A Handmade Christmas

We all recieved some beautiful gifts over the last week but I wanted to show you some of the handmade items.

Swirly sent the children some beautiful little Tweed Delights, Elizabeth has a bumblebee, Nathaniel has a rather fetching red dinosaur and Francesca has this pink sparkly heart which she has hung on her pink sparkly doll's house;


She sent me this lovely brooch from Sophie Isobel Designs (her shop is shut for the holidays but do go back later and have a look, it's full of lovely things);


I made a dress for Anya using my Kitschycoo pattern but have no pictures yet, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled over at Swirly Heights!

And Simon bought me a most wonderful present, it's just a shame I'll have to eat them!!

And that's an end to 2009, my children have turned five, two and eight, I have had a new baby boy, I have celebrated fifteen wonderful years with my lovely man (and four years of marriage), I have embarked on my journey to become a Little Angel, I have completed a first aid training course, a sex education coursed aimed at delivering advice and answering questions of children and young people, I have made many handbags, hats, elephants, ice skates, t-shirts, lots and lots of cakes and too many other lovey things to think of at the moment.

I hope 2010 takes me on another wonderful adventure.

Happy New Year to you all, see you next year ;-)

Daisie xxx

The Times They Are A-Changing

Nathaniel came into the bedroom earlier where I was pairing socks (yawn), he had a plastic stethoscope in his ears, a swagger and he said 'hello Mummy' in his new gruff, deep big brother voice. I said hello too and asked if he was being Dr. Davies. He looked at me as if I had gone mad and said very indignantly; "No, I's listening on my high-pod!"

What could I say to that, really?!

Daisie xxx

Party Girls

A lovely day here on Friday, just us and the spare wheel on our little family wagon, Anthony (affectionately known as Clant after Elizabeth struggled with Uncle Ant and merged the two together at around eighteen months old). We ate huge amounts of Turkey and opened presents and laughed at each other and generally had a lazy day together (my favourite sort). We ended the day with pyjamas on early, turkey sandwiches, cheese and crackers, glasses of port (grown ups only) and Dr Who on the telly. Fantastic!

Boxing Day we went over to Simon's Mum and Dad's for more turkey sandwiches and a few more presents. Simon takes the pictures when we go there and this is the only picture of me and Sebastian from the whole day;


See, I have clean clothes on and everything, very unflattering angle of Sebastian as you can only really see his bald spot but I wanted you to see his little knitted suit, I think he looks like a little baby convict!

Elizabeth is creating a rather wonderful rock chickie look of her own and has managed to find and put together two beautiful, stylish, flattering outfits for herself for over the party season. This is a brilliant bargain gown that we found when out looking for something else that she teamed with bright pink tights and her sequined boots with matching pink laces. The tiara is from her snow queen costume;


Here's my two beautiful girls;

I got some wonderful presents but these are the two that I have managed to photograph so far.

A wonderful clock from my Mum and Dad;

And some fabulously soft and snuggly hand warmers from Simon and the children. I had expressed an interest in trying to knit some for myself when I had time but this is even better;

The bright blueygreen isn't, think the flash made it go a bit mad as it's a deep moss shade in reality.

Anyhoo, am off now to tackle some of the washing mountain, honestly you have two days cooking turkey of rest and they will insist on still wearing clothes!!

Will be back with more presents soon.

Hope you have all had a wonderful time and that your tummies are not too upset and your heads are not banging too much?!

Daisie xxx

Happy Christmas!

How's that for an oiginal title?!

I tried to get on and do a quick post last night but Mr T'interweb was sooooooooooooo busy. I gave up and went to bed.

I just wanted to say that my bestest Christmas present had arrived all the way from the other end of the earth from Newquay and had been squeezed to within and inch of her life! I haven't seen my baby sister since May and this was the first time she got to meet our baby Sebastian, very exciting and teary too.

Bad picture but look, see, there we are mad sisters;


The children were all bathed and put in new pyjamas, Sebastian thoguht it all rather amusing;


We stayed up later than usual and had takeaway curry for tea (bit of a Christmas Eve tradition round here), very full bellies all round.

The presents are all in place;


And I was here last night to say I was off to bed before the madness of the morning arrived when 'He' has been but I am awake, have wrapped a big bird in bacon and seasoned well, bunged in oven, fire popped on, coffee made and it is only Simon and I that are awake, what are the chances??! It's rather nice sitting in the darkness together drinking hot coffee listening to our sleeping babies....... wonder when they'll wake (probably just as we drop back off for another quick snooze).

Happy Christmas one and all, please enjoy whatever you do today.

I'll see you on the other side!

Daisie xxxx

I Need Your Help!!

This is Maxi from 'Roary The Racing Car' and he is my son's most favouritest thing. They no longer make this toy so he is in high demand (especially with the big man in red having hogged alot of them for his sack), they have been selling (in second hand, well played with, scratched condition) for between £30 and £50 on eBay etc.

Now I love my big boy but just cannot justify this much for a plastic yellow car.

A woman at a local playgroup bought one for her son for £1 in a charity shop, I showed myself up big time when I offered her £15 for it but she turned me down as her son loves him too.

I have searched high and low for one, they come in talking and none talking and at this point either will do! He is quite big and has friction wheels (so he keeps on going when pushed).

I am asking any of you who visit your charity shops or carboot sales to keep your beadie eyes out for a Maxi. I will pay up to £15 and then of course will pay you the postage back and send you a huge big thank you present! I am not hopeful of one for Christmas but we need a Maxi to make Nathaniel look like this;


Thank you so much in advance and happy hunting!!

Daisie xxx

Little Angels!

Sebastian is much much better so yesterday we ventured out of the house (for the first time in what seems like years) and attended our 'boobie training' last session where we were having a little party. We are back agin after christmas to complete training but any excuse for a party.

As a fleet of volunteers we are called Little Angels and I found some wonderful little chipboard tree hanger decorations and turned them into personalised cards for all my little angel pals;


My contribution to the party was some homemade mince pies;

Nathaniel helped me;

But Johanna stole the limelight by bringing this amazing cake that her friend made for us;

The angels were so cute;

The cake was very tasty too!!

It was lovely to see everyone after the events of last week and two of my angel buddies were very pleased to see us as they had been to the hospital and seen Sebastian when he was very ill. It was good to get lots of things off my chest about the care we recieved too. A fabulous de-brief, thanks ladies!!

Then this morning we have snow (well, a small whiteish covering), Nathaniel was very pleased indeed;

He made lots and lots of lovely footprints and got very wet and cold on the way to school as he had to keep stopping to touch the snow;

School finishes today so we can all snuggle up tonight and hope there is more snow so we can go out tomorrow in our wellies!!

I have two sewing projects to complete for gifts but other than that I am completely organised, I think!

Hope this coming week doesn't disappear too fast and that you all get time to be ready to enjoy the big day on friday (this time next week it'll all be over).

Daisie xxx

Am So Glad That Is Over!!

As people have noticed (thanks for your emails) I have not been here for a while. My very smallest baby has been very very ill. He was a little snotty and coughie over the weekend so on Monday morning we set out to the doctors (after arguing with the receptionist for a slot). Our GP is lovely and decided because we have all been so ill over the last month or so that he should go to the hospital to be observed and find a treatment for his symptoms that was effective. It was a long day but everyone seemed to think that it is a form of bronchitis common in babies caused by a virus. So we came home with an inhaler to ease his chest and some nasal drops to help break up the mucus and help him feed more easily.

Monday night and most of Tuesday he continued to wheeze, feed irregularly and be miserable.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning he became much worse, refusing the breast (even for comfort), wheezing and labouring to breathe. By the time we got to the hospital he wasn't smiling or making eye contact anymore. By 11am he was on oxygen, had IV access into his arm and a NG tube for feeding. An x-ray revealed that part of his right lung had collapsed due to the pneumonia he had developed. Very frightening indeed.

Feeding became a huge issue as he struggled to even suckle for comfort with all the stuff shoved up his nose. He was becoming dehydrated so I expressed and we were feeding him small amounts often via his NG as anything more made him too distressed and he struggled for breath even more. What made it worse was my battle with a doctor and (some of) the nursing staff who were wanting to fill his NG with formula! How they thought this was appropriate with a child that was already struggling to breathe is beyond me but thanks to Tina, Katie and Deborah who helped me in my fight to keep him breastfed and well.

We moved him onto oral antibiotics late thursday and removed the tubes from his arm, this made him much happier as he then had access to his thumb again!! We slowly weaned him off the oxygen and removed his NG Friday morning. He is managing to keep himself content and hydrated at the breast now even though he's not feeding as usual. He has a few more days of antibiotics to take but everyday he is seeming better and better. Yesterday he smiled at us and was happy just to be at home with all his family.

It seems so much to have happened in such a short space of time and I cannot believe the baby I have at home today is the same one I feared would die on Wednesday morning.

My brave little soldier!

Daisie xxx

A Present

This is a little felt book that I made for my friend's baby son's first birthday;

Can you guess what he's called?

Clever you!!

Nathaniel spent ages sitting next to me while I stitched and made his own creation with the felt off cuts and my box of pins;

Daisie xxx

Dress Update

She likes it;


I have finished the sleeves and sewn the hem, it isn't entirely straight but becasue it's so huge it doesn't matter. The bodice was a bit baggy and instead of taking the sleeves off and trimming it all down a size I added a 'sash' style tie to the centre piece of the bodice to pull it all in a little bit. Elizabath likes this as it make her look like there is a small bosom there!! The zip went in but isn't central (not sure how I managed that) so tomorrow I will take it out and trim down one side to make it line up right. There is a little more bling to add to the front and some finishing by hand to be done but it will be delivered to her teacher tomorrow at hometime. I do hope she likes it, although not too much as I am not making anyone else's costume!!


Daisie xxx

What A Day!

Well, after nearly a week of antibiotics and still having a horrible cough and suffering rib ache and general breathlessness I decided to go back and see if the GP could do anything else for me as I am just so fed up of it all and so tired. After Nathaniel and I had been on a hunt for school tights for Francesca (when will that child stop growing upwards?!) we hot footed it to the surgery to then be sent on an adventure to the hospital for a chest x-ray, "to rule out pneumonia". It's not pneumonia but then I never get anything pneu, boom boom! So I now have another course of antibiotics and a five day course of steroids. Fingers crossed for full recovery soon.

The long day and the cold and having woken for a wee twice last night took it's toll on Nathaniel and after stuffing his face with chilli courgette pasta and buckets of coleslaw he became grumpy. I asked him if he was tired and ready for bed. His answer involved parting his bowl and his garlic bread and resting his head in the space between and falling asleep;


I carried him up to bed and tucked him in and he didn't even notice!!

Daisie xxx

It's Sh*t, It's Eighteen Inches High, It's Pink,

and it made my five year old so happy and excited I thought she'd pee herself;


We have a proper tree (not up yet) but have old mental confused cats who either try and climb it or pee on it so it lives in the 'front' room so we can close the door on it and the cats are only allowed access while there is someone to keep an eye on them. We 'live' in the back room where there are toys aplenty, a huge table and comfy (washable) places to sit. Francecsa desperately wanted a pink tree in her bedroom but there is little space and to be honest enough crap in there already. This is our compromise and it is now on the radiogram next to the fruit bowl. She decorated it after school with her friend Jodie and made her own angel.

And then, in the glow of merry christmas crafts with all the children being delightful, disaster struck. I had planned stew and dumplings for tea but when I went to make dumplings I realised I had no suet. Dum dum dum! Now, I could have dragged all the children out into the minus two degree darkness to the corner shop in the hope they would have some? I could have made a longer journey to the supermarket where they would have some but then run the risk of any one of the small people falling asleep en route? I even contemplated the madeness of not having dumplings with the beautiful succulent lamb that had been bathing nicely in a bottle of good red plonk all afternoon! Then from somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind the idea of cobbler formed. A vague memory of stodgey savoury cakes. I didn't have time to google for a recipe and Prue Leith was of no help (on this occasion) so I made a usual scone dough (minus sprinkling of sugar and sultanas) and added a huge spoon of grain mustard and a good grating of strong cheddar, I then had a wobble as I couldn't find the frilly circle cutter (the one I use for scones) so had to use the cutter that I use for Francesca and Nathaniel's sandwiches. I put them all atop the stew, closed the oven door and held my breath.

Then was really rather pleased when I opened it again and found these;


Rather tasty they were too. So maybe not having suet in the cupboard isn't such a bad thing after all!!

Happy December!

Daisie xxx

A Queen In The Making

Having the chest infection from hell, mega antibiotics, an inhaler and being told by my doctor to rest (whatever that is) I decided we'd have a pyjama day today.

I made a start on Elizabeth's snow queen costume while the children snuggled under blankets and watched Night At The Museum II.

I used this pattern as the basis for the dress;


It still needs some fine tuning, a little tightening in areas and a huge net under skirt but I think it's looking rather good;


Oh, and a zip;

Elizabeth loves it so it's ok.

Daisie xxx

Fifteen Years Ago Today

I met a beautiful young man with tattooed arms, big boots, biking leathers and sparkling blue eyes for a drink and a dance. The rest, as they say, is history!

So thank you Simon for fifteen years of love and understanding, four beautiful children, two lovely homes (we have lived in two houses, we don't have two!), several clapped out cars, long late night bike rides, cups of tea when I am ill, numerous laughs, lots of hugs, millions of kisses and for being the very best friend a girl could have!

Happy anniversary, I love you so much!

xxx

Knitting And Squealing Show!!

I was up at 5.30am sipping my lemsip and blowing my nose in preparation for such an exciting trip.

I collected Gil and we made good time, jumped the queues as we already had tickets and started a mammoth knitting fest! I managed not to meet anyone from blogland, sadly, but was spotted by many of folks as I ran from one stall to the next squealing "Ooh, look at that!!" It was so brilliant!!

I spotted a knitted boat but feel very bad as I think it was a project from Leeds University but I'm not sure if that's right or if it's something I read somewhere else or just made up (baby brain again), sorry, but it was truely fabulous;


It had it's own knitted ship's cat;

A knitted anchor;

There were many knitted sea creatures; crabs, fish, octopusses but my favourite has to be this seal and her pup;

I bought some of my favourite flowers for a project just for me;

And some yummy yarn just for me too;

I also bought some clothes patterns as I have to make a costume to end all costumes as Elizabeth is The Snow Queen in the Christmas production . She is very excited as she usually ends up with a crappy part. In year one she came home and cried as she had been given the part of a reindeer and, I quote; "It's not fair 'cos I am the best reader". I have huge amounts of flowing white fabric, gems, glitter and not much time but am sure she won't be disappointed with whatever I manage to create for her.

I got lots more little things, things to make gifts with, things to give as gifts and things to admire and stroke in a non-sinister way!

One of the nicest things about the day was watching lots of older, posh looking ladies sitting around on dirty carpets in corridors eating packed lunches like students, it was fabulous, wish I'd had more balls and asked if I could have photographed them!

How was your Sunday?

Daisie xxx

The Excitement Mounts!

One of the random shots taken when trying to take a good picture of the children. The boys look quite good in this one and the girls just look like they're maniacs!

The yucky poorliness has finally got me, as I knew it would once the children had recovered. I am hot and shivery and snotty and achey and felt so bad yesterday I went to bed at 6.30 last night. I wish it had made me feel better but it didn't! It has not dampened my excitement for tomorrow though. I am off to get Gil early in the morning with a small boy and some water and snacks to see us through the day. I have my money ready to spend! Squeal! Can't wait.

Ddaisie xxx

Harrogate Anyone?

Is no one off for jolly oohing and ahhhing and stash buying in Harrogate?!

Anyhoo, just popped in to show you my hat with it's rosette (yes, Daisie Heights really is that dull at the moment);

Bad pictures again but this time in the kitchen. I've managed to take a picture with no chin, how is that possible?!

I have started knitting another hat for Francesca with some beautiful Juniper yarn today on some lovely new bamboo needles I treated myself to. So smooth and nice to handle and an absolute baragin too.

And just to prove that I am not the only person in our house unable to take their own picture;

Although I think Nathaniel looks quite cheeky in this shot!

Daisie xxx

My New Hat!

The girls are much better and have returned to school. They are still coughing on and off but are a million times better than they were this time last week. Nathaniel on the other hand has got worse. Today he seems a little more like himself but for the last three days he has been so hot you could fry eggs on his back and he has been so miserable, falling in and out of fitful sleep. Today he has asked for crackers with cheese and has drunk more than he has been doing so maybe things are on the mend.

Sebastian too is miserable, he has a sticky eye, a snotty nose, and is un-put-downable. Yesterday as Simon was at work, Nathaniel on the sofa crying I had to have him in the sling so I could do the veg for tea and clean the kitchen and just move and use my arms;


I did manage to knit myself a hat because I loved Elizabeth's so much;

Proof, if proof were needed that you just cannot take your own photograph! Please excuse the washing hanging behind me to dry and the loft hatch and the general bad 'styling'!

A bit more proof;

And a bit more;

I can never get the angle right, my nose always looks huge, it is too big for my face (especially my mouth) but not as huge as it appears in these pics. I think I was going for an enigmatic smile but ended up looking wierd. The hat looks good though! Just look at the hat. I am just knitting a rosette to go on the front and then maybe I can find someone to take the picture for me....

Daisie xxx

PS; I will be at the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate on sunday and wondered if anyone from blogland fancied meeting up later in the day and comparing purchases. Juicyfig is meeting up with me and if I like the look of her in real life she may even get a sneaky snuggle with Sebastian! I am very excited and really looking forward to it and very sorry that Jenny won't be able to make it this year :( Let me know if you'll be there, would be lovely to say hi. I will be easy to spot - I'll be the strange looking woman with the big nose wearing a baby and a purple hat!! xxx

Making

The poorliness is slowly lifting, the girls are well enough to argue with each other! Coughs are hacking and noses are running but everything else is now settling down. I on the other hand am feeling worse.

We did some paper craft today and it links in to two posts I have read recently but I'll get to that in a mo.

Firstly I covered some reclaimed embroidery thread boxes to put my recycled wall covering note cards in;


They look really rather good and with two possible craft fairs coming up before Christmas are good to add to my 'stock'.

Amanda posted today about crafting with her children and I have to agree with her, it's not as enjoyable as one might think. I find it easier now they have there own craft 'stash' or I fill a box with select things from my stash that they may share, therefore they don't need to even be near anything I don't want them to touch. I am a bit of a control freak though and find it hard not to completely take over offer advice. I have to admit though that their artistic ability is improving with age.

Then Dottycookie mentioned the rumour in blogland that we edit out all the messy bits. Well, I may try (sometimes) but lets be honest if I edited out all the mess there would be nothing left. See;


This is one of Elizabeth's creations;

This is Francesca's, a kind of summery christmas birthday extravoganza;

Nathaniel went with a green theme;

I did try with some stiff wire and some red buttons to thread them together to make a heart shaped tree decoration but sadly it just didn't work. The wire was too stiff to get through by hand and when I got the wire working tools on it it just broke. So I either need some thinner for fingers or thicker for pliers. Any advice would be lovely.

Nathaniel was truly bemused by my struggling and gathered the disgarded bits and pieces and threaded them all together. It was lovely to watch him concentrate with the snot and dribble rolling down his chin;

It's not quite what I was aiming for but the look of 'this is how you do it' did cheer me up!

Daisie xxx