Chatting, ranting and some stepping! Come in and have a brew with us.

[carrotsandcelery]

A place to have a blether, and a . All chatters are welcome, stepping or otherwise.

Come inside and settle down on the sofa.

poor,poor carrots
id offer you a hug but im not good with sick people

was it something you ate?

we have tested eaten all of the simpleton cake
it was indeed simple to make and very yummy.
i will wait and post the recipe when carrots is feeling better

we are having a lazy day

i have done some flying first thing now im taking time out
me and the zoolets have been drawing and colouring

we decided to watch a dvd again today-tangled..so i hit google and found some colouring pictures of her and a wordsearch and maze so weve been doing those up til lunchtime

i am now going to settle down in amongst my rabble for cuddles and dvd

i may put on a yoga dvd i unearthed 2 days ago later and see we can all do some karma work

hope you are feeling better soon carrots.x

I am getting better thanks. I am just wobbly and a bit suspect about food. My tum was swollen up like I was pregnant yesterday and today my jeans won't stay up.

Ds is now off to his activity, courtesy of my ddad coming up to get him. It will give him a change of scene and some exercise for a while and me a little bit of quiet.

I am tempted to take a little nap. I know it is not like me but it might help in the circumstances.

I hope you enjoy the yoga zoo. It is a great thing for the dcs to do too if you can get them interested. Our school used to offer yoga for the young ones before school once a week. Ds tried it but found it boring (typical) but other kids in the school love it.

poor carrots - was it something you drank ?

I just cleaned the cooker hob & splash-back & filters. And am now making tomato soup

Enjoy the yoga zoo

carrots the planter was REALLY easy to make. You basically get some risers (the side bits of a staircase) from B&Q, and balance your troughs on top of that! The original site said to screw the troughs onto the risers, but DH didn't do that. He did nail a small piece of wood between the two risers to "strap" them together, but I think that was mainly so he had an excuse to get the saw & nails out

cats how's the house rescue coming on?

scout hope TS is all better now?

zoo you know we always want your recipes! I have been meaning to ask you all for your best & easiest cake/snack recipes - preferably ones that DD2 (1, only 5 teeth) can eat too. We are spending a sodding fortune at the moment on little snack bars - both the girls are eating like horses atm - I don't mind buying the bars to take with us if we go out, but we can't carry on with them eating them at home all the time!

In return I can offer you some frozen yogurt drops I found on Pinterest - I haven't tried this yet (only one yogurt left in the fridge), but they look good!

bessie downstairs is looking better --for now-- I have posted my jobs on the other thread. Just having a lunch break and a

bessie I wish it had been something I drank. That way I would feel I deserved it somehow. There is a nasty bug going round the village. I usually shake these things off but I think being so busy and then doing all that cleaning meant my defences were down.

My dparents seem to have made off with ds for the afternoon. Ddad was taking him to his activity but they have phoned to say they will bring him home around 5pm. I am relieved as he was being really good but would have got bored and I don't have the energy to keep him entertained.

Dd is home now and has been working on a homework project.

She is now watching tv which I think is fair enough as she has been busy all day so far.

I have been making bracelets using beads and thin wire. I have never done this before but I am quite pleased with the results. I am worried about how strong they will be though so I need to investigate further.

I have been invited to start selling at craft fairs. I am not sure I know enough techniques or if I can generate enough stock to sell that way but I would love to do it. A good friend does it and suggested I just took a corner of her table to begin with until I see if things sell or not etc. She is a trained (degree level) jewellery designer and has made jewellery for celebrities etc though so I am a bit in awe

go for it carrots-feel the fear and do it anyway!

im bored and lonely

dcs are akip,theres nothing on tv to amuse me and ive just realsed ive barely had a proer adult conversation for a week!

talk about billy no RL mates!

I'm here zoo - writing a menu plan & shopping list

DH has just discovered Pirates is on BBC3

carrots you defo need to go for it with the jewelry thing! Nothing ventured, nothing gained etc

i hope its boredom and not the company you keepthats making you yawn bessie

ive just written a shopping list or tomorrow

i shall locate blackeye bean and mushroom stew recipe and post it tomorrow

will have a think snacky ideas and get back to you on that one

for now heres tonights dinner-morrocan chickpea stew
serves 2-3,dep apetite

1 onion,chopped
2tsp cumin seeds
large pinch cinnamon
clove garlic,chopped
350g carrots/squash or mix of the two,chopped
tin chickpeas,drained
1tbsp tomato puree

saute the onion til softened
add garlic,cumin and cinnamon for 2 mins
add carrots/squash,chickpeas and puree and a chickpea tin ful of cold water.
bring to boil and simmer for 20mins
serve with couscous mixed with parsley and a little grated orange zest if desired

im going to trundle off now and ponder the snacks i feed zoolets for inspiration for you

night!

bessie the simpleton cake recipe

8oz dry fruit
8flozboiling water
1tsp cinnamon/mix spice
1tsp vanila
3oz brown sugar
8oz plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda

line 1lb loaf tin

preheat oven 190oc/375of/gas5/fan 170oc

put spice,fruit and water in a pan.leave for 10mins

stir in sugar and vanilla

add flour and soda

pop straight into tin and bake 45mins

delish spread with butter!

I'm around for a little while!

bessie We have Pirates on too.

Night all!

sorry, i got distracted by DD2 crying (teeth) - thanks for the recipe zoo - yet another one I will steal

Hi all,

bessie does she still have a lot of teeth to come through?

You tend to forget what life was like with a baby as they get older.

DD is starting to sleep all night at last YAY!!!! but I still seem to wake up at around 2 or 3am every night then end up asleep on the sofa till around 7.00am. I think I am starting to feel loads better now though!

Afternoon everyone!

I ended up being ill again last night. I think it was partially exhaustion.

I have managed a bowl of cereal just now though with no stomach cramps so fingers crossed.

I really want to be well today as dd is performing in her first violin show and playing solo (everyone is) and as part of an ensemble, which she LOVES doing.

Do you think it is selfish to go if I stay at the back of the hall? I am really torn. I usually am very strict about quarantine etc when these things are on the go. No one else in the house has got it though...

I think I will go for the craft fair. I won't expect to make much money, from what I have heard about these things, but it does seem to be quite sociable and I will be with my friend all day so we can have a laugh if nothing else.

I will need to invest a little cash first though on paper bags and business cards. Dh says I can get 250 business cards for £5 so that seems doable. I will have to nose around for paper bags. Surely that can't be too hard.

Then, of course, I will have to make loads of jewellery. I did some hunting around and my suspicions about the wire I was using yesterday was correct. It is not remotely strong enough for bracelets so I will have to take them apart again and order the right stuff. You live and learn.

I have learnt a new beadweaving stitch though and am making dd a rainbow bracelet, which is taking hours. I will put a photo up of the progress so far.

I have put the rainbow bracelet and the tila bead bracelets on my profile I think. I know the rainbows are very much for kids but they do make me smile

Hi carrots they are very good. I'm sure you would get people wanting to buy them.

I hope you feel well enough to go today. Can anyone go with you? DH?

I saw your thread about not being able to go to the loo alone. We are getting a lot of this lately with DD. I was surprised that your DH follows too though!

I know Cats that was what I couldn't get over. Fair enough the kids and the dog but for dh to wander along to chat as well was a bit much!

We are not worried about being private with each other or the dcs but really!

I was ok at the show btw and actually feel much better so maybe going out helped me.

Dd did really well. She didn't play as confidently as she normally does but I suppose that is why her teacher gives them the opportunity to play in little concerts and get used to having an audience.

Thanks for your kind words about the jewellery. I still have a lot to learn but nothing has got me as fired up for years so I am enjoying myself.

Good carrots. I think it's good for us if we can do something we enjoy!
I am finding that if and when I do my painting. It's something that I like doing but sometimes it's a bit hard to find the time. It's still not finished but I might only need a few more goes at it to be happy with it! If I think it's good enough when it's done I might put it on my profile.

DD is --hopefully-- getting past some of the toddler tantrums she used to have. She still kicks off about some things but other things that used to set her off don't anymore which makes life a little easier!

DS on the other hand is getting to the back chatting and attitude stage.
Not quite sure how to deal with that apart from giving warnings about potentially taking things away or grounding.

cats DD2 only has 6 teeth (another one appeared today), so no big back ones for chewing anything difficult.

carrots glad DD's concert went well, hope she is proud of herself? I would be terrified of doing anything like that!

Also hope you are feeling a bit better? I was poorly after going out for a meal last week & it took me 4 days (almost the whole of the Jubilee weekend) until I felt better!

It's great that you are really enjoying the jewelry thing. I wish I could find something I was actually interested in. You should blog about it, then I can Pin all your pictures!

Chore ideas for kids

bessie even dh told dd he was proud of her It was so clear how fond of her her teacher is which was lovely. Next step is her next exam. She was supposed to do it at the end of last year and although I had paid for it I cancelled it as, as a household, we couldn't take the extra strain. She is working up to doing it again, but for a different exam body (is that the word?) so she can get different and more interesting pieces to play.

I am managing to eat now, more or less, although I still feel ill if I am cooking Dh is exhausted just doing half of what I normally do, which does make me realise that, although the house is far from perfect, it is not the only thing I do and I should be a bit easier on myself sometimes.

As for the hobby. It has taken me ages to find a hobby that I enjoy, that I can afford, which isn't dangerous etc. I am really rubbish at watching tv so it works in quite well as I have something to do while dh watches.

After years of helping others create things it is also really satsifying to create myself.

Dh would like me to write, which is what my own English teacher wanted me to do, but I don't feel my brain is up to it at the moment. I have tried writing over the last few years and I am not what I was, not even close to it and I am always left feeling really disatisfied. This is much more uplifting.

bessie that is a great list. I am relieved to realise that ds (7 yo) can do all of them apart from clean the toilet. He is rubbish at his room but we break it down to, "pick up all of your cuddly toys and put them in the hamper." then, "look for all the dirty clothes that should have gone in the wash." and then, "Put all the Lego pieces in the Lego tub." and so on and he is improving.

His willingness to do them all is another matter. He chose not to have a bedtime story tonight rather than tidy his room

Btw, how do you find blogs that you might be interested in reading?