Great Christmas Present for Young Readers, Check it out!!

Recently http://www.lostmy.name/ sent Seán, Farrah and Georgia fabulous personalised books.  This book is a personal, beautiful and magical book. The adventure in the book is based on the letters of the child's name.

This book is different to any book on the bookshelf at home or that I've seen before.  Your child's name is not only in the book but the whole story revolves around the name.  The child's name is the story!!

Farrah and Georgia met a girl at the start, Seán met a boy who wakes up to find their name is missing.  They then go on an adventure, collecting letters , meeting amazing and educational characters and at the end realise that they have actually collected all the letters to their very own name.  Great excitement!! An added bonus, it has sparked a great interest in my 3 year old in learning how to spell her name! This is great, it's promoting letter recognition also. Seán, who met a rock angle that gave the letter 'A' now has a new found interest in rock and roll!! How fabulous that this book ignites the mind of our little children.

Creating the book is very simple for the user.  You enter your child's name, state if you are purchasing for a boy or girl.  Choose hair colour of the main character to personalise it further.  Then you can preview your book.  If you are happy with the book you can purchase it.  Delivery was very quick, it arrived within 10 days.  It is also free worldwide delivery. 

The book is beautiful.  It is A4 landscaped sized.  The illustrations are just fabulous.  You need to see it to believe it;

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgdZzt6gEd0&feature=player_embedded


I would highly recommend it for Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles purchasing for the small people in your life this Christmas.  It suits 2 to 6 year olds and will be cherished for life. It is a great gift for infants too as they will soon grow into it and learn their name from being read this story.

Disclosure: Kerri and Orla were provided with three complimentary copies of Lostmy.name books for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are our own and are totally honest.

Do you have this book at home?  What do you think of it?  Let us know  Xx


Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.


Thanks for reading,

Orla & Kerri

This Sunday you have to try this!!

Baked Creamy Leeks

This is an absolutely fabulous accompaniment with any Sunday roast chicken dinner. I'm thinking I might even make it on Christmas day! My leeks are ready in my raised beds so I used them to make this dish.  It was beautiful and easy to make! Not for those counting calories! But sure what you eat on Sunday doesn't count ya?! ;-)

  

This serves 4-6 people

How to make it?

Preheat your oven to 200C.

Get 800g of Leeks.  Peel back the scruffy leaves, trim the ends and discard, then quarter the leeks lengthways and roughly chop them.  Put them into a sieve, give them a really good wash to get rid of any dirt. Then drain them.

Peel and finely slice two cloves of garlic.

Put a large pan on a medium heat and add two knobs of butter, a lug of olive oil and the garlic.
Pick the leaves off the 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, discarding the stalks.  I have the thyme growing in my raised bed also.

Just as the garlic begins to take on the smallest amount of colour, add all the leeks and thyme leaves and give them a good stir.

Turn the heat up and cook for about ten minutes until the leeks have softened.

Grate 100g of cheddar cheese.

Remove the pan of leeks from the heat and season with a good few pinches of salt and pepper.

Add 200mls of single cream and half the grated cheese.

Mix everything up and transfer into an earthenware dish.  I used my Chasseur Dish. It is perfect for this. 





The leek mix should be about 2.5cm thick in the dish.

Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 20minutes until golden and bubbling.

Enjoy! I did!

A Leek soup is next on my agenda, anyone got a good recipe?

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.


Thanks for reading,

Orla & Kerri

How My Children Do The Gardening ;-) Some fun tips!

Gardening With Children

Gardening combines many of the elements that children love most; exploring, watching things grow and making a mess.  Add a few worms, bugs and mud pies and you have the recipe for a constant source of activity.

   Introducing your children to gardening can create a passion, that will last a lifetime.

 

 

Children enjoy growing things that they can pick and eat.  Fruit and vegetables are ideal for small hands to poke around in without causing too much damage.  Try potatoes, courgettes, strawberries and tomatoes.  Even the fussiest eater should be delighted by growing and harvesting their own supper.  In our house this is usually soup for lunch!

Lack of space need not be a restriction.  Even the smallest patio or window ledge can provide shelter and sun.  Use any container, yoghurt pot, tin can, old tyre.  All can be decorated and turned into a perfect plant pot. 




Tips for gardening with children

Give them their own garden beds. Whether you use raised beds, containers or ground plots, be sure to give each child his or her own separate plot. Keep it small, very small for young kids. Put their plots right in the middle of the action, with the best soil and light. Set them up for success.

Reuse the sandbox. If your children have grown past their sandbox years, consider converting the old sandbox to a garden bed. This gives the child continued 'ownership' of a familiar space and encourages a sense of responsibility to the gardening project. Of course, a productive garden bed needs to be in good sunlight and soil should be free of tree roots. It may be necessary to relocate the sandbox if growing conditions are less than ideal.

Give them serious tools. Cheap plastic child's gardening tools are worse than no tools at all; they break easily and frustrate the user. It can be hard to locate good tools for kids, especially work gloves that fit a small hand. With some garden tools, like a hoe or spade, you can easily saw the handle shorter. Let them use your tools if need be; in this way you're acknowledging the importance of the work they're doing.

Engage them through the entire process, from seed to table. Children learn better when they understand the context of their activity. They will learn that gardening can be fun, but far more than idle play; they are contributing to the family well-being. Besides planting and nurturing their garden beds, be sure they alone do the harvesting and preparation of their crop for the table, no matter how modest the offering.

Start from seeds. While it's a convenient shortcut to buy starters, children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins, from seed. The care given to sprouting seeds and nurturing the young seedling are a valuable part of the gardening experience. Seeds will need to be started indoors in a warm room and once sprouted they can be transplanted into pots until ready to set out


Cheat a little. Depending on the age of the child, you may need to help out a little 'behind the scene'. Not every garden task is pleasant, and the child may not be ready at all times for all chores. You may need to go out in the evening to pick a few slugs off the lettuce, or be the one to run out and move the sprinkler. They don't have to know about every little help you offer - the child's 'ownership' of the plot is the main thing.

When all else fails, make a scarecrow. The best time to engage children in gardening is when they're in the mood for this activity. If their attention wanes, or the garden tasks become boring, let them build a scarecrow. This activity is still a contribution to the gardening effort and adds another layer of interest to the garden scene. It also reminds the child of the importance of the garden crops.

Show off their work. When giving 'garden tours' to friends, be sure to point out the children's beds. Take a photo of their harvest and send it to the grandparents. The attention given to their work is the best motivator for children to stay involved with a project.

People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children in particular will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility – from caring for plants
• Understanding – as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants)
• Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
• Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place

• Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction
• Physical activity – doing something fun and productive
• Cooperation – including shared play activity and teamwork
• Creativity – finding new and exciting ways to grow food
• Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.

Here is a list of the fruit and vegetables that the girls have grown that have been a success;

Runner beans
Strawberry
Radish
Lettuce
Courgette
Carrot
Potato
Spinach
Swiss chard
Beetroot
Pumpkins

Thanks for reading

Orla & Kerri xx

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

 

My Favourite Family Places

My Favourite Family Places

I (Orla) am based in Co Limerick.  I decided to write a short blog on my favourite family places in Co Limerick.  There are four playgrounds/parks in Limerick that I feel are really excellent. They truly are worth a visit and feel lucky to have them on my doorstep in Co Limerick.

The first playground I would like to mention is the Adare Playground in The Manor Fields, Adare.  This is a super playground.  It has sand, a digger in the sand, a zip line, climbing frames, balance beams, cubby house, hammock, swings, slides, tunnels and picnic benches.  It is both enjoyable for adults and children and is very clean. I have spent many days there!

The second playground/park I would highly recommend is The Croom Playground.  There is a lovely playground there with a seesaw, slides, climbing frames and swings.  On looking the playground is an amazing restaurant/café called The Riverside.  Great to grab a takeaway coffee in before heading down to the playground.  They do a fabulous Sunday lunch also.  The playground is situated on a park that runs alongside the River Maigue.  There are tarmac paths perfect for bikes and buggies.  At the end of the park is a insect hotel, the kids love it.  It is surrounded by a wildflower meadow. You could spend the day in Croom, give it a go, it will not disappoint.

The third playground I want to tell you about is Currachase Playground and Park.  I love this park.  There is so much to do!  You set off on the loop around the beautiful lake, first you meet the ducks and amazing swans.  You can climb into the forest up the steps and discover hidden gems. Climb the fallen trees then head to the playground where there are climbing frames and swings.  There are other longer bike and walking/running trails set out, you just have to follow the map.  Bring a picnic you will want to spend the whole day here.  You can always try out the new café in Currachase called De Veres.  The barrier is now up in Curraghchase at weekends since the café opened.  It is a an amazing free facility! Give it a go.  It just keeps getting better every time I go back!

Just last week I finally got around to visiting Castleconnell Fairy Woods.  I heard it was an amazing place to visit with the kids. It is located on the river walk just left of he playground in Caastleconnell..  We arrived at the car park at 11am and didn't leave until 3pm.  It was just fantastic there.  The weather was good, so we set off to the forest walk first to try and find some fairies.  We stumbled across them very easily and the girls couldn't get enough of it.  They were so captivated by the fairies and their houses, their washing line, their beach house and finally the fairies blue castle where everyone drops their doodies in; to give them up for good.  The fairy takes the doodies! Brilliant Idea!! Personally it took us getting a large trampoline to get rid of the doodie at bedtime!! If only i'd known! You can walk along the forest and the long bridge, then after head back to the playground and have a small picnic.  It was a super day out with the family, we all really enjoyed it! we will certainly be back in the future.

Is there any places you just love to visit with your family?  We would love to hear.

Thanks for reading

Orla & Kerri xx

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

Our Halloween Traditions

Halloween always brings back many fond memories of great childhood fun. Now that Im a Mom I try recreate some of the fun and spook! Here are some of our favouite family fun Halloween traditions.



Making a barn brac!

I currently have mixed fruit (mostly raisins and sultanas) soaking in tea (Barry's of course!) and tomorrow or the following day I will make two barn brac's. Carrying on the tradtion my mam had, I always wrap a €2 and 2 €1 coins in shiney tin foil and mix them through the mixture. Theres nothing more exciting than biting into a hard coin and unwrapping the foil. Its the little things that always have the best reaction. The recipe I use can be found under the 'Country Cooking' Tab.


Pumpkin carving.

Like most families this is an activity we get great fun from in the days leading up to Halloween. As a child we used to grow our own pumkins so lots of experimenting of faces was done. Next Halloween I hope we too will have a smal harvest of our pumkins. Luckily there is a farm near us that grows pumpkins and we will go and pick and cut out our own pumkins. This year we are going to embrace an americian (i think!) idea of the blue pumpkin. As our DS is Dairy free we thought it might be nice to let others that may come to our house 'trick or treating' know that we have some dairy free halloween treats! We have in fact decided to make all our 'trick or treating' treats dairy free.

Halloween Games.

We LOVE halloween games.

Our top 3:

Coming in a No 1 everyones favourite: Apple Bobbing.

We like to spook it up a little and add some green food colouring to the water, we also add some monkey nuts and €2 coins to the dish with the apples. This way there is a different difficulty rating and makes the game enjoyable and competitive for every age! The nuts float on top so make them nice and easy for the little one, the apples add that bit of difficulty due to needing to bite in and the coins sink to the bottom making them the ideal target for the hard core bobbers!


No2 : Snap Apple.

We drive a nail (new and sterilised) through an apple, attach string to the top of the nail and hang from a door frame. We usually hang from the double doors to make sure there is lots of room. Hands are tied behind your back and each person gets 30 seconds to try take a bite for the apple. Its so much fun and by having an adult in charge of the varying height of the string this game is suitable for all the family, mam and dad too!

No3: Cutting the Cake.

But its a flour cake! Yes this a messy one but super fun. You pile up flour on a plate, in a much of a 'cake' shape as possible an place a cherry on top. Each person takes a turn at cutting a slice, any shape or size they desire. They gently seperate the cut slice from the rest of the cake, but leaving the flour on the cake. The person who cuts the slice whereby the cherry falls form the top is the loser and must put their face into flour! So simple yet so fun!

'Trick or Treating'

Yes, we are mean and do give some of the older kids 'tricks'. Ah isn't that what it's all about!!

This years favourite dairy free treat: A plastic glove, place a jelly at the tip of each finger and fill the rest with popcorn! Simple, effective and budget friendly!

Our favourite treat: This one was a roaring success when we discovered it as kids! A hard boiled egg, dipped in melted chocolatae! I know I know, how mean your thinking! But come on....all treats would be no fun!!


So while we have lots more Halloween ideas, including decorating and costume ideas I tried to keep this post as concise as possible. But do keep an eye on our  facebook and instagram pages for constant updates! This year we dont have a family theme for our costumes but should be fun none the less.

Hope you got some ideas from here, or reminded you of some of the childhood halloween games you too may have played and had forgotten.


Have a spooktacular Halloween everyone,

Stay safe,

Kerri and Orla xx

(Images are courtesy of google images)

Want a Safe and Comfortable Sleep for your Baby?

Recently I received a great parcel in the post from Slumbersac.  I was gifted a baby sleeping bag for Georgia aged 20months.  The first thing I and my little girl noticed was how gorgeous and cute it was.  Georgia was given the Pink Fairy design sleeping bag and she just loved it.  The shooting star and fairy illustrations really attracts the eye and is very pleasing to look at in the girls bedroom.  It certainly matches the pink explosion we have going on at present! From looking at the website http://slumbersac.ie/category-slumbersac.html there are many great boy and girl designs for the sleeping bags to pick from.  What I love is that there are gender neutral designs also.  Well done Slumbersac!

I found Slumbersac baby sleeping bag great to ensure that my baby remained at a constant temperature all night.  I felt confident that no matter how much she moved during the night, she remained covered evenly across her body. Slumbersac sleeping bags also eliminate the need for any other top covers. This ensures safety. Check out Slumbersac sleep safety guidelines here; http://www.slumbersac.co.uk/sleep-safety.  Knowing that Georgia will be warm, safe and comfortable helps to take the worry out of sleep times. This is great for making sure Mum and Dad get that well deserved all night sleep too!

I found the sleeping bag material to be of exceptional quality. The Shell of the sleeping bag is 100% cotton.  The Lining is 100% cotton and the filling is 100% polyester. This means that it is breathability and comfortable. The filling is made from soft polyester fleece to prevent allergies and movement of the materials within the bag.
The sleeping bags are available in four different sizes.  (0 - 3 months, 0 - 6 months, 6 - 18 months, and 12 - 36 months). Georgia was gifted the 12-36 months and it is just perfect, she has room to grow also.  It is a great product and value for money as it lasts for two years. Check out the size guide here; http://www.slumbersac.co.uk/sizes

There are four weights to pick from to suit your home and climate; (light, summer, standard, and winter).  Check out their tog ratings for more information about sleeping bag weights. I received the 2.5 tog and it is warm and cosy for Georgia in the current Irish weather.

We received the centre zip sleeping bag and it is easy to get a baby/toddler in and out from.

I have washed this product numerous times and it came out perfect from each wash.  It is a durable product.  Colour stayed bright and vibrant.  It is machine washable and can be tumble dried also.

I would certainly recommend this product to parents. In my experience with conventional bedding, babies tend to get too cold or too warm. This is because as a baby wriggles about, his sheets and blankets no longer cover him evenly. A Slumbersac baby sleeping bag eliminates this problem.  I find this product keeps baby safe and therefore mummy and baby are happy, cosy and comfortable.
I have found that the Slumbersac sleeping bag has helped Georgia settle when I use it as part of the bedtime routine. I just put her into her sleep sack half an hour or so before bed time, and she'll be calm and ready to sleep when I turn on her lullabies and put her down in her cot. She now receives her bedtime story while she gets cosy and warm in her Slumbersac sleeping bag.

Quality sleep is vital for ones health and well being at any age. I am all for any product that helps my toddler sleep, encourages her to thrive and lets Mum and Dad sleep also!

Although I was gifted this product free of charge; all opinions are my own.

Checkout Slumbersac on facebook https://www.facebook.com/slumbersacuk

& on Instagram:https://instagram.com/slumbersac/


If you want to purchase The Pink Fairy Slumbersac Sleeping Bag follow this link:
http://www.slumbersac.co.uk/baby-sleeping-bags-pink-fairy-2405.html


Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

Have you tried Slumbersac Sleeping Bags or any of their products?  We would love to hear?

Thanks for reading!

Orla & Kerri Xx

2nd Free Preschool Year Explained.

Is your son or daughter due to start primary school next September? 

If so think again! Its not often our government gives us opportunities but the addition of a second free pre school year is an opportunity not to be missed.

The age at which to start primary school has played over and over in our heads with a couple of years. My gut feeling is as Seán’s birthday is January I would rather he starts school at 5 and 9 months rather than 4 and 9 months. We had every kind of pro and con listed for our preference and eventually decided yes 5 and 9 months is the option that we felt would most benefit Seán in the long run. While his is not the norm in our area, I know it is very much in keeping with the norm in other parts of Europe. It is also the norm in some very built up areas of Ireland where demand on school places requires a minimum age of 5 before starting school. So that was our decision made. Pre School however, was a whole other ball game. Reed our full choosing pre school post here. 

But in short: 

 In accordance with the ECCE scheme Sean would qualify for his either September 2014 or September 2015!! Am I don’t what it until 2016!!! So on the phone I got, and after approximately 300 phone calls, letters and emails I got the system over ridded and Seán would have his free pre school year in 2016! Sorted! But wait: what about this year? We wanted him to go to playschool 3 days a week this year so this we have been doing and paying for it ourselves. We didn’t mind. We feel very strongly about being the correct age starting primary school and if we had to literally pay this price we would. BUT then…..the Government agreed with us!!!!! Not that I actually went to any minister over this, although God know I rang so many people last summer one very well may been a minister!!!! I never pay much attention to the budget on budget day but this year I was glued!!! A second free preschool year!!! And the age limit is extended!!! This could only mean one thing: the government have finally read all the research stacked in favor of starting school at a later age!! Yippee!! For once in my life I felt we made a good, well informed, well researched decision. So what this means for us is: Sean has now been registered to the free ECCE year this year as a late applicant (closing day is TODAY people!!! Get on it!!) So this year is free for us and then he will be registered next year also under the new additional year! Another bonus: we get a refund of the money paid to date this year!! To say I’m thrilled the whole thing worked in our favor is an understatement! So that’s our ecce story!   What’s yours?

If your still undecided as to what to do here are the main points you need to know, (keeping in mind I’m no expert and this is just my understanding of things)

1: The new additional free pre school year comes into play from next September.

2: If your son or daughter is hoping to start school in 2017 make sure they are registered under the current ecce scheme by TODAY!!! (Friday Oct 22nd)

3: In case above you can then get your new free additional year next September.

4.If your son or daughter is currently enrolled in the ECCE year and planning on starting school next September you now may have an option of the new additional year next year. If your son or daughter’s birthday falls AFTER Jan 1^st they will be eligible for the new additional year next year. This is Orla’s story. Farrah, currently enrolled in the ecce year, was due to start school next September will now instead do the additional year in Pre School and school the following year.

5: If your son or daughter s hoping to start school in 2018, make sure to speak to your pre school provider a.s.a.p. They may not now have enough room!

6: If your little one is starting school in 2019, then sit back and relax, next September will be plenty time to think about your two free years in 2018 and 2017. While it sounds like AGES away, you do need to think about it when you can.

Please do act on this now, as far as I’m aware the closing date to resister for this year’s ECCE scheme is today.

If you would like to read more about the new additional ECCE year these are the websites I found helpful:

Early Childhood Ireland here

Department of Children and Youth affairs here

Hope this post helps. Any questions/concerns you have Ill try my best to answer, however the first link above is super. 

Thanks for reading,

Kerri and Orla. 

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.