General | TheBoyandMe

Meal Planning Monday #3

March 26, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 11 Comments

My third week of meal planning and it's going well! I'm finding that I'm actually considering the food that we already have in the freezer more, debating the easy days, making more of an effort with my cooking and am less consumed by the whole concept of food. And I've stuck to it so far!

Sunday: slow-cooked pork (which I'd picked up the night before in Tesco in the reduced section!) in a honey and mustard sauce, with mushroom, carrots and leek. This was only for Mr. TBaM as The Boy doesn't like proper meat at the moment, and I'm veggie. It took three hours to cook on high and he informs me that it was cooked to perfection. I added some cornflour to the juices left over to make gravy. I had a red onion, leek and cheese plait (Linda McCartney in Asda) and The Boy had codcake and peas.
Monday: Pea and mint risotto cake (Asda have expanded their veggie range lately) and what I call 'Bulgarian salad' (feta cheese, tomato and cucumber chopped. It was the regional dish when I stayed in Bulgaria on an educational programme a few years ago. In 4 days I ate 9 portions because there was nothing else for a veggie in rural Bulgaria to eat!)
Tuesday: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. I'll be doing the mince and vegetables for this in the slow cooker. I'm told that veggie mince needs a lot of liquid in a slow cooker, which makes sense. I haven't cooked veggie in there before but I'm guessing that as the mince is reconstituted mushrooms and par-cooked anyway it won't need more than a few hours to cook. It'll mainly be the vegetables that will need the cooking. It might be counter-productive but I'll be doing the potatoes as normal.
Wednesday: slow-cooked vegetable soup. It's a work day so I'll prep all the veg the night before and then ask mum or hubby (home on garden leave) to turn the slow-cooker on mid-morning. Hopefully it should be cooked nicely by the time I get in. I might try some red lentils in it, any tips welcome.
Thursday: A work day so an easy meal needed: meatballs and spaghetti! Unsure whether trying this in the slow-cooker would be pointless? Maybe I'm getting over-excited.
Friday: Butternut squash and spinach lasagne. Not sure if I've got any portions left in the freezer, if not I'll make a new one.
Saturday: Chinese! This will be my last Nearly New Sale as the co-ordinator because I don't have the time or the inclination for it anymore. The Boy is coming up to nursery age and if I don't have another child then my time in the toddler group will be coming to an end. Aside from that I've now co-ordinated four sales and they are all encompassing and tiring. There's new blood in the group, they can do it! I'll be out from 10am to 6.30pm and will be shattered, so a take-away is in order. The Chinese we used to use had a 0 rating on food hygiene, and I can't find another one who makes dee-fried tofu like I like it, so last weekend I made up a batch for the freezer. Mr. TBaM can go and get the remaining egg fried rice, chips, crispy seaweed and spring rolls, yummy!

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday over at At Home With Mrs. M.

My BritMums Live Sponsor!

March 25, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 15 Comments

A little while ago, I mentioned that I was lucky enough to be able to go to BritMums Live this year. Last year I made the decision that I wouldn't attend Cybermummy as I felt it would be too like an INSET day. However, that was a month or two into my blogging life, and by the time June came around, I was insanely jealous of anyone who went and hung off every tweet with the relevant hashtag. I made the decision there and then that come hell or high water I'd be going this year.

And I am.

And so is Mr. TheBoyandMe and The Boy.

Quite frankly the idea of two days and two nights away from them is too much to bear, and so I decided that I'd be taking them with me. On the Saturday, the boys can go and play at the Science Museum while I ~~chat, socialise and get drunk~~ network and develop my blogging ability with the creme de la creme of the blogging world. I can't wait to meet all of my twitter and blogging friends, some for the first time, some I'm friends with in the 'real world'.

I was discussing attending the conference with one of the lovely people that I have regularly reviewed for, who I consider a good friend. She asked me details about it and I explained the ethos behind it. It was at this point that she offered to sponsor me to attend! I very happily accepted sponsorship for the ticket, and would therefore like to present my BritMums Live sponsor:

I am so proud to be representing the best online toy shop that there is! Toyjeanius sells amazing wooden baby and toddler toys, traditional games and fabric role-play accessories that are second to none, items that you wouldn't find in the average high-street toy store. The Boy has always loved the toys that Jean has sent for him to review, be it threading cards from Djeco or the Pally Pirate Noah ship from I'm Toy. Jean is a friendly, caring and hardworking mum who is so interested and fascinated with quality children's toys that she set her own online shop up. I always have an image of her playing with the Haba foods in her kitchen!

So thanks to ToyJeanius, you'll be seeing me at BritMums Live! I may be sporting an owl costume to go with the usual green face and yellow antennae, but I'll be there!

Readers of this blog can gain a 10% discount at ToyJeanius through using the code 'TheBoyandMe' at the checkout!

(It's at this point that I'd like to highlight that I agreed to only accept sponsorship for the ticket; I didn't want to take advantage of Jean's generosity and friendship by having her pay for the hotel and transport fees for my entire family. That's why you've seen so many sponsored posts on here recently, writing those has paid for the other costs.)

Why He Loves Me

March 24, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 26 Comments

As I was putting The Boy to bed tonight we read one of our favourite books: "I Love My Mum", it's a gorgeous book and one that I've mentioned before when I showed him 'reading' it.

In the book the baby animals explain (in prose) why they love their mummies; she keeps me warm, she keeps me safe, she lets me play in the mud, etc. At the end of the book, we had a cuddle and a kiss, and then I took a risk. I asked him why he loves me.

"Because you help me make things".

That makes me incredibly happy.

And The Cow Went Moo!

March 23, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 15 Comments

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, and on these National Hallmark Days we try to get out and about and do something together as a family. When it's warm then it's a little easier to choose what to do, when it's for Mr. TheBoyandMe it's easier. However, an activity we can do with a focus for mummy always causes Mr. TBaM issues. He suggested a few and I vetoed them, until he suggested a local, community farm which is free. We hadn't been there since last Summer, and even then have been only twice before, so we jumped in the car and shot down there for an hour or two.

It was incredibly quite there, and so we had a great deal of peace and quiet to wander around, admire the animals and the start of Spring bursting forth.

We saw new life bursting forth amongst the debris of Winter

We tested the depths of puddles:

Interacted with the environment:

And we talked to the animals!

He absolutely loved it there and it'll be great to visit this farm throughout the year with The Boy and see the developments in each season.

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Mint Chocolate Birthday Cake

March 20, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 18 Comments

Today was Mr. TheBoyandMe's birthday. 37. He's getting old now but refuses to admit that he is now in his late 30s.

I digress.

We decided to make him a birthday cake, and as The Boy has an obsession with chocolate cake (thanks Peppa Pig) and that Mr. TBaM's favourite flavour is mint chocolate, I decided to have a go at making a mint chocolate cake.

I used the basic Mrs. Beeton's Victoria Sandwich recipe of 5oz butter/self-raising flour/caster sugar and 3 eggs, and added two sachets of mint flavoured drinking chocolate to the mix. I also added a teaspoon of baking powder as my sponge cakes don't tend to rise very much. (It still didn't, but I'm now beginning to wonder if that's more about my oven than anything else.

We made the cake yesterday and then wrapped it in tin foil once cooled.

Then this morning while hubby was sleeping soundly (because I am a good wife and Mr. TBaM never seems to get lie-ins anymore, so I let him), The Boy and I did the filling and topping. We made a form of buttercream using unsalted butter, icing sugar and chocolate philadelphia (which is yummy). However, in hindsight I needed to add more icing sugar because it was a little too fluid.

Once that was spread on and the cake had been put in the fridge for it to set a little, I melted down chocolate to put on the top. We smoothed this around roughly and then sprinkled over a variety of toppings, including; crushed mint Aero, chocolate flake and white chocolate stars.

The finished cake was incredibly yummy, although very difficult to cut due to rock solid chocolate on the top and slippy buttercream filling! But Mr. TheBoyandMe was happy!

Meal Planning Monday #2

March 19, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

Last week was my first week taking part in Meal Planning Monday and it was a complete success. I managed to stick to the plan all week, and it worked brilliantly. I'd taken into account my complete lack of energy on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, therefore planning food which Mr. TheBoyandMe could reheat/cook from scratch with ease. Everything else was easily managed and I didn't have that flagging feeling come 5pm when I needed to start cooking.

This week is going to be a little less regular as we have a few interruptions with Mother's Day, Mr. TBaM's birthday, and his parents coming down to take us out for lunch on Saturday. That meal will probably be Pizza Express because The Boy eats the entire meal with ease, and therefore I'll do a lightweight salad buffet for tea that night. Therefore we're having a Chinese take-away meal for a treat on Friday!

Sunday: Slow-cooked gammon in cider for the omnivores, cheese souffle (from Asda) for the veggies, sauté potatoes, leeks in cheese sauce.
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs (I have difficulty getting The Boy to eat meat other than chicken, I recently tried him on Ikea meatballs and he loved them!)
Tuesday: Mr. TBaM's birthday tea
Wednesday: chicken and cheese escalope for Mr. TBaM and The Boy, Linda McCartney Cheese and Onion Plait for me, carrots and chips! (Freezer food for the work night)
Thursday: Pasta and salad
Friday: Chinese take-away
Saturday: Salad buffet

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday over at At Home With Mrs. M.

The Best Card I've Ever Had!

March 18, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 31 Comments

Earlier in the week I texted Mr. TheBoyandMe and asked if The Boy was buying or making me a card. The reply was most indignant as he was buying the equipment to make it at the time. Yesterday morning, The Boy and daddy sat down to make the card and this morning I was presented with this little beauty. Mr. TBaM stuck the pipe cleaners on only, the rest is all from The Boy.

And inside, he'd written his name perfectly spelt.

But you'll have to take my word for that…

#11:52

March 18, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

I chose these flowers for my mummy

Practical Maternity Clothes (Guest Post)

March 16, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 2 Comments

As a woman who has experienced pregnancy, I know only too well the changes that it brings to your body. Clearly the biggest change is to the stomach area and I remember looking forward to buying maternity trousers with the large elasticated and expandable section to fit over the bump. The first pair that I bought were so uncomfortable with a seam that pressed across where The Boy was lying. It took a while to find the right pair and these were from Vertbaudet. Once I found them, I bought another pair and they were my staple items throughout.

In this guest-post from Vertbaudet, they explain the importance of finding the right clothes to keep you comfortable, cool and fashionable during one of the most important phases of a pregnant woman's life.

Practical Maternity Clothes

During pregnancy, our bodies change shape and size in many ways. Of course we grow out, where our growing bump emerges gradually, but we also expand in other areas. Designers of maternity clothes know that women's bodies are different during pregnancy, and they adapt and shape them accordingly.

There is a huge amount of choice when it comes to maternity clothes, whether you seek smart professional wear for the office, fashionable and sophisticated dresses for special occasions or casual loose fitting garments for when you just want to collapse in a heap, they are all out there.

With so many options available to us, how do we tell one from the other? Well, if you are looking for maternity clothes that combine style, comfort and value, Vertbaudet is worth visiting.

Vertbaudet offers online and catalogue shopping so you can browse from the comfort of your own home, something expectant mothers will appreciate.

An extensive maternity underwear department kits you out with all you need for pregnancy and beyond. Great value multi-packs of maternity knickers are available in pretty shorty and brief styles and ultra-convenient disposable knickers come in six packs. Breastfeeding bras, T-shirts and vests are available in a range of practical and attractive designs for the ultimate in convenient feeding. Leggings and tights designed specifically for the pregnant form team well with softly tailored tunics and T shirts for a casual and relaxed look.

Getting a good nights' sleep during and after pregnancy can become a bit of a nightmare, so it is best to do all you can to make yourself comfortable. Vertbaudet maternity nightwear features a range of 'before and after' pyjamas and nightdresses designed to offer comfort and fit in all the right places.

So, that's the practical side of things covered, how about maternity clothes that flatter and make us feel fabulous? Take a look at the fluid and softly tailored trouser, top and hooded cardigan sets at Vertbaudet, with elegance and comfort combined, and at a great price too. Thoughtful details such as adjustable straps on the vest tops and yoga trousers with wide knit waistbands make these sets in ultra-soft stretch Jersey and elastane hard to resist.

For summer fun, Vertbaudet has clever convertible dresses in colourful prints. These flexible dresses in pure cotton voile have a wide smocked band which can be worn at the chest or tummy, making it a dress or skirt. Two outfits in one!

For when the weather cools down, you will need a coat or jacket to keep you and your bump warm. Softly tailored blouson style maternity jackets with drawstring waists and back slits to accommodate a growing tummy offer a casual solution to outdoor wear. Alternatively, for a more tailored and classic look, try the flared wool cloth maternity coat with double-breasted detailing and inverted pleats. For something a little different, why not try a poncho? The unstructured design of the poncho lends itself beautifully to the pregnant form, and Vertbaudet offer a fine example in soft camel coloured wool/acrylic. Perfect for those Autumnal days.

This is a guest-post.