Summer fun - week 2!

On the boats at Legoland.

I wasn't sure how much we would manage to pack in this week with The Eldest and The Boy doing an intensive swimming course for a half hour lesson every day.  The swimming exhausts them so I have been juggling tired older children, an ill baby (double ear infection with a high fever) and a stroppy Feral One whose nose has been put right out of joint by not being allowed to join in the swimming lessons.  Added to that we've had dentist appointments (a filling for me, boo hiss!) and the usual housework/washing/cooking to keep on top of.





However, we have managed to do some fun things.  We took a trip to Legoland with our season tickets which is always a good day out.  Whilst we were there, I sneakily bought some mini figures for a small project I had my eye on - Ice Eggs!  Once at home, I pushed them into some balloons, filled the balloons with some water until they got to be about the size of duck eggs, tied them off and then put them in the freezer for another day.  At an opportune moment (the one where The Feral One was trying to bite The Boy's leg off seemed to be the right one), I whipped them out of the freezer with an, "Oh my goodness, what are these?". It led to a discussion about the type of creature that lays eggs and what had specifically laid these.  My suggestion of a Lego Ice bird was roundly pooh poohed...  Anyway, I then handed them over and watched the mayhem as they tried to get at the mini figures in the eggs.  Good fun all round.

The Minifigures and the balloons.

The Ice Eggs ready to go...

The Eldest attempts to
get through with her teeth.

The Feral One contemplates
how to best open the eggs.

Smashing the eggs on the
ground was the fastest way!

Lots of boxes...

Made into a fort ready for painting.

At another flash point, I pulled out the cereal boxes that I've been saving up for the last couple of months and we made a fort.  We haven't managed to get round to painting it yet on account of running out of the right paint and glue, but we can have a go at that next week. I also blew up a load of balloons one day and just threw them into the playroom which provided hours of imaginative fun.



Later on in the week, as small children rampaged through the house uttering war cries, I pulled out the Magic Milk.  I loved this, especially as it took next to no time to set up and I had all the ingredients hanging round in the house already.  One minute it looked like they might tear the house down, the next they were all sat quietly round the table totally engrossed in this project.  All you need is a saucer of milk, a few drops of food colouring and a cocktail stick dipped in liquid soap - sit back and watch the magic as the detergent breaks the surface tension and the food colouring spreads out.

  

The cut out stars with
crushed sweets.

Finally this week we managed Stained Glass Window biscuits which I have been meaning to make for ages.  I used a Nigella recipe which produced a really nice biscuit (3oz softened butter, half a cup of sugar, 1 large egg, half a teaspoon, one and a half cups all purpose flour, half a teaspoon baking powder - beat the butter and sugar together, add the egg, then the flours, leave to rest for an hour in the fridge before rolling out, then cook at 180c for 10-15 mins) and some boiled sweets for the "glass".  It was good fun smashing up the sweets (in a baggie with a rolling pin) and they would have been a roaring success had I not left them in the oven a bit too long (I thought that the sweets hadn't melted, but actually they were bubbling - doh).  They were still yummy though and I think we'll make them again soon and this time attempt to get them right :)

The end result.

More plans for activities next week!