Tuesday's adventures

Baby W is feeling under the weather. We popped her to the Dr for a quick check over, W has been very weezy for the past 48 hours.

The Dr wasn't concerned as W has no temperature and still seems quite peppy and interactive. I'm glad we went though for the peace of mind. 

In the afternoon she decided to scale the first step of our stairway. She promptly forgot how she'd done it and ended up stuck and a bit cross. I don't think it'll take her long to work it all out though. 

DD1 is currently taking over the dining table with an impressive looking homework project. She needs to make something on the theme of Ancient Egypt for her classes museum. 

Her plan is to create a 3D pyramid.

My gardening magazine arrived this morning in the post. I've not had a chance to read it all read but it came with several packets of seeds.

I'm desperate to get some things started in the garden but with snow predicted soon I think I better wait. So I made a little planter from a baked bean tin to start some windowsill Basil. It's not quite the same but it's  cooled down my green-finger-fever for now.

Have you started any planting yet?

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Big reveal.

It's a door stop. Each hole slips over the door handle and covers the catch. Very simple but extremely clever isn't it?

I'm making one for each door in the house after poor DD2 trapped a finger and is now sporting a very sore black nail. With Baby W now on the move they should keep here plenty safe too.

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Guessing games

I've spent this evening crocheting and catching up with some WWE.

But can anyone tell me what it is I'm making?

The photo above is the finished article. 

I found the pattern in one of my vintage books of housekeeping tips. 

Pop your guesses in the comments 

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Chilly morning fun

We had our first properly icy morning of the winter today. The three eldest had great fun stamping on the ice covered puddles on the way to school. I'm pretty sure at least one of them had a soggy foot by the time we arrived, thankfully the school is heated like a furnace so they didn't suffer.

Gman's preschool is just as toasty. He always comes out a bit flushed at home time.

While everyone was at school or work I decided to spend my free time in the kitchen. I whipped up a family sized Toad in the Hole, and two spiced Apple cakes using some of my frozen apple stash from the summer. 

Annoyingly I managed to drop the second cake. I knocked it against the edge of the oven door after giving it a quick skewer test. The whole thing flipped over to land on the glass of the oven door  so I was able to save most of it by scooping it up quick. Needless to say it looks terrible lol. Thankfully custard covers a multitude of sins. Phew.

What have you all been baking lately?

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Frugal shopping

I had to pop into town this morning for some Metanium. Baby W is cutting her first tooth and her poor bottom is suffering. All 4 have really suffered with nappy rash while teething and Metanium is the only thing I've found that worked for them. It was £2.29 in Savers, Superdrug had it for £3.99! I'm glad I checked prices before I purchased.

Behind that cheeky face are my Poundland bargains. All Christmas stock was reduced to 25p this morning so I splurged £3 on craft kits and some Christmas tea towels for next year. At 25p everyone can have their own card making kit rather than sharing a single one.

Help the Aged had restocked their clearance book bin. I couldn't resist a little dig through. I bought the book above for pure nostalgia. It was only 29p. I wonder what my small people would think of Playschool compared to their new fancy pants computer generated shows. I might find an old episode of YouTube and show them.

The afternoon has been spent back at the country park hunting Pokemon and enjoying the park and play trail. We're thinking about buying a 3 month parking permit rather than buying a ticket each visit. It'd be lovely to visit the woods to play on empty afternoons. 

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Back to school

We managed our first day back at school with out any hiccups. Everyone had their lunch boxes and PE kits in order and we arrived in good time. Both of the girls were eager to tell me all the new gossip from their classes on the way home. Gman was only interested in his snack lol.

Once home we had an experimental Slow cooker cottage pie which seemed to go down well with everyone. It's definitely a recipe I'll try again. 

DD1 kept her news resolution to tidy her room each day for 15 minutes. Today we set an alarm and cleared out her bookshelf. Tomorrow 21 unwanted books will be passed on to a charity shop. I'm very proud of her decluttering efforts. DD1 definitely struggles with the hoarding gene so this was a big moment for her. We've been watching episodes of Marie Kondo on Netflix together.

I've also finished my Valentine's pouches and have moved onto a crochet unicorn that DD1 spotted in one of my magazines. She asked me to use the pink flutterby wool from my stash which would make an amazing softie.

The only issue is it was originally crocheted in DK by sizing it up to chunky wool the unicorn has become much MUCH larger 😂😂😂

I'll let you know how it turns out.

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Change of plans

Today was supposed to be the first meet up of the Eastleigh Baking Club for 2019. Sadly at quite late notice it had to be cancelled due to the hostess being poorly. 

I'd already baked my contribution to the table. 2 dozen Pizza pinwheels. After all the sweets and sugar of Christmas I fancied a savoury bake for this meet.

Instead of going to the meet, I joined DH with his plans to walk the children into town and back. He lured them with promises of a visit to McDonalds so they were eager to go.

On the way home we visited the park and caught some Pokemon.

It wasn't the original plan but it turned into a lovely family afternoon. 

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First project of 2019

My first project for 2019 is crochetting 6 little pink pouches. I'm planning to use them for Valentine's Day, each one filled with a little "something". Probably it will end up confectionary based but I can't see the children objecting 😂

My Valentine budget is £1 per  person so I'll be looking for heart shaped jelly beans and marshmallows in the poundshops. 

If DH can get the printer working again I can print my own  Valentine cards for them all too.

 I'll let you know what I find

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