Is It Time Your Kids Had A Little More Freedom?

I eldest is going to be turning 9 this year and I am starting to feel a real shift in how he perceives his place in the world, our family unit and himself. He is not old enough to do things unsupervised as of yet but I can see the beginnings of wanting a little bit more independence. While I actively encourage my boys to take calculated risks such as climbing trees, making dams in rivers, exploring the outdoor world and their surroundings, I am always in close reach, in fact nearly all playdates with the except of one or two when I've known the parents for a substantial time, I have been present, even birthday parties are mostly with parents present. Although the change is slowly starting to happen, for example, he has yet to do a sleepover but I can imagine that it will be the first request of the small step to independence and it's made me think about the future.    One of the hardest thing for a lot of parents to come to terms with is just how fast their kids grow up......

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Wine, Storage & Growing up

We are not huge drinkers in our house but growing up in SA, a Wine Producing country I do have a soft spot for a glass on the weekend with a nice home cooked meal and some adult conversation once in a while. I have been saying since we bought the house it would be nice to get a small wine rack, it just seems like something a "grown-up" house should have even though we don't regularly buy a bottle it would still be great to have somewhere nice to store them and this would of been especially useful when we recently received a VineBox from Wine & Sympathy  - a wine subscription box which delivers carefully selected wine to your doorstep every month and best of all they also do a cheese box, what could be better paired with a glass of vino at the end of the day. The nice thing about these boxes is not only does it take the stress out shopping but each bottle comes with information and tips on how to serve it best. Our favourite by far was the Bodegas Fontana red......

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Growing up and getting strong

I often find myself looking at Mr A in amazement, he is learning so much everyday and his confidence in his own ability has sky rocketed, I really cannot believe how much my little man is growing up and becoming the strong headed individual that he is. He was real due for a new fleece lined jacket as we were still using last years and with a sudden growth spurt it was time to update, I waited for the sales and managed to pick up this waterproof high tech outdoor jacket from Mountain Warehouse for half price - so instead of £70 it was £34 win win and I cannot get over how grown up he looks in it and I can only imagine all the adventures we will have in it. This combined with his Ocean waterproof suit and we are ready for anything. Mr A doing a pose in his new jacket As soon as I showed the little man the jacket, it was on and we were out the door. Taking the dog for a walk down the local cycle track. It was a very cold afternoon but with his thick new coat with a detachable fle......

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Growing up so fast

It's been one of those weeks when I look at Mr A and I think where is the baby face toddler going as he starts to look more and more like a little boy. He has discovered the joy that is cycling over the past few weeks and has graduated from his scooter to a proper mini-bike and he has taken to it like a duck to water, it makes me so proud. Since coming back from the festival we have as usual continued to spend as much time outside as possible with long bike rides in a local park and time in the garden...wishing this summer could last forever. After the bike ride Mr A had some fun rolling around down hills, wading in the little stream and feeding the ducks some stale bread. He is also wearing his new rock tee, the rolling stones lips bought by his grandparents. We also did some more exploring at a lesser know park to us, which is always fun, even though it started to rain we had a good hour outside. We have also been doing some more digging and finding little......

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