Even though I am a child and family photographer, I still make sure to photograph my own children on a regular basis. As I work so hard capturing memories for other parents, I do not want to miss my own children's childhood.

Recently I have found myself being more and more critical of my children's images. Tonight it really hit me hard. So after an amazing hour outside playing I decided to make sure I hardly culled a single image. The only images I removed were duplicates. I kept all the blurry out of focus ones, the underexposed, messy images and especially the ones that are considered technically incorrect because they do not follow the rules of photography. Sometimes photography isn't is about rules, its about memories. Memories that are frozen forever into a single image. 

Here is the whole selection of images I took this afternoon. I edited them all in Black and White, as that is how I envisioned this collection to be.

Please do leave a comment and let me know what you think. Should I had deleted some/most of these images? Or do you believe I did the right thing by keeping them all?

A Story of an Autistic Child...

Starting school can be a very daunting time for any child. It was for both of my other children, but i was especially nervous for my youngest. He is autistic. His old nursery told me that he would not manage in a  mainstream school. They told me that he would achieve nothing. He was severely autistic. This broke my heart. I had such high hopes for him. When i went to pick Roman up from nursery he was sat in a corner with threading. That's what he did all day, every day. I just looked at my precious little boy and my heart shattered. He looked so sad, so miserable. He would never smile. He was like a newborn baby in a toddlers body. I just didn't know what to do for him. He had been at nursery for over a year, surely by this point he would had opened up, shown at least the tiniest bit of emotion. I felt lost, isolated, alone.

My two other children were at a mainstream school in Radstock called Trinity Academy. They opened up a kindergarten for children over the age of three. I started talking to the school about my huge concerns about Roman and that i was told he just wouldn't succeed. I was struggling to choose a school for him and i needed some advice. And you know what they told me?

"BRING HIM HERE NOW. Enrol him into our new kindergarten and put our school down on your form. No child is a lost cause. We will do EVERY thing we possibly can to help your son. Look at what we have achieved with Joshua!"

 And you know what? They were right. What they have done for my other son with disabilities is amazing, above and beyond. They didn't HAVE to do what they do, they do it because they WANT to. They believe every single child can achieve at school, no matter their circumstances.

I pulled Roman out of his old nursery and placed him into the care of Trinity. What did i have to loose? Roman couldn't of been any worse.

First week: Roman started smiling!!! By the second week Roman started to enjoy nursery. Third week Roman sat down at circle time! Forth week Roman started interacting with other children. By the fifth week Roman started to try and communicate with me. It was amazing to see see the change in him. It was really surreal. I had a couple of meetings with the school about Romans needs, and they assured me that all Romans needs WILL be met. They were so pleased with his progress in such a short period of time, and they knew he will get more and more confident!

Two-three months after first starting the staff discovered Romans amazing talent on the computers and shortly after Roman showed an incredible talent for Maths and Number work!!
Now they new what his strengths were they really worked on them. The thing was, Roman actually enjoyed Maths games and Computer time! He loved it. He was laughing, giggling, interacting even making fleeting eye contact with them!!

I can not tell you all enough how much Roman changed. It was incredible. I was actually in tears of joy! The school were right, Roman would achieve! He will succeed! And most importantly he could finally be the little boy that was just begging to break out.

I am angry at the nursery that cared for Roman for 18 months of his life. They missed his talents. They over looked them. They didn't have the time (or couldn't be bothered) for him. When I see that the papers sing that nurseries praises it makes me angry. The nursery and school they SHOULD be praising is Trinity Academy. Do you know why? Because not only did they support both my child with additional needs, they also supported me. I don't know where I'd be without their help. I also do not know where my children would be. I can not thank them enough.

The local paper (Somerset Guardian) will not write anything good about them, so I thought I would!!!

Romans first day at Trinity went amazing today. He loved every single second of it. He loved the staff, the teachers and even his new class mates. He put his hand up to answer a question, he was vocal, he was polite, he was everything a parent wish of their child at school. I can not take all the credit to the little boy Roman is today. The wonderful staff at Trinity deserve that.

Thank you for your wonderful support.
Thank you for believing in my son.
Thank you for giving him a chance.
Thank you for being the wonderful school you are and for never ever giving up.

Summer holidays. You know the ones. The ones that tend to cost an arm and a leg to try and keep the children busy for SIX. WHOLE. WEEKS. Who's idea was it ever to think THAT could be a good idea?

I have three children, and boy keeping them busy is a full time job. I am more exhausted then they are at the end of the day. Seriously, where do they get their energy from? I would like a little piece of that energy for myself.

This year was going to be different. This year i was going to make sure they were busy, and hopefully giving me a little bit of peace. I grabbed my diary, and jotted down where i would like to take them. I then asked my children (aged seven, five and four) where they would like to go. They screamed Peppa Pig World, Lego Land, Water Rides, BIG Rides, Train Rides, Helicopter Rides, Swimming, Bouncy Castles, Zoo, Animal park.... As i jotted their little lists down i finally realised, how on earth was i going to PAY FOR ALL THIS? You know as a parent that these things do not come cheap! Not only do you have to pay to get in, you have to pay for all the souvenirs that are scattered around in places that you just know you wont be able to avoid them. They are very clever at taking you money. While i mentally thought about the costs the suggestions just kept on coming. Fair's mommy, summer fates, and make sure you do not forget Peppa Pig World mommy.

I picked up some leaflets from the local supermarket (Tescos in Shepton Mallet) and sat in the car adding everything up. It came to over £500 in total! Wow. That's not even taking in account the money spent at these places, and we know how much the food costs! After the tickets, food, fuel and souvenirs we were looking at well over £1000. Wow. Do we really need to spend that much for children to have a good time? That is where i hatched a little plan. On my list i wrote down one word. FREE. Everything we did this summer holidays will not cost a penny. It will be family fun for free. End of. I just forked out nearly £200 for school uniforms! I am not going to spend all our savings in 6 weeks. We even have Christmas coming up. *sigh*

It seems that ever corner we turn we need to spend money. But why? Why do we do it? Do we really need to? NO! I have proven over 6 weeks you DO NOT need to spend over £5 per day, per trip. Dont believe me? Keep reading and i will show you how.

• Beaches. They are free right? So why do we not go to them more often? Oh yes, they can be traps but trust me, i made sure nothing cost me a penny. I leave at exactly 4pm. 1 hour-ish travel time and bam! Guess what happens at 5pm? Everything shuts! You know that dreaded bouncy castle on the beach? Gone. Those Donkeys that every kid wants to go on? Gone! Those shops that hang their brightly coloured buckets outside that can be seen for 1 mile in each direction? GONE! Everything is closed down. What children can not see they will not want. And another bonus? The beach is practically empty! No fighting for a space. No worrying about where your child is every single second as when the beach is empty you can enjoy the time there. Your children will not get lost on an empty beach.
  We recommend Weston-Super-Mare, Wembury, Charmouth, Westbay and Pevensey Beaches.

• Woods and Walks. Woods are free. Woods are great fun for children and there are NO tempting shops near by. Also parking is free. It is literally a FREE day out with NO catch. We always pack a picnic and head straight out the door. You can also take a bug catching kit if you like! There are some amazing places that you can explore on your doorstep. We let our children get as muddy as they want, shout as much as they want, explore, jump, dance, chase as much as they want. I do however bring a little first aid kit with me just in case they fall over and BEG me for a plaster. Somehow a plaster has a magical power that can stop tears right in their tracks. However, they do not work like that for adults...
  Woodlands we Recommend: Greyfield Woods, Mendip Woodlands, Cheddar Gorge*,Burrington Combe, Shear Water Lake, Chew Valley Lake, Ebbor Gorge (can be steep in places).

• Country Parks. We regularly go to a lovely place called Ham Hill. Its beautiful there, and my children just love the hills!!! We take a football, a packed lunch and nothing else. You would be surprised how quickly they will tire out! Again, free parking and no shops. There is however a pub (on the other car park) that i think serves food. However, do not quote me on that as i have never been in there. We like free remember.
  We recommend Ham Hill!!

• The National Trust. We recently joined up for the year, and its perfect. Its so easy to find places to go and see, and see what is there. We recently went to Wembury Beach, as well, i was stuck for ideas, fancied a drive and Wembury seemed perfect. Oh and it was perfect. My children had NEVER had so much fun. And because we are National Trust members it was FREE to park. Otherwise it is £4.50. I took so many photographs i was amazed. The children were so happy, and even left mummy and daddy to rest for a while! They were around 10-20ft in front of us playing in the rock pools. It was heaven and i can not wait to go back there.
  We recommend Wembury Beach

• Google. Google can be your best friend if you know how to use it and know which search terms you put in. Did you know that putting in "family days out" or "what to do in the summer holidays" will 99% of the time take you to places that cost money? What you should really be searching for is "woodlands in **** area" or "beaches in Dorset/Devon". Sometimes the word FREE will actually bring up a lot of pages that are not in fact free. Its a trap!

• Castles. Granted, these are not free and quite rightly so. I went into a castle in Eastbourne and it was stunning. We had a free audio tour that the children just LOVED! It cost for our family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) just £13.50. Yes, they did have a little shop in the castle, but my word, it was amazing! The castle was built in Roman times, and used throughout history. The little shop had all these girfts that were relevant to that time. I thought why not. We have done everything else free throughout the holidays, and i do actually have quite a lot of money left over. We brought the children a wooden sword each, and i brought a set of Roman Coins. Total cost for the day? £33.97
  On an added note, the Castle would had been free entry if we had been English Heritage members. This is what i am signing up for tonight. All National Trust castles, grounds etc... are also free if you are member. It maybe worth you signing up as it will save you a lot of pennies in the long run!
  We recommend Pevensey Castle

Here is a list of places that we have visited including ratings out of five(5), costs, and would we visit again.

Greyfield Woods.
Enjoyment: 4 , Cost: Free , Parking: Free , Would we go again? YES
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Ham Hill.

Enjoyment: 4 , Cost: Free , Parking: Free , Would we go again? YES
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Wembury Beach. 
Enjoyment: 5 - Cost: Free - Parking: Free (if National Trust Member) Would we go again? YES!
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Pevensey BeachEnjoyment: 5 - Cost: Free - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES
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Pevensey Castle
Enjoyment: 4 1/2, Cost: £13:50 for a family of 5 - Parking: £2 - Would we go again? YES
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Weston-Super-Mare South Beach
Enjoyment: 5 - Cost: Free - Parking: £4.50 - Would we go again? YES
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Chew Valley Lake
Enjoyment 4 - Cost: Free - Parking £1:20 or FREE off peak - Would we go again? YES
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Westbay

Enjoyment 5 - Cost: Free - Parking: Depends on where you park - Would we go again? YES
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Charmouth

Enjoyment 5 - Cost Free - Parking around £2 - Would we go again? YES
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Lyme Regis
Enjoyment: 0 - Cost: Couldn't Park - Would we go again? NO
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Cheddar Gorge*
Enjoyment: 5 - Cost: Free - Parking - Free - Would we go again? YES
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Shear Water Lake
Enjoyment: 5 - Cost - Free - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES
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The Creation Station (Arts and Crafts)

Enjoyment: 5 - Cost: £11.50 for three children - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES!
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Mendip Woodlands
Enjoyment: 4 - Cost: Free - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES
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Ebbor Gorge
Enjoyment: 3 - Cost: Free - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES

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Burrington Combe
Enjoyment: 4 - Cost: Free - Parking: Free - Would we go again? YES

The Creation Station

Please leave a comment. Also please feel free to add where you have been and if you would recommend or not! 

Also please check out Donna Sims blog here