Freedom (Programme) Forever!

                                    

Howdy!
Today I have mostly been tickled silly by my ickle monkeys! - you had to be there but I just love these moments when I can I have times of complete madness with my girls. I never had the time before and when I have all three hanging off my every limb I remind myself that I am even playing the role that you normally associate with dads - the difference with my situation is my ex had a back injury and other excuses that resulted in Honey Bee not getting this kind of play time even with him.

Aside from the madness, Sweet Pea went shopping with Nana for a treat as she has slept in her own bed for the last 3 nights!! A big achievement for her! I popped to Tesco and bought way too much chocolate! I must add that I didn't open any of it today! Mars chocolates (M&M's, Milky Way Stars, Revels etc etc) are doing the cinema ticket offer in exchange for four bags. So I thought that would be a good way of saving money for when Honey Bee next wants to go. She has also been wanting to try Cadbury's Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy Shells so I got some of that too!

Yesterday I caught up with a couple of friends I have made who have been through a similar situation to me/us. One has a one year old daughter and the other has three children (10, 6 and 2). We met through the Domestic Abuse Outreach services who put us in touch and set us up with starting The Freedom Programme earlier this year. We are all in differing situations with our Divorces, Child Contact stuff and so it is great to be able to support each other with all the ongoing cr*p !

Talking to them and sharing our current situations remind me of the massive benefit The Freedom Programme can be to anyone who has been through an abusive relationship or thinks they are living with an abusive partner. I wanted to share this!

I completed the programme recently and it was such a great help in moving forward with life. It really opens your eyes to things that you possibly just put up with and thought was/is normal behaviour. For me it was eye-opening. It was surprising how others in the group had been through almost identical scenarios.

See my page at the top of this blog for more information about The Freedom Programme.

Oh and just another quick Potty Update:
Missy Moo has done FOUR wee wees on the potty today! It helps when we are at home longer in the day because she can have more nappy free time but the positive step forward for me/her is the fact that when she IS nappy free she knows when she needs 'to go' so she asks for the potty! Yesterday we had a POO and two wees - the former was because she was massively constipated AGAIN :(

What an 'Epic' end to a feathery fluttery Bank Holiday!

                                      

Bank holidays.......bit like marmite? Love 'em or hate 'em? 

Me? I'm not a great fan! Usually we stay at home to avoid 'the masses' but today we ventured out with the grandparents. Not too far though and we set off early enough. Where did we go? Slimbridge Wild Fowl and Wetlands Trust! Can't recall how many times we have been there in just the last couple of years but my parents have membership so they also sometimes take Sweet Pea and Missy Moo for a day out in the week too. I certainly recall visiting when I was quite small because Her Majesty the Queen was there! Oh how the place has changed though! Particularly popular these days is Welly Boot Land where you can let your children run and play, paddling in water in their wellies on a colder day or splashing about in swimwear on a warmer day for those who have prepared in advance. A little stream runs through the 'playground' and children can create a 'dam' with the sluice gate or spin on the roundabout to make the water fountain spurt up. Of course there is the option of grabbing a coffee from the kiosk too.

Aside from this 'playground' - which for most is the favourite first place to go on arrival, there are very many species of birds and wildfowl including flamingos, geese, bewick swans,cranes and many more. Additionally there is an area where you can watch otters playing. 

We had lunch in the cafe/restaurant which was reasonable quality, not particularly cheap but you don't really expect it to be in places like this. Then after a last look around with the girls attempting to spot baby 'birds' like cygnets and ducklings, Honey Bee and Sweet Pea had their faces painted (Bank Holiday special) and then it was time to go as by now the place filled up quite significantly. Time for Missy Moo to have a nap in the car on the way home....

So after a couple of hours back home and a chance for Nana and Grandad to have a nap, it was then Bank Holiday activity #2 ! A couple of months back I took Honey Bee to see The Croods at the cinema and we saw the trailer for Epic and I pretty much promised her I would take her to see it. So thank you to Tesco Clubcard Rewards for paying for our trip! (saved me a fortune - though I am not sure how I managed to spend £7 on pick n mix!!). It pretty much lived up to it's name in terms of kids adventure film. Made by the creators of Ice Age and Rio it is one of those good vs evil stories with the odd bit that makes you giggle. One bit that particularly tickled me was a line from Mub the slug to Mary Katherine: 'I'm not a snail, he's a snail. I'm a slug. No shell over here baby!'

Fab film! Definitely one to add to the DVD collection.......