Books for Christmas #storiesforlife

I have always loved books and growing up was a 5 minute walk away from a library where I spent so much time. I have memories of choosing picture books and being sat on the squishy black chair in the library looking at the colourful illustrations of Meg and Mog or Shirley Hughes' Alfie series - yes they've been around a while! It's a love I hope I'm passing onto my son and he has a plentiful amount of books around the house; on bookshelves upstairs and downstairs, books in his bedroom, by the bed, on my bedside table and basically everywhere..... We love picking up picture books and looking at a few whilst snuggled on the sofa or at bedtime. In fact I really love revisiting books from my own childhood and one of those is my absolute favourite, The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton with tales of magic and fun characters, I can't wait to read it to him one day.

There was a knock at the door and our postlady handed us a shiny festive package and in it were three fantastic books:

The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter
Published 150 years after the birth of Beatrix Potter, and illustrated by Quintin Blake, this is all about the adventures of a black cat and features other characters that Potter fans will be familiar with - Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Mr. Tod the fox and even Peter Rabbit. It's a gorgeous hardback book and a curious modern feel having been illustrated by Quintin Blake whom I always associate with Roald Dahl. It's a lovely tale to read with a child and a story to treasure. I'll be popping this into my son's present pile this Christmas as I love him having the Beatrix Potter books that I had as a child too, so this new one will complete the collection.

Alfie and His Very Best Friend by Shirley Hughes
Unmistakably Shirley Hughes' wonderful illustrations and heartwarming storytelling. This is all about Alfie and Bernard, best friends and adventurers together. It felt very nostalgic looking through this so it's been an early present to my son and we read it as a bedtime story.

The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Princess and the Pea

A new book for me, fun and colourful and about Kittie Lacie, the best hairdresser in all the land. All the fairytale characters are at the foodie festival where Kittie is doing hairstyles. Then it's an array of princesses, an evil witch and a prince in this modern spin on a fairy story. This will make a nice gift for a friend's daughter with all its funky pictures.
  It's great to pass on the same authors and books that I had as a child, timeless tales and new ones that will make popular stories. There's nothing better than books as gifts. In partnership with Penguin Random House Children’s Books and Britmums

Homebird household #brightFuture challenge

In my twenties I was fairly unconcerned about the future, although I was aware of environmental issues, I suppose I didn't take my responsibilities seriously enough. 

But....years later and as a parent I take the responsibility of my effect upon the environment with much more concern and thought - 83% of British parents felt like the birth of their first child made them want to change their life for the better. In addition, 9 out of 10 parents and 8 out of 10 children agree that if we all do our bit for the environment, no matter how small - 'together we can make the world a better place'

Unilever's brightFuture campaign focuses on the small changes that make a big difference to living sustainably.

So what little things do we do as a family to create a #brightFuture.......?

We grow our own vegetables and fruit at our allotment, use no pesticides and help encourage the wildlife too. Growing our own veggies cuts down on food miles and it's all organic so I ensure that what we eat is healthy and has no unknown chemicals in them. Little Bird loves the allotment and gets absolutely filthy - mud pies, digging the soil, exploring the plot and then taking home lovely home grown produce to cook with. Of course all that soil gets onto my son's clothes but I don't mind, it's a great sensory experience to feel the earth between your fingers and the clothes can easily be washed - Persil encourages children to get out and play - quite right too - and washing at a lower temperature helps the environment by saving energy.

The veggie scraps go onto the compost and a year later is rich organic matter to dig back into the soil. This is part of our recycling effort to cut down on landfill. Paper and card are used to help get our wood burner going and glass and plastics go in the council recycling tubs.

In the evening we try and not waste energy by turning lights off when we leave a room and not leaving the television on - candles flickering and reading a book instead some nights. A meter on the side shows how much electricity and gas we have used during the day so monitoring this has really helped and it is a challenge to keep the costs down.


Since launching the Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever have helped 482 million people to improve their health and hygiene, including hand washing, improving self-esteem and oral hygiene. Domestos has committed to helping 25 million people gain improved access to a toilet by 2020. Access to sanitation can protect people from diseases, reduce mortality rate and improve quality of life. 

*This post is an entry for BritMums #brightFuture Challenge, sponsored by Unilever 

A churchyard picnic #FloraLunchbox

We don't need a packed lunch for school as school is out for my home edder but we do pack a lunch for our day trips which lately has been in churches and churchyards. The latter where we learn about nature and enjoy the peace - a great place for a picnic on a graveyard bench. A little spooky perhaps but we are used to it but it is Halloween so I added a couple of seasonal elements to our latest lunch.

Recent research by Flora with the University of Leeds found that a mere 1.6% of primary school lunch boxes are meeting nutritional standard with too many still full of saturated fats, sugars and salts with not enough fruits and vegetables.

Little Bird has big sensory issues and food can be tricky, especially vegetables but he loves fruit - all kinds. I call him my little fruit bat. So....veggies I have to sneak in which I did with some grated carrot on our sandwich.

Using Flora which is rich in Omega 3 and 6 is lower in saturated fat than butter and we used this on our Best of Both bread with some grated cheese, lettuce, grated carrot and homemade spiced apple chutney - a bit of jazzing up helps LB with his foods and he really craves anything spicy. 

Flora have produced a guide to help parents and carers put together a yummy, healthy packed lunch which was really useful. We also added some popcorn with some melted cocoa nibs on it and LB's favourite strawberries and a clementine dressed up as a Jack O'lantern. The study found that only 17% of lunchboxes contained fruit and vegetables although positively the amount of sugary drinks consumed has decreased.

As a vegetarian I agree with Flora when they say that eating more plants is beneficial to us and the planet, 100% of the oils in Flora are from plants.

We'll be using the guide to get some recipe ideas over the next few weeks  - Moroccan cous cous salad for me using Flora and will try some Bagels with hummus for LB. 

This post is an entry for the #FloraLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Flora. Check out their lunch planner and recipe ideas here <http://www.flora.com/article/category/1104207/healthy-kids 

#EnjoyMoreWater in the summer's garden

The summer may currently feel like a bit of a wash out with all the rainy days but a few weeks ago it was so hot and Little Bird was playing out in the garden pretty much all day long, not wanting to come back inside except for a dollop of sun cream. I'm very guilty of not drinking enough water but I like to make sure LB is well hydrated so when we received the great new Robinsons Squash'd range as part of the Enjoy More Water Challenge, we were keen to see if they would encourage us to drink more.

With spending so much time in the garden where LB helps me plant seeds and water the plants, I thought a good way to encourage him to drink more would be to collect some home grown garden goodies to add to our jug of water along with the Robinsons Squash'd.

So we added some lovely ripe strawberries from the hanging basket on the patio where the slugs can't get at them. LB is really into them at the moment so I don't get a look in.

Further down the garden is the huge red currant bush and LB equally eats these as he's skipping up and down. It's full of them dripping like jewels, so we added some of those too.

Then a squeeze of Summer Fruits Squash'd to turn it even more fruity and add a pink tinge, some sprigs of mint and this was left to infuse for a while. 

A tasty drink for the summer days that encouraged both my son and I to drink up and stay hydrated. We tried the other Squash'd flavours too - Orange & Peach and Lemon & Pink Grapefruit, adding extra fruit and herbs. There are cucumbers growing in the garden too and when they are ready we will also chop them up and create our own summer drink, maybe add some basil and other herbs or edible flowers that LB will enjoy collecting in the garden to make his own potions. 

This post is an entry for BritMums #EnjoyMoreWater Challenge, sponsored by Robinsons.

Sharing milk with dragons

Once upon a time a green dragon wanted milk, 
For tired out he was of chasing maidens dressed in silk
Of flying after knights who fled on trusty steed
And scaring ogres in forest glens, he'd had enough indeed

All he wanted was to drink a glass of lovely Cravendale
To sit upon his favourite rock and curl up in his tail,
Have a little cookie or slice of magic cake
A rest from breathing fire and making townsfolk shake.

But there did come a little boy who liked his milk drink too
And wasn't going to let the dragon, the white bottle pursue,
The dragon cowered low in fright at this mighty strong willed child
He wasn't going to dual against him, so loud and oh so wild.

But then the boy with golden locks had a sudden change of heart
And scampered off to solve this problem, for he was very smart
No need to quarrel or to fuss, he'd two stripy straws in hand
For sharing milk with a dragon friend would surely be very grand.

 My little boy has a small dragon who likes to join us for tea sometimes, so we delve into the fairy tale books and have a little tea party for unicorns, chivalric knights and gingerbread men. 

Out comes the Hansel & Gretel tableware, mini milk bottles and pastel straws. 
Dainty sandwiches and some glittery bun cakes to eat and creamy fresh Cravendale milk to drink. For powering dragon flight and my young squire's energy this milk is great - with no additives or preservatives, 17 essential vitamins and minerals all of us are happy.

A lovely mid afternoon treat, warm and cosy by the fire at this time of year. The stories flow - will we go to Wonderland or Never-never Land? Then let us snooze under an enchantment and dream away.....

This post is an entry for BritMums #MilkDrinkersMilk linky challenge, sponsored by Cravendale. 

Could you be living on #BritainsBrightestStreet

My father has been umming and ahhing for ages now about investing in solar panels. A few houses local to him have had them installed and he's had a chat with neighbours about how utilising solar power could reduce his energy bills. He's certainly interested, as hearing how much he could save, it sounds like a sensible option.

Perhaps he needs to consider entering the SunEdison search for #BritainsBrightestStreet competition who are looking for  5 – 20 houses on the same street who want to save money whilst benefiting from solar energy. This great community minded initiative will offer the lucky winners free installation of solar panels and 10 years’ worth of SunEdison’s Energy Saver Plan for free, which means savings of approximately 45% off electricity bills during this 10 year period.

Along with this saving, the street awarded #BritainsBrightestStreet can also nominate a local community project or a school that they think deserve free solar panels installed. More community minded positivity and I can think of many, such as my son's autism group that would benefit from energy savings. 

Backing onto my allotment site, many of the houses have solar panels installed and it has made me also consider having them when I finally find our forever home. I studied environmental science as my Degree and renewable energy was a huge part of that where we learnt all about the technologies involved and their benefits. As a home-owner, there are Government incentives to generate your own energy by way of solar panels, with money saving on energy bills and  a tariff that offers payment for excess energy transferred to the National Grid.

SunEdison are the world's largest renewable energy development company and are the first company in the UK to offer this type of solar energy saving plan to homes requiring neither no upfront payment or installation cost. Perhaps like my father, the initial cost had put you off so this is really a wonderful option. You will save money on your energy bills and improve the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)  rating of  your home which could increase house value.

The geek in me loves that SunEdison have a  monitoring platform that you can view through web browser or mobile device so you can see how much energy you are producing. By consuming energy when your solar panels are producing, you'll save even more money. So for instance doing your laundry or running the dishwasher when the system is producing solar energy.

The #BritainsBrightestStreet campaign sounds like such a great opportunity to reignite some community spirit too by getting together with neighbours to enter and see if you can join in on a super energy saving plan that is better for your monthly budget and the environment too.

I'm working with BritMums and SunEdison talking about the #BritainsBrightestStreet search campaign. I have been compensated for my time. All editorial and opinions are my own. Visit http://bit.ly/1ID0enl for more information about #BritainsBrightestStreet search.

Mix up the magic - Tuff Spot play

Part of our regular play is using our fabulous Tuff Spot, a huge plastic mixing tray that can be used for all kinds of imaginative and messy play. I keep Toby interested by changing the theme and using lots of different materials and textures. This week we had a farm set up where tractors and cows crunched around in pasta and a dog came along and ate the dried pasta (silly old girl) whilst a little boy fell about laughing and sat in the pasta.

Home educating is better with cake

It is no surprise that I have a son who loves cake.

From the first ever piece......

 ...to the parties from age 1-5.
And for all those occasions in between.
Or just because it makes us happy.

Just because it is a rainy day and we can't go out to play
Or the day has started badly.
I quickly grab some cake and Toby and I have a little party.
During the holidays, well it's all the same to us as we home educate so our holidays are whenever we choose but we do love a slice (or two) of cake whilst we learn and play at home.

In fact, cake motivates my son when he's struggling. It cheers him up and puts a smile on his face. I love the process, it is pure magic - eggs from my father's chickens, flour, sugar, butter and a dash of vanilla. Warm cake shortly after with crunchy edges and a soft, crumb texture. I have the art perfected, rustic of course but delicious.

Cake baking is also part of our home education and the boy will be a great baker one day :)

We bake cupcakes and then take them on our day trips for we venture out a lot, so a tin full of treats is always there ready. Over Easter we had chocolate egg cakes and ate them in castles and parks. Through tantrums and tears and our tired cross moments, cake made it all better.

This post is an entry for #betterwithcake Linky Challenge , sponsored by Mr Kipling. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/mrkiplingcakes

Angel Delight Firework Dessert

Angel Delight brings back so many feelings of nostalgia. A Friday evening treat. Picking your favourite flavour off the shelf. My mum whisking it up and serving in pretty glass dessert bowls.

Our favourite is butterscotch but they are all gorgeous and now there is an Angel Delight Bubblegum flavour that we will be looking out for in the supermarket.

As it is that time of year, to think of bonfires and fireworks, I thought I would create a seasonal dessert using our usual butterscotch flavoured Angel Delight heaven.

Two packets of Angel Delight Butterscotch were whisked with a pint of milk until you have a light, fluffy consistency and poured into a trifle bowl.

Placed in the refrigerator to set.

Add a layer of toffee popcorn.

Drizzle with chocolate

Sprinkle with chocolate stars

and fabulous popping candy

Sprinkle with gold edible glitter

The nicest tasting dessert for Bonfire Night we have ever made! 

And very sparkly too!

This post is an entry for #AngelDelightMoments Linky Challenge

Morning victories

Mornings are great in our home. We get up when we want to get up. So if Little Bird has had a difficult night of being unable to sleep, we can just surface from the warmth of the covers when he is ready. The benefits of home educating - our biggest morning victory.

Mornings are taken at LB's pace - for he needs a little time to get himself together after such broken sleep. Time for the words to come. I'm not sure if this is an autism thing but he really does need some time in the morning to be able to put his words together. Time to power up.

But then he is off! And what a victory this is, being able to ask for what he wants, for he only started to talk last year.
'I want toast'
'I want iPad'.........

And so the day starts. I have my cup of coffee looking out of the window at everyone busying past in the drizzle or the cold whilst we are warm and chilled out inside our home. Even the dogs have a lazy morning. Of course I'm then making breakfast and getting the day's activities together but it's a lovely pace for my little boy to keep him calm and happy.

This post is an entry for #MorningWin Linky Challenge sponsored by belVita Breakfast. Learn more at http://bit.ly/belVitaUK

Cheesy broccoli and potato soup

Now that autumn is here it is time for a good bowl of soup to warm us up. DB went off to the allotment to continue tidying up. So many weeds to clear up, put into bags and take to the tip plus a whole load of fixing things ready for next year. So whilst he was there I made a comforting cheesy broccoli and potato soup for him to have when he got back.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium size onion, diced
3 medium Maris Piper potatoes, cut into small chunks
1 small head of broccoli broken into florets
120ml milk
6000ml vegetable stock
50g cheddar cheese, grated
seasoning

Method:
Fry the diced onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft.
Add the diced potato and broccoli florets
Pour in the milk
Pour in the vegetable stock
Bring to the boil
Simmer for about 20 minutes
Add the cheddar cheese
Season
Blitz with the hand blender

It was dark upon DB's return and the soup was well appreciated and there is some left for taking to work tomorrow. I love potato soup, it is one of my favourites and perfect for autumn evenings. Next time I'll make a spicy one and maybe bake the potatoes first. 
Not too bad for my diet either as it is so filling. 

This post is an entry for #FluffyMarisPiper Linky Challenge sponsored by Potato Council. Learn more at bit.ly/18rWnaB

All Bran 5 day challenge

My poor tummy suffers a lot with bloating so I am adopting a healthier lifestyle of late. Having the allotment makes things a bit easier as for a large portion of the year I have fresh fruit, veggies and herbs to cook from scratch with. For the rest of the time and the days when I can't be bothered much I like to make sure I'm eating something convenient that is also filling.

I saw the Brit Mum's Real Mums of All-Bran 5 Day Challenge and thought I'd give it a go. We always have All-Bran in the house. It is the only cereal that my 4 year will eat, no milk just a bowl of All-Bran and he calls it Jum-Bat which I think is a great word.

Also in the range is Golden Crunch, Red Berry Crunch and the new Chocolate Wheats flavours which I was too slow off the mark to get a trial of but we did go out and buy the first two - always keen to try new foods. 

The challenge is all about embracing our tummy's and trying All-Bran for 5 consecutive days to see how it made us feel.

Golden Crunch was my favourite although Red Berry Crunch was ok too and I alternated the two. Having them in the morning made me feel much less hungry by late morning. Normally I would be snacking on all sorts by 11am but a bowl of cereal rather than toast kept the hunger away. By the end of the 5 days, do I feel less bloated....I think so. Certainly I've not had any pains for a while so maybe this has helped. 

This post is an entry for the Real Mums of All-Bran Linky Challenge, sponsored by Kelloggs

Our Morning Story

You may know that my son has delayed speech so our morning is quite a set routine of phrases and activities.
After a little play in his bedroom, Little Bird come to me and says 'I want downstairs'. I then get him dressed although we do take time on this as it is learning opportunity. Can he name all the items of clothing, pick  a t-shirt, the red one or the blue one and can he choose himself a pair of socks from the pile in the cupboard. It does draw things out a bit but it is a great way of LB exercising his use of language and also to gain a bit of independence.

We go downstairs and LB will straight away say ' I want Apid' which I know is I want iPad, He's getting the word a little mixed up at the moment. He finds some background music he wants or has a quick play on an animal app where he wants me to ask him 'where is the snake/whale/ fish etc. and he will find it. This little process keeps him calm and then we have his background music which is usually classical over breakfast. 

Breakfast is pretty limited for LB due to his sensory issues, toast but will only eat the crusts, sausage roll (currently his favourite so I'll go with that) and maybe some cheese or a dry cracker. 'I want orange juice!' I know his language is severely delayed but 12 months ago we had no language so being able to express what he wants has changed family life. I recommend PECS for anyone in a similar position as it seemed to kick-start the language. 

After breakfast we tidy up and do some chores. I try to get LB involved in bringing dishes into the kitchen and then helping me with the laundry. Pass me the red sock, pass me the yellow t-shirt, pass mummy a peg. This has really helped his understanding and following of instructions. All to the tune of Mozart on the iPad still which he often goes back to for a little activity such as a puzzle or a matching game.

LB attends a preschool just three mornings a week and after July this year he will finish and we will be home educating 100% of the time. In the meantime we start doing some activities after breakfast and after a few chores. 

Firstly we look at the weather and change our weather board. We don't really focus on anything like days of the week or months as yet! Then we usually do some sensory work to calm LB's system down. On our programme we roll him over a gym ball or play squishing games with it. LB feels like he has to move a lot so these kind of sessions make him feel more grounded. 

I bring out a few puzzles or a busy bag over the duration of the morning. Small activities that don't overwhelm LB so it is little and often. We do silly dancing and singing rhymes and look out for the post lady although the dog usually notifies us first with lots of yapping. 

The morning usually finishes with ' I want Tree Tu Tu' which is I want Tree Fu Tom on the television :) We have a snack and then plan the afternoon. 

This post is an entry for #MorningStories Linky Challenge sponsored by belVita Breakfast. Learn more at www.facebook.com/belVitaUK

My Great British Home

I'm mad about my home. I love making improvements to it and changing the look of rooms on a regular basis. Not massive projects as budget will not allow for that but small things like painting cupboards or sprucing up a room with new cushions and candles. Much of my furniture is from junk shops and I've painted it to make it my own. I've found items for free on the roadside and items on my travels at charity shops, car boot sales and street markets such as the one we found in Bridport on our holidays.

My home is a collection of happy memories, bright cushions, home-made pieces and up-cycled furniture. It has created an eclectic home and at home that tells a story. When I took the Great British Home Quiz I was rather pleased with the result.

So I might not want to live in a warehouse apartment but I certainly like the look and I might secretly want to be Jess (Zooey Deschanel). Big New Girl fan! 

Most of all I love my home to be comfortable and cheerful. My favourite item is my old sofa covered in a knitted throw that my mum and nana made square by square before sewing it all together. 

I love Little Bird's bedroom too. He has a lot of charity shop items to decorate and adorn shelves. It is such a happy room for him. I think anything goes in our home, as long as it isn't beige!

This post is an entry for the #GreatBritishHome Challenge sponsored by Victoria Plumb, a source of quality bathrooms for every type of home. Take its “What’s Your Celebrity Home Style?” quiz to discover what your home says about you.

Egg Tatties

Another egg recipe to use all my dad's eggs that he gives us. I love searching through old recipe books and this gave me an idea for a filling weekday meal for all the family using eggs - Egg Tatties. 

You will need - 2 large potatoes, 3 free range eggs, 1tbsp milk, 1tbsp butter, seasoning, cheese.

Bake the potatoes. I do this by cooking in the microwave first for about 8 minutes and then transfer to an oven at about 200 C/ Gas Mark 6 to crisp up for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk the eggs in a bowl, add the milk and seasoning. Pop in the microwave to cook - takes a few minutes to firm up into scrambled eggs.
 Take the potatoes out of the oven and cut in half length ways. Scoop out the potato and add to the bowl of scrambled egg. Add the butter and mash up together.

Place the mixture back into the potatoes and top with grated cheese. Place back into the oven until the cheese melts and goes all lovely and golden. Seriously yummy and filled everyone up.


This post is an entry for the #ShortcutEggsperts Linky Challenge sponsored by British Lion Eggs. Learn more and find recipes at www.eggrecipes.co.ukhttp://www.eggrecipes.co.uk/

Eggs Provencal recipe

We are lucky in that we have a free and plentiful supply of eggs courtesy of my father's chickens who live a very happy and pampered life. My dad loves his chickens and is always cleaning their huge pen, checking them over and having a little chat with them. We are very grateful for all the eggs we receive and like to think of new recipes to make with them. 

One that I like to make myself for a quick dinner or the whole family is my version of Eggs Provencal.

Fry some crushed garlic cloves, chopped onions, mushrooms, red peppers and a handful of cherry tomatoes in a little vegetable oil for a few minutes.  Sprinkle with some Tabasco Sauce for a bit of oomph! Pour mixture into little baking dishes, I use these little brown dishes that I picked up in a charity shop - they have been so useful. Make a hollow in the mixture and crack an egg into it. I crack them into a ramekin first just in case I get any egg shell in it. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. Season and add some dried basil or oregano. 

Place into the oven until the egg sets and the cheese has melted.

A very quick individual meal, serve with a little salad or some crusty bread. 

This post is an entry for the #ShortcutEggsperts Linky Challenge sponsored by British Lion Eggs. Learn more and find recipes at www.eggrecipes.co.uk