We have just come back from our first holiday as a new family of four. I had no idea what to expect, only that it would be unlike any holiday we’ve ever experienced before. I’ve decided the best way of relaying how it went would be to post a select sample of highlights and lowlights.
Lowlight: The journey.
As documented in previous blogpost it took 9 hours to get there and involved generous helpings of noise and sick.
Highlight: The location.
We stayed in an idyllic cluster of self-catering cottages in a rural farmyard setting in Cornwall. From pony rides, to feeding the farm animals, to swimming in the heated indoor pool or exploring the play barn there was so much to keep a 9-month-old, a two-year-old and their parents entertained onsite that we had a tough job deciding whether to stay put or discover the amazing beaches and activities in the surrounding area.
Lowlight: Telling TinyToes there would be elephants, tigers and giraffes at Newquay Zoo.
The zebras, tapirs and agoutis didn’t quite cut it. Ok so there were some lions, but TinyToes spent most of the morning repeating “where’s the effefant? Mummy, where’s the effefant?” My explanations didn’t wash and the questions continued…
Highlight: Going for a run in the Cornish countryside..
… while DaddyO rested and the tinies napped one afternoon and then doing 60 lengths of the heated swimming pool (only 15m a length I hasten to add), which I had all to myself. One giant bathtub all for me. No kids, no noise, just me in the water. My first proper swim since before I gave birth. I emerged from the water feeling resplendent and revitalised; a shiny, new person.
Lowlight: Going swimming all four of us…
…when we had the cunning foresight to put the little ones in their swimming nappies and costumes before arriving at the pool, but only realised at the end of their swim that we had forgotten to pack new nappies for them to change into. In a Catch 22 situation, we couldn’t exactly leave both cold and wet with one parent while the other went to get the nappies. I quickly volunteered to take 2-year-old TinyToes, figuring there would be a lower probability of any spillages. Amazingly, 9-month-old MicroToes, snugly harnessed to DaddyO in the baby carrier, managed to stay dry too.
Highlight: The pony ride.
Although she was a bit scared of the chickens and frightened of the ducks, TinyToes was thrilled with her first ride on a pony, which she still talks about now. She got given a badge in recognition, which she insists on keeping in her pocket.
Lowlight: A nearby village going by the name of Sticker.
Every time we so much as muttered any reference to the godforsaken place, a little voice would start up “Sticker mummy! I want a sticker! Mummy – I want a sticker! Daddy – a Sticker!” and continue for the next 30 minutes or so…
Highlight: Visiting Lappa Valley steam railway…
…and riding on the miniature-sized trains. I’m not sure who had most fun.
Lowlight: An attempted ‘romantic dinner out’ all four of us in Mevagissey.
What were we thinking?! Neither child wanted to stay still and both took up our constant attention. We barely had time to say ‘cheers’ with our drinks and were left with the vague impression the food would have been amazing if we’d actually had five seconds to appreciate what was in our mouths.
Highlight: Bird watching in the cottage garden one sunny afternoon with TinyToes.
We had been out to the beach that morning and she and I sat on a rug armed with the bird book from our cottage. The family owners had given us a bird feeder to hang on a tree and we watched the great tits and robins and blue tits flying back and forth, pointing to them in the book and ticking them off on the bird watching sheet we had also been given.
Lowlight: There only being two changing tables…
…and a whole load of babies in the entire M5 service station in Exeter. One was in the ladies’ toilets and the other was in a room of its own. None in the men’s toilets…
Highlight: The family owners – aka Farmer Dave and Nanny Pat and their son Paul.
They were so welcoming and great with children. When we went to say goodbye, they gave us our very own bird feeder to hang in the garden. It’s highly likely we’ll be returning next year. And no this is not a commercial blog…
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Calamitous Mummy 