Our camping trip. Or proof that lists are a force for good

We're back from our latest trip to Wales which was both exhausting and relaxing in equal measure. Choosing the busiest weekend of the summer holidays was probably our first mistake. Camping always catches me out in that it seems like such a laid back and easy way to holiday. In reality, it takes a fair amount of organising to do it well and forgetting this was definitely our second mistake.

We left everything to the last minute. The morning before we left, Dan dropped Alessi off at nursery before heading off to work, leaving me at home to get everything together. If we had put together a list first, this point of the process would have been very straight forward. Instead it was basically me running around the house, remembering things as I went along and hoping I didn't forget anything. Which of course I did.

I have no idea why we were so rubbish this time around. I can only think it's because we've been juggling other things at home too. DIY and an attic clear out have left the house (and our thoughts) in a bit of a muddle. I guess trying to organise anything when our minds were so jumbled was always going to be a struggle.

All that said, we were back home surrounded by trees, hills and sea so in between the odd pocket of stress, we both had moments where we were able to breathe it all in.

And looking on the bright side, as I said to Dan, each time you go camping, you learn something new which will make future trips easier. This time our lesson has been to plan well in advance! Actually, you can add avoiding bank holidays, meal planning and if you value your sanity at all, remembering to bring along toys to keep kids entertained, to the list of things we learnt from this trip.

But oh, Wales. 

I wouldn't have thought it possible to feel so connected to a place if I didn't feel it myself. It’s home and I miss it. Unfortunately though I can't see us moving back any time soon.  Dan and I are very different people in terms of what we need. I like the quiet life and countryside. He likes people, stuff to do and reliable internet access. To be fair, I'm with him on that last one. And of course there's Alessi and what is ultimately best for her. 

Who knows, maybe one day we'll return to the motherland, but for now at least there will be more trips like this one (well, not too much like this one I hope), and more posts with pictures like these..

The tent is now lying in the garden drying. And so endeth the camping spam. 

Four

She's longer, leaner and a hell of a lot sassier than she was this time last year.

Still very much in to Frozen and all things princessy, but this doesn't irk me the way it once did. She's confident and has a healthy outlook so if she wants to wear a princess dress and sing Let it Go (that song will not fucking die) then I'm not going to stop her.
In fact what irk me that it's ok for girls to do what the boys do, but god forbid a little boy put on a tutu or play with a doll. So I've decided that if Alessi wants to embrace all things that are traditionally 'girly', fuck it. She is a girl and that's not something to be ashamed of. If we make being a girly girl to seem like such a bad thing to our kids at such a young age then maybe we are as much a part of the problem as those idiots that say "no she can't". But I'm veering wildly off track, so I will save that rant for another day.

She had her first proper party this weekend, complete with bouncy castle, cocktail sausages and friends from nursery. It was crazy and I barely saw her in the tea making/food organising haze. Those moments where I did snatch a glance at her, what I saw made me so happy. There she was, confident and happy, surrounded by her friends and just being Roo. A happy kid.

Some of the things she loves at the moment are:

Brown Bear, her ever faithful partner in crime and squashy pillow
Cheese, forever with the cheese
Disney princesses (current faves include Elsa, Anna and Merida)
Playing with her dolls house
Shopkins
Stickers
Fighting her Dad. He barely gets in from work before "DADDY, FIGHT!"
And luckily for me, cuddles. May she never grow out of those

And for balance, some things that she's not so keen on:

Carrots
Jeans (or any trousers that aren't leggings - too lumpy)
Socks
Clothes that are brown
Wearing pants
Having her hair brushed

In just over five months she starts school. Holy shit. Moving on quickly..

Happy birthday my little firecracker. Love your face to the moon and back.
xoxoxoxox

Hearts

A couple of weeks ago, I handed Alessi a sheet of heart stickers to keep her entertained for a few minutes. What proceeded was a toddler wandering the entire house, putting heart stickers on everything.

I should probably explain. One of Alessi's favourite things at the moment is a CBeebies programme called 'Bing Bunny'. One of the episodes saw Bing and one of his friends stick hearts on all of their favourite things. I didn't remember this when I handed her the stickers. She did. 

Since then I've removed so many stickers, but there are still loads everywhere. I think it's time to take them all down now, but before I do I wanted to keep a little record of her game. It was wonderful discovering new stickers. In the bed, on 'her' ukulele (it's mine for the record), on her teddies and her favourite books. 

Here are some of the other places that are still wearing the hearts. 

Clockwise from left, her drawer doorknob, her blackboard, her dressing up box with the scary looking bears and her blackboard again.

The stair gate, my sewing table, the wall above our bed and my overlocker.

The stairs (most of the steps got hearted), the clothes dryer, the toilet and the washing machine.

They were literally all over the place. And it made me smile on a daily basis for almost two weeks. 

Thanks kid. You're awesome.