Saturday 30 June 2018

Me and Mine in June

I completely forgot that June was coming to an end so it is going to be a squeeze getting this post published in time but we managed to get a photo all the way back on the 27th.  We were clearing up Cora's birthday party as the light was fading and my Mum (who was helping the most!) offered to grab one of us quickly.  They are far from perfect but they are ones I am going to remember.

June has been full of sunshine and it really felt like the begging of summer.  I feel like there are times where we take the beach for granted but I am determined that this year won't be one of them and we have spent mornings, afternoons and evenings down there.  This was the month Cora turned 2 and I officially admitted she is now a toddler rather than a baby and the month we started preparing for a super busy July with all the end of school activities!



This month I have been loving mornings at the beach when we have the place to ourselves, home made iced coffee, a childfree day shopping with friends and playing football.

Ed has been loving a weekend at Download festival, bbqs in the garden, all the football and spending time with Archie.

Dylan has been loving after dinner beach walks, ice lollies after school, learning about the problems with plastic at school and preparing for his end of school play.


Archie has been loving our glamping trip away, riding a horse for the first time at his friend's party, being Kindness Champion at school and water play in the garden.

Finn has been loving having a bouncy castle in the garden, ritz crackers, watching people open Kinder Eggs and jumping at any excuse.

Cora has been loving her birthday party with all her friends and family, her new mermaid themed bedroom, looking after her 'baby' and her new yellow scooter.


It has been a great month and I hope July is as full of laughter!
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Thursday 28 June 2018

Al Fresco Dinners with Snapfish

It feels like we are getting a real summer this year.  We have been in shorts and short sleeved dresses for weeks now and it is still only June.  I am quite optimistic about the weather and I am hoping we have a long summer ahead. One of the reasons of course is that my house stays tidier.  The children wake up and head for the garden and if all goes well, they stay out there until it is time for bed. We have a little blue table with just the right amount of chairs for them all so the seagulls are cleaning up any mess rather than my broom!


We are slowly filling the garden with everything we need to make it fun and inviting for all ages and these photos are from an ordinary afternoon after school.  I cooked pizza and garlic bread knowing it is quick and easy and will all disappear and served it up on their little blue table. I am working with Snapfish and I couldn’t resist ordering them all their own coasters (and a matching pair for Ed and I).  You would not believe how many arguments were stopped in their tracks from having their face under their cup - I definitely need to get them personalised place mats made next!


We also designed a chopping board using the fun design tools on the Snapfish website.  I mixed four happy little chefs that remind me of my own with some fruit and veg and added our name too.  The plan is that this will be theirs for when they want to cook and get involved and they already love it.  I used the chopping board to serve the garlic bread although it disappeared pretty quickly!

It was easy to make the products and you can import photos straight from facebook and instagram.  I love how personal you can make each item and they make a perfect present! (My brother and sister in law have some personalised coasters coming as a gift!).  Snapfish have a selection of foodie inspired gifts that can be easily personalised with photos, text and embellishments.

This is what an ordinary Monday night looks like here with an al fresco dinner!



















This post is in collaboration with Snapfish

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Tuesday 26 June 2018

The Night before Two

It has come around so quickly, your second birthday,  I feel like I was still saying 'only just one' just a few weeks ago and now suddenly you are turning two and I can't believe how big you are! You are my last baby and you are leaving the baby days behind rapidly. I was reading the letter I wrote to you one year ago today and it seems like so long ago you were that tiny!

Cora, you look so angelic with your blue eyes and blonde hair but it hides the fierce little girl you actually are.  You are so incredibly smart and so determined.  You know exactly what you want and you know how to get it.  You are so full of personality making us all laugh every day and you are so full of sass making us despair at the same time.  We are already dreading the teenage years.

This was the year you learned to talk, to walk with confidence and run.  You are desperate to scoot like your brothers and I think you will love your birthday present tomorrow! You are caring and your favourite toy is a 'baby' doll. I watched you at playgroup as you sat baby in the jumperoo and made its hands push the buttons.  You love playing Hide and Seek too although your hiding spots need some work and you look adorable covering your eyes shouting ' seven, eight, nine, ready not, come!'


One was the year we ditched the daytime nappies and bought the tiniest pants we could find for you.   It was the year you discovered your love for Blaze and the Monster Machines and the year you and your littlest big brother became partners in crime, intent on ruining my house and driving me crazy!

You are happiest with company but you are only really happy if you have your Mummy and she isn't for sharing.  If your brothers give me cuddles, you come up desperate for one, squeezing your arm in between them and me.  You are definitely a Mummy's girl.

Tomorrow marks two years of breastfeeding and we are still going strong! You don't feed so much in the day anymore and you are sleeping through the night, but you still feed every night before bed and every morning before anything else) and often a couple more times in the day too.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating all day with a little party in the garden for your friends at lunchtime and a bbq in the evening with your family.  I hope you have the best day surrounded by people that love you.

These photos were taken by the awesome Wishes and Wellies when she came to visit us this week.

I am loving getting to know you better as you find your voice, watching you grow and seeing the person you are becoming.  Two is going to be such a fun year! But before we start on that next adventure, I want to pause for a moment to remember how wonderful you are right now.  How you waited up for me tonight so you could fall asleep in my arms. How wild your hair looks as you sleep, spread across your pillow, the way you cuddle Chase close.  I want to remember how you wake up unsure of what is more urgent, coming and checking on me, and going to see Finn.  I want to remember how needed I still feel by you in every sense.  The way you angrily say 'self' if I try and help you with something you don't need help with, the way you shout Now with such urgency and your bartering 'Milk first' every time I ask you to do something.  You will never be this small again, the clocks will move forward and so will you but I never want to forget this wonderful stage in your life.

Baby girl, you are more loved than you will ever know

xx
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Monday 25 June 2018

Easy Enchildas with Tilda Rice


It is the season for outdoor eating and it isn’t just barbeques, I am giving the children as many of their meals outside as possible at the moment.  My house has never been cleaner! It was outdoor eating that inspired this dinner featuring Tilda kids rice which has always been one of our go to foods for those days when you need to get dinner on the table quick.


The Tilda kids rice takes only 40 seconds to cook in the microwave and counts as one of their five a day thanks to the vegetable goodness mixed in with the rice in each packet.  Most importantly, the kids love it and as they are all vegetarian I can nibble on any leftovers.


The boys have been asking to go to Legoland Windsor Resort for so long and as the Tilda Kids have an amazing offer on their packaging at the moment that allows one free entry with a paying adult to either Legoland Windsor Resort or Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester which is valid throughout the summer holidays and until the 1st November! (visit www.Legoland.co.uk/TildaKids for more details)

tilda kids rice, kids enchiladas

I made these easy beany enchiladas by gently heating some beans and mixing in one packet of Tilda Kids Cheese and tomato rice.   The boys love both the sunshine rice and the cheese and tomato but I have to admit that this one is my favourite!

tilda kids rice, kids enchiladas

Once it was heated, I filled mini wraps with the mixture and rolled them into a little dish.  I covered them with mild salsa and some freshly grated cheese and baked under the grill on a medium heat until the cheese had melted and the wraps were starting to brown.

tilda kids rice, kids enchiladas

Meanwhile, I boiled some carrot sticks and mini corns to add some colour to the plate and sneak in some extra vegetables.  The Tilda kids rice contains lots of hidden veg so it is our go to for those last minute meals where you don’t want to cook anything too tricky!

tilda kids rice, kids enchiladas

I served up the mini enchiladas with the fresh vegetables and all four children loved them! The whole meal took around 10 minutes to make and was super tasty.  I think you could add some bbq chicken or some peppers in to the wraps to make it perfect for adults too!

I have of course kept the packets safe ready to take along to Legoland Windsor resort with us this summer!

tilda kids rice, kids enchiladas

This post is in collaboration with Tilda Rice

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Thursday 21 June 2018

A Weekend with Ready Camp

My favourite thing about camping is watching the children run free.  They leave the screens at home, they leave their toys and familiarities and they embrace nature in the way I remember doing as a child.  Sticks and stones become their entertainment, trees are there for climbing and they have all this space to run and explore.   We have found that it doesn't really matter how far we go, they are too young to really understand that bit, it is that we are together and that they have this freedom.

We recently spent a weekend at a Ready Camp site in Canterbury.  It only took us about half an hour to get there and we all know Canterbury quite well, but for the purpose of this weekend it was our holiday destination and we could have been in another country for all the children cared.  Without the long travel it made the journey so much less stressful and despite the fact we could really have popped home at any point, it felt like we had escaped.

The site is situated within walking distance of the town centre (although walking back is all up hill) but on the campsite we felt far away.  The Ready Camp tents are already set up and have a living area with a small sofa, dining table and chairs and small kitchen area (work surface, kettle, toaster, microwave and hob).  There are two bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with a bunk bed (double bed on the bottom) which has a pull out mattress underneath too.  The tents are situated close to a playground area and a short distance from the toilet and shower block.  We loved being in near proximity to the playground as it meant we could sit on our front decking and watch the children as they explored the area.  In the evening we could turn on the lights at the front and watch the sunset as the children snoozed, and every tent had enough camping chairs for the whole family to use.

Just behind the tents was a small woodland area with paths running through it and the children loved exploring it.  They collected sticks and twigs and made up stories about the different areas.  The campsite was busy with caravans and tents, but the playground was always pretty quiet, although the boys did make some friends who they enjoyed playing with.

We love the convenience of glamping as with four small ones we find pitching the tent challenging and I love having a bed and some home comforts but still falling asleep listening to the wind and waking up to the birds.  We had such a lovely time reconnecting as a family and we spent a wonderful day at a local park with a river feeding the ducks and exploring further.  I think these photos tell the story better than I can, the onesies that we popped over their pjs so they could stay out until bedtime and run around as soon as they woke up.  The dirty faces, the dirty feet and a simple home for the weekend that had everything we needed.

We have definitely realised that you don't have to travel far to escape and we loved our weekend away with Ready Camp

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids

Ready camp Canterbury, glamping with kids


 We were offered accommodation in exchange for a review but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.



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