Blogs I have found #1

He and I  - Such a cute little family, I think I will be popping back to Alexa's family as she is good writer and takes beautiful photos. Also our daughters are 4 days apart! Her transformation from pre-pregnancy to post pregnancy is inspiring!

A beautiful exchange - Another family similar in age to mine, sharing parenting dilemmas is always a good read - especially when there are suggestions for new techniques to try!

Mummy Space - This is a blog by one of my best friends and I love to see what she shares - because we talk so often I generally know what has been going on but it is nice to support each other! Katy is also a beautiful source of advice for me, she has three babies and her youngest will be the same school year as Belle.

Weekend Fundraising - for the Town Band

I have just finished one of the biggest projects of my life! Fundraising for the Town Band is part of my role as secretary and most of the time it really consists of booking the band at existing events.
This is was my first fundraising event solely run by the band. My organisational skills were well and truly put to the test!! Luckily I was given compliments on the day by stall holders who attend many craft events a year, which obviously made my day!

Not only was the event itself barely stressful for me it was an actual success. We added a very respectable amount to our funds and now the dilemma is what to spend the money on!

I will be writing out what we did and what fundraising activities worked best for us - a sort of evaluation for me to look back on should I do anything similar again (there are already plans) But also to try and help anyone else who is jumping in at the deep end like I did!!

Just to note too, I had about a year knowing this event was coming and did a lot of thinking and planning with the support of band members. Personally, I was pregnant and had a toddler - then a toddler and a new born whilst planning and executing this fundraiser! So believe me, anyone who puts their mind to it can achieve great results with the right planning and organisation. I also have excellent support from my family that looked after my babies, ran stalls, carried out jobs on the day and built so many things for the day. Truly blessed with my family.

Egg Heavy Recipes - dessert first!

Now that we have 8 chickens we get a lot of eggs, we spread the eggs around the family so everyone benefits from their goodness but we often have quite a few eggs around to use up. 

Here are some egg heavy recipes I will be looking at trying soon, of course dessert first!:

Flour less Chocolate Cake
Bean Chocolate Cake

These recipes are from the BackYardChicken forum,

OLD FASHION POUND CAKE  

3 c. sugar1 lb. butter, softened10 eggs4 c. plain flour2 tsp. baking powder2 tsp. vanilla
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Measure and sift flour, baking powder and dash of salt. Add flour to mixture in several parts. Stop mixer, add about 1/3 of the flour, start mixer back slowly, then mix fast JUST UNTIL MIXED. Repeat until dry ingredients are all incorporated. Scrape down sides after each mixing. Put in 10 inch tube pan that has been greased and floured. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing.
This makes a FABULOUS chocolate pound cake. Add 1/4 cup milk after the butter and eggs are creamed, and 1/4 cup of good cocoa, mix it in with the flour.

Bread pudding 

Two cups of stale bread ripped into chunks put a a shallow casserole, 

Mix 4-5 eggs (depending on size), 

3/4 sugar (adjust to your liking or use different sweetner), 

1 cup cream, milk, half and half or almond milk. 

 Fruit of your choice, chopped apples (if using apples I'll mix in some cinnamon), raisins, currents, dried cranberries, cherries, pineapple (if using pineapple I'll add some coconut).  Nuts are a great addition about a half cup chopped.  Slivered almonds go great with cherries, walnuts go great with the apples...whatever you like...

pour mixture over bread and bake in a 350 oven about an hour or until browned and puffy.

The beauty of this recipe besides being quick and easy to assemble is that it has unlimited variations, corn bread can be used as well as Italian or French bread, challah...ect.  Stale bread is better but I've used fresh when in a pinch with good results. 

the amount of bread, eggs and cream obviously vary depending on the size of your casserole dish.  this is a basic amount for a casserole dish that would serve 4.  Feel free to play around with all the amounts as it's pretty hard to screw this recipe up.

Besides being a great dessert, it's a decent breakfast that is easily warmed up in the mornings.

Taking blogging further

I have had this space on the internet for many years and only recently have I felt that pull to write again. Zak's pregnancy and Belle being a toddler was tough, I'll share more about our 18 month age gap another day. But needless to say it has taken the last 15 weeks to get into a good place with the both of them.

Blogging has always been for me, I will not share pictures of my children often (if at all) because of how I feel about the internet and its lack of safety. However, upcycling, bargains, crafting and learning through play excites me. These are the things I will share, I will share our life to a point and that will just have to do. I have so many ideas that I am sure it will still be a good read!

If you follow my pinterest you will see the research I have been doing. I have big goals and a busy life to fit it all into! That is just part of the fun ..... right! Finding that illusive balance between computer time and making sure these babies get enough face time - not to mention the housework, cooking healthy meals and remaining a present wife to my husband. Oh and exercise. Is going to be my biggest challenge. Like I said big goals encompassing every part of my life.

If you fancy sharing any blog growth tips or insights to having a baby and a toddler, leave a comment and I will gratefully take a look!

Changes ....

We have grown to a family of 4! We are truly blessed and adjusting well (most days)

My plans are to get back to this space with our new adventures slowly. I have new goals and aspirations but I am choosing to take my time with them. I can get too gung ho with my ideas and realise that whilst my time is not quite my own at the moment I need to expect a little less from myself.

I have plans for a revamp, plans for soooo many projects we have been completing around the house. New adventures we have been experiencing with auctions online and in real life! Not to mention the 8 chickens we are currently keeping.

So I am hoping I am back for a while, just maybe less frequently than before. Lets see!

Saltram walks

I have been so stuck in my head again lately that cleaning and sorting seem to be the only jobs I am capable of. We have been a poorly household and it has been interesting!
I am really looking forward to December to Christmas to decorating the house and just being together.
November. I will be glad to see the back of. It has been a strange month for me. I am ready to get all cosy and enjoy cheesy Christmas movies. I can't wait till belle understands Christmas and gets excited.
Today I am taking the morning to catch up with a very good friend.

My current reads

My readership of blogs varies week by week but I find myself stopping by to some of the same ones now and I thought I would share them with you...

Sunny With a Chance of Sprinkles I cannot remember how I found Chelsea but I love her honesty about juggling a child, school and a relationship. I love the crafts they do together and being reminded to take time out to just enjoy life.

A Sorta Fairytale Blog Mandy is a photographer with amazing skills for capturing her boys. I love them! I love how real life this mum seems too. Makes me feel a little more sane!

Bleubird Vintage I think everyone in blogger land has read James at some point, but I truly love the simplicity of their photos, plans for life. I love the Montessori inspiration for my children too.

Smile and Wave Rachel is a week ahead of me in her third pregnancy and although I have been following for a long time I cannot wait to see what she blogs about over the next 4 months!

C H and O Daddy Is the blog of one of my best friends husband. I love seeing blogging and parenting from a man's point of view. Their 2 boys are older than Belle but Olivia will be the same school year, I love that we have that from a friendship point of view.

Lastly, my sister Improvised Intentions although we see her fairly regularly she also blogs with a different style to me so it makes an interesting read!