Going retro LOL

After his last preschool bug, Little B has been decidedly off his food. Apparently air and pureed fruit icypoles are food groups of their own :-)

So today we decided to go retro and make.....pumpkin scones!!

I actually found these great to make. And not only did pumpkin go in but the night before I made a swede and brussel sprout puree with a touch of potato to make it white. So this was added with the pumpkin and Little B was none the wiser. And the end result? They taste great and Little B has been eating them for lunch with a bit of soup on the side or a touch of chicken (read: mainly just the scones *sigh*).

But I've decided that next time I'm going to use this scone dough to make scrolls. It's such a beautiful soft dough and since Little B cant eat cheesymite scrolls I thought I might experiment with some vegies, perhaps some chicken and wrap them up into scrolls.

Healthy Home, Healthy Family

I recently read Healthy Home, Healthy Family by Nicole Bijilsma as it gives some great tips on things to look for for when buying/renting a house. Admittedly I was focussed on mold but she also covers electromagnetic fields (EMF's), dust mites, mold, pesticides, building materials and so forth.

Now until I read this book, I didnt know too much about EMF's. I'd seen some interesting posts on Sarah Wilson's blog about her experience with EMF's and autoimmune disease. After reading the book  though, we did change a few things around in the house (namely moving Little B's bed as it was too close to the fridge) and I'm careful to keep the powerpoints of some items off at all times unless we are using them.

Last week, a Council of Europe committee called for a ban on wireless internet modems, mobile and cordless phones in schools due to the potential health risks to children. Interestingly, cordless phones are considered as dangerous as mobile phones to the brains of children. We originally abandoned cordless phones to save $$$ but seeing this, the good old analog phone is a bonus twice over. I also keep our modem off unless we are actually using the computer but it is in our main living area next to the lounge. After reading Healthy Home, Healthy Family, I now refuse to sit on the lounge unless the modem is off, but after reading the above article, I now refuse to have the modem on if Little B is playing in that room.

This might seem a little pedantic, but I figure in this day and age when kids are being diagnosed with multiple behavioural issues, it doesnt hurt to avoid the things that are proven to alter the brain. Especially when I have a child so young. These things didnt exist when I was young and nobody has lived an entire life time in the presence of all these new whizz bang technologies, so I figure better safe than sorry.

Anyways, this is a great book and well worth a read if you are interested in building biology. The bits on dust mites made great reading as well.

Patiently waiting

I've been patiently waiting for our apple trees to lose their leaves, as I'm mad keen to transplant them to a different part of the garden. Our neighbours trees have grown since we planted them and they just dont get enough sun.

Our pear trees have already lost their leaves, so how are the apple trees going...

Hmm I guess I'll just have to stretch my patience just that little bit longer LOL.

In the meantime we've been digging holes for new fruit trees. We hope to get our bare rooted trees fairly soon (I cant believe it's nearly June already!!) - a plum, an almond and hopefully another peach. I've also been organising some more half wine barrels as we want to get more blueberry plants.

The very back of Granny B's block is fairly bare (other than grass) and fairly redundant, so our hope is that this area will be filled with fruit trees and just maybe one day her much dreamed about chooks.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Inspired by soulemama

 

 

I did it :-)

6 weeks, 4 assignments and 4 exams later....I've finally finished my night course with flying colours. 

I always knew that I wanted to work locally when Little B went to school next year, and quite by accident found a job recently 5 minutes from home. It was really too good an opportunity to miss. Only catch, I needed to do an industry course to update my skills. My new boss is a fab lady and will let me work Little B's preschool hours this year and then school hours next year.

The other bonuses are the office is 5 minutes from either of the primary schools I will send Little B to, and the office closes on days of Total Fire Ban (which is a huge bonus when you live in a high bushfire risk area!!).

But I'm mainly proud that I managed 8 hours a week at school, at night (I'm normally so tired at night), finished all my assignments on time and passed my exams and didnt really let the ball drop at home until last week. And last week was a week of sick children, sick mamas and sick papas, and a sick cat - so things were bound to fall over LOL.

Garlicky Lentil Soup

For Maxabella :-)

5 cups water / stock

250g red lentils

Garlic **

1 swede

2 stalks celery diced

1 carrot diced

6 x brussel sprouts

¾ cup green beans, diced

1 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

** The amount of garlic you add depends on your personal taste. We add 2 cloves of garlic crushed because Little B doesn’t like too much garlic. You may want to add more or less depending on how garlicky you like things – Mr B would add 4 if Little B wasn’t eating LOL **

Throw everything in a pot. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes. Let soup cool then puree in a blender. Service with crusty rolls for dipping…yumm

The swede and garlic add a beautiful sweetness to this soup, and the rest of the vegies are packed full of nutrients. Cheap, tasty and relatively quick makes this soup a winner at our house.

this saturday i'm grateful for gumboots

 Pic courtesy of www.whisty.wordpress.com

This has been a weird Saturday full of blue skies, rain clouds, rain and who knows what else...but today I'm grateful for:

* gumboots - we've had bucket loads of rain overnight and our world is full of big smoodgie puddles

* washing powder - said puddles proved too tempting and Little B thought a full frontal body slide in a muddy puddle was in order

* good pelvic floor muscles - I nearly wet my pants laughing when I caught sight of a mud monster at the back door...whoops sorry my muddy son. I wish I'd had my camera handy.

Check out Maxabella loves for more grateful ladies...