Perspective

I had this thought when I was walking home from work on Monday,we had all started back to our places,schools and work and I was just thinking about the boys and age.

 I can remember thinking that at every stage when the boys were growing up that they were getting older....milestones they passed,birthdays,changing schools etc were all too obvious signs to me that the boys were growing up fast,much too fast for my liking.

If it were left to me I would have slowed time right down so that I could have savoured their childhood even more then I did.

They were just so precious I wanted to hold it all oh so tight and drink them all in and I so wanted to remember them,their sleepy little yawns,their cute sayings,their sweet voices,the way they walked,the way they fed as tiny babes,their first gummy smiles,all the incy tincy bits that made them 'them'

 

I often think Tiger would probably never been born at all if it were left up to me!

I loved being pregnant even through the morning sickness and the near  pre-eclampsia and I used to feel that my baby was safe from everything whilst I was carrying it.
Every where I went they went too and I liked it that way.
I knew that the moment they were born and that umbilical cord was snipped the big bad world would slowly but surely begin to impact on my sweet baby and also the slow but gradual pulling away from me would begin.

But as we all know these babies have to come out and they begin to grow and change on nearly a daily basis,especially during those early days.

I was never one to rush any of my boys on with any milestones,in the job I do it is all too apparent how quickly children grow...blink and you miss them!

I did however fall into the trap of thinking as each progressing stage went by that they were getting old for want of a better word.

Kinda like this.... when they weaned I felt that the milky baby days had gone....when they took their first steps they became toddlers....the transition to nursery,then school to juniors to comp and even finally leaving school at each step I felt that they were so old...not in a grown up way but in a bittersweet way where I virtually mourned yet another stage of their precious childhood going.

And then I had Chipmunk!

There was a 7yr age gap between Chipmunk and Sharky and a 11yr age gap between Tiger and Chipmunk and as I watched him grow I truly realised just how young they still are at a year old and at nursery age and even at 7,8 and 9yrs old.

Because I could so easily compare him to his two older brothers.

When I looked at them,I could see that five years old was nothing compared with 16years old and so forth and it gave me a different perspective completely on age in general.

When I look back at photos of Tiger at junior school I realise how young he actually was,whilst at the time I thought he was quite grown up!

When I think about my mum being a grandma at my age I think how very young she was to become a grandma.

When I see Tiger approaching 21,the same age I was when I met his father,I think how very young I was and also how very old I thought I was!

I can remember having Tiger at the age of twenty seven and thinking I was sooo old!These days I think I was quite young to have a baby at twenty seven,certainly not old!

And this leads me to wonder if when I get to the age of seventy or more (god willing) will I think forty seven is young?Probably!

It's all a matter perspective isn't it!

What do you think?

A Picnic In A&E

I've had picnics in better places but today we had a picnic at A&E!

Sharky had hurt his ankle on his beloved skateboard and four days later his ankle was still giving him a lot of pain and was really swollen.

I thought it was better safe than sorry so after a day of work and school we set off for the hospital.

We arrived,signed in and then went to the waiting area to well wait!

And have a picnic!

Crisps,cheese strings and chocolate,a feast fit for kings.My mum came and replenished the food stock with sarnies from nearby Morrison's and we happily munched away and 'people watched'

.Well you have to do something while you are sat in the A&E department,no good being grumpy about the wait,in my view you may as well be happy than be fed up and sad.

We saw quite a few sights and had a few giggles,we christened one man Mr Squeaky because he made his chair squeak irritatingly on and on and on,I was ready to ask him to move to a non squeaking chair but luckily he went home...phew.

We managed to scoff a big bag of Minstrels between us,although by the end of our time i was rationing them to one each at a time,we had been there nearly four hours though and supplies were running dangerously low!

Luckily Sharkys ankle had not got any serious damage done to it and we traipsed off back home again shattered.

What a start to the back to school routine,I'm hoping for a much calmer time tonight, a play on the x box for Chippie,a warm meal together,a shower and bed with a snuggly story....fingers crossed. 

2 Minute Memory

Train Spotting

This was a precious 2 minute memory... a bench,me and my boy and the anticipation of a train coming!

On our walk we had spotted several trains on the other side of the pond and Chips had yelled out 'Train' every time he spotted one.

We approached the clearing where the train tracks lay and peeked over the fence

there were no trains to be seen whatsoever!

Aha!There was a bench with a table though,so we plonked ourselves down and sat with our legs swinging to talk about trains.

I told Chips why train lines were so dangerous and he spotted a man walking across the train tracks and it was so nice just sat there.The birds were singing and we were just so relaxed and happy in the lovely warm spring sunshine.Around us ducks were quacking and all seemed well with the world.

I knew at this moment that this was special,just one of those times where you snuggle up with someone you love dearly and just be

And then it happened!I heard a train horn and as I yelled 'train' Chipmunk saw it and yelled out 'train'

And the train zoomed past us,on it's way to the city

We were so happy.It doesn't take much to make me and Chips happy!Just being together really.Long may that continue!

So now we have a bench on which to train watch!I can see many picnics being eaten on that bench....bring it on....

Saving in my 2 Minute Memory Slot 

And Im also going to link this to Jaimes magic moments link up linky  

Down By The River
I had such a fab time today watching children play.It bought back memories of my childhood and it threw open a lot of questions for me.

I knew I would want to write about it and as I sat on the muddy grass pondering I thought of two bloggers that I knew who this post would be relevant to..

One was ever so obvious Fiona from Coombe Mill Blog such a obvious supporter of kids outdoors play this post was right up her linkys street,the other was not quite so obvious but my mind kept toying it over and the thoughts kept buzzing at me....it was Jennie at Edspire who has just started the Messy Play For Matilda Mae Linky,where people link up ideas about messy play for children,this is something I am really passionate about and as I sat watching this group of children play I thought that although no tuff spots were involved they were indeed involved in messy play to the highest degree.So I asked Jennie and she said link up and here Iam linking!
 

And after all that waffly intro here is today's take on outdoor messy play.

After several days of spending way too much time wallowing and slouching around I decided that we would go for a walk no matter what!

Chips wanted to watch the MotoGp racing but that was at 4.00pm and I wanted him to do something more before he took to the sofa once again.

I knew the spot I wanted to go to...a little hidden bit of muddy grass near the stream...it had bits of rope hanging from a tree where children had made rope swings and was the perfect place to really grub about.What more could a kid want...mud,water,trees and sticks,bliss!

So we set off,Chips on his scooter me trailing behind,trying to get my head in gear as lately it's been anywhere but in gear.

We reached the comp and the first thing we both noticed was a organized football match taking place.

Now this always takes me back to when my two older boys were younger and they both played for the village footy team.I had to stop and watch for a while and as I listened to the shouts of the parents and coaches I was whisked back to the day when I stood on the touch lines and my boys raced around the football pitch...days gone by.

If you peep you can see the footballers in between the trees

After standing and watching for a while we set of for the mud spot I had in mind.

We scootered on down to the river and all of a sudden yells of "Chips,hello Chips" came from down the river bank ~ it was one of Chippies classmates with two of his friends.

I made a snap decision to let Chips go down to the river to see what was going on and what was going on was good old fashioned messy play...water,mud,sticks,stones ~ slip slop play....I loved it!I sat at the top of the river bank (getting a increasing wet,muddy bum) trying to keep out of the play and letting the children do what comes naturally....explore and play.

And it was so,so good!There was laughter,squeals,ideas flowing to and from each other,sharing,kindness and help for each other,basically I knew I was witnessing a bit of pure magic.And I loved it!

It kind of reminded me of when I'm at work and I sit in a room and observe children,after a while they forget that you are there and that's when you see the beauty of play and get a real grasp about the children involved.

making mud

sitting under a bridge..fun

The children were making the stream muddy that was their objective.So they needed things to stir the water up and they foraged around the top of the river bank to collect such items.

I saw such team work,here Chips is passing a plank to his friend.No adult telling them how to do it,just their own ideas and their ways of doing things.

It made me think of my own childhood and I have wrote these thoughts but the play was exceptionally good and a joy to watch.It got quite wild and some of the children went paddling in the water,Chips didn't,but he joined in with a great deal of splashing with the sticks and you can imagine how wet and wild things got!True messy play!

Eventually Chips and I said goodbye and went to the spot where I had intended,deep down by the river,a secret den like place,full of mud,trees,water and possibilities.This was the messy play I had originally wanted for Chips.

lets investigate

poking sticks in muddy water

messy hands

Chips had such a messy time!Yay!Thats what I wanted!

thinking about it

done it!

and again

Jumping across water.....a bit challenging but how good it is when you do it!!!

Climbing trees....surely every child should experience climbing trees!

We had a fab time and Chips experienced just what I wanted true messy outdoor play...bliss!

The end was quite eventful too...while negotiating a tree trunk Chips fell into the river! He emerged a bit shocked and very wet but nothing a warm bath couldn't put right and boy didn't he have a tale to tell!And isn't that just what the whole point of this take is....experiences for our kids....let's get them messy,let's teach them mess isn't that bad,infact sometimes it can be the most fun ever!

Linking to Jennie at Messy Play For Matilda Mae 

and   Fionas at Country Kids

Both these blogs have brilliant ideas to involve children in messy,fun play,Jennies activities are more indoor ones and Fionas are more outdoor activities ~ both are worth a look at.

Six Word Saturday

Being With Family...Best Thing Ever

I have absolutely loved this school holidays and time spent with my family.

No matter just what we have done I have loved it

feeding animals

reading books

doing Easter

collecting sticks

colouring

scootering

guitar playing

I have just loved it all,every last bit of it!

Linking to Cates brill linky Six Word Saturday 

Pop over to see what the gang have been up to this week!

Playing Out Alone

I've done a fair bit of pondering on this one and asked quite a few friends about their views on it.... at what age should children be allowed to play outside by themselves. 

It came about after I had been for a walk with my son and seen some of his classmates on the comp by themselves...they are nine years old.

I was a bit shocked because at nine years old there is no way on this earth that I would let my son down at the comp on his own.

Let me describe the comp to you....it's a big open space with at least six football pitches on it that local teams use for footy matches and training sessions.It has astro turf pitches,a sports centre (which is only open when a match is on) trees and and a derelict patch of ground where teens go to jump on their bikes and it has a river/stream running through it.Its quite a big place really,lots of people walk dogs on there but at the same time it can be lonely there as all wide open spaces can be.

So would you let your nine year old play down there by themselves?Was I right to feel a bit wary of this situation?Or was I over worrying yet again? 

I sat and watched the children play,as my son was welcomed into the group,there were 3 children there altogether.

I know without a doubt that at nine I wouldn't even consider my son playing there with friends if there wasn't any adults present.He's just not mature enough.

And I just wouldn't want him to anyway.I love being with him,we walk and talk together and he wouldn't dream of asking to go anywhere by himself,he just wouldn't.

These kids were playing in the stream & having a good time but I could see danger,I mean kids and water,it doesn't take much for a accident to happen,does it?

I started to think about when I was young,we used to go everywhere on our own!Parks,fields,all over the place.

When I think off the things we got up to...making dens with old sofas that probably were full of bugs and goodness knows what....walking through rivers and actually jumping across rivers...swinging on rope swings (the best feeling!) and even walking home along train lines (not at all clever or condoned) but we survived,didn't we!And in the making learnt how to gauge true danger and negotiate our bodies to deal with physical challenges.Yes we had bumps and scrapes but nothing that couldn't be put right.

I wonder if we perhaps wrap our children just a tad too tightly in cotton wool.Bubble wrap them until they become unable to cope with some situations.Breed very unstreet wise kids.

And is this good?

I can understand why we do this,I really can,but hey generations grew up before our kids and they survived didn't they.

I know there is more traffic on the roads and this is a worry and most parents worry about people snatching their kids and this thought alone makes me want to keep my kids at my side 24-7.

But has the figures of child murder and abduction rose lately?Im not sure but I tend to think it hasn't rose as dramatically as we may imagine.

I don't know any answers but it did throw up a myriad of thoughts as I watched the kids on the comp play....by themselves....

There is a very funny end to this post....

You know the wrapped in cotton wool kid....yep,my son....weeell he fell in the river whilst under the supervision of his oh so watchful mum!Whereas the lets roam free kid may have paddled in the water but he didn't fall in!

And yes I do see the irony in this!

 Walks and Talks

At nearly 3pm I thought I was too whacked to make the long journey up to

o the duck pond.The sun had gone in and the best made plans seemed over optimistic to say the least.But I had promised and you did seem excited Chips,so off we went.

The first thing I noticed was how peaceful it was up there today.There were quite a few people around but overall there was a peaceful feel to the afternoon.

 

 

We noticed pretty quickly that quite a few things had changed,lots of trees had been cut and there were piles of wood shavings everywhere

Chips you immediately began a stick collection...how could you come anywhere outdoors and not carry some sticks around!

Unfortunately you made the decision to throw your best stick in the pond!You did regret this...big style!Im not sure you will do that again!

These little mallards were sleepily dozing and nothing you shouted would wake them up!It didn't stop you trying though!

This is where we have seen a couple of water rats before but today the rats were sleeping too and we never saw even a whisker!

The cafe was closed,no buttery flapjack for us today.

We chatted about ducks and mallards in particular,if you said mallard once,you said it at least twenty times,probably more,much more! It made me laugh and smile though

Some friendly mallards we tried to tempt to feed.

It was such a fun time out.Im so glad we went Chips.You bounced around and chattered away happily.Lots of smiles were shared and we trolled back home in a happy mood.

So lovely to spend time with you,as always Chips time spent outside with you makes me happy inside,I hope it does the same for you,little boy ~ Mummy x

Its a bit late but Im going to enter this at Fionas Country Kids