LivingwithKids

A few years ago on a trip to Australia we met some kangaroos. They were so gentle and docile we were able to sit down with No 1 Son right next to them and stroke their fur, which is incredibly soft. 

*Adopts Rolf Harris voice* I met this little fella (right) on my recent trip to Florida. He was fast asleep in his 'pouch' - basically a shoulder bag - but we were still able to stroke him.

Last week I saw a report on the news about how Kangaroo meat is becoming more popular Down Under. I know some will argue that they need culling, there are too many of them, we eat beef so why not kangaroo? But it's not something I could ever feel comfortable with. And you know what? They. Were. There. First. They also release practically no methane, which is kind of important, when you think about it.

*This is my entry to the Gallery - the theme this week is Nature.

I've always wanted to visit Discovery Cove, a tropical oasis which only admits 1,000 visitors a day.

The park includes a coral reef complete with stingray and tropical fish, pools, lots of coves and waterfalls. There's even an aviary.

And as you can see from the picture (left) it also gives you the chance to have a dolphin swim experience. Here I am puckering up to the beautiful Astra. We were also given the chance to swim with her friend Rascal, holding on to his belly, and learned how to communicate with them.

I couldn't help feeling though that they needed more space, although the trainer assured me their pool area was bigger than 'official guidelines'.

Kids would absolutely love it at Discovery Cove  - it's all very safe, and the snorkelling is fun (although it does get a little crowded). The food was disappointing, but the facilities are excellent, and there are plenty of secluded beaches for you to soak up the Florida sun.

And I would definitely recommend the lazy 'Tropical River', which you just float along, being - um, lazy *cough*. I could have stayed in that all day.

NB children have to be over six for the dolphin swim experience. For details of how to get to Discovery Cove, click here.

When I started blogging, I never imagined I would end up going to the cinema with three women I’ve never met before on a sort of Mum date, let alone spending a few days in Florida with five other mothers.

To be honest, I’ve always thought I have all the friends that I need. I have around 10 Best Friends, and maybe 60 or so Good Friends, and then lots of Other Friends. I barely have time to keep up with them all. So I really wasn’t planning to meet or make new ones.

I was a bit apprehensive about meeting my virtual friends in the flesh. Would we get along? Would the humour that keeps us entertained on twitter translate into real life?

But when I saw them it was like we’d known each other for years and I physically ached from laughing. Now I find myself with some new friends, and that’s brilliant.

I’d love to know what you think. Do you find it easy to make new friends as a grown-up? Do you even want to?

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Busch Gardens - as you know I’m not a fan of zoos. What I found though was an environment where the emphasis is very much on creating as natural a habitat as possible. With his big brown eyes and beautiful face it was impossible not to fall in love with Sim Sim the Silverback gorilla. He seemed very content and being so close and watching him communicate with the keeper – using sign language to communicate he wanted more fruit – was simply magical. His gaze never seemed to leave ours.

Stuffing a big ball full of lettuce is not something you do every day, but it was all part of the Elephant Keeper Experience. Our job was to get an assortment of fresh fruit and vegetable snacks ready for the five Asian elephants, but hide them in activity balls and blocks to give them more of a challenge. So we ran around in the heat, hiding apples, corn on the cob and giant frozen popsicles in as many places as possible. Then we watched as the elephants demolished the lot. Absolutely brilliant.

Another highlight has to be the Serengeti Safari, where you can feed giraffes from the top of a jeep. As you can see they have the most extraordinary eyelashes and their coats are very soft to the touch. Their mouths are like velvet.

Rollercoasters at Busch Gardens include SheiKra and my personal favourite, Stanley Falls, which gives you a good soaking as you plummet down a 40-foot drop – very welcome in the heat.  For younger children, there is the fantastic Sesame Street Safari of Fun, a brilliant multi-coloured adventure playground full of themed rides and water fun to keep them cool.

But for me, it was all about the animals. There are some daytrips which stay with you forever. Busch Gardens is definitely one of them. For details of how to get there, see yesterday's post.

*These photos are my entries to this week’s Gallery.

In just one week's time I'll be jetting off to Florida with five other mummy bloggers. There's nothing like the thought of exposing your body to strangers to frighten you into dieting and so that's what I've been doing, since April.

 

This morning I jumped on the scales and saw numbers I haven't seen in over two years. I can't tell you how good that feels. I still have a way to go, but I'm determined to keep on with it. I've found my diet easy to stick to and when I've had a 'bad' day or snacking setbacks I haven't let it hold me back - instead I've treated the following day as a fresh start. I've also been doing more exercise (well, walking. I haven't joined a gym, or anything.) And gratifyingly, my combats are now so loose they fall off when I walk up the stairs.

Of course I'm not saying nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. I still love chocolate and cheese. But to paraphrase Joey Tribbiani, my clothes fit a little better, I have more energy and I'm definitely feeling more confident about going on that beach.

This morning I should have been getting a cab to the airport, on my way to Florida with five other mum bloggers. For obvious reasons, like the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, we’re not going anywhere for at least six weeks.

And being really honest and more than a little self-centred, I was incredibly fed up when I realised we’d have to wait a bit longer for our trip. It wasn’t just that I’d been shopping, been waxed and been gearing myself up for it for a fortnight. In the words of the Oceanic Six, I just wanted to get off the island.

But then I saw the footage of the troops being brought home by naval carrier after their tour of duty. Heard about the thousands of families desperate to get back, loved ones who had been separated, and the schoolchildren who had to miss the start of term and even exams. And learned that urgent medical supplies couldn’t get to their destination.

And that puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it? This has been an awful situation, an economic nightmare for many, but it’s not 9/11. For all of us, I think, the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull is a reminder that there are some things we simply cannot control, and nature is one of them. We’ve also learned new words like ‘volcanic plume’ and ‘ash cloud’. Who knows, Geography may enjoy an unexpected revival in popularity at school.

So I’ve put away my holiday wardrobe for another few weeks. I know we won’t have long to wait. I can wait.

Sometimes you're having a very ordinary day and the most extraordinary thing can happen. Like when an email popped into my inbox a few weeks ago asking if I would like to go on a trip to Orlando with five other mummy bloggers. My first reaction was 'Florida! OMG' because we really didn't get much sun last year and I'm in desperate need of a tan. And when I saw the invite included a trip to Discovery Cove, somewhere I've always wanted to go, well of course I said yes.

But then I started to feel afraid. I've never met any of these women before. What if they don't like me? How will my family cope without me? Will they remember to feed themselves? Will they remember to turn off the oven when they've finished cooking? Will they break the dishwasher? Will I feel guilty that I'm going on such an amazing trip without them? Will the puppy pine?

I've always been one to rise to challenges and meet them head on. And I know that Mummy Me Time is incredibly important for our wellbeing - and to be honest, I haven't had much of it for quite a while.

So I'm ignoring the fears, and I'm doing it anyway. I'm really looking forward to meeting Erica, Jo, English Mum, Laura and Linda, and I'm ridiculously excited about going to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica and of course Discovery Cove.

I won't be riding the big rollercoasters - but this trip will be an adventure for me, all the same.

At the risk of sounding like I'm cutting your hair, where are you going on holiday next year? I have such itchy feet at the moment. One of my friends is off to Rome with her family today and I'm VERY jealous. Our last proper holiday was back in August when we went to Chicago, and we haven't been on a beach all year.

If you're not sure where you want to go, next week I'll be giving you my top picks for the best family holiday destinations for 2010. But meanwhile I just wanted to let you know that Virgin Holidays have a brilliant sale on right now, with fantastic offers (including to the Caribbean and Florida) but you'll have to be quick because it ends on Thursday. And lastminute.com are offering an incredible 50% off on some holidays - and they also have some brilliant skiing and February half-term offers.

Let me know your top tips for family holiday destinations below and I'll do a round-up of the best in a few weeks.

Sometimes when I look at No 1 Son, so healthy and strong, I find it hard to believe we both had to fight so hard for him to be here.

I started being sick almost from the moment the blue line appeared on the pregnancy stick. Before then I had always thought that 'morning sickness' would be exactly that, but my nausea started the moment I woke up and went on until the evening. 'It'll soon pass,' everyone kept telling me as I puked my guts out, but it didn't. Foolishly, we decided to go on holiday to Florida. 'I'm desperate for a holiday,' I told my concerned mum. 'I'm only three months pregnant, it'll be fine.'

And the flight was fine. But the minute I set foot on the tarmac in the 100F plus heat, the nausea started again. We were staying in Key West, a five hour drive from Miami, and I was terribly unwell most of the way... not pretty.

I managed to go on the beach for an hour or so, but by the evening I was vomiting everywhere. The following morning we went to the drugstore, where they recommended Pepto Bismol. It didn't help. By the afternoon, I could no longer hold water down. We rushed to the local hospital, where I quickly lost consciousness. When I woke I was on a drip, in a private room (thank God for travel insurance), and had been diagnosed with Hyperemesis  'Silly duffer,' my baby's father kept calling me, the concern etched in his voice. I was too weak even to smile. All I cared about was that our baby was OK.

The scan showed a heartbeat, thank God, and we wept buckets, so grateful our little boy (there was no mistaking the fact that the baby was a boy) was still there. Gradually, thanks to the round-the-clock nursing - it was all very Grey's Anatomy - I stopped being sick every hour on the hour. I managed to drink Snapple, and hold it down.

10 days later I returned to the UK, having spent the entire time in hospital. I had lost a stone and dropped two dress sizes, but for once this wasn't a good thing. And it wasn't over. Further tests revealed that I had a small (benign) tumour in my pituitary gland, in the base of the brain. It was growing at an alarming rate. Because I was pregnant, there was nothing that could be done. All the doctors could do was monitor me and our baby.

To cut a long story short, though it was a difficult pregnancy and labour, No 1 Son was born screaming at the top of his voice. (He still does this). The tumour shrank, but my belly didn't.

I call him my 'Spartan' child, because he really did battle to be born. I only wish he'd let me cuddle him a bit more often.

One of my friends, her hubby, their six year old and their baby are off to Florida for half term (lucky them). They booked a bargain sunshine break with Airtours, and now they’re all ready to go.

Except for one hitch. When they registered for the new US ESTA, which all visitors now need to do, my friend, her husband and their son were immediately accepted. But their little girl’s application is still ‘pending’.

Now they have an agonising wait of 72 hours to see if their baby is accepted or declined.

If you’re planning a holiday to the US this summer, my advice is to make sure you apply for your ESTA as early as possible – and then sit back and hold your breath.