Lovely times with Granny T

As Sam went off to Greece on Friday, my Mum arrived on Saturday morning to stay for a couple of days.

We hadn't seen Granny T for a few months, so it was really nice for her to get to know Eve properly, now that she's that much older and is talking lots.

My mum was such a great help, she played with Eve and looked after her so that I could transfer my tomato plants into the front garden and have a general gardening session. A couple of hours gardening was so good, real therapy for the soul!

We set Eve up with a magic painting book for the first time and she absolutely loved it.

Granny passed on a little round table that she no longer needed. It is the perfect size for Eve. We moved around some furniture in our lounge, so that now Eve has a great art station. The table has already been drawn all over, but hey ho, I'm sure that will turn into an art piece in itself.

Hard at work on some creations

After a good lunch, we headed out to the park. Eve has eaten really well this weekend, even though she had a sore stomach on Friday and Saturday. She's a real trooper with her teeth now.

When we woke up on Sunday morning Eve loved having her hair brushed by Granny T. My Mum's Mum said that you should brush your hair fifty strokes a day! It's not often that I remember to do this, though it makes you feel good if you do. Sam is usually the one who brushes Eve's hair. I mainly do it after her bath in the evening.

Eve's hair is so long and curly now. I'm so thankful for my little Goldilocks.

I cleaned Sam's studio whilst it rained outside and Eve and Granny played downstairs on Sunday. It was nice to spend both days pottering about at home with Eve and my mum.

Eve slept till 5.30am on both nights that my mum was here, and is generally sleeping through the nights consistently at the moment. It was my mum that didn't sleep well on Sunday evening, so she headed back home to Cornwall a day early, on Monday morning. It was a beautiful day so after some cleaning at home I wandered over to my sister's house in Bedminster. It was so nice sauntering through the park, rather than my usual rush of half walking-half running.

Colourful Poppies and houses in beautiful Bristol

Walking through Victoria Park

We had a yummy quinoa mackarel salad in my sister's garden with Jago, which was simply divine. Having a day off in the sunshine with loved ones can't be beat. I miss my dear Eve so much when we're apart so it's always nice to see her cousin Jago in her place. Eve was at nursery, and I didn't want to change plans that had already been made. She had a great day by the sounds of it, having fun in the water with her little friends.

http://www.northststandard.co.uk/

My sister Claire and I enjoyed a nice 2/3 pint of Chimay (Belgian, made by Monks apparently) whilst Jago slept in his pram. The North Street Standard is cool. I'd heard about it and was pleased that it is as good as I'd heard. Chimay is a really nice wheat beer. We also tried the Frontier craft lager which was incredible, and definitely the nicest lager I've tasted in a long, long time.

The North St Standard is a minimal, industrial type of bar but it really works, they've done it well. The barmen were chatty and informative.

When I collected Eve from nursery yesterday afternoon her friend Euan came over to me and gave me her Tommy Tippee cup which was sweet.

When we got home I was opening her tub of pens as she wanted to do some drawings. She picked out the biro, and clearly said 'biro.' This morning whilst she was being looked after by my sister, she said 'Jago' for the first time. Eve can differentiate between strawberries and raspberries, and will shortly say blueberry too I should think.

We had a few accidents on the floor last night before her bath. I leave her without her nappy on to try to get her to use the potty when she gets home from nursery. I think she is beginning to understand because this morning she dragged her potty into the kitchen, then sat down on it and made a 'psssssss' sound. It was a shame that I was dashing out the door to work and couldn't work on the potty training with her a bit more, but we'll get back to it this evening. 

Daddy AKA DJ Frenic smashing it in Greece this weekend

Daddy arrives home this afternoon and we simply cannot wait to see him. Even though it's only been a few days, Eve has made some big developments. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to carry on with the potty training tomorrow morning ;-)

Greece and Giant Maps

Frenic with fresh new T-shirts and pro ear plugs from http://www.ordeoclothing.co.uk/

Daddy AKA DJ Frenic is off to Greece again today, with his oldest pal Barney. At midnight tonight he plays in Athens at Bolivar Beach Bar, then on Sunday and Monday he's playing at Bazaki Mini Bar in Chania, Crete.

I am most envious and a bit sad not to be able to tag along, but I'm really looking forward to spending time with my girl this weekend.

My mum is coming to stay for a few days from tomorrow, so it will be lovely for Eve to have some Granny T time. 

I bought this giant children's atlas book in a charity shop the other day and it's proving to be a big hit. Though Eve tries to pick it up but it's a bit to heavy for her. 

Watching her and Daddy looking at the maps together is very cute.

She loves books. I borrow some from the library every few weeks so that she has different things to look at, touch and ponder upon.

We lost her Munchkin soft spout sippy cup a couple of weeks ago, but then Dad found it in the gutter near our house the other day. I washed it hot in the dishwasher and have stashed it away.

Losing it worked in our favour really because it meant that Eve had to use a normal Tommy Tippee sippy cup instead, which she drinks from fine. She is even beginning to stop pouring the water everywhere (unless she's doing art works and then she likes to pour her drink on top of it usually!)

Last night when Sam and I went to collect her from nursery, the girls that look after her told us with much amusement that Eve has made a new friend; a little boy called Eli. Apparently he had been making Eve laugh during dinner time and she threw her head back and roared with laughter. We're not sure what her other good pal Euan will think of this. We often see them playing together. They started nursery at the same time and are firm friends. It's lovely watching them sharing toys.

Check out this short article on Frenic from a French site:

musicalophone.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/dj-frenic-hip-hop-funk-dub-bass/

Frenic playing at the Tiki Bar in Athens - March 2015 

Eve and I will miss Daddy loads but we can't wait to see photos, videos and hear all the stories when he returns home next week. 

To download Frenic's new album Monomyth click this link:

frenic.bandcamp.com/album/monomyth-separation

Growing up fast

Engrossed, watching children's music videos on youtube

My girl is growing up so fast. The weeks seem to fly by as we race between nursery and work. I love collecting Eve at the end of the day; seeing her little smiley face as she comes running toward me is something I look forward to as I while away the hours in my office.

When we arrive home I always have lots of things to do; running Eve's bath, watering plants, sorting out the recycling and preparing for the day ahead, which means that I don't get to spend that time with Eve. Though, we do always have hugs and giggles at bath time.

Due to this it makes the time I spend with her on the weekends so important. On Sunday we didn't do a great deal. We mainly focussed on playing in the park and dancing in our lounge to MTV. Eve loves dancing and makes us laugh all the time.

She loves being outside

Sam and I took it in turns to do different dance moves and Eve joined in with us. I reached my hands to the ceiling and said, 'hands in the air!' and then touched the floor saying, 'and down on the ground.' We were shocked and delighted that Eve also reached her hands up and said 'hands in the air!' 

She tries to copy a lot of the things that we say. She sings in perfect rhythm 'la la la' when she wants to watch 'Elmo Song' on youtube. Instead of sitting on my lap she now likes sitting on a chair watching children's songs on the internet, and happily scrolls up and down and clicks the videos on and off. It's cute seeing her sat on the bench in the kitchen creating her drawings, with Daddy sat next to her working on the computer.

 Mastering the slide

She knows where the playgrounds are near our home, and if we try to push her in the pram past them without stopping she gets very upset. She has recently been mastering the slide during her trips to the park with Daddy.

On Saturday evening I ran Eve's bath earlier than usual. It was so nice not having to rush bath-time. I had run the bath too full, so I decided to share it with her; something that I hadn't done since she was a small baby. It was so relaxing and fun having quality time with her. Sometimes on weeknights Eve gets upset during bath-time when she is over tired from the day's events. Whilst she was sat on my lap in the bath playing, she looked up at me and placed her finger on my eye and said 'eye' and then did the same with the other one and so on. This was the first time she said 'eye' so I was most impressed.

Checking out her belly button

I enjoyed bath-time with her so much that I have made a promise to myself to do this more often with her. She is a funny thing and has recently discovered her belly button, and likes to jab her finger in it. She also realised that Daddy's nipples are most amusing and likes to pinch them.

Playing in beautiful Perrett Park

Eve has recently started a habit of having a tantrum every time one of us leaves the house without her. I think she gets upset as she wants to go outside too. However, we tried a new approach this morning - as I went off to work Sam brought Eve in her pram to take her to the park. I said goodbye to her at the traffic lights and thought our plan had worked. But, Sam phoned me awhile later to say that she had still gone crazy. Ah well, I guess she will grow out of these things. I suppose it's good to know that she loves and misses us when we are not around.

Mama's Elderflower Champagne Recipe

I've been experimenting with making Elderflower Champagne for quite a few years now. I've tried various recipes; from famous tv chefs as well as recipes from magazines and online sites. I've tried glass bottles with flip top lids as well as plastic. I've caused serious destruction in my old kitchen with exploding bottles, as well as experiencing dejection when opening a flat, lifeless bottle that should be hissing and fizzing.

I've tried using different quantities of flower heads, and different measurements of sugar, lemon and vinegar.

From my experience, I can tell you now that recipes calling for 7 or 8 heads do not work. There is not enough yeast produced and they turn out flat and you end up having to pour it down the drain, feeling rather sad. For recipes calling for 25+ heads, this is far too much; you will end up with explosions and a sticky mess.

A few years ago I made a batch in glass bottles with the flip lids. Yes, they look really cool, and even cooler if you are labelling them up to give as presents. But, I'm telling you they are not worth the bother. As they are flip lids you cannot release a bit of the gas, like you can with plastic screw top bottles. Therefore they are fairly likely to explode. 

We had a situation like that where a couple of bottles exploded. We then had to open the rest of the bottles (as we knew they would explode anyway), which was terrifying as every time you popped a lid it was like a gun going off. It absolutely covered the kitchen from floor to ceiling. There was no way of opening those bombs in a careful manner. I remember cleaning our kitchen late into the night, as elderflower champagne dripped off every piece of electrical equipment we had.

Your best bet is to save some plastic bottles. We get through quite a bit of sparkling water in our house, so I just reuse those. I find that this recipe fills x3 Lidl sparkling water bottles. Over the weeks, as you see the shape of the bottles start to distend you can unscrew the bottle a little bit each day so that you hear the air hiss out, and then do it up again. Try not to let out all of the air, just release a bit of the pressure.

Lots of recipes ask for yeast. Whatever anyone tells you, do not listen to them. You do not need to add yeast to make elderflower champagne. Pick the heads on a sunny morning when the bees will have been pollinating the flowers. This will produce a good natural yeast when fermentation is taking place. Adding yeast will only cause you problems and upset further down the line, in my opinion.

There are also recipes that tell you to use boiling water. I have found that that method doesn't work well either. Using cold water and then bringing it to a light boil is by far superior.

If the heads you are picking are small then I would count two as one large head for this recipe. But if you have nice big heads then x20 will definitely suffice. I've added more before thinking it would be a good idea, only to see disastrous results later.

Something that has most definitely helped with my elderflower champagne production has been a preserving kit that my father-in-law and his wife gave me for my birthday. It has a metal stand that you screw together and attach to a bowl. Over the top of the stand you hang a muslin bag (included in the pack) which has a rubber neck so that it stays attached whilst you pour your mixture through it. I fully recommend getting one of these if you want to get serious.

Click the link to see the muslin strainer stand:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Norpro-Jelly-Strainer-Stand-With/dp/B0012C5ZPK

Elderflower Champagne
0.5kg Sugar (Half a bag) - you could use caster or granulated

x20 Elderflower heads (Pick in the morning)

x2 Lemons (Thinly sliced)

x2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Put sugar into a large pan, cover with cold water (my largest pan holds approx 4.5L)

Bring to a light boil, stirring the sugar

Pour it into a big plastic brewing container (or whatever you have) and allow the syrup to cool

Add the sliced lemons, elderflower heads and white wine vinegar

Stir. Cover with a clean tea towel

Leave overnight, for a day at least (I don't leave it too long or it can start to go mouldy)

Strain through a muslin cloth into a bowl or similar

Pour into plastic bottles (leave a gap at the top for air)

Store for 4 weeks and then open. Serve with ice.

Once you've opened a bottle, you can keep it in the fridge, but it will go flat within 24 hours. The best thing to do is enjoy the whole bottle in one go!

Elderflowers are so beautiful and I just love the process of making this gorgeous stuff. I get up early and make the syrup. I leave it to cool whilst I prepare for the day ahead. Once I'm dressed I nip out and cut some flowers from a nearby tree. Elder trees are often on common, public grounds, making it pretty easy for you to find and pick the blooms. I used to collect them from Durdham Downs in Bristol, but now I am lucky that there is a tree growing on the edge of the cemetery by my house.

Maybe I love this tree because it symbolises judgement, transformation, death and regeneration, fate and the inevitable. It is known as the Elder Mother, or Queen of Herbs. The elder mother or faery is a spirit of transformation and the crossing of thresholds. Generally seen as an old woman, the elder faery advises on what to cast away and what to take up (I imagine this is why the Elder wand in the Harry Potter series is omnipotent).

Traditionally, all parts of Elder are useful medicinally. The berries and the leaves are both rich in vitamin C. The leaves can be made into ear drops to treat pain and inflammation. The flowers make a tea that is good for treating coughs and irritable throats, as well as being made into a skin cleanser and lotion. The bark of the new small twigs can be made into a laxative. The bark, roots, berries and leaves can all be used as a dye. And the berries and flowers are good for making jam, wine, vinegar, and syrups.

It is thought that growing an elder in your garden will protect your property from misfortune and harm.

In Europe the elder was planted in cemeteries to keep away the evil spirits (it seems that the tree by my house not only gives us a wonderful drink and scents the street with a lovely aroma, it also protects us).

Witches were said to be able to turn themselves into elder trees. Gypsies believe that it is very bad luck to cut down and burn elder wood and that the Elder Mother will take revenge. This superstition arises from an instinctive realisation that a lack of respect for nature is dangerous to the human race.

Elderflower Cordial

As an added bonus, here is Mary Berry's Elderflower Cordial Recipe below. I've made it for a couple of years now and it never fails. It's delicious and so much nicer than shop-bought cordial which is always a bit too sweet.


Ingredients:
1.5kg/3lb 5oz caster sugar
2 lemons
25 elderflower heads
50g/1¾oz citric acid
2 Campden tablets

The cordial will keep for 2-3 months in the fridge. 

You can buy the citric acid and campden tablets from your local brewing shop.

Preparation method:
Put the sugar and 1.5 litre/3lb 5oz water into a large pan. Bring to the boil, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool.

Slice the lemons thinly. Put into a large plastic box or a bucket.

Add the elderflower heads to the lemons with the citric acid and the Campden tablets. Pour over the cooled sugar syrup. Cover and leave overnight or up to a couple of days.

Sieve and strain through muslin into sterilised bottles and store in the fridge. To serve, dilute to taste with still or sparkling water. 

(If sterilising glass bottles make sure you remove rubber seals, then put in the oven 120C for 30 minutes).

Thali Curry, Dippy Eggs, Superfood Salad and Elderflower Champagne

 Eve and Jago in the Thali Cafe

My sister and I had planned to go shopping together on Saturday morning. We met in sunny Queen's Square, minus children. Sam and Jody were doing the honours looking after them until lunch time.

Claire and I had a great time. We arrived at the shops so early that there weren't many other people around, which made trying clothes on a whole lot easier. It was Claire's first trip out in Bristol without her little boy. We stopped for a muffin and a drink mid way, which kept the wolves at bay until we arrived in Bedminster for lunch.

Enjoying poppadoms at the Thali Cafe

We had already decided that it would be best for the kids to eat at Claire' house before we headed around the corner to the Thali Cafe. Both Eve and Jago were so good at the restaurant and behaved perfectly; which left us parents able to enjoy our meal. Eve and Jago both liked trying poppadoms.

The Thali Cafe was born 15 years ago in the fields of summer music festivals. Inspired by travels in India and disappointed with the Indian food they found in restaurants in the UK, they decided to introduce authentic Indian street food to Bristol.

http://www.thethalicafe.co.uk/

The word “Thali” refers to the way meals are eaten in India – where a selection of healthy, delicious and nutritious dishes are served together on one plate – and also to the stainless steel, compartmentalised dishes they’re served on.

The selection of starters were really tasty, but Sam's main course was so salty that he couldn't eat it, which was a big shame. I had the Chicken Mogul Thali. It was nice but unfortunately nothing to write home about. The side accompaniments were nice though.

Other than that we had a great time and even had an Espresso Martini to keep us awake for the rest of the day.

After lunch we headed outside to have a drink. Eve had a great time running about investigating.

Claire, Jody and Jago - Sam and Eve

Poor Sam was feeling a bit worse for wear on Sunday morning, so Eve and I had dippy eggs with soldiers for second breakfast, whilst Daddy had a nice lie in for Father's Day.

I had looked in a few kitchen shops for children's egg cups recently and couldn't find anything that was suitable, or that I liked. I found the fun egg cup (picture below) in a charity shop the other day by my house for 50p. I think it's a character from 'In the Night Garden.'

Eve played with the egg cup and did dip her soldiers but she wouldn't eat the egg. This was a bit of a shame for mummy, but a possibility that I thought may happen. It takes her a while to get to grips with some foods. She feels the texture of the food, decides they are weird and then won't touch them. But we usually get there in the end, we just have to keep persevering.

I loved breakfast though, sat there with my girl having a leisurely meal was a real treat.

I took Eve to the park after breakfast. We had a stroll through Victoria Park, did some shopping and came home for lunch. Lunch went rather better than breakfast. I had cooked spag bol sauce at about 6am that morning and thankfully it was acceptable to Eve's palette!

After putting Eve to bed last night, I came downstairs and made a bulgar wheat superfood salad - I had tried to get Eve to eat a more basic version of this the day before, but she ate two spoonfuls and that was it. So I pimped it up for our Sunday dinner. (Chopped beetroot, baby tomatoes, parsley, capers, red pepper, avocado, grated carrot, toasted pine nuts, mustard dressing with a soft boiled egg on the top).

Sam cracked open a bottle of Elderflower Champagne from my first batch whilst I prepped the salad. It was to my absolute delight that it was fizzy and perfect. The best I've ever created, which made me so pleased. I've worked so hard on the Elderflower Champagne this year; making x5 batches so far. I really want to make another batch or two but I can't reach any of the heads on the trees. I'm going to need Daddy's help with that I think.

Homemade Elderflower Champagne and Bulgar Wheat Superfood Salad

The cousins meet their Great Aunt

 Great-Aunty Mags with Jago and Eve

Like the Fergusson side of the family, the Bates/Lenton/Swire/Reed side of the family are very spread out, meaning that we don't get to meet each other very often.

My Aunt had planned to travel through Bristol on the train as part of a trip, so we arranged a little family get-together.

The picture is a bit dark, but from left to right: Claire, Niamh, Sanchia, Mags, Jago and Eve

My cousin Sanchia (Mag's oldest daughter) drove up from Taunton with her eldest daughter Niamh. Her other daughter Niobe was studying at home for exams. Mags Lenton is my mother's younger sister and lives in Staffordshire. When we were small the Lenton family lived by Wiveliscombe in Somerset. I remember long drives from Cornwall up to Somerset with my sister and my mum. The Lenton's are big animal lovers, and Claire and I used to enjoy being taken out for rides on horses, or pulled along on a trap by a pony. We missed Sanchia's younger sister Jennie, who was working and couldn't make it.

We had lunch near to Temple Meads Station for ease; lunch logistics with the kids is always bit of a thing. However, it turned out well and Eve and Jago were very well behaved whilst we were in the restaurant.

Sanchia was born 9 months before my older brother Jon, and Jago was born 9 months after Eve. I found it so interesting that our mother's had their first babies 9 months apart, and now Claire and I have done the same thing. Though, our mother's were in their early twenties when they had their first children and we are in our early to mid thirties. Think it says something about the current times.

After a couple of hours together we went our separate ways. It was so nice to see everyone looking so happy. Claire and I took Jago and Eve to Queen's Square which was just around the corner, and the perfect place to chill out for an hour in the sunshine.

Eve having fun in the park

I used to take our picnic blanket everywhere with us last summer. It got so much use. I now realise that this is no longer needed, well not by Eve at least, who was constantly dashing off somewhere to look at something. 

Eve, Claire and Jago

I am just loving having my sister nearby. It's so great being able to hang out with our children. I feel truly thankful for the times we get to share together.

Mummy and Eve

Eve having a good old laugh

Cousin's Selfie!

Dreams of Disney World

I've been dreaming of visiting Disneyland or Disney World since I was a small child. I would like to take Eve to Disney World, Florida in a few years time when she's old enough to fully enjoy it.

I've read an interesting post on a blog this morning, called 'How to get the most out of my Disney experience.' It has some great tips and things that I had never even thought of before or knew about. I thought I would share it with you as it has some really helpful information.

Click this link to read the post:

http://extraordinarychaos.com/2015/03/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-my-disney-experience.html?CMP=SOC-FBPAGE20150605153754

The Be our Guest themed restaurant

Due to this blog I've found out about the Be our Guest themed Beauty and the Beast restaurant inside Disney World. I have basically just become rather excited and have started planning our trip. I know it's crazy expensive and will be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it's something I'd really like to experience with Eve and Sam. This gives me a few years to save money and plan away to my hearts content.

Disney and all it's schmultz is either your thing or it isn't. I suppose for some parents it's a dream and for others it's their idea of a nightmare. I for one have always been a massive Disney fan.

I have lots of family in America and would love to tie in meeting some of them during this trip. My Grandpa's wife lives in Georgia. I also have cousins in New Mexico, Texas, California and Alabama. I've always wanted to visit the New England area in the autumn, as the colours of the trees look incredible. I'm guessing that I'm being too adventurous and would probably have to make a few different trips. The States are so vast.

You can see the ripped painting of the Beast and the stained glass window from the story

Sam and I collected Eve from nursery together last night. As we were signing the register and talking to the nursery girls, Eve kept pointing at something on the table. I picked it up and was told that Eve had made something for Daddy. It was an early Father's Day card. It's a kind of origami style card. The collar moves and the tie is just stuck on at the top so that it moves about. We both thought it was very cute and Eve seemed quite proud of it.

When I go to work now Eve will say 'bye bye' to me and will blow kisses to me whilst Daddy holds her at the front door. There are sometimes tears after I've left, but she is definitely getting better with this. 

As soon as she's out of bed in the morning she shouts, 'Daddy! Daddy!' and points at our bedroom door. She is delighted if on occasion Daddy is actually awake and invites us in. She loves rolling about on our big bed and likes sliding off it backwards on to the floor.

Chilling out this morning, watching children's songs on youtube

Eve is very adept at climbing the stairs now. She is super quick and gets to the top pretty quickly. The goal is always to climb up to Daddy's studio, where she knows there is fun to be had; such as the little nerf basketball hoop, various musical instruments, and our camping self-inflating mattress. Sam keeps it out to use if he is meditating when we're out. Eve loves to jump up and down on it, shouting, 'boing boing!' 

Since Eve watched Arthur crawling up and down the steps to our courtyard back garden, she started doing the same. She has since become able to clamber over the door ridge and go outside and come back in with a bit more finesse. She absolutely adores being outside. We are trying to teach her to be patient when it comes to going outside, as sometimes it takes a while for us to get ready. She certainly knows her own mind and likes to try to tell us what she wants to do.

This morning Daddy told me that whilst at the park she went up the steps to the slide and came down it all by herself. Big in the game.