Green Babies

Today.

2012-02-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... there is snow on the ground still

I am thinking...i wish i had more time to do the things i want to do...

I am thankful... for my gorgeous family

In the kitchen...there is left over leek and potato soup for my lunch!

I am wearing...nothing exciting as usual - wishing i had more cosy knitted jumpers

I am creating... not a lot - i refer to my previous answer!

I am going... to get Lucy from preschool in a bit, cant wait to hear what she has been doing without me

I am wondering...whether i should just stick to what is important to me and sod everything else!

I am reading... rhythm of family by Amanda Blake Soule

I am hoping... there is more snow so i do not have to work this week

I am looking forward to... having next week off with my girls.

I am learning to be more patient and to bite my tongue more

Around the house...all is clean and tidy amazingly!!

A favorite quote for today... If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.

Bruce Barton

A few plans for the rest of the week: nothing exciting really just work!

A peek into my day...

Olly, Olly, Olly !!

2012-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

This Saturday i went to see.....

Oh yes i am now officially a fan! It was Brill, very funny, entertaining and genuine. I loved it!

I went with my friends, Nicola, Sophie and Nicola's mum. Nicola is the diehard Olly fan and she got the tickets. Very close to the front actually, we had a really good view. Anyway Olly stands there and says that it is his dads birhtday and all 16.000 people shart singing happy birthday to him. We looked up to the boxes to see him, but no, he was sitting right next to us! only a stair way between us! Ha!!

We then spent the evening watching them, watching him! wow! how proud they must have been. We noticed his mum, notice that olly was crying as he sang a couple of the songs. It was just brill!

And then we tried to get home in the snow!! Oh dear, that was a journey! Good old Pregnant Nicola got us back. goodness knows how! 3am i got into my bed and up again at 6:30 with girls!

Was a brill night - thank you Nicola

arrrrrr OFSTED are coming

2012-01-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

I have nothing more to add to this other than we got a phonecall on friday from Ofsted to say they would be in on tue and wed of this week. Also that is is 1:16 am and i am just about to go to bed and it was about this late on firday night that i went to bed. Also that i was working all day in school on saturday and my friends were in school all day today too!

i am feeling a little guilty as they do not want to change the timetable of when people are in and as i am only in on wed pm, that is staying the same. i have however spent ages helping get sorted in school and planned all the Phonics, some of the guided reading and all of the PSHE!

fingerscrossed it all goes well.

aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr

that "grrrr" feeling.

2012-01-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

So i had my observation today in maths. challenging bottom set, slow progress, need practical activities etc. the lesson was "graded" satisfactory and i am feeling very :( about it all. I just feel like this job is so awe consuming and you constantly judge yourself anyway on whether what you do is enough. Today i tipped the edge of "enough". I am hoping i am going to feel a bit better tomorrow. Just really disappointed.

Amazing views out of the girls bedroom window this morning.

baked some delicious flapjacks from my favourite magazine, yesterday.

also made some squishy playdough, Lucy could not wait undil it cooled down completely!

Could not be doing too badly then? surely?

Things i LOVE

2012-01-10T02:46:00.000-08:00

So I am still feeling a little sorry for myself. Too much Work and not enough work life balance at the moment. So much so that i fell asleep on the sofa yesterday after lunch which just never happens.

Today all is quiet here, Lucy is at Preschool this morning and Emily is obviously at school, so just as i was about to sit down for a cup of tea i started thinking about the things that i have in my house that i love and cheer me up. First there is my new mug which i got in Sainsbury's yesterday for £1.50. Also, the Sarah Raven catalogue arrived in the post yesterday while i was snoozing. Spring catalogues always get my heart racing. i love gardening and i definatly think in my garden, flowers are the way to go this year. Vegetables did not go so great last year (another time element) and i would like it to look really pretty a place to relaxing. still some veg as it is so educational for the girls buy lots of pretty flowers...

Essentially i need a bigger garden to do what i want to do and although i have the school garden i do not have the time to do anything there!!!

aren't they beautiful though!

I have also bought recently this folder to help me be more organised with my bits of paper.... hmmm!

And for christmas from Ian's cousin i recieved this gorgeous cake stand which i love!

And finally, i managed to get this beautiful blanket for £3 from Dunelm and it is the exact colour i am hoping to decorate our living room, hall and stairs, perhaps with some floral chince touches! can't wait! new carpet too!

It might sound like we are spending a lot of money at the moment. believe me we are not! Ian's over time is ending and we are reining in the spending on food and other things we dont need!! Also expecting to inherit some money soon which will pay for the redecorations before we save the rest.

So yes we are being wise with our money, but a girl has to have some lovely things when she is struggling with other elements of her life!!

Back to it then!

2012-01-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Picture from Attic24

Yep back to school today and bam it hits me like a brick! So much to do so little time as my heart starts to race just thinking of what we have to achieve just to keep our heads above water. And already i pine my wonderful christmas holidays with my babes.

We woke at 7:30 this morning. For those of you who know us well, that is late! It was because Emily was suffering with another "bad dream" and was moaning and crying from about 3 til 4am, then did not want to get up to go to school. Cant blame her really. I could have easily had another pjama day my self, but no.

Both girls were very tired by the end of the tea (which is becoming a battle ground now i am back on the diet) and we slowly moved to bed early.

And on to the lap top.I found out today that I have a lesson observation on thursday next week and i am not looking forward to it. It is like having a mini exam as there are so many different elements to it. "Will i get a good? what can i do to get an outstanding? how do i delopy my TA's? are all the children progressing enough, are they being challenged enough? is there fun and interest.... you get the idea! No pressure!

So yes we are back on the treadmill.

Slow

2011-12-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

Oh yes we have been taking things slowly here. I dont think i can remember a christmas quite like it really. Just not actually going out of the house unless totally neccessary and i have loved it.

We have titivated with things that needed sorting, like my crochet basket and the children's drawing boxes. We have done a little gardening and made some space on the book shelf for some more of the girls new books, but apart from that we have been mainly staying in our pj's til gone 11, eating way too many chocolates and endulging in christmas tv.

Today we did venture out to my dad's house and then on to Dunelm, where i bought some gorgeous throws for our sofas and a blanket that is in the exact shade i would like in the livingroom ( i have managed to convince Ian this week that we need to redecorate and carpet the front room and so i am not planning mentally how i would love it to be!!) and following that i have been lounging on the sofa this evening watching catch up christmas tv snuggly and warm.

Ian is driving all the way to Devon and back to take Callum home as we speak. It has been a joy to have him with us for the last 2 weeks and we were all sad to see him go. Roll on Easter.

So how have you been spending this luxurous week off? I am looking forward to taking the decorations down on new years day and being ruthless with the toys that we actually need/ want in our toy corner where the tree is at the moment. Emily is very excited about making it into a "home corner" with their new portable cooker and tea sets etc. I am hoping i will have enough energy to get settled before we go back to school on Wednesday and the stress begins again.

x

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

2011-12-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

We have had a lovely relaxing christmas here and i hope you have too. Full of tradition and of course excitement, far to many toys and far too much food! Great!!!

On christmas eve we went for a walk to give the ducks their christmas present and also to get some fresh air.... there was also an oppertunity for Lucy to have a go on Emily's old scooter before Father Christmas comes tomorrow! For Christmas this year she would like "teeties and a scooter"!

We made our first ever christmas cake and decorated it with some of the old decorations from my nan's tin. I hope it tastes as good as hers used to!

We fed the reindeer some very special food before going to bed. (thank you sophie for helping us make it!)

This year there were 3 stokings to put out for father Christmas as we have the pleasure of callum staying with us. He usually comes after christmas so it was a real joy to have him experience christmas with us!

7AM Christmas morning! better than our normal wake up time!!

And yes Father Christmas did bring a scooter for lucy. Infact Emily got one too from auntie Linda.

Christmas dinner at home this year! Delicious and all the better as i did not cook it! Ian is a master at roasts and i would not like to interfer!!

"merry christbus" Lucy said all the way through the meal! she just loved it!

Emily is 5!

2011-12-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

well almost! As i write this I was in tremendous labour pains, pushing as i recall and at 8:05pm, Emily was born! oh that feeling of holding your first born in your arms is just like nothing else in the world is it! hmmm.

And how she has grown! Today was weird as it was the first birthday she (or lucy for that matter) has had where she has not been with me/ us. i could not wait to get her home this evening! i really missed her today.I mean we did see her during the day today as it was her first nativity play too and reception were singing . Oh it was lovely, so beautiful and simple. We really enjoyed it.

this jumper was one of her presents today. I tisf from frugi (organic company) and i just love it! wish i could have one!

And of course there was a birthday crown which she wore all day today at school. notice the crocheted flowers!

All in all i think she had a good day. It always makes us mothers a little sad at the end of a birthday doesnt it as it certainly makes me thnk "where has that year gone?" and "how i wish time would still for longer"

Happy birthday to my baby.

Birthday weekend.

2011-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated Emily's birthday with a little tea party for a few of her friends from her class. It was lovely, really special to have such lovely girls come. The theme was fairies and before everyone arrived we gave Emily her main birthday present early - well it just would not have been the same with out it! A tinkerbell outfit! Oh my how she has loved it! She has worn it non stop all weekend along with her tinkerbell slippers that her mummy made! She just loves it. So pleased. (also pleased about the price!, i got it at an NCT sale in October for £3.50 - looks brand new to me! The funniest part being that i did not realise until she put it on, it has flashing lights in the front, very gentle twinkling pixie dust light, that she also loves!!)

Anyway, back to the party. We decorated fairy wands and pixie dust glass bottles, as well as played pass the parcel and musical bumps. The girls were so excited to be in each others company and were happy playing some of the time. even ending up colouring in on the floor by the time it was home time.

Another bargain - little glass bottles with a cork topper, £1 for 3 !! - pixi dust bottles!

The cake was a little bit of a cop out for me, a number 5 in cupcakes, but oh was my life easier!

The rest of the weekend was spent at home with family and friends coming to visit and stay for tea. Lots of present opening, all of which were lovely! Emily's actual birthday is not until Tuesday but seeing as this will be the first year she will be at school, the actual day will be low key. Obviously it is the last week of term, christmas madness, nativity play on her birthday also and daddy is working in the evening so it will be just us girls for tea. - When i said to her this morning what would you like for tea on your birthday, you can choose, would you like spaghetti or pizza.... i would like cucumber, and ham and jacket potato!!! ha!!!

Steiner Advent fair.

2011-11-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

I cant tell you how long i have been looking forward to going to this. Having never been before i could only have expectations but it was all i hoped it would be.

First stall that we came to was the advent gardens. The girls loved making their own mini gardens complete with wool and felt gnome!

There was a childrens market for children who were 11 or younger. No adults alowed! With a sense of intrepidation i went both of girls in with £1 and they came back from the magical room full of fairy lights and fir trees with a bag of special goodies including some wooden spoon puppets and a tiny paper box to keep treasures in.

The sweet stall was amazing and the attention to detail in every room along with the simplicity was just beautiful

There was a gingerbread house room!!

and the girls enjoyed playing in grounds and then we went for a cup of tea in the steiner diner!

Emily loved the music that the children sang and the instruments they were playing.

Mummy had a little shop too and picked up some beautiful bits for our season table... a beautiful wooden stand for pictures to be displayed in, a clever but simple tree and a gnome on a sledge for hanging on the christmas tree.

Lucy was a little over zealous with her watering can you tell!
All in all it was everything i hoped it might be, i loved it and could have stayed for longer. I cant wait for the easter one now!

Nanny's chair

2011-11-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last summer when we were clearing out my nan and grandads house, i inherited this chair. It always sat in my nans bedroom with her cushion in it. We decided it would be a lovely addition to the girls bedrom. It was but the poor thing had more use than it had had for a long time, possibly ever, and it broke. Keen to keep it i decided to put an MDF base on with a foam cushion and then staple the chosen material (laura Ashley) on top.

And yes we are very pleased with the results! It is now really sturdy and with a fresh coat of pink paint it matches the room beautifully and it will last for another good few years.

Operation Christmas Child

2011-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

This week we have been collecting its together for http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/ Which is a great charity that send shoe boxes filled with love, toys, certain items of clothing and toiletries to countries where children are not as lucky as ours. Emily and Lucy have really loved this, they have enjoyed helping me choose items and sorting the boxes. And i think this is a great lesson for children to learn that at christmas there are lots of children across the world who are not as fortunate as us, and of course that it is good to give as well as recieve.

We have made 4 boxes this year, 2 of them are for a girl aged 2-4yrs and one is for a boy 5-9yrs

some of the things we included were, gloves, toothbrush and paste, teddy, play doctors kit in a bag i made, stickers, colouring pencils and pad, sweets and a rubber.

in this one i made a crochet little bag with string!

Emily took two into school on tuesday and i will be showing the other two to my class to try and enthuse them to make some at home with their parents.

half term holiday catch up

2011-10-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

I dont feel like i get to do many of the things i like to do much at the moment. I am spending a lot of time working -no not physically teaching but working all the same. Preparing lessons, resources, marking - oh my goodness the marking and all in all i am not accumplishing much at all i feel. If i manage a healthy meal on the table then i feel i have done something. Whether the girls eat it or not is something esle. I really should stop beating myself up about things. No one is perfect its the thought process you go through that is important. Letting them know that no one is more important than them to me.

I dont get to post on here as much as i would like. I am either too tired at the end of the day when i think "thats enough work for today" or when i do post i am quick and to the point because my train of thorugh is about 5 seconds long with little people running around.

so anyway here are a few things we have been doing recently and photos i just had to share.

runner bean seeds harvested and ready for next year

my favourite flower of the year and i am definatly planning on growing some more next year!

Ha! a little light reading!

poorly sleeping

A little less poorly sleeping but sleeping all the same

naked puppetshowing!

Pirate poses!

Heart pulling moments making me wish things were different

feeding the ducks at 7:30 this morning because the clocks changed and my eldest decided her body wanted to get up at 5 which was actually 4!!! oh i love it when the clocks change!

Quack!

Lorna came to stay this week.

2011-10-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

This week we had my friend Lorna staying with us form Bimingham. She has been my penfriend since i was about 14 and she came to stay with us last year too. It was lovely, the girls really enjoyed her company and i did too. Its lovely having someone stay with you who is so on your wave length. both of us are teachers and are interested in similar things. It was just lovely.

We did some spooky skeliton making at Dads. This is my brothers little boy Aden and obviously Emily having fun together.

errrr Pumpkin carving

Roll on next year!!

Carnival weekend

2011-10-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend was carnival weekend and saturday saw us wrapping up warm to watch the proccession go by. Thi girls loved it, Emily remembered last years and was excited about seeing the carnival princesses etc, for lucy it was her first time (well first time that she will remember) so she was very unsure as to what would happen. i explained there would be lots of princesses there and people banging drums (more to prepare her really).

apologies for the quality of the pictures but you get the idea!

In the beginning she was very weary and i thought i was going to have to carry her for the duration, then i gave her a bag of 2ps and she was away! she was putting money into anyones bucket that came past. when people said thank you, she would churp up "nat alright". honestly it was hilarious, thas shy child was waving at people, even a lady in an army truck, she said hello and she said hello back! so funny. she just loved it!

Notice how Emily is in the buggy and lucy is walking! Also notice the hat Lucy is wearing.... latest crochet achievement!!! photos on another blog post when i have made one for Emily too!!

Daddy is 40 today!

2011-10-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we successfully executed a suprise meal for Ian's 40th birthday in a local pub/restaurant. It was a total suprise as he thought he was just going there for a meal with his grandad and his friend Norah. Little did he know there would be 21 of us there to greet him! shocked, yes he was but pleased all the same! it was lovely!

this is the moment he realised what had happened

Emily took the camera at this point!

Ian with his Grandad

lucy's first session at preschool

2011-09-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today was lucy's first session at preschool. Look at her, all packed and ready to go. I say this but actually it was with an air of hesitation that we both set out this morning. Lucy simply repling "Nooooo" when i told her what she might do a there and the fun she might have. We took emily off to school (now staying for lunch!!) and drove straigh back to the preschool Emily used to be at. I love it there. It is very play based with only a few informal "structured" activities - not like a mini school at all. I was of course happy to stay for as long as needed but also had to balance this with not wanting her to think i would be staying everytime she went. I packed her a packed lunch also.

I am saying all of this because although i had given it all some thought - i had not thought about it enough... I stayed for nearly an hour and then said a quick goodbye and left her in the capable hands of her keyworker who is lovely. It was not until i got home that i started to feel bad and within minutes i was crying my eyes out, all alone with no one to look after but the dirty washing and the hoover! i knew she would be fine, i knew she would not cry but she is not as strong as Emily, emotionally, she is shy, she copes enough with being away from me when i have to work (which is far too much at the moment)

oh my i felt terrible. why had a sent her away? what was i thinking? she was staying for lunch with a room full of people she did not know! i kept myself busy for about 45 mins and then i phoned them and asked if it was ok if i picked her up before she had lunch. of course it was and they reasured me that she was fine, she had not cried or asked after me and was playing happily on the floor in the home corner. I was all ready to take her out and not put her back in until after xmas!

we walked home and she told me about her time away. She seemed 10ft taller than when i had left her. So there we are. another baby growing up. I had not realised until today how unready i was for it. So much is changing in our lives at the moment that this one just crept up on me without any real thought.

after lucy and i picked up Emily from school, we took a drive to a beach near by as the weather was so deliciously hot.

Lucy decided she wanted to play hide and seek (yer on a beach!!) and she found a couple of places to hide - under the steps and also if you dig a little hole with your hands and then put your head in it, no one can see you!!!!

The afternoon was lovely. just what i needed, some much needed uninterupted girl time where time did not matter. While we were on the beach a lady and her husband had been watching the girls happily playing and after a while she came over. she had been across the beach to find some different shells to show the girls. She told them exactly what they were called and how she had played on the beach when she was a little girl. It really was lovely.

She then said the most heart warming thing. When they were watching us she said to her husband "now there is a real mum, she is being attentive to her children and caring for their every need"

life can be tough sometimes on us mums but we are all just doing the best that we can arent we. Lets just hope it is good enough.

Emily's first day at school.

2011-09-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Well today was Emily's First day at BIG school.... and she loved it! She went in fine and made a new friend called Poppy, she played on the springything, and drew me a beautiful rainbow.

Oh my did she look grown up. Although she was only there for the morning, she would not take her uniform off until we went to gymnastics this afternoon! She is in love with her flashing black school shoes. Which she cant wait to clean every sunday.

Mummy faired well too;) no time to think about it too much, as it was raining she just went straight in. I did however have a little cry in the car on the way home. Thats it now, every year will go past quicker than the last and before i know it, both my babies will be there. I did however try to make myself feel better by thinking, at least i have left her with my friends and i know she will be well looked after and nurtured. That makes me feel very reassured.

This drawer has been pulling at my heart strings for a few weeks now. Every time I close it, I think, "where did those 5 years go"

We had a sneaky treat in a well known fast food restaurant after school!

Oh and did i mention she is in Octopus class!!

Crochetting in the bag

2011-09-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well not exactly but i do now have a beautiful basket to put it all in. I bought it at a festival stall for £5, which i thought was a bargain. Now i can pick it up and go where ever i want - Ha!

Latest projects include a childs hat from the crochet book i am borrowing from the library. And of course i have a lot more, burning a whole in my brain!!

Now all i need to do is find time to enduldge myself! not going to be that easy now we are back at school...

last few days of the holidays!

2011-08-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos i have been meaning to post for a while. Just a few things we have been up to on our luxurious days off!

Friends to play

visiting smelly horses

2p machines out of the rain

another crochet project completed - a new blankie for phoebe

Emily took this one in the park today!!!!

mummy took this one!

Frugi girls. Both girls sporting thier new (nearly new!) frugi coats for the autumn which seems to be here already.

My classroom - update

2011-08-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Realised this morning that i had taken a few more photos of my new classroom and not shared them on here. So here they are.....

This is the colourful bunting that i was talking about before. I made it from a pretty patterned skirt, our old duvet cover and a piece of material i bought! I just love the colours

This is our maths area and our season table (red one in the corner) I am planning to have the tabel there all year and encourage the children to add things to it as the season changes. We would also like to put one of my paper trees on the window (like the one in my house) to reflect the seasons changing.

I am loving this maths area too! i think it might be the wicker baskets!! HA!! we plan to put all of the things we may need in the course of a maths lesson, like money, counters etc.

and this is the rest of the room, some of it has progressed since i took this but basically this is it! look at the cool yellow chairs!

So yes i am still just as excited about this year.... just not going in this week - my final week with the girls before we ALL start school!

Puddles!!!!!

2011-08-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

After a very wet morning, we decided to go out for a puddle hunt!

Emily had great gusto when the jumping really began! Which then led to this....

oh yes! we got WET at this point!!

But my what fun they had. Back uo the road for a warm bath before lunch!!!

TA DAHH - crochet bunting

2011-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ta dahhh

Oh my look at the colours! i nearly wet myself when they came through the post!!

Yes this is my first attempt at anything well remotely useful when it comes to crocheting And well actually i am rather pleased with the results! A beautifully colourful rainbow bunting to go in the spare bedroom/office. It really brightens the place up too as this room and i have a love hate relationship. It is now a bright and airy place to be and i am already thinking about what lovely things i can make next with my new found crochet skills!!! Ha!!!!

stacks of loveliness!

mmmm, you could just eat it!!!

messing about on the river.

2011-08-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon was spent with my dad, denise, linda, leah and theo and our tribe (all boys included)
Although it was not sunny we made the most of it and got the boat out, mainly to entertain the boys. They had good fun, especially Callum, trying to master the art of rowing.

The little ones enjoyed it too
x

Boot fair bargains and my first attempt at crochet

2011-08-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we popped off to a boot fair nearby and managed to find a couple of little gems.

I picked up this gorgeously cosy rug for £3. It was originally for school as i would like a rug to go on the carpet area but when we got it home and put it down in the front room, we realised it was never going to make it to school! Once through the washing machine and it is lovely and clean. Both the girls love it too. so soft and fluffy.

Also got this wicker basket, also for school and now destined never to make it!!! Now holds my candles. 50p :)

Now this is am really really chuffed with. This is my first real attempt at making a granny square. I think i have got it now and this is what i a managed to do in one evening upstairs in the bedroom while the 3 boys watch grewsome films downstairs (we have ian's boy staying this week) this will happen often, i feel, this week so should be a good time to have a go at this. My next thing is to try and make a granny triangle so i can make some Coulourful bunting for the spare room. Oh my, you should see the colours of wool i have chosen. Thank you to Joxy who helped me find a good shop to get them from. So watch this space......

Butterfly feeder

2011-08-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

We have had a slow kind of day today, Not doing much. A walk into town and then a play in the park. This afternoon I was mooching through the internet when i found this butterfly feeder that i thought we would have a go at. We have "grown" butterflies here before and it intend to do it again next year when Lucy is able to fully appreciate it. So this butterfly feeder i thought we would give a go. No chance of seeing butterflies on a wet afternoon but maybe tomorrow.......

Also picked the first blackberries and raspberries of the year. Be making jam again before i know it!!!

Oh also had to share this Hula Hoop Rug Which i have definatly got to have a go at!!!

excited about my new classroom!!!

2011-08-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

oooo i am really excited about my new classroom. We went in today to drop off a few things and well, mainly so i could take a look at my new classroom and the carpet that has been fitted this week! IT IS MASSIVE!!!! Ok so it does not have any furniture in it at the moment but it has to be one of the biggest in school and i cant wait to fill it with our bits and get it how we want it!

The plans so far are to have a role play / reading corner, a maths station with all our much needed maths equipment (we have the lower set this year and i am relishing the challenge of that... now!) and i have started making some bunting to go along this window to add a little softness and colour. We also have full use of the outside area beyond the double doors so we plan to fully use that in our day and bring the outside in. I am also on the look out for some wicker baskets and things so i can add some natural, waldorf sort of elements to it. We are still Lions so i can keep my lion banner ooooo i am so excited!!!

We are sure we will get ofsted this year, and soon probably so i am keen to get it all as ready as we can before the last week of holidays, that way we can hit the ground running and try to avoid the "oh my goodness" sinking feeling we get in the first week of school!

While at school we ventured into the garden area. This has aboviously been left untouched for a few weeks so i caned back some tomatoes, discovered some big yellow courgettes, some peas and some beetroot!! Girls love it in there too.

A new holiday rhythm

2011-08-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i decided to take control of our mornings at home, starting with breakfast. We had decended into a frenzy of waking up far too early, eating some breakfast while watching tv and then the girls snacking all morning so they could refuse lunch.

So i set their rabbit clock for a bit later and did not get out of bed til 7am (a big lay in for me!) then down stairs. tv watching for a short time while i prepared the table for breakfast. All the things we needed! Breakfast was lovely, chatting about the day ahead and enjoying the meal together like we do every other meal.

After breakfast and a shower as normal, we went out in the garden before it got too hot and had a bit of a tidy up, trim back and general sprooce up. Girls paddled in the paddling pool and with their toys, then we emptied out the potatoes!! A nice amount too, They are tea tonight!

I am settling into the holiday feeling now and trying to get a few bits done in the house.... more about the long list i have in my head later!! It is so lovely to be at home with my babies.

Holiday with Gran Gran!

2011-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

oh we have had a lovely few days recently (sorry for the lack of posts... been catching up with the endless amount of washing since being back)

Emily, Lucy and I have been away with my Dad for a week camping in Bognor and it was lovely!! Sometimes stressful but my word did the girls love it! Dad and denise took their 2 berth caravan and orning, we (not ian as he is not a keen camper, and he had to work!) stayed in a tent and denises daughter stayed in another tent with her two children, Bonnie and Connor.

We all managed considerably well, living in each others pockets, waking early! think that was a shock for dad ! And we had some lovely days out too. Simple things like going to the seaside, and the park.

another funny thing that happened that i am still getting my head around, was when we arrived back at the caravan one afternoon, my friend Jody's mum and sister walked past! i said hello and it was all very suprising to see each other, then she said Jody was here too!!!! i walked literally across the road and there she was!!! We were like two hens clucking (not sure if that is the right terminiology!!ha ) having not seen eachother for about a year and a half as she lives in Bristol area. her little boy Dylan was about 4mths old and now he is 2!! So good to see him too! and for her to see Emily and Lucy. Just amazing, had we been out all day or had she been on another part of the caravan park, our paths would not have crossed. It all makes me feel very reflective when things like that happen. why? and what does it mean?

Anyway, here are a few photos!

Helping get the water

Anyone else find this picture refreshingly simple? I loved this Victorian cottage.

What a lovely week and one we will all remember.

Post man pat!

2011-07-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well Postman Emily really. This week i set uo a post office in the corner of our living room. Oh i love this sort of thing and i had great fun setting it up once they had gone to sleep. We have a postcards and envelopes, address labels for the parcels, parcel tape and string, printed stamps and our wooden till (which i love, asked for one in our classroom too!) There is also a set of weighing scale and a post man pat bag!. Everything you need to serve your customers, weigh the parcels and post them.

Everything that is until God father and Postman, Mike came over on Saturday with a few things to add...

Here's a letter mummy!

SOLAR POWERED BUTTERFLY

2011-07-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

What a cool way to learn about solar power (well, learn as best as you can when you are 4 and 2!) This solar powered butterfly kit came with paint to paint the wings and then a motor to connect together. When you sucker it to a sunny window the motor makes the wings

flap! Quite cool.

Lucy takes great delight in saying " mummy, butterfly movin'

Come on, Come on Take That!!

2011-07-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Oh yes!!!! Guess who went to see take that last night in Wembley!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yes and i screamed my way through most of it!! Here are my favourtite photos out of the 200 that i took!

My friends Sophie and Nicola.

Amazing stage

My other friend Charlotte

You can guess who these people are....

My favourite - decided last noght . Robbie was amazing. Cried through Angels. Just Amazing!

Amazing stage! At one point these people were hanging upside down with a flood of water going over them

Progressed.

This was my first ever concert and what a concert to go to...Wembley Stadium!!

I used to draw this symbol all over my school books. oh how things change - "Everything changes but you"

and "Never forget" - i definatly wont.
AMAZING!!!

Strike!!

2011-06-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Ok so i was not officially woking today but yes i can say "i was there" as i went to an official march in Canterbury to protest against the proposed cuts to our pensions, paying more into our pensions and increasing the age of retirement. I mean really, what kind of a teacher am i going to be at the age of 68!!!???

My little militant flag wavers! Oh how they loved the honking of the horns as people showed their signs of support.

there was a meeting/ talk held in the conference room of the hotel and a child friendly grassy area to play in.

Then we took a stroll into the town centre!

If you really do not know a lot about this take a look at this kent nut
i also inputed my data in the NUT pensions calculator to see how this would affect me. I will be expected to work til i am 68 and i will lose £205,000. No i did not add too many zeros!

Summer solstice

2011-06-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was summer solstice, the longest day. Although we are not in anyway religiously attached to this day, I wanted to mark the day, a feeling that i cant explain, that it is special. While i was working most of the day, when i got home we made the most of the amazingly long evening and took a trip to the beach.

Time for a pebble plopping session

A mama watching over her baby.

And an exciting way to celebrate the coming of summer, Green parent season swap!!!!!!
These amazingly beautiful crocheted birds and coasters. Oh how i love them, the colours and the feel is lovely and the girls love them too!

I also made some little things to send to Kimmy050983....

Summer Bunting

A rainbow Wind wand for waving in the summer breeze.

And some hand made oyster bees wax candles.

We hope you like them kimmy.

wishing you all a happy summer. let the sun shine!!!

We have been on holiday!!!

2011-06-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

Yes we have been on holiday! It was lovely, so relaxing to be away form home. No washing to do (saved that for the 8 load marathon today), no hoovering!! A proper rest for us hard working mamas and a chance to spend some quailty time as a family.

We travelled to POOLE in Dorset and stayed on a lovely Haven site called Rockley park. The journey was interesting, too long for my smallest baby but worth it. The van we stayed in was lovely, the site was very good and well kept. Indoor and out door pool, entertainment and even a secret little beach. And there is so much to do in Dorset isnt there? Very pretty.

So here are a few photos....

OFF WE GO!

Rory the tiger!!

Bournemouth oceanarium

Amazing day at the Swannery in Abbotsbury. My camera lost battery at this point, which was a shame as i could have taken hundreds of photos. The girls and i even got to feed them!!

And the highlight of Emilys holiday!! Peppa pig world in Paultons theme park.

The whole day was like this - "look mummy!" we had to physically force her to stop and eat and drink!

We spent the whole day in peppa pig world and left when the park was closing! We didnt even see the rest of the theme park and i have to say even as adults we were both blown away by the quality and thought put into the place. Really amazing.

A windy day on a beach near our caravan

Our last day was sent on a steam train. Oh how i love steam trains! i dont think you can have a holiday with out a trip on a steam train! We started at Norton and the train took us to Corfe Castle and the back on to Swanage

A very rare photo of us all!!

Cream tea in Corfe Castle tea rooms - mmmm

A really lovely holiday and one i hope they will always remember

wordless wednesday - man flu

2011-06-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

enough said!!

Mama made monday - a skirt for mummy!!!!

2011-05-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yes mama has made something for herself! shock, not somehthing to give away as a gift or something for the little ones, and my word i love it!!

Upcycled from a sheet i bought from a charity shop a few weeks ago. I have been looking forward to making some thing out of the material for a while and i thought it lent itself to beautifully to a summer skirt.

So off i went.... I have never made anything like this before and i have never sewn a zip in either!!! Ha!!! i like a challenge. Actually it was not that hard and i am feeling very chuffed with the results.

Today

2011-05-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today we finished our Summer tree - ok i know it is not summer yet...

We tried out the watercolours and paper that mummy treated herself to this week to make the leaves!

We had a snacky lunch.
I saw this idea on someone elses blog and i thought it was quite cool. So simple and yet the girls loved it. I think i might try it with snacks like driet fruit etc tomorrow.

This beautiful wooden till was a gift from my dad to Lucy and it is a big hit. It has a a recipt roll on it too so we spent a little while today playing shop and writing out recipts. Oh we love wooden toys!

And today it rained!!!! We have not smelt that fresh rain on dry grass smell for a long time here. A welcomed relief. may hamper my Elderflower picking tomorrow though ....

first attempt at wet felting

2011-05-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about showing you this present Lucy recieved for her birthday.

I have been admiring felted items for a while now and bought/recieved one or two in recent months but there was a hunger in me to try it myself. I was really inspired by this photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rounien/3455343958/

I get very excited at trying new skills like this and i really enjoyed doing it. I took a few photos along the way so you can see the process. So simple, in that i just found a tutorial on Youtube. some patient american lady, and bought the wool from ebay! Great for total novices!!! The wool is merino and it came in 20 colours so i have loads of other mini projects i can turn my time to!

add some liquid soap and warm water

Roll the design in 2 tea towels, one top one bottom,and squeeze the water and soap about for a while.... not very technical, but thats what i did!

And so the finished item!!!
These wooden farm animals that my Auntie Linda bought for Lucy for her birthday and the perfect size and shape for the playscape and i am sure will become a much loved part of our home.

The ducks have a pond

The sheep have some lush green grass to graze on

The piggys have some squishy mud to roll in

And the cow and the chickens also have land to roam.

There is even a path from the mud to the pond!

so yes i am chuffed with this one!

ta dahh - long overdue Lucy's Birth sampler.

2011-05-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Ok,ok, so this is REALLY long over due, in fact 2 years overdue. This little birth sampler has taken me two years to complete. I mean, as a means of justifying it, i have made alot of other things in that time but even so i should have done this one a long time ago. I must add here that i did finish this before her second birthday, but only just ;) It is now hanging safely above her bed.

So this one is for you Lucy lou. My little baby. Everytime i look at this birth sampler i am reminded of the day you were born, those precious few hours that you could relive in your head like it was yesterday. What an amazing day!

Lucy's 2nd birthday

2011-05-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today my little baby, my last born, turned 2. The sadness and joy of being a mum is such a daily pull on the heart strings isnt it? I see lucy changing and growing every day. Developing her own personality and mimicking Emily's too. Chatting all the time, bringing a smile to all of our faces. Oh Lucy dont grow up too fast!

Emily took great pride in writing her card to Lucy. she even drew a picture of her on the front!

Gruffalo pj's - ebay bargain!!

Birthday crown! Crocheted flowers on the front -- i am just learning how to crochet at the moment!

For our day out we went as a family to a local farming place. Lucy has a passion for animals and could not wait to touch them!

Tractor ride!

Enjoying the sunshine

oh this baby! such a gorgeous bundle of fluff.

Being watched over by its mummy

Owl cake - twit wowoo

birthday tea

Theo!

Three in the bath

Time for bed, what a lovely day

OH Help Oh no, it's a gruffalo!!

2011-05-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Lucy will be turning 2 this week - dont even ask where the time went. My little baby .... stop, anyway today we had a little party for her.

She has a little passion for the Gruffalo so in true caz style we went all out on the gruffalo and had a little party!!

Oh Help, Oh no, Its a Gruffalo..... Cake :)

A gruffalo cave, just right for reading!

A borrowed bouncy castle, just right for bouncing!

Some Gruffalo playdoughing.

Cutting and sticking.

And some wicked gruffalo paper Party bags!!

We had a great time and hopefully so did all of Lucy's friends. Simple party but effective.

Ladies day!

2011-05-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Oh where do i start! I had a fabulous day on Sunday. A much awaited day with my good old friends, school buddies, actually some of them i have known since i was 4!!

Let me start at the beginning. We all turned the big 30 last year and my good mate Soph had her 30th in july last year about 2 or 3 weeks after she gave birth to her second beautiful baby girl. We had all been clubbing together to buy each other something special from us and for Sophie we decided we would get her something to keep (an amber braclet that i hope she likes, i chose it so felt quite responsible for this bit) and a shopping experience when she was ready for it. We put it to her that she could have our undivided attention and support to spend some money we gave her on clothes etc. We would be her personal shoppers for the day! So after a lot of weight being lost by her (and some of us others!) and one beautiful girl growing older and more able to be left for the day, Sophie chose a day and it was this Sunday.

We all had a lovely day, especially us mums who were given the freedom we sometimes crave, to be US for the day. Oh my goodness I loved it!

We had champagne on the train!
Ha i am a poet and i didnt know it!!

This was shortly followed by ALOT of shopping and trying on! It was so lovely to go out and have the support of each other, honest opinions and all that. Oh we have not done this since we were teenagers! We even went on the escalator!!!!!!

Us ladies stopped for lunch in a lovely restaurant, good food and delicious cocktails!!!! Ha!!
Swiftly followed by more shopping. Then when we felt we could shop no more, we came back on the train to meet up with another friend who could not make it, for another drink!! yes I was a little squiffy! but oh my what a lovely day we all had. I love you guys!

Woodland walk

2011-05-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

We took a walk through the wood today and had a little picnic!

Girls bedroom

2011-05-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the girls had a new carpet fitted in their bedroom, really pretty natural colour from a local company. This was obviously a great opportunity to do a spot of decluttering, something i have been longing to do for a while now. I really wanted the room to be as simple as possible as well as natural and reflect the things that they love rather than put up with because they are there.
We are all really pleased with the results and i thought i would post a few pictures to show our efforts.

This as you may be able to tell is a belly cast we made of me when i was about 8 and a half months pregnant with Lucy! I love it because it reminds me of those precious weeks when she was nestled safely in my womb, the feeling of her moving and kicking inside me. And my how my boobs have shrunk since then!!

I love East of India stuff!

My hand made, recycled duvet cover, lovingly sewn for Lucy's little bed! How cute!

Emily has taken a shine to the kangeroo that is in pride of place on her bed at the moment. It is a very old little roo as it used to be mine when i was much smaller that she is now. I think this is why she likes it so much, yes it is missing fur but its obvious even to a 4 year old that it was well loved.

We all love the fact that the books are so accessible. They are freely choosing books all day long now which brings a smile to my face

Just look at the wood and the natural colours!!!!

I made this too.

And finally my nan's old chair, from her bedroom, and our much loved wooden dolls house.

All in all we all love the room, it reflects how i would like to live in the rest of the house and finally one room is finished!

Hope. Dream.

2011-04-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Throw your heart

out in front of you

And run ahead to catch it.

(Arab Proverb)

(from a gift book I was given once by my penpal Lorna - Hope! Dream!)

Royal Wedding day

2011-04-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Royal wedding fever hit us today. Everything went to pot as i stopped moving for much of the morning to watch the wedding! Loved it! such an amazing show of all things regal and British! Congratulaions William and Kate!

Above are pictures of the union jack biscuits we decorated this morning! The bride and groom that my nanny made for me when i was about 8 (i think). They was so much attention given to them when she made them. The bride has a pair of bloomers, a petticoat and the dress as well as a veil and a peal neck lace!! The bottom photo is the tiara that Emily made at preschool yesterday. She then went on to make us all - including Ian, a tiara each this morning!

How did you send the day?

Making things day

2011-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

We turned our attention to the Royal Wedding today and started making Union Jack bunting. now hanging in our dining room. Emily loved all of this, also found out they are doing a wedding party tomorrow afternoon in her preschool so she cant wait! Wedding fever has been unleashed in our house!

Picked up this "vintage" fabric in a charity shop today!! £2.50! bargain. Think I may have to make a skirt for me with it!!! I just love the colour.

Hope you have had a good day today.

simply five good things

2011-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

This post is inspired by soulemama . I was short of time to think/photo ten good things as work overtook the last part of this lovely long holiday. So here are 5 good things. Of course besides my amazingly funny, beautiful, squidgy babies!

Chasing rainbows on our wallpaper

one well and truely licked out bowl (two spoons)

The first fresh strawberries of the year - kent ones too!

More homemade ice lollies about to go in the freezer

Tentertive seedlings sprouting through on the window sill.

"Oh, sometimes there's nothing like a list of goodness to start the day, to slow it all down, to plant us right where we are, and to carry it with us as we begin the week.

Do you need that today?

Give it a go - simply ten good things."

Happy Easter.

2011-04-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Lady spring is watching over our simnel cake. For those of you who have never heard of a simnel cake, it is a fruit cake with 11 mazipan balls on the top. One for each of Jesus' disciples - not Judas! I love making these cakes for school and our easter table and as gifts to others. This is cake number 8 and it is all our!!

We also did a bit of egg wrapping for tea

And i made another batch of bread, wholemeal this time. Really pleased with how they look. fingers crossed they taste as good as they look.The last batch was just amazing.
Oh and we finished the day listening to "christmas hits" as you do!!

Happy Easter all! wishing you a peaceful and loving rest of the year.

It's gonna be hot, hot, hot, thats what the weather man says!

2011-04-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering, the title is from a cool song we sing at school. I love it as it has great links to french too as we teach them the alternative word for each type of weather.

Anyway it has been unseasonally hot again here today.
lolly lickingly hot!

When Lucy retired for her nap this afternoon, Emily and i relaxed in the shade of the washing (as you do !) She drew and coloured while i had some rare readin time. - "you are your child's first teacher" - great read!

There was also a few moments of quiet folllowed by doggy feeding.

And how much fun can you have with a washing up liquid bottle and some water!!

And finally some snail watching!!
i hope you have all had a good day and are looking forward to the rest of the weekend as much as we are!

River cottage bread making!

2011-04-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Been thinking about making bread for a while and how i would like to be able to do it. Then the other day River Cottage Everyday focussed on bread. they had a bitch and bake group in a local community - how cool would that be my lady friends?

Anyway... i had a go this morning. Followed this recipe and i was chuffed with the results!

kneeding for 10 mins!

It went from this....

to this in 1 and half hours! Magic!

Proving for 45 mins

DA, DA!!
delicious too!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, how about you, you, you?

2011-04-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Ian's son. What a delight to have him stay with us.

Come along now little one!

What a lovely day for a trip to the zoo.

Daisy chains

2011-04-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon we went for a walk down the town, get some fresh air and get Lucy to have a little nap. On the way home it was requested that we sat down for a little while somewhere nice so we stopped and made some daisy chains in the sun by the stream

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine!

Peg bag

2011-04-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Knocked this up last night. i managed to get some of the polka dot spot material from Laura Ashley in the sale yesterday and a metre was only £9. So i have been wanting to make a super big peg bag for a while. My friend bought me the new Cath Kidson - Sew book for my birthday and I used the pattern to make it.

Other than that today has been taken up with the new carpet in the girls room and putting everything back. I will post pictures when i am happy with it all!!

X

Ladies who lunch.

2011-04-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

So the rest of the the girls room was painted by 8:30 so we decided to take a little trip out for the morning. We travelled by bus which was really cool! I dont think Lucy has ever been on a bus so she loved it! Holding on tight to my elbow as we sat together on the seat.

After a little shopping we stopped for some lunch at a place recommended by one of my friends. It was upstairs in a health food shop and i have to say, it was just amazing, we loved it. You got the impression the food was almost entirely organic, and certainly home made. Silly things like the tables were all wooden and each had a cosy cushion on it. The menu was simple and the food was delicious. There was even a corner with wooden toy in for the children to play. It was so calming, warm and inviting. We had a bean burger with beany sprouty bits on the top, as well as wedges and a chilli jam and the girls had a bottle of organic apple juice while i enjoyed a nice cup of tea. I loved it and would definatly go there again. So much nicer than Mc Donalds up the road!!

Little helpers

2011-04-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday the girls are having a new carpet fitted in their bedroom so we started the clearing out process today. Such a lot of dust! i really hate dusting! Anyway much of their stuff is now in boxes in other bedrooms and the main furniture is also out. Just their beds and some books. The book thing was funny, as we were putting the books into large plastic boxes, Emily was in charge of passing them to me. She came across some books that she had not seen in a little while. "i'll save that one, i'll save that one too" so funny to watch.

When we had cleared things away i realised it all needed a coat of paint too :( so this is how we spent the afternoon!

Gardening day

2011-04-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today we have spent a lot of time sorting out the school garden with one of my work mates. Mainly sewing seeds and planting fruit bushes.

It really is work in progress there as there is such a lot to do. 2 maternity leaves has meant that is has not had a lot of attention from me or anyone else for that matter and this year we are really going for it. One of my parents has been a massive help and dug out all of the beds that are so ridden with bind weed they need totally replacing. The bed above is quite exciting as it is our berry bed. raspberries, blackcurrants, goosberries (thanks to morrisons vouchers) red currants and strawberries.

we are sewing seeds this year in cut up toilet rolls so they are easier to plant on for the children. so we will see how that goes! emily and lucy amused themselves for a little while with some shells the found.

We then went to the Garden centre to buy some more seeeds, things we dont have at the moment at school. and a little box for us at home....

Heres hoping for a fruitful year!

Friends for Lunch!

2011-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it has been today! Another day blessed with sunshine and smiles. Today some of my lovely friends came for lunch and all of our children enjoyed lunch together.

Sorry about the quality of the photos people, this bottom one i loaded 4 times to get this quality... maybe the resolution is too high on this new camera.....

So anyway the weather was beautiful and the children played really well together. So lovely to see them all happy in each others company. Of course us ladies had lots of catching up to do and swooning over baby Abigail (3 months old).

After everyone had gone we popped over to the park.

Decluttering

2011-04-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

So being ruthless is the name of the game here at the moment! I am trying really hard to declutter as we simply have too much stuff. I am aiming for a simple, preferably wooden/natural house and i am starting in the girls bedroom. One room at a time - be realistic.

The girls are having a new carpet fitted on Friday and they both cant wait! "and we are going to have to take my bed apart and everything" Emily tells anyone who will listen. So i have been through parts of their room and cleared out a few bits, i will do the rest this week and then have a double think after the carpet is in and i put it all back. I will add photos when it is finished.

Today i did a boot fair with my friend Claire and all in all it went well, sold half of my stuff which was the main thing, and made £50! Cant be bad! I am definitely going to do another one soon. We have a ton of stuff in the loft to get rid of. I was just glad today that all these things went to other houses where they will be used again. What a lot of recycling!!!

Spring!!!

2011-04-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hooray it is Spring! I love spring and all the colours it brings, the anticipation of Summer and the tantalisingly warm days, of which we are having a bounty of this week. 23 on day this week - "scorchio!" ;)

I thought it was about time I showed you our Spring table

Some of the items on the table came from Lula103 on GP through our spring season swap, we love the pencils and they are used alot by both girls. The rainbow was Lucy's first birthday present and we bought it from myriad toys. oh my the toys there are amazing!! We also have a spring branch with Easter eggs hanging from the twigs.

On the other part of the table, proudly displayed, is Emily's Easter bunny that she made at preschool this week. (sorry about the photo, some times it does this to me and i don't know how to change it!) The "doing the garden" book it lovely, borrowed from the library, very simple in its form but shows a very natural family, bringing home plants from the garden centre in an old pram and enjoying their garden together. The spring story book was a bargain at a boot fair recently, £1 as a set of the 4 seasons! so that will be a regular show!!

The felt Daffodils I made. Started making them for the season swap to send away to my swappie and ended up making lots of them, some for home, school and presents. Everlasting colour!

This pretty lady i just had to get a close up of. I treated myself to this spring lady from Folksy. Yes Ian if you see this, that is what it cost!! well worth it i think as it is just beautiful. Hand made with little eggs in her basket and a fluffy bunny too. I think she makes the table complete

Enjoy the season everyone!!

busy home sort of day!

2011-03-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today has been a busy home sort of day, spending much of it outside just doing things, followed by a walk down the town. here are a selection of photos!

TRAIN TRACK MAKING

PETER RABBIT WATCHING

SPRING CUTTER PRINTING

GARDEN GLITTERING

ALFRESCO EATING

PINK WASHING DRYING

HOMEMADE LOLLY LICKING

MOMENT SHARING

FLAG MAKING

DUCK FEEDING

wordless wednesday

2011-03-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

mama made monday

2011-03-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

we have recently moved Lucy into a "big girls bed" and bought her a new one, a junior bed. Bit like a toy bed really but suprisingly ample at 3 in the morning! so anyway i wanted to make her a duvet cover to go on it and used some craps of material i had. Some from fabric rehab and some i have had for a while. I have to say i am rather pleased with the results!

spring season swap

2011-03-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

Over on the Green Parent we have been sending and opening our spring season swap. I had great fun making ours and i will post photos of it once i know the reciever has opened it. would not want to spoil the suprise!

This morning we opened our spring season swap from Lula103 and her daughter. Wow what a lovely suprise! thank you so much, we love them. We recieved a beautiful caterpillar in a snuggly felted leaf bed, some proper twig colouring pencils which they are both colouring in with as i write! and a lovely felted collecting bowl with shells all the way from Portugal where they live! what a lovely season swap Thank you! you are very clever Lou, i wish i knew how to felt! maybe that should be my next project.

Anyway we have had a brill start to our spring day, hopefully the sun will shine and we can enjoy the outdoors. A good friend is coming for lunch so i am really looking forward to having a good old chat. also it is good to be back on this space...

pirate ships and stamping

2011-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

Today was a stay at home day as i feel rough again. Migraine last night meant i was in bed at 7:30 and still have a headache today.
This is what we created!

Introducing Abigail and a bit of home baking

2011-01-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

yesterday we went to see my dear friend MJ who has just had a beautiful baby girl, much to everyones suprise!! W e were sure she would have another boy!

These are delicious!!

wordless wednesday (one day late!)

2011-01-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

windy day and the rainbow fish.

2011-01-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

The weekend saw some sunny windy days and we just loved the oppertunity to get out and let the wind blow through our hair. E asked if we had a kite which we do... i could not find it in our shed (another major sort out in the spring needed there!) so we made our own! a bin bag and some bamboo cane. It actually flew too! L loved it , "fly" she kept saying.

We have been taken over by The Rainbow Fish in the last week. It all started with L learning the word "fish". oh my she loves fish and sees them everywhere. So i borrowed the story sack for school and both girls love it! It came with tiny shells, a real starfish and lots of other things including a dominoes set. lots of fun has also been had with making rainbow fish pictures etc. The Ocean book is an amazing book given to E on her birthday by my good friend Ellie. it makes a different aquatic sound on each page.

And finally this picture is there to remind me of the things i believe to be best for my family and the rest of the world. I love this Duck from myriad. We bought it for L for christmas and it is a much loved toy in our house. I love the way it feels, the quality in the craftmanship and the ethics behind it. More recently i have not blogged as i know in my heart i am not living the green babies life that i wish for my family. Constantly swimming against the tide of consumerism, choice and conveniece coupled with lack of time. I intend to try and address this with out beating myself up too much about it. I am trying to get the washing dry outside of inside witout using the tumble dryed quite as much. we are eating from scratch most nights now partly because of the diet i am on (which is also taking alot of my energy and will power obviously) and a lot of this is organic. not local always tho. I did shop at farmers markets for all of the fruit and veg this week however.
ahhhhh i just wish i could do more, to change the way i feel about these things and bring them into every part of our lives. Anyway here is to 2011 and a more simpler life.

A year in photos

2011-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Holiday photos

2011-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

During the christmas period we have Ian's 2 boys come to stay with us. Callum lives in Devon so we dont see him very often and it is special time. Hard, but special. our house does not really have the room for 2 teenagers, 2 toddlers and 2 adults. There is a real difference in what we are all interested in however they are both really good with the girls.

Christmas present opening at Nanny Kim's

Season Swap

2011-01-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

On the Green Parent forum I signed up for the Season Swap again for winter. Basically each mama is given anothe mama to make something for related to the season. This gift is then sent to them so they can put it on their season table (a space in your home that reflects the season we are in e.g snowmen, snowflakes) This beautiful gift was sent to me by Rainbomama! It is a star of wonder painted on a wood panel. Thank you! you are very clever.

christmas catch up

2011-01-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

So the blog thingy magig has not been letting me get on and put photos on properly for a while. I think it is working now so here goes...

our hosts!

christmas dinner

snowman pinita (a la kisty and phil!)

Grandad Simon gave the girls a fab train set!

igglepiggle and postman pat delivering the post!

Boxing Day

i love big jigs!

OK not perfect pictures but you get the idea.

Twas Christ mas eve and all through the house, no creature was stiring not even a mouse...

2010-12-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

ahhhhh, the quiet relaxing thoughts of knowing you have bought, wrapped and placed every present you can think of, that the dessert for tomorrow is sitting refrigerating nicely in the wendy house outside (baileys and organic chocolate cheesecake!!) and all that is left to do is try and get some sleep before the busy day ahead.

yes i am feeling organised this year. I even managed to make some mince pies which i think taste delicious!!

here are a few photos of the day.

Letters to father christmas were laft last night for collection. Emily would like a dressing gown, a train set and a toy car! Lucy would like a postman pat, a pair of slippers and a train set!

Emily is still not right, woke up with a slight temp but has been ok most of day. she dosed off this afternoon while i was washing up. Lucy was also having a nap as was daddy so just me working my butt off then!!..

Christmas pj's!! Look at their lovely little toes!

Emily opened Auntie Lindas present and it was a dressing gown!! thats one thing off the list to father christmas then!

I made them both a quilted stocking this year. ready to go at the top of the stairs. (Emily could not cope with the thought of father christmas coming into her room.)

sacks ready on the sofa

mince pie and cherry brandy for father christmas (i have eaten a bite of pie at this point) the carrot for rudolf is in the letter box so he knows to come in the front door!!

wishing you all a very merry christmas. Hope it is filled with laughter, joy and excitement! and some peace at the end!

2010-12-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today has been another home day, partly because of the snow and partly because Emily is not 100%. we have been making things again and enjoying the quite of being at home.

glitter featured widely and is now spread all over my house! Lucy was funny, the concentration on her face with her glitter, no man could get in her way.

glitter for tea?

We also started making a few things for some christmas hampers. I had a rather reluctant cook at one point but hopefully she will be more willing after a good nights sleep tonight (i wish!)

snow again!

2010-12-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today we have had another good few cm of snow dumped on us! i love it and so do the girls!

happy 4th birthday!

2010-12-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

Today my first born baby became 4 years old! where did the time go? i know all us mums say this but seriously - where did the time go!!!
busy day really, as ever. Emily was awake at 5:45 and unfortunatly this is not especially early for her! we came down stairs and she was greated by a huge present and some smaller presents. Really made me chuckle as she did not want to open the large present first- i think she was a little embarased/ scared by it. She started with the smallest present and worked her way up! daddy then went back to bed for a bit!

tired girl still riding her bike in her pjs!

after a quick bath we went over to the park to try out the new bike Emily and Lucy were playing a game of chase round and round which was quite funny. There was then time for a quick trip to morrisons (what a cruel mum taking her daughter food shopping on her birthday!) A bit more playing withe the bike before we went out for a meal for lunch. Which was nice. Then straight off to gymnastics at 2. It was our last session before the holidays and they had the bouncycastle out so we had to go!! Lucy and i were allowed in too so that was fun. Home in time for a mad rush around tidy up before Grandad simon, Auntie linda, leah, baby theo and rob came for a little tea party. once everyone had gone we tidied up again so there was more room to ride the bike again!! She loves it! and i am so glad we bought it. ok so it is not that eco and it is a character thing which i sometimes try to avoide but come on... it is wicked pink and even has a seat on the back for her baby!

both babies went straight to sleep and another day is over in thier little lives!
tomorrow it is full steam ahead for christmas!!! arhhhh

Emily's 4th birthday party

2010-12-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

I am just about recovering from Emily's party on Sunday!! lots of work but i think it went down really well and everyone said they had a good time. We invited all of our groups of friends so there were alot of children (and adults). Emily loves making things so we had a making party starting with pretty tissue paper jam jar lanterns, followed by paper plate snow men. here are a few pictures of what we made.

Snow!!!

2010-11-30T00:45:00.000-08:00

Yay snow!!!! we love snow here, and we had the perfect amount last night! enough to be able to still walk in but also to have loads of fun in! we were out in it at 8am this morning and the grils are now warming up with some toast. Lucy loved it in the beginning but soon got cold and wanted to go in. Bless her. she can say snowman now too!!

winter has arrived!

2010-11-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

The weather has turned really cold here over the last few weeks and the season of winter has really started to begin. We have wecomed it in this morning by going out in the hard frost and playing in the crunchy grass.

last night the christmas lights were turned on so we all ventured out in the cold. we even met father christmas. Lucy was not that impressed with the noise sadly.

So i am now bracing myself for the weeks ahead. Emily's making party next weekend, then her birthday, followed quickly by christmas. Let the stress begin! ha!d

Things to warm the heart

2010-11-24T11:52:00.000-08:00

so recently we have nestled in to the season of winter. lit a candle at tea time (these are the ones we had in the summer from bees wax and oyster shells)

today i finished off the cookie kits for the school christmas bazaar. Each jar has flour, sugar and grated chocolate and then you simply add butted and use the cookie cutter to make cookies! simple! delicious too!

Yesterday i took custardy of this suitcase from my uncle David. It came from my nan and grandads house and contains all the love letters they wrote to each other while my grandad was in the navy during the war.It is truley amazing. i sat for about an hour last night reading though some and it was just so beautiful. They had not been married for long before he went into the navy and so were looking forward to him coming home and spending the rest of their lives together. Reading it hnow, i know they were lucky and did get to spend the rest of their lives together, they were married for 60 years before my nan died. I cant wait to read some more, they wrote everyday, mundain things often but so different to now..... just beautiful it really took my breath away!

Developing!

2010-11-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

My girls are growing up and developing before my eyes, without me even realises from day to day. Lucy is a real chatter box now. She copies everything her big sister does and repeats ever word you say. She came up to me earlier with a forlorn look on her face, pointing at a sheepish emily saying "she push"!!! oh dear emily your in trouble now she can talk! Amongst other words Lucy now says breakfast, drink, that, tea (she loves to finsh off my cup of tea), puzzle (of sorts), trousers, nappy, poo, pwooor (these two are linked!!), nana, nanny, grandad (of sorts) park, and this afternoon she did an amazing twit twooo when emily asked her what an owl says!

My other little baby, who is knocking on the door of four, is learning to read at the moment!! i know i am going to sound like a pushy teacher mum but Emily is genuinely leading this one. She has known her initial letters for a year or more and now she is starting to say the sound properly and recognise what objects / things begin with. So i thought i would try and see if she could read a few words by sounding out and blending them back! not quite but she is really good at working out what the word might say and her memory is amazing.we have started using readingeggs which i found on another blog. it is not perfect in terms of phonics but she loves it. It tests where she is and then she plays games to learn the sounds and read words! She loves it!

so as we start to look at schools for my little baby i am noticing the passing of time. Where does it go? but how exciting is the journey?!

sewing bug is back!!

2010-11-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

So i have finally freed myself enough time to let my creative juices flow and i have started making things for christmas in ernest. Trouble is you cant photo your works of art as the people who will recieve them might see them!! so today i had a parcel of beautiful fabrics from fabric rehab ready to be made into exciting things. I have so much to do and so little time!!! Ha!

The 1950's caravan material is for my dad who i know does not really read this. think i will make a tidy pocket thing for their caravan!! The christmas trees i think will partly be personalised christmas stockings for my girls and the pretty pink bird material is for some bedding for a second hand wooden crib i got the girls for £3!!!. not sure about the mulitcoloured one, i just liked it!!

my pen friend came to stay

2010-10-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

My pen friend from Birmingham came to stay for a few nights this half term holiday and it has been really lovely. We have kept in contact since we were about 15 and she has come to stay a few times in the past, when we were younger and i suppose that as time passed and we both got teaching jobs be became more busy. We still write, and we do write too, rarely emails, but mainly on birhtdays and christmas. So a long overdue visit was in order. From the moment she came we have got on really well and the girls have loved her coming too.I could not believe how truely alike i think we are. we have so much in common. we even look alike!

On friday we spent most of the day at the zoo.

We saw a rhino!!

And mummys favourite, an elephant

lots of very lazy tigers!

lucy watching the mummy elephants with her babies

Lucy loved seeing the animals and the freedom of walking around!

And a really tiny baby elephant, must have only been a few weeks old as it was not even brave enough to come out, just poking its head around the door!

Lucy was facinated by the plastic topary elephant!! ;0

the trees are an amazing colour at the moment arent they. Beautiful yellows

lots of cheeky monkeys looking out the window. we later foind out it was their feeding time and they were looking out for the zoo keeper!!

In the evening we went to a lovely retaurant with some of my friends. they met lornas when she came down all those years ago. such a lovely evening

so all in all we had a really lovely few days. Lorna went back yesterday and we hope to repeat it all again some time soon.