There are many reasons to why I love where my house is situated, but one of the best is that during Air Show season (which is May to October in the UK) that what is shown in the video below is a frequent occurrence! I'm not a plane spotter or an enthusiast, but there is something about the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Don't mention the War!) that invokes a lot of emotion in me.
This footage was taken in my front garden this afternoon and the plane that is seen is a Dakota. I only know this because Daddy is an enthusiast and told me what it was!
Monday 31 May 2010
Tuesday 25 May 2010
The Family Fun Elephant Parade!
Every once in a while I get a notion in my head about something that we could do as a family. Something that is fun, something that will involve exercise and family bonding and most importantly will be exciting.
Luckily when these notions come over me, Daddy is able to reign me back in and make my ideas more do-able or more suitable for the time that we have available to us. It has happened in the past and it is bound to happen again in the future.
When I was in London last week for the Huggies Mums meet up, I noticed a lot of elephants dotted around. I vaguely remembered that these were being auctioned (after having been decorated by famous people and artists) because of the problems that Asian elephants face with habitat being lost and this will lead to us losing wild Asian Elephants.
My great idea for the weekend was that as a family we walked round London finding all the elephants and photographing them. Daddy suggested that maybe we should only try and find the elephants in one area on this trip to London, and that we could go back over the next few weeks to spot the rest.
The plan was that on Sunday morning we would arrive in London at 8am. However we then realised that even at 8am London wasn't going to be a particularly nice place to be, what with the heat wave and everything. Our plans changed so that we wouldn't arrive in London until 6pm, time for the heat to disparate and we would find the elephants in Westfield shopping centre (four of them) and then the ones that were around Hyde Park.
As you can see, we found elephants...
Somehow we missed one at Westfield Shopping Centre and so we will have to go back (Shame!) to find it! It was only when we actually got to the shopping centre that we told Top Ender what we were doing, and she loved that we were going on an Elephant Parade!
We caught the tube from White City (which is just a couple of minutes away from Westfield shopping centre if you don't know) and walked past the wall of the BBC where the Blue Peter Garden is, and past a van which is from Prank Patrol. Daddy and I also pretended that we saw Kate Adie and remembered when Daddy won the £25,000* top prize on the pilot of "Dial M for Money" hosted by Phillip Schofield.
When we got off the tube at Marble Arch we were greeted with a very large crowd of people. For some reason I had made the Tourist mistake of expecting London to be like Milton Keynes, ie devoid of people when the shops had shut. The second mistake that we made was expecting London to have followed the normal rules and cooled down now that it was the evening. Undeterred we crossed the busy roads to find our next elephants.
Crossing the road in to Hyde Park was a revelation for me. I could see what appeared to be hundreds of people standing around, we ignored them and took the photos of what we had came to London for. Although Top Ender was a little more excited than normal as she was convinced that the building in the background of this photo was Doctor Who's TARDIS...
What I quickly realised was that we were in Speakers Corner and there were a lot of Speakers about on this sunny Sunday evening. It led to a lovely discussion with Top Ender about free speech and having different opinions on different subjects to others, and also why some people felt the need to bring a step ladder or big box to the park to explain their point of view.
A quick walk through the underpass to The Dorchester Hotel (which had lots of Paparazzi standing outside!) and we found our next two Elephants. I tired to delay us leaving the outside of the hotel in the hopes that someone famous would come out, but time was marching on and I knew that we had to keep on walking too.
Back into Hyde Park we marched and found two more friends outside the gates... well I already knew they were there having seen them on the Tuesday, but we let Top Ender find them by herself.
As you can see the second of the Elephants just outside Hyde Park was hollow and was great fun for looking in. This one was Daddy's favourite, and I must admit that I have a soft spot for it too! We then walked back up Hyde Park and I felt very continental as Daddy told me that it was nearly 9pm! It was so light and there were so many people about that it really did feel a lot earlier. We weren't the only people with young children out and about either!
We soon found the last "herd" for the day and peered through the fence at them.
Baby Boy and Top Ender were still going strong and Baby Boy was getting a lot of admiring glances from young women holding on to their semi naked muscular partners as he was smiling and chattering away to anyone within earshot!
We walked along The Serpentine and discussed everything we could think of, watched some people Salsa dancing and tried not to stare at the family having a picnic complete with what looked like bongs!
Luckily when these notions come over me, Daddy is able to reign me back in and make my ideas more do-able or more suitable for the time that we have available to us. It has happened in the past and it is bound to happen again in the future.
When I was in London last week for the Huggies Mums meet up, I noticed a lot of elephants dotted around. I vaguely remembered that these were being auctioned (after having been decorated by famous people and artists) because of the problems that Asian elephants face with habitat being lost and this will lead to us losing wild Asian Elephants.
My great idea for the weekend was that as a family we walked round London finding all the elephants and photographing them. Daddy suggested that maybe we should only try and find the elephants in one area on this trip to London, and that we could go back over the next few weeks to spot the rest.
The plan was that on Sunday morning we would arrive in London at 8am. However we then realised that even at 8am London wasn't going to be a particularly nice place to be, what with the heat wave and everything. Our plans changed so that we wouldn't arrive in London until 6pm, time for the heat to disparate and we would find the elephants in Westfield shopping centre (four of them) and then the ones that were around Hyde Park.
As you can see, we found elephants...
Somehow we missed one at Westfield Shopping Centre and so we will have to go back (Shame!) to find it! It was only when we actually got to the shopping centre that we told Top Ender what we were doing, and she loved that we were going on an Elephant Parade!
We caught the tube from White City (which is just a couple of minutes away from Westfield shopping centre if you don't know) and walked past the wall of the BBC where the Blue Peter Garden is, and past a van which is from Prank Patrol. Daddy and I also pretended that we saw Kate Adie and remembered when Daddy won the £25,000* top prize on the pilot of "Dial M for Money" hosted by Phillip Schofield.
When we got off the tube at Marble Arch we were greeted with a very large crowd of people. For some reason I had made the Tourist mistake of expecting London to be like Milton Keynes, ie devoid of people when the shops had shut. The second mistake that we made was expecting London to have followed the normal rules and cooled down now that it was the evening. Undeterred we crossed the busy roads to find our next elephants.
Luckily, Daddy was once a Scout and so was prepared for the sun that was still out and slapped the suncream on us all whilst we played with the elephants and listened in on some fantastic conversations going on around us!
Crossing the road in to Hyde Park was a revelation for me. I could see what appeared to be hundreds of people standing around, we ignored them and took the photos of what we had came to London for. Although Top Ender was a little more excited than normal as she was convinced that the building in the background of this photo was Doctor Who's TARDIS...
This is Bobby and was my favourite out of all the Elephants we saw on Sunday.
What I quickly realised was that we were in Speakers Corner and there were a lot of Speakers about on this sunny Sunday evening. It led to a lovely discussion with Top Ender about free speech and having different opinions on different subjects to others, and also why some people felt the need to bring a step ladder or big box to the park to explain their point of view.
 |
| Just to give you an idea of how many people were about! |
Back into Hyde Park we marched and found two more friends outside the gates... well I already knew they were there having seen them on the Tuesday, but we let Top Ender find them by herself.
As you can see the second of the Elephants just outside Hyde Park was hollow and was great fun for looking in. This one was Daddy's favourite, and I must admit that I have a soft spot for it too! We then walked back up Hyde Park and I felt very continental as Daddy told me that it was nearly 9pm! It was so light and there were so many people about that it really did feel a lot earlier. We weren't the only people with young children out and about either!
We soon found the last "herd" for the day and peered through the fence at them.
Baby Boy and Top Ender were still going strong and Baby Boy was getting a lot of admiring glances from young women holding on to their semi naked muscular partners as he was smiling and chattering away to anyone within earshot!
We walked along The Serpentine and discussed everything we could think of, watched some people Salsa dancing and tried not to stare at the family having a picnic complete with what looked like bongs!
We eventually made it back to the Tube and back to where we had left our car at Westfield at around 10pm. It was a bit later than we had planned, but it had been a grand day out and nobody minded.
We are planning our other trips to London to see the rest of the Elephants over the next couple of weeks, if you would like to take part then your best resource would be the Elephant Parade Website at http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/ as it has a route map and almost everything you want to know. If you want to know anything that isn't on the website, then you can always try asking me!
*But as it was the pilot he actually went home with a much much much lesser prize.
Saturday 22 May 2010
Friday 21 May 2010
Treats for Daddy
Daddy has coeliac disease. This means that buying treats for him is a little harder than for most. Luckily these days every supermarket has a section of wheat free (dairy free and sometimes taste free) goodies, but to get proper cakes and treats (read of a decent size and with flavour) we normally have to make them ourselves from scratch.
Sometimes though making things from scratch doesn't quite work. Daddy really loves cheese scones, but every time I have made them... well lets just say the local ice hockey teams (MK Lightning and MK Thunder) had plenty of practice pucks if they wanted them. Experimenting is the name of the game.
I managed to get these photos before Daddy stole the balls away (and according to him ate them all in a car journey that lasted about three minutes) and as you can see they are beautiful looking!
8oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
1 level teaspoon Gluten Free Baking Powder
Half teaspoon Salt
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
2oz Butter or Margarine
3oz Grated Cheese
4-5 floz Milk
Mix the flour,baking powder,salt and pepper together in a bowl.
Rub in the butter or margarine.
Mix in the grated cheese.
Make into a dough using the milk and a flat bladed knife.
Place on a floured surface and knead lightly for a minute.
Roll out to 1" thick and cut into 7 or 8 rounds using a 2.5" cutter.
Place onto a greased baking sheet and pop into a very hot oven for approx 10-12 minutes.
Gas 7/8 or 220 degrees centigrade.
To make fruit scones just miss out the salt, pepper and cheese and add 2oz sugar and 2oz sultanas to the mix.
Sometimes though making things from scratch doesn't quite work. Daddy really loves cheese scones, but every time I have made them... well lets just say the local ice hockey teams (MK Lightning and MK Thunder) had plenty of practice pucks if they wanted them. Experimenting is the name of the game.
Now this isn't a problem. I like to bake and even Daddy likes making scones and Top Ender loves to get busy in the kitchen with either of us (or on her own as several experimental puddings would attest to!) and so there isn't a problem there.
We are lucky that Daddy can buy foods on prescription too. He likes food that Glutafin make and as you can see a Happy Daddy is when he picks up his order from the Chemist!
Sometimes we get lucky, like the time when Daddy took Top Ender and Baby Boy to a Farmers Market in St Albans and discovered a stall full of wheat free cakes and biscuits and everything else a coeliac could only dream of.
And then there was discovering Cake Balls UK on Twitter. Anna makes gluten free cake balls (and "normal" cakes balls too and you can buy them from her website http://www.cakeballs.co.uk/) and was kind enough to send some to Daddy to taste.I managed to get these photos before Daddy stole the balls away (and according to him ate them all in a car journey that lasted about three minutes) and as you can see they are beautiful looking!
Anyway, the balls were chocolate flavour (I'm not the only one singing *that* South Park song am I?) and Daddy said that they were fantastic and we will be ordering them in the future!
So why not follow Anna on Twitter, or better still order some of her lovely wares!
And because I am kind, here is the recipe for the cheese scones that Daddy has been making every week
Cheese Scones
8oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
1 level teaspoon Gluten Free Baking Powder
Half teaspoon Salt
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
2oz Butter or Margarine
3oz Grated Cheese
4-5 floz Milk
Mix the flour,baking powder,salt and pepper together in a bowl.
Rub in the butter or margarine.
Mix in the grated cheese.
Make into a dough using the milk and a flat bladed knife.
Place on a floured surface and knead lightly for a minute.
Roll out to 1" thick and cut into 7 or 8 rounds using a 2.5" cutter.
Place onto a greased baking sheet and pop into a very hot oven for approx 10-12 minutes.
Gas 7/8 or 220 degrees centigrade.
To make fruit scones just miss out the salt, pepper and cheese and add 2oz sugar and 2oz sultanas to the mix.
Thursday 20 May 2010
Mummy Giggles - Twist in the TAIL (sic)
I was mostly dry and so Top Ender and I were standing on my towel; I had just gotten my bra on when I suddenly realised that Baby Boy wasn't at my feet. I also realised that the door was unlocked...
"Where's Baby Boy?" I asked
"Erm? I think he has gone outside" answered Top Ender as we both looked around the cubicle hoping we had missed him in the big open space.
We hadn't.
I chose the latter.
I walked quickly out of the cubicle and could see Baby Boy just a couple of meters away (just past a Dad who was waiting on his son to get dressed) and so went to catch up with him. At this point Baby Boy ran away from me towards the pool. Luckily at the last minute he veered away from the actual pool and went towards the shower cubicles, where he was cornered and therefore easy to pick up.
The rest of the evening passed without too much hassle (well I did hassle the Man in McDonalds to vote for me in The MADS but that is another story) until I went to the toilet later that evening.
As I was sitting there I thought it was a little odd as I could see the bathroom floor in the black of my trousers, and so examined a little more closely. The seam of my trousers was split. Anyone who had seen me from behind that evening would of seen my (rather cute) butt.
 |
| Did I mention that our swish new Swimming Pool has big Glass windows? |
Wednesday 19 May 2010
Tuesday 18 May 2010
Top Ender Giggles - Well you know what they say!
Everyone in the house was dressed a little earlier than normal as the car was going for its MOT and Baby Boy and Mummy were off on an adventure.
Top Ender started to put on her coat.
"Why are you putting on your coat Top Ender?" I asked
"You have another half hour before you have to leave for school" said Daddy
"oh!" said Top Ender in surprise
A few seconds passed.
Top Ender started to put on her coat.
"Why are you putting on your coat Top Ender?" I asked
"You have another half hour before you have to leave for school" said Daddy
"oh!" said Top Ender in surprise
A few seconds passed.
"Well I won't have any fun then." said Top Ender flatly
"Why?" I asked confused as normal
"Because you know what they say; Time files when your having fun!" giggled Top Ender
Saturday 15 May 2010
Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Boy!
Its Baby Boys 2nd Birthday today.
We probably won't be around much today as we are going to be playing with the very nice and very large Thomas train track...
We probably won't be around much today as we are going to be playing with the very nice and very large Thomas train track...
Thursday 13 May 2010
Local Newspaper coverage!
See even the local press wants me to win in The Mads!
If you would like to vote for me then please follow this link http://the-mads.com/vote.htm and you will find A Mothers Ramblings listed in the Best MAD Blog for Family Fun category!
And don't forget if you take a look at the other blogs in the finals and vote for them (when you vote for me) then you could win a prize from Woolworths and I promise to take lots of photos when I go to Butlins!
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Friday 7 May 2010
Daddy Giggles - Its the way he tells 'em!
Top Ender was sitting in the back of the car after a recent trip to the outdoor play shop (can you guess what we are researching?) and was reading through the catalogues that I had picked up.
"Cool! They do a Pirate ship!" she exclaimed
"Oooh Ahhh!" Answered Daddy in his best Cornish accent
"That's a Farmer, not a Pirate Daddy" I admonished
"Oh. Yes. Argh?!" said Daddy
"Too little too late." I answered
"Don't blog this..." he said
"The thought hadn't even crossed my mind..."
"Cool! They do a Pirate ship!" she exclaimed
"Oooh Ahhh!" Answered Daddy in his best Cornish accent
"That's a Farmer, not a Pirate Daddy" I admonished
"Oh. Yes. Argh?!" said Daddy
"Too little too late." I answered
"Don't blog this..." he said
"The thought hadn't even crossed my mind..."
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Culture Clash!
I know that this is a Wordless post, but I just had to explain two things that this was taken on my new camera that I got for my birthday (Whoop!) and Top Ender has an English Flag in her hair (the bow) but is wearing a Scottish Tartan dress (not my family's Tartan though)!
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Daddy Giggles - Where he left it!
We were running a few minutes early for dropping me off for lunch with my Mum and Sister, so decided to take a quick detour to the petrol station.
Daddy got out of the car and filled up the tank. We then drove in Saturday traffic to the restaurant that my Mum had chosen. It was only when I had got out of the car and was talking to my Mum's best friend (who was joining us for Lunch) that Daddy noticed his wallet was missing.
"Pip? Have you seen my wallet?" he asked
"No..." I answered thinking he must of left it at the Petrol station
Daddy got out of the car panicking and remembering that he had put his wallet on the roof of the car.
Yup, we had just driven a third of a mile with his wallet on the roof of the car...
Daddy got out of the car and filled up the tank. We then drove in Saturday traffic to the restaurant that my Mum had chosen. It was only when I had got out of the car and was talking to my Mum's best friend (who was joining us for Lunch) that Daddy noticed his wallet was missing.
"Pip? Have you seen my wallet?" he asked
"No..." I answered thinking he must of left it at the Petrol station
Daddy got out of the car panicking and remembering that he had put his wallet on the roof of the car.
Yup, we had just driven a third of a mile with his wallet on the roof of the car...
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