Sarah – Page 25

Sarah October 25, 2013

A-MAZE-ING! #countrykids #flashbackfriday

One of our favourite places to go that is local but good for a few hours of getting the kids outdoors is the National Trust property. It really is one of those places that we know inside out, its like a local park. But we love it. It has little hidden gems and is a perfect way of spending an ordinary weekend afternoon or a place to go with a group of friends and a large picnic for a special time.

I have to confess that we have only ever once ventured into the house. A lovely lady said that we could have a little handy hip shelf thing to pop our youngest on instead of using the buggy (there isn’t room). Which i did use, probably incorrectly as it was really uncomfortable and then we spent about 30 minutes running after lively toddlers and telling them not to touch anything. So i can’t really vouch for the house. Im sure its lovely. 😉

But we know the grounds really really well. Recently they have added a Maze. They have planted smallish trees and so at the moment the maze is actually quite handy as the kids run off and yet we can still see them and not spend hours trying to work out which corner they have gone round.

By the time the trees are going to be big enough for us to actually loose our kids in the maze, the kids will be old enough to not be bothered by it. I think its a fabulous addition to the grounds and the kids love it. Especially the bit where they get to the last bridge.

Our other favourite bit of Speke Hall is the fact that it basically backs on to the airport and we have, since my son was young, walked round the perimeter and watched a few planes land and take off. Lately they have added another walk which means that you can walk along side the works access to the runways and then sit on a disused part of the runway.

The new walk means that we can get down to the estuary, which was fun until we pretty much got stuck in a load of mud and had to make a swift about turn and get back to the track!

I love the new walk though. It feels a little unkempt and wild, which doesn’t really fit the house and the grounds that we know…but i think it really adds a new dimension to the place.

We still love it there and no doubt we will be back soon!

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Sarah October 23, 2013

is that Bokeh season #mamarazzi

Before you think i have gone mad. Bokeh is a technical term. yes it is.

Bokeh :

In photography, bokeh (Originally /ˈ b oʊ k ɛ /,^[1] /ˈ b oʊ k eɪ / boh-kay — also sometimes heard as /ˈ b oʊ k ə / boh-kə,^[2] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur,^[3]^[4] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,^[5]^[6]^[7] in out-of-focus areas of an image.

Bokeh is a portrait photographers dream. Yes it is. Bokeh means that I can take a photograph of my gorgeous daughter on a park bench when there is a herd of people doing a welly walk in the background (yes there is) and all you will see is a blur of colour…

So thats what Bokeh is, that blurry buttery background that we all know and love. Now this season coming up… *whispers* the christmasy one is the PERFECT time for using a bit of bokeh. Those lovely christmas lights make great bokeh backdrops for your festive images.

Here is how you go about it.

SO..

essentially your basic bit of equipment is a FAST lens…what does that mean? You can find out here or here a bit about aperture…You need wide, open, (low numbers) FAST aperture settings.

You can make the little balls of light bigger by increasing the distance between your in focus subject and the out of focus lights in the background.

Helps to have your subject in the foreground and set your AF point on them. You can half depress the shutter and re-compose as well to get that extra dimension and composition to your shot.

KA-POW!

Christmas in a neat little JPG package.

All done.

Here are a fabulous selection from the wonder that is pinterest!

this is a partnered post

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Sarah October 22, 2013

Styling My Party #review

ptember and October are party season in our house. 3 of my kids have their special days within three weeks of each other. So its been busy and now its done and we are all over a nasty sickness bug its time to look back at the celebrations. For my oldest daughter’s birthday we weren’t sure what to do. She is at that tricky age when its important to not be too ‘babyish’ in her eyes but she is still young enough to really enjoy a good party.

Whilst wondering what to do I came across Style My Party on twitter that is run by the lovely and helpful Stacey and i started to think that my little girl might enjoy having a ‘themed’ party. We hatched a plan to give her the perfect ‘ice=cream’ themed party. Which is a party pack that Stacey produces with all sort of bits and bobs to make your birthday plans go swimmingly.

When the box arrived there was much excitement! It contains all you might need. Bunting, Winners arm bands (which were really popular with the girls), games ideas, party planning ideas, shopping lists, party bags, invitations, thank you cards, cake toppers, balloons, ice cream scoops, bowls, cups..it just went on and on and we loved all the ideas it gave us as well as being able to decorate the kitchen table with all the lovely bunting and ice cream topper labels.

We particularly loved the ‘strike a pose’ game. Which i set up with my camera on a tripod and one of my strobe lights. So the girls had a little mini photo booth and it was a real hit. I was able to print out a 4 x6 of each girl and my daughter put them in a envelope with the thank you cards. A nice little memento of the party for each girl.

She had a really great afetrnoon. Her best friend (who sadly no longer is at her school) came as well as some of her other buddies and we played some crazy games, the toilet roll race, eat the doughnut and who can make a mummy out of your team mate!

It really was an easy going party. The girls had pizza when they arrived and then we saved the ice cream parlour for the middle where they could come and choose their ice cream and get all the toppings they wanted and then it was in for a movie on a projector screen we had set up in the living room. I think the favourite topping was chocolate buttons and the mini marshmallows!

The girls left the full of ice cream and with a party bag of little retro sweets and a cupcake each. My daughter proclaimed it was the best party EVER. What every worn out parent wants to hear at the end of the day. Then it was time for some serious present opening and a glass of wine!!

Happy days.

We were sent the style my party ice cream parlour party pack for review. All opinions are my own

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Sarah October 20, 2013

Baking with four little ladies…

Baking is something that my girls love. My son has loved it in a different way, for him its all about end gratification. Licking the bowl, eating the cakes. The decoration stuff is not really for him and he is getting good at making some basics in the kitchen. We are building up to him doing tea for everyone fairly soon!! The girls just have a different love of it.

If they hear the mixer they all come running into the kitchen eager to help. Which yes is lovely…but when you add four little girls on stools into our not very big kitchen it gets…well…stressful and usually some falling out occurs between someone or other.

So now that i have one little girl at home it is easy to work that out in school hours and last week she helped me make the cakes that my son asked me to make for him to take into school. She was happily able to do all the ‘bits’ herself without having to share with a sibling. It was a cute little time for just me and her.

We got some good cakes at the end too.

Even having five children and being so busy with after school stuff, exams, secondary school stress and the ups and downs of relationships between older siblings..I still remind myself that this littlest girl of mine is still experiencing her toddler hood for the first time. Yes i have been round this block four times before and feel a bit jaded sometimes by the things that toddlers like to do. But its her first time and so I’m trying to be a mummy to a new 3 year old when the others are at school to make up maybe a little bit for being in the shadows of some many older siblings for most of her babyhood. 🙂

This little window of time afforded me by school doesn’t help my other girls though and cooking with all four of them in the kitchen is a little too much mayhem. So this week we started a rota. 🙂

(they are always good!)

I generally bake on sunday, either a cake, sponge pudding or even flapjacks and this week i asked just one of the girls to come and help me. The others were indignant at first and offended until i explained to them that they would get their turn and the next time i was going to bake i would ask one of them to help and that would be THEIR time.

That way they get to do all the baking, they get to read the recipes and they get to proudly present them to everyone as their own at dinner time.

So…this is my plan.

Im hoping it works.

Just need to stick to the rota…

Now, where did i put it!!

😉