#LivingArrows – Park Life 31/53 (2018)

With the summer holidays well underway we’re no longer ruled by routine, we are now are now free and easy to do as we like for the next few weeks. I’d love to say that we are spending each and every moment out and about but that isn’t entirely the case as our children have rather hermit like habits.

Whilst I’m a big ‘home’ lover, I’ve never known children quite as keen on staying indoors as my own. My kids aren’t lazy, they simply aren’t motivated when it comes to getting out and about, they’d much rather sit and play indoors, which is understandable when it’s pouring with rain but once the suns out I refuse to stay cooped up in the house.

It can take anywhere between five and thirty minutes to get our kids ready and willing to leave the house, it’s well worth it when we do though as they soon get into the swing of things.

Vicky popped over to visit this afternoon and mid-way through scoffing our hotdogs we decided it would be a nice idea to take the kids down to the beach for some fresh air. Four tantrums, two toilet trips, one change of clothes and thirty-minutes later my kids were finally ready to leave the house. I’ll be honest it was slightly embarrassing but it was also well worth the effort.

Shortly after arriving at the park the kids bumped into friends from school which they then spent a further thirty minutes playing with on the park. We then made our way to the beach where they stood upon deserted islands, threw stones, ran around and had an absolute blast before the heavens opened and we headed for shelter in the beach cafe, where we enjoyed coffee, milkshakes, fruit juice, cake, chocolate and sweets whilst playing a few rounds of ‘I spy’.

Zipping Along

The difference in the kids for getting out was immeasurable, their moods were instantly lifted and although they got a little wet, a tad sandy and were probably high on e-numbers it was certainly worth working around their whining and being insistent upon us going out.

Rope Bridge Rebel

I love my kids but cor-blimey they can be awkward little so and so’s at times, usually when in the company of family or friends. This often backfires for the kids though, as I’m not particularly bothered by the concept of judgement upon my parenting skills or style.

Our kids are quite fussy at the best of times but with a little negotiation, a bit of bargaining and a dash of demand they can often be persuaded into playing along and going with the flow. I don’t like having to lay the law down but there are times when kids must be told what to do as it is in their best interests, like today for example. Both J & E had an awesome time out with Vicky and if it wasn’t for me insisting upon them joining us for a jaunt on the shore then they would have missed out.

Thanks for reading and as always I look forward to catching up with your #LivingArrows either through your own posts or comments upon this post.