Happy Birthday Mum :)

Yesterday was Mum's birthday :)  I take my hat off to her.  The last few months have been difficult, we've seen Dad have a stroke, spend 7 weeks in hospital and finally come home. Mum then had to step up to the plate and start caring for Dad. Things were going well when, unfortunately, Dad was taken back into hospital and had an emergency operation. We saw him in the ICU, the HDU and finally in a normal ward where he stayed for another 5 - 6 weeks before coming home again.  Again, Mum became a carer and still is. I know it's not easy but she very seldom complains and is doing a great job. At 82 that's no mean feat. Thank you for doing what you're doing Mum and remember, we are here when you need us - for whatever!  

 Claire and the girls came round to the house before we went to Mum's for coffee and cake. Alice was really excited that we were going to Great Grandma's birthday :)

 And like most little ones, was happy to help Great Grandma open her presents

 She also enjoyed  getting the chance to wear Great Grandpa's headphones to listen to the TV - even if it was football.

And Great Grandma got a chance for some Megan cuddles once she woke up from her nap.

We hope you enjoyed your afternoon Mum :)

Love you lots
xxx

Alice - Megan comparison

A couple of you have said you think you can see a resemblance between Alice and Megan or have asked if there are similarities.  I decided to look back at the photos of Alice at the age that Megan is now and I'll let you decide for yourselves ;)  These photos are of Alice and Megan at the 2 month stage

Alice

 Megan

Alice

 Megan 

Alice

 Megan

 Alice

 Megan

If you ask my opinion, I'd say there are quite a few similarities ;)  

xx

Megan

Yesterday Megan was two months old. Hasn't that time gone quickly!  Although I think "2 months already!" at the same time it feels like she's always been here.  We are so blessed to have such cute granddaughters and also that we are able to spend so much time with them.  Claire and the girls came and spent the day here yesterday and I was able to get a few photos of Megan at 2 months.

 Megan - very relaxed ;)

 We were getting quite a bit of bubble blowing yesterday

 Big eyes

 Smiles for Mummy :)

 She has the cutest little smiles and both Claire and Alice are often the lucky recipients of them. Megan loves watching Alice as she plays and Claire says her eyes follow her around the room and she smiles at Alice. These girls are already so cute together and I can't wait to watch the bond develop as Megan gets older.

I've skipped the photo of Megan in full screaming mode as she she became hungry and we'll settle for the feeding one instead ;)

Unfortunately, when I popped in to see Claire this morning, Megan wasn't well.  She had her first lot of jabs last week and yesterday her little voice had sounded quite hoarse. Today it was worse and you can just see she's not feeling great.  Poor little love!  Mummy's going to have a tiring day today as each time she put Megan down she'd wake again and her little face would crumple.  Get well soon precious girl <3 nbsp="" p="">xx

Chocolate Oaties

Emily really likes the Cadbury's Brunch Bars that we get here. They're basically an oaty bar with a layer of chocolate on the base.  I was going through magazines, trying to clear them out, when I came across this recipe and thought it would be worth a try.

CHOCOLATE OATIES 

Makes 16

125g  (4oz) butter, plus extra to grease
125g  (4oz) self raising flour
125g  (4oz) light brown soft sugar
125g  (4oz) porridge oats
0.5tsp bicarbonate of soda
1Tbsp golden syrup
125g  (4oz) milk or plain chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 180C, Gas mark 4 and lightly grease two baking sheets. I used baking parchment instead.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, oats and soda. Set aside.
In a small pan, melt butter and golden syrup. Add to the dry mixture and combine.
Divide mixture into 16 and squeeze each portion into a ball.
Arrange on the baking sheets, spacing apart, and squash down a little.
Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool for 3 minutes on the trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (or microwave on full power in a glass bowl for 20 second bursts).
Using a pastry brush, pain half of each biscuit, on the top and bottom, with chocolate.
Alternatively, drizzle the chocolate liberally over biscuits.
Transfer biscuits to a wire rack and allow to set before serving.

Biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. (However, I doubt they'll last that long - ours were gone within a couple of days!)

If you make this recipe, I hope you enjoy :)

My brother-in-law has just given me a flapjack (crunchie) recipe very similar but which includes coconut and chopped nuts. I'm making that today and will let you know how they turn out.

xx