I’m optimistically going to try and do at least 20 crafts for Christmas over the next month. Quite how, I have no idea, but I think I need a goal to make myself work at. All of us are feeling like our family time has gone horribly wrong over the last few months and we […]
Finding Family Time with Teens.
I’m not one of the parents who sighs with relief as the kids go back to school, though if I’m honest this year was slightly different as balancing teens, tweens, tots and (hmmm… travail would just be pretentious wouldn’t it?) work was very hard over the summer and a business that relies on Christmas is […]
Calm among storms.
The run up to Christmas is always hectic here, it comes with the toy shop ownership territory. We looked forward to the Xmas break but for the very best of reasons, it was never going to be. Christmas, visitors, a wedding, decorating – it all added up to a holiday that passed by very quickly […]
Camping it up.
I could start this post by saying we are confirmed campers. When I think about it though, I haven’t actually had a proper tent holiday since before I was pregnant with Freddie. I can’t even pinpoint it now. Maybe the Summer before but I think not, so probably even the summer before that. If it […]
Nature Walk – March
On my list of things to do is getting out more and visiting the same places as the seasons change. I plan every month – I missed Jan/Feb but I’m not going to beat myself up about that. On Tuesday we went to Burghley House for a walk and looked at Spring springing. It’s a […]
Suit Yourself Day
Family life is such a tricky balance; family life when there is such a weight of grief in it, when six people have got so many things to process and recover from and have such varied needs is, well, tricky at times. Grief, combined with the complexities of an important relationship in our family coming […]
Holidays
As is customary in the Puddle household, last week we took ourselves off to Centerparcs. It’s always a good way for us to have a low maintenance wind down holiday after the busy Xmas period and one of those holidays which, being a large-ish family, has not too much effort attached. In fact, it’s easy, […]