Family outing!...

Going out is much harder nowadays. I know I've probably said this many times already but Haley is at the age now where when we go out all I need to grab is a sippy cup and we are out the door, with Derek it sure brings back memories, diapers, bottles, formula, extra outfits, cream, blankets etc. Now the cold is setting in it's a little more work, making sure they are both warm when we go anywhere.

Today we went out all together! Sean, me, Haley and Derek! We decided to take a walk at the fen by our house. It has a little park but we figured we always take her to the park, I wanted her to be able to blow off some steam, run, explore and generally do what she wants to do. 

It took what seemed like forever to get out of the house, blankets, outfits, coats, hats etc, but we finally managed it at about 4pm, I gave Haley dinner and a drink and we were good. 

Didn't take long to drive there, got Haley all cosy and put on her little bunny backpack. There are bushes so I was worried that if we didn't put her on the harness she might bolt and disappear into the forest! She absolutely loved it! She was picking up sticks, playing in the grass and exploring, it was exhausting but I had a blast! 

One of many sticks she picked up

She looked so cute and so happy, amazing what seeing your little one smile can do! It was a little windy and I only had my jacket so I was shivering by the time we got back to the car but it was worth it to make her so happy. 

Two sticks!

The more sticks she was holding, the happier she was, eventually she just couldn't fit any more in her hands. It took A LOT of walking to tire her out, I was pretty much done half way around but I pushed on, man it takes a ton to tucker this little hurricane out!

And....done.

She fell asleep in the car pretty quickly but our house isn't far away so she didn't get too much rest which worked out well since it seemed like the perfect amount to still have her in bed at her usual time. 

Derek slept the entire time! From the moment we left the house until we pulled back into the driveway, he slept, such a cute little man! The wind didn't seem to bother him although I am glad I invested in one of those car seat canopy's.

So glad I made that hat!

Very comfy and warm with two blankets and his owl hat I crocheted! 

Speaking of crochet, I am working on a couple of projects at the moment but a new hat for Haley is top of the list right now, it doesn't take long but I'm working with more complicated stitches and patterns I've never tried before so it's a bit more of a challenge, I'm having a blast though and can't wait to share the finished products! 

Well that's it for now, here comes Monday!

The great harness debate & other things...

For those of you that know Haley, I don't need to tell you she's a wild one. For those that don't, there is a reason we call her Hurricane Haley! She never sits still, not for a second. Now I know there are many people that say that about their children but seriously.....no really. She is on the go all of the time, never takes a breath, all I can do is try to keep up. 
Now that our little boy has finally joined us in the world, it's a little more difficult to get out and about like I used to, Hales got to the age where I could just grab her sippy cup and head out of the door, now we are back to diapers, wipes, cream, enough formula for a two week vacation etc etc. 
Our first real trip (not including the doctors office) was to Target this week, we walked around it for hours, just browsing, she spent most of her time in the cart but towards the end I let her down to walk along side me....big mistake. 
Her feet were spinning Scooby Doo style before they even hit the ground, when they did, she took off running, I hit slow motion for a second, looking at my innocent, sleeping little boy in his car seat and then my toddler, taking off at a thousand miles a minute down the isle, if I didn't take action she would be out of sight and my heart would explode right through my chest. 
" Hold on tight little man" and I took off at full speed, caught up to her and put her right back in the cart, taking a moment or two to regain my calm. 
I know what most of you will say "just tell her no, teach her not to run off" well easier said than done with this little girl, when she smells freedom, she grabs it by the balls and doesn't leg go for anything so no, I can't just teach her that right now, the communication just isn't there yet. So what to do? 

Well first I need to make a confession, before children were even slightly in my mind I would be in a store (In England obviously) like ASDA or ALDI with my mum and we'd see a mother and child wandering around with the child attached to a harness. I looked at my mother and said "wow, she has that kid on a lead like a dog, why?" my mum simply smiled and replied " you'll understand one day" 
She was right and I want to start by apologizing to that stranger and any other parent out there that has their precious little human on a harness, I get it now and I'm sorry because.....I bought one.

It's not the lead type ones that I don't like, it's a backpack that has a leash attached to it, Haley got a bunny but they come in all different styles and characters, I chose this specific one because it had a double buckle around the waist which evenly distributes the pull when that little one tries to bolt instead of acting like a choker on a pit bull. I let her play with it and put things in the zip up pocket and she loves it, but I don't. I hate it. I hate that I can't just get her to walk by my side, if I'm holding her hand she does but I'm always terrified that her hand will slip and she is just going to run right out into the road. I hate the looks I get from other parents and random people I meet along my way, the comments they mutter under their breath just loud enough for me to hear it. I could make a scene, argue my case and explain but why should I? They don't know Haley, They don't know me so why do I feel the need to justify this to anyone? 

Her little bunny...

Okay I'll end that right here, I could go on forever but really I'm just ranting at this point, let's move on.

Packing is still coming along nicely, I get about two boxes a day packed, no rush, still have a couple weeks to go but it can't come soon enough! I really want to go see the house again but I know there is no point, it looks the same! Be patient, I'll try.

Haley had her first ever hair cut! I have to admit, I was so nervous I actually felt a little sick on the way to the salon. I called ahead to book her in and asked to be put with someone who can handle a toddler that never sits still and may make a scene. They delivered, the lady was amazing, giving Haley a spray bottle and wasn't even slightly phased when of course she pointed it right at her and soaked her immediately. I apologized and let it go.

She sat still for most of it, stunned into a still silence maybe? She lost patience when the lady came to cut her fringe, We got through it though and I think she looks adorable! We'll be going back in 6 weeks for another trim and complimentary fringe cut.

She looks so well behaved here......HA!

Even when her hair is down now it's not in her face, it was driving me insane but it really didn't seem to bother her, it was an adventure. A successful one!

See?! Adorable!

Okay this is getting too long now so I'll leave it here, thanks for reading, until next time!

Another week in paradise & more cupcakes...

Let's talk about Tuesday, a normal day spent at home with my little ones. I love how I can be at my happiest when I'm watching Haley color in her book or when Derek is laying in my arms smiling at me, even when she is throwing an epic tantrum ( if I was like that when I was her age, I'm sorry mum) I just feel so much love I can't describe it. 

Haley didn't have any problems from her flu shot, I thought she might be extra crabby but she played and laughed and ate as normal, a very nice day at home indeed.

I had a visitor on Wednesday, having such amazing friends helps me get past those days when I really miss home. We ventured out, I had some shopping to do so we hit up Aldi, I LOVE that place! I haven't been able to go shopping alone with both babies yet, it just baffles me on how it can work, do I put Haley in the cart? Where do I put Derek? I could put the car seat inside the cart but then where would the shopping go? Luckily I had a friend to come along and we got it done, two carts, kids in the front, Derek in one cart and the food in the other, perfect! When I think of doing it by myself it makes me think of having only two socks, but three feet (yes, I'm that random) what to do?

Next stop was Jewel, I don't really trust the meat from Aldi (I'm a snob, whatever) 

With my car boot full we decided to stop at McDonalds' for some lunch, the ketchup, oh, so much ketchup! But I had a blast. 

Thursday I had another visitor! It's lovely when Haley gets to play with her friends, she needs to learn to share, she hasn't quite got it down yet, plus, I get to make a nice cuppa for my friend! I like that I found someone else to share my love of Tea with, not iced tea, a real, British cup of tea. You can't beat it! Has to be Tetley, no other will do! Tea making really is an art, I'm drifting, Anyway.

I love to bake, have I mentioned that yet? Well I do. I have my own recipes of course, those I brought with me from England and tweaked to how I like them. I searched a long time for the ingredients that I needed, everything has to have a different name doesn't it!? Caster Sugar is Super Fine Sugar in the US. Icing Sugar is Confectioners Sugar etc etc.

Iv'e tried many different recipes but I never like them, maybe I just suck at making them or maybe I'm just better at making them my own way, in any case that's what I did tonight, I went back to my own recipe, hubby says they are the best Iv'e made so far! Success!

Cupcakes! <3

Normally I would talk about my crockpot, I said I would share recipes but this time the recipe I'm going to share isn't for the crock pot, it's a simple, one dish oven meal. Hubby absolutely loves it and I make it as often as I can. It's my Cheesy Cauliflower Hash Brown Casserole. ( Recipe at the end)

Next time I'm going to add some bacon, then the time after that, some broccoli, you could try so many things!

Yum!

Finally the house, we close on the 29th October! I have started packing up things that we wont use for the next month or so, all boxed but not sealed of course, labelled etc. It's sort of weird packing up, in a good way though, I'm excited, but I also spent a year in this place, raising my children, trying to become a better person, a better mother, better wife, it feels strange that I'll just walk out of the door, never to return. I can't wait to see what's to come in our new home, the start of a new journey, a new chapter of our lives, so much fun to be had! Bring on the end of October...

Recipe: Cheesy Cauliflower Hash Brown Casserole.

You'll need:

2 cans cream of chicken soup (undiluted, I use two cans because it's creamier)

1 large bag of shredded hash browns (thawed)

One medium onion (sliced or chopped)

1 fresh cauliflower ( cut into small pieces)

2 cups grated cheese 

1 extra cup of cheese for topping it off

Method:

Coat a medium dish with non stick cooking spray,

Mix the soup, onion, cauliflower, hash browns and cheese in a large bowl and pour into baking dish, top with remaining cheese or to taste.

Spread it evenly and bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until fully cooked and bubbling. 

Enjoy!

Monday, Tea crisis & Cupcakes!...

Just another Monday really, the day I catch up on things left undone through the weekend, this time around it wasn't actually that bad. I managed to even brush my hair and put on some perfume before the kids got up, wow, yes, wow indeed.
Haley has been great all day, watching Caillou, singing, dancing and spinning in circles. Bumping into me (deliberately) just to say "Ooh, sowwy" Even after the thousandth time, it was still cute.
That was pretty much our morning, I get her dressed, do her hair (a trip to the salon is definitely well overdue) give her a Banana and some juice and then I get little man changed, dressed and fed. It's all very routine.

I simply can't start my day without my cup of tea, every morning, without fail, until today. I walk into my kitchen, fill the kettle, "click" on it goes, grab my cup which very fittingly says "She who must be obeyed" LOL. add some sugar (okay, a lot of sugar) go to add my Tetley teabag and DUN DUN DUN! There isn't any! "Don't panic" I say to myself, I look in the tea cabinet (Yes, I have a cabinet designated for tea, let it go!) but to my horror, no reserves! OH.MY.GOD. 
How can I start my day without tea? I'll have to settle for........ I struggle to even type it.....APPLE JUICE! Not a good start. Anyway.

Haley had a doctors appointment at 2:30pm, it went so well and I am so relieved, to understand this I'll have to fill you in on what you've missed. 
The last couple of doctor visits have shown Haley's head circumference growing very quickly, a good thing to most but her doctor was worried that at the fast rate it was growing in such a small amount of time may be an indicator of some fluid on the brain or maybe a mass (instant panic right?) well no, they said they would wait a month and measure her again to see if maybe an error had been made one of the previous times she had been measured, maybe she just had a growth spurt etc etc. Anyway her doctor told me to watch out for certain things that would raise a red flag, nothing so far. 
Today we went back in and she was measured again, she is at the same as she was at her last measurement so that is fantastic! I asked her doctor on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being ultimate panic, sit in the corner of a room rocking back and forth kind of panic, what was she at when it comes to this issue, she said 1. All clear, yay!. 
Obviously I'm keeping my eye out for those signs but now I can breath again.

Haley playing with the toys at the doctors office.

So here comes Tuesday, a nice, relaxing day at home with the littles. Not much to tell really, Haley loves to throw her tantrums when I tell her no, She throws herself on the floor and kicks her head backwards until it makes contact, sounds terrible and I immediately feel bad for saying no to whatever silly thing she wanted so bad she was willing to almost give herself a concussion to get.

Other than that she is really coming along, she can count to 10, obviously she doesn't get what it actually is but it's a start. She sings along to her favorite cartoons and she even has started say "icky" when something is, well, icky. Every day she surprises me.

Onto my mega mini man, he is growing like a weed! Still in newborn clothes but filling out a little more I think, people that see him still say he is tiny, they didn't see him right when he was born, to me, he look chunky now! He smiles a lot, I know the whole smiling thing is supposed to be because they have gas but let me ask you. Do you smile when you have gas? I know I don't, so I'm going to believe he is smiling because I'm making eye contact with him and tickling his feet, not because he has a doozy of a toot to get out. So there.

So this afternoon I got the idea to make some cupcakes, I tried a new recipe (why don't I just stick to my own recipe? I say this every time, even hubby prefers my cupcakes, ugh) and they came out rather well, the frosting was also home made and I added a little blue food coloring so it wasn't boring, added some clear sprinkles and voila! I couldn't eat too many but Haley sure got stuck in, I only let her have the one but she went to town on it! Now I have the baking bug, what will be next?! I'm thinking of what to make for Halloween, I know Haley still won't really understand it but I want to make a bigger deal out of it this year, I see Pinterest in my future LOL.

Vanilla Cupcakes

They don't look as good as they taste I'm sure, that's what you get when you let a toddler "help" lol. I enjoyed it. My little taste tester did too. 

She needed a bath after eating cupcakes.

Have a great week all, thanks for reading!

The weekend & My love for my crock pot!...

The weekend is over, it flies by! I had a great one this week, started off with a trip to a birthday party, 1 year old, special occasion, so much fun to watch a little baby go to town on a smash cake! After the party we drove home and stopped at Target, we let Haley try on some shoes, she had a blast! 
There were some brilliant ones, colorful, different characters on them like Doc McStuffins, Princess etc, but they just didn't seem right, we went with some cute pink and white running shoes and a pair of black boots with a bow, she looks adorable in them and thoroughly enjoyed trying them all on. I let her out of the cart and she took off, with permission of course! It was pretty hard keeping up with her, makes me realize just how out of shape I am!
Side note, I love all of the Halloween stuff out on the shelves, all the fall colors and little things you know you don't need but want to buy (okay, did buy) anyway, it all looks so..... colorful!

                                      She didn't know which way to go!                            Rocking her cute new shoes!

We stopped by our new house, it's still under construction, should be getting our closing date on Monday (tomorrow!) I can't wait! There is so much to do, so much to think about, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself, we are starting to collect moving boxes and getting started on sorting things for packing up. My OCD will really come in handy for moving LOL. I won't babble on about the house, even though I could talk about it all day! More to come when we get another update.
Just a thought though, doing all of this, the milestones my babies hit, the new house etc, makes me wish my mum and dad were here to see it all in person, they are so far away and I sure do miss them a lot, most days I just get on with things and deal with it but certain days are harder, a song can come on the radio that me and my mum would sit and sing together, or a smell, her perfume, I smell that a lot and it's like she's sat right next to me (I wish!) 
When I'm making a cuppa, I think of my dad in the kitchen making tea for them both or cooking sausage, chips and beans for my mum. I'm 26 but if I sit and think on it too long I turn into a little girl crying for her parents! I'm glad we get out weekly Skype sessions but it sure doesn't beat sitting on the couch with them while my mum knits, I crochet and my dad watches TV. Fingers crossed I get to visit them some time soon. 

Wow, okay, depressing much! Let's move on. Oh! the cooking! I made a delicious meal (if I may say so myself?) tonight, a Beef Stew with English Dumplings, I have many go to Crock Pot meals and this is definitely one of my favorites. (recipe will be at the end) 
I've been asked how I do my freezer meals or 'make ahead meals'. I'm sure other people have their own way of doing it but this is how I make it work for me. I'll use the stew I made as an example. 
I cut up and prep all of the ingredients for the dish, say carrots need to be sliced, beef needs to be cut into smaller chunks, onions need to be sliced, gravy needs to be made, broth or stock to put in. I put it all into a freezer bag and it gets frozen (if I'm going to cook it the next day though or within a day or two it goes right into the fridge) I never add potatoes since they always turn an icky color in the freezer bag and when it's not it's fresh looking color, I don't want to eat it, even if there is nothing actually wrong with it. A lot of people just literally throw everything in together, I however have major OCD and have a particular way of setting things up, as you can see below....

So you can see I have a freezer bag with my sliced carrots and onion on the left, my freezer bag with the beef chunks in on the right and my pyrex bowl with my liquid (Gravy, Broth and Bouillon cubes. If your OCD doesn't make you keep these things separate, you may love doing these freezer meals even more than I do and not only that but all in one bag sure makes for less dishes and less space taken up in your fridge or freezer etc. 
When you do put them in the freezer, don't forget to label each one, what's in it, what it's going to make in the end and what you need to add, if anything before you throw it all in the crock pot, of course, don't forget to add the date!

Grab some recipes, write down what you need for each one, do your shopping and get prepping and bagging! You won't believe how much time it will save you, specially with little ones running around and a house to keep in somewhat working order!

Did any of that make sense? Okay. Good!

Okay, here is the recipe for the Beef Stew and Dumplings. Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
1lb Beef Chunks (cut in half if they are quite large, I go for 1" chunks or just over)
6 Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 Large onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups Beef Broth
2 cups Brown Gravy
2 Beef Bouillon cubes
1 pack Suet (optional)
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1/2 stick, unsalted butter or to taste

Instructions:
Prep crock pot with non stick cooking spray, add the carrots, onion, beef chunks, broth and gravy to the crock pot, mix well and set to low for 6-8 hours or on high for at least 4 hours if you're in a hurry. 
Put on potatoes 30 or 40 minutes before the stew is done, bring them to a boil, bla bla bla, come on you know how to make mashed potatoes! lol, drain and add the butter to mash until creamy. Enjoy!
If you managed to get a hold of the Suet (I have only been able to get it because family get it from England for me and bring it back with them or my family ship it over to me, if you do find it somewhere here in the States, I wanna know about it! lol. The instructions on the box are simple enough, I follow those and then put the dumplings in with the stew until they are done (they shouldn't be sticky or too doughy in the center, don't forget to turn them every now and again too)

I hate taking pictures of food, does look good though no? he he

See how simple it is when the prepping is done?! You really do just throw it all in, you could of course cut up the potatoes into 1' or so chunks and add them to your stew but I prefer them on the side. One of the things I love is the liquid you add when cooking it turns into amazing gravy, much more flavor than you're regular gravy packets.
If you like the idea of prepping in advance and freezing your meals to throw in the crock pot I would definitely share some more of my favorite recipes! 
Doing things this way saves me a lot of money when shopping for groceries too since I know exactly what I'm making for dinner each day and what I need for each one, I tend to just buy what I need instead of grabbing things as I go along which always ends up being a ton of things that will sit in the fridge unused or in the pantry.

So I know I enjoyed it, I asked the hubby and he loved it, but what about my baby girl? 

The little spoon just wasn't cutting it...lol

After finishing what was on her plate, she got stuck into the leftovers! Success! 

I have so much more to tell but it can wait until the next post. This one is already way too long!

So, after having such a nice weekend with the family, all that's left to say is....bring on Monday! 

The awkward intro and daily events...

Well here we are, time for that awkward blog introduction, let's not do that, If you're reading this I'm assuming you already know me a little bit so I'll skip all of the boring parts and get to the somewhat interesting bits (I guess it will depend on what you call interesting of course)

~ My sprogs ~
Haley Rae. My 18 month old little hurricane (I'm not exaggerating) is coming on leaps and bounds, we recently moved her from her crib (jail, come on let's be honest!) to her very own toddler bed after a near head first fall onto the floor after she realized she could actually bust out and experience bedroom freedom, to my horror. 
We bought her a brand new bedding set and made a huge deal out of the new setup, it's taken a good few weeks but she now goes right to bed and sleeps through the night, sometimes she wakes up before me in the morning and she pulls clothes out of the drawers, I can live with that! I'll keep you posted on this topic.

Derek James. I can't believe he is two months old already! He was born on July 11th at 5:43pm at Sherman Hospital. I am so in love! He is already smiling and cooing at me which completely melts me. He had a slow start weight wise because he was early but he's packing on the pounds finally. He is however still in newborn clothes! Lot's more on him to come (this first blog post is becoming quite the essay huh?) 

Me and my Sprogs - July 11th 2014

~ Life ~
I am so lucky I get to stay at home everyday with my little ones, between cleaning, feedings, diaper changes, cooking and tantrums (Haley's not mine... okay sometimes mine too) I am rather tired at the end of the day, I have come to rely on my crock pot, I'll get deeper into that in my next post (as requested!)

For now though, duty calls and I couldn't be happier!