I want choice, not obligation

So it's February, already, and there seems to be a common theme out there in the real world right now. Everyone is talking about their existence in relation to whether they have someone, don't have someone, want someone and so on. It's coming up to that time of year again isn't it? You know what I'm talking about... THAT day.

Valentine's Day. Oh yes, that day is well on the way. Pink and red abounds... in all the stores. In heart form, in bear form, in cards and streamers and balloon form. Pink is cute. Red is cute. Pink and red together is just a little sickening and makes me feel a bit like I've eaten a whole coconut loaf on my own.

Mr Fork and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day. I get cross at him for spending exorbitant sums on flowers that have been marked up for the occasion. Don't get me wrong... Girls like flowers.  I like flowers. Oriental lilies are my favourite. The pink ones especially. They are not that expensive. Except on Valentine's Day, when you have to practically sell off a kidney to buy them. So I'd rather get flowers on a day where he doesn't feel obliged to buy them for me but instead gets me flowers because he wants to.  Besides, there is something about the weirdly perfect flowers sold on special occasions that is odd. Give me the perfectly imperfect version anytime!

With that in mind, Valentine's Day is still a day to celebrate love, whether that's with a partner, children, fur children, best friends, or even yourself. So I've put together a list of suggestions for celebrations that don't have to cost a fortune:

• Go on a picnic. Pack a nice spread, load everything in the car and eat outdoors for a change. It might be just me, but I think food tastes nicer outside!
• Bake cookies or other sweet treats. You don't have to eat them all yourself, you could share them around with coworkers and friends... but who doesn't love a little sugary indulgence every now and then?
• Take a bath (or a shower if that's your thing). Pamper yourself - wash your hair, exfoliate, cleanse and use all those nice bath products you've been saving for a special occasion.
• Sit down. That's right. Put your feet up. Do absolutely nothing. Sometimes, it's nice to do nothing alone, but you can be companionable and do nothing with other people too.
• Have a conversation. A real in depth conversation about an interesting topic. Remove all electronic stimulation. No TV, no phones, no computer or iPads. 
• Go for a walk. Go outdoors, enjoy the scenery. Take the family, take the hounds and go walking. If you're really lucky you might meander back via a local cafe and grab a coffee and a sweet treat along the way!

How do you celebrate love? Got any Valentine's Day plans?

Three things Thursday

1. I know I said in last week's post that Jimmy was having his 100 day celebration this week. I had grand intentions of taking plenty of pictures of the event but he was passed around like a little parcel between all the people there, so I just lapped it up and spent the time eating uninterrupted instead. I didn't get a single picture, he was so happy and I was so busy. The only times he came back to me were for feeding or nappy changes (typical!).

So here's a picture from tummy time play this week. My chunky little boy has cracked the 7kg mark and looks very cheerful about it (my neck and shoulders, not so much)!

2. There are lots of Jimmy pictures on my blog lately, but poor Ellie has been a bit neglected. Here's a picture to make up for it. She is growing into a little person in her own right... full of two year old personality, tantrums and plenty of attitude. I snapped this at breakfast one morning while she was staring out the cafe window at a passing dog walker. She does love animals.

3. Lately I have been craving fruit. Peaches, nectarines, berries, apples... I can't get enough. As far as cravings go, there are worse ones to have I suppose, and fruit is particularly delicious at the moment... have you been craving anything in particular lately?

What's in my kitchen, February 2015

Here we are in February already. It feels like January went by in a flash. That's 1/12 of the year gone already, just like that. Although I imagine all those mothers who are sending children off to school think the month just crawled by. It's all about perspective I suppose!

In my kitchen is...

A simple spinach pie. I finally decided what I was going to do with all the spinach I preserved and it worked out beautifully. No layers of fiddly filo pastry to deal with, and an end result that was delicious, tasty and toddler approved. Also much healthier than the traditional spinach pie version as the cheese and oil is reduced and it's bulked out a little more with some rice. Definitely something I'll be making again!

In my kitchen is...

Hand cut, twice baked potato chips. These were amazing. I made them on a whim one night, and Mr Fork and Ellie have requested them again at least twice since. They take a bit more time than store bought chips to make but the effort is really quite minimal and the result so much tastier.

Simply bake whole potatoes which have been washed and pricked with a fork on a bed of rock salt. Bake 20 minutes then turn over and bake another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly then cut into chips. Season with salt and olive oil and then bake on baking paper for another 20 minutes until golden and crispy. Devour.

In my kitchen is...

Mushroom and pumpkin risotto. Another quick and easy meal, this one was invented because I didn't have any decent stock to hand. I did however have a burning desire to clear space in the freezer, and some frozen pumpkin soup which I had made with decent stock. I simply substituted the pumpkin soup for stock in the recipe, and watered it down to ensure that I had enough, and the flavour wasn't too concentrated and soupy. I threw in some mushrooms and ended up with a delicious and flavoursome risotto that had Ellie asking for seconds!

In my kitchen is...

A collection of Pukka teas, which I am working my way through. Although it says detox on the box, it's a delicious mix of cardamom, aniseed and fennel which I'm not using as a detox but more of a tasty alternative to the copious amounts of water I drink in order to keep up with my nursling's requirements. I find having a cup of tea is a lovely excuse to make some time to sit down, put my feet up and take time out of my day to relax for a few minutes.

In my kitchen is...

Two chill factor squeeze and flip jelly makers. These were given to Ellie as she just loves jelly, however, I find them annoying. You have to store a large part of the device in the freezer and then make the jelly, put it in the device and sit there squeezing the thing for 3-4 minutes. Then you flip it and leave it to sit for another minute or so before it's ready. So, that's still a good 5 minutes of preparation time before it can be consumed... which it practically a lifetime in toddler minutes. Frankly it would be easier to make the jelly as per normal and refrigerate overnight in small portions. I predict these will not actually last long in my kitchen as I don't have space to leave for fad gadgets at all. I just need to sneak them out when Ellie's watchful eye is distracted elsewhere!

PS: Not actually in my kitchen, but kitchen related. I had one of those moments recently, where I wondered if I've been doing it wrong and no one has told me. Like when I'd only seen the word canapé written before and never heard it spoken so I pronounced it as "ca-nape" instead of "can-a-pay" (that was embarrassing). So... tell me... is it lasagnA or lasagnE?

I am linking this post in with Fig Jam and Lime Cordial's monthly In My Kitchen event. Go have a peek through other kitchens around the globe!

What's in your kitchen this month?

Three things Thursday

Welcome to the first week of February! Is it just me or is this year just flying by?

1. Is anyone else obsessed with mason jars lately? Lots of places that I frequent seem to serve drinks in them, and I've even seen people using them as lunch containers, using them to store salads and quaffing smoothies from. Me, I can take them or leave them - while they're cute, they aren't the biggest container and they're pretty heavy (although the handle is handy and I do like the occasional novelty of them).

Peach tea in a mason jar

2. Yesterday I took Jimmy and braved my first 'bring your baby' movie with him. Even though he was wrapped nice and snuggly, and they'd catered to babies with the lights left dim and the sound lowered, he fussed throughout most of the show. I guess he is just not a musical appreciating baby. I on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed watching Into the Woods.

3. This Saturday is Jimmy's 100 day celebration. Traditionally in Chinese culture it marks the end  of the first three months of life... in other words, the end of the fourth trimester. In days past, there was a belief that these 100 days were when new mothers and babies were must susceptible to illness so they should stay indoors during this time... in the days of high infant mortality, if baby survived 100 days it was a cause for celebration. (Obviously I have not observed the staying inside tradition!)

It is important to Mr Fork's family to have this celebration, and who am I to turn down a party? I do however refuse to have Jimmy's head shaved for the occasion as tradition dictates! I don't care how thick and luscious it is supposed to make his locks! Stay tuned for delicious food pictures though!

How is your week going?

Taking time out

I took part in the Sustainababy "Take Time Out" eco challenge during January to be mindful about taking time out for myself. Before children, I used to think that I was much too selfish to be a mother. Give up travel? Work? Buying expensive things - shoes, clothes, gadgets - on a whim? Please! However, even before I felt those first Ellie kicks in my tummy I was dropped right down my priority list. When Jimmy was born, I dropped down again. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for my babies.

I gladly switched to part time work (no work right now as I'm still on maternity leave, ha!) to care for my children and family. I use cloth nappies with all the washing, folding and sorting that involves. I meal plan, cook, clean, and also manage to blog, all the while making sure my children are stimulated and adored. To make up for my reduced work hours and therefore income, I'm frugal and eco friendly where possible too.

Unfortunately, all that doing of things for them leaves precious little time for me. So this challenge was one that I gladly got on board with, eager to carve out some small pockets of time just to prioritise and focus on me and my 'needs'. I say needs in inverted commas because the older I get, the less I find I need, and really, I just have a lot of wants.

Carving out time alone though, I found especially hard to do, as Jimmy still feeds erratically after his tie revisions, and flat out refuses to take a bottle of my milk, so I had to plan quite precisely.

Here are some of the small things I did this month to take some time out and recharge my batteries.

• When the children went to bed and the house was clean enough for me not to go crazy in the morning, I went to bed too and got some extra sleep in before the overnight feeds. Sure, I felt like a nana going to bed at 7pm, but I woke up a new woman and coped much better with the night time wake ups.

• I consciously made an effort to make some tea during the day and actually take the time to sit down and drink it while it was hot! For extra points, I made it in a dainty little cup to make it extra special. Sometimes I even ate it with a lactation cookie on the side. I'm a wild one!

• A few times, after a long night up feeding the nursing, I just couldn't face the day and all I was 'supposed' to get done. So I popped him into a wrap and promptly took us out for a piece of pecan pie (or something). Suddenly, all was right in the world again. Example of deliciousness consumed below.

• I went to brunch with my mothers group. This was an exercise in military precision to line up with Jimmy's feeds and I actually had him on the boob right up until I left the house so he would be cheerful while I was out. It was worth it, a ladies brunch was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries. 

• Baked bread. Sure, this benefits everyone, but there is nothing like taking a bit of time to feed the starter and take a bit of frustration out when working the dough... with the added benefit of delicious fresh bread smell wafting around the house!

• I gave myself permission to take a 'day off'. So I didn't hustle to do laundry or clean or cook. I just stayed in bed with Jimmy and indulged in chatting to him and admiring those lovely chunky limbs of his!

How do you take time out for yourself to recharge your batteries?

Three things Thursday

I do love a short week. Of course, it could be argued that as I don't 'work' per se, public holidays don't mean the same thing. This is true, but a public holiday is still an extra day that Mr Fork has at home with us, and that's always fun!

1. Mr Fork and I had thought about going on a mini break somewhere over the Australia Day long weekend, but we left it a bit late to book, so that's an activity for another time now. Instead, we spent some time at home, some time out and about and even indulged in the well known Australian tradition of running through the sprinkler in the backyard. Jimmy is still too little to enjoy such things, so he alternately ate and slept in the wrap, but Ellie had a ball. Hooray for water!

2. I made some time to tend to the garden, so I have lots of things growing now. I've tidied and weeded, and in one of the garden beds there are snow peas, lettuce, coriander and parsley all newly planted. I can't wait for them to be harvestable size!

3. There is a turn of phrase out there known as 'ninja vegan' where something is unexpectedly vegan that you wouldn't expect to be. For example, Aldi has fruit and jelly cups that contain no gelatine and are actually vegan. Ninja vegan for the win! Another ninja vegan item is the churros from San Churro, as is their dark chocolate dipping sauce. We went there over the long weekend as it was hot, and they had air conditioning (and I like churros).

Mr Fork and I get the plate for two with one milk and one dark dipping pot and it's a match made in heaven. There aren't a lot of meals we agree to share but this is one (yes, churros are a meal!).

Ellie was won over by the children's churros, which came with dipping chocolate and sprinkles!

How is your week going?

Our Australia Day weekend in pictures

So what did you get up to on the Australia day weekend? With a toddler and a nursling in the house, we were never going to get up to anything crazy, but we had a lovely weekend at home. There were family outings, plenty of play, some treats, some chores and house stuff and just plain old relaxing done.

Here are some of our highlights:

1. When was the last time you saw petrol this cheap? I remember when I got my first car I refused to fill up if it was anything over 70c/L. How times have changed!
2. Oh the perils of being the second child and inheriting things regardless of gender suitability. It takes a manly man to rock out a pink hat! I know it's not obvious from the picture either, but baby wearing for the win! This is how you run after a toddler with a baby as well!
3. Churros. Oh churros how I love thee! We went to out local San Churros because I had a craving and it's air conditioned there. Pro tip - if you get the dark chocolate dipping sauce, it is NINJA VEGAN! Oh yeah!! Churros minus egg and dairy and no stomach ache after? Woohoo!!!!
4. Nothing like chilling out on the verandah with some snacks in your swimsuit and the Triple J hottest 100 playing in the background, right! It's an Australia Day tradition to run through the sprinkler in the backyard...
5. Park time! I remember when I used to have to lift her onto all the equipment. Now it's "I do it self mama!"
6. Eggplant bounty! I replanted a bunch of things, planted out new seedlings and harvested all the things that needed harvesting. This batch was turned into a lasagne and some was baked for freezing until I think of what to do with it all.

What did your long weekend look like?