Slow cooked Mustard Maple Pulled Pork

At the moment this is my favorite winter picnic food, i have made it countless times on our little outings, its so easy and so tasty, and i keep getting asked for the recipe so i thought i would share it here as well.

So this is what you need:

 2kg Shoulder of Pork

300g Light Brown Sugar

100g Maple Syrup

100g Wholegrain Mustard

2 tbsp English Mustard

1/4 tsp salt

How To:

Remove the any string off the Pork and place it in a roasting bag

Add all the ingredients to the bag, tie the bag and use your hands to mix it all up and around the bag

Pop the bag into a slow cooker and fill the crock pot with water so the bag is nearly covered.

Turn the slow cooker on to automatic and leave it to cook!

Its that simple!

I usually put mine on before i go to bed and turn it off when i get up, so its on about 8 hours.

Once its turned off i leave it where it is till i am getting ready to go out

Then take the bag out and open it up, be careful its usually full of juice, so you might need to drain some away

Don't get rid of it all though

Get a fork and it will just fall apart

If its for a picnic i then transfer it to a food flask and pour over the juices

Then i add a packet of bread rolls to the picnic bag and sometimes i fry some onions as well to add to the flasks.

Once we are out and ready to eat its still really hot and juicy and a great warming tasty food for out and about, that we all enjoy.

Hope you enjoy it too xx

Its a small world

The kids are back at school, Molly is settling well into her new school, as i suspected she know quite a few kids that go there and looking around the playground i know quite a few of the parents. One in particular, on the first day i took Molly into the office, and there was a lady standing in front of us and i thought, i recognize you and she was looking at me as well, we both said nothing, but when i went back to collect Molly she approached me and it was who i thought it was. Its such a small world, years ago when i lived in Germany, she lived a few doors down, we didn't really speak just "hello" when we saw each other, you know neighbor type greetings, then a few years after that i moved to Northern Ireland and one Halloween i answered the door to some trick or treaters and there she was with her son, turned out she was living on the same street as me!. A couple of years later i am in a local shop back here where i live now and who do i bump into? she is visiting a friend, we laugh, how funny we keep bumping into one another, a few years later i am walking between our shop and home and a lady comes out of her house as calls to me, yes its her! she has seen me walking back and forth down that road and wondered if it was me, she has moved literally a few streets away. So know i find that her youngest goes to the same school. Its so strange, all these years and completely different places and i realize now i don't even know her name! It amazing that fate does this, i remember years ago my sister who lives in Australia went for a job interview their and somebody she had worked with here was going for the same job half a world away! My Parents visited her one year and were on a ferry in Sydney harbor and sat next to a man my dad chats to at the gym every night. Its strange how small the world can be. Its much less surprising that i looked around the playground and spotted people i had gone to school with, people i know from here and there. Its a good start really as a new comer to the school, i am glad she likes it, Ewan is a bit jealous and has said he would like to go to the new school as well, but i don't think they have room in that year group, plus i think it might be because i have been giving Molly lots of attention and talking about the school a lot to help her settle in. I do think it was a good choice, from what i have seen so far. So i just hope she keeps on enjoying it.

Half Term Illness

Okay, so i am still feeling full of a cold and last night, my birthday, despite going to bed at 9pm ish, i couldn't sleep and ended up getting up and watching tv till 2am, sooo not like me, i am a morning person, but i just couldn't sleep, so i watched Mr Selfridge and made good progress on the sleeves of Star Wars Jumper. So today not only did i wake up grumpy, very grumpy, but felt even worse, but i was very lucky as Paul took care of things  so i could go back to bed for a couple of hours this afternoon and i feel a bit better tonight. To be fair the kids have spent alot of time on the xbox the last few days, which they are probably really happy with, as i am not keen on them spending much time on it and its relegated to a couple of hours on a weekend at best, but when you are ill and have no energy you will do anything to sit in peace and quite and that is what keeps the big ones happy, the little tv with some Thomas the tank DVDs is what the little two love, so thats what i did. Some days you just have to do what you can, another reason i am glad for the freezer supply, i did not feel like cooking tonight so a bag of chips and turkey elephants of whatever they were, with a bag of frozen veg was much appreciated. Its one of those things about having kids, before if i was ill i could just stay in bed, but with kids you have to get up and get on with it! so whatever is easy and makes them happy is great.

Its been a funny half term, we have had a couple of days out but most of the time we have been in, its strange but even though i am ill i feel strangely motivated to start the gym on Monday and Molly is excited to start her new school and i think the little ones will be glad to get back to playgroup and out and about, i just hope they accept the creche at the gym, they go to the creche at the childrens centre when i am in meetings so i think they will like it. Last  time i went to the gym was when Molly was little and she certainly didn't like it, she screamed when i took her and they came and got me to tend to her at least twice each time, its one of the reasons i stopped going it was just a pain. I hope they like it anyway as i feel really motivated to go and get started. But lets see ow i feel o Monday x

Birthday

Today is my birthday, i am 35! ahh how did that happen. Its not been the best birthday as i woke up full of a cold, along with Alex and Fred, only a matter of time before the rest come down with it. I didn't mind i have spent the vast majority of the day on the couch knitting, i am really desperate to finish the next Star wars jumper, as i have so many projects i want to do. I did start a few hexagons, for a new blanket idea i have, but i really need to finish stripy blanket as well, i feel that they are all i have worked on for weeks, but both getting close to a ta-dah. I also did some sewing today, making scrunchies and name tags for Mollys new uniform, which my parents took her to get the other day as she is starting a new school on Monday. That was a hard decision to move her schools, as i am not a fan of moving kids once they have started, but it has been something we have discussed for a few years on and off, basically the school that both Molly and Ewan are at is a small school, with small classes and we have been quite involved with the PTFA and Paul was a governor till recently when work commitments meant that it was difficult to make the meetings. Being a small school is great in that everyone knows each other and the staff are great, but being in a larger school offers more opportunity's we feel, so with Fred starting in September we decided to make the move. Ewan will stay as he only has one year left and wanted to stay with his friends. I did feel really sad on Mollys last day and it was nice to hear one of the staff say they were sorry to lose our family but they understood our reasons. Molly is looking forward to it, lots of her friends from hobbies go their so she will know lots of people.

So its a new start for Molly and also for me, i have decided to join the gym, despite my back problems, with Alex about to turn 2 ( where the hell did that go!) i really want to lost the baby weight i gained in the last couple of pregnancies and i know that as i have a fairly healthy diet, dieting alone won't do it and may be they can figure out something to help my back/hip as its becoming unbearable, i know take my hot water bottle everywhere i go as its the only relief that i get from the pain, i have another scan booked and some more tests, so i am hopeful we can get to the bottom of whats causing it.

The last few weeks have been about making plans and i have felt a new motivation to get started on things, its amazing how now the days are getting lighter and the rain has been a little less frequent how much more motivated it can make you feel!

But for now a few birthday drinks to chase away my cold  xx

Showzam 2016

This weekend we went to Showzam which is an annual Circus festival which takes place in Blackpool during February half term every year for the last 9 years. I have just been looking for previous posts about Showzam and i can't find any, strange as apart from last year, when they cut down what they offered so i thought not much would be going on (but then saw lots of pics on facebook from others that looked like it was still very much on!) We have been going for the last  years and its fantastic. Its mainly a free event with various entertainers with weird and wonderful names performing at various places around the town and in the Winter Gardens. This time we saw

Barnards Puppet Bonanza

It was really funny, but i was quite surprised he was smoking a cigar, at first i thought it was a fake one, but then i could smell it, i love the smell of cigar smoke, strange i know, but my granddad used to smoke cigars and it always reminds me of him, i just love the smell anyway, But i thought you were not allowed to smoke in public places indoors, it was part of his act though as he " set fire to the stage" during the performance, was really good and had everyone in stitches.

Next we saw The Horsemen by Les Goulus

These were so so funny, they played snotty french show jumpers, Fred was terrified of the "horses", we were sat on the front row, so moved back a bit them he loved it.

Next came Barada Street, by Barada, who were acrobatic type performers who were dressed  in top hats and waistcoats and played music while performing the acrobatics, these made the kids laugh so much

They had a Stall called show on the road, complete with Bearded lady, where you could dress up and have your pictures taken and dispite wanted to the kids didn't fancy it.

I saw this picture of the Winter gardens in its early days

At least some of it has been maintained and restored

Outside we saw Stix, Drummers on Stilts

And Lougarock, a wolf type creature riding a steampunk engine 

Hometime with Mojitos for me & Paul

While the kids were exhausted and fell asleep watching a film in our room

Another great weekend xxx

My Top Ten Tips for Half Term on a Budget

So half term has started and though i love spending time with the kids, they get board really quickly. We are so lucky to live near a large seaside resort, Blackpool with plenty of places to go and things to do, The Tower, Sea life Center, Sandcastle, Pleasure Beach to name a few.....

But there is a catch, they are all quite expensive, especially if you have 4 kids like us, I have friends that rush to fill everyday of the holidays with various outings to various attractions, play centers and theme parks, desperate for them to have the best break ever, i know i used to do that too, when there was just one at school and a baby, yes we had some great days and yes they cost lots of money, but the strange part was when you ask your child what they enjoyed most and they say, sat on the prom eating an ice cream or travelling on the tram! So i learn't that we don't need to go to these places everyday and spend lots for the kids to have fun.

So here are my top tips for a budget friendly half term

1. Pick when you go to attractions

Most attractions have periods where they are quite and offer deals, after a few years i have got to know when these are offered and we go to most of the local ones at least once a year, but instead of going to a different one every day, make it a big day out once a holiday or on a weekend, when the price is right! This can save up to half the cost a and they are usually a bit quieter, which means less queuing time!

2. Find out what Events are on locally for Free

Visit your library, local museums, Children  Centers, Churches, parks and councils, most of these places have special family days, activity's and events in the holidays that are usually free! You can find out in advance from local "whats on" websites, free local magazines, Primary times publications handed out at schools and at the venues themselves and social media. These can be great fun for the kids and save you money.

3. Go for a walk

Going for a walk doesn't have to be boring, search online for different activity sheets for the kids to do. If you are going to a wood or forest the Woodland Trust have lots of different activity's and scavenger hunts you can print out and take with you, my kids love doing this and they are learning at the same time.

4. Take the Bus

Its easy when you drive to just get in the car and go, but kids love taking the bus, the tram or the train and if you always drive everywhere its really special for them, so if your just going to town for a look round the shops take the bus or book a train journey to somewhere near just for the fun of it!

5. Take a picnic and snacks

Food in most attractions is expensive, more so if you have a few kids, so pack a picnic and take it with you, if its the cinema or a show, take sweets, even just a walk take a flask of hot chocolate and some biscuits. If you are out for most of the day, it can mean lunch and dinner out, so i take a picnic for lunch and before we set off put something in the slow cooker for your return, that way when you are ready to come home you know dinner will be ready for you at home, instead of stopping off for a meal or takeaway when you are tired and just want to eat.

6. Get the best deal and plan ahead

Has been covered in point 1 really, but if you plan on going to the cinemas, take the kids am club £1.75 per person instead of £5 plus, at play centers buy a value pass £10 for 10 visits instead of £3.80 per child, Those are my local deals but most places offer deals, find out before you go whats available. different times can mean different prices for example Lazer Quest is 2 games for the price of 1 from 10am till 12pm as most people go in the afternoon, so plan ahead instead of turning up at places

7. Stay in

 Get the craft stuff out, get a jigsaw that's always a bit to big and do it over the course of a few days, board games or things they got as presents that haven't been touched yet ( we all have them!), have a film day, a spa day, let her do your nails and make up and you do hers,make a cake and decorate it, the possibility's are endless, sometimes its nice to just chill out and have a PJ day!

8. Play Dates

Invite a friend and her kids round or arrange to meet up somewhere, the kids will be happy to see each other and you can have a brew and a chat, or have their kids for a few hours and maybe another day they can have yours.

9. Let them Play out

Kids need to play out and these days people are not keen on letting there kids out and i understand why, but as long as you set boundary's of where they can go and when they need to come back, it doesn't have to be far or for long, kids love the freedom and meeting up with other kids near by and its good for them and for you!

10. Relax
Kids are out at schools and clubs all week, so in the holidays they get a break as well and are happy to stay in and play. Don't fill the week so you end up rushing about from one place to the next, just spending some time together relaxing is just as important and completely free!


So that is what i have learn't over the last few years i would love to hear any new ideas to help me survive the holidays without it costing the earth

Colour Therapy

The last few months i have felt a bit down, tired and run down in general, not like me really to feel like that for such a while. I have attributed it to a number of things, the weather being one, i love the crisp winter days, not the endless rain and wind we have endured for months, my hair colour has also affected me i realised, i am naturally very dark haired but have had various shades of blond for years and years till i had my red hair, which gave me such a boost, but the purple, lilac and violet hair i have had recently have to me felt too dark and i think made me feel less bright. This weekend i had my hair done pink and almost immediately felt my mood lift, strangely when i used to go back to darker hair years ago i always felt the same, a bit down. This weekend i spent a lot of time doing my stripy blanket,which is bright and cheerful, where as for months i have been working on star wars jumpers which are basically black and white. So i have come to a conclusion i already knew really, that the colours we see and use can really alter the way we feel and the alter our mood. It is helping that its starting to get lighter and this week i have been motivated to slowly start decluttering the house, i gave the old toys to a needy family and clothes to charity, washed all the big couch covers and sorted out all the toys, quite a productive week, this week, think i am back on track

Last weekend, lie in as the night before was my friends hen do and  luckily it was my turn to sleep in, we try to alternate every Sunday and even though sometimes its only till 8am its worth it. I was awake so i decided to bring the portable telly in and watch a bit with a bit of crochet

These pics of my new pink hair are not great at all, will take some later as i am off out

Sweet Pixie Hat out and about

Finally today we ave been out after what feels like weeks of being stuck indoors, its not really been weeks, we have been out and about doing the day to day things, but not out out, juts enjoying ourselves and breathing the fresh air. So wen i woke this morning to a very cold but sunny day, we packed up a picnic and were off!

I made some Leek & Potato Soup, with Crusty bread straight from the oven, so we sat in our favorite picnic spot and ate it as soon as we got there

It was enjoyed by all and was just what we needed, there is something really wonderful about eating outdoors in the fresh air, and with such an amazing view, that you never get tired of. 

Then we headed off for a walk along the estuary, we let Alex walk and get super muddy, wading through all the puddles

And it was a great opportunity to take some pictures of my Sweet Pixie hat that i made a few weeks ago.

Only problem was that i had ripped off one of the pom poms when i was getting it out of the pram the other day, i will sew it back on, but it was super warm and cosy and the wool, is super soft

I love, love, love the cute Pixie point on the top!

Really great for the kids to let rip and run around after all the indoors time recently

It was a shame though that Fred was upset about all the dogs, he as had a real fear of dogs for a while, if he sees one he screams and wants picking up, unfortunately there was an incident when he was 2, when a person knew he wasn't keen and brought there dog in when he wasn't looking and put it down behind him, so it jumped on him and scared him so much, she thought it was really funny and said she knew he would do that, i just think it was really awful and uncaring and since that day he is terrified, even more so of small fluffy dogs, like that one. Its really sad to see, i hope the memory of it fades and he can overcome it one day.

Its amazing just how refreshing a good walk is, it blows away the cobwebs.

Happy kids thats what we love!

It seems there is another storm looming tonight, so glad we got out when we could x

Stuck inside!

Its February finally, January always seems such a long months and with the terrible weather recently we have been cooped up in the house most days and i think the little two definitely have cabin fever and are trying to find ways to have fun, usually by being naughty! Alex has learn't to climb out of his cot and climb over the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, he learn't to open the kitchen one so that has gone now and i suppose i will have to remove bottom stair gate as well soon. All in all it has been a tad frustrating to keep getting up and down to stop him. The other week our Freezer broke, typically just after i had filled it up, so we got a new one with a water dispenser on the front, not a plumbed on but one you fill yourself and in all my wisdom decided to fill it wit juice so the kids could help themselves, not the best idea as they were just pressing the release all the time and i had to continually change there clothes and mop up the big puddle they created, needless to say that has been removed now!
We really need to start getting out again, we did have a little trip to feed the ducks the other Saturday, which is always nice and it was one of the few nice days there have been

We ave been trying some new things at home, like celery painting

very messy but they kids liked it, you use the bottom of the celery and print it on the paper, it looks like a rose

At least it looks like its getting a bit lighter in the  mornings, and i am determined to go out somewhere this weekend, well apart from the hairdressers!, we fancy a trip to Stanley Park, so fingers crossed its not so rainy and windy come the weekend. xx