busy days

I didn't get round to posting yesterday as I was busy working through my 'lists'. I have three on the go

1. packing for camping list
2. Babyebi's birthday list
3. birthday tea list

So, the last couple of days I finished making some memory game cards using his art work for the pictures, placemats for the tea, cut out triangles for bunting - only to discover I hadn't got enough tape to finish sewing it all, dinosaur straws for the tea, make a matching T-shirt and shorts and then 2 other pairs of shorts and put together a photobook with all his art work in it from the last 3 years. Of course the sewing machine decided to go on strike just as I was about to start his birthday shorts and I ended up stripping it down, cleaning all the fluff out of it and putting it back together, this is after the usual changing of the needle, bobbin, thread, fiddling with the tension, all the usual suspects.I can't show you most of the things I have made yet in case he comes and looks at the computer!

We will have a busy birthday few days. At the weekend we are going camping with a crowd of friends, I am really looking forward to it, apparently there is a fireworks festival on too. We have actually booked cabins so it's not strictly camping and we will have a big BBQ on the Saturday night. There is lots to do at the place we are going to including a science park and aquarium plus the beach.

Then on his actual birthday, which is Tuesday we will go to the national train museum in the morning, meet a few friends and have lunch there then come home for nap time. We were just going to have tea with the three of us (Daddyebi has the day off work) but babyebi kept asking if Ryo was coming camping, he isn't, so I decided to ask him and two other friends who live nearby for birthday tea.

So, we made some placemats for the tea, Babyebi decided who would be which dinosaur and then painted them

spruced them up with a bit of glitter glue

Then I cut them out and stuck them onto coloured card, we added each guests name and then I covered them with contact paper.

After than we got out the kakikori (shaved ice) machine, lovely and refreshing in this heat, it was 35 degrees here yesterday and humid to boot. Anyway, the bought syrup we have is melon flavour and day-glo green....

I dread to think what is in it! I made some plum syrup at the weekend, I completely made up what I was doing after failing to find a suitable recipe, I boiled the plums in half their weight of sugar and some water until they were soft then pushed them through a sieve and I got a jar full of this...

It's delicious, sweet and tart at the same time, something about it reminds me of my nana, can't quite put my finger on what though! It is lovely on yoghurt and just as good on kakikori

We also made some of this vanilla lemonade and my oh my, is it good! We will be buying more lemons today.