And so it continues...

How utterly brilliant is this weather!  I hear people complaining about the heat and want to stop them in their tracks, wasn't it just last month we were deluged in rain and more rain??  Let's just enjoy it while we can, I am learning to live for today even though I sometimes falter I am trying to get in the groove of not saving things for a rainy day.

My second baby Miss TC is a summer baby, born right smack bang in the middle of summer, I remember the days after her birth being warm and light and easy, that's what summer means to me, easy, relaxed living.  Eating lighter, being outdoors in the warmth of the sun, being outdoors in the cool of the evening night eating alfresco.  The cold makes me tense, snow, unless I have ski's attached to my feet, makes me want to hibernate.  I'm sure in another life I must have lived in the sun as I love it so much. 

I know my grass is going steadily browner, except for the bit under the apple tree which gets the dappled shade

a haircut needed this week!

and we have a hosepipe and paddling pool filling ban  and I have started getting bitten by little meany munching things but even though its only May, I still treat this as summer, just in case this is all we get this year!

A few things that are so great when the sun shines:

Eating icecream, anytime, any place, anywhere!

Seeing the diamond twinkly sparkle dancing on the sea

Long, light days and evenings spent in the fresh air

The aroma of BBQ's wafting from the gardens and of course...

Wearing sparkly flip flops!

Are you enjoying this heatwave??

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FREE Jubilee Party Pack

We are having a street party here on June 4th, I'm baking loads for the communal table but so far have only managed to get a few cupcake cases, union jack flags and some union jack bunting (already on our trees)!

I keep having to remind myself how soon the party is!   So how pleased was I today when I received an email from Zena-Marie at The Fabulous Mom's Guide with these lovely offerings.

photo credit: The Fabulous Mom's Guide

photo credit:  The Fabulous Mom's Guide

There is much, much more, the pack comes in 5 separate printable PDF files so it is easy to print off just the pieces you need.  Just subscribe to her blog and you can download the Jubilee Party Pack for Free! 


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Let's Do Lunch

The glorious weather continues hooray! but it does make my appetite wane a little.  All I wanted today was something light, fresh & filling enough to see me through the afternoon. 



A lovely light lunch of Cherry Tomatoes, Radishes, Cucumber, Avocado, lightly sprinkled with golden linseeds and drizzled with extra virgin Olive oil, accompanied by a glass of Sassy Water straight from the fridge.

Whats in your lunch box?

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10 Things I Love

1.  Feeling my toddler girl putting her hand in mine, that soft little hand makes my heart melt a little each time she does it.  I hope she wants to hold my hand for many years to come.  I'll always be there to hold hers when she needs me.

2.  Sleeping in.  Every now and then I get a very rare but very welcome lie in and by that I mean 9 am but I'll take it!

3.  The aroma of coffee and freshly baked croissants from the local French Patisserie Valerie on Saturday mornings, preferably eaten in the fresh air, basking in the sunshine.  Make mine an extra shot skinny latte!  Then taking home a couple of cakes, you have to see these cakes to believe them, they are spectacular.

4.  Watching TC running to see the ducks and geese at the local pond and them legging it fast!  Its a joy to see her having fun in the fresh air.  



just lulling the geese into a false sense of security!



ha! here I come!

5.  Taking time to watch the sun set, there's something about dusk that just unwinds me and seeing the sun set is something I never take for granted, another day lived, bring on the next ......

6.  The smell of bleach as I enter the kitchen, this means whilst I've been out Mr J has been swabbing the deck aka the kitchen.  We joke about starting a good girl board when TC is older and how we should start one for him, his reward being beer!

7.  Watching my babies sleep, listening to them breathing softly in sleep.  To have this chance again with no. 2 brings back all the precious memories of watching no.1 snoozing, its all in the room upstairs in my head, safely tucked away, the memories just keep on popping out, making me smile and sometimes a few tears.  Listen when they say it all goes so fast .......

8.  My garden... I really enjoy gardening and on any given sunny, warm day I could potter around, digging, potting, planting seeds, watching the bumble bees, butterflies and the rare sighting of a dragonfly or sit and  close my eyes and bathe in the warmth of the summer sun.  

9.  Books, the pile of books I have yet to read grows each day or seems to.   I read every day, even if it is on the loo!

and 10.  Snuggling up to TC at the end of the day, reading her a story, she still feels warm from her bath, she smells so wonderful all cosy in her pyjama's.  She has a sigh that she does when she is ready to slip into peaceful slumber.   Utterly.priceless.

I could write many more things about cheesey toddler grins, wonderful bear hugs from no.1 child, the many ups and downs of life with a child and the many, many rewards of being a parent - 10 things, who could choose, just the tip of a very large iceberg.
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Sassy Water

I drink a lot of water, about 1.5 - 2 litres a day.  Most of my friends are aghast at this and ask how I manage to fit it all in a day :))  Others say how boring water is to drink.  I really like it, simple as that!  Getting Mr J & TC to drink water is not that easy, TC is getting her fill most days but Mr J still needs a bit of encouragement!   We're all "supposed" to be drinking 8 glasses a day but I never know how big the glass is supposed to be, so I'll just stick with my intake.

So Sassy water.  I came across it several months ago but its been around for a while now.  I keep meaning to try it, I always have the ingredients in the fridge apart from the fresh mint leaves which I will try to get for my next batch, so there really is no excuse. 

Sassy water is so named after Cynthia Sass, the co-author of The Flat Belly Diet.  It is said to help maintain a flat belly, helping to flush impurities out of your system and helping to shed the extra pounds around the tummy area (hallelujah to that!)

To make, take:

1 large glass jug (mine has cocktail recipes etched all over it, very apt!!)
2 litres of water - we have a filter plumbed into our kitchen supply but I'm using mineral water.
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 medium sized cucumber - sliced thinly
1 medium sized lemon - sliced thinly
a few fresh mint leaves, if you have them

Ginger is to boost metabolism and helps calm your tummy (who can forget morning sickness, bleuch, I drank ginger tea then)

Cucumber is a natural diuretic and is said to help the body release excess stored water.

Lemon is a digestive aid and liver cleanser.

Put all the ingredients into the glass jug, refrigerate overnight to let the flavours infuse.  In the morning, strain the contents through a sieve and drink throughout the day.  I'm not sure I'll manage the whole jug, I like my plain, unflavoured water but I'm giving it a go!

Very refreshing and hopefully whittling down the tum-tum.  And as we have been promised a scorching week this week, a touch of ice might be added but sadly no vodka!

Cheers!

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Sunday Morning Muffins

Decided to use up a couple of very ripe bananas this morning, they really were only fit for baking by this stage.  TC usually hands me back bananas, she really hasn't taken to them but maybe in a mini muffin?

This really is an experimental batch, hence the plain white wrappers, I used oats as well as flour, 1 egg, butter, vanilla extract, buttermilk - which I love in baking - and only 30g of light brown sugar.   

Once all the wet ingredients were beaten together and merged with the dry ingredients (don't overmix, muffins needs minimal mixing or you will get rock cakes!) I popped a couple of blueberries into each muffin case (again lovely in cakes!) then baked for 20 minutes.

Also used some of the batter to make some mini muffins for TC (blueberries were too large to pop in this time) and she actually ate a whole one (doesn't she know there's bananas in them??)

Not bad, they are quite plain, mainly for TC's sake but were made with ingredients from the cupboard and best of all I know what's in them.  Next time I will use a bit of honey in them too for a little extra sweetness, I've not tried baking with honey yet and maybe more fruit for extra juiciness :)

Happy Sunday!

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Finally, some sun...

The sun had his hat on this weekend, hip hip hip hooray!  I know we needed the rain and very pleased I was to see it and our local ponds are lovely and full again, but it was so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin again.

I spent a lot of time in the garden battling back the over growth that should have been sorted in April, I used to do all the gardening myself but now I've enlisted the help of R & A who do all the grunt work, which saves my back for all the other stuff.  I do love my garden, the soil must be good here as everything I plant grows like crazy!

beautiful blue borage out in force

A few years ago the boys from next door must have chucked a conker over because I can find no other way it could have found its way into the garden and it managed to germinate and now we have a mini horse chestnut tree. 

I want to leave it there but I suspect I will be encouraged to move it soon because my baby conker tree will one day be a little beauty like this one at the pond's edge.

I like to plant tree seeds and have a few on the go, sadly my baby oak didn't make it through the winter so I'm on the hunt for acorns this year, not many oak trees to be found here.

I must find a place for all the potted plants this year, I have Hazel the hazel tree, Maggie the magnolia, Willow the .. well you get the idea and Sid Sycamore!!  Some will stay here but I need to find good homes for Willow & Sid.

This morning the sun has deserted us again and its starting to cloud over and rain, nice while it lasted, hope to see you again soon Mr Sunshine.