The Friday Song Choice

Family storytime with the Scottish Youth Theatre

We are always looking for fun things to do with the little man as staying at home can sometimes become rather stressful for mum and dad as he decides to sweep through it like a little tornado. Getting out and about is the best way to keep him entertained, happy and you never know hopefully tire him out. Of course with the Scottish weather sunshine is never a guarantee so inside options are useful. It was only walking through the merchant city the other day that we saw a flyer for Family storytime with the Scottish Youth Theatre. It is advertised for under 7s, a rather wide age range I thought but what the heck we would give it a go. It's Aesop's Fables Season, every two weeks, Saturday and Sundays and tickets cost a fiver but the under 2s go free. As hubby says 'It's not his kind of thing' so we treated it as a mummy and son bonding session while he sat in a cafè with coffee and cake. I noticed very quickly on arrival that my little man was really the youngest there but I hoped for the best. Actually we got the best from the beginning right until the end of storytime. Our story was the Lion and the mouse. The dramatisation of the story was really great and they get the children really involved throughout. Being able to use your imagination is key so I'm not sure how much he was getting on that side but I guess it's never too early to start. I was happy to just sit and watch with the little man but he was much happier going up and being involved in his own little way. Granted I had to help him out a little bit but no one seemed to mind. At the end you got to explore all the dress up material they had with them and of course this was my son's favourite part as he was eager to have a go with them from the start! It was a quick hour and we do intend to go back!

Surprise

There is nothing like a good old game of peekaboo to get giggles out of my little man.

Check out some more surprises over at Dear Beautiful Boy.

The weekly walk: Loch Katrine

Ok so the title of this post is possibly ambitious...one due to the Scottish weather and well two due to us just maybe flaking. The plan though is that every weekend we go somewhere and do a walk with the little man. If it happens I promise to blog it if it doesn't hopefully I have a really good excuse why it didn't. So this week was the beautiful Loch Katrine easily a great day out. It was the little man's first time to experience a great boat ride on the Sir Walter Scott.

You can decide to just go to Loch Katrine and do the boat ride which is a great morning or afternoon out. They offer a 2 hour or 1 hour boat ride on the loch with beautiful views. Of course my little man was not too fussed about the scenery, he was much more interested in watching the engine in action, looking at the waves the boat was making and just well wondering around.

The two hour boat ride stops on the other side of the Loch at Stronachlachar and it is here that we began our 5 hour walk around the Loch back to the Trossachs Pier. It was a mighty walk and well needless to say we were pretty shattered at the end of it. We have a back carrier which we used and hubby did mention that this length was his limit! The road was maybe not as flat as we thought it would be with there being lots of ups and downs but the weather was mainly dry and actually sunny in bits with beautiful views that distracted us from the pain. We both felt the better for it really and the little man got loads of fresh air and enjoyed being out and about. There is the option to cycle and I guess it is no surprise that that is what everyone else was doing so maybe we might choose that option next time.

Jamaica Jamaica!

So we did it...survived a short flight from Glasgow to London, waiting 5 hours in the airport and a long haul 9 hour flight to Jamaica. Thankfully at the end were 2 smiling grandparents and a cute nephew who my son took straight away! I can only share with you the positives about visiting Jamaica as well Jamaica is home. There were really NO negatives anyway other than having to experience it all without hubby. Nana (my mum) kept saying that hubby will be upset as my son tried new and different things. Like when he tasted ice cream for the first time at Devon House in Kingston...yum! In the two weeks while we were there I got to watch my son grow. He really found his feet over the two weeks and was happy to run us all around in circles. He got to try new surfaces in bare feet and learnt to be comfortable in his first pair of sandals. He never let the heat bother him really other than drinking lots of water and I personally think he appreciated wondering around with little to no clothes on. The best part though was getting to play in the water. It's pretty impressive how a little bit of sunshine, a bucket of water and some toys can amuse a 15 month old. We had plenty of opportunity to go swimming and he jumped straight into the pool. The grandparents were pretty impressed with his bravado. Then of course there was the sea. Having nothing to go on I had no idea how my little man would react but sure enough he pretty much ran straight in, sat his bum down and started playing happily with the sand...a true beach bum! Then there was time to spend with family and friends and I loved how social he was able to be and you could tell that others loved it as well. He met his great grandma and impressed everyone with how happily he was to actually sit still in her arms for a few minutes, like he knew he had to take care. She is 102 after all! Now we are back well rested and of course well tanned...did I mention he also got his first proper haircut (not just a hack job by mum or dad) at the salon. He really is my big boy now.

 

                                  

The Friday Song Choice

I am reeling still from a horrific meeting I had yesterday and am very thankful to be able to spend the day with my son today as the best distraction ever. Hubby said this morning that he thinks he needs his son more than his son needs him...needless to say I completely understand his sentiment. So I guess today I needed a song that reminds me that the world is beautiful, my family is beautiful and that is all I really need to make me happy.

Jet Lag

Hello Blog,

I know it's been weeks since I have last written and truly it's not because I have not been thinking about you. I tell you though that jet lag is a bitch! *sorry I do not mean to curse*. I was so worried about how my son would manage that I forgot about me and trust me he has done a lot better than me. We had 4am and 5am wake up calls in Jamaica everyday without fail. Well I should say that Nana did as she lovingly allowed her daughter to rest. I should say insisted actually. I still managed to get my butt out of bed most mornings anyway as he delighted everyone by running around like a madman. As the time came closer to leave and head back to Glasgow I started to worry what the night time flight would bring us. Thankfully he slept all the way even if he needed me for a little comfort at the end. The flight still had it's toll on me though and by that afternoon I crashed for a few hours. My little monkey also eventually decided to crash as well. His first two nights were a little mad where he was wide away from about 9 to 11pm but then he would sleep till his usual early morning wake up call...we could handle that (even if we secretly whisper to him every night to wake up a bit later). Unfortunately it was not as easy for me and I swear I am still feeling the effects, staying up late and struggling in the mornings. On day two of arriving home hubby actually had to come and wake me up so that I would not sleep the whole day away! My head felt literally stuffed with cotton balls. Life though is now running along and it's time to catch up with it. Regular services shall now resume. There is so much to tell you!

All my love
Brinabird and son