Sticky Saturday: April Showers

Sticky Saturday: messy play fun with kids

 

Every Thursday, I run the messy play at a local mums'n'tots group so I thought I'd include some of the fun we have there and share crafty ideas (which were all stolen from Pinterest obviously). 

This week we made April Showers pictures, a lovely and simple craft which just involved cotton balls, raindrops cut out of paper and lots of pva glue.

I always make one to show the parents what we're doing but I always prefer the kids versions myself. 

 

 

 

Telling the Truth About the Tooth Fairy

Over the Summer, Bean lost a front tooth. Cue the obvious visit by the tooth fairy.

The next day, he called me for a private conversation, away from his brother’s prying ears.

I had no idea what it was going to be about.

With a coy smile, he asked me who the tooth fairy was.

A little taken aback, I asked him who he thought it was.

He immediately replied; “You!”

I thought about continuing the lie, but as promised (mostly to Mr. Strawberry) I resigned to tell him the truth. We always said, in those ‘how will we parent our children’ discussions, we would go along with the fun and games of Christmas and tooth fairies and all that palaver until they asked with straight faces.

“But it’s a fun story don’t you think?” I asked in reply.

We then chatted about how sometimes it’s nice to believe in stories and how boring life would be without stories and imagination.

I’ve written about this before, so it’s obviously something that is close to my heart. I love all things fantastical and my life would be genuinely awful without my nightly escape into someone else’s world when I tuck myself into bed with a book. Everything I said in this blog post, only a year ago, I still stand by. I didn’t tell Ed the truth that day because I knew he wasn’t ready, but Bean obviously was this time. He has lost teeth since and has put them under his pillow with gusto, so my truth telling clearly hasn’t destroyed his childhood.

My worry is, as we head into December, Timmy Twinkles will of course be returning and I can only hope he gets a good reception….

Baby Panic

I started writing this when I was two months pregnant but didn’t publish as we hadn’t announced it.

I’m having a panic.

A friend from Uni recently had a baby, and therefore her Facebook posts are full of her beautiful baby and super cheerful notes on how happy she is and how lucky she feels.

Me however, I’m mid panic.

I know what its like to have a baby. I know the mind numbing monotony of feeding, wiping, dressing, washing, desperately trying to squeeze in a nap, trying to make it out the house for it to only end in tears. I know how it feels to have not had any where near enough sleep, to have someone else entirely reliant on you.

And yet here she is, always so positive. I want to message her asking if she really is that positive all the time. I wrote the message in my head and then realized, I really didn’t want her to admit to feeling a little blue. I really didn’t care to have my bubble of her and her joy burst.

I also remember those moments when you look at your baby’s face and think, bloody hell you’re beautiful. I still have those moments now, even though they’re not cute little squishy things anymore, they’re strong and muscular growing boys. And although their temper tantrums are more destructive than when they were in nappies, their hugs are fiercer too.

It may just be crazy hormones, but sometimes I think ‘what the hell have I done?’, but more often I cry with sheer happiness that finally the baby have talked about for years is here, growing well and will be with us in no time at all. The idea of watching this little human grow up and become even half the person the boys have become is absolute bliss.

It’s going to be messy, noisy and sleep deprived, but it’s also going to be full of sloppy kisses and giggling, because if nothing else, the shit the kids get up to makes me laugh until my belly hurts.

I can’t wait.

My Mother's Day Cards

Yay! Thanks to school I have Mothers day cards I didn't help make myself. 

I love little surprises and use any opportunity I can to let people keep secrets (the nice kind) from me at Christmas, on my birthday, Valentine's day and Mother's day.

I knew they must have making them because on Wednesday Bean had paint all over his sleeve and when I asked about it he replied;

"Mother's day cards". 

Ooops Bean, don't think you were supposed to tell me that...

So, on Friday, Ed, who is very precious about his surprises and hates them to be ruined in any way, came out of school with something stuffed inside his coat. We walked to the car as he gave Bean and I strict instructions to go straight into the kitchen when we got home. However, he must have got overexcited and when we got home, before we'd even walked through the door he asked me if I wanted it early, then gave it to me before I had a chance to answer.

Now, I'll be honest, Ed spends a fair amount of time telling me I don't love him, and he's written me notes that say something along the lines of; 

"I love you but I don't think you love me" 

So I had expected his card to be full of: 

"You don't love me, you've never even liked me, you're an asshole"

Instead, I got this...

Translation; Dear Mum, Happy Mother's Day. I love you lots, from Ed.

Bean's card was stashed in his homework bag, and when given permission to remove it, I found this.

I seriously never expected this.

When I asked for a translation of '1psent min' I literally laughed out loud and asked why on earth he'd put that. Bean is always so loving and sweet, it was a surprise to see this written in his beautifully hand-painted card. 

Apparently, it's very simple. 

The morning he wrote his card out at school was the morning I wouldn't let him have crisps for breakfast.

Mommy, you are 1 percent mean, from Henry
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now I don't need flowers or chocolates, instead I have two little boys who I know will never hold back and always be honest about their feelings, however, Ed decided it was inappropriate to write something mean in his card, which I think is an excellent notion to have at just seven. 

What great kids I have. I'm one lucky Mummy.

Bean & Mummy's Yo! Sushi Date

Ever since we started making veggie sushi at home, I've wanted to be brave enough to go out for proper sushi. 

Bean is a bit of a food lover and I've had plans building in my head for a while of places we can go where we can try new foods together. So when Mr Strawberry and I went on a rare date and the boys became jealous, it didn't take me long to arrange 'dates' with both boys. Ed and I went to the movies (his choice) and I took Bean for sushi. It wasn't our only option but I'm so pleased we went, it was fabulous. 

On the way there, we discussed eating fish, raw fish and crab. We talked about how neither of us had ever eaten raw fish but maybe we should try it. It's fine to not like something but it's not fine to not try anything new. 

So, we got there and Bean chose us a little booth. He loved the bright colours, the cute characters and the tv on the wall that seemed to go through a loop of sushi dishes and lucky cats, all within cool Japanese imagery. The staff were all super helpful and friendly, made sure we had everything we needed and ensured they were close by if we had any questions. Every table has water taps so we never went thirsty and the conveyor belt of plates went past the table so we could grab whatever we fancied. 

It took us a bit of time to read through the menu (there are so many options) and find what was passing us but we didn't feel rushed. The dishes we really fancied but couldn't see, we simply ordered. Bean loved that he could press the button which alerted our waitress (thankfully he didn't get too hooked on it and was very sensible for someone who is only five). 

Our first plate.

From the top; inari & chive futomaki, duck gyoza, tamago nigiri, inari pocket,
pumpkin korroke, duck & mango roll.

So, I take him out for sushi and he orders himself sausages!
At least he attempted to eat them with chopsticks!

We tried lots of new foods, and even got brave enough to try both raw fish and raw beef but we didn't like it. We tried the salmon without the salmon and poor bean ended up with just the wasabi flavoured rice. "Too spicy!" he said. But the pumpkin korroke, duck gyoza, beef tsukune, tamago nigiri and inari pocket were delicious! 

seared beef nigiri and salmon maki.

And the puddings! It's obvious from my waistline I'm a pudding girl. I went for sushi so I wasn't expecting great puddings too. My sister had told me about a cheesecake sushi thing so I knew they did a few, but the puddings ensured we went past our 15 plate limit. 

We went on a Sunday, so we partook in the Sunday munch deal, which is 10 plates for £20 and 5 plates for £10 for a child, but because we were trying everything which caught our eye, we soon maxed out. Then when Bean spotted more puddings passing us and ordered himself a fruit platter, it pushed us so far past it was cheaper to charge us for two adults. I didn't mind, the last time we had a date was August! And the unlimited water was free. We didn't finish everything on our plates so we brought home our left overs. 

We first tried the custard dorayaki which was so yum Bean nabbed a chocolate one too. The chocolate mochi was peculiar but tasty, as was the strawberry cheesecake mochi. I'm still deciding on the anko mochi, there's some in the leftovers box. 

Testing the mochi.

strawberry cheesecake mochi, custard dorayaki, chocolate dorayaki, chocolate
mochi and anko mochi.

"I will succeed..."

Looking back at the menu now (to get the names spelt right!) there are so many dishes we didn't try. We'll have to go back very soon. 

So impressed with the conveyor belt.

Yo! Sushi is the most child friendly place I've been to in ages, with sparkly clean toilets (which I always appreciate) and absolutely no tutting from anyone because I dared to take a child to a restaurant, especially one who can be a bit fidgety and knocked a glass of water over our table when he was being a bit impatient waiting for his fruit platter. 

We finished our meal utterly full, with a belly full of yummy-ness and after such genuinely lovely staff, I literally couldn't help leaving a massive tip. We struggled through town and Bean almost fell asleep on the way home. We probably shouldn't have eaten quite so much but if it's only twice a year who cares haha!

We're so full....

Finding Happiness in Being Grateful

If I was to be very, very honest with you, I would tell you that for me, the last few weeks have been shrouded by a dark cloud. It’s not that there has been anything in particular ‘wrong’ per say, I’ve just been very fed up. It has seemed like the simplest of things have been difficult to cope with. I’ve found my temper with the boys become shorter (much shorter) and I’ve been spending most evenings sobbing. Simply sobbing. My poor husband has tried his best to be loving and supportive, which must be hard given that he has only got soggy cuddles in return and not much else.

I’m trying to cheer up.

In my heart of hearts I know I’ve simply got a case of the blues and I just need to look after myself better, relax a little more, get more sleep and try to be a little bit more positive about things.

I’ll be right as rain soon, so don’t worry peeps.

In the meantime, I’ve noticed that lately, while listening to people around me talking about their lives and general events, I keep hearing versions of what seem to be pretty much the same thing, like some kind of theme is coming through;

Being grateful.

One of my friends recently spoke of how when she found a moment to ‘thank the universe’ for something good in her life, something else fabulous immediately happened. Then when she thanked the universe for that, two more happy events occurred.

Last week my Mum even had a book published (her first finished piece) on Kindle and paperback, which you can purchase here, all about being grateful.

I haven’t read it, it being a ‘religious text’ and all, but from the blurb I’d say if one was that way inclined, it’s a very inspiring read. It's all about prayer and trying not to come to God with a list but rather to be thankful for what he has already provided.

It seems to me that whoever you are, however you see the world, whomever you feel is ‘in charge of things’, as it were, if we take a moment to be grateful and to dwell on the good things, the happier and more successful (however you might measure that) we become.

There’s a great Ted Talk about being grateful.

And there is some excellent advice here about learning to be more grateful.

It makes perfect sense to me that the more time we spend thinking about the great things in our lives, the happier we would be.

Of course, in doing so we have less time to dwell on the crappier side of things, so we naturally become less miserable.

Even cynical old me has watched miserable people grow sick and weary under the pressure of their bitterness. Like their own bodies couldn’t cope with the negativity and literally gave out under the weight.

If only they could’ve just cheered the hell up!

Being angry and miserable will never do us any good, but happiness, smiling, laughter and hugs are all things that have proven healing powers (Google it if your not sure there's scientific proof).

oh dear, I've quoted Oprah :/

Also, I feel I should add, that I spend a lot of time looking to the future. It drives me to distraction and I so wish I could live in the moment more. I know I'll never be happy while most of my efforts are spent thinking things will be vastly improved in a few months, when the house is done, when the garden is finished, when we've saved up for that, when we've paid that debt off, etc, etc. The moments I feel actual happiness are the moments when I stop. When I stop thinking and just be in the moment, usually with my boys, just playing or simply watching them play. I feel like if I carried on like this, moping about the things that aren't good enough yet and waiting for certain things to improve, I'd look back to find grown men. I'd miss it. Children really do grow too fast. My littlest guy was five last week. Ridiculous! How did that happen? I definitely need to spend less time sulking and more time just enjoying the day to day stuff.

I love this idea.

So this is what I’m grateful for;

My two little boys, their enquiring minds and ceaseless zest for life.

That my children, my husband and I, are all healthy.

My loving & supportive husband.

That we can afford to pay the bills.

Family.

Great friends.

A small breeze on a warm day.

Birdsong.

Warm sunshine on my skin.

My driving license.

That little sign my dog makes when she’s comfy.

The sound of rain.

Silence.

My body.

My mind.

My creative fingers.

Clean water and electricity in our home.

Music.

Books.

Other people’s stories.

This was surprisingly difficult to write, so I ended up just trying to write a list of everyday things which make me happy. I didn’t want to get all sentimental on you, but it appears that it’s impossible to avoid when it comes to things like this.

So let’s be soppy together!

What makes you happy?

What are you grateful for?

Write in the comments below x 

If you need some inspiration for writing your own list, this might be of use;

If you fancy it, maybe join in with a #thankfulthursday or follow thankful thursday on facebook. Or maybe make a photo diary, a little like the #100happydays (which I got through almost 70 days of before I got annoyed with it - oops. I just kept having days that ended in such personal darkness that I couldn't see any light), but weekly might be more do-able.
Wishing you all the happiness in the world my lovelies xxx

Halloween 2013

Halloween is a tricky one for me (like what I did there?)

Brought up by a deeply spiritual Christian woman, I was never taken trick or treating.

We were allowed to have a small party to ourselves, dress up, apple bob, eat donuts from strings pinned up over a door way & we were even allowed to raid my mums spice rack a make 'potions' (at least I think we were, we certainly did it regardless).

Trick or treating was considered begging at best, theft using fear & intimidation at worst.

As I became an adult, Halloween still never really hit it off in my life. I don't watch horror movies because I'm a giant wuss, so all the macabre and scary stuff just doesn't have a place in my head.

However, now I have children.

There are things I've done every single year, I always carve a pumpkin. I carried on going to my Mum's house to bob for apples and eat donuts.
Over the past few years I've started to make sure I have a bowl of sweets for the neighbourhood kids when they come round, and I've started to build up a box of decorations, bought from the supermarket during regular food shops or bought in sales at the end of the season.
Each year has been a conscious effort to make more of the season and this year, thanks to Pinterest, we made decorations together and had a Halloween dinner the night before. 

This year we were invited to a party at a friends, after which we all went trick or treating together as a group. The kids were on strict instructions to only knock on the doors of decorated houses, and each time the door opened one of the parents would apologise for the amount of children present.

It's funny. We watch so many American TV shows & movies, where Halloween is huge, and it has changed here so much in the past few decades, but it still felt a little awkward to me. I don't know if, as a 'door opener' you're supposed to pretend to be scared by the children in their costumes or what, but it defiantly seems that us British types haven't got the whole thing just yet.

Sadly, because we were out all night, my bowl of sweeties went un-trick-or-treated. What a shame.

We went to bed that night feeling quite proud of our boys who only had a few of their treats (self discipline at 4 & 5, how unexpected), but when I got up in the morning I found two boys downstairs sat on the sofa next to two empty buckets and a lot of sweetie wrappers. Never mind.

Bean with his decorated biscuit at Un-School.

Ed decorating a biscuit at Un-School.

Ed making chocolate spiderwebs.

Bean eating a spiderweb.

My attempt at chocolate spiders.

My dodgy attempt at sausage Mummies, as seen here.

My entirely-made-up-on-the-spot zombie brains. I made it using filo pastry, with a layer of tomato puree and cheese, rolled up all wiggly, then sliced & placed in a baking tray all hap-hazard like & baked. Yummy cheesy goodness.

My creepy eyeball jelly did not go to plan.

Yummy meringue ghosts.

Life is Better with a Dog

Every Sunday, we go to my Mum's for dinner and a play.

Mum has two big dogs, one of which she has had for years, but the Husky is a new addition to the family.

I came away last Sunday feeling really, really lucky that we have these marvellous creatures in our lives.

I am thrilled to bits to see how well she has settled in and how well she treats my boys.

She's only a young dog at no more than a year old (she's a rescue and no-one is sure how old she is), so she's full of beans and feist, but once again Mum has managed to find a dog who can put up with small children.

Bean in particular loves all creatures great and small. He's a cuddler, which often means typical four year old type strangulation and 'over-loving'. He'll learn in time to be more gentle, but for now I'm just grateful we have dogs that won't give him the nip he probably deserves.

This is Bean snuggling with Cassie. The most marvellous thing I've noticed about Huskies is the love of snuggles.

This is the boys trying to make the dogs sit for a treat. It's difficult with two kids who are learning how to speak to a dog and two dogs who are the same size as said children...

Bean and Cassie a few weeks after she moved in.

This is our lovely little Milly.

Our lives are so enriched by these dogs.

It's hard to put it into words without getting a bit too soppy.

It's clear, not matter what kind of dog you have whether it's a handbag dog, or a great big horse of a thing, it makes your life better. However crap my day has been, spending a few milliseconds giving Milly a little chin scratch cheers up right up. A sofa cuddle with a blanket and a Milly puts me in a better mood than a whole tub of Ben & Jerry's (the lack of eater's guilt obviously helps too haha). In fact, nowadays, even though it doesn't happen very often, if I ever throw a blanket over myself while I'm sat on the sofa, Milly knows her place and joins me immediately.

It's these moments that I forget what's been chewed....

This is Ed when he was a bit poorly. She always seems to know who's feeling pants and loiters until she's invited for a snuggle. Although I think on this occasion cheeky Milly is simply enjoying the opportunity to lay on someone's pillow...she does not like cold floors haha. I'm sure she's not alone in this, but if there is ever anything fabric or cosy on the floor, she'll be asleep on it before you can blink.

Milly playing in the snow last winter.

Ah, the joys of Photoshop.

Oh how I love Photoshop.
This is a photo of my boys wearing my bandanna scarves (available from www.etsy.com/shop/icanbeSuperMe) outside school one cold, wintery day.
I had recently made a batch and as usual, they nabbed one each for themselves. 
I always let them for two reasons; so I can take photos at random (I kind of prefer photos taken in natural circumstances) and because they make great walking advertisements. We always get compliments from strangers and I usually have flyers in my handbag haha.
Anyhoo, the original photo was lovely and colourful, but not entirely obvious as to what it was trying to sell, so I fiddled with it on Photoshop.

Very pleased.
Even more pleasing was the fact that the reason for making this batch was because I had received a request to make them in this larger size (they were originally only in 0-2yrs).
And it was my very first international order! How exciting!

Ed's 5th Birthday

My eldest son Ed enjoyed his 5th birthday this week.
It's crazy to think it's been five years since I became a mother, how my world has changed! But I won't bang on about sleepless nights, cleaning up someone else's bodily functions or the severe lack of 'nights out' in my life now, I just couldn't let his birthday slide past without a mention. He had a lovely day, followed by a great party which left him with far too many new toys (which I now have to find homes for, straight after christmas too, what fun).
I love this photo because it epitomises how excited he was and how much he loved his cake, lovingly handcrafted by me.
Good times.
Thank you to all who came to the party, sent cards, gifts or well wishes xxx