A Mothers Ramblings

Evita - A Review

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:06 PDT

I don't think there is anyone who doesn't know at least one or two lines from at least one song from Evita, which is why I was really excited about going to see it at Milton Keynes Theatre because I know all the words, lines and songs from Evita.

The other benefit, for my Mum in particular, was that Marti Pellow is in the show as she has always had a little bit of a thing for him. I chose not to mention that I had seen him in Blood Brothers a few months back or she might not have brought me an ice-cream in the interval!

The great thing about the show, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, isn't that it is so well known thanks to the film that came out a few years ago, or that it has Marti Pellow in, or even that it is based on the real life of Eva Peron but that the actors are all comfortable in their roles and work well together. I could hear other audience members around me talking about the chemistry between al the actors and I got lost in the musical and the relationships that were unfolding on stage.

The show is in Milton Keynes until the 1st of June 2013 and if you're up for a night out then make sure you book tickets soon!

We were given two press tickets, to review the show.

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Parental Guilt

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:00:00 PDT

I'm feeling guilty at the moment.

For Top Ender's Ninth Birthday, I had planned on having a small meal for her with her friends at a restaurant. I'd be there as a parent, but I wouldn't sit at the table with them and they could basically have a lovely "grown up" evening together.

Then with one thing and another it didn't happen. In fact Top's didn't even get a birthday cake.

She got gifts of course, and a lot of money, and a lot of love and she even took over the Facebook page for the day (which she loved) and we did eventually make a cake that we said was to make up for her not having a birthday cake.

Top Ender is so adorably forgiving though, she didn't care that she didn't have a party with friends. She didn't care that she didn't have a cake. She just loved that we love her and that we were with her on her birthday.

I'm still feeling guilty though.

So next week I'm taking Top Ender out for a special meal out.

I'll let her have a mocktail or two, I'll let her have what ever it is she wants from the menu including a starter, a main meal and a pudding, if that is what she wants. I'll spend the time with just her, no talk of Daddy or Big Boy (unless she wants to), no mobile phones or tablets (her distractions of choice) and we'll talk and giggle and flirt with the waiter (she is a right flirt) and have fun together.

Maybe then I'll start feeling less guilty.

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I always make time 2 play

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:00:04 PDT

When we come out of School, one of the first questions that I ask Big Boy is What did you do today? Normally Big Boy answers "Just Playing!" and hopes I will leave it at that. Some parents might, but I know that "Just Playing" is actually code for learning when you're five and so I ask some more leading questions about what sort of things he played. It is because I know the importance of play that I was pleased to be a part of the Make Time 2 Play Campaign with the British Toy and Hobby Association’s Make Time 2 Play Campaign.

I was lucky as a child, my Mum knew that playing wasn't a reward or a waste of time, but it was a way that my Sister and I learnt best. I've tried to carry it on the way she taught and the way that experts have discovered to be the best way to help Children learn too. Research shows that if you incorporate themes into children's learning it makes the experience more memorable for them and less scary and then they will be more willing to do it again and again. And with the children being more willing to learn in a setting like this it helps them to develop skills such as problem solving and develop their attention span, social development and their creativity.

Of course we also do it at home too, but the next time you hear a child saying that all they did at School was play remember that what they actually mean is they were learning... they just didn't realise it!

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Déjeuners of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:00:05 PDT

This week I'm planning on having Salads, I've done a couple of weeks of Chicken and a week of Prawns but I think that this week would be rather nice with lots of added vegetables in the salad... although I have no idea how that is going to work.

Saturday - Picnic

We're out at Whipsnade Zoo today, so we're having a picnic. The great thing about this is that we have sandwiches, a few sausages, crisps, fruit, some home made cakes and even a salad! Now if we can all keep our fingers crossed for Sun instead of the rain that is forecasted it will all be good!

Sunday - Meatball Subs

For some reason I've had a bit of a meatball craving, so I've decided to do meatball subs for everyone, although I'm not going to do a footlong one as I once had one from Subway and nearly died eating it! I'm out for most of the morning with Tops at Church, so I'm hoping that if I put the meatballs in my slow cooker that by the time I'm home they'll be ready.

Monday - Meatless Monday - Bagels

The lunch for the Children today is a Cream Cheese Bagel. I'm hoping that Big Boy's aversion to cheese at the moment doesn't extend to things like Dairylea!

Tuesday - Chicken and Sweetcorn Pittas

I'm hoping that the pittas today with a touch of sweetcorn will help both the children to have an extra portion of vegetable without them noticing, but also will allow them to have a bit of variety from the usual Chicken Wrap on a Tuesday.

Wednesday - Pizza Wraps

I think that the Children like these as much as I do. They are so simple and fun to make that they often help me, and I think that is a great way to get ready for the day when they will be making pack lunches for themselves or possibly their own children.

Thursday - Hot Dogs

I was looking through some of the lunches that I have done for the children over the last two years and the Hot Dog Rolls jumped out at me as something we hadn't had for a while. I might be using proper sausages instead of Hot Dogs though, as I do love the 100% Beef Sausages that we found a while back.

Friday - Top Ender's Friday Lunch and Big Boy's Too!

According to the wonderful calender my SMIL made for me for Christmas, today is USA Escargot Day. I'm not saying a single thing about how she would know such a thing as that, but I will say that it has helped with today's theme!

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Evening Meals (W/C 18/05)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:00:00 PDT

Week Four of the diet. I'm sticking firm to my decision not to weigh myself until the end of week six, so I can't really say if it's having the right influence on me but my clothes are feeling a little looser!

Saturday - Gammon

Every time we eat Gammon we wonder why we don't eat it more often, and I'm sure that tomorrow won't be that different! We're serving it grilled with new potatoes, broad beans and pineapple.

Sunday - Roast Chicken

I'm getting used to only eating a small amount of dinner compared to what I was eating, but I don't understand how the portion sizes of the food made during the week are so big compared to this one which is so small!

Monday - Meatless Monday Pizza or Curry

When I made the Aubergine and Lentil Curry in week one, there was so much left over that I froze it for a night such as this. I'm off out this evening to the Theatre with my Mum, so I needed something quick to for dinner. The Children are having pizza because they really weren't that keen on the Curry!

Tuesday - Fish Fingers, Chips and Peas

When we had this for our Saturday meal I was surprised at how tasty it was. I think that I just don't really think about such a simple meal as being so tasty and satisfying and filling!

Wednesday - Veggie Burgers

I'm going to make the burgers myself because the veggie burgers that you can buy on the UK market are not gluten free, but this has the additional benefit of me knowing exactly what goes in them. We had a brilliant veggie burger at Camp Bestival a few years back and so I'm hoping that mine will be as good if not better!

Thursday - Tuna Kedgeree (minus the egg!)

I'm really missing different kinds of fish, but the menu plans that we are following from the book tend to stick to tuna. I'm guessing that this is because it is an easy to get to fish, as in everyone can buy a can of Tuna and also because it's relatively inexpensive.

Friday - Turkey and Mushroom Pie

I'm really rubbish at making gluten free pastry, so I'm going to cheat and buy some of the frozen stuff, but this pie with broccoli and potatoes as a side will still count as being home made right?!

So that's the meal plan for this next week, what do you think? I still don't think it looks like a diet meal plan do you?!

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How To Be Happy

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:27:12 PDT

I was looking at some of my most popular Facebook posts on my personal Facebook page the other day and I saw that in recent times it hasn't been the questions about food (all those who know me on Facebook love the questions about food!) or getting to laugh at me but the post where I said I was grateful for my life.

I wondered why this was the most popular and I realised it's because that's the one thing that all of us have in common. We all want to be happy, to be grateful for the life that we have and sometimes it takes one of us going through a rather bad situation to make all the rest of us realise that we actually lead for the most part a pretty brilliant life. Rather like my Rules for a Good Family Life, I thought I'd set out some rules I think that need to be applied to be happy.

Make Today A New Start

Let go of the past, of yesterday if needs be and start moving forward today. It doesn't matter if yesterday was terrible, the situation will change if you let it.

Love (Part One)

Love your family and friends and let them know. Send them letters (proper written ones from time to time), leave them notes, phone them, send them the occasional gift (doesn't have to be expensive) and pretty soon you'll realise just how much you have to be happy about.

Love (Part Two)

Find something you love to do. It might be singing, so join a choir or sing in the shower. It might be painting or gardening, or exercise or listening to music, but whatever it is make sure you schedule time for you to do it.

Make Friends

Find people you can share with, it might be that you find someone online who has the same taste in wallpaper, loves the same TV shows and hates slugs like you or it might be that you see a parent in the same playground every week. Happier people have more friends and people with more friends are more likely to be happy.

Trust in yourself

You can make the changes you want in your life and you can be who you want to be. It is never too late to change, you just have to make a start!

Exercise

Honestly, exercise, exercise, exercise. Exercise releases endorphins which make you happy, and even if when you first start you hear a little voice telling you that you'd be better off on the sofa ignore it. After a couple of weeks of daily exercise you'll feel better, look better and be happier.

Eat

Eat a Rainbow as who can resist being happy when they are eating a wide range of fruit and vegetables? Don't forget to try new dishes when you can, I didn't try Mussels until I was 33 and I missed out on 33 years of loving them!

Expand your mind

Learn new things and find that not only if you are in a class will you make friends with similar interests and maybe discover a talent you never knew you had but it will help you feel more fulfilled and of course this will lead to being happier too. It doesn't even have to be a class, read a book or seven and you'll find your mind expanding.

Laugh

Find someone to share jokes with, or find a tv show that makes you laugh or a website that never fails to make you giggle. If you can do this regularly you'll find yourself smiling in anticipation.

Look Forward to stuff

To a holiday, or a day out, or a day off or a meal or anything that is coming up that you'll enjoy. Spend a few moments daydreaming about what you'll do or how it will turn out and cheer yourself up immediately!

Get Outside

Have some fresh air, even if it is 15 below and six foot of snow. The fact that you are outside probably indicates you are going to get some form of exercise and the fresh air will give you a new found energy.

Serve

Serve others, it doesn't matter if that means you volunteer at a local Charity shop, or on the School PTA, or at a Nursing Home or anywhere else. Just help others when you can and do so willingly and you will find yourself being happier as you are giving to others.

Keep yourself grounded

When I'm starting to feel down, I find that a quick walk in the garden helps me buck up and find that inner happiness. Just being out there (even when it was all over grown) made me feel more like me. Find what keeps you feeling you and make sure you do it often.

Talk

I love talking to my husband and friends. Sometimes we will have deep meaningful conversations and other times we will talk about the randomness that pops into my brain (come on you've all seen my Facebook and Twitter questions haven't you?!), just having that connection with someone though enables you to feel happier and to discuss some of the issues that are weighing you down, and if you want to then add me as a friend on Facebook and I'll be that person you talk to.

Smile

I smile all the time to all the people and animals, and plants, and teddies and cars and lamp posts and trees and anything else that falls into my eye line. I find that smiling all the time makes me feel happier, it's like my face tricks my brain into forgetting all the rubbish that goes on.

Pray

I love to pray, I mean of course I do as I look at it as a way to talk to my Heavenly Father, but it's a good way for me to be Spiritual. For you it might be easier to meditate or sit quiet and think of nothing (which is basically what meditation is right?!) but having this time to relax is one of the most important things in allowing me to be happy.

It's about a choice when you get down to it though. Do you want to be happy or do you want to wallow? Make the choice to be happy, and find that you live your life instead of dread it.

Want to know what really makes me happy though? People commenting on my blog posts and following me on Twitter and Facebook...

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Ella's Kitchen The Red One - A Review by Big Boy

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00:00 PDT

When I was off School sick with the Chicken Pox, Mummy said that I could do some cooking with her if I wanted. I didn't want to, but I did like looking in the cook books that Mummy has, as they have nice pictures of food and the food that Mummy makes never looks that good! The book I liked the most was the Red one which is a cook book that Mummy got sent by Ella's Dad.

Mum says that the recipes in the cook book look good and easy to make and some of them are really tasty looking. I liked looking through at the different pictures and I found lots of different dishes that I would like for Mummy and Daddy to make with me or Top Ender.

The best things in the book are the puddings and Mummy has said that we can make lots of them and that it's on the condition that I eat some of the other recipes. She says that would be fair, but I said that it wasn't fair and so she said it was Life. I really don't understand Mummy at times.

The cook book has some stickers and some bits to colour in too, but Mummy has said I'm not allowed to do them yet (I have issues over colouring in, it's like Play-Doh. DON'T MIX THE COLOURS UP!) but that as soon as she stops being so meticulous that I can.

If you want to buy the book it costs £14.99 and will make you want to cook vegetables.

We were sent the Ella's Kitchen The Cook Book The Red One to review.

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Big Boy is Five!

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:29:33 PDT

Today is Big Boy's Fifth birthday.

It seems unbelievable to me that he has been around for only five years, not because it feels much longer, but because I just can't remember what life was like without him and Tops. So here, instead of a letter to him, are my some highlights of his life so far.

His Birth

I guess I have to start with his birth because it was his first appearance in the world, I mean I know that he was around for nine months before that and that he could hear me and he could let me know when he was pleased or not (honestly though he didn't kick that hard!) but seeing him, using his name, holding him, feeding him and knowing that we belonged to each other was definitely a highlight.

His First Steps

It was a last minute substitution. Top Ender's teachers asked if Big Boy and I would mind talking with Top Ender's class about babies. We weren't supposed to be there, and yet we were, and Big Boy took his first steps.

We all saw them together, this special moment in my Child's life.

His First YouTube Channel

Big Boy loves playing Minecraft so much and he loves watching videos that other people put online so much that he decided that he wanted to do the same and so he created a youtube channel. Just seeing his face when his saw his first video online was enough to make me understand that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

His First Cake Face Smash

It was a birthday for Big Cousin and we did this to Big Boy. I'm still not sure why, but it was funny.

And that are some of the moments that we remember looking back over the last five years. I can't wait to find out what the next year will bring!

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Big Boy's Fifth Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:26:47 PDT

Big Boy woke up this morning and was heard by Daddy and I to be talking to his Teddies about how it was his Fifth Birthday;

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

Daddy and I were so excited, here was Big Boy a five year old. He knew that today was his birthday and that he was going to spend the day celebrating and we wanted him to be like that. Just last night Big Boy had been so excited that going to bed seemed to be the last thing on his mind. In fact when I got back from a meeting roughly two hours after bed time, he was still awake and wanting to talk about his Birthday and the things he was looking forward to.

Luckily he did go to sleep and as he did I went to work. Wrapping up gifts, writing birthday cards, hunting out the cards and gifts already delivered by long distance family, changing his pillow case, putting up a banner and doing this to his bedroom door.

When Big Boy got out of bed to come and see Daddy and I in our room (tradition says the birthday person comes to our room to open cards and gifts) he exclaimed;

"OH COME ON!"

Big Boy then decided that in order to get out of his bedroom, he wouldn't burst through the strips, but instead would climb underneath... Honestly the one time I'm letting him make a mess and he chooses not to?!

We had five year old birthday kisses and hugs, we opened gifts and cards and sang Happy Birthday and tried on the new gifts for size.

We played slam dunk with the wrapping paper and made up packed lunches before getting ready for School and heading off to expand the Children's minds.

And now it's nearly the end of the School day and I'm getting ready to get Big Boy and Top Ender home from School and we're going to play and dance and eat cake and do all the things that a boy on his birthday likes to do... Heaven help me!

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ChillFactor Slushy Drink Maker Review

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:01 PDT

Ever since I gave up my dummy and the dummy fairy brought me a Slushy Machine as a reward I have loved Slushy drinks. Daddy and I have in the past brought several gadgets in our quest to get great tasting slushy drinks but we haven't found anything that quite hit the spot... And then I was sent the ChillFactor Slushy Drink Maker.

Big Boy was immediately impressed with it's bright colours, and helped me to take it apart (very simple), wash and dry it and then put it in the freezer (via the worktop for a quick picture).

The idea is that you place it in the freezer for 4-6 hours after which if it should be frozen solid. Then you pour in a chilled drink and gently massage the sides (basically squeeze it in and out) to create a slushy drink.

I "accidentally" forgot about the cup being in the freezer until after the children had gone to bed, where I made myself a quick slushy Sorelle. It was brilliant and a lovely treat for a warm night.

We've been making slushy drinks every 4-6 hours since (well apart from when we're sleeping!) and here is a quick selection of what we've made.

Cranberry Juice

Blackcurrant Squash

Strawberry Milkshake

As you can see we've been using it a lot, and we will continue to do so mainly because it is so simple to use and also because it really works. The cup is £12.99 which I think makes this is not that expensive that you couldn't buy more than one and trust me, you'll want at least one per family member!

We were sent a ChillFactor Slushy Maker to review.

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Nobody Here But Us Chickens - Big Boy Giggles

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:07 PDT

Big Boy wasn't impressed to find out that he had Chicken Pox, and spent most of the first morning off School denying that the increasing number of spots were Chicken Pox. Every few minutes, Big Boy would examine his hand, wave his hand in the air and then shake his head and then carry on what he was doing. This went on for a few hours, until Top Ender and I got fed up of his denials.

"Why do you not think you have Chicken Pox Big Boy?" I asked him

Big Boy stopped and looked at Top Ender and I very seriously and then re-examined the spot on his hand.

"That's because these spots aren't Chicken Shaped Mummy! They can't be Chicken Pox can they!"

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An Excuse If Ever I Heard One - Big Boy Giggles

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:00:12 PDT

Big Boy has related this story to three separate family members. Each time the story is identical to the last, so we can only assume that he is telling the truth and recalling to the best of his ability the events that happened. This blog post is in Big Boy's own words.

I was sitting in class after having had some free flow time. They had done the register and we did some work on the white board when my teacher said it was time to move on to group work. I didn't want to do group work, because it had been boring before so I thought how can I get out of it?

Then I remembered that I had a spot on my hand that I had and maybe it would mean I couldn't do group work. So when we were sitting at the table I put up my hand and showed my teacher. She took me to the teaching assistant and they both said it was Chicken Pox, so I was sent to the Medical room and that was when they phoned Mummy.

It's at this point that the person talking to Big Boy asks, if he is sure that is how it happened and that he was trying to get out of group work and Big boy insists that it is and that he really really hates group work!

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Abigail's Party - A Review

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:27:57 PDT

I'm just back from Abigail's Party... well technically I was at Beverley's party, I could only hear Abigail's Party when I wasn't listening to my hosts yelling at each other. That's right I've been to see Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party at Milton Keynes Theatre tonight and had a marvellous time pretending to be in the seventies.

If you aren't aware of the play, imagine a get together in the Seventies where the host and hostess are having a bit of a fight (like married couples do), the new couple to the street are busy trying to fit in and the divorcee from down the road is only partly worried that the party her 15 year old daughter is throwing is going to end in disaster.

Hannah Waterman, Martin Marquez, Samuel James, Katie Lightfoot and Emily Raymond play the characters well and they are equally annoying and easily recognisable amongst the suburbanites that you may live amongst. Even the trivial and banal conversations that they have may seem like something you've experienced, but as the evening wears on and the conversations become deeper there is a darker side to Suburbia, a darker side to the characters until the evening ends in tragedy.

We were given tickets to review the show.

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A Little Gardening with a Little Gardener

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:00:05 PDT

Even though the weather is now miserable looking and not the sort of weather that makes me want to go out into the garden, I do have to mention some great garden tools that Big Boy and Top Ender were sent by Wilkinson's that have been perfect for helping me in my attempts to clean up the garden and create a space where Big Boy and Top Ender can safely play and Daddy and I can relax and enjoy the fruits of my our labours.

Big Boy was most impressed with the rake, (£3.50) and we've spent hours pretending to be Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons and it's been very handy as after I mowed the lawn Big Boy was able to help me rake the cut grass.

We were also sent a little gardening fork (£1) and some brilliant seeds, some carrots (£1 and I'm hoping we will rival our potato growing skills in years to come), some seeds for a Blue Mix (£3 and they're in the front garden, you just shake and rake in the soil) and a rather clever Sunflower Activity Kit (£5) which is a game as well as a Sunflower growing kit.

I just hope that we might have better luck with these sunflowers than we did last year, where they sort of died and didn't grow. Do you have any tips? How do you grow a huge Sunflower?

We were sent the items to review, and they've been rather handy with all the gardening I've been doing!

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Family Tablets

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:05 PDT

Last September Top Ender got a tablet. We decided that it would be a suitable gift for her, as we could download books for her to read onto the tablet, she could access her own blog to update (Sorry it's family only), she could play computer games or surf the web and we thought it would be helpful for her School work too. And we've been proved right, it was a great gift. She reads on her tablet everyday, she updates her blog, she plays computer games to relax and she surfs the web and judging from the Short Story she has been writing and allowed me to read last weekend and her recent parents evening her School work is really improving.

Then Daddy and I got tablets for Christmas. Actually, Daddy got a new tablet and I got my first tablet. They were our gifts to each other as we decided that we'd deserved a big treat and we're so glad that we did. I use mine everyday. It goes out with me to the gym where I use it to watch downloaded TV shows or films. I use it when I'm watching TV to tweet or update my status on facebook. I use it to read blogs, read emails, to play games, to update my own blog and even to surf when I can. The cat keeps surfing Instagram so I don't get a look in really.

And then Big Boy decided that he wanted a tablet. He wanted to play games, and draw pictures and take pictures. He wanted to watch TV Shows and most importantly watch Youtube videos. So we used the Swagbucks that we had saved up and brought him one. Which we then replaced, because it was naff and got a new one for him, which was a lot better. And Big Boy loved it. He uses it everyday. He writes notes, plays games and watches youtube videos. He surfs the web, draws pictures and creates Minecraft worlds.

We've become a family of tablet users, all in our own little virtual words.

Yet, instead of spending less time together, we've spent more time together. The children play together every night in their Minecraft World, calling out to each other from their beds about where they are and what they should build next. They play physically together, inventing an imaginary world based upon the world they've created in Minecraft.

We send each other emails and notes and photographs of things that we've seen that are interesting or that we think each other will like. It's encouraged Big Boy to try to read, and he will read the simple notes that we send him and he's typing short notes back.

We sit together instead of being in different rooms, yes we might be all doing something different but we'll chat together as we do and who can deny that Twitter and TV were designed to go together. Never again will we watch a TV programme without letting the world know just what we thought of it!

We've become a family of tablet users, but we like it that way.

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Family Fun with The Concrete Cows of Milton Keynes

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:01:00 PDT

On Bank Holiday Monday, Daddy, the Children and I decided that we'd go and visit the ruins of a Roman Villa found in Milton Keynes.

After we'd explored the Villa, we went for a walk and we ended up by some of our most famous Bovine residents (well actually their cousins the real Concrete Cows are in the Shopping Centre but hey) and so we decided we'd have to have our pictures taken with them. After all, when in ~~Rome~~ Milton Keynes do like the Romans...

The above photograph shows us sitting on the three calves of the herd, there are six animals altogether and originally some of the cows were brown. It was Milton Keynes Council that painted them in the Black and White typical of Holstein-Friesians. They've had to repaint them after they have been painted as Skeletons, Zebras and had pyjamas put on them.

The Cows are apparently half size of real Cows, but I'm not one to take a tape measure to a farm so I can't confirm that.

The Concrete Cows were originally built in 1978 by Milton Keynes Artist in Residence Liz Leyh, and according to a Man at the Milton Keynes Museum she also built a Snowman, who lives at the Milton Keynes Museum.

It was a great walk and I think we had some great fun!

The Roman Villa Ruins of Milton Keynes

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:00:03 PDT

On Bank Holiday Monday, we wanted to go somewhere with the Children that was local, fairly deserted and fun. We also wanted to go for a walk and if all of this could be tied up with being free and educational then we'd be happy. We don't ask for much do we! It was Daddy who thought about going to North Loughton Valley Park, in Milton Keynes.

It's free, as are all the parks in Milton Keynes (go on someone prove me wrong now!), there are the ruins of a Roman Villa, so it's educational and as it is a HUGE park then we weren't really going to bump into anyone so it ticked the deserted box. Of course once we'd finished exploring the Roman Villa Ruins we could go for a walk towards the Concrete Cows if we wanted to, which we of course did.

The Roman Villa is now, just a series of small walls, but thanks to the information panels we were able to work out what most of the rooms were (okay, so really we worked out maybe two of them) and we were able to talk about a lot of the local history of Milton Keynes with Top Ender and Big Boy, including why some of the estates in Milton Keynes are called what they are called.

There were a few local residents having a picnic and walking their dogs around the villa grounds and across the rest of North Loughton Valley Park, but for such a public area it is very clean and tidy and the dog owners are very responsible (as in we didn't see or step in one bit of Dog mess).

The Roman Walls are of course walls that were put down in the 1980's to protect the original Roman walls (which I think Daddy said were reburied to keep "safe") and the site was last properly excavated at the same time.

The villa had originally been a winged-corridor house, and was extended to be a bigger building with mosaics floors, which the remains of one can be seen in the Shopping Centre (just outside the girls toilets).

The Children loved walking through the different rooms and were amazed that I knew that the Romans invented under floor heating. I knew paying attention in class was a good thing!

We had a great time exploring the ruins and just enjoying the sunshine, and if you're ever in the area let me know so we can meet up for a Picnic!

It's Time For Lunch! (W/C 11/05)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 12 May 2013 02:20:09 PDT

Lunches are as straight forward as ever this week, thanks to Big Boy being back at School! I'm going to be having Prawn Salads for the next week (instead of the Chicken I have been having) unless otherwise stated.

Saturday - Daddy's in Charge

I'm at a training day today, so Daddy is in charge of lunch. Whilst there is bread and cheese and tuna and a wealth of other foods in the fridge I have no idea what he is going to make and guess he'll probably end up doing something like Sausages!

Sunday - Toasted Hot Dog Sandwiches

I wasn't really sure what to do for lunch on Sunday, I even asked on Facebook and Twitter but nothing really grabbed me. In the end I decided that we'd do Toasted Hot Dog Sandwiches for the Children and a Prawn Salad for Daddy and I.

Monday - Pizza Muffins

The pizza muffins have been such a success that I've made a fresh batch for the Children to share. I'm going to have to really make sure that I make some gluten free ones soon as Daddy is feeling really left out!

Tuesday - Chicken Wrap

The Chicken wraps on a Tuesday are becoming rather predictable aren't they! At least with a Chicken wrap I know that the Children will eat it and have a good lunch though!

Wednesday - BIG BOY'S BIRTHDAY

Big Boy has decided that for lunch he would like a Cucumber and Ham and Cheese Sandwich. Only there isn't to be any Cheese in his and he isn't to have the skin of the Cucumber either. Luckily for him as it's his birthday we're in agreement and so lunch for today is planned!

Thursday - Crackers

Big Boy loves crackers and ham, as he seems to have gone off Cheese, so I thought we'd see what happens if we send crackers and ham to School.

Friday - Top Ender's Friday Lunch And Big Boy's Too!

Lunch today is something that I hope the Children will think is fun, but is so simple to make. If they don't think it is fun then I might have to re-educate my children this weekend...

What have you got for lunch this week?

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Birthday Help PLEASE!

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:53:31 PDT

It's Big Boy's birthday in a few days, he'll be five and as this is the first time that he has had friends outside of the family (from School as he never went to Playgroup or Nursery) we were expecting that we'd be throwing him a birthday party.

And yet we're not.

I had planned to. I had plans for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed party, I had plans for Big Boy's friends to come to our home and play party games and get gift bags and hit a Ninja Turtle Pinatta and play on the Wii or the Xbox or to have cartoons on in the background.

It boils down to we can either afford to buy Big Boy a gift or throw him a party.

So we asked him. We explained in simple terms and he decided that it was a gift that he'd like, as he could keep a gift for longer than a party.

And now I'm looking for ideas on how to make his day special, without spending a fortune. Without, having a party and without having much time to sort it all out in.

Anyone any suggestions?

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Soreen - A Few Tasty Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:18:14 PDT

Big Boy and I have started to get a little bored with having the Chicken Pox, so we decided to have a little Soreen tasting session with lots of different flavours. We've not told Soreen what we did yet, but we're sure that their Twitter and Facebook streams are already full of people having had little taste tests!

We thought we'd be healthy to start with and went for sliced apples on a Slice of Chocolate Soreen...

And then we thought thin slices of banana with chocolate sprinkles and cream...

We had to try jam oozing all over the slice...

And then we used some of our Smoothie Fruits to make a Summer fruit compote...

The taste tests were an outstanding success, with both Big Boy and I eating far more than we should have... although we had been out for a long walk first! We both decided that the best tasting one was the Banana and Cream with Chocolate sprinkles.

Which would be your favourite or least favourite?

If you want to test them all out then you can buy the Chocolate loaves in Asda until the 6th June, in Morrisons from the 20th May until the 10th June and in Sainsbury’s from the 23rd May until the for 13th June and if you come up with some other toppings let me know as Big Boy and I are wanting to try some new combinations!

We were sent Soreen to review.

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Dinner Plans (W/C 11/5)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:03:30 PDT

Week Three of the diet and it's going well. Well, we're not starving at least. We also have Big Boy's birthday this week, which means he gets to choose what we have for dinner.

Saturday - Cheesy Gammon Pasta

I'm out all day today, so Daddy is doing my usual chores and then he's making dinner on top of it all. Luckily Cheesy Gammon Pasta is dead easy to make!

Sunday - Roast Chicken

Poor Daddy has to do all the cooking this weekend as Tops and I will be at Church and when we get back he'll have made a roast for us. As I've said before though, it's all to do with portion size to make this dish healthy!

Monday - Meatless Monday - Cobbler Topped Goulash

I always thought of Goulash as being a meat meal, but I have this vegetarian version that sounds fantastic and will be perfect for our Meatless Monday Meal! I'm out again tonight, so hopefully this will be a quick make too!

Tuesday - Chinese Duck with Noodles

I love Chinese almost as much as Daddy loves Curry. Luckily I've managed to convince Daddy that he loves Duck and Noodles and the Children love anything that I make that's not curry! I'm out again tonight, which means I'm glad this is a quick meal.

Wednesday - Big Boy's Birthday!

Big Boy has decided that we're having ? for dinner tonight. This is apparently his favourite meal. I'm hoping that he will decide before Wednesday so I can buy something to make!

Thursday - Salmon Fish cakes

Top Ender loves Salmon and Big Boy loves Fish Cakes so Salmon Fish Cakes is the perfect combination for a family meal as it's a combination of what we all like!

Friday - Chilli Con Carne and Spicy Wedges

I always think that Chilli Con Carne is a Friday night meal as I feel it is meal that you just have to relax over and eat whilst talking about the past week. So that's what we are planning on doing!

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Ribena Plus 12 Minute Manual for We-Connection Time

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:46:35 PDT

We're big Ribena Plus fans in our house, you've probably noticed as the Children's lunches normally contain a carton of the Ribena Plus (6 calories and 1 gram of carbs makes it a perfect drink for BB) and so when they sent out a copy of their 12 Minute Manual for "We-Connection Time" to us, I was intrigued.

Thanks to research carried out by Ribena Plus, it takes on average just 12 minutes to reconnect to your child when they come home from School and so they have created this manual with a months worth of activities for parents and their School aged children to use to reconnect.

I think that is a great idea, as so many parents that I see at School seem to have no idea of what to do with their Children when they leave the School property and I'm sure it's the same up and down the country.

The ideas are simple, things like teach your child how to bake a cake or tell each other jokes, but that is the whole point isn't it? It is these simple little things that children adore doing with their parents because they are getting the attention that they crave and quite rightly deserve. You can download the manual on the Ribena website, but I'm wanting to know what you think.

Do you think that you can reconnect with your child in twelve minutes after they have been at School? Do your children want to reconnect with you after School or are they more interested in finding their friends who live in the same local area?

We received a copy of the manual and some seeds. At least I think the seeds came from Ribena Plus!

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Hovis Breakfast Bakes - A Great Afternoon Slump Snack!

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:15:00 PDT

I'm not one to turn down free food (which is why you should all read Pippa World) and so when I was offered some of the new Hovis Breakfast Bakes to try I of course said yes. Typically they arrived about two minutes after I had finished my breakfast and so the pack were left on the side until Big Boy spotted them mid afternoon.

What are these? Can I have one? he asked. It was nearly time for an afternoon snack (for him) so I agreed that he could try one biscuit. Big Boy examined the boxes very carefully and eventually decided he have a Malted Crunch.

Big Boy loved the biscuits, but insists that nobody would want them for breakfast "even with tea and fruit" as they are much more of an "afternoon snack when you're body wants to go to sleep and your brain says it isn't time". Seeing as Big Boy has never worked in an office, I'm not sure he knows just how true his words are!

We've agreed that some of the biscuits will be tried at breakfast (although in our house without the tea) and that we'll include some in lunch boxes and some will live in my handbag snack box (it's for when Big Boy has a low and we aren't at home) and I'm sure that if unlike us, you eat breakfast on the go or skip breakfast that these will be a handy addition to your stock cupboard.

The Hovis Breakfast Bakes are available to buy from Morrisons with an RRP of £2.19 per box.

We were sent three boxes to review.

The Number Train from Lego Duplo Review

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:00:00 PDT

Keeping Big Boy amused and trying to keep up with the School work he has been missing due to his Chicken Pox is starting to take it's toll. Big Boy is desperate to go back to School because I'm a slave driver with getting him to read and write, and count and practice his letter sounds and he thinks School will be easier! Luckily for us, fate was smiling on us yesterday as we were sent the new Lego Duplo Number Train (RRP £12.99) and it meant that we got to play together whilst Big Boy was practising his Math skills and he didn't realise that we were working!

After Big Boy had built the train (using the box as a guide as he likes to make sure he has things "right") we got down to business of counting and adding up and taking away and generally having fun with numbers. The fact that Big Boy got to build at the same time was an added bonus.

I even had Big Boy building Math Trees (he insists it's a fighting robot, other wise why would there be wheels?!) using bricks that were sums of each other. Can you work out the sums I asked him to do to build the tree?

As usual the great thing about Duplo is that it is big and bright, so perfect for little hands to handle and not so small that you won't see them on the floor and have to do the dreaded bare foot walk of death!

The train is designed for preschoolers aged 2-5 years, but I know that Children of all ages will love playing with the bricks and creating number games with the train seeing as I did and I'm a little over 5 years old.

We were sent the Lego Duplo Number Train to review.

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The Mammoth Garden Project - Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:00:13 PDT

A few days ago someone asked how The Mammoth Garden Project was coming along and apart from the massive mistake of not putting out the green bins to be emptied a couple of weeks back, it's coming along nicely. Why don't you take a look?!

We've even managed to right the apple tree (although it still needs further support in order to be fully upstanding) over the bank holiday weekend something which I'm hoping hasn't killed the tree and if the tree survives them I am very proud of!

The aim now is to get the green bins emptied again (this Friday because of the Bank Holiday) and then start cutting back and making tidy on the other side of the garden and across the back.

Talking of which, does anyone know what to do with a Holly Bush, as that is what is at the back and I'm really not sure how to manage it and there isn't anything in my Gardening for Beginners book.

As I won't be able to do the cutting back and tidying of the borders until the green bin is empty (we really should get our own compost bin going) I'm going to concentrate on digging over the border and creating some definition between the lawn and the border, and thanks to my friends on Twitter I know just how to do that. My plan is to create something magnificent that I can easily maintain and will give some colour and scent to the garden... or just makes it easier to weed by obviously not being a weed.

I'm hoping that with some clever planting, some handy Twitter and Facebook friends, that by the height of summer I'll have a garden I can be proud of. And if not then at least a garden I can sit in and not worry about the weeds in the background of all the pictures that I take!

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