New Forest Tree Climbing

It seems Isobel doesn't like donkeys.  We were out for a walk near Lyndhurst and a donkey pottered along towards us.  The bravado of my little toddler suddenly disappeared....'duddle mummy, I want a duddle' she said as she hid behind my legs whilst the donkey tried to eat Arty's lunch!  Soon forgotten with a visit to the sandpit.

The nice thing about being on holiday is having a gin and tonic at the end of the day whilst sitting out enjoying this lovely weather we're having at the moment!  And we decided we deserved the gin and tonic having battled with energetic toddlers all day.  I can't drink more than about 1 as with these pills I have noticed that I don't sleep as well and sleep is the big thing that I had problems with with the depression.  Gin and cadburys fruit and nut - a recipe for a happy life!

We found a lovely spot for a walk and a spot of tree climbing.

It appears that Isobel loves to climb trees - I am very happy about this.  I like climbing trees.  She was really quite the little adventurer, refusing to be held and wanting to do it alone!  I thought of something I read in the papers a while ago about how kids aren't getting the outdoor activity that they need/used to get.  Found something whilst looking for it online:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/03/schools.children

Having climbed her trees, she just had a major meltdown....too much fresh air maybe?  I couldn't do anything more than laugh as she asked for a cuddle, then said no cuddle, then cuddle, then no mummy, then cuddle......She is getting a bit big to carry on shoulders for too long I found out!

Anyway, the journey home was relatively calm and now we're preparing for the holiday to Norfolk! Can't wait - we're going to be near the sea so buckets and spades will need to be packed!!

Peppa Pig Tastic

So, just about recovered from the toddler mayhem at the Body Shop party.  Had a good weekend - spent most of Saturday chopping vegetables for some Sichuan food I was making for Saturday night.  Isobel wanted to help chop but luckily the weather was good so she could run around outside with Daddy and help him dig the garden (with a teaspoon or two of course....).  She found many worms to which she delighted in wanting to cuddle them but then was slightly dubious if they got too close.

Sichuan food is yummy.  It has lots of chilli.  Chilli is good.  Not good for small children though.  This book is great.

Hot and numbing

It tells you alternative ingredients if you can't find the authentic stuff (although Mr Wing Yip sells a good range!).  The main thing I love is the Sichuan Pepper which is also known as the 'hot and numbing' pepper.






We followed the Sichuan food with this lovely Lemon and Chocolate terrine from 'I Love Food'.  It basically calls for 600ml double cream which you whisk with a tin of condensed milk (397g - so not very healthy as you can already see!) together with rind and juice of 3 lemons.  You can also add a tablespoon of Grand Marnier apparently but I added some brandy instead.  Put half the mix in a terrine dish and freeze for about 30 mins.


Melt 150g dark chocolate with 6 tablespoons cream and pour this over the terrine.  Freeze again for another 20 - 30 mins.  Then add the remaining cream/milk mix and freeze for 4 hours or so (or overnight - though we had rock hard chocolate in the middle which was entertaining to cut through!).  Yummy.

Not quite like the picture in the book!

Monday morning we eventually set off to the lovely New Forest to meet a friend for a few days R&R (? R&R - with too toddlers and a baby? What were we thinking???).  Stopped at Peppa Pig World on the way.  Oh my.  'I want to see the real Pecca pig mummy'.  Luckily there was a real Peppa Pig (and George the pig) as otherwise my life would not have been worth living.  It was already nearly a disaster as I had been promising Peppa Pig without looking at when it was open! And it was closed most of the time we were down there.....

Peppa World in all it's glory!

Arty decided he didn't like it though and screamed and screamed whilst Isobel shrieked with delight 'it's Peppa Pig's house mummy, it's Peppa Pig's house, Peppa Pig'.  I wonder if Arty actually just wanted to go on the rides and was complaining that he wasn't quick big enough to enjoy properly.  Becca and Joe Joe took Isobel onto a few rides while I calmed him down, including boats and Daddy Pigs cars (complete with fuel refilling station!).  We then strapped Arty into his sling and squeezed on to the rides - including the windy windmill which caused a lot of concern for small people as we went high up in the sky! But much fun was had by all until the meltdowns started.  Isobel took about 3 hours to eat her ice cream as we wondered out of the park to head to the New Forest proper but it kept her happy!

Top Tips for Peppa Pig world - if it's sunny take some swimming stuff for toddlers as there are fountains they can play in; take lots of suncream and water too if it's sunny as there isn't a lot of shade; protect heads from the dinosaur scales on the Mr Dine-saw ride; take your own food as it costs a fortune; be prepared for the Peppa Pig shop which sells everything from Peppa Pig shampoo to wellies, umbrellas and chocolate lollies!

Body Shop at home (with 10 toddlers)

Yes, so I hosted a Body Shop at Home party today. Was chaos but fun. 10 toddlers in total. Isobel (who seems to have dropped her sleep at midday - she just lies in her cot singing twinkle twinkle really loudly!) was a little tired and slightly overwhelmed by all the visitors. There were products to test, tea and cake. Peppa pig went down well. As did the vic sponge (can't beat a vic sponge with buttercream and jam) and some raisin and carrot muffins (from Annabel Karmel and vaguely healthy as they have wholemeal flour and carrots!) and the yummy scones Mrs Wonky Pocket made.

So what did I learn about having a party with toddlers:

•  toddlers (well, Isobel) like to stick their hands in the body shop creams and wipe them all over the floor 
• Peppa Pig biscuits lead to a sugar high..... 
• you have to be very careful with the cups of tea....I made myself a few and didn't drink any of them!
• the house looks like a bomb has hit it 

In summary it is ideally better to have an evening one with no children and lots of wine!

Been making a pudding for tomorrow night when we are having Mr and Mrs Wonky Pocket round for some Sichuan heat! Thought I would make something cooling. Will post something on this after the meal as the pudding so far tastes yummy! In fact I've eaten so much of it whilst making it that a) I feel sick and b) am not sure how much will be left. Definitely not one for small fry.

Peppa pig biscuits

Who designed the Maxi-Cosi car seat and in particular the cover? After Isobel did a big wee in it yesterday (she had apparently thrown her nappy off and said 'pants pants' which I promptly forgot about as we were driving home) I thought I would take it off to wash it - but honestly, what a faff! How came up with that idea? Someone who clearly doesn't have to wash the car seat. Surely there is a better way.

Anyway, not everyone will know what I'm talking about. I branched out into gardening yesterday - taking the health visitors advice - and the result is that Arthur and I planted two pots! Isobel also helped, mainly by trying to eat the compost but she did do some excellent watering. I also took Arty to the health visitor just to see how he's doing. Anyway, much to my shock she said to up his food intake and get him onto 3 meals a day (unlike previous health visitors who were much more cautious) and she said he should t have more than 20 oz of milk a day, the rest being food. He's been on 40 oz! Ha ha, how he is in for a shock.

Last night, a nice quiet evening when could have out my feet up, I thought I would make some Peppa Pig biscuits for the Body Shop at Home party I was hosting today. For some reason I hosted an afternoon one complete with toddlers and small babies! Needless to say I've just had a very strong gin.

Back to Peppa Pig. The biscuits were a basic biscuit mix you can get from the net but the challenge was in the shape. Much to my surprise there is no such thing as a Peppa Pig biscuit cutter! So I made a little template and cut them out the iced them with Dr Oetkers writing icing and some pink glace icing (which started off bright red due to a slightly heavy handed tip of the red food colouring bottle). Mmmh. Was very pleased with the result!

Al fresco painting - the next Banksy?

What a beautiful day it was yesterday. Isobel refused to wear trousers, wanting to sport her new red tights instead so was quite a sight! I decided it was time to share some savoury coking with her so she doesn't think its all about cake (though that would be ideal). Being a toddler, she decided to ignore mummy saying 'don't eat the raw garlic' and proceeded to put the who clove in her mouth.....mmmh.

With it being such a nice day, Isobel did some outdoor painting - I thought it might keep her busy for 15 mins or so but no - 2 hours! She didn't quite get the concept of rinsing the brushes in water, instead pouring water into paint, back into the water pot then all over her tights! She ended up wanting to 'paint the ground' so we now have some lovely multicoloured grade and paths! Quite the next little Banksy!

Ended up with a mass more greengages and cooking apples yesterday, so after Isobel had gone to bed, Peter and I set about making greengage jam. We followed the lovely Marguerite Pattern's recipe which basically has 450g of fruit to same amount of sugar with up to 5 tablespoons of water.

Two questions were raised:

• what is the difference between jam sugar and preserving sugar? Mmmh, well, one has bigger granules that's for sure (the preserving one) but what else? Well, a few minutes investigating on the silver spoon website and it seems that preserving sugar is best for fruits with high pectin levels naturally whilst jam sugar has pectin added so is good for fruits like strawberries and peaches. So there you go - learn something every day! 
• why is marmalade called marmalade and not orange jam? Mmmh, good question. No idea I thought. Well, another quick search (love google) and we find that marmalade as a word has evolved from the Portuguese (who made 'marmelada' of quinces and sugar and apparently gave some to Henry VIII) and then the French..... 

Anyway, our jam ended up rock solid as we obviously got too excited watching it boil.....

 
Peter reckons you could use it to fill walls! Oh well.

Watched the great British bake off again. I don't know why I enjoy this show. I love Janet and Mary Anne. They just seem to enjoy the cooking so much in a kind of relaxed and having fun kind of way. Bring on the choux pastry towers.

Highest motorway in England

Whoever told me that kids like to sleep in cars was lying - Isobel manages to stay awake singing for hours! Means we can't eat our cake until she goes to sleep otherwise she just shouts and shouts demanding some. Even baa baa won't work in that situation.
 
Anyway, Peter told me a random fact as we headed over Saddleworth moor on the M62 - that we were on the highest bit of motorway in England. Can't be true I thought. But a bit of investigating and it seems it is (1442 ft above sea level to be precise).  A few pictures if you're not familiar with it:

Wild Wisley and herbaceous borders

So the Great Bake Off was all about pies - I was quite excited by some of this meringue pies, especially the swirly ones with raspberry or whatever it was.

Anyway, took Arty to Wisley to meet a friend the other day. My mum would laugh - what next? First there was sewing and now there is the RHS! According to my health visitor, gardening is apparently being prescribed to women with postnatal depression. The garden itself is lovely - quite inspiring and relaxing too.  If only my herbaceous borders looked as lovely as theirs - unfortunately I don't think the people who work there would be willing to come and sort out our garden for free!  They also had some sculptures on display - I think the ones of the birds were about £2,000 if you have some spare cash to buy them!

They have a kids play area in one of the caves and an outdoor play area with wooden sculptures and a place to build wigwams (see below)! The cake isn't too bad either - try the coffee and walnut.

However, the challenge was the journey to Wisley which was anything but relaxing - what is it with lorries on the M25? It's like they come out of the Clackett Lane services and crash or topple over! Then they put up those flashing '40' signs....but what they should really say is '2' given that that is about the speed you go! Luckily Arty was quite happy sleeping. Isobel took great delight I feeding arty last night - she was particulary good at trying to get him to eat the spoon.

The neighbours dropped off some pears early yesterday morning, said they needed cooking. So as we're due to spend quite a while in the car this afternoon and Isobel and I went out for lunch (very nice quiche we had too!), I made some pear muffins. Last time I made muffins they ended up like bits of flapjack - this lot seem better!  I found the recipe on this website and adapted it slightly - it's apparently a healthy muffin recipe.....

So how do happy pills work?

So had a more mixed day yesterday, think it was interrupted sleep which did it (Isobel having nightmares and waking every few hours).  All was going OK until we went to Morrisons (shopping with small children is something I try very hard to avoid doing....not worth the stress when you can do it online!) for some emergency purchases as Isobel insisted she wanted to 'eat out'.  Having battled through the aisles with all items intact we ventured to the 'self service' checkouts.....oh, that was my mistake.  Apparently you can either have a shop bag or your own bag but not 'no bag'.  The woman trying to get the machine to work for me didn't understand why I didn't want a bag - well, mainly because I was only buying 3 things and it's a waste of plastic! So eventually she made me put them in a Morrisons bag to get it to work and them take it out when I wanted to leave....Then the card reader didn't work....and Isobel started throwing the baskets around...and chaos basically reigned.

Then off we went to 'eat out' and having manoeuvred the buggy and the buggy board (which is great - apart from when Isobel steps off randomly and with no notice and collapses on the ground screaming!) into the cafe, Isobel proceeded to pour pepper all over the table.  I thought that I had it under control as I removed all such hazards but just as I was making up Arthurs bottle (having stopped breastfeeding a few weeks ago), Isobel manged to grab the milk powder and pour it all over the floor swiftly followed by rubbing pepper in her eyes.  So very much a case of Isobel screaming, Arthur screaming and me just sitting there thinking 'oh my lord'.  Anyway, the lovely people in the cafe went and got some more milk for A, gave me an extra strong cup of coffee and promptly delivered a lovely sarnie for Isobel.

A couple of months ago when I was feeling really low that would have had me descend into the abyss as the chaos and stress and tiredness combined together.  But, thanks to those marvellous little pills and my surge in baking and sewing (and wallpaper stripping - don't ask), things were much better!  I didn't want to take happy pills when they were first prescribed - I looked at them with terror worrying  more about how I would come off them or what they might do to Arty (through breastmilk) etc.  I thought I was fine - Peter pointed out that screaming in the middle of the night with anxiety over insomnia is not normal though!  Good friends and family persuaded me to take them and I'm glad I did - and so is Peter who has been a great support during this time.  The counsellor has been explaining the difference between these as 'medication' and drugs.  Basically his argument is that the pills (which apparently were developed through research into schizophrenia) can only rebalance your serotonin levels back to your normal levels - they don't take you beyond what you are genetically programmed to produce.  So, apparently, if you take drugs (including alcohol) that takes you beyond your normal levels and so alter your mood and are more addictive.  Some info on antidepressants is on the patient.co.uk website which the GP directed me to (to get me not to look at other less trustworthy sources apparently).

Anyway, back to some light heartedness.  Seemed to find a mass of cherry tomatoes in the fridge yesterday and couldn't think what to do with them - until it dawned on me to make the old favourite tomato, cheese and parsley flan which is based on a recipe from I Love Food (a book not designed for low fat eating!).  Basically, you fill a pastry case (you can make a pastry type case in the food processor with 150g flour, 100g butter and some Parmesan - then press the breadcrumb mix into the flan case and rest in fridge.  Bake for about 20 mins in 180 degrees) with halved cherry tomatoes (about 400g), fried onion and garlic and a few handfuls of chopped parsley.  Add to that a mixture of 2 eggs, 300ml of double cream, a teaspoon of mustard (I like wholegrain), and some Tabasco to taste (or the lovely double naga chilli stuff which a friend gave me and which only needs about 1 drop!).  Sprinkle cheese over the top - I used goats cheese as per the original recipe but you could use other cheese depending on what you like.  Bake for about 35 minutes or until set in 180 degree oven.  Lovely juvely.

Baking with toddlers - attempting the pistachio cake

Today, given it's a day of rest, Isobel and I decided to do some baking. We tried to recreate the pistachio cake from the other day. Found a few recipes online which varied quite a lot but we decided to use polenta in addition to flour and used two sites as the main basis (for info, the two main sites which used polenta were this Australian one and this Franco-Irish kitchen one).

The whole process was another lesson learning opportunity for things to watch for when baking with toddlers (although it might just be baking with Isobel!).  I will share these but here goes the recipe and some photos of the process:

1. Mix 50g plain flour, 50g polenta, 1tsp baking powder with 200g of ground pistachios (this gave me a great opportunity to use a new bit of my lovely Kenwood - the multimill - Isobel however found the noise 'scary mummy')

2.     Melt 100g of butter and add 120 ml olive oil.

3.     Whisk together 3 medium eggs and 200g caster sugar until fluffy (and if a toddler, stick your fingers in and eat as much as possible while mummy isn't looking!)

4.     Then add the olive oil/butter mix and whisk, and finally the pistachio/flour etc mix.  Whisk it all together.  Eat a bit more.  Then add zest and juice of one large lemon (we used a lemon that was too small so the flavour could be a bit stronger) and some orange if you like.

5.     Pour into a greased and floured tin (23 cm diameter gives a good depth cake) and bake in 160 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes until it comes away from the side but is still moist in the middle.

6.     Let it cool and dust with icing sugar.  Eat.

We all had a slice when Peter got home - and it was yummy so would strongly recommend it even if you have to watch for toddler fingers!  Don't you think it looks just like the one in the pub picture?

So what further lessons did I learn about baking with Isobel apart from the obvious things like not letting her near the oven and keeping sharp objects out of reach? Well, firstly she likes raw egg, and raw flour, raw sugar, raw polenta, raw anything really.  She should probably be quite ill! Secondly, she loves pressing the button on the electric scales - so you move rapidly from g to oz and back again and then all of a sudden all weights disappear and you're back to zero! So no accurate measuring.  Thirdly, the accurate measuring is made even harder as she goes on to 'test' the recipe straight from the bowl, especially lumps of butter.  And my last lesson learning from this baking session is that she tries very hard to fall off the chair she is balanced on by jumping up and down with excitement shouting 'ready, it's ready' when the beeper goes off on the oven!

All in all a good day.  Topped off with my first run in ages - slow but steady.  Role on the 10k next year (!>!)

Cold tea and beautiful cake

It's been a very busy week. I have lost count of the cups of tea and coffee I've half drunk and then been called away by a little voice wanting 'mummy help'....only to find cold tea waiting for me. One of the nicest things about having a bit of time to yourself on the rare occasion that it happens is that you can actually drink a hot cup!

I met my friend from the Messy Cake Company on Thursday at Clavering which happens to be in Essex - clearly I didn't bother to look at the map before leaving and just headed off following the signs and wondering what county I was in....mmh, should have laid more attention in geography.  Anyway, it appears that the pub we met at - The Cricketers - is owned by Jamie Oliver's parents. The give-away was in the number of Jamie related books and mags you could buy.

Had a beautiful pistachio and olive cake for pudding - was really really yummy.

Anyway, Arthur was being good as gold until the pudding came out - reckon he wanted a taste and was not happy that I wouldn't give him any! Clavering itself was quite pretty too - didn't realise there was so much thatching going on in Essex! Here is a picture of the cricket pavillion:

More manic mornings on Friday and Saturday trying to get both kids fed, watered, bags packed etc., in time to participate in some activities which included a visit to Ashford to see a friend, the designer outlet place and Wye Nature Reserve.  Clarkes have a great electronic foot measurement machine which Isobel was desparate to go on but she's still too small apparently! Tantrum followed. Being without Peter makes me wonder how single parents do it! But at least I don't have to cook in the evening - no man in the house means I can eat cheese on toast without a voice saying 'where's the meat?'.

PS - lovely mobiles for kids (and adults!)

Having just been sorting out some decorations for Arthurs room (now that we've finally painted it), I came across a mobile I got for number 2 (as he was then known) ages ago.  I wanted to share these mobiles with people as they are lovely:

We have this one - jugglers and also elephants for Isobel

And I got them from DriftLiving

And today it's mainly potato....

So, the weaning continues.  Despite the never ending poo (maybe he's allergic to baby rice?) which makes me think I should have got shares in Persil and Biotex, we have branched out today and shovelled in some potato - seemed to go down well and at least it's not orange!  Thinking of shares, Peter has some in Eddie Stobart and has managed to get Isobel to shout 'Eddie Stobart' whenever she sees a lorry! Quite entertaining really - and better than when we try 'I spy' with colours rather than letters and she says 'No mummy, not red, yellow'.

Have now recovered from the trip to London.  Peter sent me an interesting article from the high quality Metro about depression in career women - same thing lots of people have said - lots of depression in women who have had careers and then had babies, just the shock of the change. 

I found myself thinking of the time before kids when a friend and I went to Uzbekistan on holiday (as you do, known for its good human rights record.....oh and somewhere I read that it was rumoured that opposition politicians were boiled alive...?!).  We arrived the day that the government put down a demonstration in the east of the country by shooting a number of people so everyone cancelled flights etc thinking the whole place was about to collapse.  We had a great time - it was only when we got home we got all the messages on our phones asking to know we were safe!  I wonder if Uzbekistan would be classified as a family friendly holiday destination......mmmh, maybe I should look for that family tent on ebay instead.

Went to Hobbycraft yesterday (and bumped into Mrs Wonky Pocket) to find some supplies and try to avoid buying yet more kids crayons and chalk!  Hobbycraft had been a victim of the recent looting - someone drove a 4W drive through the front door....then clearly decided they weren't into baking or crochet so just drove off! 

Having got both kids to bed last night at a reasonable hour (and having watched far too much Peppa Pig than can surely be healthy), I sat down for some high quality 'Great British Bake Off'.  Even though I could never weigh things out to make all the biscuits the same size (let along worry too much about the 'crumb'), I find it quite inspirational as it's all those people baking all these great things which makes me want to challenge myself a bit more.  I wonder who I could give all the baked products too if I start doing more? Isobel would love to eat them no doubt, but it's probably not the best start in terms of tackling childhood obesity!

Whilst watching them make macaroons (I'm going to try them - apparently they sell for about £3.50 for one macaroon!), I also had a go at making a purse.  Having spent ages trying to work out how to get the lining to go inside the bag when there is a zip involved, I decided it was too much and resorted to the lovely google instead!  I found a useful tutorial on this site  Quite pleased with the finished item (Amy Butler fabric):

Happy pills - reflections on post natal depression

First trip to London with both kids in tow - was much easier than I thought it would be. Isobel kept asking 'where we going mummy?' with a slight welsh accent which was a tad strange.....but she loved the train - maybe it was my attempt at talking about Ivor the Engine which got her welsh accent going?

Anyway, had some time last night to reflect on the past few months - I was diagnosed with PND about 2 months ago when the insomnia I had after Isobel was born returned with a vengeance. I feel that PND is still something which isn't really talked about - it's only now that I've been quite open about it that others have come out and said they had it too. I found the lack of people to talk to about it made me feel that I was going mad so it's a great relief to talk to others and I suppose one reason why I'm writing this as I hope that others might gain from my sharing of how it's impacted on me. The doctor eventually prescribed some happy pills (Peter says he wants some as he can't believe the difference!) after a really bad week whe. I just cried randomly for no reason in the cafe down the road (and was looked after by two lovely women) and then had a wobble in the car going home. I never thought it would happen to me. I thought insomnia was just a normal part of being a mum but my health visitor (who is great, unlike the one where we used to live who said I was starving Isobel cos I couldn't express much milk!) did the PND test and said I had it. The pills and just talking about it have really helped. That and the advice to garden or do things to give that sense of accomplishment (like bake.....and maybe some exercise to burn off the calories!)! I can't believe how awful I felt just 2 months ago and am thinking about how things like garde ing, sewing etc might help more people with depression. Some good PND resources can be found below:

• http://www.netmums.com/pnd/About_postnatal_depression.298/
• http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/problems/postnatalmentalhealth/postnataldepression.aspx
• http://www.pni.org.uk/index.htm

Anyway, on a lighter note, had coffee with my friend at Canteen on the southbank and a yummy chocolate and beetroot cake (which is odd as I hate beetroot, but this was very yummy - all sorts of recipes I've now found - here is one found on a blog) which led to the first major toddler tantrum of the day as she wanted to basically eat every cake in the place and was most put out when I said no! Arty ate his baby rice with typical gusto and exciment (that stuff reminds me of wallpaper paste - bring on the organe mush of carrot, squash, sweet tatty and so on.....clothes will remain white no longer) and we had a lovely walk back to London Bridge. I thought Isobel might sleep in her pushchair - but no, it was obviously all too exciting and after I pointed out the cows on the roof at Borough Market, everyone on the train was treated to old McDonald sung by Isobel and on a loop for the journey home!

Meeting my friend from the Messy Cake Company on Thursday. Looking forward to it - wonder if I cam change te weaning process to involve a red velvet cupcake or something? Weaning, Great fun.

I want to mix with mummy

Well, the bagels were a hit - relatively healthy too (until the butter and the jam!) - not sure about 'the crumb' though (I really must stop watching the Great British Bakeoff!). Isobel as per always wanted 'more please'. About a kilo of flour made 16 bagels all in all, so pretty good really and having purchased a little chest freezer they could join the pureed mush for Arty (who I reckon really wants steak and chips rather than never ending milk!).

Left the kids with Peter yesterday. He's off with work for a bit so I thought he would appreciate his first day in sole charge! Apparently he was complemented by many for being brave enough to venture out with two and no female supervision! No one seems to complement mums when they go out with two - and the toddler melts down, collapses in the middle of the car park and screams 'no car, no home, no mummy, no daddy'......

I headed up to Borough Market in the sunshine to examine the massive piles of brownies and meringues. The bloke at the meringue stall hadn't tasted the meringues - very disappointing as he couldn't really tell me how gooey they were inside. I mean he works on the stall. Seems rude not to have tasted the produce. On the train on the way up there was a guy in a kilt and I'm still wondering if he was baring all under it given the facial expression of the woman who sat down opposite as he propped his leg up! Wandered down the south bank past the beach huts which were randomly on display and headed to the lovely Charlotte Cave in Clapham Common for a wig chop - much to Peter's delight didn't come home with pink hair which is what Isobel wanted. Charlotte is great. One of a kind.

Very happy to see kids this morning. Arty rolled over a few weeks ago but since then has clearly thought 'well, been there, now what?' and we haven't seen any more rolling, despite the hours spent lying on the floor waving rattles and plastic giraffe at him to encourage some movement. Amazing how much time you can spend hiding, crawling about on the floor pretending to be a lion or a bear just to get this giggles over and over again. Did something to my back this morning entertaining Isobel jumping up from my hiding place to wave my hand in the air like we just don't care as she shouted 'again mummy, again'.

The particularly lovely weather we've been having this summer basically meant a day inside with kids and Peter. Kids going slightly nuts being stuck indoors, like mum really! So we got Isobel to help stick stickers on Arty's wall. Got some great stickers (this website is great for stickers and other stuff for kids) - Isobel didn't quite get the idea to stick them individually and not one on top of the other but never mind! When she woke up after her nap she declared she wanted to 'mix with mummy' so we spent the afternoon making jam sourced by hubby on a foraging trip (he reckons he was like Bear Grylls?) and then a twist on Jamie O's plum bakewell (from Jamie at Home) made with damsons which exploded all over the oven but tasted great! She particularly liked eating raw dough (kids are so strange!) and beating the eggs and telling mummy to 'just sit there mummy'. I think we have a bossy boots on our hands!

Off to London tomorrow to see the eye. Must get that double buggy off eBay.

Chinese elvis and a bagel

"Why don't you write a blog?" my husband asked as I looked at yet another blog about baking and making buttons out of fimo (I didn't know you could that!).....

So here I am, mother to two little ones aged 2 years and 4 months, and 5 months old. My husband is a lovely man, but happens to be 6ft5 so is primarily to blame for the fact that little one no. 2 (aka Arty) was 10lb12oz. I'm on maternity leave, trying to balance the terrible twos, the reflux and the post-baby belly with attempting to learn new skills to keep my brain working. I was diagnosed with post natal depression which has proved challenging but is now (hopefully!) on the way out. The advice (apart from 'eat green vegetables and take omega-3') was to find more me time, do something to focus my mind and achieve something. Writing this blog is one of the things I thought I would try and hope it will provide a space to share not only some of the fun and joy of raising two kids, but also the hard times and the attempts to bake, garden and sew!

Yesterday I had my first day off in ages - went to London and found myself on the Old Kent Road looking for a spa with a friend....I was keenly looking out for chinese elvis who I remember seeing with much amusement about 10 years ago before I headed off to South West China. That gyrating pelvis and rendition of 'are you r-onesome tonight' is something I won't forget. Apparently the restaurant (Elvis grace lands palace) has gone now.

Last night I finished another craft project - my first attempt at a corded pillow cover. In a vague attempt not to bake as much (Tackling the baby belly), I decided to learn to sew. My old sewing teacher would fall over at this - my mum almost did. I was 'strongly recommended' not to do needlework at school - kept on breaking the machine. Having had a quote for curtains and feeling my jaw drop to the floor, I decided it was time to give it a go. Trying to find the time to sew is fun - small children and sewing machines don't seem to mix that well, though Isobel does love the bag I made even if it's big enough to fit her in! In between the peppa pig and iggle piggle books, I purchased a sewing book to give me instruction. It's great. This is it.

So far I've made two cushion covers (see grainy photo below - Tanya Wheelan fabric I think)
 

and a bag.....but don't seem to have reduced the baking as I demonstrated this afternoon. Having attempted to get both little ones to the swings and back without Isobel running off into the road shouting 'don't want buggy, want to walk', I persuaded her that a little mixing might be undertaken if she would hold on to mummy's hand. Eventually she did and the result was lots of fun making bagels. I followed the nigella recipe from 'How to be a domestic goddess' because it was there and handy. I never knew you boiled them. Some photos of the fun we had mixing, boiling and cooling them below. Hubby says he is a very lucky man though I'm not sure that the judges on the Great British Bakeoff would be that impressed given that most of them appear to have come out without holes and are bagel shaped only if you look at them at an angle!   We will be trying them for breakfast I think.