Cassiobury Farm

Cassiobury Farm

On a beautiful sunny Saturday, we thought we'll go visit this farm on their open days in one our favourite parks! Situated at one end of cassiobury park in Watford, Hertfordshire, I was amazed by this farm! It's a gem! It says farm but you could also call it a mini zoo! For just £12 for the 3 of us (we'll under 5s were free so Didn't buy any tickets for Mahi), there was so much to do and see. 

The mini zoo itself had lots of exotic animals from flamingos to wallabies! The kids wouldn't stop ash-ing and ooh-ing!Not only that but if you follow the path form the beginning, the animals are well spaced out meaning you are not missing  any animals and take in the beautiful little lakes and sceneries! We even discovered new animals!

There were some added activities such as bouncy castle (free), face painting (£4) and fishing (£2.50). The kids wanted to try fishing and the lake has plenty of them. We saw a few being caught but as we were approaching the evening, the kids didn't catch any but there were patient and ticked it off their bucket list. We had a coach who taught the kids the equipment and how to catch fishes. The kids couldn't wait to touch the wriggling maggots! If you want to go fishing, go in the morning as that's when things are quieter! So it was a fun experience but don't think the kids want to do fishing!

There were little tractors and diggers spaces around so for a while the kids just rode them! There's also food which smelt delicious and priced reasonably. We didn't eat anything though!

As there's lots of open water areas, so do take care of the children! Take cash with you! Unfortunately, they only open in the summer and are now closed so keep your eyes peeled on their website to see when their open days are. But seriously worth your money! Found it better than the London zoo!

Back to school!

The kids are back to school/nursery tomorrow! Well Mahi doesn't start big school until the 18th so he'll still be going to nursery until then. Nevertheless, back to school means back to school.

The kids are always ready but I never am! Another year goes by meaning they are growing up! I have no idea what this new school year is going to bring but I'm physically ready, emotionally not yet!

So how to prep kids and yourself for back to school. Tips coming your way:

1. Get uniform and bags ready the day before. It means less running around  and panicking on the morning looking for things or lack of!
2. Doing homework a couple of days beforehand and NOT the night before. That way it is less stressful for your child and you. Plus, it also preparing your child with better organisational skills.
3. Even during holidays my kids were studying. For just 3 days so their brain doesn't go all mushy and don't struggle back to school! Continue that throughout the school year! Sunday is our only day where we have no studying. Since they are still young and don't get much homework, the kids have 30-45mins studying sessions in evening. 10mins for Mahi since he's preschool!
4. I always print the curriculum for whatever year they go into so I know what to expect and prepare them accordingly. I print any free worksheets that could help them as school curriculum is not enough to get them ready for the future. And with Laksha, we want her to take 11+ exams so we can't rely on the school prepping her for it at all!
5. Printing the curriculum is also handy when you plan any dad out. With Laksha, the days out I plan depends on what she covers at school. Las year she covered the Great Fire of London and so planned a trip to the museum of London just for that! She wa learning about Henry the 8th and so off we went to Hampton Court Palace. Small trips like this enforces the learning and is a fun way to learn for the kids!
6. Talk to your children after school. How was it? What did they learn? What did they play with their friends? Don't ask them the same questions every day because the answer is going to be 'fine'. With Laksha, she loves to write on a whiteboard about her day. So I tell her to teach me what she learned and it works.

I know time is of essence especially when you are a working parent and these tips look time-consuming! But these are your kids! The time you spend with them is essential! Parenting not easy and time-consuming but investing time is crucial for them! 

Good luck and may the force be with you!

England's Medieval Festival

As you know if you read some of previous blogs and tweets, Lucky loves history so when I came across the England's Medieval Festival on the internet, I had to go! It is a 3 day festival in the middle of East Sussex in a castle called Hertsmonceux Castle. Built in the 15th century, it apparently 'embodies the medieval age.' You can also visit for the day there or stay for 2/3nights. If you are staying overnight, you can camp, stay at a local inn or even reside at the castle! We went just for the day and for me and Lucky (under 5's were free so Mahi had no tickets) it was £25 altogether. It's cheaper when you book in advance and you can go any day! The train was from London Victoria and cost us £35 with return. The nearest station is Polegate and then there's a special shuttle bus (you need to buy tickets) that goes straight to the castle! The train journey took us 1h30 and the bus ride 20mins. However, there's plenty of parking so if you prefer to drive, it's easier!

The castle is situated on a beautiful scenic village! I loved to see all the green around me with just land around me. The castle itself is small with a nice little garden. The castle used to joke the Royal Observatory. 

The festival itself was really good! I think you can fit it it all in a day but if you don't want to rush, then 2 days will be more than enough. We didn't rush but as we forgot to bring cash, we didn't do a lot of activities unfortunately so finished quite early but there was still a lot to do and see for free. 

The atmosphere was great. Traders, who were there for the whole 3 days, actually dressed and lived like in medieval times! It was so eye opening to se Ethan carrying out their day-to-day living medieval style. Laksha now thinks the current century we live in is so uncool! She 'likes the simpler times' 😂 

We first settled on relaxing from our long journey and seeing the knights in training. From jousting to sword fighting, Mahi was in his element. We then saw workshops on how they used to do jewellery, sword fight training, games they used to play, arrow making,  flower crown making, calligraphy, medicines and potions. We also made our own spear and necklace out of wood! We were dancing to the beautiful music ( well I danced to be more precise and embarrassed the kids, it was reported)! 

There's a demonstration of a castle siege both in the morning and in the afternoon. He kids loved to see first hand how sieges happen. We real trebuchers and canons firing and knights fighting, I was really enjoying this too!

And least but not least, we saw a small play but not performed on a stage! Oh no, it was performed in the mud and it got very, very muddy!!! With lots of interactions with the crowd, I think seeing plays on a stage will become boring! There was flying mud too so if you don't want to become dirty sit at the back! But we like to get very involved so we sat right at the front and got splashed of mud! But Lucky  got the muddiest since she hugged one of the performers who was covered in mud! Whatever made her happy! 

We were exhausted by the end of it but loved every moment of it. The kids learned new things while having fun and I had a great time too. Next time, I'll take lots of dosh and pack us a nice picnic and have a bigger blast! 

Visiting Sri Lanka

1. Point Pedro - another town by the sea and renowned for its sea food! It is at the tip of the Sri Lanka. The lighthouse is a must visit place but it has now been closed off.

Once the kids and me learned our history properly, we did all the touristy stuff. It was a 5 day- trip in a hire van. The places we recommend you see are:

1. Trincomalee - you need a good 2 days to enjoy what Trinco can offer you. We first went to Trinco beach but instead of swimming at the beach, we took a small boat ride to an island called Pigeon Island. It is is national marine I park and is sublime! If you ignore all the rocks and the cuts you come out with (I'm still suffering from my deep cut on my for -4 weeks post), the marine life is amazing. Even standing in ankle- deep water, you'll see different species fishes. You can go snorkelling which we did and saw so many beautiful beaches. You can go quite deep in the sea and the views are amazing. The island has also got the best corals in Sri Lanka! You can also go see dolphins but you have to be there very early in the morning so we didn't go. Once we came out of the paradise, we went to a temple called Koneswaran temple which holds significant historical meaning. We also visited the 7 wells where the natural spring water is not cold as you'd expect was hot. Very hot! 
2. Sigiriya - this rock housed a famous King back in the 14th century I believe.  It was stunning to see the engineering work of the older day from underground sewage and drainage system and venue a water mill on top of the rock, 660ft high! The king had his queen but also 500concubines from all over Asia! And you see some drawings of them on the rock! It took us altogether 3 hours to climb up and down Sigiriya but the view is absolutely stunning! The kids didn't find it difficult at all but if you are scared of heights, you can climb it half way up and come down!you can see the foundations of where the king's palace, royal courts, swimming pools and dancing halls were! The fact that there was a palace on top of a 200m high rock is fine enough to go and visit it! And you must! Sigiriya is a UNESCO world Heritage site.
3. Dambulla Cave Temple - before you go to the cave you will cross the huge Dambulla Temple with the tallest Buddha temple in the world. The cave temple is surprisingly not underground but on top of a mountain so again some climbing to do but Sigiriya trained us well so this was nothing . Inside is a lot of Buddha statues depicting Buddha's life and is another World Heritage Site.
4. Kandi - a refreshing beauty right bang in the middle of Sri Lanka. You are surrounded by greenery. The view oat night is magnificent. During the day, we visited the Temple of the Tooth, a Bhuddist Temple where Buddha's tooth is located. It also has a museum with great information and displays.
5. Ramboda Falls - we climbed the falls and took us a gold 2 hours altogether but the view from the top was beautiful and the water was chilly, a great reward when you are sweating like a pig. The pathway is narrow so be careful with children but if Mahi ( my running rowdy) did it without being hurt, anybody can do it. You can also swim in it either at the top or near the bridge area.
6. Tea plantation factory - you cannot go to Sri Lanka and not see the tea plantation. We visited a tea factory and learned how tea was made and then were treated to tea with leaves directly picked from the plantations around us with no additional chemicals added. It was yum!
7. Nuwera Eliya - a beautiful little town, in the middle of tea plantations with lots of activities to do! We went on a pony ride and jet skiing but most of all the scenery is the star! You'll get dizzy going and round and round, up and down hills but the scenery is magical!
8. Pinnawala Elephant orphanage - the kids couldn't wait to see the Elephants up close! The elephants come to take a bath in the nearest river and what a sight it was! We had our favourite naughty elephants which we loved to watch. It was such a wonderful experience! 

So this was our trip. We missed the south coast but that'll be on our next visit! The country is beautiful and one with so much history! The kids and you will love every minute of it! Enjoy!

Lidos and Pools

If there was a theme to our May Half-Term it was definetely, pools and Lidos. With all 3 of us loving water and having had good weather, we tried quite a few. Over half-term but also over the years. Here's our best and worst!

1. Cassiobury Park, Watford - This is our favourite although the kids have outgrown it a little bit but still a great one to splash about. It has now been newly refurbished with 2 paddling pools and water. Jet area! It is also fully accessible. Why not make a day of it with a great park next to it, a little train where it takes you through woods. If you go further along, there's some beautiful woods and also a river where you can also splash about! There's also great Eateries around!
2. Hampstead Heath Paddling Pool- If you combine it with a trip to the Golders Green Park which has a mini zoo, playground and flower garden you can take a very long walk all the day down the Hampstead Heath which has a great paddling pool and a playground next to it. We went there a couple of years ago and again was enjoyed by my kids. Not too far away is the open pool which we haven't been but apparently one of the best!
3. Hampton Pool, Hampton - Talking about open pool, we went to Hampton Pool in May. It was the worst! The water was dirty. I got so itchy. The children's pool was heated but a cloudy colour! We only last led less than 1hour. And let's not talk about the changing room!
4. The Serpentine, Hyde Park - yes you can really swim in the big lake after a long day exploring Hyde Park. There's a dedicated swimming area and the water is so refreshing! It was quite an an experience but fun! There's also a smaller paddling pool on the terrace! The changing rooms are quite small though. We teamed up the day with a visit to Kensington Palace and Diana Memory Fountains!
5. Ruislip Lido, Ruislip - although we can't swim i the lake, there's a small splash park. Again, make a day of it with a walk in the woods which has a theme of the solar system! There's also a mini train that'll take you through the woods! So cute!

That's all we've done so far! So get your swimming clothes out!

Go home on time!

Today is 'go home on time day' and so at 4pm today, I packed my bag and left work! Oh wait! That's what I do every Wednesday. And come to think of it, on Monday and Thursday too to spend time with the family and taking the kids to their respective classes! So this day really doesn't apply to me because I was confident to ask for flexible working whenever I started a new job!  I always put my family first and so find work that works for me and my family. Hence why I only jump jobs when I feel confident enough that they will provide what I want! Unfortunately, salary does take a back seat! I never stayed in a job for more than a year as I always find a job which will provide me with flexible working and a higher salary. However, the last 2 years I've stayed in the same job because the flexibility they provide me is exactly what I need right. Now. With a husband working night shifts and the kids needs changing where they need me more to do homework and take them to classes, I need more flexibility. I'm afraid I will lose it if I go to a managerial role where more responsibility is needed. Although, I would love the money that the managerial role will provide, my kids are my priority right now! I czn get that managerial role in 10years time but I won't get my babies back. Hence why, flexibility is more important than salary even though we are struggling financially. But a parent needs to do what a parent wants to do! I love spending time with my kids. Even though I'm at work, because of my flexibility, I know everything that goes on in my kids school life! From who has fallen over to what latest dance move tehy've learned, I know EVERYTHING! And this is why, 'Go home on Time' day is a perfect snoozy for parents to ask for flexible working and for employers to see how beneficial it is to their work life. I'm feeling korenproductiove and feeling more loyal to my employers becusde they are meeting my needs. I am also happier!

Here is a blog post I wrote for Young Women's Trust about my experience of flexible working:
https://www.youngwomenstrust.org/what_we_do/media_centre/blogs/558_how_asking_for_flexible_working_hours_changed_my_life

Enjoy your family time!

Horroble Histories at Hampton Court Palace

As you know, Lucky is a history person and Mahi is catching the history fever too. So when I saw that Horrible Histories is taking the stage at Hampton Court Palace, I said that'll be a perfect outing for us! The tickets were reasonably priced and costs £19 for the 3 of us (under 5s go free).

With 2 showings a day, we picked the 12pm slot so we can have a nice picnic and have the whole afternoon to spend somewhere else (for us, it was outdoor Hampton Pool).

The show was simply superb and laugh out loud! The transitions between different time periods and characters were smooth. We were visited by Boudicca, Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Guy Fawkes and some which we didn't know about like Richard Turpin and the Bodysnatchers, William and William.

The actors were good. The songs ere amazing. We loved the rapping and twerking from Queen Vic especially!

Of course with the elections coming and Brexit still the talk of the town, they were references to them all and some seriously laugh it loud moments and clapping from the grown-ups.

All in all, we loved it! We learned about new people, we laughed, we squeaked and most of it, we had a good time and will be back to see them in the West End!