I thought I would give a mention to my lovely chickens today, as I haven’t blogged about them in a while, and this week they have kindly laid me lots and lots of delicious free-range eggs.
As a result tonight we will be munching a nice big fritatta, the only problem being now is I am not sure what to chose to put in it. The classic spanish with potato, onion and cheese always goes down very well, but I have lots of vegetables to use up, so I’m thinking I might try out a courgette and pepper version. Fingers crossed it will still be very tasty.
I think we will be having another fairly home-based weekend; Michael wants to re-paint our hallway, but first of all we will have to agree on a colour! Looks like a trip to B and Q…
Have a lovely weekend!
Good Morning everyone.
Last night I noticed that the results for the Michael Morpurgo competition that ran in the March AdventureBox book have been published.
Sadly none of our entries made the top entries, but having seen some of them I’m not too sad about this. Some of the entries are totally brilliant and it warms my heart to see so many talented children who care a lot about animal rights and have done some fantastic posters for the cause.
As I keep my own chickens and battery farming is something I feel very strongly against I loved this poster:
I also thought this one was really good too!
Well done to all the kids out there that entered, it’s so good to know that concerns about animal rights are held strongly by young people.
As the children are on half-term this week we have decided to take a visit to Longleat in Bath today! The kids and I love watching it on the television and have always wanted to go. It’s a shame the weather isn’t as good as it was last weekend, but hopefully this will keep the big crowds away. As we have been learning lots about Giraffes with this month’s StoryBox book, the kids are really hoping to see lots of them there today. Personally I am very excited about seeing some Lions, as I think they are such beautiful and majestic creatures. Anyway, I better get going else the kids are going to get mad at me!
I think the warm weather has had a very good effect on our little chicken as we have delicious free-range eggs galore! This will certainly help me with my frifty living and tonight I will be using our home-grown scrummy eggs to make this tasty looking watercress, bacon and potato frittata! Michael will be pleased to see a bit of meat back on the menu too!
Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend; we certainly did here. On Saturday we took a trip over to the Roald Dahl museum and it was a really great day out. The weather was lovely for one and we put on an audiotape of Fantastic Mr.Fox to listen to in the car on route, which really got us in the mood for some Dahl appreciation! We weren’t disappointed when we arrived either as the all the kids were given Story Ideas Book (which they loved). I was given a visitor’s guide, which really helped us make the most of it. As we finished enjoying the museum after about an hour and a half and it was such a lovely day we decided to explore Great Missenden (the village where Roald Dahl lived) too so it was a really great day out. I would definitely love to go again (as would the kids I’m sure) so I’m still hoping that we will win a Golden Ticket in the Adventure Box competition!
On Sunday we took another trip to my friends farm as the kids were dying to see the horses again! I took over a whole Salmon for us though as I felt bad for all these visits! We all had a lovely feast though (Salmon, lemon buttered new potatoes and green salad) and it was so lovely we ate outside. Another great weekend, and the kids are back to school today after the Easter holidays so I can get the house looking lovely again!
Hello everyone. I hope you all had a lovely Easter – We did!
Sorry I didn’t get the chance to blog yesterday but we were out having a lovely family day at the point-to-point near Winchester. The weather was just stunning; I think I even have a bit of a tan today. It was a really great day out, although I am quite exhausted today. Michael and I both went with all four kids and we managed to set up a very nice picnic area right next to the finishing line. I even had a little bet on the first race but sadly lost my 2 pounds! I’m really not the gambling sort, although it was exciting cheering the horses on across the finish line! Sadly my horse, Future To Future, fell on the last lap, even though he was leading for the first two! The kids really enjoyed all the other activities, like ferret racing, and we won some lovely plum liqueur on the tombola! It really felt like summer yesterday! Hurrah!
Sadly the weather is not too great today so we are having a bit of a lazy day! The kids have been quite tired from yesterday too, so have been happy reading their Bayard books, and relaxing and so on. Sounds good to me!
What lovely weather we have been having this week, it certainly seems like spring is really here and summers on its way. I’m feeling so happy and I’m sure it’s to do with a bit of sunshine! I’m going to go out in the garden all day and start sprucing it up! It has been a bit neglected over the winter (as it always is alas) but I really want to start making it a place all the family can enjoy all summer long. Michael just loves to barbeque and the kids love getting their water pistols out and waging their own friendly war games! Last summer we made a “den” for the kids too, which they adored and once the more fundamental garden tasks are done we can consider re-establishing this for their fantasy fun! Enjoy the sun everyone and have a lovely weekend.
Good Morning everyone,
I think I have sprained my ankle somewhat this morning as it is really hurting; when I dropped the children off at school this morning, the weather was so atrocious and I slipped getting out of the car. I think this may be the reason that I am now suffering a bit; getting really fed up of the constant rain and miserable grey skies that have not left us since the snow.
Perhaps one part of the world that could really do with some of our rain is Australia. I have been following the bush fire story a lot this week, especially as I do have distant family out in OZ (I have heard that they are fine and all well thank goodness). The official death toll stands at 181, but is expected to rise steeply as the operation to recover bodies continues; I quite agree with the Australian PM Kevin Rudd who described the possibility of arson as “murder on a grand scale”. I hope they find whoever is responsible for this awful deed and lock them away for a very long time indeed.
The image I added shocked me to the core, especially as an animal lover; I hope you are shocked too and take the time to think about the poor people and animals who have to live with the consequences of this awful occurrence.
Hello there everyone!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We certainly did here! I had a phone call from an old friend on Friday night inviting us all over on the Saturday to her farm. She lives in a lovely old country cottage style farmhouse and it’s so lovely inside. She has the most beautiful kitchen complete with agar and enormous oak table for sitting around and eating delicious home-cooked meals! She was so generous and made a delicious vegetarian chilie packed full of beans, lentils and vegetables (most of which were homegrown!) I will definitely get the recipe off her and put it up for everyone, as it was just lovely.
So anyway, after we had all been treated to lunch, we thought we would walk it off around her lovely farm. She has chickens too so we went and fed them some scraps first. She also has a couple of goats (who were very naughty) and a couple of horses as well. The kids just love horses and my friend tacked them both up and we all had a little ride! It was such fun. She has a little pony called Vinny (who she has had for ever!) and a bigger horse called Charlie, who I rode! We only went on a little potter around one of her fields but I still think I was very brave! So Saturday was a great day! I must invite her over to ours soon and think of a way to thank her for such a lovely time. Suggestions are welcome!
Sunday was great too; we mostly chilled out but I made that fantastic fudge recipe which we had for dessert after a big Sunday Roast dinner. After letting our tummies rest for a while, we all played various games like guitar hero world tour and our homemade skittles . I just love family weekends like that; where we are all together and there are no real tasks to be done other than have fun and enjoy each other’s company. Michael has been very sweet and affectionate all weekend too, and he even had a go on Charlie too! So there are big smiles in my house today.
Bye for now everyone.
Hello everyone!
I know my blog was rather serious yesterday and I do defend this as I strongly believe in what I was discussing regarding how dreadful it is that human rights are still so obviously being ignored around the world.
But then I also thought that my mission when I started blogging was to talk about all the lovely things my family and I have been up to and to reach out to other busy mums about family issues. (Rather like a diary I can share!)
So enough politics for today – I have to tell you about the delicious meal we all ate and LOVED last night. As the chickens have been particularly generous lately I have had a lot of eggs! Now we often enjoy a delicious Spanish omelette, but I thought I would try a slight variation last night. Also this version makes the simple dish a bit more nutritious so great for your children’s little tummies! It’s a spinach & squash frittata recipe.
Give it a go - easy, delicious and nutritious!
It was so easy to do and totally yum! Plus the spinach is literally overflowing with nutrients, minerals and antioxidants with significant levels of iron, calcium and lutein. The squash also is rich in beta carotene, a major antioxidant, vitamins A and C, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acid. Omega 3 fatty acids are important for healthy brain function, healthy heart function, joint function and the function of every system of the body; studies suggest they can help with children’s attention!
So it’s not just the extra curricula things I do with the children like the Bayard books we look at home together that help with the children’s development and education. I think its something often overlooked, but what we put inside the body is important too!
Bye for now everyone
