Finding colour in the woods

We went for a wet and squelchy walk in shaded woodland. It's hard to find colour in February but this lichen covered branch provided a spalsh of yellow amid the browns and greys. You can just see Z and his cousin Fern in the background.

Dressed Up Pinecones

I had some kind of bug/food poisoning so was looking for something gentle and quiet to occupy Z and E. They sat on the sofa wrapping pinecones in scraps of wool. There's something beautiful about these, I think it's the mixture of natural textures and colours. I'm better now and will use these to make a little mobile to hang above V's cot.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

It's my father's 77th brithday today (he of the marmalade-making) so we made number biscuits yesterday and decorated them this morning. Z and E insisted we make some 2's and 4's for their ages as well. I usually make these to put in party bags on the children's birthdays but you're never too old for bespoke biscuits! They love making them and our floor always ends up a mess of biscuit dough, colouring, silver balls and glitter.

In-door dens part II

I read this post from Emma Bradshaw about making indoor dens and it was so cold today we stayed at home this afternoon - perfect den-making time! Here are E and V enjoying the latest version of the den we made a while back here. We added bunting and fairy lights to make it a bit more magical. I just about managed to persuade E to sit still for a photo - the rest of the time she was jumping in and out and peeking behind all the blankets!

Chinese Lanterns light up the skies

We headed to the Downs tonight for the launch of 500 Chinese Lanterns, organised to celebrate Chinese New Year. It was wet and windy and although we had to abandon our first attempt we managed to get our second up, up and away! Z helped release ours into the night sky and suddenly there were hundreds going up. Quite beautiful and definitely worth missing bedtime for. As Z was getting into bed he whispered "I'll have something really exciting to tell school tomorrow".

Snowdrops and Sunshine

Snowdrops Galore!

With blue skies and the sun shining we caught up with old friends at Colesbourne Park, described as 'England's finest snowdrop garden'. It was the perfect place to make us feel spring is on its way and the snowdrops, crocus and cyclamen carpeting the grounds were just beautiful. I was a little unsure about taking young children but there was so much space to run around and not a 'keep off the grass' sign to be seen. There is a beautiful river meandering through the grounds as well as a waterfall and lake which was a stunning shade of blue. We spent a happy 3 hours with the children running around, playing pooh sticks and looking for fish. The best thing was how suitable it was for children without specifically catering for them - no swings, slides or brightly coloured plastic - just good old-fashioned fresh air and their imaginations to pass the time. Happy Days indeed.

Added on 14th Feb

{If you'd like to find a snowdrop garden to visit near you I'd recommend taking a look at the Great British Gardens website as they have a list of places around the country with displays}

Discovering The Makery in Bath

The Makery Emporium, Bath

I took the girls to beautiful Bath today for a change of scenery and look what we discovered - The Makery Emporium. E loved the colourful window display and inside was a treasure trove of ribbons, buttons, fabrics and all sorts of whimsy displayed on vintage cake stands and tea-cups. My idea of heaven! I spoke to the owner Kate Smith and it's an off-shoot of The Makery which offers workshops including making lip balm, crochet, embroidery and upholstery. There are also children's workshops (age 6+) such as biscuit decorating and sewing machine lessons. Visiting shops like this, built on the passion and enthusiasm of their owners is such a joy. I have my eye on a knicker-making workshop next month and if my efforts end up wonky, well, at least no-one will ever know.

A Cornish beach in February

We spent the weekend in Cornwall visiting Granny and Poppa. On Saturday we went to Polkerris Beach. I used to think beaches were only worth visiting in high summer but wrapped up in waterproofs, coats and wellies Z and E had a great time and there's the added luxury of having the beach to ourselves. We explored rock pools and caves and ran in the shallow surf before heading to the Rashleigh Inn for hot chocolates to warm us up.

Grandpa's Marvellous Marmalade

My father makes wonderful marmalade every year. This year he is in Bristol during 'the season' so E (aged 2), V (8 months) and myself joined in the fun this afternoon. We re-wrote his tried-and-tested receipe so it went something like this.

Ingredients
One Grandpa
One 2 year old girl
One 8 month old baby
18 oranges and other stuff....sugar, water, lemons but NOT a torch, definitely not a torch.

Directions
Put 8 month-old on floor surrounded by cushions. Give 2 year old fruit to cut in half. Discharge 2 year old from duties when she starts to lick oranges and lemon halves. Juice all fruit and allow 2 year old to join when she renews interest in 'marmalade making game'. Remove torch from 2 year old. Give crying 2 year old chocolate biscuit upon demand. Pick crying 8 month old from floor and put in cot. Allow to sleep until recipe is complete. Move two-year old's pretend kitchen into real kitchen. Cut fruit skins into slivers whilst role-playing washing laundry with 2 year old. Go to soothe 8 month baby who is awake and crying despite previous recipe instruction. Abandon recipe and leave for Grandpa to complete.....

Home-made Hungry Caterpillar

Z has been using his home-made caterpillar and toy fruit as props when telling the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to his little sisters. He's very proud of it and I thought it turned out really well - I especially love those gigantic eyes.

Things you'll need
Strips of egg carton
PVA glue
Yellow and green tissue paper, torn into pieces
Green, red and yellow paint
Card for the eyes
Thin wire

Paint the strip of egg carton green and the end holder red.
Paint green and yellow eyes onto the card and leave to dry.
Use PVA glue to stick the tissue paper to the caterpillar body.
Cut the eyes from the card.
Stick the wire to the back of one of the eyes with sellotape.
Make two holes in the caterpillar head and thread the wire through.
Sellotape the eyes to the wire and trim as necessary.