Today is such a beautiful autumn day so we decided to take a walk in our neighbourhood and the boys grabbed their cameras so they could snap their images for the Kids Capture the colour competition. We were like pied pipers and started the walk with two children and a dog and ended up with five children! We are really lucky that we have so much beauty and wildlife on our doorstep, in fact this is less than 2 minutes walk.
Make a start on homemade christmas items
Encourage the boys more in the Kitchen
sort the boys toys, sell, give away and recycle all that we can
Find something to occupy me at junior football matches
Learn something new
Decorate Maxi’s bedroom. We have some great things that GLTC and Next have provided for it, so really need to crack on
Talk to my consultant about operation that I need
Summer 2013 was a great time, the BEST summer we have ever had as a family. It was relaxed, filled with fun and sun. It was a summer that will go down in history, that we will look back on in years to come. I see it as a faded photograph with curled ages, slightly worn through over handling, but something treasured to be held close to our hearts. I think that the weather made the summer, but also the fact that we all tried new things, went new places and really tried to embrace the changes that surround us. We succeeded in less electronic time as a family, but didn’t manage to get camping.
Feel free to join in and make your own goals and aims for the autumn, I would love to know what they are.
The cold weather is officially upon us and, after an incredible summer, we can’t really complain. However, one thing that will be complaining is our summer clothing which will have to be forced to the back of the cupboard until next year. So as we’re preparing ourselves to brave the rain, wind and cold this autumn, you might be wondering about what key items you should be wearing this autumn and how you should be wearing them. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that autumnal weather is significantly colder than the previous summer months, but there is still plenty of time before winter kicks in and we reach for our more »
We love sunshine and getting out and about and unfortunately this Autumn has not been as crisp and bright as we had hoped, but we haven’t let this stop us making the most of our weekends together as a family. Both boys play Junior football, so sunday mornings are usually taken up with a match, but the rest of the weekend we make sure that we have something planned that we can do as a family.
Our recent weekends have included:
A trip to a local Rugby match
Family Bowling
A trip to The National Railway Museum
A trip to Dalby Forest
Car washing
We were sent some great items from Bonprix to test out and the image above shows the boys in their new favorite cardigans. They are fleece lined and so soft and they have a zip in addition to the lovely paddington bear style fastening and are £14.99 each. MadDad and I
There is something about Autumn that sets me off on a mad cleaning frenzy. I know I should do it in spring, but for both me and MadDad it is an Autumn thing. We have just decorated the lounge, sitting room and hall, well painted them and I have the kitchen next on the list.
Cleaning is not my favorite past time, but since having the boys it is something that I get them to help me with. As I want them to help it is important to me that we use natural products, so that I feel safe having them use them too. My cleaning kit at the moment consists of white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, a gentle soap, borax substitute, tea tree oil and cloths.
All purpose spray cleaner
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2 teaspoons of borax substitute
A dab of liquid soap
5 drops of tea trea oil
2 cups hot tap water
Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag. I have a bag full of old tea towels t shirts etc that we use in the kitchen, in addition to some microfibre cloths that we use for cleaning. I also have a post about 15 uses for white vinegar over on A Thrifty Mum.
The only time that I really use kitchen roll is when I am cleaning the bin or the toilets, as I can use the sheet and then pop it in the compost bin for hygiene reasons.
I adore Autumn. I love bringing out my thick tights to wear under my skirts and dresses and long sleeved t-shirts to add as an extra layer under them.
Just because the weather has changed doesn’t mean that you need to put your childrens summer clothes away either, especially as most children will have grown out of them by the time the weather changes for them to be able to wear them again. It is all about layers. So I thought I would supply you with some hints and tips for making those clothes last over the colder seasons.
Each season I make a manifesto, rather than setting New Years resolutions and there is something about Autumn and September that calls out to me to make a new start. I think it is something to do with all those years of September. I still lust after new stationery and new beginnings at this time of year.
With the weather getting colder, now is the time to make some plans about activities and crafts you can do on the darker evenings to keep your children occupied and keep. My friend Becky at Baby Budgeting has produced her first ebook which is jam packed full of 50 ideas of things to do with under 5’s in Autumn on a budget. I have a copy and it is a great resource for when you are struggling for ideas. Click here to get your copy best of all it is only £1.50. You could also do some marble painting, which doesn’t have to be messy. Why not have a go at more »
My wonderful Fly friend Wendy sent this craft all ready prepared for the minimads all I added was the colour changing felt tips which had been supplied by my mother in law earlier in the year. Basically she printed out the tree and the leaves and we coloured them in with the colour change felt tips and then changed them to represent the autumnal colours that we see all around us at the moment. This became a discussion on photosynthesis and why some tree lose their leaves and others dont – quite in dept for my 35 year old head, let alone minimads 3 year old brain who thought up all more »
MaxiMad and Mad dad have loved exploring the playmais and decided to do some autumn cards with them to test out their ability to stick to paper and card. MaxiMad decided on an autumn tree and a bonfire He used chalk to colour in the sky and added a moon and stars Aren’t they just fantastic….. Yes the cards are too (dont you just love the little hedgehogs under the tree).
It seems apt to me that it is Autumn, it is a season of change, a season of colour and a season of harvest. I love Autumn and Spring the most. I love crisp days walking through leaves, hearing them crisp underfoot. I love hats and scarfs, I love hot chocolate when you get in to warm up. I love watching the ever changing landscape around us. I love berry picking and eating! I love the closing in of the evenings and closing the curtains. I love that I can peek into other peoples houses when I pass. But what I am trying to say is it just seems right, for more »
Outlander is based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon and follows the story of Claire Randall played by Caitriona Balfe who is a married combat nurse from 1945. She is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world in which her life is threatened. There are six series of Outlander currently and I am going to share with you How to watch Outlander in the UK.
You should never have to choose whether to heat your home or eat and I hope this post will help you save money on your heating costs. The newspapers have reported recently that 80% of families are planning on rationing their heating this year, with the majority limiting their household heating to one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening and some people totally just going without. There are also local firms setting up warm banks. So many people are worried that they are not going to be able to pay their heating bills.
If you’re looking to prepare something that’s healthy, delicious, yet fulfilling then you should definitely make oatmeal. This is for sure one of the simplest and most effective ways to start your day. Besides being very delicious and easy to make, oats are also loaded with plant-based protein and fibre and are going to keep you full throughout the day. Now, there are a lot of people who are not too fond of it, because to them they seem like they are too gooey.
These super cute Easter bookmarks are perfect to color and celebrate the Easter Season. I have created these super cute secular Easter bookmarks for kids to color in four different designs. They are perfect to keep children occupied over the Easter holidays and also to give as a gift, a great alternative to Easter eggs with some colouring pencils as a treat. They make a great classroom to group activity.
I have a deep, dark secret…… I LOVE Hallmark seasonal movies, so I am going to share how to get The Hallmark Channel in the UK. Yes, they all have the same formula and become predictable, but in a crazy world then that makes me seriously happy. They are that comfortable blanket that you get out year after year.
We love glue resist art projects, one of our favourites was the watercolor leaf garland we made last Autumn and this year we decided to try a variation using black paper for our glue resist pumpkins which is the perfect pumpkin art project for this fall season. This black glue pumpkin art project is perfect for kids of all ages from preschoolers to adults. I mean who doesn’t love seasonal crafts?
I have a cold, but it is the worst cold ever and it floored me. Yes, a common cold has wiped me out! After 18 months of not mixing my immune system, has forgotten how to deal with a cold. The antibodies I might once have had against it have all gone and I need to develop new ones.
I have asked my friend Mel from Sugar Bowl Crafts to share with us how to make her easy DIY fabric pumpkins. Seasonal decorating is becoming more and more popular in the UK and this simple craft activity of stuffed fabric pumpkins is a fun Autumn craft. What I love about this is that you can adapt the colours to coordinate with your home and they are super simple and fun to make.
