Crafty and CHEAP way to entertain the kids!

Summer holidays wearing you down? Kids driving you insane with "what can we do?  We're BORED!!" And this rubbish British "summer" hasn't been helping .....
Fear not !!  Found this brilliant blog today which has loads of ideas for brilliant things you can do with cardboard boxes!  I'm sure we've all made cars and boats out of them (I once made a very technical three storey Barbie house, lol), but there are some fantastic ideas here to keep everyone happy.  Best of all, the kids will enjoy getting involved in the initial transformation as much as they will enjoy playing with the finished product.  Which will hopefully keep them happy for ages.  Result !
ikatbag's blog has lots and lots of other tutorials for kids and grown ups, so plenty of inspiration to keep us going for the last couple of weeks before school starts again.

Crafty idea - re using jars

Found this blog today, a great idea for using your old baby food jars, though I guess you could use any jars!  I'm loving the ones screwed under a shelf for storage.  There are lots of other great crafty ideas on KristanLynn's blog too, going to have to bookmark this one!

Check your Tesco vouchers!!

Just a quickie today, thought I'd pass on something I heard recently, as I didn't know about it, and lots of other people don't seem to know either!  If you have a Tesco Clubcard, go to Tesco.com, sign in, then go to Clubcard > My Clubcard Account > My Vouchers, and it will tell you if you have any outstanding vouchers, which you can print off and use!  I thought I'd used all mine, but I checked and I've got £20.50 to spend.  Happy days!

Kid Quote of the Day

Kids say and do some hilarious things, and my Kid3 is in the running to be the all time winner.  Perfect example, here are a few of my favourites from the past week.

                                                 ***********************

The scene: 9am, I'm getting ready for work, normal morning routine.

M - Where you going?
Me - Guess.
M - Pub?

                                                 ***********************

The scene:  I'm trying to wrap a large present, with several sheets of wrapping paper.

M - (shaking head)  I don't know how you're going to stick that together.
Me - By the power of Greyskull !!!!!
M - (pause) Or you could use Sellotape.

Gotta love 'em.

Slight overkill with a cycle helmet AND a sunhat.

Tonights Dinner - Spicy yet Creamy Sausage Pasta!

Made a new recipe tonight and it was LUSH, and dead quick!  It got a thumbs up from everyone, especially Kid 3, who announced it was his favourite food in the world.  Which may have been a slight exaggeration, but who cares, he ate it all and thats what matters!!!  I put sweetcorn and onion in it, but thinking about it, you could probably get away with sneaking other veggies in too.  I cheat and use frozen veg, less waste, quicker, more convenient and just as many vitamins as fresh!  So here it is!

Spicy yet Creamy Sausage Pasta
adapted from Plain Chicken

230g dried pasta
1 pack Mattesons smoked sausage, (any variety, but I use reduced fat to show willing) cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup double cream (or half fat creme fraiche, see above!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I use the stuff in a jar, lasts for ages in the fridge)
1/2 cup chopped onion (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sweetcorn (tinned or frozen)
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup white wine
3 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.

While your pasta's bubbling away, brown sausage in a frying pan over medium heat. Once browned, add onion and saute for two minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add sweetcorn and white wine to pan, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.  Let wine reduce by half, about two minutes.
Stir in Cajun seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Add cream and heat to almost bubbling, then reduce heat to low. Allow the cream mixture to reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to pan. Toss with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.

Serve to family, sit back and wait for compliments.

In the words of Gordon - Spicy yet Creamy Sausage Pasta - done.

Well, helloooooooo there................................

and welcome to my blog!!!  My aim is to provide an antidote to all the "perfect family" websites out there, because, quite frankly, I'm not sure such a thing exists!  Families can be blinking hard things to run!  So, to try and help a little (myself, as much as anyone else), I will be posting articles to try and make the days run more smoothly!! Or, if nothing else, to raise a smile!

So, let me introduce everyone...............

Me and 'im indoors

We live in Hampshire with our four children.  'im indoors works full time as a manager for a large retail company, and I have a part time job as a visual merchandiser outside the home, and a round the clock job as a mother, wife, housekeeper, cook, cleaner, nurse, PA, personal shopper, mediator, taxi driver, life coach, entertainer and general dogsbody all round marvellous human being.  Sound familiar?!?!?

Oh, and I also run my own business, making glass art, homewares and jewellery, and also bridal tiaras and the like (click here for THAT blog!!).   So, all in all, things are a little bit on the hectic side, and as I'm not exactly the most organised person in the world, I need all the help I can get!

You don't need a picture of us two.  No, seriously, you don't.


Kid 1 - K


K is 17 and, so far, so good (I'm frantically touching wood here.)  She is currently studying A Levels at sixth form, and has her sights set on going to university.  She also has a little part time job, and is generally A Good Girl.  Very intelligent, but not an atom of common sense in her head!

Kid 2 - A

A is 9, and the thespian of the family.  She spends most of her time in Lala Land, which is quite a nice place to be, as far as I can make out.  She is a typical nine year old girl, likes sparkly things and Harry Potter.  As you can probably tell................

Kid 3 - M

M is nearly 5, and probably one of the funniest people I have ever met.  Some absolute corkers come out of his mouth, more of which later.  So far, he is still very sweet, very kind, caring and thoughtful, and he loves his Mummy.  There is a bit of "boy" ness coming out these days though.  I blame school, lol!  Must just point out, he was just bringing Daddy a beer in this picture, he's not yet a hardened alcoholic.

Kid 4 - H


Otherwise known as "Da Baybeee", H is 9 months old and BEAUTIFUL.  He also seems to be displaying a sense of humour like his big brother, and is (mostly) an all round Happy Little Soul.  Eeeek, he's gorgeous, even if I say so myself  ;o)

SO!  There you have it.  This is the motley rabble I'm trying to keep in check, or at least trying to give the impression I'm keeping them in check!  They're all fab, and I think I'm very lucky.  However, I am KNACKERED!! Lol  xx