Love Hearts & Football

A little update for you of some of the Davies Tribe goings on of late! The boys & I have been busy baking biscuits for Valentine's Day. I made the biscuits above to take to our friends house on Valentine's Day when we went there for a meal. We had a lovely day with the Ellis-Lee family but, although I took my camera with me I forgot to take it out of my bag so I don't have anything to show you of the lovely walk we had on Bidston Hill by the windmill or our visit to Tam O'Shanter's Urban Farm (which Timmy & Luke said was a pretend farm because all we saw for a while were plastic animal statues standing in the paddocks!!). Of course, the high light for the boys was when the pig went to the toilet & milking the cow (the plastic one which is full of water so when you squeeze the udder teats it's like milking a real cow!!). It was good to be out in the 'country'!!
The boys & I went into mass production of the heart shaped chocolate dipped biccies & made them for all their class mates & all the teachers in the school too! This is the card & basket I made to put the biscuits in that were to go in the staff room. (Photo hurriedly taken before we legged it to school just on time!!)
Jordan wrote inside the card beautifully & Luke & Timmy signed their names too.
Jordan has been busy too playing football at Liverpool Football Club's Academy. It's big isn't it?

This is his 'team' photo with their coach. Spot Jordan the only one without a football kit on!!

This is a photo that Lee took on his mobile of Jordan in the middle of his coaching session. Jordan LOVED going to football training & Lee was a very proud Dad watching him score & save goals. I wonder if it will lead to other sporting opportunities?

I feel like I have neglected my blog for a while for which I must apologise! I have been having a serious de-clutter & organise of our house & I have been trying not to get distracted! It's going well so far (isn't it Mum?!) & I hope to show you photos of our house very soon now that our new house is now a year lived in, so watch this space!

I've also been rediscovering my love of reading lately. These are some of the books I have read The Shack (absolutely brilliant!), Sorted, It's All Too Much, Paper, Scissors, Death (not as gruesome as it sounds or as daft when you read that it's a Scrap N Craft Mystery!!), The Penny & Super Girl to name a few! I can recommend them all very highly!

Well, time to go I think. I hope all who read are very well! TTFN! :o)

He Washed Up!

I shouldn't really be surprised because Jordan has been a very helpful boy right from the start but of late there has been a reluctance to help out unless it means he gets to stay up late or if he'll get paid for the job!! Yesterday, however, Jordan came home from school & asked if he could empty the dishwasher & put away all the clean dishes. I've usually done this with Annie Joy as part of our lunch time routine but I didn't get a chance on Friday, so Jordan did it for me! He then asked if he could wash up the lunch boxes (the boys each have a Laptop Lunch box that look like this). How could I refuse?
Annie Joy didn't want to be left out so climbed up onto the chair to help too. It all got rather wet & bubbly from then on! Jordan declared that washing up was SO MUCH FUN & he wanted to do it every day! And low & behold he woke me first thing this morning to tell me that he had just dried up the lunch box things & put them all away & could he empty the dishwasher again before getting everyone breakfast! And he hasn't even asked if he's going to get a reward for all his work bless his heart!
One last thing to tell you before I go & do some LAUNDRY (Mother!! ;-D ). We went to Messy Church at our church (yes that is Jordan on the website banner!) this afternoon. The Youth Band did the worship which was fun! In the middle of singing Timmy suddenly spotted a rather large industrial hoover in the corner of the hall & said to me 'Look Mummy! God has been doing the hoovering!' I love it! ;o)

On Yer Bike!

Annie Joy & her brothers had a lot of fun today in the snow (a LOT more has fallen since these pictures were taken! I'm wondering whether school will be cancelled tomorrow...). We stopped at the field on the way home from school & played for ages in the hiding places. Annie stood & watched mostly as the grass was a bit long so it was hard for her to step over it with the snow as well. I made a giant snowball & then took it home in a carrier bag to make into a snowman at home! The boys enjoyed having snowball fights. Anyway! Back at home the snow play continued in the garden & Annie discovered the bike! She can climb on all by herself....

....although a lot of concentration is required!!
She was proud of herself sitting on the bike! What a clever girl eh?! (By the way, Annie Joy is wearing the snowsuit that belonged to Jordan when he was one!).

Annie Joy has also discovered colouring last week when we wrote our Christmas thankyou cards. She spent ages 'writing' her thankyou card to her Godparents. She is even holding her crayon properly!!
Not bad for a beginner eh? :o) Hope all who read are well. I am off to bed now I think. All this playing in the snow is hard work & I feel a bit sneezy & snuffly! Night night!

PS Luke says yes, Marie the plane can drop custard pies too! And yes, the tooth fairy visits our house Suzi, Helen & Ian but Jordan wanted to keep his milk teeth himself. :o)

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Luke drew this fantastic picture of a transforming plane at school last week. He told me it dropped bombs as well.... We had a little discussion about how that might not be such a good thing... So Luke had a re-think & decided that it was a transforming plane that dropped BUNS- any kind of bun, iced buns, hot cross buns- & that everyone could catch them on their plates. We all agreed that was a MUCH better idea! :o)
Luke LOVES his scooter very much! He calls it Super Metal! I was very proud of Luke on Friday as he got a special mention & a certificate in the Good Work Assembly at school for his amazing maths!
By the way, do you like the new car on our driveway?!

We had a bit of a drama the other day when we were playing outside the house with the boys remote control cars. Timmy & Luke's car remotes are set on different frequencies so that the controls only work on their own car which means they can play with their cars at the same time.... We thought we'd try the remote control Mini Jordan was given years ago to see if it was on a third frequency so he could play too..... BUT it turns out the Mini is on the same frequency as Timmy's car so it all went horribly wrong as soon as we put the batteries in Jordan's control! Timmy's car went racing off round the corner towards the busy dual carriage way in the middle of our road narrowly avoiding the two cars that were coming down the street!!! Timmy was beside himself, bless his heart! And Lee had to run REALLY fast to catch up with the runaway Jeep!! Luckily no cars or people were hurt! So now we know that three boys can't play with their remote control cars altogether! shame, but it's a good lesson in sharing the two cars between the three of them, isn't it?

PS For the record, Timmy is an EXCELLENT remote control car driver! His skill amazes me! Perhaps he's the next Lewis Hamilton?..... (EEEEKKKK!!!!!!!!)

Cranberry Hootycreeks!!

Do you remember this sneak peak at the presents the boys & I made for their teachers & grandparents & Godparents?
Yes? Or no maybe?! Well, in the jars were the dry ingredients to make Cranberry Hootycreeks! It's a very weird name isn't it? Basically hootycreeks are made cranberry, white chocolate & pecan cookies & they are delicious!

This is what they looked like when they have been made. Timmy, Luke, Jordan & I made this batch after school last week. They were yummy scrummy! Anyway, loads of people we gave the jars to have asked for the recipe to make some more so I thought you might like it too!

Ingredients for Cranberry Hootycreeks
140 g plain flour
50 g oats
2 g baking powder
75 g brown sugar
65 g white sugar
60 g dried cranberries
100 g white chocolate chips
60 g chopped pecans
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
100g butter/marg

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease a baking tray or line with greaseproof paper.
3. 2. In a bowl, mix together softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
4. Add all the other ingredients, and mix together until well blended.
5. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking tray.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. (Middle of cookie might still look uncooked but it is ok!)
7. Cool on tray for a few minutes, then remove to cool completely on wire racks.
8. Enjoy eating them! :o)

Hope you have fun baking them! Enjoy your Sunday! :o)

Mind The Gap!!

Jordan has finally lost his milk teeth! The first one fell out last Friday & disappeared mysteriously after a bump or something with a girl in Year 1! It wasn't even a wobbly one but the adult tooth had already grown behind it. The second tooth fell out on Monday morning & has been carefully saved in a sparkly heart shaped box that I was given for Christmas. Jordan went to the dentist today & it seems to be ok! However, the dentist said that Jordan's back teeth should already have fallen out but they haven't! He will have to have x rays in June to see if all is ok with the adult teeth underneath the gums. Eeeek!
Do you like Jordan's growly face??!
It made him giggle a lot! :o) Jordan did really well with his class assembly yesterday. He had to talk about the solar system which is no easy task when you're missing teeth! We were very proud of all our children as they sat still & listened beautifully through out the assembly. Annie Joy clapped & cheered enthusiastically at the end too much to everyone's amusement! Anyway, time to go- Annie has woken early from her nap! Hope you are all well. TTFN!

PS This is my 200th blog post!!!

Snow!

At the beginning of January we joined my parents in the Forest of Dean for a mini holiday staying at the cottage we stayed at in the summer. While we were there, it snowed! Timmy was over the moon!
Timmy & I spent most of the morning playing in the garden throwing snowballs (Timmy really enjoyed throwing snowballs over the fence into the pub car park!!), looking at footprints (birds, animals & people!) & making a snowman!
Annie Joy loved the giant snowball I made for the snowman's body! Lee didn't venture out into the snow though.
Timmy added a smile to the finished snowman. He insisted that I make it with three snowballs not two. We wondered whether it would come to life in the night & fly Timmy away to see the Northern Lights & Father Christmas just like the story of The Snowman!
He's rather sweet, isn't he? But i have just realised we didn't gave him a name! Aaah! ;o)

Annie Joy loved her first experience of snow & explored the garden for a long time pointing at this & that.

I love her little snowy boots!

Annie Joy went for a walk with Grandma & Grandad & me down to Clearwell Castle & the church & the well. It was VERY cold!!

The church is beautiful though especially lightly dusted with snow!

Inside the church we saw the biggest Christingle ever sitting on top of the piano!

Annie loved being snuggled up in her pram with her gloves & hat on!

Now, perhaps you are wondering why Luke wasn't out enjoying the snow too? Well the poor little boy had to go to hospital rather suddenly on Sunday night as he had breathing problems! He was so brave & cheerful throughout! The doctor was amazed he was so chirpy as he was really quite poorly! Anyway, he had nebulizer oxygen & was given steroid tablets (which are dissolved in water & turn a fabulous hot pink colour!) & an inhaler.

I had been faithfully carrying Luke's inhaler & volumiser everywhere with me for months but I didn't take it away on holiday with us!!! The doctor showed us how to use a plastic cup to make a 'spacer' for the inhaler. Plastic cups have so many uses don't they?!

Jordan also hasn't featured much on this little snowy post & that's because he was staying with Auntie Helen & Uncle Ian in their flat down the road. He had a lot of fun with them & enjoyed watching Trap Door & walking Ian's Dad's dog. When he was with the rest of us at the cottage Jordan enjoyed playing all kinds of games. He is really good at playing Draughts- isn't he Dad?

Jordan helped to decorate the Christmas come New Year cake too. He was very proud of his candle design however....

.... one candle was little too near to Father Christmas's hand & it caught fire!! Eeeek! Anyway, despite trips to the hospital, various illnesses & disturbed nights we had a good time away. Thanks for letting us share your holiday Mum & Dad! Mwah! X

Homemade Christmas!

Hello again! Sorry for the delay in posting- we've been away for a few days (piccies to follow shortly) & also had a bit more illness!! Anyway, I wanted to show you the gifts I made this Christmas. It was lots of fun making different things! I customised this notebook for my Dad with hand sewn felt stars embellished with buttons & gems. I like the letter 'k' button very much! In fact, I like the whole effect so much I am going to make myself one when my current journal is full (which also has a rainbow theme to it!!).
I had SO much fun customising this mini drawer set for one of my best friends, Angie. The boys helped me to put the drawers together with the hammer & nails. I got a few bashed thumbs!! Jordan loved the finished drawers so much he wanted to keep them himself. He said 'Are you sure Angie will like them? I don't think she will- we'd better keep them!' I made the little bookplate labels from tomato puree tube metal!! If you cut the tubes open & wash them out you can use the lovely brassy or gold metal for all sorts of crafty things!

I finally made my sister her green cushions! She's only been waiting about 7 years for them! We saw some great cushions in John Lewis all that time ago & I decided that I could make cushions for a lot less money so Helen bought some material & sequins & I said I'd do the honours. At last I have managed to make them! It took quite a while to sew on 250 sequins & little tiny seed beads but the finished effect is rather good I think! I also had my first attempt at machine patchwork which didn't turn out too bad either! I'm keen to make some more cushions now- they're fun!

I hand made a lot of little felt flower brooches for the boys teachers & various friends & family members. I used my Grandad's felt, buttons from my Grandma's button box & vintage Laura Ashley fabric from 1975! They went down a treat (rubbish photo of them though!). Timmy & Luke's teacher has worn her brooch every day this year so far!

The other gift we gave the teachers & grandparents & God parents was a jar of Christmas Cookie mix. The cookies are delicious- cranberries & white chocolate & pecans- Mmmmmm! The boys loved weighing out the ingredients & pouring them into the jars in layers. So simple but very effective!

Timmy & Luke made these cards to say thankyou for their birthday presents. They were so easy to make with the boys & rather effective too!

And lastly, I made this card for my Dad for his birthday in November. I was really pleased with it even if i say so myself! Can you tell I REALLY love rainbows? LOL!!

Well, I had better tootle. Hope all who read are well. See you back here soon for some snowy piccies! :o)

Happy New Year!

Wow! Hello 2009! Here are a few random thoughts & photos to welcome in the new year;

The boys on the luggage sculpture in Hope Street...
...Walking with the John Moores sculpture on Old Hall Street......

.... Swinging on Super Abbey Road Lamb Banana by Liverpool John Moores University.

The New Year will bring lots of new talents, skills & challenges to our family which we will look forward to! In 2009 we will be waving goodbye to Jordan's baby teeth! He already has a grown up tooth hiding behind his bottom front teeth & several of the top teeth are really really wobbly & have gone all 'gappy'! He's growing so fast!

Annie Joy loves to dance & play piano! I never told you all but she can walk now! She began way back in October with a one off walk motivated by sheer determination to reach a toy at a toddler group but she didn't really walk in earnest until the end of November. She also has her first pair of 'proper' soled shoes & has mastered walking in them now!

There has been lots of musical stuff going on on our house too. Luke loves to busk on the stairs with Daddy! They make up little songs together- Lee plays guitar & Luke the harmonica. they make the words up as they go along!

Timmy & Luke can both write their names now! They are starting to read as well! Clever boys! ;o)

And of course, this year I am sure there will be many new skills learnt of varying degrees of usefulness! I wonder how often Timmy will need his toes to pick up grass????!

Happy New Year Everyone! God bless you all in the coming months.