7 days

 

Bump watch // drying clothes outside! // immense Valentines dessert// The aftermath of a yummy dinner // braids // gardening fun

Monday

A boring work day so nothing much happened at all, in fact all I did when I finished was go for an epic nap. I was in such a deep sleep that I woke up in a puddle of drool! Sexy. Thats when you know you have had a good sleep though! Mum and dad dropped Rosie off, so I caught up with them over a cuppa and heard about Rosie's antics that day.

 

Tuesday

This week Tom came with us on our weekly swimming trip. Rosie really loved having both mummy and daddy there. It also meant that she could go on the big slide with out any drama, thought she only wanted to go down twice. One thing I love about our local pool is the indoor pool joins on to an out door pool which is open all year round. This meant that we could go for an outside swim - it was so refreshing as the air was so cold and crisp yet we were surrounded by the warmth of the water. After swimming we headed home for lunch and then to be honest we didnt do that much. I spent the afternoon taking pictures and putting things on ebay, I find it such a tedious task! I did however manage to eat a whole packet of chocolate digestives through out the day!

 

Wednesday

Another work day for me but luckily I finish at 12, I came home and we decided to get on with some packing. Todays room of choice was Rosie's. It was quite nice being able to go through all her wee trinkets and what not, and looking at photos of her as a teeny baby. It seems like yesterday she was a little bundle in my arms. We also woke up to a blanket of snow today, probably a couple of inches which we were delighted with as even though we live a stones throw away from the beginning of the Scottish highlands we have had literally no snow this winter. I think every where in the UK has been covered in the stuff and all we get is slush rain! It was so nice just to sit on the sofa with a cuppa and watch the snow fall out the window.

 

Thursday

We never really do anything to celebrate valentines day but this year I decided to stop off at Tesco's on the way home and pick up some bits and bobs for a special dinner. I decided to go for steak and chips, a classic. Obviously because I am pregnant, I am not drinking alcohol at the moment so I picked up a bottle of Appletize for a substitue. My dessert consitised of a crepe filled with banana, nutella and chocolate ice cream and topped with whipped double cream (pictured above) which nearly tipped me over the edge, I was so full and in repayment for my greed I was given a lovely case of heart burn. It was horrendous, I had actually forgotten how painful it was.

 

Friday

The morning was spent doing a few household chores and looking for inspiration for out meal plan as it was grocery shopping day. I hate thinking what to have for dinner - I feel like we just have a handful of choices that are on constant rotation, so if you have any yummy recipes or dinner ideas please feel free to share. We headed out for a bite of lunch and then took Rosie to the park for a run around before hitting the shops. If you are interested in what we bought then take a look at my groceries post.

It was such a lovely day that I actually managed to get my washing outside for the first in what feels like forever. I always find that your washing feels and smells so much better when its been dried outside. Because of the lovely weather we decided we should make the most of it and tackle our garden, in particular the bit round the front. I really wish I had taken a before picture because it was unreal. This particular patch has been the center of dispute with us as I am not really sure its our responsibily but the people who service the rest of the area dont want anything to do with it either so it has gone for nearly 3 years pretty much neglected. As we are moving out soon and knew the landlord would have perspective new tennents having a look round we though we best tackle it. Iknow absolutely nothing about gardening, not a bloody clue, what I did know is that I wasnt going near it without a pair of gardening gloves - luckily Aldi had some cute flower print ones for £1.99

I went out expecting to do an hour or so of weeding and ended up out there until it was dark, I have to say I got pretty in to it, especially when our neighbour let us borrow his hedge cutter things. As soon as I had those in my hands I was away - like a small child with a fringe - just cutting anything in sight. The picture above is Tom standing next to the massive pile of bushes that we had chopped back. Tom is 6ft 4! I was supposed to be taking in easy but of course over did myself and had to have a good long soak in the bath to help those poor muscles. Needles to say I went out like a light that night.

Saturday

Today was my first wedding of the year so I was up at dawn's cracking getting everything together before heading out to the brides house. I cannot express how much I love my job - its amazing doing something you really enjoy, getting to meet lots of new people and getting paid for it. The icing on the cake is that I have an actual genuine reason for buying shit loads of make up (added bonus is the Pro Discount!). The bridal party were lovely and the bride decided to go for a smokey eyed Kim Kardashian look which I really enjoyed doing, she looked a million dollars and after looking in the mirror said it was exactly the look she had picture in her head, that always puts a smile on my face. The adorable Mother of the Bride had even gone to the trouble of knitting a wee cardi, hat, mits and booties for the bump. I nearly cried at her kindness!

After "work" I headed home, had some lunch and then we went back out to the garden again. Tom also did a 3 skip runs and the pile looked like it hadnt been touched. His mum, dad, sister and our nephew came down in the afternoon which Rosie was thrilled about as she could run wild causing chaos with her cousin. It also meant that she was worn out, by tea time she could hardly keep her eyes open and to be honest me and Tom were feeling the same so we decided on a cheeky chippy tea which was delicious before an early night.

 

Sunday

I woke up on Sunday and the sun was literally blazing through the window so I hopped (scrambled) out of bed chucked some clothes on and went out in the garden with Rosie. We did the final lot of gardening which took us about 3 hours before heading in for some lunch. It was so warm that I was able to take my jumper off and be quite warm in a vest top. Its amazing how much the weather can change your spirits. It made me even more excited for the summer months. I have been quite stressed out of late but I just found that it cleared my head and made me feel really happy and full of life. A feeling that was quickly stolen by the afternoons task of business admin and worse still - sorting out my accounts. The one downside to running your own business. If I was a better person I would be much more organised and stay on top of things but lets face it - I am not. I can think of a million better things to do with my time. In fact I am suppose to be finishing off my accounts right at this moment. Tom very kindly got the dinner ready whilst I was surround by various screens, notepads, invoices, calculators, shouting obscenities and such like. After dinner, we got Rosie to bed and then did some TV watching/ Blog reading before heading to bed. Wild.

 

Love Sophie xox

 

 

Groceries #3

 

 

Honey Nut Cornflakes

Maple and Pecan Crunch

Large punnet of mushrooms

Soured cream

Mixed peppers

Pink Lady apples

onions x 3

Bananas

pears

cucumber

grapes

squeezy fromage frais pouches

washing up liquid

milk

long grain rice

Steak Cut chips

frozen garden peas

chicken breast slices

fish fingers

mature cheddar cheese

fig rolls

tuna chunks x 3

chopped tomatoes

hot dog rolls

chicken breast

washing up liquid

bin bags

kidney beans

crunch corner style yoghurts x 2

Total: £38

 

 

Tesco

Pull up pants

pizza

baby wipes

toothpaste

frankfurters

chicken burgers

cherry tomatoes

500g mince

Total: £15

So I managed to remember and take pictures this week which is a bonus! We did a big Aldi shop and then got a few other bits and bobs from Tesco that we couldn't find in Aldi. The Aldi shop was £38 and the Tesco's £15, so £53 all together. Not Bad!

 

Love Sophie xox

 

7 Days

Pancakes//my face//20 week scan//cute toddler Toms//meal planning//a delicious dinner (thanks Charlotte & Rosie)//baby top knots//cake face//k2

So the other week I did a list of what's been good or bad in my life but I have decided to change that and instead do a weekly round up post. Purely because that's what I enjoy reading and as I want this blog to be an online journal of my life I think it fits in better. I am hoping to post these every Monday but it true "me" style I am already a day late with that!

 

Sunday

It is the start of wedding season for my business which unknown to many isn't May to September but actually more like February to November so really the only two months I have off is Dec and Jan. Through out those months I have been chomping at the bit to get back to the swing of things so was very happy when I had an appointment booked in for a trial on Sunday morning. Off I went to meet my lovely client and work out some wedding day looks for her. She was so sweet and had the cutest little boy! I love clients that you can have a right good laugh or chat with. After her trial I went and did a quick food shop before coming home to do some admin work. Tom and Rosie were staying with his mum and dad so I had the house to myself to get on with those bitty jobs that you never get round to doing. When they got back I gave R such a big squeeze and the we had some fun playing whilst Tom cooked a delicious tea of sweet and sour chicken, then it was bath, story and bed for R and then some blog time for me!

 

Monday

As well as working freelance I also work 15 hours as a medical secretary at our local hospital. Monday is a day that I work there and always begin with a totally mad dash of getting up, ready, getting Rosie ready, packing bags and dropping R off before heading to work. It is always such a crazy rush and I am always at least 5 mins late for work. I just never have enough time! I finished work at 2.30 and then headed home where I had a few ours to myself to tidy the house and more importantly catch up on blogs! My mum has R till around 7pm so when she gets home it's just a case of putting her to bed and having a catch up with my lovely mum.

 

Tuesday

Tuesday is swimming day, well it has been since last week. I just wanted to spend some more quality time with R, especially before K2 comes along so decided we would go once a week. She was so good and I think only had 2 tantrums, one brought on by the little accident we had... They have a wee toddler pool bit with a cracking slide that has been there since I was about 4, to get up to the top there is two narrow sort of enclosed stair cases either side. I was hoping that for some stupid reason R wouldn't notice the slide (it's pretty much the focal point of the pool) as normally there is me and Tom there. One to help her up the steps and the other at the bottom to catch her. Of course she spotted the slide and was desperate to have a go so I reluctantly allowed her, telling her to be very careful. Are two year olds ever careful? No. So of course she wasn't paying attention going up the stairs and of course she ended up falling down half of them, backwards! I was horrified, I rushed out to see she was ok - which she was, after a few moments of tears and kisses better. But she wanted to embarrass me more and when I told her that she couldn't go up again cause it was to dangerous she had a melt down. This was worse that the fall. A kind man asked if she was ok and suggested that his son could take her up the stairs, so off she went and finally had her shot on the slide. As soon as she hit the bottom, I caught her, thanked the man and rushed off totally mortified. Swimming totally wears R out so when we got back we had lunch and then she went for a 3 hr nap whilst I sorted through some stuff to pack as we are moving in the next few weeks.

 

Wednesday

Today was another work day but only till 12pm so after work I decided to grab some ingredients and have a go at making a chocolate cake with the help (or hindrance) of R. After that it was time to cook tea before story bath and bed. I was totally shattered after R went to bed as Tom works late Monday - Wednesday so it's constant go go go.

 

Thursday

Another work day till 2.30 - it seemed to be hectic at work yet time passed so so slow. I hate days like that. I had taken some chocolate cake in for my colleagues which was very much appreciated, try it for yourself here. It's funny how I work with a team of Dietitians yet there is always some sort of cake/treat in the kitchen! After work I nipped to B&Q to get a starter switch for our light. Does anyone else feel totally out of their depth in there? I must always have a look of sheer confusion, or they have very good customer service and someone always asked if they can help! Thank goodness as otherwise I would have been there for 3 hours instead of 5 mins! I got the switch and headed home with the intention of fixing (or rather watching Tom fix) our stupid kitchen light that has been on the blink for weeks, I was totally over cooking in the dark! I proudly presented the vital part, however it turned out that wasn't the problem, the bulb had gone too! I was livid. What a fail.

 

Friday

Friday was our 20 week scan day which you can read about here.

 

Saturday

We were supposed to be heading to a 2nd birthday party but both Rosie and Tom were suffering from colds and were a bit under the weather so we decided not to go and instead had a cosy day in, where I sorted through bags and bags of Rosie's old clothes. I actually cannot believe how much stuff she had, most of which was given from kind friends who's babies had outgrown them. Sorting through the clothes actually took around 4 hours! It was a bit of a non eventful day really!

 

Sunday

Tom was working all day today so again me and Rosie just hung out, watched about a thousand episodes of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and "Doctor McStuffins", made puzzles, coloured in and just made a mess. I decided that I was going to have a go at Rosie from Cider with Rosie Bee's Chicken and leek pie recipe and what better to go with it than Charlotte's Roasties recipe. Oh my - it was delicious! Seriously the best meal I have cooked for a while. You need to try it now! Also a bonus is that it's really pretty simple. I have added it to my list of favourite meals. After stuffing my face to the point where I needed to lie on a cold floor, I helped Tom put Rosie to bed and then chilled out with some blogs.

Love Sophie XoX

 

 

Groceries #2

Something rare happened this week - Tom unpacked the shopping!!!! Whilst this was a lovely rare occurrence unfortunately he manage to do it before I had realised that I hadn't had chance to take a picture. I am really not doing well at the picture thing this week! I promise to try better next week. If you would like to see more of my photos then feel free to follow me on Instagram. I normally post at least one picture a day there!

I was going to type out the list but with the above picture it's not really necessary as its pretty obvious what the items are. FYI " easy fit pants" are R's nappies!

Again it was a pretty cheap week, so along with Tom's discount and the coupons we had it was about £35!

Here is an idea of our meal plan this week:

Bacon & leek pasta

Home made Nandos

Chicken & leek pie with veg and roasties

Roasted red pepper pasta

It's just me for meals on Monday night and only me an Rosie on Tues, Wed so we normally have left overs on those nights or cheeky freezer meals such as fish fingers!

Love Sophie XoX

 

The best chocolate fudge cake you will ever make!

Quite a claim but this cake is so absurdly easy and so so so yummy. The only down side is that it is packed full of sugar, not so good but fine as an occasional treat. Unfortunately I am the words most messiest cake decorator so the above image is a from weheartit, but you get the idea.

 

Ingredients

For the cake:

250g Self Raising Flour

325g Golden Caster Sugar

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

3 heaped tbsp Cocoa

250g Butter

250ml Coca Cola

125ml Milk

2 Medium Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract

 

For the frosting:

200g Butter

4 tbsp Coca Cola

3 heaped tbsp Cocoa

400g Icing sugar

 

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda. Melt the butter together with the coca cola and then add to the dry ingredients along with the milk, eggs and vanilla. Gently combine before putting in a lightly greased cake tin. Bake at 180 degrees/ gas mark 4 for 40 mins or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a tray.

 

For the frosting melt the coca cola with the butter and pour into the icing sugar. Add the cocoa and beat until smooth and thick, let it cool slightly and then spread over the cake.

 

I then put the cake in the fridge to let the icing set firm and fudgy!

 

Serve with cream or ice cream or by itself as its a super moist cake. Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turned out!

 

Love Sophie XoX

 

What I ate Wednesday #3

Whilst standing doing the dishes this evening I had that horrible "forgotten to do something but can't think what" feeling. I went through my mental to do list and nothing seemed to jump out, then it hit me! Shit! I had forgotten to take pictures for this very post. Never mind eh, worst things happen so I will just crack on pictureless.

 

Breakfast

Just the usual porridge and banana for me this morning accompanied by a cup of coffee (decaf). I switched to decaf last week so I could indulge in more than one cup of coffee if I wish as I have gone right off tea, which is strange as I have been a tea Jenny since I was about 9 months old and used to get it in my bottle! Now we normally have decaf tea in the house and the only difference I can make out is I would rather have tetly or my much beloved Scottish blend, however Tom insists on PG Tips. What is wrong with him?! Anyway, I thought it would be the same with coffee but I just don't seem to be enjoying my daily cup of java as much as I used too. It has a taste of falseness around it, much like sweetners. So I may have to switch back. There is some utterly useless info for you all.

 

Lunch

1/2 tomato, mozzarella and pesto panini, of lack lustre side salad, small bowl of homemade lentil soup.

Today was swim day and my plan never included having lunch there as it is such a bloody rip off but we were later coming out and I wanted to get Rosie down for a nap so I just grabbed something there. When I got back home Tom had made soup so I had a small bowl since I shared my lunch with a toddler.

 

Snack

Packet of crisps - a nice healthy choice

 

Dinner

Sausage and mash - a hug on a plate! I love this dish so much and it is just so simple to throw together. If we are feeling fancy we have it as toad in the hole but today it was simple style. It is also a meal that I know Rosie will eat without fuss.

 

And that's it for this week. I promise I will have some lovely images to accompany next weeks post but for now I will leave you with this picture of my charming daughter who had a full blown tantrum because she dropped some ready brek.

Love Sophie XoX

 

What I ate Wednesday

Today's WIAW was a bit of a failure as it was Tom's birthday so it wasn't really a usual day!

Breakfast - I forgot to take pictures today as I was busy getting things ready with presents but in any case all I had was toast and honey. Two slices.

Lunch - As pictured above ^ We had a wee birthday spread complete with cocktail sausages, cheese and pickles!

Dinner - I have absolutely zero energy this evening so dinner was very unexciting and consisted of chicken Kiev and beans! Highly nutritious haha.

So there we go - a very uninspiring food day full of not the healthiest choices!

Sophie XoX

 

What I ate Wednesday

I am always so curious to see what other people eat on a daily basis and love all the foodie Instagram pics, so I thought I would start doing these as a regular post.

 

Hope you enjoy the 1st instalment!

Breakfast

I always like to mix my breakfasts up as I seem to get bored of them easily. Normally I mix it up between porridge, toast, scrambled eggs and yoghurt.

Today's choice was toast and scrambled eggs accompanied by a big cup of coffee.

 

 

Lunch

It was a cold, bitter day so some soup was needed. In this case Heinz Tomato - a classic - accompanied with a buttered roll.

Snack

So it's obvious that today was not one of healthy choices and I just had to indulge with some mini eggs.

 

Dinner

A warm comfort dinner was needed and in this case it was chill con carne and a jacket potato. It was a super easy dinner too as it was a left over freezer portion! Yum!

 

As you will have realised this post is named what I ate Wednesday but it is now Friday. I am a couple of days behind this week due to.... Well, life! Things will be back on track next week!

 

Love Sophie XoX