Get Your Kids Out for a Walk - Without Whingeing!

We went geocaching with friends today and loved it.

What's geocaching? It's an activity that's been going for over a decade apparently. Today was the first time I've heard of it.

Basically, it involves going for a walk with your GPS (SatNav should be fine if you've got pedestrian as well as road maps) to seek hidden treasure. How exciting is that?! You visit the geocaching website, find a cache in your area, enter the coordinates into your GPS and decode the clue to pinpoint the exact location.

Usually they're little tupperware boxes - the one we found today was hidden in a hollow at the base of a tree covered with moss, leaves and twigs.

The deal is you take out the item/s you fancy and put back treasure of your own. Oh, and sign the notebook you'll find in the cache with the date, what you took and waht you left in the cache (which in our case was filled with little knick knacks like colouring pencils, small plastic toys, a tube of hand cream etc).

The cache isn't really the point, it's the journey that's the fun bit. And feeling like you're on a mission - and part of a secret, global game. Apparently, there are well over a million caches around the world and around 6,7000 caches in the UK.

Our coded clue from the website was goobledygook to me, until my more experienced friends explained that you just need to divide the alphabet in half, write out the second half of the letters directly under the first 13 letters and exchange the letters based on the encrypted clues given. So:

ABCDEFGHIJKLM
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ

B can be exchanged for the letter below, which is O
Q in the clue is decodes to a D

The best thing is, we got to walk in the beautiful countryside around Ewelme with our friends and our kids with no whingeing. Well, Ella did have a little grumble on the way back but to be fair she had hurt her foot a little by tripping over the undergrowth so was keen to have a rest. Still quite a contrast to yesterday when she complained constantly about her feet aching during our 20 minute amble to the churchyard and back to get some fresh air. Bless.

I think more geocaching is in order to build up my darling girl's rambling legs (like sealegs but less wobbly).

Should help with losing the ole baby weight too which has attractively settled around my middle and is currently being honoured with wine (only a little mind you, I'm breastfeeding. But it is a weekend..) and dark chocolate. Yes, more exercise is definitely in order chez nous. And who can resist a little outdoor treasure hunting?

To find out more, and sign up (for free) visit http://www.geocaching.com/

Breastfeeding Flash Mob LONDON

Fancy getting boobs into the media for the right reasons? Want to help promote breastfeeding, and help normalise feeding in public?

The Breast Feeding Flashmob London Needs You!

To coincide with National Breast Feeding Awareness Week in June 2011, an independent group of mums is organising the UK’s first ever 'Breast Feeding Flashmob*' in a central London location.

If you would like to be involved please join our facebook group - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_154794384577591

Please help us spread the word and let’s make history
Thank you :-)

*Despite the group name, actually flashing your boobs is not necessary! Dictionary definition of a Flashmob (or flash mob): A group of people coordinated by email and social media to meet to perform some predetermined action at a particular place and time and then disperse quickly.