A week ago I went with my toddler to the centre I normally take her on thursdays.

She had fun while playing and exploring and at the table I didn't notice before but they had some sheets with information about where to go  and what to do, If you read them  they even indicate the appropriate ages for each activities.

So taking all this in consideration I decided to give it a try and we went to a Country Park  that had some exhibitions  of cows and sheep, a small museum with interactive examples  of the wildlife , all to toddler size so she didn't want to leave.

The area had a small café and playground. And around there was a small fair and some crafts, archery, broom making and other activities.

Even when the event wasn't very  big, she had lots of fun exploring and having ice cream.

This week I took another leaflet and we are planning to visit more lovely places. It is worth take advantage of your local children's centre and if you can't spend much, just have a picnic.

If you would like more information , check this website :  http://www.letsgowiththechildren.co.uk/

You just need to enter your county and it will give you options.

Enjoy your holidays!

Summer time is the ideal time to go out with the family but when you find something unusual it makes the day  brighter and nicer.

We went to Poole Quay, and found a crowd around a group of dancers, I was told they were the Morris dancers, which existence, in my five years living in this country, had no idea of .

Of course they were catching the attention of everybody there, the costumes were colourful, the shoes (clogs) had jingly  bells, the music to what they were dancing was live. But above all this, the history of it.

It happens to be a tradition dated from 1448. It is a traditional folk dance from England with its many variations.

It is not usual for me to see the english people losing that shyness and be dancing, shouting and playing music in a happy, lively way.

When I approached a man who was dancing, I asked him about this tradition and he told me , this particular dance they were performing came from the North of England, from community of miners, who used to perform the dance on their way to the mine.

The shoes (clogs)  were the same type the people from those days used to wear.

Some of the outfits are handmade and every group has added something to make them unique.

 As in the picture showing below, the woman wears a hat with buttons, according to the history, those buttons were handmade and wear by common people.

Throughout the  festival, there were people asking for donations to keep it free. I think it is fair to say it is worth donating to keep traditions alive.

You can find more information here: http://www.folkonthequay.co.uk/

When I was a teenager I was into hindu things, music, history, incience...

My family was very keen on my taste.

When I married, for my surprise we had that in common. We both liked the incience. We used it , although now we are more a candle couple.

We still like the house to be scented with a nice herbs smell. So I am always on the hunt for candles.

I came across with really good ones today, I bout them all.

Unlikely my taste for clean , linen, cotton I went for Olive oil, Eucalyptus and Sage. From my point of view they tick all the boxes: looks,presentation, duration and of course scent.

Two of them come from DW Home, which for me have been the best candles I have ever bought.

Give them a go, next time you see them in a shop. Besides they look great and make you feel great if you are drinking tea and listening to nice (jazz) music.

Ps: I do not work for DW Home.

Lately I have my toddler sick for a week, of course she is getting better now and I took her to the doctor.

It worried me so much that I wanted to bleach every corner of my house. I am aware some germs are good for toddlers in order for them to develop defenses. But this was a nasty bug.
It started with diarrhea for some days, I thought it was due to her teeth. When I started to worry more was when  she started to be sick and not wanting to eat as usual even when I gave her the gel or granules for the teething process.

I ended up phoning the doctor and taking her to the GP. They all told me the same: Keep her hydrated and do not worry too much about the food.-Despite my anxiety for keeping something in her tummy-.

So, last weekend , when things started to get worse. I cleaned everything I could with bleach.
The dishes, the surfaces, the toys, the books. And when I was cleaning her dishes and cups like I normally do,I discovered something that made me feel like the worst mother: The lid of one of her cups had mould inside the hole that is used for her to sip.

I do not know how on earth I missed such an important part of the cup. Obviously I got rid of it but checked on the others and I made sure I cleaned the lids with a pipe cleaner.
The following image is from the cup that I cleaned, not the one I got rid of.

I guess when it comes to cleaning, is never enough with a toddler. Especially when is about their health.

Always make sure you clean every little space of your baby and toddler's kitchen utensils. And wash their hands after going to the loo, played in the garden, being outside and even when they are just crawling before eating.

Today is the eve of one of the most if not the most famous music festival in the world:

Glastonbury

It began as a personal approach to the music, inspired by the Bath Festival of Blues, to which Michael Eavis and wife visited in 1969.

The Glastonbury's first edition had an attendance of 1,500 people whom were charged £1 pound per ticket  and were offered milk from the farm for free.

As the years passed by, the cost of the tickets has vary, although at the beginning there was an effort for making the Festival cost free, through fundraising.

Even when the Festival is not free, it still has the social responsibility part of it, as it supports charitable causes, like Oxfam, WaterAid, Greenpeace.

On top of that, Glastonbury offers different zones in its 150 acres, one of them is the Kidz Field.

This year will count with the presence of Stephen Hawkins, and Dynamo. Something to not lose the opportunity to visit this field.

It has been 45 years of music, in which we have seen artists like: Bowie, UB40, The Cure, Van Morrison, Coldpay, Rod Stewart, Radiohead just to mention some.

This year will be no exception, with Florence+ The Machine as the headline for friday the 26th of June.

For more information visit the website: http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

Three days ago, my toddler started to walk on her tip toes. Quite unusual for her, so I thought it was due to the shoes being too tight already so we took her to a shoe shop in which they measure  the length and width of the feet and ask you a couple of questions like: Is she walking yet?

Does she crawl and hold  on to furniture?

After those questions and the measurements we found out her left foot is slightly bigger than the right one and that she is being wearing the wrong number for one and a half number!

So as a worried mum, I got the shoes, of course but I also started to read  what happens if babies do not get the right size of shoes, some of the consequences are:

1.Damage the development of the babies' feet, which stops at 3 years old.

2.Make them have a bad posture

3.To difficult the walking learning process.

So make sure you take the time to take your kid to a shoe shop where they can measure their feet and advice you which one are best for your baby's development stage.

Some years ago, when I moved from Mexico, my in laws took me to a ghost town.

I have never been in one, so I was intrigued by what will I find there.

It took a long trip to get there, but eventually we made it.

The name of the town or village is Tyneham.

Source: http://tynehamvillage.org/

As you walk through its roads you start feeling a bit curious thinking who might lived there and how long ago. My husband then started to tell me a little bit of the village's history.

It was a normal 30km2  village, with a church and a small school. Mainly farmers used to live there. As you get into the church there's this: " Please treat the houses and church with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly."

The people who used to live there, were displaced by the then called : War Office, for using the village as a training troops place.

The thing about this village is that people never returned due to the War Office placed a purchase order for getting the village permanently.

You can still see the little chairs at the school and the names of the last students by the hangers where they used to hang their coats.

It makes you wonder how bad the situation was back then, and what those people did after they were forced to leave their houses.

It is worth making the journey. Hope you are intrigued now.

For more information , please visit this website http://tynehamvillage.org/