Babies Born ~ September 2007 #69

G - how did the night go with L?

Cass - Wow, what a couple of days for you!!

MP - ooohh, maybe number 3!! Exciting!! Glad the OT went well, what sort of exercises does he need to do?

Well K had her audiologist visit yesterday. Fluid in her ears and hearing loss. So we're off to the doctor today to see if there's something simple to remove it, but the audiologist made us an ENT appt for Feb in case. If we do have to do grommets there is a 12 month waiting list, so it's looking like the insurance will be getting a workout. The most annoying thing about it all is that there is nothing for hearing/ENT near us, we have to go 2 hours drive away! So after being in Canberra over the weekend then more than 4 hours in the car yesterday, I am really looking forward to a 'normal' day today.

Hugs Cass, that's so tough. :hug:

Am suppposed to be on my way to work but wanted to pop in to ask how L is doing today?

Cally: man, you are I reckon the 4th person in as many weeks to say that their kids have got fluid and hearing loss! That said, i do remember as a kid myself a load of other kids at swimming all mentioning their grommets etc etc. much more common than we think i guess huh?!

I hear you on all the commuting. I remember when i had to go to see the specialist for my eyes (i was legally blind as a young child) we had to travel 2 hours each way to the specialist each week...sometimes twice a week! poor mum...i remember loving it as it was always a 'special' day and in fact full of lots of happy memories.

AFM: today M is better! not even a temp :o. these babies...keeping us on our toes.
good news is that we had the people that will be looking after the animals and the house while we are away over for dinner. they are on board with stella and are totally cool with administering her any happy pills etc. i am so relieved!

back to chrissie presents: what is the difference between the nintendo ds and the leap pad? can the ds do educational games as well? i am so confused lol!

Cass I'm glad that Marta is better now :hug: The nintendo DS doens't really have a lot of educational games - you really have to search for them as the choice in aus is woeful. I get most of ours from the UK now. There aren't many games either that are suitable for little kids. A plays the other kids' DS's, but for most of the games he doesn't have a clue what to do. If you were after somethign that was more educational, I'd go the leappad. A has the leapster 2 and the games are educational and easy for him to play. It's like a stepping stone to the other consoles. Or if you are taht way inclined, I know a lot of people get their kids either an Ipad or an itouch for the games.

Cally, the nearest ENT to us is in wagga which is nearly 1.5hrs away! So I feel your pain. If she needs the grommets, fingers crossed her wait isn't that long!

MP, bummer about the negative test! I'm not unleashing anything spectacular LOL, just being more aware of how our society screws girls over and makes boys entitled so we're making sure we limit the kids exposure to that type of thing and explain to them what it all means etc.

Cass, glad that M is alright today! That must have been scary! As for Stella, that isn't very good. How is Lorenzo? There is a special pill from naturopaths that is specifically for dog bites because they have a high rate of infection. We had a lab x that used to go for it with other dogs but was the loveliest lounge lizard ever. Hope you have success with happy pills for her.
I didn't know you were legally blind as a kid - did you have laser surgery to fix it?

Cally, bummer about K's ears. Is the hearing loss permanent or can it be fixed by getting rid of the fluid?

Ginger, hope that L is doing alright today.

MP, that is very exciting that you are thinking of a number 3! My E is just a delight! She is the ultimate in easy textbook babies - all that crap they write about putting them to bed sleepy but awake, tummy time, giving them time to resettle, it actually works if you get the right baby!

MD, so growth spurts can make them clumsy? A is the clumsiest kid ever! She falls over running in a straight line - I thought it was her shoes for a bit but she does it in bare feet too. I feel like I am forever picking her up and dusting her off!
Hairy Maclary is very popular with A atm. There is a DVD of the stories we get from toy library some times and she loves it.

Trill, how is A healing up? A friend took her son into ER with a face split and they stitched it and mentioned to her that if the kid had been a girl they would have done plastic surgery to minimize scarring (apparently appearance isn't as important for a boy).

Oz, it is the other way around here - W taunts A to make her screech. Driving me batty! Not whingy really, but we have had a return to tantrums which isn't really much fun.

AFM, Sunday was a cracker day, clear sky, 26 degrees and we spent the whole day at the river. A bit hard to settle E out and about but it was lovely. Then yesterday DH had an rdo so we went to the city and did the summer clothing shop - I got 26 items for $300 and they should mostly be sorted for summer now. It was followed this morning by W's inevitable meltdown about not wanting to wear the new clothes. Plus he would only consider these terrible canvas shoes so I let him get them because they were only $10 and I knew he wouldn't wear the other ones if he didn't want to get them, then after being the best things ever yesterday he had another meltdown about the new shoes and ended up wearing his old ones:wall::wall::wall:

I love that Trill. its totaslly what i am about. having 2 boys it is about role modelling to them that any person can achieve anything - it isnt gender based etc etc. i can go on for hours about that stuff. N's teachers are doing a study into it all and is is fascinating. they mentioned to me that he has the least gender stereotyped ideas they have seen - music to my ears i was v proud
Cass - I had no ideas about your eyes. your background/story never ceases to amaze me.
Cally - i am sure the grommets will do wonders. isnt that the same story as with Lewis?

Arte - your little E and how wonderful she is is what made me even think about no 3. i didnt think i could cope with another sleep devil - but now i am convinced no 3 will be an angel! i am rpetty damn clucky now that Dh has opened that door again. it wont be for a while though, dh needs to srt his business out first so i can have a reasonable amount of time off (ideally more than I had with the boys)

Hi girls!

MP: i also forgot to ask! how did the auction/sale of the house go? did you manage to sell? i would think in canberra that it would go pretty easily?

Trill: ahh thanks for the info on the DS. not what we are after lol. the Ipad would be cool, but i want one for me not L lol :rofl:

Arte: man, your day by the river sounds perfect....

hi girls
gotta keep it brief!
mp- awesome on ttc! very exciting.

cally- so glad we went with the grommets. apparently his ears were full of thick yellow pus. its a wonder he could hear anything at all, poor kid.

cass- best of luck with stella. i love dogs but they are a huge amount of work. we are more of a cat family these days.

ok well a quick update, had about 2 hours sleep last night. L wasn't too bad but there was constant kids' screaming and nurses came into our room every hour etc. scarily the little girl across the hall from us didn't go too well and ended up getting taken to the children's hospital at 4am by ambulance. it was awful as i had been talking to her mum all day. as you could imagine, it has been v stressful. L did well overnight but now that we are home he has definitely gone downhill. dh is helping out with J a lot so i can concentrate on L. he is being super brave and has been a champ the whole way along, but i do get the feeling this might be the calm before the storm. hopefully i can get some more sleep tonight.

hi girls
gotta keep it brief!
mp- awesome on ttc! very exciting.

cally- so glad we went with the grommets. apparently his ears were full of thick yellow pus. its a wonder he could hear anything at all, poor kid.

cass- best of luck with stella. i love dogs but they are a huge amount of work. we are more of a cat family these days.

ok well a quick update, had about 2 hours sleep last night. L wasn't too bad but there was constant kids' screaming and nurses came into our room every hour etc. scarily the little girl across the hall from us didn't go too well and ended up getting taken to the children's hospital at 4am by ambulance. it was awful as i had been talking to her mum all day. as you could imagine, it has been v stressful. L did well overnight but now that we are home he has definitely gone downhill. dh is helping out with J a lot so i can concentrate on L. he is being super brave and has been a champ the whole way along, but i do get the feeling this might be the calm before the storm. hopefully i can get some more sleep tonight.

something so weird is going on here. did my last post work?

Ginger - hope tonight goes better.

MP - K doesn't appear to have the tonsils/adenoids issues that Lewis has and the doctor today was definite that any fluid in there is just fluid, no indication of an infection. K also hasn't had any middle ear infections which is why I was surprised that there was stuff there.

Cass - it is very prevalent, the whole fluid thing.

Arte - the hearing issues should be resolved once the fluid is gone.

Thanks for all your concerns guys, just have to wait for Feb now to see what we're going to do.

Cally, I was told the same by the hearing nurse - that they can go their whole life without a single ear infection yet still have heaps of fluid. Is it glue ear?

MP, OMG I never thought that my disaster children would make someone want to have another!! But seriously, if E was a first baby you would be thinking you were the best parent on the planet lol.

G, I hope L has a good night and you get some sleep :hug:

I forgot to say, W has finally started riding his bike without the training wheels. He is still keen to keep his little 12" bike so I think we will go to the next size up next year.

Cally, I was told the same by the hearing nurse - that they can go their whole life without a single ear infection yet still have heaps of fluid. Is it glue ear?

MP, OMG I never thought that my disaster children would make someone want to have another!! But seriously, if E was a first baby you would be thinking you were the best parent on the planet lol.

G, I hope L has a good night and you get some sleep :hug:

I forgot to say, W has finally started riding his bike without the training wheels. He is still keen to keep his little 12" bike so I think we will go to the next size up next year.

everyone is talking in doubles :lol:

G: yeah it does get a bit hairy once you are home...but it is on the normal trajectory. it's just the lovely post op morphine wearing off and then the wait for the new pain relief to take over and re-adjust ITMS.

Cass, did you ever contact your father or brother? I was wondering after my fathers visit recently - after 7 years it is actually not weird and we get along quite well now.

Today W did his first solo shop purchase. I waited outside and he went in and got a freddo frog each for him and A, waited in line and paid all by himself. I peeked around the corner but he saw me and waved me away. Then when he was back out he offered me some, it was very cute and he was so proud of himself :) Makes up for New Clothes War -Day 2 this morning.

Is there an echo in here? :lol:

G, how is L settling down now? I hope it didn't get too bad for him. He's such a trooper.

Arte, A's bike is P's old 12 inch bike and OMG he gets some speed up on it! Makes my heart stop sometimes. Well done to W for having his training wheels off now. Why doesn't he like his new clothes? When we are at footy or little A's I send A with some money to go and buy something at the canteen LOL. He thinks he's so awesome when he does it.

Some of the glue on A's eye started coming away today so I pulled it off and apart from taking off part of his eyebrow LOL, it's healed well. It will leave a pretty noticeable scar though now that I can actually see it. But still a better scar than stitches would have left kwim? it isn't all puckered like stitches do. Speaking of meltdowns, A had a massive one yesterday because L has his haircut first when A wanted to be first. OMG it was embarrassing! It was nearly our turn (it's a sit and wait barber shop - no appts) and A had to go to the loo and I knew that while we were gone it would be our turn, so I told L what haircut he needed and by the time we came back out, L was in the chair and A lost it! refused to get his haircut then so I had to sit and cajole and beg him to get his haircut. In the end he got it done, but he sat there with the biggest frown on his face.

Then L and I had our chiro appts and occasionally A reckons he needs his back cracked so our chiro will humor him and pretend to crack his back, but yesterday he actually needed it cracked! His neck and face were out of alignment so he fixed them up.

hi girls

trill- its so funny how they crack it over the littlest things that you think won't matter, isn't it? L is always cracking it with me over silly little things, like if i do something for him that he wanted to do himself. glad to hear he has healed up well.

arte- whats going on with the clothes? L is really good at doing the shop purchase too. i usually let him buy a packet of cheezels after his swimming lesson and he goes and pays by himself. sometimes he gets confused though when i give him the correct money and he gets no change. glad to hear little E is still such a lovely easy baby.

cally- i know you mentioned it before, but when is the ENT appointment? L's fluid was not infected either but was definitely affecting his hearing. last night he yelled at jimmy for having the tv too loud in the other room! that has never happened before.

cass- the leap pads are on sale at myer again for 169. they are great, J is playing with his right now actually! they are really sturdy too. this one has been dropped and left in the car and all sorts and is still going strong!

L is going ok, woke up in the middle of the night in quite a bit of pain. they are both going a bit stir crazy with being stuck at home too. they are not used to just being in the house all day, as we usually do something or catch up with someone every day. sadly L won't be able to go back to his usual swimming class as they are closing at xmas for renovations and won't open again till march 2013. he has done so well with this teacher so it is a real pain.

Hi All
I might have to look at the leap pad idea for the boys too. though we are getting them bikes soon - Poor N is a bit behind on that front when I hear what your kids are up to. oops!
G - sounds like L is going well - what are you able to give him for the pain? is he able to eat yet?
My latest thing tocook with the boys is home made foccacia bread - they love kneading it and putting toppings on before we bake it - its a great lunch for them and it doesnt take too long. if anyone wants to try it let me know and I will post my recipe.
i made it at kinder with Noahs class and they all LOVED it - so i reckon it is a hit with most kids!

Post it MP!! Mmm, focaccia bread.....

K's ENt appt is Feb 21st

Talking of meltdowns....K has been talking about a party for Daddy's birthday (it's after Christmas). Anyway, she told her friends at school it was today and she was waiting for them all to turn up this morning because the party was going all day. She started to lose it when I packed her lunch box, then when I said they wouldn't be here because their mummy's hadn't seen an invitation and wouldn't know where to bring them, she completely lost it. Then it escalated because she wanted to come with me, but I was going to site etc. I swear I could have left the house 20 minutes earlier this morning. Anyway, I was backing out the driveway while DH (in his undies because he'd only just got out of the shower) was standing in the front window trying to calm her down as the tears were streaming down her face. Poor little poppet!

G - when do you think L will be up for a little field trip?

Cally - aww poor little (cranky) poppet! E cracks it over weird things too. Like this morning she had a hissy about not wanting to go to kindy. It's not a kindy day, but I'd made some throwaway remark about not wearing her new skirt so she didn't get paint on it and she extrapolated that meant kindy, saved it up for an hour THEN had a hissy. LOL Funny when you ask them to explain why they think something, maybe K thought today was 'after' Christmas already because of something they did at childcare or something she saw on tv...

MP, that foccaccia sounds fantastic, I'm sure both my girls would love to do that.

Ginger, I hope L is feeling better and better everyday. My trick with pain relief (cos I'm such an expert at it these days LOL) especially if you're using 2 different meds, is to stagger what times you give them so they never both run out at the same time. This might mean waking him up for a dose of something before you go to bed or setting the alarm in the wee hours.

Arte, yay for W the shopper! We haven't tried it with E yet, mostly because she gets very anxious near strangers, but I might try it soon at a familiar shop with something she really wants!

Trill, that glue sounds magic. I've got a horrible scar where they took my port out, it's less from the stitches though and more from how they stuck the dressing over it, it's kind of flat but puckery. I'm fully ready to tell the first person who asks that it's from where the government agents removed the alien hardware, but no one has asked :rolleyes:. Just think of all the fun A will have making up stories about how he got his scar ;).

hi girls

md- i have been doing exactly that with the pain relief- trying to stagger it. he needs the panadol every 6 hours though so it doesn't cover the whole night iykwim? i should really be setting an alarm but I've just been so dog tired...maybe i'll do it tonight though now that I've had a couple of good sleeps.

cally- L really wanted to go and see the thomas train at puffing billy (local steam train), but we just missed it as it finished up last week- they run it a couple of times a year. we said we would take him on puffing billy one day next week though if he feels up to it. I'm hopping for tuesday, but i guess we'll just have to wait and see and make a decision the day before.

mp - he is having panadol and i also have a morphine type medicine. he is eating little bits and pieces but not much. we just went up the street and bought lemonade icy poles and ice cream so hopefully he has some of that tonight.
post the foccacia recipe on here please. it sounds awesome!
the leap pads are great. awesome for long car trips/airport etc.

345 g all-purpose flour
6 g salt
4 g white sugar
10 g active dry yeast
dried or fresh herbs (def lots of fresh rosemary and some oregano and parsley usually)
1 g ground black pepper
15 ml olive oil
235 ml water
extra olive oil olive oil
Toppings - grated cheese, cherry tomatoes, spinach, capsicum, goats chese, smoked salmon - anything really
Directions

1. Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, herbs and black pepper. Mix in the oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 230 degrees C. Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. add toppings.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm

that sounds yummy! I'm going to try it on saturday i think.

what other good recipes have you been using lately? I'm in such a dinner rut atm. i seem to cook the same things every week. so bored with it all!

i havent been as creative as usual - i am just so busy!
the foccacia is realyl really great and pretty quick. they love making it with me. i do it on weekend for lunch or dinner with some meat/egg with it.
wed night we always have spag bol. its the only way J will eat carrots and zucchini and spinach. the only other vegie he ever eats is corn on the cob.

ummm other things on our menu rotation at the moment - must admit i still make kids dinner and ours sep a lot of the time, nanny gives them dinne 2 days a week so i kinda have to


Mac cheese w spinach and tuna
Salmon patties - baked ones (i make small balls which boys love) with fennel and carrot
HOmemade pizzas - coles have amazing bases in the pane toscano range in the bread section
zucchini slice (though boys now claim they dont like it)
omelettes
crepes - can make savoury ones with cheese, tomato, smoked salmon, cold meat, avo etc - either wrap or grill them. then sweet ones for dessert
Fajitas and tacos a hit
shep pie with mixed mash on top
chops and veg
kebabs - they love anything on a skewer
Chicken wings/drumsticks - 'sticky chicken' and rice
chicken and chickpea pilau - massive hit atm - casn post thjat recipe if you like - super easy and a hit with the boys

I also recently bought a rice cube so make fun rice things with the boys.

you are awesome mp. you are my cooking inspiration!

please tell me more about the coles pizza bases? i am going to coles tomorrow. do you put them in the oven?

i already do zucchini slice, dh has totally gone off fajitas and tacos (reckons they give him heartburn).

i'd love to know more about your shepherd pie, sticky chicken and rice and chicken and chickpea pilau (only if you have time, of course)

ps- im loving how much our thread has seemed to 'pick up' again. went a but dead there for a while but now we are back!!!

pps- what is a rice cube?

Look in the bread section - that brand 'la toscana' is like bake yourself breads... they have pizza bases and I find one with lots of toppings feeds the boys well. youput tom paste and toppings on and some cheese and cook 15 min in the oven. they are v yummy, thin crust. obv not as healthy as making your own but a good stand by. they are in a clear packet with black labelling. they were on sale 2 for the price of one this week too.

rice cube - google it. it is like alittle cube you can put rice and veg/meat etc in and it makes it into a cube shape - fun with the kids
Baked risotto also works well as a meal

Sticky chicken is great - i often have it uncooked in freezer and then away you go. basically make up a sauce of honey, soy, tom chutney, sesame seeds, hoisin (or any combo), garlic and giner. Tip over chicken drumsticks and marinade for a while (at least 2 hrs, ideally all day). cook in oven around 30 min until cooked through. all kids i have given them to devour them (cass did your girls like them when i gave them to you when you were sick). i serve with corn on cob and/or homemade fried rice - cook some rice and stir fry it with peas, corn, carrot, egg and little bit of soy.


Shep pie i either use leftover roast meat and veg and gravy as a base or make one up with mince, vegies, tom paste, stock and spices. Top with mashed veg - usually potato and cauli or potatoe and parsnip or pot and pumpkin or sweet pot and potato and bake in oven until brown. YOu may like to add some cheese to the top. IF boys havent been eating well i mix some egg intot he veg for extra protein.

I also make Borekas.. get puff pastry and make triangles with diff fillings:
Spinach and fetta and cottage cgheese/ricotta
Mushrooms and cottage cheese and spring onion
Leftover roast meat and vegies - delicious
Brush with egg, sprinkle on sesame seeds (or not) and bake for 15-20 til golden. YUM
Boys love these!

Will post chicken pilau recipe later - its a winner and it is quick and easy.
(these r ecipes i made up, pilau is a nigella special)

xxx

awesome! i am inspired. gonna do pizza tomorrow night and then sticky chicken saturday :)

MP, those foccaccias sound divine. Gonna try that with the girls, not sure when though, weekends in December are starting to look a bit crazy!! BTW what is a rice cube??

Ginger we had a few nights where I was doing wraps in warm yiros bread. I rotated through some cold roast chicken, salmon, and little chevapchi sausages with an assortment of different salads, cream cheese, marinated capsicum, chutney etc. Kids loved it and I felt like I was only in the kitchen for 10 minutes doing it and practically zero clean-up afterwards. Slack but effective.

Hmmm, that could be my domestic motto: slack but effective...:p

enjoy - boys will love doing the pizzaswith you. and call it sticky chicken, let them eat with their hands and you cant go wrong!
x

ps fish goujons are another favourite - i do them in panko crumbs (either sole or flat head usually) YUM
and also fish with pasta. coat some fish (flathead usually) in flour and pan fry in olive oil. cook pasta and add a tomatoe based sauce (i have this usually in the freezer but you can also use a bought one). put fish in chunks thorugh it or on top. YUM for the whole family - kids love it.

eta - slack but effectove - love it!
those gyros wraps sound great. x

Will have to bookmark this page so I can come back for some inspiration!!

Ginger - we've got some common standby's of sausage casserole, I do a chicken bolognaise, chili con carne. We also do a lot of stirfrys. I get the Good Taste magazine from Woollies which usually has some good things in it.

i can TOTALLY vouch for MPs Sticky Chicken... OM NOM NOM!!!!!!

I would love the pilau recipe MP. i used to go crazy for the stuff in Fiji.

and wraps! what brillo timing! just bought some in search of dinner inspiration. ahhh gotta love a shared wavelength girls :lol:

slack but effective. I'll take it :)

sorry for the short one-liners (minus the humour lol); we are in the land of sick 1 year old so the sky is falling on our heads hahahaha.

oh man, now i want a lamb borek. arrrghhhh!

staple food in our house is usually either Italian inspired or Indian/fijian inspired. i stand by that coconut fish curry would have to be one of the easiet yet yummiest for everyone...

if you are feelin' 70s go the tuna mornay or apricot chicken. the kids love it!

Arte: funnily enough, my mum let the cat out of the bag with my brother and he 'friended' me on FB. so he now knows and apparently there was some poo hitting the proverbial fan when the family got together for a chat about it haha. it would of been a shock i guess.

I miss JM and Isa, and Oz....

(was that subtle :lol:??)

ummm, not much else to report really. bought L a portable DVD player from ALDI for $20 and have popped it under the tree. I will have to head into myer and get the leap pad i reckon. i can totally see her using it til the cows come home.

please send 'get better and sleep well' vibes our way :ROFL: oh man we need them!

Tomato Pilaf
1 cup basmati rice, washed and drained
1 tomato, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp butter/olive oil
1 tsp salt to taste
½ tsp sugar
1 ½ -2 cups hot chicken stock
Fresh parsley for garnish

Wash the rice several times with warm water and drain. Cover the rice with warm water and leave it for 15-20 minutes and drain. If you do not have time for this, just wash the rice and then drain.
In a medium saucepan, sauté butter/olive oil and tomatoes for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Then stir in rice and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add hot stock, salt and sugar (If you leave the rice in water before cooking, use 1 ½ cup hot water otherwise use 2 cups).
Stir well and turn heat low when it boils. Close the lid and simmer till the rice absorbs all the water. Do not stir while cooking.
Let it cool for a while with the lid on. Before serving, stir well with a wooden spoon. Then place to a serving plate and garnish with fresh parsley.
ENJOY - I forgot about this one but I make it all the time. you can also add halved chicken thighs or lentils to it.

I will post the other one from home when I have the recipe with me.

and here is another variation I do with burghul and mince beef

• 300g beef mince
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup burghul
• Tomato passata - about 500ml
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs butter
• Parsley, green capsicum for garnish.

In a large pot add olive oil and turn on heat to medium. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add the beef and cook for 5 minutes or until browned, add burghul and stir. Next add tomato passata, water, salt and black pepper and stir until well combined. Turn heat to medium-low, add butter on top and cover pot, cook for 20 minutes, stir every 5-10 minutes. After 20 minutes of cooking, fluff up pilaf with a fork and cover again, turn off heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes until fluffy. garnish

Kids love both of these...\


This weekend I am trying to make home made gnocchi with the boys... will let you know how that goes

ps i also love cass fish curry - gotta get that one cooking again, boys loved it (and so did I and DH).

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

G, how is L doing now? I hope he is past the worst of it.

Cass, hope M is better and you got some sleep xx

Any idea's for mince? Maybe I should ask in the recipes section, I have my few faithfuls but I have a banana box full of mince in the freezer and I am in the market for inspiration.

The clothes thing is just his normal aversion to new clothing. Day 6 now and he still hasn't worn anything new. It is going to be a very hot summer for him if he is only going to wear his old pants and long sleeve teeshirts.

It was a nice weekend here, some old school friends of Rods came down for the weekend.

Mince ideas - spag bol, chili con carne, shepherds pie, rissoles/hamburgers, tacos, sausage rolls, lasagna. I think that's all at the moment, I've been a bit low on inspiration lately.

Had a good day yesterday. Met up with a school friend who was down for the weekend. She has a little girl who is almost 5 who hit it off with K and they had a ball together. We headed down the beach after coffee and we couldn't get them to go home! Was really good, but made me wish I had some more mum friends down here.

Weather is average today. Not at all summery.

Stuffed capsicums (with plenty of cinnamon in it), shepherds pie, nachos. No recipes here, I'm totally a freestyler when it comes to cooking. The other thing I have been know to do is borrow a casserole recipe that asks for beef pieces but then use the mince. It turns out a bit sloppier than with chunky beef but the flavour is essentially the same and that's how I'm a rockin' cook on a budget. Tight-ass boeuf bourguignon. LOL

hi everyone

L is doing ok, seems to be improving. he actually wanted to go to the playground today but by the time we got ready and out the door it started raining :(

thats a great sign G - he will back to his usual happy self in no time and just think how much better next winter will be without the sickness. do you feel a lot better now that it is done?
did you do the pizzas and sticky chicken> hope they went well!
Arte - i did post one recipe with mince - the burghur pilau - I dont cook that much mince, but am trying a new meatloaf recipe I will post if it turns out well.

Cally - sounds like a lovely weekend.love when it works out like that and is so easy. bet you meet more mums when K starts school - all the bday parties ensure it happens even for us working mums! has she got any closer friends at kindy - you could arrange some play dates?

MP - I've met most of her best friends mums, but we're pretty different and I know they're going to different public schools so haven't done much of an effort. She will hopefully meet some new friends next year with preschool, then bring on 2013, kindy and local friends!!

hi girls

yes i feel great that the op is over and done with. he is no longer snoring like a freight train at night so I'm sure he'll be getting more oxygen and better quality sleep.

i made the pizzas on saturday night and they were awesome! dh thinks they are a winner :)
haven't done sticky chicken yet but plan to do it this week for sure :)

cally- she will make heaps of friends when she starts school! i am looking forward to L starting school but i also know that i will miss him like crazy.

Cally, it is really hard to find new friends. I hope you find some next year amongst the kindy mums.

MP, I had to google what burghur is lol. There is no way that will be at the supermarket here but maybe I could find something to substitute.

MD, I have a banana box of steak/schnitzel as well that I can casserole with.

Less than 3 weeks until Christmas! I think we will put up the tree this weekend.