The Labour of Love Continues

Following on from a previous post And so the Labour of Love Begins here is the update and finale of the project that my daughter and I took on.

After having a few heated discussions about the best way to sew the bag together and what colour thread would work best (amongst other discussions!) we finally got around to cutting the fabric out and pinning it together.

As this would be Mikhayla's first attempt at using a sewing machine I was a little(well a lot actually) apprehensive as to how this would pan out so I dug out the user manual and before I would even let her plug it in she was made to read the entire manual.  What I wasn't prepared for were the questions that my daughter would ask after reading some of the guide, particularly as I am yet to read the manual myself...ooops! 

I have to admit that we did have a giggle at some of the terminology and examples shown in the book as neither of us had a clue as to what was going on! We quickly decided that we would work everything out ourselves and got on with the practical side of it all.

What really surprised me throughout the entire process was unexpected bond that we shared. We realise that although we clash at times, we are in fact a lot more alike than we'd both like to admit. She's confided in me her fears and ambitions, what makes her happy and how she is really feeling about starting secondary school in September.
Although we do talk quite openly, it was nice to be able to spend time alone together doing something that we both enjoyed and creating something usable at the end which will hopefully provide us both with long lasting memories.

So here it is, our bag of love and memories

Mikhayla really surprised me with just how well she knew her way around the sewing machine, so off she went with some scraps and thread one afternoon and lo and behold here are her very own creations, made 100% by herself.

She really doesn't realise just how proud she makes me on a daily basis.

M xx

All the Fun of the Fair

Nintendo Ds, Nintendo Dsi, Wii, tablets, Virgin digital television, 2 laptops, a pc, V-Tech smile, battery operated handheld consoles, iphones, a blackberry are just some of the gadgets that reside in our house! Whilst I have no particular interest in many of these the thought of doing something that doesn't involve one of these pieces of technology is enough to send chills down the spines of most children. With this in mind I told the kids about the kind of toys that children had in previous decades and how lucky they were to have bowling alleys, theme parks, museums and more all within easy reach of our London home.

Funnily enough, 2 days later my daughter noticed a sign for Carters Steam Fair, "Great, how about I take you guys there this weekend?" "No mum, it's an old fashioned fair", "it will be sooooo boring", "I'll just stay home and watch a movie" were just some of the responses I got from all, 3 of my little 'angels'. So I resolved to spend Saturday afternoon baking instead.

Saturday afternoon arrived and it was meet by "I'm bored" and "Can we go out please?" So I agreed, on one condition...we go to the steam fair at the local park. Reluctantly the kids agreed, so with our neighbour, my sister and her little boy we headed to the steam fair.

As soon as we set foot in the park the kids were off, now considering it was an 'old fashioned fair' and 'it will be sooooo boring' I barely saw them for the entire time we were there. 
As scaredy cats, my partner Sam and myself decided to look after the youngest 2 whilst the others went off on the rides.
Reasonably priced and not too busy we all had a ball and even the originally unimpressed angels had a blast. "Oh my goodness, I didn't realise those rides would be so fast or scary", "Did you see how many times I won the grand national in the penny arcade?" "Please can we go on the helter skelter? Just once more pleaaaaaase!"
Needless to say, I left with 3 very happy children that now realise there is life beyond technology and had one more request.

"Mum, when we get home can we play some board games........" Aaaaaah, all the fun of the fair has converted them, temporarily I'm guessing!

M xx