Bedrooms That Grow With Your Children

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My husband is one of seven siblings consisting of 6 boys and 1 girl all now fully grown.My husband is the baby of the family and growing up he of course had to share with his brothers and his sister got her own room.They had a large 4 bedroom house but one of these was a tiny box room and my husbands sister was in one room and his parents in another.That left 6 boys in 2 rooms one of which was the box room so it was a tight squeeze.I myself never knew the struggle of fighting to see who got the top bunk as I am an only child and the only time I ever got to sleep in a bunk bed was when I went on school holidays.

My husband says about the bed situation growing up “In Barlow St. Mum &Dad room a double bed plus me in a drawer , Philip in a cot, the others in the other room Chris/Alan, Mark/Ian bunk beds, Anne in a single “

And of the larger 4 bedrooms house they moved in when my husband was a toddler he says “Osmaston Rd Mum & Dad in their room. Me Phil in bunk bed with Alan and Chris in singles in other, Mark/Ian in a bunk in the small room and Anne in a double in the last room “

So when his brothers and sister started to leave home getting your own bed was sheer luxury! So if you’re struggling where to put your little ones no matter how many you’ve got then why not check out this blog from Happy beds.It is important to have a bedroom that grows with your child as there is nothing more annoying that continually changing the furniture , I think the only think you really should have to be changing is the mattress and the decor eventually.

I can’t believe that my husband actually slept in a drawer ! I think my husbands parents would have loved one of these Happy Beds triple sleeper beds to maximise on floor space when it was not covered in toys that they hadn't put away.

Here is my husband with all his siblings and yes they are the ones in the background !

Cheats Waldorf Salad

You know I have never had Waldorf salad and I got to thinking which I tell you can be a very dangerous thing especially over a cup of tea , I thought about salad and how boring it can be and now we are entering into salad season I really do think salads could do with a pep up and taking to that next level.salad has never ever been so exciting and I think salads need to be more Bear Gylls less Danny Dyer!

Ingredients 

Enough walnuts for 2 crushed and a little bit extra to sprinkle on the salad

2 ts of Dijion mustard

2 chicken breasts thinly sliced( already cooked) but of course you could cook your own chicken breasts through

4tbp of Olive oil




Salad

Use a salad of your choice

red and green apple wedges

a splatter of mixed fruit

More walnuts enough for 2 again

celery cut into chunks

lemon zest and juice if no lemons perhaps use ready made lemon juice


Method

Heat some olive oil in a pan

Method brush the chicken with the Dijon mustard and coated with some crushed walnuts and cook the chicken through until thoroughly cooked if you are cooking them from scratch.You can of course use ready cooked chicken .




Cut up the celery into chunks and mix with the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix everything together with with homemade mayonnaise or a very very good shop brought one.

The Outdoor Prescription

It’s been raining men .. it’s been raining forever and ever and I’m really beginning to think it’s down to budget cuts ~ weather austerity if you will.At what point does it stop being good for the garden I think the rain started when I got a new garden table then I’m afraid it was all downhill from there.

We are over half way #30dayswild celebrating all things wild and nature.The garden has been a labour of love over the past few years and it’s taken shape nicely.I’ve a wildlife pond and have tadpoles they don’t contribute to the household income though.Also we have tree bumblebee s in the bird box and they’re super busy collecting nectar.

I wanted a bird bath but didn’t want a whimsical fairy or a constipated looking frog set in stone .Neither was I prepared to pay over £100 for a stone one that had been hand craved by a monk called Dave.So as my husband and I walked round the garden centre with a lost purpose until I spied though he says he spied first some glazed plant pots and saucers that would be ideal as a bird bath and it was a combined priced of 21 pounds.You could do this cheaper by recycling stuff and upcycling suitable shallow containers etc. My husband up turned the glazed dish upon the glazed pot just fixing it with outdoor sealant ( but do pick up the whole thing by the pot )

Gardening gives myself and my husband a great sense of well being as when you're standing there gazing aimlessly out the window doing the washing it , it so takes away from the drudgery of the task in hand. To see the bird hopping across to the bird feeder and to see Dragonfly's dip into the wildlife pond without a care in the world and it satisfying to see that carefree life it gives a warm glow to your day.It starts with something simple life plating some seeds in the garden , a few forgotten plants in the forgotten corner of the garden centre , swapping plants from friends.Gardening makes feel feel hope for tommorow because sometimes just sometimes hope can slip away but Gardeing promotes hope for tommorow and gives a tremendous sense of well-being and achievement.

The True Lack Of Social Care

I am by no means an expert on social care I can only comment on what I know from my own family situation and it is a postcode lottery at times and meeting of panels to decide who gets what and where and quite simply it is not good enough.The constant battling of the system is not helping if social care was looked at properly and scrutinised that I am sure it would improve and even save itself money.

So here I am from 2018/2019 saying what needs to be done in regards to my own mother .And the things I’m saying will not cost much but with the situation left to fester from various agencies you ultimately reach a crisis.The system is failing the most at need there’s a safety net but it has gaping great hole in the middle.

I don’t know what the answer is but what I do know that basic social care is the pinnacle of human right.Social care should people to live their very best lives and they shouldn’t be scrambling for scraps.

Living On The Cusp Of The Countryside

I live on the cusp of the countryside it is there on my doorstep and I have my own tadpoles in the pond , tree bumblebees living in the bird box and house Martin s ( the birds and not the band ) I mean can you imagine the pop band House Martins outside your window.Since giving up work I’ve been busy in the garden with the help of my husband and working hard to make it both a wildlife haven and a garden we can enjoy.I've benefits of a garden from my own mental health well being to see a sparrow hawk dispatch Bob the wood pigeon but don’t worry we have Bob the 2nd.

I can amble where I like or bimble just as I did in my last blog post I can basically circle my house on a countryside route there is the march of progress of houses which I am not convinced is entirely a good thing.Developers do try and balance the green space with their building but I am sad when there is a loss of the green space on what should be green belt land.I expect in years to come way way in the future that a small patch of grass will be in a museum for us to all look at.Though I think that is somewhat a Dystopian future and hopefully not likely to happen !

I start my morning with a pond inspection of my wildlife pond and saying morning to the Tadpoles not invidaully but collectively as I would be here all day if I did, I rather hope they're not put out by this ? who knows do Tadpoles even bare a grudge ? Then I move on the bumble bees the the left of my house which are nesting on a nook of my neighbours house then onto my own bumble bees which are in the bird box on my house.