Easter Holidays

This Easter with quite a few days off work, i decided it was going to be a crafty Easter. I get so busy these days with work and then dashing off to meeting and spending lots of time on the tech, answering emails etc and then when i am at home its all about the housework and to be honest i was feeling like there was no time for me to relax and unwind. I was getting quite stressed.

So i decided i needed to make time and put thephone down occasionally! they are really addictive, specially facebook, which i have found a lot recently stresses me out. So i have made a new rule Pinterest First!  I love pintrest and am always looking through it anyway, but know i log out of facebook and limit my time on it and when i pick up my phone to have a browse i open Pinterest instead of Facebook, it makes more sense, pinterest makes me smile, i love looking through all the crafts and it really inspires me. I also put Blogger on on i can read blogs while i am out and about instead.

So back to Easter, i prepared by buying some new supplys.

One thing i have always wanted to do is make an Easter Tree, i have seen so many over the years and thought one would look great in my new lounge.

We made some salt dough and used the cookie cutters to make Easter shapes.

For the Tree, we went out round the field collecting up branches from the floor and i found this old vase that we don't use anymore.

I sprayed the vase gold and the twigs white

We bough a string of lights but i hadn't read the box and they were very small, so will need to get some bigger ones for it.

I sat it on a  peice offake grass i had left in the shed.

We got to work painting the shapes up

And we painted some eggs, I started my entry for a competition at work for best decorated egg and got really carried away.

Molly helped me make a scene for the eggs

I was more than pleased with how it turned out, those eggs took me hours!

A colleague from work, was getting married, and i have seen these decorated bottles and really wanted to try them myself, so this was a perfect opportunity

She loved them and they are displayed in her cabinate at home

We made pom pom animals and did other crafts but i didn't get any more pictures

On a very cold day over the Easter weekend we headed out to Stanah to do the Explorer Trail. You have to follow the map and find little plaques that have pictures and questions on them.

We finished and headed to the cafe for cake and hot chocolate

One of our new hobbies is hunting for rocks!

There is a local facebook page where people paint rocks and then hide them and post a picture of the rocks and the area they are hidden, then once you find them you take a picture and post to let them know you have them.Then you can keep the rock or re hide it.

So we spent a few hours painting our own rocks ready to hide.

Very happy with them all

February & March

The last couple of months have really been a mixed bag. We started off in January never really leaving the house apart from work and meetings etc, but not really family outings and by February I was just desperate for some air and just to get out. So we bundled everyone up and went for a walk down burglars ally, which is a route that takes you from near where we live to the river wyre. It was such a nice day very sunny but extreamly cold. It was so refreshing and got us back into the habit of days out.

Finally in February the local library that had been shut for 18 months reopened! This was a really good day, lots of people had worked really hard to get it open and at one point I put in a bid to open it as a community centre, but the county council decided to open it themselves which was better for the community.

We had a few small sprinkles of snow. Very excited kids and Nana bought them a sleigh! We really get any thick snow here as we live so close to the sea, but I always live in hope and get very excited whenever it's forecast.

Our lounge is finished and our porch. I love love love the new tiles in there.

We went for the same colours in our lounge as we really liked it anyway, but it's all been stripped and 're done and we have had a ceiling rose and coveing put in. Also the floor was redone stripped and vanished with a lighter colour.

We had a lovely night out at the Glass House. It was an evening with Gavin Williamson the defence secertary. After his talk we stayed on with some friends and had a meal. I was so nice to go out just the two of us for a change.

Finally I got a buffet server! I have wanted one for years and years and they had one left reduced to £10 in Aldi and it was my birthday! Bit sad I know but we have been having themed buffet nights with the kids.

This one was Mexican Night, kids love it.

Also we have been trying to get us and the kids off the tech! Family no phone nights, playing some of the new games the kids had got recently.

Poor Ewan "face planted" as he calls it at scouts playing dodgeball, even now a couple of months later it's still a bit sore, the hospital said it was a small fracture, but not much that can be done.

We had a trip out just the two of us, I took him bowling and then afterwards I treated him to a new phone as an early birthday pressie 

Princess Molly and the retinue have been to quite a few at home party's.

The kids are desperate to get back on the float 

Alex was so sweet playing the games with this little girl, a bit later on he tried to pull away and the little girl would not let go and said if you let go we won't win!

Looking forward to gala season this year, we won't  be in a retinue after gala day but we plan to make costumes and go along to them all.

Alex's 4th Birthday

Alex really isn't a baby anymore! He is a very cheaply happy little boy, who will be off to School in September. The last one to start school!

Alex loves Star wars! Must take after his daddy. All he wanted for his birthday was a real lightsaber. He will spend ages watching the films and playing with Daddy's Star wars toys.

As his birthday was during the week we had a birthday tea and a shop bought cake.

Alex loves his nursery, he has so many friends there, a group of boys that all love playing cars, so as it will be his last birthday at nursery, we thought it would be nice to have a party for him. So we booked Maddhatters..well it's called Tea and Tumbles now.

My favourite bit as usual is getting to work on a cake. Alex was insistent he wanted  Star wars cake, so I had to Google a round to find something I could do. I finally came up with this, which I was very happy with and more importantly Alex was very happy.

They all enjoyed it and it made me laugh that the boys all sat out for a while letting the girls dance!

Time really is going far to fast now for my liking, but I love seeing how They Are all turning out and watching there own personality come out.

Alex's Little Jumper

After starting this little Nordic jumper for Alex before Christmas, its finally finished. 

 I started it a few days before trip to London for a training course, at the time i was doing little fair isle snow flakes it was snowing outside the train!

I am very please with how it turned out and Alex is happy to wear it.

i have done a similar jumper from Fred last year and am going to order more wool to start one for Molly, maybe that will be done ready for Christmas, who know, with hoe busy we all are these day.

the best part of these neck down jumpers knitted in the round is no stitching up afterwards.

 I did want one nice smiley picture but with Fred whispering in his ear, no chance!