Life Is Better With Cake

#betterwithcake

Outdoor Adventures

Yes I know that I like to promote a healthy lifestyle but it is true, life really is better with cake.  Over the past couple of weeks having the children at home has meant there have probably been more cake days than normal in our house.  After a trip to the park with a nice cup of tea, eaten at the forest after a rambling walk along the pathways between the trees and ferns or on warm sunny days on the beach with a picnic. My favourite time to sit and enjoy cake is after I have spent hours gardening and I sit with a cup of tea and usually a couple of the children, in the garden, admiring the view of my tidier flower beds and freshly mown lawn. 

#betterwithcake

There is something very comforting about a slice of cake, and we all love to bake but sometimes there just aren't enough hours in a day so this is when I rely on Mr Kipling to provide that sweet treat.  

I am sure you will all agree life really is better with cake.

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo

This post is an entry for #betterwithcake Linky Challenge (http://bit.ly/betterwithcake), sponsored by Mr Kipling. Learn more at   https://www.facebook.com/mrkiplingcakes

A Sporty School Holiday

This holiday I decided to take some time out for the first week, enjoying some family time, catching up on jobs around the house after being lost in my dissertation since Christmas.  Making time to do things with the children was also a priority as my weekends in recent weeks have been spent trying to stay on top of the housework and working on my research.  So I asked the girls what they wanted to do as the boys are busy revising for AS and GCSE exams.  With a great sports centre just a ten minute drive away that offers a varied programme during school holidays they planned which sessions to try. 

Rollerskating is always top of the list, so of course we went along to this, whizzing round a sports hall turned into a roller-disco for 90 minutes is great fun.  With skate hire included in the price it didn't matter that only Kitty's skates still fit.  Also roller skating is still a cool activity for teenage girls, so much so that Lucy asked to bring along a friend.  Next up was an athletics session, you may have seen my trackside photo (above) on Instagram earlier this morning.  For weeks make that months, Amber and Kitty have been asking to try these sessions, which also take place every Saturday.  So I thought this would be a great opportunity for them to have a taster session before being more committed to  chilly Saturday mornings trackside.  They both really enjoyed this morning and I think I will now be heading to the track more often! 

Tomorrow we will be heading back for a racket sports session. A combination of badminton, squash and tennis will mean the girls get a good all round idea of each of these sports.  Lucy already plays badminton regularly and Kitty has been wanting to try it properly for ages.  Apparently playing badminton in the garden doesn't count as a real game!  Amber is intrigued by squash and so I am hoping she isn't disappointed.

Are you lucky enough to have a great sports centre nearby?  Which sports have your children been trying during this school holiday?  I would love to hear, may even offer inspiration for the summer hols!

Until next time, take care.

Zoe

xo

Making Plans

image source

For the past week or so there has been a sense that Spring is just around the corner.  It's starting to get light when I leave the house at 6am and it is still light as I head to my car after a long day shift at 5.30pm.  These longer days make me feel less tired and also mean on the days I am at the hospital on placement I actually see daylight!  Also with my dissertation almost completed with less than three weeks until hand in day, I am starting to make plans.  

Thankfully I will have two weeks off for the Easter holidays, to rest and recuperate or actually to bake, get out in the garden, take some time to try some new recipes for dinners, read the pile of magazines I subscribe to that I have neglected.  All the things I love but because of my dissertation have been limited.  Suddenly I will have time again! Yes I need to revise for my exam at the beginning of May and think about my final assignment. But I am also going to make time to do all the other things I love.  My word for this year is embrace and so far I have encompassed this in everything I have done.  So for the Easter holidays I am going to embrace the fact that I have some free time.  This is really important to me as I will hopefully be starting a full time job from July, once qualified, so this is effectively my last lazy student break.  

Aswell as making the most of the Easter hols we are starting, as a family, to think about the Summer.  Plans for the agrden are taking shape, decorating jobs are being planned and we are hoping to head back to Lulworth Castle for Camp Bestival.  This is our favourite weekend of the year, a time we all can switch off our phones and enjoy some uninterrupted family time.  Another job on my list for the Easter hols is to finally sort out the photos from last years Camp Bestival to pop into frames of create some fun collages.  

Are you busy making plans now the days are getting longer?  I would love to hear what you have planned.

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo