A Mothers Ramblings

The Summer Music Concert

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:00:09 PDT

Last year was Top Ender's first concert and I was the parent that went (Daddy and BB stayed at home to have some fun) this year, Daddy went to The Summer Music Concert at Top Ender's School whilst I stayed at home with Big Boy to have fun. Top Ender and the rest of her fellow Violin students were brilliant and here is the video for those who like me couldn't attend.

Just like last year, we gave Top Ender a treat when she got home for a brilliant performance, last year it was flowers and this year it was a McFlurry! I'll be adding the video to the A Mothers Ramblings TV stream soon!

Andrex Jubilee Give Away

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:12:23 PDT

I am so proud to be British. I know that is easy to say with the Jubilee weekend coming up, but it's true! I think that there is no country better than ours and I'm proud to be from here. I love that we have a Royal Family and I love that for this Jubilee celebration so many brands and companies have gone all patriotic and are celebrating with us. When I was walking around our local Sainsbury's I was most pleased to see that Andrex have produced some limited edition versions of their Classic 16 White Roll, The Andrex Gorgeous Comfort 12 roll and the Andrex Washlets too. They are available exclusively at Sainsbury's until the 19th of June which is also when my little give away ends too!

That's right a give away thanks to Andrex! Andrex have given me an "All English Pack" for one lucky winner and it is a gift bag packed full of goodies.

The winner will have;

Soldier Mug

Great British Eton Mess Dark Chocolate

Twinings English Breakfast Loose Tea

'Grate' Britain Cheddar Biscuits

Truly Great Tea Towel

Andrex Classic White 16 Roll White Toilet Roll x 2 (Don't worry your's will be unsniffed)

Union Jack Coasters (set of Six)

So what are you waiting for? Get entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MyStyle Craft Union Jack Cushions

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 29 May 2012 22:00:02 PDT

Whilst watching Eurovision last Saturday night (Daddy was keeping me amused with his witty observations which reminds me, you can follow him on Twitter where he quite often tweets things that make everyone laugh) I started sewing together part of a craft project that had been sent for Top Ender. I had checked with her first and she had agreed that as the MyStyle Craft Union Jack Cushions had two cushions to make that it was okay that I made one.

I had thought that I would sew it all up whilst watching Eurovision and so it came as a surprise to me when come the end of the show not only had we not got nil points but I wasn't even close to finishing the cushion! I didn't think to take pictures of it as I was going along (it was the spectacle of Eurovision, it made it slip my mind) but I did finish the cushion on Sunday whilst hiding indoors from the heat.

It was really simple to make as the felt has all the holes that you need to sew through already in the fabric, and the instructions in the book are very clear, with detailed instructions on how to do the basic stitches needed. I think that I didn't do that bad a job and Tops and BB are certainly very happy with the cushion (which is currently living on the Den sofa) and the pattern is so simple I wouldn't be surprised if I make a couple more this week to celebrate the Jubilee with!

Tops is happily sewing the second smaller cushion at her own pace and is loving being crafty and patriotic at the same time. I know that the box says 8+, but in all honesty I would be quite pleased if this was given to me. The set comes with everything you need (apart from scissors, but everyone has scissors at home don't they?) to create two Union Jack cushions. They really do look cool so I think everyone will love them.

We were sent the myStyle Union Jack Cushion Craft Set to review. I'd quite like another set so I could have them on either end of the den sofa so will be adding this to my wish list!

Best Summer Salad Ever! - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:03:36 PDT

If you want to see how I made it take a look at Probably The Best Summer Salad Recipe Ever it's really simple to make and oh so tasty!

Swimming With Big Boy

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:00:07 PDT

Big Boy and I had so many things that we wanted to do before he started School this coming September, we even made a Things To Do Before Starting School list. We have been playing a lot and generally having fun and we have made huge progress in a few areas that I thought might help him when he starts School but the one thing that we haven't really done is go swimming and when last week a huge envelope came home with details of Big Boys start date at School I knew that we really had to get going!

Big Boy is going swimming with Daddy every other week as part of the Daddy Date Nights, but I know that if Big Boy is going to learn to swim he needs to be going more regularly and it wouldn't hurt if I took him once a week too. So when on Monday morning I was up at 3am with a sore back, I thought I should test out my new swimsuit from Simply Swim (who had suggested I might like to take a look at their Ladies Speedo Swimming Costumes and pick one, but I ended up going with a Zoggs one) and take BB for a swim too. I had been planning to go swimming with BB already, as a few weeks back I asked all those who have liked the A Mothers Ramblings Facebook page for their top tips about going swimming with children and I got some great suggestions!

Nicki suggested that I go early so as to make sure everything was nice and quiet, but that kind of backfired for us. General Swim opens at 9:30am on a Monday and as the local schools also have swimming lessons from 9:30am on a Monday it was a little crowded. Louise suggested taking a snack that BB could eat whilst I'm getting changed after we got out of the pool, that way I would be able to get changed without having to worry about Big Boy running off and me flashing everyone again. The problem was that I was so busy trying to take a photo of me in my swimsuit I forgot to actually get changed before BB finished his juice and snack! Even worse the photos that I took of me were all blurry, so I can't even use them!

I chose a Shorts Leg Swimsuit because of the extra covering available. I didn't think about it from a modesty point of view but more a "I really don't want that much flesh on display when I'm not happy with my own body" point of view. The costume arrived so quickly after ordering (the next day) and so I have been practising getting in and out of the costume as it is going to be some time before I'm doing it as elegantly as I might like as there isn't any Lycra in the costume, but it's comfy on and it was good in the bust area with hidden support.

We really enjoyed our swimming session and just in case we feel like going again this week I've already washed our costumes and Towels and they are just hanging out to dry in the Summer Sunshine.

I was sent a swimming costume that I chose from the Simply Swim website.

Learning Through Water Play

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:00:04 PDT

Big Boy loves water play and he loves playing with his Lego Duplo so whilst we have been having this lovely warm weather we have been combining the two and learning a bit about how things float and how to make different size splashes too. We filled up a big bowl with water (which we used afterwards to water the plants) and then used the Lego from the Duplo sorter to create boats, towers, animals and Big Boy even made a rocket at one point. Big Boy loved creating the different structures and he loved playing with his bricks in the garden too. I had to explain at one point that all he needed to do to dry the bricks off was to leave them in the sun instead of rubbing them in his Tshirt, but the bricks were more fun being dried in his shirt it seems.

I then suggested to Big Boy that we could learn something from these bricks, all we had to do was play and we could see what we could find out. Big Boy loved pouring the water from inside the bricks and into the bowl and he was having great fun splashing about and cooling himself down. He didn't understand at first how to manipulate the bricks to create a large splash, but with a little experimenting he was soon able to demonstrate what he had discovered.

We had great fun playing together, experimenting with the water and generally keeping cool. Big Boy is so clever and I hope he always has as much fun learning as he did today.

Probably The Best Summer Salad Recipe Ever

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:02:11 PDT

I'm a rather competitive little soul, and so when I was asked if I'd like to create a dish using Apetina Cheese which others could vote on I said yes. Then as I read more I realised that what I was planning on making (Cheese and Bacon Twists) wasn't actually suitable as Apetina wanted me to make a snazzy showpiece salad. There was also another little problem, by the time I realised that it was a Salad that I was to make I had less than 24 hours to come up with an idea and make it. Luckily I'm a genius and so I came up with what is probably the best Summer Salad ever and if you pop along to the Apetina cheese Facebook Page you can vote for my salad (because it's your favourite of course) and you will be entered into a prize draw for a picnic hamper (There's a basket, salad bowl, servers and a dressing bowl) and in the final week a BBQ. If you win you could make my salad and take it on a picnic with you, after all it's really tasty... and your favourite salad.

I regularly make salads and eat them over the course of the week and I like them to be simple, and this Salad is just that. Even the bits to make it look pretty are easy to make, and I think that with it all put together they make a rather special looking salad that wouldn't be out of place as the centre piece at a dinner party or Summer BBQ.

So here is how I did it;
Get two bags of Salad from the Supermarket. It doesn't matter what two bags you get as long as they are full of Salad leaves that you (or your guests or family would like). Also buy Cherry tomatoes, Celery, Spring Onions, Peppers and a Cucumber. If you want to add anything else to your salad also buy this now. I like to add sliced mushrooms, red onion, raisins, almond flakes and grated carrot to my salads but I didn't to this one as I didn't want it to be over powered. Don't forget to buy the Apetina Cheese either, they sell it in blocks and in precut squares (and there is a light version and one with olives and one with sundried tomatoes, so something for everyone).

Go home.
Run to your neighbours house and ask to borrow a salad bowl because you realised you don't actually have one, as you normally use your cake box and it's full of pineapple decorated cakes. Return home with salad bowl after promising to return it once salad has been eaten. Think should have invited neighbour to lunch to enjoy said salad but carry on home anyway.

Start with the Peppers first. Cut the top and bottom off and then slice in half. Using one half of the pepper cut the flesh from the skin and then very finely chop the skin into strips. Put these strips into cold water whilst you do the same thing to a different colour pepper and add the skin strips into the cold water. Put this in your fridge whilst you finely chop the flesh of the pepper into thin strips too. Empty the two bags of salad and the Pepper flesh strips into the salad bowl, put back in the fridge.

Get the Spring onions and give them a rinse before chopping off the ends. I used five spring onions, but it's up to you how much you use depending on your personal taste. Cut two of the spring onions finely (white and green parts) and put in the bowl of salad and pepper flesh in the fridge. Take the other spring onions and cut off the green parts. Finely chop the white parts and put in the salad bowl with the others. Take some of the green parts and cut in half (varied lengths is pretty) and then with a paring knife gently cut roughly two thirds of the way down the green stem on one side. Make two more cuts of the same length around the green part and put the stem into a bowl of cold water. Repeat with the other parts of the stem. Put the bowl of cold water and green spring onion stems in the fridge.

Wash the Celery before chopping the end off and placing to one side. Take a couple of Celery sticks and remove the stringy bits before cutting and throwing into the salad bowl. Again use more or less here depending on your own preference. Take the celery end and then cut each stem at an angle to make the end look like a flower. Leave the Celery to soak in some cold water to make it more flexible so you can pull the "flower" apart slightly to make it look prettier in a few minutes.

Try to make Cucumber swirls but fail and in a bit of a temper roughly chop the cucumber up into small pieces, put this in the salad too.

Take a hand full of cherry tomatoes, wash them and slice them in half. Put them in the salad bowl too and then toss everything together to mix it up and generally make it look pretty. Put it back in the fridge. Take a few Cherry tomatoes and gently slice through 2/3rds of the way at the very bottom before guiding the knife down and round in a circle. Follow the line all the way down and round the tomato and you will have a curly skin. Starting at the small end of the skin gently roll the tomato back on itself to form a flower.

Gently toss in some of the Apetina cheese squares into the salad and then place the celery flower in the middle of the salad. Add the cherry tomato flowers that you deemed pretty enough and some pineapple flowers that you had made for cakes and had left over. Scatter over the top the chopped pepper skin which has turned curly in the cold water and then take several pictures before serving!

There are lots of other recipes on the Apetina website, so if you fancy using some of the cheese this week you can get plenty of inspiration there too and don't forget to go and vote on the Apetina Facebook page for my salad!
This is a Sponsored Post but it doesn't stop my salad looking delicious!

What's For Lunch? (W/C 28/05)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:00:05 PDT

Every Saturday I post about our main meals for the week, but what I haven't been blogging about are the packed lunches that I make for Top Ender, Big Boy and I. When I was posting the pictures of the lunches I was making for Tops and her special Friday Lunches there were some who wanted me to make them a lunch box up too, so I thought that this might help everyone get a few new ideas and also help me keep track of what Tops, Big Boy and I are eating for lunch. I don't make lunch for Daddy (unless I'm making a rice dish) as he keeps bread and sandwich fillings at work and I will only say what the main part of the meal will be, and not include the fruit or the drink or the sweet treat, but I will try to remember to tweet or post a photo on Facebook so you can see what else is included!

Monday - Shredded Chicken and Salad Wrap

Monday tends to be a Chicken based meal as I keep some of the Chicken from the Roast the day before. Tops really loves Chicken Skin, so it won't be as healthy as it sounds for her, but I figure she is a growing girl and she deserves a treat come Monday lunchtime. Tops doesn't like Salad Cream or Mayonnaise, but I do add a very little amount to her wrap, just to stop the filling becoming dry. For BB and I we tend to have a bit more Salad Cream or Mayonnaise with the chicken breast all mixed up together as we like the taste!

I find that buying wraps once a month and freezing them (with a bit of greaseproof paper in between the wraps) means that there isn't any waste with wraps going off, and also makes it easier to get the right amount out to defrost as they aren't all stuck together.

Tuesday - Cheese Pita with Grated Carrot

I think that it's really important to have at least five portions of Fruit and Veg a day (we average six a day not including juice) and whilst both Tops and BB love eating fruit and will eat veg I still find it better to sneak in extra portions. Grated Carrot mixed up with Grated Cheese is a favourite because the taste and texture compliment each other and when they are stuffed in to pitas they are more colourful than just plain Cheese.

I cut the Pita breads in half after toasting to make two pockets and have to remember to not over stuff them as Top Ender always moans that I put in too much. I can't help it, I like to know she has a good lunch ahead of her!

Wednesday - Ham and Cucumber Sandwich

I don't think you can do better than a midweek ham and cucumber sandwich . My family always had mustard with their ham, but I really can't eat it like that as mustard is too "hot" for me. My Aunt taught me to put a little mustard and a little mayonnaise on to one slice of bread and to mix them together to create a less mustard tasting sandwich and when Tops and BB are ready for trying this diluted mustard accompaniment to their ham sandwich I'll be ready!

Tops and BB are both white bread fans and I'm a Wholemeal bread fan so we normally go with the loaves that mix the two, but this week are are trying the new Hovis Premium British Farmers Loaf so we will either have a White loaf or a Wholemeal loaf. Maybe we should have one slice of each?!

Thursday - Sausage Rolls

Tops loves Sausage rolls, it doesn't matter if they are home made or shop brought and so it's Sausage Rolls with Dip for lunch today. It depends on what we are feeling in the morning to if they will be hot at lunch or not. I have two brilliant thermal Bento lunch boxes so if Tops wants them hot she can do, and if she wants them cool then we can arrange that too!

Friday - Top Ender's Special Friday Lunch

Every Friday I make a special lunch for Tops and this week is no different. I'm going to make a Quiche but the exact details of the Quiche are a secret... you'll just have to pop back to see what I make later this week!

What We Are Eating This Week (W/C 26/05)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 30 May 2012 02:08:05 PDT

Last weeks meal plans had to be slightly changed, we didn't have the Roast on Sunday because we ended up spending the entire day out in London and we had Fish and Chips on Monday night instead of the stir fry as we thought the children had been so good they deserved a treat, but the good thing was that we still used everything that we had brought. This week I am trying to restock my freezer so will be making a lot of meals which can easily be doubled up and stored in the freezer for another week. I also need to get some more cookies and cakes in the freezer as my supplies are running low!

Saturday - Sausage Korma

Daddy loves a good curry, but the children so far have refused to take after him and prefer things which do not have any spice to them. I decided it's about time that they took the plunge so will make a Sausage Korma for us all to share. It will be very mild, but I'm hoping that because it is sausages they won't notice!

Sunday - Roast chicken

Yes, it's Sunday and we will be having a Roast Chicken. Last week we didn't have a Roast as we ended up going out on Sunday to the Science Museum so we are all really looking forward to a nice Roast. If we are all really lucky then we might even eat it out in the garden too. I just have to persuade Daddy to help me move the garden table!

Monday - Jacket Potatoes

I will make double the amount of Jacket potatoes and freeze half for a meal another week. I'm thinking Cheese and Ham Double Baked Jacket Potatoes would be lovely next week! This week we will have Jacket Potatoes with Beans and Salad (Look out for my Apetina Salad recipe here and on the Apetina Facebook Page!) and a bit of grated cheese over the top.

Tuesday - Turkey with Red Peppers, Cream Cheese and Spinach

Do you remember the Turkey Pin Wheels with Peppadew Peppers recipe I made up the other week? Well I'm making a few variations to it this week and trying again making it for everyone. There was only just enough for Daddy and I when I last made it, so I'm thinking that I will serve it with Rice and do a side dish of Salad (left over from yesterday) and if everyone is still hungry then we can have a pudding. I'll probably make some cake for us to share.

Wednesday - Pasta Bolognese

Last week I did end up making double the amount of Lasagne, I normally make them way to big and so I think that if I stick with my normal recipe and make two smaller ones I might actually lose some weight. With this in mind I've decided to make Pasta Bolognese this week and I'll make double so I have one portion for the freezer for a meal in the near future. We're having Pasta instead of Spaghetti so we can use up the last box of Pasta that Daddy has. I could end up having a week of freezer meals at this rate!

Thursday - Gammon Steak with miniature vegetables

We are serving it with pineapple and mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables to go with our film of Journey 2 - The Mysterious Island that Warner Brothers are sending to us to watch. We have seen the film at the cinema and we loved how little things were big and big things were small so we are going to do that with our dinner!

Friday - Chicken Honey Sesame Skewers

Yesterday we had a great afternoon/evening. When Daddy came home it was still sunny and so we all either sat out or played in the garden. It was such a lovely Summer evening that I thought I would be prepared for next Friday by having a meal that will be good in the sunshine or the rain. If it is sunny then I'll prepare these on the BBQ and if not then I will grill them in the kitchen. It's a perfect solution. The Chicken will be cubed before being put on to skewers. I'll then roll the chicken skewers in a honey mixture (Honey, herbs, lemon juice and some Olive Oil) before sprinkling sesame seeds over the top. I'm not sure what to serve it with other than Rice or Rice Noodles, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Now for some Food Related News

I am so excited for tomorrow! I have a blog post that is to do with food and meal plans, and will be a regular weekly post too, but you have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is all about! Make sure you come back tomorrow or have A Mothers Ramblings in your RSS Reader so you don't miss it!

I'm a Home Grown Tourist - Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:00:09 PDT

When I went to New York as part of a Student exchange back in the 90's the family of the home I stayed with had never been to Ellis Island. The father thought this was terribly lax of him as his family had immigrated and so it was part of his history, as well as being a local Tourist attraction. I remember thinking at the time how could someone who lives so close to one of the most famous landmarks in the world never have visited, but thinking on it if that is bad then what does that make me? I live in Milton Keynes one of the easiest places to get to anywhere else in the UK and yet I have hardly been anywhere!

This led Daddy and I to be talking about the local attractions in Milton Keynes and we realised that there were hundreds of places that we hadn't been to in the local area. There are parks and farms and woods and art trails and churches and bits of history and lots more that we probably don't even know about. So I'm going to change that, I'm going to explore my home town and the rest of Great Britain as much as I can and I need your help to do so.

It's easy enough for me to find out about the hidden attractions of Milton Keynes, I can ask my neighbours, read the local paper and even visit the local libraries for ideas but what about you? What are the local attractions to you that you have (or haven't) visited that you think I should check out? Where have you been in the past that you would recommend to other Families to visit now? If you are a blogger then why not be a Home Grown Tourist too and write a post about somewhere you have been and then link up with me below.

Let me know if you have any suggestions of places that I should visit and I will do my best to get there!

Family Pyjama Nights

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:00:00 PDT

On a Thursday night, Top Ender, Big Boy and I have a Family Pyjama Movie Night. It had started off that we made sure that we ate together at the table and we ate food that we couldn't normally eat when Daddy was around (things full of wheat and Gluten) but we slowly started to turn it into a family night for just us three. Then when walking home from School one night we got so wet and cold, thanks to the lovely British weather, that we jumped in a bath as soon as we got home just to warm up. Of course there was no point in getting dressed again so we all got into our Pyjama's and it was just so comfy we decided we would have to do it again on the next Thursday.

Now, when we get home from the School Run on a Thursday the Children go out into the garden for a quick run around and blast of fresh air (Yes, even if it's raining) and I normally start preparing for the evening and getting a few last minute chores done. Big Boy loves this play time with Top Ender and Tops uses the time to help teach BB skills he is going to need when he goes to School. It's amazing to see them writing on the path together and skipping out numbers on a hopscotch court and I love that Tops has taken it on herself to help BB to learn how to count and write.

When they come in we all get into our Pyjamas and find our dressing gowns and set up camp on the sofa. We all get comfy and probably just look like a tangle of arms and legs. We watch a few TV programmes and talk about what went on in our day and we share some popcorn too. It depends on what the weather is like to what we drink, it might be Hot Chocolate, Milkshake, Water or Squash we aren't fussy! After a few cartoons we start cooking our evening meal together, it might be that the children set the table or help measure out the ingredients whilst I do the actual cooking or they might be more involved depending on what the meal (you can read my Menu plan to know) is but with everyone working together it means that we get our meal on the table in the quickest time possible.

After we have eaten we forget about doing the dishes and instead sit down together to watch a film. I've started making dinner so it's themed with the film and so the children try to have a guess before the film starts as to what we will be watching. Tonight we are watching The Smurfs movie, we missed it when it was at the cinema (okay so we didn't go on purpose because the Cinema is just too much money) and we can't wait to see it. We have a Home made Cheesecake to go with it (Smurfs eat Cheesecake right?) and we can't wait to have a Family Pyjama Movie Night.

What would you do on a Family Pyjama Night?

Leggings and Windbreakers - Vertbaudet Clothing Review

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:00:04 PDT

I think I've mentioned several hundred times that Top Ender is going to be a Fashion Designer when she is older, and part of her style at the moment is wearing skirts with leggings underneath. Mainly she is wearing the leggings because she keeps growing and so a skirt which fits her one week is too short the next and we have come to a mutual agreement that this isn't suitable and partly because she loves the layered look. The problem is a lot of the leggings that we get for Top Ender are great for the first couple of wears and washes, but then the leggings start to look worn with the knees becoming saggy.

When Vertbaudet asked if we would like to do another review Top Ender asked for some of the Vertbaudet Pink and Black Happy Price Short Leggings as they were the colours that would compliment the rest of her wardrobe. When they arrived in the wash box I washed them as normal and was pleased when hanging them out on the washing line to see that the knees weren't bagging and the crotch wasn't sagging. They aren't quite the best fit for Tops, as they are a little big/baggy in places, but Tops doesn't really care. We've had them for a few weeks now and they have been worn and washed and dried several times and they still haven't started sagging.

Big Boy wasn't pleased with what Tops and I chose for him though. With the inclement weather we were having we thought it would be sensible for him to have a Windcheater, especially as the last one that he had was starting to split at the seams from constant wearing. When it arrived BB was really pleased that this new coat was reversible as he loved being able to flip the coat between two different colours. He also loved that he could fold the coat up into a back pack, but was disappointed that there wasn't space for any toys when it was like this!

The trouble came after I was a bit of an evil Mummy and recycled BB's old rain jacket. BB suddenly realised that he couldn't find his jacket anywhere and his new jacket isn't the one that he wants, even if it can be turned into a rucksack Still, I'm hoping that the longer he can't find his old coat the more attached he will be to his new Windcheater... it's just not working yet!

We were sent the Leggings and the Windcheater to review.

One Life Give Away

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:51:55 PDT

Several months ago I was given three DVD copies of the family friendly One Life wild life documentary narrated by Daniel Craig to give away as a prize to the lovely readers of A Mothers Ramblings. Then because I am so super organised I lost the DVD's... I know. Terrible of me right? I knew that the DVD's were in my house, I just didn't know where.

Today, whilst I was playing with Big Boy pretending to be different wild animals and trying to explain how animal parents are just like human parents, Big Boy said that was just like the DVD in Top Enders room. Sure enough I found the preview copy which had been sent to us in her room, but that didn't answer where the competition copies were until BB piped up that they were in a box next to the main PC.

I know you will all forgive me because now I can give those three copies away and just in time for the next Half Term Holiday too!

To enter all you have to do is to tell me what animal you think your family most resembles and for an extra entry sign up to my RSS Feed and let me know you have done so in the comments. If you already are signed up to my RSS Feed, check it's the right one and let me know and you'll get the extra entry too!

All my usual T&C's apply, this is for residents of the UK, my say is final and if you haven't entered by Wednesday 30th of May at 7pm (by my clock) then you haven't entered. Please remember to leave a valid email address when you leave a message (it won't show up to anyone but me) or follow me on Twitter so I have some way of contacting you to tell you that you have won.

Japanese Best Friend Dolls

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:30:02 PDT

Top Ender is pretty much your average eight year old. She loves making things, sharing things with her friends and the number of notes she has in her bedroom that she and her friends swap with each other shows to me that she and her friends appreciate each others friendship. When I saw an email about the Japanese Best Friend Dolls in my inbox I asked Tops what she thought of them. She loved the idea, especially when she realised that she could put secret notes inside the dolls and then give the dolls to your friends.

Top Ender knew I was going to have the dolls sent over and she was very excited when they arrived. Big Boy wanted to help Tops paint the dolls so we had to wait until Big Boy was busy before we could work on them. We soon found that most of the fun of these dolls wasn't going to be the giving but was the making of the dolls.

We had a great giggle painting them together (we took turns) and left them overnight to dry. They took a few hours to paint to the standard that we were happy with (lots of thin layers with plenty of drying time in between) but we eventually had them perfect and in the morning after they were well and truly dry we were able to put the stickers from the set on the dolls. Big Boy did end up helping us, but it's okay because Big Boy can stick stickers very well! Tops has asked that I not post a finished picture of the dolls because she wants them to be personal to her friends that she is giving the dolls to.

The dolls are really lovely and Tops loved making them and giving them to her friends. Tops and I are very much into Japanese culture and we love Kokeshi dolls (what these are and what the Mii's from Wii's are based on too) and were very pleased to make our own version and we even signed the bottom as the traditional Kokeshi doll makers would have. For £9.99 I think that these are a great buy and will be buying these as birthday gifts for Top Enders friends for the next year.

We were sent the Japanese Best Friend Dolls to review.

Home Made Fish and Chips

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:27:07 PDT

This week I was supposed to make a Haddock Stir Fry for dinner on Monday night, but when it came down to it we decided that we should make Fish and Chips instead. The last time I tried to batter fish was when I made some Fish Fingers but I had high hopes! I normally have Haddock when we have Fish and Chips for a Take away as being brought up by a Scottish Mum it was what she always had (also in my experience, it's more popular in Scotland than Cod) and so it's what I would always order too! Daddy on the other hand prefers to order Cod and the children prefer less fish and more potato when they have fish and chips, so this was going to be a big test!

We had been sent four Haddock Fillets from Regal Fish Supplies via Fish Is The Dish and I had frozen them until I knew what I should make with them. I defrosted them in the fridge and because Daddy and the children don't like the skin on their fish I removed the skin (which was surprisingly easy) and cut the Haddock fillets in half. The fillets were really lovely fillets, and the scales had been removed, which pleased me as I hate removing the scales! I liked having the fresh fish delivered to my door as I don't know of a fish mongers in Milton Keynes and so getting fresh fish unless it's from the supermarket is a rarity.

I used a fork to mix up two eggs before dipping the fillets into the egg mix. I let a lot of the mix drip off before rolling in a dish I had sprinkled some Polenta in to coat the Haddock fillets. I dry fried the Polenta covered Haddock fillets in a hot frying pan for a few minutes on both sides before transferring to an oven tray to keep warm in the oven whilst I made the chips. The fish was really lovely, it fell apart as we ate it but more importantly EVERYONE ATE IT! Big Boy wolfed it down (as did Tops) before I had even finished eating mine and I eat quickly. This will definitely be something that I make again and I think that everyone will ask for too.

Home Made Fish and Chips - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:28:06 PDT

Win 1,000 Tesco Clubcard Points

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 30 May 2012 02:21:07 PDT

With the Sun shinning so brightly this week it really does feel as if Summer has begun, which is handy seeing as I am really ready for the Summer (as I'm starting to look as pale as the cast of Twilight and whilst I won't be sun bathing it would be nice not to be mistaken for a Vampire fangirl) and it also means I can break out my shorts instead of living in my jeans!

The Tesco Clubcard Summer Clubcard Voucher Exchange has also started which means clubcard holders across the UK can turn their vouchers into Exchange tokens which can then be spent on essentials (in our house Doughnuts, Baby Wipes and Toilet Roll) or Summer items (some new shorts a size smaller might be wise for me and a size bigger for Tops and BB!) depending on what you decide.

To celebrate that Summer is rather fantastic And the Summer Clubcard Voucher Exchange I have a lovely competition for someone to win 1,000 Clubcard points! All you have to do is leave a comment below letting me know what your three essentials for Summer are. To give you some ideas mine are Sun Cream, Sun Hats and a Good Book to read on the beach... although it could just as easily be a Sun Tent, a Cooler and a decent 3G signal!

All my usual T&C's apply, this is for residents of the UK, my say is final and if you haven't entered by Tuesday 29th of May at 7pm (by my clock) then you haven't entered. Please remember to leave a valid email address when you leave a message (it won't show up to anyone but me) or follow me on Twitter so I have some way of contacting you to tell you that you have won.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Help Dora Help!

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:46:04 PDT

Last year I posted about how the Help Dora Help 2011 campaign was allowing pre-school and nurseries to apply for a grant of up to £20,000 for educational and learning purposes. It's amazing how quickly time flies when you are having fun because the 2012 campaign has just launched!

Again nurseries and preschools can apply for a grant so let your local nursery or pre-school know so they can enter before the closing date of July 22, 2012.

What We Are Eating This Week (W/C 19/05)

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:01 PDT

Some weeks the meal plan comes really easy and other times it takes me a while to work out what we are going to eat based on what we have in the freezer and the store cupboard and this week it was so easy that I'm just waiting for something to go wrong! I have my fingers crossed though so everything should be okay...

Saturday - Leftovers Night

We are having a McDonalds with my Sister and her family and my Mum at lunchtime so for supper we will make do with what is in the fridge. I am thinking that it will be something like sandwiches or if the Children want something warm beans on toast. If we are feeling very adventurous there are some leftovers in the freezer from the last couple of weeks that we can sample too.

Sunday - Roast Chicken with Trimmings

I know boring. Roast Chicken (again) and Roast Potatoes (again) and Veggies. The thing is my family love a Roast and Chicken is the cheapest at the moment. Plus it's so simple to make that I could make it whilst I'm asleep. Luckily I don't make it when I'm asleep I make it when I'm listening to the radio and I love a bit of EP on Sunday and Johnnie Walker too.

Monday - Haddock Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

It's funny since I went to the Good Food Show (and won the Masterchef Invention test!) and being part of the Fish Is The Dish campaign I've been more adventurous with what I am cooking and in my attempts to cook too. I would never have cooked a fish stir fry before, but I thought that a Haddock Stir Fry with some Prawns with be a good start to the week.

Tuesday - Pork with Apple Sauce

Daddy loves to grill Pork Steaks before topping with Apple Sauce and Cheese and then we serve it with Mash and some Veg. As I'm trying to keep my calorie count down I won't have the Cheese on my pork and I'll just have a small amount of Apple Sauce too.

Wednesday - Lasagne

We haven't had Lasagne for a bit and it's something that everyone loves and I already have all the ingredients for too. BB and I will make it in the afternoon and then put it in to cook so that it is ready in time for when Daddy gets home from work. This is a great meal to double up on, but I don't have enough mince in the freezer so I won't be making one for us and one for a later date this week.

Thursday - Blueberry Cheesecake

Thursday night is movie and PJ's night. We get into our PJ's almost as soon as we get home from the afternoon School Run and we slob about. The Children are allowed a piece of Chocolate as an afternoon snack and then we eat dinner at the table together before watching a film together. I thought that this week we would watch The Smurfs in 3D and as Daddy is home this week, dinner will be a simple Pizza so we can all look forward to Blueberry Cheesecake for pudding!

Friday - Hot Dogs

Friday night food should be special and comforting and the perfect set up to a family weekend. So this week we are having Hot Dogs in Wraps. It's the first time that I've made gluten free flour wraps so just in case they are terrible I will have some from the shop on standby! I used to make Breakfast wraps and I miss those so I will add Mushrooms and an egg to mine but I think that everyone else will just go with onions and ketchup.

Fashion for Children

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:00:07 PDT

When it comes to children's clothing I'm fairly conservative, I like children to look like children and not like mini adults. For my children this means that Top Ender doesn't wear short skirts without teaming them with leggings, she doesn't show off her midriff and the images on her t-shirts are age appropriate. As Tops wants to be a Fashion designer, we are quite lucky as she knows a thing or two about accessorising and layering to create the look she wants to achieve within my rules! For Big Boy things are a little easier (seeing as at nearly four I am still in complete charge of what clothes are brought for him) and whilst he might sometimes decide to wear a top that doesn't quite go with the trousers he has picked out he mostly co-ordinates. Top Ender has rubbed off on him though and he does love to accessorise his outfits with his hats!

As BB is getting bigger and we are trying to encourage him to be more independent I guess we are going to be focusing more on finding clothes that we both like and having looked at some of the places we normally buy clothes for BB we are needing to find something a little more "Grown up". We were asked if we would like to review some Ed Joseph clothes for Big Boy, and when they arrived Big Boy had a quick look through the different packets. There were a few T-shirts that he pulled to one side and declared as his favourites and a few more that he put in a pile claiming they were for Top Ender because they were girl colours. I explained that all the clothes were for him, but he was pretty adamant that he wasn't going to be wearing some of them... I did manage to get BB to wear a couple of the tops that he said were girl colours, even if the red guitar top was decided to be pink by Big Boy and friends on our Facebook Page.

Big Boy was actually right there were some T-Shirts in the pile that he wasn't going to be wearing, it wasn't because they were what he deemed to be girl colours but because Daddy and I didn't think that they were appropriate. Some of the tops that had been sent featured skulls and even when BB is dressing up as a pirate I don't think that almost four year olds need to be wearing skulls on their clothes. I spoke with a few of the other playground Mums who have similar aged children to BB and they understood what I was saying even if they didn't quite agree and High Heels Mum gratefully took the tops that we wouldn't let BB wear for her youngest son.

At first I didn't really like the skinny fit trousers that were sent (above), they looked a little too like pyjamas and I was convinced that BB was half dressed all day. With it having become colder again I would be quite happy if BB wore them in bed at night, but as he has asked for some boots to go with them I don't think he is going to be relegating these to the pyjama drawer just yet. I do have to admit now though, he does look really cute in them!

I thought that BB looked really lovely in the T-shirts and we put them through some vigorous testing with BB and I wrestling, rolling around in the grass and BB doing the other boy things that he does during the day (jumping on the sofa, pretending to climb mountains, swinging on door frames, using his shirt to carry bricks, pretending to be a Cat, putting his knees in his shirt you know normal things!) and of course me giving them a good wash afterwards too. I was really pleased to see that the T-shirts washed really well, they kept their shape and they kept their colours.

We were sent the clothes to review, which BB was quite happy about as there were green T-Shirts!

Turkey Pin Wheels with Peppadew Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:55:00 PDT

I said on Saturday that I was making Turkey Pin Wheels with Red Peppers for dinner last night, in my What We Are Eating This Week Post and I was asked by several people for the recipe on Facebook and Twitter. As I am terrible with giving recipes in a timely manner I thought I would put this one up as quickly as I could. We were sent some Peppadew Peppers as I had been asked to take part in a British Turkey Recipe Competition and as usual I've not done anything about it (like gone to buy Turkey so I could be reimbursed as they suggested) but the peppers were sitting in the cupboard taunting me every time I looked in there and I knew I had to do something.

I had a packet of Turkey Quick Cook Breast Steaks in the freezer which I defrosted and then bashed thinner using my rolling pin (and some baking paper as I had run out of cling film). I then added some sliced greens and a couple of the peppers sliced in half and rolled the Turkey around the filling.

I used some toothpicks to keep the turkey together and then put them in the oven on Gas Mark 4 for thirty minutes. They smelt really lovely and despite having said I would make it with Rice I really wasn't in the mood for rice and so with agreement from Daddy I made some Hash Browns to go with it.

Daddy really loved the Turkey Pin Wheels and asked me to make it again but I think that the next time I make this I would chop the peppers more finely and mix it in with some Cream Cheese and Spinach instead of Spring Greens. The peppers were hotter than I expected, and I think that the Cream Cheese would just make it more suitable to my palate. I'll let you know how it tastes like this in a couple of weeks!

I received a jar of Peppadew Peppers and was offered to be reimbursed for a selection of Turkey cuts, but as I buy Turkey regularly I didn't see the point!

Making New Table Mats

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:00:06 PDT

Big Boy received delivery of his latest Dora The Explorer Little Cooks Magazines this week and with it was a table mat which Big Boy decided to have with his lunch this Sunday. The only problem was he wanted everyone to have a new mat and so Daddy hit upon the idea of making our own table mats and then using my new Laminator to protect the mats against spills.

Top Ender created a double sided mat based on hearts and Big Boy drew a boss man (that's what he loves to draw these days as he is convinced we can put them into a computer game) as he didn't want to be left out!

Daddy printed a picture that he found on the internet that he thought was fun,

and I drew a seasonal double sided mat to satisfy my need for Sun and Snow!

We might not be the world's greatest artists, but making the mats was great fun and as usual we all loved being creative and working together. Tops has decided that we should make mats for all our guests when they come for dinner and that we should make ones for special events too (I'm thinking Queen's Jubilee and The Olympics to start with). Dinner tasted great on the mats too, just in case you were wondering, but what would you make your mat look like?

The Birthday Boy - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:08:17 PDT

Big Boy turned four yesterday

A Mario Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:00:06 PDT

Or How Much BB loves Mario Party 9!

For the last few weeks there has been a big Mario revival in our house, with our Sunday nights gaming mainly revolving around playing Super Mario Party 9. Daddy had brought the game for us a few days after it was first released as he knew that it was going to be a big hit, especially with Big Boy who has a huge obsession with all things Mario!

When we were sent a copy of Mario Party 9 (along with lots of things to have a special Mario themed Party) we knew that we had to have a party and as a late Easter gift gave my Sister and her family our duplicate copy of the game. Big Boy decided that he wanted to have a proper Mario party for his birthday and so our Mario Party got delayed from Easter to today!

Big Boy is four today!

I did most of the prep for the party and I made a King Boo from Mario Birthday cake, some bunting, some hats, some napkin rings and even decorated our front window too! The details for the bunting, hats and a cake recipe can be found in the Mario pdf I've uploaded, so you too can have your own Mario party.

The game is fantastic, it's a board game that you play via the Wii, and we have been playing it every other Sunday as part of our Family Nights. We love the game because it is never the same game; there are 80 mini challenges so there seems to be different options every time, there are different routes that can be taken and different lands that can be played in too. Big Boy and I play it during the day as a reward for good behaviour and Big Boy has even played by himself a couple of times, as you can choose to play solo if nobody else wants to play with you.

The great thing about this game is that it is a family game, it's something that we all play together (for the most part) and we can set handicaps so that even when we are playing games which BB might not have the Wii control skills for, he isn't at too much of a disadvantage.

Today we are off swimming before coming home to play Operation, a game or two on BB's new DS and after school this evening we have a Mario Party 9 marathon scheduled. What more could a brand new four year old want?

Mario Party 9 has an RRP of £39.99, but can be found for less with a quick google. We received a free copy too.

Daddy Date Night Returns!

noreply@blogger.com (PippaD AKA Mummy of A Mothers Ramblings) — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:00:04 PDT

When Top Ender was small, Daddy would take her swimming each week and leave me at home to do whatever I wanted. It was the original Daddy Daughter Date night and had four main benefits, Daddy and Tops got to spend time together, Daddy got a bit of exercise, I got to relax and Top Ender got confident being in the water. When our circumstances changed with Daddy working almost every waking hour, I took over the weekly swimming sessions before circumstances changed again and we found we had to stop. Even date nights have been on a temporary hiatus.

Daddy and I were talking during the week and we realised that we needed this quality time again with each of the children and so we came up with a plan to have a two week rotation date night with Tops and BB, where each week Daddy would take one of the children on a Swimming Date and the other would stay at home with me having a Date night at home. The children are really excited about the swimming and have agreed that going every other week is a great plan and I have promised them that the at home dates will be just as fun as swimming.

The pressure is really on for me to come up with some great ideas to have some fun with Big Boy and Top Ender each week. I remember that Daddy and Top Ender would round their Swimming Sessions off with a chocolate bar from the vending machine, so I'm going to need to make treats each week too. I'd like to do the same date night with each of them before swapping to something new for the next two weeks and I have a few ideas, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any!