A bit of a catch up

The last few weeks seem to have flown by, with trying to getting the garden ready for planting, getting the chicken run ready for the new arrivals, trying to de-clutter the house, Rowans trip to hospital and just everyday busy life, I feel like I have not stopped I haven't even taken many photos.  Oh well spring always seems to have a busy-ing effect on me. 

I wanted to finish my Morocco posts before putting up anything else, but they will have to wait for a bit.

Here is a catch up the last couple of weeks...

Spring flower painting.  these really surprised me actually as Rowan is very reluctant at painting anything, he just likes to paint ramps!  But one day I put a vase of daffodils on the table with green and yellow paint out and he decided to paint himself a daffodil!

And os course, Reuben had to aswell!

Our first batch of cornflour gloop.  Both boys dislike getting their hands sticky, so they were quite hesitant at getting into the gloop, but as the afternoon progressed they would keep coming back to it a little at a time

Rowan had a break from glooping to bring the veggy box in.  The veg box delivery here is a weekly excitment, the boys love going through it to see what we've got this week!

More glooping, this time the dinosaurs have been stuck on planet gloop!

This camelia is right outside the kitchen window, it is lovely to wash the dishes whilst looking at the delicate beautiful blooms

and this furry little fellow was having a wonderful time, completly covered in powdery white pollen.  He was very sleepy and slow.

Bike washing

And bike riding, after bike washing of course!

Reuben kept going back and forth over this little rut in the ground, the first 2 times he did it, he fell over and really wacked himself, but after a quick Daddy cuddle he got straight back on and would not stop until he had it sussed!  Sheer determination!

And Rowan made us all proud.  He gets very fearful about riding his pedal bike, thinking he can't do it and wanst the security of his balance bike back.  But after telling him I was really rubbish at riding bikes and always fall off, and pointing out that he is really good, he was on it like a shot and rode the whole way.  even deciding to go 'off road' with Daddy on the way back going downhill and doing jumps!

Home again!

Just a quick update, Rowan was discharged from hospital this evening.  He is still wheezy and his oxygen levels were just above the ok level, but the bed was needed and we were all desperate to get home.

He is very excitied to get home and that mixed with his medication means we have a very hyper Rowan for the next few days, but thats better than a poorly Rowan.  So lots of gentle home healing and rest for all of us for the next few days.

Poorly boy!

Well we had a nice chilled out weekend, a friends birthday party, a trip to see some camels, fixing up the chicken house, finally finding the chooks we want (they come next Saturday). 

Then yesterday afternoon Rowans snotty cold moved to his chest, a little cough makes an appearance and then last night his breathing became very fast again.  So after an appointment at the docs, which I thought we would go straight home from, we ended up being transferred to hospital with Rowan having an asthma attack, his oxygen levels were very low and his heartrate really high. 

He has been admitted for the night.  He was doing much better when I left but still needing regular oxygen.  Tris is there with him tonight.  I am worn out and need to sleep but am also wide awake with worry!

He hasn't had any asthma for so long that I thought it had gone away, but alas it is still there :(

Morocco Day 2 - Marrakesh (Definatley not a vegetarian day!)

So day 2 was a bit more chilled out.  The weather wasn't as good which was a shame as the Atlas mountains' snowy peaks were visible for all of the day before and we didn't take any photos.

We didn't do too much today, a visit to a miniaret and gardens.  We also went to another gardens but spent so long getting there (trying to avoid rip off taxi men and doing it ourselves - will we never learn!), that when we got there our enthusiam had been spent and we headed back to the square to watch some street entertainment.  In the day the main square is filled with storytellers, snake charmers, musicians and the like.  Some of it was quite fun to watch, some horrific, like the monkey trainers - they get their trained monkies to sit on tourists shoulders for photos!  Rowan thought it was hillarious that they had put a nappy on one monkey, I thought it was sick!

Rowans arty shot of the Koutubai minaret

A storks nest on top of the arials - if you look closely you can see the baby storks head in the nest

A magician / storyteller in the Djeema-el-fna.  Rowan was captivated, he was talking in Arabic, surrounded by Moroccan men and boys, we didn't understand a word, but Rowan would not leave until the man was finished

Sunset in the square.  It really was an amazing place, I felt like I had been transported back in time, surrounded by men in cloaks, horse and carts, but then a motorbike would zoom past me!

The food stalls setting up

The food stalls are all set up in a particular order, so that all the stalls selling the same kind of food are together, the sweet stalls, the tagine stalls, the kebab stalls, the offal stalls!  Whilst walking past the latter, Rowan noticed the steaming sheeps heads and brains and says he wants to eat a sheeps brain!  He was not joking!  So he sat down and the man boiled him a little sheeps brain, sprinkled it with cumin and gave it to Rowan.  Well you can see from the photo how chufed he was, he loved it, kept saying Yum Yum!  He made me try a bit, to which I gagged.  Tris ate some and Reuben said No Way!  In a way I was quite proud of Rowan - we eat meat, I have never shyed away from explaining to him where the meat we eat comes from and as far as he is concerned, if he eats meat from a sheep why is the brain any different!  He then asked for the sheeps head after he finished the brain, but I swiftly moved him on!

On the eating of weird food, Tris had a bowl of snail soup!

Even Reuben tried a snail, but I think that was only as you got to poke it out with a cocktail stick

Snail soup man

A much nicer stall of dried fruit!

Rowan and his snail

A random last shot of Marrakesh, but Rowan could have watched this man iron all day and night.  He was fascinated!

Morocco Day 1 - Marrakesh

Well its about time I put up some photos from our holiday, after all we've been back for 3 weeks now!

We flew into Marrakesh from Bristol, the boys seemed to enjoy the journey but were also quite excitied about going somewhere new.  Landing in the airport we dodged the dodgy taxi drivers and got on a much cheaper bus into the city.  Marrakesh is an amazing looking city, surrounded by large red walls against the backdrop of the Atlas mountain range.  We got off the bus by the Djeema-el-fna (the main square) and found someone who was willing to show us to our hotel for a small fee.  He took us down alleys, through lanes and what seemed like all over the place to finally get to our hotel.

Upon arriving to the hotel we hit our first and possibly biggest hurdle, the lady spoke French and Arabic, and we spoke English!  Fortunalty for us the manager turned up a bit later who did speak some English.  But I really dislike not being able to converse with people in their own language, and felt really bad that I hadn't brushed up on my french a bit better before we left, but I was too busy!

Anyway after checking in and chilling out, we wrapped up (it is winter there too, and it was chilly in the evenings) and headed out to the main square again for some food and a quick look around.

In the evening in the Djeema-el-fna, all these food stalls appear, it is a very vibrant hustley and bustley, magical place.  We had a tagine at one of the stalls.
Then we headed back as we knew it could all get a bit much for the boys after such a long journey.

So the following day we woke up (late for us at 8), but as breakfast wasn't served until 9 we went out for a morning stroll. We found the....

Orange juice stalls

The dried fruit stalls

More fruit and nuts

The poultry and egg souk

The early morning sun on the not so busy square

Quiet lanes

This was about 9am - it was so quiet, all the shops are still shut

Then we went for our breakfast, coffee, bread and orange juice in our very quiet riad.  the riads are a traditional style of house, where all the rooms are situated around a central courtyard.  Very pretty, but also very quiet!  Or it was until we came along!

I am sure when children are told to be quiet they have to make themselves twice as noisy and silly!

So then we packed up our bag and headed out to see the souks and the city for the day, we didn't get far before we stopped for pancakes!

The street is livening up now

Reubens glasses face

Olive souk

Ben Yousef Mosque - Marrakesh museum

So many beautiful mosaics.  Such attention to detail is put into everything

The courtyard of the museum (again another very quiet place!) with the giants lightshade!

Two very noisy jumping boys!

There was a long dark tunnel that was once used as a Hamman (a communal bath where they would have cleaned before going to pray - I think), the boys loved running up and down the tunnel turning on and off the lights and freaking out the other tourists!

This was the courtyard of the Ali Ben Yousef Merdersa, where students would have stayed when studying the Koran, hundreds of students would have stayed here at one time.

I felt very small as I stood in this magnificent courtyard, surrounded by beautiful mosaics and intricate carved cedar walls and balconies

Tristan and Rowan in  window of the students bedrooms

Back through the souks - Very tired by this time!

The Dyers souk.  I was really looking forward to going here to see them dying the wool and maybe buying some to bring home and knit something up, but by the time we got here I was so tired that I just wanted to sit down, so I saw a man dipping some wool into a huge vat of smelly, hot liquid ("its all natural madam" - Yeah, right!) and got a couple of photos then left for a well needed cuppa!

Finally, a chance to sit down, eat, drink and chill out - well kind of our omlettes were not cooked properly!  Oh well, we managed to get them cooked eventually and after a very long day headed back to rest.