The Great Folkestone Bake Off!

With 3 year old turning 4 this week and a couple of celebrations as a result of this, it has been like The Bake Off round here! 

In the past 9 days I have made blackberry and apple crumble twice, 2 chocolate birthday cakes and 12 cup cakes!  Photo evidence below!  I think all were a success.

I've got to admit that, although all home made, the dinosaur toppers were purchased from Amazon!  Very impressed at around £3 for 12 from The Party Company.  I also cheated on the green icing, Tesco ready to roll!

Got 7 year old involved in all baking, with tempers running high at the point of trying to get her to use a ruler to make the '4' stencil used for the green 4 on one of the cakes!  And once we had found ruler, let's just say I hope in year 3 at school they teach them to use a ruler and what the actual point of it is!!

So after having now 4 year old's birthday play date this afternoon I now need a sit down but unfortunately the hoover is calling me!!

Have a good weekend everybody.  Xx

Kent in bloom

Ok so the pictures in this post are only from 1 garden, but it is in Kent and it is definitely in bloom!

I don't know the technical names for them all either but they're very pretty!

As mentioned in my previous post 'Not just a pink plate' this is Grandma and Grandpa's garden.

For the time being 'gardening' is not my thing, yet anyway.  However I am quite happy wandering around on a Saturday afternoon, while the kids are busy wearing Grandma and Grandpa out, taking pictures of all the pretties! This includes aiming the camera and waiting there like the Paparazzi with the hope of eventually getting these next 2 shots!

This just reminds me of being this age and running round my grandparent's garden, getting lost amongst the plants. 

The game they were playing at the time, was 'café.'  They run back and forth to/from the sandpit, filling all different containers with sand and serving it to me and Grandma saying it's apple pie, or a latte or something! 

I do like the way that Grandpa was the only one who was actually charged for ordering something at this café!  My son has high end prices as well, £6 for an ice cream!

As always, when we left to come home, we left with a selection of odd shaped carrots, some blackberries and apples and there was also an offer for corn on the cob!  All home grown, the carrots by the kids themselves as they each have a little garden box at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  2 planting boxes side by side and the differences between the 2 is amazing.  My daughter's sunflower is 3 times the size of her, but my son's is short and hasn't flowered yet.  My son is the one who is harvesting a brilliant crop of odd shaped carrots, but my daughter has yet to pull one out of the soil that is bigger than a pin!  My daughter's lettuces got eaten by slugs but my son's flourished.

The kids have loved growing all these things though.

Happy Sunday evening everyone, I'm off to cook some odd shaped carrots! xx

Not just a pink plate

It's amazing how the sight of a pink plate can take you right back to your childhood in an instant!

This pink plate to be precise.

It was my Grandmother's and when she passed away in 2007 it went to a cousin of hers.  Now that she is no longer here either, it was at my parent's house.
The second I saw it I was back in my Grandparent's house. I can still see every inch of it.  The green bathroom, the way the living room seemed to feel comfy even before you had sat down, the seemingly massive dining table, my Grandfather's paintings and artwork everywhere, the many pots with paint brushes standing in them in his studio, the conservatory with the giant grape vine all round the ceiling and a garden that felt like you could run round it for hours and never be found, so many hiding places.

These days of course, Grandma and Grandpa's house, for our children, is my parent's house.  The rocking horse made by my grandfather now resides at Mum and Dads and is frequently used by our children.

But to myself and my brother, it's somewhere totally different,  different sight, smell, everything.  A little old bungalow that in the end, if you had touched it with your little finger it would have fallen down, and of course now is no longer there. 

38/33 years of growing up memories brought back on the sight of a pink plate!  I can even smell the Sunday dinners as a child in the dining room!

I think the last time i was there was probably just after we got married in 2006, my husband of course I met in my grandparent's garden 2001!   But that's another story!

I can only hope that our children grow up making as many precious memories as we did at their Grandma and Grandpa's house. Also that the various handmade toys that link directly to our Grandparents such as the rocking horse,  hobby horse (named Marmite!) and dolls house continue to be played with for generations to come. Xx

Not another rainy day!

Oh the great British summer time, particularly in the school summer holidays!  Why must it be an endless stream of warm rain in the various forms of drizzle, pouring hard, chucking it down, raining cats and dogs and the very illusive just straight forward rain!

And in this country it is always coupled with gale force wind making umbrellas impossible to hold up, and yet because it's August it's too warm for rain coats with hoods.

So today we ventured out to meet a friend in which we got drenched, soaked and generally soggy right through!  Not helped by 3 year old falling into a puddle!  Right in, properly, face first!  Thanks to his waterproof coat his top half mainly stayed dry, but his jeans and shoes were soaked.  He then proceeded to 'squeak' round town (wet shoes!)

Upon getting back home and realising the rain was unlikely to clear, it has been yet another afternoon of kids DVD's.

Just as I think everything is calm, 3 year starts coughing, whilst rolling around on the floor, laughing and eating at the same time, causing him to vomit all over the coffee table and my unsuspecting flip flops!  (Thankfully because it's chucking it down today I wasn't wearing them at the time!)

He's fine of course, thinks the whole thing is hysterical! 

To finish this post on a more 'cute' child note, for obvious reasons put 3 year old in shower, after a few minutes wonder why not much splashing or hysteria is coming from there, investigate to find he has put the shower head on top of his toy plastic tea pot so the water constantly runs out of the spout.  He is knelt down with his bottom in the air and his head on the shower floor.  I ask what he is doing to the reply 'I'm washing my own hair Mummy!'

Have a good evening everyone.

xx

Footloose and pushchair free!

For the first time in 7 years I find myself pushchair and changing bag free!  It's a whole new world quite frankly! 

I had forgotten escalators and stairs existed to be honest!  It's a novelty to be able to go the quickest route upstairs in a shop!

Although I must admit that having a pushchair is a useful way to barge other people out of the way, and having somewhere to put the bags when shopping is something I'm already beginning to miss!

Then there's the fact that in more recent months the pushchair became a good bargaining chip with my 3 year old in that if he wasn't behaving when wandering around town, being strapped in the pushchair was the threat to get him to walk like a normal human being!

Next comes the lack of changing bag now toilet training has been successfully completed.  It's lovely to only have my handbag with me (plus 2 kids of course!)

Although in this typical British summer holiday of one minute warm rain and the next minute baking sunshine, I find I need to carry cardigans and rain coats for all of us when we're out, plus a bottle of water and all my normal handbag items.  A large handbag is essential and when looking for the one item that has undoubtedly fallen right to the bottom, I feel like I have Mary Poppins' handbag, pulling out every other item first!  I'm surprised when there isn't a hat stand in there!

Before I go I'd like to recommend a pushchair to anyone interested.  The Recaro Easylife.

Absolutely brilliant little buggy.  Lightweight, folds very small (fitted in a Peugeot 107 boot without having to remove parcel shelf).  I had expected that with the weight of my 3 year old in it that it might not be easy to push (but we only bought it to use on holiday), but actually it's quite the opposite.  It's easy to manoeuvre, has a shopping basket you can actually get to (not so easy on some buggys), a decent hood and straps and came with rain cover.

To all my mummy friends who have smaller children, or who are still expecting, don't worry the amount of baggage and boot space needed just to pop to the supermarket for 1 item, will decrease one day!  However don't rush it, time flies, blink and you'll miss it.  Much love.  xx ❤❤

For the love of Folkestone

20 years ago when I first started coming to Folkestone for college I would never have thought that I would end up living locally, or that Folkestone would have come on so far. 

I can honestly say that whether you're a family, a couple or a single person, there's plenty to keep you amused in this seaside town.

Today we started out parking at the Leas Cliff Hall as it's only £1 for 4 hours.  From there you're in easy reach of pretty much everything.  We walked over to the Leas and down the zig zag path starting by the band stand, to the Lower Leas Coastal Park.  The path ends at the amphitheatre. Turning right from here you walk into the children's play area which boasts brilliant slides, sand pits, zip wire and lots more.  There is also a café and toilets.

However, today we turned left at the amphitheatre and walked through the other half of the Coastal Park, there are lots of paths, bridges, bbq spots, and direct access to the beach.  We joined the path onto the beach and then proceeded along the new Board Walk, a wooden path made from railway sleepers across the pebble beach.  Eventually it will link to the Harbour Arm but is unfinished at present.   

From along the sea front at this point, or from the top of the Leas, you can also see the recently retired Leas Lifts.  Originally installed in 1885 it was a fully working funicular railway up and down the cliff.  Unfortunately it closed permanently earlier this year.

After cutting back across the pebbles to the main path we ventured onto the Harbour Arm, like a pier but runs alongside the old harbour railway station.  They are working on it at the moment but it will be possible to walk along the old platform eventually, as well as walk across the old railway bridge to the other end of the harbour.  Walking along the Arm there are various eateries and a champagne bar at the end in the lighthouse.  There is live music most weekends throughout the summer.

If eating on the Arm is not to your requirements, then you can, as we have done many a time, walk back round the main harbour where there are a couple of pubs and a couple of little wooden cafes (usually only open in summer time) where you can sit and eat/drink looking over the water.

There is regularly art work to be spotted all over Folkestone.  At present there is a pink house floating amongst the boats in the harbour!  It is part of an art installation from the Folkestone Triennial which launches officially on 2nd September 2017.  The Triennial commissions acclaimed artists to create pieces for the town.  This years theme is 'double edge' and will look into ideas around a sense of place.  It runs until 5th November 2017.

The harbour also has a fountain which the children love playing in during most weathers it would seem!

Past the fountain and through the arches there are various stalls selling seafood, a gift shop, and the restaurant Rocksalt.  We walked along past all this to the sands.  A massive stretch of golden sand and when the tide is out, you can go rock pooling at the far end. 

Following a brief bit of rock pooling we made our way back along the harbour, past the fountain, and across the road where you can walk up the Old High Street to the main town centre.  Take in the quirky independent shops and cafes.  Just before you reach the top of this street, take a right into the car park, sounds strange but if you have kids, there is a brilliant slide at the side of the car park!

Moving on to the main town centre.  It has high street shops and various cafes, bars etc.  Although there is a Tesco Express and a small Sainsburys, the main supermarkets are outside the town. 

Folkestone has various bigger shops such as Home Bargains, Pets at Home, Sainsburys, The Range etc a short drive from the town centre. 

Moving along to Sandgate, we can now boast that we have 'Mudpie' pottery painting in the Golden Valley.  Just walk in, or book a table, kids parties are also popular, and paint some pottery, or make a teddy bear.  This studio also does some evenings where adults can go and learn to use a potters wheel.

Down the hill from the Golden Valley, there's easy access to the beach, and walk along to the left and you'll reach the Lower Leas Coastal Park from the opposite direction.  Sandgate High Street has a few shops such as antiques, and a few lovely little cafes.  On the beach there's 'The Boat House' which serves lunches, ice creams, coffees etc in the summer.  Sandgate also has a great fish and chip shop 'The Little Fish Shop' which has a small restaurant as well.

Well I hope I've done my best to sell Folkestone to you!

Happy exploring!

xx

Taking the kids to the pub part 2!

Following my post from 2 weeks ago, this evening we went to the Pub again and this time had dinner there also.

I think we can all say we had a lovely evening despite the compulsory spilling of 3 year olds water right across the table, dropping of many chips on the floor, bumping of head on door handle when entering the toilets (3 year old again of course!) and general drunkenness of both the children!

Of course we went through several stages of  emotion whilst there including getting the drinks in, bored, extatically happy and oh God what planet am i on!!

It is concerning when they've only been drinking a fruit juice and a water the amount of giggling and hysteria that is currently going on! 3 year old has ice cream in his hair and 7 year old practically fell down the steps coming out of pub!

Now just to finish off the evening, 3 year old has just headbutted his sister knocking her wobbly tooth out!! She now looks like she's been in a fight!  So all in all a normal evening out with today's youth!!

Cheers!
Xx

Tantrums - 3rd August 2017

So today, well, just another day of 3 year old throwing tantrums and crying at everything.

We've had tantrums over not wanting to walk, not wanting to leave the beach (despite looming black clouds and gale force wind), not wanting to leave the fountain at the harbour, because he couldn't see the fish tank in the café we were in, not going in a shop where there's toys, not wanting to walk down some stairs, not wanting to get out of the shower, not wanting to put a t-shirt on, not having the exact amount of crisps on his plate that he required, couldn't open a yoghurt pot, and most recently because apparently Power Rangers Dino Supercharge isn't exciting enough!

I hope you all have had a more exciting day!

Included in todays excitement was finding Buzz Lightyear's arm in my daughters underwear draw!  For those who remember my previous post (30th July) 3 year old used Buzz Lightyear to hit 7 year old, and lost an arm in the process! Buzz Lightyear lost an arm that is, not my son or daughter!

Other events this evening have been approaching 3 year old with caution as he threatened to throw a whole cup of milk down the sink!  Literally had to crawl across living room floor, like approaching a wild animal, to try and extract cup from 3 year old's hands without a spillage!

So I think a well earned glass of wine is on the cards tonight!

Have a good evening everybody!

xx

Creativity takes courage

I saw this on a wall in a Kent seaside town at the weekend, and it reminds me of something I heard.  'You only have to have courage for 20 seconds.'  In honesty, I heard this in the film 'We Bought a Zoo' but it's still true!

A month ago I was brave for less than 10 seconds when I posted my Maternal Instincts Facebook page publicly.  Thank you to everyone who has read it and those who have shared it and are following it. 

Another film quote coming up I'm afraid!  'There's no time like the present and there's no present like the time.  Our biggest fear is the future and that it will be the same.'  So if you don't want it to be the same and you have an idea, then creativity takes courage of less than 20 seconds!

xx💗💗

Do you wake up tired?

I was asked the other day, 'do you ever wake up tired?'

No of course not, I wake up refreshed and full of the joys of spring! 

Surprisingly, that's not what I actually said!  I have 2 children, of course I wake up tired!  3 year old has never slept well, and still wakes up during the night now although not as bad since he's stopped having bottles through the night, presumably because he's drier. 

With more than one child, even when the regular insomniac does decide to have a good night, the other one will then decide to have a disturbed night.  The saying is true, 'if it's not one it's the other!'

I'm actually finding it tougher to sleep since 3 year has improved at night.  Despite 2 mattress toppers on the bed it still feels like I'm laying on concrete sometimes.  Also how many pillows?  Advice please.

My theory is that I got so used to being woken up regularly by 3 year old that since he's slept better, I start off sleeping better, therefore when I am disturbed it's tougher.  I can barely put one foot in front of the other trying to get into his bedroom without bumping into too many walls and doors!  For some reason all this makes it tougher to get back to sleep as well.  When you're disturbed regularly by a new born (or 3 year old for that matter) you're so tired that you fall back to sleep each time as soon as you look at your bed.

So here we are on 1st August 2017, 22 days until my littlest one is 4 and about to start school and I'm still complaining about sleep deprivation!

Have a good 1st August everyone, keep up the caffeine!
xx