Sunday 23 March 2014

The Gorgeous Gorge.

So Magee has been poorly this week with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, we have had it before so knew the score more or less and that you just wait it out and have to get on with it basically and you aren't told to stay away from others! She was so, so grumpy last weekend, which is very out of sorts for her as she is usually very happy. We weren't sure what was up really but she was sleeping badly and was in with me whilst Mr Y was in with Magoo. Could it be her tummy? Could it be her teeth (her amber necklace had broken so was that related?)? The spots outed themselves anyway and a trip to the docs just to check confirmed HFM. We needed to get out of the house as they were both a bit fed up and the weather was beautiful. So I had already packed my well worn Ironbridge Gorge Museums Passport in anticipation that they would want to go out. We have used it so many times and I have had a passport for the last 2 years as it is fabulous value for money seeing as the children are still free until they are 5. So I will definitely be renewing in April! Anyway, we headed to Coalport China Museum and had a great time as we hadn't visited that particular museum before. They are set up well for children and we followed a trail around looking for animals to tick off on our clipboard. It is still very much a whistle stop tour as they don't want to hang around looking at stuff for long and are always eager to see what is in the next room! We found all of the animals though, apart from a pesky rat that was hiding in the dark where we missed it! Magee and Magoo enjoyed pretending to have tea and Magoo liked rebuilding the kilns and other buildings on the map in the children's area. The kilns were amazing and a little spooky! The sounds of the 'workers' made us all jump in the second kiln! We finished by walking along the canal to see the ducks, have a look at the Hay Incline and walk over the bridge over the river Severn. We also found the Tar Tunnel which we'll visit in the summer.
Tuesday saw us visit Jackfield Tile Museum after picking Magoo up from nursery. I knew he would be tired but he was keen to go somewhere new. So we called in and had a good look around. So many beautiful tiles and it was interesting seeing the recreated tube station, complete with train noises!!! That really confused Magoo, he was sure there was a train around the corner! Even after I thought I had explained that it was just sound effects and not real he still asked me 5 minutes later if the train would be around the corner!! Wednesday we met up with Magoo's best friend and had a play in the park and then went on to Enginuity. This is the museum we visit most often and is our rainy day fixture! They love it there as it is so hands on and as they get older they begin to understand more about what they actually see there. The favourite sections are the water part (goes without saying really!, the recycling sorting machine, the bead tipping truck, the penny squashing machine and the soft play area. It's a great museum as it isn't too big and normally I've found that you don't notice the school groups too much although it was the busiest I had ever seen it on this visit! We also love Blists Hill Victorian Town but didn't visit it this week. I'll have to do another blog post just on that one I think!! Magoo and I ended our week by popping in to Ironbridge for a milkshake and hot chocolate, just the two of us as that is a rarity really. We called in to Truffles and were impressed with our choices and Magoo loved the extra goodies he got with his drink! Magee was having fun at my parents' and Magoo was in need of some time with just me as he'd been feeling a bit left out I think with Magee being under the weather and being very needy! So we had a lovely time and will definitely be doing that more often. We stopped off at Queenies for some delicious cupcakes to take home and enjoyed tucking in to them after dinner! We are so lucky to have Ironbridge so close and it offers so much to do. I must remember to take lots of photos next time and put them on here!

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Just another brick in the wall!

So following on from my previous post about using our back yard more than out front garden I thought I would write this quick post. We have used the outdoor chalks on numerous occasions but the novelty seems to wear off pretty fast. The other day though it lasted a bit longer and with Magee only deciding to eat the chalks at the very end! They both really enjoyed themselves and I think Magoo's colourful bricks look great. Although you can't really tell from the photo!!

Sunday 9 March 2014

Sunny days and daisy chains.

We always try and make the most of getting outside when we can. Our garden isn't great as it is at the front of the house and very public and often used as a litter tray by the local cats, nice!!! So we use our little back yard most of the time. We are lucky to have some great open spaces on our doorstep though and our regular walks for some much needed space to run around are only a few minutes walk away. Monday's jaunt took us up to the cemetery, sounds morbid but it is beautiful! I love the trees, flowers and birds up there. It is obviously a peaceful place but never fails to make you thankful for what you have. It is great for the children to run around on the paths and spot the wildlife. A moment I loved that made me thought 'I have to blog about this so I remember it' was when Mr Magoo was going off up the little paths closely followed by Mrs Magee and she fell over but got up instantly and seemed fine. Anyway, I was watching from a distance and saw him crouching down in front of her for a while and wondered what he was up to. I thought he may have been brushing down her dusty knees or something after her falling over. I went closer to see what was going on and as I got closer I could see that he had been busy concentrating hard on placing a daisy in to each of her button holes on her coat! It made my heart melt! A moment to treasure.

Sunday 2 March 2014

New intentions.

Inspired by my yoga class on Saturday I have started off this blog. It has been an idea for a while but with a new moon and new month bringing new intentions I thought I had better seize the day and kickstart it! Thanks to Gifts from the pirates for boosting my confidence to give it a whirl too. So a short first post but another to come soon, watch this space ............