Summer Activities

We have been trying to keep busy this summer and with the lack of funds around we are utilising all our resources in finding free activities for the kids. Oh, when I say we, I actually mean me! Hubby doesn't realise that kids need entertainment as the kids are generally ready for bed by the time he returns home. Let's take a look at what we have been up to today.

Here was our first activity: Baking a Cake.
And I don't mean from a 2 minute ready-made cup cake packet but a traditional, and extremely tasty, Chocolate Banana Cake. We baked it and fell in love with the taste.

You will need:
2 ripe bananas
6oz butter/margarine
6oz caster sugar
3 eggs
2oz cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Pre Heat Oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4

Mix together the butter and sugar and then add the eggs, alternately with the flour, cocoa and baking powder.
Fold in the bananas and vanilla essence
Pour into a 1lb loaf tin and bake in preheated oven for 40mins (take out when a skewer/knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle)
Cool slightly then turn on to a wire tray.

I would like to thank Vicki at Mums who bake for this fantastic recipe. Why not visit Vicki’s website for some more inspiring recipes: http://www.mumswhobake.co.uk.

Hint: To make the activity last longer and more educational why not do what we did. Josh and I sat down and created the recipe instructions on special paper (to practice his writing) and then after we made the cake while we were waiting for it to bake we made invitations for our friends to come and eat the cake with us at our ‘afternoon tea party’.

So that was my official version of things. How did it really go? Well J decided to grab the chocolate from Josh and as you can see it was mayhem. The boys had so much fun and to be honest after we baked and made the invites I gave both the boys a cloth and we got down to the cleaning. OK so J is only just 13 months so he didn't really clean, but he was happy wiping his little cloth on the floor keeping him quiet while Joshie got down to the real cleaning with me. We had friends over later and the cake went down a treat.

Activity number 2 was building a tent!

Here is the official version from my newsletter:

Don’t panic I haven't gone mad. This is a fun activity that involves a trip to the park, lots of sellotape, a sheet or duvet cover and lot of laughs.





First you need to collect loads of branches to create the frame for your tent so make sure you collect only thick branches. Go to your local park or forest and have fun collecting.

When you get home you need your sellotape and branches. Create your frame by sellotaping the branches together to create 6-8 same length poles.
Join the poles together near the top with your sellotape and get the kids to separate the poles into a circle to create your TeePee shape.

If you can it is recommended to either ensure the poles are dug into the ground or you create a base to make the foundations strong. Throw your old sheet over the top and sit back and watch the fun. Its amazing how much fun kids can have in a tent. Please use a breathable material and not a sheet of plastic just incase it does fall down you don't want to run the risk of suffocation.

Here is the unoffical version - It fell down 6 times before we finally managed to get it stable enough to play in. I never did go to girl guides and maybe those skills would have come in handy. This really was a great activity that took almost the whole day and the best thing about it is you have a free toy to keep the kids amused for the rest of the summer.



The boys have been playing in and around the tent since we built it this morning. I will bring the sheet in later so that they can go and play again tomorrow...

The joys for the School Holidays.


Join me for some more fun in our next post....

Easy Jet do have a heart

Its tiring being a work at home mum especially in the summer holidays and I can't believe how easily distracted I am getting. Let me explain.
Hubby's sister is due to give birth to a little boy in November and his parents really want us there for the birth or shortly after so we decided that we would go during the Christmas break.... So far so easy.
I recently found out that Easy Jet will start to fly to Tel Aviv come November so I had a little peak at their prices. I looked at March 2010 and for a family of 4 (including 1 infant)I was astounded that the price was a ridiculous £350 for all of us..it is usually £300each. I then looked at December, while I was doing this my mum called. She is in Alicante at the moment and...yes...you guessed it, I stupidly chose the destination of Alicante instead of Tel Aviv. Well, in shock that at peak season the price for 4 people was only £348 I called Hubby full of excitement and of course he said book it. WHICH I DID...still not realising I was booking to Alicante. Of course the baby was moaning constantly and I was desperate to get this fantastic price I just clicked OK, I even read the confirmation 5 times as I couldnt get my head around it being so cheap...
Hubby got home and suddenly something clicked in my dozy little head. I don't know if I wanted to laugh or cry. It was too late in the evening to call Easy Jet to explain and I spent the whole of Friday night in shock at my stupidity.
Thankfully when I explained what happened the Easy Jet rep laughed at me and waived the transfer fees. I wasn't allowed my money back so I had to book our Christmas flights at full cost. Again thankfully the prices are still much cheaper than other airlines otherwise I may not have seen the funny side of this. Still I got a good deal in the end and didn't have to pay nearly £200 cancellation fee on a holiday that never existed. Now I am worried what else will happen during these summer holidays, my brain isn't what it used to be...