Wednesday 7 May 2014

Forty pence

We had a fantastic long weekend, with three lovely afternoons out, some beautiful weather and a general happy feeling.  Oh yes, and other than food and petrol it we only spent 40p.  I love that these little boys are happy to do things that don't cost too much.  What's that saying about the best things in life?

On Saturday they wanted to go to a local park that has a skate park there, as well as trees for climbing and the usual play equipment.








We stayed there in the sun for three hours, playing, reading, watching cricket.  I pottered around taking photos of boys and flowers.


Hawthorn blossom is some of my favourite.  Such perfectly round buds, and close up the petals are like crumpled silk.


On Sunday morning I took the boys to the allotment and planted sweetcorn.  After lunch we went and jumped around on the beach.  They never get tired of sticks and stones and scrambling over rocks.





I always pause when I pass this wonderful fig tree that's out of the back of the cafe above, on the way to the bookshop.  It was pruned back hard last year, but it's still growing well with lots of little figlets on it.  I wanted to visit back in the autumn at fig time, but I missed the moment.  I don't know whether the figs were any good, whether they were collected and eaten.  Maybe I'll find out this year.  Although it's in the cafe garden I don't think it's accessible from there, but it does overhang the lane.  If I was there at fig time one might fall into my hand as I passed, you never know, stranger things have happened.


I gave the biggest boy 20p to look through the telescope at some birds at the water's edge.  They turned out to be gulls, but he was quick to assure me that they were the most unusual of this country's regular gulls, just in case I thought it was a waste of 20p.  And I gave them 20p for the toilets.  And that was the extent of our expenditure over the three days, except for food and petrol, which I know is of course a huge chunk of money, but nonetheless, it's easy to find that somehow a whole load more has been extracted.

On Monday we went for the walk that I already posted about.  It was only about two and a half miles, but we took about two hours over it.  There was plenty of climbing and constructing and general boy stuff.


You may have noticed that the littlest boy wore the same clothes for all three days.  After the first two days I made it clear that they were to go in the laundry basket.  He seemed to agree, maybe in retrospect a little too readily.  The next morning they were nowhere to be found.  And before I knew it, there he was again, wearing the same slightly grubby football kit.  Once his clothes are on, it's much too tricky to make him take them off again and change.  Pick your battles, you know.  I mentioned that I hadn't been able to find them in the laundry basket because he'd squirrelled them away somewhere.  He said that yes he had, he'd put them under his pillow.  In retrospect, a little too readily.  The next day when he was safely at school (in his uniform) I went to the laundry basket.  Nothing.  Under the pillow.  Nothing.  I finally found them stuffed into a desk drawer.  Is it me or is it slightly disturbing that he can deflect the questioning quite so deftly and convincingly?  At five.  I'm not thinking about the future.  At all.

30 comments:

  1. What a wonderful weekend you had, all for 40p a bargain I reckon. I have a nine year old who does that with clothes except after three days he would still look immaculate and after five or ten days all in the same clothes. He seems to wick dirt no matter where he plays.........

    Scumped food tastes the best, always :)

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  2. Looks like the boys had a jumpin' good time. ;-)

    Is that cricket being played in the background? We have a few cricket clubs in the area. I'm not too keen on all of the rules, but I enjoy watching.

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  3. What is the deal with boys and clothes and washing!! I guess that if anyone can work that one out they could make a fortune. Your picture of the dandelion seedhead is beautiful! Glad that you had such a good time. xx

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  4. What a good boy's mom you are.. taking them to get some good outdoor fun. That is a funny story about the hidden laundry. Don't you wonder why he didn't want them washed? Boys! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. such a lovely day for your family!

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  6. I always think that the best times with my kids are the ones where we didn't spend money, didn't watch a screen, didn't worry too much about dirt or unhealthfulness of food...etc. I kind of enjoy letting it all go to hell for a little while. In a good way. :)

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  7. My son loved to wear his favourite clothes non stop, when asked to change he always said " why, I will only get them dirty, I might as well keep these ones on" Then he grew a bit, discovered girls and seemed to live in the shower and change 4 times a day.

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  8. Both my boys went through the keeping on clothes for as long as they dare! Awful creatures, I'm happy to say that Rob who is the eldest grew out of it & is now the cleanest boy you could meet! Harry, well he is still at that stage, however you are correct in what you say pick your battles. Looks like you had a great weekend & 40p on top of food & petrol is fantastic.

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  9. Brilliant ,, - he'll go far in life !! Love the budgeting too.
    Kate x

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  10. Wonderful weekend - so good that your boys enjoy such natural things. I wouldn't worry about your boy he'll probably turn out to be a well dressed clean young man in due course!! I agree about picking one's battles and only going to war over the really important stuff!

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  11. Looks like you had a lovely little weekend! The clothes stroy made me chuckle out loud on tbe train just now! x

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  12. Boys and clothes! Matt used to try and sell it to me that it saved on the washing and therefore was environmentally friendly by saving water! :). He's grown out of it now. X

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  13. What a wonderful weekend and all for the princely sum of 40p, bargain. You want to be thankful that you've got boys who are only too happy to get some wear out of their clothes before being washed, girls tend to wear them for half an hour before discarding them in the wash basket and changing in to something else, or is that just my daughter.

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  14. What a lovely weekend you've had. Fun on a budget is my favourite kind of fun with the children.
    I am afraid it will get worse before it gets better with wearing old clothes if my oldest is in any way representative.... Just yesterday I threatened to cut his favourite T-shirt of his body if he didn't put it in the washing, he has been sleeping in it for 10 days and has been hiding it during the day. I actually check if he has changed shirts and count the pants in the laundry basket.... but don't tell him!
    My mum has a fig tree and I always long to be at hers during fig season. In my dads family home in Italy, we used to have two big trees as well and figs very much remind me of early happy childhood days.

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  15. A delightful post and lovely photos. Your last paragraph had me laughing out loud. Flighty xx

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  16. Ha! That made me chuckle. My two shock me with how quickly and deftly they lie - it freaks me out a little if I'm honest! You kind of have to admire his determination and resourcefulness though, don't you? Bless him. I'm so glad you had a lovely bank holiday. John had to work so I spent £40 at B&Q and did a lot of gardening. Seriously, I don't know how some seeds, compost and a few plants added up like that! It's depressing how quickly we get through the money when we aren't even being extravagant with it, just the usual things. Boo. xx

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  17. Your youngest has all the skills needed to be a politician. My son could do that from an early age, turn the conversation to his advantage, deflect awkward questions and still has a way of being able to twist me round his little finger. (!) It's a boy thing, definitely. I love that boys can be entertained for hours just by being outdoors. We had the heath to roam, beachcombing when visiting my parents and, even in the flats, throw a ball outside and you don't see the kids for hours (you hear them though!). I bet you don't mind a reason to be outdoors either! Hope your sweetcorn grows well, I'm hoping to sow some this weekend. Cxx

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  18. It sounds like a great time for everyone. The skate park and the climbing trees look just the thing - what fun to stand at the top of the ramp with your scooter or skateboard, then take the scary plunge!

    I don't have any kids, but I do have a ton of nieces and nephews. They can go through some funny phases with their clothing preferences, but they always seem to grow out of them. (The phases as well as the clothes.) :)

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  19. what a lovely weekend, and five is a lovely age, even when the little one refuses to give up his dirty clothes.
    hugs,
    Meredith

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  20. It sounds like a really nice weekend spent outdoors and with those you love. Those are my favorite kind too. I loved looking at the pictures from the skatepark! There are more and more skateparks popping up around here and I think it's a really positive development. It's a fun place to make connections and hang out with family and friends. The stories about your kids crack me up! They sound like characters.

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  21. Under a pillow? In his desk drawer?! I thought only girls became so attached to their clothes! I love hearing about your adventures with your boys. And the sea gull comment made me laugh!

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  22. Ha ha, he's pretty smart your littlest fellow - watch out!
    What a lovely long weekend you had, lots of outdoor fun (apart from watching cricket??) and you're allotment posts have inspired me to dig over a patch of garden to plant some veggie seeds, all this rain and they're bound to grow.

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  23. Looks like a wonderful time! I love the story of the slightly grubby football kit. My son's team is claret and white stripes and I don't think there is a single stripe that doesn't have some kind of sausage grease, popsicle, pizza, whatever stain on it. But they are all signs of good times to my son. hehe. I'm looking forward to next fall when we're supposed to get a new kit ...

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  24. Your weekend looks delightful hope this one coming is also as good! Sarah x

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  25. Exactly what boys need isn't it, lots of activity. I love to see them outside playing. And do you have a pile of sticks by your back door that they bring back home with them from their walks? My younger son is studying for exams and even at his age I tell him every so often he needs to go outside and expend some energy. Love the laundry tale too - as you say, pick your fights, does it really matter if he wears a t-shirt for 3 days? No way.
    Have a good weekend
    Caz xx

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  26. Great to see your boys being so active. Funnily enough I looked at my fig tree today and there are so many figlets on there. Should be a good harvest this year! Have a fun filled weekend xx

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  27. Sounds a fab way to spend 40p. I'm always shocked at how easily things add up! What a wonderful weekend. bigR has recently learned how to lie but isn't sure what the difference is between teasing, joking and lying but actually the subtleties are quite to difficult to explain!!

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  28. Ha! My little guy who will be 4 is a stinker with his clothes! It is his way all the way so I completely understand! And how wonderful that you are all taking in the simple pleasures of life! That is the way I like to do it as well. Such beautiful photos friend! The beach shots are just fantastic! The colors in that shot with the ice cream truck are just amazing! Wishing you a weekend full of the simple things! Nicole xoxo

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  29. Sorry I'm a bit late coming to this post. I'm glad you had a wonderful, long weekend. I love hawthorn blossom, too - I'm always delighted to see it come out. I'm very fond of the smell, although I don't suppose it is a classically lovely scent. The littlest boy is obviously very attached to these clothes!

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