Big brother is watching you! and he wants to give you a backie!

Seth reminds me a lot of me when I was his age. He's happiest outside and wants to spend every spare minute out on his bike riding about. It's only been a couple of months since his stabilizers were taken off but he's become so confident now that he's picking up passengers and ferrying them about.

I love watching Seth and Opeie play together they are adorable and i couldn't have asked for a more perfect relationship for them. They are caring and they look after each other. There's the occasional verbal disagreement or wrestle but they are boys so it's expected.

Ive been really looking forward to the summer holiday so the boys can spend some quality uninterrupted time together and i will be full embracing the next six weeks.

"Sorry I'm late, I was saving the world. You know how it is."

Whenever we are sent something to review myself and the boys sit down and discuss how we are going to tackle it as a team. Although the bulk of the writing on the blog is done by me, the blog is definitely a team effort and the boys love getting involved. Today we sat with the LEGO Ant-man kit in front of us and we were racking our brains for a creative way to approach the post when Opeie said 'if I was Ant-man I'd be able to hide when i had to tidy up' which was followed by Seth's 'If you were small like Ant-man you wouldn't be able to use the toilet'. That's how our blog brainstorming begins and what we were left with was...

The Pro's and Con's of being Ant-Man!

So we shrank Opeie down to Ant-man size to test our list of Hypothesis. 

1. Seth said 'If you were the Ant-man you would be great at games like Hide and seek because no one would be able to find you...

...But Opeie pointed out that he might be good at some games but at that size he wouldn't be winning any bike races!

2. You wouldn't have to eat much to fill your tummy, every meal would be an enormous feast...

...The downside is there might be situation where you end up on a giant spoon and be part of that feast without anyone realising!

3. As Seth pointed out, using a toilet at that size could be a HUGE problem...

... Opeie being Mr positive pointed out "Secret swimming pool?".

*Both toilet and LEGO were sterilised during the making of this review! Haha

4. Being the Ant-Man would be so cool, you could fly around on ants and mate friends with all the fun creepy crawlies...

...Unfortunately, in life there is always that one over affectionate type, that invades your personal space against your will.

5. Who wouldn't love playing with giant LEGO! that would be so much fun. You could build yourself a whole world to live in, AMAZING!

...Those prison cells we always seem to be building into our creations though can make things a little awkward if you find yourself trapped.

6. As pointed out by Opeie, If you were the size of Ant-man when it came to helping Seth tidy their room he could hide completely out of sight until all the chores were completed...

... If you build LEGO a lot though you'll know that those amazing little blocks don't have a great relationship with the hoover.

The outcome of our little experiment was that despite all the obstacles you would encounter as an ant sized person, being the Ant-man would still be extremely cool. I can think of many cool adventures I could go on at that size. If you haven't seen the movie (which came out last friday) yet, I strongly recommend it, me and Opeie were lucky enough to be invited to the premier and we were full hooked from the start.

Considering the LEGO that accompanies the release is on one of LEGO's smaller kits it's actually one of my favourite kits of the year so far. Antony (Ant-man's trusty carpenter ant) is a great build and we loved the wings. The price of the kit is great, especially as you get three brand new characters from the Marvel universe, Ant-man, Hank Pym and that Yellow Jacket. The Marvel LEGO characters are the only ones that I fully collect so a kit like this is very much appreciated.

One of the things that made the kit for us was the oversized LEGO bricks and Screws that you get to build from parts which really add to the role play when you are having your own mini super hero adventure. Everything you would expect from a product made by the company that helps fill so much of our family bonding time.

Go see the film... and then get straight up to your nearest toy story so you can continue your  micro sized adventures.

The End!

"We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay."

Having two boys is great, especially two adventurous boys. Ever since Seth was a little boy he has wanted to recreate all the stories I have told him about my own childhood years. He cant get enough of my past adventures, favourite toys and movies and music I loved while growing up. I do everything I can to fully embrace their ideas and being a big kid at heart myself I love that feeling like I am reliving my adolescent years. Building a den was always top of my list when i was at home playing alone. I didn't have the greatest home life at times with parents that were at each other throats a lot and I remember that throwing a sheet over two chairs or hanging blankets off my top bunk to build a cocoon gave me a chance to disconnect from what was going on around me.

'The base' is something I have integrated into our play times on many occasion but this time around these makeshift hideaways have a much more positive impact on the boys development. There is no need to hide away from anything upsetting and they are something we can enjoy together. Of course they are there for the boys to play pirates or soldiers, pretend they are cowboys camping out with their horses but they are also there for us all to cosy up, read, books and catch up on our favourite shows on Netflix. 

When it comes to the way we entertain the boys, many of our experiences of our own upbringing is recycled and I believe its a lovely thing to pass on as it shows a real connection. The boys had been introduced to Dr Seuss early on as his stories were my favourite growing up and Mrs M has installed her love of Dick Bruna into them too with her huge collection of Miffy books. Thanks to Netflix there is an ever growing catalogue of cult shows that I remember rushing home from school for. Although its not in their catalogue at the moment, I got to re-watch the X-Men animated series which was one of my favourite shows growing up. Danger mouse has now been added which the boys are getting into over dinner (I'm hoping Count Duckula will also appear at some point too). This evening I noticed Pete's Dragon is also there too (I loved that film as a boy), So I'll be looking forward to showing them that too.

 The effort we put in as parents and the way we communicate with these little versions of ourselves is so important. The experiences we have gone through, our hobbies and interests and the things that made us happy growing up can build some pretty strong foundations for an amazing parent/child relationship. 

Build a base, go on an adventure, share the TV shows you loved as a child because as a parent whatever effort and love you put in you will get back tenfold.

"This is not some cute tech like the Iron Man suit! "

Ive had some pretty awesome emails over the years from people interested in the blog but a recent email got me more excited than most. It was a chance to attend one of the new Marvel Ant-man premiers in Leicester square and being a HUGE Marvel fan I was very excited to be asked to go along. Firstly though after the initial excitement, daddy mode kicked in and i had to check the age rating and possible content. I knew it was only going to be me and Opeie and although he has seen most of the super hero movies I have always watched them first to make sure there isn't anything too bad.

This time though I didn't have that option and I had to just take my chances and hope for the best, I must admit I did feel a little nervous as he is still very innocent and I want him to stay that way as long as he can.

Opeie's little face lit up when he saw the huge Ant-man screen outside the Odeon on Leicester square. It was a completely different experience going to a big cinema in central London and there were people everywhere. When you go to the cinema here in Shropshire you think its busy if there are more than 10 other people watching the same movie. Busyness aside though there is something so addictive about arriving at an event, walking past everyone queueing and saying "I'm on the list".

I think my own little Ant-man was getting a little anxious of the crowd so opted to sit away from the busy area, which didn't stay quiet for long, the place was heaving. We had a while to wait so we talked about superheroes and what we were going to be doing for the rest of our trip. Before the show there was a brief intro from the director and Paul Rudd was also there, I think Mrs M would have been in here element if she had seen him.

And then it was movie time...

I am huge marvel nerd and the movies that have been coming out over the last few years have been amazing. Its great to see the comic book heroes i grew up following in the comics, up on the big screen and although the size of this hero was small in comparison to the hulk the move left a HUGE impression. Opeie was mesmerised from start to finish and although there were a couple of 'S Bombs' and the demise of a rather adorable sheep I didn't think that the film was bad at all for Opeie so as a concerned parent that was a real relief.

I won't give too much away about the film, I don't want to ruin anyone's fun but for us the show was stolen by Thomas the tank engine and it was the most talked about thing by Opeie for the long walk home from the movie. If you are looking for a superhero movie that is true to its comic roots then you may not get what you want from this movie but on entertainment alone this was one of my favourite Marvel Super hero movies. None stop action with just the right amount of humour

Be sure to stay for the secret scene mid credits, although I did think it was quite obvious what it was going to be. I cant wait to see more of Ant-man in the up and coming Marvel releases and I'll definitely be going to see this again over the coming weeks.

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

It only seems like 5 minutes ago since my last birthday but its been a whole year and this year like every other Birthday (I was woken up by 2 excited little boys). Seth had woken Mrs M up at 5am and from the sound of it forced her out of bed to blow up balloons, when I was woken against my will at 6:15 she looked shattered but the boys were eager to give me gifts and make a fuss of me (i love being a dad).

I think someone must have let slip at some point that I was a slight fan of LEGO as all of my lovely gifts were LEGO themed. The boys as always had made me some lovely cards, Opeie had drawn lego heads and Seth had drawn a lovely selection of mustaches, delightful. 

It was clear that Mrs M needed some more sleep so I took the boys downstairs and while the boys played I put my feet up and had a mooch through the new LEGO book they had bought me.

After a pretty eventful week I didn't really feel up to doing all that much and when Mrs M finally came down after catching some extra Z's it was obvious she felt the same. We had a great morning playing and taking it easy and I was rewarded for my lazyness with tasty chocolate cake with a light show.

We didn't want to be stuck in all day so we asked our friend Tabiitha what she was up to and we all went out for a scoot/ walk around a local lake. We all had a great time at the park although Mrs M looked a little embarrassed by my playground antics and I got a few disproving looks! Its my birthday man and I was having fun. Opeie told her she was boring and to go home (the boys got my back). It's probably a good job she doesn't see what we get up to while shes at work.

The afternoon soon came to a close and on the way home we stopped off at the supermarket and Mrs M attempted to get me a sneaky bottle of wine for a relaxing evening. She returned looking a little miffed and explained that she had been asked for ID and didn't have anything so they wouldn't serve her to which i said "I bet they would have served you if I was with you" Seth then piped up from the back seat and informed me that she would have still got served because I look like her dad!! great way to end another year of getting older, thanks Seth.

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

It's not very often that we get to spend a day with Mrs M mid week so we were excited when she informed us she was going to book a day off for us to do something fun. The heat blasting through the car window driving home that day discussing our possible plans guided this exciting information towards us planning a day at the beach.

The weather had been glorious for days so the idea of lounging on the beach and walking in the sea as the waves crashed against our feet seemed idyllic. Sadly (and I wasn't at all surprised) the weather that morning had other ideas and as we drove towards our destination the weather seemed to get increasingly worse. By the time we had driven on to Shell island the rain was thrashing down, Mrs M didn't look very impressed at all!

We had arranged to meet our friends Emma, Wilberforce and Waldon and despite the grim weather i for one wasn't going to let it ruin our fun. While the girls and Walden went to the cafe for drinks i took the boys along the beach in the rain, climbing across the rocks and splashing our feet in the water. Who needs bright sun and high temperatures? they are just overrated.

In keeping with all of our dinosaur activities me and Opeie had been filling our week with (and i really need to catch up writing about), I buried some dinosaur bones in the sand while the boys were not looking and got them excitedly digging for possible dinosaur skeletons and fossils. Opeie was hoping to find a dinosaur skull and his little face lit up when all that play paleontologist training payed off and he could use his findings to continue his studies.

As much as i didn't want it to, the weather inevitably took its toll on Mrs M and after a few hours of sitting on a wet, windy beach she had had her fill and wanted to be back in a warm car and travelling home. Within 20 minutes of heading off the sun came out and was burning my right arm as i drove along the coast and through Barmouth. We probably could have stopped off at a different beach for some early evening seaside fun but i think some one had other ideas...

The summer holidays are almost upon us and i cant wait to get Seth involved in more of the random outings that we have. I do sometimes feel a little guilty that he's stuck at school while we are out having fun so its time to fully embrace the time he has with us.

"Wine is bottled poetry."

I love a nice bottle of wine but as Mrs M doesn't like it and i hate drinking alone the opportunity to partake in a little tipple doesn't present itself very often. yesterday however my two buddies Tabiitha and Dawn were having a little mothers meet and i decided to join the two raging wino's.

Mrs M clearly had some secret plans for my Birthday and couldn't get me out the house quick enough. So my Friday night wine tasting session worked out perfectly for everyone.

These pair of trouble makers have been so much fun to be around since i started hanging out with them. I love popping over for cups of tea, having a chance to put the world to rights with our important intellectual topics. 'Which is better a rich tea or a malted milk?'. Serious stuff!

It was a great way to kick off the birthday celebrations with some awesome (and maybe slightly unhinged) friends.

"But you made a mistake, Robin. It's not easy you know. They've got the power, they've got the weapons. All we've got is a Raster, a Wally and a Bearded Avocado."

I love being able to arrange play dates with our friends throughout the week and we had a blast adventuring around some woodland we'd never been to before with our buddies Emma and Matthew. It was baking hot and we were desperate to get out and do some investigating so we arranged to meet around lunch time for a picnic in the woods and some good old fashioned rambling. I love living in Shropshire we are surrounded by beautiful greenery, some of it right on our doorstep.

The boys were full on entertainment from the get go and using what they could find on the forest floor they quickly formed a high intensity Rock band. First head banging with their stick guitars before grabbing a large piece of bark for a keyboard/mixing desk and smaller sticks for drumming. Opeie's favourite song is Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak and Matthews is Def Leppard - Pour some sugar on me. So as you can imagine being such hardcore rockers they were quite the super group. Matthew even played with one arm behind his back for an authentic Def Leppard feel.

The first thing I had spotted when we had arrived (apart from Emma and Matthew of course) was a rope swing and I was itching for a go. It was two steep a drop for the boys to go on so being the very grown up, safety conscious adult that I am I offered to go on so they could experience it through me haha. Couldn't get Emma on though, maybe next time.

The boys quickly changed from the Rock and roll lifestyle and became a pair of pirate hunters, naturally that meant I became a nasty pirate/human piñata ripe for a good stick beating. Emma was desperately trying to be a princess but was told 'no mommy YOU ARE NOT a princess!!' Harsh!!!

The story unravelled and after being made to walk the plank  and be repeatedly hit with twigs the boys explained that maid Marion had been captured and they had to find her and marry her. As lovely as that sounds it sparked a bit of a woodland dispute over who was actually going to take her hand, serious stuff!

Emma pointed out that i look like "Harry Potter gone rogue!"

The Ercall is steep and there were a few moments where I was sure someone was going down on their bum. I say 'someone' but I actually mean myself, I'm such a clumsy bugger and wearing a pair of grip less boat shoes probably wasn't the best move.

Emma had bought some books along for our adventure so we found a safe spot high up to sit down and listen to some lovely stories...

We've met some great people over the last few years and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by other parents that have similar views to the way me and Mrs M parent the boys. As the boys swung their sticks around and played, me and Emma talked about all those pressing parenting issues, household roles, co-sleeping and breastfeeding it was great to be chatting to another parent on the same page.

We eventually found maid Marian which started some bickering between the boys about over who was going to be taking her down the aisle until a very diplomatic Emma jumped in and explained that maid Marion actually had a sister 'maid Mary Anne'. Order had been restored (well after they had decide who was taking the blonde and who was taking the brunette anyway! kids!!).