Category Archives: Kids

Dinner and watches

Had a fabulous (late) dinner out this afternoon, once himself had finished rewiring the electrics for my ovens at the new house.  Went to the Mayflower in Austerfield and whilst we were too late for Sunday dinner, we ate off the regular menu instead.  Absolutely gorgeous it was too.  DD3 and DS had the kids’ steak and ale pie, DD2 had a child’s portion of thai curry and DD1 had the adult’s chicken caeser salad.  DH had the mixed grill – no surprise there – and I had slow roast saddleback belly pork with mustard mash and cabbage in a gorgeous cider gravy.  OMG I am so full.  All the food was excellent, and the portion sizes are on the generous side of perfect.

Of course, it may have been better had himself not pulled his back shifting a cast iron bath from a neighbour’s house into the new garden.  Not entirely sure what I’m going to plant in it, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

DD1 (who I think we’ll go back to calling Myf as that was what she was known as on the previous blog, and it’s so much nicer to use a proper name than DDx) asked me before she went to bed if I had a watch like my cousin.  After a moment’s thought, I realised she meant a pocket or fob watch.  Cousin has a lovely bronze coloured, steampunk effect one on her handbag and Myf asked if she could have one, because she wanted to keep it in her inside blazer pocket.  And then, when she needed to know the time she could just flip it out and look at it, instead of using her phone like everyone else.

How many twelve year olds want to use a pocket watch instead of their smart phone?  I think she is beyond awesome and forgive her for not washing up after lunch today 🙂  And yes, I’m currently looking at pocket watches on eBay…

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Filed under Kids, Review

Day out.

Today I had an extra child, DD3’s school friend, so I decided to do something a little out of the ordinary. We went to the big soft play centre in town, and then, oh-shock-horror, we went to the golden arches and I fed all five children junk food from little cardboard boxes. My kids were ecstatic. They got to ricocchet around this huge warehouse filled with dozens of other screaming kids, climbing dayglo padded monkey bars and leaping around with complete abandon. I don’t think I even once said ‘shush’ to any of them. They guzzled two big jugs of tap water and two jugs of squash (full of sweeteners, bleargh) and did low-level laps of the walls afterwards.

Once they began the ‘we’re starving we want pizza/toasties/chips/whatever the kid on the next table has’, I gave them all a ten minute warning. A short while later, they all put their shoes on without complaint and piled into the truck ready for lunch. The restaurant was packed but we found a table. (what, five kids and you want me to drive through? Nuh-uh) And bless them if they didn’t sit and eat beautifully, even the extra child who is an only child and thus sometimes has trouble adjusting to being one amongst many. Not a french fry was left, they tidied away all their garbage and we headed out brandishing our small, stuffed Smurfs.By all accounts, a very successful day.

Not a cheap one, though, but I think half the reason they enjoyed it so much was that it doesn’t happen very often. That’s the first McD’s we’ve had all holiday, if you don’t count the breakfast we had in the one in Bridlington at the start of the summer break. They bounced off the walls for about an hour once home, but now they’re all splat in front of Scooby Doo, eating their way through my fruit bowl. The house smells of oranges and it’s lovely.

And speaking of houses (yeah, tenuous link, I know), I got the final kitchen quote in today. We’ve had several, because I’m a touch anal like that from time to time, and the range is quite staggering. From a little under £4000 for an Ikea kitchen with appliances (2 single ovens, a 5 burner hob and a dishwasher – I have my big fridge already), to £5800 no appliances from an independent, £8000 from Magnet (with), £10,200 (with) from a very posh independent and the last one came in today at £11,800 (with) from a local family business. That last one is now working on a hopefully-substantial discount, as we’ve bought the two bathroom suites, all the bricks, blocks and plumbing materials from them and that kitchen price wasn’t done at the trade counter prices that we’ve been paying. Fingers crossed because it’s an amazing kitchen and I think I’d really like that one. Well of course I would, it’s the most expensive… *sigh*

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Boxes and things

Initially this was set up as writing blog, somewhere meant to be wordy and worthy and full of musings and plot bunnies.  Real life doesn’t work like that though, and I have a feeling I’ll be dropping all manner of stuff in here.

Like the fact my two eldest children (DD1 -12yo and DD2 – 9yo) are currently messing around on the piano and so far, I’ve heard snatches of the Harry Potter theme, a couple of grade one pieces and now, they’re figuring out how to play ‘Do(e) a deer’ from the Sound of Music together.  Very sweet, but it does get slightly repetitive after a while!

DD3 (8yo) is trailing around with her toy rabbit under one arm looking like she’s been dragged through a hedge backwards.  If I so much as mention the word ‘hairbrush’ however, she will vanish into the woodwork, like some ethereal woodland sprite.  DS, the four year old toad in human form, is somewhere glued to a screen.  Or the puppy.  Did I mention the puppy?  I guess one bonus is that the dog is now pretty much housetrained, which was a lot less painful than I was expecting.

On the house front, we now have a roof on the dining room and a floor to the bedrooms, and we’re halfway up the bedroom walls.  Yesterday I ordered some wallpaper for DD1’s bedroom.  Isn’t it pretty?  camo wallpaper

Yes, seriously, she wants camo wallpaper.  So, I’ve bought 3 rolls which should do the long wall in her room, and told her she can have the other three walls painted a pale sage.  Which, funnily, is the same colour as the kitchen is probably going to be 🙂

I do, however, still have three more children who want to choose their own wallpaper, the master bedroom, the ‘common room’ and the little dressing room (aka the box room) to decorate.  We’ve chosen plain white for the bathrooms, white suites, white tiles, and the bits that can’t be white are stainless steel/chrome.   The living room is going to be shades of red and saffron, to go with a painting we bought months ago.  The ‘music room’, which is basically my tv free little front room that’s going to be stuffed full of bookshelves and the piano, is neutral with splashes of dark red and bitter chocolate.  The kitchen will have white cupboards, a wooden counter and light sage walls.  But as for hall/stairs/landing, the other bedrooms, the dining room and study – I haven’t got a clue.  The concept of having a whole house to decorate how you want it is a great one, clean slate and all that.  However, in practice, it’s more than a little daunting.  There are only so many books of wallpaper you can go through before industrial sized tubs of magnolia start to look really appealing.

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