Monthly Archives: November 2010

The Ladies of Steel 1

 in Uncategorized  tagged charity / cooperative / social club by

I may have told you in the past that my brother and sister in law run a sports and social club (which is kind of like a workingman’s club) in the North East of England.  The club is in a very deprived area and recently the local steel works closed, who in the past has sponsored a lot of events at the club, but more importantly employed a lot of the locals too.Earlier in the year my sister in law, along with The Ladies of Steel (a group she is chairwoman of) decided that the area needed a youth group and they did something about it.  Every Tuesday night in the club […]

Snow Days 5

 in maximad / minimad  tagged snow / weather / winter by

I am likely to be AWOL a little this week, as the snow pretty much has us penned in.  No school, no way the cars on the drive are moving and no buses.  So me and the boys are making the most of if.  MadDad didn’t even get in to work today, which is a first! I am so glad that my mum has some fantasitc neighbours and friends as I can not get to her to help with shopping or anything. Also my brother, sister in law and neice are flying back from Florida tomorrow, I hope that they can make it back from the airport safely.

26

 in a pause in advent / advent  tagged advent 2010 / advent calenders / Advent crown / advent traditions by

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and last year I took part in A pause in Advent with Floss from Troc, Broc and Recup and I have to say that it really did make me sit back and rethink what Advent and Christmas is all about.  It is very easy to get caught up in the commercialism of Advent and Christmas and taking time out to actively think and take a breath was and is really helpful for me. So what does advent mean?  It is a time of hope, anticipation and preparation.  It gives me the opportunity of introducing a time of family devotion and discussion at meal times.  It […]

My Boys 9

 in maximad / mini mads / minimad  tagged maxi / Mini / photobox / the boys by

It is not often that a picture perfectly captures a moment, but also the peoples personalities too, but we are lucky enough to have one. When we were at The Mad Awards 2010, the wonderful Nikki Hall took some photo’s of my wonderful whirlwinds, which perfectly captures them. So when Photobox offered me the chance of a canvas prints, I knew which image I had to choose. I have used Photobox in the past, but only for prints and I have to say I was really impressed with the speed and the service and quality of the canvass. We chose to have the image wrapped around the frame and it looks […]

The Gallery – Not everything is black and white 21

 in maximad / The Gallery  tagged photograph by

The theme for the gallery this week is black and white.  When you look at this photograph what do you see? When I look at this photo, I see my wonderful, precious and very lucky eldest child, who had only days before been in intensive care fighting for his life. I think it is time that we all realised that this life is never black or white, but filled with all sorts of beautiful colours and until we walk a mile in someones shoes we have no right to judge them or their decisions. I have this image on my sitting room wall and it reminds me that life is precious […]

MadDad’s Birthday 5

 in Uncategorized  tagged Birthday / MadDad by

My wonderful husband turned another year older on Sunday and I have to say, what a great day it was too.     It started with me and the boys busy with the glue and glitter making some unique cards for him and then cooking his favorite meal and making his favorite carrot cake.   The weather was pants, so we didn’t do very much apart from eat, cuddle, watch movies and play boardgames.  What a perfect way to spend a birthday.  

Advent Crown 8

 in advent / childrens craft / Christmas / Christmas traditions  tagged Advent crown / christmas / craft / oxfam by

A large part of simplifying Christmas for me is making it all about homemade. Homemade decorations and homemade gifts I am a great believer in that the simpler things are, the more effective they are.

One of the main ways we start the festive season is by making our advent crown or wreath. This is one of the many things I remember doing as a child, however, I remember the Blue Peter version of wire coat hangers, tinsel and open flames!!

Duvet days with Disney 1

 in Uncategorized by

We had a duvet day on Thursday last week, the first day off school sick for both the boys ever.  Guess how we spent the day, yes you would be right, we spend it on the sofa in the sitting room snuggled under a blanket in our pj’s watching Disney Blue Rays and cuddling. Beauty and the Beast is one of the few Disney Movies that I didn’t see first time round (in 1991) and now I have the boys it gives met he excuse to enjoy it now.  This movie kept me nad both the minimads engrossed.  We loved it, it was just scary enough to make the boys feel […]

Self Promotion – You can buy Christmas Gifts from Me 2

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

I have been busy making and have lots of new and lovely makes available, so I though I would have a little self promotion, as I can not see me getting these all on the Folksy shop before Christmas, so here they are.  If you are interested in purchasing anything, then please e-mail me or tweet me.  I except payment by paypal. Tea Cup Candles (please click on the image for more details of the scent) large ones are £8.00 plus £3.00 postage and the small ones are £3.25 to £3.20 each.  Each candle is lovingly crafted by myself with 10% fragrance oil added.   They are made with 100% Eco soy wax, […]

Spiritual Sunday – For the Fallen 1

 in remeberance sunday / spiritual / Sunday by

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears. They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: […]

Possibly the Best Fireworks in the World Ever

 in day out / day trips / drayton manner / Fireworks by

We were lucky enough to tag along as guests of the wonderful Rosie Scribble and Sally to Drayton Manors firework spectacular on 30 October. Now I have to say it wasn’t just a Fireworks Spectacular, but an amazing laser, light and sound show too, which had the boys and I mesmerised.  It was simply the best fireworks I have ever seen in the world ever, but don’t take my world for it.  I have popped two small videos of the day below.

The Gallery – Four Seasons in one Day

 in seasons / The Gallery by

I have commented before how much I love the fact that in the UK we have pretty clearly defined seasons.  As a mum, sometimes I feel as though I am stuck in a time warp and nothing chances, the same old things day in and day out, but it is the changing seasons that let me know that time is passing and that life is ever changing. For The Gallery this week the prompt is seasons.  I wish I had a photo of the same place each season, but I don’t, although I AM going to do that now! Spring – The wonders of new life everywhere you look. Summer – […]

Poo, Mummy you a a stinky Poo from a Poo hole

 in boys / fart / pooh is that you / potty mouths / toilet talk by

Oh yes, the poo words have started and will not stop here in The Mad House.  You are a stinky poo face mummy.  Daddy has a poo hole.  Ner ner na ner ner, poo, poo,  POO and more POO.  My boys may look angelic, but I can assure you the noises that are coming from those mouths are not in anyway of the saintly variety. What is it with boys and the words poo, botty burp, parp, fart, plump, pump, plop, poot. boff, trump and lots of other words that are all in the same vane. Yes I am living in a house full of toilet humour, where Mini thinks he […]

A Cracking Fireworks Party!

 in dancing / Fireworks / social club by

I am fortunate to have a brilliant Brother and Sister in Law who run a sports and social club (like a workingman’s club) for the local steel works and every year, they put on a wonderful childrens party and fireworks display for bonfire night. This years Party was wonderful and I want to say a great big thank you to them (My SIL’s mum has been in hospital for the last 9 weeks and is very unwell).  Maxi and my Niece dancing together

Edible Child Safe Sparklers

 in cooking with children / Fireworks / sparklers by

Last year I made Edible Sparklers with Mini and we made just a few, but this year it was like a production line and we have made enough for both Mini and Maxi’s class at school! Ingredients Bread sticks Chocolate Cake Sprinkles Hundreds and thousands We melted the chocolate in the microwave and added some honey to make sure it didn’t set too fast on us.   We then used a silicone brush to cover the bread stick with some chocolate and covered the coated part in decorations.  Leave them to set and voila, child safe edible sparklers.

Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality

 in dad / death / memories by

11 years, an eternity some days, but a split second on others. You are forever part of my life, I love and live by the rules you instilled in me, I learn each day how important you have been in moulding me. I am your echo, your legacy. As my children are mine, carrying with them a part of me and, therefore, a part of you. I hope they grow in to great men like you were. I refuse to live my life in anger at your early death, instead I remember the days we had. I remember feeling safe and cradled in your hands. I remember joy and freedom. You […]

Tesco Greener Living Quiz and my Top Tips for saving Money

 in cold / frugal / money saving / tesco by

Did you realise that on average it costs £59 a year to run a tumble dryer?  I didn’t, but itf you take a look at the Tesco Greener Living Quiz you will find out little nuggets of information like this and more. There is also a cool interactive house, which you can use to try and find ways of living a greener lifestyle whilst also saving money at the same time.  You can save approximately £400 a year just by turning your heating thermostat down by one degree. So I thought it would be a great idea to put together a list of ecological things that we can use to lower […]

We should talk more about Miscarriages

 in baby loss / miscarriges by

Having read about Lily Allens sad, sad loss today, it brought to mind, my previous losses.  Losing a potential life is never easy and for me losing babies late in pregnancy made me really doubt if we would ever have a child of our own to hold.  So much so that Maxi didn’t have a nursery until the week before he was born. Miscarriage is something that many woman do not talk about, it often feels like a secret club that you only become aware of once you have experianced the pain.  Then people will often tell you that they had a miscarriage too. It is estimated that 1 in 4 […]