Things to Do

Ultimate Home Easter Egg Hunt

This past weekend, my friend Megan and I were looking for a suitable activity for our moody threenagers. It seems like they are going through that common phase where life seems utterly unfair at all times. I’m fully aware that often Katie’s difficult mood is entirely my fault – if only I would let her drive the car or play with the gas hob things would just be wonderful!

After some consideration, we set about looking for something active, preferably outdoors, and that didn’t require lots of sharing!

I was very surprised to find that there we were not inundated with adverts for Spring walks or Easter egg hunts. It seems that all of those are actually on Easter weekend and no one is cashing in early!

With nothing else to lose, we knew it was time to get our Pinterest research hats on and create our own Instagram-worthy egg hunt going.Read More »Ultimate Home Easter Egg Hunt

Activities: Three Craft Ideas for Spring

Katie had surgery last Friday to fix an umbilical hernia she had been born with. The operation went really well and we were home by Friday afternoon.

Thankfully we had Ben for the evening, who was amazing at sitting with her – and has a MUCH higher threshold for Paw Patrol than me. But by Saturday she was insisting that ‘flying’ i.e. jumping from the coffee table was a good idea!

On Sunday thought that she would go camping.

Although this was obviously a great sign that she was healing, it caused me no end of worry that she would do herself harm! She’s still incredibly bruised and having regular doses of Calpol and Nurofen which seems to turn her into Superwoman. I just wish she was at an age of appreciating naps!

My usually smiley boy, decided to scream the street down on Friday night and by Saturday morning had reached banshee level. My appreciation for the NHS increased further still after getting an out of hours appointment an hour after calling NHS 24. Suspicions were confirmed and he’s now on antibiotics for a nasty inner ear infection – screaming quite understandable!

The last few days have involved a LOT of time at home indoors and I have had to work on getting Katie to take it slowly. After exhausting all patience with the offerings of Netflix and Disney, I turned to Pinterest and our small collection of craft books for some Spring craft ideas.Read More »Activities: Three Craft Ideas for Spring

Make the Most of the Edinburgh Innertube

Have you heard of the Edinburgh Innertube?

If you have – then congratulations!  You are probably aware of the wonderful network of off-street paths for cycling and walking that Edinburgh has to offer.

If not, and you thought Edinburgh Council were about to introduce an Underground system to add to the tram debacle, you are forgiven as they are pretty notorious for crazy decisions.Read More »Make the Most of the Edinburgh Innertube

Visiting Dynamic Earth with Kids

Dynamic Earth has always been on my list of places to visit, but I had never quite gotten round to it. I was never quite sure how to navigate there by car and I wasn’t quite sure Katie was old enough. However, when a fellow Mum from school suggested a play date there over half term – it was obvious that the time was right!

Dynamic Earth is probably the most accurate educational experience I’ve visited  in some time. Years of Geography lessons started hurtling back towards me as the kids started playing with an exhibition designed to show how rock changes as it’s compressed. As the first voice-over began, I started to recall helping my University flatmate revise for her Geology exams – and in all honesty, I thought I had been a bit too tired to take any of it in!Read More »Visiting Dynamic Earth with Kids

Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar castle is a favourite of ours for a number of reasons. In my mind it looks like a proper ‘castle’ type castle, complete with big walls and winding staircases. From the castle ramparts there are amazing views over the city and the surrounding area. All with the added bonus of being three miles south-east of the city centre – so within very easy travelling distance.

With the weather has been rotten recently, the benefit of Craigmillar castle being close to home means that it’s not a big deal if you only go for a short time. However, there are a number of rooms that are well covered – with proper windows and doors!Read More »Craigmillar Castle

Top Tips for Swimming with Kids

I find it extraordinarily hard to find decent toddler girls swimwear. By decent I really mean swimwear that is actually most suited to,  you know… swimming. I cannot fathom why everywhere you look there are bikini tops, frills or spaghetti strap halter-necks. I’m assuming some people must think this is cute? However, it strikes me that it certainly isn’t what I would look for in swimwear for me and I can’t imagine it’s comfortable for a child to swim in either.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I own a few bikinis but really for sunbathing. At no point, have I ever thought, ‘I know what will make swimming easier – more frills on my swimsuit!’ Why is this even a design feature?

I cannot recall ever owning a swim suit like this as a child either – I remember having wide straps (that didn’t get twisted) and really bright patterns. I don’t know if anyone could direct me to the source of these but I’d really like one in age 3-4!Read More »Top Tips for Swimming with Kids

Activities: Santa Parade

It seems far too early to be even thinking the word ‘Santa’ but time does pass so quickly at the moment. I cannot believe that Thomas is 15 weeks already – the realisation that I should’ve found him a nursery place by now is kicking in, bringing a healthy dose of panic, which is only heightened by the depressing thought of having to return to work!  It seems a long time until next summer but with Christmas looming already, I know it will be here in the blink of an eye.

My initial plans for the weekend had been to attend an event at the Portrait Gallery, but after a disrupted night sleep and waking up to yet more rain, the idea of getting all the kids across town for 10 really did not appeal. After hearing of Friday’s events in Paris, we were certainly in a sombre mood and then the inclination to stay in, safe from the world ‘out there’ was tempting.
Read More »Activities: Santa Parade

Edinburgh Castle sits high above the city. This is the Edinburgh skyline.

Activities: Edinburgh Castle

Sometime we forget about how lucky we are to have such a beautiful city all around us. Over the half term break, I spent a couple of days in Sussex and was sorry it wasn’t longer. I had been keen to spend a bit of time in Brighton wandering through the Laines – particularly exploring all the little independent shops and watching the myriad of people that pass by. However, it occurred to me that although I do this each time I visit, I rarely venture in to Edinburgh Old Town anymore – or take the time to explore Edinburgh castle.

Many moons ago, I used to live on Castle Terrace – very much in the shadow of the Castle. I had to walk down the Royal Mile to get to my University classes and found the swarms of tourists irritating. I would complete the journey as quickly as possible only stopping to pick up a coffee on route. It had been a long while since I had actually slowed down enough to look round and appreciate what had appeared.
Read More »Activities: Edinburgh Castle

Wee science

Activities: Child Experimentation

To an extent we experiment on our children daily: Will they eat the same thing they did yesterday? Can they be trusted to pick up their bath towels? Can they last five minutes without arguing about something?! But wee science takes it all one step further…

Last Friday however, we went one step further and volunteered Katie to take part in a study at the University of Edinburgh. A few weeks ago, I wrote about attending the ‘Superhero Science Show’ at the National Museum and how Katie was particularly keen to be a Scientist. Every time they had asked for a volunteer she had stuck her hand right up and was so disappointed not to get picked that I was a little sad for her. I think it was for this reason that a ‘Wee Science’ advert on Facebook really caught my eye. A psychology student was looking for three year-olds to take part in her study. I figured this was a great opportunity for Katie to finally be a ‘Superhero Scientist’ and also looked interesting for me (double win)!Read More »Activities: Child Experimentation