Learn how to bubble write
Colouring in
Write a book report
Try some decoupage
Write a letter to a penpal
Make fingerprint art
plan and cook a meal
Make a masking tape race track or town
Make your own play dough
Make paper flowers
Looking for more ideas, then Cass at Frugal Family has some more great rainy day ideas on her blog.
Pen and Paint is Lindsay Hopkins and I first discovered her fab artwork on Instagram. We now have four of her prints around our house and we love them Everytime I look at them they make me smile and people always comment on them.
Nor does it mean that I let them be bored or fail to plan activities for us as a family. I am not a parent that see’s boredom as a virtue, in fact I have a bored jar for times like that! No a #freeRange Summer means that I am trying to give my children
#Freerangesummer doesn’t mean that I ignore my children……….. Read More »
As I am a Tefal Innovator, I was sent the brand new Tefal Optigrill to test. This is a revolutionary new grill that can detect how thick your meat is and tells you when it is cooked to rare, medium or well done.
steak
We like:
It does what is says it will – We had three different cuts of meat all cooked to different specifications and it was delicious.
It takes the guesswork out of cooking – I love that it has an audible beep as well as a visual identification when your meat gets to a certain specification
The cooking plates are removable and dishwasher safe. _ no mess, no stress and no burning your fingers cleaning it.
Large drip pan – We tried burgers on the Tefal Optigrill today and they were either fatty, but the drip tray more than coped and it fits snuggly to the machine
It is versatile with settings for fish, sausages, burgers, bacon, chicken and a manual setting for vegetables. My mushroom today was divine
We weren’t keen:
At £130 is isn’t a cheep bit of kit, however, I have had three of the competitors grills in over two years. So if this lasts then it will be much better value for money than its competitor
It has a large footprint. I know that this is something we will use regularly, so didn’t want to put it in a cupboard, but it takes up two thirds of the top of my microwave where it now lives!
Overview:
The Optigrill has such a familiar look and feel to me. My mum had a tefal grill with removable interchangeable hot plates for over 30 years. She used it a lot and I am hoping that I get just as much use out of this as she did. The grill plate is a great size and could easily cook six burgers on it and is perfect for a family of four. I am looking forward to trying out tuna steaks on it and fish next week.
Don’t just take my word for it, see what my fellow panelists think of the Optigrill
Banishing family recipes to the bin
How many times have you been eating something delicious and asked for the recipe, only to be told it’s a family secret passed down through generations? Well, it’s not exactly a regular occurrence but it must have happened a few times.
Every single time I can’t help but wonder why it has to be a secret. Can this delicious food not be shared between friends as well? I understand that these treasured recipes might evoke memories of a late family member or a particular special occasion but let us in on the secret too.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any family recipes that were created by my great-great-great-grandmother. I’m lucky if I can remember what my own mother used to cook for me. It’s a shame, but my family just isn’t that talented in the kitchen.
I’m not going to pretend that I am a spectacular cook but I can whip up some simple dishes if I have a recipe to follow. It doesn’t make it any easier when people refuse to share their recipes. Of course, I could turn to a cookbook but I find that most of these dishes end up bland or just not very nice.
So, to show my circle of friends that I can also pull something together that resembles a tasty meal and I don’t need an ancient recipe to help, I threw a dinner party. Now, I’ll let you in on my little secret… Schwartz recipe inspiration kits.
These kits are amazing. They include pre-measured pots of herbs, spices and seasoning and also come with a free recipe card. I decided to throw together a beef stew for my friends and it was so easy to make.
All you needed, aside from the beef stew mix, was a few ingredients that I already had at home, including the meat and vegetables. To make this delicious meal and surprise your friends and family all you have to do is brown the beef,fry off the vegetables, add the herbs and seasoning before transferring to the oven for a couple of hours.
Even the dumplings were simple enough to make; you just put them on the top of the stew and return to the oven.
As me and my friends were tucking into a hearty home-cooked meal, you’ll never guess what…they asked me for the recipe! Who needs old-fashioned hand-me-down recipes from hundreds of years ago when you can whip up delicious meals with no effort at all?
The notebooks were from the pound shop and the stamps we already have, but you can pick up similar from ebay, just search for 70 piece Alphabet/Number/Symbol Stamping Kit, they are about £10 and brilliant for all sorts of things.
We used washi tape or stick on stamps to hide the smudge marks!
We also bought the two main teachers a brill stamp set from Skull and Cross Buns on Etsy.
Teacher Appreciation Gifts 2013 – personalised note books Read More »
This holiday has been booked since just after my Mum died and we have been looking forward to the trip for a long time. My Brother and family are self employed and that is why we are travelling at this particular time of the year and I am aware that it could have an impact on my seven and eight year olds school work, but…………
For the last two weeks they have not really done any significant learning at school, in fact for this week they have watched more DVD’s at school that they have at home in about a year. I am not going to justify me taking them out of school by saying they will learn as much with me as at school, however, I will say that it should be my choice as a parent to make this decision.
We are sensible enough to make our own decision and I am disappointed that this is being taken away from me. There has been a lot of noise made about the Lunch box issues this week, but no one has shouted about the fact that the law has changed and that from September Headteacher will not be able to grant time off for holidays.
Currently headteachers are allowed to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year. Headteachers can also grant extended leave for more than ten school days in exceptional circumstances. However, Amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days come into force in September.
Not only are the government taking this out of our hands, but also out of the hands of the school. Yet another example of the government invading my home and my choices.
I wonder if this applies to private schools too? or maybe that would be a bit like a bear pooing in its own backyard.
I am going to moan about schools and term time holidays Read More »
Piccadilly Circus
Trafalgar Square
Buckingham Palace t Houses of Parliament
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
Covent Garden
Canary Wharf
London Bridge
Tower of London
The Gherkin
Tate Modern
St Paul’s Cathedral
Whilst out on the road the cab will also stop during
If there’s one thing that people tend to complain about when it comes to their home, it’s storage. No matter how much stuff we throw out or donate to charity it just seems to continue accumulating.
The worst room is usually the main living room as this is where the whole family gather and leave their stuff behind but that can make it really difficult to kick back and relax.
Whether your home is littered with shoes, DVDs, books, magazines, newspapers, school work, remote controls, photo frames or even fireplace accessories here are some top tips to help you get organised.
Newspaper and magazine rack
If there are more magazines in your living room than in the local doctor’s surgery, it’s about time you had a clear out. You don’t have to bin all of your favourites but throw away anything more than a month old. Store the ones you’re keeping in a tidy magazine rack next to the sofa instead of letting them clutter the coffee table.
Invest in adjustable shelving
How annoying it is that shelves tend to be the same height? Our stuff is all different sizes with books tall and pocket-sized, folders can be A4 or A5, photo frames are landscape or portrait and so on. If you’ve got adjustable shelves, you’ll find that you can finally fit all your belongings without difficulty.
Tidy up that hearth
An old traditional fireplace can add a bit of character to your home but you’ll need all sorts of stuff to maintain it, such as the logs and coal but also the poker and other accessories. If you’ve got inset gas fires in the house, you might still have bits and bobs lying around the hearth. Use some wicker baskets or boxes to keep your belongings tidy and use your fireplace as a feature of your living room rather than seeing it as a nuisance.
Make the most of your walls
If you’ve got a smaller floorspace to work with, you’ll need to really utilise your walls. Rather than spreading your furniture around the living, work your way up towards the ceiling to create a feeling of openness.
Think carefully about your furniture
It’s easy for the living room to become full of furniture, so the fewer pieces you have, the more space that is available. Obviously, you will need most of it, such as sofas, bookcases and television units but some will be solely for displaying other items that are also cluttering the room. Think twice about your furniture choices, literally. If a TV stand or ottoman can also be used for storage then that’s all the better!
