trip to the butchers

 

So today i tried to be pro active with my 'plastic bag thing' and we walked to the butchers up the road from here and bought all of the weeks meat there. The point of this was partly so that i could take along my own plastic boxes and not buy a meat that was covered in a load of plastic. Yes they did look at me like i was an idiot and yes i did feel a little silly but i was so proud of myself when i came out!

hawaii - a message in the waves.

Last night i was lucky enough to go to a film night hosted by Transition town group here. the film was made by the BBC and was entitled Hawaii - message in the waves. It was basically about the beautiful islands of Hawaii and how they have changed over the decades. It focussed on the man made disaster that is occuring there and its effects in the animal life. i can honestly say it was the most powerful thing i possibly have ever watched. The impact grew stronger as the film went on and finished with the albatross. This bird nests in Hawaii and when it is catching food to regurgitate for its young, it basically thinks that anything floating on the top of the water is food. Therefore i feeds its babies the plastic waste that is washed in from the ocean. The babies become malnourished and when they die you can see what is in their stomachs. Golf balls, print cartridges, lighters, toys, toothbrushes, combs. I ave never seen anything like it. I took away from last night a refreshed and renewed understanding of the need for us to do more about the way we live. not just in the packaging we buy our fruit abd veg in but in the way we live our lives in a whole. Live within your means.

There is a film trailer on this website and you can download it , watch it yourself and pass the messade on to your friends.
message in the waves

Earth Hour

We have thoroughly enjoyed our little earth hour here. We did it a little earlier so that the girls could enjoy it too. We prepared the candles

and went around the house in seach of plugs to turn off. then we had a bath which was beautiful and peaceful.

i

what amazed me was the amount if light that came off from the candles. When we got down stairs we did a 100 piece puzzle, this was a little trickier! Lucy fell asleep as she has a temperature today and everything was peaceful. No loud tellie bumbling away in the background with no one watching it, it was so quiet that Emily started whispering. So now i am sitting on the computer but everything else is turned off, no lights, no Tv, nothing. it is actually very liberating and i like it. May have to do this more reguarly, once every couple of weeks maybe. Another thing is that when you walk around and turn off the plugs in each room you realise that the ones that were on, needn't be. This makes me feel a little shameful.

our spring table.

i have to confess that unlike some of you crafty people, we do not always have a season table. i could make lots of excuses but basically we dont. I love spring tho, it has to be my favourite season and i always do a "season table" at school when i am there. i put things like hot crossed buns and a palm cross on it as well as the usual chick and lamb. I always make a simnel cake and see if they can tell me what it is called and why there are marzipan balls on the top.

So anyway today we made our own little season table in the dining room. Emily loves it. We made an easter basket, some easter cards and a string with painted pasta.

rain rain rain!

Here is my little eco baby!

ooh and here is her tummy. She spent ages looking at her belly!

We decided to venture out in the rain this afternoon, we had a few erands to run but also it is so nice to really experience the weather, to get yourself wet adn jump up and down in the puddles!

 We also had some bread to feed the ducks but they were not really that hungry. Think it is that time of year where they all start to hide away and make babies! i cant wait to see the little ducklings in a few weeks time!

Lucy watched bemused!

 When we got home we painted macaroni! of course! keep tuned to see what they will be!

While Lucy slept in the buggy.

And we had macaroni cheese for tea! i have not had this since i was a child, it was actually really nice! i think Ian might even like it!

Friends for Lunch

Today started with playing in our pj's for ages.... dressing up as fairies with backpacks and tidying her dolls house.

shortly followed by a visit from my uni friend MJ and her gorgeous little boy Ethan. Lucy let Ethan use her high chair and she sat in her cloth seat! bit weird in  the begining but i think she liked it. They were so funny together, really noticing each other and playing with the same toys.

After a lovely luch of homemade vegetable soup and kentish apple pie, we walked up to our children's centre to do some singing. Ethan loved this and was transfixed by the lady! Emily had great fun in the home corner as she was the only child there, everyone else was a baby!!

While Lucy napped Emily and i made biscuits for her to take into preschool tomoz and prepared tea. At which point i found a red legged large bug thing in the fridge!!!! not funny!!! it really freaked me out, it had wings and everything. i killed it of course as i was not sure if where it had come from and even which counrty. another good reason to grow your own!! there was just time for playing wiht peppa pig and then bath. During bath tonight Lucy fell over once and was bopped on the head by a fifi watering can. she really cried and i whipped her out to give her a cuddle. wrapped her in a towel and fed her to calm her down. it was beautiful, one of those moments i wont forget, she was so content laying naked in my arms feeding. she must have lay there having a cuddle for 10 mins before Emily wanted to get out of the bath and she stopped.

i have found my camera!!

some purchases from ecorium which has recently moved closer to home. Its great as it sells all organic body products as well as beautiful gifts like candles.

Lots of cucumber chomping!

 And drying washing outside - hooray! i love spring

 Some bike riding!

and scooting! this is emily's favourite toy at the moment. she scoots everywhere! it has been t o pre school and back more times than i care to remember!

Random photo taking of peppa pig books!!!

Emily takes a good photo!! bless her!

And this afternoon we made number ladybirds from http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/ which is great for ideas for things to make together. Emily loves making, cutting and sticking!

And now we have caught up!

when life just gets in the way...

so i have been absent from my blog for over a week now. its not that we have been away, just busy and when i did get some time in the evening i either could not find the camera (like tonight) or frankly i just did not feel like it. some of my days recently have left me thinking i didnt have anything i could share, just thoughts rambling in my head never to dare to pop out.

i cant find the camers tonight, Emily has moved it! so i have to use my grey matter to remember what we have been up to. Ebay and selling baby things is possessing me at the moment. i want to clear some of our things. so i have spent ages ironing, photographing and putting things up for sale. think i may have to do a boot fair tho! i love going to them but doing one pushes me out of my comfort zone. still has to be done and i may enjoy it.

Lucy is still sleeping well! only really wakes once in the noght and that is about 4ish so i am so pleased! the more i think about it the more i am so proud of the way that she has taken the lead and got to this point on her own, not been forced by me and my needs, not left to cry it out! she has found her own way and is obviously very happy and satisfied.

i am still really worried about going back to school at the end of April. I am not looking forward to leaving Lucy, i know Emily will be ok, she is going to preschool and she loves it there. i know i am only going back to work for 2 days but lucy does not go to anyone, ian rarely has her and although she is better with other people now i still dont know how she will be when i leave her. the child minder she is going to is lovely, she livesin our cul de sac and she is going for a practice next week so we shall see. ....

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to you all. We have had a lovely day, a proper family sunday with a roast and even a walk to the park. My Mum , Brother and his little boy came about 12, Ian cooked us a Free Range roast Chicken and all was devoured. We walked/ scootered/triked along to a new park up the road and when we came back we  had a belly warming pudding. I love comfort food!

I had a lay in this morning too! Always nice! And we opened my cards in bed, i even got a 'on your first mothers day' card from Lucy! feels weird having 2 children!! 2 not 1, i am responsible for 2! No present to open today as i have a patio apple tree coming!!

Lucy is still sleeping well. She has not slept through again but she is now sleeping through til 3 or 4 which is amazing! So much so that i was able to go out all the way to Ashford last night with out her!! It was my friend Marie's 30th birthday and she had a relaxing get together at her house, her baby is due in 8 weeks. I love going to their house, i dont know what it is but i find it so welcoming and relaxing. I had the best evening of home made Kegari (sp) and sweeties along with a dvd. Hangover. i found it very funny - the baby parts i did not like but over all it was really good. i dont watch a lot of films. Anyway i came home feeling really happy, it was just what i needed, to see my friends and get out just for a little while.

LUCY SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

There has been a quiet revolution going on in our house this week and ...

Hooray! Lucy slept through the night for the first time.! i have been like the cat that got the cream all day!

i honestly dont know why this has happened! could be that she is now much more active, could be that she is cosy in the sleeping bags, or that she has more stuctured naps in her cot, or more likely that she has now learnt to sleep on the front, so now when she is uncomfortable she just turns her head from one side to the other.

what ever it is i am pleased! i dont know how long it will last but i am ever hopeful!

trying to slow things down a bit!

i have found recently that i have been so busy doing things that i have lost sight on occasions of what is important to me and the girls so after a post on GP and a reflection on our busy days i cut everything today.I cancelled Emily's place on the dinky dancers and the day was spent around the house. Emily went off to preschool this morning and i took Lucy into town to get a present for a friend. it was when we returned that the fun began.

There was washing up on the floor

Clearing up! (Emily has a thing about my teatowels)

Then there was painting with pastry cutters

Emily used the petals from my Valentines Day roses from Ian to make a beautiful flower which is now hanging in the kitchen.

Then there was playing on the laptop. Emily is really good at this now, she can use the arrow keys quite well and is excellent at using the mouse!

When Lucy woke up 2 and a half ours later, we went over to the park while the dinner was cooking in the oven. Lucy loves the swing. she was relaxing back in the swing looking up at the sky and the birds flying past.

 Sausage casserole for tea. Enjoyed by all including Lucy. Emily said she did not like the beans in it but when they are mashed up they magically disappear:)

Then there was reading. we love 'Thats not my' books

So all in all we have had a much more relaxing day, just us in our little bubble!

Green things we have done recently.

i am conscious of the fact that i have not posted many things that we have done that warrant the title "green". so here are a few things that we have done.

Today we started the gardening cycle together. Emily helped me plant some seeds. we how have, peas, broad beans, yellow squash and tomatoes waiting to pop thier lottle heads out of the soil that Emily lovingly poured in the pots. I love setting seeds off, I think it is that anticipation and the wondering how the fiut of your labour will taste. This year some of these plants will stay here but some will go to the school garden and also Emily's preschool.

Tonight i have been making morsbags to be given out at a Transition Town Faversham Film night. I joined the group a few weeks ago and was facinated by the different people who were there all with the same aim, to make Faversham a greener place to be. i have not been able to go to any more of the meetings and get togethers because of Lucy but i did offer to make these bags. i was given one at the market in the autumn when they were making a display of the nasy things plastic bags are and trying to get local shops to stop using them. So i am hoping to go to the film night, as i understand they show a film related to greenness...! and this oune is about plastic bags and the many reasons why they are not great!!

Lucy is learning to walk!

The last couple of days Lucy has really stated to learn how to walk. She now holds onto the push along walked and strides from one side of the living room to the other! She is so pleased with herself and really loves walking towards Emily and catching her!