I visited a new blog today (http://whatshappeningatmyhouse.wordpress.com/) and there was this fun quiz .... it was really for mum but I substituted nan and asked Ellie aged 5 instead. Why don't you have a go .... I really needed a laugh today and this hit the spot.

1. What is something nan always says to you?
Shhh
2. What makes nanny happy?
singing
3. What makes nanny sad?
shouting
4. How does your nan make you laugh?
she farts
5. What was your nan like as a child?
small
6. How old is your nan?
really old
7. How tall is your nan?
Really tall. (well, 5’4”, so spose I am when your just over 3').
8. What is her favourite thing to do?
sewing
9. What does your nan do when you’re not around?
tidy up
10. If your nan became famous, what would it be for?
finger knitting on BGT
11. What is your nan really good at?
meringues
12. What is your nan not very good at?
nothing (I wasn't pinching her honest!)
13. What does your nan do for her job?
looks after children and me
14. What is your nan’s favourite food?
chocolate
15. If your nan was given one wish, what would it be?
win the lottery

Summer Hols Diary Day 5,6 & 7

Thought I had better catch up .... this week has been a complete whirl and I just don't know where the days have gone since Jack was born on Tuesday. I'm sorry I don't have any new photos because my darling daughter has half inched the camera but I hope to get it back tomorrow - heaven knows how many will have to be downloaded of Jack with various family members and friends. We had a house full here yesterday when my brother and his family visited .... my niece and her 6 week old son came too so it was a right old baby fest. Then my two other grandchildren had a sleepover last night .... it ended up as musical beds with the littlies in with me and OH being relegated to the small room!! All quiet on the western front now as they've all gone home so I hope to catch up on my shut eye tonight.

My childminding week got quieter as the week went on because two of my charges went on holiday on Wednesday ... on Thursday it was girls only so we had a girly day of hairdressing and nail painting and on Friday I was down to one child .... it was brilliant as she had no-one to argue with. This week is my child free week so I am hoping to catch up on such much needed de-cluttering and I have already started various piles for freecycle, charity shop, car boot and Ebay.

I have managed to get a little car booting in this weekend but it was mostly bits for the baby ... Jess needed one of those bath rests to put him on and I found a brand spanking new Mamas & Papas one for just £3. Sadly not much crafting has been done .... the only project I did start was some PJs and a nightie for the Ryan & Sharpei dolls that Ellie got as a pressie this week .... she insists they change for bed like the rest of us!!!

School Holiday Diary Day 4 and a new arrival

Boy what a day .....I had a very early start with a text message at 4.45am from my daughter as her labour had started ..... shortly afterwards I was up and went to collect my grand-daughter whilst mum and dad got on with the impending delivery. At 6.00am we commenced on a mammoth junk modelling session, as you do on occasions such as this and I don't know how but both Ellie and me are still awake! We are on an adrenalin rush I think. Daughter was in good hands as her sister is a midwife so she stayed with them till it was time to go to the hospital and was with them when baby Jack was delivered at 4.47 pm weighing 7lb 6oz. I couldn't get to the hospital this afternoon as this is my busiest childminding day of the week with a full house of 6 children today. When the last one was collected at 6.00pm we got cleaned up and left for visiting at the hospital. Mum and baby look fantastic and the clever girl did it all herself without drugs, they will be staying in overnight and will come home tomorrow. The little guzzler is feeding well already and has met his big sister. Well I just don't have the energy to do any more now so will say night night!

School Holiday Diary Day 3 and one lucky little bird

Day 3 started off very wet and dull so inside activities were the order of the day. The fantastic array of card making and crafting materials I had collected from a local freecycler yesterday came in very handy with some of the littlies making birthday cards for their mums. My lot will chop things up & stick things down for England ..... our best days have been spent playing with cardboard boxes which just goes to show you don't need expensive toys and gadgets to keep them amused. A couple of summers ago we took delivery of an American style double fridge/freezer which came in an enormous box ..... the delivery men kindly left it behind and it was used every day until it finally collapsed.

While we were all busy at the kitchen table this morning our black cat Binks came in from the garden. I didn't take too much notice of him at first but he sat by my feet and wouldn't move ...... I heard a little flapping sound and when I took a closer look he had this little chap in his mouth! I gently removed him and was so relieved to find he was still in once piece. He is a baby Robin and you will be glad to know that after I put him outside on the bird table he flew off seconds after I took this photo. My husband keeps and breeds budgies, canaries and small parakeets and somehow our moggies know they have to look after birds and it was as if Binks had found him in the garden and brought him in to me. Many years ago we had a cat called Tiggy ..... one summers day I was relaxing in the garden when he came up to me and dropped a baby bird by the side of the chair ..... it turned out to be one of the babies from our shed that had escaped under the wire door and somehow Tiggy had found it and brought it back safely. After lunch the skies had brightened up and the sun came out so we decided to take a walk to the local park with the dog. A few minutes after we arrived a group of young people came over and it turned out they were from the local council and they had managed to obtain lottery funding to provide a Play Rangers scheme for the summer hols ..... they hadn't had enough time to advertise in the schools before the end of term and we were lucky that it was our park's turn today. They had brand spanking new equipment ...... cricket, footballs, hula hoops, skipping ropes, rope swings to put in the trees, frisbees, space hoppers and boxes of craft equipment ..... just about everything to cater for all age groups. There were two other groups of children playing in the park and my lot (5 in total this afternoon) so we all got together and played non-stop cricket and ended up staying there for a couple of hours. They will be there one afternoon a week for every week of the holidays and so we will be going again and will be prepared next time with a picnic and drinks. The children really enjoyed themselves and it was free which was excellent from my point of view. When we came home they were knackered so we watched Pirates of the Caribbean and I finished off my latest bag. In a former life this denim was a pair of jeans belonging to my daughter .... I was just about to put them in the bag for the CS when I thought it would be worth seeing if they could be converted to a bag and I am so pleased with the result ..... I have lined it with Laura Ashley pink Aubrey check fabric.

Bargains galore and a productive weekend

Hope everyone is well and not fallen victim to the swine flu or any other nasties out there. I've has a nice productive weekend and feel really satisfied on a Sunday evening that a lot of odd jobs have been ticked off the 'to do' list. We have to try and get as much done as we can in the next couple of weeks because OH goes into hospital on 13 Aug to have his knee replaced and he will be on crutches for 6 weeks and probably at home for 3/4 months. The wet weather has held off round here so we managed to get some car booting in too. The garden has been tidied, redcurrants and first blackberries picked, grass cut and I must start to think of where I am going to plant my bulbs. I also managed to spend some time tidying up the small room where I dump all my craft bits and pieces and car booty bargains ..... it is also the room where the grandchildren sleep when they stay over and it was getting to the point where you couldn't see the bed!

On Friday I put my name down for some crafting and card making materials that a local Freecycler was offering .... I was delighted to get a message late this afternoon to say that I could go and collect them and this is what I came home with

Masses of papers, cards, a cutting set, glue, stickers, books, magazines .... as I childmind these are a Godsend and will keep the small people going for ages.

At the car boot this morning there was a lady with boxes of wool and fabrics from her crafting days so I had a good rummage through and came away with this stash of knitting yarn

buttons, threads - The Percy Pig sandwich maker was from another seller .... unused and a snip at £3

some lovely children's fabrics including some pretty Rose & Hubble

all that lot for a fiver .... much bargains!

I also got another load of knitting yarn yesterday so that's me sorted for the winter months.

Hope you all had a good weekend .... going to get an early night tonight ready for Day 3 of the summer hols .... I've got four children tomorrow and really have to build my energy levels for Tuesday when I have got six !!!

Summer Hols Diary Day 2

Phew ...... made it through day 2 in one piece ...... it was a mixed bag weatherwise today with sun and blue skies this morning which gave way to black clouds and rumbles of thunder this afternoon. While the littlies got on with some junk modelling this morning the older two went to the bottom of the garden to pick the rest of the redcurrants for me .... they were as happy as Larry (whoever he was !) and enjoyed it even more because the chooks were scrounging round their ankles searching for the fruit they dropped.

After lunch we visited the library where they have organised a summer reading quest .... they each got a joining pack and will get a stamp each time they return a book they have read .... when they hit targets of 6, 12 or 18 books they will qualify for a prize and today there was a treasure hunt to take part in too. I like to encourage them to continue with their learning and this is a good subtle way of getting them to read and they are enjoying themselves so much they don't realise it!!

ps forgot to mention this lovely giveaway at Shabby Chick's blog http://countryinthetown.blogspot.com/2009/07/giveaway-time.html

School Summer Holiday Diary Day 1

Well I managed to get through the first day of the hols in one piece. We had a lazy start to the day watching a Harry Potter DVD ..... all the children are shattered and we just needed to all chill out with tea and toast and TV. I also had to wait in all morning for the cooker repair man. It is quite a simple job, the element has gone in the fan oven but as per usual the largest electrical chain in the country don't keep them in stock and have to order one and they won't be back for a fortnight! If it wasn't for the fact that it is covered on an insurance policy I could buy one off Ebay for a tenner and fix it myself. Now I have to think of meals that I can either nuke or do on the hob.After lunch we decided to go to Stopsley Common ...... it is only five minutes drive away (we could walk but I have a 3 year old who is like a snail!) and as we set off the sky looked like this.

The Common is at the back of a sports centre so there are flat playing fields with a copse in the middle and then on the outskirts it drops away to open countryside and overlooks the town to one side. It is great for kite flying and taking the dog and we found that someone had made a swing on a tree in the copse so we stopped for a while. When I just have the older children and no buggies to manouvre and we can walk further there are some lovely footpaths to walk through the fields.One childminder, one pregnant daughter (due any day now) and some of the six children we had yesterday

In the copse the oak trees were already showing signs of growing their acorn fruit.

We had taken some balls and a frisby and managed to have a run around and then a drink & biscuit when to our left we noticed a huge black cloud was heading our way. Time to pack up and head back towards the car which was a good 15 minute walk away and we just made it in time before the heavens opened. At least we had managed to get a little exercise and fresh air and came home for hot chocolate and doughnuts which one of the children's mums had kindly brought for us in the morning.

It always seems to be a non-stop food fest when childminding ...... no sooner do we get one meal or snack out of the way and the little darlings are asking what we are having next! The older ones that I have are now 9 years old and are great little helpers ..... I am starting to let them help with the preparation and it is a great way of getting them to develop their team building and organisational skills.

It was 5.30 when the last child went home (the first ones had arrived at 8.00 am) so I relaxed for a while with a cuppa before having a clear up. I was just settling down with my knitting ..... I am attempting some socks at the mo using 4 double ended needles ..... when my other daughter came home and had brought my grand-daughter with her for a sleepover. No peace for the wicked is there?????? We had a snuggle and both fell asleep.