Daffodils

I love fresh flowers in the house but they can be so expensive, so I take advantage of the spring daffodils that are available this time of year. In most supermarkets you can pick up a bunch for a pound. They come in bud but when they open they give me a lovely little bit of sunshine on my sideboard.

I’ve ordered Daffodils in my online shop for the past two weeks and the first bunch were just starting to droop when the shopping arrived the second week. I didn’t actually remember straight away to change them but when I noticed that the first bunch had finished looking good I asked my husband where the new bunch was as he was the one who had put the shopping away. He told me that there was no flowers in the shop, but I know that they were not missing from the receipt.

I didn’t really fuss too much, they were only a pound bunch of daffodils, not worth complaining of non delivery.

Later we were cooking dinner and as I went into the fridge I noticed a bunch of daffodils in the salad draw, my hubby had thought they were rather large spring onions!! I should have made him eat them, haha. They were okay though and still bloomed after being placed in my vase.

a bunch of daffodils in bud

What do you think, Daffodils or spring onions?

Assembly

Last week we got a text from the school inviting us to attend an assembly given by the Little Man’s class the same day. What! A little bit more notice would have been nice. Luckily we had nothing else on so we went around the school for 1.15pm. We were then treated to  a fifteen minute class rendition of what it was like to live in Ancient Egypt. It was actually quite good, although I may have been a bit unnerved by the Mummy that got up and walked off after they had taken out his insides to put in jars and then wrapped him in bandages. The Little Man had a little story to tell about how the Egyptians entertained themselves playing a game called Senet. I love to hear my Little Man read, he does it with such expression.

the little man at school with his picture of Egyptians playing senet

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

Now that’s a mouthful isn’t it? (pun intended!) We’ll call it TMJ and it’s the latest on the list of conditions for Star. We went to the GP on Friday for a referral to a maxillofacial specialist to see if anything can be done about it. The weird thing is, my older daughter had exactly the same thing at the same age. We would go to the hospital every month for about a year when they finally said they couldn’t do anything and we had to wait for it to get better. She still has trouble with it 16 years later. Maybe there are new treatments now? Apparently it’s quite common in children with connective tissue disorders like Elhers Danlos Syndrome.

Just in case you are wondering what TMJ is, it’s basically the joint in the jaw and the disorder is when it hurts, becomes inflamed and clicks out of place.

 

 

Happy Birthday Hubby.

Yesterday it was Graham’s birthday and for a treat we all spent the day at Bletchley Park which was the home of the World War Two Code Breakers. The stories are fascinating and so was our visit. Graham loves learning about history and although I’m not quite as enthusiastic as he is, I have to say I really enjoyed learning about the code breakers. It wasn’t made out to be glamorous, and a lot of the people working there had no idea what they were a part of until after the war because of all the secrecy. It was boring, monotonous work with few breaks, but I would have loved to have been a part of figuring out the codes and messages. I just love puzzles!

The kids had a great time too, they didn’t even notice that we’d skipped the play area, (quite by accident but by the time I realised I knew I wouldn’t have enough charge  in my wheelchair to go back.)

Bletchley park mansion

Bletchley Park Mansion

From Ancient Egypt to World War II it’s been quite an historic week for us. How has your week been?

 

 

Debs Random Writings

Lucy At Home

Ballet dancers on the stage performing The Nutcracker

Photo courtesy Birmingham Hippodrome
It’s been a busy week. I’ve had good news – a call from my consultant about further treatment, bad news – about the Little Man at school and heartbreaking news – about my poor cat Salem. But I don’t really feel like talking about any of these now so my word of the week reflects the brilliant birthday present one of my friends gave me.
On Tuesday evening I fulfilled a life long wish of visiting a ballet. My friend took me to see The Birmingham Royal Ballet perform The Nutcracker. As a child I always dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer, but I was too tall, too clumsy and lacked any sort of grace, never mind dancing ability. My Dad loved to watch the ballet on television and would often draw me pictures of little ballet dancers which probably inspired my passion. I’ve always wanted to see a ballet performance but it’s something I’ve never got around to, or never really had anyone to go with before. When I told my friend she said she would take a look at what was on, and then she booked tickets as a birthday present. 
It was a truly magical performance, the stage sets were amazing and the dancers simply beautiful. I loved every moment. We also had front row seats which was brilliant. I’d definitely love to go again sometime, I’m sure my girls would love it too. 
So my word of the week this week is Nutcracker. And a big thank you to my lovely friend. 

The Reading Residence

It’s been a funny week with such a mixture of things happening.
I had to visit the GP because of my swollen ankles, they’ve hurt so much I’ve barely been able to stand this week. He thinks I may have poor circulation so I now have to have an ECG and blood tests.

On Tuesday I was in the kitchen clearing up after lunch when I heard a crash. The kitchen is at the front of the house and looking out the window I could see a big red van in a weird position outside. I thought he may have hit my car which was parked on the pavement outside my home. Thinking quick (unusual for me) I wrote down his registration number before making my way into the living room where Graham was vacuuming the carpet (that’s why I didn’t just shout him.) Graham immediately ran outside but the red van was driving off. He had hit my car and done a fair amount of damage. It’s lucky I got his number because my insurance are able to claim off his insurance which means I don’t have to pay the excess, which would have added insult to injury.

But it’s not all been bad because on Thursday it was Star’s 12th birthday. No, party though, we have a tradition that has been going for four years now. We go to Pizza Hut in town, and then visit toy shops to spend her birthday money. To make it more special we make a point of not visiting Pizza Hut at any other time in the year.

Star had a lovely day with some lovely presents.  I can’t believe she’s grown up so quickly, she’s so big too, I reckon she’ll soon be taller than me and I’m not short.

Star’s birthday also marks the end of birthday season…yes, I have four kids all with birthdays in the six weeks over the summer. My first born arrived in January! The only birthday left this year is mine!

Here’s her birthday cake. I’m happy with the Raichu but the icing on the cake is not up to my usual standards. Star was happy with it though and that’s what counts. Plus it tasted yummy!

What word sums up your week? Come and see what everyone else has been up to this week.

The Reading Residence

This week we had the second of our little ones birthday’s.
My Little Man, my baby, turned seven years old!
My babies are all growing up. In just two weeks it will be Star’s 12th birthday. So I will have a seven, a ten and a twelve year old. Definitely not babies!

I talked with the Little Man earlier this year and he said he was happy not to have a birthday party. After Boo’s manic day I was really happy we’d come to this decision. I still wanted to make the day special for him though so I invited my friend and her two children over for a party type lunch. We had sandwiches and chicken dippers, crisps and chocolate bars. (Totally unhealthy which is how birthday spreads should be.)

And of course we had cake!

He went for Minecraft again, last years cake had a minecraft sword in it. This one was quite therapeutic to make. I’ll have to invest in a roller cutter though, I cut out all those pieces individually!
For anyone not knowing about Minecraft, this is Stampy Longnose one of the characters and he’s made up of pixels, which is why he is made with squares.
After the party lunch the children played lovely together for over an hour. Then on the evening the Little Man’s grown up brother and sister played Mario Party with him which made him so happy. 
Before he went to bed I said to him,
“I’m sure you’ve grown bigger today” and he replied,
“yes, I’ve grown bigger which means my brain has got bigger too and I’m more intelligent.”
I love my Little Man.
I love all my children and it scares me how quick they grow, but on the other hand, I’m so happy to have this time with them and I really hope and pray that I have long enough to see them grow even bigger.

The Reading Residence

Yesterday it was Boo’s 10th birthday, my little girl is growing up fast.

She watches loads of cake making videos and as her party involved making stuffed dogs she decided that she would like a dog cake. We looked at loads when we eventually agreed on one that she liked and I felt I could make.

Since I got sick I’ve not been able to make cakes like I used to. For one, I can’t stand in the kitchen for long periods of time. Also, my hands and eyes don’t work like they used to. It makes me sad, but I always like a challenge, so I challenged myself to make this cake for Boo.

chocolate dog cake

At Boo’s party we made the stuffed dogs which was fun, then the girls each had a plain cupcake to decorate in celebration of their dogs birthday. I also gave them a little candle for their cakes but they were a little rowdy so we decided not to light the candles.

dogs birthday cupcake

Star and the Little Man also wanted to help so they made some cupcakes and decorated them with buttercream and chocolate chips for the party.

So, this week has not only been all about Boo’s birthday, but about the cake!
What word sums up your week?

The Reading Residence