Foodie Foto Friday #1

Helen has started a new linky and its as easy as 1 2 3!!

All you need to do is link up a photograph you have taken of some food that you have either made, bought or eaten in then last week.

Simples!!

Here is mine

Triple Layered Chocolate & Banana Cake

It was deeeelicious and even my dully fussy cake eater Burton ate 3 slices of it!!

To see more foodie fotos please click on the badge below

Tales From The Nursery - An Update & Flashback

Last week I was given the forms to fill in for Burton's 15 hours of free funding by the government by Ladybirds where he attends currently for 4 hours each week (every Monday unless its a bank holiday then it changes to a Thursday). 

I have been expecting these forms - infact I put a tweet out only the week before asking if anyone knew what the process was as I wasn't sure how I would receive the paperwork. However, when actually confronted with them, seeing the information written done in black and white it suddenly made me realise that my little boy was well growing up a bit more and gaining just a little bit more independence from me. 

I remember his first day at Ladybirds - I struggled about letting him go even though I knew it would be good for him and he would gain so much from going, I was tinged with a mixture of sadness and guilt.

His first day went well and it was me that had to stop myself from crying and not him! However the next 6 weeks were awful because he didn't want to go back (even though by the time I collected him he said he had liked Ladybirds!) and he would scream and cry so much and not let me go when I dropped him off.

Thankfully, he settled in and calmed down about being left each week. 

Here are some extracts from his Ladybirds diary written by the staff

When I read them back I feel very proud of Burton (especially the final one) and it pleases me to see how much fun he has there and new skills he has acquired.

So I have decided to enroll him for 10 hours as I feel that this is a big jump from the 4 hours he currently does. Therefore as of the middle of next month, he will do Mondays 10-3 and Thursdays 9-1, to be reviewed again in the new year when I may add another half day or make one of those days a full one. 

I look forward to reading about and seeing the new things that Burton has learnt during his Ladybirds sessions. I may as well get used to him being away from me because this time next year I will be preparing myself to take him to school *feels tears welling up at even the thought of this*.

This has been written as part of Flashback Friday

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This is a linky where you can link up a flashback of your own - no theme just as long as it happened in your past.

Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post, no problem simply link up a post you have already posted.

Please do link up below :)
and check out my lovely co-host's flashback here 

*NEXT WEEK*
In celebration of Emma (former host of Flashback Friday) having her gorgeous baby boy last weekend, next weeks Flashback will have a theme

BIRTH STORIES

Yoomoo Frozen Yogurt Review

I love ice cream. There is nothing nicer on a hot summers day then to indulge in something so creamy  smooth and cooling. However, as with everything nice and tasty ice cream does not complement my waistline and so I do not eat it that often, or as often as I would like. 

So when I received an email asking me if I would like to review some frozen yogurt I said 'yes please' and 'thanks very much', because I am also rather partial to yogurts so an ice cream made from yogurt sounded like a great idea!!

Yoo Moo frozen yogurt has just be launched for the retail market and the brilliant things about this product are 

 *made from British milk

*suitable for vegetarians

*use natural ingredients 

 *low fat - naturally - and therefore it can be eaten without making moo you feel guilty!! 

I decided to try 3 of the flavours available to buy (of which there are 7 in total). 

The pot in the middle is a family sized tub (750ml) with an RRP of £3.49 (subject to instore promotion which my local Tesco did so I got more for my money!) 

The other pots are also ok to share but with low calorie (eg. 136 for the Tropicoolmoo and 151 for the devilmoo)  and low fat content you could easily consume the entire lot and not feel too guilty about doing so *ahem*. These cost £1.79 each so again not a lot more than a Magnum and certainly with a lot less calorific content!

Anyway, we sat down after our main meal tonight to sample the delights of frozen yogurt. I have to say that when I removed the lids, I thought the product looked very appetising and easy on the eye which made me want to try some.

Being the keen reviewer that I am I had a small helping of each flavour - well I had to really in order to make this post uhm well thoroughly researched!!

The boys tried the Strawboo (vanilla and strawberry flavour) and Burton, being the faddy eater he is, and who loves yogurt, wouldn't try his but he did enjoy 'helping' me to dish it out of course! Still Jenson ate all of his and had the serving which his brother refused to try too (thats my boy!)

My OH, who eats Solero ice creams like they are going out of fashion, tried the Tropicoolmoo which is similar as it uses mango and passionfruit flavours. He said he wouldn't give up his beloved Solero, but he thought it was creamy for frozen yogurt and tasted zingy and was nice (he is a man of few words!)

Well, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Yoomoo. I am not really sure what I expected to taste but I think, to be honest, that frozen yogurt and low fat made me imagine that it would taste a little bland and more ice than cream. 

But, do you know what? I was wrong. 

I found Yoomoo to be creamy and tasty and quite luxurious and I think if I had been served the Strawboo, for example, without knowing it was made from yogurt, I would have assumed it was strawberry and vanilla ice cream. The fact that is looks good, tastes good , is low in fat and calories and yet packed with flavour and I think priced reasonably so is good value for money, would sway me to buy this again and again and possibly again!

The proof is in the eating!

mmmmm :)

I was sent vouchers to buy Yoomoo for the purpose of this review. All comments made and opinions passed are my own and are honest and true.

Smilin' In The Rain

In typical Bank Holiday Monday style (which actually was true for the whole weekend on the whole), it rained ALL day long. By mid afternoon we had resigned ourselves to watching Kung Fu Panda 2 and I for one was feeling sleepy and the boys were getting restless so I suggested that we kit ourselves out to be resilient to the rain by wearing waterproof coats and shoes and we headed off to the park with Burton's bike for a splash about. 

It was the first time that Jenson has really been proper puddle splashing and he loved it and didn't stop smiling. Burton had lots of fun cycling through puddles and then decided to dismount and join in the puddle fun!!

Well if you cant beat the rain, you may aswell join in and get wet!!

I am linking this up to The Gallery where this weeks theme is Movies 

Little Dish : A Review

I have to be completely honest here. I don't feed my boys ready made meals that I buy from the chilled sections of supermarkets very often. Its not that I am a ready meal meal snob, its simply that I enjoy cooking and making little meals for my children. On the rare occasion that I have bought anything like this for them, I have tended to buy M & S or Little Dish because I trust the quality and nutrition of these recipes and their ingredients.

Little Dish have recently carried out a make over on their range of tasty meals for toddlers and have added some new characters known as The Little Dish Zoo Crew to the packaging. I was asked if my two boys would like to sample some meals from the range and I decided I would to see how they would enjoy them because Burton is quite fussy, in that he prefers home cooking to food made by restaurants or supermarket retailers !! Jenson hasn't acquired that toddler -ism of being really faddy yet with food (keeps fingers crossed that it never will!!).

Here is the complete set of Little Dish meals - I have highlighted the ones we were sent

I think that the Little Dish meals are great value for money and a brand you can trust to provide your children with healthy and nutritional food. The meals only take a few minutes to cook in the microwave - they can also be cooked for longer in the oven - and once cooled down they do look quite appetising and home made like. 

I think that the cottage pie in particular does.

The meatballs in the spaghetti & meatballs meal, disintegrated a bit when cooked but actually this was better for Jenson because being almost 17 months old he struggles to eat chunks of meat and prefers it to be minced. Well he polished off the whole lot!

Personally, I found it to be a little bland but thats probably because I pack lots of garlic and basil in my pasta sauces, and I am an adult with adult tastes of course!!! However, Jenson really enjoyed it.

The chicken risotto was a revelation because its the first time Jenson has actually eaten rice and not spat it out!! He ate all of it! I was shocked! Out of the four dishes, this was the tastiest to me.

Burton tried the lasagne (I don't have a photo of this as I was at his Granma's and didn't have a camera to hand!) and he didn't eat it all, but about half.  He tried it though, which for me is something!! I don't know if this is a reflection of the lasagne itself or my toddler was simply having a fussy food moment! I tried it and again to me was lacking in flavour, but thats only because I add a lot of added extras to my lasagne, which are probably too strong for the majority of little tastebuds. However, the lasagne was meaty and beefy in flavour and had a nice amount of white sauce so it wasn't dry, which can often be the case when meals are cooked in the microwave.

In my opinion Little Dish meals will never be as good as my own homemade ones. Well I would say that wouldn't I?  *ahem*! 

 However, I think they are very good for when you need a quick, tasty and nutritious meal to satisfy your toddler's tummy. The food looks home made and of a high standard which are important factors when considering what to feed those you care about the most. 

The Little Dish team really do seem to have got it right with their recipes which do actually taste nice and fresh and have the official seal of approval by Jenson.......... and possibly Burton! 

Little Dish meals can be found in the chilled aisles of many well known supermarkets

I was sent four meals for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions about the Little Dish meals I was sent are my own and honest. 

Also, I will only let my children sample products which I feel are relevant and suitable to them.

My Week That Was - Lots Of Outdoors Fun Despite The Rain

Here is my week that was for another week.

Normal Monday with Burton going to Ladybirds and Jenson and I having some time on our own. 

However, when Burton arrived home my friend Rita and I took the boys swimming which was good fun but tiring!

The boys and I walked in to town this morning to collect a few things and we also popped into see their (great) Gran.

This afternoon we went to the park to play a few games of egg and spoon and hacky sack throwing. Unfortunately the rain didn't stay away for very long so we didn't stay out as long as we would have liked. 

The boys and I walked to Granma's house to spend the day there with two of the boys cousins. Burton ended up staying the night so Jenson and I returned home for tea.

Jenson and I walked the 3 mile journey to Granma's again and had another nice day playing outside with his cousins. It was another day spent playing dodge the rain shower but at least we all got some fresh air.

Daddy picked us up on his way home from working away to take us all back to our house.

My Mum came to see us today as she had a dentist appointment in Barnstaple this afternoon. After lunch we decided to take the boys to the park and let Burton take his bike, but then Daddy decided to take an hour off work and come with us, which was better really as more hands make it easier to watch a toddler on his bike!! Burton's cycling is really coming on now and he was a bit of a dare devil and went down a few slopes quite fast!!

We all went swimming this morning which both boys LOVED. Jenson went under the water a few times with Daddy and managed his breathing really well. I think we have another fish water loving boy!

After swimming we went to see Granma and Grampy initially only for an hour but ended up staying for about 5! All the cousins and their parents turned up too so Burton enjoyed playing outside with them, and getting soaked when he decided to go puddle jumping, alone!! He then spent the rest of the afternoon in a pair of pants which were too big for him and no trousers or shoes!

We were up and at the pack by 8.30am this morning on a bike ride - well I wasn't as I haven't got one so I walked a lot! We also paid a visit to the playground.

When we got home Jenson had a nap so I took Burton to Clarks to get his feet measured as he no longer fitted into his shoes. His feet have grown again so another pair of shoes have been bought. I also bought myself a new pair as my sandals wont be suitable for much longer!

Later this afternoon I took both boys to the softplay centre as I figured it would be quiet today with the weather being sunnier than it has been for a while, and I was right which was a relief. Nothing worse than softplay on a wet day during the summer holidays!

And that pretty much concludes my week that was.

I am linking this up to

Mini Olym-pics!

This week we have tried to go out in between the showers and play dodge the rain a few times!!  

Thanks to a recent review I did, the boys and I have held our own mini olympics a couple of times this last week, namely an egg and spoon race, a hacky sack throwing competition and a hacky sack and spoon race !!  

Then while at Granma's on Wednesday we also added two more events, hula hooping and skipping. I use the term 'skipping' loosely as it was more throw the rope in the air and see it land back down again over Burton's shoulder!! 

The other activity we - well the boys and daddy - have participated in this week is bike riding. Now that Burton can ride his big boy bike  there is no stopping him and he is loving the freedom it gives him to make his way around the paths at the park. Jenson is enjoying being taken for a ride too - on the back of Daddy's bike.

Linking this up to
 

Saturday Is Caption Day 25th August, 2012

Its Saturday!

Its Sat cap Day

Here is my photo - who you gonna call???

Please leave a witty comment below an then head over here for more caption fun :)

Flashback Friday #3 - A Tale Of Two Bikes

Once upon a time a boy was given a balance bike for his second birthday. 

He was still a little bit small for it back then so had a little help riding it indoors to get a feel for it.

He soon ventured out into the bog wide world - well Barnstaple to be exact - and he and Daddy went on the odd walk around the block with Burton riding his bike whilst walking 

Once he started learning how to balance, he had many fallings off but on the whole adapted to balancing really well and was quite happy to go down steep slopes, much to Mummy's horror!!

Then at Easter this year Daddy bought him a big boy bike with pedals and to begin with Burton seemed to take to it, with a little help from his Daddy of course!

However, after a great start Burton didn't seem bothered about riding his new bike, preferring to continue using his balance bike instead. Daddy and Mummy thought this was because his feet couldn't quite touch the ground and maybe he wasn't feeling confident enough to balance and pedal and use the brakes.

But then last weekend, Mummy and Daddy took the boys and the bike to the park, and suddenly Burton was able to pedal and ride his bike! Due to a growth spurt and being taller, Mummy thinks he is happier because he can touch the ground now while siting on the saddle.

He did really well and only fell off once and he will keep riding now happily ever after :)

Next it will be Jenson's turn to learn how to ride a bike. He is already fascinated by Burton's bike and likes to have a little sit on it!

and now has his own helmet so he can ride on the back of Daddy's bike.

Let the next biking tale begin - probably next March when Jenson turns two!

This has been written as part of Flashback Friday

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This is a linky where you can link up a flashback of your own - no theme just as long as it happened in your past.

Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post, no problem simply link up a post you have already posted.