Rollercoaster Mum: March 2013

ShareThis

Sunday 31 March 2013

Silent Sunday


Friday 29 March 2013

A Year in Pictures - Week 13

Ahh - week 13 - that explains a lot! It's been quite a week - we've had birthdays and first prizes in competitions but equally we have had to deal with lying, the despatch of a poorly chicken and the death of a fish. As usual I have not accomplished anywhere near what I hoped to and now it is Easter and the holidays (already?!), so don't expect much from me over the next couple of weeks!

I have chosen a couple of pics of the happier memories of the week - the birthday girl and her winning drawing for the PTA school summer fair leaflets and posters (very chuffed with that as she was voted in first by the pupils.)

birthday candles


I am linking up as usual with The Boy and Me and the rest of the gang so head on over for lots more lovely pics.

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Monday 25 March 2013

Easter baskets and crafts

As I am sure you are more than aware it is Easter next weekend - however much the weather is trying to convince us otherwise. On a damp and dreary afternoon the girls decreed that we should be making Easter pressies for their teachers and something for Grandma for Easter (we're going to be visiting her on Easter day) and as it was hardly a day for playing outside I agreed. We are not big on the Easter bunny and all that in our house (the kids have been bluntly told there is no such thing - he didn't exist when I was little!) but it seemed like something to do on a wet weekend. We duly popped out to the local Sainsbury's - not necessarily where I would have gone for this but it was wet and dreary and it needed to be done 'now' - apparently!

They certainly had lots of Easter goodies, although not quite what we were looking for but enough for some inspiration and, combined with a couple of things we already had we reckoned we could pull it off.

Sainsbury's Easter shop

When we got home the first thing we did was melt some chocolate - yum!

melting chocolate

This was then poured into the silicone Easter egg mould and after a while in the fridge we popped them out of the mould and wrapped them in silver foil. Voila! Little homemade Easter eggs.

#cbias

I had hoped to find some crafty stuff in Sainsbury's that we could use to make baskets but they hadn't had any but we did find some little plastic fillable eggs and some Easter stickers so Little Miss Sunshine had a great time covering the eggs in stickers while Little Miss Star and I did the hot chocolate stirring. We put these together with the homemade eggs and we had easy, cheap presents for the teachers (with minimal crafty effort on my part because as you know I am not good at craft!)

#cbias

Now for Grandma's basket. This was a bit more tricky as the bumper Easter craft pack that I had got wasn't quite what I had thought when I picked it up (I know I should've read the label!) It was all about making variations of Easter chicks and bunnies including paper bag puppets and foam animals - all good fun but not much good for a basket for Grandma. It did however keep the girls busy whilst I dug out an old basket that we could use and some tissue paper to nestle the eggs in.


And the result - a pretty basket, lined with tissue paper with some of those decorated plastic eggs with homemade chocolate eggs inside along with some real eggs from our chickens, some fluffy Easter chicks and the last of the stickers decorating the basket. Nearer the time we might add some spring flowers for her too.

#cbias

#cbias

All in all a good afternoons work I reckon and it kept the girls busy on a miserably cold 'spring' day. What have you been up to to get ready for Easter?

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

Macro Monday - #doitinthedark

On Saturday it was WWF's Earth Hour which you can read all about here so I thought a pic of the candlelight that we ate by was appropriate.

Did you join in with #doitinthedark and if so what did you do?

candle light

MM3

Sunday 24 March 2013

Silent Sunday

pasta making





Saturday 23 March 2013

A Year in Pictures - Week 12

I have barely taken any photos this week - I think this endless winter is just getting me down and we haven't even had snow again here. I am banking on a hard winter making it into a good summer so I don't have to emigrate to sunnier climes.

Yesterday was the highlight of the week - for Little Miss Star anyway - she became a World War 2 evacuee for the day and it sounds like they had a great time. All the kids in her class dressed up, as did the teachers. They were evacuated from the school hall train station (where us parents waved them off) to the community room where they did maths in old money, practised handwriting (properly for once!), played with toys (?), made potato scones (declared delicious by Miss S) and after the end of the war had been announced on the wireless they had a VE Day party. They were finally returned to their parents after 6 long hours away! Here is my little evacuee with suitcase, label and gas mask having had 'the best day at school ever!'


evacuee costume

I am linking up with the Boy and Me and those brave 365 peeps - so for some more March posts head on over there by clicking the badge.


TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Thursday 21 March 2013

Do it in the dark!

When: 8.30 - 9.30pm Saturday 23rd March
Where: Your house, your pub, your street - wherever you are!

What the hell am I on about? WWF's Earth Hour of course....

'What on earth (boom, boom!) is that?'  I hear you say . Well it is better explained on the WWF Earth Hour website but in a nutshell switch off your lights for an hour at 8.30pm this Saturday. This is not so much about conserving energy (although it's gotta help) but about showing your support and joining millions of others around our fabulous little planet to support nature, wildlife and healthy communities. This year it is all about raising awareness of our over use of fossil fuels and what we can do to switch to renewable energy to save our brilliant planet.

There's tons of fun ideas as well as a serious message on the website. They have some delicious menus from celebrity chefs including Ken Hom, Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc so you could have a romantic candlelit dinner with your loved one or host a candlelit dinner party. If you are on your own or have the kids with you why not listen to the specially recorded Just So stories read by celebs like Kevin McCloud. If these don't appeal there is a whole list of 60 things to do in the dark - you can watch McFly do something silly dressed as pandas, do owl impressions, stargaze or tell scary stories - I'm sure we can think of a few more too (nudge, nudge, wink, wink!!)

So go on switch those lights off ,get creative and #doitinthedark - you never know you might even have some fun! As for me I'm planning a candle-lit dinner with Ken Hom's rather yummy sounding Clay Pot Caramel Pork - and who knows what may happen after that??!!

I'd love to know what you might do too!

Bloglovin

I'm going over to Bloglovin - at least I'm trying to - seems that our beloved Google Reader is to be retired so here goes (although I may leave the Google Reader up until it retires as it will take me ages to go back up to my super high number of 57 followers there!) I would love it if you would all follow me on Bloglovin as well though - thank you x

(Oh and I'll put a follow button on when I can find it too - more changes *sigh*)

PS - thanks to the ever lovely Crystal Jigsaw (and fellow self confessed technophobe) for pointing me in the right direction with something that's super easy!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monday 18 March 2013

Macro Monday - the RHS Wisley Edition

Having been uninspired for pictures this week I thought I would show off a few pictures from our recent visit to RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Gardens Wisley. Most of these are taken in the glasshouse and I'm afraid I have no idea what most of them are but they are pretty! Next time I should try and take notes but with two small children, a husband and my mother just keeping up and keeping them together was tricky let alone taking notes as well as photographs!
 
Possibly a bottle-brush?

the Glasshouse RHS Wisley
Clock Vine flowers - also known as dolls shoe flowers - and they do look just like little shoes!

Maybe some sort of Hibiscus?

No idea what they are but these leaf shoots were so pretty

RHS Wisley
Blue Iris - stunning colour.


MM3

Sunday 17 March 2013

Silent Sunday

Easter crafts


Saturday 16 March 2013

A Year in Pictures - Week 11

Winter returned with a vengeance (along with the colds) but signs of spring are slowly, slowly making their way through. We have plodded our way through the week and inspiration has once again been lacking. Here's hoping we get a bit of spring zing soon.

birdie footprints in the snow
Birdie footprints in the snow and crocus flowers in the sun


 I am linking up with the Boy and Me and those brave 365 peeps - so for some more cheerful posts head on over there by clicking the badge.

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Thursday 14 March 2013

Mummys and Fashion?


Mummy Fashion - not two words you would necessarily put together and some might say it was a contradiction in terms. Why should we think that though?  Do all mummies slob around all day in a pair or old jeans and a sloppy jumper? I know I certainly don't, however it can get harder to either be interested or to get it right or simply to have the time to think about it.

I certainly don't claim to be the yummy fashion mummy on the block (waaay too old for that) but I do like to think that my standards haven't slipped tooo much. Maybe having two girls helps - although at the moment they are still small, it doesn't stop them being interested and Little Miss Star is already quite a fussy little madam at the tender age of 7. It was encouraging to speak to a colleague at work the other day who has a grown up daughter complaining that she was always borrowing her clothes  - that has to be a good sign that your clothes are at least quite fashionable. I secretly hope my girls might do that one day too - although no doubt it will irritate me beyond belief at the time. 

Clothes shopping as a mum can be a bit of a task, especially with the kids in tow. Even though mine are girls they get bored pretty quickly if I dare try to do some shopping for me. Last summer I had to find a posh dress for the cruise we went on and as my wardrobe is somewhat lacking on posh dresses these days this entailed actual shopping. I am normally a big fan of t'internet shopping (no queues, cramped changing rooms or kids to dag around) but it being a posh dress I had to try about a zillion on so real life shopping it had to be. I have to admit I nearly lost the plot - they were bored, I was hot and bothered - and yes they did comment (not always positively). It was not a pleasant experience and I can see that experiencing that on a regular basis would send me scurrying to the tracky bums and baggy t-shirts regardless. I did however end up with my beautiful red dress so I guess it was worth the trauma in the end. There's nothing like a bit of glamour to make a girl feel better (and forget temporarily about that mummy status). On that note I have to go make that hair appointment or I shall be looking like the wild woman of Borneo if I leave it much longer. I might even indulge in some internet shopping therapy as the sun's out. See ya later and keep up your standards girls!

Diclosure: this is a sponsored post


Monday 11 March 2013

Macro Monday

Inside a purple crocus



MM3

Sunday 10 March 2013

The Forth Bridge or what to consider when buying a children's bed.

Painting the Forth Bridge

Owning a house is a bit like the infamous Forth Bridge - the work never stops - just as you have 'done' one room you look at another and realises that it needs 'doing again'. This may not apply if you don't have kids but with two in the house it quite definitely does. We moved into our wee cottage about 8 (or is it 9 - eeek) years ago. In that time we have added a dormer window, done our bedroom, made a nursery, built an extension, changed the kitchen, moved the bathroom, moved walls, put new windows in and generally changed every little bit (even the garden). However much of it is now beginning to look a little tired around the edges and even though it doesn't seem long since we finished whatever we did last - things need doing again *sigh*.

We started last year with Little Miss Sunshine's bedroom as this had not been decorated since we had painted it in jolly pale blue and yellow with happy ladybird borders for the arrival of Little Miss Star nearly eight years ago. The furniture had changed since then of course and the toys and various other things - including of course the beds. No longer did it hold a cot but we still thought that as she was now a big schoolgirl she could do with a more grown up bedroom.

The two most important things to decide on were of course the colour (please not pink - please, please) and my children's bed. The colour was solved by her best friend having her bedroom painted recently in rather a grown up muted purple - which she loved (oh yes - result!) The bed issue was a little more tricky. We live in a (very) small cottage, although her bedroom is big enough for a double bed (but lets face it at age 5 she's not really interested in a double bed even though said best friend does happen to have one), we need to maximise on space and storage.

The choice out there is quite bewildering and rather exciting. I don't remember beds being that exciting when I was a child! There's bunk beds, cabin sleepers, mid sleepers, high sleepers, beds with storage, beds with desks, beds with tents, spidermen beds and princess beds. They can be white, pink, blue, natural wood, gorgeously tasteful or verging on the tacky. One of my favourites that I found was like a campervan - with a bunk bed on the top and a desk, sofa and storage inside - how cool is that? I would have given my eye teeth for a bed like that as a child.

Unfortunately this didn't fit where we needed it in Little Miss Sunshine's bedroom but we did need to utilise the space so it came down to a mid or a high sleeper with room for stuff underneath. Although she is only 5 we opted for a high sleeper (they suggest they are from age 6 but she is quite sensible) in white painted wood which goes with the rest of the room. Underneath she currently has a desk, some toy storage and even her old bed which is now a day bed/ story reading spot. This will no doubt changes as she does but she loves it and calls it her Princess Castle!

This isn't the best pic (or the tidiest!) but you get the idea!



Of course the Forth Bridge apparently no longer needs constant painting and titivating - wouldn't that be nice if we could have houses like that - can't see it happening though!

Disclosure - this is a sponsored post

Silent Sunday

RHS Wisley

Saturday 9 March 2013

A Year in Pictures - Week 10

This week was like the weather - started out sunny and got progressively more and more shit. I was going to say more but lets just say I'm looking to swap two kids and a husband for a dog - any offers?

I was going to post lots of lovely pics of our trip to RHS Wisley and the butterflies in the glasshouse but quite frankly I cannot be arsed, so here's a picture of the children taken at Wisley, before I put them on ebay. If you want to see a pretty butterfly check out my Silent Sunday tomorrow and you never know, I might resurrect the pictures another time.

snowdrops

Oh and here's one of the crappy weather - fog.

ghostly tree

 I am linking up with the Boy and Me and those brave 365 peeps - so for some more cheerful posts head on over there by clicking the badge.

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Monday 4 March 2013

Macro Monday

Witch Hazel
Hamamelis or Witch Hazel flowers




MM3

Sunday 3 March 2013

Silent Sunday

twit twoo



Silent Sunday

Saturday 2 March 2013

A Year in Pictures - Week 9

This week started with big goodbyes to people off to far away lands, encompassed chaotic playdates where plans went awry, return to routine, lunches with friends and ended with vomiting (euughh- again!)

None of this however was captured on camera so this week here are some pics of the clever stuff that my oldest girl Little Miss Star gets up to (she hasn't got that arty crafty gene from me that's for sure!) Oh and some chocolate heaven for Little Miss Sunshine!

kids drawinghand sewn owl

Above is her drawing of her and some of the family with the fairy sprinkling fairy dust! She has just discovered sewing as well and she did this little owl all on her own.

London Blitz
My favourite - St. Paul's Cathedral in the Blitz by Little Miss Star aged 7
She did this all of her own accord, taking less time than it took me to bath Little Miss Sunshine!

chocolate heaven
Chocolate heaven!

 I am linking up with the Boy and Me and those brave 365 peeps - so for the last of the February photos head on over there by clicking the badge.

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...