A walk in the park

A few weeks ago my friend came over with her black lab pup. He is adorable and the girls love him. It was a beautiful day, cold but the sun was out and we all went for a walk to let the kids run around in the park and walk the pup. It was a great. We walked in placed we had not been before, seeking adventure along the way. Feed the ducks, a play in the playground and in search of muddy puddles. A fun day out.

Bake a cake

So I decided to bake a cake with the kids. A Victorian sponge, with cream cheese frosting and strawberries. Yum! As you can see there is half a cake. Since we do not have a big family I used a large cake tin then when cooked cut in half and made placed one on top of the other. It works well because sometimes we struggle to go through a cake in a few days.

Anyway, it was enjoyed by all and the kids loved decorating it.

Happy Cake Making!

Half term is over!

All the kids are back to school after having a lovely week with my girls. It is lovely having them both at home, playing, baking and creating. We visited my parents which is a 4 hour drive from home but once there the girls were settled nicely into their princess beds and rested ready for the next day at the farm come play zone. They also met with other family and did some really fun stuff.

...I keep being interrupted. Will come back to this later.

Amerton Farm, Staffordshire

Fun at Amerton Farm. 

A great place for families to visit. It has a super indoor play area, with a bouncy castle and toddler play area, there is also climbing, windmill and mini tractors to play on. The entry fee is a good price and you only pay for the kids. You have to purchase food on the premises but it is so reasonable it really will not impact if working on a budget. Plus there are horses, cows, goats and pigs etc to see.

It has a fab sweet shop and crafts area too.

Well worth a visit for a cheap, fun day out.

Creative art with items in the house

My daughter came back with homework, to create a winter scene using any type of media. I wanted to do something a little different, something I have not really done much of. I suddenly found inspiration with a wooden box that I saw no use for other than gathering dust.

The inspiration behind this little treasure was sparkles, and what girl does not like shiny, glittery, sparkles? White paint was used to create a snow affect on the already lilac background. Then silver glitter was added. With Polymer products a snowman and a sun was created, baked and left to cool before gluing. The houses, trees, heart and ponies are cuttings from magazines. After it was glued, another dusting of sparkles was added.

My daughters teacher loved it.

It's the weekend.

Not sure what we have planned for tonight's movie event. We hired a bunch of DVD's during the week so we may do something a little different but relaxed. I do know, however, that snow is forecast for the evening. I am armed with paint, sculpey and art journals should we get snowed in on the weekend as well as ensuring warm clothing so that we can have a snow ball fight. If there is no snow I will be upset and so will the kids.

I did go to the library today to swap the kids books which includes, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Pied Piper. 

Whatever your plans are, enjoy the weekend.

Roald Dahl - Matilda

Picture from Amazon.co.uk

I am reading Matilda to my girls but I am thinking they are a little young for it. What I do like about it, it is about a little girl who is only four years old, incredibly bright and loves to read. In that respect I think this is great at encouraging young children that you can do anything at whatever age, there are no limits. However, I think some of the story is for the older crowd, 8-9 year olds who get that humour and know not to take it literally.