Make your own Ginger Beer!

This recipe is easier than pie and great to make with the kids

You will need:

A bucket, 5 empty 1.5L bottles, a funnel (or not if you dare)

Ingredients:

The juice of 3 lemons (or 4 if they are small)

6L water

4 cups of sugar

4tsp ginger

1tsp citric acid

Simply put all the ingredients into the bucket and stir well. Pour into the 5 bottles and leave for at least 7 days.

And wa-lah! Your own bottles of super easy and super fizzy gingerbeer to enjoy :)

I lurve....

Well, it sure has been a long time since my last post! So many things have happened since then, the biggest change being that I now have a little (big!) boy! He is such a smiley, happy, easy going little guy! Who has today just started sleeping in his "big boy's cot". He looks so little in it, but was certainly getting a bit big for the bassinette...

Here is a pic of Mr E after his first sleep

Speaking of changing beds, little K now has her very own Dora the Explorer big girls bed too, just like her big sister Miss H. They have become really great friends lately and have been doing a lot of playing and laughing together which is really neat to see.

Chris and I have really been enjoying life together lately too. It never ceases to amaze me how much you can love someone and how much that love can grow. Just when you think things can't get any better, they do! He has been such a huge support and help to me, especially lately with all the extra work and help needed with a newborn, and I am so grateful to have a guy like him! Just like any couple we can have our ups and downs, but I like to think that "rocking the boat" occasionally helps us to grow and change and become better people :)

I lurve... my family!

Oakhill Potato

Its one of Chris' favourites...

6 potatoes, peeled, chopped and boiled

4-5 rashers of bacon

1 Onion, chopped

(optional) grated carrot and grated courgette

1 cup milk

30g butter

1/2 to a cup of grated cheese

3Tbsp flour

salt and pepper

3 hard boiled eggs, sliced

breadcrumbs

Oil

Heat oil in pan, add onion and bacon. Brown. Add courgette and carrot and cook.

Place cooked potatoes in an oven proof dish. Add the above bacon mixture on top and then on top of that, place the egg slices.

And then we make the cheese sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan and then remove from heat.

Add flour and mix. Add milk and return to the heat while mixing.

When sauce mixture reaches the right consistency, add cheese and stir.

Pour cheese sauce mixture over the oven proof dish and top with breadcrumbs.

Place in oven at 180 degrees or so for 20 minutes and grill the top if necessary.

Big Girls Bed Success!

Well, the time had finally come for Miss Two to have her own big girls bed. So after having it in her room for a few weeks we thought it was time to finally put her in it. Last night was that night! And success!



It seems like my little girl is growing up so fast.



And here she is after just waking up this morning




She even had her nap this afternoon in it.


Miss nearly 5 months is settling in to her new routine well too. It now means that I have an hour and a half to myself to catch up on housework etc in the afternoon while both girls nap which is great:)

Eeek! Changing Routines!

Well, dear little miss nearly 5 months has been a bit unsettled as of late. I think its because I haven't adjusted her routine (eat, activity and sleep times) for quite some time now. Its always a bit nervewracking making changes to routines because you know that usually you are in for a bumpy ride for a few days until baby gets used to it.

Hopefully though it will mean that Miss 5 months will get to bed earlier in the evenings which leaves a little bit of time for catching up on books, magazines and of course spending some quality time with Chris (yusss! my favourite of course!).

I never realised how important routines were for children until I had my own. They don't tell you in antenatal classes what to do once you have actually given birth to the child! Honestly if it wasn't for Jackie (thanks Jackie!) coming over and sharing some of her wisdom and experience with me, I don't know how I would have survived! I had no idea what I was doing!

So here I am with No.2 going thru the routine thing again... but this time I have a bit of my own experience to lean on (and great friends too!) so things aren't that scary.

And of course if things get totally out of control, at least I can rest in the knowledge that this phase doesn't last forever, things do get easier, and we will eventually figure out what to do (even if it takes a few days).

So here goes!

Oh no! Ive joined the blogging phenom!

As if I didn't have enough on my plate! :) Just kidding. Yip, its pretty busy being a wife and mum of two young children, but I've been wanting to start a blog for a little while now. So here I am!

Stay posted for updates, news, thoughts and just general things you probably didn't need to know :) Oooooo and maybe the odd super delicious recipe! I lurrrrve cooking! I also want to start my own garden so will probably blog about that too.

Means I called my blog, lessons from the chicken coop I should probably put something in here about chickens....

Well, this is Nigel. Hes a purebred Rhode Island Red rooster. He is king in this neck of the woods! I'm sad to say that I ate his brother... But Nigel was the better looking of the two and I wanted to keep the best one for breeding. He has two young Rhode Island Red hens who aren't quite ready to start laying yet, but once they are I will be putting their eggs in my incubator and there will be baby Nigel's running about.

I also have a purebred Dorking rooster which I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with. I think I might cross him with Helga (Nigel's sister) and hatch some babies from him too. He is more of a meat bird.

Ultimately, I want to breed chickens which are great for both eggs and meat.

Well, sad to say that's it for me. My small portion of time that I have to myself during the day while the girls sleep is over.

Till next time!