Day out with Gran

Living as far away from the majority of our families as we do means when George's grandparents come to visit they stay for a few days at a time so we get to spend some proper time together.

The last time my Mum came down she stayed for a week so Mum, George and I made the most of it and went out pretty much everyday!  Swimming, softplay, swimming again, and RHS Garden Wisley.  We just missed the Autumn Festival by a couple of days which was a shame but we had a nice wander nonetheless.

George wasn't too fussed about the gardens, but he did like being so close to the Heathrow flightpath - he LOVES anything that flies at the moment, planes, birds, helicopters...

A Bit of Rain...

...Never hurt anyone!

The weather has been truly Autumnal recently - rain, drizzle, damp with a bit more rain for luck.  My days of staying tucked up indoors when its miserable outside are well past now - it'll take more than a few drops of rain to keep George inside!

The park has been pretty much deserted in the bad weather, but we've been making the most of having it to ourselves!

Reminiscing

We've had a major clearout of our flat recently - we've got rid of so. much. stuff to either the charity shop, ebay or the tip, I think we've pretty much kept Phyllis Tuckwell in business with the amount of stuff we've dropped off there.  Things are looking much better for it, even though alot of it came from the loft so the effect is kinda lost until you stick your head up there (not very often in my case - too cold, and too many spiders).  But still, its looking good.  Just need the viewers to line up and start making some offers on the place so we can get moving!

Anyway, to the point of this quick post - while I was busy clearing stuff I found George's hospital bands from when he was born.  I'd totally forgotten how tiny his little ankles were - he's so big and action packed now!  They've gone safely in a "Keep Forever" tin :)

Sooooo.....

Well.  Its been awhile hasn't?  Things have been a little on the hectic side round here the past month or so blogging has unfortunately fallen by the wayside.  But things are (for now) calming down a little - our flat is on the market, the DIY has been done, the cleaning is...a work in progress.  Lets be honest, any home with a toddler living in it is never going to be clean for longer than 13 seconds at a time!

I did squeeze in time for a little blog restyle, I'm happier with how it looks here now, but I know I can be more happy.  Just need a little time to learn about HTML and all that jazz.

Anyways, there'll be more action round these parts very soon.  Promise!

The Big City pt2

As part of our day trip to the big smoke (part 1 here) we met up with some friends and had a wander round Crystal Palace Park.

These dinosaur sculptures are apparently the oldest dino sculptures in the world, and each one is a Grade I Listed Building.  Odd to think of a dinosaur sculpture as a building...

George had a fun time terrorising the chickens at the farm too (just kidding, no animals were harmed during our visit).  The farm is amazing for little ones to meet animals - especially as its free to get in.

The Big City pt1

Considering we live fairly close to London we don't actually get there very often - its a bit of a faff with a pushchair and all the luggage that comes with a toddler.  Even just for a day trip!  But the other week we made it, for our annual visit to the Eurogamer convention at Earls Court.  My husband is something of a computer games enthusiast so for the past few years we've come to see the new releases and have a nosy at the new consoles.

This was our second year taking George, and last year he was too little to really pay any attention so we were a little apprehensive about how he would take it this time around.  As it happened he was under the weather anyway so not the happiest of chaps but he took it mostly in his stride :)

I used it as a research trip too - when I'm not running around after the small one I work as a freelance exhibition stand design, and its always good to see a few stands in the flesh.

Easy home made play dough

A while back George and I ended up stuck at home for a whole day while Phil was at work with all the car and house keys in his bag (those with toddlers will understand how terrifying that concept is - over 8 hours in a confined space - eek!).  So I scoured my pinterest account for some ideas and came up with a play dough recipe that luckily I had all the ingredients for.  

The original recipe is here, but I'll type it out in grams as I loathe having to waste time converting cups to grams.  

250g flour

273g salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

355ml boiling water

Optional: food colouring and/or scent

I made half a batch and its more than enough for us, and its kept amazingly well in the fridge - no signs of getting past it yet and it must be a good 2 months old by now.  Wilkinsons have some amazingly good value play dough tools as well :)

Another poorly week

Mother Nature decided that as we'd barely got over our joint colds from a week or two ago she may as well wallop the little man with a nasty bout of tonsilitis too.  Which, being the loving, sharing boy he is quickly passed on to me too.  So last week was a bit of a write off in terms of notable things to blog about - we spent alot of time bundled up on the sofa watching Bob the Builder and Octonauts.  (We don't have a TV license so I can restrict his TV viewing to shows that I pick, rather than some that make me want to gouge my own eyes out.  I'm looking at you, In The Night Garden).

Anyway, that aside, just before he came over poorly we had an adventure in London and I've got a good, toddler approved play dough recipe ready to share.  Watch this space ;)

The North Downs Way

Not far from where we live is the North Downs Way, a footpath that leads all the way to Dover.  We've never got that far, but its a lovely change from our usual route through town to the park.  I was hoping we might find some brambles to pick but the only ripe ones were really high up - I reckon another week or two and the lower ones will be ripe :)

George seemed to enjoy the change - he's going through a bit of a stroppy phase at the moment so I'm trying to think up different places to go with him to keep him occupied.  He likes being up in our backpack carrier and playing with my hair!

Mucky fingers!

Tweseldown Artisan Market

On Saturday George and I left Phil busy at home hanging new doors and had a trip to the monthly Tweseldown Artisan Market, I'd seen it advertised before but never got around to going.

If I'm totally honest, I was a little underwhelmed.  I'd envisaged it being a big thing spreading over the racecourse but it was basically just a marquee with a few other little stalls surrounding it.  There were some lovely handmade goodies there  but just not enough of it!  And it was a pain trying to get the pushchair around the marquee (George is going through a phase of only walking if it means running off in completely the wrong direction - so the pushchair was a must).  Still, we shared a cracking fish finger butty and I got a lovely bit of cake to take home (which I devoured before I thought to take a photo!).

I did take my big camera, as part of my resolution to take more photos, but I only took one picture (and that one came out blurry!).  I feel a little conspicuous taking photos, and it wasn't busy enough for me to blend in with the crowd.  So that's something I need to work on - that camera is big to be carrying around and not even using.

Atleast the fish fingers were yummy!

A week of coughs and colds

Well, last week wasn't a whole lot of fun - both me and the little fella ended up full of cold.  Although George was sniffy and miserable it didn't slow him down an awful lot which meant it was a rough week for me!  When I'm poorly I like hot drinks, biscuits and lots of sitting down.  None of which is easy with a toddler to entertain all day.  We spent a lot of time eating drawing with wax crayons before we made it out into the fresh air to the park...

This week is looking better already, the sun is out and we're both pretty much fighting fit again :)

Recap of summer 2013, pt2

So although this is mainly just for me I'll try not to overload it with our holiday snaps, just in case there are other people reading too.  Seems weird to think other people might stumble on this and have a nosey, but given how much I adore reading other blogs I guess it might happen at some point...

Anyway, this is part 2 of a little recap of our summer - partly because I hadn't started the blog when we went on these trips, but also because its tipping down with rain and looking at these photos makes me feel a teensy bit warmer.  This was a week in July when me, husband and the little monster went to Whitby with my Mum and my brother.  We stayed in an uh-mazing apartment courtesy of York Against Cancer who let it out to sufferers of cancer in the York area, and their families.  Sadly my Mum has cancer so we were eligible for the apartment.  That is probably yet another subject for another post *scribbles in note book* so for now stick with the photos.  Check out the amazing weather we had!

The apartment is in the big building above the beach huts.  Sea views from every window.  Like I said - amazing!

Recap of summer 2013 pt1

This summer is the first real summer we've had with George - well, the first summer he's been big enough to really take notice of things and enjoy them.  As he was born in May 2012 last summer was basically a blur of feeding, sleepless nights and getting used to life as a family of 3.  I think most parents will admit that the first few months of a new baby's life are damn hard work, and really not all that much fun.  Actually, maybe that's just me, I struggled with post natal depression last year so although I love George to pieces I don't look back on his first few months with the rosy glow I kind of expected.  Anyway, that's probably a subject for another post, for now I've got a few photos from our early summer holiday to Devon :)

Ahh holidays...:)

Quiet week....

So it turns out I really need to be ALOT more organised with this blogging lark - a week away combined with a ton of freelance work means zilch in the way of posting time.  Apologies!  And I had a whole post idea planned out in my head of how its meant to be autumn but its still 30* degrees (the car temperature gauge said 31* last Wednesday!) - but as I didn't have time to actually get it posted I missed the boat and its now grey and drizzly.  Ho hum.  It is quite a nice change being able to get in the car without melting every time we have to go anywhere!

So, I'll get my bum in gear and get organised as I really want this to work, for me more than anything.  Just a record of our day to day life as the small terror is changing so much and so quickly :)

Gift ideas for him

My husband's birthday is approaching fast and as my first present idea was accidentally opened by the man himself when the postman brought it I need to get my act together.  Fast.

These are a few possible pressie ideas for the man of the house...

Sources (all from Etsy): 1.  Iphone cosy/wallet from Joojoobs    2.  Cool Star Wars art print from MonkeyMinion   3.  Canvas backpack from Commandery   4.  Selection of grill seasonings from KitchenStories   5.  Leather Ipad sleeve from JustWanderlustShop   6.  Wood Iphone cover from Bark Accessories

Baking with the Boy

Well, if you can call it baking - more like let him tip pre-weighed ingredients into a bowl and stir!  Still, it kept him occupied for a few minutes.  Then he started grabbing handfuls and chucking it all over the place...

For anyone with young toddlers this recipe has gone down a treat with George - less so with me as I like my flapjack drenched in golden syrup and sugar!  Anyway, this website has been floating around on one of the mummy forums I'm a member of so thought we'd give it a try.  We used the recipe for sugar free flapjacks and followed it pretty much to the letter so I won't bother retyping it here.  Enjoy :)

Stroll around Waverley Abbey

This morning George (my previously mentioned one year old son) and I took a drive over to Waverley Abbey - or what's left of it - in an attempt to exercise some of the teething temper tantrums out of him.  It wasn't quite as peaceful as I'd remembered given that a bunch of fellas were busy putting down a temporary road and fencing in preparation for filming of a new film there soon.  Still, quite exciting to think part of a Hollywood film is being filmed just a mile or two down the road!  According to the guy I spoke to its called Into The Woods starring Merryl Streep and Johnny Depp!  I think we might have another stroll in that direction in a few weeks time...

The Awkward First Post

So... this is my new blog.  Welcome.  Although for now I'm not telling anyone about it, or making it all fancy pants with a snazzy theme or anything.  Nope, most important thing is seeing if I have anything worth blogging about.  So we'll see how I do.  At the very least I'm hoping this forces encourages me to take more photos and use my lovely big camera a bit more.  And hopefully do more crafting, although that's doubtful as craft and an-almost-sixteen-month-old really don't mix too well!  So before I start babbling too much I'll shut up and go get my camera :)

Do grownups actually use smilies?  Apparently they do.  Or I'm not a grownup?!  Either way, I like smileys.  And smilies.  And didn't I say I'd stop before I started babbling.....?!