Washing woe

Well today I have put about 5 loads through my washing machine as it was bright sunshine this morning and my Iphone weather forecast confidently told me it wont rain here for the next 5 days.
I have managed to get the first two loads dry but was forced to dash out and rescue my smalls a few minutes ago due to some most unwelcome rain!

I now have a full of soggy socks and havn't been able to spend valuable baby napping time doing more important things like tidying, hoovering or posting a longer blog!!

On a brighter note though do remember to hang your washing outside whenever possible, it doesnt even need to be particularly warm or sunny (just not raining!!) as a good breeze will do wonders for your washing. It really will save you a fortune on tumble drying and save your house from unnecessary dampness from trying to dry everything inside.

If you dont have an outdoor washing line why not take your clothes airer outside?
You could also make one of these

with just some string a clothes hanger and some old pegs, or you can pick one up from most £1 shops/eBay etc for just a few pound.

This can hang outside from your line (to make extra space) from a tree or a beam and quickly bought in and hung inside (I hang mine of the shower rail).

Large items like sheets can even just be spread between the garden furniture to dry.

Line drying not only saves a fortune but also leaves your clothes smelling truly fresh in a way no powder or softener has equaled yet!!

Believe it or not I am about to add a cautionary note to line drying!!(I know) If you or your child has acute eczema or hay fever then their clothes should be washed only with a non-bio and no softener. They should also be dried Indoors as pollen from outside could be an irritant.

Short Dresses and Sunscreen

Phew well its finally raining after a literary boiling day of about 32 degrees here in Warwick!

This morning in my British suncrazed state I decided to wear a dress more suitable for a beach in Majorca than my morning walk to playschool! This, along with the 5 year old tanning base layer found in the cupboard and a tonne of eye make up inspired by the hot weather probably made for one of the most terrifying sights the preschoolers had seen since last halloween! And the much windier walk home resulted in several Marilyn, without the glamour moments attempting to keep my dress well and truely below my knickers despite the breezes best attempts on my way home!

On a more practical note, I only remembered the kids sunscreen 5 minute before leaving the house, so try to remember it as its so so important when their little, use at least factor 25 or higher! (I always use 40 on the kids) and pop a hat on their (if they'll let you) and even though its hot, nice long sleeved light cotton on babies will keep them sun safe too!

You don't need to spend loads of money on expensive brands of sunscreen as they must all adhere to regulations so the supermarkets own really is as good, (if you have time read the Mails's article on Asdas excellent sunscreen). Also many children's centers also sell sunscreen at nearer to a cost price in the summer, especially if you live in the South.

Hope everyone has a great time in the hot weather and remembers to stay sun safe!!

5 a day

know I know it's very Marg Simpson smiley face breakfast but I was bored!!

This couldn't have been easier and went down a storm!

Turkey dinosaurs are £1 for 6 in Tesco right now so u used 33p of dinosaur for the kids to tonight!

The trees are made of some left over rice and broccoli for the leaves and the grass is peas with a blob of ketchup (reduced salt and sugar) sun

Total cost around 50p a dinner.

This is a great way of sneaking your 5 a day my kids like veg anyway but fun meals like this can be a way to introduce new things!
Get creative how about carrot stick tree trunks or sweet corn flowers, cress as grass or sweet potato boulders? The options are endless so get creative and if your little ones are old enough why not let them choose art and dinner! How sophisticated!!

Please share any of your dinner pic tips too!

Ikea Meatballs!

Well yesterday my cupboards were bare and I was stumped as to what to make for dinner that all four of us would eat.
I rumaged through my freezer and found a big pack of meatballs, stared at it for a while and though oh god is this it, not pasta again! ut then I got to thinking and remembered that meatballs can..belive it or not be eaten without pasta! I was trying to think of a good recepie for some sort of stew then had a brainwave to try and re-create Ikea style meatballs!

I love the Ikea meatball meal, as an Ikea family member they are frequently on offer for just 99p for the 9 meatball meal, this to me is a no brainer. If I ever have to go to Coventry (I know, I know) then I always park at Ikea. The parking is free as long as you buy something while you there, and this can be anything however small, so that always saves a few quid. But also their so child friendly its actually unbelievable and with such great value food its unbeatable. But I digress, back to my meatball dinner.

Like I said, I had a packet of prebought meatballs already, however the official Ikea recipe can be found here. It looks dead simple and I'm defiantly going to give this as go soon.
It was however the Gravy/Sauce recipe I was interested in. Now I can believe how simple it was to make, I read the recipe and was highly doubtful this was going to turn out right! (especially as I substituted cream for full fat milk, which we always have in the house anyway) However it all tasted lovely, it was a little thin but I used 1 tablespoon of Cornflour to 2 Tablespoons of sauce mixed together then poured in to thicken it (it says to use white flour, so maybe they do mean cornflour). It tasted delicious.

To be super healthy I served this up with lots of steamed potatoes (although it would be great with mash or chips as well!) and a blog of cranberry sauce.

I was really delighted as the other half ate all of his and even tried to steal of the kids and said this recipe was a definite keeper! Both children loved it, and despite its lack of veg content (I couldve added peas!) I gave them some grapes and banana for pud so everybody finished dinner feeling great.

Just a shame I still seem to be stuck with the pans to wash up today!!

School Report!

Okay so its not strictly speaking her first school report, just her 3 month review for PlaySchool (Childrens Centre group but still she couldn't have made me more proud! Im now genuinely exited to go to her review for the PlaySchool she attends at Coten End where she spend 3 mornings a week later this month.

Her Key worker Nic is great and I cant thank her enough. All she has is praise for Alice and seemed to genuinely share my excitement at the prospect of dumping Thomas on their hands too in 6 months!!

From chatting with Nic, reading her record book and seeing her progress with respect the the Early Years Foundation Stage I'm really thrilled. Its clear that her strongest point is her consideration for others which I had an incling of because of how nicely she treats Thomas at home everyday (she even shares biscuits with him!!) they were particularly keen to tell me that a new girl started a few weeks ago and Alice made her feel extremely welcome by sharing and taking her under her wing.
Second on the list was her physical ability's which actually exceed what is expected of her age and on the EYFS are more in line with a full time nursery school child's (which is great as Alice isn't even 3 yet!) there are several cute pictures of her showing off at the top of the slide!

Her only weak point is problem solving which I find funny as you can ask anyone we know and they will tell you I have marked Thomas as problem solver since day one as one of the biggest differences between my children, but they did add only seeing her once a week it could be better than it seems (will definitely bring this up at Coten End.

I'm so thrilled to see picture of her jumping and captions to say she counted to 12, a claim I have made for some time but doubt been believed! Also that cheeky little miss is quite capable of taking herself to the toilet, wiping, flushing and washing her hands which is more than can be said for when she is at home!
Im really looking forward to showing the other half her record book as he doesn't often get a chance to see her around other kids her age.

Right proud mummy moment done, reality check, time to wipe the baked bean and banana mixture from the table and tidy up a thousand crayons, again!

Where did cbeebies go mummy?

Well today Alice attends a 2 hour playgroup without me at our local Childrens Center. I have to drive most of the way as and it is about a 40 minute walk so if I were to walk back with Thomas it would be time to walk there again by the time we were home! As I do have to drive though I dont park directly opposite the childrens center, I try to find a space a few roads away so that Alice is able to walk in, as I'm a firm believer in walking being great exercise and that this will set a good example to her for the future (also means she's that bit more likely to want a nap this afternoon, great).

For this 5 minute walk however I have gotten tired of carry a now fairly heavy and extremely wriggly Thomas! So today I popped Alice's old trike in the back of the car, Its not one of those fancy smart trikes, but it does have a parent handle on it and a strap around the waist. To make it more suitable for a rather unstable Thomas I used a length of strong strap/ribbon off a posh shopping bag. I hemmed the end of it and cut a small hole, unscrewed the trikes seat and popped this underneath.
I had also made a loop so that the original tummy strap was able to fit through this, so that now Thomas trike has a more supportive harness.

Another easy way to do this if you also have a trike with no harness is to buy a set of toddler reigns but instead use them to attach to the trike.

Thomas thought this short journey outside the house on trike was amazing and it was also fun to use its basket at the back to grab some milk and bread at the shop. Using the trike was also handy as Thomas now gets very upset that he doesn't get to stay too when Alice is at playschool so at least there was the promise of a fun journey home!

Alas two hours have flown by and it is now almost time to do it all again, and all ive achieved is a luke warm cup of tea and a load through the dishwasher, I have also been wondering why Thomas was so ratty for the 10 minutes its taken me to drink said tea and write this, only to notice his beloved cbeebies has turned into Wimbledon! Thomas clearly doesnt think sports coverage is the best use of our license fee!

I often pop the tele on to BBC2 for the kids TV as I find it a reassuring link back to my own childhood when kids TV used to run out. Despite my best efforts CBeebies and Disney seem to be near permanent fixtures of our home! Not sure how I feel about that, certainly didn't do me and harm to have to watch antiques roadshow on a Sunday or Wimbledon in the summer or haven forbid turn it off because the world was actually more interesting than the Tele!

lunch

What a great lunch.

I popped to Sainsburys not Tesco at the weekend as I was round that part of Leamington anyway and remembered to stock up on tonnes of their value part bake baguettes while I was there. They selll packs of 2 for 39p, unbelivable! This is by far cheaper than Tesco's or Asda sell the same thing for so I must've bought about 8 packs as they last for a few months in the cupboard and endlessly in the freezer. I love having them in as if you get caught short for bread you can these ready in 10 minutes even from frozen.

The kids have shared one with lots of salad bits and im indulging in a little too much not quite butter spread and a sliver of Ardness Pate (on offer in Sainsburys for £1 a pack) this is a super tasty treat of a lunch and I must've just fed all three of us for under £1! Just had to share that really!