Oh, how time has flown.. My precious first born turned fourteen on Friday!
On most accounts, he is a fantastic kid, we really don't have much to complain about, compared to other horror teenager stories. He can be a bit of a boofhead somedays, I think that's caused by all the hormones and growth spurts. Somedays it's like "duh!" is in almost every conversation we have!
Anyhoo, I digress.
He has made some really great friends in high school, kids that on the same wavelength, well, mostly!! Even their birthdays are within a week of eachother! I think there has been a party on every weekend for the last three weeks.
One was at our place.. Board games and movies.. Well, I should rephrase that- boardGAME...singular! They chose to play the Australian version of Monopoly.. sheesh! Talk about animated! On Facebook I likened their dialogue to an episode of the Big Bang theory!! They demolished I don't know how many fun size packs of chips, m&ms, snakes and raspberries & cream, followed by a BBQ dinner, cooked by Dad. Salads supplied by yours truly, I was shocked to hear that two of the three guests actually ate salad type food!! I've always thought Boys didn't consider salad to be a food group ;)
Duct tape made an appearance during screen time for two of the guests.. Not sanctioned by me, might I add!! One of the boys talked so fast he literally -did -not -take -a - breath!! I queried if he was normally allowed to consume sugar - he assured me that he has never been hyperactive before.... 8-s
At last the six hour marathon was over, time to light the candles and sing that birthday song.. sigh.
He has now officially been a teenager for one whole year - scary stuff! It only seems like yesterday that he was a tiny bundle in our arms.
Blink, and you'll miss it!!
TGBTG
Anje xxoo
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Testing, testing, 1,2 1,2 !!!
Wow.. This is rare - another post on the same day.. Decided to put words into action and use the blogger app.
I type one handed while feeding Miss Baby C.. Typos are prob to be expected.
While I sat here feeding and gazing upon this gorgeous creature I thought you might like to hear a report on her progress!?
Well, in the space of two weeks, she has started to crawl AND cut her first tooth! Two milestones in two weeks, this kid doesn't do things by halves.. You might recall her somersault antics..? Just before she was born, breech one say, not the next!!??
She also started to eat solid food at almost around five months.. Loves it! She's like a baby bird with the mouth open, making lots of noise ;)
She smiles a lot- not a big giggler, but we know how to get her going :)
Amazingly, I am still breastfeeding three times a day, give or take. I have broken a record with breastfeeding this time round!
Ok, she's done feeding, and that means the end of this post :)
Ciao Bellas
TGBTG
Anje xx
I type one handed while feeding Miss Baby C.. Typos are prob to be expected.
While I sat here feeding and gazing upon this gorgeous creature I thought you might like to hear a report on her progress!?
Well, in the space of two weeks, she has started to crawl AND cut her first tooth! Two milestones in two weeks, this kid doesn't do things by halves.. You might recall her somersault antics..? Just before she was born, breech one say, not the next!!??
She also started to eat solid food at almost around five months.. Loves it! She's like a baby bird with the mouth open, making lots of noise ;)
She smiles a lot- not a big giggler, but we know how to get her going :)
Amazingly, I am still breastfeeding three times a day, give or take. I have broken a record with breastfeeding this time round!
Ok, she's done feeding, and that means the end of this post :)
Ciao Bellas
TGBTG
Anje xx
Bjork and Chicken soup
Hello friends!
Once again, it has been aaaages!
What's the relationship between Bjork and chicken soup? LOL - I just hear myself saying "Bjork" out loud and then looked at the word chicken.. it sounds like the noise a chicken makes, but that's not the link!! Bjork recorded a song "Oh so quiet", and at this moment, that's what it's like in my house (Won't last for long, though!)
It's 5.50am on a Saturday morning and I'm awake.... I could have gone back to bed after feeding Miss Baby C at 4.20am, and I did, but that was a pointless effort, really. Perhaps I made the mistake of taking my iPhone back with me - checking out what the latest is on Facebook while I was sleeping (not a lot!). I sometimes live vicariously through my Facebook friends who are single and childless ;)
So anyways, I lost the momentum of sleep and with many things on my neverending "to do list" I made the decision to get up, enjoy the quiet solitude and get a few things done.
I must admit, blogging wasn't the first thing on that list, it has ended up being third - I think about blogging every day, but I have been so caught up with life in general, it has taken a backseat to everything else. I could probably blog more often now that Hubby dear has installed the Blogger app on my phone, although I suspect the entries would be much shorter. That may not be such a bad thing, I suppose!
First item of business was to make some chicken soup for a dear little friend at work. The poor thing had three wisdom teeth removed in the chair last Friday and she is worse for wear. She is fresh out of Uni , her loved ones are 400km and needs some TLC. I gave her my number and said to ring if she needed anything, I got an SOS of sorts yesterday. A week after the procedure she is still suffering- probably something to do with the fact that some silly dentist took teeth out while there was still an infection AND didn't give her an extended course of antibiotics... but we won't go there, I might just start ranting and raving about it a little (grrrrrr). So, I offered to make her some soup :)
I started chopping up veges into little cubes and began to revel in the whole concept of preparing food without grizzling and/or groaning children around me. It was actually enjoyable! Lately, like all mothers no doubt, I shudder when I hear the question "What's for dinner?" not long after I have walked in the door, or even in the car, on the way home from work!! Surely they can see the steam coming out of my ears???
Hubby is getting much better at helping to organise tea, because I have really started to drag my sorry feet in that department. After a few times of me almost ripping everyone's jugular out he has improved somewhat. Perhaps it's a pipe dream, my ideal scenario is that I don't have to cook dinner during the week, at least not until I am home all day on school holidays. Anything is possible, you never know! The other solution is to get back into a long forgotten habit of menu planning... sigh. I had grandiose dreams of trying out the once a month cooking thing, perhaps I need to start small and work up to it.
Well, the silence has been broken, 2 out of 4 children have emerged, Baby C is stirring again. It's ON!
Today is going to be a HUGE day.. dancing for Miss H, friends visiting at 11am, 4 yo birthday party at 2pm, 14 yo birthday party at 4pm and a church family games night at 6pm... phew! Christmas is definitely coming, it's getting madder by the minute.
oh, before I sign off, I'll include the recipe I used to make the small batch of chicken soup..
SOS Chicken Soup (Single serve)
1 chicken breast, roughly chopped into large pieces
2 sticks of celery, cubed
1 medium onion, cubed
1 medium potato, cubed
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of parsley, finely chopped
S&P
Prepare ingredients as above, chuck it into slow cooker and cook on high until done...
If you don't have a slow cooker, heat a little oil in a heavy based soup pot, saute veges and then add stock and seasoning, submerge chicken in the liquid. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a slow simmer then place lid on. Keep checking and stirring it regularly until veges are super soft and chicken is cooked. Carefully remove chicken and shred with a fork.
NOTES:
Because it's painful to chew, I'm going to puree the soup and then put the finely shredded chicken back in.
I also LOVE to add small shell pasta shapes towards the end - today I am leaving them out cos I don't know if little one is able to tolerate gluten products.
That is all.
TGBTG
Anje xxoo
Once again, it has been aaaages!
What's the relationship between Bjork and chicken soup? LOL - I just hear myself saying "Bjork" out loud and then looked at the word chicken.. it sounds like the noise a chicken makes, but that's not the link!! Bjork recorded a song "Oh so quiet", and at this moment, that's what it's like in my house (Won't last for long, though!)
It's 5.50am on a Saturday morning and I'm awake.... I could have gone back to bed after feeding Miss Baby C at 4.20am, and I did, but that was a pointless effort, really. Perhaps I made the mistake of taking my iPhone back with me - checking out what the latest is on Facebook while I was sleeping (not a lot!). I sometimes live vicariously through my Facebook friends who are single and childless ;)
So anyways, I lost the momentum of sleep and with many things on my neverending "to do list" I made the decision to get up, enjoy the quiet solitude and get a few things done.
I must admit, blogging wasn't the first thing on that list, it has ended up being third - I think about blogging every day, but I have been so caught up with life in general, it has taken a backseat to everything else. I could probably blog more often now that Hubby dear has installed the Blogger app on my phone, although I suspect the entries would be much shorter. That may not be such a bad thing, I suppose!
First item of business was to make some chicken soup for a dear little friend at work. The poor thing had three wisdom teeth removed in the chair last Friday and she is worse for wear. She is fresh out of Uni , her loved ones are 400km and needs some TLC. I gave her my number and said to ring if she needed anything, I got an SOS of sorts yesterday. A week after the procedure she is still suffering- probably something to do with the fact that some silly dentist took teeth out while there was still an infection AND didn't give her an extended course of antibiotics... but we won't go there, I might just start ranting and raving about it a little (grrrrrr). So, I offered to make her some soup :)
I started chopping up veges into little cubes and began to revel in the whole concept of preparing food without grizzling and/or groaning children around me. It was actually enjoyable! Lately, like all mothers no doubt, I shudder when I hear the question "What's for dinner?" not long after I have walked in the door, or even in the car, on the way home from work!! Surely they can see the steam coming out of my ears???
Hubby is getting much better at helping to organise tea, because I have really started to drag my sorry feet in that department. After a few times of me almost ripping everyone's jugular out he has improved somewhat. Perhaps it's a pipe dream, my ideal scenario is that I don't have to cook dinner during the week, at least not until I am home all day on school holidays. Anything is possible, you never know! The other solution is to get back into a long forgotten habit of menu planning... sigh. I had grandiose dreams of trying out the once a month cooking thing, perhaps I need to start small and work up to it.
Well, the silence has been broken, 2 out of 4 children have emerged, Baby C is stirring again. It's ON!
Today is going to be a HUGE day.. dancing for Miss H, friends visiting at 11am, 4 yo birthday party at 2pm, 14 yo birthday party at 4pm and a church family games night at 6pm... phew! Christmas is definitely coming, it's getting madder by the minute.
oh, before I sign off, I'll include the recipe I used to make the small batch of chicken soup..
SOS Chicken Soup (Single serve)
1 chicken breast, roughly chopped into large pieces
2 sticks of celery, cubed
1 medium onion, cubed
1 medium potato, cubed
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of parsley, finely chopped
S&P
Prepare ingredients as above, chuck it into slow cooker and cook on high until done...
If you don't have a slow cooker, heat a little oil in a heavy based soup pot, saute veges and then add stock and seasoning, submerge chicken in the liquid. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a slow simmer then place lid on. Keep checking and stirring it regularly until veges are super soft and chicken is cooked. Carefully remove chicken and shred with a fork.
NOTES:
Because it's painful to chew, I'm going to puree the soup and then put the finely shredded chicken back in.
I also LOVE to add small shell pasta shapes towards the end - today I am leaving them out cos I don't know if little one is able to tolerate gluten products.
That is all.
TGBTG
Anje xxoo
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
This describes me TOO well!
Today I am beginning my "go back to work" preparations.. stage one. In the spirit of procrastination, however, let me tell you about the really cool website I grabbed those images from.. it's actually a witty slogan t shirt company called snorgtees that a really cool friend, Mel, introduced me to the first time she wore her groovy and funny maths t-shirt, I think it was the one about showing your TAN line.. LOVED IT! Check the website out, I'm sure you will love it, but be warned, some of them are a tad rude, not all, just some. Anyhoo, back to the original plan..
What's stage one? Thinking about all the things I need to do to be semi-organised and make life easier down the track. Step two, well, that's the doing part, and that takes a lot of planning - LOL!
In my contemplation of constructing a to do list, one thing has come to mind, pre-packing lunch materials and freezing. Ok, sandwiches are easy. What to do for morning teas? Slices and biscuits are good for freezing. Got a couple of slices up the sleeve (one including Shelle's world famous brownies!!)
One thing stopping me from putting my baking marathon into action.. I have runned out of baking powder. Hold that thought, I think I can make my own baking powder using cream of tartar, which I do have (can't remember where I heard that before, but thank you to whoever it was!)
So, my best mate, Google, did the leg work in looking it up for me.. here are the results of what was found:
BAKING POWDER
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch (optional)
Preparation:
Mix the baking soda and cream of tartar together until well combined. Use immediately.
Yield: One tablespoon of baking powder.
To store baking powder: Add a teaspoon of corn starch to the mixture, and stir. This will absorb any moisture from the air, and prevent the baking powder from reacting before you need it. Store in an air-tight container.
Did You Know? Most commerically-produced baking powder contains aluminum--sodium aluminum sulfate to be exact. Make your own baking powder, and keep your baked goods aluminum-free.
Yield: One tablespoon of baking powder.
To store baking powder: Add a teaspoon of corn starch to the mixture, and stir. This will absorb any moisture from the air, and prevent the baking powder from reacting before you need it. Store in an air-tight container.
Did You Know? Most commerically-produced baking powder contains aluminum--sodium aluminum sulfate to be exact. Make your own baking powder, and keep your baked goods aluminum-free.
NO! I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT KNOW THAT!
Well, colour me happy!! (btw, what colour is happy? If I had to choose, I think it would be a section of the rainbow, I LURVE rainbows! Ah, does that show indecisiveness because I can't choose all the colours? well, if I had to choose a colour to make me happy, it would be PURPLE all the way! Did you know, purple dyed cloth was reserved for royalty? Just sayin'... lol)
Once again, off track! MOO-ing has yet again proven to be better for the family. (MOO = Make Our Own).
Okay, I have to go now, lots of things to do, so little time, and most of all, Miss Baby C is whingeing, better sort her out.
TGBTG
Anje xxoo
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle (Part 1)
Hi y'all
Oh how I have missed blogging, but life has just been way too busy for my liking. I am currently on holidays - one of the blessings of being a teacher!! One week has already flown by, one more to go, but before I know it, I'll be racing around like a headless chook again.
So, what little gem shall I share in this post? Well the title kinda gives it away, I'll add some photos to clue you in some more...
Oh how I have missed blogging, but life has just been way too busy for my liking. I am currently on holidays - one of the blessings of being a teacher!! One week has already flown by, one more to go, but before I know it, I'll be racing around like a headless chook again.
I HAVE to remember what my darling late mother always said, "Organisation is the key"....
So, what little gem shall I share in this post? Well the title kinda gives it away, I'll add some photos to clue you in some more...
I have wonderful plans for these boxes.. firstly I am going to cover them in some pretty, pretty paper... then they are going to be used for storing miscellaneous guff (... stuff) so it's not lying around the house making it look messy. (I am going to need HEAPS more of these if I ever want to remedy THAT situation!!)
The covering won't happen just yet, I am going to scour the cheap shops to look at wrapping paper or scrapbooking paper to do the job. I saw some REALLY pretty scrapbooking paper the other day, it had vintage wallpapery/lacy looking designs all over it *drool* but it was $20 for the block... *sigh*
Okay, a bit off tangent, but it's relevant, keep reading and it will make sense, eventually ;-D
Hubby has been watching this show "Next big thing" (on ABC I think) which is about designers trying to break into the retail market. The program showcases open days held by three major retailers in the UK - Boots (kinda like Priceline I think), Liberty (very posh, slightly smaller version of Myer) and Habitat (Homewares/interior design pieces). Hopeful designers get the chance to do a speed date session with the buyers to flog their wares.. SO! Long story short, one guy caught my attention - he does a high quality scan of precious stones, minerals or fossils, has them printed onto silk fabric and then made into beautiful silk scarves - check them out here.. Weston Scarves
So, what's my point? Well, I could try making my own scapbooking paper using the same technique.. not using minerals, mind you, but I could try hauling out the old lace doilies sitting in the linen cupboard doing not much else! I need to consider the cost of ink and power etc first - I may still be better off to simply go treasure hunting for cheap stuff... I'll keep you posted!
Gotta go..
TGBTG
Anje xo
Monday, September 12, 2011
Just sayin'
It's been that kind of day, week and month - let me tell you. It's holidays for me at the end of the week and I'm trusting they will be an improvement on the present tense....
Talk to you then
TGBTG
Anje
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Just do it...
Nope, it's not a plug for Nike =P It's a catchphrase that I am trying to apply to all areas if my life these days.
So often I find myself daydreaming of all the things I want to do, but never actually acting on those ideas- the main theme of late is home organization. I think I may be a little daunted by the sheer size of the task I want to undertake (We have a LOT of clutter!)
I know that it IS possible to form a positive habit - I just had to make myself get up and do it! The first time I applied this mindset was during the early years of marriage and parenthood.
I was basically like an only child (11 years between my older brother and I, 14 years with my sister) so I was kinda spoilt- Mum did so much for me- particularly during senior school years she would make me breakfast and iron my uniform for me so I could sleep in a little longer on school days.. lol.. There was also an alternative reason that I would be ready to leave the house by a certain time!!
So, when I left the nest and found myself looking after a husband and young child, I struggled somewhat, as you could only imagine. I got sick of facing a sink full of dishes every morning- so, I resolved to do the washing up everynight- I'd run SUPER hot water and make myself wash up at each ad break ;) I'd eventually just get in and do the whole lot to get it over and done with!
I've since applied the same logic to other areas of my life, e.g ironing (Eek!) I'd set a goal to iron five to ten items in one go (I'm not a marathon iron woman- haha!) I also do the same thing when I have student assessments to mark- if I plug away at it a little at a time it eventually gets done!
Some days I am more disciplined than others- lately not so much- mainly due to having a new baby, lack of sleep and sickness.. But I know I have it in me to get on with the job when I get a sudden bee in my bonnet..
Now to tackle the wardrobe.. The pantry.. The linen cupboard.. Kids rooms.. *sigh*
I shall have to suck it up and...
JUST DO IT!
TGBTG
Anje xx
So often I find myself daydreaming of all the things I want to do, but never actually acting on those ideas- the main theme of late is home organization. I think I may be a little daunted by the sheer size of the task I want to undertake (We have a LOT of clutter!)
I know that it IS possible to form a positive habit - I just had to make myself get up and do it! The first time I applied this mindset was during the early years of marriage and parenthood.
I was basically like an only child (11 years between my older brother and I, 14 years with my sister) so I was kinda spoilt- Mum did so much for me- particularly during senior school years she would make me breakfast and iron my uniform for me so I could sleep in a little longer on school days.. lol.. There was also an alternative reason that I would be ready to leave the house by a certain time!!
So, when I left the nest and found myself looking after a husband and young child, I struggled somewhat, as you could only imagine. I got sick of facing a sink full of dishes every morning- so, I resolved to do the washing up everynight- I'd run SUPER hot water and make myself wash up at each ad break ;) I'd eventually just get in and do the whole lot to get it over and done with!
I've since applied the same logic to other areas of my life, e.g ironing (Eek!) I'd set a goal to iron five to ten items in one go (I'm not a marathon iron woman- haha!) I also do the same thing when I have student assessments to mark- if I plug away at it a little at a time it eventually gets done!
Some days I am more disciplined than others- lately not so much- mainly due to having a new baby, lack of sleep and sickness.. But I know I have it in me to get on with the job when I get a sudden bee in my bonnet..
Now to tackle the wardrobe.. The pantry.. The linen cupboard.. Kids rooms.. *sigh*
I shall have to suck it up and...
JUST DO IT!
TGBTG
Anje xx
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Entering unchartered territory...
This is me, on a daily basis, dealing with Miss H. I am hoping it won't be me today...
I am taking Miss H (who is nearly 4, going on 18) out to the hairdresser. I've taken her for haircuts before but today is different. Today we are going to have our hair done together.. A chance to play "ladies" I guess.
I'm hoping to spend some quality time with her, it will be the first intense focus time just the two of us since her baby sister was born. She has been a champion really, not being too jealous really - she's done a few minor things, generally she likes to dote on her baby sis.
I thought I'd also take her out to the coffee shop and share a "babycino" with her... (I'll have the caffeinated version, thank you very much!)
I am still holding my breath to see how it all pans out... she is a bit of a hurricane.. and her hair is a mass of curls that often looks like she's been spinning around like Tassie Devil! She is VERY independent, this can mean some super big showdowns some days!! I'm looking forward to when she settles down and I can enjoy being around my little girl a lot more.
Can't really afford to make it a full on day spa experience with the mani/pedi yet, might bribe her to behave if I paint her toe and fingernails later today. We shall see.
Pray all goes smoothly for me!
TGBTG
PS That really cool pic at the start of the post is from a little gem I stumbled across - called Ephemera Inc It has heaps of retro images and funny as lines to go with them - in the form of magnets, badges and heaps more.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Winter Woes and Summer Sensations
Today I found myself wishing winter would be over soon. I normally LOVE winter time and how nice it is to snuggle up.. Maybe as I get older, my body doesn't like the cooler temps so much these days. *sniffle* I'M getting old AND turning into my Mum! (that's a whole separate post of it's own!)
I have developed a negative view of winter this year because ALL of my children have been sick with not one, not two, but SEVERAL head colds and coughs.. And when I say children, that also includes husband dear!! LOL! He has also had a bout of MANFLU!! (again- another post topic on it's own!!)
I havE actually found myself longing for warmer weather so I can take the kids to the beach- go swimming and build sandcastles! This is a MAJOR turn around in thinking for me- normally I would cringe at the thought of packing up the tribe and heading for the sand and surf.. Sand being one of the major turn offs really! (how it can be difficult to get it off the body until you get in the car and it appears EVERYWHERE!
I also used to get overwhelmed by the preparation it needed for said excursions.. A bajillion towels, change of clothes, shoes, hats, sunscreen etc. It now seems a little less overwhelming now that I have a litle SYSTEM in place.. Hehehe
Last year's swimming season at school saw the need for two swim bags to be at the ready.. we bought a drawstring type gym bag made out of that taslon type material that is quasi waterproof and allows wet gear to breath a little.. (I still send an extra plastic bag for the sopping wet togs to go into..)
So.. From many frustrated and frazzled mornings searching for all the pieces required for said swim bag I decided to organise a bag for each child to keep as a dedicated swim/beach bag that as always ready to "grab and go". Each bag has thongs, togs, towel, spare clothes, hat, roll on sunscreen (aldi stuff totally rocks!) and a plastic bag for the saturated stuff. The stuff in this bag DOES not get removed except to be washed and IMMEDIATELY replaced. Each family member has one of these bags and it is stored in their wardrobe to be grabbed when the moment warrants a swim/beach visit.. Ready in half the time now and takes a lot of stress away from me!
Now if I could only be as organised in all other areas in my life! Slowly, slowly- I'm working on it!!
TGBTG
Anje xx
I have developed a negative view of winter this year because ALL of my children have been sick with not one, not two, but SEVERAL head colds and coughs.. And when I say children, that also includes husband dear!! LOL! He has also had a bout of MANFLU!! (again- another post topic on it's own!!)
I havE actually found myself longing for warmer weather so I can take the kids to the beach- go swimming and build sandcastles! This is a MAJOR turn around in thinking for me- normally I would cringe at the thought of packing up the tribe and heading for the sand and surf.. Sand being one of the major turn offs really! (how it can be difficult to get it off the body until you get in the car and it appears EVERYWHERE!
I also used to get overwhelmed by the preparation it needed for said excursions.. A bajillion towels, change of clothes, shoes, hats, sunscreen etc. It now seems a little less overwhelming now that I have a litle SYSTEM in place.. Hehehe
Last year's swimming season at school saw the need for two swim bags to be at the ready.. we bought a drawstring type gym bag made out of that taslon type material that is quasi waterproof and allows wet gear to breath a little.. (I still send an extra plastic bag for the sopping wet togs to go into..)
So.. From many frustrated and frazzled mornings searching for all the pieces required for said swim bag I decided to organise a bag for each child to keep as a dedicated swim/beach bag that as always ready to "grab and go". Each bag has thongs, togs, towel, spare clothes, hat, roll on sunscreen (aldi stuff totally rocks!) and a plastic bag for the saturated stuff. The stuff in this bag DOES not get removed except to be washed and IMMEDIATELY replaced. Each family member has one of these bags and it is stored in their wardrobe to be grabbed when the moment warrants a swim/beach visit.. Ready in half the time now and takes a lot of stress away from me!
Now if I could only be as organised in all other areas in my life! Slowly, slowly- I'm working on it!!
TGBTG
Anje xx
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Jack of all trades, Master of none.
I like this "saying".. I think it really defines who I am. This post is a little 'down in the mouth'
When I think about it, I can't honestly pinpoint one particular thing that I am really, really good at. There are so many things I like to do and have a go at.. Some people are great cooks (I'm average).. Others are fantastic at sewing/scrapbooking (again, I'm fairly ordinary there).. Some are excellent,organised housekeepers (Pfft!) and some girls balance it all out by being a wonderful wife and Mother ... (TBA)
When it comes to being a mother, I may not be the most affectionate doting type.. I do know that they mean more to me than anything in this whole world and heaven help anyone who hurts them. I wonder somedays if they know that and just how much they mean to me.. Hmm, probably not so much when I have the sometimes psycho cranky mum thing happening.
The only other thing I think I come close to being "good" at is being a teacher. I wholly, truly, LOVE working with students. In no way am I a master in this area- but it's definitely my passion. The Bible talks about how God blesses us with a gift, sometimes it's hard to tell what thy gift is. I'm fairly sure His gift to me is teaching... But it's definitely an ongoing work in progress, just like being a good Mum.
*Sigh*
TGBTG
When I think about it, I can't honestly pinpoint one particular thing that I am really, really good at. There are so many things I like to do and have a go at.. Some people are great cooks (I'm average).. Others are fantastic at sewing/scrapbooking (again, I'm fairly ordinary there).. Some are excellent,organised housekeepers (Pfft!) and some girls balance it all out by being a wonderful wife and Mother ... (TBA)
When it comes to being a mother, I may not be the most affectionate doting type.. I do know that they mean more to me than anything in this whole world and heaven help anyone who hurts them. I wonder somedays if they know that and just how much they mean to me.. Hmm, probably not so much when I have the sometimes psycho cranky mum thing happening.
The only other thing I think I come close to being "good" at is being a teacher. I wholly, truly, LOVE working with students. In no way am I a master in this area- but it's definitely my passion. The Bible talks about how God blesses us with a gift, sometimes it's hard to tell what thy gift is. I'm fairly sure His gift to me is teaching... But it's definitely an ongoing work in progress, just like being a good Mum.
*Sigh*
TGBTG
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Much ado about nothing much at all...
Life certainly gets in the way sometimes.. I have wanted to post an entry just about every day since my last one, but nothing eventuated.
This post is fairly lacklustre too, I'm tired and my mind is blankety blank blank blank.
One thing I can report is that I have been busy in the kitchen baking.. I have been favouring a few recipes of late... Shelle's World Famous brownies, Frills in the Hills' Homemade LCM's) and a coconut slice (a lovely little gem found in New Idea yonks ago).. They are all slices of some sort and they are fairly uncomplicated.
Today I managed to make some more brownies and LCMs for the upcoming school week (and to feed Hubby and Miss H when they get the munchies during the day..) But wait, there was more! My firstborn, Master T, decided that he would get in on the action in the kitchen. He usually makes pikelets on a semi-regular basis, although there are never many left on the plate by the time he finishes cooking the batch he made up.. between me, Miss H and hubby.. fresh, warm pikelets are irresistable. Miss H kept coming back and pinching "just one more!"
Anyway, I digress. He had a hankering for a nougat slice with coffee icing that my MIL used to make - so he set to work. He also made some Milo Muffins. They turned out quite nice and were also a winner with the fussy Master D. Problem is, Master T is hesitant to eat them now, he is worried that he might get poisoned by the silicone bakeware that he cooked the muffins in. I must admit that I shared his concern the other day, whilst I was cooking mini quiches, I could also notice that there was a smell being emitted. (I aquired a set of silicone bakeware through a good deal, however I believe the quality of it leaves a lot to be desired... but if you pay peanuts, you have to expect monkeys, right?)
My next baking adventure lies with cakes.. mainly provoked by the event of having to order a cake for Miss C's baptism party. Long story short, I had entertained the thought of making one myself, but who am I kidding, I dont have the time or the inclination to right now. It did leave me with thoughts of what I would have done. I detest sponge cake with a passion. Sometimes I feel it's like eating a sponge, literally. I LOVE dense cakes, esp. mud cakes.
I then got to thinking about what I would make if I did choose to bake the cake myself. I could do the coconut cake slice in bulk proportions, but that would taste weird with icing. All of a sudden my mind wandered to a recipe that my Nan had written out and lent to my mum, eventually acquired by yours truly. It was a recipe for Sand cake, and from memory, I THINK it's a happy medium between fluffly sponge cake and rich, dense mudcake.
I'm also keen to try out Shelle's Wacky Cake recipe too.
I shall endeavour to make one or the other in the next couple of days.
Must go now, head is starting to loll forward, hard to stay awake!
TGBTG
Anje :)
This post is fairly lacklustre too, I'm tired and my mind is blankety blank blank blank.
One thing I can report is that I have been busy in the kitchen baking.. I have been favouring a few recipes of late... Shelle's World Famous brownies, Frills in the Hills' Homemade LCM's) and a coconut slice (a lovely little gem found in New Idea yonks ago).. They are all slices of some sort and they are fairly uncomplicated.
Today I managed to make some more brownies and LCMs for the upcoming school week (and to feed Hubby and Miss H when they get the munchies during the day..) But wait, there was more! My firstborn, Master T, decided that he would get in on the action in the kitchen. He usually makes pikelets on a semi-regular basis, although there are never many left on the plate by the time he finishes cooking the batch he made up.. between me, Miss H and hubby.. fresh, warm pikelets are irresistable. Miss H kept coming back and pinching "just one more!"
Anyway, I digress. He had a hankering for a nougat slice with coffee icing that my MIL used to make - so he set to work. He also made some Milo Muffins. They turned out quite nice and were also a winner with the fussy Master D. Problem is, Master T is hesitant to eat them now, he is worried that he might get poisoned by the silicone bakeware that he cooked the muffins in. I must admit that I shared his concern the other day, whilst I was cooking mini quiches, I could also notice that there was a smell being emitted. (I aquired a set of silicone bakeware through a good deal, however I believe the quality of it leaves a lot to be desired... but if you pay peanuts, you have to expect monkeys, right?)
My next baking adventure lies with cakes.. mainly provoked by the event of having to order a cake for Miss C's baptism party. Long story short, I had entertained the thought of making one myself, but who am I kidding, I dont have the time or the inclination to right now. It did leave me with thoughts of what I would have done. I detest sponge cake with a passion. Sometimes I feel it's like eating a sponge, literally. I LOVE dense cakes, esp. mud cakes.
I then got to thinking about what I would make if I did choose to bake the cake myself. I could do the coconut cake slice in bulk proportions, but that would taste weird with icing. All of a sudden my mind wandered to a recipe that my Nan had written out and lent to my mum, eventually acquired by yours truly. It was a recipe for Sand cake, and from memory, I THINK it's a happy medium between fluffly sponge cake and rich, dense mudcake.
I'm also keen to try out Shelle's Wacky Cake recipe too.
I shall endeavour to make one or the other in the next couple of days.
Must go now, head is starting to loll forward, hard to stay awake!
TGBTG
Anje :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Regimental Routines...
I think I have mentioned before that our second son, Master D, has Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Every child with AS is different.
AS children are often referred to as "little professors" who are experts on a certain topic and will talk non stop about this subject, whether you are interested or not! They don't pick up on typical non verbal social cues very easily.
Master D is terribly disorganised and has problems internalising processes that involve more than two steps. It takes him longer than the average child to acquire and maintain any type of skill set. Just setting the table and gettting knives and forks in the right place are a struggle.. and yet he is such an intelligent kid!
He can also have meltdowns that are earthshattering for him, and exhausting, for us also. He does have difficulty managing extreme emotions and will often talk himself into an episode, saying negative things over and over, spiralling out of control.. He usually only has these episodes at home and keeps it together at school. It must take a lot of energy for him to do that, we often see him unravel after school when something doesn't go the way he expects it to.
As he heads towards the teen years at a rapid rate his emotions are becoming stronger and harder for him to manage. I have no doubt that hormones are going to cause havoc there too.
Most AS kids need strict routines to help them cope with everyday life. Master D needs routines to keep him on track more than anything, and keep him accountable.
We have started to slowly increase his responsibilities with helping out around the house, much to his disgust. He often has a meltdown about this fact, convincing himself that he shouldn't have to do jobs.
It may sound purely like bad behaviour pure and simple, but trust me, there is more to it than that. Dealing with him in the same manner as a normal child does not illicit the usual or desired outcome.
We have had to start using his treasured possessions and activities as "currency"... if he ticks off the jobs on the checklist then he has the "freedom" to engage in his chosen activities. In the early stages this worked, Master D saw it as a novelty, but it soon wore off. It's also hard for us as parents to consistently enforce this system too, and we have been lax at times.
Now it has come to a point where it has to be re-introduced and adhered to regimentally. I have found some daily routine cards that are pretty cool.. and at there are also chore cue cards too..
I shall have to post an example of a chart that I come up with.. that's going to have to be later.
So, I shall head off and make a start on it now.
TGBTG
Anje xx
AS children are often referred to as "little professors" who are experts on a certain topic and will talk non stop about this subject, whether you are interested or not! They don't pick up on typical non verbal social cues very easily.
Master D is terribly disorganised and has problems internalising processes that involve more than two steps. It takes him longer than the average child to acquire and maintain any type of skill set. Just setting the table and gettting knives and forks in the right place are a struggle.. and yet he is such an intelligent kid!
He can also have meltdowns that are earthshattering for him, and exhausting, for us also. He does have difficulty managing extreme emotions and will often talk himself into an episode, saying negative things over and over, spiralling out of control.. He usually only has these episodes at home and keeps it together at school. It must take a lot of energy for him to do that, we often see him unravel after school when something doesn't go the way he expects it to.
As he heads towards the teen years at a rapid rate his emotions are becoming stronger and harder for him to manage. I have no doubt that hormones are going to cause havoc there too.
Most AS kids need strict routines to help them cope with everyday life. Master D needs routines to keep him on track more than anything, and keep him accountable.
We have started to slowly increase his responsibilities with helping out around the house, much to his disgust. He often has a meltdown about this fact, convincing himself that he shouldn't have to do jobs.
It may sound purely like bad behaviour pure and simple, but trust me, there is more to it than that. Dealing with him in the same manner as a normal child does not illicit the usual or desired outcome.
We have had to start using his treasured possessions and activities as "currency"... if he ticks off the jobs on the checklist then he has the "freedom" to engage in his chosen activities. In the early stages this worked, Master D saw it as a novelty, but it soon wore off. It's also hard for us as parents to consistently enforce this system too, and we have been lax at times.
Now it has come to a point where it has to be re-introduced and adhered to regimentally. I have found some daily routine cards that are pretty cool.. and at there are also chore cue cards too..
I shall have to post an example of a chart that I come up with.. that's going to have to be later.
So, I shall head off and make a start on it now.
TGBTG
Anje xx
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Here are a few of my favourite things..
Being a working mum, time is not a luxury. There are, however, a few things I do not compromise on...
Despite what my husband says sometimes.. (I'd like to hear his response if I was like Paris Hilton!!)I don't fuss too much with my appearance, I'm happy to walk out the door if my clothes are colour coordinated, my hair is neat and I have my "eyes" on..somedays I'll brush on some Bodyshop mineral face powder too!
Getting my eyes on - well, that's not glasses ;) I love my Bodyshop chocolate brown eyeshadow and a few lashings of mascara.
Neat hair - Normally I shove it up into a butterfly clip. Otherwise, if I have bothered or made an effort, I briefly dry my hair to make sure it's straight-ish (or it has a painful wave that I detest). My hair needs to be washed at least every second day, and hair drying is not something that I have time to do all the time... There are so many other things that need to be done!
In the last year or so I have come across a fantastic product called "dry shampoo". It means I can go an extra day without washing and drying it all over again!! Yahoo! It sprays a powder that absorbs the oil near the scalp and gives your hair a refreshed appearance.
I started using a product called "Klorane" and that usually cost around $10+ on special at Priceline, but being a little limited on funds most of the time, I soon found a cheaper alternative, called "Batiste".. it's usually $8 on special.
Here's the address for their website - have a squiz if you're curious:
http://www.batistehair.com.au/?locale=en_AU
Still a little pricey, and in my travels scrolling through cheapskate tips I read that baby powder does the same job. Um, yes, it does, but you HAVE to be careful in how you apply it!! First time I did it, I thought I had travelled into the future and looking at the 70 year old version of myself - LOL! I found the best way to apply it is to put a small amount into the palm of the hand, gently rub palms together and then comb it through the roots with the fingers. Leave it a few minutes and then brush it out.
Key words: BRUSH IT OUT!! Many times the kids have noticed I'm going gray, that's when I have been in such a rush that I haven't brushed it!! Oooops!
I'm not really into a strict skincare regime either.. the most I usually get around to is cleansing in the shower... preferably a two in one cleanser/toner! (Dove has a nice economical product that does that, around $7 usually).
When I feel like taking some "me" time I'll go all out and do all the steps properly. (not very often, let me tell you!) Moisturiser is often omitted in warmer times, winter time and early aging signs now has made me start to use it more often.
Just lately I have taken to using up a bottle of Bio Oil. I put a small amount in the palm of my hand and rub it onto my face and then rinse the excess off. I usually HATE oily stuff, but this isn't too bad.. skin feels nice and soft :)
Why did I decide to do this? Well, it's sitting there doing nothing now that the pregnancy is over... and as I get older I don't like to waste stuff or have a bathroom drawer full of unused gear... I purge every blue moon!
I also got the idea from another cheapskate tip to use coconut oil from the health shop as a cleanser and moisturiser in one, with no nasty chemicals included. I purchased some yesterday, $20 for a big jar. I haven't opened it yet, I'm going to finish the Bio Oil FIRST!
Well, that's my little selection of tips to save time and keep some sort of beauty regime on the burn..
TGBTG
Anje xx
Despite what my husband says sometimes.. (I'd like to hear his response if I was like Paris Hilton!!)I don't fuss too much with my appearance, I'm happy to walk out the door if my clothes are colour coordinated, my hair is neat and I have my "eyes" on..somedays I'll brush on some Bodyshop mineral face powder too!
Getting my eyes on - well, that's not glasses ;) I love my Bodyshop chocolate brown eyeshadow and a few lashings of mascara.
Neat hair - Normally I shove it up into a butterfly clip. Otherwise, if I have bothered or made an effort, I briefly dry my hair to make sure it's straight-ish (or it has a painful wave that I detest). My hair needs to be washed at least every second day, and hair drying is not something that I have time to do all the time... There are so many other things that need to be done!
In the last year or so I have come across a fantastic product called "dry shampoo". It means I can go an extra day without washing and drying it all over again!! Yahoo! It sprays a powder that absorbs the oil near the scalp and gives your hair a refreshed appearance.
I started using a product called "Klorane" and that usually cost around $10+ on special at Priceline, but being a little limited on funds most of the time, I soon found a cheaper alternative, called "Batiste".. it's usually $8 on special.
Here's the address for their website - have a squiz if you're curious:
http://www.batistehair.com.au/?locale=en_AU
Still a little pricey, and in my travels scrolling through cheapskate tips I read that baby powder does the same job. Um, yes, it does, but you HAVE to be careful in how you apply it!! First time I did it, I thought I had travelled into the future and looking at the 70 year old version of myself - LOL! I found the best way to apply it is to put a small amount into the palm of the hand, gently rub palms together and then comb it through the roots with the fingers. Leave it a few minutes and then brush it out.
Key words: BRUSH IT OUT!! Many times the kids have noticed I'm going gray, that's when I have been in such a rush that I haven't brushed it!! Oooops!
I'm not really into a strict skincare regime either.. the most I usually get around to is cleansing in the shower... preferably a two in one cleanser/toner! (Dove has a nice economical product that does that, around $7 usually).
When I feel like taking some "me" time I'll go all out and do all the steps properly. (not very often, let me tell you!) Moisturiser is often omitted in warmer times, winter time and early aging signs now has made me start to use it more often.
Just lately I have taken to using up a bottle of Bio Oil. I put a small amount in the palm of my hand and rub it onto my face and then rinse the excess off. I usually HATE oily stuff, but this isn't too bad.. skin feels nice and soft :)
Why did I decide to do this? Well, it's sitting there doing nothing now that the pregnancy is over... and as I get older I don't like to waste stuff or have a bathroom drawer full of unused gear... I purge every blue moon!
I also got the idea from another cheapskate tip to use coconut oil from the health shop as a cleanser and moisturiser in one, with no nasty chemicals included. I purchased some yesterday, $20 for a big jar. I haven't opened it yet, I'm going to finish the Bio Oil FIRST!
Well, that's my little selection of tips to save time and keep some sort of beauty regime on the burn..
TGBTG
Anje xx
Reflections of a holiday gone too soon..
Sigh... it's Wednesday, and I only have 5 more sleeps before I have to go back to work again. I am gonna miss my little cherub all over again. 9 weeks this term til the next break.
I've been pottering around, enjoying just being at home, not doing much at all really. I still have a pile of ironing that beckons, and many areas of the house to be organised.. I had such hope for these holidays but alas, it didn't happen. Things don't usually get done until I have a rush of adrenaline and then it's on! It hasn't hit yet, not sure it will either!
I have also enjoyed a little baking, I was keen to try out some recipes I have come across in my blog patrols - these two were from "Frills in the Hills"
These were a hit with the family .. M&M cookies..yum! Here's the web address:
http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2010/09/sunday-baking-project-best-m-cookies.html
These were chunky choc cafe style cookies.. here's the link:
http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2011/06/chunky-cookies-just-like-you-buy-at.html
I have a number of favourite blogs at the moment, all of them listed here somewhere on my blog. One I have spent a lot of time reading is the "Debt free, cashed up and laughing" blog. I love to find ways of living well for less and this blog, along with another website called "Simple Savings" have been a source of much entertainment!
I shall write more about my efforts in living frugally at a later time, little one is calling.
TGBTG
Anje xx
I've been pottering around, enjoying just being at home, not doing much at all really. I still have a pile of ironing that beckons, and many areas of the house to be organised.. I had such hope for these holidays but alas, it didn't happen. Things don't usually get done until I have a rush of adrenaline and then it's on! It hasn't hit yet, not sure it will either!
I have also enjoyed a little baking, I was keen to try out some recipes I have come across in my blog patrols - these two were from "Frills in the Hills"
These were a hit with the family .. M&M cookies..yum! Here's the web address:
http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2010/09/sunday-baking-project-best-m-cookies.html
These were chunky choc cafe style cookies.. here's the link:
http://www.frillsinthehills.com/2011/06/chunky-cookies-just-like-you-buy-at.html
I have a number of favourite blogs at the moment, all of them listed here somewhere on my blog. One I have spent a lot of time reading is the "Debt free, cashed up and laughing" blog. I love to find ways of living well for less and this blog, along with another website called "Simple Savings" have been a source of much entertainment!
I shall write more about my efforts in living frugally at a later time, little one is calling.
TGBTG
Anje xx
Friday, July 1, 2011
Baked eggs and a half baked attitude ..
Hooley Dooley, it's July already.
Time is going so fast lately - seemingly more so now that I am currently on holidays at the moment - (somedays I LOVE being a teacher!!)
Unfortunately I don't have much to report, I have thought of blogging everyday since my last entry but life just got in the way. Somedays it has run right over the top of me!
I had made a long list of things that I wanted to achieve while on my break - disappointingly I have not ticked one thing off as yet, and the first week is almost over. I could make the excuse that I have been making the most of the break by resting and recharging.. but that wasn't on my list >:/ (note to self - put daily snoozle at top of next holiday list!)
I managed to fight off a virus that the rest of my family had for most of last term, I was fully expecting it to knock me down as soon as I started holidays. Well, it hasn't hit me like I expected it to, it has been on more of a slow burn - making me feel rather weary and lacklustre. I'm going to happily blame it for my lack of getting stuff done.
I have managed some small stuff.. I spontaneously put on a pot of pumpkin soup the other day.. was okay, not my best, but nice. Then last night, I intended to cook some eggs to accompany dinner, instead of pan frying I decided to bite the bullet and try out a "Baked Eggs" recipe that I had bookmarked ages ago. I was reasonably happy with the result! (No photos to show, wasn't feeling THAT enthusiastic last night..)
Here's the basic recipe I used last night...
Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese
3-4 rashers of bacon, chopped
300ml cream
1 1/2 cups grated tasty cheese
5 eggs
1. Pre-heat oven to moderate temperature (180-200 degrees)
2. Lightly grease some ramekin dishes with butter.
3. Pour about 1.5cm cream in the base of each ramekin
4. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top of the cream, (split the bacon evenly between all ramekin dishes)
5. Crack the eggs over the bacon and then top with cheese.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and place in the oven.
7. Bake for ten minutes, less if you prefer a runny yolk.
That's it for now -
TGBTG
Anje xo
Time is going so fast lately - seemingly more so now that I am currently on holidays at the moment - (somedays I LOVE being a teacher!!)
Unfortunately I don't have much to report, I have thought of blogging everyday since my last entry but life just got in the way. Somedays it has run right over the top of me!
I had made a long list of things that I wanted to achieve while on my break - disappointingly I have not ticked one thing off as yet, and the first week is almost over. I could make the excuse that I have been making the most of the break by resting and recharging.. but that wasn't on my list >:/ (note to self - put daily snoozle at top of next holiday list!)
I managed to fight off a virus that the rest of my family had for most of last term, I was fully expecting it to knock me down as soon as I started holidays. Well, it hasn't hit me like I expected it to, it has been on more of a slow burn - making me feel rather weary and lacklustre. I'm going to happily blame it for my lack of getting stuff done.
I have managed some small stuff.. I spontaneously put on a pot of pumpkin soup the other day.. was okay, not my best, but nice. Then last night, I intended to cook some eggs to accompany dinner, instead of pan frying I decided to bite the bullet and try out a "Baked Eggs" recipe that I had bookmarked ages ago. I was reasonably happy with the result! (No photos to show, wasn't feeling THAT enthusiastic last night..)
Here's the basic recipe I used last night...
Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese
3-4 rashers of bacon, chopped
300ml cream
1 1/2 cups grated tasty cheese
5 eggs
1. Pre-heat oven to moderate temperature (180-200 degrees)
2. Lightly grease some ramekin dishes with butter.
3. Pour about 1.5cm cream in the base of each ramekin
4. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top of the cream, (split the bacon evenly between all ramekin dishes)
5. Crack the eggs over the bacon and then top with cheese.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and place in the oven.
7. Bake for ten minutes, less if you prefer a runny yolk.
That's it for now -
TGBTG
Anje xo
Monday, June 13, 2011
Spaghetti Bolognaise and hidden treasure
Today is the last day of my long weekend - Apart from washing, ironing and feeding Cara, I plan to do some baking - with some hidden ingredients ..
I'm going to try making Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - if they are any good I'll post the recipe I found on the Best Recipes website.. along with some pics too.
I have a very fussy eater (textures were sometimes an area of concern, this worked hand in hand with him having Aspergers and an a speech delay).. getting him to eat vegetables is still sometimes an issue.
I was inpsired to hide more fruit & veg in my cooking by a book called Deceptively Delicious. It's written by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife!). She purees a number of fruit/veg and adds it to her cooking. I still have not actually made any of the recipes from the book but it gave me a place to start. She is uber organised and freezes heaps of purees.. too much work for this busy little bee... I've found a happier medium for now - using my food processor.
As a start I whizzed carrot, zucchini and onion together until it was almost minced and added it to my spaghetti bolognaise sauce. At tea time I sat and watched Master D and his Dad eat it up without any issue. Hubby saw me cooking with it, unfortunately, but he still ate it without fanfare - yay! Next time I will include capsicum in the mix! I'm pretty sure Jamie Oliver makes a pasta sauce with five veges, I have been meaning to look it up for ages.. I did have plans to do so when I had a bumper tomato crop to make my own pasta sauce, alas, it was not to be.. next crop I hope!
This recipe serves about four, more if you bulk it out with pasta... I cook my pasta in the microwave - it takes about 12-15 minutes and I put it on when the sauce starts the simmer stage.
Spaghetti Bolognaise
1 brown onion
1 carrot
1 zucchini
2 heaped teaspoons minced garlic
500g beef mince
1 tin of condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup red wine or beef stock
tablespoon of brown sugar
sprinkle of mixed herbs
4-5 cups cooked pasta shapes (spirals or penne are my favourites)
1. Heat some olive oil in a large frypan to a med-high heat.
2. Whizz carrot, zucchini and onion in food processor (alternatively you can grate it).
3. Add garlic and veges to frypan and cook to your own preference.
4. Add mince, brown and stir to mix veges through.
5. Add tomato soup, red wine, brown sugar and herbs.
6. Allow sauce to boil then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes or so.
7. Mix cooked pasta and sauce together, serve in pasta bowls and top with grated parmesan.
Spag Bol is one of my all time faves, I also hide this vege mix in meatloaf too. I am still perfecting the meatloaf recipe, will post when it's right.
TGBTG
Anje xx
I'm going to try making Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - if they are any good I'll post the recipe I found on the Best Recipes website.. along with some pics too.
I have a very fussy eater (textures were sometimes an area of concern, this worked hand in hand with him having Aspergers and an a speech delay).. getting him to eat vegetables is still sometimes an issue.
I was inpsired to hide more fruit & veg in my cooking by a book called Deceptively Delicious. It's written by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife!). She purees a number of fruit/veg and adds it to her cooking. I still have not actually made any of the recipes from the book but it gave me a place to start. She is uber organised and freezes heaps of purees.. too much work for this busy little bee... I've found a happier medium for now - using my food processor.
As a start I whizzed carrot, zucchini and onion together until it was almost minced and added it to my spaghetti bolognaise sauce. At tea time I sat and watched Master D and his Dad eat it up without any issue. Hubby saw me cooking with it, unfortunately, but he still ate it without fanfare - yay! Next time I will include capsicum in the mix! I'm pretty sure Jamie Oliver makes a pasta sauce with five veges, I have been meaning to look it up for ages.. I did have plans to do so when I had a bumper tomato crop to make my own pasta sauce, alas, it was not to be.. next crop I hope!
This recipe serves about four, more if you bulk it out with pasta... I cook my pasta in the microwave - it takes about 12-15 minutes and I put it on when the sauce starts the simmer stage.
Spaghetti Bolognaise
1 brown onion
1 carrot
1 zucchini
2 heaped teaspoons minced garlic
500g beef mince
1 tin of condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup red wine or beef stock
tablespoon of brown sugar
sprinkle of mixed herbs
4-5 cups cooked pasta shapes (spirals or penne are my favourites)
1. Heat some olive oil in a large frypan to a med-high heat.
2. Whizz carrot, zucchini and onion in food processor (alternatively you can grate it).
3. Add garlic and veges to frypan and cook to your own preference.
4. Add mince, brown and stir to mix veges through.
5. Add tomato soup, red wine, brown sugar and herbs.
6. Allow sauce to boil then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes or so.
7. Mix cooked pasta and sauce together, serve in pasta bowls and top with grated parmesan.
Spag Bol is one of my all time faves, I also hide this vege mix in meatloaf too. I am still perfecting the meatloaf recipe, will post when it's right.
TGBTG
Anje xx
One potato, two potato, sweet potato bake!
This is a photo of my efforts slicing potato and sweet potato for my yummy potato bake. This gadget is called a mandolin - another one of my favourites in the kitchen (time saving objects are automatically my favourite items in the whole wide world!) I will include my recipe but it's a bit dash of this, splash of that with quantities, and it's very cheesy!
Oh - you can leave the sweet potato out if you prefer, I put it in there to try and get my vege-hating child to ingest something healthy-ish. You can slice the spuds scallop style or you can dice them roughly - either works. For speed I quite often dice them.
Anje's Yummy Potato Bake
potatoes, peeled & sliced (allow 1 per person)
1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and sliced
300ml cream
1-2 cups bacon (sliced or diced)
grated tasty cheese
grated parmesan cheese
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan forced)
2. Pre-cook the potatoes (both types) in a microwave safe dish- approx 4.5 mins on high (check to see they are keeping shape but not raw)
(I was using a 1200W microwave, btw!)
3. Pour a little cream on the bottom of an oven proof dish.
4. Layer and repeat as follows: potatoes, cheeses, sprinkle of bacon and drizzle cream on top.
5. Once the potato is used up, sprinkle cheese and bacon on top.
6. Place into oven, bake for 20-30mins, check on it at about 15 mins and see how it's going.
Enjoy 8-)
TGBTG
Anje xx
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Homegrown :)
These were the fruits
of my first Vege garden
in many years-
quite tasty too. They are
"Beefsteak Tomatoes". I
also planted a variety called
"Black Russian"
but they didn't take off,
I harvested one, I shall
salvage the seeds and try again..
I've also managed to get basil to grow -
it's gone feral!
Pity bout the celery though..
It's alive but somewhat stunted..
Maybe it needs seasol ??
Because we are living in a rental house, and couldn't really dig up the existing gardens, I grew these babies in a pre-loved hessian potato sack. Picked some up for only $2 each at a local produce store.
I did want to grow some pumpkins as well, but I faced quite a bit of opposition there, darn it!
I shall keep trying :) persistence pays ..
TGBTG
Anje xx
Dreaming of a simple life ..
I want to live a simple and uncomplicated life.
I would love to be on some acreage with our own chooks, maybe a few sheep, cows, goats and horses.. As well as growing our own veges- I'd even love to go as far as going without power and cooking with firewood, using candles for light. If that proves to be a 'too hard' option then I'd love for our power to be sourced purely from wind or solar means. That's something that may never actually happen, but I can take steps towards a simpler life now.
I've been a fan of Jamie Oliver for ages and I've been hooked on his latest tv exploits "Jamie's food revolution" I've been watching the second series where he takes on school cafeterias in Los Angeles- it's been pretty good viewing I think! One thing that hit home for me was the amount of artificial additives go into the food we buy off the shelf.. He taught a highschool science class about the chemicals and true origin of ice cream additives, topping and lollies.. It was too scary! The preservatives in bread are scary too.. Do I really want to ingest chemicals that keep bread from going stale indefinitely.. Even if it's cheaper??
I'm now more motivated to MOO! (make our own..)Hubby has been at me for ages to bake more, mainly to save money on morning tea items.. (Muesli bars, dip it's etc can get expensive and aren't the most nutritious..) So with new motivation I did so. Made some yummy cupcakes and then my little electric hand mixer died.. It's older than Master T!! My dreams of baking were in tatters.. Ye olde faithful Kenwood mixer had also died many moons ago (it was a garage sale purchase made by Hubby's parents for when he left home)... My newfound zeal did not extend to hand beating, sorry!!
So, with the need for a new stick mixer as well (another aging appliance) we found ourselves standing in Good Guys looking at a fantastic deal on a Kenwood stick mixer and a Kenwood chef! (Mixmaster). What sealed the deal for me was the bonus mincer/sausage maker attachment!! There are also stacks of other attachments.. All able to make us more self sufficient in the kitchen.
We bought some whole rump on special at $5.99 per kg.. Cut it into pieces for roasts and also into smaller chunks for mincing.. We actually MOO'd beef mince! No added preservatives! It was v. Satisfying! Even more so while watching hubby do it! Lol (I was busy feeding Miss C so I got to spectate :))
I'm rather excited about buying other types of meat and mincing it.. Especially chicken when fillets come on special! Over the years we have had to be budget conscious.. A major challenge for me let me say!
Hubby is keen to try making our own sausages too.. Just have to check out where we can source sausage casings! Oh the possible combinations are endless! No rubbish filler either :)
My next plan is to make use of the dough hook to have a crack at breadmaking..! I plan to ensure our whizbang new machine earns it's keep, it will be worth the amount if money spent .. Even if it was on a fantastic special ;)
I shall endeavor to update and regale you of future exploits with our new kitchen appliance.. Oh.. I forgot to mention, the stick mixer came with heaps of attachments too... Hubby's FAVE (!!) was the potato masher, I can confirm its effectiveness too :) My fave stick mixer part is the
chopping bowl. It allows me to whiz up veges to hide in my cooking so fuss pots in the family don't object!! I have used the food processor to do it before but it's time consuming to drag it out just for one meal's worth of Vege blitzing.. I'm not that organised to do a big batch at once, although it is on my list of things to do when on holiday ! It may very well sound lazy but if it's not fast and easy I'm afraid my business with work and household duty gets in the way...
Lol, I think I've turned into a bit of a kitchen appliance tart!! All is well though in my quest to simplify!
TGBTG
Anje xx
I would love to be on some acreage with our own chooks, maybe a few sheep, cows, goats and horses.. As well as growing our own veges- I'd even love to go as far as going without power and cooking with firewood, using candles for light. If that proves to be a 'too hard' option then I'd love for our power to be sourced purely from wind or solar means. That's something that may never actually happen, but I can take steps towards a simpler life now.
I've been a fan of Jamie Oliver for ages and I've been hooked on his latest tv exploits "Jamie's food revolution" I've been watching the second series where he takes on school cafeterias in Los Angeles- it's been pretty good viewing I think! One thing that hit home for me was the amount of artificial additives go into the food we buy off the shelf.. He taught a highschool science class about the chemicals and true origin of ice cream additives, topping and lollies.. It was too scary! The preservatives in bread are scary too.. Do I really want to ingest chemicals that keep bread from going stale indefinitely.. Even if it's cheaper??
I'm now more motivated to MOO! (make our own..)Hubby has been at me for ages to bake more, mainly to save money on morning tea items.. (Muesli bars, dip it's etc can get expensive and aren't the most nutritious..) So with new motivation I did so. Made some yummy cupcakes and then my little electric hand mixer died.. It's older than Master T!! My dreams of baking were in tatters.. Ye olde faithful Kenwood mixer had also died many moons ago (it was a garage sale purchase made by Hubby's parents for when he left home)... My newfound zeal did not extend to hand beating, sorry!!
So, with the need for a new stick mixer as well (another aging appliance) we found ourselves standing in Good Guys looking at a fantastic deal on a Kenwood stick mixer and a Kenwood chef! (Mixmaster). What sealed the deal for me was the bonus mincer/sausage maker attachment!! There are also stacks of other attachments.. All able to make us more self sufficient in the kitchen.
We bought some whole rump on special at $5.99 per kg.. Cut it into pieces for roasts and also into smaller chunks for mincing.. We actually MOO'd beef mince! No added preservatives! It was v. Satisfying! Even more so while watching hubby do it! Lol (I was busy feeding Miss C so I got to spectate :))
I'm rather excited about buying other types of meat and mincing it.. Especially chicken when fillets come on special! Over the years we have had to be budget conscious.. A major challenge for me let me say!
Hubby is keen to try making our own sausages too.. Just have to check out where we can source sausage casings! Oh the possible combinations are endless! No rubbish filler either :)
My next plan is to make use of the dough hook to have a crack at breadmaking..! I plan to ensure our whizbang new machine earns it's keep, it will be worth the amount if money spent .. Even if it was on a fantastic special ;)
I shall endeavor to update and regale you of future exploits with our new kitchen appliance.. Oh.. I forgot to mention, the stick mixer came with heaps of attachments too... Hubby's FAVE (!!) was the potato masher, I can confirm its effectiveness too :) My fave stick mixer part is the
chopping bowl. It allows me to whiz up veges to hide in my cooking so fuss pots in the family don't object!! I have used the food processor to do it before but it's time consuming to drag it out just for one meal's worth of Vege blitzing.. I'm not that organised to do a big batch at once, although it is on my list of things to do when on holiday ! It may very well sound lazy but if it's not fast and easy I'm afraid my business with work and household duty gets in the way...
Lol, I think I've turned into a bit of a kitchen appliance tart!! All is well though in my quest to simplify!
TGBTG
Anje xx
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Reflections of a travelling circus
We've just returned from a trip to Brisbane with four children in tow- I have survived to tell the tale! I must admit I was rather worried to see how Miss C would go- she doesn't always enjoy car rides.. Out of the four children, she was the best behaved! Master T was also up there, he was a champion at helping out... Seasoned with some boofheaded teen attitude!
We decided to take the opportunity to visit Dreamworld one last time before the $69 season passes ran out- this makes it the third visit for the boys.
This time it was much easier for me to negotiate the endless walking- I was able to push Mids C in the pram! I was going to go on a few rides but that didn't happen, the one I wanted to go on (the river rapids) was closed for maintenance ..I could have gone on the log ride but I didn't fancy getting soaked that late in the afternoon.. Sook, I know. I certainly have no desire to go on the daredevil rides either- I get sick too easily- as does Master T! LoL, we found that out when he went on a breakdance type cup/saucer ride at Aussieworld a few years back!
The best part of this visit for hubby and I was the Sheep Shearing show - rather funny to watch the presenters show off the Aussie larrikin style.. picking on the overseas tourists ;-) The kids got to hold some native animals at a wildlife presentation- Master T got to hold an owl, Master D, a snake and Miss H got to make a Bilby appear and then give it a pat. Photos will be posted eventually :)
The other treat was to drop into our fave place- Ikea :)Hubby lives to get his fix of what we call a calzone- it's known as a pizza at the ikea cafe downstairs. We dropped Miss H off at playland (much needed break!) and raced through the store grabbing the few things that caught our eye and couldn't resist! Most of it was spent in the kids section- will take piccies when it's all unpacked..We got to catch up with hubby's Uncle and Wife and then we stayed at friends place on the north side of Bris.. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! If we had more time there are still heaps of other wonderful people we want to see- it will have to wait until next visit!
Must go, dinner needs to be cooked!
I shall return with other tales to tell- there are sooo many, but soo little time!
Til next time
TGBTG
Xx
We decided to take the opportunity to visit Dreamworld one last time before the $69 season passes ran out- this makes it the third visit for the boys.
This time it was much easier for me to negotiate the endless walking- I was able to push Mids C in the pram! I was going to go on a few rides but that didn't happen, the one I wanted to go on (the river rapids) was closed for maintenance ..I could have gone on the log ride but I didn't fancy getting soaked that late in the afternoon.. Sook, I know. I certainly have no desire to go on the daredevil rides either- I get sick too easily- as does Master T! LoL, we found that out when he went on a breakdance type cup/saucer ride at Aussieworld a few years back!
The best part of this visit for hubby and I was the Sheep Shearing show - rather funny to watch the presenters show off the Aussie larrikin style.. picking on the overseas tourists ;-) The kids got to hold some native animals at a wildlife presentation- Master T got to hold an owl, Master D, a snake and Miss H got to make a Bilby appear and then give it a pat. Photos will be posted eventually :)
The other treat was to drop into our fave place- Ikea :)Hubby lives to get his fix of what we call a calzone- it's known as a pizza at the ikea cafe downstairs. We dropped Miss H off at playland (much needed break!) and raced through the store grabbing the few things that caught our eye and couldn't resist! Most of it was spent in the kids section- will take piccies when it's all unpacked..We got to catch up with hubby's Uncle and Wife and then we stayed at friends place on the north side of Bris.. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! If we had more time there are still heaps of other wonderful people we want to see- it will have to wait until next visit!
Must go, dinner needs to be cooked!
I shall return with other tales to tell- there are sooo many, but soo little time!
Til next time
TGBTG
Xx
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Busy little bee
It's been almost two weeks since my last confession.. I mean posting, haha :)As to be expected, much has happened in our household, guess I should work backwards from today.
I made through my first week back at work after eight weeks off with Miss Baby C.. I missed her lots- I got by thanks to the great bunch of people I work with and seeing all my students again.. They apparently missed me!
Going to work meant having to express breast milk at every break.. I was curious to see how that was going to go - the Nursing Mothers Association advises you to let your employer know that you intend to continue breastfeeding after returning to work and the they need to find you a comfortable, clean place, and definitely NOT a toilet! So, I emailed the boss in charge of that stuff and I was pleasantly surprised with what they came up with, a room with a sofa to sit on!! It's things like this that made it easier to get up and go to work everyday and leave baby with Hubby..
speaking of dear Hubby, he did a fantastic job with little one- even took her out and about on several occasions..which I thought was really brave!The second day by himself he had to take her for the first round of needles. It's hard to believe she is two months old already!
As the weather has started to feel more like winter, the kids have all come down with colds and coughs that turned into bronchitis- all three of them had to have antibiotics- but it's looking like thy all have to go back to the doctor again - the cough is still hanging on- a nasty chesty sounding cough :( Thankfully Miss Baby has avoided it, possibly due to getting the antibodies via my breastmilk- I starts to come down with a mild version of it earlier in the week. Now Hubby is snuffly- just what we need- 3 kids and a hubby with man flu- okay, make that Four kids!
In the last two weeks of my time off I was able to do some stuff with Miss H on the days she wasn't at kindy- homemade playdough and cupcakes were just some examples of our activities..
On the topic of being creative I also indulged in some sewing.. A group of girls from church started a sewing circle to learn how to sew - I couldn't make the first session so I caught up a few days later. The first project was a tote bag- I have been under the expert tutelage of Shelle - her blog is really cool Time's fun when you're having flies
I made some decent progress and then had to leave it for a while- my sewing machine was cactus thanks to being dropped a few moves ago.. so I'll have to borrow a machine from my dear mother in law. It may have to stay on the backburner until the holidays - I have reports to get done :(
TGBTG
Anje xx
I made through my first week back at work after eight weeks off with Miss Baby C.. I missed her lots- I got by thanks to the great bunch of people I work with and seeing all my students again.. They apparently missed me!
Going to work meant having to express breast milk at every break.. I was curious to see how that was going to go - the Nursing Mothers Association advises you to let your employer know that you intend to continue breastfeeding after returning to work and the they need to find you a comfortable, clean place, and definitely NOT a toilet! So, I emailed the boss in charge of that stuff and I was pleasantly surprised with what they came up with, a room with a sofa to sit on!! It's things like this that made it easier to get up and go to work everyday and leave baby with Hubby..
speaking of dear Hubby, he did a fantastic job with little one- even took her out and about on several occasions..which I thought was really brave!The second day by himself he had to take her for the first round of needles. It's hard to believe she is two months old already!
As the weather has started to feel more like winter, the kids have all come down with colds and coughs that turned into bronchitis- all three of them had to have antibiotics- but it's looking like thy all have to go back to the doctor again - the cough is still hanging on- a nasty chesty sounding cough :( Thankfully Miss Baby has avoided it, possibly due to getting the antibodies via my breastmilk- I starts to come down with a mild version of it earlier in the week. Now Hubby is snuffly- just what we need- 3 kids and a hubby with man flu- okay, make that Four kids!
In the last two weeks of my time off I was able to do some stuff with Miss H on the days she wasn't at kindy- homemade playdough and cupcakes were just some examples of our activities..
On the topic of being creative I also indulged in some sewing.. A group of girls from church started a sewing circle to learn how to sew - I couldn't make the first session so I caught up a few days later. The first project was a tote bag- I have been under the expert tutelage of Shelle - her blog is really cool Time's fun when you're having flies
I made some decent progress and then had to leave it for a while- my sewing machine was cactus thanks to being dropped a few moves ago.. so I'll have to borrow a machine from my dear mother in law. It may have to stay on the backburner until the holidays - I have reports to get done :(
TGBTG
Anje xx
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Organization is the key!
Well, my beautiful Mum always used to say that being organized was the key to success- and as usual, a mother's wisdom is pretty much spot on.
I have never been much of an organized soul- preferring to live "spontaneously" and "go with the flow"- well the journey of motherhood, tertiary study and the career of teaching requires me to actually organise myself out of a wet paper bag.
What prompts this post? It has been a long-term goal to be super organised and efficient on the home front- I ache to have a home that is pleasing to the eye and is ready for visitors at the drop of a hat.. It is very rarely in that state I am sorry to say... There is an ongoing battle to kee things in their place - working full time and having four children is not necessarily conducive to housework beyond vacuuming, washing, ironing, washing up etc.
Today held a motivating shove to getting started.. A visitor came over to drop off some lively gifts for the family- and my house was atrocious! What made it even more embarrassing was that this person is the epitome of organized!
Anyways- I got stuck into two key problem areas today and boy did I feel a sense of achievement when the dining room looked less cluttered and more spacious! It could become addictive!!
I have found some really cool blogs to inspire me on my long term quest to be organised..
Blissfully Organised
and
Planning with kids
Sigh- I remain optimistic until I stand before the ironing basket.. BIG sigh!!
TGBTG xx
I have never been much of an organized soul- preferring to live "spontaneously" and "go with the flow"- well the journey of motherhood, tertiary study and the career of teaching requires me to actually organise myself out of a wet paper bag.
What prompts this post? It has been a long-term goal to be super organised and efficient on the home front- I ache to have a home that is pleasing to the eye and is ready for visitors at the drop of a hat.. It is very rarely in that state I am sorry to say... There is an ongoing battle to kee things in their place - working full time and having four children is not necessarily conducive to housework beyond vacuuming, washing, ironing, washing up etc.
Today held a motivating shove to getting started.. A visitor came over to drop off some lively gifts for the family- and my house was atrocious! What made it even more embarrassing was that this person is the epitome of organized!
Anyways- I got stuck into two key problem areas today and boy did I feel a sense of achievement when the dining room looked less cluttered and more spacious! It could become addictive!!
I have found some really cool blogs to inspire me on my long term quest to be organised..
Blissfully Organised
and
Planning with kids
Sigh- I remain optimistic until I stand before the ironing basket.. BIG sigh!!
TGBTG xx
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Whooping cough scare :-o
Well, the last 24 hours I have been rather worried that our household may have contracted whooping cough...
Master D has been at home sick- he had been making this grunting noise and told me it sort of hurt to breathe when I asked him why he was making that noise. Two days after that he starts to cough and doesn't look too good. I took him to the doctor and as usual, before even checking him out he says it sounds viral... I thought here we go - he is gonna say give him panadol and get plenty of rest... Thankfully before I jumped up and started to choke him he had a listen to his chest - he could hear noises in the right side lung.. That's what the grunting will be about- it's a 'secondary infection' from the virus - aka bronchitis. So, we walked out with a script for antibiotics and home we went.
Next thing I get a call from a mate at work to tell me my eldest son asked her to ring me and tell me that there had been a confirmed case of whooping cough at school. Oh brilliant- we have a 5 week old baby at home who would be in terrible danger if she got it. My source at work dug a little deeper to find out if the child was in primary or secondary and it turned out it was secondary school.. Okay- Now I was panicking.
Back on the phone to the doctors surgery.. expecting the brush off from the receptionists- I was pleasantly surprised that when I mentioned the words suspected whooping cough and five week old they got the doctor to call me back!
As you do, I had started googling the topic in the meantime- if ZMaster D or T did have it then other family members should go on antibiotics to help prevent or lessen infection.. Babies are especially at risk if infected and would have to be hospitalized... Now I was freaking out, I couldn't bear the thought of our little one having it.
Thankfully the doc suggested the boys get tested by having a swab of the throat and nose.. That was a circus! Praise the Lord, the results were negative. Andrew and I went in first thing the next morning to get a booster shot- which was a walk in the park, hardly felt a thing! By the end of the day my arm was rather sore and tender. Not to worry though, if it means avoiding whooping cough I'm all for it 8-) bonus that the vaccine was also for tetanus and diptheria etc- we are good for another ten years.
Now I'm onto my next topic- WHY do poeple refuse to immunize their children!! I know there are conspiracy theories about these shots causing autism etc but seriously- do you really want your child to suffer any of these diseases and also expos others? Polio has been pretty much eradicated in Aus thanks to vaccinations..sigh.
Perhaps parents who are anti immunizations need to spend time in hospital with tiny babies who contract whooping cough and see the suffering it causes- grief even for parents who have lost their infants to this disease. It could be them if they aren't careful.
I have also learned that adults can contract whooping cough as their immunity decreases the longer it has been since they have been vaccinated. If they pick it up then they can pass it on to their children too. Hence the government has made booster vaccines for parents/grandparents and caregivers free.
It continues to amaze me everyday how loving and merciful God is- and the power of prayer.
TGBTG xx
Master D has been at home sick- he had been making this grunting noise and told me it sort of hurt to breathe when I asked him why he was making that noise. Two days after that he starts to cough and doesn't look too good. I took him to the doctor and as usual, before even checking him out he says it sounds viral... I thought here we go - he is gonna say give him panadol and get plenty of rest... Thankfully before I jumped up and started to choke him he had a listen to his chest - he could hear noises in the right side lung.. That's what the grunting will be about- it's a 'secondary infection' from the virus - aka bronchitis. So, we walked out with a script for antibiotics and home we went.
Next thing I get a call from a mate at work to tell me my eldest son asked her to ring me and tell me that there had been a confirmed case of whooping cough at school. Oh brilliant- we have a 5 week old baby at home who would be in terrible danger if she got it. My source at work dug a little deeper to find out if the child was in primary or secondary and it turned out it was secondary school.. Okay- Now I was panicking.
Back on the phone to the doctors surgery.. expecting the brush off from the receptionists- I was pleasantly surprised that when I mentioned the words suspected whooping cough and five week old they got the doctor to call me back!
As you do, I had started googling the topic in the meantime- if ZMaster D or T did have it then other family members should go on antibiotics to help prevent or lessen infection.. Babies are especially at risk if infected and would have to be hospitalized... Now I was freaking out, I couldn't bear the thought of our little one having it.
Thankfully the doc suggested the boys get tested by having a swab of the throat and nose.. That was a circus! Praise the Lord, the results were negative. Andrew and I went in first thing the next morning to get a booster shot- which was a walk in the park, hardly felt a thing! By the end of the day my arm was rather sore and tender. Not to worry though, if it means avoiding whooping cough I'm all for it 8-) bonus that the vaccine was also for tetanus and diptheria etc- we are good for another ten years.
Now I'm onto my next topic- WHY do poeple refuse to immunize their children!! I know there are conspiracy theories about these shots causing autism etc but seriously- do you really want your child to suffer any of these diseases and also expos others? Polio has been pretty much eradicated in Aus thanks to vaccinations..sigh.
Perhaps parents who are anti immunizations need to spend time in hospital with tiny babies who contract whooping cough and see the suffering it causes- grief even for parents who have lost their infants to this disease. It could be them if they aren't careful.
I have also learned that adults can contract whooping cough as their immunity decreases the longer it has been since they have been vaccinated. If they pick it up then they can pass it on to their children too. Hence the government has made booster vaccines for parents/grandparents and caregivers free.
It continues to amaze me everyday how loving and merciful God is- and the power of prayer.
TGBTG xx
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Breastfeeding sucks!
Oh, don't panic, I mean it only in the literal sense, a pun on words only. Get it, sucks, right!?!
Anyhoo, my latest is about trying to get baby into a routine of sorts before I go back to work in 19 days --am soo depressed about that :{ -- setting a routine with a BF baby seems funny.. Especially when you are told by those in the know that demand feeding is the best way to go. Well, that's what i have been doing and basically I feel like I'm being used as a dummy!
I've googled to see what the general consensus is about routines and six week olds- so far the common theme is EASY - supposedly Eat, Activity, Sleep, Y...?. Ok, got that- but how long should the activity last and what should it BE? What do I do if baby goes to sleep while feeding?
This is baby number 4 and I still have all these questions!! Previously I would let them go to sleep feeding or rock them to sleep.. Not good habits to get into- ESP. When there are other kids to sort out in the house.
Am off to the newborn drop in centre tomorrow so I shall see what sage advice I come home with.
Anyhoo, my latest is about trying to get baby into a routine of sorts before I go back to work in 19 days --am soo depressed about that :{ -- setting a routine with a BF baby seems funny.. Especially when you are told by those in the know that demand feeding is the best way to go. Well, that's what i have been doing and basically I feel like I'm being used as a dummy!
I've googled to see what the general consensus is about routines and six week olds- so far the common theme is EASY - supposedly Eat, Activity, Sleep, Y...?. Ok, got that- but how long should the activity last and what should it BE? What do I do if baby goes to sleep while feeding?
This is baby number 4 and I still have all these questions!! Previously I would let them go to sleep feeding or rock them to sleep.. Not good habits to get into- ESP. When there are other kids to sort out in the house.
Am off to the newborn drop in centre tomorrow so I shall see what sage advice I come home with.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Yet another visit to the hospital ...
Exactly three weeks after having the caesarean I had another health problem show up- this time it was my gall bladder. Not the best news but at least it wasn't a clot in my lungs.. They did several tests to rule that out. Pulmonary embolisms are a possible side effect of having surgery.
What does the gallbladder do? It stores bile, a fluid that the liver makes to break down fats in the food we eat. Once food is ingested the gallbladder secretes the bile into the digestive tract- to do that it has to expand and contract like muscles do. It's a common thing to have gallstones or "sludge" in the gallbladder- if one of these stones get lodged in the bile duct it rsults in excruciating pain and it's actually known as "biliary colic" or a gallbladder "attack".
The first attack was at 8pm on Thursday 18/3/11 and it lasted an hour or so and then mysteriously stopped. The pain was sooo bad it made me sob :( I thought it may have been a muscle spasm and that the panadol into had kicked in.
I had to see the doctor the next day and he checked me over for a Blood clot, the chest sounded clear so he sent me for an Xray just to be sure. It was all clear.. GP said to let him know if it happened again.
And it did- in the wee hours of Tuesday morning- this time the pain didn't stop and it got so bad I got hubby to ring an ambulance- I was writhing and moaning in agony! After trying to get an IV set up with no success they gave me a morpheine injection and carted me off to the emergency dept at the Base hospital.
I had to leave baby behind with hubby, she was hungry and crying- thankfully my husband listened to me and bought formula and bottles as a stand by the last attack- I was close to going to hospital last time and I was in no shape to feed her with that pain! Hubby rang his Mum to come over and stay with our three other children- Again the Lord provides- we are very blessed to have such a caring Mum.
So, I was in the ER at 2am, had to wait until later in the morning for staff to do scans etc which meant I was in for a long wait. Thankfully the pain relief set in and I could catch a few zzz's while bubs slept. Hubby had bought her with him in the capsule so I could still feed her and not stuff up my milk supply. Long story short I was sent home at 4pm that day after being cleared of having clots in the lungs. Still no clue what was causing the pain- I asked what the next step would be if the pain happened again- the doctor said to get them to do an ultrasound just to check the gallbladder.
We got home and then just as Hubby was about to get tea on the table the pain started to come back- we had to scramble to get Hubby's lovely cousin Lois to come over this time because his Mum was in Brisbane that night.. all before the pain got too unbearable to move.
We went back to the hospital again and we suggested they check the gallbladder like the last doctor told us earlier. Sure enough, there was "sludge" (small stones etc) in there and that meant my pain was from "biliary colic". They dosed me up on pain relief and I was sent home and told to make an appointment to have a full ultrasound.
The next available appointment wasn't until two days away so I had to be very careful of what I ate- fatty foods and even dairy can set off an attack :(
It didn't wait that long- u had another attack on Wednesday evening. Back we go, AGAIN! unfortunately I landed a crusty old relief nurse who left me there in pain and didn't do anything to help- she only filled out paperwork and took obs. At last my actual nurse came back and she tried to set me up on an IV - after several attempts they got one in- the medicines could go in but they couldn't take blood samples out :( nonetheless by the time all this mucking around took place the gallbladder attack actually stopped, just as the nurse was about to inject morphine into the drip!
In the midst of all this the registrar had re read my file and noticed that we had private health cover- he then arranged to transfer me to a private hospital for the night and contacted a specialist who would see me in the morning.
Ok- we get to the private hospital and then I find out the specialist had ordered me to have no food or drink from midnight cos I was most likely going to have surgery the next day- I'm like "what the!?!" But, I did what I was told and Cara and I spent the night together in hospital- Daddy went home to try and get some much needed sleep- he had been running around ragged the last few weeks with me in hospital only three weeks earlier and here we were again!
Morning came and the Doctor ame to chat- said that because I'd had three attacks so close together the only way to fix it was to remove it laparoscopically *gulp* Bright side is it wasn't going to be as invasive as the caesarean BUT I had to have general anesthetic.. For the first time.. Eek!
Long story short it was over and done with and next thing I knew I woke up in recovery- all went well- and there were definitely stones in there blocking the duct. Thank the Lird yet again I had no where near the amount of pain like the c section and I only felt a little nauseated by the anaesthetic- managed to avoid chucking by asking the nurse for that fantastic stuff, maxolon!! Had some aches under the collar bones from the gas they pump you up with but that was easy enough to deal with. The discomfort of where they put the tubes into the abdomen didn't really start until the next day- had to lie flat on my back again cos side sleeping hurt. That sucked cos I am normally a side or tummy sleeper- strewth I haven't slept on my tummy for nearly a year! Still won't once the healing is done cos I am breastfeeding and the old mammaries won't take kindly to being squished - sigh!
So, I'm back on the mending path now- still two weeks left before I can drive due to the c section- still not 100% strong again either. Hope everything comes good again soon- I have to go back to work again in four weeks- I love my job but I'd much rather be at home with the little ones... That story I shall leave for another time.
TGBTG
Anje
What does the gallbladder do? It stores bile, a fluid that the liver makes to break down fats in the food we eat. Once food is ingested the gallbladder secretes the bile into the digestive tract- to do that it has to expand and contract like muscles do. It's a common thing to have gallstones or "sludge" in the gallbladder- if one of these stones get lodged in the bile duct it rsults in excruciating pain and it's actually known as "biliary colic" or a gallbladder "attack".
The first attack was at 8pm on Thursday 18/3/11 and it lasted an hour or so and then mysteriously stopped. The pain was sooo bad it made me sob :( I thought it may have been a muscle spasm and that the panadol into had kicked in.
I had to see the doctor the next day and he checked me over for a Blood clot, the chest sounded clear so he sent me for an Xray just to be sure. It was all clear.. GP said to let him know if it happened again.
And it did- in the wee hours of Tuesday morning- this time the pain didn't stop and it got so bad I got hubby to ring an ambulance- I was writhing and moaning in agony! After trying to get an IV set up with no success they gave me a morpheine injection and carted me off to the emergency dept at the Base hospital.
I had to leave baby behind with hubby, she was hungry and crying- thankfully my husband listened to me and bought formula and bottles as a stand by the last attack- I was close to going to hospital last time and I was in no shape to feed her with that pain! Hubby rang his Mum to come over and stay with our three other children- Again the Lord provides- we are very blessed to have such a caring Mum.
So, I was in the ER at 2am, had to wait until later in the morning for staff to do scans etc which meant I was in for a long wait. Thankfully the pain relief set in and I could catch a few zzz's while bubs slept. Hubby had bought her with him in the capsule so I could still feed her and not stuff up my milk supply. Long story short I was sent home at 4pm that day after being cleared of having clots in the lungs. Still no clue what was causing the pain- I asked what the next step would be if the pain happened again- the doctor said to get them to do an ultrasound just to check the gallbladder.
We got home and then just as Hubby was about to get tea on the table the pain started to come back- we had to scramble to get Hubby's lovely cousin Lois to come over this time because his Mum was in Brisbane that night.. all before the pain got too unbearable to move.
We went back to the hospital again and we suggested they check the gallbladder like the last doctor told us earlier. Sure enough, there was "sludge" (small stones etc) in there and that meant my pain was from "biliary colic". They dosed me up on pain relief and I was sent home and told to make an appointment to have a full ultrasound.
The next available appointment wasn't until two days away so I had to be very careful of what I ate- fatty foods and even dairy can set off an attack :(
It didn't wait that long- u had another attack on Wednesday evening. Back we go, AGAIN! unfortunately I landed a crusty old relief nurse who left me there in pain and didn't do anything to help- she only filled out paperwork and took obs. At last my actual nurse came back and she tried to set me up on an IV - after several attempts they got one in- the medicines could go in but they couldn't take blood samples out :( nonetheless by the time all this mucking around took place the gallbladder attack actually stopped, just as the nurse was about to inject morphine into the drip!
In the midst of all this the registrar had re read my file and noticed that we had private health cover- he then arranged to transfer me to a private hospital for the night and contacted a specialist who would see me in the morning.
Ok- we get to the private hospital and then I find out the specialist had ordered me to have no food or drink from midnight cos I was most likely going to have surgery the next day- I'm like "what the!?!" But, I did what I was told and Cara and I spent the night together in hospital- Daddy went home to try and get some much needed sleep- he had been running around ragged the last few weeks with me in hospital only three weeks earlier and here we were again!
Morning came and the Doctor ame to chat- said that because I'd had three attacks so close together the only way to fix it was to remove it laparoscopically *gulp* Bright side is it wasn't going to be as invasive as the caesarean BUT I had to have general anesthetic.. For the first time.. Eek!
Long story short it was over and done with and next thing I knew I woke up in recovery- all went well- and there were definitely stones in there blocking the duct. Thank the Lird yet again I had no where near the amount of pain like the c section and I only felt a little nauseated by the anaesthetic- managed to avoid chucking by asking the nurse for that fantastic stuff, maxolon!! Had some aches under the collar bones from the gas they pump you up with but that was easy enough to deal with. The discomfort of where they put the tubes into the abdomen didn't really start until the next day- had to lie flat on my back again cos side sleeping hurt. That sucked cos I am normally a side or tummy sleeper- strewth I haven't slept on my tummy for nearly a year! Still won't once the healing is done cos I am breastfeeding and the old mammaries won't take kindly to being squished - sigh!
So, I'm back on the mending path now- still two weeks left before I can drive due to the c section- still not 100% strong again either. Hope everything comes good again soon- I have to go back to work again in four weeks- I love my job but I'd much rather be at home with the little ones... That story I shall leave for another time.
TGBTG
Anje
upside down, miss baby C
The next instalment of my recent adventures - the birth of Cara Grace.
Early Sunday morning 27/3/11 at 3am I woke up feeling awful and my heartbeat was irregular- went back to sleep eventually after stressing myself out for an hour or so- woke again at a more reasonable hour and still felt the same. We packs the three kids up and shipped them off to Mother-in-law for the day to see if I could rest and be stress free- but that didn't happen- took myself to hospital to be checked by the midwives as I had high blood pressure for the last few weeks and they were a little worried about it - I wasn't, because it was typical of all my other pregnancies and overall the outcome of each was ok. Note I said that I wasn't worried, until the dodgy heartrate started. They took bloods and other fluids and ran an ECG to rule out sinister causes for the heart thing- turns out it was an 'electrical' problem that was exacerbated by high blood pressure. At 38 weeks pregnant they thought it a good idea to stay in for observation and see if the blood pressure settled down by morning- which I was sure it would. Nope- it didn't. Now the doctors said it was probably best to induce labour to prevent full blown Eclampsia setting in. I was not impressed about that at all- I hate intervention! But, I reluctantly agreed to go with using hormone gels to ripen the cervix on Monday evening- looked like I wasn't going to see out the last week of work after all :-/
Eventually the doctor came back and thank God, she decided to do an ultrasound before starting the whole process... baby was breech!! That was baffling because at previous antenatal appointments and the day before, the midwives palpated and confirmed that baby was head-down with their back facing my spine. Bubs could have turned overnight, she was very active, so much so I was rather uncomfortable and had to get out of bed a few times to get some relief..
Being breech changed the game plan in a big way. There were a number of options, and without going into any futher detail, we chose to go with a Caesarean and also have my tubes tied to make sure that was it for our family. They couldn’t schedule the c section until the next morning, Tuesday 29th March 2011.
Well, to say I was ‘packing it’ was an understatement, I didn't want to be induced let alone have the c section! That night was one filled with prayer that all would go well and that my nerves would be calmed, maybe even that baby would turn?? Baby was really active again through the night and I actually wondered if she had turned again..
Next morning the team of doctors came to visit before I was set to get ready for surgery, they did another ultrasound and you would'nt read about it, baby was head down again! I could have chosen to be induced now, although it may still result in emergency c section anyways because bubs was sitting very high and could still turn during labour.. or the cord may deliver first etc.. We decided to stick with the plan anyways.
So, after I was prepped I was wheeled into theatre at around 12.30pm and waited a little longer - I finally went in at about 1pm. I was really nervous now - especially about the spinal block because I had a nightmare time with an epidural during labour with Thomas... Thankfully the anaesthetist did a fantastic job, I only felt the local needle and that was it... That was the least of my worries - once the surgeons started to make the incisions and start prodding around inside - that was really freaky. For some reason I didn't expect those sensations. I didn't feel any pain - it was just a lot of tugging and pulling.
At approx. 1.30pm Miss C G was born- covered in that creamy stuff called vernix and weighing 3430g.. She was absolutely beautiful and was at last in our arms, safe and sound. Her name is a mix of the names of my late Mum, my late father -in -law.
The rest of the surgery took a while to get finished but it went well. I wasn't ready for the pain after though.. it caned! Thankfully pain relief was readily available. It was also really frustrating that I was so weak and sore afterwards. I was told about the issues involved but you don't realise until you go through it yourself.
This whole experience was a huge learning curve for ALL of us. One bonus- she had a beautifully round head, not funny shaped like a normal delivery does. Poor Cara was gagging alot too, apparently Caesar babies do that to clear out the fluid still in their system from the amniotic fluid? It normally gets ‘squashed’ out during labour as they pass through the birth canal.
Little Miss C seemed to be very placid, Hubby and I were waiting for the screaming to start somewhere.. it didn’t set in until the second night - she wasn't attaching very well and she wanted to feed constantly. I had to get the midwives help me to hand express colostrum and syringe it into her mouth while she sucked on their latex gloved finger. I was rather stressed... and exhausted too.
Thankfully the next afternoon my milk had come in and from there she didn't have any problems attaching and feeding from that point on, it was flowing into her mouth! That was a relief cos she started to look jaundiced (yellow)... apparently it can be flushed away by frequent feeds.
I was still sore and weak and wasn’t able to walk much further than around the room. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of going home too early like I did with Miss H, our third child. I started to venture out of the ward on Sunday, a week after I was admitted. I wanted to get home, but it was agreed that Monday would be the safest option.
Monday rolled around and baby was weighed, after dropping down to 3130g she was back upto nearly 3300g. Sweet!
We took her home at last and she slept for ages.. I had to wake her every two hours to make sure the milk supply would establish properly. I was determined that this time, success would be mine.. breastfeeding is no walk in the park!
That’s pretty much it for the story of Cara’s arrival and the associated exciting events...
TGBTG
Anje
Early Sunday morning 27/3/11 at 3am I woke up feeling awful and my heartbeat was irregular- went back to sleep eventually after stressing myself out for an hour or so- woke again at a more reasonable hour and still felt the same. We packs the three kids up and shipped them off to Mother-in-law for the day to see if I could rest and be stress free- but that didn't happen- took myself to hospital to be checked by the midwives as I had high blood pressure for the last few weeks and they were a little worried about it - I wasn't, because it was typical of all my other pregnancies and overall the outcome of each was ok. Note I said that I wasn't worried, until the dodgy heartrate started. They took bloods and other fluids and ran an ECG to rule out sinister causes for the heart thing- turns out it was an 'electrical' problem that was exacerbated by high blood pressure. At 38 weeks pregnant they thought it a good idea to stay in for observation and see if the blood pressure settled down by morning- which I was sure it would. Nope- it didn't. Now the doctors said it was probably best to induce labour to prevent full blown Eclampsia setting in. I was not impressed about that at all- I hate intervention! But, I reluctantly agreed to go with using hormone gels to ripen the cervix on Monday evening- looked like I wasn't going to see out the last week of work after all :-/
Eventually the doctor came back and thank God, she decided to do an ultrasound before starting the whole process... baby was breech!! That was baffling because at previous antenatal appointments and the day before, the midwives palpated and confirmed that baby was head-down with their back facing my spine. Bubs could have turned overnight, she was very active, so much so I was rather uncomfortable and had to get out of bed a few times to get some relief..
Being breech changed the game plan in a big way. There were a number of options, and without going into any futher detail, we chose to go with a Caesarean and also have my tubes tied to make sure that was it for our family. They couldn’t schedule the c section until the next morning, Tuesday 29th March 2011.
Well, to say I was ‘packing it’ was an understatement, I didn't want to be induced let alone have the c section! That night was one filled with prayer that all would go well and that my nerves would be calmed, maybe even that baby would turn?? Baby was really active again through the night and I actually wondered if she had turned again..
Next morning the team of doctors came to visit before I was set to get ready for surgery, they did another ultrasound and you would'nt read about it, baby was head down again! I could have chosen to be induced now, although it may still result in emergency c section anyways because bubs was sitting very high and could still turn during labour.. or the cord may deliver first etc.. We decided to stick with the plan anyways.
So, after I was prepped I was wheeled into theatre at around 12.30pm and waited a little longer - I finally went in at about 1pm. I was really nervous now - especially about the spinal block because I had a nightmare time with an epidural during labour with Thomas... Thankfully the anaesthetist did a fantastic job, I only felt the local needle and that was it... That was the least of my worries - once the surgeons started to make the incisions and start prodding around inside - that was really freaky. For some reason I didn't expect those sensations. I didn't feel any pain - it was just a lot of tugging and pulling.
At approx. 1.30pm Miss C G was born- covered in that creamy stuff called vernix and weighing 3430g.. She was absolutely beautiful and was at last in our arms, safe and sound. Her name is a mix of the names of my late Mum, my late father -in -law.
The rest of the surgery took a while to get finished but it went well. I wasn't ready for the pain after though.. it caned! Thankfully pain relief was readily available. It was also really frustrating that I was so weak and sore afterwards. I was told about the issues involved but you don't realise until you go through it yourself.
This whole experience was a huge learning curve for ALL of us. One bonus- she had a beautifully round head, not funny shaped like a normal delivery does. Poor Cara was gagging alot too, apparently Caesar babies do that to clear out the fluid still in their system from the amniotic fluid? It normally gets ‘squashed’ out during labour as they pass through the birth canal.
Little Miss C seemed to be very placid, Hubby and I were waiting for the screaming to start somewhere.. it didn’t set in until the second night - she wasn't attaching very well and she wanted to feed constantly. I had to get the midwives help me to hand express colostrum and syringe it into her mouth while she sucked on their latex gloved finger. I was rather stressed... and exhausted too.
Thankfully the next afternoon my milk had come in and from there she didn't have any problems attaching and feeding from that point on, it was flowing into her mouth! That was a relief cos she started to look jaundiced (yellow)... apparently it can be flushed away by frequent feeds.
I was still sore and weak and wasn’t able to walk much further than around the room. I wasn’t going to make the mistake of going home too early like I did with Miss H, our third child. I started to venture out of the ward on Sunday, a week after I was admitted. I wanted to get home, but it was agreed that Monday would be the safest option.
Monday rolled around and baby was weighed, after dropping down to 3130g she was back upto nearly 3300g. Sweet!
We took her home at last and she slept for ages.. I had to wake her every two hours to make sure the milk supply would establish properly. I was determined that this time, success would be mine.. breastfeeding is no walk in the park!
That’s pretty much it for the story of Cara’s arrival and the associated exciting events...
TGBTG
Anje
Friday, April 29, 2011
broken toe :(
Life has been a complete blur in the last few weeks!
We were expecting our fourth child to arrive around April 8th- I had planned to work until the Friday before the due date for two main reasons: firstly, all my children were a week overdue and secondly, I was trying to make the most of my maternity leave of six weeks plus the two weeks school holidays. For once I was trying to be semi organised. It was going according to plan until two weeks before the due date and things went pear shaped from there.
On Wednesday 23/3/11, I was racing (well, as fast as I could being heavily pregnant) around the house trying to get three kids and myself out the door and I stubbed my toe- yep- it hurts like heck for a minute and then goes away- not this time! I had caught my little toe on the corner of two skirting boards and it was ripped sideways- swelling and bruising started immediately. Oh, and I could hardly walk on it either. Dag nammit- it was 7.45am and I had to call my boss to say I couldn't go to work- I think I broke my toe. How ridiculous! The next phonecall was to the doctor to fight the receptionist for an appointment, thank the Lord I managed to get one. Trying to see your own GP without booking weeks in advance is like trying to extract blood out of a stone!
So, after kids were delivered to school/kindy I then found myself sitting in the doctors room- she said it was most likely broken but wouldn't Xray because I was pregnant and the treatment is the same for bruised toes anyhow- buddy strap it to the toe next door and to keep off it for ten days- which caused more drama cos I still had another week and a half left of work to go... Bugger all sick leave left either, one day I think.. Anyway- God always provides and I was blessed that people at work were prepared to "gift" a few sick days to tide me over as needed- I couldn't afford to take leave without pay because I'm the only income earner at the moment. I took the rest of the week off and had made plans with my boss to come in Monday and stay in the staff room doing prep work with my foot up to finish the week off. Once again, plans didn't take shape as I intended. That's a whole new post on it's own!
TGBTG
Anje
We were expecting our fourth child to arrive around April 8th- I had planned to work until the Friday before the due date for two main reasons: firstly, all my children were a week overdue and secondly, I was trying to make the most of my maternity leave of six weeks plus the two weeks school holidays. For once I was trying to be semi organised. It was going according to plan until two weeks before the due date and things went pear shaped from there.
On Wednesday 23/3/11, I was racing (well, as fast as I could being heavily pregnant) around the house trying to get three kids and myself out the door and I stubbed my toe- yep- it hurts like heck for a minute and then goes away- not this time! I had caught my little toe on the corner of two skirting boards and it was ripped sideways- swelling and bruising started immediately. Oh, and I could hardly walk on it either. Dag nammit- it was 7.45am and I had to call my boss to say I couldn't go to work- I think I broke my toe. How ridiculous! The next phonecall was to the doctor to fight the receptionist for an appointment, thank the Lord I managed to get one. Trying to see your own GP without booking weeks in advance is like trying to extract blood out of a stone!
So, after kids were delivered to school/kindy I then found myself sitting in the doctors room- she said it was most likely broken but wouldn't Xray because I was pregnant and the treatment is the same for bruised toes anyhow- buddy strap it to the toe next door and to keep off it for ten days- which caused more drama cos I still had another week and a half left of work to go... Bugger all sick leave left either, one day I think.. Anyway- God always provides and I was blessed that people at work were prepared to "gift" a few sick days to tide me over as needed- I couldn't afford to take leave without pay because I'm the only income earner at the moment. I took the rest of the week off and had made plans with my boss to come in Monday and stay in the staff room doing prep work with my foot up to finish the week off. Once again, plans didn't take shape as I intended. That's a whole new post on it's own!
TGBTG
Anje
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Intro
Hey
Thought I'd have another go at blogging- I've been inspired by a few friends that have their own blogs. I figure if I keep at it while I'm on maternity leave and keep at it regularly I will form the habit of blogging!?! They say it takes fourteen days to establish a new habit? We shall see. Don't think it works with dieting or exercise, but that could be down to my lack of willpower.. haha.
Anyhoo, I'm an Aussie Mum of four beautiful children aged 13 to 1 month old. I live in a reasonably nice town in Queensland and I am a high school teacher by trade.
So far I have two blogs- this one, for personal everyday reflections. The second blog I have called magistra dixit- all about my teaching escapades.
I shall sign off for now-
TGBTG
Anje
Anje
Thought I'd have another go at blogging- I've been inspired by a few friends that have their own blogs. I figure if I keep at it while I'm on maternity leave and keep at it regularly I will form the habit of blogging!?! They say it takes fourteen days to establish a new habit? We shall see. Don't think it works with dieting or exercise, but that could be down to my lack of willpower.. haha.
Anyhoo, I'm an Aussie Mum of four beautiful children aged 13 to 1 month old. I live in a reasonably nice town in Queensland and I am a high school teacher by trade.
So far I have two blogs- this one, for personal everyday reflections. The second blog I have called magistra dixit- all about my teaching escapades.
I shall sign off for now-
TGBTG
Anje
Anje
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