Miss Ellie's Ladybird Cupcake Decorating Party

We started with musical bumps, statues, pass the parcel and best dancer competitions and then onto the mandatory party food!
A Ladybird cake had been requested and duly produced although I kept wondering what the face reminded me of and I have finally worked out it is Shaun the Sheep from Wallace and Gromit in a head on wind rush! I should have made the antennae with pipe cleaners rather than licorice as they weren't strong enough to hold the icing bobbles up. Nevermind the birthday girl didn't seem to notice. I also forgot to put it on a bigger board so I could put the ladybird candles around it, so they got a cake stand all of their own.

The party invites and party bags all followed the theme. I couldn't find Ellie's box it has been whisked away into her burrow never to appear again I think. Each little girl got to take home a ladybird purse and ladybird mechanical toy which is rather good fun, it runs about and turns itself over on its back and spins circles (adults can be children at heart to. J and I didn't fight over which colour we got to play with!) They also had foilwrapped chocolate in ladybird designs, rather nice but rather pricey! sorry J with birthday cake and a sheet of what else but glow in the dark ladybird stickers!

I can't believe our Miss Ellie is nearly 5 (officially her birthday on Monday). After the food J and Euan bogged off to the rugby leaving myself and a fellow Mum Angelia (sorry if that is spelt wrong) to the cupcake decorating part. Each child was given 5 plain cupcakes and let loose with a bowl of icing to mix and colour and then to decorate away with as many toppings as they desired. I did set them challenges such as the best looking ladybird, butterfly, most colourful, best pattern et cetera with which they could win a prize. I was so involved in supervising I forgot to take pictures of the process or the end product which is a bit of a shame. Still after all the girls had gone I asked Ellie is she enjoyed her party to which she enthusiastically said yes especially the cupcake part. Ah bless a mothers duty is done. The party was followed by a manic clean up by Mum as we had two viewings that afternoon. Why is nothing ever stressless in this house. Well all I have to do now is design the thank you cards. Hmmmmmmm.

Auntie Helen and Uncle Chris came over this afternoon and brought Ellie her present which was lovely. Helen did a bit of buying damage with my christmas stock, nice for me!I have just finished wrapping the gifts for the offical birthday tomorrow so all in all the girl has done rather well. Now back to these damn christmas cards, number 93 and 10:10pm!

SLOW PAINFUL DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CARDS

Yes you guessed it, it is that time of year again where I ask myself just why do I like to design and print my own christmas cards? Last year I printed them on 6x4 cards and the printer took them like a dream, this year I designed an image that had to go on 5.5x5.5 cards which the printer hates. Yes every single one of the 120 cards I have to print for our own personal list has to be hand fed into the printer with quite a few rejections. The air is rather blue since I started at 6pm and it is now 9:10pm and I am still only on number 76. I hope those of you who read this and receive a card will appreciate it in a new light!

The smiley face stickers next to the cards are definitely not the way I feel right now. They are in fact for a good behaviour chart which was started on Monday with a reward of Pizza Hut on Ellie's birthday if they can get twice as many smiles as sad faces. It has had the desired effect and behaviour has improved and John will be able to tick off another thing from Euan's list - being a family trip to PH for tea with Dad!

We have had a busy weekend with Ellie's Party and 3 house viewings. John decided to escape the mayhem and watch rugby with Euan at Murryfield coming home in more Scottish Rugby parafinalia - sorry Dad I do try to avoid it. My works in progress for the craft night on Thursday had to be moved from the dining room table back into my work room, which also received a major makeover for the viewings. All this was rather frustrating as all I really wanted to do was get on with some work not fiddle faddle about for time wasting househunters, yes one couple were just checking what was on the market as they hadn't yet put theirs up for sale - arrrrrrgh I could seriously swing for them especially at this time of the month! Still I have a clean house so I should be able to get on now without quite so much distraction. I have no where near enough stock for Thursday but it has been a rather silly year. I wish I could get out of this cycle of manic making just before christmas when I still have so many things to do for the family. My children are still waiting for homemade christmas stockings. Looks like it could be another year of J's flying socks waiting at the bottomof the kids beds for Santa!

We are still no further forward in the search of or sale with our house. We are still waiting for the elusive proposed offer by the Strachans and are still standing with startled bunny eyes at the prices down south. We have found two that we quite like but they both have disadvantages of either busy roads or having to walk through a bedroom to get to another. John is going to start viewing when he starts in London in two weeks time and I am going to be down at my Mum's at the end of the month. It will be interesting to see what Fergus and Leo make of each other. Right back to the cards and a very late night at this rate.

A Fun Afternoon at the Coast

Uncle Chris with his godson and terror sisters posing in the ruins at St Monans Castle.

We had a fantastic walk along the coast at St Monans to see the castle ruins and have a play on the beach. Ellie was particularly taken with all of the underground rooms at the castle as I told her they would probably have been the children's bedrooms and how would she like to have a room like this? Mean old Mum! she decided she liked her bedroom better but was still fascinated with it. Fergus the kamakazi dog had a whale of a time jumping up and down the cliffs into the sea and up the banks, Mum meanwhile was having a heartattack every time he lept off a 10ft drop!

Euan and Uncle Chris playing statues in the afternoon light.

The light yesterday afternoon was just amazing and the coastal wind was quite warm, a rare treat for the end of October. We were all quite hot in our fleeces but it was just a bit nippy without them. We came across a very large dead seal on the beach which was sad but very educational for the children.

I will desperately miss the sea and beaches here when or rather if at this rate we move back down south. There is something quite magical about the seaside with its noises and calming effect on the soul. The children went out like lights last night when I put them to bed, I always feel like they have been exposed to something special and healthy when we have had a walk at the seaside. The evening was rounded off with fish and chips sat in Anstruther harbour courtesy of Chris and Helen (thank you very much!) which the children devoured, even Maddie took the remainder of her chips home in the car to finish!

Today was spent getting covered in orange paint with the nursery children and then over to my friend Hilary's house for lunch. I got a wonderful cuddle with her little six month old Corey who is just edible, you want to squeeze him and kiss him constantly! Tonight I have finished painting my robins and twisted their wire feet. 20 more Cranberry hearts have been threaded and Fergus has been sneaking cuddles on the sofa all in front of a wonderful log fire, quite devine.

Tomorrow or should I say today nearly as I am always late to bed must be a work day as I need to get some crafting done. Thank you to those who responded to my email about the blog, I hope I don't bore you to death over the coming months.

Sweet dreams to all and to all a good night.

Anyone who is crafty and fancys doing an ornament exchange this christmas check out this.

HOUSE FOR SALE STILL

Okay it has been 7 months now since we have put the house on the market, fate possibly has kept me here while John has been away in the Falklands. I'll be honest it has suited me not to have moved yet. I have a good set of friends who are there when things get to bad and my inlaws have been coming up once a week to give me a hand and a break. I have even managed to let them help me with things (don't faint) yes I am learning to ask for help and take it! Finally got around to taking some fresh pictures of the house yesterday, up a ladder to get the height and have sent them off to the estate agent with a note to drop the house price by £5,000. We will see if it makes a difference. I hope so because I am sick of trying to clean the house to show, I have wasted so much time this summer cleaning and clearing the garden, shouting at kids to not mess it up again before the viewing. Poor little devils don't understand what is going on either.

LESS THAN ONE WEEK TILL J GETS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that we are almost at the end of this 19 week stretch, I can't wait to get J home, the poor man is going to be hugged to death by the family when he gets off that plane and probably for the next week! Euan has been writing a list of things he wants to do with Daddy when he gets back, I think he is up to number 30! Ellie has plans for baking cinnamon rolls and sunflower seed rolls and Maddie I think she is still to young to understand. Me I just want some crafting time and a break from the day to day stuff like cooking and cleaning.

Talking of crafting I have finally got around to making a few things. I have a sale scheduled for the 15th of November at a friends house. I figured I had better set a date or I would never get around to doing anything this christmas. The house sale and J being away has really drained me more than I thought it would. Work in progress below (excuse the quality of the photo) has now been finised. 26 penguins inspired by the Falkland visit were completed, 15 sold already argh maybe I wont have stock. I have since made 15 camels (2 gone), 18 tissue holders (2 gone) and 20 christmas puddings. I have some wooden and fabric robins in the pipeline, around 10 peghooks half completed and a few bird index boxes constructed but not painted. Poor old J back into the fire when he gets home.

Well I had better go and get out of my pj's since it is 11am and we are heading over to Auntie Helen's and Uncle Chris's this afternoon for a trip to Anstruther harbour and a fish and chip treat for dinner. Oh how I love not having to cook! I also need to prepare the art projects I am doing with Maddie's nursery this week as I am in two days this week instead of the usual one. We are making pumpkin paper plate masks and halloween ghost footprint cards (Messy but fun!). I will post some pictures of the completed works when I get chance (um could be a while my to do list is so long!).

Missing Photos!

Daddy and his Jet
Gentoo Penguins at Sandy Bay, Bleaker Island

Yeah I think I might have got the photos where i want them. Surely there is an easier way to get the photos were you want them without uploading them first? Oh the joys of computers and a very limited knowledge!

Well I suppose I had better get dressed as we have a busy day planned, making toiletroll tube penguins, dog walks and then the girls are coming for wine tonight!!

Looks like another grey day here John so you are not missing anything.

Things have been rather busy round here!

Well the plan of keeping a blog while John was away in the Falklands seems to have fallen by the wayside but hey life with three children is never predictable! Less than three weeks now and John should be flying home - Yeyyyyyyyyyy can you tell that we have done 16 weeks on our own, possibly the twitch in my eye and the fixed grin/grimace lets it slip. All in all the kids have been okay, poor old Euan has struggled with his Daddy being gone and we have had a few temper/behavioural issues but whos to say we wouldn't have had them anyway.

The visit to the Falklands was a resounding sucess. I was rather concerned at taking three young children on two 9 hour flights back to back on my own but they were fantastic. Yes we did have a few spilt juice issues and some tired babies when we landed but I didn't see too many people getting off giving us dirty looks. I was really glad I went to see the Falklands it is a bleak and yet beautiful place. We had a helicopter ride (Euan grinned from ear to ear) to Bleaker Islands where we stayed for two nights. Bleaker's population is 2 and rather a lot of sheep and cattle! Euan loved the Sei whale bones found on the beach and the plethera of skulls around the island. The girls liked the forces ration hot chocolate!! Our departure was rather special except for the two hours spent sat on the runway because the pilot had gone down a taxway and got stuck (would this worry you?). John managed to get airborne and fly along side the 747 in his jet and wave us off, the kids thought it was amazing, Mum thought it was lovely but heart breaking at the same time. Then home for a further 14 weeks of solo parenting.


Unfortunately for me I picked up a bacterial infection on the flight which was quickly followed by a sinus infection which took two sets of antibiotics to clear. I still seem to have a cold lingering.

Okay I am having a problem getting my photos where I want them and now I can't seem to find two, hmmmmmmmmm. Oh why couldn't this be simple! Right I shall post this and see what comes out.

Wooden Angels

This is one of my wooden angels that I create for the wall. They come with all sorts of different wings, tin straight or curvy, gilded in bronze, silver or gold, paint effect to look like tin. You can have them in almost any colour you wish. I make them with wire hair with beads or sequins in, tin star or heart halos, tin twig hair or natural twigs. If you want a slightly flirty one you can have an ankle bracelet! The decoration on the angel can vary as they are all tin decs (which I buy from the US). I have painted some in two colours to create a contrast so the weight of colour and added embellishments sits at the bottom. One lady had me adapt the design to create a mermaid and another a fairy godmother for a little ones christening! Each angel is stamped with a number, my name and comes with a tag to explain the care and its originality.

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

This is one of my christmas decorations
from the 2005 collection. I try not to repeat the designs from year to year. I create about 10 different decortions each year from a mixture of wood and fabric. I am usually late in designing things, starting around August and then having a manic rush for christmas! Each year I swear I will start early and get them completed before the summer, hum here we are nearing the end of June and I still haven't started!!

A Fishy Creation

This is one of my peg hooks that is hanging in the children's bathroom. We use them to hang up their towels. I can create them in any style or design and in any colour. You can have plain or patterned to suit your taste.

Just trying to work out how to set up this blog!