Abby Attempts: The Great British Bake Off Technical One: Jaffa cakes

Anyone see the first episode of the Bake Off this week?? I thought the jaffa cakes looked easy...they weren't! #gbbo #presentationneverwasmystrongpoint

SuperMum

It's official, I am starting to feel like I've got the hang of this Mummy-to-three-pre-schoolers thing. Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally, you might say!) I started coming out the other end of the crazy tunnel about the time when I began studying the scriptures for longer each day- I have doubled the time I was reading before. It is working!! There really is power in God's word and it strengthens me. Along with that, I am falling into a better pattern pf priorities, cutting out the stuff that's a faff or less important. (Not ALL the faff, I hasten to say... I just spent Jacob's last feed flicking through Facebook, but it's important to have a balance, right?!)

Anyway, SOME days, I feel life SuperMum. I'm going to list them so I don't forget- for later life, and all the days when I definitely do NOT feel so Super!

- When my boys are all on my lap and we sing Nursery rhymes

- When I muster up the motivation to go to Bodyattack on a Monday night. It is soooo hard to put my leggings and sports bra on after the boys go to bed (every other night it's my super-cool onesie pajamas) But I LOVE it and come home so full of energy!

- When I make a quiche or pie for tea! I've discovered pastry recently and I feel like such a SuperMum cracking out a homemade quiche

- When Oliver and Zach tell me they love me. This happens a LOT. I am so blessed. I'm pretty sure they got their intense love gene from Ben, they are all so full of love.

- When Ben and I take to the dance floor with a child in tow each and ROCK those ceidhl dances!

- When I help Oliver and get Zach dressed with one hand while feeding Jacob

- When I get the washing up from the night before done before 10 o'clock the next morning

- When Ben comes home and asks the boys what we've been doing today and they actually remember and don't say "nothing!"

- When all three boys are in bed by 7.15pm

- When Zach eats new vegetables, he's doing it!!

- When nobody cries getting into, during or getting out of the bath

- When lovely Scottish ladies tell me that Jacob's "fairly growing" and he gets all his food from me :)

Jacob in a basket

I adore this boy!!

Trying out Geocaching

Last weekend my friend Nikki posted on Facebook what a great time she spent with her family geocaching. It's like a treasure hunt where you use your phone as a gps and find a certain point, often interesting or beautiful. When you find it you sign the log book and put in a little something that you brought with you, swapping it for something you take out of the box.
I'd seen it as an activity option at Center Parcs when we were there at the beginning of January but we weren't sure if our boys are too young to manage the maps and gps.
Today we tried it. We downloaded the free app and had a look- there are LOADS! More than 2 million, in 185 different counties. And they are everywhere! We picked one to find a 10 minute drive from our house, and we passed a few other areas on our way.
We found a castle we had never seen and had a great time, despite a grumpy baby (probably his second time ever being grumpy in his whole life so I couldn't really complain) and freezing rain. When the gps said we were pretty close we had to have a real search to find the cache but we found it! Really quite exciting, and I bet it could become quite addictive. We did another one on our way home!
So we have found a new favourite :) Outdoorsy, educational, fun and FREE to do with family. You can't beat that!!

TRY IT WHERE YOU ARE!

Christmassy Jacob

Here's 14 week old Jacob on my knee this evening. He just smiles and laughs all day long. We love him so much!!!

December is BUSY, and I haven't even done anything Christmassy yet!

Hello!

It has been months and months and I think I'd better stop filling up Facebook with photos, so I'm going back to blogging (I think!)

The past week has been a whirlwind of family, friends, parties, food and LOADS of children!! Oliver turned four, we crammed 12 kids plus three of our own, into our house, we made a foiled-covered rocket (it survived at least four children and three balloons in there at once) Jacob was blessed by Ben at our church, I singlehandedly looked after six children for more than three days (three of my friend's, three of my own- oldest was 7...) And the inlaws, outlaws, a couple of brothers and my Nanna came up all for a flyingvisit for the blessing. It has been wonderful, and now I feel like I need to sleep for a week!

2014 Goals

In am no different this year, I still love goals! This year I have less of them, I want to crack the lot :)

- Get into shape physically

- Get into shape spiritually

- Make a Christmas quilt

- Potty train Oliver!

- Enjoy 1-to-1 time with Zach (will have lots of that with Oliver starting Playgroup next week!!)

I also plan to blog my progress more, but I don't want to make that a goal. Hopefully if I don't it's because I am doing something better?!

May 2014 be wonderful for everyone! :)