It’s November now which means it’s officially Christmas season! As expected Seb and I are currently watching Polar Express for the 3rd time this season. I expect we’ll hit double figures before December.

We had a fairly busy half term finishing off with an alternate Halloween party full of brights lights and lots of colours. The kids had a blast with toasted marshmallows and a bouncy castle as well as an excuse to get dressed up.

We started the half term with an adventure down to south Devon. Uncle Oli, Auntie Faye and her parents were down in the area for a visit so we met them at the butterfly and otter sanctuary in the pouring rain. We had a lot of fun there despite the weather.

The weather cleared out and we headed to Burgh Island which was amazing. The kids had a blast in the sand and the views were amazing.

After saying goodbye to the family we headed back home, of course we hadn’t eaten tea yet so the kids yet again emotionally blackmailed us into a McDonald’s. Clara then made it a memorable experience by doing a poonami and as she’d already gone through all her spare clothes after going swimming she spent the rest of the meal like this…

The middle of half term was spent up in the ‘Quiets’ (that’s the premier inn to everyone else!), with a Suffolk trip to see family and friends. We packed in quite a lot with a soft play trip and a woodland walk each with friends, then a few cups of teas catching up with our grandparents. It was a nice break with highlights including trying to get a photo of 5 kids looking at the camera with smiles…

Another highlight was a meal at Frankie & Benny’s, there was Polly’s brazen answer to what scoops of ice cream she would like (“maybe 5!”), to Clara keeping everyone entertained with a plastic cup that made Polly laugh so much that “it made me fart!”

The only bummer was that Seb lost his little red teddy that he’s been surgically attached to for months- I felt so guilty that I dragged us back round the places we’d been to that morning but no luck. I honestly blame Toy Story for traumatising me as kid that these poor lost toys might then come to life and try some desperate mission to be reunited with their owners which may ultimately lead them to being incinerated- thanks Woody & co!

The drive back home got me thinking about long car journeys with kids and the things we’ve learnt over the years:

– Someone will do a shit on the M25.

– Unfortunately you’ll pass at least one accident, sadly as the kids get older they become more aware of what that actually means instead of just lots of flashing lights… Polly: “Mummy where will all the dead bodies be? Will we see them?”

– You’ll turn into Smithy from Gavin & Stacey in the way you chat about service stations and yes we’d agree Chieveley is pretty high ranking but we never miss a stop at South Mimms.

– Every now and then you might make a wrong turn or miss an exit and you might just find a whole new route like the time we came home via the New Forest when we forgot to leave the M3.

– The kids will fall asleep 5 minutes before you arrive anywhere but will refuse to sleep when you need them too- like the time Polly stayed awake for the whole 3 hour stretch back from London.

– You’ll pack the ‘wrong clothes’ for someone- it’s normally Henry but this time it was Polly.

– And finally, breaking down in the dark, on a bridge, on the motorway with young children in the car is as horrifying an experience as it sounds- March 2020, not an experience any of us ever want to repeat again!