Today

Has been very busy, a bit dull and a bity stressful (all things to discuss another day) but on Saturday me and the children met with some dear friends in the park.

We found sticks;


Rolled down grassy slopes;


Flew a kite;

Yes, there really is a kite, look closely;

Had an impromtu picnic;

Behaved like monkies (monkeys?);

And experienced a first taste of ice cream;

A lovely day, thank you Mick and Lily for making a Saturday such special fun :-)

Daisie xxx

Why I Love The World Cup

For those of you that know me, don't worry, I haven't taken leave of my senses but look what greeted us when we came home from school (a half empty school as many parents had collected children early to go home and watch the match) via the park;


A very very empty park;


With lots of space for running and jumping and exploring;

Sapce for dowsing (don't ask);

And space for a second-only-in-a-lifetime-swing;

Don't let the smile fool you, he was not impressed and clung on for dear life for the three and a half seconds he sat there!

It was so nice to be just me and mine in a huge space without other people's dogs or children, bliss!

Let's hope England stay in a wee bit longer if this is the result!

Daisie xxx

And Rest....

The last two weeks seem to have been an endless round of sore nipples (although much better since the blisters peeled off), wet (and yellow) baby nappies, visitors, playgroups, art classes, training, school runs and ironing.

Sunday we woke up to beautiful sunshine;


And set off for a walk in the woods;

We spotted squirrels;

And crocodiles;

Looked over fences to see what we could see;

And nosied in the river;

A lovely crisp day, wrapped up warm with a small boy strapped to my chest, a slightly bigger boy holding my hand, two lovely girls milling around (and holding hands when no one could see) and a lovely husband who occasionally got to hold my hand too :-)

There is some knitting on the go and the self portrait I have been creating through the Art-as-therapy group is nearly ready for the grand unveiling, christmas gifts have been thought about and half put into action so maybe I'll be back with something I have created, soon?

Daisie xxx

Sunny Sunny Sunny

Today we have been out and about in the sun but before that I want to just show you some pictures of a special bag I made for my friend's birthday (yesterday);


It's a yummy linen mix from John Lewis and is lined with a plain linen. And after a sort through my stash look at what a perfect match this button is;


I have been waking earlier in the mornings now Simon is back at work and the sun was blazing at breakfast. The children and I waved Simon off and changed all the bunk beds and had a mad blitz of their bedrooms, all windows open, laundry on the line, domestic bliss etc....

Then when we were washed and dressed we packed the pram and headed on out around 10:30. We had a good long walk to the park where we had a see-saw;


And pretended to be fairies on toadstools;

And had a lovely picnic under a miniature tree;

Then with full bellies we headed on to the children's centre to take part in a family art session, as the weather was so warm and there were so many of us wanting to join in we invaded the school yard. The best bit (and messiest) was a huge length of paper and bowls with assorted colours of paint to dip your feet into;

Francesca made lots of pink foot prints;

Elizabeth made lots of blue hand prints;

Nathaniel very carefully poked each of his fingers into a different colour and then panicked. He loved washing them off in the big bowls of water and ended up in one with just his pants on! Sadly my camera battery died and I have no pics to show you. One very happy boy indeed!

Daisie xxx

Potty Update; Nathaniel is doing very well indeed, we are now on day 5 and apart from a minor dribble in the park he has been dry all day. Only one set of clothes required yesterday too. Very proud of my little man!

Sun And Mugs

We awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine and not too cold temperatures so when Simon set off for his training course this morning the children and I packed the pram with bananas and bottles of water and set off to the park.

Nathaniel had a slide;


Francesca had a see-saw;



And Elizabeth had a swing;

Then they all swapped around and around until everyone had done everything (several times) and we were getting bored so we went in search of flowers;

I don't think these have been open long as there are still yellow ones in the park. Squirrels eat the yellow ones which is why you only usually see them in the middle of round-a-bouts. At least that is what I have been led to believe all my life, am sure someone will disprove this in the comments?

Then we went and bought lunch from the bakers and walked up to meet Simon and we all came home together.

Really glad we went out this morning as not long after we returned home it began to rain and it has been decidedly horrid since. But Enchanted on DVD and lots of snuggles has kept the blues at bay. And I managed to knit the other bootee!

And in that beautiful box yesterday were some fabulous goodies from the lovely Emma;

Some sweeties that seem to have disappeared, must go and sniff the children's breath! Some beautifully wrapped little parcels, some biccies (always a good idea) and some lovely teas to try.

I am pleased to see that I wasn't the only person to paint the mug!

Inside the mini-parcels there were some fabby glitzy organza pieces and some funky net, Francesca has her eye on the pink already! Some buttons (spotty and checked ones, squeek), some sequins and she also included a lovely little felt brooch that is purple, yum;

You really should pop over the Emma's blog using the link above as her pictures are much better. Although she will have taken her time over them, I was too busy keeping the small hands at bay and tearing open the packing!

Thanks Emma and thank you Jenny for such a brilliant idea!

Daisie xxx

The First Custom Order For 2009!!

Yesterday saw a lovely chilly walk through the park;

Francesca managed to trick Simon into a little ride;

Nathaniel had a go too (but he only has little legs);

It was a great opportunity for Elizabeth to keep her neck warm with her new scarf;

Blimey, it's like looking in a mirror!! Very scary indeed, she really is a mini-me!

We had fun searching all the trees for their 'secret' carvings. I really like this chick one;

And I recieved a custom hottie order this morning. And here it is completed and ready for delivery;

The pictures a bit naff, I have been practicing with the 'flower' feature on my camera but think it's the awful light quality that is letting me down at the mo.

I trimmed all the pieces over breakfast this morning as we were off to a play centre this morning with Elizabeth's friend Myah and took them along with my pins, scissors and other sewing treasures in one of the best christmas presents I have ever had. This cute little sewing box;

I saw this when shopping with my friend Claire in the run up to Christmas and said how much I liked it. And there it was on Christmas morning under my tree!!

Here's the inside and you can see the yummy baby boots I made just inside;

And here's hoping for many more orders in the coming year!!

Daisie xxx

Ever Had One Of Those Days...?

Ever had one of those days where you seem to be breaking your back doing stuff and nothing goes right? Today has been one of those, it I was that way inclined it would drive me to drink!!

It started very early with a terrible smell, one of our cats, Hercule, has had a bit of an upset tummy, he is a very old man so we will forgive him but I was not impressed to venture downstairs and find very smelly, very runny cat poo all over my house! Argh! Thankful, yet again, that we don't have fitted carpets :-) Went flying round with the kitchen roll, a box of anti-bac wipes and a carrier bag before the girls came down and started to complain. OK, got it all, I think? Took everyone to school. Went to get some veggies and some sewing machine needles. Came home, opened the door and.....SMELL! No cats in, I booted them all out after their breakfast. Where was it coming from? Found a bit of a stain on the throw on the sofa so put that in the wash, febreezed the sofa and mopped the floors. Washed dishes (still there from breakfast, bad house wife!!) and set off to nursery to collect Francesca.

Came home, boiled an egg for Francesca, warmed pasta stuff from the other night for Nathaniel, had a quick sandwich. Checked email and had a look at my etsy shop; 21 people heart me :-)

Got sewing machine out to complete Heather's birthday handbag (nearly completed last night until mishap, that's why I had to go get needles). Not entirely happy with it;




but don't have any more of this fabric to try again, she'll love it anyway but I felt it wasn't up to my usual standard. To ease my conscience I made this little kilt pin brooch to go on it;




It has a small string of 'pearls', a string of red coloured wooden beads, a large wooden bead on an organza ribbon and a fabby mother of pearl antique button. Quite pleased with it, may try some more when I have time...

Then, after feeding Nathaniel, answering some questions from a very nice lady who came round to discuss post office closures in our area, long story, I turned this.....



into this.....

Then tried to make a dress for a little girl out of this fabby Laura Ashley fabric (I love it, I may turn some of it into a skirt for me) but it just didn't work. I reached the point when you start to think; 'who am I trying to kid, I can't do this?!'

Then it was time to go and collect Elizabeth from school, Nathaniel fell asleep in the pram, Francesca and I had a very strange conversation about electricity pylons (don't ask) and the sun was shining. Elizabeth was cheerful and lovely company when she came out into the playground, which is not always a given. We went to the park and had a swing and a slide, we saw some friends from playgroup who had come out for a walk in the sun. We strolled home picking daisies and dandelions from the grass and put them in our hair (no dog wee comments please!). Did spellings, I heard Elizabeth read while Francesca wore my one and only pair of heels. The children had tea and on the way up the stairs Elizabeth spotted the dress that went horribly wrong and asked if there was any of that fabric left as she really liked it, I said I'd see what I could do and then she said she'd have that dress "'cos it's just lovely, Mum". Made everything alright again, thanks darling!!!

Daisie xxx