Another sign that spring is just around the corner. #MySundayPhoto

I have noticed so many signs of spring over the last week or so. It's warmer, sunnier, daffodils are growing in my garden, I've got clothes out on the line to dry, every day, the clothes airers have been put away hopefully until October time and when we went for a walk we saw some little lambs!

Week 8 of #Project365. 20th - 26th February. A photo every day for a year!

We have had a good week. I wasn't excited about the governments announcement, the roadmap but I am coming around to the idea now that the kids are getting excited about going back to school and college. Ellie has her first lateral flow test next week, preparing for the return to school. I haven't told her yet, I don't want her worrying all weekend. It's later in the week so we have plenty of time for her to come around to the idea. She really doesn't want the test but at the same times knows she should. I think once she's at school to have the test she will be fine.

The sun has been shining lots and it has felt like spring. We have been out in the garden clearing and digging it getting ready to plant things. I love how the sun shining puts me into such a good mood.

Now for a photo everyday!

51/365 - 20th February

Takeaway! Yum, yum! There was leftovers to eat on Sunday too.

52/365 - 21st February

The gardening supplies that I ordered arrived. 

53/365 - 22nd February

Back to the home learning after half term. It wasn't that bad. We finally have got into the swing of things and then Boris announces the kids are going back to school.

54/365 - 23rd February

Design and Technology work to do for Ellie. She is loving the festival project and this weeks work was to design some merchandise.

55/365 - 24th February

It was a day where I needed an extra coffee thanks to being woken up early by the birds.

56/365 - 25th February

I cleared some of the garden and dug it up. There is still plenty of work to do out there which will keep me busy for the next couple of weeks.

57/365 - 26th February

I planted some tomato seeds. I am keeping them inside at the moment.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Plans! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

So on Monday Boris announced the government’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions. I want to get excited about the plans but my thinking is that the kids will go back to school and cases will rise again and all the dates will be pushed back. I am not holding out hope of seeing family and friends anytime soon. 

Ellie's school are in full planning mode and said testing will begin next week before they actually go back then do more tests after they have returned on the 8th of March. Eek! Ellie is less than happy about this. At the moment she is saying she's not having it done but I am sure when she see's everyone else getting a test she will be fine with it. I hope anyway. 

We also heard the news about the kids all having to wear masks all day and that is going to be interesting for Ellie. She is deaf in one ear and if there is a lot of background noise she struggles to hear and does rely on lipreading to a point. If everyone has a mask on I think she is going to struggle but I know how helpful the Special Educational Needs woman is. I am sure she will do all she can to make sure Ellie isn't struggling that much.

The plan is that the kids will be in the same classroom for all their lessons and the teachers will move around the school which is better than the kids moving from class to class. The school also said because the kids have their masks on all day they are shortening the lessons and giving the kids and extra 10 minutes between lessons to go outside and get some fresh air. I think this is such a great idea, I just hope the kids don't take the mick and end up late back to lessons and ruin it for everyone. 

I feel better about this return to school than I did about the return in September. I feel that the school are doing more to keep the kids safe. I am of course still going to worry but I don't think I will be as stressed because at least I won't have home learning to help with. hehehe

Becky hasn't heard much about her return to college. All she knows is that she will be returning later than the schools. She can't wait though, she is looking forward to seeing her friends and getting out of the house. Her and her girlfriend are already making plans about when they can see each other. I have said we'll see. Technically they could see each other on the 8th of March at the park but they have decided against that to see what happens which I think is really sensible and mature of them. They are going to wait until at least the 29th of March when "A" can come here and they can meet in our garden.

I have been making plans about what we're going to do with the garden this year. I am no gardening expert but have started planning. I made an order of seeds and a few gardening bits from Wilko's and it was delivered during the week. This year we're growing tomatoes and strawberries again and we're going to try carrots, pumpkins, mint and cucumbers too. I made a start on clearing the weeds and the digging yesterday and got about a 3rd done. I stopped because my arms felt like jelly. It was a bit of a shock to my body doing some physical work after having the winter not doing much at all.

We of course have no plans for the weekend apart from watching TV, playing on computers and eating yummy food. We fancied another Chinese takeaway but takeout 3 weeks in a row is not good for us or our bank balance so we're having a fakeaway. Chinese food is ordered from Iceland and I can't wait for it!

New recipes from Fruit Bowl by Theo Michaels - Chimichangas!

I am always on the hunt for new meals to feed my family. We sometimes get stuck in a rut and eat the same sort of things week in and week out.

Leading UK children’s fruit snacking company Fruit Bowl, has partnered with BBC’s MasterChef semi finalist and cookbook author Theo Michaels to create 5 new family friendly, easy peasy recipes which you can see over on the Fruit Bowl website. Designed by Theo using his own parenting experience and specifically designed with little tummies in mind, provides children with at least two of their five a day every day.

Chimichangas!

All children love these! Chimichangas are crispy burritos, meaning you can add whatever you like to this and still end up with a crispy tortilla packed with tasty goodness! These are chicken Chimichangas but you can use fish, large roasted vegetables like cauliflower or mushrooms for a vegetarian version, or even mincemeat.

Recipe Information:

Serves: 4.

Prep time: 20 minutes.

Cook time: 18 minutes.

Difficulty: Easy.

Equipment:

Pre-heated oven 200FAN/220c

Hot Grill

Baking Tray

Ingredients:

15ml olive oil

400g chicken breast, sliced thin

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp smoked paprika

A quarter of a white cabbage, shredded

150g spinach

1 tin black beans drained, rinsed

2 tbsp ketchup

150g cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbsp butter, melted

4 large tortillas

Recipe Steps:

Dust the chicken with the spices, salt, pepper and half the olive oil.

Lay the seasoned chicken and sliced pepper onto a parchment lined baking tray in one layer.

Bake the chicken and peppers in a pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked then remove.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse black beans and stir through the ketchup.

Mix together the shredded cabbage and spinach.

Assemble chimichangas; line a tortilla with a quarter of the beans, chicken pieces, peppers, spinach and cabbage and finally a generous portion of grated cheese.

Fold over half the tortilla, then fold each side and roll to create a sealed package; lay tortilla seal side down onto baking tray. Repeat for all four tortillas.

Brush with melted butter and place under a hot grill for a few minutes each side until golden and serve!

Recipe created for the Fruit Bowl #5in5Challenge by Theo Michaels in partnership with FiveDinners.

(Ad - Gifted) Beautiful Affirmation Cards from Natalie Trice!

We all need a bit of positivity in our lives at the moment and today I am sharing some Beautiful Affirmation Cards created by life coach, Natalie Trice, aka The Visibility Duchess which are perfect for giving you a bit of a boost and some positivity in your life!

After reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle, Natalie Trice made a series of life changing decisions that, months on, continue to cause ripple effects. Natalie listened to the New York bestseller on her walks during lockdown two, and the Devon based business and career coach today launched a set of positive affirmation cards on her Visibility Store. Created with her sister, The Hambridge Artist, each card shows a powerful, inspiring message as well as a striking, bespoke image of the cheetah that features so strongly in Doyle's writing. 

The Visibility Duchess deck comes with 31 beautifully illustrated, confidence boosting affirmations that Natalie hopes people will use to help encourage a positive mindset for the day ahead, something that can be tricky to muster at the moment but it is possible. 

Two blank cards have been added for personal, thoughtful affirmations to be added so that further calm, clarity, and visibility can come into the lives of those who use the cards.  The cards come in a smooth satin finish, with beautiful illustrations, and there are both boxed, and unboxed options available. 

These really are beautiful cards and reading through them I found myself smiling and feeling like I could take on the world. I didn't get to keep them for long because my 13 year old thought she needed them in her life and I was happy for her to take them. She now has them dotted around her bedroom soaking the positivity in!

The cards are available to buy now from the Natalie Trice website for only £9.99 and I think they would make a lovely treat for yourself a fantastic gift for someone who needs a little positivity in their life. There are also prints, mugs, and clothing all in the pipeline for The Visibility Duchess which I will be keeping an eye out for.

I was sent the Visibility Affirmation Cards free of charge in exchange for this blog post.