The week that was!

So after the disappointment of putting 1/2lb on last week, I gathered my thoughts and channelled everyone's positive comments and planned a good week.

And it was a good week. I lost 2lbs which gave me my 3 stone award. I'm so happy. I feel this one is a real milestone and I'm now well over half way to my target.

As usual we sat down on Sunday night and made a list of meals we would like to eat in the week ahead.

We enjoyed a few of the usuals, Burger in a Bowl, Warm Breakfast Salad and BBQ Chicken.

We also tried something new.

Perfect Paella

We both love Paella and thought we would give this one a go.  The recipe is from the July 2013 Slimming World magazine and is syn free on Extra Easy.

It takes about an hour to make and the recipe is really easy.

The combination of flavours, saffron scented rice, garlicky tomatoes and delicious seafood has made this famous Spanish dish a firm favourite in our house.

They suggest other versions too, a vegetarian one using fennel and asparagus or a chicken and ham one. Both sound yummy.

The kiddywinks and I have a busy week ahead meeting up with friends and family, so I will need to plan in some lovely lunches to take on picnics.

Fingers crossed for a good week.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

 

Quick Craft - Bored Jar

Anyone that has or looks after children will know that on occasions we hear the dreaded words "I'm bored"!  Aargh!!

The school summer holidays are only a week old and I have to admit I've heard them said already.  So I decided I would put together a Bored Jar. 

I recently came across this idea when reading a blog post by Mum in the Madhouse, which you can read here http://www.muminthemadhouse.com/2014/07/17/ultimate-summer-activities-lists-bored-jar-lists/.

So I purchased some lolly sticks, found a marker pen and a pretty container to keep them in (yes I know it's not exactly a jar, but hey!).  Then sat down with Scarlett and George and we came up with some ideas.

We needed a few more activites, so the list from Mum in the Madhouse was really useful and in the end we have about 50 sticks to choose from.  A mixture of fun and games, some at home, some out and about. 

These will be kept in the kitchen ready for any "bored" moments. Hopefully we won't have too many, but if we do, we are fully prepared.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

The week that was!

Sorry I'm a little later with this post than normal. Kiddywinks are on their summer holidays and we are busy, busy!

Anyway, if you can remember last week I only needed to lose 1/2lb to achieve my 3 stone award. Unfortunately this didn't happen and I was rather grumpy. I actually put on 1/2lb!! So no purple certificate for me this week. 

After being really good and not having many syns at all, I've come to the conclusion that maybe I've not been eating enough and will try this next week to eat much more super free food (fruits and vegetables) and enjoy a few more syns.

However there was some good news, I achieved Slimmer of The Month for July after losing a total of 5lbs. This I was really pleased with. Look at the sparkly sticker!!

We did eat some delicious meals last week and I thought I would share these with you.

Warm Breakfast Salad

We ate this for dinner, but it would be perfect for any meal of the day. And it's completely free on Extra Easy.

There are two recipes for this, one in the Extra Easy Cookbook, the other in the May/June edition of the Slimming World magazine, both have slight variations. I used the recipe from the magazine.

The combination of bacon and eggs is always a winner. Add that to new potatoes, radishes and lots of salad and it makes a delicious alternative to the traditional all day breakfast.

This will definitely become a favourite.

Hot and Sour Soup with Noodles

This was again from the May/June edition of the Slimming World magazine.  It only took about 30 minutes to make and was absolutely delicious and very filling.

It is jammed packed full of delicious flavours to tantalise your taste buds, including ginger, lemongrass and chillies. And it's only 1/2 syn per portion.

I made the whole amount to serve 4 and had it again for lunch the next day. It was so tasty.

As well as these newbies, we enjoyed some old favourites BBQ Chicken and Salmon Kedgeree.

I'm feeling positive for the week ahead and we have already planned our meals, so fingers crossed for the right result.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Adventures on a hot Sunday afternoon!

It was hot and sticky and we wanted to do something exciting with the kiddywinks, but keep them cool at the same time.

After seeing pictures posted on Facebook the previous day by a friend, we knew the perfect place.

So we headed to Kingston-on-Soar and went on a little adventure.

We parked up on the village green and crossed the road towards the Public Footpath. We climbed over the stile and made our way across the field, with the sun warm on our backs. Kingston Hall could be seen peeking through the trees. I'd love to have a nosey round, but this is a residential property. What a lovely place to live.

As we wandered through fields and over more stiles, we eventually came to a field full of corn. What a lovely sound it makes when swaying in the breeze.

A little further along and we finally made it to the spot we were looking for. And it didn't disappoint.  A beautiful brook full of fresh, cool water.  The kiddywinks were very excited. And went straight in for a paddle. 

We then went further into the water to explore. Navigating deep areas, low branches, fish and frogs.

It was such a beautiful place, so peaceful, cool and calm.

After our little adventure, we headed back to the car. Some of us were a little pooped and needed help.

We all really enjoyed our little adventure, even if we did get rather wet and I nearly fell in when trying to climb out (thankfully no pictures of that). The kiddywinks are already asking when we are going again!

Until next time.

Sarah xx

100 Days of Nature Challenge

Last week I read a status on Facebook by BBC Springwatch that was asking people to join them in a challenge between now and the start of Autumnwatch.

It's called #100DaysofNature and it's a photograph project to take one nature picture a day.

You are asked to use the hashtag to share your pictures with them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The photos can be taken on a phone or other type of camera and as they say "Captures your nature moment from that day however big or small, bee or beach, epic or ordinary."

Each day they will share their favourites on social media.

It started on Thursday 24th July and runs until October 31st.

As Scarlett loves all things nature, we have accepted the challenge. Hopefully we will remember to do it every day!

Here are the first three pictures we have posted so far.

Day 1 - A Bee trying to find some shade on our garden path. Spotted by Scarlett and George.

Day 2 - A Ladybird in the corn field trying to escape from George's fingers! Spotted by Scarlett.

Day 3 - A huge Puss Moth Caterpillar crawling along the side of the cricket pitch. Spotted by Tim.

It's a great little project for the kiddywinks to get involved in during the summer holidays and beyond and I'm really looking forward to what my little nature detectives can spot.

Why not take on the challenge?

Until next time.

Sarah xx

CBeebies Birthday Card

We love CBeebies in our household. It all started with Scarlett watching In The Night Garden and Boo! and has now moved onto George loving Topsy and Tim and Octonauts.

Due to their fondness of the BBC channel, we decided that we would send in a birthday card each year to the station, to be hopefully shown on their birthday section. There are no guarantees that the cards will be shown and a couple of times Scarlett's haven't been. But we still put the effort in, just in case!

And this year is no different. George did want a Topsy and Tim card, but unfortunately there are not a lot of pictures of them around so we went for his second choice Octonauts. The challenge has been set.

I try and collect as many of the CBeebies magazines that have the appropriate pictures in, so that I can cut and paste to my hearts content. Thankfully both kiddywinks have accumulated a fair number over the years, so I have plenty to work with.

I try and think of a scene, rather than just stick random pictures around. Probably far too elaborate, you can understand why I get a little frustrated when they don't get shown!

Here are a couple of the previous cards I've made.

When I had a spare few minutes I sat and started cutting out characters and planning how I wanted the card to look.

I decided to do half underwater, half beach, so that I could have a mixture of creatures. Most of it was from magazines, but a bit was some drawing and colouring. 

The next day we popped to Loughborough to get a photo of George printed out. It was quite tricky getting the right size to fit perfectly onto the body of Captain Barnacles. But we got there in the end and I'm really pleased his head fits!

I then cut George's name and a number three out of card using templates I have and it was then time to stick everything down.

And voila. Here's the finished card. I love it and George does too. 

It has to be at CBeebies HQ at least 4 weeks before the child's birthday, so I think I've just made it by the skin of my teeth. As I said earlier, they cannot guarantee all cards are shown, so we will keep our fingers crossed and watch on the day.

If this has spurred you on to make a card for your little one, you can find all the details of what to do here http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help/birthdays

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Quick Ikea Pinboard Craft

Recently I had a visit to Ikea and as I was meandering around the room sets I noticed a lovely fabric pinboard. 

It basically said that you needed the Vaggis noticeboard and Majlis Tea Towels. So they both found their way into my trolley.

Add a staple gun and some pretty ribbon (not shown in picture as I decided to use this at the end) and we are ready to go. (Apologies for the poor lighting in the photos, this was a late night project!).

After giving the tea towel a quick iron, lay it face down on a table and place the noticeboard face down on top.

Next pull one of the edges of the fabric tightly over the back of the board, making sure the pattern is straight on the front (mine is slightly wonky, oops). Staple in place.

Continue with the other edges, folding neatly at the corners and making sure the fabric is pulled nice and tight. Secure well with plenty of staples.

I then decided to add some ribbon to hang it up with, securing it tightly to the back of the frame with plenty of staples.

And there we have it. All done. Nice and simple.

All I need now is a sturdy hook to hang it up in my kitchen. A lovely little job for Tim!

Until next time.

Sarah xx