Our half term break-affordable days out.

The best thing about having a large family that now has children in their 20's, teens, pre teens, infants and babies is that we can divide and conquer on days out.

Although we do all go out together sometimes, often now we take just a few of the kids with us.

I say a few.

Usually between 3-5 of them.

Small for us.

Large still for others!

It's all relative I guess!

People often ask how we afford to take everyone out.

We collect Tesco's vouchers. Whilst Tesco is way too expensive for us to do our weekly shop in we collect the vouchers through the petrol and other purchases. We have had some fantastic days out with these:

Madame Tsuards, Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers and Legoland. All of which would have cost the earth without these.

As a larger family we have also purchased season tickets for the local mountain zoo as well as The Greenwood Forrest Park (about 30 mins away) as over the year these are very cost effective.

We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world. The mountains are again only half an hour away as well as the lakes which we often take a barbecue too.

The Seaside is 5 mins from our doorstep and the cycle path leads from Llandudno through to Rhyl if you want to go that far.

This half term the weather wasn't great and we had loads of jobs to do around the house. The twins have their GCSE's in just 10 weeks so were busy doing revision and course work. Abie had uni most days and so we had Ella a couple of days as well. Miriam was also staying with us for part of the week, so the house was pretty full at times.

Mair and I found lots of Easter things we hadn't made yet so spent a rainy afternoon crafting which was great fun. We then all chilled in front of Rapunzel! We also did some baking as well...not good news for my diet!

There is free swimming most days as well here so Daddy took combinations of children to these sessions.

We took the little ones, Ella and Abie to The Greenwood Centre too. Martha joined us as well. It is a wonderful outdoor adventure park, made from completely natural woods and all the activities are very safe for children. It is one of the few places I feel I can relax with them all.

The twins enjoyed their first taste of the outdoor play area. Anya was much more confident than Caleb who generally enjoyed just escaping from the buggy and being cuddled!

Martha and Anya share the same sense of style in shoes! The converse photo!

Ella and Mair loved the huge bouncing bubble and jumped around on this oblivious to the cold!

The twins loved the toddler indoor play area....as did the dozen or so children who attacked Jono whilst Mair and Ella gleefully shouted 'Get him"!!!!

Meanwhile at home, I was happy in the knowledge my older children were busy revising and doing course work just like I had left them to do........

Or maybe not?????

Obviously bored, Susie and Bella decided it would be far more fun to hack into my mac book and take photos and try out the editing facilities.....

Trafficked.

I am reading a book at the moment.
Not the relaxing type.
Nor romantic.
Not really a thriller.
More like a real life horror story.
It's called 'Trafficked' by Sophie Hayes.
You wouldn't describe it as a light hearted read, that's for sure.
However, if like me you have daughters (in my case 7) who are all quite adventurous and whom I encourage to travel and see the world, it is certainly a book I would recommend.

I don't tend to 'do' the Disney version of life for my teenagers.
I don't think it works.
Years in Secondary Schools has taught me that a few shock tactics work better.
At some stage, our children have to realise that the 'disney' version of life is lovely, but there is a much darker side as well.
I am not talking 'Twilight' here either!
I want my girls to love life, to embrace it fully, to travel, to do as much as they want.
But I want them to be aware too.
Aware of the dangers out there.
Not to scare them into never moving from North Wales.
Rather so they perhaps can foresee situations before they may happen and thus avoid these.
We cannot prepare for every eventuality, but we can try.

A long time ago , we used to drive from Prague all the way back to England.
Before all the motorways were build it was a very , very long drive.
It involved a lot of bumpy, badly constructed roads, no sign posts and ill lit at night to say the least. In many places there were no lights at all, and rather deep ditches each side of the roads.
We had a few near misses. It was pretty hair raising.
On our journey out of the Czech Republic was a somewhat infamous road.
There was never a good time to drive along it, especially if you were a singe man (as friends have told us!)
Along this road were lots of ladies in bikinis (as my eldest, then age 6 described as we past them all). Of course they were not in bikinis at all, but rather a selection of dubious undergarments.
It was very strange and very creepy.
At night it was even worse, they appeared from trees and bushes along the way. Houses had red lights and dancers. Thankfully the children slept! I prayed we would not brake down or crash.

I am not sure, since they build the motorway, if the road still exists. I am sure the ladies have moved on as it would be far quieter now.

In many of the cities we have visited we have seen some disturbing sights. Not quite as unnerving as these, but rather strange.

Reading Sophie Hayes book has made me uncomfortably aware that I may well have witnessed women, like herself who were forced into prostitution.
Did I just pass them by?
Did I judge them?
Did I just not stop because I was worried about my own family?
Maybe I could have helped more?

Stop the Traffik is a sobering website to visit.

It clearly shows that the slave trade is alive and well, just in a modern 21st century format.

Take a look.

Because of Sophie's experiences she has set up a foundation http://www.sophiehayesfoundation.org/

to help and support other victims of these appalling crimes.

Sophie was somebody's daughter.

An ordinary girl, with an ordinary job, who went out to Italy to stay with a boy who had been a close friend for 6 years.

He changed her life.

If like me you have grown up daughters, I would read this, pass it onto them to read.

This is not a Hollywood movie, it's real life and it happens.

This child.

This is a hard post to write.
I have pondered long and hard before writing about it.
Because I do not want to embarrass or hurt the person concerned.
But I would not be truthful to myself if I did not write anything, and I think by writing it encourages others to not being fearful of admitting sometimes things are not always perfect.
Let's be honest.
Whose life is perfect.
If you say yes then you are either incredibly fortunate or a serial lier.
You see this week, like many other weeks, months and often years in our lives we have been consumed by one of our children.
This one struggles more than the rest, we could at this point start to appose blame in some form but it gets us no where.
This child is really no longer a child.
That alone makes every situation more difficult to help with.
Where do I start?
Hindsight is such a wonderful thing isn't it?
If we had this all those years ago when this child was young things would have been different and we would have sought a lot more help.
As it was we, like many others dismissed things.
We said it was just their individual personality, when really it was a great deal more than this.
The condition is as yet undiagnosed.
But there have been suggestions.
Asphers and bi polar.
Both make sense and explain so many situations that have occurred in this child's life that we thought were strange.
What they don't really do is help us, right here, right now.
This child does not live with us, and has not for sometime.
This child does not really have anywhere permanent to live, nor a steady job.
This child worries us, more than the rest.
This child has evoked more extreme emotions, constantly.
This child is very hard to help, and at times impossible.
This child has lived with us, this week. That in itself has been hard and stressful as some of the other children do not talk to this child.
They are all our children. We feel very torn. Understandably the ones who behave and conform get upset when we help and assist the one that does not.
It is hard to explain that although we do not agree nor approve of the lifestyle choices taken, they are still our child and we still love them.
We still remember the blessing of their birth, the joy of their childhood and the happiness they brought to us.
When the times are hard, we try to remember these, to look at the photos of happier times, and hope and pray that this child will overcome all the issues they are facing.
Somehow.
Because no matter what happens, this child is still OUR child.

Bootcamp week 5...and a win!

Well it's finally paying off.
I have lost another 3 lbs this week as well as an inch from my bust, and 3/4 from my waist and 1/4 from my legs.
I could FEEL the fat burning off in some of the sessions believe me.
It is NOT easy.
I am still pretty crap at most of the exercises, but I feel a good sense of humour and the ability to laugh at yourself and not take it too seriously helps a lot.
This comes with age and confidence.
Twenty years ago I would have wanted to crawl into a hole.
Now I just don't care.
The main thing is, I no longer have to look at the scales and EVER EVER have to see the letters 12 again.
EVER.
Believe me I have worked off every pound.
I have felt the pain.
I have denied myself the little pleasure in life.
Cheese.
Chocolate.
Bread.
Carbs!
Coffees.
Cakes.
Crisps.
Wine.
You name it, I love it and cannot go near it.
I have learnt to embrace herbal tea, and water.
I have learnt to eat protein for breakfast when all I want is two nice slices of toast.
For all this rejoicing I went to Next to treat myself to a new top (woah, steady on their girl)
I went into the changing rooms happy at my weight loss, until I stripped and saw to my horror my image in all fullness of the 3 d mirrors.
Urgh.
URGHHHHHHHHH.
I still have two stones (30 lbs) to loose.
And I saw every pound in it's full glory.
I felt very very depressed.
I have got over it now and realised if I hold the image and the repulsion I felt in my head, this is a great tool for loosing more weight and not slipping.
Believe me the image made me feel so ill, bread and all the cravings vanished instantaneously!
I also had a lovely treat today.
I have won a foot pedicure for loosing a stone and attending the most classes in January!
I am thrilled.
I never imagined I could do that!
It has been a great morale boost and I intend to work even harder to reach my goal.
I never want to see the letters 11 again on the scales.
I still have a while to go till that happens.
Will I get there?
You bet I will!

Why Celebrity culture sucks!

I could write about our stomach bugs that are rendering us useless of all normal life, but I am sure you have all been there!
Instead, saddened as many about the recent death of Whitney Houston, and reminded what a strange world 'celebrity' really is, I choose to give my observations on this instead (for what they are worth).
Like it or lump it we are stuck with the influences of celebrity in our lives one way or another (Unless, like one of my friends you live litterally up a mountainside and away from the modern world!) Tempting at time though that is!!!
Whether we absorb these images from billboards, magazines or the TV, they are there and subconsciously have an effect on how we view both ourselves and our world.
Some of us, choose to not dwell on these images as much as others. The huge variety of Women's magazines on the newsagents shelves , coupled with the reality TV programmes cramming viewing space, however suggest there is an insatiable appetite for 'Celebrity'.
As you know I teach teenagers. Part of one of my courses is all about the influence of the media on the way we think.
There is a very interesting picture in the text book.
It is of a pitifully thin African woman and her very sick child.
The caption reads "Do you think this woman worries about her weight?'
We discuss it.
I also spend a large part of my time finding glossy images of celebrities then asking friends to scan their newspapers for images of them with no make up or looking normal. We put the two images together. It is very enlightening to see, minus the computerised effects, make up artists and such, how normal these people look.
The students often say 'Gosh they look just like us'.
That is perhaps because they are just like us.
I hate and abhor this 'diva' image.
Yes they work hard.
So do I, so do many of my friends, family and most of the people I know.
So why then do we edify their jobs above our own?
Just because their job flings them into the spotlight?
Is it more interesting?
I think anyone who has spent a day on a film set or watching modelling will be the first to say just how and boring it really is. The reality is very different from the image.
I do not understand why some are then filled with their own self importance.
Perhaps it is because others put them there because they are now famous, a celebrity.
Why then does this make them more special? more worthy?
Reading all the newspaper reports of Whitney Houston this morning made me feel very sad.
Once upon a time she was a normal little girl who sand in the local church choir.
Suddenly she was discovered and catapulted due to her amazing voice to stardom.
Like so many she found ways of coping, drinks, drugs and prescription pills.
Looking at the images of her as this self destruction took this toll, made me feel it was not very glamourous at all.
Not one bit.
I hope that these images will make people think a little more. I am not convinced.
I guess we all suffer from being influenced by what we see. Will it really work? Will it make us feel happier/ more content/ more popular.....
Really we need to be looking inside of ourselves rather than hoping some external product will help, or dreaming that if we marry a footballer this will metamorphose ourselves into a different life. One look at the ones featured in magazines will tell you how insecure they are too. When you have an image, you then have to maintain it.
At least that's one thing I don't need to worry about!
As Julia Roberts famously said in the film 'Pretty Woman" , 'it's easy to look this good when you have money'.
That is true. It is easy to look nice when you can afford all the expensive clothes, make up, personal chefs, cleaners etc......
But does that make anyone in these features truly happy?
I really do admire the celebrities who keep their private lives private. Who do not parade their children around and let them grow up as children away from the spotlights and glare, away from people who will make them feel they are special just because of an accident of birth.
The ones who quietly work for charities, who give percentages of their money to doing good, who do not have a photo opportunity at every moment.
As you can imagine my lessons on the influence of the media in our lives are interesting to say the least! Poor Whitney will be added to the many tales I have for my students on how fame can affect you.
I will fondly remember her from my youth, in the film 'The Bodyguard', before the true destruction took it's toll.
One of the Grammy nominated stars was interviewed yesterday and asked if the industry should do more to support the stars, in response they said that all 'this' meaning the awards, were truly meaningless and stars should do well to remember family and love were so much more important.
Wise words.

Video Nights

I always look forward to Friday nights.
It's video night in with the children.
A treat of popcorn, muchies and the usually banned fizzy drinks and we are all set up.
Sometimes we start early and have a family film the younger ones can enjoy.
Thanks to the new movies made in recent years this is much easier as they are aimed at a much wider audience than before.
Current favourites are 'Rapunzel' and 'Gnomeo and Juliet".
If the younger ones have gone to bed we usually went to the local video hire store, Blockbusters.
However in recent months there wasn't much we were interested in so instead we dug to the back of the cupboard and found all our old videos that were classics in their day.
Teen reaction:
Oh no those look ancient / boring/ very old/ ha ha look at their clothing..........
Hmmmmm
Then we watched a few.
Their opinions have now changed.
They have even asked to watch some again.
And Again.
In fact they enjoyed them so much, we found them on eBay as dvd's and have bought them.
So what did they class as old but enjoyable?
Anyone else out their remember these in their misspent youth?

• Mission Impossible - claim to fame I watched it being filmed in Prague and met Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman!
• Pretty Woman-what a classic.
• The talented Mr Ripely- cleverly creepy.
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin-how I would love to visit this place.
• Shindler's list
• Ghost-love Whopee Goldberg!
• Rainman
• Top Gun-Tom Cruise...say no more.
• Moulin Rouge-Nicole Kidman can sing!
• Beaches-Always makes me cry.
• Steel Magnolias
• Billy Elliot
• Amedaeus -story of Mozart,fantastic film.
• Elephant Man
• Four Weddings and a funeral
• Notting Hill
• Evita-Madonna at her best.
• Muriel's Wedding
• Witness-the Amish have always fascinated me.
• The Bodyguard

They were just little, or even not born when some of these were made.They didn't recognise them at all, however many of the soundtracks were familiar as they have been remixed more recently.

They have really enjoyed watching these.

We all have.

A real blast from the past for me.

An initiation that films older than 5 years are actually quite interesting for them!

I love these family evenings when we all sit together,watch a movie, laugh and joke and generally chill.

These are the times I will remember and treasure the most.

The simple pleasures.

The old work/life balance nutshell again.....

We were up most of the night with Caleb.
He vomited suddenly after his 3 am feed.
Everything.
Everywhere.
Then he continued to vomit every half an hour, all night. When nothing was left he just cried and gagged, it was really heartbreaking to hear and watch.
Even after so many babies, sick babies panic me. I was really worried and felt quite helpless.
It's always worse in the night as well isn't it?
Come daybreak I phoned NHS direct, they advised me to take him to the Dr of course.
It was also my teaching day.
I only have 12 weeks left, to make up a huge amount of missed ground with my students. I was beginning to panic. The last time he was ill Simon took the day off, so I knew I had to, I also knew they couldn't waste another day.
It was sooo hard.
In the end the Dr couldn't see us till 11am, so I took Caleb with me to work and Anya to the childminder.
It was certainly easy to only have one baby, albeit a very quiet little one.
Everyone had cuddles and loved him. I at least saw my students were getting on and to their joy (not) handed out all the work I wanted them to complete over the holiday. Then it was back down the A55 to the Dr. Thankfully he either has the winter vomiting bug or a 24/48/72 hr bug. He seemed okay in himself, so our childminder was happy to have him.
Then it was back up the motorway to work, again.
I felt a lot better after two hours solid teaching.
Back down the motorway to take Mair to swimming and then attend my bootcamp.
Few!
It is sometimes so hard to juggle the responsibilities.
Usually nothing matters more than the children. But I have been away for so long, I feel a huge responsibility to my students as well.
Sometimes you feel like nothing is ever right.
Sometimes the balance works.
Sometimes you just have to do your best and make the most of the situation you are faced with.
I think I managed that today.
Another long night......
Caleb started vomiting again shortly after tea.
I hope it's the 48 hour bug!