My guilty secret and the trouble with sand.

 

I feel terrible Tom the gardener worked so hard in the garden getting it back under control.  He was here all day and it was all back breaking work with the added hazard of possible missed poos to be treading in.  His only instruction he left me with was to water the new planted shrubs that he had carefully chosen and arranged for me.  In fact in told me to water them verbally and left  me a note and do you think I have remembered to water those plants at all. I wouldn’t mind but the boys and I planted some veg too and they haven’t been watered either.  So today the garden is going to get a good soaking not sure whether this will help the dehydrated plants but it will relieve some of the guilt (Tom is back on Friday and he’s going to be able to tell isn’t he.)

Anyway now I have that off my chest I can tell you all about the fun we had with the sand.  Took them all to Stanwick lakes yesterday, yes all, the boys and the teenager (who brought a friend).  Stanwick is a beautiful place to walk with big picturesque lakes and ducks, geese and swans galore. That is not the reason we went of course.  We went for the 4 massive wooden climbing frames embedded in tons and tons and tons of lovely soft white sand.  Never do I remember to bring a bucket and spade but at least this time I remembered the change of clothes and a towel.  In the middle of these lovely climbing frames and sand is a water play bit which has water pouring out of and in to various bits that can be climbed on and walked through.  It really is a fabulous place to go on a warm day, the trouble is between the sand, mud, bird doodoos and water its also the messiest place in the world.  We had been there not 5 minutes and Ninja was totally soaked from head to toe and complaining of it being a bit chilly.  I was prepared, I gave him the look and told him if he got changed now we’d have to go home.  Suddenly his clothes weren’t that uncomfortable and he was off again getting more soaked.  Humf started off well sat in the nice dry sand, stole a bucket and spade from some unsuspecting kid and began to build sand castle so I sat on a grassy knoll with a eye on both and breath a sigh of contentment.  5 minutes later Ninja was back again, well chuffed that he’d made a friend and was “getting” everyone with him.  Distracted by the over excited Ninja for those few minutes I turned to look over at Humf again.  There were the bucket and spade, but no Humf. I scanned the climbing frame,  nope not there, shit time to get off my butt.  In to the sand pit I go walk round the climbing frame, walk over the climbing frame still no Humf.  Panic is starting to rise, seriously where can he have got to in the 30 seconds I was talking to Ninja.  Teenager gets screamed at to help search now, the girls separate and we each take a direction.  Within a couple of minutes searching I notice a woman looking slightly concerned over at something and get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I walk over there  and low and behold there is Humf stuck up to his knees in mud with a massive grin on his face.  Relieved I have got him and he is fine overwhelms me and then the realisation not only am I going to have to get him out of the mud but I am going to have to get him cleaned up somehow too, hits. 

A little girl and I manage to ply him from the sticky place and I strip him immediately (well after a photo op) tell him he was naughty for disappearing and guide him to the wet play area.  There in just a nappy on he eventually gets cleanish and for the rest of the day my eyes are clued to him. 

 

The trousers were a pale beige at the beginning of the day.

Apart from this little incident the whole time was brilliant and the boys fell asleep with that worn out but it was fun look about them, and I think so did I…