Fun in the Garden

What lovely weather we've been having this week, and Meira and I have been taking advantage playing out in the garden and taking (pushchair free!) walks down to the park.

















Echinacea flower for Grandma to see.

Flour and salt dough fun

Last week I made up some flour and salt dough using a book Mum had given to me, which she herself used to do the same for the three of us.  Suffice to say last weeks playing was all about the dough.  How it felt to squidge it, what patterns we could put on its surface, what shapes we could find to cut out of it, and that was just me having fun!  As you can see from the photo Meira had as much fun as me.  I'll try a cooked dough next and maybe add some colour to it, this one is a bit sticky so maybe the cooked one wont be so sticky, apparently good for drying in the oven, although I did try that with this dough and it worked ok.

Again another week has flown by and this week has been filled with music, conkers, coughs, friends and a mouse.

Tem has had a hard week of it workwise and has been there most evenings until Meira had been asleep so she has missed him a lot this week.  Last Sunday Meira and I had a lovely visit from Becky & an interesting but not so nice visit from a mouse, in the kitchen! So last week at Meira's nap times I was bleaching & scrubbing the kitchen, Felix caught the mouse for us on Sunday but we had traps down as we didn't know if he was alone. The traps remained empty and on Wednesday I found some pipes leading from the outhouse into the back of a cupboard which had gaps around them, the front door for the mouse. So I filled them with expanding foam and after more cleaning I felt really mouse free by Friday. Yay!

Monday saw the start of our Music Makers group again and I think the break did Meira good as she really joined in this time. It is Monday again today do I'm hoping she enjoys it just as much today.  On Tuesday we took a walk up into the new estate in the morning, we were heading to a friends house to drop in a Christmas card order (already?! Trying to be organised as I don't see me making any this year). Meira walked half of the way there, which didn't surprise me, but the she walked half way back, which did. Her growth spurt has definitely strengthened her legs. That afternoon we went to the last half hour of playgroup followed by a trip to the park with Meira's friend Zak and his Mum, Kat. After a lovely play on the slide together Meira found something fantastic all over the grass on the walk out, conkers! We collected enough to fill a vase which is now on our window sill looking lovely and autumnal. I had wondered if I could use them as large beads but as they dry they shrivel up and I was attracted to the smooth shine.

Wednesday we were planning to go to Messy Play but Meiras nap coincided directly with it, regardless of my attempts to tire her earlier for an early nap.  Thursday was a very busy day, in the morning we went into Corby with Kate and her daughter, Jessica, with the idea of buying Meira some new shoes. She grew out of hers about 3 weeks ago and has been making good wear of her sandals. But as she has just grown her feet may still be so on advice we are holding off a week, I did pick her up a pair of (supermarket) trainers to see her through though. After lunch and a quick shop in Asda we raced back to Kates and Meira and I went to find Jeanette and Faye who were on a nature walk with the Sure Start group. We found them as they were heading back to stick leaves and twigs to paper, my favourite thing, so we joined them.  After jeanette and I had created a couple of masterpieces, and Meira and Faye had pulled faces in the mirror and played with the lichen, we headed back to ours for a cuppa. The we had a visit from Michelle who had been to Market Harborough for work. It was so lovely to see her as its been a while since we had a catch up, besides briefly at Tems party.

Friday was a quiet home day and we spent most of the afternoon in the garden. Saturday was similar as when tem did get home from work in the afternoon he was so tired he went for a sleep.  Sunday though was a lovely family day for us.  We went for Sunday lunch with Jeanette, Martin and Faye to a pub in Kettering then just played in the afternoon, which Meira really enjoyed.

Quite a busy week all in all, and no slow down for the one ahead I don't think. I'll try and post a bit more frequently do there's not so much to read, but I'm sure life will race ahead again :)

Growing pains!

Well Meira has definately had a growth spurt recently as I have been seeing the effects this week. She has been able to open the backdoor by herself for a couple of weeks now which hasn't (so far) proved a problem; she can not get out of the gate and she is tall enough to get down the steps. Yesterday though she found she could open the front door, yikes! Luckly I was there so she didn't get anywhere but I am having to make sure I lock the door now. The today she realised she could post things through the letter box, and if she stands on a dining chair she can lift the lid on the small fish tank. This she did whilst I was cooking dinner, when I looked through to see why she was so quite she had taken some computer disks and dropped them in, thankfully I had transferred the photos from some of them onto the external harddrive at the weekend (our wedding photos from guests no less!) But I think when they dry the others should be fine too.

Grrr. Deep breath. And the week continues.

What I've been up to

Well I am very lucky that most Friday's Meira spends the day with Tem's mum and I get a day to myself.  Aside from the jobs which are easier to do with out Meira under my feet most recently I have been spending this time making more jewellery. My new product to use today had been Memory Wire which holds its shape and size in the coils you buy it in. So here are 3 memory wire necklaces I have made today :)

Surprise!

As most reading this will know it was Tem's 30th birthday last week and he was quite happy to have it understated and quiet, you'd have thought he'd have known that the Field in me wouldn't let it pass without a family party! On Sunday we went to my mums house for what he thought was a quiet Sunday dinner but turned out to be a small surprise party for him. After the initial shock, it took him a good half hour to talk to me, he did enjoy it thankfully, though not so much the being sang 'Happy Birthday' to part. Meira also had a brilliant time and I am convinced she thought it was her party.

Two weeks have passed

I have just realised that nearly 2 weeks have passed since I last updated what we have been up to and a few things have happened. The weekend before last Tem and Penny put up the coving in the dining room and boxed in a couple of pipes, its looking much better with that up, it feels more finished.
Meira and I have been in the garden as much as weather has allowed. Meira is a fantastic digger and soil mover, and is becoming an excellent bug spotter. She has been helping me to put some log roll around the border to the grass and helping me to water all the plants on sunny days. I have put a photo of the boarder here and also a photo of my Echinacea flower for Grandma to see, hopefully next year yours will look like this.
Last week on Tuesday we had a play afternoon here with 3 of Meira's friends; Faye, Zac and Tyler, and their Mummies. It was a lovely afternoon even though the weather meant we were all inside a little cramped with the amount if toys removed from the toy box. I set up the small play tent and play table (filled with toy animals, not water) in the dining room so the children could use both rooms and it worked quite well.
This Monday was Tem's 30th birthday but as he was working we celebrated on Sunday. We just had a lovely family day, decorating free, a nice walk over to the nature reserve strip, and a lovely Sunday dinner. Meira and I baked some fairy cakes topped with butter cream and mini marshmallows on Monday for Tem, it was a struggle not to eat them all before he got home from work though, he he.
Yesterday Meira and I had Lynn and her nephew Joshua come to visit. They came on the bus, well 3 buses here and 3 back and with the change time I think it took just over 2 hours each way! It was a much appreciated visit and lovely to see Joshua. Meira had great fun playing with the ball with him and trying to copy him heading the ball, made myself and Lynn laugh.