Podheim

Our Valentine's Day tea

2012-02-16T23:26:00.003Z

The dining room table all set for our Valentine's tea. Heart-shaped sandwiches, homemade cakes, fresh fruit and lots of pink and roses. The little tea pot is filled with orange juice. Emma called it a 'juice pot' when I poured her drink up.

The cake was made and decorated in a bit of a hurry, but it tasted delicious. A heart-shaped Victoria sponge sandwiched with raspberry jam and buttercream, topped with white chocolate (coloured pink) and decorated in a hurry!

I couldn't resist these pretty paper napkins when I saw them in Sainsbury's last week. I knew they would be perfect for our Valentine's tea.

The Podlings had great fun decorating the fairy cakes. We had to make note of which ones Emma decorated as her approach seemed to be to ice a cake, decorate it, eat the icing and then decorate it some more!

Tea time!

Emma strikes a pose

Tom looking sweet. After tea he looked rather more 'full of sweets' in that he was clearly on a bit of a sugar high!

Valentine's Day

2012-02-16T21:50:00.000Z

As ever, we had a fun Valentine's Day. I have gone for a red colour scheme for the last two Valentine's Days, so I wanted to have a pink theme this year just for a change. The night before Valentine's Day I set the breakfast table with pink plates and a centrepiece that included pink crystal flowers and scattered Love Hearts. I wrapped pink tulle around the light fitting and put a few pink bits and pieces on my tea table in the corner of the dining room. We had heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast and spent the afternoon baking and decorating lovely goodies for our Valentine's tea. We saved the Valentine's cake until Mark got home from work, so the Podlings were able to enjoy a special treat of cake with their supper. After the Podlings went to bed, Mark and I enjoyed a quiet three course meal together. A lovely day spent with the people I love...that's what Valentine's Day is all about.

The dining room table, set the night before.

Each Podling had a packet of Love Hearts and a chocolate lollipop on their plate

Emma was understandably thrilled to be allowed sweets before breakfast!

Emma enjoying her lollipop

I made heart-shaped Scotch pancakes for breakfast.

We used my silicone moulds to make heart-shaped fairy cakes for tea.

Sweets for my sweet. I made chocolate covered strawberries and decorated two special fairy cakes for my lovely husband. We have enjoyed 12 Valentine's Days together, though we were not a couple for the first one. We simply spent a lovely evening with a few friends. The following year it was just the two of us and it has been ever since, though we have since added three children to the fun side of the day.

An icy surprise

2012-02-15T21:13:00.004Z

With the recent cold snap turning the snowfall into a treacherous ice rink, the Podlings had been stuck inside for over a week. They couldn't have outdoor play at school as the playground was too icy and it was the same story at home. It really wasn't that safe to go out for a walk (though the roads were clear so you were okay if you were driving). Suffice to say that after that long with no outdoor exercise the Podlings were getting cabin fever and were, shall we say, not models of good behaviour! When the ice finally started to melt we took the opportunity to take them for a walk in a local park so they could burn off some energy.

We had a nice walk around the pond and then we took them to play in the park for a while before the light levels starting dropping and we decided to head back to the car. We had a really lovely afternoon right up until the point that Tom fell in the pond!

Tom and Lily had run ahead of us whilst Mark and I walked slightly behind with Emma. They were out of sight for less than a minute, during which time Tom decided to try to walk on the icy pond and the ice gave way beneath him. Yes folks, that's how quickly a pleasant afternoon could turn to tragedy. Thankfully we were right behind them! Mark was there immediately to fish him out and the water only came up to Tom's waist in any case. The poor boy was utterly drenched and obviously very cold and shaken up from his icy dip. We stripped him off as soon has we got back to the car and wrapped him in blankets and kept him wrapped up when we got him home. Some warm milk and a hot meal later and he was feeling much better and none the worse for his dunking. The poor boy isn't too keen on going back to the park in a hurry though!

Tom standing in the slightly dilapidated bandstand before his impromptu dunking.
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Lily loves death slides!
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.Emma chilling out in the big swing. The play park was renovated last year and it is really good fun for the children now.

A longlived gentleman

2012-02-15T20:30:00.000Z

I'm a little behind with the blog. This is the snowman we made the Sunday before last. He is worthy of note as he is the longest living snowman we have ever had. We didn't have any more snow after that Sunday, but the weather was so cold for the following week that most of the snow was still on the ground the following Sunday. Mr Snowman was still going strong over a week after we built him, after which the novelty clearly wore off as the Podlings decided it would be great fun to kick him apart and stomp him into the ground (his head had already fallen off by this point). Lovely creatures, children!

Emma was tickled pink by the snowman and kept pointing out his features: "Cawot nose! 'tone eyes! 'tone mouse!" ("carrot nose, stone eyes, stone mouth" for those of you who don't read toddler)

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T11:37:00.003Z

Celebrating Greatness

2012-02-07T23:09:00.003Z

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, who is, and ever shall be, my favourite author.

Fun in the snow

2012-02-04T23:22:00.004Z

It started snowing at lunchtime today and since it was coming down thick and fast there was soon enough to go out and play in. Emma didn't eat a bite of her lunch after she saw the snow. She kept coming up to me excitedly saying 'Snow! Snow! I want to play!". She wasn't happy until we put her wellies on!

After the first session in the snow, we all came in to warm up and I headed to the kitchen to indulge in some baking. Something about the snow makes me want to bake delicious comfort food. Lily and Emma helped me to make some rock cakes and then I made up a batch of shortbread in my fabulous snowflake pan.

We put on our snow gear once again and took the sledges round the side of the house for some fun. Tom and Lily had a great time sledding down the hill, but Emma just wanted to pull her sledge up and down the hill. There wasn't much light left when we came back inside to warm up with milk, hot chocolate and home-baked goodies. We had a lovely day and hopefully the snow will hang around long enough for us to go out and build a snowman tomorrow.

Making snow angels

I suspect my daffodils wish they had never peaked their heads above ground!

Mark wanted me to post a picture of me in my winter gear, so here I am! Much as I prefer skirts and dresses, I did change into jeans before we went sledging!

I love my snowflake shortbread pan. It was a Christmas gift from Mark's parents a couple of years ago and I love to use it when it is snowing.

Homemade rock buns...delicious!

Mark having a go on the sledge.

Tom really enjoyed the sledging.

I asked Emma if she wanted to ride in the sledge, to which she replied "No, can't sit. I walking!". She was quite emphatic!

Our neighbourhood at dusk. That's our front garden immediately to the left on the lane. Very convenient for sledging!

A very cold Lily trying to get warm!

I enjoyed my post-snow homemade shortbread with a mug of hot chocolate...perfection!

Passing the time

2012-01-31T22:25:00.001Z

Our old boiler leaked last year, causing a lot of damage to areas of the dining room, lounge and the built-in cupboard in Emma's bedroom. The damage to the boiler sadly meant we had to get it replaced. Thankfully the damage to the rooms was purely cosmetic so we have had the decorators in this week to put it right. Aside from the chaos associated with having two of your main living rooms emptied and out of bounds, I have the added fun of trying to keep an inquisitive toddler out of the action. The last thing I want is for Emma to think that it is okay to paint walls! Yesterday we spent most of the day upstairs and I have to say that Emma has been a little treasure.

We were able to use the lounge today, but tomorrow we will probably have to spend most of the day upstairs again. I hope she is as good tomorrow as she was yesterday. I'm looking forward to getting my pictures back on the walls and my books and ornanments back where they belong. I don't function well in chaos, but it will be worth it to have nice freshly painted walls and ceilings.

We spent some time on my bed watching DVDs on the laptop

What to watch with your toddler? Bagpuss of course! It was my favourite programme when I was little and Emma seems to love it too. They just don't make programmes like this any more, mores the pity.

I put a blanket down on the bed and we enjoyed a picnic lunch in my bedroom. You can see how much Emma enjoyed the experience!

Emma playing with her toys in the bathroom sink. She got absolutely soaking, but it kept her amused for hours. She has a wonderful abiltiy to play by herself and I love listening to her games.

Drying off after a long session playing in the sink.

Taking advantage of the fact that the furniture is pushed away from the walls, we built a tent behind the sofa.

The kitchen is full of the contents of the lounge and dining room at the moment so I just don't have enough space to cook. Thankfully Dominos and a 50% off coupon came to the rescue and provided tea, much to the Podlings delight. We couldn't go in the dining room because the paint was still wet, so I put a tablecloth on the coffee table and we had our meal in the lounge. The Podlings loved it!

Emma can't resist an empty box. Here she is enjoying her pudding in the empty pizza box!

Baby in red

2012-01-30T23:56:00.000Z

Before I had any children, I dreamed that one day I would have a little girl and that this little girl would wear a red wool coat with black velvet trim and matching beret. Imagine my excitement on finding this little matching set for Emma! I gave it to her for Christmas and since Emma loves to get clothes for presents (most unusual for one so small), she was as thrilled with it as I was. However, the practicalities of giving a dry-clean-only coat to a toddler means that there hasn't really been much chance for her to wear it yet. We were going to Lily's class assembly on Friday morning, so I thought it would be a lovely opportunity to dress Emma in her 'best' coat. She looked so adorable I just wanted to eat her with a spoon! She looked like the little girl in my dreams!

Look at those adorable golden waves! I have to say that the little girl in my head had dark hair. Since my hair is naturally almost black I always imagined that my children would have dark hair. Imagine my surprise at having three little blond children!

A special birthday

2012-01-24T09:45:00.002Z

My mum is celebrating a special birthday this year. This last year has been rather difficult for her as she has learned to live with multiple sclerosis, a condition she didn't even suffer from at all until just over a year ago. It has been hard to live so far away from her during this time. We wanted to make her birthday special for her, so we planned a surprise visit to Plymouth last weekend. I rang my dad to make sure they were going to be around at the weekend, but we all kept it to ourselves and managed to surprise Mum by turning up unannounced on Saturday afternoon. I was very impressed with my dad, who managed to prepare a delicious dinner of pork chops, roast potatoes and vegetables for an extra five people without arousing Mum's suspicion!

We shared a lovely evening together and gave Mum her presents before heading to a hotel for the night. We could hardly have expected them to get the rooms ready for us and still kept our visit a surprise, so Travelodge provided the accommodations on this trip. All five of us sleeping (or in some cases not sleeping) in one room was not fun, but that's a story for another time!

The following morning I had a phone call from my brother-in-law to tell me that he and my sister were coming down to join us (they live in Bristol), so Mum had another surprise when they turned up unexpectedly at lunchtime. It was lovely to have us all together for the day as it doesn't happen very often. I haven't seen Elaine and Gareth in ages, so it was lovely to spend time with them. We had a little party lunch, involving the usual party food and then some of us went for a walk with the dogs. The plan was for us all to go out for a meal in the evening, but unfortunately Emma took ill so we sent Mum, Dad, Elaine and Gareth off for the meal and we packed to head back home. We were able to say a last goodbye as they returned from the meal just as we were getting into the car.

We had a lovely weekend and I'm so glad we were able to surprise my Mum for her birthday.

Mum, I love you very much and I'm so proud of how you have coped this last year.

Happy 60th Birthday!!

The birthday cake I made for Mum. We have a tradition of Smartie cakes for birthdays in our family that was started by my maternal grandmother, so I thought my Mum might appreciate a Smartie cake for her 60th. This photo was taken after Tom had been experimenting with candle placement, hence the holes in the chocolate!

Pretty and practical

2012-01-23T21:56:00.000Z

We recently had to retire the chest of drawers that Lily had in her bedroom. The bottom two drawers were unusable as they would collapse if you tried to open them, pushing the sides out of the unit and causing the second drawer to drop down too. Only the top drawer was usable, but it was such an attractive wooden unit I was reluctant to just throw it away. I threw out the bottom two drawers and then pinned a remnant of net I had leftover from another project across the gap. The unit now sits in the family bathroom and the dirty washing basket I had in that corner is now hidden behind the net curtain. The unit serves the double purpose of hiding the ripped wallpaper caused by the radiator coming off the wall last year. Plus, I still have two drawers worth of storage space available to me. I can consider it a success as even Mark said 'That doesn't look too bad' when he saw it...high praise indeed!

Mow Cop Castle

2012-01-14T22:34:00.002Z

(I'm rather proud of this photo, taken through the arch at dusk)

This afternoon we took a flask of tea and a basket of home-baked goodies and climbed the hill to Mow Cop Castle. Despite its aged appearance, it isn't actually as old as it looks. It was built in 1754 as a summer house and was designed to look like a ruined castle. 'Tis but a folly, but no less worth the visit for all that. The 'castle' is less than three miles from our house, but despite having lived here for four and a half years, we have never actually driven up there to see it. It is the highest point in the area, so naturally we have seen it from a distance, but we have never been 'up close'. It was sunny, but bitterly cold today, so cold that the morning frost still lay on the ground in the shade. We wrapped up very warmly and had a lovely time exploring the folly and enjoying our little picnic. We left at dusk, but will definitely be visiting again. It is practically on our own doorstep after all!

Mow Cop Castle. It was three in the afternoon and the morning frost still lay on the ground.

Climbing the hill

Stopping to enjoy the view

My sweet boy

Little Miss Independent refused to be lifted up the big steps, but did consent to let her Daddy hold her hand.

Inside the folly

My lovely Lily

My three favourite little people

Enjoying a large piece of Mummy's homemade sponge

Another view of Mow Cop Castle

Sitting pretty

2012-01-13T22:22:00.000Z

The art table that we gave to Lily for Christmas is actually a child's vanity table. Although she uses it almost exclusively as an art desk, I think it is fair to say that she likes the concealed mirror under the desk lid. I came upstairs at suppertime the other night to find Emma sat at the table and Lily brushing her hair and putting in a hair bow. I had an 'ahh' moment and then quietly dashed downstairs for the camera. Love my girls!

An impromptu birthday party

2012-01-12T22:43:00.001Z

On Monday evening Tom informed me that his favourite teddy (a ladybird called Be Mine) was having a birthday the following day and could we have a party tea. Tuesday is usually my shopping day anyway, so I added a few extras to my order and on Tuesday evening we had a little birthday party for Be Mine and one of Lily's toys who was also apparently having a birthday that day. Thankfully both toys were turning one, so I put one candle in an angel slice and we sang 'Happy Birthday'. I relit the candle several times so everyone could take turns blowing it out again. After tea we played a few party games. Just musical statues and blind man's buff, followed by a game of Sly Fox, but we all had lots of fun and Lily was most upset when it had to end.

The birthday teddies. Lily's toy giraffe was given to her by our next door neighbour when we lived in Cornwall. It has always been amongst her favourites, but has undergone many name changes. On the day of the party is was going by the moniker 'Molly', but was called Eleanor the following day.

The birthday cake, an angel slice with a candle in it.

Christmas Ornaments 2011

2012-01-05T23:42:00.002Z

I picked out this lovely Father Christmas for Emma

One of our family traditions in the lead up to Christmas is to take the Podlings to our favourite garden centre to pick out their Christmas ornaments. Each of the Podlings has had a new ornament every year since they were born, so by the time they leave home they will each have a nice little collection to decorate their own trees with. Tom and Lily now pick out their own, but I picked Emma's out for her. Next year she will be old enough to choose her own and I will be interested to see what she picks out. The first year Tom was old enough to choose his own decoration he picked out the most ghastly looking thing that I now try to hang round the back of the tree every year! To be fair to him, he was only three at the time!

By way of finishing up my Christmas posts, I thought I'd share pictures of the ornaments the Podlings chose this Christmas.

Lily chose this little red Christmas fairy

Tom chose this lovely sparkly gold train. His taste in ornaments has improved over the years!

Christmas memories

2012-01-05T23:21:00.003Z

"I rincess!" ~ Emma loves to play dressing up and adored this Snow White costume she got for Christmas.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and we thoroughly enjoyed our family time. My parents travelled up on Christmas Eve and stayed until January 2nd and it was wonderful to be able to spend so much time together.

This was the first time since Mark and I have been together that we have had Christmas in our own home, so I was slightly concerned about pulling off a four course Christmas dinner. I needn't have worried! My Dad was a wonderful help in the kitchen and prepared all the veg and though we sat down to dinner a little later than I planned, it was delicious! The turkey (the first I've ever cooked) was done to a turn and we all enjoyed our traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

It was a wonderful holiday and it was a shame it had to come to an end. Tom and Lily went back to school yesterday and things are slowly returning to normal, but I have the memories of a wonderful Christmas and New Year to make me smile while I catch up with the housework.

I served pastries for breakfast on Christmas morning. I left the table for about two minutes and returned to find Emma had been enjoying an impromptu tasting session in my absence. She had five different pastries in front of her, each of which was missing a bite!

Grandad hard at work on Lily's art table

Lily giving Grandad a helping hand

Tom managed to avoid the camera for most of Christmas Day. This is the only picture I have of him after he got dressed.

Lily at her art table

Lily loved her new doll

Lily in her pretty Christmas Day outfit. I wish I could dress the girls in Sarah Louise dresses every day!

Grandad helping Emma with a present

A rather blurry picture of Emma with her new tea set

Our Christmas Turkey (which Mark dubbed Lord Gobblington) with his bacon coat on. Lord Gobblington fed us faithfully for several days after Christmas. I really love leftover turkey!

Our Christmas table, before I brought out the food. My Dad folded the napkins...he is a man of many talents!

Flash and Molly, my parents' dogs. Molly is wearing the Father Christmas coat that the Podlings got her for Christmas.

Christmas Morning - Pictures for Nanna and Grandad

2011-12-26T02:04:00.001Z

We had Christmas in our own home for the first time this year. We invited my parents to spend Christmas with us and we had a wonderful day. I wanted to share some photos of the Podlings on Christmas morning for their other Nanna and Grandad to see, since this is the first Christmas in a few years that we haven't been with them. There are, naturally, more pictures and stories to follow, but it is now very late and I am off to bed!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, with love from Mark, Paula, Tom, Lily and Emma.

All Tom wanted for Christmas was a Starbucks teddy bear and here he is opening it. A very happy little boy!

Nanny helping Emma to open a present

Tom trying to decide which packet of Haribo to eat first!

Tom with his new Nintendo 3DS. We had always told him he was never going to get one of these, so he was really surprised to unwrap it on Christmas morning. He loves it, but not as much as he loves his Starbucks bear I suspect!

Lily wanted an art table for her room with every fibre of her being and was over the moon when she unwrapped this (we got her this one which fits nicely into her rather small bedroom and has a lovely little compartment for her to keep all her art supplies in) We had planned to have it all built for her, but best laid plans and all that! To say she likes it is a serious understatement!

Emma loves play food and was thrilled with this wooden ice cream set from Nanny and Grandad, just like the ones her brother and sister have already.

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-26T01:25:00.001Z

The Podlings in their new night clothes.

In keeping with our family tradition, the Podlings received new nightwear on Christmas Eve. We have a set pattern for Christmas eve. After tea the Podlings have a bath and then they are given their new pyjamas/nightdress to get into. Then it is supper (hot chocolate and shortbread are a must on Christmas Eve) whilst I read them 'The Night Before Chirstmas', then it is off to bed to wait for Father Christmas. I love traditions. The familiar rituals make family occasions so special.

Chocolate decorations

2011-12-23T21:34:00.000Z

This afternoon I helped the Podlings to make chocolate decorations for the Christmas tree. Tom and Lily were surprisingly uninterested in the messy bit, which left Emma and me to fill the moulds with melted chocolate. I had to work fast as no sooner had Emma filled her mould than she started to scrape the chocolate back out again with her fingers to eat it!

Once the chocolates had cooled, I removed them from the moulds and Tom and Lily decorated them. We still have to put them in the little bags and put them on the tree, but I doubt they will get eaten as the chocolate that came with the kits is vile! I should have gone with my instincts and melted some decent chocolate (mmm, Cadburys!), but I still have the moulds so at least we can make more. Probably not before Christmas though...tomorrow is going to be busy!

The kit is good and very cheap, but take my advice and use your own preferred brand of chocolate as the stuff that came in the kits was pretty vile!

Emma had a great time filling the moulds

Tom icing a decoration

Lily concentrating on her decorating

The finished decorations

Painting ornaments

2011-12-23T21:08:00.000Z

During Emma's naptime today, Tom, Lily and I painted some tree ornaments from kits I bought locally a couple of weeks ago. I had initially intended for Emma to do them too, but wasn't sure the paint was of the easily washable kind. That and the fact that the ornaments were breakable made me think that perhaps this wasn't the best activity for a two year old!

When we had finished, I got Tom and Lily to write their name and age on the back of their ornaments so in future years we can remember who did what and when. I like to think the Podlings will enjoy rediscovering their homemade ornaments each Christmas as we put up our decorations.

These kits were going for a song in our local Home Bargains

Tom painting a Christmas tree

Lily paints a Star

Tom's colourful Christmas Tree

Lily's red and green 'elf' as she called him.

I even had a go myself! The paintbrush in the kit didn't exactly allow for fine detail work, but I had a lot of fun anyway!

Making gingerbread

2011-12-21T23:35:00.003Z

The Podlings and I made gingerbread biscuits today. We made the biscuits in the morning and then had lunch. During Emma's naptime, Tom, Lily and I watched a Christmas film and drew pictures whilst munching on candy canes and then we decorated the biscuits when Emma got up. It was basically just a really lovely day with my three favourite little people that I don't want to forget. I love the holidays!

Emma loves to beat eggs. You can see from her face how seriously she takes the task.

Cutting out biscuits

Emma didn't see any need to wait until we baked the biscuits and was basically content to stuff her face full of gingerbread dough instead of cutting out shapes!

Gingerbread shapes ready to be baked

The really fun part...decorating the biscuits! You wouldn't believe the mess they made!

Some of our gingerbread creations.

Finishing off the leftover icing is one of the perks of homebaking!

Letters to Father Christmas

2011-12-18T22:04:00.000Z

The girls wrote their letters to Father Christmas this afternoon. I made some nice paper for Tom as well, but he told me that he wrote a letter to Santa at school and he didn't want to do another one!

What Emma wants for Christmas is anyone's guess, but she had a great time writing her letter!

Lily's letter reads:

Dear Father Christmas,

I have been a good girl.

Art Table

Grown up scissors

Crayons

Pens

Cuddly angel toy

a biros pack

Harmonica

Cuddly toys

Love from Lily

A festive afternoon

2011-12-18T20:56:00.002Z

"When, what to my wondering eye should appear,

but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick."

-From 'The Night before Christmas' by Clement C. Moore

Yesterday afternoon we took the Podlings to the Trentham Estate shopping village where we had heard you could see some real reindeer. Sure enough, there were two reindeer outside the Santa's grotto, both of whom conformed to the 'tiny reindeer' of the poem. One of them was actually still quite a baby and certainly won't be pulling any sleighs this Christmas eve! The Podlings were all thrilled to see some real reindeer and whilst we hadn't once tried to tell them that these were Father Christmas's actual reindeer, Lily's parting shot to them was "See you on Christmas Eve!".

After seeing the reindeer we wandered round the shopping village and picked up a couple of extra gifts before heading off to Sainsbury's to pick up some milk. Who should be waiting outside Sainsbury's but Father Christmas himself, courtesy of the Lions Club. Lily and Tom had a sudden attack of shyness and hid behind me when we went over to see him. I suspect Lily was shy because she had been a bit of a monkey all afternoon and didn't want to be asked if she had been a 'good girl' by the man with the naughty list! Emma, on the other hand, wasn't in the least bit shy and went right up to him. Her bravery was rewarded in the form of a lollipop, which is about all Emma wants for Christmas anyway...she loves them that much! All in all a very festive afternoon!

Snow!!!

2011-12-16T23:31:00.000Z

A Christmas card from Lily

2011-12-16T23:27:00.002Z

Tom and Lily were happily employed in writing out their Christmas cards last night when Lily suddenly asked me how to spell 'whole'. This was a bit of a change from the previous 'How do you spell (insert classmate's name here)?' refrain. Turns out she was writing out a card for all of you, so I thought I'd take a photo of it so you can enjoy it!

'To evree budee ni the whole wid wurld.

Have a wundfl crisms'.

or to put it another way...

"To everybody in the whole wide world.

Have a wonderful Christmas.'

Let there be light

2011-12-16T23:07:00.000Z

The newest edition to our festive home. Mark bought us this lovely window arch last weekend and it now takes centre stage in the bay window in the lounge. Now we don't pull the curtains until we go to bed so we can sit and enjoy it in the evenings. I love Christmas!

Who needs toys...

2011-12-14T14:38:00.000Z

when you have a large box to play in?

Father Christmas

2011-12-14T14:29:00.003Z

Waiting...
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When my parents were visiting we took the Podlings to see Father Christmas. We went to Bridgemere Garden Centre and joined the queue for the grotto. Then we queued some more and when we got bored with that we....well we queued a bit more! Suffice to say it was a long wait and Emma was getting a bit fed up by the end of it.

All their boredom was forgotten on entering into the room with the man himself! The nervousness! The excitement! I remember it all from my own childhood and I thrill to experience it all again with my children. They did things slightly differently here in that you didn't do the usual sit on Father Christmas's knee, tell him what you want for Christmas, have your photo taken and you're done thing. Here, a group of children are ushered into a room where Father Christmas was sleeping by a fireplace. The children then wake him up and he reads them a story. Then each child (or group of siblings) gets to go up and have a little private chat with him before going to choose a toy from his shelves. It was lovely as the children get to see more of him that way and the Podlings loved it.

My only complaint (aside from the exorbitant cost!) was that there was no opportunity to get a decent photo. I do like to get a nice photographic record of these things and I was rather disappointed not to get a nice photo of the Podlings with Father Christmas. My dad did get a couple that were a bit better than mine, so when I have had a chance to pinch them I'll add them to the end of this post.

Waiting to see Father Christmas

Still waiting...

Are we there yet?

And we're still waiting! As you can see, Tom has had a haircut. Doesn't he look handsome!

Emma listening to Father Christmas tell a story

The only photo I was able to get of the Podlings with Father Christmas. I even dressed them all in red ready for a good picture!

Emma sings Alphablocks

2011-12-14T13:59:00.001Z

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Alphablocks is an excellent CBeebies programme that teaches children phonics. Mark and I love it as much as the Podlings! I credit the Alphablocks with helping both Tom and Lily with their phonics since they both had a sudden, dramatic improvement with their reading at about the time I was putting the programme on for them a lot. I can already see Emma picking up the basic letter sounds from her favourite episodes and she loves to sing along. One of our favourite episodes is 'Why?' in which the letter Y laments not being a vowel. Here is a short video of Emma (in pyjamas) singing along...

Gingerbread house

2011-12-14T13:40:00.001Z

I love all things gingerbread. My sister and I made a fabulous gingerbread house completely from scratch one year, complete with stained 'glass' windows. That was fun, but we were teenagers and it took us most of an afternoon. My little ones are still young and don't yet have that kind of staying power, so I've bought them ready-baked kits the last couple of years. This year I bought this rather adorable Lebkuchen house kit from Aldi (it was only £4.99!) and added in a bag of dolly mixtures and a bag of midget gems to add to the decorating options. We took advantage of the teachers striking the other week to put it together. Whilst I'm sure Emma would have loved to have had a go at this, I thought Tom and Lily would find it rather frustrating to have a two year old 'helping' them, so we waited until she was down for her nap. I pretty much assembled the house for them, but they had a great time decorating it. Unusually, Tom was still at it long after Lily had moved on to something else.

The hardest part was convincing them not to eat it straight away! I've told them we can eat it on Christmas eve, though I notice there are already quite a few sweets missing. I actually caught Emma in the act the other day. She had moved her ride-on car over to the where we are keeping the house, climbed on it and was trying to pick a midget gem off the roof. Little pickle!

Getting ready to decorate.

School Christmas Concert

2011-12-09T23:48:00.001Z

Tom is the rather adorable camel on the far left of the middle row.

Last week both sets of grandparents, Emma and I descended on Tom and Lily's school to watch them in their Christmas concert. Tom was a camel (and a very cute one) and I have included a short video of Tom doing part of his dance in the concert. He did really well, especially since his costume was clearly driving him nuts!

Poor Lily! She was removed from the stage in tears before I was able to get a picture of her. Her class were all dressed as children on Christmas eve and they all looked adorable in their nightclothes, slippers and dressing gowns. Unfortunately, Lily saw us all in the audience and started crying. Not because she was afraid to go on stage, but because she missed us!

Lily loved preparing for the concert and was really excited about it, but she did warn us that she was going to cry if she saw us. The school did four performances of this concert and Lily was all smiles in every one except the one I went to. In fact, a friend of mine who went to a different performance told me that Lily was making eye contact with her and beaming throughout her entire performance! She always does this to me! Next year I think I will tell her I'm going to one performance and sneak into a different one so I can actually see her!

.Apologies for the shaky footage. It is hard to hold the camera steady when you have a fidgety two year old on your lap!

Brotherly love

2011-12-09T23:22:00.000Z

Tom adores his baby sister. Here they are enjoying breakfast together last week. Tom tells me he is going to marry Emma when he grows up. I don't suppose he'll thank me for recording that fact when he is older, but I think it's so sweet!

In which I get back to blogging!

2011-12-06T22:41:00.000Z

Well, it's been a while! I'm not sure I've ever gone this long without updating the blog before. We've all been fine, just busy, busy, busy with school things, Christmas preparation and a visit from my parents. Mum and Dad came up last week and left on Sunday and we finally got to enjoy a week long visit without the whole lot of us getting a stomach virus! We had a lovely week, just enjoying each other's company and there simply wasn't any time left for blogging. Needless to say this leaves me a little behind with my photos, so I shall get back into the swing of things by sharing a few pictures I took of my parents with the Podlings during their visit. I even managed to get a couple of my mum, who generally doesn't like being photographed!

Dad showing something to Tom on his laptop whilst Emma provides musical accompaniment!

Dad showing Lily pictures of some of his metal-detecting finds.

Drawing with Nanny

My mum has a bubbles screen saver on her laptop that Emma loved.

Playing Hungry Hippos with Grandad

Homemade Play Dough

2011-11-21T14:38:00.003Z

The Podlings have all loved play dough and Emma is no exception. It is a great way to wile away a wet or cold morning (like this morning) and whilst commercial play dough certainly has its place, I have always preferred homemade dough for toddlers. The recipe I have always used produces a softer, more malleable dough that is easier for little hands to manipulate.

Recipe for homemade play dough:

2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
4 tablespoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups water
Food colouring of your choice (in my experience you need a reasonable amount to get a good colour)

Put everything into a saucepan and give it a good stir.
Turn on the gas and keep stirring until the mixture thickens and looks like...well, till it looks like play dough! The stirring gets hard work towards the end, but it's worth it.
Turn out the dough and leave on a plate until it is cool enough to handle (I knead it to cool it quicker).
Give it to your children to play with when it is cold and if you wrap it up well in cling film when they are finished it keeps very well.

A walk in the woods

2011-11-21T14:16:00.000Z

On Saturday we took a late afternoon walk in Biddulph Grange Country Park, which is only about a 20 minute drive from where we live. We all enjoyed enjoyed the autumn colours and kicking up the thick piles of leaves as we walked through the woods. We took a thermos for tea, juice for the Podlings and some biscuits and enjoyed a mini-picnic by the small lake at dusk. It was getting quite dark by the time we started back for the car and the fog that descended lent a strange other-worldly quality to the woods that was quite beautiful.

Oh, it's times like this that I wish I had a manual-focus camera (not that I would know how to use it I suppose!)

My Girls...

2011-11-21T13:42:00.000Z

...they look so alike!

Walks with Emma

2011-11-21T13:32:00.000Z

Just a few pictures I took on one of my walks with Emma last week. It was a perfectly beautiful autumn day and we enjoyed a lovely wander around the fields behind the house. I can't help but think of poor Tom and Lily on lovely days like this and wish they were with us enjoying the fresh air and beautiful countryside instead of being cooped up in a classroom.

Long shadows - the year must be getting old.

Emma trys to bring home a 'stick' that is several times bigger than she is!

How wonderful to see the world with a child's eyes! Even the grasses are fascinating and worthy of a closer look. It is delightful to see the wonder that children have over simple things.

'Yes, Mummy, I can see the gate is open, but I would still rather go over the stile.'

'This stick is smaller than the last one...maybe I could carry this one home?'

The National Memorial Arboretum

2011-11-12T23:10:00.008Z

We took the Podlings to the National Memorial Arboretum today in keeping with the Armistice Day commemorations. It was actually Tom's suggestion and we thought it a very good one. He recently went on a class trip to the arboretum in connection with their project on the Second World War and he really enjoyed his visit. He came up to us after breakfast this morning and said "I'd really like to show you all round the arboretum tomorrow". We thought it might be rather busy tomorrow, what with it being Remembrance Sunday, so we went this afternoon instead.

We met up with Mark's parents and his aunt and uncle who are staying with them at the moment. We haven't seen Auntie Mary and Uncle Keith since January so it was lovely to see them again. The Podlings really enjoyed their visit and we tried to explain what it was all about without being too maudlin. We knew the arboretum was big, but we rather underestimated quite how big and I think we would like to go again so we could see more. It closes at dusk and we didn't get there until three, so we could have done with more time. I would particularly like to take my parents next time they visit as my dad served in the army and I really think he would get something out of a trip there.

This Victorian postbox is part of the memorial to members of the General Post Office. It is surrounded by painted stones, some containing the names of those who have died in service. Tom hunted around until he found the stone that he painted on his school visit here as he wanted to show it to us.

Another of the over 200 memorials at the arboretum.

The Armed Forces Memorial contains the names of every British service man and woman who has died in active service or through terrorist action since the Second World War. There are a staggering number of names listed.

Inside the Armed Forces Memorial, in front of one of the two large bronze sculptures in the centre.

Tom next to the bronze wreath in the centre of the Armed Forces Memorial. The second of the large bronze sculptures can be seen in the background.

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a shaft of sunlight shines through the gap in this stone 'door' and illuminates the bronze wreath at the centre of the memorial.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them."

We will remember them

2011-11-11T23:42:00.001Z

Tom's class have been learning about the second world war this term, so for their class assembly they held a short Remembrance Day service. They did a wonderful job and given that they are all six or seven year olds, I felt they handled it with great maturity. It was quite a moving little service and they ought to be very proud of themselves. They obviously worked very hard. I had a really good view of the stage for a change, so I actually managed to get a couple of pictures of Tom on the stage. He did really well. Love my little man!

After the assembly we were invited back to the classroom where Tom gave me a little card he had made and excitedly showed his baby sister off to his friends and showed me round the classroom. I would have loved to have stayed a little longer, but Emma was making herself a little too much at home, so we said our goodbyes and Tom walked us to the door, staying to wave at us through the glass before heading back to his class. He was so thrilled to have had Emma in his classroom!

Thank Heaven for little girls!

2011-11-11T23:23:00.000Z

All dressed up ready for her brother's school assembly. Doesn't she look adorable!

Remembrance Day Poppy Craft

2011-11-11T14:29:00.002Z

Yesterday morning I did a little poppy craft with Emma in honour of Remembrance Day. She is too young to get the significance of the day, but she is observant enough to notice that there are a lot of poppies around at the moment. Plus, I knew we would be attending Tom's school Remembrance Day assembly today, so I thought that if Emma knew what a poppy looked like I could keep her good by drawing her attention to all the poppies that were sure to be there!

It was a very simple craft that simply involved Emma painting a paper plate and a cardboard leaf (which I just drew freehand and hoped for the best!) and a circle in the right colours. I then glued it all together for her and voila! Tom and Lily like the idea so much they want to make their own now, so there's something for us to do this weekend. I'm fairly certain Emma won't mind making another one!

Emma loves painting. Her much-too-big painting apron doesn't seem to hinder her and since it is so large it does actually manage to keep everything but her face and hands clean!

Guy Fawkes Night

2011-11-10T23:45:00.004Z

Lily was so excited about bonfire night. She drew this picture (of us at the fireworks display last year) while she was having her breakfast!

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I know of no reason why gunpowder treason,

Should ever be forgot.

Bonfire night is one of my favourite family nights of the year. It can be a long day for the Podlings as they wait for the evening's entertainment to role round, but since their Nanna and Grandad came around mid-afternoon on Saturday they had plenty to keep them occupied. We had a lovely warming tea before heading out to the local bonfire and fireworks display. I'm something of a stickler for family traditions, so I serve the same food every year (the same food I enjoyed as a child on bonfire night). We have hot dogs (with proper sausages rather than frankfurters naturally), chicken and tomato soups with ginger and syrup cakes to follow. I always put a lit candle on the table to remind us of all the flames we will be seeing later!

After wrapping up warmly we drove the ten minutes down the road to a nearby park. Tom was upset by the noise of the fireworks, so elected to remain in the car with Grandad while the rest of us went to see the display. Lily loves the fireworks, but is still a little frightened by their noise so I think she wasn't entirely upset when the display came to an end. Emma didn't so much as bat an eyelid at the noise and really enjoyed the fireworks, exclaiming loudly with each new burst.

Afterwards, we headed home to enjoy toffee apples and sparklers. Emma was hilarious with her toffee apple. She adores lollipops (she calls them e-pops) and clearly thought her toffee apple was the biggest lollipop she had ever seen. "E-pop mmmmm!!" apparently! Even when she was too tired to lick it any more she clasped it tightly in her fist and wouldn't give it up! Emma is too young to be trusted around sparklers and was very tired, so I put her to bed while Tom and Lily enjoyed them in the garden with everyone else. Tom and Lily finally went to bed after ten o'clock, tired but happy little Podlings. As always, it was a lovely evening of family fun.

Despite the fog and the smoke from the bonfire, I did manage to snap a quick picture after the fireworks display. Tom and Grandad were in the car at this point, though they did join us in the park shortly afterwards.

Pardon my hat-hair! I included this photo to show my mum that I still wear the Aran jumper she knitted for me about twenty years ago. I call it my bonfire night jumper because it is such a thick, warm jumper that bonfire night is about the only time it is cold enough to wear it! I love this jumper!
On a side note, my mum also knitted the cardigan that Emma is wearing. She made it for Tom when he was a toddler and I liked it so much she has made him a larger version every time he grows of one. We now have it in three sizes, so all three Podlings can wear my favourite cardgian at the same time now!

We actually wore Emma out! This is such a rare occurrence I had to take a photo. Doesn't she look adorable...love her to bits!

A very tired Emma with her Grandad. The toy on her lap was a gift from her Nanna and Grandad from their last trip to Scotland. Would you believe it is called a Podling! It actually has 'Podling' embroidered across the front. Emma loves her Podling and takes it to bed with her every night and carries it with her in the pram. Apparently there are a range of Podlings, so now we want to get one for Tom and Lily too. Podlings for the Podlings...fantastic!

Obviously Tom was there enjoying the evening with us, but somehow this turned out to be the best photo I have of him. I include it to prove he was there!

Halloween

2011-11-01T23:48:00.004Z

Lily the mermaid and Ladybird Emma

As a Christian I have to admit that I have never known where to stand when it comes to Halloween. There's the whole 'evil' thing obviously, coupled with the fact that I hate anything scary or unpleasant anyway. However, there is no denying that Halloween is 'out there' and since I now have children I can no longer just ignore the Halloween displays in all the shops and wait quietly for November to roll around.

Tom and Lily go to a secular school (which thankfully doesn't do anything to mark Halloween), so all of their friends are excited about Halloween and trick or treating. I don't want my children to feel that they are missing out on something great as I feel that the surest way of driving a child towards something is to tell them they can't have it. We now mark Halloween as an evening of dressing up, family games and activities and a special tea and we keep the nasties out of it. I hope that by keeping Halloween a fun, family and above all wholesome evening, I can stop them wanting to go out dressed like the undead and begging door to door!

I shall now get off my soapbox and tell you that we had a really fun Halloween. I hung dressing up costumes all over the lounge, so when the Podlings got home from school they could put on what they wanted. We decorated apples, played some games, had a special tea and ate lots of sugar. Lily loves to give out the sweets to the trick or treaters, which I feel is a good lesson in giving to others and Emma loved shouting 'Bye!!' at the top of her voice and slamming the door after they had left. I don't allow the children to go trick or treating, but I do allow them to go outside the front door and trick or treat me. They do this several times and do quite well out of it!

I had a hard job getting them all to calm down and go to sleep when it came to bedtime, which I feel shows that they had a great time. I don't know how long I can get away with our current approach to Halloween, but for now the Podlings really love it.

Pirate Tom...arr!

Halloween costumes, pumpkin baskets and clues to some of our evening activities greeted the Podlings when we got back from school.

The Podlings needed new toothbrushes anyway, but it amused me to put them in their pumpkin baskets in anticipation of the large amount of sugar they would be consuming! The plate contained some pumpkin shaped ginger biscuits I found in Sainsbury's.

Emma's new ladybird costume was one of the many costumes I hung around the lounge.

Lily decorating her apple.

Tom decorating his apple. Emma made one too, but I didn't get a picture of her as I was too busy making sure she didn't get melted chocolate all over the carpet!

The cutest ladybird in town!

I had serious trouble lighting our Jack o' Lantern. Of course you need a candle inside it and Emma is under the impression that you blow candles out since that's what you do at birthday parties. Every time I lit the lantern, she immediately blew it out. Finally, I tried lighting it really quickly and slamming the lid back on, at which point she bent over and blew the candle out through the mouth! We did get there eventually!

Our little tea. It was very simple, but if I get the cake stands and pretty plates out the Podlings think we are having a party no matter what I serve!

Emma wanted to change into her giraffe costume after a while. My goodness, she makes a cute (if rather short) giraffe!

Lily strikes a pose. She loved her new mermaid costume a great deal.

Boo!

Sugar and spice and all things nice,

2011-10-26T22:02:00.000Z

That's what little girls are made of.

Flash

2011-10-26T21:57:00.002Z

Best friends!

My parents were able to come up for the week of Tom's birthday, which I'm sure they would have enjoyed a lot more if we hadn't shared our stomach virus with them while they were here! I love having my parents to visit and no matter how long they stay it never seems long enough.

The Podlings are always thrilled to see their grandparents, especially since they always bring their two dogs with them. Molly is a seven year old Yorkshire Terrier who has the good sense to stay away from children except during mealtimes. Flash, on the other hand, adores the Podlings and has a special fondness for Lily. Flash is a two year old Shelty and is a fine specimen of doghood, He basically looks like a miniature Lassie and is admired wherever he goes. Wherever he goes is usually not very far from wherever Lily goes when he is visiting us. He will even go and wake her up if we don't keep an eye on him. He loves her and the feeling is definitely mutual!

Poor Lily is a little squashed here. It's hard being loved!

Tom's 7th birthday

2011-10-26T20:50:00.001Z

There seems to be a pox upon our family birthdays this year. Mark had pneumonia over Lily's and my birthdays, we were all suffering from norovirus the week of Emma's birthday and the week of Tom and Mark's birthdays we were once again all suffering from a nasty stomach virus. Tom was supposed to be having a couple of friends round for a party tea after school on his birthday, but because of the virus we had to put them off. The poor little boy was so disappointed, even though we promised him a second birthday party when everyone was better.

Because I had been ill the day before his birthday, the little party tea we put together for him was entirely devoid of homemade goodies. For the second time this year I had to give one of my children a bought birthday cake instead of the usual homemade one. My disappointment in this fact was not mirrored by Tom who adored his store-bought caterpillar cake to such an extent that we haven't been allowed to cut it and it is still smiling down at me from a shelf in the kitchen. I've never have a fuss made like that over one of my homemade cakes...humpf!

Stomach viri notwithstanding, Tom ended up really enjoying his birthday. Thankfully nobody was actually ill on the day of his birthday (although my dad started going down with it the next day), so we were able to make it special for him. One of his favourite presents was a little £1.49 rocket balloon pump that caused no end of delight in the Podlings. He also loved his Playmobil pirate ship, though I am very glad my dad was here to put that one together! A good time was had by all in the end and Tom is now looking forward to having his two best friends round for his second birthday party on Friday. We have a duplicate caterpillar cake for this party and he assures me he will let us eat that one as long as we can keep the original. That's one advantage of store bought cakes at least...they are so chock full of preservatives you can keep the things for weeks!

One thing I have learned from the birthdays this year is that it really is okay to keep things simple. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy putting the fancy parties together, but sometimes trying to get everything 'just right' can take away from what the day is really about...celebrating my little ones. My perfectionism is not always my friend! Too often have I spent the birthday afternoon in the kitchen instead of playing with them and their new toys. Tom was over the moon with his store-bought cake, his store-bought decorations and unco-ordinated wrapping paper. Whilst it is okay to give them their special parties with the homemade decorations, homemade goodies and colour co-ordinated everything (and I will always enjoy doing that), it is also okay to sometimes just kick back, buy everything from a shop and just enjoy the wonderful little people in my life! It is about the memories we make together, not the parties I make alone.

Emma got very excited when she saw me putting the food out in the kitchen and immediately climbed up to the table and started demanding cake! She then got distracted by the blanket we were using as a tablecloth and started singing 'Twinkle twinkle little star'!

Tom might be seven, but he still loves the Hungry Caterpillar and was thrilled with his new Portmeirion china Hungry Caterpillar plate, bowl and mug set.

Party time!

Tom with his much-beloved store-bought caterpillar cake.

Seven today!

2011-10-18T23:06:00.001Z

My darling little boy turned seven years old today. I blinked and somehow that tiny little baby in the incubator grew into a seven year old boy! But what a sweet, caring, thoughtful little boy he is and he brings so much delight to our lives. I am so grateful that he is a 'young' seven. He isn't in a hurry to grow up and is just as happy to play with his little toys as his 'big boy' toys. He brings so much joy to our family.

Happy 7th Birthday Tom!

We love you very much.

I must go down to the sea again...

2011-10-07T22:35:00.003Z

The weather was so warm last weekend that the Podlings were still enjoying the sea at sunset. Who would have thought one could enjoy being in the Irish Sea at sunset in October! It was truly wonderful
watching the sun set over the sea as my children played in the water and the waves lapped over my feet. By this time we were almost on our own on the beach and it was so peaceful with only the sound of the Podlings' laughter and the waves lapping to break the stillness. Even the gulls were quiet by this time. We stayed on the beach until it was really too dark to stay any longer, but even so the Podlings didn't want to leave. What a wonderful, if unusual, way to spend an Autumn day!

I love this photo!

Emma was mesmerised by the waves. She just stood there staring at them, occasionally saying "Water! Water fun!". I'm slightly sad that she now uses the proper word for water. For a long time she called water 'wee wet', or 'wee wee wet' for a large body of water like a lake or the sea.

I decided that Emma was getting a bit cold so I got her out and wrapped her in a towel. As soon as she had warmed up she was down and back in the sea again!

Making sandcastles in the dark!

Beautiful!

To the beach...

2011-10-04T21:12:00.000Z

We took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather last weekend and went to the beach. Imagine, wearing shorts and playing in the sea in October! Not something you would expect to happen in this country, but we weren't complaining. This time we went to Barkby Beach, Prestatyn as for some reason the car park for our favourite beach was closed. We had never been there before, but the Podlings absolutely loved it and Tom said he wanted to go there again. Talacre beach is certainly prettier and has more dry sand, but there was certainly nothing to complain about at Barkby and we had a wonderful afternoon together.

I am terrible for taking photos at the beach, I just can't stop myself! This trip was no different, so I have divided my photos into two posts, one for the beach and one for the sea. You can't have too many photos of your children!

Looking at shells

Sun, sand, sea and tea

Sun, sand, tea and me!

Playing in the garden

2011-10-02T21:04:00.000Z

It really has been too nice to stay indoors this week. Here are some pictures of Emma playing with her toys on a blanket in the garden earlier this week. What you won't be seeing is a picture of my ironing pile, which has reached epic proportions during this week of lovely weather. Who wants to iron when the sun is shining!

Emma loves the Jack-in-the-Box. I really like this one as it has a teddy bear instead of the traditional Jack. I have always found the traditional Jack-in-the-box rather creepy!

Emma is very good at stacking blocks and can make some rather tall towers.

Then Nanna and Grandad arrived to play!

The little picnic that wasn't

2011-10-02T20:35:00.002Z

Mark was amused at my going for a walk with two baskets (I have a bit of a thing for baskets), so he took my picture before I set off.

One day last week Mark was working from home, so I planned to have a little time to myself during Emma's nap. I packed up a little picnic (sandwiches, apples and a homemade muffin...mmm!), a small thermos of tea, a couple of books, a blanket and my blackberry basket and set off. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to an hour or two of peace and relaxation in the sunshine. I had visions of setting up my picnic under a shady tree and whiling away a pleasant half an hour with my old friend David Copperfield. Alas, it wasn't to be!

I managed to get quite a nice basketful of blackberries and I was just about to find a nice spot for my picnic when I received a message from Mark telling me that Emma was on nap strike and he had had to get her up (there's the curse of the mobile phone for you!). Aaargh! How do the little ones always know when you are trying to sneak away! I set off for home and instead of my picnic under a tree, I ate it at our garden table while Mark played nearby with Emma. Still, the thought of the picnic was almost as nice as actually having it. It's a wonderful thing to possess an imagination!

I wasn't the only lady out for a stroll amongst the blackberry bushes!

An Autumn walk with Emma

2011-10-02T20:12:00.001Z

The weather this week has been nothing short of glorious and so Emma and I have been trying to make the most of it when Tom and Lily are at school by being outdoors as much as possible. This is naturally detrimental to the order of the house, but the housework will keep in a way that this lovely weather simply won't. The colder, wetter weather that we are used to will return in force soon enough! Here are a few pictures from one of our walks earlier this week. These were all taken within a 5 minute walk of our house (though it takes longer at Emma pace!).

The last rose(s) of summer!

I like teasel. It such a funny, alien-looking plant.

The cows appeared to be enjoying the lovely weather as much as us!

Thistles with their Autumn coats on.

This little ladybird was quite safe from predators, nestled as it was in this prickly teasel head.

So long, farewell

2011-09-24T21:08:00.003Z

Today Lily went to the hairdressers and had about six inches chopped off her hair. That sentence completely fails to convey the anguish I felt as the hairdresser took hold of her long, beautiful hair and chopped it off!

Lily has been asking to have her hair cut into a bob for at least three months, but I have been doing the mental equivalent of sticking my fingers in my ears and humming loudly! Truthfully, I think the bob is a delightful hairstyle for a little girl, but it was such a dramatic change in length for her that I wanted to be absolutely sure that she really wanted it done and it wasn't just a passing whim. She prefers to wear her hair down, but hates to have it brushed, so a shorter style did make sense. She has been asking quite consistently, so I finally gave in this weekend and took her on her first visit to the hairdressers (I have always cut her hair in the past).

All the way to the hairdressers I kept asking, "Are you sure, really sure, that you want all your hair cut off?" Right up to the last minute I gave her the chance to opt out, but she maintained that she definitely wanted a bob. So off came the hair and Mummy felt rather sad! She briefly looked a bit sad when she first saw the new length, but as the hairdresser continued to style her hair, she beamed happily and was clearly as pleased as punch with the new cut. I, meanwhile, sat nearby holding the discarded ponytail wistfully! Oh, her hair was so beautifully long!

I have to admit that she looks absolutely lovely with her new bob and I think it really suits her. Lily did get a bit sad at bedtime saying that she wanted her old hair back, but I think that was mainly down to tiredness. She has been really pleased with it and I kept catching her stealing glances of herself in reflective surfaces all day! I have promised to get her some pretty hairbands to wear and she is really looking forward to going to school with her new bob. I think she looks adorable!

The 'before' picture. Oh my, it was long!

On the way home from the hairdressers.

Babe in the Woods

2011-09-18T21:27:00.000Z

Love this sweet child!

Lunch by the Loch

2011-09-18T21:13:00.002Z

We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the loch near our holiday park, though it was a lot colder here than when we were deep in the woods. We were glad of the Thermos! The Podlings played near the water for a little while and then we explored the woods a little further before heading back to the lodge. It was a lovely family afternoon.

A Walk in the Woods

2011-09-18T20:53:00.000Z

On the last day of our holiday we took a walk through the woods next to our holiday park and had a picnic lunch by the loch. The woods here are so beautiful, with a carpet of moss so thick in places you could almost lie down and sleep on it. Needless to say, I indulged in a few photos! I wish we had a wood like this near our home, though I suspect I would spend far too much time in it if we did!

I love my floral wellies and was rather amused at how they matched my dress. I want to point out that these boots are massive and are at least two sizes too big for me. My feet are not actually that big!

Everyone else had worn Mark's Tam, so I thought I should have a go too!

Delusions of Grandeur

2011-09-16T21:53:00.004Z

Watching a children's programme with Emma this morning:

Mr Tumble: "And who lives in Buckingham Palace?"
Emma: "Mummy!"

I wish!

Black Isle Wildlife Park

2011-09-16T21:34:00.000Z

Like most children, the Podlings love animals, so we thought they would enjoy a visit to Black Isle Wildlife Park. It was the first day of our holiday that we were able to venture out without coats and we were grateful for the warmer weather as we wandered round the park and enjoyed the animals. We had a lovely time and we all particularly enjoyed seeing the newly hatched quail chicks running around. My Dad once told me that quail chicks look like bumble bees running around on two legs and he wasn't wrong!

Lily and Emma loved the goats, but Tom said he didn't like their eyes and stayed clear of them.

This wallaby came right up to the fence in front of us. He was so cute!

Lily likes to ride in the pushchair when she gets the chance. Emma was glad of the company!

These baby alpaca looked so soft I can see why their wool is sought after. I wanted to go home wearing one!

Tom is going through a pirate phase at the moment, so he was thrilled with this large ship in the park's play area. Apparently when he grows up he is going to be a pirate and he says he is going to live in Somalia because he has somehow heard that there are pirates there. He assures us he is going to be a good pirate though. I'm picturing a sort of Robin Hood of the high seas! Apparently being a pirate is going to keep him busy as he tells me he won't be able to come and visit me. Luckily, Lily tells me she is going to be a mermaid when she grows up and she has promised to bring me messages from Tom's pirate ship!

Falls of Shin

2011-09-14T21:36:00.002Z

Our visit to the Falls of Shin was something of a highlight for me. The waterfall alone is pretty enough, but it is also one of the best places in Scotland to watch leaping Atlantic salmon. The salmon return upstream to their birthplace to breed and late summer is the best time to see them. It was truly fascinating to watch the salmon leaping up the powerful waterfall. I was amazed by the variation in size of these fish, some of which must have made this journey many times before. Even the little tiddlers were having a good go. Their perseverance was a wonder to behold. The Podlings really enjoyed watching the leaping salmon and I had a job tearing Lily away.

The visitor centre has a lovely adventure playground next to it. Emma got a little carried away and found herself on top of a piece of apparatus that she couldn't get down from. Daddy had to go up and rescue her. I do sometimes wish that Emma wasn't quite so adventurous!

Look closely, do you see it...?

...a leaping salmon! I can't tell you how thrilled I was to catch this on camera!

Tom and Lily were absolutely fascinated by the leaping salmon.

The pretty mosaic next to the falls.

Lily (wearing Mark's new hat) with her Daddy.

Dunnet Head

2011-09-13T21:02:00.001Z

You can't go all the way to John o'Groats without visiting Dunnet Head. It is about 10 miles west of John o'Groats and, crucially, a leetle bit further north. For those of you paying attention, that makes it the most northerly point in mainland Britain. The very tip of the country and definitely one of those visit-it-to-say-you've-been-there places. There isn't actually anything there except the lighthouse, but the view is lovely and the countryside on the drive up there is stunning. Well worth the visit.

Tom took a shine to Mark's new hat - a Tom O'Shanter if you will!

John o'Groats

2011-09-12T22:10:00.003Z

We were staying a mere 80 miles away from the top of Scotland, so it seemed a shame not to drive up there and see John o'Groats, the most northerly settlement in mainland Britain. We enjoyed a scenic drive, stopping to stretch our legs briefly in Dunbeath and again for lunch in Wick. On a side note, if you have children and you are looking for somewhere to eat in Wick then you might want to check out Morag's Cafe. The food is good (and homemade), it is really family friendly and there is a small ball pool and some games at the back where the little ones can play while you are waiting for food to arrive. The Podlings loved it there.

We arrived in John o'Groats around six o'clock, so it was nice and quiet. It was also very windy and bitterly, bitterly cold. Did I mention it was cold? Although there isn't really anything there, it is one of those places you have to visit just to say you've been there. And now we have!

Dunbeath Harbour where we stopped to stretch our legs on our way North.

The Last House in Scotland

Tom in front of John o'Groats harbour

A view along the coast

John o'Groats House - a prime example of what not to do to a beautiful old building in need of love and restoration. What possessed them to paint this lovely old building in such a grotesque fashion is beyond my understanding.

It might have been late, but the gift shop was still open. Here is Mark sporting his newly acquired Tam O'Shanter. A gentleman can never have too many hats!

Tom and Nanna

Emma demonstrating how windy it was!

After ewe!

Duncansby Head lighthouse, the most north-easterly point in mainland Britain (John o'Groats is only the most northern settlement)

Loch Morlich revisited

2011-09-11T23:02:00.004Z

We visited Lock Morlich on our Highland holiday last year. We spent a beautiful afternoon there playing in and around the water and enjoyed a leisurely picnic on the shore. This year...this year it was bitterly cold and you wouldn't have got me in that water for love nor money! The Podlings weren't quite so easily deterred and somehow managed to get soaking wet despite being instructed not to 'go deeper than your wellies'. The adults cowered on the shore drinking tea from a thermos and watched in wonderment the little crazy people who seemed immune to the cold!

Feeding the ducks

I feel this picture of my lovely mother-in-law goes some way towards illustrating how cold it was! She looks absolutely freezing!

My capacious shawl was still woefully inadequate. I was very cold!

I love this picture. It looks like Tom is walking on water!

'Wasn't I wearing Wellies?'

'Oh, there they are! Guess that explains why my feet are wet.'

.Mark grinding the dust of his enemies beneath his feet (or something equally heroic no doubt)
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Day the first - Rain!!

2011-09-11T22:32:00.000Z

Our first full day in the Highlands was also the one with the worst weather. It was cold, wet and windy and since we were all tired from travelling the two days before, we decided to just stay in the lodge and enjoy an opportunity to do nothing for a change. Weather notwithstanding, Lily was keen to go for a walk and, since I am not averse to a walk in the rain myself, we donned our wellies in the afternoon and went wandering in the nearby woods. We enjoyed our little walk, just the two of us, and spent a happy hour spotting mushrooms and toadstools in the woods. Lily had brought a toy camera with her and was happily pretending to take photos in the woods. She was thrilled when I allowed her to take a couple of pictures with my 'real' camera. She has a very steady hand and took surprisingly good pictures for her age. We were a little damp when we got back to the lodge, but we soon warmed up with some hot chocolate. I enjoyed spending some special time with my little Lily Boo.

Back in business

2011-09-09T21:55:00.000Z

Mark bought me a new card reader, so prepare to be inundated with holiday photos. Not tonight though...tonight I'm off for an early night with tea and my Anne book. These early starts are doing me in!

Autumn

2011-09-09T12:02:00.003Z

Can you feel it in the air? It's more than just a drop in temperature. It's the crispness in the air, as if a smell you weren't even aware of is suddenly gone from it. It's a subtle change in the colour of the light that is more than just a result of the changing leaves. Autumn!

As my favourite season draws upon us I find myself once again retreating more into the home. The season brings on a longing for home comforts and home cooking that inevitably leaves me with an uncontrollable desire to nest. It drives me into the kitchen to bake, to fill my home with the delicious scent of apples and cinnamon . To fill my family with good food and the knowledge that somebody loves them enough to cook it for them. To create a warm and cosy home that reflects that a happy family lives and is loved here. To focus on what really matters.

Though a naturally observant person, my senses seem heightened in the autumn and life itself seems more vivid. Colours are deeper, smells more intense, even the feel of the breeze on my skin is somehow more poignant in these months. It has always been this way for me and the autumns of my life seem to gather together as the summer draws to a close. It is as though I could almost reach out and touch them. As though I am somehow there again, observing quietly from the mind of those younger versions of myself. An autumn walk I took as a child, a crisp October school day, my first walk with my first baby in the dim autumn twilight...the memories of these days are as vivid to me as if they happened only yesterday. Consequently, autumn also brings with it feelings of nostalgia, a realisation of the passage of time and a longing for things past. My vivid awareness of the present is tempered by a keen sense of things past...almost of homesickness.

It is for this reason that I feel the need to draw into the home as we say goodbye to the exciting and fun-filled days of summer. Autumn calls for a slower pace and a chance to savour the things that God has blessed me with... a loving family, a cosy home and a beautiful world in which to live.

Welcome autumn, it is good to see you old friend!
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Tearing my hair out...

2011-09-08T20:26:00.003Z

.,
...because I have about a million pictures from our holiday that I want to post, but I can't find my card reader anywhere so I can't get them off the camera!

We had a lovely time in Scotland and are now back home and slowly settling back into the school routine. I have almost caught up with the pile of laundry we brought back with us, but somehow while I was tending to that and the Podlings somebody set off a stuff bomb in the kitchen, which is now a complete disaster area! Oh, well...I'll get there in due course!

Tom and Lily both have new teachers this year, so there is bound to be a period of adjustment as they start the new school year. As usual Tom seems to have taken it all in his stride. Tom is quite a pragmatic individual and just gets on with things he knows he can't change. It will take a little longer for Lily, who likes nothing more than being home with her mummy. It will take me a little while to settle in to the new school year too...the early starts after our lazy holiday mornings are not exactly welcome to someone who is not a morning person at the best of times. I'm exhausted!

I hope to be able to share some (lots!) of our holiday photos when I either find my card reader or buy a new one. In the meantime, I think I'll make a decaffeinated tea and have an early night. I'm reading through the Anne of Green Gables series for the umpteenth time (any kindred spirits reading the blog?) and I want to make a good start on Anne of the Island before I settle down for the night.

Good night all!
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Ashdown Forest and Poohsticks Bridge

2011-08-26T00:49:00.001Z

Ashdown Forest, near Poohsticks Bridge

We ended our visit to Sussex with a visit to Ashdown Forest. A.A. Milne fans may know this is the real name of Hundred Acre Wood, where Winnie the Pooh and his friends had their adventures. By the time we reached the forest, Emma had given up and fallen asleep, so Mark stayed with her in the car and I took Tom and Lily on the walk through the woods to Poohsticks Bridge. When Mark and I came here B.P (Before Podlings), we struggled to find any sticks near the bridge, so this time we had the foresight to gather a bag of sticks at Wakehurst Place. The Podlings and I enjoyed a lovely woodland walk and had great fun playing Poohsticks. We snacked on some ripe blackberries we found by the path before heading back to the car and the long drive home.

Pooh Corner in Hartfield, the village where A.A. Milne lived.

Tom and Lily in Ashdown Forest, or Hundred Acre wood as they persisted in calling it.

On Poohsticks Bridge

Before playing our first game of Poohsticks

Playing Poohsticks

The path near the bridge was lined with wildflowers and was quite breathtaking.

Wakehurst Place

2011-08-26T00:16:00.002Z

On our last day we visited Wakehurst Place, which is maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Mark and I came here many times 'back in the day' and loved the peace and tranquility of the gardens. It was somewhat less peaceful and tranquil with the Podlings, but the garden was just as beautiful as we remembered. We had a quick look inside the Elizabethan house (looking round National Trust properties with Podlings is very stressful!), but spent most of the time in the garden. We didn't get to see very much this time as the Podlings were too tired to walk far, but we enjoyed what we did see.

We were greeted by this wonderful carpet of cyclamen as we entered the gardens.

The Podlings looking like butter wouldn't melt! Tom is sporting Mark's cricket hat.

The Podlings and me under one of the magnificent Californian redwoods in the garden. I'm just under 5' 2" if you want to get some idea of just how tall this tree is.

Tom and Mummy!

"Cower" (Emma's word for flower)

Tom and cannon

One of the stained glass windows in the chapel of the house

The sundial was surprisingly accurate, though obviously didn't account for British summer time

"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow". The English Oak is my favourite tree and I have seen some magnificent specimens during our visit to Sussex.

It seemed only fitting to get a picture of Lily by the lily pond

Lily and Mummy!

Eastbourne

2011-08-25T23:31:00.000Z

After our visit to Bodiam Castle we drove to the coast for a fish supper. Mark and I are both from coastal counties, so we grew up being able to choose what fish you want when you go into a fish and chip shop. We assumed this was the norm until we moved 'up north'. We have found that where we currently live, you can buy "fish" and chips, but rarely can you get a named fish. On the rare occasions that the fish are named, the choice is somewhat less than we are used to. One of the things on our list of things to do in Sussex was to get "named fish" and chips. We particularly wanted Huss as you just can't seem to get that in Staffordshire.

We chose to go to Eastbourne as we figured it would quieter than Brighton. We enjoyed our Huss and chips at dusk on the beach as we looked across to the pier. The Podlings had fun playing on the beach and Lily and Emma even went paddling with Daddy in the dark (crazy people!). We ended off the day with a walk along the pier. Opened in 1870, the pier still maintains much of its Victorian charm. There was even a Victorian tea room on the pier I would have loved to visit, had it not been nine o'clock at night and decidedly closed!

Huss and chips...yum!

Eastbourne pier

Eastbourne beach at night. Lily is showing us her favourite rock. She collected LOTS of pebbles from the beach!

Bodiam Castle

2011-08-25T22:46:00.002Z

On the second day of our visit to Sussex we took the Podlings to Bodiam Castle. Mark and I came here many years ago and we really wanted the Podlings to see it. As Mark says, if you want to see a castle that looks exactly like you would expect than Bodiam is the place to be! It was built in 1385 and most of the exterior wall is still intact. Enough of the interior survives to give you a good impression of how it would have looked and we had fun climbing the spiral staircases and exploring the battlements. We all enjoyed our visit, but Tom was especially excited about the castle. He and I went off and explored the bits that would have been too hard for Emma while Mark took the girls to see the video about the castle. Lily was full of little tidbits of history when we all met up again.

We bought the Podlings swords and shields at Legoland and they were very excited to take them to storm the castle. Emma has got it slightly wrong and is holding her hood aloft instead of her sword, but she does her best to be like the others!

An extremely rare photo of all five of us!

The interior of the castle, taken from one of the battlements

Tom on a battlement, with the Sussex countryside behind him

Bodiam Castle is surrounded by the most magnificent oak trees.

Mark carried Emma to the top of one of the battlements and she enjoyed looking down at the ground below.

We were enjoying ourselves so much we stayed till the castle closed.

It is a truly splendid castle!

Legoland Windsor

2011-08-25T21:05:00.002Z

Lego Leuven (in Belgium). The building on the right is a replica of the town hall, which Mark and I have seen a couple of times. It is a truly magnificent building in reality and the Lego version is pretty impressive too!

Our Legoland Discovery annual pass allowed us one free entrance to the much larger Legoland attraction in Windsor, so we planned to surprise the Podlings with a trip here during our visit down South. Tom was very excited when he recognised the Legoland sign as we drove past it! We had a slightly rocky start thanks to tired and cranky Podlings, but everyone settled down and we had a lovely couple of hours exploring Miniland and some of the other attractions. This place is massive and we barely scratched the surface of what there is here, but since Mark and I aren't big on theme park rides, we weren't too upset about that! We would have liked time to take the Podlings to Duplo Land, but hopefully we can fit that in next time.

Tom exploring Lego Scotland

I was a Girl Guide and later a Guider in my younger days and I loved our Guide camps, so I couldn't resist taking a photo of this rather sweet Lego Guide camp.

This Lego tableau was rather appropriate as we had broken down on our way down to Sussex and needed to call the RAC out. Mark suddenly noticed that the car was losing power and when we pulled into the motorway services and got out of the car we saw diesel pouring out from under the bonnet all over the car park...yikes! They were able to fix the problem, but not until the following morning so we had to stay in a nearby hotel and complete our journey the next day. Thankfully we didn't drive into a river!

Emma was too tired to enjoy Miniland, but she rallied after resting in the pushchair for a while and enjoyed the remainder of the visit. This is a typical 'tired Emma' pose, with her dummy in her mouth and the corner of her muslin by her nose.

This rather intimidating Lego dinosaur sprayed water out of its nostrils, accompanied by some rather scary dinosaur noises. The Podlings loved it and spent ages playing underneath it and getting very wet!

Tom waiting for the dinosaur to spray him again!

Mark, Tom and Lily on the Sky Rider. They had to queue for over 30 minutes to get on this ride, which lasted about three minutes. Thankfully Tom and Lily considered it worth the wait. Meanwhile, Emma and I went for a wander and discovered the source of the Lego bricks at Windsor...

Apparently, the Lego bricks are mined by moles beneath the site of Legoland Windsor! Emma loved this little animated tableau and I had to keep taking her back there.

Emma and Lily both really enjoyed trying to make Lego bricks stay on this moving platform. The aim is to build a Lego building that can withstand the Lego 'earthquake'.

Lily on a Lego biplane

The Podlings enjoying (very expensive) icecream.

Given that we are heading to the Highlands tomorrow, I thought this little Lego Highland Games rather fitting!

Sussex bound

2011-08-20T22:38:00.000Z

Mark in Ashdown Forest (aka Hundred Acre Wood) in 2004

We're off on a short holiday to Sussex tomorrow. Mark is from Sussex, so he has a natural fondness for the county. My love of Sussex came from the many weekends we spent exploring it during our 'courting' days. We were studying in Guildford, so after a week in the lab it was lovely to hop in Mark's car and drive around the neighbouring county on summer weekends. We enjoyed the South Downs, the coast and many of the historic towns, castles and stately homes in the region. I have many happy memories of the times we spent there.

This is the first time we have visited the area properly since having the Podlings and we are looking forward to sharing some of our love of the place with them. We will be returning on Wednesday night and then I will have a frantic laundry and packing session as we are then off on our 'main' holiday on Friday. We will be driving up to the Highlands for a week, staying in the same place we went to last year. It is going to be a fun-filled couple of weeks, but there probably won't be much time for blogging. Don't worry if the blog is quiet for a while...I'm sure I will more than make up for it with masses of photos when we get back!
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Who's in the Wendy house today?

2011-08-20T22:11:00.000Z

Emma loves the Wendy house. It was given to Lily by her grandparents on her second birthday, but she currently refuses to go in it "because it has spiders". Consequently, Emma regards the Wendy house as her own personal abode. She was particularly pleased today as she had a visitor.

Emma wants you to come inside and see who she managed to drag into the Wendy house with her...

Daddy! Not a lot of room for Daddy in there, but Emma doesn't mind sharing!

Legoland again!

2011-08-14T22:49:00.000Z

Tom, lover of all things Lego, is in his element at Legoland.

Our annual pass to Legoland Discovery runs out at the end of this month, so we wanted to squeeze in another visit before then. We have learnt that it is better to go late in the day as it gets much quieter after five and the centre is open until seven. As usual the Podlings had a great time and Emma is getting more out of it now that she is a year older than when we first got the pass. Although we have been several times before, today was the first time we took them to see the 4-D Lego feature in the little cinema they have there. I fully expected to spend the entire time chasing Emma around the cinema, but she loved it and quickly worked out that she needed to keep her glasses on to enjoy the film. In fact, we all enjoyed the little Clutch Powers adventure (the Podlings love Clutch Powers) and it was probably the highlight of today's visit. As usual, we let Tom acquire a few Lego men in the gift shop before heading out for a late tea. We will probably get another annual pass as we have had such good use out of this one.

Tom showing us his missing front teeth. He lost the second top tooth about two weeks ago and I still can't quite get used to seeing him with a gap!

Emma loved wearing her glasses!

Lily took her glasses off when the rock monster came on. "I don't like having it close to me." she explained. They went straight back on again afterwards though.

Tom looking super cool in his glasses.

Emma racing in the Lego car in the gift shop. The benefits of the annual pass are slightly offset by having to exit the attraction through the gift shop! On the plus side, the annual pass does give you a 10% discount off the overpriced merchandise!

Operation cup of tea

2011-08-13T21:49:00.000Z

I'm sure everyone has heard of the disgraceful riots that were taking place across the country this week. Utterly appalling behaviour that is, above all, simply not British. Drinking tea on the other hand, is a very British pastime, so Mark and I were happy to participate in the inspired anti-riot event "Operation cup of tea". The basic premise of this event (set up on Facebook by an inspired young man of whom I know absolutely nothing) was that all civilised people will, at 8.30pm every evening the riots were taking place, stay home and have a cup of tea. An 'anti-riot' as it were. Here is Mark enjoying a cup of Twinings Russian Taiga tea in protest against the riots. As he said in his Facebook post "the Spiderman and Venom mug belies my advancing years!".
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Rain, sea and sand

2011-08-07T22:09:00.003Z

What's a family to do on a Sunday afternoon when it's cloudy, windy and threatening rain? Why, head to the beach of course! Well, that's what we did today anyway. We dressed warmly, packed a picnic tea and drove to North Wales to enjoy a rather British afternoon on the beach. We were a little concerned when we first arrived as it was raining quite heavily, but it soon settled down enough that we were able to get out and enjoy the beach. It stopped raining after about ten minutes and we all had a lovely time and got to enjoy our picnic on the beach. Mark, Lily and Emma even went paddling...crazy people! It was a wonderful afternoon and we were even lucky enough to enjoy the most vibrant rainbow I've seen for years for much of the journey home. Who needs sunshine to go to the beach...not us!
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It was coats on and hoods up when we first got to the beach. Tom was feeling camera shy today, so this is the only picture I have of him. He is in typical pose as he spent almost the entire time we were there collecting shells and pebbles.

Emma and Lily making sand angels

Mark demonstrating the correct attire for a trip to a British beach in August...hat, coat, sunglasses and sandals.

Picnic time!

I was there too!

Lily and Emma are obviously immune to the cold. Naturally, Emma fell in the second she walked into the sea! She didn't mind in the slightest.

The beach was heaven for Emma. It was like the world's biggest sand pit to her! She spent a lot of time playing in a hole in the sand she found.

What's a lady to do when it rains and she has no hood? Why, go all Grace Kelly and wrap her shawl over her head of course!

A new cardigan

2011-08-02T22:01:00.000Z

Since I have to spend a great deal of my time supervising the Podlings on the trampoline, I am trying to use it productively. I managed to finish this cardigan for Emma today. Please don't look too closely...it is full of mistakes! It is also full of sand since Emma very helpfully came and dumped a handful of sand from the sandpit on it when I was sewing it up. Thanks for the input Emma!

A quick project...

2011-08-02T21:50:00.000Z

Lily suddenly decided today that her doll had to have a nightdress and asked if I could make her one during Emma's nap time. Since I don't have any actual doll's patterns, I fudged this peculiar little dress from a scrap of pretty fabric, basing it on a pillowcase dress. It's not great. It was made entirely from what I had lying around in about 20 minutes, but it seems to have made a certain little girl very happy...

Will you read to me?

2011-08-02T21:41:00.001Z

The nice thing about having older siblings is always having someone to read to you. Moments like this melt my heart!

.My beautiful, beautiful girls!

Bouncing happy

2011-08-02T21:32:00.001Z

The trampoline is, apparently, the best thing we have given the Podlings...ever! They are out there several times a day for as long as I am able to supervise them. On the plus side, I am getting a fair amount of knitting done as I sit by the trampoline and supervise their play. Unfortunately, Emma has already worked out how to open the enclosure, so she can't be left alone for the briefest of moments! Here are a few pictures from the first day of the summer holidays. Long may the good weather continue!
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Teacher gifts

2011-08-02T21:15:00.002Z

It goes to show how behind I am with updating the blog in that I am only now showing you Tom and Lily's end of year teacher gifts and they have been on holiday for a week! My splendid lack of planning had me making and icing these fairy cakes very late the evening before the Podlings' last day of term. The photo doesn't quite do the cakes justice as I took the photo at about midnight so the light was bad and I can't get the colours right on my photo editing programme. I used some baskets and paper 'grass' I had on hand and quickly made some gift tags to tie on them. The effect was somewhat spoilt by the necessity of having to cling film the baskets to stop overenthusiastic Podlings tipping the cakes onto the floor before they got to the classroom! From what the children tell me, the fairy cakes were well-received by the teachers, with the headteacher making the effort to go and thank Lily personally for them.

The birthday party that almost wasn't

2011-07-22T22:41:00.000Z

Emma enjoys a fairy cake

Thanks to the norovirus sweeping through Tom and Lily's school we almost didn't have a birthday party. During the course of this week we have all succumbed to the illness one by one. Only Mark and my dad have managed to escape it. Because of the rotten virus I had to do the unthinkable and buy a commercial birthday cake for Emma's birthday. In my nearly seven years of motherhood this is the first time I haven't made the birthday cake for their party. I had it all planned out in my head and had bought the most delightful decorations for it too...botheration!

The theme for Emma's birthday was 'round and round the garden, like a teddy bear'. Emma is my little bear and she loves to be outside in the garden, so it seemed appropriate. My plans for this party had to be dramatically scaled back as I was left with no time to make the decorations I had wanted and didn't do half what I had planned to. As it turned out, thanks to the virus the only people at Emma's party were Emma, Lily, my dad and me. My mum, who had made the journey to visit us expressly to be here for Emma's birthday, succumbed to the virus about mid-morning and spent the rest of Emma's birthday in bed. Tom was also ill, Mark's parents wisely stayed away to avoid catching the nasty bug and Mark was at work. I still wanted to make her party special though, so I decorated the sideboard, made a batch of fairy cakes and served some of the party food in plant pots. It was a small party, but it turned out nicely and those of us able to attend had a lovely time. Most importantly, Emma loved it and that is what it is all about. Still cross about the bought birthday cake though!

Since the theme was 'round and round the garden like a teddy bear' I filled watering cans with fresh flowers and propped Emma's new teddy up against one of them. Garden tools were also part of the decor.

I call Emma 'Emma Bear', so I like to give her a special teddy on her birthday and at Christmas and I have started collecting the Bearington Bears for her. This one was so appropriate for our party theme with its ladybird dress and handbag.

It wouldn't be a birthday without homemade fairy cakes. I managed to whip these up during Emma's nap, though I didn't use the decorations I had originally bought for them. We hope to have a birthday party 'mark 2' at the weekend, so I am saving the decorations for then.

Another picture of Emma's new teddy bear because I love it and want to steal it. I have always loved teddy bears, especially those in pretty dresses!

Emma helps herself. She really enjoyed her party.

To keep with the party theme, I served some of the party food in plant pots. One of the few ideas I actually had time to carry through!

Snug as a bug

2011-07-21T22:14:00.001Z

So what was it that put that beam on her face?

What was Emma's favourite present? Well, she loved the trampoline of course, the colouring pens were popular and the Weeble treehouse was a big hit, but I would say her favourite present was this...

New bedding! All laid out with new birthday pyjamas.

We have recently discovered that Emma sleeps a lot better without her baby sleeping bag on, so she has been going to bed with a sheet and blankets over her for a couple of weeks now. However, she loves to snuggle down under the duvets on all the other beds, so for her birthday we gave her a duvet of her very own, with a pretty red gingham duvet cover, pillowcase and matching scatter cushions to complete the look. To say she was pleased is somewhat understating the case! She spent quite a while just rearranging her scatter cushions and playing at being asleep and when it actually came to bedtime I've never known her so keen to go to bed. She wasn't even interested in a mummy cuddle tonight, it was straight to bed to snuggle down under her very own duvet. I hope she is as keen to go bed every evening and, more importantly stays asleep all night!

Playing at being asleep. She actually sleeps on her side with a dummy in her mouth and her muslin cuddled up by her face. My little angel...I could eat her!

Baby loves her bedding!

Emma's BIG present

2011-07-21T21:19:00.001Z

We thought it would be nice to get Emma a trampoline for her main present. It is something I have wanted to get the Podlings for a while. We thought that if the whole family clubbed together, we could afford a nice big one that all the Podlings could use, even as they get bigger. All the family generously chipped in, so we were able to afford a nice 10 foot trampoline. However, what I thought was going to be a ten foot trampoline with an 8 foot bouncing area turned out to be a 12 foot trampoline with a 10 foot bouncing area. It's massive! The top of the enclosure is higher than the guttering on the one storey portion of the roof and it takes up a huge section of garden. Please remember, we are buying this ostensibly for a two year old!

The other difference of opinion we would have with the website we ordered it from would be our definition of 'easy assembly'. It took Mark and my dad almost four hours to put this thing together. They finished at 2 am this morning! Here they are at midnight last night, halfway through their ordeal...

It is a trifle large for a two year old. Emma can stroll around quite happily underneath it without so much as bending her head...

It might be big, but Emma loves it. She and Lily had a really good time on it this afternoon and we are going to have some really good fun with it this summer. Tom is sadly still much too ill to be bouncing on anything following a nasty bout of norovirus, but I know he will love it when he is better. I have to confess that I had a sneaky go on it when Emma had her nap today. It was great fun! It was the first time I had ever been on a trampoline, but it won't be the last!

We have identified one significant problem with a ten foot trampoline. When it is time to go in for tea and the toddler doesn't want to get off, she is ten feet away. My arms are not ten feet long! Here is my dad trying to retrieve said toddler, who was adamant that bouncing time was not over...

Love it!

Two today!

2011-07-21T20:40:00.000Z

Emma at one day old, back when she had dark hair!

The littlest Podling turned two years old today, despite my being in absolute denial about her getting older.

Why do they grow so fast...Why?!!

Happy birthday to our darling little Emma Bear. We love you sweetheart!

Emma at two years old, with lots and lots of blond hair.

Foto Friday - Books

2011-07-15T12:27:00.001Z

A detail of the cover showing the goatskin binding, gold blocking and hand-marbled papers. Beautiful!

This week's Foto Friday challenge was books. It was hard for me not to go nuts with this one because I am a complete bibliophile! Time, as ever, was the real challenge, so I grabbed one of my Folio Society books (the prettiest books imaginable) and took a few pictures of it. I have always believed that books should be as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside, so I really treasure my handful of Folio editions. They are kept on a bookcase in my bedroom, well away from Podling traffic! This one was a birthday present from my husband and is a facsimile of the 1853 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. It is one of the prettiest books I own!

Finally, a quick picture I snapped this morning whilst on one of my walks with Emma. I pulled out my trusty field guide to wildflowers, (a wonderful book we inherited from Mark's grandfather) to look up a flower I couldn't name and thought 'Oh yeah, it's a book isn't it' and snapped a picture just for you. Yes, I do carry books around with me all the time! Tufted Vetch is the name of the flower, in case you were wondering. I learned something new today!

This photo illustrates my two favourite things, books and flowers.

King (and Queens) of the Castle

2011-07-14T19:23:00.000Z

I was rather pleased to get this picture of the Podlings on the bouncy castle at the church fun day last weekend. I think it is the first time I have managed to get a bouncy castle photo with all three children in focus. This is more typical of the type of shot I get...

The Podlings really enjoyed the fun day and had great fun playing the games and eating lots of food. The day ended with a puppet show in the church which we thought the Podlings might enjoy. Tom and Lily found the music too loud, so I took them outside. Emma, on the other hand, absolutely loved it and couldn't take her eyes off the puppets. Mark sat with her until the end of the performance and snapped this picture on his phone...

Love her sweet little face!

Sports Day

2011-07-12T22:15:00.000Z

This morning, Emma and I got to watch Tom and Lily in their school sports day. I completely messed up and thought that the sports day was tomorrow afternoon. I turned up at the school to drop the Podlings off this morning only to find that sports day was starting in half an hour! I rushed back home to grab my camera and some snacks for Emma and raced back up the hill to the school. By the time I got back to the school, I felt rather like I had taken part in sports day myself!

Tom and Lily both seemed to really enjoy taking part in the day and although they generally came towards the end of the races, neither of them seemed bothered in the slightest. Tom, in particular, always looks like he is having a great time and really couldn't care in the slightest which position he finishes in...he's so sweet! Lily really gave it her all and I was very proud of her for trying so hard in her first sports day.

Well Done Tom and Lily, we are very proud of you both!

Waiting to race

I love Tom's smile in this race. He is not remotely competitive!

I love that Lily can still look straight at the camera and smile, even in the middle of a race!

Lily really threw herself into the sprint and was doing so well, but just ran out of steam towards the end. The school are so good at not making a big thing about who wins and loses. The children all seem to just be having fun, which is so nice to see.

My darling boy came last in just about every race and had such a great time. He really just enjoys taking part. Love him!

Foto Friday - Breakfast

2011-07-08T13:36:00.000Z

This week's Foto Friday challenge was breakfast. I knew this one was going to be tough because I eat breakfast with Emma, so trying to set up a shot with an almost two year old to help was going to be a challenge! The weather has been miserable this week, so we have been having my favourite miserable weather breakfast, porridge and brown sugar. I don't normally sprinkle the sugar in the shape of a heart, but then I don't normally take a photo of my breakfast either!

My camera is useless at indoor photos, so I put a tea towel down by the patio door in the kitchen so I could make use of the natural light. I could see Emma watching, so I quickly dumped the bowl of porridge down on the towel and grabbed the camera in the hope I could take one picture before the toddler moved in. She was quicker than me, so her hand is in the photo (though I actually like it better that way)! All hope of arty photos went out the window as Goldilocks declared the porridge to be "just right" and tucked in...

Tom's robot homework

2011-07-08T12:21:00.001Z

Tom really enjoyed his homework last night, so he asked me to 'put it on the blog' again. Happy to oblige my darling...

Tom is very good at maths. He just has one of those brains to which numbers come naturally (he could count to 50 at the age of two and a half). His handwriting, on the other hand, needs a little work! His brain works faster than his hand I think.

In which Emma fails to co-operate!

2011-07-06T11:08:00.003Z

..
Emma has been able to recognise and name shapes for a little while now (square, circle, triangle, heart, star and flower). We were drawing together this morning and Emma was happily naming all the shapes I drew for her. I suddenly thought 'Oh, the grandparents would love to hear this', so I grabbed the camera and started filming...at which point Emma stopped co-operating! I know that the grandparents love to see the outtakes too so I thought I'd share the videos anyway. In the first video she is too distracted by the camera to pay any attention to the shapes...

In this second video she seems inclined to co-operate to start with and then gets distracted by a noisy wood pigeon in the garden. She spends the rest of the time trying to copy the pigeon...

Never work with children or animals!