A quick cuppa.......

On Saturday I found myself at a loose end.... Couldn't go out due to the freak weather we've been having, so I put out an appeal to my friends with children to see if anyone fancied a cuppa. It made my day when my friend Jemima said, yes she would love a cuppa and a catch up. So I ran frantically ran around the house, tidied up and cleared the dreaded washing up ready for my friends arrival with her Gorgous daughter Rose.

Kavan and Rose didn't really interact at all with each other, Kavan pulled on her foot a couple of times and they gave each other a nudge, but other than that they both carried on as though the other one wasn't there. All in all though it was a lovely morning.... 

My mums shoes x

A Silent Sunday....... Part 3

The last part of my Silent Sunday is this lovely recipe for homemade popcorn with salted caramel sauce. The Popcorn I used came in one of my Graze boxes so I thought I would jazz it up a bit.

Here is the recipe: 1 packet of microwave popcorn
                              A quater of butter
                              Same amount of brown sugar to butter.

Melt the sugar and butter in a large pan until melted...... on a low heat. Once it begins to simmer keep an eye on it & no matter what DO NOT STIR!

Once the caramel looks thick and gooey pour over the cooked popcorn and mix well.
Add a sprinkle of sea salt.
Spread the popcorn out on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for about 5-6 mins.
Leave to cool and enjoy!

My Mums Shoes x

Crusts & Crumbs.......

I wanted to share my amazing find with you all, there is a little quaint sandwich shop/deli in Chapel Allerton called Crust and Crumb. If you don't know its there its quite hard to spot, however I was driving through Chapel Allerton trying to find something, 'different' for lunch so i thought id give it a go.

I was far from disappointed, what a homely, fresh cosy shop with an amazing choice of food, not your regular cheese and pickle either options include salted beef, chicken with brie, home made leek and sausage rolls, cheese and asparagus tarts and so much more.
Prices start from around £3.75 take away or £4.30 eat in. The food tastes fresh and is filling, this is a great change from re-packaged cardboard sandwiches, if you have not yet had the pleasure of eating from here you really owe it to yourself to go!

Last but by no means least i must tell you about the brownies they sell, believe me when i tell you this is no normal dry tasteless brownie, its moist, rich, melt in the mouth gorgeousness and to top it all..... its gluten free! shame this doesn't double up as fat free!

Crust and Crumb is now my favourite, regular sandwich shop.

You can also purchase bottles of Carrot or Beetroot juice, Tea bags in stunning Indian Elephant canisters, rounds of goats cheese and lots of other yummy bits.

http://www.crustandcrumbbakery.co.uk/

My Mums Shoes x

One of many To - Do lists..................

Things I must do this week......

1. Buy bird food for the big tree in the garden.

Kavan loves looking out of his window into the garden, just outside his window is a huge tree, unfortunately I have noticed we don't have a lot of visitors so I've decided to buy some bird food to stick in the tree and attract the birds. Excuse the pun but i figure this way i can, 'kill to birds with one stone'.
I get to feed the birds (good deed) and see the delight on Kavans face when he sees all the birds from his window.

2. Do the big food shop.

Am I the only one who does a big food shop? Waiting for pay day is a grind, eating tins from the back of the cupboard and mixing random frozen food stuffs together to make a meal..... sound familiar? I must say though I find it very humbling having to create random meals, using up bits and bobs ready for the yummy new food.
I hold my hands up and admit I spend a fortune on food, probably more than I should but hey we love food! That is the one thing I refuse to , 'budget' on. I love buying lovely food such as, Kale, Spinach, Spices and other interesting meal options, it all adds up.

3. Return to my work out regime.

OK hands are up again, I have become so lazy, now that I think about it I realize I cant blame work anymore! I have the option of waking up an hour early to work out or I could do a quick workout when Kavan goes to bed....... Laziness. I'm sure I'm not alone on this topic but Ive come to realize if I don't get up and start exercising again real soon come summer I'm going to regret it and excuses....... Not much point in excuses.... its just another reason not to work out. I really must get up out of armchair.....

4. Oh one more thing.... Sort out Kavans wardrobe.

I have kept hold of so many of Kavans outgrown clothes either because its one of my favorite outfits or purely because its just too good to give away, only now i have about 4 black bags in the bottom of his wardrobe filled with baby clothes.. its about time I gave them to charity.......

My Mums Shoes...x

A Silent Sunday..... Part 2

Going back to my silent Sunday... I'd love to share this recipie with you all. It's fresh, light and so good for not only your little ones but for you too! The fresh air made me want something packed with goodness, but my cupboards were bare! 

This is the simplest version to help you make do with what you have in. 

Never under estimate the tomatoe there are many different things you can do with them besides slicing in a salad. There cheap, plentiful and so good for you. Packed full of vitamins A, C & E, Flavanoids ( a natural anti-inflammatory ) potassium, mineral salts, an anti oxidant, Lycopene which helps absorb damaging free radicals in our bodies. Plus there low in calories! Here's my recipie......

Bag or carton of tomatoes (large or cherry is fine) 

1 onion 

Couple of carrots 

Tomatoe purée ( if you have )

Veg stock

Pasta ( any kind) 

Soften the onions and carrots. 

Halve or quarter the tomatoes depending on size and add. 

Cook on the lowest heat until they soften. At this point add half a pint of stock stir and cover. 

Bring to the boil & simmer. 

Add in some tomatoe purée stir and simmer until thickened. 

Purée in a blender, add to pan and add a couple of handfuls of pasta. Simmer until pasta is soft. 

Serve with a swirl of double cream/croutons/or grated cheese. 

Depending on what you have in you can make as sime it as luxurious as you want! Olive oil, black pepper and cream are great. You could add celery too. I try to be careful not to rob the tomatoes of there flavour by over adding ingredients. 

You can also de seed and peel the skin before blending but hey, this is the simple busy mum version :) 

Bon appetite! 

My Mums Shoes x

A Silent Sunday.......... Part 1

Today has been a lovely quiet day, playing outside & cooking up some homemade quick easy food. The sun is shining and my garden looks like it's coming back to life however it occurred to me that there are not many visitors in our garden so I'm looking forward to buying a bird feeding kit from the RSPB. My son loves watching birds so this is a great way to attract them. 

It felt so refreshing to finally go outside and enjoy it instead of shivering back indoors to central heating. Kavan was kept amused with just a football and his ride on car, giving me the opportunity to sit and take 5 in the fresh air, cup of tea in hand and plan my summer garden. 

Here are some of the beautiful pictures I snapped in the garden. 

My Mums Shoes x

A New Years Promise..............

Happy New Year Bloggers!

I feel quite annoyed with myself that this is the first blog I have posted in 2014, going back to work and trying to implement new year, new me changes has taken its toll.

To be honest ive not actually made a long list of resolutions so that I cant be dissapointed when I break them, honest but true! However one small change that I have ensured I impliment is making sure my son spends time around other children his age. Before I returned to work we would attend playgroup once a week and atleast once a week we would arrange a play date with other mums, since ive been back at work my father in law looks after him, it occurred to me the other week that he no longer has the opportunity to interact with other children his age, and ive really started to worry about his social skills and development.

I took it upon myself to arrange a play date with a group of mums that I met when Kavan was first born at the baby massage course we went to, we have kept in touch ever since and our children have grown up together we named our group, 'Cake Club'. I sent everyone a message arranging a day to meet, we agreed on the Saturday at Rachael's house. It could not come quick enough! It turned out to be a lovely morning, the children played together nicely and i saw a different side to Kavan, he was interested in the other children and tried in his own way to play with them, approaching them individually and trying in his own language to talk to them, it was a lovely thing to see and very satisfying.

The day before this we also went to Wacky Warehouse with another Mum and her son. Kavan loved this, running around trying to encourage his friend to chase him, going down the big slide and really just having the freedom to run around without constantly hearing me say, 'No!'.

I have double checked the new days and times for playgroup and the have informed me they will be starting a new class called, Mini Movers, we will defiantly be making time for playgroups and play dates this year!

My Mums Shoes x