Plutonium Sox

Natalie Ray May 17, 2019 Food and Drink

Easy vegetarian Jersey Royals Recipe

Since having children, cooking a nice meal has come to mean something entirely different. I’d love to say that we often host dinner parties and cook gourmet delights. But that’s not the reality of parenting is it? Instead, a decent meal these days is something with good quality ingredients that the children will eat. It needs to be ready within an hour, preferably with minimal preparation time so I can get some other jobs done while it’s cooking. We all love the distinctive taste of Tesco Jersey Royals. So, I’m sharing an easy Jersey Royals recipe that ticks all the…

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Natalie Ray May 16, 2019 Our Thursday Photos

Thursday photo #262

Birthday weeks are always fun in our house. This year has been particularly exciting, since the girls decided they didn’t want a party. So instead there was cake, shopping and sushi. Definitely a winning combination for a birthday weekend. Milestone birthdays When I think of milestone birthdays, five doesn’t spring to mind. One, ten, thirteen, sixteen and eighteen are the big ones for children. These days, four is more relevant than five as most kids start school at four. For Lia though, being five is a milestone. She remembers Libby being five and Libby is BIG in Lia’s eyes. She’s…

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Natalie Ray May 15, 2019 Home and Garden

Bedroom furniture for children

As children get older, they tend to want to spend a bit more time in their room. Because my two girls share a room, they don’t have a lot of space in there. We’ve offered them the opportunity to have their own rooms, but they love being together. So instead, we have to make the room homely with things that take up minimal space. A special children’s sofa is an ideal solution. It’s just the right size for the two of them to sit on, without making the room look cluttered or small. Just4Kidz Children’s Furniture Just4Kidz sell a beautiful…

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Natalie Ray May 13, 2019 Home and Garden

Finding time for home improvements

Sixteen years ago, on my 23rd birthday, I moved into my own home. Never being one to do things by halves, it was a pretty busy day. I took the day off work for a job interview. When the interview finished, I collected the keys for my new house. Having filled up the car with everything I owned from my mum’s, I drove to my new place and emptied the car. All my worldly possessions piled up in a small corner of the bedroom. The phone rang, I’d got the job. I immediately quit my old job and in the…

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Natalie Ray May 9, 2019 Our Thursday Photos

Thursday photo #261

Hasn’t it been lovely to have another bank holiday so soon after Easter? Everyone seems so much more relaxed with the extra days off. Definitely a case for more long weekends throughout the year, or maybe every working week should be four days long. The illness that wasn’t On Friday, I dropped two happy girls off at school and went for a run. Not long after I got home, my phone rang and the lady from the school office told me that Lia was feeling sick and needed to come home. It seemed a bit odd, there had been no…

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Natalie Ray May 3, 2019 What's on West Midlands

Things to do West Midlands May half term 2019

With Easter holidays only just over, May half term and the Whitsun holiday is rapidly approaching already. If you’re looking forward to family time in (hopefully) warmer weather, these things to do around the West Midlands will help you plan a school holiday full of fun days out. As it covers the whole West Midlands region, I’ve split this guide up by district. If you’re looking for activities in a particular area, please click on one of the links below to take you to the relevant section. For more things to do in the area from family or dog friendly…

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Natalie Ray May 2, 2019 Our Thursday Photos

Thursday photo #260

As the Easter holidays came screeching to a halt, we all tumbled back into our usual routine for a rest. I’m not really a people person. This week though, the support from friends, family and people I’ve never met was incredible. Before, during and after the London Marathon, those people made the experience one I’ll always remember. A weekend in London It came as a bit of a shock last October when I got a ballot place for the London Marathon. A winter of running followed, cumulating in a 17 mile run a few weeks ago. That was the furthest…

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