Traditions and making Memories

I'm a big fan of making memories and traditions. Ones that my kids will remember for years to come and pass on to their kids.

A lot of the traditions that we have in our house are linked to the holidays like Easter, Christmas and birthdays. I wanted to have something for all the other times. To make everyday or if not everyday at least every week special.

So today we are launching " Friday night movie night ".

 I've wanted to do is for awhile and We've done it a few times but the cost of having to buy a new dvd every time wasn't very practical.

I found out recently that my local library does dvd rental. If you're a member you can borrow a dvd for free and you have a week to watch and return it.

Sounds good to me!!

So every Friday after school (no homework night) we will be heading to our local library to get a book for bedtime and a dvd for that night.

Haven't decided on the treats yet but I'll talk about them when I tell you all how it went.

What traditions do you have in your house to make life special for you kiddos?

Let me know! Leave a comment!

Happy Friday Peeps!!

8 month photo

8 months old! wow still can't get over how quick this little guy is growing.

Teeth: Still nothing!! Enough said!!

Eating: Loves his fruit and still eats everything I give him. Very lucky thank god!!

Sleep: No change here. Still sleeping like a champ. won't say any more here in case I jinx it.

Talking: Loads of chat now. Started saying mama and baba. Still saying ya ya ya and does it i a way that I'm pretty sure he's giving out about something. As of last night he started saying Dada.  (thank god). Thought he'd never say it. Was starting to feel bad for the hubs.

Crawling: He started scooting his butt a little across the floor but only if there's something he wants. Still hates being on his belly but stays there for longer now. Is also able to stand up holding onto something but only if I stand him there.

Still an all round happy baby and this mama isn't complaining.

Wordful Wednesday : Cupcakes and a surprise.

School is nearly here and in an attempt to fit in a last bit of summer fun before she heads off I decided to surprise her with this.

Some lovely cupcakes.

I bake these for everything!!

I'll post the recipe I use on another post. They always go down a treat.

And then the big surprise...

She got to paint in the bath.

This was the coolest thing ever (her words).

She couldn't stop shouting Thank you from the bathroom while I checked on her brother. She decided to paint herself too. Got a bit worried cos I thought I wouldn't get the blue off her knees. But don't worry, no smurfs in this house.

And for all you moms that are worried about the grout turning a funny colour, don't worry, it doesn't.

Washed away with water.

WW comes to you from Seven clown circus. Go check her out here.

Happy Hump Day.

My favorite time of year!!

I don't know about anyone else but I am over summer. It SUCKED!! Big time. Hot and wet all summer long. couldn't even get to the beach. But good things are coming...

Autumn and winter

They're coming and I can't wait. It's my favorite time of year. I love when the sun is shining in the mornings but it's still cold and everything else that comes with it. The fog and the frost, the changing colour of the leaves and the spider weds covered in frost.

Hot chocolate, soups, stews and some of the loveliest desserts. Roaring fires and dark, dark nights. It's also my busiest time of year too. Hunting, the kiddo's birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, New Years and it when the Hub's and I first met. And now I've thrown in a kid going to school in the mix.

This time of year is also my favorite time to do crafts. Halloween and Christmas leave me with loads of opportunities. I always carve a pumpkin (or 6)!Like for as long as I can remember it was my job and it still is. 

So get prepared for some very spooky, yummy and festive post in the near future.

(Did you get the slightest hint the I'm a little obsessed?? hehe)

Enjoy!!

Fridays Favorite Finds

I love smells!

Goods ones that is. More specifically the smell of my clothes. I am always looking for the perfect smelling fabric softener. One that still smells good after I wear an item of clothing and leaves my clothes and my kids clothes super soft. And I think I found my favorite sent yet.

Comfort Bluebell and Bergamont creation.

It left my clothes soft, smelling great and if your like me and you dry you clothes on a clothes horse the house will smell divine too. It's a win win in my books.

What are your Favorite Finds? Let me know.

Happy Friday!!

Crafty Creations : 1st day of school sign.

Saw these on Pinterest and I liked the idea of having a tradition on the first day of school. I love taking photos of everything and planned to take pictures anyway but I like the addition of the sign.

I could have just painted it on a piece of black card but then i couldn't use it again. I had these old slate roof tiles that I found at an old run down house near where i grew up. We use them as chalkboards for the Jasmin. I decided to use these.

I just wrote on it with chalk and here you have it.

Jasmin practicing her posing for next week.

Show me your first day of school signs. Leave a link in the comment section.

Wordful Wednesday : I have a bucket list??

Do you have a Bucket list?

Do you think there a good idea?

I never knew I had one until i realized all the stuff that i wanted to do and places i wanted to go and see were my bucket list (I'm a little slow on the uptake every now and again)

This weekend just gone I managed to check off one of those things. I went to the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS. I have wanted to go there since before I got married. But with weddings, babies and life in general getting in the way I never managed it.

It was everything I thought it would be. Loads of horses, loads of stalls and loads of photo opportunities.

I enjoy love taking photos. My especially photos of horses. They were my first love. The most majestic creature on earth.

Any here are some of the snaps I managed to get, in-between heads and from quite a ways away. Oh to be good enough to have a press pass.

Olympic bronze medalist Cian O'Connor

Check out my Facebook page to see more photos I took.

For more WW from some fantastic bloggers head over to sevenclowncircus.

Enjoy!!

Wordful Wednesday.

Now I'm not a very quite person. I love to talk. I've even been described as being like the Duracell bunny...Just wind me up and i keep going (hehe). But today has been one of those days where I haven't stopped. Been so busy getting ready for school. Covering books, Labeling uniforms and bags.

But there is a very bad storm outside and all i'm going to be doing  for the night is chilling out is front of this beauty. 

Click here to see some other Wordful Wednesdays.

Happy Hump Day everyone!!!

How to...

Get a blog signature.

I have seen some very lovely signatures on some lovely blogs and i wanted one pronto. And how did this" not so blog savvy" lady get it.... Google of course. :)

I goggled "How to create a blog signature" and clicked on the first site that came up. Didn't like any of the fonts so i went back again. Kind of a trail and error process then til I came across My live signature and i found the one i wanted.

Very easy to follow instructions (even for me). When I was finished, I wanted to add the signature to a post. I just reopened the page on another tab and dragged the image to the blog and here it is.

I saved it in my images by right clicking on it when it was on the post and save image as.

I LOVE IT!!!!

Enjoy!!

Crafty Creations : Sea shell vase

A couple of week ago, while doing a clear out my mother found a bag of shell that we had collected when i was a child. I wanted to do something with them but wasn't sure what.

I thought about doing a frame but then i'd have to go buy one wide enough to glue them on. I didn't want to have to spend any money so that idea went out the window.(cheap or what)

I found an old lamp. The light fixture had broken off it and i thought i could make a vase of some sort.

And this is what it turned out like. I just glued on the shells and added some twine to the top to finish it off. I'm quite happy with it actually.

I decided to fill up some jars with shells and added a candle. They'll look very well in my bathroom once i get it sorted.

Happy crafting people!!

Summer fun.

Summer came and went in two days this year. Not that i'm surprised. It is Ireland that i live in after all.

So knowing that i had to make use of the sun and outdoor time we had, I squeezed in as much of summer as i could into those two days. Jasmin had some friends over and they had a ball.

Starting with a water fight.

Followed by a lovely picnic. 

Paddy and I even got am invite.

Some fun on the go-cart.

 Finished the day off with some face painting.

Had a great couple of day of sun, just wish we had more of it.

Irish and Proud!!!

Today is a very important day in Irish sport. 

The sun is shining on the day that Katie Taylor will fight for the Olympic Gold Medal. 

I am proud to say that i am a strong Irish woman today.

Knock'em dead Katie!! Good Luck!!

Rainy day fun.

The Irish is normally a total washout so we have to find other things to entertain the kids when they arr sick of being at home or at their Nan's house.

We decided to head to Crag caves in co. Kerry. It's a great place that suits all ages of kids. Huge indoor and outdoor play areas for kids, coffee shop for the moms and dads. As for the older kids who are too cool to for going down slides, they can go visit the caves or ride the bull.

Pocket friendly prices and it passes a great chunk of the day.

Here are some pics of Jasmin and her friends having a great time there.

Check out the link above for more info.