A spot of potato stamping

A crafty session was in order on the last day of half term. Big Girl had wanted to go to the safari park, but at £29 for one adult and one child over three (plus extra for rides, food etc) that wasn't an option. So I thought we'd do some potato stamping. I know, it doesn't compare to giraffes and elephants but I'm trying!

By the time I took the photo above, Little Boy had already worked his way through all the stamps and a pile of my photocopy paper, and was onto abstract splodging and smearing!

As I got the potatoes out to make shapes I had a brainwave. Usually I spend ages with a sharp knife trying to cut out shapes that end up looking pretty rubbish. Then, lightbulb moment, why not use biscuit cutter! Am I way behind here, is that old news? Anyway, would you like to see how I did it?

It's very easy, basically just find a potato big enough to fit your cutter in when cut in half. Press your cutter in as far as you can (I found it easier to turn potato over so cutter is underneath and press down onto the top of the potato to push cutter in further). 

Then just cut carefully around the edge about 1cm down to create a raised shape....

Then hey presto, you have a perfectly shaped potato stamper, and a lovely little heart cut out. I guess save wasting that, you could fry them in a bit of butter for tea!

Little Boy went for random shapes (but refused to do more than one colour per piece of paper), whilst Big Girl combined stamping with freehand painting to make some pictures as presents. 

So amusing the kids in the holidays doesn't need to cost a fortune, and it was refreshing to have a good old fashioned 'crafty' session without an iPad or tv in sight!

Xxxx

A very windy walk

It was supposed to be a wet day today but didn't turn out too bad, so we decided to go for a walk up the Malvern Hills. It took longer than it should have done though, as we got there and realised we had forgotten Little Boy's wellies so we had to go home and get them :-(

It was cold but not too bad; it was the wind that was biting. Storm Imogen is on her way, but it felt like she was already here! We covered up well, with just a tiny bit of face showing. Little Boy's cheeks were very soon a rosy pink colour. 

I didn't take any scenic photos as the sky was a bit grey and murky. Shame, as the views up here are fantastic and far reaching on a sunny day. 

The wind was unbelievably strong on the top of the hill, and you could even do that thing where you can lean back and the wind holds you up. Little Boy thought it was hilarious to stand on the top and then get blown down the hill. There were a few hairy moments as he had no fear, and we had to make sure there was some one on hand to catch him at all times!

After that blowy experience we decide refreshments were needed, so stopped at The Kettle Sings. It's a licensed restaurant and cafe in Upper Colwall, built in 1928.

The inside is warm and cosy, and they even have a selection of cards for sale. You can eat inside, or there is a conservatory which runs the length of the building, with views over the Herefordshire countryside towards Wales. They provide a sheet on each table showing what you can see out of the window. 

We only just managed afternoon tea. Last serving is 3.45, and we arrived at 3.42! The cakes were scrummy, and I got a huge pot of tea all to myself, whilst everyone else had a hot chocolate. 

Home at last, we decided to put our pjs on, and have a TV dinner of pizza and chips whilst watching the Minions movie. All in all a good day :-)

Xxxx

A walk in the woods with a sore thumb

Last weekend we (Big Girl, Little Boy and myself) went for a walk around Worcester Woods Country Park. There are two trails - a meadow trail and a woodland trail, and we decided to do the woodland walk. It's half a mile and they say it takes 40 minutes but even with a little person we did it in half an hour. 

It's a haven for dog walkers, so I'd avoid it if you aren't keen on pooches as annoyingly a large majority of people thought it was okay to let their dogs run free. It can be a little intimidating for little people when a great big hairy beast comes charging down the path towards you!

It's well signposted, and Little Boy enjoyed looking for the next number and telling us which way it was pointing....

The woodland pond looked a bit manky...

Do you notice a recurring theme in these photos - it's like a game of Where's Wally with that little red bobble hat and scarf!

On a cold winter day I'd recommend wellies as it was rather muddy in places.

There were several trees wearing a lovely skirt of moss, and one tree stump had been turned into a mushroom!

It was nearly lunch time when we finished our walk, so we decided to have lunch at the cafe. I can thoroughly recommend the Orchard cafe, it's fairly priced and there's a good selection of meals and drinks. Plus they are hot on free range, organic and Fairtrade goods. 

We had a free range bacon sandwich, a kids breakfast and an all day breakfast with free range eggs and thick sliced bacon and the most delicious free range sausages which they get from a local Worcester butcher (wish I could remember the name as I'd love to get some). The one thing we weren't keen on was the homemade baked beans. I guess if I didn't know what 'normal' baked beans tasted like I may have liked them. 

The observant amongst you may have noticed a rather large bandage on Little Boy's thumb in the photo above. Unfortunately I managed to shut his thumb in the front door last week :-(  Amazingly nothing was broken (just the tiniest little bone fracture right on the tip), as I was told that little people have surprisingly bendy bones, thank goodness. We had several trips a week to the hospital for clean dressings and a check up with the doctor, and it's looking so much better already. I haven't posted any photos as it did look rather horrendous and I know some people are rather squeamish about things like that. It must have hurt so much, and he has been the model patient, bless him. 

After lunch we had a bit of time to explore the playground. There is a section for the little kids....

And also a section for the bigger kids....

So after a little play we headed home with tired legs and full tummies

Xxxx

A win for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Did you make any New Years resolutions, and if so have you kept to them? We've been too busy with our new home, unpacking and sorting, to think about things like that. And I certainly couldn't do anything silly like promise to give up chocolate - that would be guaranteed to fail!

I've had good news already this year - I won a giveaway!

The lovely Sara (flowertotmum) from the blog Frugal in Lincolnshire (www.frugalinlincolnshire.blogspot.co.uk) was having a clear out and decided to host a giveaway. All you had to do was leave a comment. 

Here's what arrived in the post....

Would you like to see what I got? Here it is....

 

A pair of 3.5mm wooden knitting needles, a 4.5mm metal crochet hook and a very pretty card thanking me for entering her giveaway. I mentioned in my comment that my daughter was interested in crochet, and was wanting to start up crafty things, so I said that if I won she would be getting them. 

I've very sad now I've seen them, as I want to keep them, but I'm a woman of my word, so into her crafty bag they go. Thanks very much Sara. 

We have already started work on our new home. Access was needed from one part of the attic to the other, and OH spent all Saturday knocking through. I decided it was better to tidy up as we went along and we bagged all the rubble up and I took it straight to the tip (I can thoroughly recommend the rubble sacks from Screwfix by the way, they've been reused three times and still going strong). Not too happy about it all going in the boot of my car though, but it saved the expense of getting a skip. 

As I was unloading my car at the tip, a little old lady appeared with a crate of things. I went to offer to help her put it in the skip, but when I saw what it was I asked if I could have it instead....

Some of the pots still had their £5 or £6 price tags on them. She said they were from a charity shop (I guess she was a helper) and she didn't like throwing them away. I suppose charity shops keep things for a certain length of time, then just have to get rid of them. Shame as somebody has donated them thinking they were going to a good home. 

I couldn't really pick out just the bits I wanted, so I emptied the lot into my boot. The knick knacks weren't to my taste, but Big Girl has a magpie instinct, and I knew she'd love all this 'tat'!

My second trip to the tip resulted in another nice surprise....

Yep, more pots! These ones were actually already in the rubble skip, but had been carefully stacked on top. I think someone had been having a clear out but had put them in hoping someone like me would come along and remove them! They needed a bit of a clean with some soapy water, but they are all in perfect order, and some even still had the price tags on the bottom....

My third and final trip didn't result in any free goodies, but seeing as the tip is only down the road from Morrisons, I decided to pop in. 3pm on a Sunday is a great time to go to our local store, and I got £30.95 worth of food for only £3.10! 90% reduction sounds good to me :-)

So the weekend has been full of presents, freebies and bargains; what more could a girl ask for?

Well I guess the winning ticket for the £66,000,000 lottery would have been nice :-)

On that note, I'm off to fill my freezer!

 

Speak soon

Xxxx

Up, up and away

The day we left New Zealand for good, 30th October 2015, finally arrived. It was warm, but very overcast and the sky looked ominously dark and brooding. I had taken Little Boy to our small local airport a few times over the few months before we left, to get him used to the noise of the planes and just experience the environment so it wasn't too much for him on the day. He loved looking at the helicopter which was sitting right next to the airport lounge. 

Big Girl joined me in taking photos of our plane landing....

This was Little Boy's first experience of being in a plane and I wasn't sure what to expect. He was a star! He had a lollipop to suck whilst we were taking off, and was quite happy looking out of the window at the world below. It was a great flight to start him off, as it's only a forty minute flight to Auckland. The Bay of Islands is only a small airport, so they don't have big planes. This one was about 28 seats, and was comfy and not too loud, a great introduction to flying for a little person. 

I think the photo below shows the Rainbows End theme park in Auckland, as that's a roller coaster at the end of the rainbow! (Well okay, not quite at the end, to the right and up a bit ;-)  )

I was so glad I bought a Trunki for Little Boy, as there were quite a few long walks at the different airports, which aren't ideal when you factor in time differences and a very tired two year old. You do have to make sure they hold on though, as he let go once when we stopped, and as I walked off again he disappeared backwards and hit his head on the floor. No damage done, but I did feel a bad mummy :-)

There were lots of firsts for him - first airplane ride, first ride in an elevator, first ride up an escalator, and also first ride on one of those moving walkways. He took it all in his stride. Just like his big sister did when she was little. I guess they are both made for travelling!

The lounge at Auckland airport was excellent, and they had a designated lounge for kids. Little Boy made himself at home in front of the tv.....

Whilst Big Girl helped herself to some food. We were lucky enough to fly business class (more affordable when you are only flying one way!) so it was all included in the price. She kept coming over to me and whispering' "Can I really have what I want? Is it all free?"! 

 There was a kids' chill out area upstairs, with some humongous beanbags arranged around a tv. Unfortunately no sooner had we settled down to tuck into our food, we were called to board our plane. 

 

Yet again Little Boy proved his laid back nature by falling asleep before we had even taken off! No little man spreading out on your lap trying to sleep, he had the luxury of his own bed, and he made the most of it. In fact he slept so soundly he missed all of the food on the twelve hour flight, and woke up just in time for breakfast before we landed! 

Air New Zealand is a great airline, and business class with them is a wonderful experience. They make you feel special, and nothing is too much to ask. I would thoroughly recommend them. 

The same can't be said for our second flight, which was with Air Canada. The lounge was basic, and we had several hours wait there. The flight felt like they were trying to provide a business class experience, but not doing a very good job of it. I won't list all my moans about it here, but let's just say I wouldnt fly with them again even if it was free :-(  

Shame, as it's not like we can afford to fly business class all the time. We treated ourselves when we left for NZ, and likewise on the way home. Unless we win the lottery any future holidays will be back to basics. 

We couldn't believe it when we arrived in London Heathrow and it was so warm - in October! We'd packed jumpers and coats to wear when we got off the plane, and I walked out of the airport in a vest top! What's going on with the world?

An hour and half drive in a taxi saw us finally arrive at our destination - we were staying with my mum in the Cotswolds until we found a place of our own. This is what welcomed us when we got there - a homemade welcome home banner!

Home at last - well sort of. Now all that's needed is a house of our own, jobs, cars, school.....

Oh well, one step at a time, Rome wasn't built in a day!

Xxxx