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We have been enjoying a lot of time outside this Easter, blowing away the cobwebs and getting outside. I have even been known to wear wellies and flat shoes on more than one occasion. I kid you not! So when we were invited to Hatton Country World for the day to enjoy their Easter Eggstravaganza, I knew we were up for the Challenge ..... and a challenge is what we got!

We were greeted by this gorgeous Peacock, who took no convincing to show us his feathers! It was a unique way to be welcomed to a park!!

For my big girl, there was The Adventurers’ Challenge, which has been created for families to compete in a number of daring tasks across the park, including braving the Big Red Drop Slide in Superslide Mania and holding an exotic reptile in the new Scales and Tails attraction. For the little one, was an Easter Bunny Hunt and we did try very hard to track down the "big bunny" who was wandering around Hatton all day. The Easter challenges were in addition to all the usual exciting activities like the farmyard favourites, fairground rides, family theatre and guinea pig village.

The little one LOVED feeding the animals and was much braver than only 7 months ago when we came for her birthday.

Newborn piglets made me broody (for a baby not a piglet) .... stinky but adorable!

The 8yo loved taking part in the Adventure Challenges and was determined to find gold and get her medal ....... she did aswell!

The Easter Egg Hunt was on at set times throughout the day .... and is still on until 27th April, if you are quick!! This is not counting all the rides, trampolines, councy castles, slides and outdoor play activities that the girls ping ponged around all day.

When little legs were tired after all the fun, big sister was there to help carry her along. (a rare moment of sibling kindness). There is so much to do at Hatton Country World that it would be difficult to find just one single thing that was my favourite, so I asked all the family:

The Man on the Pad : Feeding the animals on the farm.

The 8 year old : Mining for Gold or the Red Drop Slide

The 2 year old : The bouncy slide

Me : Well for me the best part was having a great day out with the family, somewhere that caters for all ages. (which is a bonus for our family)

We were sad to leave (albeit, the shops on the way out did ease this for me somewhat) but I did happen to notice that they had schedules up for Whitsun week ...... so I think we will be returning very soon.

Disclosure : We were given a family ticket to Hatton for the day but all views and opinons are our own.

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What a mum wants? That is the 64 thousand dollar question isnt it?

For the last 24 hours I have been dealing with a vomiting child. I appreciate that this isn't the best thing to visualise, especially when it has gone EVERYWHERE but I remain thankful for my leather sofa and only wish I had had some laminate tile flooring which would have been much easier to clean than the carpet! But I digress. 

So what does a Mum want? I think it changes as your role does.

If you ask a pregnant mum, she will probably say that she wants a healthy baby and a good birth.

If you ask a new mum, she will most likely say that she wants a good nights sleep.

If you ask a second time mum, she may say that she wants her children to get along.

If you ask a mum of a toddler, she might say she would like to get rid of the nappies.

If you ask a mum of a teenager, she might be inclined to say a good nights sleep (for a whole other array of reasons).

If you ask the mum of a sick child, she will pray for good health and a speedy recovery.

If you ask an elderly mum, she may just want someone to hold her hand and to listen to her stories.

On reflection, what a Mum wants, doesn't need 64 thousand dollars, it is just the little things, the heartfelt things ...... or for me today, the things that make dealing with a poorly child, just that little bit easier.

This post is brought to you in association with Carpetright but all thoughts and ramblings are our own!

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We were really excited today. We were going back to our Water Babies swimming lessons after a couple of weeks break and big sister was coming too (as she is still on half term). The little one was insisting that her sister couldn't come in "her" swimming lessons but the big one insisted that she was bringing her costume, just in case. So you can imagine everyones dismay when we arrived to find that our swimming teachers car had broken down.

Thankfully the Forest of Arden Hotel took pity on us and let us swim anyway, much to the delight of the 8yo.

I was amazed at the difference since I was last in the pool with the girls, I know they have lessons every week but seeing the little one able to get out of the pool and confidently dive in, while the big one is diving under the water doing handstands and somersaults, reminds me why it was so important to give them both confidence in the water.

I have to admit that whilst I may have got wet, I didn't actually get to do much swimming myself but I realised how much I enjoy the water.

I loved swimming as a child.

I loved swimming when I was pregnant.

I loved swimming with the girls today.

So what happens when your swimming lesson is cancelled? Well it gave me a reminder of how much I need to be swimming again.

Image courtesy of supakitmod / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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We have been out for a day trip today. We didn't go really far (I think our 7 hour road trip last year was enough to put the Man on the Pad off long journeys for some time) and whilst the excitement of a road trip can be fun, lets be honest it can also be a little like an endurance test, especially with impatient children. Sometimes, a dvd is not enough to keep children entertained during hours and hours of driving. We are currently experiencing the joys of toddler tantrums, which can be massively distracting and and not ideal for safe driving either.

Older children, especially teenagers, pose a different kind of challenge: no tantrums (occasionally, maybe) but a likelihood of boredom and disengagement. You may as well use the time wisely; the son of a friend of mine was approaching his driving theory test so would take every opportunity to take practice tests and check his knowledge of the road signs. 

We have talked about our road trips before and after recently investing in new dual DVD players,which I am hoping may diffuse some of the arguments, but if not, here are some of our tried and tested car games.

I Spy

This is probably the most popular game that anyone can play while travelling. The game is geared towards children, as it is simple, yet it can keep them entertained for long periods. “I spy with my little eye, something round.” The mechanics are easy. We all know how to play it, although we do have to keep it simple with the toddler .... more like "I spy something that is the colour blue" or more frequently "I spy something that looks like Daddy Pig drives it".

The Alphabet Game

This is another of our faves but it is just a simple game of observation; that even the grown ups can have fun playing it. The game starts with the letter A. All the participants must then start looking for an A in the area. This can be an A on a licence plate, a poster, or a road sign. Two people cannot declare a letter from the same item. After finding an A, everyone moves on to the next letter until they get to the letter Z. The first person to go through the entire alphabet wins the game.

Raindrop Race

In this country it is easy to let travelling on a rainy day give you the blues. The Raindrop Race is a quick and fun game for everyone. At the start of the race, each player chooses a raindrop on the topmost part of a car window. They trace the course of their raindrops until they reach the bottom of the window. The player whose raindrop reaches the bottom of the window first wins the game.

The Song Game

The Song Game is fun to play whether you sing in tune or not (and if I am truthful, none of us in our family are ever going to win the X Factor). The first player sings a few lines from a song. The next player then has to start singing a new song using the last word of the previous player’s song. The game goes on and on until a player cannot think of a song to connect to the previous one. To make the game more interesting, try setting a time limit of 10 seconds for the next player. Any player who fails to provide a new song within 10 seconds is out.

The Picnic Game

Keep your brain juices flowing by playing this memory game. In the Picnic Game, players must remember a string of items. The first person says, “I went to a picnic and I brought…” and continues to name an item that starts with the letter A. The next player has to repeat the phrase, the first item, and add a new item starting with the letter B. The game ends when a player fails to remember an item that was brought to the picnic. See how sharp your memory is by trying to remember all 26 items. 

Lets be honest, trying to keep the whole family entertained while travelling is a challenge in itself, if you factor in road works, toilet breaks, the inevitable traffic jams, more toilet breaks and that is without the prospect of going off course. So a few lighthearted games can make those miles seem a little shorter and if you are anything like us, you can always tweak the rules or make up your own games to suit every age of traveller!