Cakes Kids And Me: January 2015

Thursday, 29 January 2015

Quick reads ! The little books for busy mums

"Have a bit of you time" said my husband! "Yeah right" I said. "When do I get time for me, and anyway, what would I do?". "You used to love reading" he said. "I don't have time for that now! I'm lucky if I get 5 minutes to myself to have a wee! And even that isn't alone most of the time!"

I'm sure this is a conversation that has gone on in a lot of homes. The busy mummy who has no time for herself. Missing one of her old loves, a good book!

Well, this changed a couple of days later, when he arrived home from work....

"Look what I found" he stated. Like a dog with a bone he was all excited with himself. In his hand was a Quick Read book. These little books are aimed at those who don't have time to get stuck into a big thick read. I was pretty impressed that a) he'd thought of me & b) he'd even remembered our conversation of the days before!! Memory is not his strong point!

That night after putting the kids to bed, I decided to grab 5 minutes to myself before starting the chores. I grabbed my new Quick Read book 'Paris For One' by Jojo Moyes and a bar of Galaxy from the fridge (the diet starts next week). Galaxy are proud supporters of Quick Reads, so it just felt kinda right!

Ok, so 5 minutes turned to 15 as I got stuck into both the chocolate & the book! It was turning into a great little read. But in true mummy style, a kiddy called, and I was able to put the book down and leave it til later.

Luckily a couple of days later I found myself with another few minutes to myself and I got stuck in again.

The book was then put in my hand bag and at every opportunity I'd grab it out & get another few pages read. It was a great time filler when I got to school early for pick up.

I found a love for reading again and I felt like in them 5 minutes here & there I was getting a little bit of me time.

The book was finished, a great little story and I was left wanting more! I told hubby. He must have been feeling generous, as he arrived home the next day with 2 more!!

Then I noticed something I hadn't before, the price!! At only £1 each, they weren't breaking the bank!! What a bargain!!

At that price if you're not keen on the story, you don't really mind. I spent too much time & money in my younger years starting books & passing them on as I just couldn't get into them.

My 3 books so far....

I am really pleased with my Quick Reads. I think they are perfect for the mummies like me, always on the go with little time for yourself. I can't wait to get stuck into my next one.

There's a number of titles out there & I'm hoping they will keep adding more as I'm loving them too much to have to stop when I've done all of them!!

You can get these Quick Reads books in a number of stores and supermarkets, including Waterstones and Whsmith. You can also buy online from Amazon etc. Or even buy in the form of an ebook if you have a kindle etc. Failing that, you can borrow them from your local library!

Stockists......

And even treat yourself to a bar of Galaxy! In supporting Quick Reads they are supporting your reading happiness, so it's only right to get stuck into a bar, or two, I intend to!

Sunday, 25 January 2015

Daves reptiles birthday party in dagenham

So, Mstr J's birthday was coming around and we wondered what to do. Every year so far we've just had a little close family get together. But school started and the impending doom of 'doing what the other parents do' & having a party was felt!!

So, for the first time, I decided to do the whole birthday party thing!

Neither Mstr J or us are ppl who like big groups, so weren't keen on a massive hall disco, or a large group soft play type thing.

I was thinking about what we could do. His friend had had a bowling party, that was quite good. Then I remembered seeing daves reptiles party rooms on a Facebook mums group! A light bulb went off! We all love lizards etc and it would be a nice small party.

I gave Dave a call and we went to visit. Dave is a lovely friendly guy who is very helpful and extremely knowledgeable on his reptiles. While we were there we saw the raport he has with his customers. It is not just a pRty venue, but also a working reptile shop. I could have stayed all day.

Dave is super helpful and can tailor make your party package.

We booked the show & tell session, followed by face painting and disco. He also allowed us extra time for party games.

The day itself went swimmingly. The children had such a fantastic time looking, touching, learning about the animals. The gentleman who did the show and tell was so good with the kids. Letting them hold them, stroke them etc. He helped the ones who were scared conquer their fear and join in. I was so impressed. Even the parents were getting involved, asking questions & holding the animals too. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Even Miss Iz tried to dive in, grabbing for the corn snake!

It was so much fun and we were all engrossed in what we were being told and seeing the fantastic creatures!

Me joining in! Loved it

Then it was face painting time. What a lovely young lady she was. Very willing to try and do whatever the kids requested. Mstr J, the birthday boy got to go first, and in usual Mstr J style came out with the request of 'I want to be The Flash!'. Typical!! Bless her though, she googled it, and soon he was the best flash I've seen!! There was frozen, a tiger, a minion and the best teenage mutant ninja turtle I've seen too. She even had the patience to sit me down with Miss Iz and calm her enough to let her paint some flowers on her face! So thank you!!

Mstr J aka birthday boy as The Flash..

And Miss Iz looking butterfly beautiful...

The next bit was our time. The kids ate, partied, played in the soft play, and enjoyed the party games we put on.

The bouncy castle was up in the soft play room, and the main room had the lights turned down, with flashing lights going & a smoke machine like a proper disco!

When the time was over, a lot of happy faces left. Even the parents! Most parties the parents leave looking exhausts & bored, but these actually enjoyed themselves too.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Dave for all his help in making Mstr J's birthday a sucess & such a great day!

If you're interested in a child's party, check out Dave's Facebook page.

Or email him for info on

davesreptilespartyrooms@yahoo.co.uk

Monday, 12 January 2015

Slow cooker delights

I'd been contemplating a slow cooker since my job relocated me to the other side of London! I'm spending more time away from home and hate getting the kids home late, with minimal time to cook a meal for them.

We were sadly slipping into the 'stick some quick junk in the oven rutt', and I wasn't happy about it!

Christmas was approaching, and I never know what to ask for. I have my birthday just before Christmas too, so I've long run out of suggestions for gifts by Christmas. My family hate buying gifts for people that are for the home. But I suggested to my sister that instead of buying it for 1 of us, buy it as a joint gift for me & hubby. It was what we wanted. She agreed!

I was a little excited Christmas Day to open my new spangly 6.5litre machine!! I couldn't wait to get started!

I popped to Tesco & Asda to see if I could get any meats on the reduced bits. I came back with quite a haul. Pork shoulders, beef briskets, chicken etc. I couldn't wait!

My first try was going to be my much anticipated & a favourite in restaurants, Pulled Pork!!

I put my pork shoulder in on low at 9am. With a can of Pepsi poured over it as was suggested online. By 12 lunch time I decided to add some hassleback potatoes. These are potatoes with cuts made into them & cheese or whatever you want in the gaps. I wrapped them in foil so they could sit in the Pepsi without getting wet. I turned it up to high.

By 4.30pm I couldn't wait any longer. I got the potatoes out & put them on a tray in the oven with the foil open a bit to brown & crisp a bit. You don't need to do this, but I wanted to. Plus it gave me time to take the pork out. On a plate it fell apart! I shredded it with ease. I poured the residue from the slow cooker away. Put the shredded meat back in & squirted on a load of BBQ sauce. I let this warm through. The result was scrummy!! The meat was plenty for us to have for dinner that night, and again the next day in rolls!! Yum yum!!