The adventures of Tom and Ted...

Tom and teddy at the library

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Tom is really enjoying looking after the Star of the Week bear. Thus far teddy has accompanied us to the library and to Tesco and he rode under the pram during our trip in to town today. He also sits on the sideboard during mealtimes and goes to bed with Tom each night. We had a special 'Star of the Week' tea for Tom this afternoon, which the Podlings enjoyed. We gave them new boxes of watercolour paints to make it even more special. Tom is clearly enjoying all the fuss we are making of him this week and Lily is enjoying being the Star of the Week's sister. I hope Tom won't be too upset when bear goes back to school on Friday!
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Tom and Teddy at the special Star of the Week tea we had for him this afternoon (Yes, those are bought cakes...I've had a busy weekend!)
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My little star

We are very proud of Tom for being his class 'Star of the Week' this week. Every week one of the children in his reception class is chosen to be the Star of the week and gets to take home the special teddy and keep him for the whole week. This week Tom got to bring home the bear and his little face was alight with surprise and delight when I picked him up from school. The Star also gets to give the bear a name for the week and Tom has very sweetly chosen to name the bear Lily (the original bearer of the name is burning with envy!). We also have to take pictures of teddy's week and write about it in the special Star of the Week book, which is already full of teddy's adventure's and photos with Tom's classmates. What a wonderful way for Tom's teacher to make the children in her care feel special. It certainly made Tom's day.
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When we got home, I made Tom a batch of his favourite biscuits and cut them into star and teddy shapes in honour of the occasion. I have told him that we will have a special 'Star of the Week' tea for him on Sunday afternoon, so he is excited about that. Teddy went to bed with Tom this evening and as I kissed him goodnight he picked up the bear, gave it a big cuddle and told me that teddy was his best friend. I think he will be sad to part with it next Friday!
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Teddy 'Lily' with the Star of the Week biscuits I made for Tom
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The high life

"I'm a big girl now!"

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Emma can now sit well enough that I put her in the highchair for the first time today. As you can see, she was rather thrilled with it.

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More snow!!

We had grand plans for today. Today was supposed to be the day of the Great Switcheroo. Mark's parents, brothers, aunt, uncle and brother's girlfriend were all set to come round and help and I spent much of Saturday baking tasty treats for everyone. Unfortunately a sudden and unexpected deluge of snow overnight meant that it simply couldn't happen. Instead of moving furniture, we donned boots and coats and headed into the garden to play. Emma sat happily in her bumbo and we built a snowman as the snow melted around us. It is rare for Tom to play in the snow for any length of time, but he had great fun adding shovelfuls of snow to the snowman. We had a lovely afternoon and we got to eat lots of the lovely baked goods I made yesterday. A pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon, if not the one we had originally planned.

Emma makes a baby snow angel

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Work in progress
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"Does my Bumbo look big in this?"
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7 months old

Emma is seven months old today and I feel that she has changed a lot in the last month. As you can see from her chubby little cheeks, she is enjoying her food! She is now on three proper meals a day and has a definite preference for breakfast. She has yet to meet a cereal she doesn't like! Perhaps unsurprisingly she prefers fruit and yoghurt to her savoury courses, but she always gets excited when she sees me appear with a bowl. It took a week to get her eating normally again after her run in with the stomach bug, but she's doing fine again now. Her 'night' feed is now around 5.30am, so we're getting closer to a full night's sleep!

Emma has taken to randomly sticking her tongue out...it's so funny!

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Emma mastered rolling a couple of weeks ago, so changing her nappies has now become something of a challenge. I no sooner put her on her back than she's off, with her bare little bottom sticking up in the air! She gets a little frustrated when she's on her front now as she wants to move but doesn't know how. She'll push herself round in a circle, but can't move forward or back yet. I don't think it will be too long before she works out what she has to do and then it is going to get pretty crazy round here!
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Brotherly love

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Open mouth, change feet

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Emma has recently discovered the joys of eating her own feet. She isn't very interested in them when they are covered, but the second they are bare she grabs a foot and starts trying to eat her big toe. Tom and Lily never showed that much interest in their feet as babies, so I'm finding this all quite new and hilarious. Although she is doing it a lot, it was incredibly difficult to get a photo of her with her foot in her mouth. As soon as she saw me try to take a picture, she would instantly drop her foot and try to grab the camera. I finally managed to snap the above photo as I dressed her for bed this evening. I should probably point out that I hadn't yet washed her face and, yes, that is cottage pie up her nose!

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Our Valentine's tea

Our Valentine's tea table. The centrepiece was my white teapot filled with pink carnations. Lily kindly informed me that you put tea in teapots, not flowers.

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Thanks to the whole family succumbing to a nasty stomach bug last week, most of my planned Valentine's activities didn't happen. However, we recovered in time to have our tea party on Sunday afternoon. Lily and I made the Valentine's cake after lunch and while it was baking, she and Tom made Valentine's Day cards from the little craft packs I had put together for them the night before.

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Emma likes to be wherever I am. She helped out with the baking by eating my measuring spoons.

I made our Valentine's cake using my fabulous new cake tin...I love it! The cake is a vanilla sponge and I filled the middle with clotted cream. I love clotted cream! You can take the girl out of Devon, but you can't take Devon out of the girl!

As a result of our being ill, the tea party wasn't as fancy as I'd originally planned. I had hoped to decorate the dining room along a Valentine theme and I also left a couple of things off the menu as none of us were back to our full appetites by Sunday. I think it turned out really nicely anyway though. The menu consisted of heart shaped sandwiches, strawberries, homemade fairy cakes, slices of heart shaped ham, a bowl of my favourite crisps and the Valentine's cake. To drink, we had cherryade served with heart-shaped ice cubes. I had really wanted to serve pink lemonade, but I couldn't get hold of any in time.

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I iced everyone's name on to homemade biscuits and used them as place settings.
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It's hard to see from the photo, but the fairy cakes are decorated with tiny pink hearts.

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After we put the Podlings to bed, Mark and I just ordered in pizza and had a quiet evening in front of the television. We have both been very tired since being ill, so we decided to postpone the romantic four course meal I had planned to cook until we can enjoy it properly. I suppose that means I get two Valentine's Days this year!
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The Podlings enjoyed our little tea. We all dressed in red in honour of the day. Tom particularly liked doing this as red is his favourite colour and was quite put out that we weren't all dressed in red again today. ...

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Happy Valentine's Day

Best laid plans...

My poor boy during his epic three hour nap this afternoon

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Well, my original plan to do lots of Valentine's activities with the Podlings has gone for a Burton. Tom suddenly came down with a stomach bug last night and has been off school today. He told me as he lay in bed last night that he "needed a lot of look aftering". He was tired and lethargic all day and didn't eat a thing. He even took a three hour nap in the afternoon which is most unheard of these days (though it did mean he was actually still long enough for me to get a photo of him). He was ill again this evening, so it looks like my poorly boy will be home again tomorrow. It also looks like it might be spreading round the family as Mark appears to be going down with it this evening. Let's hope the bug stops there and that Lily, Emma and I manage to escape it.
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Pipe cleaner hearts

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I have several Valentine and heart themed activities planned for the Podlings this week. We will be topping off the week with a Valentine's Day tea party on Sunday afternoon, which Lily is particularly excited about. This afternoon, Lily made pipe cleaner hearts (I found this activity here). This is a very simple craft that needs nothing more than some pipe cleaners, a few beads, some ribbon (to hang the heart) and a willing parent to craft the pipe cleaner into the required shape. Lily really enjoyed doing this and the look of concentration on her face as she threaded the beads was precious!
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Lily has excellent hand to eye co-ordination and had no trouble doing this craft.

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Gather ye Rosebuds

I have always wanted a formal dinner service. We didn't register for one when we got married as I figured that it would very much be a present for me, rather than a present for us. For the same reason, I have never been able to say to my husband, "Come, let us part with hundreds of pounds for something that you have no interest in!". However, the yearning for a fine china service remained. I decided recently that I could choose a china pattern and gradually build up a service over many years. I could buy the odd piece and perhaps family could buy me the odd tea cup or plate for birthday and Christmas gifts (hint, hint, Mark!). I figure that by the time the children have left home, I might have acquired a complete 8 piece service. By then, I might actually be able to use fine china safely! I'm planning ahead with an 8 piece service. I figure there are five of us, so the Podlings' future spouses will make eight. Of course, if I have another baby I'll make it a ten-piece. Having children is expensive!
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Anyway, this preamble leads in to the information that I have chosen a china pattern and have bought my first piece. It didn't take me long to discover and fall in love with 'Old Country Roses' by Royal Albert. Everything about this pattern screams 'Paula', from the Montrose shaping, to the scalloped edges finished in 22ct gold, to the blush rose motif. My favourite flower in my three favourites colours. If someone had set out to design a dinner service just for me, 'Old Country Roses' would be it. I am in love!

I'm an old fashioned girl. My outlook, values and taste all run to the traditional and I'm not ashamed of it! My mum has always said I was born thirty and I maintain that I have been ageing ever since (for those keeping count, that would make me 62!). I am also, and have always been, unashamedly 'girly' (let's call it feminine...it sounds more grown-up). My mum sometimes refered to me as her Edwardian Lady. I prefer skirts and dresses to jeans and love anything with a floral design! I tell you this to give you some idea of why Old Country Roses appeals to me.

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The downside to this particular service is the price. I kid you not, a new dinner plate in this pattern will set you back £17! On the plus side, this pattern has been around since 1962 so eBay is awash with Old Country Roses treasures at much lower prices. However, I learned a lesson with my first piece, having picked up a milk jug for the exciting price of £3.99, I unwrapped it to discover it was a second. Caveat Emptor! I'll know to be more careful next time. At least I won't mind using this jug until I replace it with one of first quality.

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The Entertainer

We pulled our Graco Baby Einstein activity centre out of the shed a couple of weeks ago and cleaned it up for Emma. It was given to Lily by Mark's mum and dad when she was 9 months old. Lily never played happily in it for long periods of time as, having already discovered the freedom of crawling, she hated to be contained. Emma, on the other hand, absolutely adores this toy. Being a rather little baby, she can only just reach the bottom of it with one foot, but this doesn't stop her from spinning around from toy to toy. She will play happily in it for long periods of time, especially if you give her a few rattles so she can bash at the fixed toys with them! Her ability to be entertained by this toy is a Godsend at the moment as I prepare for The Great Switcheroo later this month and continue the epic task of turning the spare room into a bedroom for Emma. You may have noticed the blog has been a bit quiet lately. Rest assured we are all hale and hearty, there is just so much to do around the house at the moment that I don't seem to have much time left for my poor blog!
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These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago the first time we put Emma in the activity centre.
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