in the end we did manage to see The Lion King

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while now. We were given tickets to see The Lion King at the Capital Theatre from hubbies parents as a Christmas present. We booked a babysitter (my sister...thanks!!), we made reservations at a nice restaurant and purchased a nice bottle of wine
...excitement plus for new parents, A Whole Evening Out!

But as luck would have it I came down with a mysterious illness that caused me to have vertigo and therefore we cancelled our lovely dinner and put the bottle of wine away, still determined to go to the show, we didn't cancel the babysitter and decided to drive into the city. The show was AMAZING! The costumes, the stage, the music, the dancing...AMAZING! and I managed the whole time to keep my head straight, battled the vertigo and won.

Took us ages to get home, just leaving the car park took over half an hour but we eventually did get home only to discover that little Lucy was sick and up. So we spend the whole night up with her, soothing her back to sleep (4am she eventually collapsed!) all the time feeling slightly guilty for leaving her while she was sick... it seems to me that guilt is an emotion I will need to get use to as a parent!

She is now on the mend with medication and hopefully we will actually sleep tonight, but with a sick 9 month old that's not a certainty. But through the eventfully sick weekend, in the end we did manage to see The Lion King, and we loved it. The dinner and the wine will have to wait for another time.
x

seriously people its not winter yet!

Ok so I have decided to have a fashion rant... I'm NO fashion expert, quiet the opposite; I love nothing better then a good pair of jeans and a top, a bit of bling and I'm done. Ok so today it is officially 'Autumn' and the temperature has slightly fallen, and by slightly I mean that it has gone from around 28 degrees to maybe 22 degrees. 22 degrees in some countries is considered the height of summer! If you live in Sydney you know that it has been raining on and off for about the last three days. So driving I saw an image of someone in this outfit (well not this one exactly but similar):

As I said earlier, I'm no fashion expert but I do think that this outfit is really cute IF IT IS REALLY COLD LIKE BELOW 10 DEGREES AT LEAST or if your unwell or a newborn baby or the elderly!
When everyone else is wearing clothes like this:

I think you might have a problem! For some reason it really grates on me when people are such fashion sheep that they don't wake up and look outside first.
Anyway thats my friday rant for you... have a good weekend everyone xx

7 good reasons why being a Nanny is tops!

swing fun

There are many reasons why being a nanny is Great, but here I thought I would share my list

1. The great kids you will eventually learn to love! nothing better then getting to work to be met by little people that are actually excited to see you.. what job offers that incentive?
2. You are your own boss. Of course within limits, but you get to decide what you do on a daily basis, be it the park or cafe for babycino or friends house for a play date with other kids. 
3. You get to enjoy the sunshine on gorgeous days. You get to sit in the park, go for a walk, go to the beach... all in a days work
4. You get to enjoy the wet days too. The museums, libraries, playgroups, movies and you can pretend that its all for the kids!
5. What better way to let out the child within than with children as an excuse, act crazy and play all the games that you like
6. Getting the privilege to watch the little people develop and learn and grow is an amazing experience. From the first words, to the first wobbly walk, and first day at school. 
7. All the cuddles and kisses make the tantrums and bad behaviour all worth it.

Any other reasons?

Apple and Blueberry crumble

This is a DELICIOUS recipe that I made up initially without the crumble bit for my little one to have as dessert. It has added sugar and butter in the crumble which is all naughty, but ohhh so nice. I put aside some of the fruit  mixture for your little one so they get all the good and non of the bad!

Ingredients

for the filling

8 big Apples (a mixture of sweet and more tart ones) peeled, cored and chopped to squares

a packet of blueberries (125g)

1 table spoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons water

crumble
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
50grams unsalted butter melted
1 lemon (the zest and juice)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. In a large pot place the apples, blueberries, cinnamon and water on a medium heat. Bring to boil stirring the mixture and then reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally until apples are nearly cooked through.
3. Once finished scoop some of the mixture out for your baby (a cup worth) to have as dessert later, its good warm or cold
4. Meanwhile for the crumble I use my food processor for ease. I place the brown sugar, flour, oats, lemon juice and zest and butter. I whizz the mixture for 2 minutes and make sure it doesn't stick to the sides.
5. In a pie dish ( I have also done this in muffin trays for little single serve option), place all the apple mixture and sprinkle with the crumble. Put in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until crumble goes golden.
6. remove and enjoy with ice cream or cream....yum!

xx

Weekend of Cake

I have just had the most sweetest weekend on record, I think I have put on at least 5 kilo and all in the last two days, but my it was also a very delicious weekend!

On Saturday I packed  up my hubby and our gorgeous girl and we went to our friends for an afternoon BBQ. I soon realised that going to a BBQ at someones house with no other children present is slightly isolating. It started off really good with delicious food and good company and since my hubby was drinking I had my one glass of wine, yum. But then Lucy started getting bored and wasn't satisfied with just sitting around on my and other people's laps, so I went into the living room and we spend the afternoon playing on the rug. Fun for me.

B.L. (Before Lucy), I would spend hours outside with friends talking and drinking and being social, now I spend BBQ's in the living room with my daughter.. more or less what I would do at home really. But I really don't mind, not really, kind of nice chilling with Lucy.

OK but I haven't mentioned the vanilla slice I had or the slice of apple pie and a little bit of cheese cake!! yep all in the one afternoon.

It doesn't end there because on Sunday it was my good friends birthday. Once again took the hubby and the daughter and this time went to the park for a picnic. This time much more child friendly, my friend also has a little baby same age as Lucy, so they spend the afternoon feeding ducks and trying to eat the grass and twigs and anything else that they found on the ground, all the stuff we didn't want them to have. It was a great afternoon spent on the grass playing with our little ones and chatting and of course eating cake! So after the eating frenzy on Saturday I didn't think I could beat that, but I sure did. I had lemon cheesecake, lamingtons, strawberry birthday cake and some banana cake!!! yep I did it again and ate so much sugar that its a wonder that I'm not a diabetic!

So the weekend is nearly at an end and after a nutritious dinner of fish and salad I just might have some more cake (it'll be a shame for it to go to waste!), but the diet needs to start on Monday.

Do I have a Bad Nanny??

Recently I read an article that came from the USA where a nanny was abusing a child in her care and luckily was caught on a recorder. If you want to read about it click here. The article made me feel sick, but than any kind of child abuse makes me furious and in the same time sick.... sick with disgust that anyone could do anything bad to babies and kids, and sick with worry that this is happening and most of the time no one knows about it. All you have to do is Google child abuse articles and you get pages and pages of abuse cases. It is sooooooooo sad and disgusting!

What is also disturbing, is good parents being the victims alongside the children of childcare abusers. It takes a lot of courage and trust to leave your little ones with a stranger, be it a private nanny or a childcare centre and the one thing you don't ever want is for that trust to be broken.

Anyway, as you can see I am passionate about the issue of child abuse and could go on and on and on. Now, I'm not an expert on abuse and not a psychologist so will not go on about signs of abuse but I can try to let you know the signs to look for when you have a nanny that is not good for your family, be it that she is abusive or neglectful or just not the right fit for your family and your parenting style. These are just signs and might not mean anything bad is actually happening but should be investigated further. The information below was taken from a great website http://www.babycenter.com.au/

• Firstly your baby is not happy to see the nanny and has become withdrawn and anxious. I think that its important that the nanny and the baby/kids bond. It will always take a few weeks for this to happen, but if after a few weeks the baby is not happy to be left with the nanny then there might be an issue. It might not necessarily be an abuse issue just one of a wrong fit, the nanny and the baby just don't 'fit'. But you should see why the baby is still not happy to be left with the nanny. Consider surprising the nanny by coming home at an unexpected time and see how the baby is, sometimes babies/kids protest at parents leaving but are happy once they are gone.
• The baby always seems to have had an accident. Now this is an important point and one that could indicate abuse. As a parents you will know how accident prone your child is and it becomes an issue if your child only seems to have accidents in the nannies care. I say this because I have looked after kids myself that have been extra accident prone, but it hasn't been only in my care, the parents have experienced it themselves first hand. 
• Your requests aren't followed. This is an important point, as parents of the child you have the right to request routines are followed, diets are kept and generally things are done as asked. As a nanny myself, I have been in situations where the parents request could not be done but its always been with reason and if I knew before that I had a problem with any of the request I would voice it immediately. If the nanny agrees to requests and then doesn't do them with no explanation, then the nanny is not doing her job. You know whats good for your baby more than the nanny does and if requests are not followed than a new nanny might be needed.
• She's critical of your parenting. Most experienced nannies will have advice and opinions on different parenting topics but they should not be critical of the parents parenting style. Every family works differently and it is the job of the nanny to give advice when asked and not be critical. If the parents and the nannies idea of bringing up children is very different, then it just might be a problem of fit. 
• The nanny is undependable. A nanny should be dependable and on time everyday (within reason). You depend on your nanny as your main source of childcare and the nanny should respect that and make every attempt not to be tardy. 
• The baby often looks unkempt and dirty. Your nannies propriety is to care for the child's basic physical needs and if she is not doing those, then you have to wonder what else is she not doing?
• Nanny secretive about daily activities. I believe that parents have the right to know what activities the baby had done on a daily basis. I have always kept a daily diary when I worked as a nanny to let the parents know anything that might slip my mind when I see them. When a nanny is secretive about her activities and doesn't want to keep you informed, its not a sign of a good nanny. It is also very important that you believe what your nanny tells you and if her stories don't add up and you suspect her of lying it is time to let her go.

I believe that having a nanny is a great form of childcare and a good nanny that fits perfectly into your family can be of great benefit to everyone. It is vital to get to know someone as much as possible before you employ them and keeping ongoing tabs is never a bad thing either. There are many brilliant childcare providers out there and its such a pity that the only ones mentioned in the media are the ones that are bad.

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

We love this at home. I love a good Veggie Lasagna that takes hours to prepare and is to die for. But who really has the time? I know I don't. So this is also a delicious version except its easy to make and and my little one loves it too (she's 8 months), with a little mushing using a fork. You can also add and subtract the veggies as much as you like, making it your own. All together with the cooking time, the lasagna take just over an hour and half to make. Enjoy!

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna
serves 4 plus a baby

Ingredients

Vegetables
1 onion thinly chopped
1 packet of frozen winter veggies (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower) or equivalent fresh
400 grams pumpkin thinly sliced (if using Butternut you can leave skin on) about a quarter of butternut
1/2 cup squash chopped
Half eggplant thinly sliced
(any other veg that you might have laying in the fridge...ie. corn, peas, beans etc)

cheese
150-200g cheese grated (if you have Parmesan use it or I have even used Cheddar and it was still good. I find buying a pack of premixed grated cheese, the pizza variety, really good)

Béchamel sauce
2 table spoons plain flour
400 grams milk
2 table spoons butter or margarine
(or buy the stuff in the jar from your local supermarket or green grocer)
a teaspoon of Dijon mustard

a pack of lasagna sheets (both dry or fresh will work well)
1 large jar of a good quality tomato sauce, at least 400g
tablespoon of oil

Method

• First, on a hot stove, in a big pot heat up the oil and throw in your onion to saute. once onion goes clear, throw in the the rest of your vegetables except for the pumpkin and eggplant, which needs to be put aside. 
• throw in your jar of tomato sauce plus a cup of water, stir and bring to boil. Then reduce heat and partially cover. This needs to boil slowly for at least 30 min (the longer the better), checking and stirring occasionally. Once cooked put aside.
• In the mean time, place the eggplant slices on a plate with a trickle of water and zap them in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes to soften them. Do the same with the pumpkin. Put aside                               
• Now to make the Béchamel sauce if you haven't opted to buying one. This is the way I do it but if you know of an easier way that's even better. Make sure you have all the ingredients close by, I find that helps.  In a small saucepan on a medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted add all the flour and using a metal hand held whisk, mix it around till the mixture sticks to the whisk. Pour in a  quarter of the milk and whisk the mixture. You will find that once the milk heats up the mixture will thicken, when that happens add more milk. Keep adding milk and whisking until all the milk is gone and the mixture is the right consistency (like warm custard). Add salt, pepper and the mustard to taste and a handful of cheese,  put aside
• Now it is time to assemble. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius ( I use fan forced electric oven).
• In a lasagna dish ( basically a deep dish, to take in all the layers) put in a layer of the tomato and veg mixture, approx a third of it. On top spread a layer of either eggplant or pumpkin, follow with a layer of lasagna sheets, then a third of the béchamel sauce and a sprinkle of cheese. Repeat until all layers are done, alternating between pumpkin and eggplant. Make sure to finish with the béchamel sauce layer. Sprinkle cheese on top and pop in the oven for 45 min to 1 hour, checking after 40 min. Once the top layer turns golden, remove and its ready to serve!
• For little ones I recommend using either a fork to chop it up or putting it through a blender.

Enjoy xx

weekend markets

image from rozellemarkets.com.au

Don't you just love going to the markets and wandering around deciding that you really don't need anything but that you would love to buy everything. This weekend I spend both Saturday and Sunday at the markets. It wasn't really a planned thing but it turned out that way.

image from rozellemarkets.com.au

On Saturday my gorgeous sister and I decided to break away for a little bit from the kids and go and have lunch. We met at Rozelle and there we realised that the Rozelle Markets were on... what a treat we thought! So we spend an hour browsing the stalls and I ended up with nothing while she bought cloths, jewellery and even a book for her son and all REALLY CHEAP. A great impulse decision if you ask me.

I also have to tell you about the little bar that we discovered in Rozelle, now its probably not that new but I haven't lived in the area now for a few years and it sure wasn't there before I left. It is called The Corner Bar and we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon there. Had some nice lunch and a few cocktails...Yum!
Overall it was a great day and it was followed by more markets on Sunday!

On Sunday my hubby, Lucy and I went to the Baby and Kids Market. The markets are on most Sundays in different locations and every two weeks they come to near us. I love these markets, if you want to sell your old stuff or buy some second hand gems for your baby and toddlers, this is the perfect place for you!. We picked up some good quality winter GroBags for $10... a bargain! and some little toys for Lucy to play with, all before the big storm hit Sydney. What are your favourite markets?

Got to love weekends xx

Nanny Share vs Sole Charge Nanny

There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages between choosing a sole charge nanny and nanny share, both to the parents and the nanny. I have had the experience of doing both kinds of roles and have found that you can make both work, if you just make little adjustments. So here is my little list of advantages and disadvantages.

Sole Charge Nanny

A sole charge nanny cares for kids in the one family, be it one or four kids. There are many advantages to this arrangement for the nanny. These include;

• all kids are cared for in their own home making the kids more comfortable
• the kids are already set in the same routine by the parents 
• kids are more likely to be on the same diet making cooking easier
• salary paid by the same family making transactions easier
• less children means that transportation is easier and possible by car
• the kids all have the same rules and the same discipline plan
• easier to set work times and deal with late running parents

There are not many disadvantages to being a sole charge nanny, the only one that came to mind is the social aspect, with a nanny share position, the kids have friends that come for play dates daily, making entertaining them easy.

This is only a small list of advantages, but I have tried to list what I think are the most important ones for the nanny. There are also advantages for the family working with a sole charge nanny, these include;

• your kids are looked after at home
• you get to set their routines and have control on what they do during the day
• the nanny only has your kids to concentrate on with juggling others
• the nanny might have time to help with house work and some cooking for parents as well
• varying your nannies work hours is also possible if you are her only employer

there is only one big disadvantage for the parents with a sole charge nanny;

• You pay all of the nanny wage

Nanny Share

A nanny share nanny looks after the kids of two or more families in one of the family homes. She might need to work from both homes on different days. There are more disadvantages to this arrangement for the nanny, but there are also advantages. These include:

• variety, if you get bored dealing with the same one child daily, this is the choice for you
• kids from two families mean that they have someone to play with daily
• with more children in the house at different ages, your days will never be boring

the disadvantages include;

• juggling different routines
• cooking for different diets and tastes
• depending on the number of kids, you are more housebound  - not able to drive or take everyone on public transport
• you need to deal with and please two sets of parents instead of the one
• sometimes you might feel like you are more of a referee than a nanny

I think that for the parents there are also more disadvantages then advantages, the most important advantage though being; 

• the salary paid: most nanny share nannies do get paid more but it still works our much cheaper for the parents
• your kids spend half the time at their own home
• the kids have playmates that you know and approve of

there are disadvantages for the parents choosing a nanny share nanny, including;

• having to compromise with another family
• deciding and establishing which house will the kids be looked after in, what to do with the kids food; will the nanny cook for all the kids or will the family provide food. If the nanny is cooking, who will buy the groceries? all need to be established
• buying extra beds/cots, prams, car seats and any other equipment that the nanny might need, and then having to move it all depending upon which house is being used
• the most important disadvantage is making sure that both the parents get along and are able to understand each other and are able to compromise. Being able to get along with the family that you will share a nanny with is very important, and will make things much easier
• establishing the nanny's pay and who will pay her, the super and even maybe tax (if shes not self employed)

Anyway, this is my list. It started out as a few ideas that I thought would make this blog very short, but it turns out that there are many advantages and disadvantages! I have worked in both situations and I do think its a very personal choice for both parents and nanny. 

Embarrassing Nanny Story!

OK so I thought this week I would share a funny story albeit an embarrassing one. This happened to me a few years back when I was caring for two kids who at the time were 2 and 4 years of age. The little girl was 2 and the boy 4. 
On this particular evening I was finishing a week long job where the parents were away for the whole week and I stayed in their room for the duration. I have just cleaned the parents room and changed the sheets on their bed and was on the verge of putting the kids to bed, when the little girl comes out of her parents room holding and sucking the parents personal tube of KY Jelly!
I ran and grabbed it off her and was horrified thinking how much had she had before I got to it! But having been in their room for a minute or two I knew she must not have had much. 
Now came the dilemma, do I put it back in their draw and pretend it didn't happen or tell them. Well I rang a friend, who had a good laugh about the whole situation and then pointed out to me that if I don't say anything the parents might think that
1. I went through their personal belongings and 
2. that potentially I had used their KY Jelly!
That idea was even more horrific, so I decided to tell them about what had happened and let me tell you it was by far one of the most embarrassing conversations I have ever had. Both I and the mother went completely red and it took a couple of days before she would look me in the eye. From that time on parents room was always closed and off bounds.
So the moral of the story, watch your charges like sharks!
xx

Anzac Cookies

Now, I love Anzac Cookies, I think they are the right amount of sweet and you feel slightly healthy eating them...cause of the oats and sultanas that is! My recipe has less sugar as well to make them a bit healthier. I don't recommend babies eat a lot of these cookies but that's alright because I'm sure they won't go to waste. My little one loves them but she has mastered the art of gum chewing so give cautiously to little one. The recipe takes ten minutes to put together and ten minutes in the oven and makes about 12 biscuits

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
100grams butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon Bi-Carb soda
handful sultans (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius, and place baking paper on biscuit oven trays (you will need 2).

In a large bowl, place the flour, oats, sugar, sultanas (optional) and maple syrup. Make a well in the middle and pour in the butter, the Bi-Carb soda and 50ml of warm tap water.

Now you need to get dirty and using your hand, get in there and knead the mixture, if after 2 minutes its still too dry, add just a dash of water and knead the mixture again. You want it all to stick together and be firm and not be runny.

Once you have played with the dough for 5 minutes, make little balls placing them on your tray at least 3cm apart. The size of your balls is optional depending on how big you want the cookies to be.

Once all your balls are on the tray, using the palm of your hand press down to make the balls only about 2-3cm deep.

Place in the oven for 10 min, the longer you leave them in, the crunchier the cookies will be.
Remove and enjoy! xx

PS. if you want an even healthier version, replace the sugar with dried dates or prunes (about 5 chopped to small pieces). This wont make the cookies as sweet but can make an excellent breakfast bar!

Weekend doing nothing

My poor husband on Thursday went in for surgery for his nasal passages. Apparently it will be great once he heals, it doesn't feel so great now! The poor bugger has spent the whole weekend either in bed or on the couch watching TV, the whole time in some form of pain. Lucy and I could do nothing to help him and he couldn't even hold her (she has a habit of grabbing faces!) so alongside him we did nothing! Well I cooked and baked yummy food to include in my blog later in the week and Lucy mastered the art of crawling. She lifted her bum of the ground and is no longer commando crawling, my little pumpkin changes daily and it still amazes me how fascinated I am by her. I have looked after many babies, but she still leaves me in wonder at her intelligence and sense of humour. It feels like only yesterday that she was only laying there and not doing much except feed and sleep and now she is moving, calling 'mama' and recently pulling herself up.


Anyway that has been my weekend, looking after my husband, cooking and observing my little girl in wonder. Hope you all had a good one.
xx

Mothers Group

I love fridays... its the end of the week and I'm all set for the weekend to spend with my gorgeous hubby doing things that I don't get to do during the week.. things mainly that I get to do without Lucy when daddy and daughter have bonding time.

Another reason that I love fridays is that I get to go and meet my mothers group. I joined with Lucy when she was only three weeks old, I did it so I could get out of the house (I'm not a big home body!) and wanted some adult interaction with people in the same boat as me.. mainly sleep deprived walking zombies!

Throughout the weeks we all got to know each other and what started as sitting quietly and watching the instructor try to teach us things, turned into coffee, parks and laughs.

Now that all the babies are slowly getting bigger, some of the mums have gone back to work, some have moved or are about to move and one mum is due to have baby number 2. Our lives are moving on and we are all getting on with it, but I do enjoy just sitting with a good cup of coffee (or a bad one sometimes) and all the kids playing on the grass. I'm with a group of women that are so completely different but it doesn't really matter because we share the one common thing.. being mums to our gorgeous bubs. I'm enjoying this once in a lifetime opportunity to soak in the sun, grass and the great company and take a little break from everyday life.

I think everyone should look into joining a mothers group, especially if it is your first baby. It might not be for you but you will never know who you can meet and how much fun you can have. And also its always nice to have someone to talk to that will listen and be interested in you baby when all your child free friends have heard enough of baby talk! Your local Early Childhood Centre can get you in touch with a mothers group starting soon in your area.

Nanny Talk - Tip 1

I have decided to dedicate a page specifically for nanny talk. Now I wont be just lecturing nannies on what to do and what not to do (might only do that once in a while!), but more jot down any pointers, advice or stories that I have heard or experienced through my own working life. If anyone else has a story to tell or advice to give I'd love to hear it. I love comments!
I would like to start with what I believe is the most important tip for a successful and happy working life as a nanny.

Tip 1

• Pick carefully the family you will end up working for. I find that learning to love the babies and kids is easy, but fitting into a families daily life and becoming a part of their 'family' is much more difficult. Pick parents that you can work with and can respect and uphold their ideology of child rearing. Go to many interviews and spend considerable time talking to the parents to get to know them well before making a decision. 

20th Century Fox

Yummy beef and tomato stew

I have decided that once a week I will write a recipe that I cook for my 8 month old girl. I cook EVERYDAY and have been cooking baby food for years as a nanny. This is different, this is food that I and my hubby can also eat (with a little modification) and really enjoy. I'm starting with

Beef and Tomato Stew. This is a favourite of my daughters and one of my all time dependable dishes and so easy to make. Now I make a big portion so there is lots of left overs that I like to freeze and have as an emergency food for my little one, but if you prefer fresh always just cut down on the ingredients. I love the simplicity of this dish, you can add more vegetables if you'd like.

Ingredients

500 grams beef (any cut of beef will do, the cheaper cuts probably better, just make sure they are cut into rough cubes)

1 onion roughly chopped

500 grams tomato (also I would buy a big pack of the cheaper variety that are very ripe)

1 carrot roughly chopped

basil (roughly a small handful)

rosemary (a few twigs)

oil

water

Method

• First you need to scar all the tomatoes. Blanch all the tomatoes in boiling water in a bowl for 2 minutes. Remove and peel the skin. Roughly chop them and put aside (if you want you can also remove seeds but I just keep them in) 
• On high setting on the stove, in a big pan or ceramic dish, fry up the chopped onion with a tablespoon of oil until the onion starts changing colour.
• Throw in the beef and toss it around, until it becomes golden brown. 
• Place the carrot, the tomatoes and herbs (and any other vegetables you would like) together with 200 ml of water. Turn the temperature to a low setting and let boil slowly for 1.5 to 2 hours. The longer the better. 
• Remove from heat and its ready to eat! Put aside some for adults and add salt and pepper as required

I love my stew with mashed potato and a fresh salad for crunch. For Lucy who is 8 months now, I use kitchen scissors and chop up her portion into smaller bits. She then has it with a bit of the mash or loves it with chopped up wholemeal pasta. For babies that still don't like lumps, you can put the stew in a food processor and its mushy but still delicious.

The rest gets put into small containers for Lucy and is frozen so she can have it for another day.

Hope you enjoy xx Yum!

  

chop it up for smaller mouths

Sunday Rain with Hamilton and Ward

I have realised that even though I'm not that keen for winter to start and summer to end, I'm enjoying the rain that we have had lately. I've always been a summer person; mind you my post pregnancy body with be thankful for a few more layers of clothing! Today had been the perfect day to sit at home on the couch watching TV, reading my book and drinking lots of teas. My little one played around me and even slept a solid two hours for me so I could do a lot of procrastinating.


I've always loved books and I'm a sucker for a good supernatural book, My husband calls them vampire porn... mind you he has never read one so what does he know? I'm currently reading the Book 22 Affliction by Laurall K Hamilton. I have read all her previous books and even though in my opinion she should end the series now, I still have to find out what will happen next with Anita Blake. You can buy the whole series through Amazon and if you do like those sort of books I recommend The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, also available through Amazon. The Brotherhood series is one of the best of its genre in my opinion and I love J.R. Wards style of writing.

Anyway I have gone off on a tangent but that is what lazy Sundays are all about...enjoy xx