Forest fun

 

We had our second forest fun day on Wednesday. It proved to be just as fun as the first one. 

We made rice cake owls, journey sticks, dens in the forest and decorated tote bags.

The children all got to make fruit smoothies on the bike blender again which everyone was pleased about. Although they attracted the wasps something terrible thanks to the apple juice they contained. 

Lunch was pasta bolognaise and much easier to eat with the forks we bought from home. 

I remembered to bring some freezer bags with me in case I could rescue some leftover fruit.

The lady running the food activity said she was pleased to see me again and gave me a big bucket of leftover pears. You can imagine how much fun it was to get a bucket of pears home on the bus with a buggy, sleepy toddler, 3 tired older children and lots of slightly wet painted tote bags. Somehow we managed it 😂

Once home and settled I weighed the pears. 8.5lbs! 

3lbs were chopped, soaked in lemon and sugar over night with the hope of making jam. Sadly the pears were just too ripe to set so we now have a chunky pear compote instead but the jars have all sealed well so they will make good fillings for crumble or added to porridge and custard. 

The rest will be processed tomorrow as I could only fit 3lbs in the preserving pan. 

The few remaining pears will make a tasty pear and chocolate crumble.

X x X

 

Rest and recovery

 

 We have sadly been hit with a very polite tummy bug. Why polite? Because it has very kindly taken down one person a day meaning it's been a lot easier to cope with rather than everyone poorly as once. Today is Gman's turn as he was the last man standing. 

 As we've been sick we haven't done much other than a lot of movies, naps and video games. Today though I spotted a lovely idea on Pinterest when looking for eggbox crafts. There's a pond for swiming and falling in, though I'm told a crocodile lives in there! A grassy mound to rest on when tired, and a tree to climb to escape the pond crocodile (of course!) You may even notice that one of our monkeys is also a Princess with a little crown to prove it because "monkey's do be princess's you know!"  

 Hopefully our little playset will keep everyone amused for a day or two 🥰

X x X

 

Family fun day

Today we went on a wonderful adventure.

First we caught the bus to our destination. Bus rides used to be a 4 times daily occurance before we moved to Eastleigh, it's so odd that it feels quite special now. Gman said he couldn't remember riding on a bus before and was shocked to hear he had actually ridden on many.

  The bus was free transport put on especially for people going to the Family fun day otherwise we couldn't have gone without DH driving us there. It felt really nice to take all 5 of the children out by myself for the day.

After signing in and dealing with a small travel sickness incident we started our first activity. We were each given sticks, rubber bands, pipe cleaners and a plastic dinosaur.

Then we had 20 minutes to make a raft that could sail the dinosaur safely across a small paddling pool of water.

All 4 eldest children really enjoyed the challenge and it's definitely something we'll be trying again at home. 

Next we made some handmade paper. A touch messy but a lot of fun trying to find the perfect leaf or flower to use as decoration. Sadly the line drying the papers broke in the wind before we could take them home but I think the children forgot about them anyway so it wasn't too much of a disaster.

Next came den building with a short walk into the nearby woodland and the children let loose with sticks, tarps and rope.  Originally we were in two teams; me, Baby C, Gman and DD2 vs DD1 and DD3. However we ended up making a sort of super tent between us complete with a mock campfire set up and sleeping areas.

It was wonderful to watch them all working together to solve various problems.

By then it was lunch time and we were all famished. Lunch was fresh salad and jacket potatoes with a host of toppings to pick from. It was here we had our only complaint of the day. The eco friendly wooden forks were horrible to use. Next week we will be packing some cutlery from home!

Dessert was chocolate mousse with whipped cream.

The afternoon activity was making berry smoothies using a bicycle powered blender and creating fruit kebabs. DD3 had a lot of mysteriously disappearing fruit 😂

I was a little shocked at how some of the other children attending didn't recognise some of the fruit we used and even more shocked at several parents who threw the kebabs in the bin as they left. I'm tempted to take freezer bags with me next week in case a similar thing happens, the frugal mum in me wants to take home any leftovers to make jam 🤣

I wonder if they'd let me 🤔

After our fruit feast it was time to catch the bus back home. Evetyone was tired but happy after a day of fresh air and nature based entertainment. 

We are booked on 4 of the 5 sessions avaliable this summer and I can't wait for the next one.

X x X

Cold bellybuttons

 It's Day 3 of isolation for DD2. There have been 2 positive cases in her year group at school so that's pretty much her finished now for the summer. I'm not even going to guess if they will be back in September the whole thing feels very shakey again. 

 Thankfully we are having beautiful weather and can enjoy the garden for entertainment. The two smallest are also happy to bimble about out there so it makes for a peaceful afternoon. Except when odd things happen.

DD4 - Mama! My belly button is getting cold! 

 Imagine this said with an impressive sized pout and cross little hands on hips. 

Sure enough a hole has appeared in her dress 🤣

 Please excuse the state of the dress. Toddlers playing in gardens do not make for clean dresses 🤣 I don't have any white sewing cottom at the moment so I used the brown one I did have. 

 I then covered the stitches by going over them in white yarn. It's probably not going to be suitible for meeting the Queen but it will be just fine for more garden play for a little longer. I will start looking out for a new dress or two next time I'm near the charity shops though just in case we have any more garden casualties this summer.

Weeds are flowers too...

 Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them - A.A.Milne

 I've been waiting for the enourmous thistle plant in my garden to bloom for a long time now. The rain storm last night seems to have done the trick and finally tempted out the first blooms. Don't they look sweet in this little glass jug?

X x X

Bargain bits and pieces

 I picked up a few bargains on my trip to town this morning. A pretty white dress for Baby C for 49p. At that price I don't really mind if it only lasts for a few wears. White is definitely a big risk 🤣. The sticker book is like new, and Gman is a big fan of Power Rangers  so for 29p it will make a nice addition to his Christmas pile.

 I also found 2 Lamaze toys in 2 seperate shops. 1 for 99p and 1 for £1. The dog has squeakers in his legs and the peacock is full of textures and interactive parts for sensory play. We have quite a collection of Lamaze toys now each of the 5 children having all recieved some over the years. They really are wonderful childrens toys. They wash well and seem nigh on indestructible.

  Last but not least was an odd find. DD3 spent a happy hour building all sorts of towers and buildings with the cards. Next time I get some thick card pass my way I'm going to use these as templates and add a few more pieces so it's easier to share between 2 or more children. 

 I'm rather pleased with my finds today 

 X x x

Barmy offers

 

 I thought the current 5 for £5 offer looked good when i passed by yesterday. I thought I'd treat the children to it tonight, i was wrong.

 Me; Can you tell me where the £5 offer is please?

 Shop Worker (SW); It's over there but you can't buy one.

Me; Why?

SW; We've run out of garlic bread and we aren't allowed to substitute it.

Me; Can't you sell it without the garlic bread?

SW; No, we're not allowed.

Me; So everything has to sit in the freezer until you get more garlic bread in?

SW; Yes.

 😂 How ridiculous!