Life Continues....

All be it on another blog - http://diary4peanut1.blogspot.co.uk/

Enjoy.

Enough Said!

Barefoot and Pregnant

Someone thought he'd be funny by getting proof that I was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen cooking.

What do you think?

Hot Stuff

Whilst driving home one evening we received a text from Alan saying the car park near our flat was on fire. 

When we got home we found out that it took the fire-fighters 1 hour before getting there and there were several cars on fire by then. 

It was in the next car park to us and appeared to be an overheated car.  The hot weather and along with the wind helped to spread the fire to other cars. 

Picnic in the Pyrenees

It took us 2 hours to get to the town of Mont Louis which was another (albeit smaller) fortified town.  It was situated in the Pyrenees mountains. 

We had a picnic lunch on the bank of the fort’s outer defence before heading inside. 

It only took us 90 mins to see the entire place.  Unfortunately, the tourist office was closed so we didn’t know to get tickets to see the militarily section of the fort.  This was about half of the town's size.

This town actually had a little playground which clung to the side of the hill.  The boys were very excited and despite the equipment being in the hot sun refused to go any further until they partook.

At one point we walked past a restaurant where a group commented on the fact that we spoke English and were wearing American hats (due to the fact that we were wearing our accrubra hats). 
 

The fact that they concluded that we were Americans amused Michael no end and he was tempted to go up to them and tell them we were Ozzies.  

On our way out we spoke to a French lady (who didn't speak English) who enquired about the boys.  We ascertained that she was asking how old they were as she initially assumed that they were twins.  When we told her and that number 3 was on his way she was surprised. 

Much the same reaction as the English people has when I tell them. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As we were in the area we decided to Font de Romeo (Roman Spa town) which was 15mins away.  This was a very small town with a tiny raised fort (about 5 metres across) just outside.  To get up to the top of this little fort we had to walk up around the outside in a spiral in a steep incline.  All the way to the top looked like little houses which had a life sized statue inside once. 

In one of these was a lizard about 4cm long; scampering up the side.  Zachary was well amused and wanted to check out each one to see if there was more.  In the end I had to tell him that the lizards were visiting their friends.
 
 

Before we headed home, Alan wanted a nice quiet drink in the local café which we obliged however, Zachary was bored and so this wasn’t as quiet as Alan would’ve liked.  This was despite me feeding Zachary an orange and bottled water in an attempt to distract him from misbehaving.

Carcassonne

We decided to go to a major tourist destination in the area - the town of Carcassonne (90min drive on motorways). This is a working town within a castle and to our surprise was free to enter (except for the large keep).

We drove our way to the base of the castle where there were 3 large car parks. However, we couldn’t find a car park that was empty as it was sooo busy, so we ended up in lower part of town which was also full.

We noticed a couple of cars parked illegally to one side of a small parking area, these were locals, and decided to park like them. We hoped that we wouldn’t get a ticket (thankfully we didn’t). 

Then we walked up the winding streets to castle keeping an eye out for a place to buy takeaway sandwiches. We couldn’t get any lunch as it was sooo busy in all the shops and most of the places were sit down restaurants (the boys were in no mood to wait around for us to eat).

At one point I tried to buy churros (long thin donuts) but I was not able to, the owner explained (via hand gestures) that new fat was just heating up. As we hadn't had lunch we ended up snacking on the apples, oranges and pancakes which I packed just in case.

We wondered around between the outer and inner defensive walls until it got too difficult with pram.  This area wasn’t paved; just filled with rubble and dirt.  There were fantastic views of the lower town and the fields. 

Then we went inside to the town.  If you didn’t know we were inside a fortified castle you would’ve just thought it was a small vibrant town situated on a hill.  There were all manner of shops, meeting areas, general public areas as well as a couple of hotels and churches.  It was quite amazing and in many ways it put the English castles to shame in that they are just large private residents used as safe areas in times of need. 

The keep looked quite impressive from the outside however it was jammed packed with people so we decided not to go in.  Later we discovered that we wouldn't have been allowed to anyway due to the thin and steep stairways.

We headed back to the car via the old bridge which was situated outside the castle walls and joined the outer town with the fortified castle and inner town.  It was considerably quieter here.

The drive home was very difficult as the wind was absolutely horrendous so Michael ended up with sore arms from trying to keep the car on the road.

On the motorways we saw four breakdowns. One which was particularly memorable was with a caravan wheel and axel on the motorway and the car with the caravan still attached sitting in the lay-by 500 metres down the road. They were very lucky to have got there as they would’ve been riding the remaining axel and edge of the caravan.

About 30mins from home Alex had a nappy failure so we had a pleasant smell for the rest of the trip. When we stopped we had to take the covers off the seat to wash them by hand to ensure that they didn’t stain. This little accident also meant that it was straight to bath for the boys as Alex was leaking everywhere.

Halal Pork?

If memory serves me correctly the people that eat halal meat aren't allowed to eat pork. 

So this must be wrong.  

St Cyprien Flat

 
 
Upon reading the below it sounds as if the flat was awful but it was designed for older children and adults making it perfect for most holiday makers.  As we had babies it was a bit more challenging.

 
 
 
The flat was situated about 5 mins walk from the main drag and 10 mins which was fantastic as it was close but not to close to the noise so the boys could sleep without being disturbed. 

It had tiled floors which meant that it was easy to clean (something which was good when the boys decided to decorate them with their dinner).

 
 
The flat was littered with personalised items and easily breakable knick knacks.  This meant that there wasn’t space for our gear.  I ended up removing everything below 2ft and putting it the cupboards above so that nothing would get broken. 

 
 
Despite this the TV, fans and a few other major items were within Alex’s reach and were magnets for him.  This wouldn’t bode well for the rest of the holiday as all you could hear us saying was ‘Don’t touch that' , 'Get away from that', or 'Get down from there.’

The wall for the balcony had a single large panelled sliding door which was ideal for the boys to bang items on which they did. 

The bathroom, bedrooms and kitchen had a door shaped window which just had railings (similar to the balcony ones) which were ideal for the boys to throw things off with the potential of hitting passers-by (Zachary did throw several items off but no one got hurt) or get stuck in. 
 

They thankfully had roll down security shutters however, this made the place extremely hot as there was no ventilation when they were down.

Summer BBQs

It's summer so being an Ozzie, I demanded BBQs.

I must mention at this point that it is the wettest summer on record.

Our family BBQ went ahead despite the downpour due to a little ingenuity.

Natalie's Wedding

We went to Natalie and Steve's wedding with the boys down at Farnham (near Farnbourgh). 

She's an Everton football fanatic so it was blue and white with all the tables labeled as players names.

There were about 12 kids under 10 including thier own little girl (Sophie - who's Zachary's little friend).







We had a lovely time and the boys got complements for their wonderful behaviour.







We stayed overnight at a Travelodge hoping that we could sightsee the next day but the weather was horrid (much like the previous 2 weeks) so we came straight home.

Happy Birthday Alan

We surprised Alan by singing Happy Birthday to him and forcing him to have cake.

Visit By Robert Stringer

Robert was over for an awards ceremony and he popped in.


It was lovely to see him.

London To Brighton Bike Ride

Mike left the house at 5.30am to enable him to meet a friend (Holgar) at the starting line of the London to Brighton bike ride at Clapham Common for thier 6.30am starting time.



The boys refused to let Mike sneak out as they insisted on getting up as he was leaving.  This meant that we were able to leave at 7.30am to drive down to Brighton and meet Mike at the finish line.


I expected the drive to be extended due to the hoards travelling down however we managed to beat this due to our very early start.



On our arrival at 9.00am I received a text from Mike to say he was half way and would be at the finish line at around 12 o'clock.


The boys and I managed to get the park and ride bus into Brighton's marina where we loitered amoungst the 1,000 odd boats before descovering a trash and treasure market.  There we purchased 3 kids books before enjoying a wonder around the 30ish shops (laid out like Knox City's open air section). 


At 11.30am we discovered a kiddies play area where Zachary could stretch is legs.  Unfortuantely, they had a sprinkler in the middle where kids could run around under.  This would've been great but it was absolutely freezing and I didn't have a towel, change of clothes.  This sprinkler was a magnet for Zachary so it was fortuante that Mike texted to say he'd be at the finish line shortly so we left after only a short while.

We managed to stand just the other side of the finish line with a reasonable view when Mike came whooshing past.  Zachary saw his dad and began shouting "Daddie,  Daddddiiiieee.  DADDIEEEEE!!!!" very excitedly.

A few minutes later we were all happily reunited.


Holgar had finished 30 minutes earlier and was sitting with a group on Brighton's stoney beach waiting for their remaining friends to finish.  We wound our way through the hordes of people, bikes and stalls to meet him. 


Annette and Max (Holgar's wife and1 year old son) had left a little later than us and got caught in the traffic so hadn't arrived yet.  Once they had (and we'd spent an hour or so playing on the pebble beach together) we parted and made our way to the car.  This was not as easy as you'd think as it was around 3.00pm with the majority of riders having finished and now mixing with the throng of spectators, etc.


The drive home was uneventful however, we were all very very tired and went to bed early.

Amelia's 1st Birthday

Travis and Zoe's little girl turned 1 and to celebrate they had a picnic in their local park.

There were beers for the men though Amelia and Alexander decided to ransom them.



Holland Park

The day started out dry and clear so we decided to go to Holland Park.

It has a sandpit and the boys were lucky that a fellow enthusiast allowed them to play with their toys.

Unfortuantely Alex tried to eat the sand and anything else he could find.

Afterwards we saw the fish in the pond before walking in the wooded area. 

We stumbled across a seating area and of course, Zachary chose the best one. 


I wonder what his subject think?

Chinease Gender Predictor

This is brilliant....

Being Australian, I've been exposed to various traditions and every culture has a 'how to concieve/predict what gender your child will be'.  Not to mention, old Aunty X's physic ability to 'just know'.

I've recently discovered this - Ancient Chinese Tradition of Chinese Confinement.

It involves sticking to weird rules like – stay in the house for 30 days, avoid washing your hair and hands, don’t touch cold water, and drink lots of brandy. Ok I exaggerate.

During my research on how to increase chances of selecting gender using natural techniques, I came across the Ancient Chinese Gender Chart.

The legend states that the Chinese Gender Chart is over 700 years old. It was discovered in a royal tomb in Beijing and now resides in the Beijing Institute of Science. Apparently it is 90 – 99% accurate, but it is only for entertainment purposes.

There isn’t much scientific evidence, but some say it has something to do with the phase of the moon and the acidity in the woman’s uterus.

How To Use It :

You can predict your child’s gender by using your LUNAR AGE at the time of conception. (To work out your lunar age, just add 2 years.)

Then find which month you conceived, then you can work out the gender of your baby.

My Analysis :

For me, my two boys should be girls (based on the Lunar Age). However, if we take my actual age then this chart is 100% accurate.





Please try it and let me know how you go.

Tuppence To Cross The Mersey

Most Ozzie kids (and their parents) were subjected to this horrid book as part of their schooling so when we were presented with the opportunity to take the ferry on a round trip across the Mersey we just had to do it.

On this occassion it was overtaken by a small band of pirates; one of which had a rather large pet rat (no parrot). Zachary was intrigued by the rat and eventually patted it. He was also given a pirate flag and hat to wear as an honary pirate.

Mike and Zachary went exploring the three levels whilst Alexander entertained the people next to him.

The whole trip took an hour and was fairly uneventful (except for the pirates).