Number One when my babies were born

I've been tagged by The Crumby Mummy in this latest music meme where you remember click here to find out the Number One on the day your baby was born. Thanks goes to SAHDandproud for the info on the link.

I do actually remember what was number one when Edith was born as I meticulously filled in her baby record book - this went out of the window for Alban, sorry son.

Edith makes me smile, a lot, so it was rather apt that this was her song:
Lily Allen Smile

Alban's song is more forgettable:
Madonna & Justin Timberlake 4 minutes (Can you sing it without watching it first?!)

I'm going to tag MumOfOne, MadamDing & NotSoSlummy or just join in anyway! x x x 

Saturday is caption day!

Firstly, apologies, I think I have broken my laptop for good so am attempting to blog from my phone - it's not easy.

Anyway, here's the picture to caption. Hopefully.

What is the boy up to now?!

Find some more #satcap fun here

Shabby Chic Kitchen - with an emphasis on the shabby

I have a small kitchen.

I have a very small kitchen.

When we bought our house the kitchen units were a very dark brown with fetching brown tiles.

I have remedied this with cupboard and tile paint.

However, the general quality of the kitchen is still a bit iffy and I have had a missing cupboard door for quite some time.

It was bothering me.

So, now that I am a sewing extroadinaire*, I thought I would make a fabric door for the space. Sort of along the shabby chic line of kitchen design. Move over Cath Kidston.

While I was at it I also made a cover for the monstrosity that is my washing machine. I still can't get away from the noise it produces though. I live in hope that this kitchen will one day be my utility room, and what a damn fine utility room it will be.

My Shabby Chic Kitchen!

*well, I can use a sewing machine.

Saturday is Caption Day!

It's caption time folks.

Have a look, have a think & make me smile!

I have a dream*....*a Pinterest dream

I have a dream.....a rather materialistic dream. I know, I should be dreaming of world peace and happiness but I am dreaming about my home.

One day, one day my Pinterest dreams will become reality.

One day I will blog about the builders and how much of my tea they are drinking, the mess they are making going upstairs to the toilet, the amount of cigarette butts on my lawn, the noise, the upheaval, the extra debt.

One day I will post pictures of my extended home where I can shut myself away in my kitchen rather than stand in a kitchen space of 2 square metres where everyone can bother me.

One day I will put the washing machine on in a utility room and be able to shut the door so the whole house doesn't hear it try and take off on full spin.

One day* my Pinterest dreams will become reality.

But for now I am thankful for Pinterest, a place where I can pin my dreams until I burst with excitement!

Come and share in my dreams on click on the magic words: Pinterest Dreams!

*the day I win the lottery

My Difficult Dozen

I've been tagged by the beautiful Bluebird Sunshine to join in the rather difficult blogger's dozen meme thingy doing the rounds. For this I have to follow the following rules:

The rules:

1. You must post the rules
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself in the blog post
3. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you in their post and then create 12 new questions for the fellow bloggers you plan to tag
4. Tag 12 people and link to them on your blog
5. Let them know you tagged them

So, number 1. check! Onto number 2....

12 fun facts about myself
That's fun so I can't tell you anything depressing or negative. Hmmmmm, here goes....

1. I used to go to disco/modern dance class as a teenager and I would happily wear lycra and jazz shoes with neon ankle warmers over the top!
2. I'm a Norfolk gal born and bred and when I speak to my Mum on the phone my accent comes pouring out which the husband finds hilarious.
3. My favourite perfume is Alfred Sung - Forever.
4. I lived in Wellesley, MA, USA for a year when I was 19 - still one of the best years of my life.
5. I make a mean lasagne.
6. I used to go all night clubbing at the Que Club in Birmingham - man, those were the days!
7. I love pear cider.
8. I drink about 4 mugs of Earl Grey tea a day.
9. I have to go to the toilet before a meal regardless of whether I actually need to.
10. If Eric Bana threw himself at me I would cheat on my husband - ditto Brandon Flowers!
11. Avocados are my favourite fruit but I dislike avocado bathroom suites.
12. I love Marmite.

Number 3
Answer the questions from Bluebird Sunshine!

1. What’s your favourite cheese?
It has be a well matured cheddar. You can't beat it on toast, fresh bread, on pasta....

2. Where in Europe would you go, or have you been lucky enough to have been, on a romantic weekend getaway?
Romantic break?!! *guffaws* I still dream of being taken to Paris. I went there as a teenager on school trips but really want to go back as a proper grown up - with the husband I suppose!

3. Do you have a beauty regime, if so what is it?
Not really. Face wipes at night and some moisturiser. Face wash in the morning and some moisturiser. Probably why I look so bloody haggard!

4. What song would you do at karaoke?
The Killers - Mr Brightside

5. Name something you dread doing.
Karaoke.

6. Post your favourite photo, of anything, from any time.
There are so many photos I could post here but this is one I just love.

7. If you suddenly had an extra hour in the day today, what would you do with it?
Drink an extra pear cider.

8. What’s your favourite family tradition?
My family didn't really go in for traditions but I am continuing a tradition from my husband's side of the family and that is.......vol-au-vents with garlic mushrooms and prawns in seafood dressing on Christmas Eve!!

9. Do you believe in ghosts or spirits?
Yes, I have sensed some kind of presence in my house. I felt what I thought was my husband standing next to me so I started chatting to him - he was still out.

10. If you could choose anyone at all to write a guest post on your blog, who would it be?
Brandon Flowers - and I would make him sit in my house to do it!

11. What are your top three girls and top three boys names?
Girls: Edith, Iris & Mabel
Boys: Alban, Arthur & Albert

12. Tell me one thing you really want to do before the year is over.
Get my first tattoo.

My 12 questions:
1. Who is your celebrity crush?
2. What is your tipple of choice?
3. Who was the first musical act you saw live?
4. What was the first car you owned?
5. Where were you born and do you still live anywhere near there?
6. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
7. Can you speak any foreign languages, fluently?
8. What fictional book would you recommend I read?
9. What is your best skill?
10. Facial hair (on a man!) - Yes or No?
11. Marmite - love or hate?
12. Brandon Flowers - Hot or Not?!

Number 4
I now tag.....
@CatParrott
@Mum2babyinsomni
@MascaraAndMud
@TheFoolTweets
@over_a_cuppa
@TheCrumbyMummy
@butwhymummywhy
@stressymummy
@MuddlingAlong
@ageingmatron
@mummyglitzer
@apartyofseven

Number 5
I'm off to tweet them right now!

#ISpy.....B

This week A Mummy Too has chosen the letter B for Mum Of One's #ISpy game.

I think I've made it tricky this week - unless you know a bit of Norfolk speak!

Here you go, what B can you spy here?!

More #ISpy here:

A message to you all!

On Sunday we had a lovely family day out at Tyntesfield near Bristol.

On our return the sun desperately tried to poke itself out from behind the clouds.

Look at what it produced!

So today I am spreading some Valentine's happiness and love to everybody that reads my blog.

"Thank you and I heart you all!"

I'm linking this to #snapslappers

Here's the original snap!

  x x x

A collection of Firsts...

That rather splendid chap SAHDandproud has tagged me in this meme where I have to delve into my deepest darkest memories to recall a collection of first events. Some of them I can't even remember, I mean c'mon I can't even remember what I did on Saturday! Good start there then.

So, how many of these firsts can you recall?

Who was your first boyfriend?
My first proper boyfriend - in that we met up regularly, went on dates and had a laugh - was called Paul. I was 17 - a bit of a late starter - and he was lovely. We met in a pub, not far from my house, that had a lot of live music (Iron Maiden secretly played there! Not my musical taste by the way) and would serve us all drinks. He was also a Norwich City Football Club season ticket holder, a match made in heaven really. I dumped him for some reason and felt a bit bad about that as he was really lovely. Oh well. Karma came back to bite me hard later in life!

First person you kissed?
Erm....I think he was called Matthew and I was drunk underage on New Year's Eve. End of.

First job?
In a fish and chip shop when I was doing my A levels. Classy hey?!

First pay packet? What did you buy with it?
From the above job all of my pay packet went on going to away matches to see Norwich City. Those were the days when a ticket was about £6 as was the Club Canary coach fare - bargain!

First CD you remember buying?
I have racked my brain over this one and just cannot recall what it was. I remember my first tape - Aha, bought for me on a day trip to London (my brother chose Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms - why do I remember this??!) And my first 7" single was Aha - The Living Daylights!

First holiday abroad?
Kassiopi, Corfu with my friend Louise when we were 18. Two girls abroad, alone, mwahahahahaha! I behaved myself thank you very much!

What age were you when you moved out of your parents’ home?
I went to America for a year when I was 18, then off to Uni and never returned.

There you go, my series of firsts. You have learnt a little bit more about me.

I'm going to now tag.................... @butwhymummywhy x

Saturday is Caption Day

It's a delve through the back up files today for the photo to caption this week.

Crack me up please!

The Positives of the Husband Working Away

In the coming months there are going to be some major changes in the Melksham Mum household. After months of discussions, indecisions and changing his mind (about a 100 times) the husband has decided to stay in employment and work near Birmingham for 3 days a week. The alternative was redundancy - Gah! It would have been quite a nice payout that would have kept us going for about 8 months if necessary but a gamble nonetheless. Also, his line of work is very specialised so I am happy that he has chosen not to take the risk - and selfishly it also means I don't have to find permanent work yet and can persue some supply work.

A while ago I was getting my knickers in a real twist over this. We had made the decision not to move up there in the foreseeable future so it will be just me and the kiddies for 3 days a week. I was stressing myself out over silly issues like How will I cope? Will I be lonely? What will I do for a car? Now I am seeing the positives!



• I can have the bed to myself for a couple of nights a week.
• I can read as late as I want without anyone moaning at me to switch the light off.
• I can tweet, blog, pin in bed!
• I can watch what I want on the television.
• I can catch up on some chick flicks.
• I can eat my favourite foods.
• I will only have two 'children' to clear up after.

Obviously there will be negatives though and these are.....

• I will have to put the bins out.

That's all I can think off at the moment! I'm sure some people would have a huge list of I will miss his company, I'll miss his cuddles in bed etc but for me I think it will actually make us appreciate each other a heck of a lot more than we do now. Yes it will be crap when he comes home extra tired and moody due to the travel and the fact he never sleeps well in hotels but I will have to learn to cut him some slack and let him have a lie in on the weekend - occasionally!

All in all the fact that a decision has been finally made has allowed me to breathe again as I was seriously secretly freaking out over all of this.

I just hope he doesn't change his mind again.

x x

#ISpy with my little eye.....

That rather troublesome lovely MotherVenting has given us the tricky letter X to spy this week for MumOfOne's #ISpy meme.

I wanted to be really clever and cunning - instead I have cheated somewhat.

What X do you spy here?!

Find more #ISpy here:



Sunshine on a rainy day....

...makes my soul, makes my soul trip, trip, trip, away-a-ay!

Ah, that MotherVenting is a bit like sunshine on a rainy day isn't she? The latest great thing she has bestowed upon me is the February Sunshine Award - tada!

Lovely - and it has a gerbera on it, my favourite flower didn't you know?! No? Well find out some more things about me below as I have to answer some questions and pass this award onto some other gorgeous bloggers.

Favourite colour: Duck egg blue / green and various shades of. It is in my kitchen/dining room on the tiles, table cloth and chairs.

Favourite animal: I'm not really an animal person - they make me sneeze too much. I do love Lakeland Terriers though with their boxy face and apparently their wiry coat is okay for sneezy allergic types like me. Might trade the husband in for one then!

Favourite non-alcoholic drink: Surprisingly for a cider drinker it is not apple juice. I do love a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Facebook or Twitter: Duh - Twitter *flaps wings*

Favourite number: What?! I have no lucky number thing going on so, erm, 7 as it's the month Edith was born and the day Alban was born. Oh, and isn't it supposed to be lucky?!

Favourite day of the week: When I was working - properly in paid employment as opposed to the unpaid slave labour I currently do - it was always Friday. Now I think it is Sunday as it's the only day I don't have to get up for a certain time.

My passion: My children but also my me time which involves blogging and learning new stuff.

Getting or giving presents: Christmas - giving. Birthday - getting!

Favourite pattern: spots and floral.

Favourite flower: You already know this! In a vase - Gerberas, hot pink ones. In a garden sunflowers and lavender for their prettiness and scent.

All done, that was pretty straightforward. Now to pass it on. I'm going to throw some sizzling sunshine over to........

Life as I know it for her 'awesomeness' and her great timing to get me back into making things & learning new stuff.

Snooandme as she is new to blogging and writes from the heart. And I'd like to learn a little more about her. (I just checked the link and she already has it! Oh well, go and see her anyway!)

Over ACuppa as she's lovely. I'd like her to adopt me and take me to the beach everyday.

CupcakeMumma as I don't much about her apart from she makes an immense KitKat cake!

Gotta love sunshine x x





#pinaddicts no.1 - Bunting

And so it has begun - The #pinaddicts challenge! Hundreds of  Some bloggers have been perfecting their crafting skills over the last month in readiness for the linky with Kerry @thelovebump over at Life As I Know It. If you have yet to hear of this phenomenon then click on the #pinaddicts badge for all the info or read all about it here! But basically if you love Pinterest and are talented / mad enough to have a go at your own crafting then this is the linky for you!

Right then, here is my inspirational picture for this week's challenge from my Pinterest #pinaddicts board:

I aspire for the inside of my garden shack to look something like the above!?!

And here is the 'pin' from my #pinaddicts board.

(Tutorial link)

As you can see my challenge was to make some bunting for my shack.

Here's how I followed the tutorial!

I cut a template for the size that would suit and fit the hanging space in my shack.

This temaplate measured 15cm across the top and 21cm from the midpoint to the tip.

I then drew around and cut out the template 7 times onto my fabric and 7 times onto a colour contrasting fat quarter - 7 for the front, 7 for the back.

Next I pinned a front triangle to a back triangle - right side facing together.

:

These were then sewn together along the two long sides:

I then turned the 7 triangles the right way out and wiggled a white pencil in the tip of the triangle to try and get a decent looking point - apparently there is a specific tool you can buy for this job.

I laid out the triangles and measured the gap that I wanted in between each one.

Then each triangle was sewn onto the hanging ribbon binding by sandwiching each triangle in between two lengths of binding. Next time I will buy it wider and fold it over.

Finally I took my bunting down to the shack armed with a hammer and some tacks and hung it up.

Here it is!

Check out the matching curtains!!

It looks ok doesn't it?

*Gives self a big pat on the back!*

Now, if you haven't done so already, check out the other #pinaddicts over at Life As I Know It.

If I have inspired you to join in you will find the next linky here on my blog on the first Monday of March - so get pinning, crafting & blogging!

Chocolate Melty Cake!

He's back! I let him out of the cupboard, shook the dust off him so My Fabulous Baker Boy could show you how to make Chocolate Melty Cake!

It is such a simple cake bar to make and there's no cooking involved - you just need your hob and your fridge.

And a couple of willing helpers - get to work kiddies!

To start with you will need a tin measuring approx. 10" x 7" lined with baking parchment.

In a pan weigh out 6oz stork, 3 tbsps of cocoa or drinking chocolate powder, 1-2 tbsps caster sugar, 1-2 tbsps golden syrup and 3oz of sultanas or raisins.

Gently warm the pan until the ingredients are melted together.

Put the digestive biscuits into a ziplock bag about 6 at a time and ask your helper to bash the crap* lumps out of them until there are, well, no lumpy bits!

*I am a responsible parent so I did not literally tell my daughter to beat the "crap" out of the biscuits but you get the idea!

Stir the aforementioned beaten biscuits into the melted mixture.

Press this into the tin and put in the fridge until cool and firm.

Melt 300g of chocolate.

Pour this over the top of the biscuit base and cool again in the fridge.

Cut into squares and eat!

Enjoy x

#SatCap day today!

Good morning / afternoon / evening to you.

It's Saturday so it must be............................. Caption Time.

Direct your eyes to the following pic and give me a caption below please - go on, make me laugh ;0)

Click for more #SatCap shenanigans:

How do I fix my ripped hole?

Today has been a day of many questions; why must my children have a meltdown when half the world decides to walk to school? Why must my husband leave his clothes next to the laundry bag? How do I dry a hand washed duvet? - It's okay you tweeters of little faith, I'm working on it!! - but the one question I really need an answer to is: How do I fix my ripped hole?

As I bent over to tie up my shoelaces this morning I noticed that the teeny tiny hole on one knee of my jeans had turned into this:

These are my favourite 'go to' jeans when I just want to be comfy and slouchy. These are the jeans that I rock with my old skool Adidas - yes, I'm still down with the kids thank you. These are the jeans I wear with flip flops on warm Spring days. These are the jeans I drag on for the chilly evenings at festivals and camping. These are the jeans I bought from Fat Face 5 years ago. These are the jeans I ADORE!!! So what the feck am I going to do now? Note the use of bold and italicised text for maximum effect - or is it affect? I AM annoyed.

Sod's Law dictates that now I want a new pair of jeans the shops will not have them in my cut, fit or shade of choice. So, is there an alternative? We are living in testing times and maybe I need to be a bit more frugal with my clothes - not that I have bought myself anything new for months. Maybe I could just ignore it and pretends it's not there? The jeans aren't tight ones so you can't really see it. But, the hole may grow and grow and then the bottom half of the leg will fall off and that would just look ridiculous. Maybe I could patch it? That's what I do Grandma does when the kiddies get a hole in their trousers. But what would I use? How would I do it? Would I look like a fool?

So readers, what do you think I should do?!

#ISpy.........something beginning with Mmmmmm!

This weeks #ISpy began with Alban's favourite treat, then it kind of escalated into other random things beginning with M! How many can you find? I have a huuuuuge prize* for the most found, so get looking!

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with Mmmmmmmmmm!

*pat on the back and a great feeling of satisfaction x

More #ISpy fun here:



A Cherry On Top!

The gorgeous Super Amazing Mum - I'm not just saying that, she is gorgeous, look here! - has passed the award/meme baton on to little old me! The Cherry On Top Award is what, I think, it's called and here are the rules:

• Thank the person who tagged you
• List 3 things you love about yourself
• Post a picture that you love
• Pass this onto 5 bloggers you love

So, Super Amazing Mum, I thank you for the tag and I hope to meet you one day so you can give me a lesson in red lipstick as I haven't mastered the shade or application! Anyway, moving on to me and what I love about myself.....

Hmmmmmmm.

 

Apologies, have just sat here for a LOOOOOONG time trying to think of something. I could write 3,333 things that I don't love about myself but this is meant to be a happy post with cherries!

Right, be positive, here goes:

1. I love that I gave up my career to stay at home with my scrumptious children. Yes, I've mumbled about this in the past but it was the right thing to do. So well done me. *pats self on back*
2. I love that I am finally trying something new and learning new skills with the use of my sewing machine - with the support of the #pinaddicts girls - and that I am being more confident about meeting new people soon! < some of those #pinaddicts girls and loads of you lovelies at BritMums live! (I'll be the shy one in the corner)
3. I love myself for pushing, quite literally, for a VBAC with my son. Yes, I failed with the inability to turn down the drugs and I was out of it while they ventoused him out, BUT I beat the midwives 'threats' of "If you're not dilated 3 cm by midnight we'll cart you off to theatre" Ha!

Ok, a picture that I love. I have loads, but here's one I really love - a rare one with the husband in it!

This was the summer of 2009 which I spent doing loads with the little ones who were 3 and 1. The three of us went to Cornwall to stay with the in-laws - who have now buggered off moved to a wreck barn in France. We did loads of camping and life was happier and less stressful then it is now. *sighs*

Moving on then. Just Five of the bloggers I love to pass the award onto.....

The very awesome Kerry over at Life As I Know It.

The beautiful haired Jess over at Mum2BabyInsomniac

My future roomie Motherventing

And two bloggers I'm really looking forward to meeting in June, SAHDandproud and JustAboveAverageMum

Go and check them out  x x