Monthly Archives: July 2010

Sunderland International Airshow 2010

 in day trips / days out / sunderland international airshow by

What a weekend, what a fantastic time we have all had.  This was my first experience of the Sunderland International Airshow and I can safely say we will be there next year.   We went on Saturday with mum and found a great spot on the promenade grass for us all to sit.  We packed a picnic and flasks and drinks and had a super afternoon watching all the planes.   Mum took the boys to the beach and they made a volcano and sandcastles and I went down to join them before the tide came in. Sunderland Airshow i Europe’s largest free airshow and all you pay for is parking at the […]

The Gallery – Nature or Nuture

 in beach / nature / The Gallery / The minimads by

What can I say, well today I took the boys to the local woodland centre, where the plan was to collect shells and small stones on the beach to make jam jar lanterns. We actually spent far to long on the beech to get them made so will have to do them tomorrow at home, but boys being boys they didn’t want shells on their jam jars, oh no they wanted dead crabs…. So as much as I nurture their artistic and creative sides, sometimes the force of nature is just to great!

A few of my recent makes

 in hair clips / handmade; homemade; crafts / made in the Madhouse by

A gorgeous table setting mat for children which is washable and backed with towelling, also available in blue – £8.00 plus postage  A selection of girls back to school hair slides and bobbles.  Can be customised, just ask.  Prices from £2.75 to £4.50 A variety of hair grips and clips, made with stunning buttons.  Prices range from £1.50 to £2.75 I have committed (or should that be need committed) to holding a stall on Sunday at the Gala at my SIL and Brothers Social Club – hmm, must get busy making, which wont be easy with the boys at home too!

Legoland July 2010 – Top Tips

 in day trips / days out / legoland / top tips by

A couple of weeks back we took the boys on what appears to be an annual trip to legoland, so here are my top tips: Use Tesco vouchers to pay for your entrance tickets, or keep an eye out on the two for one deals. Pack hats and sun screen! Arrive early, the park opens at 10am, but the shop and entrance open earlier, avoid the queue and turn up early. Pick up a lost parent sticker at the guest services area. Start a back of the park and work forward, this way you will get on more rides. Take a picnic – the food in the park is overpriced and […]

Maxi’s Foundation Stage Graduation

 in award / maximad / school by

Thursday was Maxi’s last day at school in Reception before he goes up to year one in September. This year has been a amazing one for my little man, one that I hope will give him a great foundation to all the years of learning he has to come.  The biggest part of this year has been his wonderful teacher Mrs Sayer and her two wonderful teaching assistants (Mrs Holmes and Mrs Jackson) Mrs Sayer has a wonderful way with the children and they all adore her, she brings learning to life through play and is the perfect Reception teacher (which is why I was overjoyed to find out Mini is […]

Mini Makes Music

 in days out / minimad / music / park by

As you know the boys stayed at my mothers on Saturday night and when I went to pick them up yesterday we decided to go to the beach and have a picnic in a nearby park with my Niece.  Little did we realise there was a council run event on at the park and it turned out to be a wonderful afternoon. There as a wonderful couple who had a load of drums and were showing the children how to play them and Mini had a fab time. He managed to keep in time (most of the time) and really didn’t want to stop.  My niece also loved it.  Maxi decided […]

The Boys are away and I don’t want to play ……

 in motherhood / The minimads by

My Mum has the MiniMads for only the second time in their life.  Yes this is the second evening me and MadDad have had to ourselves and we have no intentions of going out (not that we could afford to anyway). Before we had children we swore we wouldn’t become parent bores, you know the ones……  the people who have no other topic of conversation apart from their children and guess what we are turning into them. We decide not to bother with the grand dinner I had planned to cook, instead we settled for some cheese on toast with a cup of tea, none of the sparking wine either, as […]

Stepping away from this Blog with the Bad Stuff

 in The minimads by

Over the last month or do, my mood and therefore, by blog has become darker and darker and that really isn’t what this blog was and should be all about.  The boys asleep holding hands in our hotel in London (3rd July 2010) So I have made a decision that I am going to go back to basics and use this blog to record what I do with the MiniMads over the summer, a journal if you like of our days and time together.  I may still do The Gallery and writing workshop (if appropriate). Also summer holidays will be starting with a vengeance next week and I will have less […]

Transition – We have hit a wall

 in career / hard work / jobs / looking for work / me / transition by

I think we are reaching one, yes as I type. I have adored everyday I have been afforded as a stay at home mum of my two wonderful boys, but my oh my it has been hard. Not only mentally and physically with my health issues, but mainly financially and it looks like we have hit the wall. We originally thought that we would manage on just one salary, but then illness came and smacked us in the face meaning that MadDad had to take unpaid leave to look after me and the children.  We were daft we relied on our credit cards to pay the bills over those very hard […]

The Gallery – Can you see What it is yet?

 in The Gallery by

For this weeks Gallery over at Sticky Fingers you  have to take a photograph of something everyday, but take it at a different angle, from a different viewpoint, using a close-up zoom, whatever – something that makes that everyday object look totally different. And we all have to guess what it is. So this is my entry, if anyone gets it right, they might even be a small prize, you never know!

Bringing out the Lioness in me

 in bad days / bad times / church / lioness / maximad / mini mads / minimad / motherhood / youth group by

Just don’t go upsetting my cubs in front of me, as it will bring out the lioness in me.  She has surfaced this week and I am still upset and angry about how my boys, Mini in particular has been treated. Every Monday there is a youth group at the local church and although I don’t attend church, I want the boys to have experience of church and the fact that this is help in the church itself, rather than a hall really appealed to me, in such that it demystifies such a quiet place. So I registered the boys and they went for the first time a fortnight ago.  They […]

Children’s Craft Showcase – How to make paper flowers 1

 in art / childrens craft / childrens craft showcase / crafts / maximad / paper flowers by

Heart petal flowers are a really simple way to make flowers for someone special, not for any reason, just to say I love you.  They would also make a really great gift to say thank you to any teacher at this time of the year. Materials Tissue Paper Heart Punch or template and scissors Paper Straws (Art straws – 99p from The Works) Paper brads Method This is such a simple piece of craft, that Maxi actually made all of our flowers (roses) which we took with us to see The Wiggles and give to Dorothy. Use the punch to make heart shapes out of tissue paper With a single hole […]

Christmas with John Lewis

 in Christmas / John Lewis by

The institution that is John Lewis invited me to their Autumn/Winter and Christmas launch this week and I had a great big glimpse into what they think might be the next big thing and guess what I love it! From a toy perspective, I was really pleased to see that there was a focus on traditional role play and musical instruments.  I have earmarked the fantastic electric guitar for Mini a snip at £35 when they get them in stock (well Grannie will be purchasing it for his Christmas present).  There was a lot of toy story on display too, in addition to a fab Lego camera and MP3 player. I […]

Behind this Good Woman, is A Great Man

 in MadDad by

He stands behind with solid arms to catch me should I fall His tender words, his comforting stance The safety net in my world He watches with a knowing eye that only time can bring He is ever present, should I need him Not pushy or making demands He is the banks that my river flows through The day to my night ever present He is the galaxy that makes my stars shine brighter The oxygen in my air The love of my life He makes me smile a thousand suns He is mine Together we are one

Lets make a list outdoor games

 in guest post / Mr Shev / outdoor games by

I was asked about outside games by the very funny Mr Shev and seen as I didnt have the answer, I asked him to write a post and said that I would throw open the floor to my wonderful readers. Browsing through the average toy shop, I sometimes wonder what kids did on a sunny day before Nerf, Supersoakers and themed paddling pools. But then I realise that I do know because I grew up in a world without them and we had to invent our own entertainment. So, we played football, developed innovative ways to kill ants and trawled the streets looking for useful trash to transform into go-karts or even more sophisticated and intricate […]

Mima with Maxi

 in first day of school / maximad / mima / school trip by

Maxi’s class were lucky enough to go to Mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) on a school trip and I managed to get MadDad to work from home that day so I could go to. Now I am not sure I will be taking the boys back just yet, but it was a great, if not a little long day.  In between looking and thinking about the installations the children did get to do some art activities, but they were not allowed to touch anything and with a group of 4 and 5 year olds you can imagine how hard it was for them. I was very proud of all the children, […]

CyberMummy 2010

 in CyberMummy 2010 by

A bit like winning a luxury holiday with no flights…………. Now please, please don’t get me wrong here, I had a super fantastic day on Saturday and the best bit for me was meeting for the first time all these wonderful, nay remarkable women. These people that I am overjoyed to call my friends and with whom I have shared so many ups, downs and just middlings! The mummy blogging world is just full of so many inspirational and amazing people and I feel truly blessed to be part of it. So lets talk about the day, well firstly a big hats of to Suzanna, Sian and Jen for having the […]

CyberMummy, Working with Brands – Live Blog

 in CyberMummy 2010 / live blogging by

 14:00 – 14:50 Working with brands and the tricky business of making money How to successfully branch out, work with companies, and make your passion for blogging pay Natalie Lue, http://www.bambinogoodies.co.uk/ (moderator) Samantha Harris from Leapfrog Kelly from MS & L, MS&L Sian To, http://www.mummy-tips.com/ and As Clear As PR Gina Garrubbo, Blogher  Eva Keogan, aka Nixdminx I have been lucky enough to get to CyberMummy with the help from a number of brands.  I am the product ambassador for Carex and have been lucky enough to receive some of their new hand and Surface Spray and Aroma Gels, which I will be reviewing here.  I have also received sponsorship in the form […]

Flamingoland 2010

 in 4th Birthday / day trips / days out / Flamingo Land / minimad by

We all had a fantastic day out at Flamingoland last week for Mini’s birthday.  I used my Tesco vouchers, but was really disappointed to discover that this arrangement ends in July, which would mean that it would be £90.00 to get in to. The beauty of Flamingoland for us, is the variety, there are some wonderful animals.  We had a great time watching the sealion show and I could watch the mearcats all day.  Look at the camels in the photo, I had no idea that they moulted their coats. As we took the boys out of school for the day (we also took Maxi’s best friend), it was pretty quiet, […]