Seed Bombs!!

Recycled Paper Seed Bombs

This is mine and Sam’s first go at an instruction blog post so please go easy on us especially as I had to supervise as well as make and do J

So here it goes…..

These are the instructions to make your own Seed Bombs.

To make a seed bomb you will need the following

Ingredients:

Old paper – newspaper, bills, white or coloured paper

Warm water

Food colouring

A packet of wildflower hardy seeds

Equipment:

A large bowl

A jug

A hand mixer

A sieve

A spoon

A cookie/playdough cutter or silicone mould

Fine mesh

Method

Start by shredding all of the paper into small pieces and place into a bowl. Sam and I used between 6-8 sheets of A4 in each batch we made.

Fill the jug with warm water and add your chosen food colouring. Be sure to add a lot of colour as you will loose a lot of it when the water is drained later.

Pour the warm water and food colouring over the shredded paper. The water should cover the paper and leave for as long as you can. The first batch we left for about 2 hours and the second batch we left for about 3.5 hours. Stir occasionally to ensure all the paper is covered in water.

Once it is well and truly softened, use a hand blender to turn it into a pulp. It is worth holding a cloth around the bowl as it can be quite a messy job!!

Once it has turned into a pulp put it in a sieve over a bowl or sink and use the back of a spoon to push out as much as the water as possible.

Once it is a dry as possible return the pulp to the bowl. Then it is time to add the packet of seeds, mix them carefully into the mixture.

Now comes the fun bit, either spoon or use your hands to add the mixture into a silicone mould or a cooker cutter. If using a cookies cutter then mould the mixture and place the mould over fine wire mesh. Make sure there is some kitchen roll under the mesh to catch the water.

  
Once they are thoroughly dry, remove them from their mould.

Wrap them as you wish but don’t forget to include the details of the flowers and when and how to sow them. Enjoy J



I just realised that Sam isn't in any of the pictures!! I promise he was there helping me!! lol

Have fun and don't forget to show me your results x



Easter – how do you celebrate it?

 

Easter, is a funny time of year for us as Ali is a butcher and he is absolutely snowed in at work, however this year it sounds like he could actually be snowed in if the snow returns for Easter!! Anyway, I am usually on my own with the boys.

 

Depending on when Easter falls it can also fall on my Mum’s, my brothers or my birthday. Mum’s is at the end of March, my brother is early April and I am at the end of April so we often have a family meal to arrange too.

 

Easter is also a bit usual for us as Sam can’t have dairy products. Technically he is lactose free but we generally avoid all dairy products, this means that buying chocolate eggs unless specific ones can be hard and they don’t always taste great so I avoid them.

 

This year I have decided that I will buy them one chocolate egg each and then do a basket of Easter things for them to find during an Easter egg hunt. So far I have bought some Easter bubbles, some Haribo sweets and the Paddington 2 DVD to watch. I usually hide little yellow chicks all over the house and then send the boys off with their new buckets to find them. Depending on the weather sometimes the chicks are even hidden outside. Once they have found them all I give them a clue to find their Easter gifts.

 

However I feel a bit mean by telling other people not to buy them any Easter eggs. Neither of the boys are particularly bothered by chocolate (they certainly don’t take after me, I am totally bothered by chocolate and would eat it for breakfast, lunch and tea) so am I the only one who says no the chocolate eggs?

 

Do you have egg hunts in your house? Do your children get lots of chocolate? Do they eat it or do you help? What other alternatives do you use?

 

#Easter #chocolate #alternativegifts #themummymonster

Getting dressed after swimming :(

 

 

Getting dressed after swimming!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!!

Now I think I have expressed before how much I hate swimming pool floors. Yuck!! When I walk on them they make my feet feel funny and I feel physically sick!! I know I’m strange but I’m having a new issue with changing rooms and when I have talked about it online it seems to be dividing opinions!!

 

I HATE getting dressed after swimming, now I think most people will agree this is the worst bit about swimming but my main problem is, I am so slow at getting changed. 

 

 

Sam and Oliver both have swimming lessons at a fab private pool but there are no changing rooms, you simply get dressed at the side of the pool. Thankfully I don’t have to go in with Sam anymore but I do with Oliver. 

 

Now I have no problem with getting dressed in general, both my boys have seen me naked but I go all bashful when on the side of the pool especially if men are around. I just wish I had the body confidence of some of the free flowing ladies who stand stark naked and get all their bits and bobs dried out in the open but that will never be me so I try to do everything under towel. 

 

Due to this fact, I actually gave in and purchased an adult poncho towel so I can try and hide my modesty a little at least, it’s a godsend! Seriously it was worth every penny, but I am still the last to get out of the changing room!!

 

So I asked online, who do you get dressed first after swimming? Yourself or your children? I thought this was where I was going wrong and what an overwhelming response I had!!!

 

Personally, I get Oliver stripped off, and wrap him in a towel, then strip myself and put on my poncho towel whilst I get Oliver dressed and warm. Then when he has a drink and snack, I get dried, but I’m still the last out so why??  I even use talcum powder to aid the drying process. 

 

I decided to ask how other people did the dreaded task. So I ran a poll on Twitter, the results showed clearly that people get their children dressed first, however when I dug deeper people explained that actually got their children stripped off and wrapped in a towel with a drink and a snack and then get themselves dressed before going back to their children!!! It’s a minefield!!

 

The vote response was: 11 votes in total to the question

After swimming who do you get dressed first?

9% Yourself

91% Your child/children

 

@toys_preschool responded:

I’m quite shocked some people have voted themselves! I would have thought every parent would get children dry, dressed and warm before getting dressed themselves.

 

Motherhoodirl.wordpress.com tweeted:

Definitely my kids. I remember how cold I used to feel after swimming when I was kid and I can’t imagine leaving my children standing around shivering in their towels while I got myself dry and warm!

 

Jo on the Mummy Monsters Facebook page said I personally get their swimmers off and put them in a hooded towel/dressing gown and give them a snack while I change then do them. I usually have 2 to sort. Until recently this was our weekly routine at swim lessons when I was in the pool with the youngest.

 

Hollie also on Facebook mentioned I get daughter dry then put her top half on. Give a snack while I get myself half dressed. Then finish getting her dressed, then finish getting myself dressed lol. It’s not something I enjoy doing. Which is why we only manage swimming around once every couple of months x

 

Jo C said Me first, if I dressed him he’d expect to go. So towel on drink, me get dressed as fast as lightening.

 

It seems Jo has to turn into Super Mum with lightening speeds to get herself ready as otherwise her children would be out the door before she is dressed!! Eeeeekkkkkk!!!

 

Kate said: Children, then I give them food while I get dressed. Cold, hungry, wet children aren’t fun.

 

I have to agree wet and cold children are not happy bunnies. Oliver is ok, but Sam can be a proper Grump!! (He takes after his Dad!!) lol

 

Other thoughts on Facebook included:

 

Briony: I would usually be on my own with both. I would wrap Millie the eldest in a towel. Dry William and get him dressed. Then dry Millie and get her dressed. Sit them both down with a drink and snack then sort myself out. When they were small i would either strap them in the buggy or put them in a play pen which some pools have.

 

Lynsey: I get the kids sorted first...and use turban towels for the girls hair. I always wear a dress when we head to the pool so I can just throw it on

 

Hollie: If I remember I take my towelling dressing gown.so I drop dry whilst I sort the boys. If no dressing gown then I sort them same as Jo trunks off then towels. Get them dry have been known to stand freezing in cubicle getting them warm til I can get dressed. Dawlish pool so cold the turning blue when come out. Hence take the towelling d. Gown

 

Simon: Pretty much do it together, encouraging him to do as much of it as he can himself

 

Sarah: I wrap my daughter in a towel to keep her warm and give her a snack (she's always starving!). I get myself dressed then she's usually dry-ish and ready to get dressed x

 

Sinead: Me. First thing I was told (and works for us) is strip the little ones and wrap them in a towel while you get changed. By the time you are done they are pretty much dry! So much easier .

 

Katie: Child first so doesn't get chilly and pop her hooded towel on her hair then she eats a snack whilst I get dressed

 

Laura: Used to get baby ready first but soon realised it's quicker and easier to get me ready first while she is in a towel.

 

And last but not least:

Heather: Youngest kids first. Then 1 adult helps the older ones whilst the other sorts themselves out

 

So I agree with most of these statements and follow them so why am I still last out of the changing room?? Perhaps I will never know why and just should accept that I am warm and dry and so are my babies J

 

#themummymonster #stillalwayslast #gettingdressedsucks