Amusing British Place Names

Hoghton Bottoms, Jockey End, Old Leake... Yep, these are all actual places in Great Britain.

Is it just me or does anyone else love looking at maps?? Maps have always fascinated me. Give me a proper map over a GPS any day! When we're on a journey I love looking at all the odd place names. There's Mr W trying to drive and me reading out obscure little village names.

What about Lacey Green or Snig's End? There's Turton Bottoms and Newton with Scales. Or how about Pickup Bank, Fenny Drayton and Foul Mile?

It's not just funny names that make studying maps so enjoyable, it's also the wealth of information you can gather. When I was about 11 I used to have penpals all over the world and I was always looking at the atlas seeing where they lived. Did they live near the sea? The mountains? What was the climate like? What could they grow in their country? What animals lived there?

I even love looking at the stats pages - population, languages, birth rates, death rates, education... everything really! I can look at an atlas for hours.

I'm looking forward to a long car journey this summer when we go camping. Wonder what places we'll come across this time? Need to make activity packs for the little Ws though so I can study the map in peace!!

I'll leave you with Throop, Bozeat and Slacks of Cairnbanno.

Any of you live in any of these places? Or maybe you live in another amusing place?? Feel free to add it to the list!

How to create non-fussy eaters!

I've always had lots of comments about how well my kids eat. I'm a little bit proud of this! Sometimes I felt a bit of a failure when it came to mummy stuff (won't go into details right now, but let's say, these things were out of my control and I shouldn't have felt bad), so I've worked hard to get my children to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

I thought I'd share with you some things I've done and that have worked for us. Please understand that I'm certainly not criticising anyone who does things differently. These are just some ideas that you may find useful!

I started Little W and Toddler W on 'solids' at about 4 months. It was just the baby cereal and rice you can buy in the supermarket. We always varied the flavours so they got used to lots of different tastes.

Make your own
At around 6 months we moved on to Annabel Karmel. Someone recommended 'New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner' to me and I decided then that apart from the baby cereal, I didn't want to ever give them premade food. And I never did! They've never had a jar of baby food. I really enjoyed making all their food from scratch. I used to spend a few hours every Sunday peeling, chopping, steaming, pureeing... But it got them used to textures as well as flavours. It was also such a good feeling knowing exactly what went in their food.

Now, I know not everyone has time to do this, but you could try with just one or two meals a week. Some recipes I also made enough of to feed all of us, like the spaghetti bolognese.

"Go on, try it!"
The other thing I did (and still do) is to let them try everything. I'd never say, "You won't like that, it's too spicy," for example. I'd let them try it and quite often they surprised me by liking it. Sometimes I'd give them a warning of what to expect! Like, "It's quite sharp/bitter/spicy" but never, "You won't like it".

Give it to them again
If they ever left anything on their plate or said they didn't like something, this wouldn't mean I'd not give it to them again. I actually gave it to them the next time we had it. I've heard it can take about 20 tastes of something to become fond of it and I found this is true. They may leave the lettuce the next 5 times I gave it to them, but eventually, they would eat it.

Don't make a fuss (that means you, by the way!)
I never made a fuss of anything they'd not eaten. I just asked if they'd finished and then took it away. I have to say, this sometimes made me want to cry! All my hard work felt wasted, but I know now that maybe I just gave them too much, or they just didn't feel like eating much that day.

Never make them something different
The one thing that every parent can do is easy! Don't give in and make your child something different!! It's probably not an issue at toddler age, but once you give in, you're giving yourself a lifetime (well, until they're about 18) of cooking different meals. If Little W says he doesn't like something, I just say, "OK, you'll be hungry then." If he refused to come to the table, I'd let him get on with it. Mr W and I would talk about our days, completely ignoring him and would always find that he'd come over in the end, start eating and often finish his meal.

"Mummy loves this!"
Lastly, we've always made sure we enjoy our food (or at least appear to!).  Everything was always yummy! As Little W's got older, we've been a bit more honest and he knows there are things we're not so keen on (not much though, as we love our food!), as of course, they have to know that it's OK not to like everything. But I wouldn't do this when they're very young. Little W is four now, Toddler W is two.

So now, they eat well, they always look forward to their meals. They know many fruits and vegetables. They love helping me in the kitchen. And they often ask for fruit as a snack. Not always, but that's fine!

I'm sorry if I've made all this sound oh-so-perfect! Like I said, it's not meant to upset anyone or make you feel you're doing things all wrong. Being a parent is hard work and I certainly don't find everything easy. It's just when it comes to eating, I found I was quite good at getting it all to work. Hope you find some of these tips useful:)

Dining Room Tour!

This week I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner again for the dining room tour!

We're very lucky to now have a conservatory, as we used to have our dining table at one end of the living room and the TV at the other. Well, I say, "at one end", but they kind of met in the middle. Here's the view from the outside. You can just see one of the dining chairs on the left...

And here is the table. The tablecloth is a wipe-clean (very essential!) William Morris design. To the right you can just make out our new handheld vacuum. It's a Black and Decker and it is soooo good! I use it several times a day to clean up crumbs from the kids. I love it!

On the table we have a Splat Man coaster that the kids bought Mr W for Fathers' Day. I need to buy two more as they fight over it every mealtime! Don't think Mr W has actually used it yet.

We also have these coasters that we bought in Australia on our honeymoon. There are more somewhere, but here are a few:

This is a new addition. It's not actually hung up yet, but this is where it will go. To the right is the doorway to the kitchen. Anyway, I created this artwork on Tagxedo. I chose about 200 words that are special to our family - names, places, books, toys, TV programmes, food, pets... Some are too small to read, but I like the fact they're there, all making up Great Britain. I had to play around with the layout a bit to get the most important words bigger, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

 
This is one of the cupboards we have in the conservatory/dining room/play room/utility room (!):

 
That Mickey Mouse French memo board is in Little W's bedroom now. Behind it is a photo box my brother bought me. The three canvas boxes I keep lots of my craft bits in.

On the top of the cupboard is this tomato plant. It's grown so well in here!

 
There's also an iron and a photo frame:

  
I bought it years ago, but recently discovered I'd only ever put one photo in it. I really must dig out some more as I like the frame and need to display it!

This is one of our bookcases. I prefer the darker ones in the living room, but I think the lighter wood probably goes better in the conservatory. It's rather multi-purpose. The top shelves have my books, the bottom has the kids' puzzles and books and the very top has a robot made by Little W! Here you can see some Union Jack flags we still have up from our Jubilee celebrations...

 

These are my recipe books:

This is the other end of the room:

 
And these doors lead into the living room:

Also at this end is the kids' craft area:

Finally, this is the view to the left of the conservatory:

So, there you have it - our dining room, with a lot of uses!

Salmon and Cream Cheese Bagel Recipe

This is my absolute favourite bagel ever! When I used to work in the West End (about a 30 second walk from Selfridges - not good!), there was a tiny bagel place I often bought lunch in. I've no idea if it's still there, but I would always order the same. This is quite unusual for me as I love experimenting with food and rarely order the same meals in restaurants even if I've loved it before.

Anyway, this is what you need to recreate for yourself:

• Poppy seed bagel (as you can see from pic, this is a sesame seed bagel, as Tesco didn't have any poppy seed ones. Not quite the same but it was still very tasty!)

• Cream cheese

• Sandwich salmon

• Black pepper

• Lemon juice

Toast the bagel, spread with cream cheese, lay a slice of salmon on top, sprinkle with black pepper and add a drizzle of lemon juice. Enjoy!

Just to add, I asked for this bagel when I was in Vancouver and they had no idea what I was talking about! I ended up with cheese and chive. I thought this was amusing as Vancouver is known for its salmon. One of those things I love about travelling... Maybe Canadians think salmon's a really odd thing to put in a bagel??

What's your favourite bagel?

10 Minutes in the Life of a Supply Teacher - the Electronic Register

I seem to have started following a lot of teacher bloggers lately, without realising they're teachers. I've found them through craft, home and family blogs. Anyway, this has made me think that I really should blog more about my life as a teacher. Some of you will understand exactly where I'm coming from, others may have had no idea what we teachers have to endure! And a few of you may just laugh a little, or a lot. With me or at me, I don't know.

I first encountered electronic registers about 4 years ago when I started supply teaching. Now, I'm all for modern technology in the classroom, but for the kids, not for the teachers. What benefit electronic registers have, I don't know.

 I got married the day after completing my first year teaching. We went to Australia on honeymoon. The pic above is Cape Tribulation. 

At around 8.45am the Head will tell me sternly there's an assembly at 9 sharp. "Don't be late," they say as they walk away. Great, I think. 10 minutes to get 30 children in class, shoes changed, sat down, the dreaded register taken, lined up (quietly) and into assembly.

So... bearing in mind, this could be children I've never met before in a school I've never set foot in before, I usher them all inside. Sometimes kids come into class by themselves from about 8.40, as they arrive at school. This is very different to schools in London, where they all line up outside, the bell goes and you go and collect them. Schools in London also tend to start at about 9 o'clock, 10 minutes later than schools in Hertfordshire. Another difference is that kids here have to change from their school shoes into their plimsolls. London kids just traipse in with dirt and maybe a bit of dog poo, which then goes all over the carpet. Better that they change I guess, it's just another thing to do in those precious 10 minutes.

This is how I feel sometimes! Taken in Iceland. I decided on holiday here that I wanted to become a teacher. I'd previously thought about it in Sri Lanka but never went ahead... Travel always makes me want to do new things!

 
 Anyway, once I've finally got them all sitting down, I turn to the computer screen. This in itself isn't good as you can't see the children. I then realise I don't know the password, so have to send for help. Often there's a wonderful TA who knows useful things like passwords. So, once I'm 'in', I start calling the register. With paper registers, I simply say, "Alfie", glance up, see Alfie waving at me (or maybe it's Ryan playing tricks) and put a red mark next to his name. Nowadays, I have to turn around, look (I know, I know, this doesn't sound like a big deal, but remember - 10 minutes!), look back at the screen and try to remember which button I'm meant to press.

So, once I've got through all the names, I then have to take the dinner register. This used to be a simple process: school dinners, packed lunch or home. There were never very many of the latter. Now... Oh boy, now, I have to find the shiny printed menu (usually stuck on the wall, but not always). Then I have to work out what week it is. There's a little calendar at the bottom, but that requires me having to know the date. The date? Seriously?? I haven't even thought about the date at this point in the day. Sometimes the kids will know what week it is. Children can be amazingly helpful. They don't usually trick me here, although I suppose it would be their loss really.

 Taken in Bruges during a much-needed Easter trip in my PGCE (teacher training) year.

 
Right, so it's week 2. Now, listen carefully. There are 3 options. You can have the red option - roast gammon, the green (vegetarian) option - vegetable bolognese. And apple crumble and custard afterwards for both, or the yellow option (a school packed lunch) - tuna roll followed by strawberry yoghurt. Finally, you can have your own packed lunch or you can go home. Now, I'm 100% behind Jamie Oliver and his Healthy Schools campaign, but having such a varied choice just prolongs the electronic register agony.

So I have to read out the menu and start the register again. I hope that I will remember the children who are absent, so I don't waste precious seconds calling their name, looking for them and finally asking the class if they're here or not. And again, I have to remember which buttons relate to which option.

This is Hayes Hill Farm in Essex. Nothing to do with teaching here, but I'm including calming photos in this post. These are the images I must have in my mind in order to stay sane!!

Finally! The register is done. "Quickly children," I say, hoping to appear calm, but really thinking, oh boy, we're going to be so late! "Line up quickly and quietly ready for assembly."

We run walk (sorry, no running in the corridor) to the hall and I breathe a sigh of relief as I discover we're not actually the last class to arrive. I get the children sat in neat rows and then sink into a chair, most happy that someone else can take over for the next 10 minutes or so. Hang on... did I press save and send...? Aaargh!

And the day has barely begun...

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Click here for a previous post on the funny things kids say.

Chicken Stuffing Recipe

Mr W does the weekly shop with the little W's on a Saturday while I do tutoring. He always has a fully prepared list (I'll post about my menu planning soon actually) and goes through it before he leaves. Last Saturday I actually heard him read "stuffing mix" but he came home with stir-fry. It wasn't even written in the stir-fry section!

Well, this meant I needed to make my own stuffing for Sunday dinner when my parents came over. Luckily, this recipe needs very few ingredients, most of which you're likely to have in the cupboard anyway.

So, to make around a dozen stuffing balls, you'll need:

• 160g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 apples
• Some herbs like sage, thyme or parsley

To make, simply mix the breadcrumbs (I just put a couple of slices of bread in the food mixer to make breadcrumbs), chopped up apple and the herbs in a bowl, add the egg, mix some more then roll into balls and place on a greased baking tray.

I cooked them for about 30 minutes on whatever temperature the chicken was on - around 180 - 190 degrees.

As for how much of the herbs... well, I think this is down to personal taste. I don't often measure things like herbs, just trial and error.

And here's how they turned out...

They were pretty yummy!

Craft Space Link Party - please join in!

Welcome to my first link party! I know there's lots of you out there who love to share your craft spaces, so please add your link below. Link parties are a great way to get more followers and to find likeminded bloggers for you to follow yourself.

I'm planning to host regular link parties. Some of the topics I'm thinking of are:

• craft tutorials
• recipes
• kids' recipes
• kids' craft ideas
• local free/cheap days out
• favourite recipe books
• best ever holiday
• camping recipes

You get the idea! I did post a little while ago about my craft space, but I've expanded somewhat since then. Now I'm concentrating more on my illustrations, this is where I work (not been painting today as you can see - it's not usually this... well, empty!):
 

I'm very lucky to have the conservatory. It's nice and bright which is perfect for painting. Well, it's often bright, not so much with the weather we've been having lately! This is my view:

 And this is where I do all the PC stuff:

 
It's a little cramped. I like to call it organised chaos.

Polymer clay work I do sitting on the settee with a board on a little table. Basically, I kind of take over the whole downstairs of the house!

So, come on, please come and join in the party! I look forward to seeing all your spaces:)

(Edited to add some rules. Just getting the hang of this link party thing! )

Rules:

1. Please link to your specific post, not the whole blog
2. Please link back to this blog, either in your linked post or another post
3. Please try to visit and comment on others' links
4. Have fun!

Linked up to A Bowl Full of Lemons

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