I love baking and cooking with the MiniMads, well I love doing anything with them to tell the truth. Normally we would bake and made from scratch, but as I am recovering from my latest surgery, I thought me and MiniMad would cheat a bit and use a packet mix to make some cakes.
I had picked up a packet of Green's cake mix for this purpose last time we were in Aldi and it had been reduced to 49p even better.
MiniMad had great fun doing all the work himself, whilst MaxiMad was at Swimming Lesson. He put his cases in the tin.
He added the egg and water himself and then did the mixing, whist I watched.
He scooped the mix in to the cases
He scooped the remaining mixture into his mouth, then I popped the cakes in to a preheated oven.
He then had fun decorating them and more fun eating them with MAxiMad when he got in. As you can tell MiniMad is a very hands on little man, he likes to do things himself regardless of whether or not he has done it before, so this was a really great way of him doing the majority of the work and was great fun for me.
So yes I am taking things easy, but I am still doing things within limits with the boys and having great fun.
We are off to My Bro and SIL's club tonight for the Children's Fireworks Part and I for one can not wait. Happy and safe Guy Fawkes night everyone
Social networkers are being urged to get involved in a new online campaign to find Madeleine McCann by spreading a video appeal around the world.
The missing girl's parents hope the film will eventually reach whoever is close to those responsible for her disappearance and convince them to come forward.
Police have also released new age-enhanced pictures of Madeleine as part of the fresh appeal for information.
Obviously I dont give the mini's real sparklers, but they do see other children with them, so we came up with this as a solution.
This is a really simple and fun recipe that you can do really easily with the children.
Ingredients
Bread sticks
chocolate - milk or white
hundreds and thousands or sparkles
Method
Melt the chocolate in the microwave
Dip the bread stick in the chocolate, covering approx a third or alternatively use a brush like MiniMad
Cover the chocolate area in sprinkles
Eat all the sprinkles and melted chocolate you can whilst mum has her hands full and takes pictures.
Enjoy!
If you have a bit of time, you could always use dyed sugar or edible glitter, but I used what we had on hand and this only took 15 minutes to do yesterday evening whilst MaxiMad went to his swimming lesson.
Ten years ago today my dad died. When you say it like that it all sounds very simple, doesn't it, but it wasn't. It was oh so complicated and messy.
What can I tell you about my dad, well like most daughters, I was the apple of his eye. I had a very special relationship with him, which continued till the day he died. I was a proper daddy's girl. I loved being in his company and he was a great friend in addition to a super dad.
Long before it was trendy to push the pram and change nappies, my dad was doing all this. He bathed me, dressed me and never felt embarrassed or emasculated in being a hands on dad. He would get me dressed and put in my pigtails and I would even go in to work with him on my days off school.
He was a marine engineer, which mean that he built ships, big ships and he loved his job, right down to the sea trials. I loved going in and watching him work, although I tended to be bunkered down in his office, which sounds rather grand, but it was a portacabin really inside of a great big shed.
The best bits of dads job was when the ships were launched, we would go and watch the bottle of champagne being flung at the side and wave and cheer as they left the dry dock. I even got to go on board a couple and have lunch with the captain, it was very civilised.
When the shipyards closed my dad got a job as a maintenance engineer with British Steel and was so looking forward to his retirement. Me and MadDad had moved to Berkshire and Mum and Dad visited as often as they could and discussed moving closer when he retired.
He was 52 when the accident happened. He was crushed under a plate of steel. British Steel or Corus as they then were were ultimately found to be negligible and were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive, but it brought little comfort to us all.
My dads colleagues listed the half ton steel sheet off him and resuscitated him and the doctors in intensive care decided that the best option for recovery was to put my dad in to a drug induced paralysis and a coma. He had a tracheotomy put in so that he could be ventilated long term. His accident happened on the 17 October 2000.
It was awful visiting him in the hospital, but the nursing staff were excellent and taught us all how to take care of my dad and I would read to him everyday, sing songs and generally chat away to him. He seemed to be getting better, then all of a sudden, we were informed that he had sepsis and his organs were failing. They had treated him with the strongest antibiotics available to no avail.
We dad a decision to make as a family. We (my mum, brother, MadDad and Me) sat in the visitors room with the consultant and discussed the prospects and we knew then that we could not allow him to be in any further pain. My mum agreed and we made the decision to remove the ventilator which was helping him breath. I dont know what I expected, but mum and I were at his side as they turned down the oxygen level to normal and turned off the monitor volume. we each held a hand and he passed away within a minute.
It was such a hard thing to do. The man who I admired the most in the whole wide world slipped through my fingertips right before my very eyes. It was like being in a dream. No one wanted to leave the hospital that day. It was so hard to leave him behind. In an instant I became part of a club that no one talks about, that no one wants to be a member of. I became a daughter without a dad.
The church was overflowing at his funeral, full of people whose lives he had touched. I read out a poem me and my brother had wrote and then we went to say our final good byes at the crematorium.
I still miss him all these years later, but time is a great healer it is true. we named MaxiMad after him and MiniMad looks so like he did as a child. I know he would have adored his Grandchildren and been the perfect Grandpa and I constantly tell them about him and we have his picture up all over the house.
So yes, ten years ago I lost my father, but I am blessed to have a lifetime of wonderful memories to carry with me for always.
This post is for the Writing Workshop over at Sleep is for the Weak inspired by Josie's by her sad, sad goodbye to her wonderful cat.
I am thinking about introducing a weekly crafting with Children Showcase. Something that we can all partake in with our little ones.
I love crafting and art with the boys and often find that it is so much easier if I have something planned and prepared. I often hear from people that they dont do painting, gluing or craft and art with children at home as they dont like the mess.
Now mess can be an issue, but you can minimise it and also with the right tools you can make life much easier.
Firstly an art smock is a definite must. I made the boys from one of MadDads old work shirts. I ripped off the collar and cut off the sleeves and they wear them backwards.
Other things that are really worth keeping an eye out for are:
Oilcloth tablecloths or even plastic party tablecloths for both the table and the floor.
Newspaper
Paint brushes (Lidl do a great range that is really inexpensive)
Roll of paper (Ikea do one and a holder too)
Disposable cups and paper plates are great for paint and water
Glitter Glue and glitter shakers (Tesco and Early Learning Centre)
I pick up loads of our craft and art stuff from Poundland, which is great for confetti (sequins), paper and stickers. The Works is great for construction paper, foam shapes and craft packs (with feathers, lolly sticks and pompoms in). Home Bargains has been great for things like plain aprons to print on and beads. I get a lot of my paint from Baker Ross on line, its sister company is Yellow Moon and it will give a proportion of sales to your school.
So back to the craft challenge, this week is Bonfire Night, so I thought we would base it on that.
1) Scratch art. Give your child a piece of paper and some wax crayons and get them to colour in all the paper. You can help younger children do this. The softer the crayons the easier it will be. Large blocks of colour are great for this. Once the page is covered you then go over the colour with a black crayon. They need to do this quite hard and try to make sure as much of the colour is covered as possible.
(please forgive the poor quality picture and colouring, this was mostly done by MaxiMad on a tray whilst I was in bed)
Then the "magic" starts. Using a pen lid, blunt pencil or lolly stick you scratch the black crayon away leaving the wonderful colours behind.
2) Cardboard rockets. Very simple you can use toilet rolls or kitchen towel rolls and paint them or colour them with crayons or felt and then glue on sequins. You can use wool or tissue to make the tails. If you dont have any cardboard tubes then use rolled up paper, which can be easier for younger children, as they can do the colouring and gluing before it is rolled in to a tube.
3) Chalk firework picture. You will need black construction paper (89p form the works) and some chalks and basically make a firework picture, you can add glitter if you want and smudge the chalk for effect too.
Now this is where you come in. I will do a McLinky thing (once I figure out how) and you can link you beautiful creations each week. Now one thing to remember is that this is supposed to be fun for all, dont impose your ideals on to your children, let their creativity and images come out.
Just a quick post to let you all know that I am home, sore and tired, but so glad to have escaped from the hospital. Unfortunately I have had to have more surgery than anticipated and had to have old fashioned stitched, which means I will have to go back and have them removed.
But I am at home and happy to be back with my wonderful family.
Also I would like to say thank you for all the words of support and a special mention goes to Bad Penny at The Hen House for making me cry with this post.
Before I went in to hospital in February I wrote a letter to each of my boys in case anything happened. In them I laid out what was happening and why.
So I am in again on Tomorrow and want to do the same.
MaxiMad
My wonderful, amazing boy. You are my first born the one who taught me how joyful, exhausting and blissful motherhood can be. You are a light that sparkles through all the darkness and calls out bringing happiness and innocence all in one great big parcel.
I want you to know just how special and unique you are and how much I enjoy being with you, learning with you and watching you develop in to a very special someone. You never cease to amaze me with your ability and thirst for knowledge. The way you see the world is so new and I am honored to be here with you for this journey and experiance.
I want you to know that I love you with every drop of rain that falls and every cloud in the sky and every sunbeam that shines through, with every breath of my being. I also want you to know that I like you. I like your enthusiasm and your thirst for life. I like being part of our little team, councillor Amidala to your Obi Wan. I like the running races, the bum sliding, the swings, the reading, the crafting, the singing, the dancing, the roundabouts, the scootering, the paddling, the star gazing. I like all of it even the tears and frustration of being a four year old.
I dont have many wants for you, just to be happy, to find a special someone and to experiance life to the full.
With all my love Mummy
MiniMad
Mini you are a whirlwind, a cheeky, lively and loving young man. You bring joy and laughter wherever you go. People love your happy face and happy go lucky ways. You are a dancer, you are an amazing and unique person.
You are such a tryer, unwilling to let maximad be older, you want to be right there beside your brother and are such a tenacious wonder. You insist on doing things for yourself, you always have and you will persevere until you manage. You are headstrong like me and are a perfect cuddler. You have such empathy and ability to read people and situations. You have an innate ability to do the right thing.
I watch you dance and sign and can barely conceal my joy at your ability to move with the rhythm and clap along to songs that you make up as you go along. You are never far from an instrument and bring music to life for me and MadDad day and night. I love watching you draw and craft, you have such concentration.
I want you to know that I love you more than words could ever say, more than I can put in to words, but along with that I like spending time with you and I like the person you are becoming. I like the fact that you are always the centre of a group and can chat to any and everyone. I like dancing, singing and making lots of noise with you, I like the fact that you want to be the Star Wars baddie, happy in the knowledge that you enjoy being bad and good! I like the extra cuddles in the night and waking with you tucked in beside me. I like skipping, chalking, talking, drumming, painting, running, baking and being with you. You are a joy.
Again all I ask of you is to you out and experience life, to try and be happy and to find someone special who you can love.
With all my love Mummy
Now why I am doing this, having another some may say unnecessary operation. Why can I just not go on as I am. Well firstly I am having some additional breast tissue removed from my right breast area, if all the tissue is removed the chances of any cancer are reduced to 6% so it is in all our interests to have this removed ASAP. I am also having some work done on the scaring at the front of where the double mastectomy was done. This is so I can wear my prosthetics without the bra strap rubbing and making me very very sore. Yes this is for cosmetic purposes, but I am doing this so that I can start to feel comfortable in my own skin.
I dont want people looking at me, I dont want you growing up and having to explain to your friends why mummy has no breasts. I want to choose weather I wear my prosthetics today or not and when I do wear them I dont want them to hurt or to be too aware off them.
Now I know that you think mummy's scars are cool now, but I am doing this for us all as a family and like last time, this is the right thing to do for us all at this time.
I hope with all my heart that there are no complications this time and that everything runs smoothly, but just in case I want you to have this, these words, so that you may one day come to understand what I have done and why.
We are a family, you are my life.
PS for anyone wondering the cards in the boys hears read:
MaxiMad, you have such a strong mind and soft heart
MiniMad, your heart beats with the rhythm of your soul
Finally MadDad
There are no words that can express the way I feel about you, so it would be foolish to even try. My earth, wind and fire. My soul mate and my best friend. Companion and lover forever more.
