ManicMammy's Blog » Parenting

Best boy’s birthday party evah

Manic Mammy — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:35:34 +0000

Time is really flying and Oisín turned 10 years old a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately its not the best time of year for a birthday weatherwise but he’d been to his mate Brian’s birthday party in West Cork Secret during the summer and was fairly insistent he wanted to celebrate his birthday there too.

To be fair, its a 10 year old’s paradise. We were lucky in that we got a bright, albeit quite cold December afternoon for the party. But the boys had an absolute blast. Finbar, head honcho at West Cork Secret, recommended the boys wear very old clothes or a wetsuit if they had one and to bring a change of clothes and footwear and a towel so they could avail of the hot showers after all the play.

The day started off with the boys being split into 2 teams and tackling puzzles and and go kart races in one of the fields.

Then came the race to see which team could transfer enough water along the pipes to fill the container at the finish line. This initially was quite a test for the boys but it ended up a very close finish as they began to cooperate very well.

By this stage they were fairly wet but none seemed to mind. Next the army obstacle course. Under the netting, balancing on the ropes over the water, through the tyres, over and under the wooden logs in the water. They ran around and around. The finale was the monster water slide. They loved it and I lost track of how many times they went down it. By this stage, soaked to the skin and covered in suds but having a ball.

As it was getting dark, they decided they’d had enough and headed to the warm showers and changed into dry clothes. Finbar served homemade pizza cooked to order in the wood burning oven. Needless to say, demand was very high after all the activity. The pizza was delicious.

Oisín had a brilliant unforgettable party.

Many thanks to all at West Cork Secret. Would highly recommend it. There is no doubt that we’ll be back!

Holidays in Bandon

Manic Mammy — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:11:54 +0000

So the summer has flown and this week is a frenzy of finishing up work, packing and getting ready for our hols. We’re leaving Bandon for Espana for a couple of weeks. Whilst we’re gone, my brother, his wife and their three fabulous daughters shall be using our gaff as a base for their West Cork holidays.

photo credit: gavinsblog

I’ve decided to make a list of “Things to Do and See in and around Bandon” for his family, keeping in mind that the children range in age from 6 years old to 9 months.

This is what I’ve come up with so far.

Clonakilty Model Village and train
Inchydoney beach
Playground in Clonakilty
Playground in Bandon
Garretstown beach
Charles Fort in Kinsale
Whale in Kilbrittain
Playground in Timoleague
Nice flat walk from Courtmacsherry to Timoleague along the inlet, suitable for bike rides
If weather is terrible and you feel like a day trip, I would recommend the Aquadome in Tralee and stop on the way in Killarney National Park. Great playground there. Aquadome good fun. Driving there takes about an hour and half.
Cinema in Clonakilty
McCarthys Maze Trail in Kilbrittain
Fota Wildlife Park
Bandon Skate and Play

So what have I missed? I know there’s plenty more but nothing else is springing to mind at the moment so any suggestions would be most welcome!

Welcome to the Aquadome

Manic Mammy — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:23:09 +0000

A couple of Sundays ago, we awoke to a rainy dull day in Bandon. So myself and 3 of the kids decided to hit the road to Tralee. We had been meaning to try out its Aquadome for ages so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so.

To make a long story short, we had a terrific day there, spending over 2 hours in the pool. The children loved the intervals when waves would traverse the pool. The smaller slides were perfect for the 5 year old, whilst his older siblings tackled the much larger flume slide.

The lazy river, various water showers and sprays, jacuzzi and spa pools were all tried and tested. It was great fun.

8 year olds and younger have to wear arm bands which is no harm as parts of the pool complex have water depths which are above their heights. I felt the whole set up was very well run. There were plenty of staff and life guards keeping an eye out.

My only minor gripe is that I felt the individual changing rooms were on the small side. I would have preferred a larger family one in which we all could have been accomodated rather than the hassle of splitting the children up into their own rooms.

It is quite expensive but there is a good deal on offer at the moment where you get a second family visit for half price which we availed of the following week which I guess is another indication of how much we liked the place. It was a great way to spend an otherwise dreary Sunday and I can definitely see us heading there quite often over the next few months.

Invaluable website and iphone app

Manic Mammy — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:35:58 +0000

My kids love going to the cinema and I must admit I do love accompanying them. This is true barring the odd exception such “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” which we all agreed was an dreadful movie.

I became aware of the bbfc (British Board of Film Classification) website after listening to Radio 5′s film review podcasts. The parents’ version, pbbfc is really useful. I find myself referring to it frequently when deciding what film to go see with the children. It gives the ratings of all movies and clarifies why these ratings have been given.

On this site you will find detailed information about all new films for the cinema rated ‘U’, ‘PG’ or ’12A’, films released on DVD at these categories and all video games rated by the BBFC. This information is called Extended Classification Information – it explains exactly what issues (eg violence, sex, language) are raised in a film, DVD or game and gives clear examples.

There is also now a free BBFC iphone application available. I have already downloaded it and it is brilliant. Really easy to use, you have all the relevant information at your finger tips. It will be especially useful for those odd times when we’re out and about and the movie we had intended to view is sold out and an alternative needs to be selected.

The extended classification information is very detailed which is excellent as it allows you to make a genuinely informed decision to what movie your child will see and what innuendo, violence etc they may be exposed to. Love it.

Engineers Week

Manic Mammy — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:11:27 +0000

It may be Valentine’s Day tomorrow but romantic or not, let us not forget that February 14th also marks the start of Engineers Week this year.

“Engineers’ Week is a week long programme of nationwide events with the aim of celebrating the world of engineering in Ireland. The aim of the week is to create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession to people of various ages with little or no engineering background.”

There are many events being run throughout the country aimed at a range of ages. From primary school kids to third level students, families and the general public, there should be something to interest and suit all.

My older children are particularly interested in the “CEIA Lego Robot Competition Finals” which are being held in the Maryborough House Hotel in Douglas, Cork on the 17 Feb 2011 from 5:30 to 8pm. In Cork, there appear to be many events taking place in Blackrock Castle Observatory and the Lifetime lab.

The Engineers Week website has the full schedule of events and a search filter to tailor your choice according to county, date or audience age. Worth checking out I reckon.

Once upon a time

Manic Mammy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:24:43 +0000

Santy had some hits and some misses this Christmas but the Vtech Storio was definitely the surprise and biggest hit of them all. Fionn, who is 5 years old and in Junior Infants, has just started learning to read and he loves it.

Santy brought him the Toy Story 3 ebook as he had recently seen the movie in the cinema and was ever so slightly obsessed with anything related to it. He took to Storio like a duck to water. No problems or confusion whatsoever. The interface is very simple and there are voice prompts when needed. In “Watch the Story” mode, the story is narrated as the words being spoken are highlighted in a karaoke style.

The reader can also highlight any word to get a definition of it.

In addition to the story, there are educational word games which Fionn enjoys. The other feature of this system that I am impressed with is that additional free stories can be downloaded from the vtech website on to a SD card which slots into the Storio. So now Fionn has a range of stories to listen to and interact with.

The unit itself is fairly robust. Unlike the Nintendo DS, it has withstood the everyday rough and tumble of our home to date.

Would definitely recommend the Storio.

A couple of interesting taster days

Manic Mammy — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:19:50 +0000

Happy New Year to all!

Lately real life has gotten in the way of blogging. I hope everyone had a lovely festive season. Our children are still off school but we’ve returned to Bandon after visiting Kilkenny and Cavan, both of which were without running water at times due to the icy weather and its effects. Definitely glad to return to hot running water!

In the post recently I received the following notifications which I thought may be of interest.

The first is the CTYI taster day for 8 to 12 year olds to be held in DCU and UCC on the 15th of January 2011.

This is a one day event to give children a “taste” of what it is like to attend a course at one of our centres. It is to give potential students an idea of what happens on our Saturday and summer program and helps give these students an idea whether they would enjoy coming. It also gives students who already come a chance to try out new subjects.
DCU: 10.00 – 12.15pm or 1.00 to 3.15pm
UCC: 1.00 – 3.15pm
Cost is €10 per child for morning or afternoon or €20 for both DCU sessions.

Two subjects will be studied on the day and there is a good range to choose from including:

forensics and vet science
film studies and creative writing
computer animation and science in space
architecture and astronomy

I would definitely recommend these CTYI days. Our eldest son thoroughly enjoys attending and learning about a wide variety of subjects. For further information, please contact Eleanor Cooke at eleanor.cooke@dcu.ie or 01 7008977.

The second is a free trial day at the Gaiety School of Acting.

CHILDRENS TRY FOR FREE

Have you a Saoirse Ronan or a Jaden Smith in your house? A child pestering you to let them go to drama. Here’s you chance to bring them along and see what’s what. This term we’re running our TRY FOR FREE classes in Temple Bar, Bray, Wexford and Castleblayney.

Classes will run on Saturday 8th Jan.

Call us on (01) 6799277 for the scheduled times and to guarantee your place. Alternatively just call down on the day.

Gaiety School of Acting, Temple Bar – 4 years old – 18 years old

Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray – 7 years old – 18 years old

Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford – 6 years old – 13 years old

Iontas Arts Centre, Castleblayney – 6 years old – 13 years old

Again, I would recommend these days too as one of our children did a Saturday course in Cork with the Gaiety School of Acting a year or so ago and enjoyed it.

Doodle bread

Manic Mammy — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:55:51 +0000

The arrival of snow in Bandon yesterday happily coincided with the delivery of a Doodle bread kit and some extra shapers from Rose. Many thanks. The children and I were weary and cold after a morning outdoors so decided to make use of the kit and bake some bread without delay.

Each small kit contains:

A bread baking silicone container.
A doodle shaper, eg heart, star or circle.
A small plastic squisher.
One large bread mix, containing wheat flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
One smaller bread mix, containing wheat flour, beetroot powder, yeast, salt and sugar.

What ensued was great fun. The instructions were really straightforward and easy to follow. The children, aged 7, 5 and 4, thoroughly enjoyed the whole procedure. The kneading of the dough was especially good craic. Síofra loved bashing and stretching her dough

I think we probably should have added a little more water to the smaller pink dough mixture as its consistancy ended up much less pliable than the larger dough ball. Despite that, we continued on and let both doughs prove for 30 minutes or so. The plastic shaper was then carefully removed and the bread was baked in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Drum roollllll

We were delighted with the result. The bread looked fabulous and tasted delicious. It was eaten pretty sharply by all of us, when still warm, with plenty of butter and jam.

To be honest, I was very surprised to see how much the children enjoyed making the bread. To date, I would usually only bake buns or scones with them. But I will now definitely be using this kit again and again. Looking forward to trying the other shapes and trying out different flavours of bread.

I have a strong suspicion that we’ll love the Chocolate Vanilla Star loaf

Various kits and accessories are available to buy on the website. Maybe a thought for an unusual but fun Christmas pressie for children of all ages.

Wexworlds

Manic Mammy — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:14:48 +0000

Wexworlds, Wexford town’s Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fiction festival is coming back. From Friday November 26th till Sunday November 28th, a host of events for both children and adults is taking place in many venues around the town.

Guests include Eoin Colfer, Herbie Brennan, Andrew Donkin, Kate Thompson and Oisin McGann. There is a wide and varied programme of events, discussions, demonstrations, talks and competition which includes:

21st century career - breaking into 2000AD and other comics
Zombie workshop - a chance to learn and apply Zombie makeup and monstrous moves.
Cosplay workshop – Learn some of the crafts of making costumes based on Anime and Manga creations.
The Science of Artemis Fowl with Dr Emma J. King
Poisons, pestilence and parasites with Dr Heidi Mounsey
Lego Workshops
Superheroes and Evil Masterminds in young adult fiction
Myth and folklore in modern fiction

The downloadable pdf is available here which describes the full programme. More information also on the Wexworlds website. Am hoping to attend with some of my kids. It looks like it’ll be very interesting and entertaining.

If you go down to the woods today

Manic Mammy — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:52:15 +0000

It looks like the Irish Natural Forestry Foundation (INFF) have lined up 2 fun family Hallowe’en activity days at INFF, Manch, which is located just outside Ballineen, Co. Cork.

Running on both Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of October from 10am to 5pm.

photo credit: shawncampbell

Hallowe’en events are as follows:

Pumpkin Olympics

Come and test your strength, guile and skill (or just have a laugh!)
Pumpkin Golf, Pumpkin Skittles, Pumpkin Shy, Pumpkin Races, Guess the name of the Pumpkin

Pumpkin Carving Competition

Bring your carved pumpkin and enter it in the competition to be judged on Sunday.

Witches String Trail

Suitable for all ages from toddlers up. Follow the trail of string and see what surprises unfold.

Orienteering for Ghouls

Dressed in your scariest Halloween costume, follow the orienteering trail, through the check points, and hope you make it back in one piece.

Show us your Brains!

Solve the themed puzzles and riddles, such as word scramble and word search.

Family Adventure Trail

Departing from the courtyard at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, through the ancient woodland, you and your family must negotiate the obstacles, including Spider’s Web, Rope Walk, Slack Line plus much more. Adjustable difficulty, so suitable for all ages.

All activities are included in the €5 entrance fee, which is a donation to INFF, a registered charity. Family tickets are available for €15 for 1 day or €20 which includes admission for both days.