How to catch a pet rabbit

After A LOT of thinking and re-thinking and more thinking! I finally decided to let the kids get a couple of bunny rabbits.

They're actually very cute (I did have my doubts) and the kids have named them Coco (black bunny) and Marshmallow (white bunny).   Although Miss L just calls them both Hop Hop Easter Bunny, because according to her, all bunnies are Easter bunnies.

These poor little bunnies have been cuddled and loved and squished and kissed to within an inch of their lives.  Thank heavens we picked a couple of good ones, as they have been so placid and gentle and we're hardly had any problems with scratching.  Even Miss H is happy to cuddle her bunny, which is a miracle because she is usually scared of just about anything that moves.

Everything was going swimmingly well until the toddler (little Miss L) discovered how to open the bunny hutch and set the Easter bunnies free!!!  The first time she did it, Marley, our neighbours cat thought he'd just won the cat lottery!!  Fortunately between Miss H's death piercing scream and me grabbing the hose pipe and spraying him, we managed to shoo him back over the fence again.  I think we must have given him the fright of his all his nine lives as I have not seem him back in our garden since.

Enjoying a bit of bunny freedom AND eating my hydrangea!

The second time she set them free I spent over an hour chasing them around the garden trying to catch them.  They're so damn quick that I had to literally dive bomb them several times......with not much luck.  I'm glad no one was watching either as I crawled around on my hands and knees trying to pounce an unwitting bunny!  I was pouring with sweat, out of breath, verging on a lot more than irritated, and starting to panic.  I only had a few minutes left before I had to pick the kids up from school and I could not leave them in the wilderness (of the back garden).  Luckily I managed to get them back in just in the nick of time!!

I told Mr D about how it was nearly impossible to catch the bunnies and he thought it was a great idea to let them out the hutch for some garden adventures, and decided to let them out again.  I warned him, but typically, he SO thought he knew what he was doing!  Guess what happened next?????  Marshmallow escaped under the back fence .............. and into no-mans land!

Oh how I laughed!!!  And panicked at the same time!! "Babe" I stressed "there is no was I am telling the kids you've lost their bunny.  You better get it back - NOW!!" "Don't worry", he assured me "I know exactly what I'm doing".  "You better!!" I said before going back inside.

I went back out about half an hour later and he was leaning over the back fence with a bucket dangling on a piece of rope.  With a carrot inside it!  "So this is your plan??" I asked.  "You're trying to coax it into a bucket with a carrot in it, while its chomping away on wild lettuce leaves (in the neighbours veggie patch).  Honestly that's like trying to get it to want a Malteaser in a garden full of M&M's!!!"

This whole debacle when on for hours!!  There was string involved, two cardboard boxes, a mini cricket bat (to hold the box up) and more carrots!!  Eventually he managed to catch them by luring them back into their hutch for food (which you would have thought was plan A not plan Z).

The very next day, little Miss L let them back out again!!!

We've given up now and just secured the any holes in the garden fence.  They are now happily living in our back garden, hopping around as if they own the place.  We still put food and water in their hutch which they do eat, but I think they actually sleep in the ferns.  It's quite weird seeing bunnies hopping around when I'm out hanging the washing up.  I think they've got quite used to us now too and are very happy for us to give them a cuddle.

Lets just hope Marley (that cat next door) has well and truly forgotten about them.

Do you have bunnies at home?  Do they live in a hutch or have they broken free like ours??

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The magic of mess! Messy craft and painting for Wordless Wednesday

If you're a regular Mrs D reader you'll know that I really hate mess!!  I don't cope well with it at all, so these two little cuties really tested my abilities to just 'go with the flow' on Sunday.  I was busy doing some housework (as I do on a Sunday) when Mr D set them up with some painting out in the garden before heading out with Master J for a bike ride.

They were only left for a few minutes......but it was enough!!!!!  Oh My Goodness, you should have seen the mess!!!!!!  I literally froze with panic at the kitchen door when I first saw them, but the smiles and that beautiful sound of little giggles forced me to just sit down on the doorstep and watch.

They had a ball!!

How you you cope with mess??

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Seashell by Jacki Bruniquel

The prompt for day 14 of 'blogging every day in May' with Claire Hewitt is

My favourite image of all time.  

Without a doubt it has to be this one of my two boys.  It was taken in South Africa by my amazing talented cousin Jacki Bruniquel.  I think she even won and award for this image.

If you have a spare hour or two five minutes and you love photography you should pop over to her blog JACKI BRUNIQUEL and have a look at her work.  It will blow your mind!!

You can also follow her on Facebook HERE.

Do you have a favourite image?

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The apple of my i (phone)

Today's prompt for Blogging (almost) every day May with Claire Hewitt is:

Describe your relationship with your phone - Honestly! 

I don't know why, but the first word that springs to mind is 'unhealthy'.

I've been swirling the question around in my head all afternoon and actually I don't think it's unhealthy at all!!  Maybe on the odd occasion it might lean towards the unhealthy but I am pretty happy with the relationship I have with my Apple.

Yes I do.......

• Check my phone first thing every morning!  BUT Mr D can't function without a coffee as soon as his eyes are open and my kids have to sit like zombies in front of the TV before they're capable of getting ready for the day.  Thats just how we roll!

• Have my phone with me all the time!  BUT imagine what might happen if I didn't??  I might miss a call from the kids school or not know if Mr D is staying out late at work, or be able to respond to one of you lovely readers on here????

• Watch TV and sit on social media all at the same time.  What can I say, multi-tasking is a skill.

• Spend a lot of time on social media.  BUT I enjoy it.  I really love this blog and chatting to all the lovely people that read it.  It's also the only way I can catch up with friends and family that live abroad, especially when it's not possible to just meet up for coffee (or wine).

• Use it to get me from A to B - literally.  Without google maps I would be a nervous wreck in the car!

• Use it as my second brain.  All of my notes, memos, diary dates, phone numbers, emails and pretty much all important information is on my phone.  I would be lost without it.

• Use it to keep me up to date with what's happening in the world.  Who (with kids) has time to sit down at 6pm and watch the news on TV???  I wouldn't have a clue what was going on if it wasn't for SKY News (Facebook, Twitter and Mama Mia).

 I try my best not to......

• Use my phone between 3pm and 7pm.  This time is just for the kids and all the craziness that goes with it.  Any social media between this time I try to schedule in advance.

• Look at my phone every 10 minutes too often when I am catching up with friends.  Unless of course we're all addicts and then its ok.

• Loose it or break it.  This can be pretty tricky when the kids drop it on the floor, lick it, or fight over it.   I can't always blame them though as I might have done things like leave it on the car bonnet and then drive over it, or wash it in the washing machine!!

• Use it as the occasional babysitter.

There is so much said these days about how terrible we've all become with modern technology, but actually, used in moderation (like everything) I think it's ok.

How would you describe your relationship with your phone??

Spoilt rotten on Mothers Day

I had the most loveliest of Mothers Days yesterday.  In fact, I think I heart just grew a little bit bigger.

Last week I helped out at the school Mothers Day stall, so I kinda knew what I was in for in the gift department.  I had to cover my eyes so many times while they chose their perfect gift for me to make sure that I wasn't 'cheating'.  They both chose gifts (the obligatory mum mug and choccies) that I probably would never have chosen for myself, BUT the look on their little faces as they handed over their money was something I will always treasure.  They were both bursting with excitement and total pride that they had picked out a gift for me, all by themselves.  I couldn't have loved them any more in that moment.

On Sunday morning they were even more excited to give me their gifts (which they had both managed to keep hidden) and of course I acted TOTALLY surprised and told me they were PERFECT!!  I was also showered with the most beautiful and thoughtful homemade cards and origami flowers.  I know its a cliche but I really felt like the luckiest mum in the world.

We spent a very chilled day together by having ice-cream cones BEFORE heading to our favourite surf club cafe for bacon and egg burgers on the beach.  The kids picked me all the beach flowers they could find (sorry Mother Nature) and put on a 'dance and trick' show for me to watch. Master J has an incredible flair for acrobatics, but sometimes it really does give me the heebie jeebies!

Later that afternoon Mr D took the kids out to burn off some energy and I went home and watched catch up TV on the sofa.

According to Master J, Mothers Day is the best day EVER because "We get to have ice-cream before breakfast and then dad takes us out somewhere cool so that mum can be alone!!"  Love it.

My precious 3.  (although Miss L managed to swipe my ice-cream)

I think my face says it all!!

aaaaaand relax........

Did you have a wonderful Mother's Day?

My kids don't need a Super Mum, they just need me!

Having a child of your own is not only the fastest way to grow up but also the fastest way to learn everything about yourself that you didn't already know (which is a lot, believe me).

I thought I was SO ready for a baby when Master J was born but my world came tumbling down around me when I was diagnosed with Post Natal Depression (PND)*.  I gave myself such a hard time too, for not being the perfect mother that I imagined I would be (or should be).  For not fitting in with all the cliches about motherhood and bonding with my baby.

I think the truth was that I had absolutely no idea about what to expect, and I was totally unprepared for the onset on PND, which can happen to some us, even the best of us, without any fault of our own. I didn't know how to be a mother or how becoming a mother would affect me.

Amazingly I was still able to take care of my precious little boy, even with PND and not really understanding how I felt.  At the time I didn't think I had bonded with him at all (in fact I was convinced he hated me) but looking back now I can see that I actually had.  I loved him, nursed him and protected him without even realising I was doing it and that, I believe, is something that only a MUM can do.

I was lucky to get another two chances to feel that initial bond when both my girls were born.  I know it was there with Master J too, it just took me a little longer to realise.

As time has passed it's been my three kids that have taught me how to be their mum.  They love me, no questions asked and all they need is the same in return.  They don't care what I wear, what our house looks like, whether or not I have stuck to my weekly goals or whether or not I am doing things the right or the wrong way.

What they do care about is that I am there after school so they can rush out and show me their latest masterpiece, or that I am on the side on the rugby pitch watching the game, or reading them a story before bed or just giving them cuddles when they're hurt or sad or just plain soppy.

There isn't one single formula to being a perfect mother we can only do our best and the greatest thing of all is that they love us for it.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MUMS (and especially to my mum too, even though it's not yet Mothers Day in England).

*You can read more about my journey through PND here.

Top 5 places to take the kids in London

Today I'd love to introduce to my first ever guest blogger on Mrs D plus 3.  How exciting!!  I met Jacinta from Jacintaz3 through the Digital Parents International Blog swap and we will be guest posting for each other this week.  I think we were paired because we are both mummies of three awesome kids.  We've been doing lots of emailing and chatting over the last few days and it has been so lovely getting to know Jacinta, and just that little bit special for me to meet a fellow blogger from England (my home country).  Oh how I do miss London some days, especially after reading this fabulous post about how to show your kids around London.

Take it away Jacinta.

Hi, I’m Jacinta blogging all the way over from the UK thanks to Tots100 and Digital Parents hosting International Blog Swap Day.  And of course a big thanks to Robyn for hosting me today.

I live in London with my husband and 3 children and we try and get out every weekend to do something or the other. Sometimes it’s a visit to an attraction, at other times it’s a walk in one of the lovely parks around London.

It feels strange to be writing for another blog. Although I know that it is relatively the same thing as I do not really know all my readers either, I still kept changing my mind about what I should write about.

In the end, I decided that since I have children and live in London, it may be nice to showcase places that we have visited and really enjoyed as a family.

1.  London - The City of Westminster, Big Ben, Buckingham  Palace.

You can’t really live near London and not visit the city itself. We travelled into London on the tube. This is the best way to get into the city – parking is extremely expensive in London. The children were completely in awe of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. They didn’t complain once about the walking around and we had been walking for quite a long time. We even walked around Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace and then into Hyde Park. It was a lovely day. If you have time, it would be a good idea to go on one of the Thames River Cruises. It is a wonderful way to take in the sights.

2.  Windsor Castle

This is a short run from London and the castle is lovely. The children were really interested in the history of the castle and I was quite surprised that my 5 year old listened attentively to the audio guide right through. Food is not allowed inside the castle but there are many restaurants and cafes just outside. Don’t miss out on the cream tea that is served in the cafes just outside the castle walls. It costs about £50 for a family ticket.

3.  Natural History Museum

This is a wonderful experience for children.  It is a free attraction and there can sometimes be long queues, but it is well worth the wait.  With many different species of animals and birds on display, the museum enthral the children.  The best bit is of course, the land of the dinosaurs.  You can take picnic or eat in one of the cafe inside.

4.  Warner Bros Studio Tour

A must for Harry Potter fans.  To enter the realm of Hogwarts has got to be the best adventure ever.  My five year old son loved every moment of it.  The best part of it is the model of Hogwarts which is awesome.  It will set you back about £90 for a family ticket but it is well worth it.

5.  Chessington World of Adventure

We had an unbelievable time there - there are so many rides to suit all ages and there is also a zoo and aquarium, so there is so much to do here.  Again you can carry a picnic or purchase food inside the park from the many restaurants.

There are many lovely parks that one can visit with children and many of these have adventure playgrounds that the children love.

I moved from a little town in the north of England to London and life has been so different. There is so much to see and do in and around London.

I would love to visit Australia some day as I have so many friends there. It has been lovely meeting Robyn over the internet and getting to know about her through her blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Jacinta  xx 

You can follow Jacinta on Facebook and Twitter and of course her fabulous blog Jacintaz3