Easter bonnet

E was desperate to make an Easter bonnet, so we went to Hobby craft and bought a hat for about £2. Then using some acyclic paint we painted the top part purple and the rim green. The best bit for E was sticking on some foam stickers of flowers and ladybirds They were also from hobby craft and were quite good at being stuck and unstuck. It wasn't quite what I envisioned when she suggested making a bonnet (having googled and seen some rather fab ones) but it was her hat not mine. Then we stuck on some chicks for an Easter effect. I think it looks fab.

Nests

WE made chocolate Easter nests. We used:

225g milk chocolate
50g butter
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
100g Shredded Wheat

Packet of candy-coated mini eggs
Paper baking cases

WE melted the chocolate, butter and syrup in the microwave. Then we broke up the shredded wheat and stirred it in. We then spooned it in to cases; each had about 3-4 teaspoons in. The girls then added mini eggs to each. 

Easter Biscuits and Peppa Pig

This morning we made Easter squashed fly biscuits. The biscuits were a success - everyone liked them and even the husband asked if we could make some more! The recipe made about 16 biscuits.

We needed:

• 110g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 110g butter, softened at room temperature
• 1  egg, separated
• 225g plain flour, sieved
• good pinch mixed spice
• 55g currants
• 30g  candied peel
• 3 tbsp milk
  
  
  We preheated the oven to 160oC and lined a baking tray.  Then we creamed the butter and sugar together using the KitchenAid. We added the beaten egg yolk. We then folded in the flour, spice and dried fruit. Then we added enough milk to form a stiff dough.
  Then we rolled the dough out on a floured surface and cut it using rabbit cutters (for easter).
  The biscuits were then placed on the baking tray and cooked for 10 minutes. Then we took them out and brushed the top with the egg white and sprinkled on some sugar. They went back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they were pale golden brown.

In the afternoon we went to see Peppa Pig's Treasure Hunt (http://www.peppapiglive.com/pictures) at the Cambridge corn exchange. It is always hard to find things suitable for E as she is such a coward, but we love Peppa Pig in this house. The idea was we had to help Peppa and friends find some treasure. It was well done - similar to the show we saw last year (although I thought the story was better last year). It used puppets and told the story using a mixture of acting and songs. It was interactive too; there were sing-alongs, shouting, and even yodelling.The girls (and me) had a great time - even P sat open mouthed. The highlight for me was when Peppa looked in a rock pool and saw an amazing show of animals. E asked if she could see it again tomorrow. I just hate all the merchandise that goes with shows like this - as it makes me feel very mean as I drag my crying child away from the theatre screaming "but everyone else has one"

Lambs at Wimpole

Today we went for the annual go and see the lambs at Wimpole farm http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wimpole). They have numerous pregnant ewes; so it is possible to actually watch a lamb being born (although in many years I think we have only seen it once) and then you can get close to mums and their new borns. This is a National Trust venue, although it does charge extra for members to visit the farm and is part of the Myfarm project. It is a bit of walk from the car park to the farm, especially for P who insists on walking most places. Eventually, when we got there we saw chicks, cows, the lambs (of course), noisy pigs, a horse being shod and wabbits (as P likes to call them). The new piggery has made such a difference in terms of making the venue more accessible to children. They also have several met the animal events over the course of the day. The girls favourite is the donkey grooming one.  We enjoyed lunch there (standard good quality NT fare) of hot dogs (and we discussed if they were made from pigs at the farm) and ice-cream. Then the girls enjoyed a play at the adventure playground; although I do feel G is coming to the end of being able to enjoy it. She enjoyed the trim trail and the tire swing the most; where as E is just the right age for everything. It is not huge and can be done in about 3 hours, leaving, if you wish, plenty of time to walk on the rest of the estate or explore the house (which we have never done!!!).

We went home with sticks the girls had collected and spend the car journey home casting magic spells with - so we got out the acrylic paint and turned them in to wands.

Blossom and eggs

This morning we met up with some friends at the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge which is fantastic for 3 reasons. (1) the grounds are beautiful, (2) you only pay per adult and at £4.50 it is very reasonable and (3) they have a super cafe. The girls enjoyed running round the grass, climbing on trees, picking up stones and looking at the hothouses.

Then we came home and made Easter egg shaped biscuits.

We combined 170g of butter with 200g of caster sugar. Then we added 2 eggs and 250g of plain flour with a teaspoon of vanilla extract and mixed until it formed a combined dough. Then we separated it into 3 balls and coloured them with 3 different coloured pastes (we used yellow, red and blue). We then mixed them altogether and made small ball (easter egg) shapes. G then rolled the edges in multicoloured sprinkles. The cookies were then baked in a lined baking tray for about 12 minutes at 170oC.  They tasted yummy and looked great - although next time I will somehow try and keep the colours separate; maybe we could try rolling the 3 doughs into 1 long line and wrapping them round each other in a snail shell and then cutting circles from that?