We've arrived the other side :)

DD was a lot better the next day after a good night sleep.  Her school.request they are clear for 48 hours before returning so she was home Tuesday and Wednesday.  We entertained ourselves with jigsaw puzzles, indoor camping and Disney films.

Of course 

 the occasional nap was squeezed into our busy schedule. I was quite tempted to crawl.in and join her.
 We made the downstairs toilet " infection central". It seems to have worked well as thanks to minimal cross contact and gallons of anti-bac no one else has become sick, and I'm feeling pretty darn proud of that. The bug is still working it's way through the school and I'm hoping she is now immune, we had a good talk about germs and hand washing though to be safe.
 Now we are a caught up and back to routine.

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I will BRB

 DD has returned home from school with the latest tummybug doing the rounds.
So until it's run the course (hopefully with just the one Random succumbing) I will taking a day or so off blogging.

 Wish me luck
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Lot's of cake.

 Sorry It's a late and short entry today. It's been manic! DD was invited to both  morning and afternoon birthday parties. So in between being a chauffeur and making sure Baby D wasn't left out, we've achieved almost nothing of note. 

 I did manage to snap this photo of Baby D enjoying a piece of chocolate cake though.

Hopefully tomorrow will be more sedate.

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Project 2/12 complete-ish!

Fresh off 

the needles! I've had several appointments this past week all of which involved much waiting room time.  Needing a project I could pack up at a minutes notice meant my cable project was no good so I cast on a little cardigan for Baby Random.
 The wool is from Wilkos and at £1.35 a ball is quite a bargain, and it's a steal when you factor in the 25% wool it contains!
  My only issue now is buttons. I can't decide between novelty boy theme ones (cars etc) or plain dark ones as the colours are already pretty busy. What do you think readers?

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Root kit

DD had a teacher training day at school yesterday so while Baby D was at preschool we had some free time together.  We took the opportunity to start some carrot and radish seeds. DD was fascinated to see how tiny and different they looked.

The root viewer was a joint Christmas present for us all. I'm looking forward to watching the plants grow into their final stage.  I hope the girls enjoy watching them to and start some interesting conversations.

We also replaced our two hyacinth bulbs on the windowsill with two fresh bulbs. I found a packet in the local pound shop a few days ago. They are such a cheerful sight as they grow and bloom.

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From drab to fab.

Do you remember last year when I showed you my bathroom during the house tour?

The stunning painted tiles, and mouldy grouting?  Let's face it no one was jealous lol

So what would you say now? Baring in mind it isn't finished yet of course. But the new tiles are up and nearly all grouted. Our lovely framed mirror is hung, along with new shower attachments. The fixings for the shower rail are up ready (we will put the bar back once we're finished around the bath)

 Our next aim is to paint the magnolia walls a periwinkle blue, and look for some cheap packs of laminate flooring (we're guessing two boxes should do it) 

 We have a loo roll holder to put up and want to change the taps on the sink to match the bath. I'm hunting for a light shade/cover to match the room to.

 Then it's onto the fun bits like storage boxes and new towels etc.

 I  can't wait to see it all finished!

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Project 2 progress

I 

have officially completed the back panel of DDs cable jumper . I'm feeling pretty proud of my creation as I'm not hugely experienced with cable knitting. Once I got past the first few cable rows with the help of Mrs P at knit and natter,  I was able to keep myself in pattern.

And so onto the sleeves. I knit sleeves together so I can make sure they are the same length. It's also a little less boring than having to knit one then the other. 

 Hopefully I will speed through these quite quickly over the weekend and move onto the front piece.

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The girls have an announcement

II'm sure you can guess the big news from the photo (just!). Baby Random 3 is officially a boy and from what we saw on the scan he's pretty proud of it. The sonographer said they never garentee the gender from a scan but if she was a betting lady her money would be pretty safe. Sounds good enough to me!

We ttook the girls to McDonald's for a treat and told them together before anyone else.  Then popped over the road from the restaurant to buy something blue for the baby together. We couldn't resist the little brother tshirt for the photo announcement. 

And here he is. Looking happy,  healthy and wiggly. He's also sucking his fist which the girls both did from birth. 

Annoyingly I was right all along about my placenta being in the front as I've yet to feel any kicks but I can feel him somersaulting and see him changing position by watching my belly. Hopefully in time it will move up and I will get some nudges.

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a day at the farm

We used our aannual pass to a local farm yesterday first the first time in 2015. The sun was shining and we took a little picnic with us so we could stay for lunch if we fancied.

DD was very brave ffeeding some of the animals with our complementary bag of animal feed.

Baby D liked 

 the parK best, espespecially the slide! Her new welly boots were given a good first run in every puddle and muddy patch we could find.

Both girls enjoyed watwatching the baby quail chicks in the little nursery area. I thpught I may have to pat them down before we left the shed though,  they were desperate to take one home.

Baby D was cocompletely worn out after all the walking and puddle splashing. She had a lovely nights sleep, so she's all ready and fresh for her first day at preschool today.

 I'm going to blub like a baby once she's gone in. :(

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Upcycle Saturday

While washing up this morning I noticed a crack in the bottom of my favourite Cath kidston mug. One slight tap with a nail later It had broken :(

But rather than just bung it in the bin I filled it with compost, and rehomed my celery from it's jam jar on the windowsill. Until my plant has I

it's spring growth spurt I can still enjoy my mug for a few more weeks. 

I also refilled the girls sticking box. DDs school send home letters almost daily with dates and announcements. The letters are usually on pastel colour paper and only printed one side so once they are no longer needed I've been chopping them up into squares and triangles for craft time. 

Small things but every penny soon adds up right?

What have you upcycled lately folks,  drop me a comment and let me know. 

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Friday nightmares

 Excuse the rubbish post tonight folks. DD has not survived the first week back at school very well, poor thing is so tired its like living with some sort of demon.
 Microwave meals and a warm relaxing bath were the only way to cope.
 Normal service resumes tomorrow.
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Thursday adventures

I found myself child free today between 9 and 3. I can't remember the last time I had so much time to spend with only myself for company.  It certainly felt rather odd!

I had a lovely morning with my crafting friends at knit and natter. Followed by Welsh Rarebit at a local tea room.  It was quite novel to eat it hot and all to myself :)

I had a nice afternoon mooch about the shop looking for ideas for finishing off our new bathroom. I was on the hunt for navy and white striped towels but I had no luck. I will have to go into a bigger town centre I think to find them. 

I did like the chrome shower holder set above though.

And I managed 

to squeeze in a quick visit to my favourite chazza.  Just in time to snap up this cute alphabet blanket. It looks brand new and handmade so I snapped it up for the hefty sum of £1!  On closer inspection once home it has a tiny hole in each corner so I suspect it was used as a wall hanging in its previous home. I've tucked it away in my baby stash for now,  I think the colours are neutral enough for either sex.

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Project One for 2015 complete!

I've been desperately trying to wait until our scan next week before knitting for the new baby.  As long as Baby Random behaves we should know the flavour on the 14th. I can't believe we're almost half way through! 

A friend passed the wool used above my way just before Christmas, and when I saw the neutral set on Ravelry I couldn't resist.  I think I pop them into my hospital bag to take with me on the big day. 

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Bathroom Day 2

HUbby had made fab progress in the bathroom by this afternoon.  Baby D and I were sent to the local co-op for a walk in the sunshine and to keep us out the way while the tiles were loaded into the car for a dump run. 

We found a little collection of yellow stickers to buy during our visit.

 At 20p each I'd of been tempted to a handful of cucumbers for a batch of bread and butter pickles.  I don't think I will have the time though before they'd perish. 

By 

the time we'd returned via every puddle, puss cat and interesting rock possible,  the tiles were being marked out ready to attach!  The photo makes them lpok black but in real life they are navy blue.  The white of the bath will look stunning against it!  

Can't wait to watch it progress!

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Budget Bathroom beginnings.

Excuse the short post today folks. First day back at school has tired us all out.

But I wanted to share a sneak peek of hubby hard at work. Today's job was removing the old tiles from the bathroom.  Tomorrow is plastering, patching up gaps and marking out. 

I can't wait to show you our new glam bathroom in a few weeks :)

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Prepping for back to school Monday.

 Today I have been prepping for tomorrows return to school. I started by making a fresh batch of homemade detangler spray. I added a few drops of tea tree oil to it again to try and discourage any nits from paying us a visit. Touch wood this has worked well for us since preschool!

 I've cleared out DD's school bag ready for the new year. No more collections of sticks, feathers, random sequins or shiny things. I've also washed her winter coat over the holidays so it's nice and fresh for the winter weather. 

I have hunted down all the componants to build a PE kit and hung the completed kit on the door handle so we don't forget it.

Tomorrow's clothes have been laid out ready for  the morning ready. Nothing worse than a missing sock or school top when your already ten minutes late!

And finally I've given DD a good soaking in the bath, complete with hairwash. We busted out the new Frozen bubble bath and magic flannel from Christmas.

v

In for a penny.... as they say, Baby D got given a good soaking too!

Just a good night sleep and some tooth scrubbing left to do, and we are all set for the morning :)

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Starting to plan for our new arrival

 Maybe it's just the Brit in me, but I do love a good pudding. Your can't get much simpler and tastier than a good old fruit crumble with lashings of cream or custard (or both!).
 I found half a dozen plums in the fruit bowl looking a bit sad from Christmas, so sliced them up small with a few handfuls of blackberries from the freezer stash. Add in a few simple ingredients and a healthy dose of topping and you've made a pudding for pennies.
I had enough to make two good sized crumbles, so one has been frozen down ready for later in the year when Baby R has arrived and we can no longer remember our own names let alone cook for ourselves. I'm planning to double batch every time I bake or cook something worth while freezer so we gradually build up a stash for May and beyond.

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Shining my sink

 It's been a quiet day in after yesterdays adventures. I've spent most of it in the kitchen and resting my sore ankles on the sofa.  Those.in the know will understand why I'm showing off my shiny sink. I've been washing and drying throughout the day rather than letting it build up. I've gotten in the habit of doing it once a day when the kids are in bed.
 Today I have enjoyed the extra 20 minutes of "me" time by starting on my first New Years resolution.
 This year I've decided to keep it slow and steady by challenging myself to;

 * read 12 books in 2015
 * visit 12 new places
 * try 12 new recipes
 * complete 12 knitting or crochet projects


  What are your resolutions this year?

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Happy 2015 to one and all!

Happy New Year everyone.  Our celebrations were quiet this year owing to pregnancy and man flu in the Random household. We did wake up at midnight and watched a few fireworks from the bedroom window but that is as exciting as it got. 

 Today we celebrated the first day of the new year with us three girls visiting our local aquarium. OH was working 11-5 in a store close.by so we took the opportunity to travel together rather than spend extra money on transport. 

 I packed us all a lunch and some drinks from home, which added to our free entrance (special thanks to Aunty C for her xmas gift) made for a frugal day out.

It was a pretty quiet day in the aquarium with only a handful of visitors which meant all the staff were happy to chat about the animals they care for. DD was even allowed to help feed some of the tanks.  We also watched most of next feedings and talks throughout the visit.

 What a great start to our 2015

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