birthday

My Sunday Photo 28th July 2019 – Friends

July 28, 2019 by Anne Sweet 11 Comments

Three girls sitting on settee — Boo’s Friends

It was Boo’s 12th birthday yesterday and she had some friends around for food and cake. These two (Boo is far left) have been her friends since we moved here over five years ago. One of them went to a different secondary school but they still keep in touch.

We did invite two more of her classmates around but they didn’t turn up. This is so common when you have an older child who’s birthday is in the School Summer Holidays. We are used to it as all my three young children have summer holiday birthday’s. Star gave up on birthday parties after her 6th birthday. We’ve not decided what to do with the Little Man on his birthday yet. I’m thinking maybe a fun day out. He has decided that he doesn’t want party.

I’ll Be There For You

edited photo putting Boo and her friends in Central Perk Cafe from the Friends set — In Central Perk

I had a go at editing the photo above and came up with this! If you look closely it’s not perfect. But it took me ages to get the girls from UK to New York!

Friends was one of my favourite television shows, and I’ve been watching the re-runs lately and found that my kids love it too. So, I put Boo and her friends in Central Perk Cafe. If I could give them characters, then the one on the far right has to be Pheobe because she’s nuts. The middle one is Rachel and Boo would have to be Monica as she’s my little chef (And a bit of a control freak!)

The birthday months begins. In less than two weeks it’s The Little Man’s 9th birthday, then two weeks later it’s Star’s 14th!

You can see last weeks Sunday Photo Here

The Flaming Teppanyaki Birthday Meal

July 2, 2019 by Anne Sweet 9 Comments

I don’t talk about my older kids on my blog but my daughter turned thirty on Sunday. When I was thirty I was already married with two children, but that’s a different story. She wanted to go to one of her favourite restaurants, Miyako Teppanyaki in the Arcadian in Birmingham City Centre. My daughter has been there several times now, but my only previous visit had been for my son’s birthday meal a couple of years ago.

The Arcadian in Birmingham, at dusk. Showing two levels with a fountain below and restaurants above

6.45 pm.

We started out on our journey which on a Sunday evening should have taken 20 minutes. The reservation at the restaurant was for 7.30pm so we figured that leaving at 6.45 pm would give us plenty of time.

Our journey into the City Centre takes us past Edgbaston Cricket ground. Now, if you are a sports follower, you may have realised that there was a very important match Between England and India. Daughter did mention it but Graham reckoned it was all over by the time we left.

Yes, the match was over, and yay! England won. But, everyone was still leaving the cricket ground putting us in the traffic jam from hell. There was no way we were going to make it. As soon as we could we turned off and headed away from the traffic, and our destination to go the ‘long way around.’ While panic ensued in the car and a hasty phone call was made to the restaurant, we continued on our journey. Arriving just before 7.30 pm.

We got out of the car and Graham removed my wheelchair, but it wouldn’t move. We had left the battery at home! It looked like we were set for disaster, but fortunately the restaurant wasn’t too far away and my eldest son was able to push me there.

The Teppanyaki Meal.

Teppanyaki is a Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook the food. At Myako Teppanyaki the chefs cook the food at the table while telling jokes, performing tricks and generally putting on a show. They start by setting the griddle on fire.

The flames on the griddle as the chef sets it alight

Meanwhile, we are tucking into our starters.

I was served a delicious trio of appetizers along with a side salad with a heavenly dressing.

The Chef then brought out the tray of meat and fish he was going to cook. There were four of us on the table so this was for all of us. There was lobster, salmon, scallops, prawns, duck and steak as well as noodles and vegetables to go in the rice.

tray of uncooked meat, fish noodles and vegetables.

Main Course

I’d chosen a very fishy main course from a set menu. We watched as the chef set to work. He started by frying off some garlic which he then put to the side. He then tapped some eggs on the grill to break the bottom and built them up into a tower. The eggs where then cracked and cooked on the grill very quickly. He then added the vegetables to cook them and finally the rice. They served each of us with a bowl of lovely egg fried rice with vegetables.

It was amazing watching the chef work on cooking, he used his two iron spatulas to cook everything with precision, adding flavourings as he went along. The end result was four delicious looking meals. Here’s mine before he added the noodles.

teppanyaki main course, rice, lobster, scallops and salmon

I had fried rice, lobster, scallops and salmon and noodles. My son gave me a piece of his steak to try, and although I don’t normally like steak, it was perfect. Then the guy sitting next to me insisted that I tried his duck. It was heaven. I will most definitely ask for duck next time.

Dessert

If you have a set menu, the dessert is always the same, coconut ice cream with fruit and mango sauce. It really is delicious and refreshing. You can order other desserts though and my daughter had a Matcha ice cream.

coconut ice cream with grapes, kiwi, mango, pear and strawberry with a mango sauce.

The evening may have started stressful, but it turned out to be very pleasant thanks to such a lovely meal and some entertainment.

Happy Birthday Eldest Daughter, I hope you enjoyed your day x

My Sunday Photo 7th April 2019

April 7, 2019 by Anne Sweet 9 Comments

The Birthday Party Meal

I’m a bit late sharing these photos, they are from my Sister-in-Laws birthday party meal a couple of weeks ago.

The Selfie

I love this selfie Graham did of us with the family having their party meal in the background. I’ve blurred the edges a bit because we managed to catch some strangers on the next table too. Graham always looks so serious in his selfie photos though.

The Kids

At the other end of the table were the kids, this is only half of them and the middle one is not mine, that’s ‘Squidge,’ my Nephew’s youngest daughter. The lady turned away is my nephew’s older daughter…I really think huge age gaps are thing in our family (My Mum, my Brother, Me and My Nephew!) My Nephew’s older daughter is having a baby in June, so my nephew is going to be a grand dad!

Back to the photo, I was a little too far away to see what the kids were up to
(I didn’t take this photo.) It was nice to see them enjoying their food. However, when I viewed it I was very annoyed with Boo! Just look at her with her mobile phone on while she’s having a meal. That’s a big No No at home, and the same goes for when we are out for a party meal. I can’t really blame her though, she was only copying what most of the adults were doing.

Word of the Week #13 2019 – Out

March 29, 2019 by Anne Sweet 7 Comments

Hello and welcome to the home of Word of the Week, a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. You reflect back on the past week and sum it up in one word. Then share your word with us in a blog post, with as little or as much explanation as you like. This week my word is out, you can read more about that later.

There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. Do try to stick to the theme of summing your week up. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Word of the Week and I will add posts to Mix (formerly Stumble.) Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

My Word of the Week

This week I’ve been out a lot. If I’m honest it’s been too often, and now I’m worn out.

Out Shopping

Monday it was shopping, I had to get some birthday cards, a Mother’s Day card for my Mother-in-Law and a couple of little extra bits and bobs.

(flashback- I remember taking a very young Star into a supermarket one day and she asked me what we were going to buy. I said, ‘oh just some bits and bobs.’ Five minutes later she came up to me in the shop and said ‘Mummy, I can’t find any Bits or Bobs anywhere!’)

Out to Party

Tuesday, it was my very lovely Sister-in-Law’s 50th birthday and we all went out for a meal. We went to a pub that I’ve not visited before. I checked online and it said it was fully accessible. When we got there we entered at the front and found steps leading down to our reserved tables.

Boo spotted a ramp so I went to the other side of the bar to find that there were steps leading down to the ramp. We did notice a door on the other side though, so there was an entrance that led to the ramp. I went outside and made my way around the pub, but I couldn’t find a way around the back. So I went the other way and after fully circumnavigating the pub I finally found the entrance with the ramp. I was frustrated and upset as well as tired. At this point I just wanted to go home, but instead, I painted on my happy face and made my way to the party tables.

I decided it would be nice to park up my wheelchair and sit at the table. it makes me feel just like anyone else when I do this. An hour or so later I had to be helped back into my wheelchair. The entire left side of my body had gone completely numb and I was in danger of just slipping under the table.

On the way out, one of the staff told me they had lift for wheelchair users. It was right by the front door.

When we got home I was all but ready for bed. But first I had a huge dose of self pity to work through.

Out to Naidex

Wednesday it was time for Naidex45, a disability exhibition at the NEC Birmingham. I was nowhere healthy enough to attend, but I’d had my tickets for months and I didn’t want to miss it.

It wasn’t too bad, I survived the day intact. I didn’t find my next wheelchair as I had hoped. However, I did have a very interesting conversation with a lady about a new device which sounds amazing. I won’t say any more just yet, but I’ll spill the beans soon.

Today, I’m staying put. I’m not going out again for a while, I need some time to recover. It’s such a lovely day I’ve got the patio doors open and enjoying some of the outside while sitting inside.

So Now it’s over to you, what word or phrase sums up your week?

Raisie Bay

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First Birthday of the Year

January 28, 2019 by Anne Sweet 12 Comments

It turned out to be quite a busy week last week. Well, busy in my terms anyway, compared to not doing very much at all.

I had to go out and buy my first born some birthday cards which is always a task. Do you think I can remember how many siblings he has and which card will be appropriate for each one. You may think it easier to take them to choose their own, but I think I’ll pass on that and get them myself. Cards purchased I decided to pop into nearby M&S to buy a birthday cake. The choice was not brilliant and despite us being a large family, I couldn’t really justify buying a cake for sixteen. What I did buy was a chocolate tray bake which looked really nice, and was already cut into portions so no arguing over who gets the biggest slice.

I also popped into Boots to look for something a little extra for my son and discovered that they had a lot of their Christmas gifts on sale for half price. So I stocked up! I’ve got a few family birthdays in the next three months so that will save me loads.

I really enjoyed the shopping trip. It’s good when we go somewhere newly built because they always accommodate wheelchair users, sliding doors and no steps are such a bonus that walkers take for granted. The only problem I did have was that it was so cold I lost all feeling in my legs. It was a struggle to get back in the car afterwards.

The Birthday!

My son’s birthday arrived, but his birthday present didn’t. I’d ordered him a really nice gift online over a week ago and it didn’t turn up in time. I don’t like late presents, I believe that everyone should have gifts to open on their birthday and not have to wait, even if the gift is worth waiting for. I had however, stocked up on some gifts on the previous days shopping trip, so he had some to enjoy. Then when his main gift arrives it will be an extra treat.

As it was his day he decided that he wanted us to go out shopping so off we went again. Thankfully the weather was a little kinder which meant I didn’t suffer so much, but after spending two hours walking around he still didn’t buy anything.

We got home, picked the kids up from school and then it was time to go our for our dinner. He’d chosen Frankie and Benny’s for his treat. The restaurant is only a few miles from our home but as there are seven of us and our car is a five seater, we had to order a taxi. But, no-one wanted to go in the taxi (well apart from the Little Man who thought the car looked like a Lamborghini) so an argument was brewing. It was sorted eventually though and we all arrived at the restaurant at basically the same time.

a soda float drink in the foreground with a little boy tucking into his dessert behind it

The food took ages as the restaurant was very busy. It seemed every five minutes the lights went down and they played Happy Birthday to someone while taking them a cake with candles. My son would have walked out if I’d arranged that for him, thankfully I know better. In fact we had a poll while we were there, Boo, Star, No1 Son and Eldest Daughter said ‘no way,’ but me, Graham and the Little Man said we would enjoy it.

We all enjoyed our meals, with everyone ordering something different which just goes to show how difficult I find it making meals that please everyone at home.

Going Home

Then it was time to leave and to stop the argument with the taxi again, Graham said he’d make two journeys. He took the girls home first while I stayed with my two sons. We waited for the bill (ouch!) and then walked over to the arcade that was in the bowling alley opposite. As soon as we were in there I was reminded of summer holiday camps. The kids love nothing more than walking around amusement arcades playing all the games and trying to win toys from the grabber machines. We were not in there long though, Graham was back and looking for us.

When we got home the birthday boy went in first and the living room was in darkness apart from the candles on his cake. Then the girls jumped out and yelled Happy Birthday! He’s not one for surprises but this was so lovely I think he really liked that they had thought to do it.

After all that we had eaten, do you think we could manage birthday cake? Of course we could!

The Aftermath

It had been a couple of really busy days and I’d been out two days in a row. I had to pay the price, my body gave up completely and I spent a whole day doing ‘absolutely nothing!’ I always feel guilty, like I’m deliberately being lazy, but I have limitations, and boy do those limitations hit me hard.

By the next day I was feeling more rested and able to move a little. But, when I get knocked down like that, I worry about doing anything that will make the pain come back.

Thankfully, I’m feeling much better now and ready to face the week ahead.

January

So, January is almost over, but Christmas seems like it was a lifetime away. I’m one birthday down already, and the rest of the year is laid out ahead. So much to do, so much to see, so many new friends to make. How can anyone feel depressed in January when it’s a whole new beginning?

Now, I’m longing for Spring and warmer weather. I want to see flowers and leaves on the trees. I want to feel the sun warm my bones. In my Autumn years I’ve turned into a Summer person. All my life it’s been the cold weather that I’ve loved, brisk walks on chilly days, playing in the snow, early days and wrapping up warm. But since I got sick, feeling cold is really not an option because it hurts so bad. So, I long for the heat that I once shied away from, just because it feels better.

Are you a winter or summer person?