there's no place like home

So we set off yesterday in the glorious sunshine that was bathing all the corners of North Somerset for a night away with our best pals and their little girl Ella (who just happens to be small boy’s sweetheart!). 

After numerous calls and texts from my father in law who doubles as our traffic line we managed to avoid any delays on the M5 and just as we pulled off at the Nottingham junction I breathed a sigh of relief.

Not only because we had managed a whole journey without saying “right that is it. we are getting a tv screen for the big boy”, although I did say one of those headrest adaptors for my husband’s iPad could be handy but the small boy had slept almost the entire way! We played some old car game classics, sang a few old time musical songs, Sammy’s current favourite is sing sing sing sing, everybody start to sing… and arrived to a perfect picky lunch of baguettes, masses of cheese and a homemade chocolate cake.

After a brilliant afternoon at Wollaton Hall and Deer Park complete with frisbee, ice cream and my husband rein-acting the You Tube classic “Fenton” with our westie Mabel (miles from the actual deer so no harm done) we headed home confident the children were worn out and we were in for a grown up evening.

Alas this was not to be as both bigger boy and small boy decided they just needed their own beds. Every hour half we took it in turns to run up and try and comfort our toddler in tears. It’s heartbreaking when you hear “Mama I need to go home, my heart is hurting”.

I am sure I am not alone in reaching an age when your child finds it hard to settle away from home just for one night. My big boy is really too big for the travel cot now too.

His bed is his sanctuary. He still has the sides up on the cot bed and has not even realised that he has the ability to climb out!

I hadn’t ever really thought about the separation anxiety he must feel away from home, his little safe haven. 

By the time we got to 1.30am and realised the clocks had gone forward my husband made the call to get packing and join the eerie empty motorway and head home. At this point the small boy had made an appearance and we realised he was not going to accept a whole night in Ella’s travel cot either.

So although I didn’t have ruby slippers on (they were pink but you get the joke) 2 and a half hours and 2 stops later for a little snooze for driver dada we carried two boys into their own beds.

I think we are going to have to sacrifice those one night stays away for a little while and appreciate little ones maybe aren’t as flexible as we thought, unless anyone has any good settling tips?!

Of course any friends are welcome to stay with us but we know now for our boys there really is no place like home.