Our holiday, the boat trip and some brownies

This week the app on my phone has moved from head to bum measurements to head to toe measurements and so we leap to the length of a tray of brownies (approx 27cm). Ta-da!

Having no bake-worthy chocolate in the house we found a recipe online for a cocoa powder only recipe and found (and made) the following: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6023/quick-and-easy-brownies.aspx they seemed to go down pretty well at the Glasto party at The Nutleys so I thought I'd share the recipe :o)  

I added in some peanut butter chips to make it more interesting!

This week, as many of you know, we have been on holiday to Portugal.  We are lucky to have an aunt and uncle (my mums sis and bro) who own a couple of villas on the Algarve.  After many offers to use it we decided that we would take them up on their kind offer and along with Ali and my friend Hels we flew out to enjoy some sunshine!  After a slight dilemma at the airport (how do we get the car into reverse?) I drove while Pip navigated us to the villa and we all enjoyed a pretty chilled out, relaxing week!

The villa, ours was on the left.

 The villa is the original shepherds house and a barn, my family spent a couple of years getting it converted into a habitable state and when we arrived we had had a "care package" left by my uncle who had been there the week before, for each of us.  Pip had beer, Ali had wine and I had water and a message to keep hydrated...

Flowers at the front of the garden

A fab crockery/pottery place that we spent a fortune in!

 Having driven past this warehouse several times we popped in and our jaws dropped, never have I seen so much crockery and pottery in so many different designs and patterns, it was truely epic.  

The edge of south west europe!

 On a recommendation we headed to the lighthouse in Sagres and having spent the best part of 4 days not really seeing many cars on the road the place was rammed with coaches, cars and people, no-idea where they all came from!  It had the feel of Lands end in Cornwall but minus the cheesy tourist stuff.

Our motley crew in Sagres

We actually spotted a couple of old guys fishing from the cliffs by the lighthouse!

The lighthouse

Armardo beach, nicknamed surfers beach by my aunt

Complete with actual surfers

These guys were pretty good, we did have a chuckle at a couple that could not get our past the first break!

We think this is cork drying out, it is obviously a local thing as cork products were in several souvenir shops

The back end of a dolphin

Brace yourself for a Jill story...

One of our trips was a dolphin spotting trip, sadly the day we were booked on was cancelled due to bad seas so we re-booked for the Thursday we flew home, having headed into Lagos (local town) and speed walked to the boat due to make it on time we were greeted by an english guy (hurrah) who told us there was still a bit of a swell on the water (boo).

A bit?  My english friend if that is what you call a bit then we need to have words...  Sad to say I spent the next 25 minutes gripping Pips arm/table/back of the chair and when we eventually stopped I am sad to say I required the use of a sick bag (not just one but 3) and briefly saw dolphins through the window before they turned us around and we headed back to the harbour. Pip managed to get some phoos but sadly only one had the dolphin in it!

I should clarify that I was not the only one (Pip assures me it was moving towards double figures) being sick and sadly the boat ran out of bags. 

Having gotten off the boat, and almost kissed dry land, Pip then shared that the driver of the catamaran could have made the journey a whole lot smoother and then Ali and Hels shared they they too had felt a bit dicey too!  Not going to lie the thought of a 30 min drive back to the villa, and hour and a half drive to the airport and a 2 hour flight the same day was not massively appealing but I made it through the whole lot without further incident.  Thankfully it is now bordering funny rather than vaguely terrifying...

And finally, one much requested bump photo!

Halfway through!

So, today was our halfway scan and today I have been in a little cloud of joy.  Bit cheesy but so true.  

Below are the photos of our child, our squiggling, drinking (we saw baby D's mouth moving away), kicking child.

One head shot

A wave from our friendly baby!

And a little leg

 Suddenly this got very real and very exciting. 

And to complete the day, this evening we felt a proper kick for the first time. I felt it kick and grabbed Pips hand so see if he could feel it too and he could!  Thank you baby D

The waffle and Ali

Hey chicky, 

This week your nephew/niece is around the size of a Belgian waffle, Pip may have had to complete extensive google searching to find a baking item that is around 15cm long apparently you but 15cm waffle irons so we're sticking with that this week!

 

Tomorrow is your birthday, you are the grand age of 24.  Which for some reason seems to be bothering you a bit (hello, I am 30 this year, pipe down ;o) ). 
To mark the occasion I thought I'd share some photos from the archives.  I have to say you were a pretty cute kiddo.  Thought sadly photos of me and you seem to lack until recent years and all yours seem to be with Rob...

A rare one of you and me on the beach at Swanage, I was just about to trim the photo when I realised it was mum and dad on the left, so thought it best to leave them in...!

 First day of school!  I remember coming down on break via the year 6 loos and the infant schools playground and you and your friends running over to say hi.  I think the teachers used to tell me off!  Please note the cool and trendy Winnie the Pooh lunchbox... I had to make do with a Thundercats one which I couldn't cover fast enough with my little pony stickers!

As I said I have a fair few of you with Rob, I think this was marked as his 8th birthday and I'm guessing/hoping that I'd said to pull a funny face!

Too cute for words, I think this may have been at Centre Parcs...









So far during this pregnancy you have been an absolute legend, on days when I have a whinge about the weird and wonderful things my body is doing at the moment you offer a suitable "eww" or "Er, not sure I needed to know that" which is exactly what I need to hear!  Many people, it feels like, are telling me "you'll have to get used to that" or "this is what you have to look forward to" which, strangely, I am not finding massively helpful.  You are definitely helping me through this journey and making it a bit easier and a bit more fun!

I don't have many memories of us as kids doing things together, probably because of our age gap but in the last few years I reckon we are pretty close; you are my shopping partner of choice as you will always say what you think (sometimes more bluntly than possibly needed but the truth is a painful thing), I love spending time with you whether its making cakes for your friends, taking the dogs for a walk or just chilling out at home.

This was at a meal out with the Co-op peeps, we have even survived working together!

I trust you with pretty much anything and know that whatever I share with you you won't judge me for.  I'm not sure I laugh as much with Pip as I do with you, generally at daft things we've done or those we know have done (mum, Lucy - person not animal...) I cannot imagine my life without you and have to confess the entire time you were traveling a couple of years ago I was very prepared to stick a flight to the middle of god-knows-where on the credit card to come rescue you from some Bridget Jones-esque Thai prison situation, possibly minus the galaxy chocolate as I'm not the best at sharing when it comes to chocolate.

Our first shoot at Moodi

I think you are definitely going to be "cool" auntie Ali but I warn you that if you send my kiddo back to me dosed up on sugar remember that it will come back to bite you should you have your own...

I felt bad leaving Rob out and yes, me as most know me, laughing, mouth open wide...

Happy Birthday Chicky, love you xx

Cupcakes and a Cadbury flake

So this week marks week 18 of being pregnant and this week is the first week that I have definitely felt baby D move.  There have been some movements before this but they have been more "was that or was that just my digestion...?"

This week, mainly in the morning before getting out of bed or just before I drop off to sleep, baby D seems to have a squirm.  It is both an odd and comforting feeling.  Odd because despite all the advice nothing quite explains what it feels like and comforting because it affirms it's actually there!!  I don't just look like I ate a few too many bars of chocolate there is actually a baby in there!

  Baby D is approx the size of a Cadbury flake this week.  Having measured one (I like to be thorough) you would technically have to nibble off one end to be exact but as I can't imagine all babies are exactly 14cm long from head to bum at this week I figured I would be ok ;o)

Having purchased 3 (they were on offer) I decided rather than scoff the lot I'd do some baking and rustled up some choco-cupcakes with chocolate cream-cheese topping.  As I am a little slim pickings on other news this week I thought I'd share my cupcake recipe in case anyone one wanted to give it a whurl.  Its actually a lemon cupcake recipe I downloaded from the net but I just adjust it to my requirements. 

You'll need 4oz of caster sugar, fat (I use stork) and s-raising flour, 2 eggs with 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence.  For chocolate ones I substitute 1 1/2 ounces of flour for cocoa powder for a fruit one then I add in the rind of one of the fruit; lemon, orange etc.

Beat the fat and the sugar together till "fluffy", I just beat till thoroughly combined, then alternate adding in the eggs and flour, I usually add in across four swaps and I sieve in the flour.  Pop in the fruit rind if using or choco chips etc.  Then add milk (you shouldn't need much) so that it falls easily from the spoon.  Fill 12 cupcake cases till about 2/3 thirds (I use 3 scoops of a pampered chef mini scoop) full then cook at 190 for about 15 mins until springy on top.

I did have plenty left over but for the butter icing I used I Primrose Bakery recipe, a small tub of chocolate philadelphia, 4 oz of unsalted butter and a 1lb of icing sugar and some orange rind and juice, blend with an electric hand whisk (cover bowl with  a tea-towel or the icing sugar goes Everywhere...).  Generously cover cupcake when cool and enjoy :)

There are various other buttercream recipes about but the lemon one is 4oz of butter, blend with 2oz icing sugar then add another 6oz, adding in 2 tablespoons of lemon curd as well.

The other exciting piece of news this week is that I have had an advance on my birthday gift (Aug 26th and yes I will turn 30) from Mum in the form of a Bentwood rocking chair! 

Happy Days!

The croissant and a trip across the water...

This week baby D is approx the size of a croissant.  Not going to lie I was starting to run out of cakey-bakey ideas until Ali G, from across the pond, suggested international baked goods – thank you very much you may have rescued the next few weeks! 

From around this week onwards baby D can now hear noises, generally internal gurgles and pulses but voices as well.  Please take a moment to sympathise with baby D, he/she can now hear my laugh...  For those of you who haven’t had the joy I shall share 2 nuggets with you.  A few years ago a friend who was moving to Barcelona for a year said the thing she would miss most about me was my laugh.  Another friend, way back when, confessed that he loved going to the cinema with me as I laughed louder than him... :oS

This week started with a bank holiday, so Pip and I spent a day, of quickly disappearing couple time, on the Isle of Wight.  We did a bit of a road trip taking in Godshill – for a stop at the Cider Shack, Ventnor – which we fell in love with, then back up the coast via Shanklin to Sandown, where we stopped for an ice cream and to play on the 2p machines in the amusement park on the pier (I love the 2p machines, those and air hockey...), then we bumbled back through Ryde looking for petrol then back to the ferry.  All in all a great day out in the sunshine.



The Chocolate Shop on Godshill

 

Beautiful little tea rooms in Godshill

 

My man and the view in Ventnor

 

Panoramic view of Sandown



Adgestone Vineyard - one of the 2 vineyrads on the Island!



Tuesday was visit 2 to the midwife or midwives as we found.  A slightly un-inspiring pair that made the visit seem a little un-worthwhile but we did get to hear baby D’s heart beating away.  A rather loud th-dunk, th-dunk, th-dunk!  Our next baby themed visit will be the 19^th June where we have our mid-term anomaly scan, this is where some people find out whether it’s a boy or a girl but we plan/hope not to find out.

Painting has continued in the baby’s room and all bar a 3^rd coat of emulsion on one wall we are all done I think.  Other plans for decoration are coming together quite nicely.  So far I need a trip to IKEA, John Lewis and an online visit to Very but that should see us done as far as furnishings go.  Other than on-going bids on e-bay for a Bentwood Rocking chair.  I will win a bid, I will win a bid... 

This weekend we have been up to mum-in-law’s for the weekend.  Saturday Pip drove us all over to Enfield for have a browse round Kiddicare so Sue could share the joy in shopping for baby bits.  After heavy debate we think we may have found the car seat.   One helpful member of staff even took one out to the car to show us how it fitted in – I think we will need a bigger car...

                                                    Spots or stripes?!