Allotment update!

Beautiful warm day today which was spent at the allotment. Almost felt like it was a summers day! We built four large and two small raised beds, which will hopefully contain some growing vegetables in a week or two. Ben and Esme love it at the allotment, think we might be spending a lot of time down there this year! Premiere BBQ today as well, albeit hotdogs on a disposable one at the allotment!


Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and Swedish Christmas Dinner

As Swedish Christmas is on Christmas Eve we have gone out for a meal in the evening the last couple of years. So this is what we did again this year. Esme wanted to wear her party outfit!



Christmas Carols were sung outside the pub...Shame we didn't have lots of snow like last year!



After putting an excited Esme to bed we finished wrapping the presents ready for the morning..



This is Esme having just come downstairs to see that Jultomten has delivered all the presents!



Discovering that Jultomten and his reindeers have eaten the biscuits and chocolate we left and drunk the milk and water. He left a lovely note saying thank you, what a polite Jultomten!



I decided that this year I would make Swedish Christmas dinner rather than the usual turkey. After a trip to Tesco at 4.30am on Christmas eve morning I had all I needed!

















                 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!


Julkalender!

Now what could this possibly make?!



Tah Dah!





Merry Christmas!
      God Jul!


Breakfast rolls!

Woke up early this morning (why is that always the case at the weekend but during the week you can't drag yourself out of bed!) and was bored so I thought I'd make some bread rolls. Have never made bread before so wasn't sure how it would turn out. But they were eaten so I guess that means they got the thumbs up from the rest of the family!







Can't claim that I thought of the recipe myself, it came from the swedish website www.kokaihop.se so I thought I would translate it here:

makes about 30-40 rolls

1 litre milk
100g fresh yeast (ask for at any supermarket bakery)
2 tbsp honey or sugar
0.5 dl vegetable oil/olive oil
4 tsp salt
2.5 litre flour (can all be plain flour or could mix with different types of flour)

1. Mix the yeast with some of the milk in a large bowl. Add sugar/honey and the oil.
2. Add the flour and the rest of the milk and work the dough for about ten/fifteen minutes (add more flour if needed)
3. Add the salt and work the dough for another five minutes
4. Leave it to rise for about 40 mins, under a tea towel
5. Put the dough on a table and tear of chunks to make into rolls, about the size of a small orange
6. turn the oven on (220c). You can add a bowl of water to the bottom of the oven, this will make the rolls crispier
7. Leave the rolls to rise under a tea towel again until the oven is heated up
8. Cut a cross on the top of the roll, then brush with beaten egg
9. Cook in the oven for about 10 mins/until they look like they are ready (although mine needed about 20 mins)

Leave to cool for a few minutes before eating!

Happy Halloween!















 


superglue does work on pumpkins/pimp my pumpkin!

Been carving pumpkins this afternoon with the kids..



Obviously me and Esme had to add something to ours!

Doesn't she look pretty!?!

 


Esme's first horseriding lesson

Esme has been saying for ages that she wants to go horseriding, so the nice Mamma that I am I booked her in for the day after her 4th birthday as this is the earliest they could take her.

I thought we'd get there and she would refuse to get on the horse, much like the fiasco of the ballet lessons she wanted to do last year! But no such luck (my poor wallet!). She got a horse called Melody, a small ish horse but must have looked huge in her eyes.

To my surprise she sat happily on it, holding the reins nicely while we waited for everyone to get ready. We then had to sit in the viewing gallery on the side whilst she had the lesson. Every time she went past she gave us a big smile and looked so proud of herself. She even managed to do some trotting and whilst I was worried she might fall off that didn't seem to bother her at all!

I'm not really that emotional usually but I have to admit that I cried when I saw how well she was doing and what a big girl she has become!










Birthday Photos



Patiently waiting for birthday guests to arrive!



The birthday was a "craft" birthday party and they all got to make a mask to then take home.



Wasn't entirely sure how using glue would work out, could have been a disaster with the kids glueing themselves to the chairs, floor, each other but thankfully it worked out just fine!



Birthday girl!



Esme's friend Amber



Esme's friend and future husband Oliver



Even all the boys enjoyed themselves and made some fantastic masks.





Hanna and Mia, Esme's swedish twin friends!



Esme's friend Iris



Klaudia



Mika



Luca



Sophie













Birthday cupcakes for princess Esme.





"behind the scenes" ooohhh dear!

My baby's birthday

I can't believe it is now 4 years ago since my beautiful Esme arrived into the world. It's actually making me quite emotional thinking about it. I remember them showing her to me and I can still picture it in my head like it was yesterday, I hope that image will always stay as clear in my mind. Even when she is a grumpy teenager one day! Or when one day hopefully she will be a mummy herself. Even now when I call her my little baby she says "but Mamma I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a big girl". But of course in my mind she will always be my little baby. And she really is turning into a big girl in front of my eyes and I can't tell you how proud I am of her. She is the most precious thing in my life and I am the proudest Mamma in the world.

more cooking!

My my, aren't I becoming domesticated! Think I might be finally growing into my inner granny, what with my baking, cooking and making crochet blankets!
Missing "home" so have been making one or two things Swedish over the last few weeks; chockladbollar och sockerkringlor. It goes without saying that these are all fat free and contain no calories whatsoever.






yummy sunday breakfast!

Thought I would try something new for breakfast and make the kids happy at the same time so made american pancakes, and they were delicious!!! Making you hungry?! he he






Allotment!

We have got an allotment! Amazingly they charge £12 per year, yes that's right, per year for a plot that is bigger than all of our garden at home! It needs a bit of work, so we've got the autumn to dig it over ready for the spring.
Me thinks a nice little shed painted a nice blue with some bunting round it with little polka dot curtains and some nice chairs to sit in after a hard day's work will look just lovely too! I know, I know, it's the vegetable planting that is important but no harm in prettifying the plot is there?! Looking forward to getting started now. Might even work wonders and the kids might actually eat some of the vegetables we produce, but then again I doubt it!
Will take some photos when we go down there next and show you.

 


Esme's room

Hello hello!! I really did intend to do some more posts but have been busy busy, as always I guess! Got 3 weeks off work now so hopefully going to get most of the painting and decorating done in the next few days so that the rest of the time can be spent relaxing. Pretty sure that won't actually happen though, why is it that I don't seem to be able to just sit down and relax, always got to be doing something or it feels like I am wasting the time.

Have had the very exciting job of painting skirting boards today and we have also put up some pictures in Esme's room. Esme's morfar and plast mormor bought her an alphabet table mat but I decided to frame it instead. Also made an ESME sign out of a load of spare buttons I had, think they look quite nice up on the wall together?



A while back when me and Emma went to the vintage fair I also bought an old printer's tray and that is now also up in her room, complete with some very old playmobil things that Pete got given from someone he works with. Very cute me thinks!




Growing up fast

Well I knew the day would be coming but hadn't realised it would be quite this soon! Ben came home and informed me that he will no longer be wearing pants and could I instead buy him some boxer shorts. He isn't even 9 years old yet! A few days later whilst shopping he asks me to get him some deoderant! It will be shaving and discussions about the birds and the bees before I know it!

I'm back!

I really haven't felt like blogging for quite a while now, so many other things have been going on that made this seem so trivial but I think I will still carry on with it. I like it and find it helpful to be able to write things down as things happen, its a nice way of keeping a sort of diary of Esme growing up and remember all the things we get up to whether that be a family day out or some decorating we have done. In the grand scheme of things those are trivial but I have realised that by writing about them doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge all the bigger things in life.

As I am writing this I am sat here thinking about all the people in Norway who are now suffering the most unimaginable pain. I cried some tears for my old "neighbour" yesterday and can't quite believe how someone can carry out something like this, how sick and twisted must you be to get up in the morning and kill innocent people.

Norway is a small country and much like Sweden somewhere that to me has always felt very safe, very tolerant and I have always been incredible proud of where I grew up. Now it feels like the innocense has gone and my beautiful part of the world may never feel the same again.

I feel very grateful and blessed that my little family are ok and healthy.

One second

One second is all it takes
to change things forever
for better or for worse
One second
to change the path of life
the way things were
the way it should be
One second
full of promise and joy
One second
sadness and fear
A moment to cherish,
a moment to remember

One second
is all it takes
to leave a footprint
in the sand of life
to last a lifetime





Malmaison Oxford

We were lucky enough to be treated to a night at the Malmaison Oxford last week. It is a lovely hotel with a lot of character and history, having been an active prison from 1071 all the way until as recently as 1996. An added bonus is that it is right in the centre of Oxford and so we could just stroll into the city to do a bit of shopping and then not far to get back to have a cocktail or two in the Malmaison bar before dinner in the restaurant. A perfect 24 hours!







Princess Esme

This is what Esme looked like going to a pirates/princesses birthday party for her friend Toby at the weekend. My beautiful girl.




New addition to the family

Now this is something that really had to take some persuasion from dear husband and also Esme's godfather Marc but it has finally been decided that we are going to add to our family. Questions like, do we want a boy or a girl, can we really cope with another family member has been going through my mind. Do we really want to start again with a tiny little baby to look after which means we won't be able to just go away for the weekend and do what we want when we want.

Well after signing a contract written up by dear husband and Marc I finally agreed. And so yesterday we went to have a look and have finally decided that we are going to become the proud parents of a black mini lop rabbit that we have named Maxwell Rae. He will be ready to be picked up in about 3 weeks time so looks like we will have to try and find a home for him and get everything ready.

All of you that know me, know that I am probably the least pet loving person in the world (please refer back to the post about Harry the hamster) but what doesn't one do for one's daughter! She is in love with Maxwell already and can't wait to pick him up. As I said this did take some persuasion and I have signed, and put in the safe for future reference, the following contract;

2nd May 2011                        Rabbit Contract
I, Marc Williams hereby agree to the following;
1. to purchase the rabbit, cage and equipment needed to get started
2. to clean out the rabbit whenever I visit
3. to drop round rabbit food monthly to keep him/her fed
4. to look after him/her when you go away

Mr Peter Rae agrees to;
1. clean the rabbit out twice weekly
2. take sole responsibility for its care
3. ensure he/she has a long and happy life

If Marc/pete do not reach their parts of the above agreement;

1. the rabbit will be rehomed
2. they will make a £100 donation to a local animal charity of Alex's choice

And most importantly it is signed by all three parties.

For Marc I feel point number 4 is the absolute most important part and for Pete points 1 and 2 are most important. I have my reservations though!




Life

I have been reflecting a lot lately and thinking about how precious life really is and how lucky I am that in the grand scheme of things my life is pretty good. Life is really very short and we should all take more care to appreciate each and every single day rather than worrying about the details and get caught up in the stresses of everyday life. You just never know what is around the corner, something I have discovered so many times over the last few years. So I will continue to be thankful that my little family are doing well and that I have some amazing friends. And I will also continue to think about people around me that are going through difficult times and wish them lots of strength and pray that life will become kinder and easier for them.


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