If you have young children at home, they should already have received a vaccine against this potentially dangerous bacterial infection but as an adult, it is possible that you may not have done. If you are planning an African holiday for you and your family in the near future, it is therefore a good idea to check whether a meningitis vaccination is recommended for the country you will be visiting. High Risk Countries and Areas When considering a trip to Africa earlier this year, I discovered that there is what is known as a meningitis belt across the mid portion…
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We didn’t have a proper holiday last year as all our money went on moving house. So this year my challenge is to be lucky and win a short stay at Center Parcs by winning the Center Parcs and Tots 100 January challenge. Nothing like a little positive thinking, right? I like to think we are a family who love a challenge. We try to pack as much as possible into the weekends (as we’re already a slave to nursery Monday to Friday). As much as my children love attending nursery they really come alive when they are unleashed and let…
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March has been a pretty hard month for us as we’ve all been ill and I’m fed up of playing nurse! I don’t care that it’s snowing again as I’ve been thinking about fun Easter breaks with the family so we have something to look forward to. There’s so much choice and lots of places we want to visit. Whilst the children are young we’ll be staying in the UK. I know lots of people take their children abroad but I don’t think you can beat UK breaks at Butlins. When I was growing up we always had a couple…
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We’ve just returned from a couple of days at my mum’s house. We got to do all our favourite activities. I went round the local charity shops (more Bob the Builder toys for the toddler), the husband flew his model aeroplane from the top of the local beauty spot and my mum kindly looked after the kids so me and my husband could spend the day at Yeo Valley, more of which later. My mum has one of those kettles which is always on, boiling water for cups of tea. She is constantly asking if we want a cup of…
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This dreary wet weather has me dreaming of our summer holiday. Last summer we found our dream cottage in a sleepy English seaside town, literally on the beach. We had an amazing time so knew we wanted to go back again this year. The only downside is the fact it’s far away so it’ll be a long drive to get there. If the beach isn’t enough for the toddler there are National Trust properties ranging from country houses to castles, if the weather turns grandad has a lovely indoor swimming pool and there are a plethora of charity shops (for…
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I’ve written before about how difficult I find leaving the house so it’s probably no surprise that going away for any length of time is quite hard. Before children we had plenty of room in the car for a suitcase. My husband would pack his camera bag and model planes and I would pack a big bag stuffed with sewing supplies. Holidays were relaxing. All that has changed since the arrival of the children. Now our bag is the smallest, Big Brother and Little Sis have their Trunkis and any available space is filled with nappies, a steriliser, formula and…
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Our first family holiday was to Looe in Cornwall last summer. We had a great time but Edward was only a couple of months old so didn’t really know what was happening. This year we went to Teignmouth with slightly less family and rented an amazing fisherman’s cottage right on the beach. The weather forecast was mixed but we didn’t let it stop us from exploring and we visited the local children’s park, the beach, castles, a steam train, a boat trip as well as plenty of quaint cafes serving Devon cream teas. A week in Teignmouth It was great…
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I’m not sure who coined the phrase gramping but I love it! It sums up our holidays perfectly since the arrival of Edward last year. Apparently three quarters of families with young children intend to go on holiday this year with the grandparents in tow, according to a survey by netmums. We had our first three-generations holiday when Edward was a few months old. The extended family of us, my mum, my sister and my niece all headed to Cornwall for a week. It was great, perfect weather, perfect accommodation but I don’t remember negotiating leaving Edward with a family…
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Last year we stayed in our favourite hotel when we visited my father-in-law who had fallen from a ladder. Fortunately he was fine but our hotel stay wasn’t so good. Since we’re been together we’ve always stayed in the same hotel whenever we go to Exeter. It’s an old-fashioned but modern boutique hotel in the heart of the city. Pre-Edward we shopped, lunched and stayed up drinking in the hotel bar. It was our obvious choice when we wanted to visit the in-laws. However, post-baby all the quirky features we loved became obstacles. The rickety old lift, the changing floor…