Army Party Ewans 9 yrs old!

Yesterday was Ewans 9th birthday, i don't know where the time has gone. Ewan at 9 is army barmy, he got an army uniform for Christmas and has barely taken it off since, hes got an amazing memory for things that interest him, like history, hes very active always climbing and rolling, and shuffling around like a commando, he can be helpful when he wants to be and very lazy if he isn't reminded to do things over and over he is very loving and loves hugs and giraffes and cushion, he hates having his hair cut or even washed and makes a bit fuss, he is a vegetarian but can manage sausage, bacon and Mac Donalds, he has an answer for everything, he loves reading and will stay up with his torch reading in bed, he loves spending time on his own with me or daddy. He is our wonderful funny & smart little boy.

I asked Ewan what type of party he wanted and he realed off the usual, maddhatters, cinema etc but he didn't look really excited. Some of these organized partys can work out quite expensive as well considering what they are. Once Ewans birthday fell in the Easter holidays and we booked a Thingimajigs party which cost £150 we asked 35 people and only 12 came, some apologized after that they had forgot with it being the hols, which is fair enough but it was annoying as i still had to pay the full amount. We had a think about it and i suggested an army party at Stanah, he had a woodland party their for his 5th birthday that was organized by two lady's, but they don't do them anymore, so i would have to oranise it myself. He jumped at the idea and was really excited, he said he loved  my party's as you don't know what to expect, where everybody knows whats coming at hatters party's. I thought that was really sweet,as i know he definitely appreciates it when i organize things like this for him and his friends.

So i had a good look on Pintrest for some ideas and with some of my own got started with invitations, this is what i wrote and i surrounded it with camo print and finished it with a photo of Ewan

Cadet 

You have been drafted for a special assignment

Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to rondevu with an elite team to celebrate with

Private Ewan 

Report for duty  on

Saturday 25th April

At Stannah Counrty Park (meet near café)

14:00 Hrs

Mission Complete by  16:00 Hrs

Confirm by message to Sergeant Emma Ellison

xxxxxxxxxx

Come dressed and prepared for your

Outdoor  Special ops mission !

I made party bags by printing things out to stick on the front and also i bought some brown luggage tags and had some stickers printed that were personalized

I filled them with sweets and those little plasic army guys, also those plastic para shoot men that you throw off the top of the stairs, and a light up yoyo.

I bought a pinata that i filled with sweets.

And i made Ration Packs for them to have instead of making a buffet as this was easier ti take with us, i put in sausage rolls, mini sausages, crisps, kit kat, yogurt tubes and a drink.

Then came the cake, i love making cakes, but have to say an army cake sounded very boring to me, then i realised how to make a camouflage cake and it became a bit more of a challenge.

I started by making four diffrent colors of cake batter, plain, green, yellow and brown chocolate cake, then splodged them in the cake tins.

Unfortunatly the picutre isn't good, but it worked, next time though i would make the green and yellow both stronger colours and they faded a lot in the baking. I used Green butter cream to fill it.

Next the icing, i ripped up Four colors of sugar paste and put them in a pile then rolled them out so they all merged together

And Ta-dah A Camo Cake!!!!

The day dawned and an Excited Ewan opened his presents, we got him a bike and more army stuff. At 10am the kids were pestering me for dinner and i had to hurry as its nearly party time...sorry Ewans not till 2pm..yes the day dragged for them but finally my Mum and Dad collected the little ones, as they took them to look after whilst the party was on and we set off for Stanah.

The shame was it was a bit drizzly and cold, typical after the lovely warm weather we have had this week, but nobody seemed bothered.

First thing i divided them up into two platoons Red & Blue, then we started our first game

First game was grenade pop, I pinned a balloon to each child's back and they had to try and pop first the other teams balloons and then their own the last person with an inflated balloon was the winner and got a point for their team.

This was a great game, but what i didn't consider was the fact they would pick up sticks and try to wack each other to pop the balloons, luckily nobody came close to being hurt.

Next we did a tug of war between the two teams and then a game called wounded solider. In teams they had to bandage up (roll of Toilet roll) a wounded solider (smallest on the Team) and carry them back to base on a stretcher (beach towel) then wave the flag.

Then we did a scavenger hunt, each team had a sheet of 10 leaves and they had to find 5 of them

Then Den building so they could eat thier rations

This game was called minefield, i placed water bombs on the floor and one person from each team had to go through the field blindfolded whilst the rest of the team shouts instructions, then the next till all are through. If they stood on a mine they had to go back to the start.

Finally the team with the most points got the first whack of the pinata, then everyone joined in till it was open, which wasn't very long at all!

Then cake and home.

Even i had dressed up with some camo pants from a car boot last week for £2

Ewans enjoyied it so much as did the other kids, he was over excited really and complained of feeling ill so on the way home i picked up a new DVD from Morrisons and let them put the little tv in Ewans room and they both sat in his bunk bed and watched it. Peace for us!!!

It goes to show that great partys don't have to cost the earth, this one cost less than £50!!!

Till the next party!

Bye for nowxx

.

Finally a Rainbow Blanket Ta-dah!!!

Crochet time has been bare minimum in the last few weeks, my usual crochet times have been given over to all kinds of bits and bobs, letters, e-mail, spring cleaning and being on hold to various company's for what feels like hours and hours, just all the bitty jobs that get put off but ultimately needed doing. Spring always makes me feel like being more organised. But also makes me want to finish off those projects that have been in my basket for ages so i can start something new.
 I started this blanket back in January. I had completed the baby ripple for my friend and had some of each ball of the ice magic left and i wanted to make something with it as its really colorful yarn, so after playing about i just decided to do something very simple and let the colors speak for themselves. I used left overs from 7 different colored balls and made a very simple three round granny square.

I made squares and tried arranging them in various formations and patterns but again decided on a very random and simple pattern

I have spent the last few weeks crocheting them together, but like i said its been a really busy few weeks so just snatched the odd five minutes here and there, until the last few days when its been really warm and so while the kids were playing out i had a final push to get it finished.

Here it is Ta-Dah!!!

Thanks for looking, bye x

Getting back in to the routine

Why is it always so hard getting back into the school routine?  I really relish the slow lazy mornings of the holidays. I wasn't well over the last weekend before school, i had a cold that has now turned into sinusitis, so it was an extra challenge to get up and get going. No sick days for mummys!!!

I have been really busy with all things Gala this week, lots to do and only 9 weeks away, rehearsals start next week so i popped to the hut to collect the practice trains and crowns, which Molly has really taken to. She really loves being in the gala. I must have spent about 10 hours at least on gala paperwork over the week and i have bought a pile of stuff back that needs washing and sorting out.

Think she feels very at home with the crown on and even convinced Ewan to be her attendant, all packed safely away now.

We went to The Fleetwood At Home Party, which i think was the last one. It was enjoyed by everyone. I think Fred has been to to many gala parties as he thinks all parties have crowns and Queens! He keeps asking to have his crown on and go to the party!

We finally got round to making the Shell picture for Mum. A few weeks ago when i was judging for Fleetwood Gala, Paul took the kids on Fleetwood Beach to hunt for Shells. Fleetwood beach is really pleasant and we have often talked about getting a beach hut there one day.

I have to say Paul did a really good job collecting things for the picture and brought back far better things for this picture than we had for the original one.

Including a Star Fish! 

We pasted the canvas with tile grout

And ta -dah!!!

Mum loved it and it will be hanging in her summer house.

Molly had been really upset over Easter as she wasn't able to finish her sewing that she had started a few weeks ago, as we were without a machine due to the drama. But i got the badge maker out and she had a whole day of it and was happy with that

I had been going to get a new machine straight away, but decided that really i should get one that will last me for a good few years and have all the functions i have wanted for a while to enable me to do more things like machine embroidery and quilting, however these machine can be very expensive,, so i  have had a really good look and decided on one that will hopefully last for years to come and give me lots of scope to experiment with new techniques. In order to get this i need to save up for a few months, so that meant i would be without a machine for a while.

Then.... fate stepped it and yesterday as i was walking through a charity shop, i tripped over a sewing machine!!!!. I had a look and it was a toyota and it good condition, Its good few years old and only had a range of about 20 stitches, but has all the different feet and bits and bobs, and at only £30, its a bargain and will see me though the next few months till i get my new one and then Molly can use it as a good starter machine when i teach her how to thread up etc..

So all in all another busy, but fun filled week!

Bye for now!

Easter Break

This year we spent a full Easter with all of us off, this is a first for us with having the shop then having jobs that mean working over at least part of the holiday, so four full days off were bliss. Even just hanging out round the house  is nice and the kids love having daddy at home. We visited some family and on Easter Sunday i cooked Lamb slow cooked in red wine, i love lamb and we do have it whenever its in at the butchers and i look out of special offers. 

On Easter Monday we had a trip out to Blackpool to play holiday makers. It was very foggy and misty in Blackpool even half the Tower was missing!

We went in the Sealife Centre, we go every year, but this was the first time Ali has been big enough to really enjoy it, he was completely in awe

  After many years of going they have made some changes to it this year, i love these bubbles that are in one of the tanks, so the kids feel they are in with the fish.

 A sealife center selfie!! I love my hair so much, i keep taking selfies all the time,it is amazing what a change in hair color can do, I had wanted to do it for ages and even when i booked the appointment weeks before i kept changing my mind. So glad i did it and i have been stopped so many times and asked where i had it done as they want it too! Its a really confidence boost, which is strange as it took so much confidence to have it done in the first place. I think it makes me look younger and thinner, its interesting how the way we feel about ourselves alters our perception of how we look and vice versa, as i feel i can do anything now!

I took the kids to the beach with my Mum, it was quite a warm day and there were lots of people about on the seafront and also in Cleveleys. Some people go a bit to far as there was one family in their swimmers with body boards! i never saw them actually go in though!!!

Another fun week and then it was back to school.

Bye xx

PJ Week

What a lovely scrumptious morning, i was lucky enough that the kids entertained themselves for a bit and Ewan brought me a cup of tea in bed so i could sit for half an hour, relax and read some of the wonderful blogs i have on my reading list. I love it when we don't have to rush to get up and ready for the day and Paul is off, it feels so nice and cosey, Fred came and got in with us, as he often does in the morning these days. Yesterday, he came in and squirted toothpaste all over a sleeping daddys head! (not so calming!). The blogs i was reading all seem to have a similar theme, quiet lazy Easters and i see our family reflected in a lot of them with the funny little story's that i recognize from my own children. One today made me laugh out loud, it was about a child proudly bringing home some cooking that looked like donkey dropping and the mother having to try them, this happens a lot here mainly from nursery, where random sugar free makings are sent home and you can just picture all the little tots coughing and picking there little nose's while making them! nice.

Amidst all the drama a few weeks ago i got a call out of the blue, to say i had won a competition and the prize was two tickets to see The woman in black. I read this book in school and several times over the years and have always wanted to see the play, so was extremely pleased to have won. So on Monday night we went to see it.

I love the theatre and as a teen i used to go whenever i could, even on my own, which was not bad as i used to get good seats, where there was an odd space. Musicals are my thing and i love all the oldies from the 30s, 40s and 50s. I used to know most of them word for word as i watched them over and over again on video in my room. When i was two years old i saw The sound of music for the first time and according to mum i watched it over and over, which is quite a strange choice for a toddler but i loved it.

This theatre is so ornate and glorious and smaller than i remember, but its been a few years since i was in this one.

The stage was set and it used only a few props and three actors

The show was definitely worth seeing, we both really enjoyed it, it made me feel really nostalgic at being back in a theatre as well, i think we will have to go and see some more shows, i think kids, work and life in general just overtake things and before you know it lots of time has passed you have been missing out on something you love.

As we came out the tower was lit up, i love how they light it now and i don't know why they didn't do it years ago.

 As for the rest of the week, a lot of it was spent in our PJs! We remembered that Fred had an Easter bonnet competition at nursery so i tasked the kids to make one for him. I got them both to draw designs and we picked bits from each of them that we liked (they were both very similar anyway). I let them loose in the craft cupboards, as i said we have to use what we had, rather then go out and get more stuff, so Ewan knitted another chick and i made the actual hat out of a corn flake box

 We had a go at making a basket out of wool stiffened with glue and it worked really well, but i didn't take any pictures of it finished.

I taught Molly to make flowers the way we did when i was a kid for decorating the floats for the gala, but we used them to decorate the bonnet. Again no pictures of the finished hat but will take one for next week.

I have finally finished all the little square i was doing and was working on laying them out till Fred came home and messed them up so i will finish it over the weekend.

We made Pizzas again, the kids love how we make the dough

even daddy likes making pizza!

Finally we started planning Ewans Barmy Army Party, which i have to say is going to be Ace!!!!

We have been out a few times to hatters and to visit Mum, but this week we have all just got about doing things we want to at home, the kids have had toys out they haven't played with in ages and have generally got on and played nicely together leaving me with some time to watch things on telly that i recorded way before Christmas! I don't watch very much telly, non of the soaps, or talent shows, to be honest there is not much that interests me but i like a good drama and i record all the parts so i can watch it like a film and i record documentary for Me and Ewan to watch, but that's about it, oh and Jezza Kyle, i don't get time for breakfast in the morning so i sit down once the kids have been dropped off and relax for an hour everyday before i start my chores.

Off to pop the Lamb in the oven, yum yum x