Bank Holiday Fun n Games

Eve, Jago, Lamorna and Daddy

We had a relaxing 3 day weekend, and oh what a difference an extra day makes. It was really humid on Saturday morning, so we lathered up in sun cream and walked over to my sister's house in Southville. We had a planned date with Jago's new sandpit!

Shortly after us, Jilly and Lamorna arrived. These three kids are all super chilled and had a lovely time together. Not a tear was shed, just lots of smiles, laughter and sharing.

Eve and Lamorna

When Jody filled up the moat with water the kids loved it. This was exactly what I wanted out of the summer - spending some quality time with friends; watching our kids being happy together.

My nephew Jago, he's such a funny little chap

This weekend was all about family - we got to see our other nephew on Sunday, as Katie-Jane and Dave brought down their lovely kids Huxley and Scarlett to see us. We ate lunch together at our place, then headed out to walk through the woods to the playground.

Huxley and Eve examining bugs

Close up insect inspection

It was beautifully cool under the canopy of the woods, so when we walked out into the bright sunshine it felt very hot in the park. We followed Huxley down to the basket ball court and had a laugh watching each other try to shoot hoops.

Auntie Katie action shot!

Daddy and Eve - Arnos Vale Park

Eve enjoyed hanging on to the ball when we went into the playground and wasn't too bothered by going on the park equipment. It was pretty hot so we didn't stay for long, and swiftly wandered back home for cups of tea. 

Daddy and Eve

Scarlett and Eve

Dad and I felt completely exhausted on Sunday evening, so we had an early night and didn't do much at all on Bank holiday Monday. That morning I was up with Eve a couple of hours before Daddy woke up, so Eve and I had great fun rolling about on the lounge floor together, tickling, laughing and watching tv. Daddy took a walk to the shops with Eve later on, and bought her a big bubble wand. She was completely delighted with it, as you can see.

Adventure Time

Eve exploring Arnos Vale Cemetery

It was supposed to be heavy rain on Saturday, so we were lucky when it didn't arrive until late afternoon. Laura, Emma and I managed a walk into the cemetery with the kids and then did a quick stint in the park before returning back to my house. Eve slept in the pram for the duration of our short outdoor trip, and woke up when we entered the house as a bit of a loud rabble.

Elodie, Eve, Hannah and Agnes happily playing with Playdoh

The kids were so good together. Eve loved playing with Hannah, Elodie, Agnes, Matthew,  Thomas and Lamorna. Eve watched the older girls intently; she was also pushed around the kitchen on her trike by Hannah and Elodie which was amusing. She was very happy when she went to bed on Saturday night and loved talking about the children (Hannah, Matthew and Thomas) that she had met that day.

Elodie and Eve

On Sunday we were supposed to be going to a birthday party at midday but the heavens opened shortly beforehand and I was a bit worried about getting caught in a heavy downpour with Eve in the pram, so unfortunately we had to cancel. Instead, we chilled out at home, and I took Eve to the woods and the park in the afternoon when the sun started shining.

'It's all about the confidence!'

Eve is such a big girl now; it shocks me most days when I collect her from nursery, just how much she has grown. When we arrived at the park together she said that she wanted to go on the slide and ran over to it. For the first time in ages she whizzed straight down the slide with ease and confidence and kept going on it over and over again. She had some big bumps to her head at the weekend at home whilst running about, so it was good to see that those little accidents hadn't done anything to deter her enthusiasm.

First time on a bigger swing

After the small slide she asked me to go on the big slide with her. About a year ago I took her on it, which almost ended in disaster when my shiny puffa coat took off at an alarming rate. Since that point I've not wanted to take her on it. But when she asked me, I didn't think twice, the timing felt right. I lifted her up to the top of the slide which is over 6ft high. She waited whilst I climbed up and then excitedly sat on my lap. She screamed with delight as we went down it - so we did it a few more times, which was great fun.

Found a car to play with

On Saturday evening Eve helped Daddy make gravy (or 'grave' as Eve calls it) to go with our roast chicken. Unfortunately it didn't do much to make her want to eat dinner, but there we are - we tried!

Gravy time

Whilst the sun was shining on Sunday afternoon I made the first batch of summery ice creams for Eve. I've been using up random mixtures that I've been finding in the freezer over the past couple of weekends and turning them into ice cream in the Nutribullet.

I find that giving Eve a yogurt for pudding each day is a bit boring. I basically chucked in what we had - some frozen blueberries, fresh raspberries, full fat milk and a frozen banana which I snapped into pieces. (Good tip - whenever I give a banana to Eve and she doesn't eat the whole thing, I cut it into pieces - or put it in whole depending on the amount - and freeze it. The frozen properties of banana turn into incredible ice cream).

Making healthy ice cream

As you can see in the picture, the ice cream had raspberry seeds in it, and I didn't add any refined sugar. I wasn't completely sure how they would be received. But, Eve loved sitting on the sofa on Monday night when she got home from nursery, slowly eating her ice cream whilst she watched 'In the night garden'.

Somehow I bought brilliant ice lolly moulds without even realising it. I'm pretty sure I got them either from the Range or Wilkinson's so they were cheap - they have plastic domes which catch all the drips. Genius.

Eve with her first bubble beard - she is slowly getting more confident with water

Whilst manically cleaning last weekend I knocked into one of my Elderflower champagne bottles from the stash that I made last spring. It sounded very bubbly, so I dusted the bottles off and put them in the fridge. Sam and I cracked one open each night this weekend - and they were completely incredible - I was over the moon, after years of perfecting my recipe!

 Generic image - not one of mine ;-)

It seems that the secret to making Elderflower champagne is to leave it far longer than you're supposed to. All recipes that I've read online say that it keeps for about 4 months. The bottles that we opened this weekend were a year old and the best ever.

Harry Potter and the Elder wand - we all know the powers of the Elder tree!

It's now Elderflower season, and the tree by our house started to bloom at the weekend. I am feeling very enthusiastic at the prospect of making a new batch over the coming Bank holiday weekend.

Click the link below to see my recipe from last year:

http://fergussonbaby.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/mamas-elderflower-champagne-recipe.html

30 Days Wild June 2016

I've just signed up for this online today, as I thought it would be something fun to do with Eve that involves lots of outdoorsy, au naturale stuff.

No matter how small, there are lots of things that we can do each day to be a bit wild - even with our urban lifestyle. Get involved!

Sign up for free here:
http://action.wildlifetrusts.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1823&ea.campaign.id=48499

They will email/post you a wall chart and activity pack.

Dandelion O'Clock

Clenching her fists, trying to blow with all her might!

The sun has been shining so we've been wandering around the area where we live this weekend. Eve is going through a brilliant eating phase at the moment - even eating omelettes, which is a real relief. I'm hoping that it might be due to the fact that bathroom situations are easier lately. Mama's raw super bars have been doing the world of good.

On Saturday morning my sister, Claire and her little boy Jago popped over for an hour. Jago is talking more now and is a funny little chap. Him and Eve had a great time charging about playing. 

One evening, when I arrived home from work last week, our front garden was completely covered in dandelion seed heads. I've never seen anything like it. There were huge bundles of it all over the place. It looked almost like frog spawn. As our upstairs windows were open, the seeds - or fairies - as I told Eve - had floated in as well.

When we walked into the cemetery after lunch we saw a large expanse of dandelions. Eve was absolutely delighted when Daddy showed her how to blow them to disperse the seeds. 

Daddy and Eve walking through Arnos Vale Cemetery

Lovely wild garlic out in full force

We walked through the woods to Arnos Vale playground. Lately Eve has become a bit cautious about going on playground equipment. I think the more knocks, bumps and bruises she gets she realises that it is possible to get hurt. But we stuck with her on the slide and by the time we left the playground she had conquered her fear and was obviously very happy.

When we got home we pulled out our camp chairs and put them in the back garden. Eve just loved sitting in them. We looked at magazines together which was fun.

Mummy and Eve chilling on camp chairs

We left Eve singing in bed when the babysitter arrived that evening. Eve had had a happy day so I was pretty sure that she would go to sleep ok, but was a tiny bit anxious.

We jumped in a cab and hot-footed it over to the Hippodrome. We arrived with the 5 minute curtain call, so we were lucky that we just made it.

We watched Derren Brown perform his 'Miracle' show. It was completely amazing, thought provoking and inspiring. I won't go into details, as he asked us not to mention it online, so that the outcome is not ruined for other theatre-goers. 

All I'll say is that the show was very moving and it made me cry. Sam and I got a bus home, had a quick drink in a nearby bar and then walked down the road to our house. Just as we approached the front door I saw a shooting star! A good omen for the future...

http://derrenbrown.co.uk/on-stage/

Music time in the garden

On Sunday we drew a hopscotch diagram in our back garden. We had fun drawing pictures with chalk and generally chilled out at home - we were feeling a bit worse for wear after Derren Brown, but still managed a relaxed stroll through the woods whilst Eve slept.

Daddy and Eve enjoying the camp chairs

Summer Vibes

The sun was shining brightly and it was hot, hot, hot on Sunday. We enjoyed our first BBQ of the season in our little back garden at midday, and then slumped about inside for the early afternoon as it was too warm for us to venture out.

Daddy BBQ flex

Eventually, I walked with Eve down to Perrett Park just before dinner time, as it had become slightly cooler. She was desperate to play hopscotch! I lathered her in sun lotion and we set off together. She enjoyed wearing her new jelly shoes - which just about fit, phew.

There were quite a lot of older kids in the park, so Eve found it a bit tricky getting on to the different apparatus, but she gave it a good go. 

As I didn't take the pram I ended up having to carry Eve most of the way home, but she did really well and walked all the way down the steep grassy hill in the park to the playground and half way back up again.

Determined climb up the hill

My feel good factor of the weekend was perfecting my super bars recipe, with the help of the Nutribullet.

I turned cashew, pecan nuts, goji berries and chia seeds into dust, then mixed them with pureed apricots that I had simmered on the hob. Whilst my mixture set in the fridge, I heated up cacao nibs with coconut oil and then added super green powder to my cool chocolate mix before spreading it over the top of the bars. 

Eve loved eating them with me and it's nice to know that she's getting some serious goodness inside. (I am constantly worrying that she doesn't get enough vegetables and fruit...)

Eve loves helping me water the garden

Girl's Day at Windmill Hill City Farm

                                    Beautiful forget-me-nots.                                  

After what seemed like a very long winter, summer has finally arrived in Bristol with lots of hot sunshine, and thunderous showers. Jilly and I had planned to take the girls to Windmill Hill City Farm, but when we woke up to prepare for the day, it was cloudy and grey yet warm. 

Regardless of the grey skies, I donned my bikini top and sandals, adamant that the weather would get brighter. I made a packed lunch and got our picnic blanket out of the cupboard. Jilly and Lamorna arrived and we were ready to go.

By the time that we arrived at the farm, the sun was coming out and we liberally applied sun lotion to the girls' skin. (I still use Organic Children by Green People - it's great stuff!)

www.greenpeople.co.uk/shop/by-collection/organic-baby-and-child-products/organic-baby-sun-cream-products

Eve and Lamorna

The farm was nicely busy; a good buzz, but calm and peaceful. The girls played on the wooden tractor, then we walked through the allotments and around the animal enclosures. It was lovely watching Eve and Lamorna interacting. Lamorna is 16 months and is talking now. It was nice to see them speaking to each other and sharing things - sometimes ;-)

Eve, Jilly and Lamorna

Interested in the different salad crops

Fun at the monster pond

We ate our picnic lunch outside, and Eve enjoyed washing her hands at the little outdoor sink afterwards. She was a very good girl and happily played with the trucks in the gravel with an older child.

 http://www.windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk/

Lamorna and Eve

Once we were fed and watered, we wandered over to Asda to exchange a pair of sandals for Eve, and then headed backwards to Victoria Park. By the time we arrived Eve was fast asleep, but Lamorna was having too much fun to sleep and rolled about on a blanket with us. We sat under a shady tree and enjoyed the cool breeze. The view of the colourful houses, the mosque and Eve's nursery in the distance was lovely. 

Victoria Park, looking towards Totterdown

Jilly and Lamorna

We stopped off at the playground on the way home so that Eve could go on the swings whilst Lamorna had a sleep. We just made it back to our house as a light thunderstorm hit. It was great to catch up with my good friend Jilly. The day made us both feel relaxed and happy.

By the way - whilst we were doing all this, it was Daddies day off - both Joe and Sam were out having fun together elsewhere!