Sunday weigh-in : Time lag !

Has anybody else noticed that you sometimes get a time lag with your weight going up or down ? Last week, I had an amazing week and I put on 500g. This week, it hasn't been anywhere near as spectacular but I lost the weight I put back on last week. Oh well, swings and roundabouts !

This week, I had a really bad idea. As it's the school holidays, I decided to introduce the Madhouse kids to the Wii Fit. My logic was sound - that way, I could fit in my three 30 minute runs and they could jog along for support or at least be entertained by watching me jiggle ! Well, they did at the start of the week and I was secretly quite chuffed to see that I outran a 5-year-old. But then they discovered the other games and have become obsessed with kung fu, golf, ski jumping and goodness knows what else so trying to get them off the games for 30 minutes to do my runs has become near on impossible. Oh well, we've been having fun together I guess !

Foodwise, I've been doing lots of baking which obviously involves nibbling and taste-testing, but I balanced things out with salad and even a couple of SlimFast shakes for lunch.

So this week, the scales said 85.8kg - back to the 85's so let's hope I stay here this time (or even better get down to the 84's).

Positives of the week

- Now that I have a new computer that doesn't keep cutting out, I can listen to the Slimpod again. And I've instantly stopped drinking diet coke ! I was drinking about three glasses a day. I think I had two glasses all week. Thanks Trevor !

- I'm also feeling more positive overall, which is down to the SlimPod again. Which makes me wonder, why did I ever stop listening to it? Just got complacent I suppose and thought I didn't need it anymore.

Current targets 

Last week's target : Keep to 3 x 30 minute runs. Start listening to the Slimpod again. (Only managed 1 run but did get in some long walks too. DONE for the Slimpod.)

This week's targets : I seem to be alternating losses and gains so let's go for another loss to break the cycle. Fit in two runs and some other Wii Fit games. Stop baking cakes! And stop finishing off the kids' plates - a bad habit that's vreeping back in.

Short-term targets : 21kg to lose sounds a lot but breaking it down, aiming for 1kg a week, that's only about 5 months - plenty of time for heading off to Turkey in August !

first target, get my "weight to lose" badge down into the 40's (it's currently on 51lb) (done),
 second goal - get back to 85.9kg, my pre-xmas weight (done )
third goal : get my "kg lost" badge back into double figures 
fourth goal : get my "weight loss" badge higher than my "still to go" badge
fifth goal : get back into my (smallest) bright blue jeans comfortably
sixth goal : get back to 77kg - my lowest weight since my pregnancies

Longer-term targets :  Hit my target weight of 68kg. 

START WEIGHT :93.7kg

TARGET WEIGHT : 67.8kg

WEIGHT LAST WEEK  : 86.3kg 

WEIGHT TODAY : 85.8kg

WEIGHT LOST SO FAR :  8kg

STILL TO GO : 16.9kg

CHANGE THIS WEEK : -0.5kg

Feel free to add your weightloss posts to my weekly linkie - it's great to see how everyone else has been getting on and give each other support and encouragement. You can even grab the linkie code and add it to your own blog if you like. :)

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Kids' book review : Busy Busy Things That Go (2000 Stickers)

As Parragon Book Buddies, the Madhouse kids always get very excited when the postie drops off the latest book for review. We've received some cracking reads lately, the most recent being the fun but educational "factivity" book Travel Back Through Time To The Land of Dinosaurs and the dino-tastic comic book T-Rex Terror. For this month's book, we moved away from prehistoric times to the busy busy modern world, which is - as it says on the cover -"big, fast, loud and tough" !

The book really reminds me of a book that I loved when I was growing up - it was a Richard Scarry book and I think it was called something like The Busiest Book Ever. This book, Busy Busy Things That Go, looks at all the different sorts of vehicles and machinery that young readers may have seen in the modern world. There are lots of things to look at on each double page which are very colourful and visually appealing with very short texts.

But the book has one huge bonus feature - a whopping 2000 stickers ! Obviously, given the huge number of stickers, some of them are very small, but nevertheless, Pierre's eyes nearly came out on stalks when he saw how many there were ! This is great because it means several children can play and read together and still have plenty of stickers to go around, as well as many left over for decorating bedrooms, books, doors, walls ... even the dog had one stuck on its nose at one point !

The instructions on each page tell you where to stick the larger stickers (and you can add extra details to the illustrations with the smaller stickers). As the official blurb says, "Put the scoops on the diggers. Fit the tractors to the trailers. Get the machines to the construction site and the trucks on the road. Make your own big, busy scenes with all the stickers!". But it's not just a sticker book, as it also has other activities like spot the difference, colouring and mazes. Pierre spent ages going through and doing the activities and sticking on the required stickers, then going back to the beginning and going through again to add more ! Boys in particular seem attracted to things on wheels, but the book features lots of girls in the pictures too so I'm sure it would appeal to little readers (and sticker-stickers !) of both sexes.

star rating : 4.5/5

• Paperback
• Publisher: Parragon Book Service Ltd (26 Dec. 2014)
• ISBN-10: 1472366999
• ISBN-13: 978-1472366993

RRP : £8 (but only £3.82 on amazon at the moment, which is a bargain !)

Disclosure : As Parragon Book Buddies, we received the book in order to write an honest review.

Madhouse recipe : Raisin Oat Biscuits

My mission to clear out my kitchen cupboards is gaining momentum and today's find was a big bag of porridge oats. We like eating porridge here at The Madhouse but now that the warmer weather is on the way, I'm sure we won't be eating it very often, so I needed to find something else to do with it. I still want to give overnight oats a try but I decided to knock up some simple oat biscuits, adding raisins to give them a bit of extra sweetness and juiciness. It's a really simple throw-it-all-in-and-mix recipe that is light on the washing up too !

Raisin Oat Biscuits

ingredients :

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk (I used some oat milk that was in the fridge)

1tsp vanilla paste

4 cups oats

1 & 3/4 cups flour

1tsp baking powder

1 cup raisins

Cream together the butter and sugar then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Place flattened dollops on a greased baking tray.

Bake for 8-10 minutes and leave to cool slightly before removing them from the baking tray.

Fancy having a rummage in your kitchen cupboards, fridge, freezer or spice rack to see what needs using up? See what you can make with it then come and share on the #KitchenClearout linkie :)

Madhouse diaries : Close encounters of the furred kind !

Yesterday, we (well, I !) decided to head off to a local park to find a new geocache. There was only one cache and it's a pretty boring park to be honest - there's a lovely walk around a huge duck pond but that's it - so I didn't expect much enthusiasm !

First we had a good giggle at the ducks waving their bums in the air. Bottoms up !

Then we oohed and aahed at the grown up ducklings.

And we found a lovely pale blue duck egg. The kids were very impressed to see beak marks where the little duckling had pecked its way out.

As we headed over to the geocache area, I screamed.

Not because I was scared but because I very nearly stepped on this little fella !

I'm not sure what he is - a vole or a water rat? - but he was totally unfazed by human presence and just sat there, rooting around and nibbling on the grass.

 He was still sitting there when we left so I hope he scurried away eventually before geting eaten by a fox.

Just a few yards away was the geocache site.

It was easy to find and we swapped a "magic crystal" for a rabbit-shaped Sillyband.

I had a giggle at the log - some people are getting a bit ahead of themselves !

Now this looks like the perfect place for a geocache, but I'm glad it wasn't in there because it was full of spiders webs (and probably spiders).

Our exciting encounter with the water rat or whatever it was reminded us of another adventure when we came across a very friendly hedgehog in another park, so click through if you want to see some pictures of a rather spikier chum.

#Kitchen Clearout roundup and May linkie

Here we are for the second #KitchenClearout monthly roundup and it was lovely to see some new people commenting and joining in. It's great to see what other people have lurking in their cupboards, firstly because it gives me ideas for using up some of my unloved ingredients and secondly, because it makes me feel better about what I have lurking in mine ! Speaking of which, do you remember the Oldest Spice competition I told you about ? I found some celery salt with a use by date of December 2000 which I thought was bad enough, but they've just announced the winners and some people had spices dating back to the 1970's ! In fact some were so old that they predated use by dates so they were disqualified !!

On to this month's roundup and I have to say, there are some real treasures lurking in our cupboards so it's definitely worth having a clear out !

I set the ball rolling with a rather crumbly Victoria Sponge using a jar of out of date jam with a use by date of July 2014 ! It looked perfect (the jam, not the cake !) and tasted very nice though, even if Mary Berry wouldn't have been impressed with the sponge because it wasn't light enough.

Alison from Dragons & Fairy Dust linked up these delicious-sounding Parmesan and Pancetta Scones - even better, I think I have pretty much everything I need in my kitchen already (apart from pancetta, but I'm sure I could use bacon instead at a pinch !)

Next up was a fishy dish involving a Brazilian Moqueca Capixaba meal kit - no, I have no idea how you pronounce it either !

Staying on the Brazilian theme, next was Kibe de Carne (Brazilian meatballs), which used up the end of a bag of couscous, and they were partnered with Spicy Cajun Wedges to use up another seasoning sachet for a #KitchenClearout double whammy !

The end of a pack of tortilla wraps became a delicious Honduran dish called Baleadas - an amazing exravaganza of flavours that we'll definitely be having again, even if it means buying more wraps !

Dragons & Fairydust's Ali was back with another family-friendly crowdpleaser called Panade - it sounds like the ultimate #KitchenClearout dish because it uses day old bread, onions, greens, cheese and anything else you fancy like sausages or other cooked meats. Perfect for using up the leftovers after the Sunday roast.

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll love these Caramel-Filled Chocolate Brownies from Caroline Makes, using up a tin of Carnation Caramel.

A jar of Mild Spiced Curry Sauce proved to be the perfect way to use up the leftovers after the Sunday roast.

Helen at Casa Costello has a healthy recipe (to balance out those brownies !) for Balsamic & Honey Chicken Salad - yum !

And last but not least - another salad recipe. I bit the bullet and used up a tin of "giant squid tentacle" (eeeek !) that I hid has been lurking in the cupboard. The Portuguese Squid Salad was actually better than I expected !

I love the way it's such an eclectic mix of recipes this month, exotic and traditional, sweet and savoury, healthy and indulgent - keep them coming ! I also love the fact that I can open my cupboards without having half a dozen tins and boxes falling out now !

Fancy joining in? Here's this month's linkie ... You can link up as many posts as you like, old or new - just add my badge to your blogpost somewhere please and add a link to the monthly linkie post (that's this one for this month).

Book review : George's Grand Tour - Caroline Vermalle

83-year-old George Nicoleau is the archetypal grumpy old man. All he needs in life are his comfy slippers and being "left the hell alone" by everyone. He doesn't listen to his doctors, who seem to think he should have been pushing up the daisies for years already, or his overprotective daughter. One day, his friend and neighbour, the equally elderly Charles, comes up with a daring plan - to fulfil a lifelong dream and cover the 3500km of the Tour de France route in their trusty Renault Scenic !

As they work out how to pull off their daring stunt, using message redirection so that any phonecalls to George's landline will be picked up on his mobile (their utter glee at realising they can sneak off without his friends and family knowing is heartwarming !) and deciding where to have their pitstops, both old men get a new lease of life and joie de vivre.

They start off their epic journey in Brittany but as I was rapidly halfway through the book and they'd barely started out, I soon realised that they'd bitten off more than they could chew and wouldn't be completing the tour. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter though - the important thing was pushing the boundaries and stepping outside of their humdrum lives, however old they are.

It's an endearing and poignant look at growing old, following your dreams and the importance of friends and family. As each chapter is only a couple of pages long, it's a quick read and I finished it in two days. The characters will stay with you long after the final page though.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £8.99

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gallic Books (13 Mar. 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1908313730
• ISBN-13: 978-1908313737
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.4 x 19.4 cm

Disclosure : I won my copy of the book in a twitter competition.

Our Springtime Crafting with Yellow Moon (review)

There were squeals of excitement when our latest box of review goodies arrived from Yellow Moon. The Madhouse kids have come to learn that there are always lots of fun, simple kits that produce some really lovely and often useful handcrafted items, so they couldn't wait to see what was inside. Once again, they weren't disappointed, and the fact that many of the packs contain multiple kits means that there wasn't even any squabbling when we shared everything out !

Pierre was the first person to try one of the items from the box because he was off sick from school and feeling very under the weather (but also bored) on the settee. He decided to have a go at the Gnome Windchimes and after just a few minutes with some felt tip pens, he'd created this funky fella ! We thought about putting it in the garden so the wind would make it tinkle, but then decided that the felt tips wouldn't put up with the rain. We hung it up inside the kitchen window instead so it still gets a draught when we open the back door to let the dogs out. (£3.49 for 4 kits - an absolute bargain !)

When Juliette came home from school, she wanted to get involved too and had a go at these Kaleidoscope Scratch Art Hanging Decorations. (There are loads of other scratch art kits available, including bookmarks, windmill kits, badges, magnets and masks.) You get ten in a packet, along with lots of little scratcher tools, so all three of the Madhouse kids had great fun with these. You can either scratch off blocks of colour, as on the left, or get creative with swirls, stripes and dots, as on the right. (£2.99 for a pack of 10 - another bargain and these would be great for kids' parties, either in party bags or to keep them entertained during the party.)

I wasn't sure how the younger Madhouse kids would get on with the sealife-themed sewing kits, because they are both complete novices. The chunky plastic needle, thick wool and precut holes made it all an absolute breeze though (they just needed some help with tying knots).

The kits contain everything you need - the pre-cut felt pieces, needle and thread, stuffing and also some stickers to complete the design -the white stripes, black fin and googly eyes. The whole project took ten minutes to make and the kids were really pleased with the finished article. As well as this Nemo clown fish, there is a whale and a turtle - £3.99 for 3 kits.

Pierre remembered that there were some little cardboard fish-shaped boxes in the box too and coloured one in with his felt-tip pens. There was also a big jar of coloured sequins in the box, so we might have a go at creating a design out of sequins next time. (£2.99 for a jar of sequins, £2.99 for 4 fish craft boxes.)

Funnily enough, when I went to check the price of the fish boxes, I see that they had the same idea as us using the sequins - the sparkly design looks faulous so we'll definitely have to have a go at recreating that.

All of the Madhouse kids were excited by the idea of putting suncatchers in their windows.

The instructions said to use glass paint or glass pens but, as we didn't have any, we had a go with some metallic gel pens and some regular felt tips, which worked quite well. If the colour fades over time, we'll just have to colour them in again ! (£3.49 for 6).

We still have some fabulous Trainer Money Banks to colour in or paint (regular felt tips work on these too) (£3.95 for 2), as well as some blank notebooks to customise and some seaside themed foam stickers.

It's a delight to see the kids getting creative and producing some lovely items that they are proud to put out on display in their bedrooms. Older children or adults could create some truly stunning pieces but the kits appeal to crafters of all ages and levels. I'm regularly amazed by the really good value prices too.

for more information : http://www.yellowmoon.org.uk/

Disclosure : We received the products in order to write an honest review.

What's Cooking at The Madhouse? menu plan 1/5/15

Into the second week of the school hols so planning lunches and evening meals. :) Lots of bookmarked recipes to try - I'll share them with you once I've tried them.

Saturday 

lunch - marinated steak (something from the cupboard - Deep South Brown Sugar marinade maybe, so the kids will like it too) with salad and Hairy Bikers cheese and potato pie (basically cheesy mash baked in the oven with a crispy topping)

dinner - prawn salad (prawns tossed in spicy tomato/cucumber salsa, served with lettuce, olives, cucumber, tomato)

Sunday

lunch - roast dinner or bbq

dinner - Caramelised Onion and Spinach Cheese Toastie

Monday 

lunch - Menemen (Turkish breakfast omelette) with homemade pide (Turkish flatbread)

dinner - Cod with Spicy Lentils

Tuesday 

lunch - marinated chicken thighs with cheesy courgette and tomato bake

dinner - empanadas with salad and rice

Wednesday 

lunch -  Yakiniku (Japanese beef stir fry) with noodles and stir-fry veg

dinner - chicken pesto pasta (with courgettes and cherry tomatoes)

Thursday 

lunch - quiche of some description

dinner - soup

Friday

lunch - chicken breast with a seasoning sachet with couscous and ratatouille

dinner - Smothered Salmon (a #readcookeat recipe) with rice and veg

Extras (reminder of bookmarked recipes I want to try):

Oat cookies
Mango lassi
Babka (Polish sweet bread)
overnight oats
raspberry muffinsor raspberry chocolate fondants
jalebi (Indian pastries)
chocolate and chestnut puree shortbread

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

Want to see what everyone else is eating ? Head over to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs M's blog !