Best Rocky Road

When I was a teenager and living at home, I found a recipe for a naughty but nice chocolate fridge cake and having the sweet tooth I did back then (and still have nowadays) I got Mum to buy the necessary ingredients and away I went. That was my first taste of what I later found out was rocky road, and it has been one of my favourite no bake creations ever since. The only problem with it, asides from it being calorific, is that I cannot stop eating it once I have it in my fridge - its a bit like pringles in that once I start I cannot stop!!

Anyway, I made some the other week because I was really fancying some and hadn't made any in such a long time (since my cafe days) and this is how I did it.
* I always add ginger nuts to mine because I like the flavour within the chocolate gooeyness, but you could easily swap them for digestives or rich tea biscuits if you preferred

Rocky Road
(made 12 squares)

Ingredients 

300g milk chocolate
200g ginger nut biscuits
3 tbsp golden syrup
125g unsalted butter
100g marshamallows (I used pink and white ones)

Method

Grease and line a deep baking tin - I used a 2lb loaf tin as I like my rocky road thick but you could use a 9inch square pan

Bash the biscuits (I do this with a rolling pin in a freezer bag covered with a tea towel) to crush them and make crumbs - note they don't need to be uniformed like when making a cheesecake I like to have some bits bigger than others. Leave to one side

Cur your marshmallows in half using scissors, put to one side

Place the chocolate, syrup and butter into a saucepan and heat gently to melt all the ingredients together

Remove from the heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs and marshmallows until everything is covered in the sticky chocolate sauce

Pour the mixture into your greased baking tin and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set before removing from your tin and cutting into slices.

Rocky road is ready to eat :)

I keep mine in the fridge in a sealed tupperware tub too.

Mmmmm it never stays around for very long but its soooo delicious demolishing it!!

Baby Shower Surprise

When I was pregnant with my first child, my friends and former work colleagues arranged a surprise baby shower for me. It was completely and utterly a total surprise and shock to see so many of my lovely friends gathered in one place to celebrate the imminent arrival of my baby.

Up until my own one, I had only ever heard about baby showers on American sitcoms like Friends and SATC, and believed it to be an American tradition.I was blown away by the generosity of my guests and when I got home that night and opened all my gifts for the baby, I ended up with so many useful and practical items. From baby gros to sleepsuits and little outfits, to nappies, bathtime and changing products to cuddly toys and books, the baby shower had given me everything I needed for the first few months had been taken care of! There was also nibbles and drinks and party games and it was just a really fun and special night.

Imagine though if a celebrity threw you a baby shower - wouldn't that be something to tell the kids and grandkids about? That is exactly what Hollywood actress Jessica Alba did last week for an expectant fan, granting the mum-to-be the baby shower of her dreams after she won a facebook competition.

Pictures from VUE

And I thought I was caught off guard when my friends surprised me at the local scout hall!!  I would probably have gone into early labour if a famous Hollywood actress informed me that she would be throwing me my own baby shower!! I would imagine that the one that Jessica Alba threw for her competition winner, was a lot more extravagant, cost a lot more to host and was held in much more luxurious surroundings than mine was.

However, was it as much fun as singing classic 1980's pop cheese on karaoke while wearing leg warmers and 80's disco plastic glasses with good friends who looked equally as daft and sang as badly too??

Exactly - I rest my baby shower case :)

 I will never forget the kindness and generosity of those who organised and attended my first and last baby shower. It still makes me smile and feel all fuzzy inside whenever I think back to that Saturday night in July 2009.

Which celeb would you have loved to have organised / would love to organise your baby shower?

This is a sponsored post although the story about my baby shower is true.

Paddling Pool Cool

 I think as adults we forget how we didn't feel the cold as much when we were younger as we do now. I can recall my Mum always telling me to do my zip/buttons up on my coat/cardigan so that I would not feel the cold or get cold. I would moan that I wasn't cold and grumble as I had to stand and do as she asked, while all the time think to myself that there really wasn't any need and besides it wasn't cool (or whatever the equivalent in'word would have been back then in the early 1980's) to wear one's coat with it actually done up!! 

Now, as a Mum I am conscious of wanting to ensure my boys are kept cool when required on a hot day,  warm when it is cold and dry when it is wet, - standard parenting care. By and large at the moment I don't get any back chat (yet - I know this will come) when asking them to zip up their coats! I am always the first to do my coat up now too - no more wearing it unopened on a cold or blustery day!!

When it comes to sitting in a paddling pool on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, my children are so much braver about facing cold water than I am. The morning had started so well, blue sky, bright hot sunshine and a paddling pool which was yet to be used. So I spent about half an hour pumping it up, and getting a little red faced in the process, and then I filled it up with water and left it out in the sunshine to allow the water to warm up. Four hours later I told the boys they could go in, however because the sun had decided to hide away behind some clouds the water was not really that warm. I did add a couple of full kettles worth of boiling water which took the cold edge of the temperature, but basically I wouldn't have sat in there! 

As soon as they sat in I could tell from Jenson's pout it was cold and he almost started to cry and he grabbed his swim suit and wailed "but I am wet Mummy" - uhm well yes Jenson that is the purpose of a paddling pool! Anyway, give Burton his due he talked Jenson out of exiting the pool and soon the pair of them were laughing and splashing away furiously - even getting me wet in the process! And putting their faces in to the water to blow bubbles!! Madness I tell you, madness!

It was lovely to watch them and they did make me smile and made me wonder how long I would have braved that water at their age. I think they did well to sit inside it for almost 15 minutes, by which time Burton said through his teeth chattering that he was too cold and wanted to come out! 

A hot shower soon warmed them up as did cuddles with Daddy and some chocolate buttons!!

Butlin's Minehead : Smiles Better

When I received the news that I had been selected to be a Butlin's Ambassador I was pleased for at least two reasons:

1). I would be having a holiday at last after 5 years of not having one

2). Being able to take my two boys away on holiday to a resort that specialises in family holidays and caters for children.

Lets be honest, as an adult Butlin's is not a place that would spring to mind as a first choice as a holiday destination, and certainly throughout my adult life pre children I favoured holidays abroad in hot sunny climates with cocktails and beaches and bikini's. However, times have changed now that I am a Mum (as has my body - no more bikinis for me lol!), and my priority is the enjoyment my boys will get from a holiday. Obviously their Daddy and I want to enjoy ourselves too, but we want a family friendly destination where we know they will feel happy, safe and be able to have lots of FUN!

 I just knew that the boys would be entertained and would not be bored. I mean, how could you be bored with such a huge variety of amusements and activtiies catering for a wide range of ages and tastes. I was confident even before we arrived at Minehead that we would not be without something to do come rain or shine, because there is so much on offer! We didn't manage to do all of the activities or try out everything because there are only so many hours in each day! However, this is a good thing because it means that should we return again we will have new things to sample as well as being able to see and do all of the  activities we managed to participate in during our recent break and enjoyed so much.

I love the fact that the welcome sign that greets you as you enter the site informs you what Butlin's intends to do for you on your stay

We certainly were delighted by our stay and when I think back to our short break, it is filled with lots of happy memories of our first family holiday away together, but what I noticed the most as I look through all the photographs I took is that Burton and Jenson are smiling the biggest smiles in all of them! From the moment we arrived until we had to sadly depart, they were happy and had a ball!

 They really had such a great time and enjoyed all of the many facilities which the Minehead Butlin's resort has to offer.  In fact both their Daddy and I smiled a lot too - I guess it was the big kid in each of us coming out to play for those four days :)

But that is the great thing about staying at a resort like Butlin's - there is so much going on all day and in to the early hours if you are that way inclined (and without children I would imagine!). From soft play to outdoor playgrounds, from the fairground to Bob The Builders Yard, from the sand pits to the swimming pool, from football to archery and so so much more - it is hard not to find something you like as a child or as a parent. There are activities for the more adventurous with zip wires and huge climbing walls and the indoor bungee trampolines. 

Let me show you some of the fun we had and the activities we enjoyed during our stay which are available on site

And so much of this is included in your stay which makes your holiday such great value for money.

Butlin's Minehead really was smiles better all round :)

PART 1 of my Butlin's Minehead review can be found HERE

My family and I received a free holiday as part of my role as a Butlins Ambassador.

All comments made about my holiday are my own and honest.

My Week That Was #20 (Project 365)

Going On A Bluebell Hunt (131/365)

Me Drive Mummy's Car? (132/365)

HappyLand (133/365)

Soft Play Again (134/365)

Billy Bear Ham (135/365)

Blossom Snow (136/365)

Bath Letters (137/365)

Sunday - bit of a damp day weather wise but while Daddy watched the F1 I took the boys on a bluebell hunt. This afternoon we popped over to Granma and Grampy's to collect some 'stuff' which we had stored there when we moved house before Christmas - there will be some e-bay action soon as a lot of the stuff is now obsolete for us.

Monday - Ladybirds for Burton and toddler playgroup for Jenson and I. Whenever I arrive home in the car now, Jenson insists on getting out via my seat so he can have a go at driving it!!

Tuesday - it rained all day!! I tidied up the boys playroom first thing and rearranged a few things and then decided to set up their Happyland sets, animals and people on their road mat to amuse them for a while. It did until their Grandma and Gran arrived for a quick visit! After lunch more playing and then we watched Ice Age 3 and had a picnic tea while watching it in the lounge.

Wednesday - Another trip to the soft play - now I have paid my £9.95 annual membership, I only have to pay for Burton who is 1/2 price with my membership (under 3's are free) so its a cheap visit and an ideal place when its wet outside! I like this photo because it shows Jenson sat down and his fidget of a brother who cant sit still!!

Thursday - Burton off to Ladybirds again. Jenson and I did some housework - and I managed to sort my bedroom out at last! Yaaaay! Jenson loves helping me tidy up . At lunchtime he asked to sit at the table in a big boy chair (ie. no high chair) and I bought some 'Billy Bear' ham (I know its not actually ham) to see if he would like it. After our trip to Butlins last week and meeting the actual 'Billy Bear' , he was excited to try it and ate 2 slices and giggled the whole time.

Friday - we were outdoors after breakfast and while I hung the washing on the line the boys played with their remote cars. We saw that the tree was shedding blossom and it looked like snowflakes - the photo shows the boys watching it fall. Their cousin Laurel cane to play for a few hours and have lunch so lots of running around the garden and bouncing on the trampoline ensued.

Saturday - what a beautiful sunny and warm day it has been today! We went out on two outdoors adventures a National Trust visit and a trip to some woods, with lots of walking, climbing, stick finding, stone throwing (into water), ice cream eating and lots of fun and smiles!! By bedtime I had 2 sleepy boys who enjoyed their bathtime and have now gone to sleep!

Going On A Bluebell Hunt (Flashback Friday)

When we lived at our old house, we would walk to town through a churchyard as it was the quickest route which also avoided strolling past the park which when you have a child/children who would recognise the playground it is hard to walk past without pleas of "can we go to the park please mummy?".

Last year around about this time, the churchyard was full of bluebells and one sunny afternoon we stopped so Burton could get out of the buggy and go exploring and touch and take a closer look at these pretty blue springtime flowers. 

Bluebells don't seem to stay around for very long and the next time we walked through that churchyard they had all gone much to Burton's disappointment. He asked me where they had gone and I did my best to explain to a two and a half year old, and each time we walked through the churchyard he would ask me again where the bluebells were and when they would return. In the end after  lots of "but why mummy" replies I told him that the bluebells had gone to sleep and would be back next year after Jenson's birthday *ahem* 

So fast forward a year and of course Burton has forgotten all about those bluebells and how that now that Jenson has had his birthday and it is May, they are back once again! *kids!!* However, as we no longer make that trek to the town centre now that we have moved, I have been wanting to take both boys on a bluebell hunt for the past couple of weeks. Last Sunday it finally happened and I bundled the boys in the car and headed off for a place which OH suggested but I couldn't find it from his directions! So in the end I saw a sign saying public bridlepath, drove along, parked the car and off we went on our bluebell hunting adventure!! It was like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as we found everything but bluebells!

and finally we found our pot of gold - some bluebells at last!!

This post was brought to you as part of Flashback Friday

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Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post