Today was all about......

....dealing with this:

No close-ups because the dust would have you sending round the environmental health team!

Now it's looking like this:

And all dusted too. Open fires may be cosy but they're a bugger for creating dust!

All done now so it's time for these:

Before starting on this lot:

Ah well, I must have been wicked at some point :)

-x-

Owen's take

An early evening stroll around Crosby marina and play area on Saturday evening was just the thing to welcome the changing seasons.

All photo's by Owen :)

Life is great :)

-x-

Healthy eating.......or not!

After weeks and weeks of feeling ill I'm trying hard to get us all back into healthy, wholesome cooking. I've been caught in a vicious circle really, feeling ill so unable to cook, eating rubbish processed meals, takeouts, high fat snacks so feeling even more rubbish, so unable to cook and eating even more rubbish, an ever declining spiral. Well I think I've broken it at last. Almost two weeks now of delicious homecooked veggie meals, breakfast juices and smoothies, salads and health(ier) snacks, I'm feeling so much better :)

So today I chopped up lots of Mediterranean inspired veggies - courgette, aubergines, peppers,onions and garlic, then threw the lot in a roasting tin with olive oil, salt and pepper:

Roasted for an hour or so until squishy and slightly charred, in the meantime skinning and chopping a ton of tomatoes which I cooked in olive oil with bay leaves, thyme and basil. When all was cooked I mixed it all together and served it up with yesterdays left over couscous and freshly baked (while the veggies were roasting) sun-dried tomato loaf.

Whilst it was cooking I also started on some millionaires shortbread for later:

See that weird blob in the corner? I grabbed the camera to take a photo of the delicious cooked meal and the strap snagged on the cooling rack, causing the camera to slip from my hand and land in the almost set caramel layer!!! Panicking a little lot over what damage I had caused, and unwilling to let good caramel go to waste, I licked the worst part of the camera - yes, disgusting I know, but tell me you wouldn't have ;) Then I remembered the camera had been in my pocket last year when I fell in the river at the caravan and it survived that so I doused in the dishwater and quickly wiped it dry. By then all the food was gone except for Owen's so here is the last little bit of the deliciousness we enjoyed this evening. See - the camera was fine :)

Just the chocolate to spread on the caramel layer now and we can enjoy a less than healthy evening snack. Well it is home baked, that redeems it doesn't it?

-x-

Smiley things

Sunshine at last and a walk to the playground:

Owen ignoring the playground for a far better game:

See how big the boy is growing:

The empty space is filled, a chance meeting with a man who had just replaced his undercounter fridge and freezer with a new American style combi. So of course John had to ask what he was doing with the old freezer......£20? A snip! Now to start work on filling up the thing that is filling up the empty space:

Crocheting a winter blanket, way way behind but it will be ready for next year. Looks even more beautiful with the sun shining on it after the winter dulling it for so long:

 

Would you believe, the most played with game of the day:

Hope you're all finding little smiley things to enjoy :)

-x-

Nothing kind of days

Yes, we're still here. Hanging on, getting over sickness, all the children so much better now, mama not so but this is an ongoing thing with hopefully the worst over pretty soon ;) The days are getting longer and spring is coming in day by day. Everything's looking much brighter, cheerier, happier.

We haven't really done an awful lot of interest, just the usual, shopping, cleaning, cooking, mostly indoors play, occasional trips out well wrapped and cosy. This past week we have enjoyed lots of pancakes:

Yes, I know it's a bit late for a pancake day post but we didn't just do pancake day - Owen likes pancakes so much he made them for breakfast on the three following days!

Lot's of painting and writing too. Owen's letter recognition is coming on well and he is gaining so much more confidence in putting those letters together into words. He asks but always after he's made his own attempt. I am amazed daily that he is learning so well under his own steam, and enjoying too, without any pushing, directing and prompting by myself, family or others. Cain too is showing more interest in letters but not as much as Owen. Cain just likes to know what letters makes the word for whatever he is searching the Internet for! "How do you make SCOOBY DOO GAMES?" "What makes TOY STORY?" - always searching for games to play. Heather too is picking up on this and is recognising letters, our clever little girl asking "what is Cbeebies mama?" and then spelling it out herself. Yes, I know, technology eek, not really in keeping with the desire to minimise dependency, encourage natural play etc, but you know, technology is here, it's not going anywhere, so we're happy to encourage an understanding of it as long as used carefully and mixed with all of the other day to day fun and games.

Painting too, Owen's dexterity is gathering there, painting himself and his sister, choosing the right colours, for himself, Helen, the cat, the snake, how much he absorbs and understands, and learns each day.

Sad news last week - our little kitten passed away. Rudi was only a tiny little thing, seven months old and still fitting into a cupped hand. She seemed perfectly healthy and then one evening became very lethargic before starting to fit. By the morning she was gone. Not sure of the cause of death but suggestions are that her tiny size and sudden decline may have indicated a tumour of some sort. Helen was distraught, Rudi was her little kitten, and slept with her every night. The littlies are pretty much over it already, the closeness wasn't there for them. Strange how we all have affinity with different creatures......

Other things happening too - yesterday we finally, after EIGHT years, had a new boiler fitted! Oh the joy! What is my life that I am over the moon with a boiler of all things???? Our old one was repaired several times every year and finally it became impossible to get the parts so yesterday I sat in the living room trying not to think about the banging and crashing form the bathroom and kitchen, just thinking of that lovely new WORKING boiler I would have by the end of the day. The old heating system comprised an immersion heater in the bathroom and a floorstanding boiler in the kitchen. The whole lot has been replaced by a wall mounted combi boiler in the kitchen. Now we have a huge, floor to (11 foot high) ceiling, empty cupboard space in the bathroom which my lovely man is going to clear and refurbish and fit with shelves so lots more storage up there which we didn't have before. And a little free space in the kitchen where the old boiler stood as well. Hmm what to do? We were going to fit a new cupboard as obviously the one which housed the boiler was beyond repair but then we thought - a freezer!! We haven't had a freezer for so many years. We cook from scratch so never buy frozen products, and with such a large family we never had leftovers to freeze. And there was no way I could cook double on meals as I was already catering for ten at each meal so no chance of doubling up and freezing half for another day. But now, children are leaving, most nights it's just me and the man, the three littlies and one or two grown children. I'm still cooking mega meals yet there are leftovers now which we eat the following day, maybe it's time to start planning ahead and freezing for later in the month? Not fully convinced yet but the man thinks its a great idea. Our kitchen is tiny and so space is a premium, but we have managed this long without the extra cupboard space so we probably don't need it. Hmm, an under counter freezer is winning the race at the moment.....

So there we go, still around, still the same old same old, not a lot to share really, but I thought I'd best pop by and let you know we're still here, healthy, and happy. Especially as there seems to be a dwindling of followers lately, you must all thing we've gone and disappeared....

Hopefully back soon with some more news to share.

-x-

Easing back

Well that was a break wasn't it? 

I developed a certain screen intolerance leading to pretty icky headaches over the past 6 weeks but it doesn't seem so bad first thing so here I am.

Everyone's poorly at the moment, even the big boy who had to miss a GCSE exam today as his chest is so bad, he has been coughing and spluttering since Thursday evening. Luckily he will be able to re-sit in the summer so everything should be ok, the benefit being more time to revise ;) Everyone in the family is pretty much the same, sore throat, headaches, coughs etc. Owen has been the worse and has barely eaten for five days, although he seems better today. The only ones not to suffer are Heather, who shows no symptoms at all, and Cain, who had one day of feeling slightly under the weather. 

Owen's reading and writing skills are really coming on now, he recognises all of his letters, can sound out words, and is beginning to put letters into sequence to write words. Reading is not appealing to him yet, he shows no real interest in reading the books in front of him, much preferring to spend time sounding out and writing words. See the words that interest him:

Hmmm, can't remember seeing them on the first words lists the grown up children used to bring home from school...... especially as he has just added wee and poo!

I'm especially impressed by how quickly he understood the double vowel sounds.

Cain is less interested in letters just now, he joins in a little but becomes bored within seconds. He much prefers to use his hands and build vehicles:

After this photo was taken the digger acquired an additional piece which Cain explained was its stretchy snake arm to pick up far stuff.

Good news of my own to share too - our service appears to be having a positive impact on breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates across the borough we work in which means that our contract, which was originally due to end in March, has been extended for a further 12 months. Almost certain it won't go beyond that but hey, we thought it wouldn't be extended at all a few months ago so who knows?

So there we are, still here, still not great, but trying to get back into things. Hopefully I'll be back a bit sooner this time :)

-x-

Most wonderful time of the year.......

Lovely days whirling by, filled with fun and family.

On Christmas Eve the Elves filled the final pocket on the advent calendar, the last card simply said "thank you for all your hard work over the past 23 days, and all the special things you made - now we have a gift for you".

Under the tree they  found that most favourite of things - brown paper parcels all tied up with string:

 Inside were new pyjamas for each littlie to wear for bed on a special night. Hidden in the branches of the tree were three little stockings each containing a little bar of chocolate which Dad reported were enjoyed greatly throughout the day. Mama worked all day whilst the little people cleaned and tidied, and of course enjoyed a Christmas movie together. Home from work, a simple meal and baths all round before these little people all trooped off upstairs and were in their beds by 8pm. Not to sleep, oh no, far too excited for that, but not once did they pop back downstairs for a drink, or a cuddle, or a bit too eat, or to tell tales, or any of the hundreds of reasons they usually troop up and down. No, they stayed in their beds whispering excitedly until almost midnight, just missing Santa who sneaked into their rooms minutes later with stockings filled with goodies. Funny how we haven't once mentioned Santa actually bringing gifts, but the children believe. We don't agree with the tale, or hide from it, but the children want to believe and so they shall.

Christmas morning started early with Heather waking first, noticing a gift at the end of the bed. She jumped excitedly up and down and ran to her brothers' room squealing. Whilst they made toilet trips and tried to wake up older siblings I sneaked down and lit candles, turned up Christmas songs and placed Owens gift in an appropriate place - I couldn't leave it under the tree overnight as Saffi sleeps in the living room.....

Owen was oh so excited by his gift, all the more so by finding not one, but two teeny hamsters waiting for him! Such inquisitive little creatures - Hammy is perfectly happy to be cuddled and handled, Cheezy a little more shy but by Boxing day happy to sit with Owen alone:

A lucky find on Ebay meant that this was the first thing Heather spotted in the room - a beautiful wooden pram to proudly push her new mama made baby around in:

The rest of the morning spent playing games, building jigsaws, and chasing each other around with the other much requested gift - NERF guns! Yes, I know, not in keeping with the whole green, caring, conscious parenting approach, but those boys hoped and hoped for these toys and know full well that real weapons are cruel and intolerable and should never be compared to toys, which these NERF guns are. Also not in keeping was the LeapPad explorer learning tablet that Cain had seen and coveted so, but play can be restricted merely by the fact that it runs on batteries which means that after a couple of hours play between all three littlies the batteries need removing and recharging ready for the next day. A good mix too of wooden puzzles, playdough, puppets, knitted gifts, new clothe, wooden easel and an Etch-a-Sketch meant that all the gifts were loved and played with all day long and still so for days after.

The afternoon meant family feasts and more games, this mama popping upstairs and returning to the dining room for one of those sudden flash moments, looking around the table at all eight of her children smiling and chatting and enjoying a feast, the most wonderful gift of all. Of course this mama would be lying if she didn't admit to being also very pleased with her new Kindle, and a lovely cover with a built in light for bedtime reading, and the new River Cottage book ;) And I know the man was equally thrilled with his collection of Coast DVD's and his 18 year oak matured Whisky......

Boxing day was much the same as the previous day with fun, games, plentiful food, albeit with much longer spent in the kitchen by this mama, preparing a buffet fit for a king, quiches and salads and tarts and breads and scones and pies and cheeses and biscuits and cakes and trifle, Boxing day has to have trifle, all in all all enough food to last through the following few days so that  no more time need be wasted in the kitchen, instead spent enjoying a slowed down time with family. And the only photo of a large part of the family together - after being reminded by Cain that I hadn't taken any yet!

Oh yes - Beer and Pringles too, it must be Christmas ;)

So yes, another wonderful Christmas has flown by, and promises of many more lie in our dreams.

With love and best wishes to all of you and hoping your days have been filled with the same joy as ours.

-x-

December day 23

Make Christmas crackers

Today we made crackers for our festive table. I have no photos to share as I can't remember where I put the camera! But I didn't want to miss a day at this point :) Our crackers contain a hat, a joke, a Ferrero Rocher (the grown ones love these but we only get one 16 pack a year!), a party blower (because the boys love them) and a party popper. Not at all green or sustainable but we do them this way every year and so we might always do so. And besides, we try so hard all year round, surely we can indulge in a little consumerism and not remotely green behaviour in a tiny amount?

Today we added a knitted Christmas cracker to our advent tree, by lucky coincidence rather than some wonderful planning.

This mama needs for some very excited little people to go to bed now so that tomorrow's activity can be thought up, and the gift from the Christmas elves prepared. And some sleep for me too hopefully, I offered to work the day before Christmas partly to avoid the mad urge to go buy rubbish just because, and partly so that the rest of the team can have the day off and prepare for their own celebrations.

Happy, excited, seasons wishes to you all.

-x-

December day 22

Presents for the birds

Usually it's pretty cold by now but apart from the very short icy period last week, all two days of it, it's been quite mild really. I don't think the birds are having any problems finding food right now but as we like to leave them a gift in the winter we made these today.

Whilst mama was at work Owen and dad cut two coconuts in half and drilled a small hole at each side of each half. Dad threaded string through the holes to make hangers and Owen and Cain both got to work on the filling. They tipped a bag of veggie suet into a bowl with assorted nuts and seeds which they then enjoyed squishing together with their hands. They then stuffed the mixture into the coconut halves.

All ready for hanging out in the trees tomorrow, a special seasonal gift for our little feathered friends. Owen suggested we hang two here and take the other two down to the caravan for the birds there.....I hope he changes his mind by tomorrow!

Today we added a knitted snowman to our advent tree. Cain usually does this but this morning he let ?Heather do it as she feels so unwell and is very whiny right now. She is all bunged up, has a nasty cough which kept both of us awake all night, and has been complaining of earache too. Hoping that being poorly right now means that she will feel better in a day or two and not suffer through Christmas.

-x-

December day 21

Make gifts

Today was all about making gifts for friends and family.

We made bath bombs first. Owen was in charge of adding the colouring and oils. Heather added the water. Slowly. For the first batch....... The second batch they both got carried away, Owen wanted them to be really red. Heather added a little too much water. By the time we sorted out the resulting bubbling volcano we had quite a few less than we hoped for:

We also made soap. Of course we didn't make these from scratch, we used a melt and pour base and added our own oils, petals and seeds. Owen was in charge of stirring the melting base to make sure it melted evenly:

All I had to do was pour the hot molten soap into the moulds for him.

We only made four soaps as we all got a little hungry and decided to stop for tea, after which the momentum had gone and we went onto other things. We will hopefully get a few more made tomorrow if any of them are up for it.

Today we added a teeny pair of knitted Elf mitts to the advent tree. 

I also had a photo of the gingerbread house to share with you but it's stuck on my mobile. Mama's sweetie outsmarting smugness has disappeared, the gingerbread is currently without it's sweets, most of it's icing, and the whole front wall.............

-x-