Silent Sunday

Sunday Afternoon Party Fun

We have just come back from our friends daughters 4th birthday party. Megan and Ben had a great time. The entertainer played games, dancing competitions and gave out lots of sweets, so he went down a storm.

The party gave Ben the opportunity to perfect his dancing skills.  This is a recent development and is the most hilarious thing I have seen him do so far.  He stands with such a serious face and wiggles his body and now throws in some arm movements! Such a cool dude, just love him to bits.

Aside from Bens fantastic dancing Megan and Ben has a ball, catching up with their friends O, C and M.
A lovely afternoon to finish off a chilled weekend.

So what have you been up to this weekend?

Baking

This morning we had great fun baking cookies and cheese straws.

I love baking and cooking. Before kids, I spent loads more time in the kitchen, coming up with new recipes and cooking old favourites. It is one of my hobbies, (alongside reading) that relaxs me and destresses me.
We have hosted many a dinner party, which sounds far grander than it was! (It usually involved spag bol, eaten sat around in the living room with copious amounts of red wine and lovely friends.) But I did enjoy experimenting with new foods and would occasionally surprise my guests with something new and use them as guinea pigs!

Since Megan was born though, I understandably haven't spent as much time as I would like cooking or being creative in the kitchen.

However I do make sure that I take the time to cook and bake with Megan and more recently Ben too.  From an early age we have made cakes and biscuits, just for fun or special occasions, like birthdays.
Both of them love it, the making, the mess and just that special time of baking together.  Megan is even getting very good at the washing up too!

I think its important to teach them about making their own meals and cakes etc.  I was taught how to cook and bake by my mum and those skills have been developed in my own kitchen.  And now it is my turn to pass those skills to my children.  Not only is it cheaper to cook your own food, it can also be healthier. Don't get me wrong, I'm not stood in the kitchen every day cooking from scratch, no chance!  Chicken nuggets, fish fingers and chips play a part in our meal times, just not every day, maybe just once or twice a week. And I don't cook casseroles or fiddly time consuming meals every day either. We might have pasta and sauce one night, (cheap and cheerful and EVERYONE likes it!), rice and something another night, sausage and mash, homemade pizzas, homemade quiche, pastie pie, chilli, casseroles and stews. A great mix of ready to eat food and homemade concoctions.

So today we made cookies, 3 different types, chocolate, smarties and sprinkles. And cheese straws!  It was great fun, lovely and messy, especially the 'rubbing in' part. 

Here are a few pictures from our baking morning.

The Gallery - 8pm

Sunday evening, 8pm and all is silent after a lovely hectic weekend spent shopping, visiting family, late nights watching x factor, baking, more shopping and roast dinner! Phew, I'm worn out just writing it, but it was great fun!

Sleepover

Megan had a sleepover at nanas on Saturday which she really enjoyed. They had nibbles and homemade beef stew with dumplings which Megan likes.  She got to stay up late and watch x factor and a big treat, she slept in nanas bed.

I think its lovely that she had such a great time as it wasn't that long ago she didn't want to stay anywhere away from me.  It is another sign she is growing up and gaining more confidence in herself as it is something she lacks, which does worry me.  It is also lovely for Megan to have some one on one time with my mum and to see that bond growing.

On the Sunday morning Megan had a 'makeover' and nana curled her hair and put on a little bit of make up. When she came home she looked very grown up and absolutely gorgeous.

Benerisms

Benerisms are what I call Bens unique little phrases or things he does.  I am blogging them so I won't forget them as they are too gorgeous to not remember!

I was at work yesterday and Ben was at my sisters. He had been so good on the potty so my sister said he could have a treat. Ben replied, "can I have a narna (banana) cos I been a big boy doing wee wees in my potty?"
What other child would want fruit as a treat?!

Potty Training

We have done it! Ben is wearing big boy pants! Yay! He has cracked it! I am so very pleased with him. It took us a while and a number of attempts (4 I think) to get there, but its done.  Friends know this has taken a while. At first Ben just didn't get it and he really wasn't bothered that he was weeing left right and centre. And that is to say nothing of the numbers twos! I will just say as Ben eats vast amounts of fruit and veg every day, each accident involved a full shower hose down, which wasn't great if we were out somewhere.  Praising didn't work, neither did bribery!  He just couldn't care less. Typical Ben.   We just popped a nappy back on and waited another couple of weeks.

It was different when Megan was potty trained, she was ready at 2 and a half and was dry within a couple of days. Number twos took longer and she asked for a nappy on when she needed to go, but that only lasted a couple of months.

This is just another example of how my two are very different or is it a difference between boys and girls?

Whatever it is, I am so very proud of my big boy.