Final note from Fuerte

We are in the final thral smoke before coming and packing all his stuff – laid back doesn’t even start to cover it. Have had a lovely couple of days since last blog and pcis will have to wait until home as takes too long but there are some lovely ones from yesterday where we went round the rocks to the village for a walk. Not loking forward to the flight as T will be tired – takes off at bed time, and if we don’t get lucky with seats again it could be challenging – but it is only four hours and hopefully will be ok – we have packed Night Garden disc in the laptop to give best possible chance – I also have all the favourite story books, monkey and lion and his warm jamas so we can do our best.

Looking forward to getting back to our house and having all our making life easy with a toddler stuff to hand and being able to cook some home cooked food after eating out every meal for a week. Wil post tomorrow when get back to let you know how the flight went – fingers crossed. Love to all.

Mega R&R

Another two days of doing not very much – bliss. I have ready two monster books so far – a big Alexander the Great era battle type novel and a Ludlum – The Bourne Betrayal -in the last 5 days – both major page turners and hard to put down. Its a while since I have had the time. I have a small book to read tomorrow – the Diving Bell and the Butterfly so a little more esoteric. We have basically spent a couple of days in a poolside routine which Teddy has adjusted well to. Up early for some play, then its off to breakfast were we do battle with Ted who seems to be against eating anything other than fruit and bread and will only eat when sat on my lap. Still at least its fruit and bread not chocolate and chips and its not so much he won’t eat anything else the fuss of trying to get it in him is not worth it when 50% of the time he spits it out in my lap. I think its holiday disruption and am sure once back home will all settle.

We come nack to the apartment to get our stuff and then its off to the baby pool for an hour from 1030 til 1130 for Ted to get some cup play in and have a general splash about. Liek clockwork about 1130 he starts to get cranky so we tuck him up in the buggy and its off for a walk -in less than 10 mins he is asleep and then we have 2 hours of chilling out readin by the pool – we find a quieter spot for this stretch. Lunch whenever he wakes up 2 yesterday 130 today and then we  make our way back to the kids pool via the playground for more cup fun.

Back to the room for Teds bath and some Night Garden and then its out for an early dinner then back to bed for Ted and more reading for us grown ups! Seems to suit T well – with the exception of the late dinner and we have taken to giving him a sandwich, fruit and yoghurt at 530ish as by dinner he is cranky as hell and we never get to dessert. Next time we will make sure there are sufficient catering facilities to cook in the evenings as going out to dinner is not alot of fun when you have an overtired child tearing the place apart. Still you live and learn and to be fair he has been pretty good overall even though he has been out later than bedtime most nights.

Already considering a repeat visit – we would take a pool villa next time to have that catering flexibility and stay for 2 weeks. Feeling very relaxed and just wondering where Ry is – he went out for a cig about half an hour ago and has failed to return – probably went to find a pint to go with his cig in the bar – just failed to let me know that part of the plan

Heres the wednesday and thursday gallery (mostly wednesday)

Fuerteventura gallery – Tuesday

3 degrees in London, 23 degrees in Fuerteventura

Loving the sunny weather – it was gorgeous today – Ry likes it even hotter but perfect temperature for me and with a breeze to keep you cool. We were up early for Night garden which is on in the mornings on Spanish TV. Ted doesn’t seem to notice the difference as nothing is lost in translation. We breakfasted light and then I decided to take a walk up the mountain next to the hotel with Ted on my hip. Ry came back to the apartment to get his sunnies and camera and by the time he caught us up I was halfway up. He said I was alot further than he thought I would be – which is his way of saying I thought you were far to lazy to get this far! But we decided to go no further a) because Ted is really heavy to carry; b) because it was pretty windy and Ted was not loving it and c) because I couldn’t go any further. We walked back down and breezed around the apartment for a while before heading over to the other hotel pool in the complex for the day – lovely infinity pool and slightly warmer than the one nearest the apartments. Ted was asleep by the time we walked over so we had 2 hours of reading in the sun. Heaven. Ted is having long naps as he is cranky and tired by mid morning. He is also pretty cranky when he comes round from his naps so I took him back to the apartment for lunch and so he could come round to being awake for the afternoon withough making life a misery for the guests at the hotel pool. Ted has a nasty cough too which is worse when he sleeps and when he first wakes up it sounds awful. If he is no better tomorrow we are going to the local pharmacy to get some cough syrup as although I haev stuff for fevers I don’t have a glycerol based cough mixture for babies here.

Once we were lunched we wandered back over to meet up with Daddy who had enjoyed an extra hour of lazing in the sun reading and I went for a swim, I didn’t manage to get Ted in but it was lovely to be able to swim alone as normally when I go swimming these days its for Teds swimming lessons. Ry took Td to the bar to get some drinks so I spent 20 mins swimming in the sun. Once they were back it was out for some time lazing – T is getting to be very good at just pottering so some pottering went on then Ry had a swim before we decided to head back to the aprtment hotel via the playground.

A see saw and some slides later we were back at he apartment hotel pool and I was in the water again to compare temperatures – its colder – although ok if you go in quickly. I managed to get Ted in the pool too so he had a quick swim although the temperature does seem to put him off somewhat! After some late afternoon cocktails – sundowners in Rys terms we headed back to the apartment for bathing before dinner. Ted had a tantrum when I wouldn’t allow him to shave his legs like Mummy – but got over it when I let him help with the moisturising! When he sets his mind to something…. We were back to the italian for lovely pizza and T had tomato salad, rolls and fruit salad – he is a healthy one – then I brought him back as he was getting very cranky – we have noticed his behaviour deteriorates rapidly when he starts to get tired, tantrums, hitting and being very beligerant sow e are trying to balance being able to eat a nice dinner and being able to get him back for bed by 8 – which we managed tonight.

Since he went down he has woken up crying twice and I am wondering if the cough is disturbing him, it may be a bumpy night, we will see – gernerally the ready bed seems like it has been great and I am less worried about how he will transition to a bed now. I am also thinking it might save us taking a travel cot to Scotland.

Gallery to come

Fuerteventura gallery – Monday

Fuerteventura gallery – sunday

Not your regular Monday morning

Have had a lovely couple of days so far.

Sunday - the weather was ok but not full on sunny so we took the opportunity to drive further south to the Jandia national park where the beaches are awesome and the coastline inbetwwen rugged. Ted slept ok but has a night cough again and a stuffy nose so although he slept ok I slept terribly so felt pretty groggy until midday. Ted slept for an hour in the car until we got to Jandia and then we were out of the car for a walk, a visit to the playground, some time on the beach, lunch by the ocean and some ice cream. We also got ted a sunhat and some slops as he had neither – although because I bought a size up in the soes size so the slops will last for the summer they are not brilliant for staying on now. nevermind. On the way back to the hotel we drove past a valley down to another beach that looked amazing so we drove down and stopped there for a while to take in the view, pretty special and if we decide on a beach day out we will go back there for sure.

Back at the hotel and the wind had picked up so we found some loungers that were sheltered and had an hour by the pool before coming back to the apartment. Quick change and then it was off to the Italian restaurant for a lovely meal. Ted was cranky – it was late and he was overtired – but he did ok and we had a really good chat and some wonderful food. Back at the apartment and Ted went to bed at 9, I read for an hour but then was so tired I followed him and Ry was not that far behind me.

Monday – Ted woke up at 615 – always it is 615 even when he goes to bed late, as a result we were up at 615. We hung out under a duvet on the couch while Ted milled about until breakfast time, then it was down for the breakfast buffet. So far I have resisted the fried eggs and baken in favour of boiled eggs and grilled tomatos, but when Ry is tucking into a fried egg on tast with bacon its challenging. I have been having my muesli too to keep Ted company while he has his cereal – then he demolished the scrambled eggs and croissants – no weight watching for him.

Back to the room and the sun was streaming onto the balcony so we all sat for an hour reading – even Ted brought his books out and sat and paged through. By 10ish he was flagging – irratable and clearly overtired, so we loaded him in the buggy and I took him for an hours walk along the seafront and then back round to the pool area. We found a good spot – although the resort is full of Germans they are not conforming to the stereotype and we have never had a problem getting loungers – but then the resort is quiet. Anyway Ted stayed asleep for an hour and it was gloriously sunny so we lay in the sun reading on a Monday morning feeling no worries. Wonderful. Ted woke up when the ‘donkey derby’ was going on. We had placed bets and to my surprise , when asked, Ry volunteered to be one of the donkeys – you could have knocked me down with a feather – especially since T wasn’t awake – well until the donkey derby came past with the entertainment rep going crazy at which point he came round. Ry came third – it was all done with dice so just a matter of luck – but it meant free ice creams for us so that was a plus.

Although grumpy for a while – who wouldn’t be after a two hour nap – he came round when we left Ry to his book and scooted off for some lunch. He did a job on cheeseburger and chips which we shared – he ate bun, tomoto, cheese, lettuce, chips and a small amount of burger, I got to have burger and any chips he didn’t want, so that worked fine.  Back to the pool and he was in much better spirits. We laid out while he busied himself with the tables – pics tell a tale. Later in the afternoon Ry went for a swim – the pool is pretty cold so I passed but Ry took Ted in – he was not impressed and when Ry held him in the water and told him to kicking to the side his little legs went off like an outboard motor.. hilarious …I am thinking if we taught him to swim in a colder pool he would learn pretty fast!

The sun was fadin so we came back to the room so T could have Night Garden DVD on Rys laptop and I could read while Ry went for a run. He scaled one of the hills near the hotel and then did a circuit back via the gym and the other part of the hotel which has a heated pool (we are going there tomorrow!) before coming back to the apartment. We went to the buffet dinner tonight which broke all Rys expectations – I think he thought it was going to be abit rubbish, but five courses later and he was singing the praises – Ted loved it to – much easier to be able to go and choose things I know he likes. Peas and corn, grilled fish, soft potatos, tomato, cucumber and some carrot. He ate more than I have seen him eat in ages and had melon and blackcurrent cheesecake so we fet he had eaten well.

Back to the room and both my boys are now asleep – Ted went traight to bed after Tiddler and a cuddle and Ry has passed out on the couch with a full belly. I am going to load yesterdays pics and then read until the camera is charged then download todays pics to sort ready for tomorrow. Given we will be up at 615 i am not planning a late one, but the days are not hard

Las Playitas – we finally made it

What a day, what a day. We are finally here but its been quite a schlep! We did leave on time – even though Ry went to the tip, did some work and packed his stuff this morning – but he managed to do it all before 1030 so we were away by 1045. Trip up to Stansted was uneventful. Parking was easy and transfer as was check in. It was only when we went to check our bags that we ran into a glitch – Ted was too young to have his own seat – we booked him as a child rather than an infant as on the web site it didn’t give the option for infants to be on laps or on seats – we now know this is because ryanair won’t allow an under two to travel in a seat – something about insurance, so we had to go and change out tickets – ry even said he would just pay for the three seats – but they saw through that?! Changed our tickets and then went to put our luggage through and although infants are allowed luggage they are not allowed hand luggage – well poor ted had all his toys packed in his new trunki and there was a discussion about whether he would have to check it…. fortunately making sufficient reference to taking a one year olds toys away and outrageous when we had booked him a seat in part so he could have his own luggage and there was some give on their part and we went off to security. Both Ryan and I had our and luggage unpacked and bomb checked which was a pain as Ted was intent on running amok in the airport and was a total handful, abject refusal to remain in the buggy or nearby he just kept running off and climbing over the luggage loaders – at one point I thought he was headed for the hold as he was on the conveyor by the time i got to him.

Finally we made it to the pub – I was starving and Ry was parched. The Trunki came into its own as Ted realised monkey and lion were coming too to wherever we were going and that his new night garden books were also with us. We had some lunch and then went to Pret for some food to have on the flight and WH to get some books and mags – all very challenging with a rampaging ted on the loose. Off to the gate and thank god for priority boarding – we sat in a row of three and put Ted on the seat in the middle of us – suprsingly noone asked to sit there and since the flight wasn’t full this essentially meant he had his own seat and we got a refund for the seat we paid for for him – bonus.  Also they keep the front 4 rows clear for some reason on take off, but once off there is space to move – after 2 hours Ry went to another row and Ted busied himself between the two of us – the flight was fine and he was by far and away the best behaved child of his age on board – there were some terrible screamers and one who sounded like a devil child growling for three hours.Ted loved the flying he looked out of the window all through take off and as we came into land.

Landed and had a half hour wait for Hertz to get their act together, luckily Ted was in need of a runaround and there was a huge fish tank so we did some rushing around while Ry waited. Finally got the car and had a half hour job trying to figure out if the car seat installation was really suposed to be the way I did it – seems like it is not very secure and relies on the tensioner in the seatbelt, but I couldn’t see any other way of doing it so we went with it – we were about to put Ted into it when he filled his nappy so we had to do a change on the front seat and the first nappy broke so you can imagine the scene.

We got underway and Ry made a stop at a Eurospar for milk, beer, chips and crackers to see us through until the morning at the hotel seeing as we didn’t know if anything would be open when we arrived. Ted woke up 5 mins away from the resort and did some wailing as he was clearly very tired and confused and had such a crazy day. We got to the resort at gone 10 and Ted was miserable so we checked in as quickly as possible and got to the room – ry unloaded te car while I pumped up Teds ready bed then it was jimjams, gruffullo, milk and bed for him and to my utter amazement – as he looked as if he was going to kick off at being put in this strange bed he had just watched me inflate in a strange room, late at night after a crazy day for a minute – he settled and went to sleep.

Ryand I unpacked and now I am sat with the door open, listening to the sea, i our lounge while Ry has a beer and we kick back and relax.

The apartment is great, really spacious – the resort looks lovely – very new but also quite relaxed, cant wait to see the view from the balcony in the morning as it looks like it is straight out to sea. I am going to have a read for half an hour then I think its time I crashed as I am pretty wiped out. Ry seems pleasently suprised with the apartment – am not sure what he was expecting but not this much space I think. We are paid up to have internet access for the week so blogs and pics to follow.

Stay vacation seems like a good idea right now….

Wouldn’t it be great to go on holiday and not have to pack, shut up the house, water the plants, empty the bins, think about the million things you could so easily forget and then have to buy at an extortionate euro inflated price, worry about leaving on time, getting to the airport, finding long term parking, getting family to terminal, getting bags checked and through all the shoe removing and belt removing security, queue onto plane deal with small child inflight madness and then deal with disembark, car rental, overseas navigation to hotel and check in. We need a tardis, or a teletransporter, or to saty at home

I am just about ready to pack bags, have grouped hold items and cabin items and packed hand luggage for me and T so now its off to try and split the stuff so if one bag goes missing we all have something clean to wear in the morning. I am sure we will have a wonderful time when we get there, I think the migraine and long list of ’stuff’ is perhaps getting me down a little. I should pack and get into bed. Ry is cooking a pizza, he hasn’t got anything ready and may or may not pack tonight, most likely he will throw it all together an hour before we leave. I am thinking its better to do it while T is asleep or there would be as much unpacking as packing with the odd tantrum thrown in for good measure. Bless him. Todays tantrum was when I wouldn’t let him put my mobile phone in the bath.  However we had alot of fun with one of those blowing horns where the paper shoots out as you blow into the mouth piece – he thought that was about the funniest thing he had seen all day.

I am looking forward to seeing what he makes of the plane as he is now old enough to get some kind of experience of it so that will be fun, and I am glad Ry talked me into direct flights as it will be so much easier.

Right – best get it over with. Don’t know what sort of access we will have over there so may or may not blog again soon.

Major procrastination and general tinkering

I am in the office, we are going on holiday tomorrow, I have a ton of work to wrap up – and if I wasn’t doing that I should be home packing while the wee man is at nursery, however instead of doing any of that potentially useful and instructive activity I have spent an hour and a half getting set up on Twitter, trying to set up an RSS feed to my blog, and changing my colour scheme.

As if that wasn’t bad enough although I have now managed to uunderstand what I need to do to get the twitter feed up and running on the site it doesn’t seem to work. Now this may well be that I have done it wrong, or it could be that the system is down, but I really should stop tinkering and get on with some work so I can leave early to do the packing and not have a crazy last minute madness type rush about the house tonight once T is in bed.

We are all looking forward to the break and hopefully some sun – just checked the weather forecast and it looks like 21 – 22 degrees all week – bit foggy on sunday but then its sunshine all the way. Hurrah. Haven’t packed a thing but have a long list – which has to include items like – swim nappies, medicet, baby thermometer, factor 200 skin cream, hats, arm bands, ready bed, bottles, gruffolo and tiddler, monkey and lion – I mean where is my stuff going to fit and when did it get to be such a mission. R and I were observing the other night that this is a total departure from our normal holiday (like bluestone) but its quite exciting to be doing something entirely different.

Although I am still heavier than when I started my diet I have lost an inch off my waist and an inch off my hips so it seems the gym work is paying off and I must be regaining some semblence of stomach muscles again. My diet is based on cholesterol reduction as well since I do have high levels (although not tested in the last couple of years I can’t imagine it has gone down much in the last 12 months given I have been eating pretty much anything without a thought to it) and since most fatty things are high cholesterol and I am restricting them its bound to pay off eventually – just have to try and avoid any major holiday lapses – hot dogs and chips by the pool ….. still I am sure Tedwill be keeping us mega active so way more rushing around than when I am sat at my desk all day – speaking of which its now gone 11 and I have much to do so that’ll be all for now.