Butlins

Second day of the swimming lessons, and this time Miss A was jumping in the water, putting her head under a hoop, looking for a red whale on the bottom of the pool and kicking her legs while holding onto a float. Confidence and enjoyment looks quite high. She is looking forward to the next lesson tomorrow.

We'd arranged to go to Butlins today. We went several times last year as day visitors, and whatever your views on Butlins and the type of people that might go there, £5 for a day out for all the rides you can possibly go on is a bargain. It was however incredibly busy today, and we were queuing outside in the wind and rain for 20 minutes which was not fun. They closed it to day visitors by 11am so the friends we'd arranged to meet there were unable to get in. (NB - don't have such an unusual car - Master B noticed our car in the car park and was beside himself that he couldn't get in to see us!!). Fortunately once inside the crowds disperse quite well, and Miss A had a lovely time on the little fairground rides, in the soft play, watching a puppet show, and when the rain cleared, outside on the trampolines. The only disappointment was that the galloping carousel was not running due to the rain. Miss I enjoyed all the lights and we found a small baby play area for her to try. I chuckled at our afternoon snack - Miss A rejected my offer of one of her scones, and instead elected to eat a pot of butter beans!

Tea tonight was Miss A's choice again, so we had pasta with a tomato, pepper and courgette sauce (I hid some spinach in it), with broccoli, polenta slices and finished off with rice pudding.

I've spent the evening doing birthday party preparations - printing out rainbow pictures to colour in, rainbow crown outlines, and attempting to print lunch box labels. Resorted to old fashioned pen for the labels now!

Tuesday is the new Monday

Bit behind in this writing - this is really about Monday!

With Miss A finished at pre-school, we are officially on Summer Holidays. Those 6 weeks apparently dreaded by parents - what to do with the children all day - how to entertain them. Miss A had expressed interest in swimming lessons, so knowing that it's best if I do what I'm told, I duly booked a week of intensive lessons. (Apparently these are good for getting started). First lesson on Monday. A good start - she got in the pool. And stayed in the pool. Mostly. And even put her head under the water.

The next excitement of the day was using the new Click and Collect system at our local Tesco. A bit like a concierge, you tap in a shopping list online, they trundle round the store, pick out everything you want, and when you turn up in your car, they load it in. Brilliant!! For free!! The first man came out and I said 'oh do you have my shopping?' and he said 'No, I've just come to look at your car' The perils of being in a slightly unusual 1963 Morris Minor.

Back home, friends S, P, A and C came for lunch which was great as we hadn't seen them for 2 years since they moved 'up north'. Phone calls and photos just aren't quite the same, and we miss them a lot.

Tea was Miss A's choice of roasted vegetables with broccoli, butter beans and a cheese sauce. Misses A and I very keen on roasted carrots. I had a polite portion as then headed over to Arundel to meet old friends C and H. That's old as in known them a long time, not age-related. Great to have an evening out of good food and laughter.

A mini-break

A weekend away conjures up images of a change of scene  . . . .a rest  . . . a spot of indulgence perhaps. When you have two small children and you decide to go and visit senior family member 100 miles away, on the first weekend of the school holidays, the reality is somewhat different. There's the packing. I'm all for packing light. Well it's only one night, and Miss I can always recycle a vest if needed. Miss A on the other hand likes to be prepared for any eventuality, and packed amongst other things three pairs of trousers and five T shirts. Husband (who doesn't yet have a nickname on the blog) forgot to pack any socks. Or a jumper. I forgot a spare T shirt. We could perhaps learn a lesson or two from Miss A. Then there's the journey. The M25. See comment above about 100 miles, and the school holidays. Fair to say, it was a slow journey. Miss I politely slept, Miss A was amused by aeroplanes appearing over our heads on the way to Heathrow, and spotting car registrations from different countries. Husband and I had a lively debate about multi-functional buttons on the new car stereo and whether we were going to listen to 'my type' of music, or 'his type' of music. Having done our duty and visited senior family member, we then checked into the hotel. Oh yes, the Holiday Inn Express in Dunstable. Very glamorous. The lifts entertained Miss A. They eventually went to sleep - Miss A in her sofa bed, Miss I on her sofa cushion under the desk. Husband went out to meet friend in the pub. I spent my Saturday night in the bathroom, sitting on the loo, reading the papers. Husband thoughtfully provided a Twix. Well, it was certainly a change of scene.

Sunday was enjoyable, we went up to Dunstable Downs and found a kite festival taking place which was colourful and fun for all.

A day for baking

Scones - well handled

                                                                                                        When your husband asks 'What did you do today?' and you vaguely mutter 'Oh well we made some nice scones'. Then you stop, and consider. Here is the list (in no particular order):
Helped Miss A go to the loo at 1.30am, then visited Miss I at 3.15am (Mummy I've got a sore throat you know, cough cough, Mummy what I really need is some milk), and finally attended to Miss A at 6.15am as she fell out of bed.
Served breakfast, while simultaneously wearing a pair of high-heeled sparkly sandals (at Miss A's insistence) and making lentil and carrot soup for lunch, and doing the washing up. By 9.30am we were sitting on the kitchen floor in our pyjamas inspecting our veggie box, and solemnly shelling broad beans.
Walked to the park, with Miss I in the sling and Miss A on her stabiliser-bicycle
While Miss I napped, Miss A and I made scones (the recipe may say 'scones are best and lightest when made quickly and handled as little as possible', I can assure you they are still delicious even when they have taken a very long time to make and have been thoroughly handled) and then proceeded to make bread as well (in case you aren't sure how old the yeast is, pop in double the amount stated - and the bread does indeed rise).
Put in the washing (waiting for sunshine so solar panels will work so washing will be free). Hang out washing. Free drying too. Miss A demonstrated a sudden burst of enthusiasm for domesticity and started cleaning everything she could find - the tables were all very well cleaned. It was a good thing Miss I was not actually in the high chair otherwise she too would have been thoroughly scrubbed.
Visit Family Centre to see health visitor to get Miss I weighed, and the Toy Library to borrow some dressing up items. Advance on Sainsbury's to exchange swimsuit for a 7 year old one (which did fit) and buy school uniform bits while they were in stock and we were all in an obliging mood.
Prepare stir fry for tea. Eat stir fry. Water plants of neighbour K (and water her paddling pool, and her fence, while we were there).
Ensure children fast asleep, and then turn to husband and say 'so what did you do today dear?'

A jolly day out

Today we had an old fashioned Day Out at Marwell Wildlife with family J, F and E. The animals were given passing glances - of more interest was the play area, the sandpit and the train ride around the site. The snow leopard cubs are deservedly popular and the one we saw was very cute indeed.

I was allowed to do menu choosing tonight, and attempting to provide a balanced mostly vegetarian diet, opted for simple bean chilli and rice - from the always reliable Sam Stern Eat Vegetarian cook book. With fruit salad for pudding. It all disappeared. Rather like Miss I in her bath afterwards to remove remnants of her tea - she splashed so much she almost vanished under the big waves.

Looking forward to our veggie box delivery tomorrow from Wayside Organics - I don't know, dirty carrots again. I'm all for this organic lark but sometimes they even have mud on them!! Miss A will then be in charge of menu planning, so far she's written down broccoli and carrot pasta.

Enjoyed an evening bike ride on my own (with bike unadorned by children) to the local shop to get the Chichester Observer. And some dark chocolate. Of course.

The frittata saga

Sideways wigwam, made by clever friend R

So the frittata saga . . .it finally set. We did indeed have it for breakfast. And for lunch. Then we were a bit sick of it, so neighbour A graciously accepted some for her lunch (in exchange for delicious raspberries) and neighbour B was delighted to have some for her tea. I'm just delighted not to have to eat it again!

Today's menu picture choice was pesto pasta, so we went out this morning via the market to purchase watercress and basil. Miss I thoughtfully had a nap while Miss A made the pesto. After lunch we set off in the Morris Minor to Arundel, to meet our friends T, Z and R. We lolled by Swanbourne Lake and fed the ducks, ate ice-cream, climbed in the trees and cavorted in the play park. A proper summer day. The pesto pasta for tea was very popular.

Other highlights of the day:
My clever colleague R has made Miss A a wigwam for her birthday. It looks fantastic - see sideways picture (which refuses to turn round in blogger) and has bunting detail.
Our tickets have arrived for the Festival Theatre summer programme - very excited to be going to see Barnum in August and Neville's Island in September.
Delighted that the local Morris Minor club are continuing to support the Sussex Snowdrop Trust at their annual rally this coming weekend.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas from my garden

Trying a new skill today - inserting photos into blog. Seem to have managed that. The thing I did not manage today was timely feeding of children. Having had a lovely day playing with J, B and S (who were polite and ate the bread chocolate cake pudding thing), and been on a bus ride, and to the library, Miss A chose frittata for tea. NB - new method of menu choosing - offer her the cookbook and she chooses the pictures she likes, and we then attempt to create that picture. Now the frittata said it took 20 minutes to cook, and a few minutes to brown. We prepared it and put it in the oven. 20 minutes went by. Another 15 minutes went by. And another 15. This thing did not set. Miss A was so hungry she suggested we cook some broccoli and peas from the freezer. As a starter. That appeased both children. In fact I've never seen Miss I consume quite so much broccoli. The frittata was still not setting. In desperation we resorted to our staple back-up - stuffed pasta which cooks in two minutes and is eaten very swiftly. We agreed we're having frittata for breakfast. Given the size of it we're probably having it for lunch and tea as well.

Keeping cool

Today has mostly been about keeping cool, as it reached over 30 degrees this afternoon. Which is quite warm really. The chiller aisles at our local supermarket were a welcome relief. In anticipation of some continued sunshine and swimming lessons, I bought the almost 4 year old a swimsuit from said local supermarket. We chose a suit for someone aged 6. It was too small. She's only 3. We're going to take it back and swap it for a 7 year old suit. Tonight I have made a bread pudding cake. It looked nice in the picture, and used stale bread and whole milk, of which we had a lot. We're taking it to our friends for lunch tomorrow so they can be our guinea pigs.

It's my first time!

My aim - simply - to write about the things I enjoy in life.

What have I enjoyed today?

I got a lie in. Until 7am. When you have two small children, that's a lie-in.
We went to Amberley Industrial and Heritage Museum for a classic car picnic. The print-making was fascinating, and cooling our feet in the fountains was lovely.
My husband cooked tea. And did the washing up. And brought me an ice-cream.
It's still light. The evening light is amazing.