Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Pirate Party Fun

 Last Saturday the boys and I set off to Wales to attend a pirate birthday party for 'theboy' son of TheBoyandMe. We had a brilliant time and the boys really enjoyed themselves. Pass the parcel, which Burton won,  musical statues and bumps, decorate your own treasure chest and pin the treasure on the treasure map were great ways to entertain the shipmates before it was time to eat.



Lots of hearty fare was on offer which went down well with all the little pirates present. The birthday cake was amazing - a chocolate pirate ship complete with maltesers for cannon balls!






Despite a wet and very windy start to the proceedings, after the party food had been eaten and the cake candles blown out, the sunshine made an appearance and all the party guests were able to go outside and play! There were bubbles, slides, a swing, balloons, slides, a digging for treasure sandpit and some climbing fun to be had.












After such a great party it was a shame to have to head home and the boys would have preferred to stay playing in the garden! Thanks TheBoyandMe for inviting us.

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Mini Meatball and Sticky Noodle Cheesey Smiley Face

Richmond, normally known for thier sausages, has just launched Mini Meatballs which are sold in the fresh ailses or from the freezer.


 These meatballs are made from sausage meat and will cook in the oven in less than 10 minutes straight from the freezer - perfect for when you need a quick and easy meal in moments for hungry mouths! Richmond Mini Meatballs have set a Happy To Hungry challenge to devise a meal using these new sausage meatballs and here is what I came up with for my two boys.


I am almost embarrased to admit that this meal was one of those spur-of-the-moment-see-what-I-have-in- my-fridge/cupboards-to make a meal for tea, so basically uses some really ermmm well ingredients that are hardly Michelin Star worthy to say the least ha ha! However, this meal only took 10 minutes to make and did use up whatever I had to hand in my kitchen! I love making meals like this - its a great way to be creative. This recipe made 2 servings but would actually make 3 if you cook some extra meatballs as there were enough of the veggie sticky noodles left to make another portion.

To make a 'mini meatball and sticky noodle cheesey smiley face' you will need the following

Ingredients

6 Richmond Mini Meatballs
1 packet of chicken flavoured super noodles
Handful of frozen peas, carrots, sweetcorn and broccoli
1 sachet of Blue Dragon (or similar) sweet and sour stir fry sauce
300ml water
2 handfuls of grated cheese
1 packet of cubed cheese (kids snack cheese) or cut your own

Method

Cook the Richmond Mini Meatballs in the oven as per the cooking instructions
Boil 300ml water in your kettle 
Place the super noodles in a saucepan and put on a medium heat and add the boiling water
After about 1 minute add the chicken flavouring and stir
Add the frozen vegetables and stir again, reduce the heat slightly and then add the sweet and sour sauce and  keep stirring so that the noddles don't stick to the bottom of the pan!
Cover with a lid to allow the vegetables to cook but stir occassionaly
Meanwhile, grate your cheese and get your cubed cheese ready
After 10 minutes ther meatballs are cooked so remove from the oven.
Plate up by spooning the sticky noodles on to your plates and make a circle shape
Top with your 3 meatballs to make 2 eyes and a nose
Use the cubes of cheese to make a cheesey smile and place 1 on each meatball eyeball 
Place the grated cheese above the meatball eyes to make some hair 

and there you have it 

mini meatball and sticky noodle cheesey smiley face made in just 10 minutes


The boys really liked the meatballs !
yaaaaay :)


This post is an entry for the BritMums’ Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs

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Sunday, 16 June 2013

Higgidy Balsamic Onion and Mature Cheddar Quiche (A Review)

I love having a picnic and this week (17th - 23rd June, 2013) is National Picnic Week. With it being Father's Day today I had planned for the boys and I to treat Daddy to a picnic lunch before he left for his week long course. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and with it raining non stop all day there was no way we would be able to dine outdoors afterall.


To co-incide with a week of celebrating eating al fresco Higgidy, the makers of hand finished pies and quiches, have just launched their brand new limited edition Balsamic Onion & Mature Cheddar Quiche. I had planned to take some quiche out on our picnic as it is perfect for taking outside to eat as it can be eaten straight from the packet along side some potato salad, green salad and dressing. However, in the end I heated this yummy sounding quiche in the oven for 25 minutes and served our picnic at the table instead.



The quiche is sooo good! The balsamic onion chutney adds a sweetness to the palette which is unsual in a quiche but I liked it. Combined with the buttery pastry, the egg custard filling and cripsy cheese and onion crumbed topping really does make for a delicous picnic treat! It tasted just like homemade to be honest, which is what Higgidy strive to do with their range of pies and quiches.


It was a shame it rained and our al fresco picnic had to be cancelled but it was not a shame I got to try this delcious quiche - it really is very tasty and unlike any other quiche I have bought before. I cannot wait to try the Higgidy Smoked Bacon and Mature Cheddar Quiche which I have in my fridge, and fingers crossed I will be able to eat that one outside!


Higgidy Balsamic Onion and Mature Cheddar Quiche is available from Sainsburys priced at £3.79.
 For a limited time only from 17th June, 2013 Higgidy are giving away 2,000 little picnic cool bags to allow you to keep your individual picnic pie fresh. Perfect for lunch times at work or for a picnic in the park, or even in the car if it is raining (I did this a lot as a child!). Please visit http://www.higgidy.co.uk for further information on how to recieve your special bag.

(You can also follow Higgidy on twitter @higgidy and facebook www.facebook.com/higgidy)

I was sent vouchers to buy some quiche for the purpose of this review. All opinions and comments made about the quiche are my own and honest.

Now You Are 2 Jenson You Love


linking up to Lauren from Real Housewife of Suffolk County's linky
why dont you join in?


Saturday, 15 June 2013

My Week That Was #24 (Project 365)








Den Building (159/365)
Making Daddy A Picture (160/365)
Play Dough Elephant (In The Making) (161/365)
Sharing Daddy's Yogurt (162/365)
Flying (163/365)
Jumping Jenson (164/365)
Pirate Party (165/365)

Sunday - we went to Arlington Court, National Trust, today to meet up with my Mum, Step Dad and the boys step cousins for a lovely picnic and den buiding, tree climbing, hill rolling and watched some sheep race which you can read about here 

Monday - Burton went to Ladybirds while Jenson and I did some food shopping and then came home and  Jenson enjoyed playing with the crafty bit and bobs, and made a lovely picture for Daddy. I made this rather tasty quiche for tea.

Tuesday - I made some homemade playdough yesterday and let the boys loose with it today which kept them amused on and off all day! Just as well as it rained pretty much all day, although in between the showers they went on the trampoline and got wet from the small puddles collated on the netting!

Wednesday - Jenson was being a cheely monkey and sharing Daddy's yogurt at breakfast - such a cute photo. More playdough play this morning and also some ball games in the garden this afternoon

Thursday - Burton went to Ladybirds, but at 2pm I had to take him to his new school for an hours induction. He had a lovely time and cannot wait to go again next Friday. Afterwards, as a little treat I took the boys to the softplay.

Friday - after grocery shopping this morning, we spent the rest of the day making birthday and fathers day cards for 'the boy' from TheBoyandMe fame and for Daddy. The boys also played in the garden and the trampoline.....again! Such a good investment they go on it pretty much everyday!

Saturday - the boys and I went to 'The Boy's ' pirate birthday party which was brilliant and TheBoyandMe did a cracking theme with some great activities, some tasty partry food, an amazing birthday cake and despit a very wet and windy start the sun came out after the food and the children could play outside in the garden! The only downside to the day is that 20 minutes into our journey home, the car broke down and we didnt get home until 11pm! 

TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

Den Building, Tree Climbing and More Rolling Down Hills

Number 4 of the 50 Things To Do Before You're 11 3/4  is to

Build A Den

Last Sunday was a glorious day: bright sunshine, blue sky and and Open Farm Sunday!!! Our local National Trust Property, Arlington Court, was holding a few farm based activites so we met my Mum, Step Dad and my Step Niece and Nephew and met up firstly for a delicous picnic in the buttercup covered, long grassed filled meadow.

Once insde the grounds the boys set about building a den from some branches that were laying on the ground - I think Burton, Daddy and Jenson did a good job.






Then the we watched some sheep racing whcih was funny because the sheep were a bit tempermental in their running efforts!


The boys took part in making some sheep from dyed woven (done on a spinning wheel in the tent next door) sheeps wool 

Then we did some more rolling down hills you can see Jenson's hilarious efforts here  and I had a go which left me feeling very dizzy. I cannot rememeber the last time I rolled down a hill !



and then Burton had a go too.


The boys also had a go at tree climbing in the tangle Gruffallo wood




All in all a great way to spend a sunny Sunday 
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Burton's Big Boy School Induction

Burton had his first induction at his new school today. It was one of three hourly sessions running over the next three weeks, before he starts there in September full time. I have been dreading him having to attend 'big school' for a while now, which I know is silly and irrational but it just makes me feel sad. I am pleased that he has been accepted into our first choice of school for him, which we discovered back in April. 


However, since that Friday when I read the letter congratulating us on Burton being accepted into their school, instead of feeling jubilant about it I have just felt sad and close to tears a lot!! 

 I know that he is a bright boy. His pre school key worker has told me that she has no concerns about him settling into school from an academic sense. She also went onto say that he is great at socialising now with his peers and the staff at his pre school, and compared to when he first began Ladybirds 15 months ago, when he it was hard for people to comprehend what he was speaking and therefore he found it hard to make himself understood, he joins in a lot more with the other children now and has made some friends. This makes me proud and happy of course, as well as reassuring me that he is ready to make the transition from pre school to school.

the new school
However, I am finding it hard, really hard to accept that he will be a school pupil in 3 months time and will no longer be at home with me for most of his week. I know he has to go to school and I know he has to grow up, and I have to let him go and gain some independance. But I just cannot help how I feel and for the past couple of weeks I feel like I could cry over it all! Today when I dropped Burton off, and he gave me a cuddle and told me he loved me, and gave me his biggest most beautiful smile, well I could have broken down then and there. 

My little boy is growing up and far too quickly for my liking. I just cannot help but wonder where the hell the last almost 4 years have gone. I know he will still be my little boy once he starts school ,and I really do want him to learn and do well there and make new friends, but it will be other outside influences shaping his life now and I won't be his be all and end all anymore. Does this make sense? Probably not. 

I cannot help but think what happened to that little baby boy I could just spend hours watching and feeling the most contentment I had ever felt. The most shattered too, but thats another story! Burton taught me what it was to feel real unconditional love, the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced. I used to love just watching him, while he lay beside me sleeping or seeing him breath and smelling him (love that newborn baby smell). I would cry just for being thankful for having such a perfect baby and was always so over whelmed with the love I felt and had for him my beautiful baby boy!! See, I am a silly emotional woman!!!

But I was the one who gave birth to him, fed him, attended to him at all hours of the day and night, lost hours of sleep over him, read him his first story, and kissed him to make him feel better and spent a long time rocking him to sleep and comforting him.






It seems hard to believe that those photos were taken almost 4 years ago now. I am so grateful that I have been able to be a full time SAHM and see Burton grow and pass through his mile stones to date first hand. Yes of course it hasn't all been plain sailing, and it has been a massive learning curve for me and my parenting skills and it has not been easy. I am by no means an expert Mummy or parent. I have done my best, most of the time. I probably could have done much better at handling certain situations and I could have shouted less or been a bit stricter over other things. But no one is perfect and we learn by our mistakes and experiences, don't we?

As I prepare to send my eldest boy off into the big wide world , I am proud of the way he has been brought up, and the boy he has become. It has not been all my doing, of course, but as I have spent the most time with him it is inevitable that I have made a big impact in the way he behaves and interacts with other people - oh dear poor boy !!

Two lovely ladies passed on some wise words to me this afternoon when I was feeling a bit sad while waiting to collect Burton from his induction. I love the first quote especially.

" Don't be sad about what he isn't anymore. Be excited about what he will become. You are taking the journey with him"
 Kate

"You don't let them go, you just let them go to the next step. They always come home"
Stella 

When I collected Burton he was happy to see me, and he had enjoyed a wonderful hour and seemed to have done a lot in such a short space of time. It is also good to discover that two boys from Ladybirds will be in his class, both of which are the only two children who have invited Burton to their birthday parties this year!. His teacher, whose name I cant recall now, seemed nice not that I had chance to say much to her as she was busy handing out name badges. I did tell Burton's daddy that he will enjoy coming to parents evning as she is young and very pretty lol!

 There is nothing I can do to make time stop and make my boy stay as he is forever and be mine completely. Growing up happens -  end of. However, as we approach this new and important mile stone in his young life, I hope it passes well and without any upset on his behalf. I really hope we won't have a repeat of when he started at pre school with weeks of him screaming for me not to leave him!! I hope it will only be me sobbing at the gates (without him seeing me of course) and screaming inside that time is passing by too bloody fast for my liking and I wish it would slow down already!!

This post was brought to you as part of Flashback Friday
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Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post
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