birthday. I had spent the night with a poorly Mia in the loft room. At around 7am I heard Jake singing “Happy Birthday to me!!” as he came upstairs to see me and his sister. Continue reading “Jake is 4”

Last night started well. We went to bed at the reasonable hour of 9pm. Mia however was waking every two hours with a congested nose. Continue reading “Poorly Mia”

In couple of weeks we are going to Center Parcs. We went a couple of years back with Jake and it was great fun. We hired bikes and a trailer to get around because cars are not allowed. I was thinking that since we have bikes we should take them. Our neighbour Tricia has a bike rack for the car. Hmm. What about a trailer?I set about searching the Internet for deals. There are lots of cheap heavy steel trailers around but I was in the market for a quality aluminium specimen.

I have research Burley trailers before and they are pretty much one of the best out there. After a few dead ends I came across and 2007 Model Burley Bee, which is now their entry level trailer, for £200. Bargain!! In a few minutes the purchase was complete.

Bike and trailer hire at Center Parcs costs around £40 so we need to go there 5 times top recoup the cost ;-). Still, it opens up more possibilities for family cycling since Jake and Mia can now be taken in it. Mia is still a little young so she will have to wait a few months but I think Jake will love it!

Today Mia is 7 weeks and 4 days old. She is a delight. On the whole night times are a breeze. Continue reading “7 weeks 4 days”

I have been intrigued by Xtracycle since hearing about it on Bikeradar. The basic system is called the ‘free radical’ that turns a bog standard bicycle into a mega load-lugging machine or Sports Utility Bicycle as the folks at Xtracycle like to call it.The basic kit consists of a frame, deck, panniers, cables and assorted nuts and bolts. The idea is that you remove the rear wheel from the donor machine and replace it with the ‘free radical’. This lengthens the bike by about 15 inches and adds tons of load carrying capacity.

From the reviews I have read handling isn’t affected too much. The low centre of gravity ensures that loads can be carried safely and efficiently. It will track solidly in a straight line and cornering needs a little help by actively leaning into each corner.

There are lots of accessories available including a ‘Family Van’ kit which allows you to carry passengers on the rear deck. Another one that piqued my interest was the new Peapod LT which converts the whole thing into a proper child seat.

It is a little pricey though and there are not many stockists in the UK. Practical Cycles retails the basic kit at £399 and the accessories too are a little on the steep side. However, if you want to use it for shopping runs/errands around town then in time it would pay for itself by reducing fuel and wear and tear costs on your car.

Check out the gallery. It’s the future! I really want one!

We have been having great fun finding stuff for Jake’s 4th Birthday Star Wars party. While looking for costumes we saw this one for Mia and just had to buy it :-).