A Jubilee Skirt for Lily

Lily's school are celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tomorrow by putting on a little entertainment for parents and then having a big picnic with us all on the school field. We've all been told to wear red, white and blue and Lily's class were told to try and wear something in appropriate colours for their little performance. I ordered this colourful Union Jack fabric and made this Jubilee skirt for Lily last night. It has a red ribbon hem and red, white and blue ribbons at the waist and looks, I think, appropriately festive! Lily loves the look of the skirt, but her one complaint was that it didn't twirl...you can't win them all I suppose!

We have tickets to some Olympic events later in the summer, so I thought this skirt would be great for her to wear to those. She will look adorably patriotic as she cheers on Team GB at the football in July, and then again at the volleyball in London later in the same month (though we don't yet know who we will be watching for that). I have enough fabric to make a matching skirt for Emma, so I hope I can find time to make that before tomorrow. I'm meeting myself coming back this week, so I don't yet know if it will happen by then, but it has to be done. How cute would they look in matching Jubilee skirts!

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The Well-Dressed Gentleman

Mark's brother is getting married on Saturday and we are naturally all very excited. Lily and Emma will be bridesmaids, so their outfits have been organised by Kelly, the lovely bride-to-be. They are going to look adorable!

Kelly and Greg wanted Tom to be a pageboy, but Tom said, and I quote, "I'll come to your wedding Uncle Greg, but I'm not doing anything." So that told us! I think he was a little unsure what was involved and was too nervous about it. Mark is going to be an usher, so we thought Tom could help him. An assistant usher if you will!

Being seven is no excuse not to be properly dressed at a wedding, so I ordered Tom this adorable three piece suit and cravat and it arrived this morning. I am so pleased with it! Tom is going to look like such a handsome little gentleman and I can't wait to see him in it. We'll have to persuade a few more people to get married so he can wear it again before he outgrows it!

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Now We Are Six

2006 

A very special little girl celebrated her sixth birthday today...

Happy Birthday Lily!

We love you very much!

2012

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The Gardener's Assistant

Emma and I are making the most of the warm weather this week to spend some time outside and get some gardening done. Emma loves to help me put the flowers in the ground, but her favourite thing is to water the garden. She looks rather sweet carrying her trusty watering can around the garden, waiting to be told what to water. We love our outdoor time, my baby and me.

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Biddulph Grange Garden

This afternoon we took the Podlings to visit Biddulph Grange Garden. This beautiful Victorian garden is about five miles from where we live, but this is the first time we have visited it. We have been to the nearby Biddulph Grange Country Park several times, but have never quite made it to the actual gardens. I'm sure this was the first of many visits as we had such a lovely time here.

Mark's parents were visiting this afternoon, so they were able to join us for a pleasant afternoon wandering around these impressive gardens. We only saw a portion of the garden today, but since the property is so near to us we will definitely come back again. The Podlings had a fabulous time running around and exploring the hidden nooks and crannies. I only heard portions of their games as they ran around, but there was plenty in the garden to feed their active imaginations. They all loved the enormous Koi in the lake and we had a hard time getting Emma to leave it. In short, we all had a splendid time!

Emma pointing out the fish to her Nanna 

Lily and her Grandad 

The Podlings pretending to be imposing 

Little Man Tom co-operating for photos 

A Thermos for tea...never leave home without it! 

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A nine turtle stack

"So Yertle the Turtle King, lifted his hand

And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command.

He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone

And, using these turtles, he built a new throne.

He made each turtle stand on another one’s back

And he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.

And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile.

What a wonderful view! He could see ‘most a mile!" 

- From 'Yertle the Turtle and other stories' by Dr Seuss

Whenever we go to the garden centre, we always take the Podlings to the aquatic shop to show them the fish. The Podlings love it and it is a lot cheaper than taking them to an aquarium! Watching the turtles provided me with a great deal of  amusement today. Anyone who has read 'Yertle the Turtle' by Dr Seuss will know where I am coming from with this photo. Anyone who hasn't read it will probably wonder why I am posting a blurry photo of a pile of turtles. To them I say...go and read 'Yertle the Turtle', it is a great story and your life will be the better for it.

We love reading Dr Seuss to the Podlings, but being English some the rhymes don't work as well for us as they do for Americans. Mark always comments that you just can't get 'hand' to rhyme with 'command' if you are speaking English properly. But then, Mark is a bit of a stickler for these things and I just tend to enjoy the stories regardless. I never get tired of reading Dr Seuss!

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Jubilee Cake Stand

It is no secret that I love cake stands, so imagine my delight when I found this fine specimen at our local Home Bargains for a mere £3.99. The reason for my delight is that I am planning a little Jubilee themed tea for the Podlings the weekend after next and for very little cost this beauty will look wonderful on the table. I have seen cardboard Jubilee cake stands for more than I paid for this ceramic one. The Jubilee celebrations are the same weekend as my brother-in-law's wedding, so I won't have time to do a lot of preparation for it. I plan to keep it quite simple, but a few shop bought cakes on this delightful cake stand ought to strike the right note.
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