Meet Milo...!

Hello Everyone! Anna here!

This is my first blog post this week. Usually Colin and I take it in turns to do every other blog. However, this week I have been rather busy with a new member of The Hocks Clan... Meet our BEAUTIFUL new puppy, Milo!

                                     

Milo is a Bichon Frisé crossed with a Miniature Schnauzer! He is utterly gorgeous, but, being a baby, he needs constant watching, hence the lack of posts from me this week! Last night he cried all night due to not being a fan at all of sleeping on his own! We have been assured by the vet that he will soon settle in and just like a baby, the crying at night will soon settle down so here's hoping we get more sleep tonight!*

As you can imagine, we have totally fallen in love with him and we are completely smitten, particularly Rosie....

                                    

                       

                                   

                                    

       

Milo was a very very good boy when we gave him a bath, and just look how beautiful he looked after being blow dried!

                                   

                                             

It took a while to persuade Allan that getting a dog would be the right thing for us (mainly because of money!) . Finally after a long conversation one evening and adding up all the costs he agreed that having a dog would be good for me and Rosie when he was away in the week and he agreed. As we picked Milo up on a Wednesday, Allan was working away so didn't actually meet him until the Friday when he got home from work.. I was so nervous wondering what he would think of him... But it's safe to say he is just as smitten as everyone else, he even says "Milo, come to Daddy!" when he calls him, adorable!

                                            

I'm sure Milo will be featuring in lots of our posts from now on and we really look forward to letting you all know how he is growing/developing/settling in!

If we have any puppy owners reading who have any life saving puppy tips, do let us know!

I'll finish this post off with some more pictures of our new little man!...

                                      

      

                                     

                                     

                                     

                                     

                                     

                                         

                                             

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

Much love,

Anna 

xx

* Milo has slept much better the past couple of nights and is as good as gold during the day too, looks like he's settled in now :) here's hoping it lasts!

    

    

Colin on Living with IBS

Hey Everyone, Colin here to tell you about something that i have not even mentioned on our blog but is a daily struggle for both myself and Anna and other extended family members. 

When i was 15 i suddenly became very anxious as when i was in class i was constantly thinking about needing to go to the toilet. i would feel that it was embarrassing raising my hand asking the teacher if i could go to the toilet and i would be constantly fearing the teacher saying no, you can wait. 

With my GCSE's fast approaching i felt like i needed to try and sort something as i just could not face being sat in an exam for a couple of hours knowing i could not go to the toilet. It was at this point i went to the doctors after my mum said it was the only option. The doctor confirmed i was suffering from from a nervous condition and wrote to the school asking that i be given special dispensation during my examinations. 

I have to say the School were very good, my form tutor called me in to a private meeting and said that she had spoken to each of my teachers and they were all fully aware of the situation. it was then decided that if i felt ok on the day of the exam i would go into the normal hall and the adjudicators would be aware that if i needed to leave to use the toilet then this was acceptable. My form tutor also said if i didn't feel right before an examination i was to speak to a teacher and i would be able to take the exam in a separate room and leave that room at any time to use the toilet. It was also made clear to me that the school had spoken to the examination boards and i would not lose any time at all if i needed to use the toilet as this time would be added on to the end.

As it happened each examination came and went and because of the peace of mind i didn't once have to leave the examination hall, in fact i took every single exam in the main hall with everybody else. 

The doctor did give me some tablets, i cant remember what they were but i started them about 4 weeks before the exams and i have to say they made me feel a lot worse, i found i was better off without them.

Anyway, it turns out i am a sufferer from a very common condition, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I have to say this wasn't confirmed for many years after my GCSE's and if it had been it maybe would have made my college and working life better as it could have been somewhat controlled.

So what is IBS? Well on the +NHS Choices Website it is described in the following way;

"Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, long-term condition of the digestive system. It can cause bouts of stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and/or constipation.

The symptoms vary between individuals and affect some people more severely than others. They tend to come and go in periods lasting a few days to a few months at a time, often during times of stress or after eating certain foods."

         It is said to affect about 20% of the population and most people start with the condition when they are in their twenties, which twice as many women suffering from the condition as men. 

Different people will suffer with different symptoms with IBS, but the main symptoms among sufferers are;

• Abdominal Stomach pain and Cramping
• A change in Bowel habits - Diarrhea / Constipation
• Swelling / Bloating of the stomach
• Excessive Wind
• Needing to urgently go to the toilet
• A lack of Energy
• Feeling Nauseous 
• Backache

This next graphic was one i found on +Pinterest and i think it explains Irritable Bowel Syndrome quite well as a graphic

  

So what is it like for me living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Quite simply - Frustrating. 

Everything you should look forward too is completely over ridden with dread, fear, embarrassment and anger. Let me give you some examples.

Going on Holiday - you spend the whole week before going away slowly winding yourself up thinking about the Journey. Take our Holiday to Whinfell Forest that we talked about yesterday on the blog as an example, i know where it is, i know what to expect when i am there but still the journey there was horrific, even though it was only just over 2 hours in the car on the motorway. 

Going for a Meal Out - i find myself trying to stick to the same restaurants as i know the layout and as odd as it sounds i know how many toilets there are and where they are. I also know what foods i should be ok with on their menus.

IBS can make you feel lonely, silly, pathetic, panicky, anxious, distressed, sweaty and stupid all in one go - and it doesn't matter how many times you try and tell yourself your being silly and you will be fine, you just cannot shake it off.

People will say to you, oh your just being silly, oh its just physiological, oh your an adult just hold on etc and what people who don't suffer from IBS realise is that you don't need them to say these things as you are saying those exact same things to yourself. 

i haven't done this post looking for any kind of sympathy or any kind of attention seeking, i have done it because it is a condition that people are afraid to admit they have and afraid to talk about and it is a condition that people simply don't understand

My only hope is that if people read this who don't have the condition they slightly understand what is happening to the sufferer too and if people are reading this who do have the condition that they can relate to it.

Speak Soon, Colin

  

Our Center Parcs Holiday

Hey Everyone, Before we tell you about our holiday at +Center Parcs UK Whinfell Forest we have a couple of apologies to make.

Before we went away we said we would be vlogging each day we were there and uploading them onto our new +YouTube channel, however due to unforeseen technical issues this was not possible. However we continued to take our videos and pictures and planned to make one large Vlog of our time there. Anna completed this the other day and when she went to save it to her Ipad it informed her she didn't have enough space. so she went through her pictures and videos and deleted them so the video would save, however it seems that with the software we were using if you delete the videos before saving the completed full video it wont work - seems rather silly to us as you have infact created a new video. Anna has looked into ways of trying to get the Vlog back and will continue but we dont hold out much hope. we apologize for all this and do not worry, more Vlogs will appear in the future on our channel.

Now to our Holiday in what has to be said is The Hocks favourite place ever, Whinfell Forest +Center Parcs UK 

Early Monday Morning (8am) Allan, Anna, Colin, Rosie, Lynne and Eifion left Wrexham in 2 cars heading up to meet Michelle and Tommy at the +Llama Karma kafe which is just about 10 minutes away from the entrance to #Whinfell Forest. After 1 toilet stop in the Lancaster Services we made our way and arrived at the Cafe at around 10:30am where Michelle and Tommy were waiting for us. 

A number of different food and drink was consumed in the cafe, from Sausage Sandwiches to Hash Browns and Coffee to Coke! Everyone really enjoyed everything they had and after filling our stomachs with lovely food we headed out the back of the cafe to look at the different animals.

After about 30 minutes looking around we then all jumped back in our cars and headed to Whinfell Forest. The scenery on this drive is just stunning, here are some pictures we took from the car.

 And before we knew it we saw the entrance to the Park, and we all got extremely excited and even started singing the Center Parcs Song from their TV Advert.

After getting out the car and heading to the village center the family were met by Huck's by 2 comedians and Lynne was pulled over to them to take part in their magic trick / comedy performance

It was a really nice and fun welcome to the village and a great little added touch. We then made our way to the other side of the lake to one of our favourite areas of the Village - The Sports Bar. Upstairs has recently been upgraded and we really loved what they had done. a huge new TV screen showing live sports behind which was a new House of Games and to the side a newly designed bar that was actually manned. Anyone who knows Whinfell's sports bar upstairs will know there are 2 areas seperated by a bridge and all the pool and snooker tables have now been moved to the other side of the bridge. We can see why they have done this but the female members of the family did use to enjoy sitting by the tables while the Male members played and meant we could all interact, this however is now not possible but is not a huge problem.

Around 2pm we all headed back out of the village to +Morrisons to buy all our fresh food for the week. Its only 4 miles away so is ideally situated and we were back in the village around 3:45pm and drove straight to our lodge at 9 Fell View

After unpacking the many amounts of suitcases, bags, food and alcohol the drivers returned the cars to the car park and everyone else started unpacking! 

We then got ourselves freshened up and changed and headed to the Village Center where we had a table booked at the American Diner, Huck's. 

Rosie had a meal from their self service Children's Buffet whilst the adults enjoyed meals including Burgers, Ribs, Chicken and Fajitas. The food here was fantastic and Anna was extra happy as she enjoyed looking at Reuben the Waiter! To be fair though, Michelle and Lynne were also checking the poor guy out too lol!

After Desserts were eaten we all headed back for our first night in the lodge which mainly included watching #BadgerCam and drinking! 

Tuesday arrived and the only activity booked was Rosie Pizza Making at +Bella Italia which she did when we went to Elveden Forest and Loved.

I have to say, Rosie really enjoyed this but from an adults point of view i felt like the activity was better at Elveden as the member of staff there was much more Interactive and allowed the children to make the base themselves and take their completed pizza to the Kitchen Pass, whereas at Whinfell the base was already made and the member of staff simply took the pizza into the kitchen. However, here they were taken to the Gelato (Ice Cream) cart and were allowed an ice cream with 1 topping.

After More pool and some games in the lodge it was time to start the first of our 2 BBQ's. Now we all know the Great British Weather so we came prepared with a gazebo to place Safely by the BBQ so if it rained (Which it did) we could still enjoy our food. 

The night again involved Badger Cam and more drinking and of course our BBQ food! 

Before we knew it Wednesday had arrived and was the busiest day activity wise, With Rosie, Lynne and Michelle Pond Dipping and Anna and Colin Pottery Painting! Anyone who has read about our trip to Elveden Forest will be aware how much Anna and Colin enjoyed the pottery painting there and so decided to do it again. We have to say the Studio itself at Whinfell is not as nice or comfortable as the one at Elveden and we didn't feel like we relaxed as much here as it was smaller and nosier but we still did really enjoy ourselves and our results were definitely improved on last time (Which in Colin's case wasn't difficult)

  As you can see, Anna painted a Garden Gnome for her garden and Colin painted a Princess Money Box to give to Rosie - which she loves!

After these activities took place we headed to the +Subtropical Swimming Paradise at Center Parcs  where we headed straight to the outdoor pool - the weather wasn't brilliant but it was dry and not too cold, but the water outside was really warm and it was just like getting in a bath! Rosie loved it out there! We also went on the fast slides and the rapids and took Rosie through the indoor Rapids. Rosie then headed to the Children's pool area and had great fun! 

The changing rooms at Whinfell must be mentioned for their cleanness and warmth. and the design of the cubicles is brilliant. the Use of the Lodge Wristbands for the lockers is also a great idea.

Here is a Map from the Center Parcs Website of the Swimming pool area

  

Wednesday Night saw us all go to the on site Indian Restaurant - Rajinda Pradesh which is located at the entrance to the sports plaza. The food in here was delicious but, as expected in a place like this, very expensive. 

Thursday saw an early morning with Rosie going to a Princess party for 3 hours on her own in the Activity Den. While she was there the adults decided to play short tennis and snooker. The afternoon saw a relaxing afternoon playing scrabble while Allan had some quality time with Rosie at the outdoor adventure playground.

And before we knew it we were packing again as it was Friday Morning. we packed all the cars up and parked them before enjoying a +Starbucks Coffee and another game of Short tennis, this time including Rosie ...... Kind of.

  

Then  it was time to walk back to the Village Center for our final meal at Bella Italia and then we got in all our separate cars and headed home :( 

And so that was the end of our short but brilliant stay at Whinfell Forest. 

We really couldn't recommend +Center Parcs UK enough and especially Whinfell Forest where every member of staff are happy helpful and Courteous. 

Speak Soon, The Hocks