All things crafty

My children LOVE to paint.  Most days they beg me to let them get out the various acrylics, poster and finger paints we have.  Most days they do not get to paint because I prefer to supervise such a messy activity, but today I relented and we sat down to an afternoon of crafting.

Ben and Jasmine painted egg cartons

Whilst I set about sewing the rice and lavendar heat pillow for my grandmother's birthday gift

The white bag is made from Ben's old school polo shirts.  It is filled with rice, dried lavender flowers from the mother-in-law's garden and some lavender essential oil.  The patterned case has velcro fastenings.  The idea is that you put the pillow in the microwave for around 1 min, then place it wherever you have aches or pains.

And here it is!

Scooby dooby doooooo!

Books...... and a finished project yay!

en just loves to read. And he reads just like I did and do. That is to say he takes a stash of books to bed with him (see pic)each night, which, no matter that I tidy it away every night when I go in to check on them, reappears every evening sometime between bedtime and my nightly check-in. He also reads, again like his mummy, when he is walking. On the way into the car, whilst walking up the stairs, on his way into school...... He also reads at the dinner table, cuddled on the sofa, sat on my knee, lying on the floor, and of course, in bed. My little bookworm. I also love that he has learned to read in his head. It is soo good to see him gettin glost in the world of his book - I even envy him the time and lack of responsibility that allows him this pleasure, but saps me of mine :-( I have a pile of books that I'm waiting to find the time to read and an Amazon wishlist several topics and pages long. Now if only I could find a way to knit and read at the same time....means I wouldn't have to choose between the two and could make more of a dent in that reading list.......

Oh, and I recently saw an offer on Amazon to purchase a gadget called a 'Kindle'. It's a kind of digital book that I suppose you can download new titles to. They were asking on the news too, if this could spell the end of paper books. In my opinion? NEVER! There is such pleasure to be had in a real book, the design, the feel, (the smell, if they are new that is!) and even just the look of a fully stocked bookshelf. I worked for a short while one Christmas in Waterstones and I just loved browsing the shelves and dreaming of all the books I would read if I only had the time - ie, a house that cleaned itself and food that cooked itself. Another downside to a gadget book is that I feel I already spend so much of my day in front of a screen that the last thing I want is another one to look at. And most importantly of all, how would you read in the bath???

Finally Jasmine's scarf is finished

It's taken a while, but we finally got there.  I think it is probably more of a shrug than a scarf - I made it wider than I probably should have and ended up running out of wool to make it as long as it probably should have been.  But ever resourceful, I stitched on a toggle button and made a loop.  It now works as a lovely, cosy neck warmer type thingy - Jasmine loves it anyway x

Leaps and bounds and more mother guilt

I've always suspected that Jasmine is in the habit of hiding her light under a bushel.  Having an older brother that is so academic - writing by 3, reading by 4 and a year ahead average with maths - can't be easy.  She has often expressed her frustration at not being able to read or write like Ben, yet it is amazing what stuff she knows, understands and observes when she has the opportunity to step out of his limelight.  Ben, bless him, is very keen to help her.  Sometimes so keen that he doesn't give her a chance to do things for herself, but he can also be very good at encouraging her.  Just the other day they both sat at the kitchen table whilst I was cooking, doing some spellings.  I would call out a word for Ben to spell (and he likes 'hard' ones) and then he would give Jasmine a word to spell.  If she couldn't so it, he would carefully write it out for he to copy, then say something like 'that's really good, well done!' when she'd finished.  It was so nice to see them co-operating like that together and getting on so well. 

I am really pleased with the standard of education that they are getting.  Jasmine has come on so quickly now that she is in the structured setting of school.  I always felt that she needed more structure as she wasn't being challenged anymore at pre-school. I also think she was frustrated because she wanted to have work to do like Ben and she wanted to go on trips to the library and the museum like he does, and pick reading books and so on.  Now that she does, she loves it.  She told me that they have been listening to 'The Nutcracker', which she told me she really likes.  She also said that they are learning about an artist called 'Kandinsky' and that she has drawn a picture like him.  Added to this her understanding of phonics is amazing and she is learning to recognise words and spell them when asked. 

In the car last week we were talking about what they are learning in school and one of them said something about scavengers.  Jasmine said that vultures are scavengers (though she didn't pronounce it quite like that)  I asked her if she knew what a vulture  At first she said no so I was about to explain what one was, but she surprised me by then saying "a vulture is a bird that waits near sick animals and when they die they eat them up".  To say I was impressed would be an understatement.  I just expected her to say that they are birds.  I was also thinking I would need to give her a less scary description of what a vulture is and does.  I needn't have worried, it didn't at all seem to bother her.

Mother Guilt

As a full time working mum who is also a school governor, on the pre-school Committee and can't afford a maid to help clean our 3 storey townhouse or do the laundry (and has a mad obsession with making things that means that I can often be found in front of the TV at midnight knitting or sewing to CSI!) - I do sometimes feel bad that I am not doing enough for my children.  I often feel that everyone else is reading to their kids more, taking them to the park more, shouting at them less, not making them tidy up their stuff as much, getting them to bed on time more.   I realise this is quite unfounded. We do plenty of things together.  We do lots of arts and crafts, we read books, go to football practise and now Tae kwondo.   We go to the park, sometimes even the museum or the ruins in Minster.  We do spellings and cooking and we also spend time together before bed each night thinking about our day and saying what we are thankful for.  We use this time to also learn memory verses (though in their haste to prove they know it better than the other, they often argue over who gets to be first to recite)  But as a mum I think that you always feel you aren't doing enough/could be doing more or better. 
I look at mums who get to stay at home and sometimes feel like they are somehow doing a better job.  In reality I have been there and I know that it's not always as idyllic as it may look to others.  I know the frustration at not getting enough adult stimulation, at not doing much more than cleaning and feeding.  The frustration at feeling like your extra-parental talents and interests are being neglected.  I think I am finally coming to realise that all your child needs is love, food, warmth and attention.  However you work that out for your family is ok.  You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to have all the answers, you will make mistakes, and that's ok too.  You don't need to follow a strict plan, and what works for someone else's family most likely won't work for yours.  And most importantly of all, outside appearances of domestic bliss are most often a facade - nobody and no family is perfect.  I need to ease up on myself - I am my own worst critic.  I need to remember that I have two healthy, happy, well adjusted, kind and beautiful children who love me.  And they will love me whether I take them to the park once a week or 5 times a week!

Whew, don't I feel better for getting that off my chest!  I have just been feeling quite tired after a couple of really hectic weeks with a few crises along the way.  Tired enough to feel I have not been at my best for the kids and that starts off the whole 'I need to do more/better' feelings......

Combe 2: Tower Hill 1

On Tuesday I took Ben for his first practice with the Combe Under 7's team.  His best friend Ehren plays for the team and they were looking for new team members, so his mum invited Ben along.  At the start of practise all the boys had to introduce themselves to Ben by shouting out their name (this is their usual way I heard) and when it came to Ben, he whispered "Ben"shyly from behind his hands.  "I didn't hear that!" called out the coach,  "Ben", called out Ben once again.  "Sorry?!" called back the coach.  "BEN!!!" screamed Ben at the top of his little lungs!  After that, any last vestiges of shyness or nervousness (he told me on the way to practise that he was feeling a bit nervous - bless) were gone.  Ben actually loves to shout and scream, but not surprisingly, he doesn't get to do it much at home.  So once given the green light he shouted with the best of them. 
His first match was this morning against a local team, Tower Hill.  He was so excited he was up at the crack of dawn asking if it was time for the match yet. Warm ups started at 8:45am, so needless to say, I wasn't there (Saturday is my lie-in!) so there aren't any pics for this post - though I did beg Nick to take the camera!  Anyway, I got a full commentary when they got back and it turns out that Ben's team won 2:1!  Nick was really proud of him, as am I.  He has a really good touch with the ball, very light and skillful, and he can run like the wind when he gets it.  According to Nick though, there are some areas that he needs to work on...namely, that when you are playing a match you can't just walk off because you are cold or because you want to tell daddy that your football socks are going to need washing!

Aloha! Let's Luau!!!

So, I'm only just getting around to posting the pics from Jasmine's party.....it's been a hectic couple of weeks. The party was a resounding success (thank God for that, it's not like I put much effort in or anything!), with Annabella declaring it "the best birthday party ever!"
Apologies in advance for the sheer volume of pics to follow....... ;-)


And it went a little something like this (hit it).....

1. Each child was given a sticker with their Hawaiian name equivalent on it when they arrived and then photographed (the photos were then taken into town by Nick to be printed before the end of the party. These were given to each child with 'Mahalo, thank you for coming to Jasmine's 5th birthday Luau!' written on the back. this was in lieu of a party bag - don't get me started on those....!)

2. As an ice-breaker and also whilst waiting for all the guests to arrive, we made flower headbands.....

3. Then that party staple - pass the parcel

4. Then a hula contest...

Look at him go! It was so funny watching Ben do the hula! He gyrated his entire body in an unco-ordinated jiggle and breathed as fast as he could - yet somehow the hoop stayed up!

5. Then a seashell hunt.....

6. Then the Pinata......

which after they all had a turn beating, and were then allowed to dive in.....

...was demolished in a display of frenzy which I can only liken to throwing meat to a pack of lions!!!

7. Then it was time for FOOD!

8. Then CAKE!!!

9. And one last bit of FUN!!!!

Emile got quite attached to this outfit!!! (Whilst Theo fell in love with the Dolphin!)

I got my turn in photo corner....

....and even my dad got in on the action!

My home is only just beginning to resemble some sort of normalcy and I think I need another week to get over it all, but I am very pleased with the way things turned out, and I know Jasmine enjoyed her day - and that was the whole point really.

Party Prep

How to put on a kids party - in an all out fashion! This is what we did last week leading up to the event......

Monday: Make a palm tree from old poster tubes, brown packing paper and lots of paint

Tuesday: Start first layer of pinata (Ben didn't want to help, he didn't like the feel of the flour water mix we used for glue - Jas on the other hand, got stuck right in - literally!)

Wednesday: Bake cake and brownies and add another layer to Pinata

Thursday: Add another layer to pinata

Friday: Lure friends over with wine and Thai food, and rope them into making paper flowers and lanterns (and painting that pinata!).....

....whilst I get on with decorating cake........

....feed said guests, then get on with decorating the house......

.... and finally, try out the inflatable dolphin.....

2 years ago today

my aunt Gail passed away suddenly. I could easily describe it as the worst thing to ever happen in my life, no event has surpassed it. I still miss her as much today as I ever did. I don't think the death of a loved one is something you ever get over, you just learn to accept it. It still hurts and I still wish she were here to be a part of the kids lives - and mine. I'd love to share with her details about my new job, Jasmine starting school, Ben and Jasmine doing so well at football, and even the more mundane everyday things that we used to spend so much time chatting about. All these crafts that I am doing, I would love to have her advice on. She was a whizz with a sewing machine having studied fashion at college. I've now inherited her sewing machine and it is still sitting in it's box waiting for me to pluck up the courage to have a go.......
But most saddening of all are all the new arrivals that she would have doted on. She died just before Nathan was born (her nephew), before Shola (her neice), before Junior (another nephew). And now Shola is going to be having a little brother or sister early next year, and saddest of all, her first grandchild is due this December. My heart breaks thinking of how she would have loved that child (and all the others). I too plan to have more children one day, and I am sad that she'll never meet them, or they her. But not to end on a sad note, those of us who did know her are richer for the time we had with her and I know I'll never forget the huge part she played in my life - or the few years my children were blessed to know her. xxx

Happy Birthday Jasmine!!!

Jasmine demonstrates how old she is now

Mummy and daddy's card

Ben's card

present part 1 - part two is almost finished (my scarf project!)

Funny of the day:

1. Jasmine ate her vitamin pill, that she usually hates, without complaining. "I like them when I'm five" she announced.

2. After school I asked Jasmine how her day went. told me that she had a good day at school because everyone was hugging her. "It's cause I said I had sweeties." she said matter of factly, obviously having enjoyed the extra attention. Kids, you gotta laugh! I think there's a few years yet before they learn to be a bit more subtle :-)

Autumn is definitely here

And you know I only just started to notice this past week. The weather had been so warm and sunny that it was easy to believe that it was still summer. Not so the last few days. On Sunday I went for a walk with the kids to find colourful leaves and conkers, but although we found leaves aplenty, the conkers were nowhere to be found - I think other people were more switched on than me and had gotten there first. Nonetheless, we came home after a lovely long walk with a bag full of leaves of the most vivid, amazing colours. We had red, purple, yellow, green, orange and even bright pink. Still more were a mixture of any of the aforementioned shades. I stuck together some sheets of black construction paper and we made a pretty autumn collage.

I have no idea why Ben put those flip flops on - I hadn't even noticed until I took this picture! I guess he's just as reluctant to say goodbye to summer.....

Voila! Our masterpiece!

Saturday mornings

Don't ya just love them.......

Where do we come from?

Yesterday Ben asked me if nanna Debbie (my mum) was an adult when the world began....! Nanna Debbie was a baby once too, I told him, and it was looong after the world began! Everyone has to be a baby first and then grow into an adult, I explained. Well this just confused him. "How can everyone be a baby first? Who would look after the first baby?" he asked (in his own, roundabout way) It seemed to me he was asking the old chicken and egg question, and at least for this I could say it was definitely the chicken first. So we talked about Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden. We go to church on a Sunday and lately the kids have become quite interested in God and have been asking a lot of questions. I know what I believe, but I had to really think about how I made that easy for a child to understand. But maybe that's the problem with our beliefs. We do tend to overcomplicate them.

I took these pictures earlier in the week from our window. How beautiful is the sky? The kids were entranced!