mummy

Center Parcs – Part 2

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I pre-booked plenty of activities for us to do beforehand which you are strongly encouraged to do.  On the day of our arrival, the only booking I made was for dinner at the Lakeside Inn.  After we unpacked, we had a good look about and a then a drink at the Village Centre.  It wasn’t long before we had to make our dinner reservations.  We enjoyed a carvery dinner and the girls exhausted themselves at the soft play area.

drinks

The next day we headed to the ‘subtropical swimming paradise’ which you don’t have to book or pay extra for.  I absolutely loathe swimming pools when they are busy but this was so big and spread out that it didn’t seem too busy.  It was also lovely and warm which is just made it so much more pleasant.  We all had a great time in the pool and would have stayed longer but we had more activities booked so we had to go.  Next time I will make sure we have more time to spend at the pool.

I booked the girls into a Chocolate Chef Academy at the Activity Den.  It was an activity that suited both their ages (6 & 3) and did not require a parent or guardian to stay with them.  Bonus!  The activity lasted three hours which meant the adults could enjoy activities of our own (table tennis at the Sports Plaza).  The Chocolate Chef Academy was quite expensive but it was worth it.  It was three hours of childcare and I felt confident that my kids were being well looked after as it was extremely well organised.  As well as all the chocolate treats they made to take away, they got a Chef’s hat and apron to keep.  The staff found out it was my daughter’s birthday and gave her a card and balloon and sang happy birthday, she was as pleased as punch.

chef academy.PNG

The girls did a similar activity on the Sunday, a Princess and Pirates Party in which they were able to dress up.  Again, it was three hours of childcare so hubby and I headed to the tennis courts.  We had a good laugh and the girls had a great time at the party.  Win, win!

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The final activity we booked was the mini tree trek.  My eldest was perhaps on the old side for this activity but she is not the most confident child when it comes to heights so she really enjoyed that she could do this by herself and wasn’t scared.  If your six year olds are confident and adventurous, then this might be too easy for them.  My girls loved it and the staff member who assisted was great.

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We were all sad to leave on the Monday but have since booked again for next September weekend.

Things I’ll do differently next year:

  • Have dinner in the lodge. Meals out were pretty expensive.  Restaurants were good but I’d rather eat out at lunchtime and relax in the lodge in the evening.
  • Spend more time at the pool.  By not making dinner reservations, we’ll probably take the opportunity to swim later in the afternoon/early evening.
  • Reserve a lodge closer to the village centre.  You have to pay extra for this but my mum struggled a bit with the walking so for us it will be worth it.  If it were just me, I wouldn’t bother as I enjoyed the walk.
  • Go to the spa.  It looks amazing!

 

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This week

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I thought I might run through what I’ve been up to this week.

Last weekend we were off work/school/nursery on the Friday and Monday.  We travelled down to Centre Parcs in Whinfell Forest on the Friday and came back on Monday.  We all had a great but exhausting time and I’ll put up another post telling you all about it soon.

mini tree trek

The weekend has really caught up with me and I’ve been tired and out of sorts all week.  I didn’t manage to do any planning of meals or a big shop like I usually do so, we’ve been dashing to the shops every night to pick up things for tea and it’s been a bit hectic.  I always have a much better week when I have time to get organised at the weekend.

I’ve made a couple of meals this week with the few items I’ve had in the kitchen.  One in particular was so tasty yet very simple to make.  You can find the recipe in the Alona eats section.

Sweet Potato Tex Mex

Friday night I had book group.  It sounds a bit nerdy but really it’s just a bunch of friends who meet every six weeks or so and drink, eat and catch up.  We sometimes get around to discussing the book we chose.  The book we had been reading was 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth Carpenter.  You can find a quick review on the Alona reads section.

The weekend has flown by as it’s been busy but pretty productive at the same time.  Saturday morning hubby was working so I took the girls to the beach play area at Craigend Nursery which is not far from where we live.  We were there early and stayed for about two hours.  Most of the time we had the place to ourselves.  I love the concept of the beach.  It’s not a huge place but I can sit and have a coffee while the girls play with the toys in the sand.  The eldest likes to draw and write on the blackboard.  I much prefer it to soft play.

Craigend beach

After some beach fun, we headed to the local library then home for some lunch.  When I got the usual domestic chores out of the way, I made a lovely curry and settled in for the evening with a glass or two of prosecco and some Strictly on the telly (party animal).

Sunday has been another busy morning which we started off by swimming.  We often travel out to the Mariner Centre in Camelon, Falkirk, as the girls love the slides and the waves.  The pool was cold and busy today so I didn’t last very long before I was bribing the girls with a Starbucks cake to get out.  We headed over to the Falkirk retail park where the intention was to get new bins to help us with separating our waste.  Very dull I know.  I honestly can’t believe how long it took us to decide on bins.  I think we spent more time deciding on the bins than we did about any fixture or fitting we have in our house!

Looking forward to another busy week and the plan is to start my Christmas shopping.  Am I the only one who hasn’t bought a single thing yet?

Feel free to comment or get in touch.

Holiday weekend

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So it’s the September weekend which means I’m off work until Tuesday. I can’t remember the last time I went away for this holiday so I’m really excited to be heading off tomorrow with my girls, hubby and Mum and Dad. One of my New Years resolutions every year is to spend more time with family and get out there and do things. I hate to just let weekends and holidays pass by without doing something. There have been times where I’ve spent holidays like this cleaning the house and catching up with work instead of doing the things I really want to. I’m beginning to realise more and more that, life is short and we should live in the present, not wait until tomorrow.

I’ve been a bit stressed at work this week as I’ve a presentation to do on my first day back next week as well as a few other bits and pieces. I knew that I would have to be prepared so that it wasn’t going to be hanging over my head all weekend and have lots of work to do on Monday evening when I get back. I’m glad to say I’ve pretty much done everything I have to do so I can truly relax and forget about work for a few days. Usually I end up doing work over the holiday weekend or leave it to the last minute and panic about it the day before. Going away has forced me to clear my desk and I’m so happy and relieved. Now I’ll need to begin planning for the October break.