Shooting my sister :)

I've really missed taking pictures, so yesterday I decided to dust off my camera and (with Aidan along for the ride) take some pictures of my sister.
She is thinking of starting a fashion/outfit blog so it was perfect timing :)
Here are some of the pics :

Overdue guest crafter :)

I've been having problems with my laptop (biggest problem that it's an effort with a baby who wants your attention 24/7) but he spent some time hanging out with his aunt and uncle today giving me time to play catch up...which means I get to finally share some crafty fun courtesy of my ridiculously creative friend Cindy.

At Easter I had planned on crafting for friends and family, but then my aunt got sick and I just didn't have any spark of creativity left in me...luckily Cindy had more than enough :)
I asked her to share her Easter crafts and she did...the pictures are pretty self explanatory, but feel free to ask for clarity :)

Thanx again Cindy
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Easy tangy dip

Whenever I'm looking for a yummy dip or something to make a sandwich extra special I whip up this crazy easy,low fat, mayo dip, it's especially good on tuna and chicken sandwiches or with homemade buffalo wings ;)

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons - Light salad dressing
1 teaspoon - dried mixed herbs
1.5 teaspoons - grated onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

HOW TO:
Mix and enjoy ;)

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Aidan at one month old

This post is long overdue, in fact although this is his "one month update" Aidan is actually six weeks old already. I always planned to do monthly updates for his first year (a less sad version of what I did for year after Logan's birth) and although I'm a bit late I figure better late than never ;)

Aidan Jesse Meyers:

APPEARANCE: He is such a tall baby, or maybe he just seems that way because his mother is such a shorty. He has "filled out" nicely with chubby arms and legs slowly replacing his skinny limbs. He has a full head of hair and eyes still don't have a definite color

PERSONALITY: He is quite the moody one but is mostly an adorable cooing little thing who tries to make conversation with you and "shouts" at his toys. You can definitely see any displeasure on his face though. He has no patience and will scream his little head off when he needs to be fed or changed. He also has shortest attention span ever (which is to be expected I guess) so you constantly need to find something new to entertain him.

ROUTINE: He is awake more often now and HATES being put to bed, he literally kicks screams and scratches but that's mostly after 10 at night which is his "fussy time" (it takes him ages to fall asleep any time of the day though) he naps quite fine in his moses basket during the day, but at night its like there are motion detectors in there signaling him to wake up the moment he is put down.

LOVES: Food ooh this kid loves to eat and I feel like I'm constantly feeding! His bouncy chair keeps him entertained longer than anything else and taking him out to see trees instantly calms him

DISLIKES: Being woken up and being made to sleep (go figure) he also hates being naked (bummer as he needs to be changed often with the peeing on himself)

HEALTH: he suffers from Reflux and currently has pretty bad flu that has affected his chest really badly and makes for one cranky kid who isn't biggest fan of meds or the fact that he has to sleep sitting up in order to breath

MOM: I'm still getting used to things but am surprised daily at what I can do, like operate on 3 hours sleep a day and doing day to day operations one handed. I'm suddenly a multitasking pro and although I still get frustrated A LOT I feel less like a basket case and that's good ;)

*chair picture taken at one month old exactly

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This was my weekend

As you can see by picture it was an exhausting weekend...added to what has become our usual late nights, tense days and learning to cope in our nw roles we hung out with good friends on Saturday and Aidan slept through his very first play date with twins Blake and Riley (children of Robyn and Ryan) and Gia (daughter of Lyndall and Marvin)... Hehe yes he is still to young for play dates but I honestly can't wait for him to be able to join in with their adorable antics...
-It was mothers day yesterday and "aidan" gave me a MUCH NEEDED spa voucher, deluxe mani pedi here I come!
We went to cemetery aswell which has become a tradition with our family since my gran died in 2005 (she was the matriarch of the family), I also finally went to see my Godmothers grave (missed funeral because Aidan was born) it felt so stupid and wrong! Seeing her name on a grave just makes no sense! I was surprised to find that her grave is surrounded by those of little kids...apt as with almost 30 years of teaching experience she has always surrounded herself with kids.
We also visited Logan's grave and we found a strange and slightly upsetting thing. On Logan's birthday we went to his grave which is covered in grey stones and packed white stones in the shape of a heart and also placed a teddy on head stone (first thing I bought when we found out I was pregnant) ...
For some reason someone removed all traces of the heart from his grave :( they actually removed every individual stone which made up the heart but left the teddy - no idea why someone would do that :(
Anyway that was my weekend chat soon...

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Finding faith in fear

*picture; my mom and Aidy...

U can't control this! Relax! Let go! Let God! You're doing a good job, just trust yourself!
This is what I've been trying to remind myself especially after friends have been giving me "talkings to"
Looks like YET AGAIN I've asked God to take the wheel, but I'm struggling to get my butt out of the drivers seat! at the same time I'm being hard on myself as always.
I have flu and feel like death! My mom took Aidy for a bit yesterday to let me sleep and I woke up with so much guilt!
It just feels like I should be better at this! Why does Aidy cry in my arms, why does it take so much to stay awake and why does this pajama drill have me feeling physically sick?
Wasn't this whole instinct thing supposed to kick in by now? Shouldn't I be more proficient when it comes to "mommying"?
Sometimes I have this nightmare where doctors come to "take Aidan back" because I'm not cutting it!
It feels like all my "mommy friends" just have their shizz together so much more than I do! And I can't tell you the guilt that comes with the relief of my mom taking him for a bit or the exhaustion of sleeping at full alert for a hour or two midday because nighttime and early mornings (according to Aidan) are reserved for crying spells.
I overheard a nurse in hospital tell another nurse that I was clumsy and awkward with Aidan and that seems to be stuck in the back of my head, I don't know why I even listen to such negativity! Especially as the same nurse didn't think I would ever "cut it" with breast feeding and look at me now!
I guess the main thing is that I really wanna get this mommy thing right, not for my own ego, but because I have this ,too big for his boots, little noise maker, who is relying on me to get out of my head, to cut myself some slack, take help when offered and most importantly trust myself . . . Here we go again: No Fear, Just Faith
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Meatless Monday recipe...

For a while now Rob and I have been part of the Meatless Monday movement (Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and the health of the planet. - more info on www.meatlessmonday.com)
I read something on it a while ago and liked the concept so now we try to adhere every week - sometimes we fail miserably but we keep on trying,lol

To keep things exciting I'm always on the lookout for new vegi recipes...
I saw fellow Meatless Monday enthusiast and new mom Jill Opplet Theunissen post a meal she made and it looked so yummy I knew I had to get her to do a guest blog
post, so here goes . . .

Sooooo about the 'Meatless- Mondays'...
its very up and down, sometimes we cheat, but its mostly meatless, lol.
We started doing Meatless - Mondays when we were still living in PE because we always had braais on weekends (looots of meat and drinks), so come Monday we were so bloated and sluggish that we welcomed meatless dishes. I also receive the Woolies weekly news letters and they do Meatless-Mondays and always have super recipes for Mondays.
 
The first dish I prepared was the Herby Mushroom Lasagne, plain and exotic mushrooms sauted in butter, onions and herbs, mixed with ricotta cheese and layered between lasange sheets and served with a salad of rosa tomatoes and cucumber drizzled with balsamic creme. This came out really good so we carried on with the Meatless Mondays and are still doing it today.
 
Last night we cheated and added chicken because we basically had an almost meat free weekend.
 
This is one dish I love making because its quick and easy and soo tasty, also now that Jude (baby) is well into solids I can puree it for him for lunch the next day... with a few ingredients omitted.
 
Creamy Mushroom pasta
 
-Half a punnet of white button mushrooms chopped ( you can add some exotic mushrooms to the dish if you have)
-1 tspn dried mixed herbs ( you can use fresh if you have, just chop finely- rosemery, thyme, origanum)
-1/2 finely chopped onion
-1 finely chopped garlic clove or 2 tspns chopped garlic
-1 tbspn butter (you can use margerine or low fat spread... but butter is awesome)
-1/2 cup white wine (any white wine will do, I've use a box wine!)
-1/4 cup vegetable stock
-125ml cream
cooked pasta
 
Melt butter over medium heat, add onions, garlic and herbs and saute till onions are soft
Add wine and reduce slightly (5 mins)
Add stock and cook for a further 5 mins
Add cream and cook until reduced and slightly thick (10mins)
Taste and add salt and pepper if needed depending on how salty your  veg stock is
 
If you like your food slightly spicey like we do, add some chilli flakes with the herbs at the begining
For a non veg option add chicken or bacon.. or both!
 
When cooked mix with the pasta and serve with a fresh salad to cut through the richness of the pasta
 
NB. do not mix with too much pasta otherwise the sauce will be absorbed by the pasta and it will be dry.
 
To use this as baby food follow step one and either add low sodium veg stock or boiled water and reduce once cooked add some cooked pasta and puree in a blender. Add more water to create the right consistency. Use immediately or store in sterilised jars.
 
I have included a pic of the ingredients... but I didn't take a pic before we ate it, so I stole a pic from the internet (http://www.123rf.com/)
 
Anyways, thats me!
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