My Son Won't Eat......

At least that is what I was thinking until I turned my brain on!

He has breakfast, mid morning breast, lunch, mid afternoon breast, after school snack (banana, biscuit, cracker) with his sisters but he never eats tea very well.

After being worried for a while I began to think...... he sits on the kitchen side while I prepare the evening meal. This particular day he had eaten; the best part of a carrot, a nectarine, two strawberries, a left over from lunch bread stick and this piece of broccoli;

Is it really any wonder that the boy has no room left for tea!?

I vow, here and now to be more organised when the girls go back to school (next week, can you believe) and prepare the meals in the morning!

Daisie xxx

Genetics

Is this my son or what?!

Is the love of buttons passed on in your genes? Me thinks so!!

Daisie xxx

Better

I have spent the day at the seaside counting the sea gulls;


And counting my blessings;



The world is not right and bad things happen to good people but sadly there really is nothing I can do so I am going to enjoy and be grateful for what I have.

My headache is much better today, I can stand up and haven't been sick, which is a huge improvement. And a little retail therapy and paracetamol always help!

Thanks for all you kind wishes.

Daisie xxx

Life Can Be So Shit

Just a very short post for today as I have a migraine (no change there then) and have been chucking up all day, I smell and just want to lay down and cry.

My need to cry has been made worse as I was told yesterday that a very dear friend has been diagnosed with leukemia and is waiting to find out if she will need a bone marrow transplant. Her daughters are small and it just fills me with an utter sadness and feeling of uselessness.

Then whilst sitting in the bathroom wiping the vomit from my chin the phone rang and I discovered that another friend's husband died last night. He had cancer and has been ill for a while but we all expected him to see Christmas. His daughter goes to school with Francesca. I can't bear the thought of being without my Daddy now but to lose your Daddy when you are only four is too awful to put into words.

I'm sending lots of love to all those who may need some tonight.

Daisie xxx

The Perils Of Duplo

I made a sale on folksy yesterday, woo-hooo! Very exciting. I realsied there had been a sale when I was at a friends and said oh have a look at my knitted beads. She dutifully did as she was told but couldn't find the bracelet, where's it gone I thought? It's SOLD!!!!! And the beauty of Folksy is that (for the moment at lest) they are only UK sales so this lovely lady bought the item yesterday lunchtime and it will be delivered throught her door this morning. My US buyers have to wait a week (or sometimes more) and I think it's quite frustrating.

I have listed some more knitted beads in my etsy shop and some wonderful new cards in my folksy shop. I am just having a creative burst at the minute, it feels really good.

I still have the post in my head that I was going to share with you last week but I feel duty bound as a mother and a responsible parent to share with you the perils of Duplo;



This picture doesn't really tell the full horror of the injuries. Nathaniel, in his 'I have just learned to walk'(ish) mode fell forward and landed on his head. Bad enough, eh? But as I picked him up for a Mummy love I realised he had fallen onto a duplo brick that was on the carpet as his sisters had been building him a tower to knock down. He has six perfect little circles indented in his flesh. Two perfect rows of three. Two on his forehead and two on the bridge of his nose and two further down. As you can imagine he had (and I think he still does) the headache from hell. But after some infant paracetamol and a lazy afternoon playing with his friend Li-Bau he seemed much brighter if no prettier;



It's a good job he's as handsome as he is really or his looks would be spoiled, poor baby, am not looking forward to when it goes all yellow later on in the healing process :-(

Daisie xxx

Is It A Bird....Is It A Plane........?

It's a Daisie Dangle!!



How cool are these?! And all thanks to Swirly for the knitted bead idea that she spotted in a magazine, my knitting expertise (humour me) and Jenny and her 'behind the scenes' design advice. Both genius women and great friends. Thanks girls!!

This daisy one is on it's way somewhere, sure you'll find out where soon;

And this one has been nabbed by Francesca to hang from her school book bag (can't believe it's only another week and then she's a school girl, argh!) as "it has four beads and I am four!"

For those of you with no imagination (like Simon) you can hang them from your handbag, rear view mirror, door handle, any hook, window opening thingie (look at me being technical) anywhere really.

Off to knit some more....

Daisie xxx

Beads, Flowers and Peacocks

I have made some more beads this morning (I might add here that we are not yet dressed and to be honest it's not long until bedtime so we may not bother).

My poor Father-In-Law popped over this morning to bring me some coloured carrier bags (for exciting plarn knit-wit flowers, keep watching) and was greeted by me in my knickers and yesterday's t-shirt, very nice am sure (NOT)! He didn't seem overly bothered as no one else was dressed either!! He also gave me this wonderful book he picked up in the Rossendale Hospice Charity shop;



It is full of some wonderful projects; embroidery, applique, quilting, and there is a knitting pattern for this;

Don't worry Nathaniel, Mummy wouldn't be that mean......or maybe she would.....?

The children and I made a lovely box picture for our new bedroom (when it's ready). I drew around their hands onto some card and cut them out, they then drew around the shapes onto papers that they picked from my stash. I have layered the hands up with foam pads so it has a wonderful 3D effect that you just can't see on the photo;

Another reason for not being dressed (apart from being really lazy and far too busy knitting beads) is that I spent alot of yesterday out in the garden. I have dug a huge flowerbed where once there was just concrete, into it I have planted lots of daffodil bulbs so it'll be really colourful in the spring, some ferns for all year round colour, Elizabeth's lavender bush (it didn't like it in the pot and I'm hoping that it will be better in the open ground) for fragrance and lots of random bits of ivy that will hopefully cover the garden wall and then Simon and I will not have to scrape it and paint it every other summer for the rest of our lives!

There are still some stone flags that need to be cut and put in place before it is finished but the children and I took advantage of the sunshine (while it lasted) yesterday afternoon and played ball. Nathaniel loves to be outside and I think it will encourage him to walk, he doesn't like the feel of the stone under his knees. He has taken lots of small steps and managed six steps across the dining room before he fell down the other day. Everyone is asking "Is he walking yet?" and it really annoys me! Both his sisters were 18 months before they walked and there is nothing wrong with taking your time, it means you fall down less when you do walk! Anyway, I digress, backache is why I am not dressed. There will not be pics of the garden until it is ready. So for now I will show you how well Francesca's flowers are growing;

My knitting needles are calling me.....

Daisie xxx

The Future's Bright....

The future's knitted!!


Been knitting beads, waddaya think?

Daisie xxx

A Change Of Plan

I did lots of making yesterday and some fabulous new knitting, Nathaniel has been particularly amusing and I had last night's blog post all mapped out in my mind......

Then, after popping to the post office and delivering a card and buying some more cat food and a visit to the park we went to collect Simon from work early. How nice of us!! He climbed in the car and said blimey (we both do that) what a beautiful evening it's going to be ( bearing in mind it had rained until 3pm) lets go to the sea side!

How could we say no?


So off we went, heading towards Blackpool. I was the first to see the tower (doesn't everyone do that?)! We went along the coast waving at the sea all the while, it waved back too! Ha ha!! To our favourite fish restaurant in Bispham. How can you be near the sea and not eat fish?! The girls were wonderfully behaved, I like eating out with them, the assume more adult ways and there is no fighting like at our dinner table. They ate all their meal and finished off with ice cream.

Then after a quick trip back to the car (the evening was nice but not warm) to collect coats we headed down to the sea. We walked on the sand, admired the wind farm off the shore, got quite wet and looked for tiny crabs in the sea weed. Didn't find any this time, they must already have been in bed!

The sun was setting as we were leaving, the sky looked beautiful;

Nathaniel was pooped;

We all had such a wonderful time, thanks Simon!!

Daisie xxx

New Shop

Woo-hooo!

I have done it, I have opened my folksy shop, finally, only been getting ready for it for ages!!

Only one item there so far but I have just made a couple of sets of button cards while the children have had breakfast. Mmmmmmmm I love my buttons!!

That's all for now, just wanted to share.


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PS: Much later in the day......I have made it onto the front page of Folksy only six hours after opening my little shop! There I am right in the midle!!!! A big thanks to Swirly for a) spotting it and b) emailing me the screenshot.




Daisie xxx

Hands

Got up this morning to find I had made a sale on etsy, woo-hoo! Off my little hottie goes to America!

This spurred me into action and I have listed a couple of new Christmas ranges (I know it's only August but it's never too early in craftland to start thinking of Christmas) in my etsy shop and I am doing a special offer until the end of September.

My lovely sister came to lunch today and brought the girls some new felt pens. Elizabeth drew around her hand with every colour and made this;


I thought it was very beautiful and it gave me an idea;



My hand was too big to draw around again and again so I just drew around each of my hands once, joining them togther at the little finger. I doodled a design on each finger and turned them into a peacock type bird. The finger feathers looked better before I curled the fingers, won't be doing that next time. I will draw round Francesca's hands in the morning and use them as a templat so that the edges of the bird don't hang over the edges of the card and then it can fit in the envelope.

Daisie xxx

French Fancies

My parents returned from their long summer break at the little house in France yesterday and bought us all some lovely goodies. Mum found me some buttons last time and I was thrilled to bits so this time she bought me back three bags;


I just want to tear open the bags and roll in them but that would be madness, wouldn't it? My parents already think I am quite mad and I didn't really want to reinforce that in their minds.

Both girls got shoes. Francesca got some blue sandals with red flowers on and Elizabeth got some beautiful floral espadrilles. Nathaniel got some lovely blue body suits, now all we need is some sun!

As it was Elizabeth's birthday Mum and Dad also bought her a wonderful little outfit. Striped leggings, a long tunic and the most amazing little jacket. Here is a close up of the jacket and the little rag dolly brooch that is on it;

I think I may have surprised her when I took this pic?!

Dentist tomorrow morning, oh joy!

Daisie xxx

Party

Blimey (think I started with that yesteray, must find another clean expletive!) what a lovely day. Am very tired due to much smiling, being kind and patient with other people's children, and not snapping at Elizabeth as she whizzed round the house on a cloud of excitement.

This was last night's birthday cake, a lemon and orange sponge with orange buttercream icing;


I saved the cake 'proper' for the party today. Elizabeth, with some help from Clant, decided on having a Dalek. She wanted it to be blue and here it is;

The plunger and eye could have been better but I was rather pleased with the 'bobbles'. It all tasted rather good too!!

Here are the porcelain trinket boxes and picture frames that the girls painted at the party;

I will bake them in the oven tonight and deliver them one day next week. The girls also made bead bracelets and designed some cards, they are all lovely girls and very artisitic and talented!

Swirly made an Adipose for Elizabeth, needless to say it's brilliant and she loves it;

I didn't realise until it was too late that I hadn't photographed all the girls with their super duper party bags. Here are my girls' bags;

They turn into nifty little rucksack type things, ideal for kit bags for when they go back to school;

Daisie xxx

Happy 7th Birthday Elizabeth Emma!

Blimey I feel quite old, it doesn't seem so long ago that she was just a bump called 'Hughie' because she made me soooo sick!!

Just a quick one today as we are palying with new toys, eating meatballs in chilli sauce with spaghetti (at Elizabeths' request) and cake before an early night with her new book so she is refreshed for tomorrow's party.

I will post a better pic of her tomorrow, sorry baby!

Daisie xxx

Plarn And Laundry

Blimey, that there post title makes my life sound soooo exciting. Doesn't it?!

I forgot to mention that my friend Gil gave me this yesterday. I saw it mentioned on Twiggy's blog and was sick to the very pit of my stomach that it was that saturday that we didn't buy a guardian! Gil saw it, thought of me and saved it. She is wonderful! I had browsed it online but I am old fashioned and I like paper pages. So while flicking through it I saw how to make plarn (plastic yarn) from old carrier bags and then knit them into shopping bags. Very green thought I. Right up my street! Let's go chop up some carrier bags.........

I could only find three as I tend not to get them as I use my own bags and have done for ages. I didn't let this hold me back though and heartily chopped them up and joined the bits all together. I found the fattest needles I could (bearing in mind almost evrything is boxed up in the attic) and cast on 30 stitches, knitted two rows and that was one carrier bag gone. At this rate it will be a very small shopping bag indeed. Must get some carrier bags! Then I started to think......how green is it to actively aquire plastic carrier bags to turn into another kind of plastic bag?! Think I may have to put up a notice at nursery/school and ask for donations of used carrier bags. They do have lovely orange ones at Sainsbury's though........

My mind is in turmoil.

"Well, what would you do? If your Mother asked you?!"

This is the laundry hanging in my kitchen;


I have washed the contents of the dressing up box. I do this from time to time and chuck out anything too tatty. Just thought it looked funny while I was doing the washing up and wanted to share!

Daisie xxx

Look What I Got!!!

Gil's garden was lovely yesterday, a little wet and a lot muddy but the sun shone for a little while and the children managed to play outside. They took lots and lots of pictures and these were the two that were in focus;




The played near the pond and we kept our fingers crossed that nobody would drown, and no one did, hurrah!! They dug for worms and found three, one was reportedly very fat. They spied green tomatoes and green strawberries and yellow courgettes. Gil and I had trouble spotting the children at the end of the day as they were brown all over. They stripped off in the garden and while Gil hosed the wellies I scrubbed the small people. I ended up bringing my girls home in their knickers as everything else was so wet and muddy!

The post man brought me a parcel yesterday morning. I thought at first it was something for Elizabeth and my excitement grew when I saw my name on the front. Look what I got;




Jenny posted a pic of her son Will wearing some lovely grandma designed trousers and I noticed that the curtain behind him was a match for my new lampshades. So what did the lovely Jenny do? She found the off cuts of material and sent them to me!! How lovely!? I will make some cushions I think for my new bedroom! Also there were some lovely sparkles and shapes for cards and a badge each for the girls. Thanks Jen, you're a star!!

Hoping that the rain will clear soon so I can go and dig my new flowerbed and plant some daffodils for the spring and put the poor ivy in the ground that has been sitting in it's pot far too long!!

Daisie xxx

Daisie's Sweat Shop

Yesterday saw a lovely rest for me, it was my friend Claire's birthday and the children and I went over with chocolate cake for elevenses and ended up staying all afternoon, the children played and I nattered and drank cups of coffee (and ate cake). It was just what I needed after the hard work earlier in the week. I also took this card (didn't taste as nice as the cake though) which I made with some wallpaper I stole (naughty me) from a DIY superstore;



With the bling you'd never know it was a blown vinyl wall covering!!

Then once the children were fed and safely tucked up in their beds my dining room turned into a sweat shop. I had a little production line of cotton bags for the girls to take their treasures home in from Elizabeth's party. Five to make. One is complete, three are complete except for threading handles and one is merely pinned together. Another hour later tonight and all will be ready. I like to think it's because I am a fabulous Mummy and I want everyone to still be talking about her party when they go back to school but really it is shameless advertising on my part;

Hopefully we'll get some good photos of the girls with them on Sunday. Think I am more excited about it than Elizabeth!!

Another playday away today as we are going to buy school cardigans and lunchboxes then we are off to my friend Gil's to have a picnic. But it has been raining all week and is still very wet today so Gil and her grandson Charlie have erected a tent in the lounge so it will be an indoor picnic but full of fun!!

Have a lovely day whatever you're up to!

Daisie xxx

I Am Loved

Look what I did today;



Blimey my muscles hurt! I now have muscles on my muscles (but not a smaller waist, sadly)!! Lots and lots of bricks from upstairs and lots of bricks and concrete blocks from the shed that is no more!! My garden is looking really rather good, Simon highly impressed when he came home from work. Elizabeth hoping that it will be finished for the weekend and it looks like it just may happen........

Progress in the room is good, most of the ceiling is now in place and we will soon be ready to build the partition wall for my really big cupboard that we are referring to as the 'walk-in-wardrobe'. Just need to track down a plasterer and Robert's your mother's brother (as they say).

Look what I got from Ruth;

How nice is that!?

Here are the rules;

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog

2. Link the person you received your award from

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you've nominated

Blogs that I love include Nancy, with her very poorly foot, Jackie who lives scarily near me, Julie because I love her 'little cotton rabbits' and her beautiful garden, Sarah because she gives so much inspiration and she has cats, Juicyfig because she is cool and her knitting model is even cooler (go have a look, everyone should have a hubby like that), Pixiedust because I really enjoy her kitchen adventures, and my pal Jenny (I know she's already got one from Ruth but why not have two, novelty earrings?).

Off to rest my bones!

Daisie xxx

My Husband's Graffiti

How sweet is this;


It will end up between the walls when the room is finished so won't see the light of day again until the next mad people decide to knock it down and start again! Probably in another hundred years.

Progress has been slow this week, we are all tired, aching and fed up. Last night with the help of my friend Mick we put up some of the ceiling;

Today we dug out all the crap that was in the fireplace with the help of my father-in-law. Why do people do that?!

The plan is to clean the bricks and white wash the chimney breast like in the girls' bedroom. It looks really good and will lighten the room as I want to go for a moody dark blue on the walls.

Still a stud wall to build and plastering to be done but Simon back at work tomorrow so we may be on the futon a while longer. It will so be worth it though. Am very excited as I can see it all coming together now.

The garden is looking good too and after I have filled a (nother) skip tomorrow it will look even better!! Hopefully it will all be finished and beautiful and the weather will hold at the weekend for Elizabeth's birthday.

Daisie xxx

Footie Photos

As requested by 'anonymous' (think it may be Clant, sad footbally type man) here is Ryan Giggs carrying the Premiere League Cup. This was Francesca's favourite as it is 'wearing a crown'!! And Rio Fredinand carrying the Champions League Trophy


Here are the girlies wearing their scarves;




Hoping we now have a happy anonymous?

Daisie xxx

The Theatre Of Dreams

No post yesterday as the girls went with their Daddy and their Uncle Ant (affectionately know as Clant) to the theatre of dreams to watch the night match!! Very exciting indeed. Elizabeth has been before but Francesca naver has. Clant bought them both scarves to wear and there was much chanting of "Come on you reds!" in the car on the way to Manchester. Nathaniel and I dropped them off and then went for petrol and to feed Mum's cats and then home for a sort of bedtime before it was time to go and collect them. The girls piled into the car talking at the top of their voices very fast indeed at 10.15pm, blimey what a late night!! Made even later by the volume of traffic in that bit of town, took us an age to get back to the motorway by which time Nathaniel was awake again and full of beans. Francesca announced she was hungry (and so were the rest of us) so when we dropped Clant at home we went to the chinese chippy. Not much left and no chips :-( so Simon bought what was there and we were all sitting on our bed at midnight greasy and happy. Glad it's the holidays though and we didn't have to get up too early this monring!

The girls are very tired today but we have had great fun at the park with my friend Caroline and her lovely son George. Quick bath and bed by half six. Snores within minutes, hope they get enough rest as we are having a playday tomorrow.

My little embroidery project is coming on very well indeed, there will be pictures when it's finished.

And I seem to have made my daughter look like Whigfield;


Daisie xxx

Dare Devil Davies

Here's my son, he knows no fear;


Francesca decided (with some intensive Mummy persuasion) that her princess would look much nicer with a simple love heart on her dress, as apposed to the princess she wanted last night. She drew it on this morning and now the panel is finished;

I really like it!! My original plan was to frame it with pink fleece and back it with the same so I could stuff it to be a lovely cushion (obsessed, me, with cushions, I think not!?!) for her bedroom. Now I am thinking of getting her and Elizabeth and maybe even Simon and I to do some and make a giant patchwork quilt to go on my bed when the room is finished...............watch this space.................

Talking of our new room........we may only have one wall and no ceiling yet but we do have new lamp shades! *grin* A big one for the centre pendant and two small ones for the bedside lamps;

I didn't crop this photo as it shows a perfect snap shot of our house; the Van Gogh on the wall (I love him, we have one in every room, not original, obviously), the precariously balanced piles of felt and embroidery thread, the bottles of Simon's red marking ink, a school attendance certificate, two silver bud vases that we acquired for somewhere (?) that are sad and tarnished because they have no official residence yet, you can see the edge of a ginger pot that my Nana gave me years ago that I don't like too much but won't be parted from and of course a small Tupperware box, what's in it? Who knows!! Small plastic boxes cover the house filled with buttons, bits of ribbon, baby mush, paper clips...........if ever you need something, I will have it in a box somewhere!

Still got the hand sewing bug and am making a surprise for someone, shhhh!

Daisie xxx