pinterest parties

i had some friends round for drinks and a pamper party this weekend. i had a good look through pinterest for ideas and as always it didn't disappoint. i got a great idea for gin cocktails using herbs and edible flowers. they looked and tasted amazing... i froze the edible flowers {i used pansies, viola and flox} in ice cubes, for best results i found cooled boiled water worked best and i froze the cubes in two parts so the flowers floated. the cocktail itself was a shot of hendricks gin, a shot of elderflower gin, a tea spoon of rose essence and a sprig of thyme. oh, and some tonic! if you dont have elderflower gin then there is a lovely elderflower tonic that would work just as well...

and then there was the birthday party for the five year old! can leave out the preparations for that one!

the safari passes were printables i found online and the binoculars were toilet rolls with animal print duct tape wrapped around. pretty basic stuff!

the pinata was bought ~ i thought about making one but really time ran away from me and a trip to tescos ticked that off the list!

 

the cake i made with two batches of batter, one white and one chocolate... then i layered the batter in dollops one on top of the other to make the stripes in side the cake.

the party favours were just old jars that i collected from friends, i glued an animal to the lid and painted it then i filled them with the crayons ~ i had thought about sweeties or marshmallows... but thought there was enough sweet treats going around!

my favourite part was making the crayons... i have done this before here but this time i got to use lego moulds! and i love lego! who doesn't? so i collected all the crayon ends i could find... i even begged some from friends and family {i had a lot of jars to fill!} and melted them down... it was like i was making a miniature army! and they turned out better than i had hoped

 

i had plenty of games planned including the usual musical statues and musical bumps... but had to find a use for the binoculars... so we went on an elephant hunt to find dung! this was just flour, water and some old coffee grounds formed to make a dough, i then hid an insect inside {toy insect!} and baked them in the oven for ten minutes...the kids then went on a hunt to find them in the garden {luckily the weather was nice!} and cracked them open to see what was inside! fun.

it's been a while...

it has been months since i sat down and wrote anything, far less published it.  i guess i kind of lost the momentum of taking time to put things down... i lost the urge to take the time for me.

so, with a quiet house and a cosy blanket on my knees, i am finally getting back into it...

what have i been doing with my time? it's actually pretty hard to say {as most stay at home/work at home mums can often be heard muttering} i go about my daily routine {or lack of it}

we get up
we play
we eat breakfast
i clear up, put a wash on {or not}
get dressed {or not}
get the 2yr old and the almost 5yr old out of the door to walk the dog
make it as far as the end of the park
walk back
lunch
nursery run
2yr old takes a nap
housework/work on the computer/make telephone calls/watch mind numbing daytime tv {delete as appropriate}
2yr old wakes up
nursery run
tea
play for a bit
bath or a bit more playing
stories... lots and lots of stories
bed for small people
tv/computer/tidy up
bed for adults

you see... not much... but yet so much.

mothers day craft!

bath bombs

i found this great blog the other day with some inspirational crafts... this one really stood out for many reasons... seasonal, kid friendly. mum friendly! can't go wrong :)

it was so easy to do with the kids and acted as a great sensory/messy play activity! but best of all, the ingredients were all in the cupboard! so here's how...

mix two cups bicarbonate of soda and one cup cream of tartar with a splash of oil and a few sprays of water. then add a small handful of dried lavender and another of dried chamomile (i used the contents of a tea bag)
mix until it holds together when pressed - you may need a few more squeezes of oil or sprays of water.
press into a silicone ice cube tray and leave for a few days... the longer you leave them the harder they go!

as i was giving these as a gift i made up some baskets (string/twine soaked in glue and wrapped around a small balloon, leave to dry and pop balloon!)

i loved these so much i made a second batch but added a drop of beetroot juice to colour it and stored them in this lovely jar in the bathroom!

there is nothing nasty in these so they are suitable for kids and adults! i am going to look out some fun animal or robot shaped moulds and make up a batch for the next party bags!

rainbow intestines and jelly worms

so for a bit of halloween fun, we had some messy play at the playgroup i run.  i boiled up some spaghetti and added food colouring to portions once i had drained and washed the pasta. i then added them all together into bowls and hid some creepy creatures in the pile of rainbow intestines!  for snack i made banana smoothies {basically just milk and bananas!} and i filled straws with jelly {gelatin and fruit juice mix} let it set then gently warmed the straws to release the worms!

we also had mini pumpkins {satusumas} and ghosts {more bananas with raisin eyes!}

it was a lot of fun :)

halloween always brings out the big kid in me...

no bad kids?

whenever i try to explain my parenting methods, i find it almost impossible to fight my corner.  my baby brain makes it so hard for me to think clearly enough to give a decent answer!

i want to say -
i am not a walk over parent who doesn't discipline her children or teach them right from wrong. 
i am not letting my kids run wild and rule the roost.
i am teaching them all of the above, respectfully. 

i try to talk to my daughter about everything, if she is having a hard time with a task, game or activity, i talk her through it and offer my help if she wants it.  i don't swoop in and do it for her.  if she is having a meltdown, i sit down with her and hold her until she is ready to talk to me and we work it out together.  tantrums are part of growing up and not necessarily a negative thing.  toddlers have these huge emotions that they don't understand... it must be so overwhelming for them.  so surely withdrawing affection as a form of discipline teaches them that our love is conditional?  it is not wrong to feel emotions, it is not wrong to cry - we all need to cry sometimes.  instead of leaving them to work out their scary emotions themselves, should we not instead help them to understand them?  i struggle to explain this without sounding patronising or critical but i really believe that children are not purposefully 'bad', negative behaviour is almost always a cry for help - a need to sleep, hunger or a need for limits.  using the naughty step, cry it out or the removal of toys or privileges when a child 'acts out' can really only create resentment and distrust as well as making the child feel shame or guilt.

often i see parents use the naughty step or other such threats at the smallest things and it makes me feel kind of sad... and this may seem harsh but it is almost like they are saying, ah, you are angry but please do it quietly over there so i don't have to see it.  these children are only little for such a short time so why not make that time fun, positive and happy? why stress the small stuff? 

so, i implore... enjoy this time as much as possible and trust your child or children to learn the lessons of life on their own - just as they learn to talk and walk in their own time.

birthday girl

well, poppy turned two last week and to celebrate we had a few friends over to play... 20 to be exact! yikes!
I made a delicious carrot cake with pink sprinkles and some blueberry muffins, rocky road (for the grown ups!) star shaped sandwiches and other snacks and tasty treats. a stressful day or two to organise but well worth it to see her playing with her buddies... albeit primarily playing side by side with them instead of 'together'.

lots of food was eaten, plenty of toys unwrapped and tea drunk (again... the grown ups!)

needless to say it was a lot of fun and poppy treated us to a two hour nap that afternoon to recover!

sun, sand and surf!

well, it was awfully quiet over here for a while there... that's because we just went on a wee last minute holiday to the sun! a week of winter sun, deserted beaches, five course meals, huge luxurious apartment and one happy toddler... don't hate me! it was perfect but it is all down to poppy! any time we have ever tried to go somewhere poppy has determined whether or not it was enjoyable! seriously, i never wanted to be a family that was ruled by the baby ...we are. poppy is not a big traveller, more than twenty minutes in the car and she becomes some sort of baby banshee. she moans. she whines. she shouts. when we arrive she tends not to settle very easily and everyone looses precious sleep! i am not exaggerating here, i promise! she is great in so many other ways (all other ways actually, but I'm biased!!) but she is no traveller!
this week proved us so wrong... she sat for four hours on the plane and read books, stuck stickers and sang songs, she played happily all day with one little pull along dog toy on the balcony, beach and pool side, she ate all her dinner, she slept all night. bliss.

and who do we owe this perfect holiday to??? these lovely people!