DIY Bath Paints

 I Love this great idea on how to create your own home made bath paints! My girls love painting in the bath and shop bought paints are expensive and not always what they are cracked up to be! We have tried quite a few bought paints and have found some are not very colourful and others get dropped in the bath and dissolve quicker than you can say 'paint'! 

Why not try using this recipe to concoct your own = 1tbsp cornstarch, 4-6 pumps baby shampoo, 2-3 drops of food colouring, 1tsp of water. Good Luck!

Love Sophie...xxx

Try The Stick Man Trail With Your Kids

Last weekend we thought we'd take the kids for an outside adventure and get a bit of fresh air while we were at it. We visited our local Forestry Commission Moors Valley to take part with their Stick Man Trail. At £2.00 per child you get a Stick Man guide book and also some pipe cleaners to use when making your very own Stick Man. There is a route guided by signs and hidden Stick Men which provide activities as you go and instructions are given on how to make your own Stick Man too!  We all really enjoyed ourselves and made sure we found each and every hidden Stick Man along the way!  The Hubby was engrossed in making the girls their own Stick Men with their hand picked sticks and we ended the day with a trip to the adventure park.  Of course no brisk winter walk is complete without a glass (or two) of mulled cider and hot chocolate and we all warmed ourselves feeling satisfied with our great day out.

With most trails running until the end of January I would definitely recommend you give this a go! 

Love Sophie..x

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Stereophonics In Concert

Me and the hubby went to see the Stereophonics in concert last week at the BIC! It was fab, I never used to be a huge fan but I have really enjoyed listening to their latest album, Graffiti On The Train.  After seeing them live I was really impressed and we both really enjoyed ourselves.  

Let me let you in on a little secret...never come to a concert with us! We tend to buy seated tickets as I am so short I find it hard to see over all the bodies when standing.  At every concert we have ever been to we are always surrounded by the most miserable looking people you have ever seen, they look like they have been dragged to these concerts, they don't sing, they don't clap and they definitely don't dance! It is honestly quite hilarious and as I am someone who is full of beans and looking for a bit of a dance, being surrounded by these miserable people is not good.  Despite this we had a really good time and the atmosphere was amazing, here are some pics of the concert for you:

Also before I go I feel I must mention how gorgeous the lead singer Kelly Jones is!  After asking my husband if Kelly is married (I couldn't help it...it just slipped out!) my hubby replied "I don't know but he's really short"! Oh well you can't have everything, let's just sit and stare at Kelly's photo for a moment...or two!

Love Sophie..x

The Last Instalment For NaBloPoMo!

It's the 30th November and today is the last post for NaBloPoMo! I hope you have enjoyed hearing from me everyday!?  If not don't worry the torture has come to an end! Thanks to Vonnie at Nowt Special for hosting NabloPoMo 2013 for us and to answer her Day 30 prompt - The hardest part about blogging everyday for me is trying to come up with something interesting to say!

For this last post I thought I'd link to some of my favourite November 13 posts:

1. Turning 30!
2. Buns In My Oven
3. Job Description Of A Mum
4. The Book Of Bedtime Stories
5. Ode To Mummy
6. Pizza Rolls
7. Meet The Kittens
8. Give A Three Year Old A Camera...
9. This Week I'm Loving...
10. A Blast From The Past

I hope you enjoy reading these...if you would like to hear more from me please follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Bloglovin!

Now let's wave goodbye to November and welcome in December!

HaHa! Kids Say The Funniest Things!

My kids are hilarious sometimes, the things that come out of their mouths can really make me chuckle! Take the time when I asked our six year old 'What were the names of the first people put on earth according to the bible?' and she answered "Bert & Ernie?" This one tickled me for days! Another one that remains prominent in my mind is when she saw daddy's Calvin Klein band showing above his jeans and asked "who's Kevin Clean daddy?"

 

Here's a few more to make you smile:

"Mummy I have a really important question for you....Do Africans go to Peppa Pig World?" 

"I can name all the countries Mummy: England, Scotland, France, Africa, The North Pole, Australia, Wales, America, Turkey, France, England, Paris and.........Butlins!" 

Two year old Daughter: "My chocolate milk just bit me!"

And here are a few from my friends children:

My friend's three year old Daughter: "What are the birds looking for? My Friend: "Worms." Daughter: "What flavour?"

Another friend's four year old: "What a handsome willy you have Daddy!"

Hopefully you have had a bit of a chuckle reading these! If you have any funny things your kids have said please feel free to share them below - I'd love to hear from you!

Sophie..x 

P.S This is My NaBloPoMo Post #29 only one more to go! If you would like to keep updated with all things Yummy Mummy Survival please follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Bloglovin (Links on your right!).

Give A Three Year Old A Camera...

Morning Everyone - It's NaBloPoMo #23 today!

My daughter Sasha is three years old and decided she would like a go at using my camera.  The results are quite amusing and gave me and my Hubby a good giggle so I thought I'd share them with you!  

This is what happened...

You've got to love them! 

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Adult Pizza Express Party

As a surprise for my mums Birthday I planned an Adult Pizza Making Party at Pizza Express and we had a fab time doing so!  You may think this was a slightly odd idea for my mother but after attending my daughter's 6th birthday in July she raved about how much she would enjoy having the same party for herself.  Then low and behold an email hit my inbox a few weeks later telling me about the all new pizza making parties for adults!  Woohoo I thought as I promptly booked our local branch. 

After getting a group of party goers together we arrived at Pizza Express not knowing what to expect.  On arrival we were handed a glass of bubbly and the table was adorned with entrées.  After we got settled the store manager came over and introduced himself and then we were off.  Practising with the dough by stretching and throwing it and taking part in a dough tossing competition between ourselves.  We then made our own pizzas and gave them our own original names, only to be judged again for our pizza making skills.  The food was lovely (of course) and we all had a great time! 

The party ended with a surprise pudding holding the obligatory one candle and the lucky members of our party to have won the mini competitions were handed their very own certificates including, Best Pizza Maker, Don't Give Up Your Day Job and Best Dough Tosser!  We all agreed that we had a fab time and were pleased to be involved in a new, interesting and original birthday celebration! Thank you Pizza Express!

Meet The Kittens!

Earlier in the year, just as the summer holidays began we adopted two new kittens from the Cats Protection. We already had two older male cats named Frankie & Sonny but as they came before the kids they were never interested in our children in fact they would run in the opposite direction!  After much begging from the children especially Brooke asking for a dog we decided that although a dog would be too much responsibility for us we could take on another cat.  So off we went to visit one of the many litters of kittens at the Cats Protection in Poole.  During our visit we had many cuddles with all the kittens and decided to adopt a little girl named Betsy subject to a house check made by one of the Cats Protection volunteers.  As we drove home after our visit the girls were talking in the back of the car and my hubby and I exchanged 'the look' after hearing the girls discuss whose bed Betsy would be sleeping on...it went a little like this..."She's going to sleep on my bed..no she's going to sleep on my bed...no she will want to sleep on mine" etc etc.. As Betsy was part of a litter of four we decided to phone the Cats Protection as soon as we got home and ask if we could adopt Betsy's sister BeaBee as well.  Well they said yes and now we have four cats! (Just call me the crazy cat lady!

I can't recommend the Cats Protection enough, the kittens are healthy and incredibly friendly. They have fitted into our family incredibly well and are now confident and happy!  They are also incredibly cheeky and mischievous, as I write this BeaBee is walking across the lounge with an empty biscuit packet in her mouth which she has retrieved from the bin - I do feed them btw although they don't act like it!  

Now we couldn't be without them and even though they can be trouble, the benefits you receive from owning cats are huge and I must stress that they are especially good if you like cuddles! 

Sophie.x

P.S: Thank you for reading today if you would like to comment please do as I love to hear from you! 

This is post #15 for NaBloPoMo!  You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter just click on the Links to the right! 

Our Pumpkins - Happy Halloween!

Ok I have bought the pumpkins and now it's time to let the children loose and design their own faces (this should be interesting)!  You may have noticed that there are three pumpkins that is because I wanted to do one too!

Here are our Pumpkins (mine's the one in the middle in case your wondering):

Looking at this picture it seems we've been a little creative this year - I hope you like them!  I have also tried to be a domestic goddess and have kept all of the edible pumpkin flesh which I have steamed and puréed ready to make some pumpkin cakes and soup etc. I will try and post the recipes soon.  

Happy Halloween!

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you to Super Busy Mum for nominating me as one of her Versatile Bloggers! What a pleasant surprise to be nominated by a fellow UK blogger especially as I'm fairly new to all this!

So the rules are that I have to write seven random facts about myself and to nominate seven fellow bloggers - here goes:

1) I am surprisingly small at 5" 1 1/2" Yes that's right - five foot, one and a half inches!

2) I love tattoos and have five of my own and another in the planning stages.

3) I'm not very keen on water even though I am the water sign Pisces.

4) I love leopard print in fact its a bit of an addiction for me.

5) I love American TV - my absolute favourite is The Middle!

6) I'm rather partial to pizza and chocolate - Actually I'll even go as far to say its LOVE.

7) I have had laser eye surgery and cannot believe the results it is literally a miracle!

Here are my seven nominees:

 http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/

http://www.eehbahmum.com/

http://www.freckled-fox.com/

http://www.mumofthreeworld.com/

http://mumturnedmom.wordpress.com/

http://www.themummyblogger.co.uk/

http://freefallinginto40.wordpress.com/

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are:

* You must put the Versatile Blogger Award pic on your blogspot.

* Make sure to thank the blogger that nomiated you, in your post.

* Finally write 7 random facts about yourself and nominate 7 other bloggers.

Halloween Tasty Treats

This Halloween my girls have a few friends coming over for a Halloween tea before we go out on our annual Trick Or Treat trip around the crescent we live in.

Here are some Fab ideas I will be using to create a fabulous spooky treat for my little guests:

1) Ghostly Banana Pops:

Cut bananas in half and insert a lollipop stick into the cut side. Dip into melted white chocolate and cover. Place in fridge to set and apply face using melted milk chocolate or raisins. 

2) Orange Pumpkins:

Cut the top off of an orange and scoop out the flesh. Wash and dry oranges and using a sharp knife cut out the pumpkin face. Fill with small sweets.

3) Mummy Hotdogs:

Roll out puff pastry approx 3mm thick and cut into thin strips. Wrap the pastry strips around the hotdogs in a mummy-like manner and place on baking sheet.  Bake in oven set to 200C for 15-18 mins.  Add eyes using a dot of mayonnaise, mustard or ketchup.

4) Eyeball Spaghetti:

Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions.  Meanwhile cut a small hole into mini mozzarella balls and push in half an olive.  Drain spaghetti and stir through some pesto.  Top with splodges of tomato ketchup and mozzarella eyeballs.

Halloween Dress Up Ideas

I have been scanning Pinterest for Halloween inspiration on the internet this week and found these great photos of Halloween Fancy Dress ideas! Check these bad boys out - so funny!

What A Difference A Day Makes!

Let me paint you a picture..The sky is grey, the wind is howling and it is pouring with rain, oh yeah and it's 08.30 on a Wednesday which means only one thing...The School Run! Aagghh!  I wish I had time to stop and photograph this moment for you but as I had on the most inappropriate shoes and we all looked like drowned rats its probably best I didn't! You've been there, you know what it's like doing the school run in bad weather and it is not fun!  The rain is creating a slick lake covered pavement, there is twice as much traffic as usual and everyone is stressed.  By the time I had done the school run, dropped off my three year old and got to work I leaned back in my chair with a cup of tea and let out a sigh of relief!

...Switch to today and it is a complete contrast.  It's my day off, the sun is shining and it is actually a warm October day. I have walked into my local town Christchurch to visit the shops, picked up a take-away latte and collected Sasha from nursery.  Bliss! I have a smile on my face and a happy heart as I walk home watching Sasha pull some stunts on her scooter! What a great day!

Halloween - Love It Or Hate It...?!

Personally we love Halloween in our house! - Don't get me wrong we don't go completely over the top (we're English after all) but we do enjoy partaking in a bit of pumpkin carving and my girls who are 6 and 3 love dressing up and 'trick or treating' around the close we live in.

I speak with many people who groan at the mention of Halloween as they really cannot stand it.  I always ask "Why Not"?  It's harmless fun in my mind - young children taking part in a small celebration and really enjoying themselves is great and I personally love to be involved.  However, I know in the past Halloween has gained a stigma in this country due to innocent people being bothered by over grown teenagers threatening to vandalise their properties if money is not being handed over under the proviso of Trick Or Treat!  This is unacceptable by anybody's standards and thank goodness in my experience this kind of bullying seems to have stopped.

There are always treats for any genuine Trick Or Treaters at our door and we love to see all the costumes. All I can say is please, please try and lighten your spirits when young children knock on your door with their sweet expectant faces merrily chorusing "Happy Halloween" and join in the fun. Halloween makes them so happy and it shows great community spirit if you can let your guard down and join in with the festivities!  So this year I urge you to give it a go! :-)