How to Spend a Mothering Sunday

Posted by cafebebemama on Apr 3, 2011 in Motherhood | 5 comments

Take one lovely Little Miss, add one clever and patient Daddy and the outcome is…

a WONDERFUL Mother’s Day for Mummy and a new tea pot as well!

Sprinkle in a dollop of trampoleening, a smidgen of “hulee-hooping”,

a stick of sunshine and a measure of togetherness which results in…

How to Spend a Mothering Sunday.

I hope that all my UK Mummy friends have had a wonderful Mother’s Day! How did you spend your Mothering Sunday?

Dear So and So…The Coeliac Edition

Posted by cafebebemama on Apr 2, 2011 in Dear So and So, Gluten Free Mama, Mealtimes | 6 comments

I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in December of 2010. Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease…blah, blah, blah… It means that I CAN NEVER EAT ANYTHING WITH GLUTEN IN IT AGAIN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! Was I shouting there? Oh, sorry. Sometimes I still get a bit cross about it. Even though I do feel loads better. Even though my belly has minimised slightly thanks to it not being bloated all the live long day. Even though I’ve renewed my passion for cooking in order to satisfy my hunger. I still get cross. This is me getting cross…

Dear Jenny Craig,

This is what you say on your website:

We will also try our very best to personalise your menu according to your allergies or food intolerances.

This is actually a load of WHOOEY. Do you know how many coeliacs there are in the UK? 1 in every 50 Britons lives with Coeliac Disease. That’s a lot of people. Don’t you think that Coeliacs deserve the right to lose weight with your company if they so choose? I mean, ready meal diet programmes really aren’t very realistic for life but they do produce results. Loads of Coeliacs, yours truly included, are overweight. Don’t you know that gluten actually is not the best thing a person can ingest? It makes you bloated, is difficult to process and while often a good source of fibre, is truly unnecessary. Particularly in forms like emulsifiers, thickeners and starchy agents. Get with the progamme. Oh, wait, I can’t. Because I can’t eat gluten and you apparently are full of it. Gluten, that is.

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t advertise something that you’re not prepared to offer. What allergies and food intolerances DO you provide for?

No-Thanks,

Me…Slightly Raging Coeliac

Dear Gluten-Free Flour,

You are lovely you know? You allow me to pretend that I can eat things that “all the cool kids” are eating. But why do you cause the product that I turn you into to become HARD AS A ROCK within 12 hours of baking? It’s so not convenient to have to bake something minutes before you need it. Otherwise, within a few hours, you start to go a bit heavy. And then a few hours after that you are a brick. And then you get dumped in my bin. This makes me sad. No one should have to see a fairy cake go before it’s time.

Love,

Formerly Gluten Loving Me

Dear Rice Noodles,

You are my new favourite noodle. I used to love your cousin Egg Noodle but Egg Noodle is all about the FLOUR and as we all know, FLOUR = GLUTEN which makes me decidedly, extremely unwell. You are easier and faster to cook and you have a texture vaguely similar to your naughty cousin which makes me happy. You are far more pleasant to eat than that trollop Maize Noodle. That is one nasty piece of work that Maize Noodle. Bleurgh.

Thank you, Rice Noodle, for redeeming my faith in noodles. Could you do me one favour though? Could you not coagulate into a gluey mess 15 minutes after I cook you? Cheers for that.

Enamoured with you,

Cafe Bebe Mama

Dear Local Chippy (The Boundary, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire),

You are lovely! You have decided to cater to people like me! You are doing gluten-free fish and chips ONE night a week. And unlike that other chippy down the road a piece (Linford’s in Market Deeping, Lincs) you are actually doing it right. We got some of your gf fish and chips a few weeks ago and it was so gorgeous!

Prepared fresh on the spot, handled just the way it should be, that fish and chips was the best I have had in a long time. The batter wasn’t overwhelming, the fish wasn’t dried out and tough, the chips were crispy and tasty! Magnifique (as the French say about their fish and chips)!

I only have one complaint, however. You only do Gluten-Free fish and chips on a Monday night. The “chip fat” is cleaned out on Sunday nights so there’s fresh, non-gluten-tainted fat in the fryers which makes it suitable for gluten-free fish and chips. I appreciate the steps you are taking to ensure that there’s no cross-contamination. You are lovely. But what happens when I really, really want fish and chips on one of the other 6 nights of the week? I have to reserve my cravings for Mondays only. This makes me a bit sad.

Don’t get me wrong though. I still love you and this coming Monday, we’ve already planned to get our (gluten-free) fish and chips from you. But maybe you might consider doing it full-time?! Then I’d love you forever.

Fishily yours,

Me

Ah, I feel better now…do you have any letters you could write after this past week? I bet you do! Have a pop over to 3 Bedroom Bungalow for more “Dear So and So” letter writing.

Flashback Friday- Cafe Bebe in Espagne

Posted by cafebebemama on Apr 1, 2011 in Blogger Love, Flashback Friday, Travelling Adventures | 24 comments

Way back in February of 2007 Hubby and I had the pleasure of spending a little over a week in Malaga, Spain with good friends of ours who were living there at the time. The holiday was relaxing, fun and life changing at the same time. Why life changing? Well, it was just after spending time with our friends whose children were about 4 and 6 at the time, that hubby decided that maybe starting our own family wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I had been hinting in a not-so-subtle way for several months up to this point but it seemed that a week or so in the company of really well-behaved and exceptionally adorable children was all hubby really needed. 5 months later we were pregnant with Little Miss!

I had visited my friend on my own in 2005 shortly after Mark and I had first met. As I was still flying solo, so to speak, I was able to kick back and let loose a little with my friend Martie. We had met in 1999 when we worked together in the US. Martie and her family became my home away from home. I held her daughter 5 days after she had been born and got to experience all of her milestones for a few years.

Fate brought us back together when I was studying in France for the Spring Term in 2005. Martie and I had always stayed in touch, even after she and her family moved to Spain in November of 2004. When I went down to visit Martie, she and I had a girlie good time one afternoon in downtown Malaga. It started in the mid-day sun at a cafe with GIANT glasses of Sangria and ended with us wading into the sea fully clothed not long afterward. There may or may not have been slurring of words!

When Mark and I visited in 2007 we weren’t quite as raucous but we did find a rather gigantic statue that was begging for our handiwork. Hubby captured it perfectly.

And of course, we had to enjoy some Sangria as well and include Mark in the adventure this time. We didn’t manage to wade into the sea fully clothed but we did have a rather enjoyable afternoon. I miss my friend, who has now gone back to the US but we’ll always have Spain. Gracias Martika!

Today is #FlashbackFriday! Share with us a memory from your past…it could be from your ancestors, from last month, from last Spring, from your childhood…from any time that tells a story! Write up your own post, publish it and come back to LINK up and share your memories with the world. If you’d like to help promote #FlashbackFriday, use the hashtag! Memory Lane…it’s a lovely place to visit!

Cafe Bebe and The Gallery

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 30, 2011 in Blogger Love, Gallery, Little Miss Adventures, Motherhood | 10 comments

I’ve spent the last year taking part in an amazing challenge which has set a wonderful trend in the Blogging world. Tara Cain’s Gallery has inspired people to get out their cameras, iPhones, video cameras and what-have-you to capture precious moments. She’s inspired us to trawl through our own archives to share bits of our past and opened up virtual doors to find new blogs and new inspiration. I even began my own, Flashback Friday, thanks to Tara’s inspriation…hope she doesn’t mind!

I’ve loved having a weekly challenge and I’ve suddenly been taking loads more “arty farty” pictures that I never thought I would “see”. The majority of my best photos have actually been taken on my BlackBerry camera as I always have it in hand (that’s another post altogether). I’ve also really enjoyed using Picnik to edit my photos. It’s often made them far better than they started! And it’s FREE!

I’m trying to challenge myself in different ways this year so I may not be participating in The Gallery every week but I’ll dip in from time to time. As it’s now been a year since Tara began The Gallery, I thought I would do a slideshow of some of my favourite pictures which I have featured in Gallery posts. Some were quite popular, most were just favourites to me. In the meantime, head on over to Sticky Fingers for more visual inspiration. And if you would be so kind, come back to Cafe Bebe a few times each week to see what we’re up to. You can even add Cafe Bebe to your RSS subscriptions so I pop into your email or Reader whenever there’s a new post. Doesn’t everyone need a daily dose of Cafe Bebe? (I’m hoping the answer is yes)

And here’s my “Cafe Bebe and The Gallery” accompanied by the Glee Cast…enjoy!

Cafe Bebe’s Mother’s Day Wish List

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 28, 2011 in Blogger Love, BMB Video Bloggers, Motherhood, Vlog Posts | 1 comment

Mother’s Day is THIS SUNDAY!!! That’s Sunday 3 April folks! My American friends and family will think I’ve gone potty as American Mother’s Day is always the 2nd Sunday in May (8 May, 2011). We like to complicate things in the UK by varying Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday) based on the Lenten Calendar. Go figure! So every Spring, Mother’s Day is different. As if it wasn’t challenging enough for our families…we go and alter the date every year. Geesh!

I’ve recorded a wee vlog to share with you the Cafe Bebe Mother’s Day wish list. Mind you, I don’t expect to get any of it so I’m drastically lowering my expectations so I’m not too disappointed. I think all mothers will be happy with a lovely day spent with friends and family so I’ll be the same! However, if any Mother’s Day Fairy Godmothers are out there, I have prepared a list for you. Enjoy!

How to spend a Sunday

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 27, 2011 in Little Miss Adventures, Motherhood | 3 comments

How to Spend a Sunday…

1. Have a lie-in
2. Enjoy a snuggle
3. Have a sniff around
4. Get together with friends

5.) Stop and smell the…daffodils (?)

6.) Balance your family time

7.) Take time for Hide & Seek

8.) Marvel at new life.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…

This is how the Cafe Bebe enjoyed our Sunday morning…how about you?

Cafe Bebe Week in Review

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 26, 2011 in Little Miss Adventures, Motherhood | 4 comments

As I’m taking a bit of a break from The Gallery and Silent Sunday, I thought that I would take Saturdays to regale you with what we get up to during the week. Obviously this will mostly be of interest to my family (Hi Family!) and mostly featuring Little Miss but she is rather cute and we do get up to some fun things from time to time.

Sunday 20 March…A Day of Temper Tantrums, a new telly and two exasperated parents!

Monday 21 March…a new day, nursery (thank God!) and the arrival of an Innocent hamper! All will be revealed in the month of April!

Tuesday 22 March…a day of NO PICTURES??? How can this be? I must try harder! I do always marvel if I miss a day of taking a picture and then lament the lost opportunity to mark the day somehow. Can’t really get that back, can I? Darn! We did manage to walk to and from play group which I am pleased with. Operation CyberMummy11 is still in effect. I am struggling with my diet, however…being a coeliac makes snacking a bit more challenging but I can’t seem to stop being hungry. Being home most of the time doesn’t help that either. Lament, lament, lament!

Wednesday 23 March…Spring decided to show it’s lovely face again. The sun was shining and the air was warmer. We’ve been able to get back out into the garden and enjoy what little space we have. Little Miss has been jumping like a mad woman on her trampoline and the sandbox has been losing sand at a rate of knots! Daddy’s not quite so pleased about this last one!

Thursday 24 March…Nursery again, with best mate Little Bean while Mummy Matters and I walked our breakfasts off. Spring turned up for a second day so we’re pretty sure that it actually is Spring now! We finally saw Daddy before 7:00pm and took advantage of the remaining light of the evening to go down to the park for a good play. I managed to get a kind of cool picture of the sky behind my two favourite people.

Friday 25 March…With a third day of sunshine and blue skies, I decided to turn off the computer for a change and get outside with Little Miss. We set off at 10:00am and didn’t come home until 2:00pm! We parked at Burghley carpark and walked into Stamford. A trip to feed the ducks, a lengthy play at the park and a scrummy brunch at Cafe Black made the day rather delightful. I was so worn out that I went to bed at 10:00pm which is unheard of. Maybe I should get some fresh air more often?! Do you think?

While we were at the park, Little Miss wanted to pick some flowers for Daddy. Aw, what an adorable girl. I still have the flowers in a wipe…not sure Daddy wants them in that state!

Saturday 26 March…As Daddy was off to work again this Saturday and Little Miss has so enjoyed painting at nursery, I put aside my OCD tendencies and pulled out the paints and easel this morning. She managed a lovely, slightly impressionistic/pointalistic painting don’t you think? The sun has got it’s hat on today so I think our adventures will be confined to the indoors, unfortunately, today. We can’t have it all, can we?

So what was your week like? Did you get out and enjoy the sunshine as well?