Anyone fancy joining me in living life according to Granny Murray's advice?

[spotofcheerfulness]

As of yesterday, I decided that I would endeavour to live my life according to Granny Murray's words of wisdom (childminder in CBeebies' Me Too! if you've never heard of her).

Every episode she comes out with some pleasantly obvious and trivial aphorism which the characters remember in the nick of time, and which solves all their problems.

In the absence of any other guiding philosophy/religion in my life, I have decided to live by her advice each day, and when in doubt, ask myself "what would Granny Murray do?"

Yesterday, she advised me to make the most of the sunshine. Today, it's more haste, less speed. I am surely on a fast track to canonisation if I continue to follow this path.

Anyone else fancy joining me? Or do you have another TV mentor?

[Arithmeticulous]

50 Shades of Granny Murray, isn't it

[spotofcheerfulness]

"some things are easier than you think"
. There's smut everywhere you look...

[3duracellbunnies]

I take that as encouragement that I will be able to make ds's dinosaur vulcano cake easily today, though why couldn't she have told me whether to use sugar paste or buttercream, that would have been really useful.

[3duracellbunnies]

Oh no, just googled again and most of them have chocolate, which does look cool, but we don't have enough, so I will need to now drive to school and go with ds to the shops for the 5th time (plus a home delivery) this week before my friend comes over, how is that ever going to be easier than I think.

[3duracellbunnies]

Ok, just found 150g plain chocolate, can blend that with some of the milk chocolate and make the volcano a bit smaller, it might just work! Will go off now to try to make a decision without relying on a tv character

[spotofcheerfulness]

• can you buy a ready made volcano one from Asda, 3duracell?

[3duracellbunnies]

Not sure that I see GM as a buy a cake sort of person, she would probably get ds mixing the chocolate, which any sane person knows is no job for a not yet 3yr old in a recently cleaned kitchen!

[VagolaJahooli]

Duracell, I am an expert volcano dinosaur cake maker. Make two chocolate cakes, one as the base then cut the other into vaguely volcano sides shaped chunks shove them together on top of the volcano & then make icing with cream & chocolate (basically heat double cream with chocolate until chocolate melted then whip & refrigerate) then ice the whole thing carelessly. The point being to make it all stick together & look vaguely like a mountain. See if you can buy some red readymade icing. Make some lava looking type rivers down the sides running away from the main Caldera bit at the top. Finally, buy a couple of small toy dinosaurs & arrange around the volcano. Voila, volcano with extra birthday presents in the form of dinosaur figurines.

[3duracellbunnies]

Half way through the cake, didn't have cream so used butter + chocolate icing instead, there was enough. I had made it in a bowl so trimmed the cake and combined the crumbled cake with choc + butter to make a low island which I have put green icing on. Have made some palm trees with rolos and sugar paste leaves. The dinosaurs are a mixture of chocolate and some marzipan ones made in a dinosaur mold. Just need to do some sea and lava which I thought I might do glace icing and see where it runs. I have a fountain candle for the top. It has been quite easy once I decided I did have enough chocolate. Just got to convince ds that he can't eat it before his party!!

[VagolaJahooli]

Wow that sounds quite professional compared to mine.

[bagpuss]

Wow! That really does sounds good! When is his birthday 3duracellbunnies? My dts are three in two weeks' time .

[spotofcheerfulness]

"Always be kind to animals".
Not sure how I'm going to fit that one into my day. UNless she is referring to my DCs as animals which, while apposite, is also quite rude as she Doesn't Know Me.
Bitch.

[3duracellbunnies]

Do I detect a touch of disillusion with Guru Murphy spotofcheerfulness ? Can't see the immediate relevance, though we do pass lots of dogs on the school run, will try extra hard to make sure dc don't scoot over them! Only other animals in my life are dinosaurs, will try to treat my cake moulds with respect! Party is Sunday, he will be 3 next week, my baby is getting big!

[spotofcheerfulness]

I am particularly grumpy today as have been up all night with DS2 and needed some inspiration not an advertorial for the RSPCA!

Good luck with the party, 3duracell. Are you doing small and intimate or large and chaotic?

[bagpuss]

Good luck with the party! I haven't even decided what we're doing yet. A nice postman woke me up at 7.15 this morning by delivering a parcel which turned out to be part of the dts present so at least that's sorted.

Wrt today's advice, I could be extra kind to all the daddy long legs and spiders which are all over the house. I was going to do some housework but that might disturb them I suppose so I'll have to abstain - I'm sure this is what GM means .

Spotof I can sympathise, dt1 decided to wake up at 4.30 am and announce to the whole house that she was bored . I'm afraid I was less than my usual cheery self

[3duracellbunnies]

I thought we would go for the small and chaotic approach! He is having 3 friends, but by the time we add siblings (convieniently including both dd1 + dd2's best friends) it comes to 11 siblings. Is supposed to be at the park but looks as if there might be the end of a hurracane coming in, which means it has to be at home, the spiders will have to go. Sorry GM, but if she did long term weather forecasts it could all haave been avoided. Still not completely given up hope of the park so I guess the cleaning could wait until tomorrow!

[greenhill]

Why were our DC's so unsettled last night? My DS had the screaming abdabs yesterday evening because I went to a parents evening at my DD's school. I settled him after a further hour, then had him in bed with me from 1 as he kept shouting for me; he woke frequently and needed water each time. Grrr.

My DS was not kind to animals as he had usurped our cat's role as hot water bottle and had tried to lie on top of her, as he cuddled her. Sensibly she slept elsewhere. Yawn. I will be kind to animals by not hoovering and keeping DS away from the cat

[Arithmeticulous]

"Always be kind to animals"

Like rabbits.

[spotofcheerfulness]

3Duracell, you don't happen to live in Sussex do you? I overheard another mum at my DS's gym class today talking about a volcano cake she had made and did wonder...

I have now got sent into birthday panic as DS1's birthday is on 17 Dec, DS2's is on 29 Dec and i haven't given a thought as to parties. I hope GM has some good advice tomorrow about how birthdays are optional, really...

[3duracellbunnies]

No, not me, obviously an explosion of volcanos! When I first read it I thought you meant a gym gym, that would definitely not be me!

I've heard that half birthday parties are very fashinable for those with Christmas time birthdays, delays having to think about it for six months! I do like organising a party though, except dd2 keeps changing her mind about theme, doesn't she realise that I only have 5 months to organise it! Will hope for a pearl of wisdom for you tomorrow!

[VagolaJahooli]

Spot is your faith wavering? Do we need to meditate on this?

athrimeticulous, Rabbits, cheeky.Spot, ar

[spotofcheerfulness]

"make sure everything is ship-shape".

[3duracellbunnies]

Oh no, she sounds like my mother now, more pressure to get the house tidy for ds's party. It was going too be at the park but the forecast of torrential downpours makes that unlikely, so have had to wade through loads of tidying as well as usual party prep.

Hopefully she doesn't mean that the storm will turn the house into a ship and we need to be preparing to hoist the mainsail!

[VagolaJahooli]

I have a pirate ship mold, is she telling me I should make a ship shaped cake?

[LadyClariceCannockMonty]

I'm ignoring the ship-shape one.

I am always kind to animals though.