The Olympics are coming......

The Olympic fever has hit - there is pink (well, maybe purple) everywhere you look in London and on my way to work on Monday I noticed a whole new pavement had been built! Great for the pedestrians like me....not so great for the buses and everyone else trying to drive.  Answer - we should all walk more - better for the planet, better for our health, better for the NHS budget!

Anyway, I digress.  Isobel and Arthur went to see the torch on Friday.  I say went to see the torch.  They were dragged along by me, despite their protests (ok - these were more on the way home when tiredness kicked in) and we all sat and had a picnic (at the side of the road of course) whilst we waited.  The Coca Cola bus was there as well as some other random sponsor-related traffic (eg. Lloyds cars and people with big green balloons!)

And fun was had! Ok I had to hold Isobel on my shoulders and Arty in my arms which almost caused a seizure but we saw the flame!  Getting home from the flame was a different matter - lots of tantrums by a collapsed little girl who decided the middle of the road was the best place to undertake such an activity! 'Set some boundaries' someone at work said - as if I haven't set a 'don't collapse in the middle of the road boundary'....

Anyway.  Moving on, Peter and I have also been undertaking a bit more naked Chef-ing, this time testing out some Jamie O recipies for fennel.  So we had a lovely risotto with seafood and fennel which was very very yummy (lots of chilli to which is always good) and then followed this with encrusted seared tuna with a fennel and chilli salsa.  Both of these recipes are strongly recommended - really really yummy.  Kids didn't manage to eat any this time though!

Look at that delicately sprinkled fennel on the top there - nouvelle cuisine I think!

And finally, after months of having it sit on the shelf, we broke out the 10 Minute Solutions Pilates Video.  'No problem, my arms are really strong' said Peter as we started the 10 minute arm work out.  at the end the lady says 'Good Job' (with a very strong American accent).  Peter and I can barely lift our arms!  Still, a change from running.

Aaggghhhh, mummy, daddy.....

Were the calls from outside the bedroom at 6am this morning. So much for the lie in!

First thought, she fell out of bed.  Second thought, she has been sick/done a poo/done a wee. Third thought, a nightmare.

What else could have Isobel in such a state at such an early hour (she normally sparko till 7)?

'I dropped my pink hairband'......

Of course. Now why didn't I think of that.

The chef/chefess is tired!

Look at that - home made farfalle!

We have been so busy! I am sooo tired.

I am still chuckling over 'Can I give them back yet?' which makes people look at me on the train.  In particular I found myself chuckling at stories of the 'post-natal' period and in particular those first few nights in hospital when your partner gets sent home at 8pm leaving you there with a new baby, no sleep, no idea what you are doing, and highly likely, quite unhelpful night staff (well, in my case they were unhelpful, quite is being too polite!).  The description in the book was so apt - 'your partner gets sent home at 8pm to drink champagne, have some sleep and congratulate themselves on their amazing virility'.  Ha ha, so true.

And then I think about the following morning when I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for visiting hours to start....and the appointed hour came...and no visitor to relieve me and let me go and have a shower!  I forgot that it was a Bank Holiday and I'd asked him to go and get some supplies!  I remember watching the woman opposite me, on baby number 3, who merrily put a dummy in, swaddled her baby and wandered off for a few hours to 'go get some faaagggsss'.  There I was, wondering - can I leave her? What happens if I leave her? Will someone take her? I must not leave her.  Where is my husband? Where has my brain gone?

Then Arty was born. I went to have a shower and didn't wait for any visitors.  Poor Arty.

Anyway, I digress.  Peter and I have been very busy on the Jamie O Naked Chef challenge front.  Firstly, Peter made a Chicken and Ginger broth from the left over chicken (with noodles, ginger, chilli and other such lovely things).  It was very easy, very quick and very very yummy.  So strongly recommended for a mid-week meal! Yum yum.

Then we moved on - this time to seared scallops with crispy bacon and puy lentils.  What can I say? I've never cooked with scallops before so this was all a novelty.  The lentils were great (and went well with sausages later in the week!) and the scallops only took a few moments to cook.  Now then, the picture perhaps doesn't do it justice, and I'm sure Jamie O would be shocked, but it was really really yummy and really really easy!

Look - it's steaming hot it's so fresh!

And finally, we made pasta.  Why did make more pasta? Well, mainly because we have embarked on a vegetable box trial so we now have some vegetables to use up - namely courgettes, green cauliflower, fennel and other things such as cherry tomatoes (all gone), red peppers (think I might stuff these) etc etc.

So, we made some pasta (see the farfalle above) and made the tagliatelle with courgette, lemon and basil.

Hence, we are shattered.  Too much cooking.

But have had some culture too - a trip to see the Gruffalo live at the theatre which was great (despite the calls/screams for 'I want to see the Gruffalo again mummy') and today I had a meeting in an office with a great view over London.  Just a shame that as with the rest of the summer so far, the weather was basically pants.

Here is the Shard on your left and the wheel below.

The Naked Chef-ess Returns!

Oh my, how much did this remind me of school????

 
Whilst Peter was out running for a worthy cause, I distracted myself from the never ending rain by cooking us all a sunday roast! Not necessarily the best thing to do on your own with two small children who can't go outside because it's so wet and who therefore tried to create world war three in the kitchen....my patience was not that good!

But we persevered and out came the lovely Jamie Oliver book again - I really should count how many recipes I've got to get through!  Today we tried roast chicken and steamed jam sponge (see above).  The jam sponge was such a doddle to make - no suet, just butter, but it came out absolutely lovely and light - the photo above doesn't really give you the scale of the pudding but needless to say it was about the size of a pyrex pudding basin (?3 litres?) and we ate quite a bit (together with some custard from the lovely Birds!).  So that gets lots and lots of points.

Then there was the chicken - now we've done this before many times and it always turns out well.  He basically suggests stuffing herbs and oil between the chicken meat and the skin on the breast.  Really lovely.  The kids loved it too!

Looks a bit dry but was actually really nice and just about right!

Home grown potatoes - oh yes!

Right, now time for coffee and to watch some tennis I do believe!

South Sudan - running for a great cause in the pouring rain!

Peter has been running the British 10k this morning, in the pouring rain. He got back from South Sudan having spent a month working out there to help set up the refugee response and ran this run to help raise some money to support operations such as this.

Please donate if you can: Http://www.justgiving.com/HelenandPeterM 

What is going on in South Sudan? Here are some links:

South Sudan refugees - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/world/africa/refugee-children-dying-at-alarming-rate-in-south-sudan-aid-groups-say.html

South Sudan situation critical - http://www.voanews.com/content/unhrc_sudan_south_sudan_refugee_aid_crisis/1364596.html

Green fingers? Who me?

Now then, would you look at that - a green pepper! Growing on our windowsill.  We have loads! So, we will mainly be eating peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic and leeks for the next few months!!

I'm pleased with myself as I've kept them growing and looking well while Peter has been away and even the tomatoes in the garden look good!

So, Peter is back - hoorah! The kids are beside themselves with excitement.  I'm beside myself with tiredness as suddenly I can stop and relax - and guess what, more insomnia! I hate insomnia.  But I'm getting better at dealing with it.  Anyway, the level of excitement with the kids is quite entertaining - it's like they have forgotten that mummy was looking after them day in, day out for a whole month! Mummy? Who is mummy? I want daddy!

And so I've been really chuckling as I read this book which was recommended to me as a bit of a light read.  How true so much of it is:

This won't spin round to be the right way up for some reason so you'll have to bend your head!

It's really making me chuckle.  It could have been written by me (but it's not and I can't write like this - but it's made me feel so much better that I'm not alone with some of my thoughts at times!) And here are a few snippets which had me laughing, especially the one related to daddy coming back!

DAD GLAMOUR

You're the primary carer, but as soon as Dad walks in, wow, they're cheering like it's snowing giant party bags stuffed with Gogos and fluffy kittens.  Now, to quote my four-year-old, that's not fair.

ALCOHOL

....you forget about the restorative powers of two Anadin, a cup of camomile tea and an early night.  Instead, you speed-read your way through The Gruffalo in order to get the Shiraz cracked open by 7.05.....

ENJOYING IT
.....appropriate questions to ask someone recently delivered of a child (as opposed to 'are you enjoying it')....

•  Are you tyrannised by parenting books
• Were you terrified of doing your first poo after labour? (ha ha - my husband was unaware of this issue until I laughed at the thought as I remembered the fear!!!)
• Have you rung NHS direct yet?

Anyway, onto more serious matters.  One of the things I read in the book sparked my interest in terms of a comment about research which had been undertaken on childcare options and impact on development.  It made me think of the guilt section of the book - the guilt trip society places on new mums in particular for not breastfeeding, not sneezing their baby out whilst listening to mozart etc.  And this comment made me think of the never ending media coverage about how parents are so bad for sending their kids to nurseries because they will be disfunctional and then the next day, how mothers need to get back to work and stop staying at home, then the next day how we all ought to have a nanny and so on and so on.

I did a quick google search for some stories to illustrate it:

• Nursery care = children turning into yobs - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-446564/Nurseries-turning-children-yobs.html
• Are nurseries bad for our kids - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2004/jul/08/schools.uk
• Nurseries are better than grandparents - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/feb/10/grandparents-childcare-pre-schoolhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/feb
• Working mums are happier - http://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/1213/working-moms-vs-stay-at-home-moms-whos-happier.aspx
• Stay at home mums are more depressed - http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2012/05/23/stay-at-home-mums-more-angry-depressed-and-laugh-less-than-working-mothers/
• Is childcare bad for children (childcare which you need to go to work to be 'happier' apparently) - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201010/is-non-parental-daycare-bad-children

Best not to read these things I think is the answer!

And I finish on another happy note - I made a fabric tray.  I've been meaning to make one for ages but finally managed it, the night before Peter came home.  Mainly to stop  Peter putting his keys and other 'kipple' down on my newly painted windowsill!

One week to go!

My attempt at a 'time out' bottle

 So the dark cloud which was hanging over me last week has moved on I think.  I've had a much better weekend and I've been pondering different approaches to try to manage my reaction to Isobel's behaviour as well as try to manage her behaviour (can you really? I remember my mum saying 'WYSIWYG' - mainly about men but who knows, maybe you could apply it to little people too!).

Anyway, I made a time out bottle.  I found it on Pinterest (!) (http://mycrazyblessedlife.com/2011/10/03/relax-bottletime-out-timer/) and Isobel and Arty both love it.  Not sure it really does the trick as a time out bottle but never mind.  She has taken it shopping with her and I keep thinking I really must glue the lid on everytime I see Arty pretend to drink it! 

I am also going to make a marble jar and think about how to earn marbles for good behaviour.  I tried sticker charts - everyone told me 'try sticker charts' - maybe that works with kids who like stickers rather than ones who really don't care about them! She has no interest in stickers.  Which is possibly a good thing as I could end up with stickers all over the walls of the house I suppose!

One week to go until Peter is home - hooray!  I thought I would summarise a few of the exciting things I can tell him about in pictures (I didn't get a picture of a dark grey cloud which would have reflected some of my feelings so here are some others!):

A snail at Hever castle - snails have also eat the bulk of his aubergines, despite me trying to rescue them!

Hever Castle itself - lovely for a day out and there is a troll under the bridge!

Potatoes from the garden.....oh yes we have lots

Rose garden at Hever castle - if only

And Roses in the back garden - last year they were tiny, this year we have far more!

Something to look forward to - going for a run and going to see some running!