Autumn days when the grass is jewelled and the........

Autumn is officially here and winter is hot on its heels. Weather like this always puts me in the mood for pyjama days, baking, home made soup and mulled beverages. Thanks to hubby taking little J to Who let the dad's out this morning, I had plenty of free time for baking. I finally got round to making the cheese and ham muffins I mentioned the other week and can report they were a success.


I did however learn that forgetting to grease the muffin tin is a major error as they are now glued to the cake cases!

Way more exciting than the muffins is the very autumnal apple cake that I made. I thought I would share the recipe with you all, so here it is:

Apple Cake

125ml vegetable oil (original recipe says double that but I found it way too much and experimented a little)
2 medium eggs
200g caster sugar (original recipe says 250g but I found it too sweet. Extra sugar gives it a nice crust though)
275g plain flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
500g apple (peeled, cored and diced)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Mix the oil and eggs until they go white and foamy
3. Add the sugar, flour, bicarbonate, cinnamon, vanilla essence and salt and mix it really well. You'll end up  with a super thick sticky mixture.
4. Fold in the diced apple. (Might be a bit of a challenge cos the mixture is so thick - certainly will work those arm muscles!)
5. Put it in a 20cm x 30cm tin that has been greased and floured. I didn't have one that size so used a 10 inch round tin instead and it turned out just fine.
6. Put it in the oven for about 40 mins and go put your feet up with a cuppa tea.
7. Check it's cooked through and then leave it in the tin for 10 mins before you take it out. (Just enough time to make another brew ready to enjoy with a nice warm slice of fresh cake!)

For other great baking ideas, check out my beer bread recipe or Christmas cookies recipe.

Happy baking

The things we do for our kids?!

I think if people fully knew what parenthood involved ahead of time no one would ever have kids. There are certain things that you find yourself doing as a parent that are just gross. For example:

1. Clearing up sick.  Went down to get little bear up from his nap the other day and found him totally covered in sick. He was sat chatting to his bear with sick all down the side of his face, all down his front, all over his sheets and his poor bear was drowning in it! Yuck. I think I handled it pretty well - stripped the boy's clothes off, lifted him out of bed, bundled it all in a heap inside his bedsheet so I wouldn't have to look at it and shoved it in the washing machine. Phew, done!

2. Clearing up poo. Changing nappies is pretty gross but you kind of get used to it. Poo floating in the bath though, that's another story. I'm not so bothered if it's just him in the bath but we often have family bathtime where we all jump in together and splash around. The other day the bath was full of bubbles, we were all having fun. Then the boy started squatting and pulling 'that face'. By the time we realised it was too late, the damage was done. Trouble was there were so many bubbles we couldn't even see for sure what he'd done. You knew it was there but couldn't tell exactly where. Was that a rubber duck that just touched my foot or was it.......the POO!?! Hubby jumped out of the bath lightning fast and I wasn't far behind him.

3. Touching/eating gross stuff. Little J loves his food and loves to try new things - especially things on other people's plates. Recently he realised that sharing is a two way thing and that he can let other people eat his food too. He's started offering us fistfuls of his food every now and then - a half eaten rice cake, a cheerio that's been on the floor, some pasta that's been in his mouth and been spat out again. As a parent this leaves me with a dilemma. I really want to encourage this new found desire to share with others......but I really don't want to eat that stuff. In the end I decided to just grit my teeth, smile and say 'thank you hunny' as he shoves his slimy little handful of food in my mouth. Yuck!

So why do we have kids?! It's not all bad. In fact, there are some great moments. Play time with little J is amazing. His laughter is addictive. Today he discovered how fun slides are and squealed with enjoyment every time he hit the crash mat at the bottom. He even discovered how to go down on his own on his belly. From now on trips to the park will involve something more than him insisting on playing on the swing for the entire time - hooray! 

Playing hide and seek with a one year old is also awesome. J thought he was so clever hiding under a blanket while I pretended to not see him and look everywhere else in the room. He couldn't even contain his excitement at how clever he was. As I pretended to look behind the coffee table he giggled with glee thinking "silly mummy can't find me". So Cute!!!

More lunchtime snacks

Just thought I'd share with you my latest finds on my quest for a more exciting lunch.  First up is this recipe for cheesy chive eggy toast. Quick and easy to make and gets little J some extra protein. As you can see from the smile on his face, he loved it.

My other great discovery is frittata. How did I not discover this great portable feast sooner?! Frittata is basically a big flat omelette that's cooked in a frying pan then topped with cheese and finished in the oven. Today I cooked this great cherry tomato and pea frittata. In my case I don't have an oven safe frying pan so I just cooked it in an oven proof dish instead - fried onions on the bottom, eggy mix poured over, cheese on top and then put in the oven at 200C for about 45mins or so until it had cooked through. It's a great way to use up any leftovers in the fridge as you can put just about anything in it.

Less toys, more fun

I'm starting to realise that having less toys helps J to grow more.

The other day we got home from a busy day with friends and both the boy and I were super tired. I'd hoped we might both have a little nap but it soon became clear J wasn't gonna go along with my plans. I got him out of his cot and brought him into our bed. As usual, he instantly started climbing over me and exploring the things my husband and I have left on the bedside table.

J got hold of an almost empty loo roll and amused himself for ages tearing off the last few pieces and shredding it, using it as a telescope and pretending it was a trumpet. Then he started dropping bits of shredded paper over the side of the bed to watch them flutter to the floor. One simple household object allowed him to work on imagination and both his gross and fine motor skills. Who needs toys, eh?!

A few weeks ago I started rotating J's toys so he has only a handful of toys and books out at a time and I've really seen him learn so much more in a short space of time. I read this article the other day about the benefits of not having too many toys and I'm finding it to be so true. We want the best for our kids and it's so easy to think that involves letting them have every cool toy out there but just think about all the things they will miss out on learning if their little lives get too cluttered. Less really is more!

The best thing we could ever do...

As parents we all have our different styles of parenting and different ideas about what to allow our kids to eat/watch/play/wear etc. We try to do our best to protect our children from things that could be potentially harmful in some way. I think, particularly as first time parents, it's easy to get tied up in knots worrying about what is safe for our kids.

Do we have enough smoke detectors/stair gates/fire guards in the house? Will he become obese if I feed on demand/let him snack between meals? Will he get skin cancer because I only used SPF 30 on him that one time? Will he have a low IQ because he watches trashy TV/ I didn't make him listen to classical music/ I forgot to take my folic acid once or twice during pregnancy? Will standing near the microwave give him brain damage? Perhaps I should only let him wear velcro fastening shoes so he won't trip over his laces and hit his head and die........

Today, it suddenly occurred to me that no matter how hard I try to protect J, he will never be invincible. I can smother him in sun cream to prevent skin cancer, teach him to look before crossing the road to avoid getting hit by a bus and make him eat only organic food in the hope it will make him extra healthy and live longer but the simple fact is that death is a part of life.  There is nothing we as parents can do to change that. Well......maybe there is one thing I could do....

The best thing I can possibly do for J is to introduce him to Jesus and pray that he will come to love and trust Jesus for himself. The Bible promises that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him (Jesus) will not die but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) What a great gift to give to my child - to live in a loving relationship with his Maker that will continue for his whole life and on into eternity! Death will still be a part of his life but, by trusting in Jesus, death will not be the end of the story.

Has anyone ever introduced you to Jesus? If not, why not try reading a biography about him? There are four to choose from in the Bible written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Don't worry if you don't own a Bible - you can read online here. Investigate for yourself and see if you think Jesus is worth introducing your kids to. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Lunchtime snacks

Do you ever find yourself running out of ideas for things to give the kids for lunch? Bored of eating the same old sandwiches? Why not give these savoury cupcakes a try - they make great finger food for little people and you could even get the kids to help make them.

Cheddar and sweetcorn cupcakes

1 small tin sweetcorn, drained (I used sweetcorn leftover from dinner the night before)
190g self raising flour
55g grated cheddar
good pinch of paprika
1/2 tsp baking powder
55g unsalted butter (I used margarine)
2 medium eggs
120ml milk (I used full fat milk as J is too young for semi skimmed yet)
4 spring onions, finely chopped (I didn't have any so missed this out and they still tasted good)

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 6 and line a cupcake tin with paper cases.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, 40g of cheese, paprika, sweetcorn and baking powder.

3. Add in melted butter/margarine and mix well.

4. In a measuring jug beat the eggs and milk together. Pour into the flour and cheese mixture and stir well.

5. Spoon into cake cases and sprinkle over the remaining cheese and a little paprika and bake in the oven for 20 mins until golden.

Here is another variation on the recipe that I haven't tried yet - cheese and ham muffins.

Happy lunchtime!

Lazy roast dinner recipe

I'm a big fan of meals that I can cook for the whole family instead of having to cook something different for our one year old. I'm also a big fan of meals that have minimal washing up. When I discovered this recipe that fits both those criteria I knew it would be a winner. We had it for dinner tonight and it was great - just like any good roast dinner but so much simpler and less messy. It only took five minutes to cut up the veg and throw it all together in one pan and then I had 45 mins to enjoy relaxing with my husband while waiting for it to be ready.

Child's play - part 2

Do you ever find that despite your child having loads of toys they would much rather play with anything other than their toys?!

Recently I noticed J was barely touching his over flowing box of toys and was getting into all kinds of mischief. Then I read this great article about toy rotation and decided to give it a go. I split all his toys and books into three boxes and put one in the lounge, one in his room and one in our room (to keep him occupied when we want to stay under the duvet for longer on a Saturday morning).  Each box contains at least one ball, a soft toy, a shaker or noise maker, something textured and something that is a bit of a puzzle (stacking rings, shape sorter etc) as well as a cloth book, at least one textured book, a book with flaps or similar and a variety of other books. Every couple of weeks I rotate the boxes.

The difference has been huge. Now J loves playing with his toys and can easily see exactly what is in the box without having to pull everything out. He's playing with things that he doesn't usually play with, reading his books more and amusing himself for longer periods of time. It also means I don't end up reading the same couple of books over and over at bedtime!

I also sat and wrote a list of all his toys and split them into categories like the blog suggested. It really did help me to see where J had a lot of similar type toys and was perhaps lacking in other types and has helped to influence what we buy him for Christmas.

While we're on the subject of child's play, we discovered a great game to play on rainy days stuck at home - HOME MADE BOWLING! We grabbed some empty plastic bottles from the recycling pile, set them up in our long narrow kitchen, got a soft ball from J's toy box and began to bowl. J is too little to know how to throw yet but, as I knocked the bottles down and whooped with joy at my achievement, he squealed with excitement and handed me the ball to throw again.

Why not give it a go? :)

Food fight's

Our little boy is growing fast and so is his desire for independence. Part of the out working of this is his desire to feed himself and have more control over what he eats. While we were unpacking the shopping the other day he was sat on the floor holding a bunch of bananas out while wearing his 'can I have some' face. When I told him 'in a minute, hun' he saw that as permission, pulled one off the bunch and started trying to bite through the skin.  This morning as I opened the fridge to get milk out for my cereal he squeezed past me, grabbed a yoghurt and held it up to me to ask me to take the lid off for him. I thought raiding the fridge for food was just something teenage boys do - not one year olds!!

He's been feeding himself finger food with great success for a long time but now he wants more - he wants to learn to use cutlery!! I have found myself approaching dinner times with a sense of dread as I wonder how much of his dinner I'm going to be wearing by the end of it (never mind giving him a bib to keep clean, I need something to cover my clothes!) and how many fights there will be. At first J was happy for me to hand him a preloaded spoon for him to shovel in his mouth but now he wants to load the spoon himself. Some days he will let me help him and other days, despite his frustration that he can't really do it, he refuses all offers of assistance. This results in shouting (often from both parties), snatching and much food flicking. I used to think of myself as a patient person before I became a parent but at dinnertimes I now find my patience often wears dangerously thin! I don't like the parent I have turned into at dinnertimes and so last night I found myself praying for extra patience and for wisdom to know how to handle this challenge.

Tonight was another standard evening. Dinner was a chunky pork and veggi casserole with plenty of sauce for J to make a mess with. At first he let me spoon feed him but he soon wanted to join in. At one point as he tried to load the spoon he accidentally flicked a big dollop of mushy sweet potato at his forehead and I couldn't help but laugh. He thought that since it brought me such joy the first time he would do it again. This time I did not laugh one little bit as he flicked bright orange casserole on my nice clean, brand new, white shirt!! Not only did I not laugh but I wanted to shout at him and take the food away and send him straight to bed.

But then I stopped my self and thought what did he actually do wrong? Why am I really angry? He got my clothes messy while trying to make me laugh. He was trying to master a difficult new skill and made some mistakes along the way. He got frustrated that learning new stuff is tough and expressed that by shouting a bit. Can I really be angry with him for that? Surely instead I should be giving him the freedom to try and to fail messily and be cheering him on for his efforts.

I took a deep breath, thanked God for stain remover and offered him the spoon again. There were still a few times that he flicked food in anger and at those points I took the bowl away, calmly told him not to do it and once he had calmed down let him try again, all the while cheering his successful attempts. Things went better from then on and I have resolved to wear my dressing gown over my clothes at dinner so I won't get so uptight about him flicking stuff in the first place!

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

I love reading biographies about interesting people and have recently been loving reading this book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. For those of you who don't know who he is, he was a German church minister who was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. I've found the book fascinating on several levels.

Firstly, hearing about how his parents raised him has given me inspiration for how to raise my children to follow Jesus and make their mark on the world in a positive way.

Secondly, I've really enjoyed reading about the events surrounding the Second World War from a much different perspective that year 7 history lessons. I've gained a better understanding of how Hitler pulled the wool over everyone's eyes until it was too late and Germany's fate was sealed. Reading Bonhoeffer's journey towards involvement in the assassination plot has also shown me that ethics are not always black and white and that obedience to God's calling moment by moment is more important that obedience to a moral code.

Lastly, reading about the things he did while running 'illegal' seminary schools reignited in me a desire for regular times of prayer and reflection. At his seminaries the students were all encouraged to meditate on a Bible verse and spend time in prayer every morning and evening at the same time. Taking time out to hear God speak daily is vital to building a relationship with Him. Also, the practice of doing it daily at the same time as other brothers and sisters in Christ builds a great sense of community.

When I was working for a Christian charity many years ago they too taught a lot about 'spiritual disciplines' and daily rhythms of work, prayer and praise. Back then everyone in the organisation, located all across the UK, would take 2 minutes to pray at the same time every day. We also were encouraged to cultivate daily Bible reading and times of reflection as well as learning about Celtic Christians and making use of ancient Celtic prayers. I found it so refreshing and it brought new life to my relationship with Jesus. As time has gone by I've lost those rhythms and my life and relationships are worse for it. It's been great to be reminded of those things again and at the same time I've discovered a great book of Celtic prayers with Bible verses, prayers and reflections designed for every morning and evening. I'm excited to find a new and better rhythm to life again but struggling to get started and wish I had others doing it with me to encourage me.

Will you join me? Will you hold me accountable and give me a kick up the bum if I don't stick to it?

Through the eyes of a child

As an adult I don't find shopping all that exciting. Once upon a time I used to shop for fun but now I try to avoid it as much as possible. I think there are probably a lot of other things in life that I used to find fun as a child but now as a grumpy, cynical, eternally busy grown up I rarely take time to see the fun and the beauty in simple everyday things.

Today I went shopping with my 11 month old son. We spent an hour in one department store and bought nothing but we had a great time. While hubby browsed the coffee machines and kitchen gadgets, we smelt lots of different scented candles and talked about their colours. Next we headed for the furniture section where J had great fun banging on a big metal coffee table that looked  like a giant steel drum. We tested out sofas and pulled funny faces in mirrors and opened drawers to see what was inside. While hubby and I looked at towels and bedding, J crawled around and tried to get under the beds. At one point he crawled into a gap under a couple of display tables and started using it as a den!

J sat in a rocking chair for the first time and grinned and giggled as he rocked back and forth. Then he climbed down and crawled off into the soft furnishings section where he found lots of cushions with different textures to feel. From his point of view the store was like a giant sensory adventure playground. Thinking about it now it probably was a really good learning experience - chance to use his different senses, develop his spacial awareness and grow in confidence as he explores new surroundings.

Why not try taking some time out today to do something just for fun and try to see life through the eyes of your childish self again?

2ft 3inches of pure chaos!

When your little one learns to move around the difference to your life is HUGE. Suddenly our baby bear is into everything - nothing is safe from his chubby little hands and he leaves chaos in his wake wherever he goes. One minute he's scattering our DVD collection across the floor and the next minute I'm telling him to STOP LICKING THE TELEVISION! 

This morning after he'd finished having his morning feed in our bed he just climbed down out of our bed all on his own and started exploring our room. When he was done it  looked like a bomb had hit it with papers and clothes and shoes and books strewn all across the floor.

We can't put drinks down any more cos he just picks them up and helps himself. I'm not sure whether to be proud he's learnt to drink out of a proper cup or annoyed that he keeps drinking my drinks! He also loves to help himself to other people's food. The other day I was having sausage and chips for lunch. Once Josiah had spotted the food it took him only a matter of seconds to climb up on the sofa, lean over and swipe my sausage and then climb back down and start eating it. 

Last week we were at a party with lots of nice food. The lady next to Josiah had a yummy looking fruit salad so he leaned over and helped himself to a handful despite having never met her before! He's lucky he's cute enough to get away with it!

Yesterday we were in town and decided to let Josiah go for a little crawl while we browsed Next cos he was getting a bit fed up in the buggy. He quickly spotted another little boy crawling around the store and began chasing him. He kept stroking the kids hair, patting his face, climbing on him and generally terrorising the poor kid. Thankfully the boy's parents found it highly amusing.

Josiah's Diary - August 1st

This afternoon was fun. I went into town with mummy and daddy and went to play in the new play area in the shopping centre. There is funny fake grass and footballs and building blocks. I tried to play with the blocks but Daddy kept taking them so he could build a tower so I decided to go exploring. I spotted Costa Coffee and started crawling that way but mummy grabbed me and told me I'm too young to go for coffee. I seem to be too young for all the good stuff.

Mummy said I'm not allowed to go off on my own in the shopping centre but she let me hold her hands and go for a walk together. I love being able to move around and go where I want. I'm so glad I made the effort to learn to crawl. This week I learnt to climb the stairs too and as mummy and I were walking around I saw the coolest thing - moving stairs!! As soon as I saw them I headed straight for them, dragging mummy behind me. Some people were laughing at me and I didn't understand why. Mummy explained it was because I was trying to run up the 'down' stairs whatever that means. Mummy picked me up and carried me up the correct stairs instead. When we got to the top mummy put me down so I could walk again so where do you think I went? - straight towards the other moving stairs. Mummy still wouldn't let me ride the stairs alone. She says I'm not allowed until I'm big enough to hold the rail. What if I never grow that big?! But it was still fun riding down as mummy carried me. When we got to the bottom I tried to run up the other moving stairs again but mummy said that was quite enough of that game so we went to play in the toy section in Mothercare instead.

Josiah's Diary - 24th July 2013

Today is mummy's birthday. She's really old - so old she forgot it was even her birthday. I helped her open her presents and had great fun playing with the wrapping paper and bubble wrap. She got some pretty cool stuff including some funny tea bag things. I'm not sure what they do but they smell good and the packet is fun to shake about. I tried to take some of her chocolates as she seemed to have plenty and I didn't think she would miss one little packet. I was wrong - mummy is pretty smart.

After work mummy dragged us into town to go spend some vouchers she was given. After a couple of minutes clothes shopping with mummy, daddy and I decided to bail and head for a bookshop instead. I found a great book on basic English grammar but mummy said I couldn't have it as I'm not old enough yet. I think she underestimates me.

After the book shop we headed for coffee and milkshakes at a new place mummy wanted to try. I love when we go to new places and meet new people. I instantly hit it off with a man sitting at the table next to us and we had great fun pulling faces at each other. Then I discovered the coolest thing ever - if you blow raspberries on the leather chairs it makes a farting noise!! Everyone thought I was hilarious so I kept doing it for ages to make them laugh.

Daddy ordered a massive milkshake that looked really good so I decided to crawl to the bar and get myself one too but I couldn't seem to get the barman's attention. I decided to give up and share daddy's instead but when I got back to our table he had drunk it all already!

A day in the life of a working momma

6:30am - I hear the boy stirring over the baby monitor. Hubby climbs out of bed and goes to get him and brings him into our bed. Sleepily attach kid to boob and try to fall back to sleep but fail cos he keeps kneeing me in the belly.

After milk, sit the boy between me and hubby, hand him one of his favourite books, roll over and try to fall back to sleep again while he uses my face as a book rest. The book keeps him amused for all of 5 mins. Boy begins patting my face, pulling my hair and climbing on me to try to reach things on my bed side table. Have to repeatedly prevent child from diving head first off the bed.

7:45am - alarm goes off and I drag myself out of bed. Make a cup of tea and jump in the shower. Hubby appears in the bathroom a few minutes later and puts the boy in his walker while he goes to make breakfast. Spend most of my shower playing peekaboo round the shower screen. Chat to the boy while I get dressed and he excitedly honks the horn on his walker.

We all head to the lounge where hubby feeds the boy his porridge and I run around finding my socks, packing lunch and putting on jewellery. Eat my breakfast in a rush and manage to down half my lukewarm cup of tea before running to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Say a hurried goodbye to my two boys before running out the door with no make up on and having done nothing to my hair.

8:30am - Time to start work. Make the teas for everyone to get the day off to a good start. Then it's head down and work like crazy until 2pm comes round.

2:05pm - Run out of the office and head home to finally get lunch. Fold laundry while hubby does dishes then help him to finish making food.

2:30pm - Finally sit down to eat lunch while checking emails and writing our food menu for the next week.

2:45pm - Boy wakes from his nap and wants to play. Spend time being climbed on, reading books and holding the boy's hands while he practises walking round the house. Feed him some milk then a quick nappy change before heading into town to pick up a few things. It's a nasty one - pretty obvious he had chilli for dinner last night! The boy doesn't want his nappy changed and so keeps trying to roll over and crawl away resulting in poo being spread all up his legs. Lovely!

4:30pm - Get home from town, rush in the house to put things away, then head to the park. Hot weather and no shade hinders our plan to go on the swings so instead we go sit under a big tree. The boy isn't happy with sitting - he wants to be moving. After a little crawling practice he grabs my hands, pulls himself up and begins walking away. I have little choice but to follow as he charges around the park chasing pigeons. One male pigeon is trying to get his game on with a girl pigeon and the boy totally ruins the mood by rushing at them both.

5:15pm - get home from the park, heat up some homemade pasta sauce and make spaghetti. While hubby feeds the boy his spaghetti and sauce I make a batch of baby carbonara to put in the freezer. After dinner there's time for a little more play before.....

6:00pm - family bathtime. We all pile in together and have fun splashing and playing with stacking cups and rubber ducks. While hubby gets the boy dressed I shave my legs for the first time in a week.

After bath time we pray together and say goodnight to daddy. I get the boy in his sleeping bag, read him a story and feed him some more milk. Then I put him in his cot with his bear, say good night and head upstairs to see how hubby is doing with making dinner. Tidy up a little and do some online banking while baby bear chatters contentedly over the baby monitor.

Hubby serves up a lovely dinner and we sit and eat while watching West Wing which is interrupted every 10 mins by one or the other of us going down to check the boy isn't trying to climb out of his cot or anything silly. He finally falls asleep just after 8pm - phew! Time for a quick bit of gardening followed by a cup of tea and some leftover Christening cake while we look at flights to the USA to see the in laws.

Finally about 9pm we settle down for some proper 'mummy daddy time' by which time I'm shattered!

Quiet time book

For years now I've been hoarding old cards, scraps of material, wrapping paper and other such things waiting for the day I might need them. Finally that day has come - that day was today.

Today Josiah and I had a craft filled afternoon. I quickly made him his own guitar to keep him amused while I rifled through my craft box to find materials to make Josiah a new book.  I has a load of leftover blank cards from when we made our own wedding invitations which were ideal as nice strong double thickness pages. Next I had to think of ideas for what to put on the pages. Here's what I came up with:

 Soldiers with glittery textured hats.....

Lumpy bumpy bubble wrap....

 Bright coloured stickers with simple pictures drawn on....

 A variety of different textured hearts....

 Felt letters....

 Bright textured paper in one of his favourite colours...

 Bright smiley faces and a character with googly eyes....

I hole punched the pages and tied them together with ribbon and then it was time to give it to the boy for his verdict. In all the book took me about 20-30 mins - really very quick and easy. What did Josiah make of his new book?.....

He instantly loved it - result!!!

I am the music man...

There is nothing that catches Josiah's attention quite like music. Theme tunes have him stopped still and when daddy plays guitar he's totally mesmerised. He likes to reach out and touch daddy's guitar and try to join in but daddy's not such a fan of grubby little hands on his pride and joy.

Well now Josiah has his own make shift guitar and can join in with daddy any time he likes. He loves banging the strings and it doubles up as a great drum too. Who knew you could have so much fun with a loaf tin and some elastic bands.

Child's play

So I finally found a use for that out of date box of risotto rice at the back of the cupboard...

I remember when....

I remember when morning snuggle time was peaceful and relaxing. The boy would wake between 6am and 7am and I'd bring him into bed with us where I'd lie there and feed him and doze a little as we snuggled peacefully. After he'd had his milk I'd lie him in between hubby and me and give him a toy or a book and he would happily amuse himself while I snoozed for another 20 mins or so.

Oh how things have changed!

This morning started out much the same as it always used to - boy woke at 6:30am and came into our bed to have some milk. As I lay there trying to doze as he fed, he fidgeted and kicked me in the leg repeatedly. Once he was done I put him between hubby and me and handed him a couple of toys. He waved his teething ring in the air as if flying a spaceship and then decided to 'land' it on my head. He noticed I had my eyes shut so decided to pat my face repeatedly to make sure I was paying attention to him. Then he decided to amuse himself for a while by pinging my bra strap - thanks kiddo!

He soon got bored of me and decided he wanted daddy to play so leaned over and patted daddy's face. He then grabbed daddy's hair too for good measure. This resulted in grunts from the husband as he flung a pillow over his face to shield himself from the boy's advances. School boy error - a few weeks ago this would have worked but now that Josiah has learnt the concept of "hide and seek" it only served to make things into a game.  He giggled as he pulled the pillow from daddy's face and grinned as he patted daddy's face some more.

Something tells me that it could be a very very very long time before hubby and I get another lie in!

Isn't it funny that when our little ones are tiny and unable to move around we find ourselves wishing they were more active and could 'do more fun stuff'. But once they can move we find ourselves wishing they couldn't!

I do love watching Josiah exploring the world now though and love helping him to learn about his environment. I've been pinning all kinds of ideas on Pinterest for creative play but here's a quick one I stumbled across when trying to amuse a grumpy boy one morning.

I had my sewing box out looking for something and Josiah was fussing and grumpy. I noticed a bag of ribbons and said to hubby 'they might be fun to play with later'. Sure enough, I come home later to find hubby had given Josiah the ribbons to play with and he loved it. So many different colours and textures to play with and it's a nice calm activity (as opposed to banging stuff together and making lots of noise like the boy does with most other things).

Dinner time fun

I love food.

Josiah also loves food.

But he's just started getting picky about what he eats and now he wants my food. If we're eating something different to him he wants what we have and is not afraid to help himself! So I've pretty much abandoned baby purées and begun trying to find ideas for things that we can all eat. Tonight Josiah had potato, leek and sweetcorn soup with some homemade pizza toast. I made pizza toast as a snack for me and hubby too and we sat round the kitchen table and ate and talked together.

Pizza toast is so quick and easy. Make some toast, spread it with some red pasta sauce, sprinkle with a little grated cheese and toast under the grill. It can be cut into easy to hold pizza fingers.

Here's the recipe for the potato, leek and sweetcorn chowder. (NB In babies with dairy sensitivity this recipe can produce explosive results - as we just found out!)