The sentimentality of mugs

I am not normally a hoarder, in fact there's nothing I like better than having a good clear out! That is until it comes to the mug cupboard...

This is the top shelf of my mug cupboard and nearly all the cups are broken, cracked, chipped or leaking but for some sentimental reason I just cant bring myself to throw them away.

I have loads of mugs, there are the ones that come with an Easter egg attached (I like those ones) The ones with the football logo's (we are a split household between Arsenal and Manchester United) the ones that are part of a dinner set and then my favourite, the ones that are given as presents like on birthdays, mother's day or Christmas.

Here are a few of my favourite mugs and I never let anyone else use them! I am quite picky when it comes to my cup of coffee. I don't like the mug to be too small but I also find those huge mugs quite irritating because the coffee goes cold before you manage to finish it. I have managed to reduce my sugar from 2 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon in the past year but I like it to be milky and the milk has to be put in the mug before the hot water!

Are you a fussy coffee drinker, or do you have to have your cuppa in a particular mug?

Come and show off your mug collection at Bug, Bird and Bee

Positive pic of the week #13

This weeks positive pic is of my new garden swing.

Since I was a little girl I have always wanted a garden swing, now I have one I feel like a proper grown up! It took me about 2 hours between yesterday and this morning to assemble the thing and within 5 minutes my daughter had taken over and decided to have a nap in the sun.

We have been on the school holidays for a week now and I haven't been able to enjoy the garden as I didn't have anywhere to sit. Now I plan to spend a lot of time sitting out there reading my books and tanning my legs.

Do you have a pic of something that has made you happy this week? come and link up below and share a bit of positivity.

Meet Sid and Beast

My 9 year old asked me if he could bring the class pets home for the summer holidays, the class pets are two giant African snails!

The process is that each child who would like to look after the pets is given a letter for parents to sign and then all the names are put into a hat and one is drawn out. Kieron failed to mention that it was only him and one other child that actually volunteered and that the other girl had already looked after them in the half term.
It doesn't help that I work in the classroom next to his and the teacher can come and sweet talk me into looking after them for him as he is away over the holiday period either.

Sid and Beast have a lovely little glass tank that is heated. It contains a water bowl, food bowl and soil. They eat all kinds of fruit, vegetables and salad. We have had them a week now and unfortunately Kieron is already bored of looking after them even though it is quite a simple job, so I find myself cleaning out their bowls and feeding them every morning.

Sid is the smaller of the two and likes to get around the tank, he is often upside down on the lid, probably trying to escape!

Beast was obviously given his name because of the size of him and he does freak me out a bit! He seems quite lazy and is often found in the water tray or food bowl.

Here are the two of them munching on a juicy tomato, which they seemed to enjoy, but afterwards there was some very slimy tomato coloured snail poo left to clean up.

The tank has to be cleaned out weekly and I am not looking forward to that job. Apparently while they were cleaning out the tank in class the snails are left to saunter around the classroom tables, well I'm telling you now, there is no way these things are going near my kitchen table!

Have you had any weird or wonderful pets that you've had to babysit?

Plastic bag footballs

 World cup fever has come to an end but it doesn't have to stop in Brazil!

One of the activities we did at school in the last term was make plastic bag footballs, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it, although you can imagine the state of the classroom with 27 nine year olds all making them at the same time.

It's not often I can get my son to do any sort of craft activities (he would much rather be in the garden kicking around a ball) but for some reason he was really keen to partake in this one.

If like me you have a cupboard full of plastic bags that just seems to keep growing because you always forget to bring them with you to reuse at the supermarket then this is a great way to make the most of them. All you need is:

• 1 old newspaper
• 10 plastic bags
• string

 First roll up a few pages of paper into a sphere and then continue to wrap more paper around it one sheet at a time so it is smooth and round.

 Once you have your desired size place into the corner of a plastic bag, twist around the top and then fold back over and tie the ends. Continue to add plastic bags, pulling tight to keep the ball solid.

Once you have covered the ball with all the bags then secure them in place by wrapping a piece of string tightly around it. If it is wrapped equally it makes it easier to weave the next piece of string through it.

Using a second piece of string, keep weaving it over and under the first piece to evenly cover the ball and make sure there are no bits of bag hanging loose. This is quite difficult for the kids but great fun for adults so is a good chance for you to join in.

Secure the string by knotting the ends and cut of any stray pieces of string off to avoid it coming loose. Your ball is then ready to start kicking around.

The idea of the plastic bag football actually came from children in poorer countries of the world that don't have access to expensive leather balls or even the cheaper plastic versions so they took the initiative to make their own. To see a proper tutorial then search YouTube to see how they do it.

So if your kids have the habit of leaving their ball at the park or keep kicking it over the neighbours garden then have no fear, they can just make themselves another one (or you can have fun making it for them)

My Prime 5 - Smells

The sense of smell is probably seen one of the least important of all the senses but it is actually a vital part of our lives. Studies have shown that 75% of our emotions are triggered by smell and it is the most sensitive of all the senses. It is in fact the first of all our senses to develop and humans can smell even before they are born!

There are obviously times when we wish our smell wasn't so great... walking past a rubbish truck or changing a baby's dirty nappy, but then there are the smells that bring us joy or bring back fond memories.

So here is a list of my favourite smells:

Nail varnish - I paint my nails regularly and cannot resist having a sniff from the bottle every time. I know its one of those chemical, addictive smells and I shouldn't but I cant help myself!

Vanilla - Whenever I buy room spray or candles I always look for the vanilla variety, it's just so sweet smelling and reminds me of cake.

Eternity perfume - I have loved this Calvin Klein perfume since I was about 14 years old and although I always remind the man that it's my favourite he never seems to buy it for me! I bought myself a limited edition version of it a few years ago but it just wasn't the same as the real thing.

Talcum powder - The only time I ever use powder is when I have tiny little babies, once they get bigger I don't bother with it. This means that whenever I do smell powder it takes me back to those days when my kids were sweet and innocent, and who doesn't love the smell of babies?

Freshly baked bread - Most food smells get me excited and tickle my tastebuds but the smell of fresh bread just seems so homely and comforting.

 So there are my prime 5 smells, what do you like a sniff of? Come and link up below #myprime5

Positive pic of the week #12

This weeks positive pic is of pigs!

On Wednesday I took a trip with the school to Bocketts farm. It was a lovely sunny day where we took a ride on a tractor, got to stroke rabbits and giant Guinea pigs, jumped on a huge bouncy pillow and watched pigs having a race.

The day seemed to fly as there was so much to do and I got loads of pics of the kids enjoying themselves. If I had enough photos of the actual farm I would have done a whole post on Bocketts as I think it is a fab farm with great play facilities, particularly for young children. If you are looking for somewhere to visit in the school holidays I would highly recommend it!

I cannot load Linky tools for some reason so if you would like to join in then just #pospicofweek on twitter

New years update

This year seems to be going by in a flash and being half way through I decided to have a look back at my new year resolutions post to see if I have stuck to what I had planned...

Well I didn't really have a single resolution but I wanted to do more...of everything really! I can't say I have done much of the healthy things like drinking more water, I seem to only do that when I am ill but if I only took more vitamins and ate more fruit then I don't suppose I would get ill as often so maybe that's what I need to concentrate on!

I am definitely blogging a lot more than I was this time last year and having already read 19 books I would say I have stuck to my reading goal. I have lacked in the taking more photos department, mainly as my camera is just too bulky to carry around with me so I need to invest in a decent compact one that is a bit more discreet!

I have spent more time with certain friends but feel like I have neglected some others so as I will not be going away this summer I intend to spend it meeting with old friends, reading and having lots more fun with the kids!

Did you make any new years resolutions? 

Were they the kind that are forgotten about in the first week or have you been really good and stuck at it?

50 books 2014 - June

It's a bit late but here is a roundup of what I read in June. There is not much to write as I disappointingly only managed to read two books but I suppose two books is better than none and it all adds towards my 50 book target! 

Hopefully I can bridge the gap in July and August as I will have 6 weeks of free time (when I am not entertaining the kids) to catch up on reading, and to motivate myself I have purchased 15 new books which are all sitting on my bedside cabinet waiting for me to get stuck into!

No bra required is a romantic tale of love and betrayal written in a lighthearted and humorous way. The story is about Lucy Meadows who is heartbroken after discovering her husband has been having it away with a work colleague but after getting away from the turmoil and moving on will she be burned by yet another cheating partner?
This was a really enjoyable story and I loved how the plot seemed to jump around and leave the reader wondering what was going to happen next.

Angelita decides to escape her company and family problems by heading to the mountains of North Carolina for a short retreat staying in a log cabin, she has no idea the impact that she will have on the lives of the local residents or indeed how one particular residents charms will win her over. Will she choose to stay in the idyllic surroundings of a small town where she seems to have made a new best friend or go back and face her estranged father who seems set on taking over her business?

When I saw the cover of this book I assumed it would be set in an English countryside but was surprised as I started reading that it was about a shoe designer from Atlanta, America. It had a very simple storyline with not much surprise and the main characters relationship seemed to develop super quick. Was a pleasant read and I may try another book by the author in the future.