hello friday

Cup of tea. check. Baby now in the jumperoo. check. Washing on. check. New pajama bottoms. check. Sheets changed. check. Time 6:45am. Ugh. Nothing says good morning quite like exploding baby poo.

It's always when they look sweet and lovely and you think, 'oh I'll just change him here in the bed, he looks so cute, maybe he'll go back to sleep really quickly after....'  Then you get the nappy off, and then you get machine gunned with poo. All over me, all over him, all over the bed. Hello Friday. Lesson learned (again) : Use the changing mat. That's what its there for.

It is though, a beautiful sunny morning and baby has been learning how to turn around in the jumperoo and so has occupied himself for the last half an hour which is a total bonus, it means I could recover with tea. Recovering with tea has rather been the theme of this last month, which has seen so much-- an ambulance ride, hospital stay, potty training, a week's holiday at the beach, the start of weaning, the change of my grandfather moving in with my parents, re mortgage of our house, the passing on of two wonderful, godly men-Bob and Andy, the deposit for the little one to go to nursery in September (means I am actually going back to work soon...), a 3rd birthday for Joel and our 8th wedding anniversary.

Sometimes you don't realise how much God has brought you through until you look back to see where you've come from.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13.

A better reading of that verse is-- 'I am strong for all things in the One [Jesus Christ] who continually infuses me with strength.'  I love that interpretation. I am not trying to do everything on my own, I am not even working from a bag of strength that was once given to me. I am able to face everything in life because I have Jesus, who is continually with me, infusing strength into me at every point. A friend of mine, on long walks back up the ginormous hill to their house, used to give her daughter raisins or grapes on the way, one every few metres to keep her going. Jesus gives strength, all along the way, so much so that when you reach the top of the hill, you don't even realise how far you've come until you look back and think, wow- look what we did.  It's not on my own, it's not Jesus on his own. It's us together. Him and I. I and Him. And that keeps me going. Along with tea and the occasional batch of lemon bars.

Lemon Bars

Oven to 175C/325F  Lightly grease and line a square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

6oz plain flour
4oz butter
2oz white sugar

7oz caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon

icing (powdered) sugar

Rub together the flour and butter (or dairy free marg) until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and press the mixture into the bottom of the tin. Pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes.  While that's baking, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and lemon until smooth. Pour this over the base and put it back in the oven for another 25 minutes until set but a little wobbly in the centre. Cool in the tin on a rack and then sprinkle with icing sugar.

Joel calls these 'sugar bites' and he'd be right. But soooo yummy when recovering with tea.

The face of cheeky

Today is now over. Both boys are sleeping(time check: it's 9:45pm!) and I have a cup of tea and have just mowed down 4 caramel cuts (the cake of the day and sweet treat because I'm worth it)  So today. Today I would describe as a hair's breath away from a total train wreck. And so, I now impart what I have learned, to you, my dear friends.

1) Supervise breakfast more closely.  It started at 8:40am with a request for a piece of chocolate cake from Joel. Along with his request for 2 boiled eggs and 'lots of toast mummy'. So I gave in to the cake request while I made the eggs, because where I come from, a chocolate donut is a breakfast food, not a dessert. Anyway, while I'm busily making eggs and toast I hear Joel talking to Luke saying 'It's yummy baby Luke' and I turn around to find him stuffing small pieces of cake into the baby's mouth. I leap across the room, finger sweep out all the cake, while Joel looks totally mystified as to why I would deny Baby Luke such lovely cake...

2) Be excruciatingly specific when giving instructions. For the record, "Go to the car and get in your seat" is not good enough. 1 pair of trousers later I learned that "Don't jump in the puddle, go to the car and get in your seat" was also not good enough. 2 pairs of trousers later I learned that "Take your truck to the car, don't jump in the puddle, just go to the car and get in your seat" -- also, not good enough. 3 pairs of trousers later "Pick up your dump truck, hold it in your hands, it does not need to go in the puddle, you are not wearing welly boots so you must not jump in the puddle, we need to go to the car, so come hold my hand and let's go get in your seat" resulted in only minor water damage to the cuffs of the trousers. good enough.

3) Glitter, when glued to a baby's head, does not come off with the first wash. It will take several.

4) Your child, when seeing another child eating chalk, will decide to take a bite and try it.  Then they look at you with a look of indignant betrayal, like "why did you let me do that??!"

5) Glue, glitter, cotton wool and feathers is never a good craft combination. Thank you playgroup.

6) If you watch Peppa Pig in Italian enough, you'll start to understand the plot.  Though, I was dying laughing watching Peppa Pig "Potato City". If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this, go look it up on youtube now. So worth it.

7) The phrase "Look Mummy, I doin' wee wee on the floor" is never good.

8) These little faces still make me smile.

Caramel Cuts

Like brownies, but toffee flavoured. Quick, easy and worth it.

Grease a 9inch square pan and preheat oven to 170C/325F.

1/4 cup margarine
1 cup light brown sugar (you can mix dark and light if you don't have enough light)
1 unbeaten egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

Melt the margarine in a saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients. Once melted add the brown sugar and blend together well. Take the pan off the heat and while the mixture is still warm add in the egg and vanilla and give it a good stir. Then add in the flour and baking powder and stir those in. Pour into the pan and bake for 20mins. They'll be lovely and golden and toffee and yummy and I doubt you'll even wait till they cool to get one out.

baby its cold inside...

Today is window day. Today all 3 windows at the front of the house were taken out and replaced with new ones! Ones that actually shut all the way! However. Today is also a wet, miserable, rainy, cold day. The baby is ensconced in furry blankets supervising the proceedings and I..I am sheltering in the relative peace of the kitchen making muffins and dinner and writing this. In a jumper. With another massive cup of really hot tea.

After my usual Thursday routine--going to Aldi and Sainsbury's in the rain -- I came home to utter chaos all over the house. We like to give ourselves a challege on our days without Joel, to see how messy we can make things, and then see how fast we can tidy them up before people come over for the church joining in course at our house in T minues 3hrs 20mins.

So I did what I do: stay out of the way, keep quiet, let the men get on with the job while making cups of tea and cakes. Days like today call for a quick muffin recipe and a dinner that you can throw in the slow cooker. Ideally make it a slow cooker dinner that reminds you of a chinese takeaway!

Courgette mini muffins

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar (I like to mix brown and white)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (you can substitute 1 mashed banana or 1/2 cup applesauce)

2 cups finely shredded courgette (zucchini) peel it first.

Grease a mini muffin tin (if you use papers, then you'll pull off most of the muffin with the paper.) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.  Mix together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs and the oil and mix together until just moistened. Then fold in the courgette. You can add chocolate chips or raisins or craisins to the mix if you want.
Spoon into the greased mini muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and they spring back when touched.


                                                    Peking Pork for the slow cooker             

1 pack of diced pork shoulder about 450g/ 1 lb
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 large clove chopped garlic
splash of vinager (cider or sherry work well)

Cook on low 6-8 hours. I like to steam some broccoli and carrots and throw them in at the end. Serve over rice or noodles. Serves 3-4 people.
This also works well with stewing beef-cook it all day, or chicken- cook 4-6 hours. Also good with chinese veggies thrown in, some bamboo shoots/spring onion/bok choy---whatever you like best.

a day to celebrate new beginnings

Yesterday I was privileged to celebrate the upcoming wedding of my friend Sarah in the afternoon and then in the evening got the wonderful news that my friend Claire had given birth to a healthy baby boy. Fabulous. I love happy days of looking ahead- whether its a baby and the promise of a new little life or a wedding and the promise of a new together life.

There is that feeling of giddy anticipation, like when you set out on a really long trip and you think ...Have I got everything? ...Did I pack pants?..Do you have the directions? ...Where will we stop? ...When will we go? ...Will it be okay? ....I hope its good...I hope we don't end up in hospital...I hope its a laugh...Did you pack socks? ....

Only this time it's not just a trip there and back, its a trip into the unknown. A trip of faith. A first step on a strange and winding road. An adventure waiting to happen. A story yet to be told.

As you set out on new journeys my prayer for you is that you would embrace the new. Forget about the 'what could have happened?' and enjoy the happenings. Remember that it is never too late to learn or to try something new. When you hit a low, look up and remember the highs. That will help carry you through to the next one. Remember you are more than 'just a' whether its 'just a wife' or 'just a student' or 'just a mummy' or 'just another guy'--YOU are an amazing person created by God to do great and wonderful things. You will never be 'just a'.  And, whatever direction the road goes, know that somewhere, maybe way back at the beginning, maybe in the middle, or even if it's near the end...
I am praying for your journey, wherever you are. x

Its an easy choice for the cake that goes with this memory...
for Sarah -your quick reference!  for Claire - you cannot fail!

Microwave Chocolate Cake (adapted from BBC good food)

4 tbsp self-rising flour
4 tbsp brown sugar (or white if it's all you have)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1 egg

splash of vanilla or almond or orange extract (to make the cake a different flavour)
You can also add in chocolate sauce or a spoonful of nutella or a handful of chocolate chips if you want.

Stir it all together in a deep cereal bowl or a cappuchino (big) mug.
Microwave on high (800) for 2 minutes.

Serve warm with cream/ ice cream/ clotted cream - whichever is your preference.
It serves 2 self controlled people with ice cream or 1 very greedy woman by herself after the ironing is done and the children are asleep and she's standing in the kitchen poised with a spoon for as soon as the microwave beeps to pull it out and go omnomnomnomnom......