We have had a lovely & exhausting Easter break, we've caught up with family and friends, hunted for easter eggs, baked, played and made a mess!  But the most exciting thing we did over the holidays was a trip to Disneyland Paris...

I felt Lulu and I have been in a bit of a rut on our days together recently; toddler swimming, toddler groups, Library ryhme time... the same activities each week. She loves them but I started (and I think this has coincided with the Spring weather!) to feel a bit bored and I remembered that we won't have many days left to do as we please as before I know it she will be at school with the others. 

With that I've decided that when the weather is good I will make more of an effort to get out and about with her...

Happy New Year!

It's going to be a good one (here's hoping)...I've made a few simple resolutions this year and they pretty much resemble last years...Exercise more, learn more, see more etc as you can see they are pretty broad ;) I do believe in setting yourself goals short term & long term and while my children are young they are pretty simple goals but that's ok.  I feel i've learnt loads this year from learning to play chess (I got a bit nervous when my 5 year old picked it up quicker than me!) to learning to crochet.  The latter has had such a positive impact on my life and given me a chance to be creative again!

So to celebrate the new year we took the children to see Bruce Munro's Field of Light exhibition at The Holburne Museum...

December has finally arrived; days are shorter, nights longer and we're feeling the need to hibernate in front of a warm fire!  I've been really busy with my crochet projects and have been overwhelmed that people have actually requested some of my items to buy and give as Christmas gifts! I've had a lot of requests for hats and scarves and I've had to do a lot of experimenting with yarns/hooks to get different sizes and for the first time in my life I've found a use for Pi!

Amongst all this we are preparing for Christmas so I've been trying to find lots of things to do to get us in the mood for the festive period.  Ice skating seems such a perfectly 'wintry' thing to do so we headed off wrapped up early one morning to a garden centre close by with an outdoor rink for the holidays...

So we had many days to fill in the Summer and as the holidays moved on I started to look for interesting days out that weren't too far from home and that I could manage alone with the children! It's always really hard taking young children to museums/stately homes especially ones where there are no opportunities for younger children to touch, explore and have a run about.  I think many Museums are getting the hang of this now and it can actually make for a really fun experience.  So I decided to take the plunge and pay a visit to the American Museum in Britain, somewhere I remember visiting myself as a child!

The American Museum is tucked out of the way on route to Bath, situated in the beautiful Claverton House. It is one of the few places in the UK you can visit to really appreciate how people lived in America from the earliest English settlers to the Civil War and focuses on the development of American Decorative Arts.  It is set (and this was the deciding factor with the children) in 120 acres of beautiful grounds with some of the most stunning local views...plus in all honestly I was DESPERATE to see the Marilyn Monroe exhibition...

After a very hectic couple of weeks we decided to escape to the beach on Saturday, simply to have a walk and some fish & chips by the sea. We ended up on the gorgeous Jurassic coast at Lyme Regis, Dorset. This beautiful coastline has been granted World Heritage Site status because of its geological interest.  We've been many times before and it's the perfect place for a walk, exploring rock pools and the obvious activity, fossil hunting...