what we did today

Winter walk

2012-01-02T21:57:00.003Z

After a morning hanging around the house (everyone else) and chopping down stuff in the garden (me) we ventured out for a walk by the canal. This included an unexpected look around a Blacksmiths and an expected half a pint/packet of crisps in the pub. I was surprised how much Harriet and Toby enjoyed the simplicity of a stroll by the canal. They also enjoyed the pub playground despite the chilly weather and frozen parents.

Carousel

2012-01-02T21:51:00.011Z

On New Year's Day we went out to a local shopping centre to see their Christmas decorations. The usual attractions were there - carousel and train ride. And also a room with lights on the floor which the children loved AND it was free.

Afterwards we went for an ice cream and a wander through the centre.

It was a relief to get out of the house after the Christmas/New Year of illness, fractured limbs and on call phones. Harriet particularly appreciated doing something fun. She has found life with an injured brother rather hard going. The boundaries of play have been changed to avoid further damage to Toby (cue constant shouts of "be careful!" "watch out for his arm!" etc).

Not exactly to plan

2011-12-31T15:55:00.007Z

It's been a strange Christmas. The build up was great. I really enjoyed the advent period this year. Lots of excitement about the tree going up, Harriet's birthday, choosing and wrapping presents.

Things started to slide just before Christmas when Ed came down with a bad cold which he is still trying to shake off. Christmas Eve was good (apart from when Harriet was sick into my hands). We went to the cinema, to a crib service (let's try and forget the bit involving Toby needing a change of clothes) and then to a party where I drank far too much wine. Christmas Day was pleasant enough. We made it to mass and afterwards we had a lovely lunch and lots of lazy time.

We had our friend to stay for a couple of nights. Unfortunately this coincided with Toby rolling off the sofa and fracturing his collar bone. And my car is broken too.

I have not been very organised with taking any photos of the Christmas merriment. We are all just a bit worn out from 2011. These things build up sometimes. I think we are all ready for the year to end now!

Salt dough and school hols

2011-12-23T22:00:00.003Z

Our first week of the holidays involved lots of much needed quiet time, DVDs and Christmas crafts. It's fair to say both children are tired after the busy term and an overnight stay at Grandma's house.

One of the main things I wanted to try this year was salt dough. We had a go during the summer but I found that batch to be very sticky and not much good for Harriet to use. This time I used a different recipe (heavier on the flour side) which was much better. So we made the shapes and then painted and glittered them a few days later. There was much excitement about hanging them on the tree.

The other big hit of the school hols was home made play dough. This took up residence on the kitchen table and was played with on and off for days. I went with the flow - making up fresh batches and sweeping the floor often to keep up with demand and mess. We listened to Christmas music and got thoroughly in the festive mood.

we also managed to fit in a trip to the cinema, a soft play party, a visit to friends and visited the Christmas room at the local library. Looking back it was a busy week - just didn't feel like it at the time.

Six

2011-12-17T16:06:00.000Z

The girl turned six. There was lots of cake, two parties and a new big scooter. Harriet wasn't exactly in full health for her birthday celebrations. Plus it was the last week of term. It was the first year that having a birth near to Christmas posed a problem. Only in terms of energy and time needed to celebrate properly. I think we managed it...but only just.

Strike day

2011-12-06T14:14:00.004Z

We got a day off last week for the national strike. I tried to keep a mildly educational theme running through the day! We watched the news for a while and discussed the strike. Harriet was really interested to know why she was having a day off. Next we went off to town. Whilst there we had a look at the Christmas decorations and then wandered through the market square (location of strike protest) and down to the museum.

We spent quite a lot of time trying on shoes in the museum. Harriet and I also chatted about our previous obsession with the museum (we went once a week for six months when Toby was a baby).

Harriet and Toby were very excited about parking in the multi storey car park. The view over the town are pretty good.

I also took this photo which would have come in handy if I had forgotten my parking level (entirely possible during a trip to town with two excited children).

Play scenes

2011-11-02T13:21:00.003Z

There's always something amusing to be found in Harriet and Toby's abandoned play scenes. Today it's Tweezor the Swampsterz drinking a sprout cup of tea. Yeauch. Maybe he likes that kind of thing?!

Halloween

2011-10-31T09:49:00.002Z

Party yesterday and just some pumpkin glowing today.

I spent a while explaining "trick or treat" to Harriet. This was followed by us playing trick or treat using the kitchen door instead of the front door. Harriet and Toby's "trick" mainly involved putting something silly on their heads.

And now the clocks have gone back an hour and we are once again treated to one of the kiddie's favourite games.....dark world. This simply involves closing the curtains and switching the lights off. Any smaller lighting devices such as glow sticks, torches, tea lights are very welcome. Personally I find it a little oppressive and impossible to knit but I try not to be too grumpy about the whole thing.

A quiet end to the week

2011-10-28T17:02:00.008+01:00

Well, this week has taught me something about school holiday half term breaks.....sometimes it takes a full five days for everyone to relax and recover from the previous term. Just in time for returning to the routine.

This morning we went to the "kids am" cinema to see Rio. It was Toby's first trip to the flicks. He seemed to enjoy it although got a little bored half way through.

This afternoon we pottered around, played on our new play station, played a board game and Harriet tried to turn the tiny slide into an astroglide - using oven gloves as a sliding mat.

We finished our pumpkin bunting too - ready for our Halloween party this Sunday.

Day out

2011-10-27T16:41:00.004+01:00

A trip to the RAF museum......

It was a good choice for a rainy half term day out.

Plenty of planes. Harriet was entertained but Toby was not quite as happy due to the lack of dinosaurs. In fact at times today, he was not very happy at all.

I thought the aircraft were all very impressive as were the old fashioned toilets in one part of the building.

Artistic interpretation????

2011-10-26T16:55:00.006+01:00

We started making spiders yesterday. Intended to be Halloween decorations. This is how they are supposed to look....

However, egg boxes aren't what they used to be and the segments aren't separate enough to make a bell shape needed for the spider body.

We painted them black anyway. Today we added the legs and faces (wool rather than pipe cleaners). Harriet became absorbed by her task and ended up drawing Halloween pictures all over them instead. Oh well, she enjoyed herself and I resigned myself to being proud of our spooky jellyfish creations.

Our pumpkin potato printing was more successful. Just need to add the faces when they are dry.

Favourite room

2011-10-25T16:43:00.005+01:00

It didn't take me long to decide on my favourite room in the new house. It's already proving to be a valuable space for many things....drying washing, playing games, drinking a cup of tea when everyone else is playing/busy, watching the garden, birds, children playing, washing blowing etc etc. Yes, it's the sun room. We decided it was more of a sun room than a conservatory and it certainly gets toasty in the right conditions.

As a family we have never had such extra spaces in a house. We always been confined to our two bedroom, functional living smaller house. So far the sun room just contains temporary furniture. Mostly chairs made for the garden. I am sure it will fill it with other items in time but at the moment it's good to see some bare floors and some children's art on the walls.

A post a day - day one

2011-10-24T17:18:00.003+01:00

In a bid to get back into the blogging habit, I am going to try and blog every day this week. It's half term so that makes it a little easier (we do more stuff worth recording) and also harder (too tired by the end of the day).

Today we had a relaxed start to the holidays. A bit of garden time....

A trip to the playground (minus camera) and some leaf collecting/painting...

It's our first school holiday in our new house. To be honest I think we are still all a little tired from moving and the day to day life of term time. So I plan to take it easy this week. Must get dressed before 11am tomorrow though.

End of year blues

2011-07-22T17:30:00.000+01:00

Harriet was a little sad to be leaving her Reception year at school. I made her a cake to cheer her up. I used a plastic dragonfly to decorate it as she was in the dragonfly group at school. It served its purpose and stopped the tears. Well for a little while anyway....

Last week

2011-07-20T14:19:00.006+01:00

It only occured to me at the weekend that this will be my last week as a full time stay at home Mum. Toby is now three years old and off to pre-school in September. It feels very odd that I will no longer have a constant kiddie companion during the daytime.

So Toby and I are having a quiet week of Mum & boy time. Today there has been a trip to the park and dolphin stickers for my aquatic loving son.

I think we are ready for the change. Toby asks to go into the nursery every morning when we drop Harriet off at school.

I am glad I kept them both at home with me until after their 3rd birthdays. It's been two very different experiences in so many ways. Strange how some days seemed to last an eternity and yet if feels like nearly 6 years have passed in a flash.

Luckily (I think?!) there is not much time to dwell on all of this as the school holidays begin in two days time.

Toby is three

2011-07-19T13:08:00.000+01:00

Our little blond haired boy celebrated his birthday at the start of the week. We had parties for family and friends over the weekend and a really relaxed day for his actual birthday. Swimming in the morning, a few presents in the afternoon after school/work was over followed by a little meal out.

Whilst Toby "two's" weren't really all that terrible I am rather glad he has turned three.

nature walk

2011-07-12T17:41:00.005+01:00

On Sunday we went for a short but very enjoyable nature walk. Well except for the last ten minutes. Toby decided to get a little too close to nature and got stung by some nettles.

Harriet was very keen to log all the things we saw so I carried a little notebook and pen and wrote it all down.

And then we went for an ice cream....

Poppies in the park

2011-07-09T12:59:00.000+01:00

A short trip to the park today. Everyone was a bit tired and grumbly but it was nice to get out as a family for a while. The weekends seem to have been very rushed recently with not much time for doing things outdoors.

Some poppies in the sensory garden...

Everyone learning about the garden....

Harriet doing her exercises. I am sure her legs were not long enough to do this on our last visit to the park.

"Sports" day

2011-07-04T13:18:00.000+01:00

Well it was more of a fun day for the school children. Non competitive games etc. Harriet had a great time and I felt like a proud Mum despite there being no prizes. I was just glad to see her there enjoying herself and making the most out if it.

Peep peep

2011-05-10T19:44:00.004+01:00

Harriet request a photo "with all my Thomas things" a couple of weeks ago. I confess not all of it is on this photo (the tent and dressing up outfit are somewhere in the attic) but most of it is there. There was a lot of Thomas the Easter holidays particularly as she wanted to wear her pyjama top during the daytime. She kept it on for around 3 days.

I am glad she still likes her engines.

Then (2010)
and now

A day out

2011-05-03T12:27:00.001+01:00

We ended our second double bank holiday with a day out to a nearby discovery centre followed by a visit to the minature trains.

It was a lovely day with just the right amounts of sun and activities.

The double bank holidays are over now. Well until next year anyway.

Royal wedding

2011-05-01T12:18:00.003+01:00

Like many people we weren't massively interested in the build up to the Royal Wedding. It just seemed like a good reason to have a day off. Well for most of us....Ed was on call and did spend some of the morning working.

Harriet had a prince/princess dress up day at school the day before the wedding so she was quite excited about the whole event. She was less excited when she realised the television coverage wasn't all glitter and fun (we ignored the protests to play games or watch a film on the tv instead). We made biscuits in topical initials

as well as our own initials

The children dressed up including Princess Toby.

I can only assume this photo will return to haunt him on his own wedding day.

It was a relaxed and fun morning.

Harriet and I went to the theatre in the afternoon which turned it into quite an eventful day.

First day of the hols

2011-04-11T12:55:00.003+01:00

I like to start the school holidays with a lazy day. I got the feeling that Harriet did not want to leave the house this morning either so it suited us both. Poor Toby does not get an opinion on this yet. Luckily he is easy going.

After a bit of playing, watching a film etc we made some rice crispy nest cakes. And then we ate them at our back garden picnic.

A perfect start to the holidays. Long may it continue.

Mothering Sunday

2011-04-04T12:46:00.003+01:00

It wasn't my best Mothering Sunday if truth be told. A rotten cold and preparing the house for its first viewing did not make for a relaxing day. We had a lovely walk in the morning around a local nature reserve. Harriet and Toby's excitement about the sighting of a bee and a butterfly made it all worthwhile.

In the afternoon Harriet and I made a cake and then we all had a go and icing it. Yes, I wrote "Mum" myself. Yes, I am a little sad at times.

I also had two lovely home made cards. Harriet's read "Happy Wother's Day". Another highlight of a rather hectic day.

The first of many

2011-03-19T17:41:00.004Z

Hooray for the sun finally shining at the weekend. Hooray for what will hopefully be the first of many sunny family trips out on a Saturday afternoon.

Today we stuck to one of our tried and tested haunts - quick drink in the pub then a walk to see the trains and a game of pooh sticks.

It was still cold in the shade but lovely in the sun. Everyone had a great time running around.

Beware! Man with chainsaw

2011-03-07T12:56:00.004Z

Ed put his new acquired chainsaw to the test at the weekend for the annual hedge trimming. He decided to get it done before the nesting season began this year. We found a blackbird nest half way through this process last year. My involvement in this activity is mainly to skulk indoors covering my eyes and hoping he neither falls off the ladder or chops off a limb. Thankfully it all went quite smoothly really although the garden is now looking like a forest of hedge remnants. All the more fun for Harriet who spent most of Sunday afternoon sitting in her nest. She is not pretending to be a bird. Oh no, that would be too straightforward. Instead she is baby "Wall-E" inspired by re-watching the film at the weekend.

Otherwise it's just a long, hard slog here as we continue house sale preparations. It's all a bit dull on the family fun front but hopefully we can catch up with that kind of thing in the summer.

Toby meets the sharks

2011-02-27T12:39:00.004Z

We took Toby on a little trip to the aquarium this weekend. Harriet was off to Grandma's for the night so we thought it would be a worthy distraction (we didn't want him to miss the girl too much). It took a while to queue to get in. Toby was entertained by his shark hat. It was worth the wait though.
That boy really likes fish. And whales, and sharks and rays and all the other things that live in the sea/ocean.

February half term

2011-02-24T16:55:00.008Z

School holidays are rather interesting periods of time for us. They present fresh challenges every time they occur. As each term ends it is time for us to find out how much everyone has changed during the 7 weeks of school routine. There often doesn't seem to be much opportunity to take stock of these things on a day to day basis.

The relationship between Harriet and Toby is always a little different. It's also interesting to watch the knowledge learnt during a term settle in Harriet's head. Over the course of this holiday she has taken much more interest in reading and writing.

This school holiday has been quite hard work really. There has been lots of fun and making stuff. Silly cakes, heart biscuits, soft play, playground trips.

We did hit a bit of a wall in the middle though. After several days of rain ,the cabin fever started to set in. Also Harriet showed no interest in a lot of our usual holiday haunts - library, museum, craft shop. She is growing up and needs more interesting activities from her non school days thank you very much. She has even used the phrase "but it's booorrrrrinnng" on more than one occasion.

After a long Internet search I did manage to plan a day out which I hoped would please everyone. And it did. Which made a nice change.

And finally it has been a half term of fairy activities inspired by dusting off the Tinkerbell DVD. Harriet has watched it several times and currently has a "fairy house" den in her room. Just an old duvet cover spread over a pop up tent but it's a fairy house to her.

busy busy busy

2011-02-14T14:36:00.003Z

Weekends seem to be a mad sprint of swimming lessons, cleaning, house sorting and food shopping these days. Trying to get as much done before the week begins again. We did have manage to make time for some other activities this weekend though.

Toby got a trip to the park whilst Harriet was at her swimming lesson.

On Sunday we decided a break from the house routines would do us all good so we drove to a nearby town to visit their museum. I ended up with a pan on my head.

It was part of an exhibition to recreate some art work.

The kiddies had fun playing with the rest of the "installation".

On the way home we stopped for an ice cream. Ed and I both managed to drink a hot cup of tea at the same time which was something of a novelty!

And so to bed

2011-02-08T12:17:00.007Z

We moved Toby from cot to bed at the weekend. It was a project with a big build up as we decided it was time the boy had his own little corner of the house rather than just somewhere to sleep.

The plan was to get everything in place and thus cause huge excitement for the boy as his new sleeping and playing area were revealed. Of course the reality was that we came home on Friday afternoon to find his cot half dismantled and Ed hunting the house for the missing screws. Naturally a trip to the DIY shop followed and then two hours of getting it all sorted.

To be honest it worked better that way as I think Toby felt involved in the process. He even "helped" to put his bed together and he didn't seem at all traumatised by seeing his previous sleeping apparatus in pieces. Phew.

I won't deny that it felt a little odd to be doing all of this in our room. We would quite like our room back at some point. But the boy still does not sleep well all the time so he still isn't ready to share with Harriet.

Before...

Apparently the many "orbs" on the photo were caused by a very dusty lampshade being knocked off during the cot dismantling process.

During....

After....

Lace ups

2011-02-04T12:41:00.003Z

Well I started the rather pointless new shoe photo taking years ago and now I just have to continue.

So here are Toby's newest shoes.....

It was the first time in five years that I wasn't completely horrified by the thought of opting for lace ups rather than velcro. So lazy.

2011 - pledge and purge

2011-02-02T11:38:00.010Z

Following the toy/possessions explosion of Christmas and Harriet's birthday, it was time to reflect. We really have too much of everything. Lots of toys, books, cuddly toys, craft sets yet to be used etc etc. Also we have two children who are very inventive in their play and don't really do toys in a very conventional way. I don't know if I am describing all children there?!

So, in January I made a pledge not to buy any new toys for them in 2011. This includes birthdays and Christmas. Anything purchased for play must be second hand. I hope that does not make me sound like a mean Mummy. It's a combination of things really - small house, fear of being sucked too far into consumerism as well of the financial implications of course. New craft materials are allowed.

This got me thinking about the other things we own. I have rather a large stash of wool these days. Again I am often drawn in by auction site/craft shop bargains and the need to buy more and more. So my craft pledge for 2011 is to bust the stash and do more charity knitting.

And finally, books. I am now reading electronically where possible so many of our books have been sold on. I am not one for re-reading so it seemed a bit pointless to either keep or acquire more paperback fiction. Knitting and sewing books are naturally exempt from this.

And on the purge front, our need to de-clutter continues. Things are leaving the house at an alarming rate. Again, a combination of preparing the house for sale and the realisation that we just have too much stuff. It was just starting to get us down.

Pockets of space are now starting to appear around the house and I would even describe some rooms as being tidy at certain times of the day!

And just because I need to add a photo in every post.....here is a game of skittle invented by Harriet using squeaky eggs and marbles. Her ability to have fun with some old toys re-assured me that I wasn't depriving them of anything in my attempt to limit our possessions.

The month of January

2011-01-31T11:38:00.000Z

Oh dear. Total failure to blog in January.

I can forgive myself a little as three members of the household (including myself) had flu. It has taken me three weeks to get over it.

Also, my blogging momentum seems to slow as soon as Harriet returns to school. I suppose life just becomes more routine and there are less things to take photos of.

The new term has gone well despite illness. Harriet is more settled at school and her confidence is growing. She started swimming lessons in January which she loves.

And finally, we made it down to the park on a bright day last week. Toby was happy to resume his usual duties of pigeon chasing, duck feeding and biscuit eating.

It's that time again.

2011-01-01T16:00:00.003Z

New Year's Day 2011.

And my rather dull resolutions for this year are....

1. Start swimming again
2. Learn to use my sewing machine (properly this time)

And my less than dull resolution

1. Move house. Although we did resolve to do this quite a long time ago.

I do prefer to make resolutions on more of a regular basis than once a year but I don't think there is anything wrong with an annual assessment of one's objectives either.

Meanwhile we had an excellent end to 2010 with friends, food and games. I feel quite refreshed today despite the late night and I am almost ready to face a return to the day to day life and the new term.

Big presents

2010-12-28T20:49:00.004Z

We made an attempt to avoid total consumerism this Christmas (lots of second hand or charity shop bought presents etc) but there was much fun involving a large amount of presents and some very big boxes. The bigger items did help towards the excitement of Christmas Day.

Harriet's presents were delivered to her room as requested and then brought downstairs for opening. The rest were hidden in the hall under a blanket until both children were alert enough to rip off the wrappings.

It was actually quite a relaxed affair although Harriet did get carried away and start opening anything in her path. Unfortunately she was stopped in her tracks by a paper cut, poor kid.

This is them opening the Dino track

And this is the assembled Dino track....minus any photos of me snapping together 212 individual pieces of track.

Fresh air!!!!

2010-12-28T12:24:00.005Z

We got out of the house and down to the woods today. The thaw is here and with two parents on duty it seemed worth risking exposing the children to the elements. Usually ten minutes of cold is enough to send someone reeling into a tantrum about cold hands, feet, face etc.

The gardens and tea room were shut

despite their tantalizing sign.

The big old tree was most definitely open though. We all enjoyed seeing it again. Many happy memories of the summer.

My dough recipe

2010-12-23T09:56:00.008Z

I am storing this here due to the fact that I have to work the recipe out every time I make it. I am sure I write it down.....but in a different place each time.

This makes quite a soft dough which is also pretty stretchy. I expect this due to the reduced salt content. Shouldn't everything be reduced salt these days?! Most dough recipes seem to use half a cup of salt but personally I find that a little harsh on the hands when moulding it. I also use baby oil as it smells nicer than when using a cooking oil.

1 cup of water
1 cup of plain flour
1 tablespoon baby oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
quarter cup of salt
food colouring and glitter.

1. Mix dry ingredients
2. Add wet ingredients.
3. Mix until gloopy
4. Heat until dough comes together.
5. Remove from heat, kneed and leave until cool.

Today we made festive red and white play dough. Sparkly of course.

It was very successful. Harriet enjoyed mixing the colours together and Toby enjoyed playing with the snowmen I made for him.....

Harriet also enjoyed a blob of the stuff on the end of her nose whilst I sang "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" to her.

Winter solstice

2010-12-21T16:41:00.004Z

Can't say I have ever paid much attention to Winter solstice but this year I am more than happy to celebrate the middle of winter. It's a relief to know we are now going up the other side of the mountain towards the spring.

I don't know why I have found the winter more hard work this year. Maybe it's the cold snaps. Maybe it's the change in routine with Harriet now at school. The kiddies are growing and we do feel cooped up a bit in our little house these days. They have boundless energy but no real space here to run it off.

And whilst I write this, they are quite happily playing in "dark world" which basically involves turning the lights off in the front room and running around with a couple of torches. I am glad they are not seasonally affected too!

Snow fun

2010-12-20T12:34:00.005Z

We have snow again but just a small amount. So we have lots of ice and inconvenience and no snowmen. Boooo. Still, we ventured out into the back garden for a while this morning.

Harriet pretended to be a penguin, Toby enjoyed trotting around (he was probably pretending to be a whale) and I took a variety of pointless photos to keep my hands entertained.....

and some not so pointless ones of them playing in the snow...

and some frozen cobwebs.

Hoorah, it's now the school holidays and I suddenly feel the urge to pick up the camera more. I guess we will do more in the holidays with having Harriet back at home full time. We made a snowy scene and made some sticker pictures.

Generally there seems to be a need for relaxation at home which suits me just fine.

Feeling festive

2010-12-19T11:37:00.007Z

Finally, we finished our festive decorations. There are now paper chains, three nativities, cards displayed and the tree is fully decorated. I finished what Ed has named the knitivity.....

I am quite pleased with my hand made decorations this year. I started early enough for a change and enjoyed getting back to a little sewing and messing around with felt.

Here is Sammy the Seahorse doing tricks on a pom pom snowball. Anything that dangles from the walls or ceiling to child height is a big hit in this house.

We had a little snow yesterday which helped with the festive mood (aided by opening the Christmas music folder on the pc).

I have now done the big shop too so we are stocked up on alcohol and food of course.

And now it's the school holidays too. The second proper term for Harriet was hard work. The girl dealt with it all so well but then she is a clever little five year old. I found the routine of it all a little tiring and I missed her more than I expected too.

simple things

2010-11-24T17:04:00.004Z

After school fun making rubber band instruments (the postman drops rubber bands in the street all the time. Harriet made it her mission to pick them up on the way home today).

Toby played with the shape sorter. It's his favourite thing this week.

Harriet made one of her "concotions" in the kitchen. Finally she has stopped asking us to try some. It is not in the best interests of health to eat something that includes butter, rice crispies, salt and milk.
I tried and failed to get a photo of them together to send out with Christmas cards.

It's good to get back to a few basic activities once in a while.

D I Why?!

2010-11-20T09:32:00.004Z

Why do we do this to ourselves??? Oh yes, we bought a house in need of re-decoration nearly 7 years ago and we are still trying to finish it.

Finally we resorted to throwing a week's annual leave at the problem. So Ed has been at home doing the work whilst I take Toby out to our usual toddler activities plus some extra trips to the library.

It's gone very well really but one does forget the stresses and strains of decorating. Especially as we are focusing on a much used thoroughfare of the house.

We welcomed help from the younger members of the family.....

Personally I barely lifted a paint brush but I did take some photos and make the tea so I feel I contributed something!

Halloween

2010-11-01T17:18:00.000Z

We don't usually make much of Halloween. In previous years, we were worried it might be a little scary for Harriet and it is an odd thing to celebrate in some ways. This year, however, we made up for lost time by throwing a little party. It started out as the offer to host some pumpkin carving and ended up with around 20 adults and childen squeezed into our little house bobbing for apples and trying to catch doughnuts dangling from string. It was great fun and I have already hoovered up the supermarket bargains of reduced Halloween "tat" for next year. We are now converted Halloweeners.

Ed and I go head to head in the apple bobbing

Not so scary knitted spider. Made by me followind Ed's challenge "I bet you can't make a spider to dangle in the hall in time for the party....."

Toby has some parental assistance with doughnut dangling.

A parade of pumpkins.

Half term = lots of making stuff

2010-10-31T11:28:00.009Z

Hooray, we made it to the half term holiday. We spent a lovely Monday morning hanging around the house and not having to march up the road at 8.45am. I started the week's activities with play dough making. I didn't realise at the time that this would turn into a week of making lots of things in the kitchen.

We made sparkly pink dough which I have been promising Harriet for a long time now.

Monday was sunny so the obvious choice for an afternoon outing was the local park. Harriet was interested in how long the shadows were which I explained rather basically.

On Tuesday we went to visit friends and made more sparkly pink stuff in the kitchen. Harriet learnt how to crack an egg without any disasters. There was chocolate cake hiding under the icing.

On Wednesday we went to feed the ducks and also had a rather stressful supermarket shop. We ended up coming home with a Thomas packet cake mix and a gingerbread packet mix too. To be honest I am a baking snob and have never visited the aisle of ready made cake mixes. I am now completely converted and think they are the best thing ever. Well, maybe in the world of children's baking. It was the perfect activity for Harriet as she could do pretty much all of it with only a little help (hot oven etc)

Ed had the day off on Thursday so we had a day trip to the RAF museum at Hendon. We all had a great time and only a small amount of stress when Harriet left her beloved Sammy the Seahorse sitting in a cockpit. Luckily we found him straight away or else it would have been a day trip to Bournemouth for a new one.

We were all tired on Friday morning so it was more time at home and baking. This time Gingerbread.

We also had some Halloween crafting ready for our party on Sunday.

In the afternoon we went to one of Harriet's friend's 5th birthday party. It was Halloween themed and lots of fun.

The school hols have been great but a little tiring. Harriet has changed quite a lot since the summer holidays. That's what starting school does for you I guess. It's been hard to constantly meet her demands......mostly centred on the next thing going into her stomach but rewarding to spend more time with her again.

Toby seems to have enjoyed his Harriet time too and they have only had a few "bickering" moments.

peace and rocks

2010-10-24T13:28:00.000+01:00

A visit to the Peace Pagoda and the stone circle. A good choice for a chilly autumnal day.

We started off with exploring the Peace Pagoda. We got Harriet to crawl across the top of the steps to re-create on of our favourite photos of her doing the same aged 10 months.

Next it was time to re-fuel with custard creams, tea and milk for the younger generation.

And yes, Ed is drinking a cup of tea out of a tomee tippee cup. I think he was just grateful for a hot drink.

Finally we spent quite some time (it was getting cold and dark by the time we left) at the stone circle. In the centre of the circle was an old fire and what appeared to be a fresh stalk of broccoli. Odd.

The only other excitement of the weekend was a new pair of shoes for Harriet. At least she got a chance to try them out/scuff them!

Sunday outing

2010-10-19T14:36:00.005+01:00

A crisp (okay, rather cold) autumnal day for a trip out. We visited a playground and a hall, we made dragonflies and saw lots of stuffed animals and birds. And then we found another playground. And then we visited a well down fast food "restaurant" for tea. Sometimes those golden arches are exactally what you need to see on a long trek home. We returned home somewhat later than planned and rather tired but it was a good afternoon exploring.

Sand and slides

2010-10-15T17:46:00.009+01:00

Harriet is almost at the end of her part time hours for school. Unfortunately the longer school day will curtail afternoon trips out so we are making the most of it this week. On Tuesday we went to one of our favourite country park playgrounds. Harriet and Toby played together for quite a while in the sand.....

It was long enough for me to reflect on their changing play as they get older. There is definitely a reduction of charging off in different directions and more playing together or at least along side each other. It's nice to step back and just watch them play rather than being a constant marshal shouting "be careful" every five minutes.

I did have to ask Harriet to come down from a climbing frame today though. I try to let her have the freedom to set realise and set her own limits but being 10 foot off the ground in the middle of a field didn't seem a great plan.

I let her go on the zip wire instead.

And the enormous slide.
The hats have come out this week too. New hand knitted one with ear flaps.

puddles and conkers

2010-10-13T19:02:00.007+01:00

A visit to the minature trains at the end of a very rainy day....

We had lots of rides on the trains and some unexpected conkering opportunities. And Toby had a pair of very soggy socks by the time we got back to the car.

A walk to the tree tops

2010-10-02T18:16:00.007+01:00

It's a long time since we visited the forest. It must be over a year since we took them both. I have been avoiding it really as I was worried Harriet would grumble about walking (it's not suitable for scooters). Luckily she was distracted from this by lots of puddles. Both kiddies had a great time splahsing around.

It's been a busy but rewarding day. Harriet had her first cinema experience this morning whilst I took Toby to the library which is good fun these days with just the boy.

exploring

2010-09-27T16:12:00.005+01:00

A rainy Sunday afternoon spent exploring the museum and castle area at Bedford. None of us had been there before so it was fun to find something new to do on an otherwise dreary afternoon. Harriet and Toby had a great time running around on this mosaic in the drizzle. We came home with more conkers too.

Conkers!

2010-09-15T16:43:00.016+01:00

After a couple of windy days, it's time for autumnal foraging. The kiddies got the idea pretty quickly and we returned home with a large bag of conkers. They are mostly smallish but I was still pleased with out findings.

Harriet was also pleased with her huge branch

First day at school

2010-09-15T16:43:00.015+01:00

Harriet's first day at school was quite an exciting event in the end. She had a great time getting ready and couldn't wait to get started. The uniform went on early for the photo session.

Poor Toby took some consoling on the first day which distracted me from feeling so lost without her. That came later in the day! The boy was very confused about the new routine. I can't say I blame him really.

Harriet is fine with the whole thing which is the most important part really. Long may it continue.

Last day of the holidays

2010-09-15T16:42:00.003+01:00

The end of our seven week holidays. So it was off to soft play with lots of fun both inside and out.

I tried not to feel a sad about the end of our holidays and the start of school but it wasn't easy.

school hols week 7 - the final one

2010-09-09T17:29:00.007+01:00

Monday

am - stayed in for home visit from Harriet's school teacher's
pm - sheltered under the big tree in the rain.

Tuesday

am - went to the park and learnt the importance of taking spare trousers for Toby as well as Wellies for both.

pm - museum trip. Toby finally realised his dream of walking around part of the museum wearing red, patent high heeled shoes.

Wednesday
am - visited the craft shop, disturbed by amount of seasonal products on display and yet felt strangely overcome by a warm feeling of festivity.

pm - soft play in the afternoon. Minimal success in getting Toby to play independently. Lots of climbing on play equipment for everyone instead.

Thursday - laid low whilst I had a cold. Trip to the library and playground and lamented the end of peaceful pre-school trips with Harriet in tow.

Well, it wasn't quite the end of hols week that I would have liked. Lack of sleep and colds for me and Toby put paid to the exciting day trips mentally planned at the beginning of the hols. It was a week to reflect though. I am trying to get my thoughts in order ready for Harriet starting school. The main objective is for me to avoid tears on Tuesday which might in turn upset Harriet. I still feel conflicted as to whether formal education is the right path. I am assuming that is mainly because I enjoy being at home with Harriet so much. It's a hard bond to break after nearly 5 years of togetherness. Of course, when I stop feeling so melodramatic I remember that the school day isn't that long and the holidays are frequent. But all the same, there will be one watery eyed Mum doing the school run for the first time on Tuesday morning.

school hols week 6

2010-09-06T12:54:00.009+01:00

We were all back on form this week. Both kiddies finally recovered from the pox although Toby still has some irritable tendencies.We started the week with a bank holiday. Ed spent the morning working from home though. In the afternoon we went over to see friends with their new baby.

On Tuesday the weather was great. Sunny and warm. So we spent the day outside at various parks. Harriet was in a fun mood.....Toby stumbled and grumbled around a bit really. Tis the way of the boy at the moment.
Wednesday morning was spent at a friends house catching up with the post natal group I joined when Harriet was just 7 weeks old. And now all those babies are about to start school.

The lovely weather continued throughout the week so there was lots of back garden play. I also did something resembling gardening. Our garden has been pretty much neglected this year due to unwillingness to engage in the fight against cat poo. We have found it's easy to keep it low maintenance in that respect. I dug out a couple of pots and covered them over for the time being in the hope that I might plant something exciting at some point.

And also some catching up on chores - trip to the dentist and the shoe shop. School shoes for Harriet!
And now we are on to week 7 - the final week! The weather has gone a bit rubbish so I am currently planning a quiet week of pottering and getting ready for a week on Tuesday when Harriet starts school. Eeek.

Knitting nemo

2010-08-27T13:04:00.002+01:00

That's right, I knitted a fish.....

week 5 - the quiet one

2010-08-27T12:34:00.004+01:00

Harriet spent half the week at Grandma's whilst we spent the time nursing Toby back to health. I did at least get the opportunity to improve my fitness as Toby seemed to particularly enjoy long buggy rides. He managed to emerge from the buggy on Wednesday for a brief run around the bandstand.

Harriet was home by Thursday but it rained all day. We managed to make it to the school uniform for £50 worth of stuff. And that was the bare minimum!

Our first, proper, post pox trip out was on Friday morning to the park. Toby was exhausted after an hour of chasing pigeons.
It's good to be slowly returning to normal. But crikey that boy needs his fringe cutting....

school hols week 4

2010-08-22T18:44:00.014+01:00

Monday - Music class in the morning, Country park (sand and water play) in the afternoon
Tuesday - soft play and Country park (got rained on.....a lot)
Wednesday - Toby got the pox. Fed the ducks. It rained
Thursday - Ed off work. Visit to castle ruins
Friday - Ed off work. Caught up with household stuff in the morning, walk in the woods (including rain) in the afternoon.
Saturday - Lazy time and visit to the big tree
Sunday - deer park and ruins

A busy week despite weather and child illness working against us. We got a major soaking at the end of our visit to the country park on Tuesday. I should have heeded the warning of the skies....
The kiddies had fun before the rain came though.Ed had a couple of days off at the end of the week. They were intended to be used to "break up" the school holidays a little. Toby developing chicken pox meant I was very grateful of the extra help. Toby was okay with the pox for the first two days but the spots went crazy on the third day.
Still, we were lucky to be about to get out a little. It was actually quite easy to avoid Toby having any contact with anyone. Turns out heritage sites are pretty quiet even in the school holidays.

The deer park was very busy though so we kept him mostly confined to his buggy. He was quite happy with this outcome.
We dropped Harriet off with the Grandparents on Sunday afternoon to give us all some time to recover! Poor Toby is still covered in spots. Looks like chicken pox has pretty much taken up a month of our lives but as they say "at least it's out of the way now". Hopefully.

school hols week 3

2010-08-19T19:30:00.010+01:00

End of week 2, beginning of week 3 - weekend away with the pox kid. Oh, and sick husband. It wasn't a great start to our weekend away but we ended up enjoying the weekend.
There was much playing with newly purchased toys whilst confined to our accommodation. We tend not to throw money at problems to solve them but a little retail therapy did help to soothe the pox ridden Harriet.
Thankfully her spots had cleared up enough by Sunday to meet Rupert bear.
Rupert leaves the building.
The rest of week 3 got swallowed up by holiday/pox recovery. I think we went out a few times but I think it also rained a lot so our trips weren't very exciting.

We made it to the transport museum at the weekend though. And Toby's last tooth began to emerge from his suffering gums. We now have the sparkling wine in the fridge. Waiting for a good time to celebrate properly.

Sparkle the cat

2010-08-05T12:54:00.002+01:00

During a trip to the supermarket last week I ended up with a 98p set of face paints in my trolley. When we got home we tried some basic face painting. Obviously my talents do no yet stretch to transforming children's faces into works of art. Harriet was happy though and spent the afternoon (and most of the following day) calling herself Sparkle.

school hols - week 2

2010-08-05T12:14:00.006+01:00

Monday am - Music class - pm - Ed finished work early so looked after the kiddies whilst I walked to town.

Tuesday am - played at a friend's house - pm - 1st birthday party for a friend

Wednesday am - visited museum, Harriet got chicken pox - pm - visit to favourite tree

Thursday am - visit to favourite tree and picnic......Thankfully the favourite tree resides in secluded but not too isolated spot. It is therefore possible to exercise a pox ridden child without the fear of spreading it to others and without compromising safety. A valuable place to visit especially with it being the school holidays.
Toby enjoys the tree too. Especially if there is a picnic, bubbles and running around games too. It's really Harriet's place at the moment though.

School holidays - week 1

2010-07-30T12:41:00.008+01:00

A round up of our week....

Monday - am - library and shopping for lunch
Monday - pm - local playground
Tuesday - am - Country park
Tuesday - pm - Made cakes, Fed the ducks

Wednesday - am - Friends over to play
Wednesday - pm - Local park
Thursday - am - Walled gardens, woods
Thursday - pm - Museum and park

Friday - am - Walled gardens and woods again - the lure of the big tree!
Friday - pm - Craft time at home.
Well that was our first, busy week of the holidays. Lots of going out, dodging showers and enjoying a break from our usual routines. I tried to strike a balance of activities and a bit of lazy time but we ended up going out a lot due to a restless Harriet.

The camera stayed at home until today. I have had my blog head switched off for a while but I should really switch it back on to record our summer hols. It feels like an important one. The last one before the start of school.

Harriet had a great time yesterday and today climbing this enormous tree.....

I took my flask as well as a picnic so I had a good time too. Mmmm, I should point out that it was a flask of water and not brandy!

Birthday fishes

2010-07-30T12:39:00.007+01:00

Toby's second birthday didn't go exactly to plan. The boy was poorly and had been for the previous week. The build up to both birthday and illness involved tantrums. Lots of tantrums. To the point that I had to go a bit Supernanny on him for a few days. Of course there wasn't much consistent sleeping going on either. Oh, and a molar was breaking through too.
Anyway, that aside, there were some nice bits. I was particularly proud of my fish cake which I insisted on making - mainly to cheer myself up!

Luckily Toby managed the odd smile whilst opening his presents. We now have an excellent collection of dinosaurs.
We then spent the afternoon at the park having a Teddy Bear's Picnic with friends. Unfortunately there was not much we could do to cheer the poor birthday boy up on this occasion.

The middle picture is Toby and his new favourite whale. It had to be removed from his grasp several hours later after it was used to club Harriet over the head.

* Photo's all taken from Ed's collection. I was too fatigued to bother holding up a camera!

Summer holiday featuring actual sun

2010-07-04T17:28:00.006+01:00

That's right. We went away in the UK in June and got sunny weather every day and no (NO) rain. We could hardly believe our luck for our last pre-school holiday. We went away last June and I remember sleeping in my fleece and dressing gown (the duvet and chalet walls were paper thin though).
We had a lovely week re-visiting the south coast only 9 months after our previous holiday there. It was a week of playing in the beach, hanging out at the holiday camp and drinking a pint whilst watching the kiddies playing on the dance floor. We ventured out a few times to visit the Aquarium, a castle and aviation museum but otherwise it was just nice to enjoy the good weather.
I am not sure if we will take Harriet out of school to go on holiday yet. It's too early to say and it depends how busy/expensive holidays become. It certainly was good to enjoy the pace of pre-school life one last time.

the nest, the fair,the park

2010-06-06T18:26:00.005+01:00

A very busy weekend.

We continued to clear out old junk from the attic. Ed started his annual hedge pruning and found a nest.
We took a break from domestic chores to visit the fair which we charged around in about 20 minutes (managed 3 rides and spent £5 in that time though!)

And also the park for the start of bandstand season. We were only there for 45 minutes (rain interrupted Sunday's fun) but it was enough time to kick a ball around, share a bottle of cheap lambrusco and eat some home made cake.
We also had a couple of barbecues too. The weather was good, we were short on time and I didn't want to be standing around in the kitchen for too long so outdoors cooking was ideal. It also sparked memories of camping and hopes that we will be doing it again soon. Helped along by me collecting two children's sleeping bags from freecycle. Just got to get the tents aired now. And sort out the cooking stuff, chairs, torches, roll mats etc etc...hmmmm, maybe it will be a while yet....

4 years in the making

2010-06-02T13:56:00.008+01:00

Another morning spent at home waiting for a parcel to be delivered.

Whilst the kiddies played nicely together I felt suddenly inspired to make play dough. I have been intending to make my own play dough since Harriet was in her first year. The cream of tartare I bought to make it went out of date in 2008. I guess things just got in the way and a commercial tub of the stuff costs less than a £1 to purchase.
Anyway, I set to work and the dough was ready 10 minutes later. Next time I will get the kiddies to help but I was expecting disaster for my first attempt. Apparently using self raising flour and a blob of acrylic paint (instead of food colouring) makes no great difference to the outcome.

The dough was played with for a full 20 minutes. Obviously longer would have been better but it was fun all the same.
This afternoon Harriet and I have been colouring in mandala pictures. I think I enjoyed it more than Harriet. Very therapeutic. Guess which one is mine....
Anyway, the parcel has arrived now so it's off to the park for us later. I feel our temporary incarceration has been useful though. It's made me think a little more about how we spend our time at home.

More cake

2010-06-01T17:23:00.004+01:00

After a busy weekend (further birthday celebrations, attic clear out) we have been stuck in the house today. It's been raining all day and we have been waiting in for a parcel delivery which never appeared.

Things started getting a little blurry around the edges around 4pm. Too much tv etc so we made chocolate cake together. It was good fun and not even that messy.

Toby continues to mostly sleep through the night. It's such a relief. A few months ago the thought of making cake with the kiddies would have been too much for my tired brain. Long may it continue.

Harriet's tactile picture

2010-06-01T17:19:00.002+01:00

I can't keep all of Harriet's artwork so the blog is a good way to preserve it for my own reference in years to come.

Here is her tactile picture. She used things collected at the park and then talked through there different experiences of touch involved. She is quite an educator these days.

The blue band of sky brought back many memories of my own childhood pictures.

Happy birthday to me

2010-05-30T14:32:00.004+01:00

I celebrated my 39th birthday last week. (39....ouch). I can't say I celebrated in a very mature way, well it was a "work" day. There was lots of cake and the return of my favourite 1970's dessert...
Obviously it wasn't a patch on its former glory.

It was a lazy day. Music with Toby in the morning and a trip to the craft shop in the afternoon. I even had a shop bought cake (which we all enjoyed nevertheless)

We ended the day by making bunting.

Bottle tops

2010-05-21T18:55:00.009+01:00

This is our bottle opener. It is positioned above the peg bag by the sink.

This is the peg bag where the bottle tops fall immediately after a bottle is opened (although sometimes they clatter into the sink instead).We haven't been hanging much washing out in 2010 so the bottle tops have been building up in the peg bag.

I finally got some washing outside today. I left the peg bag in the garden and naturally the kiddies were immediately drawn to something new.
The bottle tops were promptly removed and have been played with all day. I am told they are currently coins.
I have decided to ignore the safety aspects of the ridged edges for the time being although I should really get rid of them tonight before anyone hurts themselves. Or maybe I will leave them until tomorrow when they will inevitably tire of the whole thing anyway.

Harriet has also been making strange concoctions of water, weeds and grass. It's pretty grim but I can remember doing the same as a child so I am trying to remember the fun bits and not my adult need to tidy up.

The great outdoors

2010-05-19T19:47:00.003+01:00

Ahhh, the cure for post holiday, over tired, grumpy Mum (and kids actually.....they are still recovering too).

I am so grateful for the good, dry weather and the chance to escape to a variety of parks and playgrounds instead of the indoor activities of the winter.

I still felt a little on the irritable side as I constantly had to keep an eye on where each child was. Hard work when they both head in opposite directions most of the time. There was also some hefty negotiation and the threat of tears to get Harriet to return to the car but who can blame her??? It was a good playground after all.

Group holiday

2010-05-19T19:19:00.007+01:00

We spent last weekend on holiday celebrating our friend's 40th Birthday. She is the first of our group to turn 40. We hired three cottages which turned out to be quite good fun. The cottages had a good area for children to play as well as being in a very peaceful location.
We also managed a little walk by the river, two BBQ's and a trip to the Aquarium on the way home. I also succeeded in drinking all of the alcohol I took with me and three extra bottles of wine. Needless to say I am now in the realms of detox.

Easter holidays

2010-04-23T13:20:00.008+01:00

Harriet went back to pre-school on Wednesday. It was the end of our school holidays. They were very enjoyable and so different to the school holidays of 2009. Last year's holidays used to feel like extreme parental endurance tests. Struggling to find things to entertain both of the kiddies. The age difference seemed much bigger. Of course we had school holiday business to contend with too. Things are much easier now. Toby very rarely uses the buggy so both children are free to chase each other around. They just need some space and preferably some good weather.
We spent a lot of time at various playgrounds over the holidays. From wearing mittens and hats to being outside without a coat. The weather was very mixed in temperature but mostly dry.

We had one good trip to the museum and one not so good trip to the museum. I am wondering if it's starting to lose its appeal. I think we will take a break from it for a while. Toby enjoyed wearing glittery shoes though.We had a lengthy trip for new shoes. 1.5 hours to get two pairs of shoes that fit properly. The shoe shop has toys and good quality shoes which is the main thing.
The best part of the holiday was watching the relationship between these two develop. They got on very well and there were hardly any cross words. It's still impossible to get a photo of them smiling at the same time though.We received Harriet's school allocation letter on Wednesday. She got her first choice of school so will be off into the world of full time education in September. I hope Toby and I don't miss her too much.

Early

2010-04-23T10:28:00.012+01:00

After dropping Harriet off at pre-school, Toby and I went for a walk. Okay, so it wasn't exactly early. It was 9.30am but it felt early. The weather was beautiful. Warm, sunny and still. The birds were singing and all was right with the world for a while.

Toby is embracing early too. He is thankfully sleeping better at night but he's waking up any time between 5.30-6.30am. Sometimes he goes back to sleep and sometimes he doesn't. It could be something to do with the molar trying to emerge from his gums or it could just be there way things are. As per usual......only time will tell.....

Photos from our walk....

Scooter love

2010-04-23T10:24:00.004+01:00

Harriet had a scooter for Christmas. Alas it hasn't really been out of the house much due to her lack of confidence, circumstance, weather. On Wednesday she took it to the walled garden and had a lot of scooter fun. Races with other child scooter owners, make belief worlds, combating rocky terrain and even letting her little brother have a go. Sometimes.

I hadn't realised the speed she could gather on a slope. It's definitely time to invest in a helmet and a packet of plasters for the inevitable scrapes.

Easter Celebrations

2010-04-11T19:51:00.015+01:00

Eek, it's taken over a week to even start a post on Easter weekend. I don't remember feeling like we were that busy but looking back we did quite a lot.

Harriet had her Easter celebration at nursery complete with this years Easter bonnet.
I made lots of knitted eggs with chocolate eggs inside. These were hidden on Easter Sunday and repeatedly hidden again throughout the day.

Harriet and I made a little Easter garden.

We visited the shopping centre on a rainy Good Friday. They had created a village square complete with picket fence, fairground rides with extortionate ticket prices.We went on other egg hunts at the museum and outdoors. We also visited the playground on Easter Sunday. It was a little chilly so we didn't stay long.

On Easter Sunday night, Toby slept through for the first time. From 8pm-6am. This followed 10 days of Ed not feeding him milk in the night anymore.

Harriet's slide

2010-03-23T12:26:00.002Z

It would seem that there is something to be said for allowing children free access to computers. Harriet has her own computer out at the weekend. She enjoys a few games and a bit of painting. In the week, our main computer is pretty much on constantly during the day. Harriet hops into the chair whenever it's free. She only stays there a few minutes at a time and I can't really see what harm it's doing to her. She is a child who can self regulate. Well, so far anyway.

Here is her drawing of a slide. Inspired by an earlier trip to the park.

In search of spring

2010-03-15T16:18:00.008Z

Sometimes, a 20 minute walk outside is enough to revive my tired mind and give the kiddies some exercise. It was a fair old blustery day today so I thought the walled garden would be a good idea. It was, well apart from some pressure from Harriet to visit the tea room. Next time maybe.
I was on the look out for greenery but it seems to be a little too early still. The weather still has a chilly edge to it. Mainly the wind but at least there was some sun around today.

Good fun although we now all have runny noses.

Mothering Sunday

2010-03-14T22:35:00.004Z

Mother's Day was a classy affair in our household. I received a homemade card, several bottles of cider plus the kiddies brought two daffodils back from church.

Alas, I didn't really have anything to put them in except for a ketchup bottle.
We had a family roast at lunchtime. Well, sort of family. Toby was asleep and Harriet only joins us for a yorkshire pudding and the chocolate Swiss roll.
In the afternoon we had a trip out to a well known furniture and home store. Toby was a little prone to tantrums but despite the trials and tears I am still glad to be there Mum. Especially on Mother's Day.

Do not bend

2010-03-14T11:08:00.003Z

A sticker placed by Harriet with the instructions "so you know not to bend the phone". Very useful. Thanks.

a week of cuddles

2010-03-12T16:33:00.008Z

It was also a week of one horrible tummy bug for Toby. No-one else has it.....yet. Poor boy did suffer. As did the washing machine.

It pretty much trashed the week in terms of getting anything done. I managed to get Harriet to nursery but otherwise we spent the week cuddling poorly boy, watching tv (a lot of tv) and not getting out much. Still, it's been pretty chilly all week still and rainy so running around outside is still off the menu.

I was very grateful for our netbook and also for knitting. This was my viewpoint often seen from my seat cuddling Toby on the sofa.

This photo taken just before Toby got poorly does cheer me up though.

Harriet and Toby are wearing their hats after Harriet declared it to be "silly hat day".

our fun visit to the library

2010-03-12T16:33:00.005Z

Wasn't fun actually and went something like this....

3pm - decide afternoon lethargy is setting in and a trip to the library would be a good idea.

3.20pm - 3.40pm - slow but short journey to library through Friday afternoon traffic. Most pleasurable part of the trip actually.

3.45pm - Arrive at library with Harriet in tears. Apparently unable to see.

3.46pm - Establish Harriet has poked herself in the eye.

3.47pm - Toby trips up entering the lift and bursts into tears. Harriet trips over him and lands in a heap. Cue further tears. I break down into hysterical laughter.

3.48pm - Sit outside library calming down. Try to use the toilets but they are locked and "someone" already has the key.

3.50pm-4pm - 10 minutes of reading books, playing on computers and crawling through the book shelf tunnel.

4.01pm - Realise Toby has had a poo. Can't face trying to locate toilet key again so announce we are going home.

4.02pm - Harriet in tears again. This is a spectator sport to other library users.

4.03pm - Scowl at library users for being nosey, take books out and return to car.

4.30pm - Return home, change Toby's bum, put feature film on for the kiddies and hide in the back room writing pointless posts on the more testing side of day to day parenting.

New cardigan

2010-03-02T17:42:00.003Z

A new Mum knit for the girl. She particularly likes the sparkly buttons.

Swinging into spring

2010-03-02T17:23:00.004Z

Today we had our first trip to our most local park. It was still a bit muddy but we managed to have fun. The weather was sunny, milder and there was no biting wind so it seemed wrong to sit inside all afternoon.

The logistics of two fully mobile children in a large playground were a little more challenging than last year. I have a feeling we will be using the car to get to outdoor play areas a lot more this year. Balancing the needs of both children is hard work but rewarding when it goes right.

Family football

2010-02-25T17:54:00.008Z

Okay, so we only actually played football for five minutes but it was fun anyway. It was the first time we had all run around outside for ages. I think the last time I visited a park was New Year's Day with Harriet and her scooter. We had some fun at the playground too. Spring is finally on the way......I hope.....

Hearts and pancakes

2010-02-15T09:43:00.004Z

We held our annual pancake party yesterday. It had a theme of love due to it being Valentine's day.

Harriet and I have been decorating hearts for a few weeks now and I have been busy knitting hearts in the evening.

It was a lovely afternoon spent with friends. Even Toby managed to find a happy place. Alas, the four hours sleep I got last night are testament to his inability to use the same skills nocturnally.

And now it's half term week. I am feeling exhausted so it's a family friendly film this morning and then a mooch to the shops for some lunch.

Time for a new blog?

2010-02-06T14:33:00.003Z

Hmmmm, my knitting and ravelry obsession are getting out of control at the moment. I have spent the week working on cupcakes for Harriet and Toby from an excellent free pattern I found. Makes me wonder if it's time for a new blog just for my crafting.

Maybe I will ponder for a while longer.

Advances in technology

2010-02-02T09:59:00.009Z

Harriet really is getting quite competent at things these days. She can use a pair of adult scissors, knows the basics of how to use a computer and loves experimenting with the gadgets we have around the house. Here are a couple of her photos from yesterday.

She has also started to draw "things". Penguins and fish yesterday and her faces are looking less scary. Well, almost. Here are her family of heart faces. The smiling ones are Mummy and Daddy and the crying one is the child. I am not sure what to make of that really!

The pace of life

2010-01-30T08:12:00.009Z

January has been a busy month. Mainly it's been taken up with Christening planning. Toby's Christening took place last Sunday. I should really make a separate blog post for that.

Otherwise it's taken us a fair while to settle back into post Christmas routines. Harriet and Toby have been getting on very well (famous last words???) so I have enjoyed watching them interact. I find I am getting larger chunks of time to sit down and occasionally relax. I still can't leave the room for longer than it takes Toby to realise I've legged it but things are certainly easier than they were.

Toby is enjoying walking a lot. We mainly take journeys by car as it's been a bit cold to use the buggy much. As a result, Toby is a big walker when we get where we are going. It's been a valuable lesson in learning to slow down, walk at his pace and not stress about getting to our destination quickly. Instead I have been trying to appreciate the world of the toddler a little more and try not to rush him when he wants to examine something particular (house bricks are very popular).

We acknowledged the improved walker with a new pair of shoes last week. A good job too as he has gone up three sizes since the last pair. He now wears some little boots that are a bit "biker" in style. Italian made and therefore good quality and sturdy.

Harriet has been busy concentrating on the topic of food at nursery this week and also at home. She has been playing with the kitchen. Actually using it to cook food for a change (it used to be home to all sorts of games and characters).

Her imagination still takes lots of twists and turns though and I was amused to find some tigers tucking into a knitted chocolate Swiss roll yesterday.

I have been busy keeping up with the demand for knitted goodies. I can't complain though. Mixing a hobby with child care is the ideal combination.

Well my blog seems to continue to move away from it's original idea of a particular day's activities. I really must pick up the pace on this one and get back to recording snippets as we go rather than catch ups every now and then. Must try harder......maybe tomorrow......

Quit whilst you are ahead

2010-01-08T16:41:00.006Z

All three of us made it out in to the garden this afternoon for some of Harriet's "snowy fun".

Toby got to meet frosty

He also wore hat and mittens throughout which was a major achievement. Unfortunately welly boots were too far out for him today so he got soggy shoes instead.

And I managed to get everyone back in the house without any wailing. Although I confess I did lure them in with the promise of Pingu on DVD. It was good to get out of the house and breath in some fresh air if only for 15 minutes!

Frosty, I know how you feel......

New Year, new challenges

2010-01-08T12:44:00.013Z

What a stressful start to the new year and decade. After the laziness of the Christmas period we are back to the grind and what hard work it's been. We've all been cooped up inside for too long now and I look forward to the arrival of spring already.

The week started with my car out of order due to an extremely flat battery. The problem was sorted by Wednesday.....just in time for the arrival of the snow. We certainly haven't been snowed in by any stretch of the imagination but leaving the house has also had its problems (getting two little people into coats, hats, mittens, boots etc, the awful parking on our road).

I know I shouldn't moan too much about the snow and hey, the world looks lovely in white, but these kids need to be outside. They are not accustomed to either staying at home so much or the cold weather so we have a catch 22 situation. Once again I remind myself that it will all be easier when they are a little older....hopefully.

We have been spending our time at home re-visiting old toys (the wooden sorting toys have been the most popular), doing a few small craft projects, play doh and a bit of baking. Harriet and I built a snowman called Frosty and the train track has been out for the last few days.

And Harriet is busy bouncing off the furniture. Her favourite "springboard" is the chest of drawers in her room.

We also brought out the Thomas tent. Now this tent has been languishing in the cellar for months. It was bought for Harriet when Toby was born but is just too big for our house. However it has been useful this week. Wedged in the hall it serves as a temporary hiding place and reading room for the kiddies.

Photos from the week......

Toby examines Spencer

And becomes obsessed with a sieve
And remains inseparable from his cuddle blankets

Harriet "pre leap" (camera too slow to capture her mid air)

And resorting to her window sill play area. Currently set up as the ark.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T13:40:00.002Z

New Year's Eve

2009-12-31T14:50:00.006Z

Today we braved the great outdoors properly for the first time in ages. It's been so cold and there's been plenty to keep us entertained inside. We went to the local park so Harriet could try out her new scooter in a safe environment. She had a great time scooting around and even found another pack of similar aged children to scoot with for a while.
Toby looked super cute in his little Tiger hat. That is until he started crying. And then he carried on crying and had to be carried back to the car where he continued to cry until we got home. Then he cried a bit more before finally calming down. I guess he isn't used to the cold. He still seems a little unable to cope with life some days.
After a long period of recovery at home, we had a trip to the library. Not very exciting for New Year's Eve but we just wanted to do something out of the house and away from crowds.

This evening we are staying in. It's just Ed and myself this year. A curry, a card game and staying up until midnight. We are also looking through photos from the past year and looking forward to 2010.

Cars and museums

2009-12-29T13:33:00.009Z

After a busy family boxing day we were all a bit exhausted so we spent the following day feeling grumpy and tired. Yesterday we were more rested so decided it was time for a family outing. We went to the Transport museum and then to the gallery and museum in Coventry. We've visited both before but we still enjoyed the trip. And found new things to look at and take photos of!

Christmas Day

2009-12-29T13:26:00.006Z

Christmas day was a very relaxed affair. We were all up by 8.30 am and spent a leisurely hour opening presents. Then we went to Mass. We even got there with five minutes to spare.

I was extremely lazy regarding Christmas dinner. I use d frozen roast potatoes and and pre-prepared M & S chicken.

We spent the rest of the day eating, playing and watching tv. It was my ideal Christmas really. Just a nice quiet family day.

Toby certainly helped to make the day so enjoyable. It was so much easier than last Christmas. We were still in the awful sleep deprivation stage a year ago. The little chap is still refusing the sleep though the night but it's so much easier these days.

Harriet was very easy going on Christmas Day. Grateful of her presents and so excited. The big hits of the day were the second hand toy cash register (it was filled quickly with chocolate coins and played with all day) and a £1.25 glow stick.

Proof of the ability of children to entertain themselves without spending large amounts of money on commercial tat.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T20:15:00.005Z

Well Christmas Eve has turned into a blog frenzy amongst other things.

I really haven't kept up with the blog for the last month. I blame it on organising a birthday, a christening and Christmas and being plain old lazy.

Anyway, we've had a fun and relaxing Christmas Eve. We stayed in our pyjamas until lunchtime.

We played Play-doh and invented a "space shop".

I let Harriet loose with the glitter pens.....

And we burnt the rest of the advent candle.

Harriet and I made Christmas tree decorations.

After Ed arrived home we went over to our friends for a little Christmas Eve party which was great fun and we came home with two hyper kiddies. Both are now asleep so it's time for our curry and lots of beer....

Snow

2009-12-24T11:48:00.004Z

Well we had a fair covering of snow last Friday and a little more over the weekend. To be honest I have found the whole thing a bit of a chore really. The hassle of trying to get the car out of a busy and icy street and no parking spaces on our return home. The fact that Harriet wants to play out but Toby is pretty confused about the whole thing. It's made it hard to find things we can do out of the house together.

Still, Harriet has been very excited so I've tried to take her out into the back garden every day for some "snowy fun".

We've also made two batches of snowball cakes (rice crispy cakes with white chocolate. Not very inventive but fun) and we've been doing snow related craft things.....

The snow is certainly more fun now that Harriet can play properly in it. And it will certainly be even more fun when Toby is old enough to enjoy it too.

Festive museum visit

2009-12-24T11:45:00.005Z

Yesterday we had a trip to the museum. We haven't been for a few weeks plus I was particularly keen to avoid any areas of shopping activity or soft play centres. It was such an easy visit even with two toddlers to in tow. There are definitely benefits of visiting a particular place regularly. I love watching their relationship develop with the museum. Especially as we have been going so much since Toby was born. A year ago he slept through most visits. Now he prefers nothing more than a spot of tea and a look at the pots and shoes.

They had a festive exhibition and cards to colour in.

Harriet was very excited as she learnt to identify the town centre on the maps they have around the museum.

I love it when looking after two children is this easy. The holidays in general have been going very well this time actually. Phew.

Birthday number 4

2009-12-16T18:20:00.008Z

We celebrated Harriet's birthday at the weekend. Hard to believe it was four years ago when she arrived in to the world. I can still clearly remember the Christmas lights twinkling in the window of the HDU ward. And a snugly baby recovering from being born.

The birthday began quite early with a joint birthday party at Wacky Warehouse. 25 toddlers dashing round at 9 am was actually quite good fun. They all had some food and we sang Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

Then we returned home for a brief rest, some present opening and playing before a small family party in the afternoon.

Grotto visiting

2009-11-24T12:51:00.004Z

The weather is rather bleak at the moment. Too windy, cold, rainy to spend much time outdoors. I am missing the fresh air but dragging two kids to the park isn't that appealing. So we have been spending time indoors on little craft projects, playing with toys we haven't played with for a while and watching The Very Hungry Caterpillar (and other stories - a DVD we got from the library).

Yesterday we went to the local garden centre. It's ages since it was a regular haunt. Almost a year in fact. We used to go a lot this time in 2008 as it fitted in with Toby's sleep times and Harriet's excitement about all things Christmassy. I have tried to hold off having too much exposure to Christmas too early but it is only a month away now so I think it's okay to do a bit of grotto visiting.

Today we went to one of the nearby shopping centres to see what decorations they had to offer. Harriet was very impressed with their display.

Toby didn't say a lot so I assume he was happy to sit and look.

Oh well, it's free entertainment for a few minutes and it keeps us out of the rain!