For me, I love nothing more early on a Sunday morning than walking the dogs with my family at our local beach at Thurlestone. This Sunday was no exception and I think it was the prettiest I'd seen Thurleston look for a while. The water was calm, the sun was shining; all this at the end of September!!!Now that big shrimp is a fully fledged school girl (and yes, I'm still finding it hard to come to terms with), our weekends are even more important. With the pressures of everyday life and a down turn in the economy, it's so easy for the family unit to start to break down a little, with more parents having no choice but to work longer hours in an attempt to pay the bills and we are no exception. Weekends for us before we bought our little cottage often consisted of me 'escaping' for a few hours for a bit of 'me' time usually mooching away in Bath, having spent every waking hour (usually starting around the 5am hour) with the little shrimps. I just needed to see other adults!!! oh and of course the SHOPS!!!We'd then juggle the jobs and the childcare for the remainder of the weekend.
Before I had children of my own, I was delusional in thinking that I'd still be able to get all the cleaning/gardening/shopping done with them around....I laugh at that now, how on earth did I think I'd do that with two very demanding children in tow?! The reality was that shopping would have to be done either at the weekend or at 8pm in the evening, housework at the weekends and gardening...well, whenever I had a spare minute in the evening or at the weekend. The level of tiredness that having two tiny people brought and the fact that for nearly two years between the two of them Mr Shrimp and I only got a maximum of 5 hours a sleep a night, just added to that feeling that the years were passing by in a bit of a blurr. Whoever thinks that when you have children, life is all about watching daytime TV is way off the mark, this has been the hardest (but most rewarding) job I have ever done.
Now that five years later I am coming out other side, with big shrimp at school full time and little shrimp at Pre-school several days a week, I now have the luxury of TIME...Time to do the chores whilst they are away from me and time to do the cleaning and shopping during the hours they're at school, which all these years later, means we have our weekends back....and boy do we appreciate them and make the most of every single second.
Being able to re-group as a family every weekend, somewhere away from our usual home (where as you know, there is always something to do) has been a godsend, a luxury that I am more than aware we are very lucky to have. Board games on a Friday evening (yes we now have a TV there but that doesn't mean it has to go on), have become a tradition, a new favourite being Domino's which is great for big shrimp's introduction into the world of Maths (not a favourite subject of mine).
Most of all we love our walks along the beaches, the dogs are also more than happy with their new life running along the beaches with the girls, dipping their little paws in the ocean before realising they're much to 'precious' to consider getting their coats wet!!!
Big shrimp loves to practice her school words in the sand with her special pen (a stick)! then watch the waves wash them away. What a lovely way to learn to write...writing in the sand with the sound of waves all around her; sure beats a pen and paper accompanied by the sound of Cbeebies in the background! Little shrimp just loves walking along in everyone elses' footprints....
Only a child could venture into the sea at 8am before it has been warmed by the sun! I can see the attraction though, look how clear the water is... 
Of course mummy is expected to be on hand immediately with a complete change of clothes x 2, towels and hot chocolate to warm them as soon as a wave catches them unawares and soaks them from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes! How can I stop this though?...sisters....best of friends...sharing these wonderful experiences together.
So for now we will continue to walk along the beach every Sunday, enjoying the sunshine for as long as it lasts, replacing it with bracing walks through the winter months dressed in scarves, hats and wellingtons...........oh lord, I've just remembered how my daughters have the inability to comprehend that if they stand in the sea in their wellington boots that there is a strong possibility that the waves will lap over the top...leaving mummy to deal with wet boots, socks and VERY cold red swollen toes.......Oh the joys of motherhood!!................I wouldn't change it for the world!
