If you go up to the woods today...

Sam and I met in London. He was born and raised a Peckham boy, oh so very proud of it too! I moved to Hackney in 2007 after being brought up a proper country girl. Eventually we moved in together in Peckham and shortly after we got engaged I fell pregnant with M. Bristol seemed like a good compromise for child rearing, not huge city and not out in the sticks. Turned out, I hated it. We moved 4 times and each time I felt more miserable. Eventually we moved back to the area I grew up in, I was then pregnant with E.

We've been in Gloucestershire for over a year and half now. It's glorious! I guess I just feel more relaxed bringing children up in familiar surroundings. It took S a little while to get used to it but he really does love it.

One of the things we love the most is having all this phenomenal nature around us. We live right next to the woods, it's the perfect place for afternoon walks.

Situated in the woods is a fabulous sculpture and play trail. It is truly fantastic for all ages. If you live close or you are ever in the area then go take a look. Here are some photos we took on our most recent walk.

http://www.valevision.org.uk/projects_sculpture.htm

Breakfast fit for a dinosaur.

I struggle with breakfast sometimes. In the days before I had children, I never ate it. Since M and E came along I have found myself seriously enjoying the whole process. I love the idea of us still sitting down at the table together when they're teenagers, one can dream right? As a result of my deluded dream I try to make breakfast really fun and enjoyable. I want them to remember it as a family event. Children huh? Always keeping you on your toes, or your spatula, one of them anyway...

HERBY-VORE DINO EGGY BREAD

Delicious herby eggy bread on tomatoes and spinach. Really easy and really fun! You don't even have to use a cutter, simply cut in to triangles.

Ingredients-

• 3 free-range eggs
• A dash of milk
• 4 slices of bread
• Pepper
• Parsley
• Chives
• Basil
• Fresh tomatoes
• Fresh spinach

Whisk the eggs, milk and pepper together. Chop the parsley and chives up roughly, add it to the egg. As you can see, we can all join in with this recipe!

Roughly chop the tomatoes and throw into a pan on medium heat, add the basil and spinach. Toss it about a little then turn the heat down a touch and leave it to cook.

Whilst that is cooking away you can concentrate on your eggy bread. Cut the dinosaur shapes out (or any shapes for that matter)and heat a pan with a little olive oil in.

Dip the bread into the egg and swish it about a little. I like to leave mine in for a few seconds until it gets pretty soggy but you can do it to your liking. When it is ready, fry it off in the pan on a low to medium heat. You want some colour on it without it burning and sticking!

Spoon the tomatoes and spinach onto the plate and place the eggy bread on top.

Voilà!

Cheeky courgette and sweetcorn chowder.

I had all those courgettes to use up plus some corn on the cob that I bought reduced. We were supposed to be having a salad week but I thought I would sneak in a cheeky chowder.

Ingredients-

• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6 courgettes
• A few potatoes to bulk it out
• Handful each of basil and parsley
• 550ml/1 pint of milk
• 350ml of water
• 3 cobs of corn (you can use tinned or frozen!)
• Salt and pepper
• Teaspoon of paprika
• Stock (optional)

Heat a little olive oil in a big pot. Dice the onions and garlic and add them. You'll want them on a low heat so they cook well without any burning accidents.

Slice the courgettes and add them to the pot. At this stage I also threw in chopped potatoes, paprika and half of the herbs (chopped roughly).

Cook everything slowly for 10 minutes, or until the courgettes are brown and soft. Add the milk and water, bring to the boil. You can add stock if you so wish, we don't because we BLW* so the children eat everything we do. Season to taste and leave it to simmer. Whilst that is getting soft and creamy, cut the corn off the cob.

When everything is cooked, take it off the heat and liquidise/blend. Add the corn and return to the heat for 5-10 minutes. Take it back off the heat and liquidise/blend until the corn is blended but still visible.

Serve with bread or just with a naughty drizzle of cream.

It was yummy enough for everyone to enjoy...

*BLW- Baby Led Weaning. http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/startingsolids/babyledweaning/

Housework shmousework.

Got up early this morning so I could go and occupy a child whilst her parents were moving house. I met her mother through Gloucestershire Slingmeet. It was really fun and E especially loved the bike!

To avoid going home and doing my housework I stopped off in town. Found some really cute clothes in the secondhand baby shop for M and E and managed to score myself some brand new Vans in Oxfam for £3.

I always love going to the fuit and veg shop because it is ridiculously cheap. Right at the back of the shop they have a bargain box, it never fails me! Today I picked up a huge bag of bananas for 60p, a big bag of courgettes for 50p and some gorgeous looking tomatoes for 30p.

Got home, E was fast asleep so I had some time to put the shopping away and do a little housework. The bananas were a good excuse to use my beautiful new cake stand.

Managed to check out the garden too. Tomatoes are coming along very nicely, the blackberries are just begging to be made into a crumble and we're getting a second run of raspberries. What more could a gal ask for?

Oh so hot!

The weather was glorious today so I thought we should make the most of it. Collected Emma and headed over to Tintern. I remember walking around the Abbey as a child but for some reason it seemed far more majestic today.

We had some lunch in a near by pub whilst watching Mabel conquer the climbing frame. Ede foraged as usual, it is what she does best after all.

We spotted this busy little guy as we were heading towards the Abbey.

Tintern Abbey really is beautiful. It was so peaceful that Ede and I thought we'd stop for a quick breastfeed amongst the daisies. Mabel was incredibly busy doing important things, such as collecting daisies and making Daddy chase her.

Emma took beautiful photographs and cuddled small people, two things she does very well indeed. Memmuh is one of Mabel's favourite people. I have to admit that I am rather fond of her too, we all are.

A wonderful day finished off with a delicious meal. I couldn't face cooking anything too complicated and Sam fancied something light so I whipped up a warm salad. (I will start writing down recipes soon I promise!)

The dressing consisted of olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, spring onions and coriander. I let the baby plum tomatoes sit in that for a while.

Added roasted butternut squash, blanched fine beans, boiled new potatoes and cucumber. Crumbled goats cheese in and sprinkled some toasted seeds over the top. It was delicious, even if I do say so myself!

A warm salad on a very warm day. Perfect!

Hello.

I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Bunty. I am mother to Mabel Betty and Ede Cathy and wife to Sam. This blog will mostly be about our family life and everything that revolves around it.

Enjoy.