Homemade snowglobes...

The mantra that greets me every morning goes like this 'Mum, when are we putting the tree up? When is it Christmas? When is it December? When it's December can we put the tree up?

Don't worry I haven't buckled yet - there will be no Christmas trees in November. Instead I've opted for distraction and decoration by stealth! I've put our child labour to good use and employed the minis in the business of making their own decorations, and we started with ....snowglobes. 

Upside down jam jars and hot glue gun ready, we went in hunt of small festive things to decorate them with. We tracked down some cake decoration reindeers and model trees (fortunately BH is a model maker so we raided his supply!) with a bucket load of glitter we decorated the base and glued the figures in place. 

My girl lovingly created a winter snow scene that Disney would be proud of...

My boy decided that nothing says Christmas like WW2 soldiers gunning down Bambi...

I swear this is what happens when you go out of your way to ensure that your children's toys are non gender stereotyped - they go and do it anyway!

We're going to fill them with a mixture of water, glycerine and glitter and glue the lids on -  then we can give them a shake and let it snow....

Buche de Noel- chocolate log to you and me...

I know it's Stir Up Sunday but as the only one in the house who likes Christmas pudding, the tradition has never quite taken off here. Not one to be deterred though, I was determined to bake something today that got us preparing forthe coming season. Inspired by our walk through Dalby Forest yesterday,  the minis and me opted for a chocolate log...

We went for the Buche de Noel from Nigellas Christmas - although we agreed that it couldn't be a Christmas log yet - it is still November! 

 

 

A quick round up of the kitchen cupboards gave us everything we needed. The recipe calls for the eggs to be separated and the whites mixed like a meringue - we got a bit distracted and put them in whole at first - oops! Not ones to waste ingredients we worked them into a batch of brownies but that's a whole other post! After that mishap SG was on serious supervision watch - although she did ask why the recipe called for it to be mousey - when I explained 'moussey' she looked extremely relieved! 

 

The egg whites were whisked into peaks with sugar, the cocoa and egg yolks folded in and baked for 20 minutes. After cooling we turned it out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and made a rich chocolate buttercream to spread all over before rolling up. SG got busy with the spatula and voila...

Le Buche...

               

notice how we're sticking with pine cones for now though!... resisting the urge to get festive just yet!

Easter Feasting...

Just before it gets wiped away let me share with you our Easter feast that was...

I was too busy cooking and serving at the time to photograph it all, and most of it was munched before the camera came out - but we did get a picture of Ponygirls birthday cake - she has an Easter Birthday so there's no shortage of chocolate!

What the camera doesn't pick up is the sparkly glitter  - or the chocolate popping candy sprinkles - or the birthday ready to sink her teeth into it! Happy Birthday Ponygirl!

Summers over, school begins...

Its official, summer is definitely over. All the signs are around us, the harvest is in, the nights are getting darker, Mums back to blogging...but most importantly the school shoes are polished and ready for the get go in the morning! And what a start to school it will be, one mini freeranger moving into 'Juniors', a phrase I like to use even though she sighs every time I call it that and tells me that was what it was called in the olden days! and one mini freeranger starting school for the very first time, although he doesn't quite believe it yet and just laughs and runs off when questioned!

this doesn't bode well for the shock he's going to get when he has to stay there all day, oh dear!

Fortunately this photo was taken before the weekend when Boy decided to tussle with a neighbours dog, the play was friendly and Boy was avoiding any teasing as he knows its wrong but the old dog got carried away and nipped him in play. Here are the results he'll be sporting for his first day at school...

My poor Boy...One trip to hospital, one very hysterical mother and several ice lollies later he was feeling much better, enough to tell me that he'd had " a terrible time and his head was sore and his tummy was rumbly...a biscuit might help"!

Not to be outdone, Girl has managed to lose 4 teeth this summer. She's mastered the art of speed eating spaghetti and we'll have no problem with her vampire outfit for Halloween, but I can only pray that schools photo wont be for a few weeks yet!

Ive got some foodie and garden blogs to come but for now the only thing in our house is the end of the holidays. We've crammed the days full, playing, adventuring, travelling, splashing, digging, scoffing, snoozing, giggling and most certainly avoinding the laundry mountain thats threatening to take over the sitting room.

But that was then... Uniforms have been pressed and hair clips collected from the bottom of toy boxes, book bags emptied and homework found too late to do much with it. All we have to do now is get out of the house on time and leave them at the classroom door. They'll be fine...as long as I don't embarrass them with my mumsy tears - someone save me a tissue for tomorrow, in fact make it a box...

She wore an Easter bonnet, and so did her brother...

Its Easter Bonnet time again, time to throw taste, design and the rules of couture out the window and go wild with plastic chicks and yellow ribbon. This year for the first time boy decided he wanted in on the fun...

Never one to be left out!

but he's got big competition from his sister who designed and made her own creation  - okay we may have don a bit of supergluing when she went to bed, but only to keep those fiddly bunnies in place!

Bonnets shouldn't be just for Easter - i cant help but think life would be a whole lot more interesting if we wore one of these to the supermarket more often...

These two certainly thought so...

Dads new wheels...

BH's days as a househusband are numbered! Hes had an offer of work that's too good to ignore doing what he does best - model making,  so its back to the bench for him and soon. This wasn't the plan until our youngest had started school, but as that's in September its not too far away, and when was timing ever perfect? This return to the world of work should also kick start our building work, fingers crossed.

The big surprise was when he cam home with this...

apparently its a necessity to get to work quicker, and it was an unmissable bargain, and hes not really that excited about it (as if!) Honestly, Ive never heard such good purchase excuses since I last spent too much on shoes! But if it gets the plasterboard paid for a bit quicker then I might just turn a blind eye...

that's if these too ever hand it back!

Holidays are here!!!

Hoorah!!! They're here at last - after counting down the sleeps and asking how many 'get ups', the summer holidays are finally here! I intended to write a post each night this week as I counted down the days but what with school discos and Governors meetings and what have you i've been too tired to write my own name never mind anything else. But Friday came at last - the end of the term and for me the end of an era, as I finished the job i've been doing (a long way from home) and prepare to take on one much closer to the old homestead. Hoorah!!!

These were waiting for me when I got home...



...along with balloons and my very own ticker tape parade - bless my tribe - they've seen me through every get up and were still there to blow the champagne corks when it came to an end!

This cake was made by one of my parents - I am in awe of their talents and intend to copy this for all my friends!



Once the champagne bubbles have faded I intend to spend the rest of the summer in the garden - the weeds are gathering momentum and it feels already as though the season is slipping away from me. I cant believe I'm excited about raking and hoeing but there it is! the only thing that looks lush in the border at the moment is this Yarrow 'Summer Berries' and even that is in the wrong place and needs moving next year...



But the best thing about breaking up for the summer, the very bestest and loveliest most smashing thing of all is... no more dashing off before breakfast to commute and leaving these two lovelies in bed; and a whole summer of 'Jesse and Woody' fabness ahead - double hoorahs all round!




YEEHAAH!!!