Treasure?

The children and I walked in the sunshine to the centre this morning to take part in a treasure hunt. The treasure wasn't all that (Nathaniel had convinced himself that he was going to win a "Mummy sized Iggle-Piggle") but the weather was lovely and the company was brilliant. My buddy Claire and here two little lovelies walked back with us, via the bakers, here they all are;


I think Kae-Lei was trying to give Li-Bau rabbit ears but ended up hiding Francesca's face instead. I did take several of this group sitting and this was the best!!

When we got back the girls disappeared upstairs and the boys dashed out the back door so Claire and I snuggled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and these;

Freebies from Warburton's, they contacted me a while ago, they are a local bakers and this is a new range for them. I said yes to the PR bod just because the name Chippidy Doodaa made me smile and Simon twisted my arm and said that if I said lots of nice things about them then maybe they would send him a Toastie Loaf every week! I don't think they will but he can dream.

The Sweet Chilli Snackadoodles were Claire's favourite, the children loved these too (we shared when they re-emerged from their play), they have a lovely warmth but are not firey and unlike other rice/corn cracker thingies (you all know the ones I mean) they are not chewy and plastic feeling in your mouth, they have a clean crunch. The cheesie snackadoodles were nice too but we really loved the sweet chilli ones :-)

Claire wasn't so keen on the Chippidy Doo Daas, we tried the cheesie ones first, the flavour was strong and the DooDaas are quite dry, maybe we should have been dunking them in some yummy dip though. Francesca on the other hand really liked these and promptly relieved us of them and guzzled the lot! I did love the salt and vinegar ones, they were super yummy and I would definately buy those again and scoff them without dip, they made me want to straighten the bag and just tip them in. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So all in all I think the new snack range from Warbie's is rather lovely, a great alternative to salty, greasy potato crisps. And I love the quirky design of the packs.

Anyhoo, I really must pay proper attention to the Great Debate instead of all this snackie stuff, all I have managed to hear really is that David Cameron is expecting a baby about twenty seven gazillion times, good timing me thinks or is that very cynical of me?! Oooh, must watch out, politics is another bloggy no-no I'm sure!

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!

A Sunny Picnic

We have spent alot of the sunny weekend at home while we have been rearranging and decorating so that the girls will no longer have to share a bedroom with each other (hopefully there will be a pink princess room and a Dr.Who room soon). The children have played and picnicked in the garden (and fought on occassion) inbetween popping in to try on clothes I have found in boxes, some things that used to belong to Elizabeth for Fracesca and some hand-me-down parcels for Elizabeth. Having two big sisters means that Nathaniel has very few hand-me-downs from our family, but does well from friends. He did, however, get some spaceman, some dr.who, and some plane PJs that used to belong to Elizabeth. His favourite find so far has been the blue Miffy socks he found that I took off at bedtime and he insisted on putting back on!!

Today while some paint was drying we decided we should venture further than the back door for today's picnic so we gathered ourselves and headed out to Wycoller Country Park;



The sun was deceptive and the wind was quite chilly so we only sat for a little while to refuel;



Francesca was very pleased when she won control of the crisps;



And we were all very excited when this Mummy duck and her babies strolled past to say hello;

Nathaniel was especially taken with the 'ellow kwak kwak!

We walked through the willow sculptures and through a long tunnel;

We walked, carefully, over several very old stone bridges;

We stopped in the shelter of a cafe courtyard and Elizabeth asked me what this was, help please;

Tall pink flower didn't seem to be a good answer, I will hunt it out for her if no one can help.

We ate ice cream;

Then came home for more painting and sorting.

Eureka! tomorrow, very excited :-)

Daisie xxx

Another Hottie

I have made some more hotties today, wanted to show you this one as I have done the stitching in a deep blue so you can really see it well on these photos;




But they seem slightly ridiculous today as the sun is shining and it's really warm! I hung my washing out in the garden before the school run this morning and it was nearly dry when Nathaniel and I returned after the drop and a quick walk into the town to buy some kirby grips, didn't forget today! It is so hot and lovely that Nathaniel has just 'helped' me repaint my toenails and find my Berkie's. I dug my boots out of the bottom of a box a couple of weeks ago as I was fed up of having cold, wet feet! Now I am fed up of having hot feet. Bloody weather!

Hoping it stays warm tomorrow so Francesca can be the most beautiful princess at the party and not have to wear her coat over the top. Can't wait to do her hair and stuff, she gets so excited that it's quite contagious!

I am rapidly approaching 200 posts, blimey, do I never shut up?! Apparently not, sorry! So will have to do a give away early next week, thinking cap on........ it may be a Christmas themed prize as that it where my crafting brain is at the moment.

Off to collect the girls from school and swing on some swings in the sunshine on the way home!

Daisie xxx

English Weather

To say we have had no real summer this year isn't really an understatement. It has been cold and wet and thoroughly miserable with maybe one or too fine days thrown in here and there. Ask any UK resident and I'm sure they'll say the same!

This week however it has been beautiful. Not overly warm but dry and sunny. Today I have stomped through fallen leaves with Nathaniel on the way home from playgroup and we even found conkers!! Autumn is coming I think.

So it seemed a little odd making these;



When the sky looks like this;

Christmas crafts are still being made in abundance here at Daisie Towers (that came to me the other day when thinking over something else because I thought we should rename Lynsey's blog Swirly Heights, don't ask why, I don't know!!) ready for my up and coming craft fair, ooh, excitement mounts.......

Off for a meeting at the new children's centre near school to sort out lots of new exciting projects for me to be involved in. I need something more to do to stop me missing the girls now they are back at school.

Hope it is sunny where you are too!

Daisie xxx

Feeling Hot, Hot Hot!

The heat today is amazing and very close indeed. It's one of those that when you stand under a tepid shower you feel fresh and clean but by the time you have rubbed yourself dry you are a horrid sweaty lump again! Goodness knows how hot and horrid Simon is feeling, he is still sealed into our bedroom (I did let him out last night) pulling the last of the ceiling down. We popped out this morning and bought some very green insulation for the room, it is made from recycled plastic bottles so is great for the environment and great for Simon too as it won't make him itch like fibreglass insulation does. Everyone's a winner! We (Simon ) also ordered some new stone flags to re-do our 'garden' to come with the rest of the building supplies for the room (only one delivery charge; cunning or what?). His reasoning being that if we're having a skip here we may as well fill it (with the walls and aeiling from the bedroom, the old flags, the shed wall and roof etc etc)! Watch this space for exciting developments.........

Blimey, amidst all the building madness and heat I actually made something!!

These are three handbag party invitation cards for Elizabeth's up and coming 7th birthday party;




Each card has the initial of the recipient and the tags are colour coordinated. The hole for the handle could have been better but I tend to get an idea and run with it and get excited when it looks good and forget to be slow and patient with my craft knife, whoops!

Off for a good sleep now as will be baby juggling and skip filling tomorrow!

Daisie xxx

Sunny Day

While poor Simon has been sealed into the bedroom pulling down walls and ceilings the sun has been beating down so we all went for a walk and left him to it!

We had a swing;



A small impromptu picnic that resulted in me having a wet bottom and in white linen trousers it's not such a good look! Note to self; put a big blanket under pram when next tis sunny!

Francesca wore her new 'crocs' (they are not genuine but they do have flashing flowers on the side and were a bargain at a certain supermarket that is 'Scandinavian for value'), her feet were sweaty and half way through our journey her feet had blisters. Being a terrible mother as I am, I had no plasters on me. Here are some I fashioned out of an old tissue (snotty bits removed) and a sticker that one of them got from the dentist that was screwed up in my purse;

And it was so hot and I was so tired that Elizabeth helped (only for three feet or so) to push the pram home;

Hope you've all had a lovely sunny day too?

Daisie xxx

There's A Hole In My Finger!

There's a hole in my finger :-( I feel the need to say it again, blimey it's sore!


The hole in my finger has appeared because I have been knitting like mad trying to complete a project. A friend's daughter celebrates her second birthday in a week and I have a present (have had for ages) but haven't made anything for her so I felt the need. I have adapted a pattern idea from the lovely book that Jenny gave me and here's a sneaky peek;

Am having a night off from knitting tonight to let my poor finger have a rest and hopefully be better to go again tomorrow. Am thinking I may have to wrap it in masking tape or something as time is against me!

My apologies for the sharp change in the weather, it's all my fault! I put on a skirt (a very nice skirt donated by Swirly) which was a mistake. It didn't last long and I ended up in long trousers and a cardigan by mid afternoon! Here's a pic that Elizabeth took at half eight, before the sun went and hid;

Sorry if my too white legs frightened anyone!

Other news; I MADE A SALE ON ETSY ON MONDAY!!!!! Can't believe it's taken me this long to mention it, I squealed and danced round the house, woohoo!! One of my beautiful hotties is on it's way to Australia to keep someone warm, ah!

Francesca has been at 'big school' this afternoon and has had a ball. Full of stories and news, really excited and she can't wait to go back next Wednesday.

Daise xxx

Race Day

Blimey, we didn't get rained on! Hurrah!! The sun was out (maybe a little too warm) and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Here's Francesca and I in the 'MILK' t-shirts that I managed to borrow last week from Kirsty;




On the reverse of mine is the study that shows you can halve your chance of developing breast cancer by breastfeeding your children. On the back of Francesca's it simply says; 'Breastfed and Healthy', sorry, banging on again.....


Here we are just after the start, we had danced the YMCA song several times, had a quiet time to remember the people we had all lost and a big cheer for all those we knew who had 'survived' or were still fighting cancer and stretched our ham strings. L-R Naomi, Mum, Charlotte and me;

A couple of 'action' shots now, bit scary, here are Naomi and I running towards the end (in the middle of the pic);

As we passed my Dad and Simon we collected the girls to do the home stretch with us. Here are Francesca and I nearing the finish line, Naomi and Elizabeth were ahead of us as Naomi is considerably younger than me and Elizabeth has longer legs than Francesca (that's our excuse and we're sticking to it)!

Each runner had a number to pin to their front and we were given pink squares to write on why or who we were running for. Mum's was lovely, it said "My daughters and my granddaughters so they never have to go through what I did (see front for details)" The very brave woman went out without her prosthesis in!!!

Naomi and I did it in 43 minutes, a little running, a little fast walking. Not bad for 5KM in the hot sunny sunshine!! We are going to train more next year and run the whole thing!

A thank you to everyone who sponsored me!

Will be back later with a randomly selected winner.....

Daisie xxx

Green Fingers

Can't believe it's Thursday already, where has this week gone?

My friend Claire and her son Li-Bau (will show you a photo when I get one) and Nathaniel and I went to a local breastfeeding group this morning (you get a free coffee, that's why we go!). There were so many boobies that it had this effect on Nathaniel;



After a lazy morning we decided after lunch to venture into the 'garden' and pot on the seeds that the girls planted on mother's day! Elizabeth's Bizzie Lizzies are doing really well and will go straight into the hanging basket at the weekend but Francesca's were looking a little sorry for themselves;



We thought they might do better like this but only time will tell!

All this gardening made Francesca quite tired so she had a sit down;

You will have noticed that I always type 'garden' like this; 'garden' because it isn't really and we have ideas far above our station but it will always be referred to as the garden. It is technically a yard as it is a hard standing of about 5m by 3m. It is big enough for our sandpit, a small slide and the paddling pool when the British summertime allows. It truly is a garden, we have an oak tree (all be it in a pot), a twisted hazel and the beginnings of a privet hedge! The plants have a long history with us and when I have time I'll tell the tale of why I have an oak tree and have done for nearly 14 years.

Daisie xxx

What a Lovely Day!

Blimey, it's a picture of me! Don't get many of those, I'm usually behind the camera!!




We've been at Wycoller Country Park today. We had a lovely walk, fed some ducks, paddled in a (very cold) stream, had a picnic, walked over a prehistoric bridge;



Saw some beautiful mini waterfalls;

Worried that we might be turned into moss (well Elizabeth did) which is why Simon had to sit down first before she parked her bottom to remove a stone from her shoe, much laughter was had by all except Elizabeth;

We spotted a white baby cow having boobie milk from his Mummy cow;

and some very lovely little lambs;

We also had a three mile walk, which was great fun, we saw lots more cows and sheep and lambs close to and they were quite friendly. The only downside of this trip was when we got to a slightly damp bit of the field, we decided to carry on anyway and got lots of mud and cow poo in our crocs, not great I can tell you!! The girls opted to carry on bare foot which was fine until we got back to the stony car park and then Elizabeth wore my crocs (which had dried nicely by then) and Francesca had a ride on Simon's shoulders.

We got in to find an invitation for tea so we hopped in the bath, (didn't imagine for one moment we would be welcomed with dried cow poo between our toes!!), threw on some clean clothes and set off to Lynsey's for a barbecue. It was a very lovely evening, thanks, Lyns!

Babies all tucked up and asleep so am of to bed soon with my new book 'The Friday Night Knitting Club' by Kate Jacobs, a gift from my Mum, thanks, am looking forward to it!

Night, Daisie xxx

My Shed Window

Here is my shed window! We've been out in the 'garden' today as the sun has been shining and it's so warm, think summer may have arrived...? The pansies that I planted in this basket about seven years ago come up year after year and look rather good and the tiny scrap of ivy I nicked from my mother-in-law's front garden is coming on rather well too. And tell me this, how many other people do you know that have gingham curtains in their shed!?




We made it to Lancaster Castle yesterday and had a wonderful time. It's very exciting and a bit scary being so near all those prisoners (one of which was being released (we think) as I took this photo);





We set off after our tour of the castle into town to have some lunch and we trawled the charity shops. Not much to be had really; the girls got a goodie bag of hair accessories each, I bought a tiny Vincent Van Gogh jigsaw which will be made into something interesting when I think of something interesting.....suggestions on a postcard please. We did the book shops (surprise) and we all were a little tired and fed up when Simon was trying to spend his birthday money in Waterstones so the children and I went back to the car so that I could feed Nathaniel. Well, Nathaniel had a boobie, we had a drink and we talked about coroners and hanging people and played I-spy for a bit. We got bored and opened the goodie bags. Sorry Nathaniel......





Here are some cards I made this afternoon with the lovely new pens I bought at Aintree the other weekend;

Another picture from the 'garden' Nathaniel standing all by himself just before he gave us all a heart attack when he climbed up the steps to find his Mummy in the kitchen, argh;

Daisie xxx