Time is just flying by these past few months, It is now April so here is our April Check in.
March brought us some fantastic weather and I mean like highs of 21 in our yarden so we were basking in the sunshine for a few days... Its now back to proper early spring weather and cold. Cue all of the people with a cold... Thanks weather.
So what has been happening? Well the biggest thing that happened in March for me was we went electric, vehicle wise. It is super comfy and so nice to drive. Ask me again in a few months if we still stick with our decision once we have been on more long runs. (We did Sunderland to York one day and it needed to be charged twice! Look out for our full review and a beginners guide to EVs)
March has been a good month, I have got quite a lot done actually, we have visited some fantastic places over March and of course we all had Mothers Day. Although I don't celebrate this with my own "mother" we do like to get our Nana something and the boys like to make me something. This year I got some handmade flowers and breakfast in bed. We didn't go out this year, instead I got some things done in the yarden and I actually managed to have a fairly good, no social media day and sat reading outside in the sunshine. It was bliss. It is nice to just switch off and slow down occasionally.
Where did we go during March
We had to wait for our EV being delivered which took us up until the middle of March so before that time we just stuck with local and did local parks and beaches. Once we had the car again we headed a bit further.
We headed down to one of our favourite spots in Yorkshire and spotted frogs mating, which led to a long chat and lesson about it ( joys of Home Ed is it's all learning) We also had a lovely chat with a Yorkshire man who was military and he give the boys a mini history lesson which was interesting.
Other places we visited were: A Sneak Peek at the Peter Rabbit Story Time Trail at Kirkleatham Museum, South Shields Museum, Warkworth Castle, St Marys Island, Laing Art Gallery, Seven Stories, Kirkleatham Walled Garden and a few more places.
Things we are looking forward to in April
Craig's birthday month, finally we can go out this year for birthdays. Craig has decided to keep his meal choice for the same day Toby choose to have his birthday day out. We will be heading back to York Maze in the Summer so we are going to stuff our faces in Huckleberry's diner which in my opinion is the best burger joint in the country.
Now I know last month I talked about going to Alton Towers and staying there a few nights, well we ended up cancelling and we have rearranged that for April. We also have quite few days out planned in and around the North East, I am busy working on some fun things for North Yorkshire as we also cover that area and know it very very well. Eden Camp finally reopens and we are going to head back for a fab day out although if you are looking for a day out I would recommend you combine Eden Camp with the York Aircraft Museum as both only take around 3/4 hours to get around.
We are heading along to see Bedknobs & Broomsticks at the Sunderland Empire and we are super excited for it. I love a good Musical and the boys always seem to have a great night when we go along.
The Boys
Our new home ed schedule is well on it's way now and we are half way through our new book which is The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe, we are going to be doing some Spring related learning over the next month as well as continuing with our WW2 study unit. Adam has been revising for his upcoming GCSE exams and has finally settled on his 3 chosen college courses, which I personally think he is going to love.
Adam has been doing loads over the last month with Police Cadets, he has been on expeditions, continuing his Duke Of Edinburgh, gaining hands on experience and he is thoroughly enjoy his 2nd year so far. Toby is also wanting to join so I think he will be ok to start from September.
Elliot has been attending his Scout meets and honestly he is absolutely loving it and looks forward to it every week. He hasn't been going to this unit very long but he has already done so much and gained around 6 badges in such a short time. Adam and Toby Also help out on the Young volunteers unit the same night as Elliot and then they both have Explorer Meets with Scouts on a Friday so it is busy busy here at the minute.
Can you believe that March 2021 was spent sledging in the local park.... March 2022 has been so different. Fingerss crossed the snow stays away
My food Journey
It is going really well actually, I though cutting out most meat would be a struggle as I love a good burger but in all honesty it hasn't bothered me one bit. I have completely swapped all red meat now with alternatives such as Turkey and I haven't had cows milk in quite a long time. I do still eat a little cheese ( I think I would struggle to give that up!) I have explained in previous check ins why I am doing this but for those who are only just joining me, whenever I ate red meat I would feel ill for days after same with drinking any amount of cows/sheep/goat milk. So I was so sick of feeling like rubbish that I decided to do something about it. I have replaced milk with oat milk and other than cheese don't do anything dairy, I have replaced most red meat with Turkey & Chicken and I have gone from having 2 fish meals a week to 3 , and 2 meat free meals with only 2 meat meals. I have been drinking more herbal teas and water and I cant even remember the last time I had Pepsi (those that know me will know it was a really bad addiction) I think that might be around 6/7 months now. I do not miss it. I generally feel so much better in myself, my moods are better and I am just happier than I used to be and it was all down to diet! I have always gotten plenty of exercise but I have been making sure to get at least 10k steps a day. Again this is not about weight so please don't send me your diet pill recommendations, that not what this is about!
The Garden
Wow the garden, it is coming along fantastically. I have planted so many things over the last month. we have all sorts. I have decided to do more of a wild flower/ pollinator friendly garden with just a few veggies this year. I have potatoes, Tomatoes, Courgette, Radish, Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Raspberry, Strawberry and Nasturtium I have also planted a dedicated herb area. The rest is and is going to be all flowers to attract insects and hopefully we can do our bit to help those gorgeous bees and butterflies. We have plans to get some tyres and create vertical bug houses too I am still deciding whether to create a mini pond. I have made a few things from pallets too but I am going to do a diy post on that so I wont go into detail.
The Night Sky in April
Full moon will be 16th April and is officially known as the Pink Moon named after the pink blooms of the phlox flower in America
Constellation of the month is the Cancer Constellation and the Ursa Major and is a great time of the year to see Star Clusters & Nebulae galaxies.
What have we been watching
We watched Lost In Space and thought the third season was a bit rubbish and rushed
We are almost finished with Agents of Shield. Season 6 was an absolute bore fest but season 7 kind of has a Dr Who vibe going on
The Simpler Life - 24 people give up there every day life of social media and being in the real world to living completely off grid the Amish way. It is ok, was a bit annoying the few episodes with a contestant who did nothing but moan and though everything was about her and the older generation really annoyed me going on like spoilt brats because they "need" alcohol.
The Adam Project - Now I loved Free Guy and though The Adam Project would be great too but it was just.. Ok. it was a slow burner, then it was all over the place.
Dates for the Diary
Movies
To be honest its a bit of boring month again for movies with only a few that have caught my eye
Morbius - 1st April
Donkey Kong - 7th April
Sonic 2 - 8th April
Disney Nature Polar Bear - 22nd April
Tv Shows
I did notice that The Flash Is now Back with season 8 I am so hoping it is more like the earlier seasons and not like season 7 which was basically something happened, they talked about feelings and then it was all solved.
Legends of Tomorrow is also back, I actually prefer this to The Flash now, however they killed Constantine in the last season so I'm not 100% sure how I now feel about it.
Matt Baker is travelling around the North East with his parents in his new tv show which aired on Wednesday (30/003/22) on More 4
That is all I have spotted so far for Tv in April but I will update if I spot anything else
Dates for your diary
1st - April Fools Day
17th Easter Sunday
22nd Earth Day
23rd St Georges Day / William Shakespeare's birthday.
Social media calendar
3rd Find a Rainbow day
4th Carrot Day - We are going to make carrot cake
10th Siblings Day
11th Pet Day ( I feel like these are every month)
15th Art Day
17th Easter
20th Look a like day
21st Queens Birthday
Do you have any plans for April?
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