Sands Between My Toes

I have always wanted to visit the Maritime Museum in Falmouth. I'm not entirely sure why, as I can't say I'm a huge sailing/boast enthusiast, although I do love the sea. My daughter went a few years ago and came back saying how good it was and I have always found some brilliant reviews online so we thought we would give it a go over the weekend. I have to admit for the entry fee it is such value for money as you pay once and get a year's free entry which makes a rainy day much more interesting. There always seems to be crafts/activities on and when we went we watched a few people abseil down the side of the tower for charity, very brave stuff! As you can see from the photos the girls had a great time and I actually found it really interesting, even the other half did and he isn't always one for museums. Not only did we learn lots but we found climbing the tower fun looking over Falmouth which was beautiful and going below deck to watch the tide come up and have a view of under the sea. We still didn't manage to squeeze everything in so am greatly looking forward to our next trip to the museum
. It is a great rainy day activity, or if the weather is fair the surrounding area of Falmouth is beautiful and there is always so much to do. I would seriously recommend taking a look if ever you get the chance!

The South West coastal path - I love it here.

I feel like the last few months have been full of days of endless rain. It has been so grey and dull outside it makes you feel as though you want to stay inside, wrapped up and hibernate, until Spring appears at least. This week the children have been on half term and the weather has been wonderful. Yes it is cold, but it is February after all. The sun has been shining and the skies have been blue. We have been to the beach and met up with friends. I thought I would share a few photos.

We spent so much time at this little beach in the Summer - I can't wait to go back here soon

Dark skies starting to roll in

Another view of the coastal path

Last one - I promise!

We went on a bit of a geocache hunt this afternoon, we found one out of three which I guess was something! We did manage to walk part of the South West coast path that I have been meaning to walk for ages so I was pleased with that, but the beach at the bottom of the valley was non existent due to the high tide. The girls were desperate to paddle their feet (I think the sun confused them into thinking it was Summer) so we journeyed down the coast to another beach where the tide was less encroaching. All in all it was another lovely day, tomorrow we are meeting with friends again and then the weekend will be upon us...apparently the rain will be back in time for then so I'm determined to make the most of it!

So, it's been half term week and I've been in a rather reflective mood. Firstly it is a BIG birthday for me at the end of this week which I have mixed feelings about, and then I'm also looking at going back into work so it will be all change for our family routine. For the last five years I've been a stay at home mum in between working from home for myself. I can safely say I have loved every minute even though I have feel guilty at times that I am lucky to spend time with my daughters watching them develop and grow. Of course it hasn't been easy and hasn't been without sacrifice. Working from home for myself means that when something goes wrong it is all down to me, in fact working in general is all down to me and working for myself I can truly see that whatever I put in I get back out. For me it has been difficult, especially in the school playground trying to 'fit' in. I'm sure many other mums feel the same and it is like a mine field out there. I enjoy the school runs, and I have made some amazing friends and meet the most inspiring parents, although since going from a full time 'working' mum to a stay at home mum that works from home it is funny how your circle changes. I have noticed that in the playground the stay at homes and the working ones seem to form their own cliques; needless to say I have lost friends but made new ones too. I don't judge in any way shape or form. Life is too short simply. We are all doing the best we can - we are all being parents and it is a hard, muddle, fun, teary journey but hell, it is so worth it. But it does make you think that people's perspective of you changes with your circumstances or your decisions, which seems somewhat judgemental.  It has been difficult for me to return to work as we have no family to help support us and my partner's hours are all over the place. Now that both my daughters are in full time school I gave the working from home a go but the last few months have been stressful to the point that I feel like I'm forever taking two steps forward, one step back. I feel ready to return to work; I want to learn new skills, meet new people and enjoy a sense of doing something for someone else, getting something back, oppose to me working from home having no sense of real achievement. So....this week I have been getting out and about with the children (thank you very much weather, you are back on point!) but also thinking how different things will be when I return to work. I want to make sure I take TIME to enjoy them, enjoy the TIME we spend together and try to make special memories. TIME does fly by to quickly, and as much as I would love to spend weeks like this - no school - no work - no worries (ha) it realistically isn't going to happen, but that is life. It is up to us how we choose to spend our TIME and who we spend it with. For me I'm hoping that working will give me more balance, as I want to try to work when the girls are at school and part time so I can spend time with them on the holidays too. It is a difficult balance to strike, but working will, hopefully, make me appreciate TIME a little more, as it is such a precious gift.

Well, the weather has still been relentless. However, this wasn't going to deter us this weekend. Although we have been planning our zoo trip we had to put that on hold once again, we all got out despite the rain. We had a lovely trip to the beach, throwing stones in rock pools and climbing rocks trying to escape the sea. On Saturday the girls did the indoor play thing with the other half, which gave me a few hours to catch up on work. I'm not a huge indoor play fan and try to avoid them as much as I can, but having said that the kids love them and it enables them to let off steam when the weather is truly against us.
I thought I would include a few photos of our beach trip. I absolutely love the sea, whatever the weather and, although you can see from the photos, there were no blue skies or sun, I still think the light makes for a dramatic picture. For me, going to the beach helps me clear my head. It is so refreshing and there is something about the salty sea air that leaves you feeling much better. Having said that, after our beach jaunt we all come home ready to collapse, I think it feels like we haven't been out to the coast in such a while it knocked us all for six!!

'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!'......even in the rain! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed to get out and about! Have a lovely Monday Love Bec xxx

This weekend was my youngest Birthday. I know it is a cliche and so overused by parents, but really where has the time gone?! Due to the horrendous weather we were not able to go to the zoo as we wanted but instead Freya wanted to go to Pizza Hut so that's what we did!


I thought I would share a few photos. Despite the weather it was a lovely day catching up with family, We hope to go to the zoo this week weather permitting! As I am typing though there is a hail storm going on outside, I am just grateful to be tucked up in the warm.

This year I really didn't want to go over the top with gifts. Freya wanted a baby Annabell doll and Play doh, I also bought her a watch to help her tell the time and a Frozen Lego castle,  although my eldest has been more interested in this! I feel like every year I go over the top a little with the gifts and looking around both of their bedrooms I feel they have so much already. I wanted to give them experiences they could remember, so that is why I want to take Freya to the zoo in Paington which is much larger than our local zoo. Fingers crossed this weekend we will manage it!

I'm in need of cheering up this week as they say bad things always happen in threes and they have indeed!Firstly my car had an oil leak, which is no biggie, but when the mechanic had a fumble around there were a few other bits and bobs that needed fixing, so a quick job to the garage turned into a long three week stay put in the garage and several repair works later I'm still unsure when the car will be fixed, and how much the bill will be! The the washing machine filter snapped over the weekend so I need a new one of those, and while I was cooking the Sunday roast yesterday evening my oven decided it just couldn't take any more of my cooking and packed up. I had to cook the half done potatoes under my grill, which just isn't the same! I have been saying that this year I wanted to buy a new cooker and fridge (oh so exciting!) I just didn't think it would actually pack up first!

Slow Cooker appreciation!

Adding the batter on top of the fruits