So, April is almost over and my little boy is 3!  It really seems no time at all since he was born..  We had a lovely time at the weekend celebrating his birthday, on Friday night we made the trek up to Nottingham (which took 4 hours! Nightmare) and stayed in a hotel for the night.  Saturday morning saw two very excited kids leap out of bed and head down to breakfast before going for a swim in the fantastic hotel pool and then setting off up to Leeds.  We arrived at Kate and Tom's just before lunch, Kate had decorated the whole place with banners and balloons and she had made the most fabulous train cake for Zoomy, he LOVED it! I was so touched, she really is so lovely.  After a quick itinerary check we headed out to Flying Pizza for amazing food and a great noisy catch up.  We then walked down to Roundhay park and went to Tropical World, which was excellent!  After all that we walked on over in to the park, had ice creams and even a ride on Thomas before making the long walk home again for Train Cake, tea and wine.  Z was beside himself with excitement, love him.  It was so so wonderful to see them both and spend time having a proper catch up about the baby and house plans and general catch up - it is 3 months since their wedding already and they look so very happy and content.. Baby bump is coming along nicely and she looks amazing too, so much happiness this weekend.

On our way south on Sunday we managed to stop in and see Nanny and Popo and JC, Becky and Matthew too.  So glad we did, they were all really pleased to see us and we had a good giggle.  It is funny but they (my grandparents) see a lot calmer and happier than I have seen them in a while - I think that the situation with my other grandparents has hit them hard and has brought home hard the fragility of life in old age, and just how quickly things can change.  I can only take that as a positive.  Another positive is that as a result of our visit and other family members last week, my Nana has come round a lot and can now see that my Grandad is indeed Jim, her husband, and not his mother, or a stranger.  The mind is a complex thing but I am really happy to hear that she is more accepting and despite the fact that my Grandad is growing weaker, she is able to support him mentally and that is a huge relief. 

My sister made me crack up today - she sent me the following in an email;

I was thinking today that if you were a city, you’d be Milan… Chic, organized, up to date, yet Mediterranean and groovy..

I would be Naples: dark, chaotic, disorganized and a little hairy at times!

I had to laugh!  She cracks me up, and man I miss her.. I shall take my comparison to Milan as a compliment, love her!

My little ones have been staying with their Granny B for over 24 hours now and crikey I miss them.. the house is really clean, tidy and QUIET but it is horrid without them!  They have, however, spent a wonderful day on the Watercress Line (with both my Mum and my MIL) and have met Thomas, had their photograph taken with the Fat Controller and have obtained a few autographs.  It all sounds fab and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home.  I have jacket potatoes baking in the oven waiting for their arrival.

Tonight for me and Him I shall be cooking Chicken Marsala served with new potatoes and asparagus.  It is one of our favs and I haven't done it in ages, will post some pics tomorrow if I remember to take them but in the meantime here is the recipe (note: you can add mushrooms to this but we are not keen, so do without)

Ingredients:

30g (1 oz) butter
4 chicken breasts
flour
salt, pepper
2 onions
2 cups water
2 chicken stock cubes
¼ cup marsala
¼ cup cream (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Method:

Bash out the chicken breasts to about 1/4 in thick, lightly coat the chicken pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a hot pan. Flash fry the chicken then remove them from the pan, they will cook in the Marsala sauce! Add peeled and finely chopped onions to the pan and saute them over medium heat until the onions are transparent. Add water, crumbled stock cubes and Marsala wine. Bring the sauce to the boil; reduce the heat; return the chicken to the pan, cover; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Reduce the heat, stir in the cream (if using) and parsley and pour over the chicken. Serve with tagliatelle or potatoes and vegetables or salad.

Serves 4

Hi ho hi ho its back to work I go!  Just HOW hard is it returning to work after a long weekend?  Especially after a particularly fab weekend.  Easter Sunday saw us all up at 8am (after a 4am revaille from the kids who could not wait to see if Easter Bunny had been!) followed by an egg hunt in the rain (after this rather dishevelled 'bunny' had hidden them around the garden in the rain!)  We were then joined by my parents and Mother in Law, we opened the champagne, swapped chocolate eggs and gifts and then sat down to a gorgeous leg of lamb and all the trimmings (didn't do beef in the end because I decided to run with tradition instead, the beef will keep!) including obligatory yorkshire puds for Teya ;) Kev found some really old video footage, stuff that we had completely forgotten about, so later that night we at watching lovely home movies and drinking wine until quite late - it was a really perfect day and quite amazingly neither of the kids were sick from over comsumption, so bonus there!

Yesterday I rolled out of bed with a slightly fuzzy head to join Saf, Janet and the kids in Camberely for a date with the soft play and then Chiquitos for lunch and a very fun time was had by all.  Now back to reality for a bit but really looking forward to having Riggy home at the weekend and finally getting to see my grandparents, it has been such a long time since we did.

Hmmm I have just spent over £100 at Zara online, ouch, some gorg things though - god I hope they Ming IRL.. What a fab day I have had with my babies, swimming this am, then play park then we picked up daddy for pub lunch, M&S shopping then back home for movie and BBQ- totes prefik! Kids have been delightful too, I'm very lucky. So, now watching lethal weapon 2 - mwoohoo- hubs is snoring and all is good so happy Easter all, make each day count and enjoy the time off x

The Easter holidays are here - hooray :) I am having this afternoon off work and then a quiet couple of days catching up on admin and some documentation before stopping for the long weekend.  I am really looking forward to getting out the Easter decorations and buying the eggs for the kids' egg hunt on Sunday, I just hope the rain can hold off for a while.  I bought the beef for Sunday yesterday from Waitrose, 2.5kg of silverside which was reduced and I got it for £11.74, from £20 - bargain!  It is so big that I have chopped it in half and have frozen it all so that it will do us several meals.  I am really looking forward to having my parents and hopefully MIL over on Sunday for a good get together, just need to decide on the pudding.. I think it will have to be my butterscotch tart, my lot do love it so. 

Talking about get togethers the wheels are in motion for our summer holidays - I know that August is a way off yet but I really wanted to get the flights booked so that we have something to look forward to, as we have a few tough months ahead.  So, my Sister and Andrew fly home on the 10th August and will stay until the 17th when me and my gang will fly back to Italy with her and stay until the 4th September!!  We are getting a villa near her for the whole stay but will de camp to La Casella for the bank holiday as normal - Saf and Ram and their kids are joining us for 2 days which will be brilliant, and they have booked their flights too, Steve is coming (although the naughty beast hasn't yet replied to my text about details, tut ;) ) and I really hope that Kitty and Damon will come too with little Reggie who will be 1 by then, crikey, which reminds me, I really must drop her a line and see how they are all doing.  Roll on August, you can't come quickly enough...

I have been awake since 3.30am, urge one of those nights - drunken husband staggered in after 2, then woke littlest, I then heard them chatting so at 3.30 went in and put a stop to that! Then once littlest had dropped off, I was kept awake by eldest coughing, then husband snoring and then just as I was dropping off at 5.30 the dog started barking!! Obv the drunken one didn't let him out last night so he was desperate for the loo! So, once thar lot was done I had chance to snooze before the boy came in at 7 announcing that the sun was up! Yawn! Not happy that the glorious weather that we have enjoyed all week, has decided to vanish just in time for the weekend - I had high hopes for my new mint jeans but sadly, not to be, far too nippy? So I have indigo jeans and ank E boots on instead. Ah well, we are off to a lovely pub for lunch, the Forresters in church crookham and we are taking Cal for a long walk over that way- I love a good dog friendly pub! This evening will see us all in front of a movie with pizza in pj's. Superb. Mint jeans (mine are H&M)

I also ADORE these J Brand red jeans - perfect bright red and exactly what I am looking for but at £265 they will not be purchased at any time soon, boo.

I joined Pinterest - oops...  Couldn't resist, so many gorgeous things on there, it is a lovely site.  I can't believe that we are in the last week of term already, it is Easter in 2 weeks!  The time really has flown, and I have a very tired big girl this week, too much excitement I think, we are all ready for the holidays.  We have also finally made a date to see Kate and Tom, we are going up for Zach's birthday weekend which is going to be lovely - we found out yesterday that they are having a boy!! So happy for them, I *knew* it would be a blue one and I am thrilled.  Had a great evening with Jay and Jude last night, they came over for a BBQ (loving this weather) and we had a really good catch up, much wine was consumed though and I am feeling it rather this morning. 

We are potty training!  Zach announced on Sunday that he wanted to wee on his potty and put his big boy pants on, so off we went - and he did really well.  No accidents on Sunday afternoon, 2 on Monday morning and none yesterday afternoon.  Sadly yesterday am wasn't so successful, but he was at nursery and he must have been too distracted, which is a real shame.  Still, persevering, I just hope he does OK whilst he is with Mum today.  Not really sure what I should do about it really, so going to ask some wise peeps for their advice..

Riggy has booked her flights to come home too, yay, sadly it isn't in the happiest of circumstances, our Grandad is extremely poorly, he has cancer and is at home living out the rest of his days in as much comfort as possible.  It is so sad but we both want to be able to go up and see them and have some time together before we run out of time.  My poor granny has the onset of dementia too, so whilst Grandad's body has all but given up, his mind is fine and my granny is the opposite..  it is such a desperately sad situation and it is all very difficult for the family right now.

Oh dear.. I have discovered Pinterest!!! Whilst waiting for a work phone call this afternoon I was browsing FB and came across a friend commenting on Pinterest, 'What is this thing?' I ask myself, and curiosity got the better of me and I clicked.. ARGH!!!  As if I haven't lost enough hours of my life to the internet, I fear it is about to get worse.  SO many gorgeous things to look at and gush over, complete beautiful fluff fest and I am hooked (although not a member, just a 'lurker' for now ;) ) Loads of wonderful blogs to link to as well, check these Mini Lasagne Cups out, am desperate to race out and buy wonton wrappers right away (idiot) hee hee. 

Anyway I shall not be buying anything, not even wonton wrappers for a while - my quite frankly stupid and greedy thug (otherwise known as Basil) bust out of his field on Saturday morning, knocked over the  feed bin over that contained the alphabeet and gobbled down the unsoaked nuts !!  Happily he eats so fast that it swelled in his throat and he got choke - cue emergency call out to the vet, 3 bouts of flushing (rubber tubing up the nostril and in to oesophagus flushed through with warm water to try and shift the blockage, not pleasant), major nosebleed, numerous drugs and plenty of hours spent fretting - us and the horse-  but thank god nothing made it to his stomach!  For those who don't know, unsoaked nuts in a horse's stomach almost certainly guarantees a death sentence (or thousands in touch equine surgery), so I consider us all to be very lucky, even when the £445 vet bill landed on my doorstep this morning... Ouch.

What a few days I have had!  The end of last week/ Tuesday this week I could happily forget, but sadly that isn't going to happen any time soon - but I wont go in to the doom and gloom of it now!  Yesterday, however, was filled with great news and hope for the future.  My Sister and Andrea took Andrew for his ASD review at the hospital in Rome and the consultants have concluded that, whilst Andrew is still on the spectrum, his progress over the past few months has been phenomenal and he is on the end of it.  They are extremely positive that with continued therapy and all the wonderful work from his family, the way that he is going he may even move off the spectrum all together.  I am so, so relieved that he is responding so well and so proud of him and my wonderful sister, she has had an incredibly tough time but they are getting through it and are just amazing.  Whatever happens in the future I know that he will continue to flourish as a wonderful little boy and that he is loved so much for who he is.

Hope is a great strengthener (I am not sure if that is the correct terminology!!) I have found myself focusing incredibly strongly on hope and faith in the past few months, they have provided me with the comfort that despite hardships, there is light at the end of the tunnel and that things will OK.  Right now I would really like to jump on a plane and be with them all in Italy, but sadly that won't be possible for a little while..

Also, in other good news, Amy and David welcomed baby Ethan in to the world safely yesterday and Mum and baby are doing really well.  David came over to ours last night to celebrate and he is chuffed to bits - we are so happy for them and look forward to meeting the new arrival.

Lastly on Monday Saf and I spent a glorious day at Foxhills Spa, we got there and went straight to the outdoor hot tub followed by swimming, steam room, sauna and whirlpool - a full on water relaxation!  We then went for a lovely lunch and then came back to the spa for back massages and facials.  It was a wonderful day, filled with much chat, fun and laughter and I have to say that I felt much better at the end of the day - neither of us were quite ready to return to reality so we have promised each other that we will do it all again very soon.

As it is chucking it down out there I have been on the thigh trainer this morning, whoop me, and as it is minging, my thoughts are turning to spring wear.  I am loving these animal tees (similar to the jumpers from AW no less!!) This Jil Sander one is gorg, but not at the price..


So I am putting this in APC one in my basket and will leave it there for a bit, just in case I find anything I like more


I can see this with my electric blue jeans (if they ever arrive - EDD is early April from H&M, WTF??  I may as well have gone in to town, grr) and my silver office sandals with cardie on chillier days and my Chloe Sunglasses will go a treat, must put up some pics of my sunglasses collection, they are my absolute fav things. I don't actually know how many pairs I have but I look after them and some are really old - but I have only ever lost 1 pair (prada sport *sob*) and cost per wear is minute!

It is March and we have seen some evidence of spring - albeit short lived weather wise - my bulbs are coming through in the garden and I have been out in ballet pumps, woohoo!  It is nice to put a blazer on and not have to wrap up arctic stylie, and I love the fact that my sunnies are a constant addition to my face. 

My gym joining hasn't gone well, in fact it hasn't gone at all - I was told that the Woking one wouldn't take me as my village is Guildford borough, grr and I haven't got around to going over to the Guildford one yet.  TBH it is not really a convenient gym for me so I am trying to make a concerted effort to use my thigh trainer at home on days that are too nippy to be out, but when the weather is good this fair weather runner is getting out there, it is a great feeling although I know I have a long way to go before my fitness levels are where I want them. 

I have decided that I need to get some additional help with Basil, he is really at the stage now where he needs to start working, he is getting bored and cheeky and I simply don't have enough time to do everything that I want with him.  That pony has such huge potential but he needs more than I can give so I have done some research and have found a chap who has just come back from NZ working with spirited youngsters, I have called him and spoken with his girlfriend and am expecting a call back from him any time now.  I am really looking forward to getting on with Baz's training programme and I feel so much better just having made the decision to get someone to help me rather than try and do everything myself.  It is one of my (many I fear) flaws, I am always trying to be superwoman but sometimes I know that I need to just cut myself some slack and let go a little.  Not easy being a control freak!

Cal in the spring sunshine

Baz and Cal, getting to know each other - we have a long way to go with the pony yet before he accepts him, but Cal has been brilliant

My first lot of Company Accounts have been completed by my amazing Accountant, Ellen Lefevres from Lefevres Ltd, I have signed them all and off they go in to the post!  It is a major feeling of achievement, my Company has been going since June 2010 and I am really proud of what I have done so far.  I really need to up up my game now mind you and get some more women on board and start marketing our skill set, it is going to be a real challenge but I am looking forward to expanding it all over the coming year. 

Also on the work front I have started the ball rolling in regard to the joint venture with my brother in law, I have set up the site www.trekkinginumbria.com and am now going to start marketing that on travel portal sites and try and drum up some UK business for him.  The Two Valleys trek is absolutely fantastic; if you love horses, good Italian food, amazing wine and breathtaking scenery then this holiday is a must.  It is all centred around La Casella (where we holiday every year) and it really is a wonderful place to go and experience Italy.

La Casella

Finally I took the plunge... Zach had his first proper hair cut yesterday and it was a wild success!  Well, wild is a little OTT but he sat like an angel whilst the lovely hairdresser at Trotters in Guildford snipped away at his long curly locks.  To say that I was terrified of getting it cut is an understatement, I was convinced that all his curls would go and I really don't want to lose them just yet.  But no, she gave him a good chop, taking a couple of inches off all over and layering it and it looks fab now, really smart and super curly still (feel a little ashamed of just how Ferrel it looked beforehand oops!!!) he looks adorable and was very happy with it all.  Things seemed to go downhill when we got home mind you, firstly he came trotting through to see me in the kitchen clutching his bucket, when I asked him what was inside he said he was making a beach for beside his train track.. OK, but what is in the bucket?  Only all the heads from my cut daffodils that were previously minding their own business brightening up the coffee table in my living room - ARGH!!  Not an hour later I heard much giggling in the snug, realising that Z was in there with Cal I called to the dog, to find that he had been smeared with Dairylea from Zach's dunker!  I found myself yelling 'You do NOT paint the dog with cheese, very naughty Zach!' I think I will add that to the pile of 'phrases I never thought I would say' but, once I had cleaned up the long suffering pub I had to have a little chuckle, he is a right cheeky one my little boy, and obviously the haircut didn't have the Sampson effect!

So, today is Shrove Tuesday and this evening I shall be whipping up pancakes after school.  I have a slight problem in the fact that I am out of plain flour so will have to go and pick some up in a bit, sadly strong white bread flour isn't going to do the trick.  My lot are purists so it will be lemon and sugar all the way here, nothing more fancy than that but I do enjoy making them, albeit only once a year.

I use Jamie Oliver's peasy recipe;

1 mug flour
1 mug milk
1 egg

Butter in the hot pan and only a small amount of batter, here's hoping I don't cock up the first few too badly!

Ahh it's Valentine's Day! I love a cheesy celebration, and even better an anonymous card but as the yeas pass I find us being less and less exciting - nowadays we stick to cards and a great meal with good wine, and that's ok with me, I even got a bit of a lie in this morning before heading off to a work meeting so bonus! Tonight I'm doing veal milanaise with saffron risotto and green beans, washed down with a Marlborough Sauvignon blanc, yum yum - oh and cheesecake for pud (albeit bought this time!)

Here is a pic of the cookie that my Son made me at nursery (well he made 3 but I was only allowed a nibble, the rest he ate and then gave the other two to his Daddy and Sister!) I feel he may have had some help ;)

And this is the delish wine, a Villa Maria, courtesy of Waitrose wine offers!

Hope you all have a great night, whatever you are up to..  xx

It is that time again, time for me to get to the gym!  I am officially rubbish at running outside in the winter, the cold hurts my lungs and I am quite frankly pathetic so it is time to get down the gym.  I need to get my fitness back up as I am feeling really sluggish, and I know that I will feel 100 times better if I get exercising.  I have to renew Zach's Key Card, so time for me to get my own.  Am feeling better already and I have only made the plan to go hahaha.

From one extreme to the other, I am doing roast gammon this Sunday as my parents are coming over for a long lunch, which should be lovely.  Off to hunt for some inspiration for accompaniments to the gammon, I feel like branching out in to new veggie territory.. I am also doing this baked cheesecake as it is a family favourite, so it is definitely a good thing that I am off down to the gym on Monday!

Speaking of branching out with food, this evening I am going to make chicken pies for the kids, thanks again BBC Good Food, actually they are going to help me do it which should further encourage them to be a bit more adventurous.  I seem to be cooking a lot of the same or similar dishes at the moment and I need my two to explore their palettes, easier said than done with children sometimes though.

Whilst we are on the subject of food, it was Saf's birthday yesterday and the four of us went to the Victoria in Oxshott for Thai.  We have been there with them a couple of times and it really is fantastic, a typical case of 'don't judge a book by its cover' as from the outside it looks like a rather dodgy pub (not a place I would ever dream of going in to if it wasn't for the recommendation, snob!) and indeed as you walk in the bar is full of old men and their dogs - but go through in to the small back room and there are a few tables set out restaurant style and they serve the best Thai food!  It really is fantastic and reasonably priced, not cheap but certainly good value for money and definitely worth a visit if you like great food.

I took this photo from a rubbish website I found after googling, it doesn't exude glamour does it?!?!  Trust me though, it is worth a visit.



High St, Oxshott, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 0JR

 

As well as happy wedding news I also have some superb news to report on Steve!  Last Monday the doctors allowed him to return home after 10 weeks in hospital.  He has just done so fantastically well and is so happy to be back home and well on the road to recovery.  His parents have been, and continue to be amazing, I really admire the way that they have remained composed and stoic through these difficult weeks, they have been wonderful.  We went down to see him at home for the first time yesterday and despite some fresh pain, he was looking much better, much calmer and generally more colourful for being back in his own home.  His parents remain complete superstars, their house is constantly invaded with visitors, Us, Jay and Jude and some other family friends took over their living room and that was only a short visit (and  the house is also sporting a Welcome Home Steve, Tottenham banner!!!) but they were so lovely with us all.  Steve is having physio twice a week at the hospital and continues to do his exercises at home, he continues to get stronger with every day and we are all here cheering him one every step. 

The Honeymooners are back and below are some photos, taken by the incredibly talented Suzy Mitchell, from their fabulous Wedding at Bolton Abbey and the Devonshire Arms on 21st Jan 2012

The Bride and I getting ready



My shakey hands doing up the Bride's beautiful dress



Getting Teya ready



Bolton Abbey



Arriving at Church





The Bride and Groom



The full Wedding Party



The Hens, and the Groom

My husband's favourite breakfast is Eggs Benedict, so on Saturday morning after letting him lie in (generous uber wife that morning obviously!) I cooked us up a delish EB. The kids stuck to bacon sandwiches mind you, couldn't even get them to try it!  I used ham on my own as the rest of my munchers ate all of the bacon, but it was still really tasty.

I use this amazing poacher for my eggs and as long as you lightly butter the egg holders (not sure of correct name!) and allow them to cook for 3 minutes max, they are perfect every time.  I have had it for years, bought it in a small cookery shop in Godalming in around 2000.

On Sunday I did us all Cottage Pie for lunch(recipe in this post), rather than a roast, as we then went off to Cat and Pete's for Jo and Paul's surprise birthday party all afternoon.

Whilst I am on family food, I am probably the last to catch on to this but this Waitrose frozen veg is perfect for kids' suppers, each small bag contains just the right amount of broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn for 2 children, it takes 2 mins in the microwave in its own bag and there are 6 bags in the pack, result!

Ok it's over a month since Christmas and I still haven't posted my beauty pressies! So, here is the round up of what I received from my lovely family;

From left to right, Lola by Marc Jacobs, solid perfume (my summer scent) from my Mother in Law
Fan Di Fendi eau de Parfum, 75ml - my new lust, it is divine - again from my darling Mother in Law
YSL Faux Cils Mascara in black from my little ones
Pure Argan facial Oil from my sister, this stuff is lovely, really nourishing for stressed, dry winter skin, apply at night.  My sister bought me this, it really is fab. I also got a MAC eyeshadow pallete from my Mum, which is currently in my handbag!

True love and happiness, what is that exactly? How often do you feel it? Do you know what it is? Is it easy to lose sight of? There are so many questions around the 'meaning' of love and happiness and I use my inverted commas to highlight the point.. What is love? Happiness?

This past weekend I spent with my husband and big girl in the dales celebrating my dear friends Kate and Tom's wedding. It was a magical weekend full of love, nostalgia and laughter and I felt happy, relaxed and totally ecstatic for the bride and groom - their love and adoration was palpable and I was extremely proud to be a major part of their day. Not only them but their parents, friends and all who came together to celebrate their marriage - everyone was calm and joyful and embraced all aspects of the time together. I think it's sometimes easy to forget the friends and families involvement at a wedding but I was acutely reminded when the vicar asked the congregation to support the couple in their marriage (to which we all answered with a resounding 'we will') that it is easy to overlook those around us when we are in a marriage, but that there are times when we need and will rely on the support of our loved ones to get us through, especially at times when our wedding vows are challenged. 

Love, to me, is in the detail, and I don't just mean the love between a man and wife, I mean in every thing, love for friends and family too.  Things like cooking a meal for a table full, handing over the last cookie, talks in the middle of the night about anything and nothing, making yourself extra chips when she says she doesn't want any, because you know she will!  The filling up of her car, or de icing it on a frosty morning, surprising him with his favourite cooked breakfast after he has returned from walking the the dog in the cold whilst everyone else cuddles up on the sofa, opening a bottle of wine or running a bath for them to come home to because you know they have had a rough day, the impromptu kiss in the middle of the high street just because your smile makes his heart soar, the fact that you engage each others families, regardless of differences.  And with friends; the handwritten card that falls on to the doormat with a personal message inside, making plans together for the future, the text message that says they are thinking of you or had remembered a little discussed anniversary or occasion, the time taken to spend time or visit each other, or even picking up the phone despite busy schedules, the unfaltering support in times of immense hardship, the fact that you still love them as much as ever despite the geographical distance, that you would move heaven and earth to help them and that you can forgive, even though your heart is breaking.  Love brings happiness, so take time to be thoughtful and loving to those around you - sometimes hard, but always worth it.