Tuesday Blues

I’m feeling rather grumpy today and I am sure it is S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder) kicking in. Last winter I bought a special lamp to help out so I hope to spend some time with that later today. Keeping busy is another great way to distract me, so later today I am going to clear out the big chest freezer in the garage in preparation for Christmas. I am sure this will leave me with some interesting meals for the next day or two as I struggle to put together some meals with odd ingredients, but sometimes this is when my most creative dishes are created. Plus I am hoping to do round one of the Christmas shop today… wish me luck

Bit of a chillout really! (With some X factor controversy)

Good morning everyone! I hope you are well today, despite the seriously gloomy weather this Monday morning.

We had a very relaxing weekend… For the first time in a long time I don’t really have much to report. We were really rather lazy to be honest. Well, Michael and I did get a fair bit done in the garden together; there was a lot that needed clearing out and our delightful neighbours young dog (a boxer, only 5 months) has dug a hole at the bottom of the garden under the fence and has been paying frequent visits. For now we have blocked it up with some logs, but will need to come up with something a little more permanent soon. Of course the kids adore the doggy (name of Dodger) coming over to visit and it causes much excitement before we return the little scamp. I do worry about him getting in and frightening the chickens while nobody is watching though!

Aside from the doggy shenanigans we were really quite lazy! I now of course have an ironing pile to match the eiffel tower taunting me, but what the hey, it has been so long since we had a weekend like that. We did of course watch both installments of the X-Factor and I must say the choices the judges made when putting people through were very controversial in our household!

Louis: What were you thinking

a) putting a band of strippers through; this is a family show mister!
b) putting those horrible, rude obnoxious twins through! I can’t even begin to tell you how much trouble my kids would be in for behaving like that.

Simon: I know you had a hard decision as all your acts were strong, but not putting Daniel through? He has already won the show, surely he deserved another chance. (I loved him!)

Cheryl: What on earth were you thinking not putting Ethan through? He was clearly the best of the bunch

Ok rant over. We agreed with the girls group at least
.

Looks like we are off to…

I did a bit of research yesterday about nice places we have not been to before where we might be able to see some deer having learned all about the Stag in this month’s StoryBox.

As you will probably know, we also enjoy hiking and walking so the more research I did, the more I thought it would be nice to go for a lovely walk in a deer park and hope to catch a glimpse of some wild stags.

I have decided we are going to go for a stroll around the National Trust (we are members) Knole park in Kent (a fairly long drive, but worth it I feel having read about it). Especially as not only can we have a wander around the grounds and gardens but they also have a magnificent house to explore too.

Have a lovely weekend and hopefully I will have some good news to report about our weekend too.

Blackberry Success and a bit of a Weather Rant!

Well my blackberry vodka making session went well yesterday, so fingers crossed we will have a really tasty treat this Christmas; certainly a nice novelty to serve when people come to visit.

After yesterdays fun, I was hoping to get a bit more gardening done today. It’s that weird time of year where it’s not quite autumn but it’s no longer summer either. The British weather is tricky at best but this cantankerous transitional period can be quite trying.

I keep waking up and looking out the window in the morning in preparation for the day and get quite befuddled when I venture out to find I’m dressed rather inappropriately.

So back to the gardening, I am trying to motivate myself right now…. I then have two options, either I go back inside for more suitable attire which could leave me late for whatever I left the house to do in the first place or I press on like a brave explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes or the like.

Of course, if I really get into my gardening and the day is more mild than expected that could leave me a little hot and flustered.

With the children I simply insist they are as layered as a possible without having their movement too restricted. The last thing I want is them catching a chill. (And when you have four children, when one of them gets ill it is generally a matter of time until I have a house full of cold). I would much rather they are slightly more snug than they needed to be.

Well I’m about to face the weather challenge again. Which by the way, it would seem that in the time taken to write this blog the seasons have gone through their full annual cycle! Ok. Rant over, off to the garden.

Busy Busy Busy!

Good morning everyone. Wow, you would not believe how busy I have been since I last blogged on Friday! I did mean to blog yesterday, but unfortunately any “me” time is seriously precious at the moment. If it weren’t for the small fortune I am going to have to spend buying new uniforms for all four of my children, plus new shoes, school bags and stationary I would say I am quite looking forward to them going back to school!

At least today we are having some lovely weather, something of a rarity this August, so the kids are out in the garden playing at the moment. I will be joining them shortly to get on with some much needed gardening and to keep an eye on them too. I am hoping it will stay nice until the evening so that we can all have a BBQ when Michael gets home from work. I have a lovely bit of wild trout that one of my friends caught on Sunday and I was hoping to cook that with lemon slices and fresh herbs in some foil on the BBQ and serve it with some baby potatoes and salad. Lovely.

It’s all Homemade!

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had a lot of fun getting creative! We did so many activities it was great, although I feel like I will need another weekend to recover. The kids are off school now for Easter, so it’s still busy, busy here! The weather here was just lovely on Saturday afternoon too, so after we had made lots of delicious Easter treats including chocolate krispie cakes, we had our own little picnic in the garden! We even made some homemade lemonade, which was just delicious. The recipe (good old Delia!) was really easy, and if you were planning on having a picnic anytime soon I would highly recommend it. It’s so refreshing.

We also had a go at the AdventureBox craft activity this month and had a great time making our very own River People, which the kids loved to play with by the pond when we had our garden picnic. I really can’t wait for summer now!

Weekend Fun

Hello everyone. The kids were still playing their gladiator games last night (bless them) so I can foresee a lot of fun and games this weekend as we move our Colesseum into the garden! I am also hoping we will get time to have a go at doing some arts and crafts as inspired by the latest AdventureBox book.

I suppose it will be dictated somewhat by the weather – if it’s lovely and sunny I’m sure we will all be out enjoying the springtime. I’ll let you know on Monday about all our adventures.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!

I’m no April Fool!

Good morning everyone!

Well it is Aprils fool day so be careful today! Don’t be fooled! My children all tried to convince me this morning that they had seen a fairy in the garden! They really do have quite the imagination and they were very convincing in their deceit however I was perfectly aware of the date! After a while, the fell about giggling knowing they could no longer keep up the pretence that there were genuine fairies in our garden!
Our new Bayard books have arrived today also; perhaps that’s where they get their very creative minds! I have only given them all a quick look over, as I’m sure the kids will love to spend most of their time this week enjoying them after school, but they do look fantastic! I will fill you in more tomorrow about what the kids think of them.
Seeing as the weather is quite nice today I think I am going to go and get on with a bit of gardening; I better keep my eyes open for fairies though!

Lovely Weekend – Special Mummys Day!

Well what a lovely weekend I have just had! The weather here was just glorious and we spent a lot of time out in the garden, the children playing and I have managed to get a lot done to make it look a lot prettier. My friend just got a little puppy too, and she brought her over on Saturday night. Aged just 8 weeks old, “Tinkerbell” is an adorable little red boxer puppy. Of course the children absolutely adored her and she loved all the kisses and cuddles our big family had to give. After all the excitement the little pup fell fast asleep and went home but it was really nice to have her over; and my friend too of course! Yesterday was amazing too; Michael didn’t let me go near the Kitchen (unheard of!) and cooked a 3 course dinner along with the children. I spent the morning continuing with a bit of gardening and was then invited inside to enjoy my mother’s day treat. The kids had got together to make me a beautiful card and we ate a starter of smoked salmon salad, steak for main course and little chocolate pots for pudding. All quite simple dishes (Michael isn’t quite Gordon Ramsay) but really tasty and it was lovely to be treated like a queen. So I have a big smile on my face today!

On a rather sad note however I would like to say how sad I am for Jade Goody’s family after she lost her battle with cancer yesterday. Whilst I never really cared for Jade as a “celebrity” it is undisputable that this news is very sad; her poor little boys have been left without a mother. I hope her celebrity friends will ensure they are well loved and looked after and kept away from the certain media frenzy that awaits them.

The Sun has got his hat on

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.