We visited Anglesey Model Village on Tuesday 18th August, using a gift voucher I had bought for Christmas before 2020 went up the creek 😂🤦‍♀️

This was only our third venture out to “somewhere” other than essential shopping trips, since restrictions were lifted. . And I was a bit nervous on all accounts, for us, and what we might encounter, but also for anyone else, having to encounter our feral brood on one of their only “releases” of the summer!

The voucher buying, and redeeming process was quick and easy, all done on my phone at the time of buying, and then again when visiting, no printing or anything required, which is always a winner!

We arrived around about 11.30am, fashionably later than planned as usual due to one forgotten teddy meltdown during the “get in the car” fiasco 😂🤦‍♀️

The Model Village and Cafe is easy to find, via the A4080 about 1 mile from the village of Newborough, and is sign posted with the brown tourist signs.

There is ample on site parking, with only a short distance from the car park to the entrance.

We didn’t need to book tickets in advance, and were cheerfully greeted by one of the proprietors Nick, Who guided us to the sanitizing station (with a foot operated pump, which I thought was brill, no need to touch unnecessary surfaces!)

Nick explained that they were obviously running a limited capacity so there would just be a short wait until it was safe for us to go through.

You are not required to wear a face covering to visit any part of AMV, but, myself and my family did anyway during the queue and ticket purchasing. The entire exhibit is outside, and Welsh government rules only require a mask on public transport.

We only waited maybe 15 minutes max before we went through. I did notice just as we got there the car park was being closed at the entrance temporarily as they had reached capacity
(And, in my personal opinion, their “capacity” was spot on, we’ve visited places this week who’ve claimed to be limiting numbers, but it’s really not felt like it!)

For this reason it’s perhaps best to call ahead to double check, or arrive nice and early (teddy meltdowns accounted for😂)

Nick took our details for NHS track and trace and was really thorough in explaining what the information being taken was for etc.

I have to be perfectly honest and say, I was a little apprehensive how the day trip was going to go down with my older boys, “moody teen” and “stroppy pre teen”. . (Otherwise known as Josh and Lucas 😂) I mean, when they live on minecraft or tiktok, how exciting can a walk around a tiny village with your old folks be. .

However, they both thoroughly enjoyed themselves, they read all the information signs for each of the models. They reveled in recognising places that they knew or had been to (we live on Anglesey) and loved all the attention to detail, particularly the site being cleared for a new exhibit, with its diggers and portaloos!

Moody teen found all the puns particularly hilarious, and the game switched from “find the missing boy Alwyn” (one of the free activities you can take part in for a little prize at the end!) to “find the next pun”. Be it Dan Druff the hairdressers or Mr.D.Tention the schools headmaster. . .whoever named them was clearly on the same wave length as him humour wise.

My little girlie shrieked with excitement at the little rainbows in the windows of the village houses, beautiful attention to detail which really made her feel “part” of the little world in which she was exploring. . . .as a giant, of course 😉

There’s also a gnome hunt, where you need to keep a tally of how many gnomes you spot dotted about the place, again for a little prize at the end
We got the answer spot on. . .but 🤫

Anyone who knows me will know it’s right up my street with my own weird little obsession with the pointy hatted fellows so that was my entertainment😂

Grandads favorite was probably the remote controlled boats, which were an additional £1 to play, but were enjoyed by Grandad, teens, and Scarlett. There was also an additional hand sanitizing station here for afterwards.

The path around the model village was a smooth ride for our pushchair, and I think it would be more than fine for a wheelchair too.

There was also lots of places to sit and rest if needed, I think we counted at least three benches dotted about the walkway.

After our walk around we walked through the cafe through to the outside seating area. There’s no seating indoors currently, but I can perfectly understand why as it is quiet a small space. Tables outside were under large umbrellas, well spaced out. We were handed our menus by a really well mannered young man, and then Nick came to take our orders.

We’ve previously had the afternoon tea at Anglesey Model Village, and everything was absolutely delicious, and they also went above and beyond for my dairy intolerant hubby!

This time though, we stuck to hot drinks for mother, and ice creams for the rest of us! AMV is enrolled in the eat out to help out scheme, and so Monday-Wednesday there’s 50% off the cafe bill, so that was a winner!

The kids let off some steam in the wooden maze whilst we waited for our drinks, and there’s also a little ride on train that they could ride too.

After our visit to the model village we took the short walk to Rhuddgaer Stepping Stones, the giant stepping stones seemed a fitting ending to our day immersed in a tiny world!

Over all our whole experience at the model village was brilliant. Nothing was too much trouble, everything was really well explained. The distancing measures made us feel like we had the place to ourselves and I honestly felt really safe and looked after! I really liked the foot operated hand sanitizing station, and Nick seemed to be everywhere all at once making sure nobody was missed in being directed to use it.

Our party ranged from 1 year old, to… shall we just say “Grandad” 🙊 and everyone got something out of our trip.

Tickets to the model village are

ADULT – £5.50
SENIOR – £4.95
CHILD (U16) – £3.95
Baby in Carry Harness or Pram – FREE
FAMILY Ticket – £15 (2+2) or (1+3)


And the opening times are

Mon – Sun 10 a.m. – 4pm.

Last entry to model village 30 mins prior to closing.


Contact and location information
Anglesey Model Village
Newborough
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Anglesey
LL61 6RS
Tel: 01248 440477

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True to form where my lot is concerned, we were a day late visiting Tyddyn Mon Pancake house, and instead visited on Feb 26th, although, this trip has certainly founded a belief that pancakes are for life, not just for shrove Tuesday!

We’ve lived on the beautiful isle of Anglesey for four years, and somehow have never visited this little gem, and given that tantrums and a very late working husband the night before meant this mum hadn’t actually had any pancakes yet, I was ready for my fill!

Tyddyn Mon is situated in the idyllic location of Brynrefail, Which was easy to find, and Google maps bought us straight to the car park itself, (which if you live on Anglesey you will appreciate what a gift that is, between the many back roads and random postcodes, Google often has us on a merry dance!!)

And what an absolutely freezing Wednesday morning it was! One of those where you could see your breath whilst arguing with the 15 month old who has discovered the “stiff as a board” trick when it comes to the car seat battle 🙄😂🙈

I was beginning to worry about having forgot my coat in the mad morning rush and sitting in the little cafe cold,which aggravates all my symptoms,but I needn’t have worried. Opening the door to the pancake house itself was like stepping into a tropical parallel universe it was so lovely,warm and cosy.

Before we had even sat down we were cheerily greeted by the ladies behind the counter, myself being the ridiculously socially awkward person that I am made a bee line for the toilet to avoid introductions and table choosing and left all that to the hubby🙈

The toilets were more than adequate for a relatively small establishment, three stalls so no awkward queuing for a single cubicle, toilet roll (always a winner but not always a guarantee in some places🙄🙈) sink,mirror, pretty much all you need from a toilet lol. But very clean, a theme which ran through the entire place, considering the day before, being pancake day, was one of their busiest I assume, there wasn’t a crumb in sight!

I returned to the table Jason had picked.. to find him strapping Alfie into a high chair, cooperating this time (although high chair=food unlike car seat so I’m sure that’s why!) There was already another family with a young child in a high chair, and along with the one we used there were two more waiting for others, all looked immaculate, all with the padded seats, five point harness and trays rather than the wooden death traps and their useless lap straps of some places. . . I was impressed, lots of big eateries often don’t have this many/quality and when your trying to have a meal out with little ones it really can make all the difference!

Hubby then disappeared off to the toilet, and ever the impatient, I braved taking Alfie to the counter and ordered drinks with the bubbly and friendly Sarah, who quickly alayed the most part of my social awkwardness and soon had me chatting away as if talking to a old friend. The equally friendly Kerry could be seen busily working away behind the counter, and Dafydd came over to fuss over Alfie, the whole place had an atmosphere that put me at ease, and that’s not something that happens very often!

Once pancakes were ordered we nattered away at the table, trying to remember what we talk about when there’s not four kids running riot to referee, but Alfie was getting a tad restless.

You’ve got about a five minute window before the cooperation of strapping into the high chair evaporates into a “where’s this food I was promised” meltdown. . . But before I had even fished through the changing bag in the hope of uncovering a cracker or random stuffed bear lurking along came Dafydd with a box of Mega Blocks, turning mini mr’s frown upside down and avoiding that awful scenario of it being your kid kicking off whilst everyone’s attempting to enjoy a nice meal, which would’ve set my anxiety off no end!

The main event itself, the pancakes, were to die for! Such a variety to chose from, from pancakes to crepes, fruit, chocolate or savory options. . We paid £5.20 for my husband’s “special stacker maple syrup and smokey bacon” which he was delighted to be able to order from their dairy free options (otherwise. . He’d have just spent the morning watching me stuff my face😉😂)
I went all out and had the three stack chocolate special, covered in chocolate sauce, topped with a variety of my favorite chocs and served with cream for just a little over £6, which we felt were really reasonable prices,especially given the portion sizes!

The attention to detail, for again what comes across as a relatively small establishment, was above and beyond. From having sweetners as well as sugar available at the cuttlery stand, to catering for and providing gluton free, vegan, dairy free and diabetic special pancakes, definitely made it somewhere we would visit again! Being a chef, hubby was instantly taken with their being signposted and specific/separate cooking/storage areas for the gluton free cooking, something many huge kitchens / restaurants don’t have. The toys to keep the children entertained, the choice of cosy comfy seating by the fire or a table and chairs, and Sarah coming over to offer Jason more maple syrup about halfway through, everything was thought of!

Jason finished all his pancakes, but I think I had eyes bigger than my belly and even sharing a huge chunk with Alfie (who was in pancake heaven!) I didn’t finish mine. . Whilst we were there I didn’t see a children’s menu available, which was one of the things we discussed in the car on the way home in terms of revisiting(no doubt my big boys would finish off a three stack like Jason but I don’t think scarlett could). However i did ask the question via email when we got home and was told they’ll happily make up smaller portions which is normally charged at around half the price.

We then headed out of the pancake cafe itself and ventured next door to test drive their new soft play area. Again everything was squeaky clean, and I think it’s obvious Alfie had a blast. The signs recommend the play area isn’t suitable for children over the age of five and I think that’s spot on. It was just the right size for Alfie age 16 months to rampage through, and even though he’s STILL not walking🙄 he was able to navigate around and use the slides etc. (Check out our Instagram video from the 26th for a mini tour!) The soft play area was completely free, so long as you purchase from the cafe, which again is brilliant, and your welcome to do the soft play before or after your cafe trip (which, in retrospect before may have been a better option as I was definitely feeling the onset of a food coma). The play area almost fills the whole room as you walk in, which meant I sat on a crash mat cradling my food baby whilst Jason chased Alfie round having the time of his life. I’m not sure whether there’s the potential for a couple of folding chairs or stools to be put in along the one side, but then that would only really apply if there was more than one parent with a child anyway, as otherwise you’d be with them playing. . . I was probably just feeling sorry for myself having gorged on chocolate delishness🙈

There’s also so much more to see outside, sadly the weather didn’t lend itself to us exploring too much further, but we could see the outdoor play area, the chickens, willow figures and statues, all in beautiful surroundings.

There’s disabled access, and disabled toilets including a baby change station,with padded changing mat and nappy bags etc.

What makes this place so very special though, is that it is a registered charity (reg charity no.1072035) which for over 30 years has supported adults with learning disabilities,providing them wiki care and guidance, encouraging them to live happy and independent lives.

Based on their 35 acre farm, their facilities and training at Tyddyn Mon help to improve confidence, skills and provide valuable work experience. The farm and pancake house is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday 10-4.

And if you fancy more vibe just a day trip, their new build self catering holiday accommodation can sleep up to 16 people, including specially adapted rooms for guests with disabilities. Only a 10 minute walk from the award winning Lligwy beach, it’s also perfectly situated to explore all that Anglesey and the surrounding area has to offer.

It almost made the visit taste even sweeter (pun intended!) knowing that our visit and experience was supporting these special members of our community, and providing them with valuable life experience.

All in all, the best pancakes we’ve ever tasted, in the most beautiful surroundings, with all the facilities and attention to detail you could wish for, along with the best customer service experience from every single person we encountered!

We will be back!

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I listened.  .( It doesn’t happen very often )

I had the WORST night probably since before Alfie was born. . I wasn’t in a load of pain, I wasn’t even really over stressed, the kids slept through. . . But for the love of GOD I could not sleep. . .

Jason had a late start for once meaning he didn’t need to leave until 11, so after half an hour of zombie walking round the house once the kids were all up come 7a.m., he sent me back to bed for a couple of hours. .

Normally I point blank refuse but I actually listened for once,realising there was no way I could do a weekend with all four at home on zero hours sleep. . . 

But by God the guilt hit me like a freight train, before,and as soon as I woke up about 10! I do however feel slightly more human now!

Tonight’s blog will cover insomnia. .Anyone else just lie there getting more and more annoyed with themselves for not falling asleep! Last Christmas I was bought a gravity blanket, and it seems to help. I’ve got guided meditations I listen too to try to switch off the constant thought train. . And a sleep mask which I feel like just forces my eyes to stay closed it the hope that they fall asleep lol.

What are your top tips for helping you get to sleep?

And for coping with the day ahead when you know you’ve had next to none!
https://organisedchaos4kids.family.blog/

#fibromyalgia #nosleep  #insomnia #fibrowarrior #tired #tiredmom #weightedblanket #gravityblanket #meditation #sleep #mummentalhealth #cfs #chronic #fatigue #zombie  #myalgicencephalomyelitis #amytrip

I’ve had a really shitty weekend. . What was meant to be a lovely family Christmas weekend didn’t go to plan for one reason or another, cars, finances, fighting teenagers, and although we fumbled through the weekend, I really struggled to get passed what had been “ruined” ( more on my all or nothing / controlling perfectionism in a later blog!) There were many tears(on my part), much despair, frustration, a panic attack and waking up Monday morning to a blinding headache and a mouth full of ulcers (still strikes me how physical “mental” health can become) I fumbled my way through a pop up shop I had organised for our school uniform charity, it was hubby’s day off and I think I was more not there than there. . . Tuesday was equally ridiculous, an unexpected direct debit, the aga on the blink, my teenager causing more grief at home, some Christmas presents I bought arrived damaged, another day where quiet frankly I felt sorry for myself and like the universe was against me. . . Stuck in that black hole where you can only see things getting worse and no way of fixing things or them getting better. . Of course, because my anxiety had kicked off, I was tense, mithered, I hadn’t slept, and typically along came a fibro flare up, my ankles felt like lead weight, my legs were burning my head spinning, no amount of energy drinks were making me feel vaguely awake,and I was panicking about having all four kiddies at home after school whilst hubby would be at work until close to midnight when I felt so utterly rubbish. . .

Anyway, I picked the middle two up from school, and my usual fire cracker of a daughter was a bit quiet. She had been up in the night with a cough so I thought maybe she would be tired. . We got home and started the usual chaos of getting changed, meals, homework, the eldest had a theatre group, the middle sea cadets, so everything goes by in a blur on a Tuesday. . She knocked a drink over and I told her to be careful, not with a raised voice or anything.. but she burst into a fit of tears. . . “What’s happened” I asked her, “do you still feel poorly”. . . “No” she said.. but she was still crying. . . I held her hands and got down to her level and asked her again “what’s happened baby girl” . . And she sank into my arms for a cuddle. . “Everything is bad and everything’s gone wrong” she sniffles. . . Meanwhile Alfie has thrown his banana from his high chair onto the floor, the cat is eating it whilst he bashes the high chair tray repeatedly, i am trying to make a mental note to clean it up before someone slips on it, I’ll probably forget and it’ll probably be me. The teenager is having some sort of meltdown over Jam and lemon curd school dinners and middle boy is doing the dishwasher so loudly I’m not sure whether he’s just got the tact of a circus clown or if it’s some sort of loud protest in being asked to do it (you know, so we can all eat and get him to his club on time🙄😂)

Her arms were tight around my neck in a way I don’t remember her doing for years, peeling her off whilst trying to remain gentle was a work of art, “talk to me, tell me what’s gone wrong, because no matter how bad it is, we can fix it” she cried harder, and I was left thinking I had pretty much said and done everything by the book up to this point, how could I make it worse? My chest pangs. I can SEE me in her (again, this is another blog for the future!) . I can see her eyes flashing panic, she feels like everything’s out of control and I completely get how she feels, and me telling her that everything’s going to be ok just won’t wash (this is particularly poignant of conversations me and hubby have when I get in a tizz) . . . “Why don’t you tell me what happened, and we can see what we can do” I try. . And she went on to tell me about her day, how her show and tell went wrong, her and her best friend broke up, her apple didn’t taste nice, she didn’t know the answers in maths and she didn’t have anybody to play with. . She got pushed over on the playground and the teacher didn’t phone me. . . She cried her way through the whole story, and when I told her she was home now and it was okay, she sat down for her tea. . .whereby I start rushing round like a woman possessed whilst all three are sat still in one place momentarily, swap the washing, start running the baths, cleaning the kitchen down and getting together the right money for the various clubs we’ll soon be rushing off to. One of her sausages was too hot, and the floods of tears start again. It’s like every little thing was going to be another straw breaking another camel’s back. .

You see, my little lady isn’t normally like this. She’s a gobby feisty little thing with two big brothers and a sassy little personality. She’s the only girl on her local football team, pulls no punches, so this was all out of character for her! We move onto the bath, and she’s standing naked waiting to get in and cries again, silent little tears this time and my heart breaks. . “I can’t stop thinking about my rubbish day and I don’t want to do my homework or go back tomorrow” she says. I took her hands back in my hands and say to her “look little lady, I can’t do anything about what happened at school today, I know that was bad. . .but what I can tell you is that your here now, with me, let’s have this bath, get little Alfie off to bed and when Dad’s taking the boys to clubs let’s do whatever you want to cheer you up, so you can stop thinking all those bad thoughts, even if only for a little bit. . Does that sound ok? She nodded, and smiled, and got in the bath. . I sorted the biggest two out whilst Dad did baths, took little man up to bed and me and Scarlett headed to the living room whilst I start worrying about having over promised her and what over extravagant “whatever you want” she’s going to come up with!!

All she wanted to do was sit and colour. . In front of the fire, stretched out on the living room floor we coloured some snowmen cut outs that I had originally bought for the previously mentioned disaster of a weekend. . “We should’ve bought some felt tips” she says, because the pencil crayons aren’t really showing up on the foam figures. . . And the smile on her face when I grabbed a packet of felt tips out of the Christmas cupboard.. you’d think I had just handed her a million dollar bill! An hour passed, Jason got back from dropping the boys off, and she asked if he would make us a cup of tea ❤ Which of course, he does, and whilst he heads off to Hoover (I know,he’s a diamond, and yes, the entire time I was stressing about not “doing” stuff) I popped my little Boo (a nickname I am still not sure where came from) up onto my knee on the recliner, and we had the best of cuddles. No TV in the back ground, I just listened. And by God can my child talk. Fast. And so animated she makes me giggle, even at parts I shouldn’t be (so she told me!) She talked about her friends and school, she made a list of good and bad behaviours and we talked about the friends she DOES have at school, until she stopped, literally dead stopped in the middle of a sentence and said “it’s nice to chill out isn’t it” I smiled and agreed that it doesn’t happen very often in this crazy house! ” I have loved our special time mummy you’ve turned my bad day upside down and now I feel ok again”

My little lady went off to bed happy. When two hours earlier she had been in pieces. . And how simple had it been to put her back there. What struck me most was how important I had made it to make sure we got her there. . . And it got me thinking, why do I never do that for myself. I mean, never. Things get so ridiculously on top of me. I despair. I feel overwhelmed. But I never take a minute to stop. I never turn off for a minute. Take five. I keep reading all these articles about self care or about breathing space, but if I am not in the whirlwind moment of crying or panicking, I am beating myself up for not having done enough, achieved enough that day, made the right amount of phone calls or ticked enough off the to do list. Jason is always saying to me, just chill out for a minute, switch off. . But I never take his advice. I feel to guilty, to rushed, there’s still too much to do. I get infuriated by his notion of just chilling out, how can he even suggest it!

But then, tonight, I saw for myself the difference it made to my little person, and I wonder, just maybe, would it work for me too? Even just this time with her, that evening, made me forget for five minutes that the kitchen looked like world war three, there was still a huge pile of laundry I had promised myself all day I would do when Alfie stopped for 5 minutes, my phone had been pinging away in the background with whatsap group messages, Facebook notifications, emails and goodness knows what else. Once she was tucked up in bed, and I went back downstairs to tidy up the 1001 pieces of paper we seemed to have gone through and try to reunite all the felt tips with their lids to try to salvage them before they dried out, I realised, I don’t actually have a headache anymore and the crushing panicking chest pains were eased off for the first time in days. .

So why is it that we can see how urgent it is for someone else to take time out. Value the need to cheer some one up. Help them to think clearly, take stock of the moment, appreciate that no,you can’t change the day they’ve had, but we can do things to try to ease their feelings. . But that we don’t hold our own well being in the same esteem? Because within ten minutes I was stressing that the hour and 55 minutes I had spent with her I could have done two 60 minute washes and finished cleaning the kitchen that hubby was now doing whilst I felt guilty I hadn’t. . I instantly went back to piling on the blame, seeing the inadequacies and beating myself up for having done “nothing”.

We’ve made a little promise to each other that on a Tuesday, when Alfie is in bed, and the boys are at club, we’ll have a little ❤us❤ time. Jase won’t always have Tuesday evenings free to do the dropping off and picking up, but I’ll always try to make time for a little one on one with my Boo, which inadvertently will mean a little time out for me too. .

Do you manage some “me” time. Or to switch off? What are your top tips for finding time to chill out for five minutes when you feel like no matter how much you do, the houseworks never finished, messages never all answered, shopping never all done and the top do list ever growing? Do you place a value on self care? Am I missing a really important trick? I’d really love to hear your input on it ❤

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2010, with M.E in 2011, and then with fibromyalgia in 2014. I’ve struggled with Generalised Anxiety Disorder, with OCD (but no, my house isn’t always clean!) And imposter syndrome (yes, it’s real thing, and yes I googled it when I was told) I went from being a working single mum of two very young boys whilst studying a full time degree, to working my dream job at a zoo. . To slowly realising I just physically couldn’t do it 😦 and in amongst moving to our dream home on Anglesey, I resigned myself to being “just” a mum, and didn’t feel like a very good one at that. . I lost myself completely. . I isolated myself.. I bottled a whole load of things up, and became the shell of the once vibrant outgoing confident person I had been. . I am no where near “ok” now, whatever that means, but through lots of self help books and seeing a councillor, blogging kept coming up, as a way to vent, to make sense of things, and maybe even to connect with a few people in similar situations. . Here’s hoping

Thanks for stopping by at my new little venture. . . I’ll be posting daily anecdotes about the chaos of life at home with four children, a host of animals and a hubby who works ridiculously long hours.

I’ll be sharing a few organisational hints and tips around how we make life a little bit easier for ourselves . . . We will be reviewing lots of places that we visit with @wikiplacesforkids, As well as discussing mental health and parenthood. .

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2010, with M.E in 2011, and then with fibromyalgia in 2014. . . And went from being a single mum with two young babies,a full time job and studying a full time degree, to working at my dream job in a zoo . . To finally admitting that I couldn’t physically do it anymore. . And in amongst moving to our dream home in our dream location, where everything should have been amazing. . I lost myself completely. . And ended up feeling like “just” a mum, and a very good one at that, I’ve struggled with Generalised Anxiety Disorder, with OCD (but no, my house isn’t always clean!) And imposter syndrome (yes, it’s real thing, and yes I googled it when I was told)

So, on this little page I’ll be reaching out, blogging about the good days, and the really really bad ones, sharing how I cope, or, sometimes don’t, things that help and things that don’t. . . Along with hoping to connect with people in a similar situation, share our experiences and learn how others manage too. . Who knows, I might even make a friend or two out of it too, providing I reply appropriately, don’t put my foot it it, or just ghost people! 😂🙈😉