Playhouse craft

Since getting back from sunny Portugal we've had plenty of rainy days stuck at home so I've had to come up with ideas to keep little J amused. While we were on holiday little J loved being able to use keys to unlock our hotel room. Now we're back home he is frustrated that the lock on our front door is too high to reach (much to my relief or else he'd be running out in the street!).

The other day I had a brainwave. I grabbed a large cardboard box we were about to throw away and began designing little J his own play house. I flattened the box and lay it on the floor so I could draw out the windows and door. Little J promptly plopped down on his belly  beside me with a handful of crayons and began colouring in my design. In fact he spent the rest of the afternoon at work with his crayons and was sad when I told him he had to stop for dinner.

While he was in bed that night I set to work cutting out window holes, a door, a letter box and most important of all a key hole. When little J got up the next morning he was excited to see our creation complete and ready for play time.  Since then he's played in there every day with his bears and even got me to sit in there and read stories with him. It's proved to be a great way to pass the rainy days.

When he gets bored of this creation my next plan is a pirate ship with a treasure map and treasure chest so he can recreate a story he's borrowed from the library. I'll let you know how that goes :)

Six on Sunday - loving Lagos

We just went on our first European holiday as a family and all had a whale of a time. We got a great deal on 5 nights to Lagos in Portugal and I wanted to share the highlights with you all so here's six things we loved about Lagos:

1. Our hotel

We stayed at Carvi Hotel and though it wasn't the most kid friendly place (the pool is 1.25m at the shallow end and I don't remember ever seeing any high chairs in the dining room), the service was excellent. The staff were so friendly and helpful and were great with little J. It's nicely decorated and the breakfast buffet was great. The best thing about it though has to be the location - on a cliff top overlooking Dona Ana beach. There are steps down to the beach right by the hotel and several other great beaches within 20 mins walk. The Old town with all it's restaurants is only 10-15 mins walk away as well.

 

2. The beaches

Not only were we staying next to one of the world's most beautiful beaches but there were 3 or 4 other great beaches all within 20 mins walk of our hotel. 

Praia Dona Ana

Praia Don Ana isn't great for building sand castles as it's quite grainy but it's a beautiful place to relax and you can also take a boat trip to see the grottos and the other beaches hidden along the coast line as far as Ponta De Piedade. 

Praia Do Batata is a beautiful sandy beach located right in the heart of town - a great place to relax just before/after trying the restaurants in town. 

Praia do Pinhao looks lovely but the access to it isn't great - down a lane covered in graffitti followed by a lot of steps with no railings to stop you from tumbling down the sheer drop! We just admired this one from the cliff top and decided not to venture down the steps.

Our favourite beach was Praia do Estudantes (pictured at the top of this post). It was a great sheltered cove with tunnels in the rocks leading to other coves either side. There was also an Italian/seafood restaurant up on the hillside behind the beach which was a great place to grab lunch or enjoy the view while having a few drinks. There were plenty more great beaches nearby that we didn't get chance to see so you really are spoilt for choice!

3. The food

We ate some pretty amazing food at very reasonable prices. 

Quay Lagos is a lovely bar/bistro run by Brits and located right on the marina. It's nicely decorated and has a great view of the marina so is a lovely place to have a few drinks and watch the world go by. The staff were so friendly and welcoming - always happy to chat and great with our little boy. The food was amazing! My lamb just fell off the bone and hubbys pork and clams was in a great tasting sauce. We barely had room for pudding but managed to share a lemon tart and were so glad we did. It was home made and served with luxury vanilla ice cream and oranges in a cardamom syrup which little J devoured eagerly. 

Next door to Quay Lagos is Crema Di Gelato ice cream parlour which serves some of the most amazing home made ice cream. Their generous one scoop cone costs only 2 euros so is about the same price as a Mr Whippy back home but bigger and waaaaaay better!

The Green Room is a cute little Mexican place run by a Kiwi. It's pretty small and the menu is basic but what they do serve they do very well with good size portions at reasonable prices. Their quesadillas were amazing, burritos the size of your head and the chocolate brownie was great too. We got a starter, 2 mains, pudding and drinks all for just over 25 euros!

The Garden

The Garden is an open air BBQ restaurant with a great atmosphere. Owned by a south African and with very friendly staff, they serve a mixture of BBQ and Morrocan food as well as some great freshly made pasta dishes. The food is nothing spectacular but is freshly made with good quality ingredients and cooked right in front of you on a big BBQ grill. What really makes this place is the unique atmosphere. Where else can you eat dinner sat on hay bales and then curl up in a hammock with a few cocktails after?! They even provide blankets for when the evening gets cooler.

4. The people

The place is full of expats living there and lots of different nationalities seem to visit too. So instead of it being full of Brits on package holidays we got to meet Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Dutch and South Africans. Everyone was so friendly and ready to chat and everyone seemed to agree Lagos is a great place to holiday!

5. The old historic town

A great place to wander round with cobbled streets, plenty of specialist shops and a wide choice of restaurants.

6. The boat trips

Boat trip to Ponta De Piedade

There are plenty of boat trips and watersports on offer as well as shark fishing and dolphin watching. We went on one of the boat trips to the grottos and enjoyed getting to see the rocky coastline from the sea. The best way to see the grottos has to be the kayak tour that allows you to kayak right inside the caves. We decided taking a 1 year old and a pregnant lady in a kayak for 3 hours wasn't a smart idea but if we go back when the kids are older this is top of our list of things we want to do.

Where are all the real men?...

At work the other day we were talking about the guys we see when going out clubbing and how many of them are wearing make up and pluck their eyebrows better than us ladies. With male role models like the cast of 'The only way is Essex' is it any wonder though? Plus as women fight for equality I can't help thinking we're stepping on guys toes and further blurring the lines of what makes a man, well......a man.

A member of my family recently changed his name to something more gender neutral as he says he doesn't feel particularly masculine or feminine.  Looking at today's culture I can totally see why someone might feel that way and looking at what society portrays as manhood I'm kinda glad he doesn't fit that mould.

It seems to me that most men today fall in to one of these two categories:

- very well groomed, in touch with their 'feminine' side, big softies and as a result get called gay regardless of whether they are or not.
- guys who are so worried about being called gay that they go to the other extreme - acting like thugs and having questionable personal hygiene.

I don't think either of these are what "real" men are supposed to be.

The media seems to tell everyone that real men don't cry, don't care about personal hygiene, don't talk about their problems, treat women like garbage and always solve things with their fists. When I read the Bible I see a very different picture of manhood and surely the God who created man should be the one who we look to for our definition of what true manhood is, not Hollywood?!

The Bible shows us men who aren't afraid to cry (John 11:35, Matthew 26:75) and men who have very close friendships with other guys without fear of being called gay (1 Samuel 18:1-3). I could sit here and give you a whole list of what the Bible has to say about manhood but that would be too easy for you - go look for yourself!

While researching this topic I came across some interesting articles about the question of manhood. This video challenges us about the damage our wrong message of manhood is doing to our boys. This article raises the issue of the disservice we do to our children, both boys and girls, when we avoid the question of gender altogether and try to treat male and female as interchangeable. For a whole sermon series on the subject go on over to Desiring God.

This article about "Peter Pan Syndrome" addresses a slightly different element of how manhood has gone wrong in today's society but gets right to the heart of it all when it says...

In short, to “act like men”, means, to act like the Man. We must see that we are being transformed into the very image of the God-Man, of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). 

Are you a guy trying to work out what it means to be a man? Or are you someone confused about your gender or identity? Let me assure you that the only label that really defines you is not male/female/gay/straight/geek/jock etc etc - you are quite simply a child of God. If we all let our Father in heaven define us instead of the media and those around us the world would be a much less confusing place for us all!