Quick Guide To Camping - Hoax Stylee

A predictable catalogue of disasters during the first day didn't deter me and we made it to Shell Island.

I had packed the car with anything and everything trying to cover every eventuality and finally collaspsed into bed for a 5:30am start. The island is only accessible during certain times so I had to be there, a 2 hour drive away before 10:30 am so aimed to meet my pal at 7am.

I was suffering with a headache the night before so promised myself a good night's sleep in preparation. Lack of planning resulted and nerves were kicking in resulted in finally getting to bed with 4 hours spare for sleeping. Finn then decides to wake me, firstly to inform me he has a cough, then a second time about an hour later, to share the information that he cannot sleep. My kids NEVER get up during the night, so I was furious.

We finally leave the house, Indigo blinking and yawning as I lift her from her crib and into the car. I kissed my husband goodbye as he rolled back over to snooze. Excitedly, we pop the new CD compilation on and crank up the volume as I try to start the car. First attempt and the battery died.

I was in tears. I couldn't reach my friend by phone to tell her I would be late. Husband had to be woken up to jump start the car. We, the kids and I had to push the car up our long drive so he could turn his car around to reach with the cables.

Luckily, friend had overslept so we hung around and waited for her. She was having her own traumas. Finally we set off. The first problem was her breaking her sat-nav ten minutes into the journey, followed by her son peeing in the car (potty training.) We had 12 minutes to reach the island when my son vomited over the car. After cleaning him up by the side of the road we accepted the fact we wouldn't get there in time. A mile away from the island we sat at a picnic spot and ate lunch before heading to the causeway to queue. We joined the back of a massive line of cars. Calling the island we were informed of only 50 more vacancies. So when the tide went out, we finally got to cross onto Shell Island and were cars number 43 and 44, such a close call.

We didn't even search for a place to camp, friend just drove down a little lane and there was a perfect spot, 5ft away from the beach.

We took a 6 man tent and a 2 man.
4 kids in one room of the big tent, Me, A and Ind in the room and friend, her bf and toddler in the two man. It was perfect. There was a constant campfire burning on which we roasted marshmallows, cooked sausage beans and mash, pot noodles galore and bacon butties at every opportunity. Croissants and crisps were on hand for snacks

The big kids just ran between the camp and the beach and if we stood on a box we could see them over the separating hedge.

Luckily the weather was dry, in fact, extremely hot, so things were easier than had it been rainy. Crabbing with bits of left over bacon entertained them for hours and they bought nets at the shop and caught prawns.

Night time was beautiful, everyone set off Chinese lanterns into the sky and campfires roared along the beach. We lay on the ground and watched shooting stars. Very romantic had I not been a gooseberry.

The shops weren't massively overpriced. A grocers with a pretty good selection of food, a gift shop with toys and sweets and a camping supplies shop. Also a playground, a pub and a restaurant/takeaway bar.

The aim of this post is to recommend the type of equipment to take with a baby. She had her moses basket to sleep in but I took the cosytoe from her pram and used it as a mini sleeping bag for her. We bought a beach shelter from Aldi for £12 and used that during the day with her bouncy chair.

I breastfed when I could and used ready made formula cartons for feeds. I took 10 sterilised bottles with me but I could have washed them and resterilised in a pan of boiling water.

I didn't bother with clothes for her, just dressing her in babygrows with jackets over. I took a sun hat but would recommend a beanie for night time when it goes cold.

I slept on a camping mat rather than an airbed and her moses basket lay next to me. I took her Bumbo but opted for her pram around the camp, so I could shade her easily. If the tempreture had dropped dramatically I would have probably let her sleep overnight in her pram rather than on the ground but it wasn't necessary.

The only thing I would be apprehensive of would be maintaining a fire, which actually requires some skill. Camping with kids is vastly easier if you go with friends or family. There was 15 of us at some points.

If you are unsure about coping, try going sat morning then leaving sunday evening. One night in a tent is bearable in most conditions. You also park next to your tent so you don't have to carry things, or you could sleep in the car if needed.

You could eat at the restaurants if you didn't fancy cooking and the shop stocked fresh sandwiches and pasta salads.

I've just been and purchased camping things from all the cheap and nasty shops. Not much stock left but everything is reduced. I picked up a four man tent reduced from £50 to £20 in Argos and TXMaxx has loads of stuff. All the Poundland, B&M Stores and Home and Bargain type places have cheap sleeping bags and camping stoves. I paid £1 each for frying pans, pots, camp mats, picnic plates etc.

If it was raining then nearby was a playbarn and the local villages were full of tourists.

The cost was £7 per adult per night, £3 per child but under threes are free. You pay £5 per car and I think it's £5 per dog per night.

Returning For Comfort.

This blog has been thoroughly neglected of late and I'm returning to it because I'm feeling down.

Things have been fabulous within my little unit. The kids are well and although they are driving me slightly insane with it being the summer holidays, I can cope with the constant surrounding chaos. Husband and I seem better than ever.  I don't know what's changed of late but our sex life is more than healthy again and I'm completely grateful. I'm actually frightened to admit how good it is in case of jinxing things.

But on the other hand I am faced with three new situations.
The first was inevitable. Returning from maternity leave. I have such important decisions to make about whether to go back full time or look for another job. I'm not sure which choice of my long list is the best option financially. I stay in denial but I need to get organised as soon as possible. It's causing me to feel anxious and my sleep is now being affected. I truly don't think I could leave Indigo with a childminder and desperately don't want to go back. I think husband and I are going to have a difficult few hours working everything through. Problem is, he is happy to stay in denial a little while longer too.

The second is my health. My hearing is decreasing rapidly. Finally my tonsils are to be removed and I asked for a hearing test whilst visiting the consultant. Two frequencies I can't hear at all and they suspect I am suffering from a predatory hearing condition which is triggered by pregnancy. The only option given was for a re-test in a few months to see if there was any change. I know it's getting worse. I have to concentrate to distinguish between sounds if I am in a noisy environment. I live in a noisy environment! I am constantly grouchily screaming "what?" at people trying to communicate with me and it's giving me headaches.

The third, is ex-husband-who-hasn't-died-in-a-car-crash.
His maintenance payment bounced this month. I had seen him the day before and he didn't give me the heads up. Daughter had told me that he was losing his rental apartment and moving back in with his parents, so I queried this with him. He looked embarrassed and said it was true, just for a few months to get himself sorted. Surely at this point he could have raised the topic of his lack of funds. But he chose not to.  Not only do I find out from the CSA that he has declared himself bankrupt but that he won't be making payments for awhile due to the nature of his employment. When we were together he made me change my bank account into one with his name on, giving him full access. He didn't return the favour and kept his banks separate.
When I left him, he refused to sign the necessary forms to remove his name, so I changed security and continued to use the account. In hindsight, I should have sorted it out then, but I couldn't swap to an identical account as the bank no longer provides them. It's a basic account but it suits me perfectly, plus I couldn't be bothered swapping all direct debits and wage details about.

Today, the account got frozen. With his bankruptcy, it affects joint accounts also.

This morning has been spent alternating between phoning the bank and contacting the team dealing with his bankruptcy. Luckily I have managed to prove the account is solely used by me and saved the funds from it being used on his debt. Sadly, The account is formally closed. It takes 28 days to open a new replica account (which they are doing as a favour.) I now have to transfer EVERYTHING to an even more basic account until it's authorised. Nightmare. I'm going to have to travel to work with the four kids and chance my details on-site.

Thankfully, my fund were released. With no maintenance and no bank account access, god knows how he expected me to finance the kids.  When I spoke to the bankruptcy team who are dealing with them, they commented on how underhand his actions were and that in fact, he was advised to give notice on any joint accounts so preparations could have been made. He has achieved a nice bit of sabotage on my life today.

I am debating on not letting the children see him this Saturday as he surely doesn't have the petrol money to get here or the cash to feed them? I haven't even spoken to him yet about any of it because I know he will be stressed and aggressive.

I'm tired, cold and pretty whingy today. I just want to curl up on the sofa with husband. Tomorrow, two friends with their horrible children are coming tomorrow so there will be 10 kids in the house. Two with ADHD and a toddler who has a biting and spitting habit. I haven't got the energy.

Roll on bedtime tonight.