Christmas Day 2015

Christmas Day started at 3:30am in our buzzy household. At 3:45am I heard a rustling noise, I went into Louie's bedroom to find him wide awake surrounded by the gifts from his stocking!! Bless him, he was just too excited. We gathered up the gifts and tucked him back up into bed and he promised to go back to sleep! At about 6, I woke again and went in to him and the gifts were out again! Lego built, meccano built, books read - the little bee was incredibly excited and he couldn't contain himself! Santa even brought him a horse stable for the horses he had in his advent calendar, isn't Santa clever!

At about 7:30, we went down to do the presents. My first gift was the Hornsea pottery, genuine 1970's tea cup, which was absolutely perfect! We all had a selection of gifts but the main event was a very special present from Santa, but not from the North Pole, from somewhere in the South Pacific...

There was only one gift that Louie had asked Santa for this year, Tracy Island. And as Dan and I had both wanted it as a child and we were painfully denied (!), we both agreed that it was only fair to get one for Louie (so that we could relive our childhoods and play with it too...). We hunted down the original Matchbox Tracy Island from 1993 and the Weetabix figures to match too. Everyone was so excited!

After lunch, Nana and Grandad arrived. Louie changed into his adorable Christmas outfit and we all had some more gorgeous gifts including the Lego racing truck Louie has wanted for months (and subsequently forgotten about) and some deckchairs for the summer! Just what I had wanted! We were all very grateful :)

Then it was time for Christmas dinner.

We started with Paté, then for the main event we had roast ham with piggies and so much veg. Pudding was a little funny! As I don't like Christmas Pud, I made a Chocolate Tart for Louie and I but bought a little pud for everyone else, however I didn't look at the instructions! 2 hours to steam, oops! So we did have to make an emergency plea to our next door neighbour, they popped it in their microwave and saved the day!

By the time we had finished dinner, it was bedtime for a little bee. He was asleep in minutes (oh man, he was tired!) and then after Nana and Grandad took off home, Dan sat and played on his playstation for a little while, which is a treat for him, and I had a lovely look through my lovely gifts.

What a perfect Christmas.

Just What We Needed

 A glorious countryside walk and a visit to the Wistow Rural Centre to make our simple picnic amazing. Olives, biscuits and yummy drinks from the Mediterranean Kitchen, a pal we have made from our Farmers Market trips. If you are local, trust us, he is amazing. Dan and Louie love the olives and I adore the fresh bread and perfect turkish delight!
We sat on our blanket eating our delish sandwiches and reading our magazines in the sunshine until it was too hot and time to get the Sunday roast on.

 On our way home, we saw an abundance of Elderflowers absolutely everywhere. Too many to go home empty handed. After the boys settled down at home, I went on a forage with some scissors and a bag and came home with enough flowers to make some home made cordial.

And then for dinner. As you will probably know, Sunday dinner is a big thing in our household. With Nana away at work, I had a free reign to do something a little different. A succulent lemon and thyme stuffed chicken, with the most perfectly cooked veg. All cooked in one huge tray. Less washing up for Pappy.
Homemade Tiramisu for after... a masterpiece if I do say so myself (as I would, as Dan and Louie's were a bit sloppy... too much coffee).

The heavens have opened and I have my feet up whilst the boys play quietly. A DVD to watch after bedtime will finish off a truly needed, relaxing day.

Foodie Weekend

 

This weekend started off with a woodland walk and mainly revolved around food.

Homemade Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia
With a risotto stuffed flat mushroom, topped with herby breadcrumbs and a salad.
Focaccia turned grilled deli sandwich with tomato, salami, mozzarella and pesto.

Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken
A traditional Sunday roast. Chicken, roasties, sweet potato, parsnips, stuffing, steamed vegetables. A feast. Followed by a delicious chocolate rice pudding, skin on.
Wholemeal seeded loaf baked for tomorrows left over chicken and stuffing sandwiches. 

Out of Doors

All day.
Breakfast al fresco, taking toys outside, talking to Ayo through the fence with goggles and ear defenders on because he was being noisy, best frock just because, bike ride to the park, roast chicken with salad al fresco again of course, chocolate fudge loaf with mascarpone, early bed.