Kids' Obsessions - what have you found yourself 'enjoying'?

Tom's excited face!

You know, when I analyse this properly, I'm not a massive Star Wars fan.  I tolerate it at best.  I have a thing for Han Solo (but mainly because he's Indiana Jones y'know? HAWT!) and I get a funny feeling in my stomach for those cute little Ewoks...and Chewbacca.

I've watched all of the Star Wars films.  I can give you all manner of Star Wars chat.  But, given the choice to sit and watch another Star Wars film or not, I'd well, rather not.

BUT

Somehow, we have created the world's biggest Star Wars fan.  He would sleep, eat, wear, play and watch Star Wars every minute of every day.  He spent months, and I mean actual months playing the Lego Star Wars games n the PS3 and PS2. He knows all of the characters off by heart, thanks to various sticker books which he has studied in depth (to the point where I'm sure he should and could have perfected a foreign language, the way he reels them off), and can debate with you the finer points of character familial relationships, better than he can his own familial relationships.  

He covets his Star Wars T-Shirts, and when we went to Disneyland, we spent a lot of time in the Star Wars shop trying on Darth Vader Mickey mouse ears and 'ooh-ing and ahh-ing' over build your own lightsabers.

He was so excited by Star Tours, the Star Wars ride at Disneyland that he never made it on.  His nerves got the better of him and he was sick in the queue at C3P0's feet.

I may, or may not have a two and a half foot Millennium Falcon in my attic at present that I've spent a lot of time maintaining and fixing, and I may or may not have considered getting a cute jumper I saw the other day with 'Jedi Warrior' across the chest for myself.

I have indulged in a lot of Star Wars memorabilia and I get really bloody excited when I see that Star Wars is showing on the T.V again.  Not to mention the time spent catching up with any film news about the new film coming in 2015.

'I can't wait to see the film at the cinema, mum!  Is it at the cinema yet?  How long is it until the DVD?'

What has happened to me?

It's Tom's fault.  I'm blaming him.  

It's true - you love your kids so much that their obsessions become your obsessions.  Even if you don't actively like whatever they are currently coveting.

There's evidence of this everywhere; the dad who knows all of One direction's songs because his eight year old daughter is in love with them, the mum who spends her life watching Peppa Pig with a half love/ half hate feeling in her heart - parents will go above and beyond for their children's latest obsessions.

Ah, if only!

See, before I had kids, I never, ever thought that In The Night Garden was a cute or even acceptable thing for children to like.

I scoffed at sleepsuits and moses baskets with Iggle Piggle and his ilk printed in garish colours all over them and laughed.

'Who the hell would put that crap on their kid? It's disgusting!'  I would sneer, while nursing my fledgeling baby bump.

'Gross!  My kid won't be watching any of that pish!  What kind of name is Upsy-Daisy?'

Fast-forward a year on and we were actively setting our schedules around that flower-headed nonsense-maker, hoping and praying for half-past six; the magical time where those horrible dome-headed, squeaky, ridiculous eejits would allow us to eat, wash and generally get back to some kind of human semblance, as Tom would watch them, transfixed for a full half hour.  

If Iggle Piggle meant that I could grab two minutes to pee in peace, then I was ON that bandwagon.  He could be printed on my face if he liked.  I would advertise him in the street if I had to.  That shit is magic, and I'll hear no harsh words against the horrid blue bugger.

Then came the Finding Nemo/Cars phase.  Which I'm wishing I'd indulged a little bit more, had I'd known it would lead to the Playstation phase.  I think I'd take watching Marlin find his son over and over again anytime, over the current tears and tantrums involved with not being able to get new characters on Lego Batman or spending hours 'finding the cheat codes so I can get Mace Windu* on Starwars 2, mum!'

*Disclaimer.  This might not be it's actual name.  Is either Mace Wimdu or Mace Windu.  I don't know.  I don't care enought to Google.

Ethan's current obsession is Jake and The Neverland Pirates, which has come from his love of Peter Pan.  As a massive Peter Pan fan myself, I am getting behind this for as long as humanly possible.  He can dress as a pirate until he's 30 if he likes.  Plus, he looks quite cute in the full regalia.

Tom brought home football cards the other day.

I'm not even looking.  It's nothing to do with me.

I don't have time to memorise all the players, leagues and footballers that I've spent such a long time actively not caring about.

I hate football.

You can see where this is headed, can't you?

We're off to Neverland! The Lost Boys' Day Out

A couple of weekends ago, we took a Sunday trip to somewhere we used to go when I was but a wee lassie; The Den in Kirriemuir.

The entrance to the Den - under a road!

Lots of bridges for Pooh sticks of course

 It's a gorgeous, sprawling stretch of park, which must be ancient.  Lined by a fast-flowing river that starts at the most beautiful waterfall, and surrounded by trees and acres of grass and wild flowers, the Den has a perfectly-sized little park in the middle.  It's quite old-hat now I imagine, what with the new and fancy Peter Pan play-park at the other end of Kirriemuir Hill, but in my mind, you can't beat this place.

A climbing frame that doesn't give me 'the fear'

Right-sized play-equipment that doesn't give me 'the fear'

The paddling pool - definitely coming back in the summer!

Picnic Time!

It even has a paddling pool that's filled in the summer, and tons of space for the perfect picnic.  After you've exhausted the playground facilities, there's a lovely short walk into the woods to the aforementioned waterfall, and back towards the car park again - perfect for little feet.  Quite long, but not too far and lots to distract. Brilliant!

Tom and I on our walk after the play-park

Gorgeous crocus display - they are everywhere in The Den

One of the many bridges over the river

A gorgeous walk up the stone steps to the waterfall

The waterfall view from the bridge

Today we had also come to see the new Peter Pan park.  Built in 2010, we'd never been.  In fact, we hadn't heard of it until recently, and what with Ethan's new Peter Pan obsession, we just had  to go!  What kind of parent would I be if I withheld that kind of information?

O.K, so we only got slightly lost.

We knew where the cemetery was, and that it bordered the cemetery.  But what actually happened is that in our frustrations we ended up in the cemetery.  But, serendipitously, we happened upon the man himself's grave.  The Peter Pan of Kirriemuir - the town's whole raison-de-etre: Mr James Matthew Barrie himself, creator of Peter Pan.

I have a special interest in Mr. Barrie's works, and if you have time, please spend it having a look at his birthplace, which is in Kirriemuir, just a street away from his headstone.  We've been once, when Tom was little, and it was great.  It's a National Trust site now and houses a lot of important information about one of Scotland's favourite sons. We will certainly be factoring in another visit soon.

'Arrr!'

Once we'd figured out where we were (at the back of the park) we managed to find our way to the top of Kirriemuir Hill and to Neverland.  And what an awesome sight it is.

We're off to Neverland!

What a splendid park.  A proper adventure for children, with imagination grabbers all over the place, all pretty much carved from wood.  It was beautiful and I can think of no better homage to Mr. Barrie and his timeless creation, than this marvelous play-park that feeds children's imaginations.

Peter, watching the magic from on-high

Ethan finally finishing his feud with Hook!

Escaping the ship on the slide!

At the helm

Watch out for tick-tock crocs!

Try not to get carried away though...

Escaping from Pirates!

It was a very windy day, and on the top of a hill means very little shelter, but we still had an ace time.  The kids can't wait to go back.  It's not too far from us either - I can forsee many happy memories being made her (as long as we go to The Den first!)

The Den at Kirriemuir was somewhere my sister and I would be taken to as children with my Nana and Grandad.  On the way home, he would always point out The Soldier On The Hill - a memorial to The Black Watch.  My Grandad served in The Black Watch in WW2, so I suppose it was quite poignant for him.  In a nod to him, we stopped on the way home to pay our respects - to all the lost men and boys, and my Grandad too; a lost boy himself, really.

It was quite moving to see my son pay his respects with his daddy, safe in the knowledge that neither of them would have to go through what my Grandad did.  In a way, he did it for us.  I made sure to explain to Tom as best I could about war and soldiers and WW2. He was very solemn.  He has a really good heart, that kid.

We left in the spirit we set out - adventure in our heart and happiness in our souls.

What a view!