Thursday 26 April 2012

London with little ones #3- V&A

As the masses of children and parents headed to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in London on their Easter holidays we thought we would try a quieter route and go to the V and A Museum. It was still fairly busy but no queuing involved, which was good.

M is studying the Medieaval period in his free time at the moment so he was keen to see the section relating to that. As with all the London museums we knew there would be plenty to interest the kids and again the V and A did not disappoint. MJ and Lj were able to make coin rubbings, learn about casts and moulds in period buildings, understand perspective and dress up.

What surprised me was the exhibit on Marketry. My Grandfather in Law (Opa to us) gave me two beginner Marketry kits for Christmas. Until now I have been feeling a bit daunted by starting them as I know I will have to follow the instructions to do it correctly and well. But seeing the marketry on the furniture in the museum has inspired me to getting going on mine.








Afterwards, we stood out of the shower of rain and had a quiet coffee in the nearby V&A reading room before heading home on the train.

Right here, right now.

Hmm...where are we...I seem to have lost my way in blog land.

This is where I am right now...

considering:: how I can take MJ's passion for building boats, castles, sledges etc etc to the next level without him sawing his finger off.

wondering:: how April seems to have past me by in a haze of every dayness.

hoping:: that our house sale and purchase comes to a positive end soon...before our patience can bear it no longer.

praying:: that M's health improves so he can get doing what he loves to do.

knitting:: a new born cardy for baby Anna.

sewing:: some little dresses for LJ and her little friends.

cadding:: but that is too boring to blog about.

praising:: God, for some wonderful friends who support and encourage me.

enjoying:: my hot chocolate and home made cookie.

planning:: the menu for our camping trip next weekend.

smiling:: as I think of my beautiful red head who is learning a new word and skill every day as she desperately tries to keep up with MJ.

slumping:: as I think of another friend who is moving to a far away land.

singing:: 'rain rain go away'

grinning:: as I have regained my joy in running at 6.30am

yawning:: as my body is tried after a fun day of visiting friends and having friends over to play

thinking:: I have got to get to the bluebell woods before the bluebells have passed for another year.

sleeping:: goodnight all


Wednesday 11 April 2012

A Taggie for Shai







My first attempt at a 'Taggie'!

It is not difficult to make but I got some guidance from 'the ribbon retreat'. I used a baby blue fleece with the letter 'S' appliqued on and a tartan cotton for the backing. The ribbons are a mixture of textures to help soothe baby Shai. I sewed the ribbons a total of three times to make sure they are secure and not easily removed by pulling, chewing and general wear and tear!

Now, I can't wait to visit baby Shai, to have a cuddle and to leave him with his taggie for sleeping cuddles.

Warwick Castle with little ones







Our day out at Warwick castle was fantastic!

Our little 'Mike the knight', MJ, is fascinated by castles, knights and weapons at the moment and his father is fascinated by the Medieval period, so a trip to Warwick castle seemed like a winning idea.

Here's a little summary of what you might like to know before you make the worthwhile trip...

1. Cost- The entry fee is expensive for a family but there are ways around paying full price, such as booking online 7 days before, using Tesco points or like us, using a 2 for 1 voucher from Tesco. Car parking is an extra cost of £6.  There are lots of ways to spend more money inside the walls, such as making your own shield, face painting and souvenirs. Food was slightly more expensive than normal but not outrageous! Of course you can bring a picnic and if you don't fancy carrying it around all day you can go back to your car (which may be a decent walk away) to get it but just remember to have your hand stamped so you can return to the castle.

2. Kids- There are things for all ages to enjoy and appreciate but I would say that Lj at just under 2 yrs did not enjoy it so much! As pushchairs are not allowed in the indoor exhibitions, I had to carry her for most of the day and with the crowds of people I could not let her run free when we were outside. Note: I didn't see anywhere secure to leave our pushchair so we just had to abandon it and hope that people were honest and didn't move it or take it!

3. Time- We arrived as the doors were opening so we were able to park not to far from the castle and we didn't have to queue too long for our entry tickets...however, it didn't take long for the ground to fill up. It was not uncomfortably busy but there were lots of people around. We spent 5 hours looking around and saw most of the exhibitions but it would be easy to spend longer...there are alot of interesting things to look at and many timed shows to watch.

Final tips:
Bring an umbrella (if you suspect rain), something to put on the grass to sit on and a good nights sleep! 

Bunting for Toby


I feel like I have a back log of blog posts to complete. So if I can keep my eyes open for long enough, I'm going to try and complete some just now. 

It feels like awhile ago since I made this bunting for baby Toby but really it was just before the Easter holidays started. 

I finally used some of my treasured 'London traffic' fabric which I bought in 'beyond fabrics' on the Columbia Road, London. I still love it as much as the day I spent a long time looking at all the fabrics, trying to decide what to buy, leaving the shop only to return 10mins later to buy the said fabric! I hope Toby likes the cars, double decker buses and black taxis as much as I do!