Not much has been happening, we're busy getting ready for our holiday tomorrow, well actually we've got absolutely nothing ready but we are thinking about it!! Unfortunately we have to go over and sort out our big holiday house tomorrow morning so will not be able to get going until that's done. Then it's off to Southerness in South West Scotland for a few days (until Friday) to stay in a caravan on a big holiday park. Usually we try and avoid these places but this was one of those Sun £9.50 breaks so we thought we would be brave and give it a go!! I'm sure it will be fun and it has a swimming pool, beach and play areas so the kids will love it. Different for us anyway!!

After a day at home yesterday, making pumpkin seed rolls, building train tracks and watching telly we went off today to our Home Ed art group. Eilidh was really busy making some print-work, cutting out a pattern from lino and using ink to print it onto paper. They had an artist guy there again and he was great with the kids, showing them just what to do and helping but not taking over (like I would!!) Ben, however has been so tired this week and didn't want to do anything except play so that's precisely what he did!! He spent most of the time at the group running around outside in the drizzly rain in a t-shirt (honestly... who are his parents??!!) Me and Dave got on and made some note books made from twigs, they actually look really good!

Ben got home and was absolutely whacked out, so we disappeared upstairs for a snuggle in our bed to read some books. You would of thought that by now I would know not to let a very, very over-tired little boy fall asleep on our bed without making sure he had been to the loo first!!! OOOOPS! Not sure what we will be sleeping in tonight as he did a very good job of making sure everything got soaked!! Ho Hum........

Eilidh and Ben were invited to a friends 6th birthday yesterday, so it was an afternoon filled with playing in the 'Fun Factory' (soft play area) and then back to Zeph's house for birthday tea. Loads of lemonade, sweets, jelly, chocolate cake and everything else they don't normally get at home!! Needless to say, Ben had a bad night and was whimpering on and off all night, probably with tummy ache...who knows?! Of course Ben still managed to find Zeph and Isaac's train set even with all the party food and fun going on.


Birthday boy, Zeph....
Today Dave had some more work so we went off to the library to re-stock in reading material, then to the sewing shop for bits of material and wool for trying some wet felting with the kids. I've found a load of great crafty, sewing blogs (mostly American) which have been giving us some really good ideas so can't wait to try this wet felting picture although it's a bit wet and messy!!


Before heading out, Ben had wanted to play with his playdough farm so we got on and made some more play-doh, blue and yellow this time (although some has already turned green!) It's quite relaxing squidging warm play-doh around with the excuse that it has to be kneaded and it's too hot for the kids to do!!!



I've been at the sewing machine again ,making Ben a money purse this time. Ben chose the car motif to go on so hopefully he will like it. I'm sure it will be filled with trains or cars tomorrow, never mind the money!!

Another lazy day, Dave picked up his truck which had been in for some work and took the kids off with him to pick up something for a friend and then for a play in a park. Meanwhile our friend Steve popped around with some nice sharp kitchen knives for us as last time we had seen him I had been moaning about ours being useless!! Bless him!! He ended up stopping for a coffee and chat for about an hour and half.


I've been very productive again tonight and made some 'Didgy Pockets' ,a holder for our multitude of Tv, Video, DVD controllers as they seem to end up being lost under the sofa every day! Dave is very pleased as he can now just lay back in his recliner and have everything in reach....Lazy Git!!! ( Note from Dave: I refute that allegation!!!!! I worked hard on that modelling pose. The main reason for the digi pockets is actually to stop the kids kicking the controllers off the chair arms - where Naomi loves to leave them - when they do their chair diving & self defence practice {better known as attacking each other}, and they were Naomi's idea!!!)


Here is Dave beautifully modelling the new addition!! (Sorry it's a bit bleary, I think my camera need new batteries)

Fran, Andy and the boys (and Max the dog, of course!) went back home today, they popped in for coffee before leaving and managed to get home in good time. As the kids are both absolutely shattered after days of late nights and lots of exercise we have spent most of the day in front of a fire watching rubbish on telly. Well, Dave and the kids did anyway, while I went into Kendal to look for some material and bits to make some money bags for the kids which they both wanted. I actually discovered a brilliant shop which sells material, beads, buttons, wool and lots of other lovely stuff that I had never really noticed before!!! I managed to make Eilidh a purse tonight, it's a bit wonky but hey, it's my first attempt!!!

We have had a brilliant week with Fran and co, it just seemed to go really quick and there was so much more we could have done if only we had more time. Hopefully they will all be back later in the year so we can line up the next adventures!!

Yesterday was meant to be a lovely, not too long walk through Grizedale Forest.....but we managed to get a bit lost and walked miles!! I know we all moaned loads but it was still really good and the kids managed it all with only a few winges. We saw lots of the forest and quite a few of the sculptures and were really glad to get to the visitor centre for a coffee at the end!! It was a little bit drizzly and windy but overall the weather this week hasn't been too bad (fortunately!) although very cold. Fran, Andy and the boys had a bit of a bad night in the Tipi as the wind kept blowing the door open. They ended up barricading themselves in with bags and things. I think they've got over their Tipi desire now!!

William and Jack decided they wanted to spend their last evening at the Tipi so we bought some Fish and Chips on the way back.

Lots of pictures so here goes.......

Tuesday was spent having a lovely (slightly wet) walk up Aira Force which was beautiful. We had a picnic in Pooley Bridge, then went for a drive through to Howtown and had a play on the beach there. Off for a drive through to Glenridding for a coffee and another play on the shore then back to the Tipi for a 'scout' tea, comprising of barbequed sausages, mash potato parcels (Jack's idea) and marmalade and golden syrup cooked sandwiches (Williams idea) which were surprisingly yummy actually!!!

On Wednesday Fran and Andy were desperate to see some real snow and decided they wanted to do a 'proper' walk so headed for Helvellyn with the boys and Dave as guide. As the walk would have been too tough for Eilidh and Ben we went to the cinema instead to see 'Horton hears a Who' at last which was really good. The intrepid walkers appeared back at tea time, really chuffed with themselves as they had made it to the top and there was loads of snow!!! Apparantly it was freezing and I'm really glad I didn't go as the kids would have been really cold and miserable!! Andy got a nice hot bath and a hot curry and they all went back to their freezing cold Tipi for the night....ha, ha!! After all their efforts yesterday and with them moaning about aching legs we went off to Brockhole this morning. It has been gorgeous and sunny today but still cold. The kids got a while playing in the adventure park and then we went off to Grasmere for our picnic. We all stocked up on Grasmere gingerbread (delicious!) and then off to Lakeland in Windermere as Fran was determined she was going to spend lots of money there!! Tonight it was steak and more mash parcels back at the Tipi, with wild garlic mushrooms as Fran has discovered the joy of wild garlic!! Of course, no fire is complete without toasted marshmallows and the kids were having competitions to see who could get the most 'skins' on theirs. Jack and William have decided they are all coming back in the summer so we shall see......

Fran, Andy and the boys arrived at 9.30am. Fortunately we had got up earlier than normal!!! They actually left at about 4am and had a clear run all the way up, they will be really worn out tomorrow!!

We had coffee and the kids played, then went off to Bowness for a walk by the lake, lunch and then back for more coffee. They couldn't get into their Tipi until 3pm so they then went off to sort themselves out while we made a big batch of soup to take over later. Went over for tea and took some logs for their fire. The place where the Tipi is looks right over Windermere Lake and is lovely. Here are all the pics which give you a better idea........

We've spent the last couple of days sorting, tidying, cleaning, washing, painting, laying carpets.........Phew!!!! The kids have been great, running bundles of washing down for me, made me cups of coffee (Eilidh's new job!) and vacuuming their rooms. Dave put a bit of carpet down in our bathroom which is only temporary but really nice to have something soft and warm to walk on in the middle of the night!! We are also slowing working our way around the living room re-painting the walls a bit at a time which is looking much nicer than it was.

Fran and Andy and the boys are coming up tomorrow for a few days to stay in a Tipi down the road and Eilidh and Ben are so excited!! They eagerly helped me making some cakes before bed (well.... they were very keen to clean up the bowls afterwards anyway!!!) and I'm sure they will be driving us mad until Fran and Co get here tomorrow. Mind you I can't wait to see their Tipi (and them of course!!!)

Dave's eyes were still all puffy and sore so he was banned from coming with us to cookery group. Ben spent all the time there playing with a train set while Eilidh made chapattis to go with the lentil dahl being made by others. She was really happy squishing the dough and making it into strange shaped chapattis. We came home with a big tub full of dahl and not very many chapattis after Eilidh had munched her way through most of them!!

I love going to these groups but usually find them exhausting, so I ended up going straight to bed while Dave and the kids watched Dr Doolittle. I managed to get about an hours rest before a little person appeared by my bed with a bowl of hard boiled eggs asking where he could put the shells!!!???

As we already had some Dahl made, Dave decided to make a curry to have with it and I made some more chapattis quickly. Very nice!

More Lamb pics for Tina:

Having a pictorial blog today........We went for a walk in Serpentine Woods today (just above Kendal) lots of trees, scultures, views and wild garlic !!

Had some lovely mushrooms with wild garlic (picked very carefully by Eilidh) for tea...YUM!

Yesterday the kids decided they wanted to watch a film ('The Wild') in the morning so I managed to get the washing, washing up, cleaning and sorting done and then we went out for the rest of the day. We decided to go to one of our local National Trust properties, Sizergh Castle to have a look around. The sun was shining, the flowers were all out and beautiful and I forgot my camera.....GRRRRR! I was so annoyed with myself as there were so many lovely pictures I could have taken and Eilidh told me to shut-up at one point as she was fed up with me growling about not having my camera!!!

We had a great time, Eilidh and Ben ran around finding new bits of garden, exploring under trees and bushes and studying frog spawn and water snails in the pond. There is an amazing limestone rock garden which has little waterfalls and streams running under rock bridges and things and they were both fascinated by this. After spending about and hour or more going around the garden we decided to have a look around the castle. The kids both decided they wanted to do the childrens quiz so we went off, clipboard in hand, searching for the answers. They both really got into it and it was good for them to actually stop and look at things instead of racing through in five seconds flat (and we managed to get all the right answers!!) Definately worth a few more visits this year, with a picnic and my camera!!

Ben's eyes have got better but now Eilidh and Dave have come down with this weird eye infection. Poor Eilidh looks like she's had a few rounds with Mike Tyson as her eye is all swollen up. Hopefully it will go as quickly as Ben's. I guess I will probably be next...great.

Today the kids didn't want to do anything, Eilidh was really tired with sore puffy eyes so they stayed at home with Dave as he wasn't working today. I went off to the library on my own to choose them some books and to get a chance to look for some of my own. I had lots of other other errands to do and when I got back they had sorted out more toys and bits to go on Freecycle and cleared some stuff in the living room. Maybe I should go out more often!!! And I even had a lovely cup of 'proper' hot coffee waiting for me that Eilidh had made (with Daddys help!)

Here are the two cheeky monkeys saying cheese for me...

We sat and read a few of the books together, nearly losing my voice trying to sound like a pirate all the way through it!!! And now my eyes are feeling blurry and sore so I think we may be staying in tomorrow!!

Just a few more piccies of 'our' lovely little lambs (just for Tina!!), they seem to have a little club area near our fence where they all gather to talk about their day!!

After getting up, having a bath and eventually eating their breakfast Eilidh and Ben decided to play with Eilidh's ponies in her room. Dave got back from the opticians and I went off to the dentist for another filling and the kids played. I went a little bit early and got to wander around the charity shops in Windermere looking for material scraps and anything else that took my fancy. I came back with an embroidery ring and some thread but no material. I did see a bit, dithered about, didn't buy it, then decided after the dentists that I would go back and get it and someone else had got there first...GRRRR! I've got back into sewing at the moment and have lots of crafty ideas whirring through my head so I've got to get my finger out and get some done. I have just finished a present for my mum (shhhh, don't tell!!) so hopefully she will like it (or at least pretend too!!!!)

When I got back the kids had been doing some vacuuming and helping daddy with bits and peices. Eilidh decided we are going to do a 'secret helper' week. This is where we all pull each other names out of a hat and then whoever we get, we have to do secret good deeds for all week so should be interesting!!?? We're not meant to know who has our name but Eilidh suddenly rushed off to tidy my room so I wonder who she had!!! Ben has also suddenly taken to getting Dave drinks of water!

I've been moaned at by my friend Tina (otherwise known as car wrecker!!!!) for not keeping up with the blog so I promise to get on with it this week. I've also been ordered to get pictures of the cute, little lambs in 'our' back field so I guess I'll be staking them out tomorrow so watch this space.

It was Dave's birthday a couple of days ago and as we were both working and didn't really do much we decided to go out for a birthday lunch yesterday. We went for a drive up into the Lakes, over a snowy Kirkstone Pass and down into Ambleside. First we popped into Hayes Garden Centre and had a look around, but it was absolutely FREEZING outside so didn't stop too long looking at plants. The kids still managed to get a quick play on the playground, they just don't seem to feel the cold like me!! Mind you that probably had something to do with being awake until 2.30am as I couldn't sleep (combination of mind whirring, boys crying and husband snoring....loudly!)
By that time we were all starving so went off to a cafe in town, the food took absolutely ages to arrive and then wasn't anything really special (winge, winge, moan, moan!!) and the kids were still hungry by the time we got out so ended up having a sausage roll from Greggs!! We then headed up to Glenridding for a coffee for me and ice-cream for the kids and Dave,sat at the steamer cafe looking out over the lake and the snow on the mountains. We live in a beautiful part of the country and couldn't really see myself being anywhere else now.
Ben fell asleep on the way home and went to bed fully clothed, not waking up until midnight when I found him crying in the bathroom with no clothes on!!?? Got him snuggled up in his pyjamas, had a big cuddle and a kiss and back to bed and he slept until his usual time.

I've sat here for five minutes trying to remember what we have done and can't, so it can't have been that exciting whatever it was or it might just be that I need my bed!!!

Yesterday was lovely outside so the kids spent most of the day playing in the garden, mixing up mud soup and generally getting filthy. Today we went off to Kate's for a play and coffee. When we got home Eilidh decided to have a go at some scrap-booking and then they both sat and listened to a Famous Five CD story while I did the ironing.

They both had a sleep-over in Ben's room on Tuesday but Ben was shouting and wailing in his sleep again so Eilidh appeared in our room in the middle of the night asking to go back to her own bed!! They were both shattered the next day.

Ben has had sore, runny, gunky eyes (mmm, nice!!) for a couple of days so I think we may have to get him into the doctors tomorrow if it's not cleared up. He seems fine otherwise, running around as normal.

I've felt completely drained this week, hence there hasn't been much of a blog (or anything else, come to that!!) Still, I will make more effort next week.......maybe!!

Quick rundown.....

Saturday - Dave took the kids off to Kendal Eco-Fair to learn all about sustainable energy amongst lots of other things. I met up with them after cleaning one of the cottages and we came back with low-energy lightbulbs, heat things to go behind our radiators, water savers to go in our loos and a tiger..... well, Eilidh with her face painted!! (The pictures show Nikki - a girl from our church - creating Eilidh the tiger)

Sunday - Church, then bundled in the car off to Birmingham to pick up some springs for the truck. Popped into Ikea on the way back, quickly whizzed around, looked jealously at lots of lovely big things and settled for a few little bits like a tray for Ben's toy storage , how exciting! Then home.

Monday - Dave was out working, kids went to play with Phoebe two doors down for an hour and then off out to our friends, Kate, Dennis and Florence in Kendal for the afternoon. Gorgeous sunny day.

Today - It was raining so Dave couldn't work so we took a load of stuff to a charity shop in Shap. This is a little charity shop which still runs like a 'proper' charity shop!! I've got so fed up with the ones in Kendal which ask stupid prices for awful things and then don't have any room to take any more stuff because nothing is selling???????? mmmm, I wonder why!!! Anyway, this little one in Shap sells things at really good prices, is run by some absolutely lovely ladies, has a little table and chairs where they invite you to sit down and have a cup of tea if you're there at tea time and actually welcome the kids in. Just how they should be!!! We came back out with an armful of books and a little toy, all for 50p which is great!

We had quickly made a Banana Loaf after breakfast to take down to our friend Steve and boys so we popped in there for a coffee and chat. (this was the guy we did the huge garden for a while ago) Had a really nice afternoon catching up as we haven't seen them for a while and drinking Steve's fantastic coffee, he still makes the best cup around!!

Eilidh and Ben decided they were having another 'sleepover' in Eilidh's room tonight so I've had to set up a temporary big bed under Eilidh's bed and they are both snuggled up there asleep. Quite sweet really!!!