Adventures with playdough

I’m a bit OCD when it comes to play dough. I like to keep all the colours separate, and one colour has to be put away before another comes out. Our extruder is brilliant, but I do obsess over making sure that every last piece of play dough is removed before we put it away. Play dough doesn’t last forever though, and Harry’s original play dough is starting to get a bit grotty and hard. So I decided it was time to chuck it out and replace it with some new stuff, and before I did that we had one last play with it.

I took a tray and built a road outline with the play dough. Then I filled in the gaps around the edge and in the middle (mixing the colours! The horror!). There wasn’t enough to cover the tray so I filled in the gaps with some pudding rice that I found during the move that was out of date (you could use anything small, like rice or lentils). We had a big lake in the middle, and fields around the edges.

We decorated it with the bits of pasta and buttons that we use in the play dough anyway, and a few small animals and trees from the farm set. I even made some very simple boats from cardboard. It doesn’t quite compete with the play dough playscapes that I used as inspiration but we had just as much fun making it as we did playing with it.

It might even keep for a few days before we throw it out!

Angmering Library and Children and Family Centre

It was always going to be high on my priority list to find the local library. I used to take Harry to the nearest one to our old house a lot when he was a baby, but it was still a half hour walk with the pushchair and as he got bigger he became more impatient on the journey. Then when Mia came along it was too far for him to walk, as we don’t have a double buggy.  

So I was thrilled to discover that Angmering Library is just a few minutes walk from our house. It is not the biggest of libraries, but the children’s section has plenty of books, and to Harry’s absolute delight a wooden ‘book train’. It even had a computer with simple games for children to play, although to be honest it completely stumped me, I couldn’t get it to do anything that I wanted it to. 

In the same building is the Children and Family Centre. Again, it’s not the biggest, but it has a lovely garden out the back and the ladies there were very friendly and welcoming. Twice a week they run a toy library, so we came home today with a toy dump truck and a Gruffalo Story Sack, with stuffed creatures to act out the story and some extra themed books and games. They also run lots of other activities, so there is plenty there to keep us busy. 

These are my first steps towards getting to know some other parents with small children. It’s always good to get out of the house into a different environment, and hopefully I’ll start to see the same faces out and about.

Village Life – exploring Angmering

Today was my first opportunity to get out with Mia in the pushchair and begin to explore the village of Angmering where we now live. We have been so busy in the house that it was my first opportunity to see what is on our doorstep. And I was delighted to discover that the village really is on our doorstep! Within a few minutes walk I found a newsagent, hairdresser, small supermarket, Post Office, Medical Centre, Village Hall, library and Children and Family Centre as well as a few other small shops. Maybe I am easily pleased, but that is most of my needs met. 

We now live on a new estate which joins onto the ‘old’ village. This estate was build about ten years ago and it is a huge development. I can’t imagine what the residents of the ‘old’ village must have thought when it was built. The estate has a Community Centre in the middle, playgrounds and a large green area in the middle, but most of the facilities are found in the village itself.  

There seems to be a real sense of community and everyone is very friendly. I had a long chat with the lady in the Children and Family Centre, she gave me a tour and told me about some of the many activities and groups that there are for families. I also love living so close to the library. I will miss living down a footpath from a massive supermarket, but I think that all these other things within walking distance more than make up for that.  

Walking around the village itself is not particularly toddler friendly, with some narrow footpaths and a lack of pavements. But I’m looking forward to getting out with the little ones and joining in!

Unpacking and settling in

As stressed as I was with the anticipation of moving house, one thing that I hadn't really considered was just how long it was going to take us to get back to normal. Perhaps because our things were packed for us, it wasn't until I started opening boxes at this end that I realised just how much stuff we were going to have to find a home for. We are very lucky that our new house has plenty of storage space, so we will be able to fit everything in, but there are many decisions to be made about where to put things and how to come up with the best storage solutions.

We had the carpets cleaned the day after we moved in, so most of the boxes were stored on the top floor of our three storey house in an uncarpeted room. Now we are faced with the task of moving everything back downstairs again. There are also decisions to be made about where to position furniture, and then it needs to be reassembled and fixed to the walls.

One thing that is certain is that the whole process would be much harder without the fantastic support of my parents. It really is almost impossible to get much done with a demanding baby and inquisitive toddler under your feet. My parents have been brilliant at keeping the little ones occupied and out of the way so that we can get on with things, and they are also great at spotting things that need doing, and quietly getting on with them.

It looks as though we'll be without proper internet for a week or so more yet. We have ways and means of getting a connection, but we have to restrict our usage!

Moving house with a baby and a toddler

We did it! We successfully moved house with a toddler and a baby! And while it's not an experience that I'd like to repeat in a hurry, it really wasn't that bad. We had done a lot of preparation with Harry on what was happening, for example we made sure that he knew that everything was coming with us to the new house. We took him out to show him the lorry and to watch as the first things were loaded on.

The men arrived very early and started taking things out right away. There was a little bit of a worry mid-morning when it looked as though everything wasn't going to fit on the lorry, but they disappeared and came back with another. Unfortunately I had confused the Scottish packer the day before by telling him in conversation that we had exchanged before Christmas. He thought this meant that we had completed and they could take the lorry to the new house, unload it, and then return for a second trip. Whoops.

When the upstairs had been loaded I set up a camp in Harry's old bedroom with some toys and snacks to keep the little ones out of the way while the last things were packed downstairs. Harry had a great time running around the empty house. We completed very early, about 11 am, so we were in the new house around midday.

The lady selling the house had left it beautifully clean and it's in really good condition. We are very pleased with it, it is a lovely house. We have plenty of space and lots of storage. Our sofa never really looked right in the old house, and now it fits perfectly. Our television and entertainment centre can also sit nicely in the corner where they belong, rather than across the middle of the living room. We even have a smaller room which we can use as a playroom, rather than having toys stacked up in the living room.

It's going to take us a long time to get everything sorted. We have boxes piled up everywhere, and because we had it packed for us I don't know where anything is. I don't want to rush into unpacking because I want to make sure that everything is stored in the best place. We will also be without our regular internet access for a little while, so I may go a bit quiet. But so relieved that it's done!

Goodbye house

So tomorrow is moving day and today was packing day. Most of our things are now in boxes (and a lot more boxes that I expected...I can't believe that we have so much stuff). We are really excited about moving to the new house, it's in a nicer area and we will have a lot more space. But we have been very happy here and it will be sad to leave. I have lots of special memories from this house.

• We moved here from a little two bedroom flat, before children, where we had the television, sofa and computer all in one room. When we moved into the house it felt so big, and it was really hard to adjust to being on separate floors. It felt really lonely!

• My favourite room is Harry's room. We decorated it in a farmyard theme, with green hills, blue sky with clouds and a sun in the corner. It had glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and farmyard animal stickers on the walls. We only recently decorated Mia's room. It was pale pink with a butterfly light, butterfly border and bright pink curtains.

• Whenever I look at the bath I remember lying there while pregnant with Harry listening to classical music (didn't happen so often second pregnancy) and being in it while in labour with Mia!

• We have a huge under the stairs cupboard which is the same size as a small room. It's great for throwing in toys at the end of the day, and Harry loves shutting himself in there with a torch.

• Every inch of the upstairs landing is very familiar to me from long evenings spent walking up and down trying to get babies to sleep, or wandering up and down throughout the night attending to the frequent and demanding needs of said babies.

This house has seen us grow from carefree couple to a little family. I hope that the new owners will be as happy here as we have been.

New Year's Resolutions

My most important New Year's Resolution this year is to get back to the dress size that I was at the beginning of December. Unfortunately, stopping breastfeeding has not been good for my figure, and trousers which were hanging off me then are now uncomfortably tight. So on the assumption that if I can gain it in a month I can lose it in a month, I'll be off the chocolates and biscuits for a while.

The New Year is a new start for us as we move into our new house, so the rest of my resolutions are a bit up in the air at the moment. We've already had a clear out and declutter, and we'll be cleaning the house as we move in.

One thing that I am keen to do is to get involved in the local community. This is something that isn't too difficult when you have children as there are plenty of activities to help you get to know other parents, as long as you make the effort. I do have some friends in the area we are moving to, and it would also be nice if I could find some sort of 'grown up' activity to take part in, perhaps an evening class or group. I'm going to make a big effort to get to know the local area, and I intend to devote a new section of my blog to what we get up to, as well as local events and activities.

Also on the blogging front I'd like to get to know lots more blogs. I have a number of favourites but I know that there are loads out there that would appeal. I want to challenge myself to discover a number of 'new to me' blogs each week, and I'll share them here.

Mainly though I need to make sure that I make the most of my final six months or so of maternity leave. There isn't likely to be any more, and although I will be returning to work part-time for the time being, I will miss being able to live to my own schedule. Although it is very hard being at home with a baby and a toddler, I am loving being at home with my two little ones.

Happy New Year to all my readers!