Currently...

...enjoying the sunshine.
...saying goodbye to one phase of life.
...making plans for the next one.
...chasing around after our little crawler.
...preparing for 3rd birthday party #2.
...spending more time in the kitchen.
...drinking decaf.
...eating too much cake.
...watching the new Orange is the new Black.
...dreaming of a holiday.

Recipe: Summer Trifle

A friend made this for us recently and I pinched the recipe for Isabella's birthday.

Ingredients:

-strawberries, chopped
-250g whipped cream
-250g quark
-pack of chocolate chip cookies

Instructions:

Whip the cream. Fold it into the quark.

Starting with cookies, then the cream mix, then the strawberries, layer the ingredients in a bowl and allow to set in the fridge for an hour or two.

Make it Monday - June Birthday Cards

I kept it simple this month with some pretty butterfly cards.

I don't often get to see first hand if the recipients like my cards but Isabella's expression was brilliant when she opened hers.

A friend passed on a lot of stash so I'm hoping to mix it up a bit next month.

Weekly Wisdom

Healthy body, healthy mind.

The Saturday Update

We've had a lovely week in England with family and friends. It was great to see everyone. I also took a trip down memory lane clearing out some old boxes for my Dad's upcoming move.

We had a nice open afternoon at my Mum's, did Race for Life at Ilkley, had a fun afternoon at my best friend's house, had lunch with lots of family, did a bit of family history, took the kids to tropical world with my Mum and had a trip to the local park.

My favourite is always catching up with the little ones - my nieces, nephew and friends' babies as they change much too quickly. It's fun seeing how our two fit in.

Today we're going to the petting farm with Isabella's nursery then we have a full week with three birthday parties, an interview, a leaving do and the dentist!

Links!

Nice ideas for grown-up birthdays.

How to calm a baby.

This is nice but shouldn't be a news story.

We need more teachers like this...

...fewer exams like this...

...and more students like this!

As a parent, I found this attempt by one school to remove parental control shocking.

Whereas this New York parks department is getting it right.

Ikea

Yesterday we had a family day and decided to go to Ikea and pick up a few things. It was lunchtime so we decided to have lunch there too. Anyone with two kids under three will know that this is brave but we went for it.

Of course I'd forgotten to pack Joshua something to eat and figured he could nibble from ours and have some milk. Then, while browsing, we spotted that they sell jars of baby food. Day saved!

We polled up at the till with our meals (Isabella's bio pasta just 1 Euro!) and paid. The lady removed the lid from the baby food, explaining that she had to, Nico replied something like 'for safety', thinking of people accidently putting metal in the microwave and the saleswoman explained, 'no, to stop people taking them home, as they are free'!

Already over the moon with such fantastic, family-friendly service, we headed for the microwave only to discover cutlery, plates and bibs for the little ones. We got Joshua a high chair and enjoyed our first family meal as four outside of the house. It was one of those perfect moments, two happy, satisfied children and two relaxed parents. Well done Ikea!