I came across this article from last year, and it made me laugh out loud. With us all starting to scramble around trying to find skulking PE Bags, lost jumpers and suddenly necessary reading books, it feels very appropriate!

I came across this article; ‘Society’s Challenge: To Build Character‘ in last edition of The Sunday Times and thought it worthy of a mention on here.

I am a Mum who is constantly swinging between a position of hyper-over-analysis about the importance of my role in moulding and a laid back stance of; “Gah, they’ll be what they’ll be despite my neurosis”. So…. I found this article rather interesting and now has me back as the Whittling Mother who WILL raise her boys into fine, upstanding men (wish me luck, yes?).

… is now live on LittleStuff!
Oh, we had SUCH a great day at Paultons Park (in the new Forest if you’re not sure). The review is excessive, so I’ll not add to it here – just wanted to share some pictures (of course).

This is Ella practicing her regal wave from the ladybird ride

Joe and Toby driving the Digger
Cameron in the back, me in the front, and Josephs arms ju-u-ust peeking out in front of me
Toby and Joe in the Flying Saucer ride

Mr Laura and Cameron making a splash

Mr Laura & Cameron going over the top on The Cobra
and Cameron’s face as the ride comes to a halt

…is now live on the site. I just had to follow it up with a couple of pictures – this is Toby with an illicit Automoblox Mini car in his bed ‘after hours’… (apologies for the poor image quality, these were taken by the light outside the door!)

Okay, the actual review of our Feather Down Farm experience is here, but this is our top ten tips to a successul Feather Down Farms holiday:

1 – LIGHT THE FIRE FIRST. Be generous with kindling and firelighters, and do not turn your back, it will take offense.

2 – Take a thermos flask – your fire will be burning merrily at bedtime – boil a kettle, fill the flask, and you can have hot tea when you wake whilst you wait for the fire to heat.

3 – The fire takes an hour to get to cooking temperature – factor that in when you plan your days, arriving back at the tent at 6 will NOT see your children in bed by 7 with a hot meal inside them.

4 – Take a torch – the tents are BLACK once the nightlights go out.

5 – Did I say to LIGHT THE FIRE FIRST?? Sorry, I think I may have said that already. Of course, you can always choose to eat out. We did that too :D

6 – Don’t over pack. You need no implements from home, and there is simply no need to dress up for the cows. We lived in our crocs, but we noticed other families using wellies. Keep your ‘nice’ shoes in the car for when you leave the farm – the cows won’t mind.

7 – The frozen hot water bottles are great at keeping things cool – but they do not create a fridge, so don’t expect to keep a week’s worth of food nice and chilled.

8 – Allot jobs – despite the fact that it rarely feels like it, you ARE camping, and therefore there are many manual chores to be done. Make sure everyone takes a share.

9 – Whilst you’re eating, put the kettle on the now-burning-happily stove, By the time you’re done, the water will be hot enough for washing up. While you’re washing up, add more wood and put the kettle on again for your evening mug ;)

10 – Be prepared to relax. Properly. Before you know it, you find that you’re not worried about the fact you can’t actually see the children – and haven’t done so for an hour or so. That you couldn’t care less when they come back coated to the knees in mud (there’s a handy watering can we put to just such a use). That they’re down at the pig pen in their pyjamas. That it’s 11 o’clock and you haven’t actually done anything with your day yet.

Repeat after me – Light the fire, light the fire, (come on baby) light the fire…

Feather Down Farm Days are spearheading the new ‘glamping’ movement, putting the fun and glamour back into camping – even the likes of Cath Kidston is taking to canvas for a taste of the Great Outdoors these days. With 22 farms all over Britain, Featherdown offer a great soft-start to camping (you do after all get a real bed, running water and a flushing toilet in your tent), or maybe a re-introduction to the joy of sleeping in a tent. We already showed you the photographs of our glamping in Devon experience with Feather Down Farm Review – here’s the actual review…

Our tent is the one on the left

I have to say we were very excited about our trip to Feather Down. We haven’t been camping since Joe (now 6) started to crawl on Dartmoor, and getting back into the swing of it seems to get harder as the years go by (and the children start to mount up…). It’s a difficult thing, to find a holiday which your 9 year old and your toddler, and you as parents will all enjoy equally. But when I spotted the Feather Down web site, I couldn’t help but take a closer look. Firstly, I fell in love with the site itself – written beautifully, and sneakily engaging, before you know it you’re 12 pages deep and yearning for your own Feather Down experience.

We randomly chose site No. 15 – Billingsmoor Farm in Devon – but there was plenty of choice, and each farm is different. The directions were good, and we arrived without mishap, despite the sat nav not having the faintest idea of where we were (it’s way way way down deep in the Devon countryside). Upon arrival you unload your car into wheelbarrows, and cross the field to your tent on foot. There are just 5 tents at Billingsmoor, and all spaced so as not to invade one another’s privacy.

Jolly & Boy escaping to the woods

Our first sight of the tents reminded us of the Gold Rush pioneers (with a little 1920’s Boy Scouts thrown in). Inside we felt as though we had stepped straight into Davy Crockets quarters! From the wooden floorboards to the bedrooms created from apple crates, we just loved it. A knowledgeable friend had insisted that we should light the fire as soon as we arrive to be sure to have it ready for cooking on, but I laughingly dismissed her as an amateur camper, and decided we would certainly have no trouble with the stove. So I busied myself with making beds, unpacking groceries and generally setting us up for the week. The boys had a quick gleeful dash about bagsy-ing beds (I wasn’t sure if we would ever get Cameron to leave his bed-in-a-cupboard) and then promptly disappeared into the woods from some den making. Mr Laura busied himself stopping Pink escaping (I think he was the busiest).

Hotly pursued by the Pink one…

Around 5.30 I decided I ought to get the fire lit. So I grabbed a handful of kindling, laid a couple of the firelighters on top, lit them, watched the kindling start, then added a small log on top and closed the door, already anticipating the fresh coffee. 15 minutes later I checked, and there was not a smidgeon of smoke, let alone a nice blaze of flame. Sighing a little, I started again. This time I got some decent flames on the big log before I turned my back – only to see it had gone out 5 minutes later. Third exasperated try I hovered over it like a nervous parent, and really got some heat going before I relaxed. Of course it went out again. Mild panic was setting in now – it was nearly 6, and I still had no fire to cook on. By 6.30, I had not only seen the funny side, but also managed to get a really good steady blaze going (Mr Laura had seen the way things were going, and kept himself and Pink  noticeably absent during the Stove fight). I popped the kettle on the hotplate, peeled the potatoes, and we were away. Only by 7 the water still wasn’t boiling, the children were tired and hungry, and I was a little bored with this back-to-nature malarkey.

Pink making free with Mummy & Daddys bed

Eventually I had to give in and get Pink to bed. The boys cheerfully filled themselves with bread and cheese and jam, thoroughly enjoying their first nights camping adventure meal. The kettle began to boil around 7.30…

Jolly got lost on his way to the toilet

The next morning (after a deep and dreamless sleep in the incredibly romantic and unexpectedly comfortable bed), I gritted my teeth and lit the fire the minute I woke. I think I frightened it into submission, because it behaved impeccably, and my morning cup of tea took only an hour from firelighter to teabag ?.

In all we had such a marvelous time. The boys thrived on the fact that from the minute they got up they could leave and explore. The woods were theirs for the owning (and den building), the stream was to be dammed, the hens needed checking for eggs, the food scraps needed taking to the pigs… You could practically SEE them growing. If the weather had been nicer we would probably not have left the farm very often. As it was we explored the area well, and visited some wonderful places. Once I had mastered the art of the stove (I refused to allow Mr Laura to take over, it became a principle thing – not that he fought me very hard…), cooking was a joy.

The farm shop had pretty much all the basics we found we were missing, and the farmer and his wife were incredibly helpful at obtaining anything else. We loved the honesty policy, and the fact that everyone stuck to it. Picking up milk straight from the cows after milking as we arrived back on the farm was a treat.

The image that sums up the entire experience for me.

It’s not just camping y’see. It’s an Experience. Sitting by the fire in the evening, listening to the children snuffle in their sleep as you read by the lamplight. Watching your family relax into itself, individual personalities learning to enjoy each other again. The lack of any kind of electronic noise. Simply grinding your coffee beans, making coffee with spring water and milk straight from the cow really takes some serious beating. Drinking it whilst eating still-warm double-yolker farm eggs on fresh bread fried on a wood stove, whilst sitting together in the sunshine looking out at the Devon hills really is a memory we will all carry always.

Happy Family Holidays indeed.

We’re so happy that Teletubbies have made their way back on to prime time TV – we’ve missed them! The slot after In The Night Garden on Cbeebies at 11 is just perfect for a pre-nap snuggle up on the sofa. I have missed watching Laa-laa, Tinky Winky and the rest with Ella, having watched them with all the boys it didn’t seem right to not have a toddler waving and calling ‘eh-oh at the screen. But I’m happy to report that they are as popular as ever, despite being 11 years old now if you can believe it.

Simple they may seem, but the programme is cleverer than it looks – have a browse around the website to understand just how much thought goes in to entertaining your pre-schooler with some happy soft and silly oddballs – http://www.teletubbies.co.uk

There was a great article in the Telegraph today, written by Cassandra Jardine, about the benefits of larger families. She talks about the findings of Sky News presenter Colin Brazier, who has spent the past five years assembling evidence that supports the idea that larger families are A Good Thing. Telling me I’m actually doing great things for my children by having four of them – finally! Being one of four myself, I always knew this, but find it hard to explain the genuine benefits to others who think I’m simply doing my bit for global warming and over-population…
The bigger the family the better

Abi was one of our lucky winners of the Steadyco competition, winning herself a complete table set. She was lovely enough to send us some pics of her prize in use this week:
“Charlie is 16 months and is fascinated by the legs on the plates and pots! His sister Ruby is 4 and really likes the plates and the cutlery. I’m sure we will get lots of use out of the set.”

All together now – collective “oooh!” at the delicious pic of Charlie, and a smattering of envy of Rubys gorgeous curls!

We’re so pleased to welcome Hamill Baby to the LittleStuff pages. Specialists in baby blankets, bibs, burp cloths, hooded towels and organic baby comforters – a really fresh new company, with a lovely website just full of deliciously yummy baby things (worth particular note are the Aden & Anais swaddling cloth range, and my own personal favourite the gorgeous-but-practical toddler bibs).
Go have a look – I dare you not to oooh just a little.

We love the Beach Factory! You can see our review on the main site, but even though the Great British Summer is now officially pants, plenty of you will be jetting off to warmer climes in the coming weeks – and you never know when the sun might poke its nose out in your own back garden either… This is the latest news from the Beach Factory:

UV Swimwear to Keep Everyone Safe in the Sun

August and there’s still plenty of time to get ready for your holidays and order your UV protection swimwear on line today! This month save money on Lion in the Sun one piece UV sun suits and find other end of season lines reduced to clear throughout the site.