General | TheBoyandMe

This is 'The Day That'…

August 7, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 13 Comments

… my dad held my son for the first time.

—

Do you have a special day? One that you want to remember with a unique, personalised gift? Enter my 'The Day That…' competition to win a £250 'The Day That…' framed print and you could do just that. More details here.

Chose your favourite picture of your own special day;
Post it on your blog. You can write about it too, but how much you write is up to you – there may be a story behind the photo that you want to share, or it may be that the photo says it all;
Somewhere in the post add the following statement (including the link):
- This post is my entry into the The Day That… blogger photo competition
Add your post to the competition linky below before 15th August 2012 at 9pm.

A panel of judges will carefully go through every link, looking for a picture that they think best captures the essence of your special day – a picture really does paint a thousand words after all. They don’t have to be technically perfect; we’re looking for emotion and inspiration.

Oh and could you please link this post in somewhere too? Just so other people know where to come to enter!

And that’s it. Pretty straightforward isn’t it? Create your The Day That… blog post and add it to the linky now for your chance to win.

Country Kids: Ahoy There M'Hearties!

August 6, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 16 Comments

In a break in the weather this weekend we decided that The Boy needed some more practise scooting and pedalling, and so we packed up various paraphernalia and headed down to Cardiff Bay Barrage. It's an ideal place for The Boy to practise his bike-riding because it's completely flat and there is no traffic on the road.

It's normally packed down there, especially on a Sunday, but there was only a handful of people around! It meant that The Boy had plenty of space tonot perfect his steering, but to focus on not falling off his scooter as he noticed the mud dredgers in the Bristol Channel. We then ended up like typical parents, having to carry his scooter while he rode the rest of the way to the sand park three quarters of the way across.

It's a fantastic park, completely enclosed with only one way in and out, but the best bit is the theme: it continues the maritime theme by having a 'shipwrecked' pirate ship 'sunk' into the sand. As there wasn't another child in sight, The Boy had free run of the park and we spent a good half an hour or so there, pretending to be pirate captains.

We haven't been there in about two months, and it was fantastic to see the difference in The Boy's physical development. This time he was perfectly confident and happy to climb the nets or the climbing wall whereas before he's been too worried about falling and hurting himself. He's had a growtth spurt at the moment so I think it helped that he could reach the next step each time.

cardiff bay barrage pirate park

I'm hoping that this boost in confidence will help him keep up with Burton from Mummy Mishaps when we meet up on Thursday!

—

I'm A Butlins Ambassador!

August 4, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 24 Comments

When we went to Butlins for the Tots100 Christmas Party back in December of last year, I was pleasantly surprised at how it broke all my misconceptions of the famous holiday camp. Imagine Hi-de-Hi, big groups of lads or lasses on the razz, and redcoats with bobby socks. Well that's nothing like Butlins of 2012 (or 2011 as it was at the time) at all! The Bognor Regis resort had two hotels along with the normal self-catering accommodation and I didn't see a group of drunken adults there (apart from the Tots100 bloggers that is!).

As a result of our fabulous trip, I've had it in my mind quite a lot when thinking about British holidays, I enjoyed the entire trip and as it was cut short I felt short-changed in my experience. I wanted to go back! Which is why I filled in the application form at the Britmums Live! blogging conference in June to see if I could be selected as an ambassador for the brand.

Yesterday they announced the selected bloggers, and instead of the intended 20 they chose 40! And yes, I was one of them!

Hurrah!

So for the next year you will see a lovely bright red Butlins heart in my sidebar pointing you in the direction of the Butlins website. If you're considering a British holiday I cannot recommend them highly enough; the hotels are excellent and there is a range from family to boutique, there are activities for everyone (bowling, cinema, mini-golf, funfair, soft-play, swimming, adventure) including action activities or spa treatments, there is a range of resturants (pizza, pub, classic British restaurant) and they are always in the best of the British locations.

I'll be visiting them at Easter time next year and we can't wait to share all the fabulous family fun we'll have. Until then, thank you Billy Butlin!

How To Enjoy Summer On a Frugal Budget (Guest-Post)

August 3, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 1 Comment

In this guest-post there are a number of ideas for keeping both parents and children happy over the Summer, using a small budget.

Cheap and cheerful Summer activities

This post gives a couple of suggestions for great garden based things to do this summer. The first is tailored around the kids, and the second around the parents! The ‘outdoors’ section of the Original Factory Shop’s website has all the items mentioned here for great prices.

Kids garden party

Kids love nothing more than a water fight in the summer, and a paddling pool makes a great base for such festivities. Such pools are cheaper than ever to pick up, and they can be deflated and stored through the autumn winter making them a good investment for future summers.

Sourced from The Original Factory Shop’s website

For the best water fights, follow these tips:

ensure the kids are in clothes that you don’t mind getting wet!
have water bombs available as well as water pistols (variety is the spice of life!)
station a parent on the sidelines with a hose pipe so they can even up the odds if necessary

Cocktail night

This one’s better for the adults, but the cocktails mentioned below are alcohol free, so the kids may enjoy it too! Having a few friends over for conversation and cocktails around a fire is a great way to spend an evening, and with long-lasting fire pits available for £25, it’s not too expensive to get set up.

As the cocktails are alcohol free, you can perhaps ask guests for a small contribution to the fire pit, coals, and firelighters instead of the usual B.Y.O.B. expenditure. This reduces the cost of the evening to just a few pounds each!

Here are a couple of good virgin cocktail recipes:

Daiquiri (ingredients per drink):
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- 30g frozen strawberries
- 1 tsp. sugar
- Blend

Pina Colada (ingredients per drink):
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup ice
- 2 tsp. sugar
- Blend

Of course you can liven up the virgin daiquiris and pina coladas with some white rum if you prefer!

Silverstone Classic & Roary The Racing Car

August 3, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 4 Comments

A few weeks ago we were invited to spend the day at the Silverstone Classic, a car rally for classic cars. Growing up as the daughter of a car mechanic who adores the classic cars of the '60s I knew this was going to be a tricky thing to tell my dad about without him crying with envy, and so I was fortunate that I was able to use the 'excuse' of going to see Roary the Racing Car.

The day dawned bright and sunny, the heat setting in already. Remember those days? It was only a week or so ago, I promise!

Parking at Silverstone was as easy as getting there, very! There are dedicated carparks surrounding the circuit and the roads around are carefully designed to keep the flow moving. We parked, visited the (clean) facilities and made our way into the grounds to be greeted with the roar of the engines from the '60s GT cars pounding the circuit. That roar is astounding, penetrating into your chest and amping up adrenaline. Now I understand why so many people love watching racing. The sight of the classic cars from fifty years ago zooming under the bridge was quite amazing and we spent about fifteen minutes trying to choose which one we thought was going to win.

The Silverstone Classic is a well thought out day, with plenty for all the family to do: different eras of cars and clubs, a vintage funfair, the AA World (which we completely missed and I kicked myself for!) and the food courts. The range of food was reasonable for non-vegetarians, but I was left with the choice of margharita pizza or cheese and tomato pizza, if you understand my meaning. At £8.50 for a ten inch pizza cooked several hours before, prices are vastly inflated and not justified. If I was intending to eat there again, I'd take a picnic.

The vintage funfair was excellent and perfectly pitched at the under 7 year olds who aren't interested in the cars; a helter-skelter, small and large carousel, a small rollercoaster and dodgems kept us entertained for about an hour and a half. And it was all free!

The main reason that we were attending the Silverstone Classic was to enjoy the Roary the Racing Car stageshow that was held on the main stage, alternated with various other stage acts and rock bands. It was a good show, lasting 25 minutes and featured Big Chris and Roary. Roary was very realistic, but it would have been better had he been capable of moving around the stage a little, but Big Chris and his narrating assistant did a good job of entertaining the children and telling the story.

We really enjoyed our day at Silverstone, the Classic is good fun for all those who have an interest in cars and racing, and the Roary Stageshow is just the thing for young racing enthusiasts.

We received free tickets to the Silverstone Classic in exchange for this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Guest-Post: Contact Lenses For Your Children

August 1, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

This guest-post addresses an issue that I've recently been considering as The Boy gets older. The entirety of Mr. TBaM's family wear glasses, both my parents do, and his eyesight is something that I will constantly monitor. It's difficult to know when to take your child for their first eye-test, if they can't recognise letters then it makes it a bit tricky doesn't it? However, there are ways and means of getting around this problem in order to make sure his eye development is progressing properly.

Always in the back of my mind, is the little lad I taught eleven years ago who misbehaved in class, had atrocious handwriting and had a reading age of 6 when he was 10. I suggested his mum take him to the optician, and he came back with glasses so strong I couldn't see through them. By the end of the year, his reading age had crept back up to normal and he enjoyed class.

Some years ago, eye care was considered only an option for those with obvious poor vision. There used to be fewer selections when it came to contact lenses, and not everybody wants to rely on glasses. However, thanks to a great deal of advancement in everything from eye tests to contact lenses, eye care is now something that a huge percentage of families deal with at some point or another. This is one reason that parents need to be particularly aware of a number of different aspects of eye care with regard to their children. Getting your child off to a good start with corrective vision is very important, but it requires that as a parent you recognize the need for improved eyesight, and address it properly. Here are a few specific things to keep in mind.

Eye tests can’t be assumed or taken for granted. Though many schools provide eye tests for young children, you need to take specific steps as a parent to make sure that your young children have their eyes tested. Many kids go for years and years without even realizing that they aren’t seeing as well as they could be, and while poor vision is not as big a problem for a young child as for an older kid or adult, it still does not need to be tolerated. Make sure that your children have eye tests at appropriate ages, and save them the hassle of dealing with poor vision.
If you determine that your child does indeed need corrective vision, and he or she asks about contacts, don’t simply assume that contacts aren’t yet an option. There’s a popular opinion that contacts are not a good idea for young children, but in actuality major contact companies like Acuvue have options that may be suitable for your child. This is not to say that all contact lenses are suitable for all children, but there are options that could be better for your child.
Finally, remember that vision changes over time, and often quite rapidly in young children. Getting your child set up with contact lenses or glasses isn’t enough – you also need to make sure that your child has regular appointments, so that you can be sure the prescription stays up-to-date. Often, corrected vision is so superior to natural vision that a child won’t even notice when he or she needs a change in prescription. This is where regular appointments can come in handy.

Grant Pearson is a husband, father, and a former teacher. Grant now enjoys writing and contributing to blogs and magazines nationwide. His honesty and quick wit make him easy to relate to and intriguing.

Slow-Cooker Sunday: Rainbow Vegetables & Goat's Cheese Wrap

July 29, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 8 Comments

While the marvellous Mediocre Mum is off in the pursuit of lasting sunshine on the other side of the pond, Aly from Plus2Point4 and I will be taking care of her popular linky so she can enjoy the Canadian weather while we dodge the rain showers.

Recently Mediocre Mum put out an appeal for Summer recipes, and it's with that in mind that I'm using this recipe which was inspired by something that The Crazy Kitchen posted.

Rainbow Vegetables & Goat's Cheese Wrap

slow cooker vegetables

Ingredients:

peppers, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, courgettes
mango chutney
stock cube
soft tortilla wraps
hard goat's cheese
caramelised onion chutney (optional)

I sweated down chopped mushrooms and stipped leeks in a knob of butter in the slow-cooker first, before adding pepper, courgette and carrot strips. To this I put two tablespoons of water, a stock cube and my old faithful of two tablespoons of mango chutney. Stir and cook on high for two-three hours.
Drain off the liquid and put a good spoonful onto the middle of each wrap in a rectangular shape.
Place a layer of goat's cheese on top, then a smearing of caramelised onion chutney on the top again.
Fold up the wrap, use cocktail sticks to hold it in place and place in the over for ten minutes to crisp it up, maintain its shape and allow the cheese to melt in.
Serve with ranch salad and onion rings.

Please join in below with your slow-cooker recipes: either savoury and sweet.

Lemon & Lime Chocolate Cheesecake

July 26, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 13 Comments

When I went to Yeo Valley for a day learning about their organic gardens, I was lucky enough to be treated to a cookery session with their head chef Jaime. One of the dishes that he showed us how to make was a cheesecake using Yeo Valley yoghurt with a very clever technique. I decided to use one of the pots of yoghurts that they sent me home with and to try and make my own version. The ingredients are simple: a pot of Yeo Valley lemon and lime yoghurt, half a tub of chocolate Philadelphia, eight amaretti biscuits, a knob of unsalted butter. You will need to do step three in advance!

Lemon & Lime Chocolate Cheesecake (serves 2)

lemon and lime chocolate cheesecake

Melt a large knob of unsalted butter (I used Yeo Valley as it is so creamy) on a low heat and stir in eight amaretti biscuits. You can use normal digestives, but I like the nutty taste of the amaretti biscuits. Spoon half into each serving dish and press down.

lemon and lime chocolate cheesecake

Melt half a tub of Philadelphia chocolate cheese on a low heat. Pour it over the top of the biscuit base. Place it in the fridge to set for ten minutes or so.

This is the bit that you need to do in advance of everything else, the night before it's needed is best. Line a sieve with a plain, clean cotton teatowel, place over a bowl and pour in the yoghurt. Over the course of the night and day, the whey from the yoghurt will slowly drip out leaving a lump of thick, solidish yoghurt inside the teatowel. You'll actually be able to pick it up it will be so solid!

Whisk this with 150-200ml of double cream to form a smoother, looser mixture. Spoon it over the chocolate and place it in the fridge to set for ten minutes.

Et voila!

Yeo Valley have a huge range of yoghurts from the traditional Vanilla and Strawberry styles, to the more exotic Lemon Curd, and Lemon and Lime. Producing approximately 10 million pots of yoghurt every week, you can see why they are so popular!

Digging For An (Organic) Victory

July 23, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to somewhere that I'd wanted to go for quite some time: the organic gardens at Yeo Valley headquarters in Somerset. The purpose of the visit was to see how they have really taken on board the technology behind organic farming, as with their dairy products, and to see the techniques they employ.

Yeo Valley is not like so many of those large companies, churning out products (pardon the pun) with little regard for anything other than commericial criteria. They started in the 1970s as a family run business between a husband and wife, the company continues to be run by Mary and now her son Tim, while the gardens are the brainchild of Tim's wife Sarah. When they moved back to the farm twenty years ago, Sarah set about changing the traditional farmhouse garden into something more personal and contemporary, expanding the area to six and a half acres, and opening up the view to Blagdon Lake just beyond the farm.

In 2009 the farm became completely organic, and the gardens followed suit the next year as one of only a handful of organically certified ornamental gardens in the country. Everything in the garden, which is then used in the tearooms, is grown organically and is home-made. The team working on the gardens and in the kitchens, are incredibly dedicated to creating a home-grown environment and delicious foodstuffs, from the organic compost made on site (making them virtually waste-free) to the cheesecakes made by the head chef Jaime.

When I arrived, I was treated to a tour of the gardens by one of the gardeners. The garden is split into 'rooms' and allows for different design aspects to be explored.

The Bronze Garden was one of my two favourite sections, with all flowers and plants fitting the colour scheme of 'bronze'. The pool you see here is treated to an organic black dye every year, this makes it reflective and allows for the statue and surrounding area to be reflected beautifully, but it also means that the sun's rays do not penetrate the surface and therefore no algae grows. Clever hey?

The vegetable garden was my other favourite section; the mixed beds are bursting forth with carrots, leeks, brocolli, sweetcorn, with Love in the Mist and marigolds scattered in between them. It was a riot of colour, life and promise. There are beautiful metalwork sculptures throughout carrying the vegetable theme on.

The flowers throughout the garden are simply stunning: a riot of typical British countryside flowers in either the natural meadow setting (complete with Yeo Valley's own beehives making sixty jars of honey a year) or the woodland walk with foxgloves and ferns galore.

Following the tour of the organic gardens, we were fortunate enough to have the head chef at Yeo Valley show us how to cook three dishes using the delicious range of Yeo Valley yoghurts. Jaime demonstrated how easy it was to make sourdough bread (the non-messy way), to smoke trout (as a vegetarian I didn't pay much attention to this one, although it could probably do vegetable kebabs and halloumi nicely) and how to use a pot of yoghurt to make a cheesecake.

Don't they look delicious? Fortunately we got to taste test them, as they made up part of our lunch. The chefs at Yeo Valley had created a stunning array of simple side dishes to accompany the smoked trout, or roasted vegetable tart.

Clockwise from top left: home-grown tomato salad, pasta with feta cheese, mustard and olives, beetroot salad, and roasted vegetable tart.

The afternoon concluded with a talk about making organic compost and feeds for plants. I'm quite a keen composter but didn't realise the difference between aerobic and anaerobic composting; most of us compost anaerobically (not turning the mixture) and this can take up to eighteen months. Yeo Valley are keen to use all their garden waste; compost, leaf mulch, nettle and comfrey teas etc. Very impressive, and food for thought in my own garden.

It was an amazing day and I've been trying out a few of the recipes that Jaime showed us, more of these to follow in the next week.

If you'd like to find out more about the organic gardens at Yeo Valley then click here for more information. If you'd like to visit them, then they run open days on Thursday until September, click on the visitor information tab.

I received a day out at Yeo Valley and a bag of gorgeous dairy goodies to experiment with my cooking.