We are just back from our summer holiday. We went to coastal Suffolk, not too far from where I grew up. So here are some photos for you! The weather was so-so, fortunately most rain came at night except Thursday (a washout). And it was cold - in August! But the break was nice, and we got in the sea twice (too rough the last day sadly) - we live so far from the sea that it's a once-a-year treat.

This is the beach at Dunwich, looking north up to Southwold (where we went the next day - great town with pier and lighthouse and sandy beaches). Dunwich used to be a big town but the coast is eroding so fast that nearly all the town is now under the sea. Currently the monastry graveyard is going over the edge of the cliff, and only a few streets remain plus one church. Below is the view south from the same beach - spot the dome of the nuclear power station! This dome is also in sight of my Mum's nursing home.

Above is Alan at Easton Farm Park, a farm we both remember visiting during school trips, so it's been going a while! Below is the kids during "hug a bunny" - in their cases a Guinea Pig and a sleepy chick!

Then they went on the Barrel Ride - behind a Quad Bike - they loved it! All these activities were part of the ticket price (which made the entry fee more reasonable).

Then straight to the queue for the train ride - to my two Thomas the Tank Engine fans, a real treat!

After lunch there was a longer queue for the pony rides, but worth the wait as far as the girls were concerned:

We also fed the goats, saw the pigs, rode on a horse and cart, saw the chickens and the baby chicks and eggs incubating.

On the wet day we went to the Long Shop Museum, which was probably a little above Sophie, but there was just enough for her to do and plenty for Emma and us. I had no idea so much industry took place in such a now-sleepy backwater! Or that it was owned by the family of the first English woman doctor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.

On the last day we went to Thorpness beach, but it was simply too rough to go in the sea. So instead we headed a few hundred yards inland to the Meare and hired a rowing boat for half an hour - a real thrill for the girls. I had seen photos of the Meare and was fascinated by the village which was built as a holiday village last century. 

Then we went for a walk up to the House in the Clouds (water tower with house on top) and windmill (which DH was very interested to see was on the market for £150K!).

 I'm still mulling this one over trying to work out where it came from and if it means anything...

Yesterday Sophie was busy washing the painting table in the garden, when out of nowhere she complained that she's never been chosen during the song "The Farmers in His Den" at preschool because "I not beautiful". She went on to say that no-one likes her blue eyes and that's another reason that she's not chosen, and that "I not clever". WHAT?! I don't doubt that there is something of a popularity contest going on during this song (Emma says she was never/rarely chosen either), but for Sophie to think it's down to beauty, blue eyes or cleverness - for a start, where does a 3 year old get ideas like that from, and secondly, I know I'm biased but everyone is always commenting in her hearing how beautiful her blue eyes are and she is certainly clever enough to hold her own against her sister (who is near the top of her class). But it does bother me that she already thinks she's been judged by her looks or her brains, even though we've done our best not to reinforce this. Anyway, I shall continue to try and help her believe that she's my treasure, and I encouraged her that if she ever does get chosen, that she should look around for someone else who hasnt been chosen yet too for the next verse. DH says maybe she was just looking for attention or affirmation from me. I hope he's right. But still, where do statements like that come from - surely they're learned?

So today we needed to clean out Emma's Gerbils. But we got off to a bad start, when we decided to move the smallest part of the "Rotastak" as we could, by trapping them into one area. The gerbils were fine with it; Emma however was not. I think she pannicked; she thought they were bound to escape. And once she was pannicking, all rational thought left her! Lots of "they're MY gerbils", "you do as I tell you" and "I hate you all".

So, she's 7, so that equates to 7 minutes on the step. Except for violations we add a minute. So many minutes, she spent half an hour there!  

But after that, we had a lot of fun and the gerbils are having lots of fun exploring their new clean home.   

Is it just her? Any idea when she'll stop doing this?

Oh, where to start? Minti is my time out, my window on the world, my bit of "me time", my place to learn, my place to hone my learning.

When I came here, I was feeling sore, feeling like I was not much good as a mother. Friendships and sharing on Minti helped me to regain that confidence. And then some! In order to keep up with my DD1 I had forgotten what I had learned, as I was always trying to learn the next thing, so what I had just learned had to be filed in a dark corner, unlabeled and unrecognised! Trying to answer in Q&A brought so many of those things back, and commenting too also reminded me how much I HAD learned. It also shon light onto things I had not fully understood already, like DD1s High-Needs personality. Thanks particularly to Izzy and KSeers for that.

I have also made good friends on here, friends who encourage, listen, look out for me, enjoy my kids sparky personalities (thank goodness!) and advise - virtual but also reality. Thanks all - you know who you are!

I have also had ample practise in sharing my experiences and am finding my spoken advice is now reflecting all this written practise! I never found that easy before, but as they say "practise makes perfect"!

Minti also unfortunately keeps me up far too late, as the Aussies are just getting up as I should be turning in, and those West of the Atlantic are still in full flow in their evenings as I am flagging! Ah, the tension - sleep or Minti, Minti or sleep....?