I'll eat you up I love you so.

My favourite book as a child was Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak.

Richard bought me a copy of the book several years ago and I have shared with Tilly from an early age. When she came home from school with a project about sharing a family member's favourite childhood story, she already knew which one it was for me.

We decided to do a puppet show of the story. I was really impressed with Tilly, who sketched out the scene backdrops. We filmed the puppet show on my phone and used a package called Magisto to create the finished film. It was very easy for Tilly to use, adding music, graphics etc. Here is our finished product . I love it.

I'd bought Mima a new Rabbit onesie as her other onesie had grown too small. As I was watching her in her rabbit onesie, I thought how simple it'd be to adapt it into a Max costume. ..

I bought Tilly a rabbit onesie the next day. While I was there I saw a big pair of white slipper boots for a £1.

I took a trip to the local charity shops for other bits and pieces and I found the most amazing grey and black scarf, it had a hole in so I got it for 50p! A trip to the other local charity shops saw me end up with two more fluffy scarves, a cream one and a brown one. I bought a square of brown felt and some big buttons.

I'd pitched the idea to Tilly and she was excited but I'd told her that she had to help make it.

We cut off the pink heart rabbit tail and sewed on the grey scarf (in half). We couldn't work out how to make the whiskers but pipe cleaners were the perfect solution. I've had to sew a small piece of white felt over the inside of the ends to stop it from scratching Tilly's face.

We cut open the floppy ears and inserted a cut triangular shape from an old tonic bottle and sewed them back up. This made the ears stand up.

The cream scarf was cut up and sewn over the tummy to cover the pink heart. I added the four big buttons on the front for decoration.

I cut some felt triangles and sewed them at the bottom to make them more claw like, then added them to the slipper boots.

It wouldn't be complete without a wild thing. I got a large punch balloon and paper mached it several times. I have form in this area! Once it was thick enough. I'd gathered some useful artefacts, empty cat food containers, paper bowls, masking tape and newspaper. Tilly and I added the cat bowl eyes, a screwed up newspaper for a nose and then the paper bowls for the top lip. 
We paper mached them into position and added eye bags, eye lids and more definition on the top lip.
Once dry, we cut a hole for the head. The seeing holes are the nostrils!

I painted the basic paint colour on the head and then Tilly came to add the definition again, red nose, yellow eyes and the black lines. We shaped the teeth with scissors.
We cut up our brown scarf and glued it to the head. Ta daa.

Of course, once it was finished we went out into the garden to have a wild rumpus and Tilly dangled from the trees!

Awesome.

Project dolls house

We were incredibly lucky to have been given (yes, given!) a beautiful dolls house from a wonderful friend.

I was astonished not only due to the generousity but also to find the amount of furniture and accessories also included.

We started in earnest with an external paint job. Then all the work stopped. Since then it has sat in the house with the girls occasionally playing with it but they seemed to find it hard to play with it without more structure and purpose inside.  Tilly and I painted the bare MDF walls, stairs, ceilings and floors plain white.

Thanks to Poundland, I've been able to fit out the dolls house easily and for next to nothing. Poundland were selling vinyl floor tiles, which although I wouldn't necessarily use in the house, they were perfect for the dolls house.  I went back to get some carpet tiles and ended up getting a few more bits and pieces.
I got some dowelling from our local DIY store and that made the coving and skirting boards.
A long time ago I'd bought a room border, not for a border but for craft. It was perfect for a modern, bold feature wallpaper.

As the rooms got more structure, the girls started to play more as the rooms had purpose. They had recognisable features. Tilly and Mima had some small dolls, like mini Barbies, they were the perfect size for the bed, counters, table etc. Suddenly the house was great fun.
As I visited Poundland to get one more pack of vinyl floor tiles, I spotted some tiny (slightly freaky) babies. As soon as I got them home and gave them to the girls, they fitted perfectly and the girls started to make them sleep, go to the toilet, watch TV etc.

There is still some way to go. But I feel I've done enough to take it off my kitchen table for now.
So now, I've had my fun, I have to hand it over to my girls and let them play.
Huge thank you to Vicki and Freya for your amazing generousity. X

Journey to Bethlehem 2013

Journey to Bethlehem 2013 at Coventry Cathedral.
Every year melts my heart.

Votes please. Cover songs.

The well known loveable social media stompy pair of guitar twanging singers, Barricades Rise boys launched #pictemberise in September. Every day they have a theme and you take a picture of the theme, #pictemberise and they pick a winner. Simples.  Both Richard and I were selected as joint winners just after it launched...the prize, a cover of our choice by the band.

Well, Richard and I would never agree on one song, we have different tastes. So, we are putting it to the public vote. I've been literally hounded by Spoony to choose two, he refused to share his choices in advance.

Anyhoo, the vote is now live.
If you know me at all ...you'll know which ones are mine. ;-)

VOTE HERE. http://t.co/sQlX6pcyAR

My other choices on my long list were:
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Two Tribes
Salt 'n' Peppa, Push it (this would have been hilarious I'm sure)
The Clash, London Calling
Deacon Blue, Real Gone Kid. (Not easy for two men)
Roachford, Cuddly Toy (rejected just because it means Alan Partridge to me now)
Paul Weller, You do something to me.
Michael Jackson, Man in the Mirror. (Can I really ask them to cover a MJ song??)
Oh and sooo many more in the same vein. I thoroughly enjoyed my voyage into the past, bopping around the living room to the sounds of the 80s. I tried to be kind and left out the likes of Kate Bush and Cindy Lauper.

Vote away.
Can't wait to hear the finished thing.
Good luck boys
X

Books to read aloud

38 Perfect Books To Read Aloud With Kids http://bzfd.it/Z0sQRc

Loneliness

One thing that they never talk about in motherhood books is the loneliness.

I like having time to myself and quality time with my girls but the constant pressures in life make that hard.
I work part time, mainly a choice due to cost of childcare, but also because it would give me extra time with my girls growing up, time that I know I'll yearn for when they are bigger.

So what do I do with my days?
I'm ashamed to say that I go food shopping, do the laundry, do the washing up, put clothes away and generally shout at the girls for walking behind me and making a mess. I'm not house proud by any stretch of the imagination. 

I'm finding it harder to think what to do with Mima. It may be because that when I had Tilly I was fascinated by her and pushing her to get to the next stage, walking, painting, soft play, it was all new for both of us. With Mima I think I kind of expect her to do everything Tilly does now. But life is also slightly harder, navigating around school, after school activities, double the washing, double the stuff in the house.

Yesterday I was angry and frustrated and I think Mima was too. We are bored of the same old surroundings and bored of each other.
Today, in a desperate attempt not to repeat yesterday I've had to get out of the house. I went to Rhymetime at a library. It was busy, very busy but we had fun singing songs with other children and mums. However, it is funny how being in a crowded room still managed to make me feel the most isolated and lonely I've felt in a long time.
I've mentioned it before but put me in a work shirt and I could probably go up and engage with anyone. But take that safety blanket off and expose me, as me and I find it incredibly difficult.

To me, it just emphasized everything. I'm lonely and I don't particularly enjoy Thursdays and Fridays.
And the most frustrating thing is, I see others that I think feel the same as me ...they certainly have the look that I do, of boredom and loneliness. The worst bit, I can't find it within myself to change.