Then and Now!

I wanted to do a couple of 'Then & Now' collages to remind myself how far I have come in terms of weight loss since I had Thomas!  

I was pregnant in the 1st pic and the 2nd one was taken at Xmas time, 10 months later

I know shape and size doesn't matter but for me personally I feel more confident and happy being slimmer, I still have a way to go regarding toning up but these pics have made me realise that I am not doing too badly so far!

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Thomas is 2 months old in the pic on the left and the pic on the right was last week!

Sorry if this post was a bit self indulgent!

Have you been up to anything over the last few years that you are really proud of? xx

How to dye pasta for play

Today I decided to dye some pasta for Thomas so that he can play stringing games and such with it!  This is so simple to do and all you need are a few things that  you more than likely have kicking about the house anyway!


You will need:
Pasta shapes
Selection of food colourings
Vinegar
Pots

You simply mix your food colouring, I used about 2 teaspoons worth per 15 pasta tubes, with a tablespoon of vinegar.  Then you add the pasta, leave it for a few minutes and hey presto fun coloured pasta for playing with!  You will need to leave the pasta to dry out overnight but it doesn't go soft or soggy.

I had red, blue and green food colouring by Dr Oetker and although the red and blue dyes took within minutes I had to leave the green one for about half an hour and even then it isn't as vibrant as the other 2 colours.  I used 15 tubes of each as I suspect these will get crushed, lost or eaten within days but I plan to add 15 plain pasta tubes as well as a yellow option!

I also choose to use pasta tubes so that we can play different games with them, such as stringing, putting them into a clear tub to act as a colourful musical instrument or sticking onto a picture.

Have you made any cheap and easy DIY games for your children?

x

Sweet Charlie of Mine

 A bit about my Charlie dog for the animal lovers! 

 Charlie is a 4 year old Lhasa Apso and he is pretty true to the characteristics of the breed, he definitely has his favourite people and can be quite protective, but he is also a huge sweetie and has some very cute habits!


 

As we live in a flat with no garden I found it difficult to take Charlie out once Thomas came along, unfortunately nipping out for a 5 minute stroll and pee break for Charlie wasn't so easy anymore, so Charlie has gone to live with my parents for now.  It was a sad decision but I obviously get to see him a few times a week still and we try to fit in an extra special walk once a week if we can,, somewhere fun like the nature reserves, as Thomas is getting older he enjoys this too so its a win-win!

My parents are at home a lot and Charlie loves the extra company, not to mention the daily snack breaks that he has with my Dad! They sit on the sofa about 3pm for a coffee and biscuit (Dad) and a Schmacko (Charlie) and then again at 10pm! Dad works from home and is self employed so these are his coffee breaks!  If Charlie feels like my parents haven't paid him enough attention that day he will get restless and do something cheeky, at the moment he has taken to dragging the cushions from the sofa into whichever room they are in!  He has also been known to drag his feeding mat to the dining table and eat with the family, he has done that at my flat and at my parents, its just a shame he has usually lost half his dinner and water by the time he arrives!

Charlie thrives on routine and you can see a definite change in him if there has been something unusual happen in his day, or if too many people have been around!  He also has the company of Poppy the cat at my parent's house, sadly I don't have a photo of her!  Poppy is about 12 years old and keeps Charlie in line if he gets too big for his boots!

Whilst I do miss Charlie I am glad that we could keep him in the family and it is so nice to see him pootling round the garden or cuddled up with my sister, or attempting to play with Poppy (she mostly just gives him a look, but he keeps trying!) knowing that he is getting the love he deserves and needs!

Are you a cat or a dog person?  Have you had to make changes to accommodate your growing family?