tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71473453543808890002024-03-14T09:52:00.947-07:00Blogging The Best BitsYvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-65822012570077872022012-09-02T12:59:00.000-07:002012-09-02T13:08:59.430-07:00Just Add WaterToday was a lovely, warm, sunny summer day that has been so rare this year. We made the most of it with a visit to Alnwick Gardens. It is a beautiful place to visit at any time, but best visited when the weather is warm enough that the children can enjoy the water fountains and dry out quickly afterwards. <br />
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I wonder if you can guess what happened here?<br />
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There is even watery fun to be had with the pretty colour changing sinks in the bathroom<br />
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Staying dry behind a wall of water </div>
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But not staying dry for long</div>
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As the afternoon turned cooler, we headed up to the beautiful upper gardens, where there was more water fun of the less drenching, more plodging variety and the children enjoyed paddling down the many watery paths. </div>
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Baby girl footprints<br />
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Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-90751964932872981672012-08-20T10:41:00.002-07:002012-08-22T10:01:57.663-07:00Culture SwapAs mentioned previously, we are taking part in a worldwide culture swap, where we swap parcels with other families from around the world that have items and info in them about our country, area where we live, customs, traditions, way of life etc etc...<br />
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I thought it would be a fun way to learn a little more about the world, from some real families who have children of similar ages to our family. The families in our group represent India, Switzerland, Quebec and St Thomas<br />
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It has also been really interesting trying to think what it is about us that people might like to know and we have found it surprisingly hard to think about things that were specifically English or British to put in our parcel. We are used to England being a multi cultural place and being able to get all sorts of delicacies in the 'World Food Isle' at the supermarket as well as having many specialist supermarkets for different nationalities, as well as restaurants offering just about any cuisine one could imagine albeit often anglecised versions. In the same way, we presume that our British brands are available pretty much anywhere these days.<br />
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We found that the tourist information didn't give a very realistic idea of what our town is like and while we love living where we do, <a href="http://www.destinationhartlepool.com/" target="_blank">the tourist video</a> did not represent how we live, but rather how someone stopping over for a few days might enjoy spending their time, which I suppose is the whole point. We do not spend all of our time eating, drinking, climbing and playing golf! Though do use the lovely park that is shown. Its worth a watch and will make you want to come for a holiday, if only to see those seals! <br />
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So in our parcel we included: <br />
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<li>Some introductory notes about our family, about our typical day, the sorts of things that we like to do, the area where we live and the house we live in. The children really enjoyed doing this and helped a lot with the typing and selecting photos to go in</li>
<li>Some info about our coins and notes, a laminated sheet showing our coins and some of our lower denomination coins attached</li>
<li>Some info about our flag, about how the UK is made up of its component countries and about how we have a different flag for England and also the Union Jack to represent the United Kingdom</li>
<li>A union flag</li>
<li>A cupcake set with some stereotypically British decorations - although cupcakes are a recent (American?) thing and our fairy cakes, which are generally smaller and decorated in a far more amateur and kamikazee way with icing and sugar strands are more traditional. </li>
<li>Some tea - and I'm sure that british tea is available anywhere these days and 'proper tea' usually comes in great big boxes rather than individually wrapped sachets. But we liberated this tea from a local restaurant and so thought we'd include it. </li>
<li>Some cadbury's chocolate, which is now owned according to a quick check on Wikipedia by large worldwide company Kraft, but never the less originated in Birmingham, UK.</li>
<li>A Team GB lego character to commemorate our recent involvement in the hosting of the Olympic Games</li>
<li>Some leaflets about all of the wonderful places that we can visit in our local area, hopefully giving a good flavour of our history and what the terrain of the area around us is like. </li>
<li>A postcard with a map of our area.</li>
<li>A pencil from our town's museum</li>
<li>A book (not shown) by a British author. This was a late addition after one of our recipients asked for a book by Enid Blyton. Each package has a book in, there is an Enid Blyton adventure book. A Flower fairies book by <span class="textsmain14"><a href="http://www.flowerfairies.com/UK/grownups.html" target="_blank">Cicely Mary Barker</a>, who I have just discovered from reading her short autobiography in the back was educated at home.</span> It has the most beautiful, magical illustrations in that I have loved since I was child and they are so representitive of our countryside. A book by <a href="http://www.paddingtonbear.com/thenandnow.html" target="_blank">Michael Bond</a> about that famous marmalade loving bear, Paddington who was found at Paddington station.<br />The final book is a Brambley Hedge book by <a href="http://www.bramblyhedge.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jill Barklem</a>, who I have a feeling I may have met on more than one occassion as i attened craft fairs as a teenager in the 80s. I remember her sitting at the stall engrossed in her illustration work and I bought postcards which I framed and put on my bedroom wall. These books about families of mice show the most beautiful attention to detail in their illustrations and reflect wonderfully the changing english countryside through the seasons. </li>
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All will be on their way to their different parts of the world tomorrow and we hope that they will be enjoyed as much as we have enjoyed assembling them. Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-21686435425041007332012-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:002012-07-30T12:44:20.013-07:00SealsI think its amazing that right opposite this <br />
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<br /><br />live these <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken by pointing the camera through some binoculars.</td></tr>
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and despite living very close to them, much to my embarassment, we have never actually stopped and parked up to have a proper look. <br />
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Today we did just that and walked down the pathway to the viewing platform. Sheltered below road level, it was easy to forget that we were surrounded by chemical plants. <br />
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We watched for ages, peering through binoculars, wondering if the brown things in the distance were large rocks or seals, until one at a time they turned or moved and we could see that they were indeed seals. <br />
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On our walk back we also spotted these, some butterflies on a chrysalis on a wire fence. There were two butterflies, the one on the right only part way out and only one crysalis. <br />
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Back at the carpark, a quick check of the sign saved us the effort of googling to figure out what they are. <br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-54191096349723024302012-07-29T12:33:00.001-07:002012-07-29T12:37:29.256-07:00FoodI was a picky eater as a child and teenager and as an adult will now
eat anything (except fish and certain animals that are too cute and
fluffy or feathery to be eaten). I only started to become a not picky
eater when I started to take an interest in my health and when I started
to cook for myself. Suddenly I discovered that vegetables didn't have
to be boiled to within an inch of their life until they were pale,
tasteless, mushy and probably devoid of any nutritional value anyway and
could instead be served steamed, hot, colourful and flavourful. It was a
revelation to me trying my first American salad and discovering that
green stuff could be crispy, refreshing (and probably highly calorific)
food to be enjoyed and not just scraped around the plate, sad, warm,
soggy and limp like british side salads tended to be. <br />
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Having
survived a mostly vegetableless childhood and learned to make better
decisions in adulthood, I tend not to push the children with their food
choices and to offer plenty of healthy food and hope they one day take
it up. I know the misery of being told just one more bite before you
get dessert/pocket money/to go play with friends etc, it made no
difference to how I viewed food. It might have 'worked' for that
mealtime in that I'd have had a few mouthfuls, but then the next time it
was served would be a similar battle. The adult's hope that once a
child has tried something they will realise that they actually like it,
is never going to become a reality when they are eating it under such
duress. <br />
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So in our house, food is offered with no
strings attached and even if the children make the same food choices
that I did, at least they havn't had the added trauma of mealtime
battles. Although I will confess that it near broke my heart last time
we ate out when they chose hotdogs and beans from a lovely, imaginative
and varied menu. <br />
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I also disagree with encouraging children to finish their plate as I
think it makes the ignore their cues for when they are full. Given that the
children have never been forced to eat or finish food, it really ticked
me when my son looked so worried and apologetic that he could only eat
half of his ice cream sundae and was too full to eat the rest. I was
glad that he was eating to his hunger cues and can't say the same for
me, as I ploughed on determinedly with my 'nutty about nuts' long after
my body was telling me to give up.<br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-49070530184992792152012-07-22T11:35:00.001-07:002012-07-22T11:35:20.115-07:00One to One TimeSomething that I don't get to do very often is spend one to one time with the children and its a real treat for me when I do. Its a chance to really connect and do things at that child's pace. Today I got some special time with the littest while the boys went swimming.<br />
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<br /><br />We went to one of my favourite small market towns for pottering about (which also has one of the best swimming pools) and mooched around the shops for a while. Or rather, I followed her around while she strode with a real sense of purpose. <br /><br />We went to a proper toy shop, which is always much more fun for me than visiting the soulless bigger chain ones (where we inevitably come away empty handed) to choose a gift for a friend.<br />
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<br />We also bought a puzzle to work on over coffee and cake. <br />
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and invented a new game that provided <strike>hours </strike>several minutes of entertainment. Hide and seek the coin in the playdoh - highly recommended for when you need an extra 10 minutes to finish your <strike>bucket</strike> cup of coffee</div>
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On the way to the playpark we admired these gorgeous cakes in the window of a famous tearoom. It was fortunate that we'd just had cake as I might have bought one of each otherwise. <br />
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She struggled with climbing in her long dress. Thankfully I had a backup outfit.</div>
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Much better!</div>
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I'm looking forward to doing more of the same with each of my boys very soon.<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-70435032962530035692012-07-20T09:42:00.001-07:002012-07-20T10:29:56.112-07:00Bath BombsA few months ago, on a rainy afternoon, we dropped in to a local shop that makes their own bath time goodies and the children were able to have a go at making some bathbombs. The process was so much easier than I imagined so I thought we'd buy more of the ingredients so that we could have a go at home. <br />
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I finally got round to working out the quantities that we'd need (and went rather overboard - we'll be making them as presents for many Christmasses and birthdays to come!) and we had a lovely big box of bath bomb ingredients delivered this week. <br />
We had a go this morning, mixing our potions of sodium bicarb, citric acid and other magical ingedients until we had a mixture roughly the consistency of damp sand. We made three different colours and fragrances, using child safe essential oils of mandarin, lemon and lime. Then we packed them tightly into our iced lolly moulds and left to stand for fifteen minutes. <br />
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The hardest part of the whole process was getting them safely back out of the mould. <br />
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We made these for fun, but as with everything, there was much learning to be had too and lots of opportunity to practise skills. That the wet ingredients had to be mixed in very slowly so that they didn't set off the fizzy chemical reaction before the bombs even made it to the bath. That they had to be just the right consistency to not crumble. That plastic's capacity to expand when heated was very helpful in getting the bathbombs back out of the mould. They got to practise motor skills and dexterity, spooning out the ingredients and stirring quickly without spilling the contents out of the bowl. They got to be creative in choosing colours and scents that would work well together. The younger children counted the right number of spoonfulls of ingredients out. The eldest helped to work out which quantities of each ingredient we needed, in order for the ratios to be correct, when we made a different amount than the instructions specified. They did all this wthout even realising that they were learning.<br />
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Of course we had as much fun testing them as we did making them and can confirm that they fizz really well in the bath and smell good enough to eat! <br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-32451841481344564772012-07-15T15:39:00.000-07:002012-07-15T15:52:19.868-07:005th Birthday FunI woke up at 6am, so excited to see Tristan open his little haul of presents. He is such an easy going little soul that I feel he often gets lost between his more articulate older brother and more demanding younger sister, so I was also looking forward to a day of spoiling him and him being the centre of attention. <br />
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Our present piles always have a theme and I really look forward to their faces when they first go into the room and see their presents laid out. Of course, since we are night owls rather than early birds, I knew it could be a few hours before the rest of the house got up, so I enjoyed the peace and quiet while debating with myself about whether to risk waking everyone up by putting the kettle on.<br />
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Poor Tristan woke up feeling very unwell, but still managed to put a brave face on for opening his presents, enthusiastically cheered on by Toby. His batman PJs were an early present the night before.<br />
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Typical of him, he hadn't asked for anything. Just a birthday with balloons and a cake. He was very pleased with his haul of super hero goodies and I'm really excited to try out a junk modelling kit that we got him.<br />
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Our plan was to go to a friend's house, but I was really unsure about whether we'd still be able to go. It turned out she had gone to lots of unexpected, but much appreciated effort with balloons and banners so we figured that we would try and could always whizz the birthday boy home again if it all proved too much. </div>
It turned out to be a good decision as he regained the colour in his cheeks and spent much of the day charging around with his friends. He was even well enough to have a slice of cake! <br />
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Inbetween packing and posting orders and speech therapy appointments, I had spent much of the day before baking. After lots of advice on icing from friends and having watched a few youtube videos I came up with a half decent Captain America shield. Having got the icing bug (its just like plasticine!) made a second cake with Spiderman on for his evening tea party.<br />
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Birthday boy eventually started to feel ill again and white as a sheet we headed home. I dived in to the supermarket to throw together a tea party for his cousins while he had a nap. He woke up feeling much better and well enough for round two.<br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-13130701925185634662012-07-11T09:12:00.003-07:002012-07-11T10:16:41.192-07:00Worldwide Culture SwapWe are very excited to be taking part in a <a href="http://www.worldwidecultureswap.com/p/worldwide-culture-swap.html" target="_blank">world wide culture swap</a>, where we assigned to a group of 5 families from all over the world and we can swap parcels with each other that contain interesting and fun things to do with the country and culture where we live. I think it is a great and very real way to learn about other people, as well as encouraging the children to think about what we might like to share about how and where we live. I'm sure that we'll learn lots of things that we didn't know in the process. <br />
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We have been matched with families from Quebec, St Thomas (which took some finding on the map!), India (but now living in California) and Switzerland.<br />
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Our first step was to find them on our map and we've labelled it so that the children can see at a glance where everyone is from. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blur facility on my paint package is my new favourite thing</td></tr>
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Today was cold and drizzly so we decided to forego our usual outdoor home ed get together and set off looking for treasures that we could put in our parcel. First stop was our town's museum. We thought that we might find some fun things in the gift shop there and were hoping for some postcards too.<br />
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My favourite part of the museum, which I'm afraid the children think is rather dull, is this picture painted in 1859. Alongside it is a photo taken recently of the same busy area of the town so that we can compare how it once was to how it is now. The dirt track and horses having been replaced by concrete and cars, the many masts of the working boats, to the left of the picture now being reduced to just one - of a boat restored in the town and now open to the public to look around. The buildings are mostly still there, but many have been extended and more crammed in to fill in the gaps. <br />
The children never let me look long enough at this picture, mainly because they know that this <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/xGjnPTpYQeqIGSbGcg-N2w" target="_blank">gruesome little guy</a> is around the corner. He is supposed to be a mermaid, but it really is quite horrid and we make every effort to make sure we don't pass it as we make our way around the museum - as much because it makes me shudder too! <br />
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We ate lunch on board the 1934 steam ferry that was built in the town and admired the views from the high windows. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whilst the surroundings are lovely, the food on offer is quite basic so we don't tend to eat here, but it was fun to do. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the steamer is, I think, the square patch of water at the left of the museum picture, looking down in the same direction<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Back in the museum the children played in their favourite bit, the fishing coble. They played at being Marvel super heroes and were joined by a small boy who was being a pirate. So funny watching the children playing together at two different games! </span></div>
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A final look around the gift shop and we selected some pencils to go in our parcels and took away some leaflets that we may use later on. We were rather disappointed with the array of postcards and felt that they didn't represent the town very well, so our postcard hunt is still on, though I suspect that we'll end up taking photos instead. <br />
<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-56670168291461222612012-06-04T07:06:00.001-07:002012-06-05T14:46:03.860-07:00Jubilee PartyOn Saturday we got our red, white and blue on for a jubilee party at a home ed friend's house. I was so proud of us all as we all set off smart and co-ordinating for the party. <br />
Our hostess had put so much effort into decorating both house and garden and it looked beautiful. By happy coincidence my mum had spent a year sewing bunting for her 60th birthday party which just happened to be red, white (with coloured polka dots) and blue, so we were able to make good contribution to the decorations and my mum was so excited that it was being used. <br />
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The food was also fantastic, I meant to get a picture of it before the hungry hoards dived in but didn't manage it. I did get this huge plate of cakes that Toby somehow thought that he was going to manage to polish off all by himself! He has always felt that he needed to have lots in order to have enough and today seemed like a good day to indulge that - as there was plenty of cake since mum had gone to Iceland (just had to get that in). He made a valiant attempt at the cake but I think in the end he admitted defeat and asked for some help with his cake mountain. </div>
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Stories were read, music was played and memories of fun and togetherness were made.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqem3XffsQuh41h3Hxt1NVzLlG2dnjac1MT9C_MPBZsnphtcb_0xdwfyP5GdVc6TjWse_kdJyZ9Mlf032-dMtNOGWL91jkSr6cZXM4cqKlvPT2_qhalT0rmOFLVnnnt6-wtVwYmh2nro/s1600/1-P1000704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqem3XffsQuh41h3Hxt1NVzLlG2dnjac1MT9C_MPBZsnphtcb_0xdwfyP5GdVc6TjWse_kdJyZ9Mlf032-dMtNOGWL91jkSr6cZXM4cqKlvPT2_qhalT0rmOFLVnnnt6-wtVwYmh2nro/s400/1-P1000704.JPG" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three red, white and blue children playing pass the parcel</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-28307602397417012102012-06-01T14:56:00.003-07:002012-06-01T14:57:13.504-07:00We needed to go out of town today for some craft supplies so that we could make some <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1287&bih=575&q=freezer+stencil&gbv=2&oq=freezer+stencil&aq=f&aqi=g1g-S2&aql=&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l2.2493.6003.0.6246.15.12.0.3.3.0.244.1241.7j1j2.10.0...0.0.jZefDan5Zhs" target="_blank">freezer stencil T-Shirts</a> , because in a fit of ruthlessness whilst decluttering last month, I had thrown out our fabric paints. At least I think I must have done as we've searched high and low and cannot find them.<br />
It is a few years since I did anything with freezer stencils and I must have figured that we could do without the paints as it would probably be a few more before we got into that craze again. I'd completely forgotten about the approaching jubilee party and that I wanted to get a little bit festive without having to splash out and buy new clothes. <br />
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The children were very giddy today and they just would not calm down, not even after brain freezes and babyccinos. Really, a shopping complex was not the best place for them today, but we needed to get some things and so I tried to make it as fun as I could. <br />
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- which involved cheesy photo booth sessions.....<br />
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...monkeying around <br />
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...and lots of spinning<br />
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one very strong baby girl<br />
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In the end though, we had to get back to our shopping. I shopped, while the boys tussled around the place and Mathilda was snugged up on my back. I resorted to pretending they weren't with me (who <em>are</em> these children and why are they calling me mummy?!), while attempting to appear serene. Somehow I don't think that I fooled anyone on the serenity front. <br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-56811819682317158452012-05-28T14:14:00.000-07:002012-05-28T14:36:04.346-07:00After saying goodbye to our friends, we finished moving out of our weekend home in the scorching heat and decamped to the river to cool off, stopping first in the town to equip everyone with fishing nets.<br />
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All was going well.....</div>
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Until a tiny fish swam a little too close for comfort</div>
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So Mathilda decided that she would prefer to watch from the river bank</div>
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But that soon became boring, so she found another way to cast her net in the river, while keeping her toes away from harm</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBx9jtuIL-0G4jlezw2gPV_CObSjMN7maTJxZ2RLg9mdkJ5ZHW7yBbbjKuRlOZqSzzuGNHvECH76Itvco0_ss8pDOzxX2sr4qV5fwMptXRHIM309ceXg20JrsK0dLgQ0dcGDT4iRqk1TR0/s1600/P1000508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBx9jtuIL-0G4jlezw2gPV_CObSjMN7maTJxZ2RLg9mdkJ5ZHW7yBbbjKuRlOZqSzzuGNHvECH76Itvco0_ss8pDOzxX2sr4qV5fwMptXRHIM309ceXg20JrsK0dLgQ0dcGDT4iRqk1TR0/s640/P1000508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-28267632161604539992012-05-28T14:12:00.001-07:002012-05-28T14:17:42.603-07:00Weekend of MarvellousnessAfter frenzied packing, we loaded our car up with clothes, air beds and bedding, camping stoves, utensils, paddling pools, bats, balls, pots and pans, in fact everything that one needs for camping, except the tent - as we were staying in one of these fab things for the weekend.<br />
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Then, when it looked like we couldn't possibly stuff any more in, we loaded the car up even more with lots of cold and wet weather gear just in case the weather took an unexpected turn. After all of that we managed to squeeze in the children (but only just) and off we went to the lake district, to meet up with friends. </div>
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Within seconds of getting there, the children were running about in the hot hot sun with their friends, filling water bombs and water guns and getting soaked to the skin...and this was pretty much how they spent the whole weekend. </div>
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and what a marvellous weekend it was, relaxed and easy, with no where to go and nothing to do apart from take in the beautiful scenery, with playmates on tap for the children and lots of adults to keep a collective eye out. </div>
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Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-965298164552852802012-05-25T14:16:00.002-07:002012-05-25T15:00:59.810-07:00So lucky...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We are so very lucky to be able to visit this beautiful place. Its possibly my favourite spot, such an easy place to visit with children. Almost on our doorstep, we go practically weekly, including right through winter and it is always different each time we go. </div>
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This week, we spent a lot of time up by the pond in the full heat of the sun with lots of other families.</div>
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The sudden sun after such a chilly spring was a bit much for lots of the children and they soon started to droop in it. Everyone quickly drifted off home to retreat to paddling pools and shade. We decided to stick around and take a walk. We usually are with people here and the children play with each other, while the grown ups grab snippets of fragmented conversation which is interspersed with interruptions by needy toddlers. Its nice every once in a while to spend time, just us and see it with new eyes and explore the bits that we don't go to so much. </div>
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Off on an adventure...</div>
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Bird Watching </div>
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Sunny Pathways </div>
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Leading to woodland which is cool and shady in summer and sheltered and nurturing in winter</div>
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Where we found a ready built den</div>
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and lingered for a while, enjoying how much cooler and more comfortable we felt out of the heat.<br />
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Eventually seeking out the sun once more. </div>
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Very, very lucky.</div>
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<br /></div>Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-79563999964587080602012-05-25T13:36:00.002-07:002012-05-25T13:36:40.599-07:00Cafe KidsAfter three glorious days of sunshine we needed a little respite from the heat. All that sun had made me long for iced coffee, so we headed to a cafe for iced mocha and 'brain freezes'. We feel suitably recharged now for a sunny weekend (fingers crossed for sun!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoxngGNO6rJ10PGhInQrl-V-uLsD9hAcyAe-cRMZpJCnUL6dBcpkYvKleCdmrcDFzfOUAkDrodsMqY3wHyJlDRtXMrjh8B7ollgRND0lGRgCT487aQoIfT0TwDivOGdXYsAB0Ye2swBM/s1600/P1000413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoxngGNO6rJ10PGhInQrl-V-uLsD9hAcyAe-cRMZpJCnUL6dBcpkYvKleCdmrcDFzfOUAkDrodsMqY3wHyJlDRtXMrjh8B7ollgRND0lGRgCT487aQoIfT0TwDivOGdXYsAB0Ye2swBM/s640/P1000413.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-2406359686900307582012-05-20T11:48:00.002-07:002012-05-20T11:48:28.536-07:00SwimmingWhen I was child, my dad used to take us swimming regularly, usually weekly on a Friday during winter and every Sunday morning in summer, before going for Sunday lunch. There were no rules then about how many children to one adult and he'd often take all three of us. Not something that I could imagine feeling confident doing with my three, even if there weren't rules to prevent it. Needless to say we weren't very old before we were all pretty good swimmers. <br />
<br />I feel that it is very important to be confident around water so I feel a bit sad not to have taken our children as often as I would have hoped. The last time Toby went was at centre parcs, when the competitive streak in him came out when he noticed a smaller boy than him was swimming without any floatation bands and he resolved to be able to do this himeslf. He practised and practised and by the end of the weekend he was pretty much there.<br />
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On Saturday we drove nearly an hour away to a lovely pool that is light and bright and has a sensible policy for non swimmers. I know that I'm meant to be focusing on positives here but I do feel the need to fit a bit of a rant in, about the last swimming pool we visited that wouldn't allow non swimmers any deeper than my calves. Meaning we were stuck, shivering in tepid water that was far too shallow to learn to swim in! (rant over) <br />
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The pool we visited on Saturday is a lot more sensible and we all had a lovely time. Mathilda showing absolutely no fear as she explored, occassionally letting herself get out of her depth, safe in the knowledge that we were right by....and shouting 'help me' before she bobbed under the surface, only to come back up in our arms grinning, ready to repeat the whole thing again. Tristan floated around happily in his arm bands, looking very chilled out and relaxed and Toby worked solidly trying to improve his swimming. He had slipped back a little since March, but by the end of the session had caught back up with himself. <br /><br />After swimming we went into town and treated the children to hot chocolates - and this boy really does know how to enjoy hot chocolate!<br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-90927178946779680832012-05-17T14:06:00.000-07:002012-05-17T14:06:10.491-07:00Afternoon TeaNo afternoon tea is complete without the most giant bottle of tomato ketchup that one can find!<br />
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<br />Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-3521075732821007122012-05-14T11:44:00.003-07:002012-05-14T14:23:21.731-07:00Crazy GolfAfter a busy weekend away in Scotland, we took our time this morning just to regather together our energy by doing the things we love. For me that involved notifying the winner from a giveaway that we were holding with our <a href="http://makesachange.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">internet store</a> . Tristan was happily catching up on Netflix with his Marvel Super Heroes that he'd missed over the weekend. Toby was playing out in the foot high grass inthe garden (will it ever stop raining so that we can mow it?) and Mathilda was pottering and spending a lot of time on my knee too, chattering while I worked.<br />
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After a late lunch we headed out to a park that has crazy golf and it stayed mainly dry while we played a very hurried game. I was really pleasantly surprised with the difference between playing this now and last summer, showing how Toby has really grown in maturity. With the sole focus no longer on winning, Toby was a lot more willing to let the younger children play their own way and decide on their own scores, even when running all the way down the pitch with the ball in their hand and plonking it in the hole meant that they beat him. Instead he concentrated on playing the best he could and having fun. <br />
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Then we headed over to the river to watch ducks </div>
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Admire a gnarly tree<br />
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Notice the rain shimmering in the sun as it landed in the pond</div>
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...and eventually convincing a grumpy old troll to allow us back across the bridge</div>
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then having to wait in the car back home, with the windows steaming up until the freak hail storm passed</div>
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</div>Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-5994375274676004582012-05-03T07:11:00.000-07:002012-05-03T14:04:53.150-07:00MaypolingWe braved a rather chilly grey day to gather with other families to celebrate the start of May. We had rather ambitious plans to set up our maypole (aka a swingball pole) in a beautiful circular Japanese garden, surrounded by trees in blossom and with views over the daffodils that are still in bloom. <br />
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Having never seen maypole dancing in action before, we watched some Youtube videos to get a feel for what we were trying to recreate. <br />
Our own version was a rather less traditional and far more hillarious affair with such classics as 'The Maypole Hokey Cokey' and 'We all Like Figgy Pudding' sung at full volume and exuberance while children raced around the maypole at breakneck speed.Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147345354380889000.post-91954169399638224762012-04-30T13:42:00.000-07:002012-04-30T13:42:07.586-07:00First PostIts always hard to know where to start with a first post, but this is it. I love blogs, I love reading about the things that make other people, other ordinary people, happy. I love that the photos are carefully orchistrated to show that one tidy corner of the house, rather than the chaotic rest and the naratives that focus on those few wonderful moments of a day that might otherwise have been pretty ordinary or even pretty shitty. <br />
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I really feel a need to focus on the positive, to be able to look back on the day and recognise that actually there were some pretty damn awesome bits amongst the mundane day to day and the downright cruddy and then to be able to look back over time at the last week, month and year and see how much of life is good. <br />
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So I'll be blogging the best bits (mostly) and leaving the rest to fade with the passage of time.Yvonnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050501616520831975noreply@blogger.com0