Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A more 'bothered' post!

Well, apologies for my absence of contributions to the net dialogue over the last months and weeks!

I have had a real feeling of not-being-botheredness these last months, and I am determined to drag myself out of it at speed. I hope that my lack of indulgence in the thoughts in my own head are not contagious, and that your own blogs are fantastically running free and wild. There have been a few reasons, of which I'll whine about for a moment or two, for my absence.

I've had a shocking time trying to enjoy what I do for a living. My day care business is currently very slow, due to the upcoming baby, and the children I have are a little difficult. One in particular - my own! - has decided that he no longer needs naps because he is such a big boy. Well guess where that big boy is right now? Yep, that's right, he's asleep because he snuggled in to my lap about a half hour ago and fell silently to sleep. Poor lil bloke, he's coming down with a little cold and the coughing is really taking it out of him.

Another thing is that the doctors' were afraid that my pregnancy wasn't going well. They combined blood and scan results and decided they were concerened. They have still got no idea what their concern was about, but in the end a lovely lady doctor at the antenatal clinic told me to go home, not worry and not show up for a scan until I was 22weeks and then everything will be huge and they'll be able to see if there is anything to be concerned about. She still thinks that there is nothing to worry about! So with that in mind, I had a break to see my favourite girlfriend before she moves too far away to get to and relaxed for a week and did not a lot! The baby is now very active and kicking and all sorts, and I keep thinking that any day now my son will be laying or sitting on me and ask me why my tummy just kicked me! HE's very aware that there is a baby coming, in his own two year old way, and has already informed me that it's a baby sister, and that she will be sleeping in his room and getting cuddles, so that is great.

I am really starting to plan my new baby's and my current baby's lives after november is here. We've taken delivery of our nappies, and I'm pretty sure that the parcel post card left this morning is from the one-size-fits-most covers I ordered online last week. Aside from going in on a full-scale re-usable nappy adventure, I'm also starting to make my own cleaning products, and am thinking of starting a little home business based on it. Then again, to avoid having to actually do anything resembling work every again, I'm thinking of doing just about anything that I can complete with children in tow, so if you have a valid idea that doesn't sound dodgy then let me know!

I am stockpiling any freezable food items and also wearing my partner down to letting me get in some extra pantry cupboards (linen cupboards in other words - I'm not fussy!) so that while I have an income I can stock up on as many things as possible. My local markets are amazing with being able to buy in bulk and then preserve things like tomato sauces and lemons and the like - so I'll be doing a lot of that once I have the storage space to sort it out safely.

My home cooking is taking a fantastic turn for the better - I've been on a soup frenzy this month and have created many different types, with my favourite so far being a blend of an off-the-top-of-my-head cauliflower and potato and bacon soup that I intended to put some of in the freezer for another day. Turns out, the 'another' day was the next day for lunch, it was so yummy!

The recipe -

Half a very big Cauliflower
Two handfuls of bacon pieces
A Handful of sliced leek
Four peeled and diced potatoes (or about three handfuls!)
A litre of chicken or vegie stock.

I slow fried the leek and diced bacon until the leek started to soften, then added the potato and cauliflower. I continued the slow frying for about 5 minutes to let the vegies break down a bit and absorb the leek and bacon juices (I have pretty good non-stick cookware, so you might want to add some olive oil at the start if you dont!). About five minutes in I added the stock and let it simmer really low for about half an hour. That was it. It wasn't too flashy, and the herbs weren't added because I wanted a true taste of cauliflower to come through. It was delish!

I'm trying to stockpile a lot more soups, because my partners' Nan is very unwell and I want to do a frozen food drop off to her and Pop. I know she's not eating much, so I would really feel stoked if I could take them about three or four yummy soups ready to just throw in the microwave and heat. So fingers crossed I haven't made anything too full on for them!

Anyway, I'd best be off to start peeling the blankets off that lil bloke and waking him up, or he'll be awake all night! Hope you all have a lovely week and that I'll have the opportunity to write again within the next 48 hours.