POLKADoT Farm

Holidays

We're just back from one weeks holiday, part spent in the Lake District, and part spent at centre parcs in Sherwood Forrest. My husband and I have both returned from this 'holiday' needing another holiday. It was the most exhausting week we have had!! Duncan in an energetic two year old, and Floraidh was in the middle of her fussy 12 week growth spurt, so was constantly feeding in the evening! We knew it was never going to be much of a holiday, and we knew it wouldn't be relaxing, but we never thought we would still feel so shattered!! We started to wonder why we go away to relax?! Taking young children and babies out of routines and familiar beds doesn't make the week run smoothly !!

I have mixed feelings about center parcs too! I am not a fan of busy places! My ideal holiday would be a very small hotel, consisting of 10 bedrooms, or a small holiday cottage by a beach. I feel center parcs is too institutionalised, where people go to have fun fun fun , in the outdoors , participating in every activity possible, with every other tom dick and harry! I shouldn't be too harsh, as I think when our children are older it will be super! But it's currently off the cards for the next five years!
Our holiday had lots of firsts... Duncan became obsessed with cargo nets, and climbed his first one, then he climbed it again and again and again... he also went down a flume for the first time, (and all by himself, bless)
On holiday I read a lot of blogs, and got lots of ideas for little activities to do with Duncan on rainy days. I read some blogs on kids montessori activities, so I decided to purchase a set of lacing beads from 'Melissa & Doug' on Amazon. They came today, and are gorgeous. I thought they'd be a greatactivity for the two of us to do when Floraidh was sleeping. Duncan couldn't give two hoots about lacing beads, and grabbed his load all,tractor and trailer, and started to use the beads as cargo for his trailer!! A typical boy! You have to love it! Another Amazon purchase was 'French children don't throw food'. I can't wait to start reading it!

An afternoon of painting

This afternoon, while both babies are sleeping, I have managed to get a few plates painted. I am not doing much at the moment on the trade front, but still enjoying painting commissions. Today I'm painting an engagement plate, a wedding plate, and a birth plate for my little girl. I need to get started on a big order of 15 plates when I come back from our holiday next week.  

 

If Only...

Today I bought some rather gorgeous Emma Bridgewater storage suitcases. I bought them for my little girls room, not only to look pretty, but for her in the future, so she can store toys, jewelery and hair accessories in. I can't help but think...if only they made them in adult sizes!! Imagine having beautiful love heart patterned luggage!

An obsessive of mine this month has been Joules. I have been buying clothes form them for years, but recently they have had so many fab designs incorporating beautiful vintage fabrics, polka dots, and gorgeous kitch knits. I asked for a lot of their clothing for my Christmas, and was very lucky, and got given a lot! But I have also been rather good to myself this month, and treated myselflots of their sale items. When I see this lovely patterned bag arrive in the post it brightens up my day...if only more companies packaged their products like joules! 

Tulips

Tulips are my favourite flower, and this weekend i bought my first bunch of the year. By Monday they had opened up, and looked quite unrecognisable as tulips. Still pretty, but think they will be heading to the bin by friday!

Rainy Day fun

Days of drizzle and cold are upon us again. Only one day of sunshine this week, so still not getting out and about on walks or on the farm. Thinking of rainy day projects for my little boy can be hard sometimes. This week we have done lots of painting! I think he ends up with more paint on himself than the paper- but I just let him explore with it. At least its not acrylic paint; his paint will always wash out!! I am always in search for a good craft book for his age group,2, but so far not found any. Any suggestions?

My new yummy soup!

I am making a big effort to fill my family with lots of vegetables this winter! I am trying to make a few different varieties of soup per week, and not just the usual carrot and potato..or anything else I have lying around in my fridge.

My new soup, Pea & Coriander  is from Rachel Allens "Rachel's favourite food" recipe book. My husband..the soup critic, loved it, and it was so quick to make which made it even better. It was chopped,boiled and whizzed ready for lunch in a 10 minute window between my toddler getting his breakfast, and my baby  waking up!! 

It is the first time I have made pea soup, and I was rather taken aback with the colour of it! It looks like something from a witches cauldron, but tastes utterly divine!!

The Recipe

• 50 g butter
• 150 g onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red or green chillies, seeds removed and chopped
• 0.5 tsp salt and black pepper, or to taste
• 850 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 450 g fresh or frozen peas
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Cover with a greaseproof paper and a lid, and sweat over a low heat for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Pour in the stock, and bring the soup to the boil.

Tip in the peas and boil rapidly, without the lid, for about 2 or 3 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Add the coriander to the soup, and blend in a liquidiser until smooth.

 

A weeks of 1sts

This week is becoming the week of firsts.

Today is the first bit of sunshine we have seen in months (or so it feels!!)

Floraidh is becoming much more aware of her surroundings, and touched an object for the first time

 

And Duncan said 'please' for the first time!! In the last 2 weeks his speech has really come on! I wonder what words this week will bring!! 

2012 New years resolution: Start blogging again......and drink more water!

It has been too long since I blogged. I just never found the time between entertaining a toddler, being pregnant with no2, having no2, painting, still entertaining a toddler, and recently looking after a toddler who just keeps getting cold after cold after cold! Too much internet time has been spent looking at shops or on facebook. I feel that blogging was really good for me, and that marking down my life through photographs was the most wonderful thing to look back on. SO this year I am aiming to stick at it!!

 This is the view from our cottage over the carse today. Rather gloomy!! It has been the wettest and most depressing weather here over the last 8 months. Harvest was a disaster. We are still to bale a lot of our straw, and most of the bales still lie in the fields surrounded by flood water. The ground is too wet to drive on with a tractor, so fingers x'd we get a good frost, and the weather perks up pronto, and my husband can start enjoying farming again!! It has also been impossible to get out and about on walks, as it is too cold,wet and far too muddy, really not enjoyable at all. Wee Duncan luckily still gets to go onto the farm with his Daddy when he can. Floraidhs still to experience farm walks!!

 

I aslo need the weather to improve so I can get out and about and wear my gorgeous new pink wellies that I got for my Christmas!!!

As much as I love filling the house with fairy lights and christmas baubles, I feel once all the festivities are over, they start to clutter the house. I like to think a new year brings a new 'refresh' to my house! This includes taking down the decorations, and getting my house back to normal. Almost like a winter 'springclean'! So todays plan is to finish taking everything down, and putting it up in the attic!

Lovely new pics!

I am so thrilled with the new pictures I have had done for my website, as well as general advertising for Tartan Heart. Here is a wee selection.

 
I have just updated my website www.tartanhearthome.com with a few of them.

Apart from painting, the farm is a hive of activity.It is lambing time again! The sheep came into the shed yesterday! SO for the next month the shed is turned into a maternity suite for sheep! This year I have to keep well away from sheep, as I am expecting baby no2 ,and Pregnant ladies shouldn't go near sheep due to health risks in pregnancy.

 

What a busy week...

 
What a busy week its been! Unfortunately another week of cold damp weather, but we managed to fit in a couple of walks down onto the carse with the dogs. There is still a lot of flooding on the crops, and some of the crops have gone yellow from being under snow for many months, so those fields will have to be re sown, but fingers crossed once the air warms up the flooded crops will be ok.

We managed to meet a friend in Monkey Business in Edinburgh this week. It was maybe the wrong week to go, Half Term!! But we survived the hyper-ness of the kids, and our babies played away happily in the ball pool and wendy house!

The snowdrops are suddenly here! It is lovely to see the wood light up with the delicate pearly white flowers. We picked a few for the house, and I have displayed them in a rather different vase in the shape of a baby yogurt jar! Perfect size!

Last of all, this week has been taken up with painting wedding plate orders! It has been so nice to do commissions for customers. Hopefully the people who are receiving the plates with treasure them for ever!

This week we have a few exciting things planned, including a trip down to Galloway to my Mums.