Bringing out the Scots in the Scot

In my quest to develop my skills as a Domestic Goddess (I am far from qualified yet!) and after the new batch of ginger beer was bottled, I had a notion for a soda scone with roasted cheese. Now if you're Scottish, you'll know what I mean. If you're not, then let me explain. I was brought up on toasted soda scones with melted cheese on them. It's kind of a comfort food and a bit like cheese on toast only better. As I can't just pop to the shops to buy some I hunted for a recipe and found one that was easy to follow here. The only problem I have with the site, and you can call me pedantic, is that they are described as "Scotch" soda scones. Now correct me if i'm wrong, Scotch is a drink....Scot'(s) is a person from Scotland? Agree? I digress, back to the scones. Here's a couple of pics;

Now, doesn't that look like the real thing? It was, only better. I thought of you Dad whilst enjoying, I know you'd approve :)

a couple of birthdays

I've had a bit of a sabbatical from here. Nothing really, just haven't had much joy to talk about lately. Stresses of daily life and concern for mum have kept my body and mind too active to sit down and have some clarity to write properly.

But...here I am. Our beautiful little boy was one on the weekend. I spent most of my birthday (the day before) icing his birthday cake and preparing for a family pot luck dinner with the in-laws. I went all out this year and felt inspired by sis in law P to try something other than a round or square cake. I don't sing my own praises often, but this I was chuffed with. Princess E helped make the blue icing and lick the various implements clean; resulting in a suitably blue toned face. Isn't being a kid just great?

Happy days, happy babies, happy parents, happy home :)

little ballerina

Today Miss E had a jazz dance medal test. I woke up this morning feeling nervous for her! I think its because i recall the nerves when i danced as a child. She however was very nonplused by the whole event. She got dressed without argument, had her hair done in french plaits and did all the things needed to get out of the house for 9am and we made it on time. There were three little girls performing a 1.5 minute dance to Barbie Girl by Aqua. Cousin A, Auntie and baby cousin arrived to cheer her on.

We had the rehersal yesterday when all three didn't perform at their best; mum's left with the sudden realisation that things could go very wrong on the day. Well, were we pleasantly surprised!! Everything went really well and the girls got presented with their Junior Jazz award medal.

We were lucky enough to see one of the other older girls do her tap routine afterwards. Miss E came home asking where her tap shoes were and she then did her own performance in the toy room and congratulated herself too. Very cute!

The girls checking their numbers.

a good deed

I often think about the movie Pay it Forward. I loved the film and the whole concept of giving a little joy to someone, recognised or not. Picture this...

Two little girls around 11 years old get to the supermarket checkout with their pick 'n mix sweeties. Once they are weighed the girls realise they are short by seventy cents and off they trot to "put some back". SO...?

I stepped in and gave them the fifty cents. A good deed done for the day and very polite kids who wouldn't stop thanking me. Yes, it made me feel good, but it probably made them feel better. It's not up there with the variety of good deeds done in the movie, but it's a start. I'd like to try and do a little more. Would you? Or have you recently? I think we could all do a bit more.

Just for me

I've been picking flowers. The sun is shining and my baby is asleep so i took a wander around the garden. I love seeing Spring in full swing. We will hopefully have more of where these came from in a few months.

A friend called to say that her grandfather died suddenly and she's heading off to her parents on a late evening flight. What is it with bad news at the moment?

I've got a head cold and have almost lost my voice. Master L slept through the night last night (hurrah!) so i'm feeling tired on a full night sleep. Will make the most of the peace and quiet and have a wee lie down i think. Mr Stef away with work overnight, so will probably need the energy for the tea time chaos later.

We're off to the hairdresser with Miss E later this afternoon after pre-school; she can only just see out from under her fringe. She went to pre-school today with hair swept back in plenty of clips and promise of a hairdresser visit later in the day.

Time to rest now.

organised

I'm an organiser. I'm a planner. I'm probably also a control freak. But being organised and planning makes me happy and stress free. I'm not a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal; however any impromptu social gatherings I DO enjoy.

On Sunday we took Miss E and Master L swimming to QEII leisure pool. We went with some of our extended Kiwi family. It was supposed to be fun for both, but Master L screamed from the moment we got him into his togs until we took him out of them. Ella? She had a ball. We seem to breed kids who are uncertain and frightened of things that are unfamiliar to them. The plan? An induction to swimming in a less frightening quieter environment, out of school holidays!

When food shopping on Saturday I decided to invite my wonderful Sister-in-law P and her family around for tea on Sunday (first for quite a while). On the menu was a traditional end of the week roast with the works.

I'm a planner and an organiser, especially when it comes to meals. I can't just produce or start producing a meal last minute. Vege's were peeled and chopped before going swimming, potatoes par-boiled before 3pm and all waiting in the wings to transform into a delicious meal (fingers crossed!) Here's a peek.....


Good food, good company, good wine.....good kids? Yes they were perfectly well behaved :)

Here's a little look at how the rest of my family spend their time whilst i'm busy in the kitchen.

Won't be long until Master L is having his turn.

relief

Got a call from Dad this morning to say that Mum came through her operation very well. At evening visiting she was sitting up and had enjoyed a sandwich and some of the wine gums (her favourite) that dad had brought her. I must say, I miss my family so much and the distance has never been felt so greatly as it is being felt now. However, I know that there are many many people looking after her both physically and emotionally and that brings me joy. We have a wonderful extended family (with some exceptions as i'm sure other families have) and Mum has a great circle of friends that I know have been rallying around her. She writes a journal which isn't the same as talking face to face, but it allows me to get a true sense of how she's feeling as she writes so openly.

Get well soon Mum, we love you so much. X

Vinegar and baking soda....

are a wonder in the kitchen! Am I the only one who gets joy from seeing my sink shining?? This is the first time i've used non-chemical cleaners for both the floor and the kitchen sink. The floors are streak free and clean. Yes, there's no lovely "clean" smell, but there's no lingering smell of vinegar either. My stainless steel kitchen sink came up GLEAMING!! Just scrubbed with baking soda and a damp cloth, poured on some vinegar to get that "fizzing" action going and rinsed and dried with a lint free cloth. Amazing!

I'm not anal about cleaning, nor am i lazy, but i needed something to keep my mind pre-occupied today (mum's off to hospital tomorrow for her operation) and cleaning's one thing that always needs attention around here. Mr Stef's known as the clean freak, and i think that this little one has inherited the "clean" gene :) She took herself off to clean the shower and i was told in no uncertain terms that she could do it "all by herself thank you very much!" I'm sure when she reaches her teenage years she won't be as forthcoming.

Easy Chicken Lattice Recipe

Yesterday i made this for our dinner.

I had been looking for an easy chicken pie recipe for a while. I love to cook, but i'm no good at following recipe's to the "T", i'll follow the gist, but add or subtract bits as i go. Mostly things turn out well. I decided to improvise and make up a Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Lattice recipe of my own. Thought i'd share it with you.

Ingredients
Approx 500g cooked chicken thigh meat (has a better taste than bland breast meat).
1 sheet ready rolled frozen puff (flaky) pastry, defrosted
25g butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small leek halved and sliced
2 medium portobello mushrooms sliced and diced
1 chicken stock cube
1 tbsp plain flour
100ml cream or full fat milk.
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180c

In a fry pan melt the butter and add garlic, leek, mushroom and saute over a medium heat for approx 5 mins.

Add the chicken and crumble the stock cube over and mix all together well.

Sprinkle flour over mix in pan and once well combined start adding cream or milk. (You want this mix to have just enough sauce to coat the ingredients without them swimming in it). Feel free to add more or less cream/ milk to your liking.

Once you are happy with the consistency, add salt and pepper to tast and simmer until sauce has thickened.

Take fry pan off heat and leave to one side.

Prepare your pastry by making scores every 2 cm through the pastry down on each side, leaving around 1/3 of the pastry in the middle for you to place your filling on (i'll add a photo example of this next time i make it).

Add the filling to the middle of the pastry fold the top and bottom of the pastry in and start folding the lattice edges over each other until you reach the bottom.

Finish by adding an egg wash and bake for approx 30-40 mins until pastry is golden and crispy.

Enjoy!

Spring has sprung

I've been out in the garden. Yes the washing needs hung, the dishwasher emptied and the washing folding, but I gardened. Not the boring old weeding and mowing, i leave that to Mr Stef who enjoys it. I like the fruitful kind of gardening.

So today, tomatoes were staked and planted. Sweet 100 and the Roma plum variety. My kids will pop the cherry tomatoes in their mouths and eat like they are sweeties, and the roma will be juicy and plump perfect for salads and sauces. I've planted 6, so hoping that i can look after them well enough and we get fruit from all. We had a huge crop of tamoatoes last year, but we lost so many as they were badly staked, so a more professional job this year! Fingers crossed there's no late frosts. After the tomato planting i took a tour of the garden and noticed this....

My first pea has popped! E will be pleased as she loved popping the pods and eating the peas raw last year. The strawberry patch is looking healthy with lots of new leafy green growth and the Nashi (asian pear) tree blossoms look lovely. On the trellis behind the Nashi tree are two variety of Raspberry, i'm looking forward to those too. The rest of our crops include, potatoes, beans, lettuce, blackcurrant, loganberry. To come are, courgette, cucumber, beetroot, tomato and others. It puts a smile on my face :)

So Hello Spring! I'm looking forward to Summer :)

Shopping and Baking

I spent yesterday morning at the Mall after dropping the kids at pre-school. It was great to wander around the shops with no-one pulling on my trouser leg or asking for this that and the next thing like money's no object (E!). I was choosing a gift for my sister-in-law, and thankfully also one of my closest friends. Fortunate to get exactly what I wanted I browsed the shops for and found these shoes on sale. I come from a family of women who like a bargain, so they were swiftly purchased; i won't tell you how much, but they were ridiculously cheap! Flat and comfy, just how I like them these days.

I was surprised to read on my mum's blog that she too had been shopping for a more worrying reason than my shopping expedition. Hoping to hear some news in the morning and wishing for the best news possible considering.

I love to bake when i get time. The aforementioned sister-in-law came around this afternoon with her mum and her mum's friend who were visiting. P always pulls a cake or two out of the hat for special occasions and birthdays, including my own, so thought to whip up a quick something to celebrate. This cake is soooooo easy and even more tasty, it's a staple bake for an afternoon tea. It was a lovely afternoon and thoroughly enjoyable to see Nana B again.

Here's to tomorrow's joy and Happy Birthday P. x

*Sigh*

Okay, i didn't think i'd find joy every day, and i've decided that i can actually just have a general moan instead.....ok, it's not that bad but i'm REALLY tired.

Went up to Palmerston North yesterday for a flying visit, Mr Stef was doing a leadership course and it was his graduation dinner. Anyway, i've realised i'm truly a lightweight now when it comes to the consumption of alcohol. Okay, i didn't have a huge amount (4 glasses maybe?), but of course they start you on the wine before they have brought the food out! Long story short, bed at midnight and up around 6:15am, not bad considering the broken nights sleep i'm used to. However, the pillows on the bed were like bricks and you just don't sleep properly when away from home. So *sigh*, i'm tired.

Here's looking forward to tomorrow, goodnight everyone.

My Inspiration

Hi, just a little bit about why i'm here. Being a mum of two, i've been doing a bit of self reflection recently and this has culminated in me deciding that i need to find, at least, a moment of joy from each day. Of course, it's a wonderful thing being a mother, but those of you who can sympathise with me will admit that some days its difficult to find the joy. So! My blog is dedicated to the moments i find in my day that will allow me to reflect, take stock and be thankful that i'm able to be at home with my children and not feel overwhelmed by the challenge that lays in front of me. I've always been inspired by fellow bloggers, but never felt able to write openly about myself. But, i will try and hopefully succeed!

As a start, here's a little pic of my son and I. It's nice for me to see in pictures the love that i have for my kids and this is hopefully how they get to see me most of the time.

Ta ta for now and i hope to be able to blog daily, however i know the pressure of "saying" will hinder the "doing".