A week full of fun [warning very long post]

Hey everyone,  So today's post was supposed to be a cooking week and whilst we did cook together we only did it for 2 days.  The rest of the time we were out!  This week has just been sooooo busy it's unreal.  You know what though? I have loved it, even got a few lay-ins because we wore David out so much woho.  Another thing that has been nice to see is how much my boyfriend has started to bond more with my son.  He's always been good with children considering his family is quite big so naturally there are lots of them.  However starting a new relationship with someone who has a toddler is slightly different and although Matthew was fine with this he obviously found it a bit hard to adapt as we all know toddlers aren't always little angels, as much as we'd love them to be of course.  Over the past week though I have seen a step up, if you want to call it of their bond.  Matthew will now come home from work and David is so excited to see him.  He turns into a ball of hyperness it's unreal.  Most of the time David will be in his highchair when Matthew arrives home so, Matthew will play peekaboo hiding behind him.  Obviously there are still things Matthew needs to get used to like understanding the way David thinks.  For example when David empties his plate and hands it over, Matthew thought this was bad, but infact it's David's way of saying "I'm done mummy".  So I explained this to Matthew and now when David does this, he takes the plate from David but asks David to put the food that he doesn't want back on the plate then takes it out to the kitchen.  I've seen David want to play with Matthew more too but I shall explain that later.

So what have we been up to?  Well on Wednesday evening I thought it would be a perfect time to make our very own pizza's for dinner.  As you can see from the picture above David helped me with the toppings we started off with cheese and you can probably notice in the background plenty of vegetables (olives for me ;)) this is what we ended up with before it went in the oven.  I was a bit nervous and it looked massive but thank god it shrunk in the oven ha ha.

The next day (Thursday) we painted David's nan's plant pot.  I decided to use the tray that the mushrooms came in as a paint tray.  I only had yellow, red (it actually looks more pink) and blue.  So it kind of looked like a hippy decorated it.  Nanny didn't care though she was just happy that we decorated it. David had lots of fun painting it and afterwards he did some finger prints on some paper.

That night we also made hot dogs on spaghetti.  I had only seen pictures of this so I just guessed really on how to do it as it didn't look like rocket science.  Only thing I will do differently next time, is only put one chunk of hot dog on one bit of spaghetti, so it doesn't weigh it down so much.  David tried to help bless him but each time he tried to do it.  The pasta snapped, I felt so sorry for him so I helped him a tad bit.  Cheeky little sod kept eating the hot dogs too!  Oh and with me watching very closing he even wanted to help me cut the hot dogs up (with a blunt knife of course).....though the hot dogs went flying because of the technique he was using. Still little man A+ for effort.

On Friday we went out in the evening for nanny's birthday.  We went to Grand Central in Basildon and the food was amazing.  It's made me want to go again for my birthday to be honest.  The kids meals were quite a good selection...even if the fish fingers were obviously just from Asda that is opposite though.  Sadly David didn't eat much and was in a terrible mood.  Due to him being tired though as it was late.  He loved seeing his grandparents though and we walked around the restaurant for a bit and there were other children there dressed as tinkerbell.  It made me giggle when they went "hey look it's Spiderman" due to David wearing his Spiderman attire. I don't have any pictures as nanny took them all that night.

Saturday we went to nannys again too see Matthew's auntie, uncle and children.  They are all so lovely and I'm so glad I have invited them to the party.  Malina absolutely adores David and is always playing with him and picking him up.  I have no idea where she gets the strength from she's only 11! Matthew showed off his flips on the trampoline which is always a joy to watch..not going to lie.

On Sunday we went swimming. We went to Maldon leisure centre as the swimming pool in my town is too cold.  Sod's law decided to play a part of Maldon have now got a separate baby pool (they used to just have a separate area in the main pool which was warmer) but it was under maintenance.  I thought it would be fine but the water in the main pool was really cold even in the shallow bit that beforehand was especially for children.  David even started to shiver.  So even though he was having a good time splashing everywhere, chasing after Matthew, trying to even swim, we didn't stay in there for long.  Which was obviously a shame,  me and Matthew both agreed to come back when the baby pool was re-opened.

So as you can see me and David have had a realllly packed week.  It's been great fun though and I don't regret anything.  Sorry that this blog was so long but it was hard to keep it short.  Fingers crossed it didn't bore you too much. How has your week been?  Any activities you've been up to?  Or just a lazy week in?

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Four yummy eggs and bread recipes

Hi everyone!,  So today I'm going to be doing something which is rare on my parental blog and give you some recipes that you can do with just two main ingredients. That's right just simply using eggs and bread.  I'm pretty sure most households have these in their house.  It's quite easy though to forget that eggs aren't just for baking especially with all these quick, go snacks laying around.  I decided to make this post as I got asked if I would like to be an ambassador for British Lion Eggs, which got me thinking.  When was the last time I had eggs without needing them for baking sweet treats?  Shocking to my surprise it had been quite a long time.  Some of these you might find obvious some you might not.  Either way I hope it jogs your memory of some great egg recipes and if these don't tickle your taste buds then there are plenty more at www.eggrecipes.co.uk

All the recipes below are purely based on my memory and what I remember.  So please don't blame me if they don't come out perfect. Also these aren't my images as well as much as I love these recipes I've only done one of them in the past week and I was far too busy eating it to take pictures ha ha.

Eggy Bread

This recipe is one of my childhood favourites.  Not a lot of people know about this, I often say "mmm I really fancy some eggy bread" and they are just like "huh? what are you on about".

Ingredients

• Eggs (I start with 3 and add more depending on how many I'm cooking for)
• bread (also depends how many you want)
• a bit of oil to fry with
• milk (optional)

How to

So first of all you'll want to get a bowl and crack your eggs in to said bowl.  My mum sometimes added a little bit of milk in but you don't have to if you don't want to.  Also feel free to add any salt and pepper to your desire.  Whisk until it is basically the same consistency as if you were making an omelette. When you've done that you'll want to heat up your frying pan with a bit of oil to stop anything from sticking.  For a more healthier option use some cooking oil spray.  Once you've done then then you'll be taking your slices of bread and dipping them into the eggy mixture making sure all of the bread has been covered.  Not too much though as you don't want it to break when you pick it up.  Once your satisfied you have enough on your bread then go ahead and place it in the frying pan and fry away!  Not forgetting to flip them every once in a while of course.  When cooked it should look lovely and golden and you can transfer it to a plate.  You can chose to put ketchup on it or heck even sugar!  That's right these can be treated as savoury or sweet.  Pretty cool huh?

Eggs on toast

Sounds pretty simple right?  Your correct it is but I absolutely LOVE it.  It's like the adults version to eggs and soldiers (though adults are always allowed to eat them too ;) )  For the past week I have had this twice it's a big craving of mine and I don't know why. 

Ingredients

• 2 x eggs
• 2 x slices of bread
• a bit of oil to fry with

How to

This is very simple, first heat up your pan to a nice medium temperature. Once the pan is nice and hot crack your egg into the pan.  Whilst it is cooking away place your bread in the toaster and wait for that to pop up.  Go back to your eggs and once the white on top is no longer transparent then your egg is done.  Personally I prefer to flip my eggs over and "seal" the top.  Just incase the white on top isn't quite cooked. If your toast hasn't popped up still take your pan off the heat until they do.  Butter your toast if you like and then transfer the egg onto your toast.  You can try cooking both eggs in the frying pan at once but I personally like to cook them one at a time.

Ideas:
Why not try poached eggs on toast as an alternative;
If you have a metal shape cutter why not cut out your desired shape in your bread and then place the shape cutter in your frying pan and cook your eggs inside it.  Hearts are a cute idea.

Egg and soldiers

I think this is probably one that stays with you for life.  It's a great comfort food and one of those recipes that always tastes better if your someone else cooks it for you.  I always remember having these as a kid in the morning.  If I had an exam my dad would wake me up extra early to have a big breakfast and the table would be laid and porridge would be made and whilst I was eating that my dad would do me egg and soldiers.  Pretty sure I didn't need all that food but he would always say "you need your brain to kick start you've got an important exam today".

I'm not going to bother listing the ingredients because honestly all you need is an egg and a slice of bread.

How to

Start with a saucepan and fill it with enough water to cover an egg.  Put your egg inside the saucepan full of water and place on the hob on a high setting.  Once your water starts to boil it's time to set your timer (or mobile phone) to 3 minutes.  Whilst that is cooking place your bread inside the toaster and wait for it to pop up.  Once popped up, spread on some butter and cut long ways to make strips of toast to dunk in your egg.  When the timer goes off it's time to carefully spoon your egg out of the saucepan and place it in a eggcup.  Let it cool for a bit and then get a knife (or spoon whatever you find easier) cut the top off.  The white should be cooked and not runny. 

If your white is still runny then fear not!  What I do if that happens is I get a ladle and I place the egg carefully in it and gently dip part of the spoon in the water of the saucepan and let it boil for a bit longer. 

If your yolk is hard as well as your whites then don't worry you can still eat it.  What I did when this happened was to spoon out the yolk and then spread it on my toast.  Just as yummy but just maybe not as fun.

Egg Mayo

Ah a classic! I must say I always have loved egg mayo.  I remember being picked on in school for liking this sandwich filler because of "eww it smells I hate egg mayo".  Pfft like I care it's yummyyyy.  As much as I like this sandwich filler though I normally only make it when I am having a picnic outside at the park or garden with my friends or son.  Only because I feel it takes quite a lot of time and trust me when you have an impatient son like I do (yeah he gets that from me I'm just as bad) then timing is key.  Still though you can't beat an egg mayo sandwich!

Ingredients (serves 3)

• 3 x eggs (about an egg per person)
• slices of bread
• Mayonnaise
• Salad cream (optional)
• Herbs, salt and pepper if desired.

How to

Right first things first you'll want to boil your eggs.  Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover all your eggs.  When they start to boil, leave them to boil for about 5 minutes.  This is to make sure they are hard.  Once they are boiled drain the water carefully out of the saucepan.  You can do this by carefully pouring the water and eggs into a colander.  Once the saucepan is empty carefully place the eggs back in the saucepan and put under a cold running tap.  This is much quicker then simply allowing them to cool in hot water.

Once the eggs are cold enough it's time to peel the shell.  The easiest way I have found is to wrap an egg in kitchen paper and roll them on the surface with a little pressure.  Much like you would with a lemon before cutting it.  This allows the shell around it to crack making it easier to peel.  Now all your eggs are peeled it's time to mash them. now there are two methods on how to do this (bedsides using a fork) that I have learnt and I shall share both.

Method 1 

Place all your eggs into your bowl and with a potato masher, mash the hell out of the eggs until they are a consistency to which you like.

Method 2 (my new favourite way)

My mum showed me this method after working in a kitchen at the local pub in her town.  Get a grater and on the side your normally grate cheese with grate the eggs into a bowl!  I find this a lot easier then a potato masher and I prefer the consistency.

After you have your eggs in bits get your mayonnaise and add two table spoons worth. My mum also liked to add one table spoon of salad cream, but you don't have to.  Add dash of salt and pepper and any herbs if you wish and then mix away.  Once all the ingredients have mixed together it's time to butter some beard and spread it on and voilà!  Your sandwich is done, phew! 

I hoped your liked this blog it's different to what I normally do but hopefully I've jogged a few of your childhood favourites :)  This post is an entry for the #ShortcutEggsperts Linky Challenge sponsored by British Lion Eggs. Learn more and find recipes at www.eggrecipes.co.uk

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What David got for Christmas

So everyone has been doing posts about what they got for Christmas.  I wanted to do something different considering this is my parental blog.  So instead I decided to blog about what David for Christmas.  Now don't get me wrong I'm not doing this to show off.  I'm just doing this for fun but hopefully if your little ones birthday is soon I can give you some ideas.

The first thing I brought for David was his kitchen.  I know it may seem a little young but he is so good with his imagination.  He first started "cooking food" when me and his father took him to the children centre not long after he turned one.

To go with the kitchen I got him some play food from Asda.  I didn't think that there was much in there.  I was mistaken and I realised this once David had tipped it all out on the floor...which I don't mind as he enjoys it.

I think David was trying to clean up his food and megablocks bless

This is David's Christmas outfit.  He got it from my boyfriends mum and nan.  He looked so cute and daper in it.  I can't help but dress him smart on Christmas we've always done it in our family. I sadly wasn't able to get him one though as everywhere sold out.  However luckily I have people who think like minded and they phoned me up the very day I was trying to find one asking David's size how lucky is that!

Another present he received was this cute but HUGE Christmas themed mug.  I know it's huge 'cause I couldn't resist using it for a cheeky hot chocolate yes I feel bad but now I'm even more jealous and want one for myself ha ha.  I put the sweets in his sweet tub that I have for him in the fridge as he only has sweets when he good (which is most of the time anyway)

I love this book and I'm so glad David was given it.  It has pockets on every other page and has material inside to match what it says in the book.  In the back is a pop-up section but I won't spoil it for you ;).

This is David's easel board I got him.  I got long lasting presents so he can grow with them.  They cost quite a bit but I managed to save in the Black Friday sale so win!  he loves this as you can see from the markings (ignoring the numbers and smiley face person me and my bf made ha ha)

 I got this for a bargain at only £45!  I know he's a bit to young for it but my god I couldn't pass up this offer look how many pieces there are! Not only does it have a train track but also roads with buses AND trains that go along automatically.  Not only that but you can have boats too so he's going to get ALOT out of this.

 My parents got David this as they couldn't get him the piano I suggested due to stuff I'm not going to go into on here.  I'm glad they got it though as I was planning to add blocks to his alpha blocks collection...he loves tipping them all out of the box just like his food....joy.

David recently has had a love of all things cleaning.  Give him a baby wipe and he'll go clean a side (even if it's spotless) he's spilt something give him a towel he'll mop it up.  However give him a adult sized broom and he'll accidentaly hit you on the head with it...or so my sister found out which then knocked the idea into her head to buy him a broom (I made a pun yay!)

So this is the last of the presents I got David. the Aqua Doodle.  Now if you haven't heard about an Aqua Doodle then let me tell you this is going to be your new best friend and your little ones best friend if they get paint everywhere.  Also if they love water.  Not only does it draw without paint but the way it works all you need is water which means this is great for summer.  they can put there hands or feet in a container full of water and do loads of prints.  Not only feet and hands but try experimenting with textures like cars and shoe prints!

Well this is all of the presents David got I hope it gave you some ideas if your stuck for any birthdays coming up.  If you have any similar posts I'd love to see them.  Until next time.

Last weeks blog

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My London trip with friends

 Westfield Grotto and Christmas Shopping.

Hi everyone! First off I want to apologise for this post being so late.  I didn't have internet so was relying on other peoples internet but great news, I now have my own!  So what I wanted to talk to you about is what I was doing last week.  I went to London to Westfields with my best friend Clare and her adorable daughter Hollie.  Now sadly I don't have any pictures as I left my camera at my boyfriends mums house. Also I was feeling really poorly as the few days prior I had a bad fever.  However I wasn't going to let that stop me!  Oh hell no!

We got to London at about midday, I'm so glad we did as I felt far more comfortable and relaxed, though on the way there I nearly was sick.  When we got there we were all starving, so we decided to head to the food court for something to eat. Clare and her sister got Pizza and me and Matt had ramen (though I didn't get to finish all mine :( ) Then Hollie and David both shared a kids savoly and chips.  I got them a kids meal to share as I feel now a days kids meals are really big.  When we ordered our food we got a black device that would flash and beep to tell us when it was ready.  I thought this was pretty cool as it gave people a chance to find some seating if they didn't already.  That and it meant you didn't have to stand around and could get on with other stuff or just simply chat amongst your friends.

After we finished we had a quick toilet break then it was off to find the grotto.  I kinda knew where it was but was really shocked and surprised there were no signs outside or inside the shopping centre. I would of thought that they would of at least put some sort of signing to help people. I mean it only takes a few removable stickers right?  When we got there we were actually half an hour early as I thought it started at 2pm but infact it didn't start until 2:35pm.  It got worse though, it actually turns out that the tickets I ordered were for the Sheppard's Bush Grotto. I was absolutely devastated, not due to the fact me, Matt or David couldn't go but more so due to the fact Clare and Hollie couldn't go as Hollie had never been to see Santa before and this was my treat to them.  However the staff were VERY friendly and kind and said that if not everyone turned up then we could go in.  As it turned out 3 people didn't turn up.  I asked my friend Clare if she minded taking David with her and Hollie and thankfully she didn't mind. Though I felt guilty afterwards as Hollie and David broke her arms as they did not want to be put down lol.  After they had their pictures taken with Santa I went in and brought a singular photo.  The photo of David wasn't that good as like an idiot I didn't take David's coat off before he went in.  Oh well he already has a photo with the Basildon grotto :).

Afterwards we shopped around and I got David his own personalised stocking with his name on it.  I love it and am very happy with it....though I might have to get a bigger one when he is older haha.  When we were done we headed to the o2 Arena to go see the coca cola truck. When we arrived there were a lot of people there and then I realised it was the Jingle Bell Ball tonight.  I was quite shocked though at the amount of young people there were. I didn't go to my first concert until I was 15.  What made it worse though was the way some of the girls were dressed as if this was a place to hook up.  There was a girl that seemed to be 13 years of age and the dress she had on...well lets just say she would of made less of an impression if she turned up naked (and she might as well of).  Anyway back to the truck.  The truck was very pretty but there was a queue to get your photo taken, a very long one at that.  I wasn't going to waste my time queuing for hours just for one photo when it was cold outside.

So there were a few mishaps during the day but all in all I had a very good time because I spent it with my best friend, her daughter and her sister.  On the way home David opened up his present from the grotto and it was a lovely book.  I am never disappointed with the books they give out. Next year I am going to the grotto again (without making the mistake lol) and I am taking David to Hamleys so for the first time he can pick out his own present.  Though I won't be letting him have it until Christmas Day.  Why bother buying presents for Christmas if they aren't going to open them on Christmas Day.

Until next time.  I don't know what I will blog about as this was late so if you have any suggestions please comment below and if you don't already follow me on blog lovin (the link is with my social buttons)

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Fruit and Vegtables you should try

Hi there mummies, daddies and everyone else who may be reading my blog.  So some of you may have difficulties feeding your children fruit of veg.  Or maybe some of your children or maybe even you have got bored of the normal fruit and veg you are having.  Well I am here to show you some fantastic fruit and vegetables you may of just walked past in your supermarket and never thought to have even try.

Dragonfruit

Not only is Dragonfruit really pretty it tastes great to.  The taste reminds me somewhat of kiwi but it's pink!  This is sure to be a hit with any girl that has a thing for pink and has a sweet tooth. Most supermarkets should sell this I mean my local Asda sell this and I live in the middle of no-where.  Even if your local supermarket doesn't sell it there are plenty of markets who should.

Health benefits include:

• Low  Cholesterol (near enough 0%)
• High in Vitamin C
• Antioxidants
• Fiber   

Sadly Dragon fruit does have a bit of fruit fat in it due to the seeds.

Sweet potato 

These sweet potatoes are not like normal potatoes they are sweeter and quite rich in flavor.  I normally only have one on my plate because I literally cannot each more then once.  I think they would be great if your LO's or even you have got bored of just the same potatoes.  This makes a great colourful picture on your plate especially if you turn it into mash. These are quite common in supermarkets and just last week I brought some for only £1 so there not expensive either which is great for budgeting parents.

Health benefits include:

• High in Vitamin B6
• Good Source of Vitamin C6
• Vitamin D
• Iron
• good source of mag­nesium which causes anti-stress and relaxation

Pomegranate

Yet again this is a great fruit to buy at the moment as it's only a £1 at Asda and probably similar in other stores. Pomegrante's can be a bit messy but they are so worth it considering the benefits they can give you.  This is a great fruit to eat especially if you want help with dry skin and slow down aging and more!  Below I have listed the mass amounts of beauty and health benefits this power superfood contains.

Beauty benefits include:

• Regenerate Cells
• Protection against the sun
• slows down aging
• helps with dry skin
• Helps with the outbreak of acne and minimizes scars

Health benefits include:

• High Antioxidants
• Helps to fight against cancer
• Improve bone quality
• increase appetite
• Cure Anemia
• Promotes blood circulation

Mangos

I love this fruit and I'm guilty of not buying it as much as I really should.  I LOVE drinking mango juice and if you love it to then you have to try an actual Mango.  they are super soft and quite easy to serve.  You can also make it look like a hedgehog which would be fun for kids.

Health benefits include:

• Can fight against cancer
• Clears the skin
• Eye health
• Helps lower Cholesterol
• Vitamin A which helps eye health
• Helps diabetes
•  Vitamin E

Aubergine

So most of the items on this list have been fruit but my last one is a vegetable.  These can be cooked simply by either boiling or grilling them.  They are a great edition to any type of pasta meal.  This is another super food as well as pomegranate.  It also has beauty as well as health benefits.

Beauty benefits include: 

• Keeps skin hydrated
• helps hair stay healthy

Health benefit include:

• Helps stimulate the brain
• Helps create Iron
• Lowers Cholesterol
• Helps you to quiet smoking
• Reduces the chance of heart disease

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