Happy Mother’s Day

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day for us here in the UK (and several other countries too).

For over a month, Missy has been excitedly dropping hints at surprises she is going to plan with daddy for me…then proceeding to tell me about it, then taking it back. She’s been hilarious with it. It all started with a day out with her friend at a creative Ceramics Café over the February half term school break. The girls saw a handmade card that said something about mums. They were able to read the words on the card, took them off the shelf and said they’re for us. Conversation moved on to Mother’s Day and the girls decided they’ll buy the card as our Mother’s Day card. Soo, on that sunny day in February, I bought my own card (on her behalf) and I hope she remembers to decorate for me.

Just after her swimming class last night, with wide eyes, Missy declared that she knows exactly what I should do for MY mother on Mother’s Day (I had earlier mentioned that I’d quite like to see my mum too on Mother’s Day). She said “Mummy, I’ll surprise you with breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day. You’ll have your surprise breakfast then go to Grandma’s house and make her breakfast in bed too. That’s what you’ll do mum.” Well, logistics and practicalities aside, I couldn’t help but smile at the sweet thought.

To top it off, she was the class STAR OF THE WEEK again. #happy mum #proud mum.

To all you hardworking Mothers, Godmothers, Aunties etc, I wish you lots of love and happiness on Mother’s Day and always.

MBx

The Relucant Shopper

It was my mother’s birthday earlier this week. I had planned to spend the day with her (with JD tagging along for fun :o) at Westfield Stratford City which she really wanted to go to, and have a nice lunch with her at either Busaba Eathai or Jamie’s Italian before heading back to pick Missy from school.

On my mother’s birthday, I found myself alone with JD in Westfield Stratford City on an early weekday morning, shortly after its doors opened. My mother had earlier decided to cancel her annual leave to help her colleagues who were short staffed. (I never worked on my birthday, so the thought of willingly cancelling my leave is a whole different language).

Well, JD and I now had ‘commitments’ at Westfield, a few errands we intended to do whilst we were there with mum. So we headed there anyway. I actually really like shopping, always have done. If my bunny family ever got lost, you’ll find Daddy Bunny in a bookstore or library, you’ll find Missy in a park and you’ll find me (and for now, with JD) in the nearest shopping area. FACT. But this week was not that week. We headed to Westfield with a sense of purpose, to tick off the items we were there to do and head straight back home. No detours, no shopping, no lunch or treast, no wondering down “The Street” or the indoor market.  It was really quiet, perfect for photo-blogging too. But no. We headed straight to where we needed to go and back home.

I have never found myself standing reluctantly in any shopping mall and feeling like I’d rather go home. Even JD had a very long nap throughout.  There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

How do you do it?

This is soo going to be us soon. Heck, its already like this when Missy joins us sometimes at the weekend!

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about sleep here, in a sleepy haze. 3 weeks later, the situation has not much improved, but I am thankful that JD has gone back to napping much better during the day so I am less worried about his lack of sleep. Generally, he’s still a happy, cute and healthy bunny, so can’t be mad at him.

Anyhooo, since the last post, we’ve introduced one formula feed at night (well, every other night). This doesn’t help much, except that he wakes every 2-3hrs, not every 1-2hrs (yaay, lucky me!). I saw a health visitor earlier this week who suggested we start weaning him – at 4mths! Not sure how I feel about introducing solid food much earlier than the recommended 6mth age, I’ll give it some further thought before I do. I still feel really tired sometimes but still find the inner strength to get things done, inside and outside our home. Someone recently asked how I manage to fit it all in. I honestly don’t know but don’t we all? That annoying account you’ve landed that has you working 60hours weeks; The sickly child that wails and wails That intense project that zaps the life out of you. I remember my most challenging and complex project, I literally had my first grey strands of hair working on that memorable project, although it did help my career immensely.

Soo, this morning? I’ve been awake since 5am as JD decided he’d lie wide awake happily chattering away till around 7am. My family will all nod in agreement that 5am is way too early for me as I’ve always crawled out of bed at 7am or later. Thankfully, Daddy Bunny was on school run duty today so I planned to crawl back into bed after kissing Missy goodbye. But as soon as she left, with JD now fast asleep, I thought it’d be the perfect time to do the bakes for this Saturday’s school Easter Activity Day + my sisters birthday and also to get my home in order. And I did just that. The house with its freshly baked goods smells much better too. yummmmy. Just hope I don’t doze off in pilates again tonight!

How do you feel today?

MBx

The Lego Movie

We went to see The Lego Movie after ballet & lunch today. We had been looking forward to seeing the movie since we saw the previews in cinema last year and we all definitely enjoyed the movie. It is always a bonus when kids movies are also entertaining for the accompanying adult too. Even baby JD seemed to enjoy it too, choosing to skip his afternoon nap to watch the movie with us (though he did sleep on the drive there and back). There’s a very catchy song called “Everything is Awesome” which I’ve been humming since we left the cinema..must check youtube for that. We saw the 2D version, which I think was okay for this movie.

Our next eagerly anticipated movie release? Rio 2 (a sequel to Rio which is a family favourite) and we shall be seeing that on the big screen in 3D. Roll on April 5th.

Which movies have you seen recently?

MBx

Where have you been all my life?

No, this is not a post about Rhianna’s song of the same title so please, read on 🙂

Missy, JD and I had just sad down for dinner last night when Daddy Bunny came home. He asked us to guess what he brought home for dessert. Over 20 guesses later, Missy and I gave up.

He then joins us for dinner, bearing a box of treats from Cinnabon. Now, I’ve never tried their supposedly world famous cinnamon rolls but my gosh, while eating my delicious half-a-cinnabon-roll ever so slowly, I kept wondering, where has this been all my life? Thanks Daddy B!

A very indulgent treat. But in this year that the Bunny Family are trying to eat healthier, this is definitely a treat, not the norm.  The guys are Cinnabon are keen to let customers know that all their products are halal and suitable for vegeterians.  Oh okay then, enjoy.

Have you ever had a Cinnabon Roll?

MBx

Skinny Scrumptious Cake

Somewhere near the top of this year’s to-do list (no, not ‘resolutions’) is cakes. I’d like to bake more, particularly, celebration cakes. This is somewhat contradictory to another entry higher up this year’s to-do list, which is healthier meals for the family. Soo, the plan is to enjoy the bakes but share them with family & friends so as not to throw our healthier-eating year completely off course.

Rather timely, a friend sent me recipes from an article in Women’s Health Magazine on skinny cakes by celebrity cook, Amber Rose. Click here the full article including recipes. Given the lack of sleep (which continues since my last blog post on the subject), I thought I’d try the energy boosting recipe made with Spelt Flour. By the time I thought to take a photo, there was a measly slice left so thought I’d share the recipe instead – see  below.

Baked any interesting cakes or treats you’d care to share?

MBx

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FOR MORE ENERGY: CHEEKY LITTLE CAKE TO SHARE

Serves: 6 | Cals: 422 | Sat fat: 14.9g | Ready in: 40 mins
The sweet hit in this baked treat comes from low-fructose maple syrup, which will stave off blood-sugar crashes and stop you reaching for the biscuit tin come 4pm. Genius.
INGREDIENTS: 160g softened unsalted butter, 160g sifted white spelt flour, 2 large free-range eggs, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 160g maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, Small squeeze of lemon juice
FOR THE FILLING: 3 tablespoons of your favourite sugar-free jam, 150ml low-fat crème fraîche (whipped to ribbon consistency)
TO DECORATE: Unrefined icing sugar, Fresh flowers

1/ Okay then… Preheat the oven to 180°C before greasing and lining two 16cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins.
2/ Time to get stuck in. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until pale and fluffy. Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour and beat in the eggs until you have a light, fluffy mixture (if it’s curdling, add another tablespoon of flour.) Add the remaining flour and baking powder, then the maple syrup and vanilla extract and fold it all together. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and fold again. Got that?
3/ Divide the mixture between the tins, level the tops and bake for 25 minutes. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out on to a wire rack to finish cooling. No nibbling yet.
4/ When the cakes are cool, spread the bottom layer with jam, then crème fraîche. Put on the top cake, dust with icing sugar and scatter with flowers. Share with your favourite person. Or scoff the lot alone. We won’t judge.

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Wednesday & Friends

Happy Wednesday all!

Quickly recovering from yesterday’s cool and cloudy day, the sun made a much welcome appearance for a planned day out at our local park & then our award winning gallery. I met up with my two good friends & their babies who are a few months older than my bunny, JD. Catching up with the ladies both looking fabulous with shades on, I was inspired to kick off a new project, rethink an existing idea and left remaining unconvinced that #groufie (group selfie) was a real word/slang. It’s nice that our older kids are the same age and Missy is really good friends with both. Wouldn’t it be grand if JD becomes good friends with the fellow younger siblings too? No pressure bunny.

Speaking of friendships, JD was very giggly and chatty with a baby this evening. He giggled as the baby giggled, babbled as the baby did the same etc. Sounds silly but it was absolutely hilarious to watch. This new friend? His reflection in the mirror.

What was the highlight of your Wednesday?

MBx

Has Spring Sprung?

What a beautiful day in London today. JD, my sis and I are at Columbia Road Flower Market and it already feels so warm here with clear blue skies, fresh flowers, a happy son and even happier Londoners (the sunshine makes us happy, fact!) who have all ditched the winter coats which draped our shoulders only just a few days ago. I’d say Spring has truly sprung.

What’s Missy up to? She’s with Daddy Bunny & friends at Royal Festival Hall for Under 10s Feminist Corner. No doubt they’ll be out enjoying brunch in the sun afterwards at the Southbank overlooking the River Thames.

What are you up to on this beautiful morning, wherever you are?

MBx

Z is for ZZZ

My bunny JD is having a bit of a rough patch (though a rough patch would infer a brief occurence, which this isn’t). Now 3.5mths old, he wakes every 1-2hrs to feed at night. As a treat, he’d sometimes let me sleep for 3 straight hours before rousing. (Jeez, thanks bunny!).
As a mother to a little baby, I accept the interrupted sleep during these early days is part of package, particularly for a baby who is exclusively breastfed (well, until 2 nights ago). Doesn’t take away from my body’s desire to shut down and reboot. In conversation with a dear friend recently, she joked that for mother’s day, dads should take the kids away to give us a break. We laughed at this suggestion but man, I need a break, and the thought of a break would certainly be welcomed.

By the way, would you believe I literally dozed off towards the end of my pilates class tonight, might have been just a few seconds, or perhaps it was minutes as at the end of the class, our instructor asked if I was okay. Hope I didn’t snore!

Any tips on how to get JD to sleep for a longer stretch at night?

MBx

It’s World Book Day

Someone, somewhere decided that 6th March would be this year’s World Book Day, an annual event that has been around for much longer than my little bunnies.

Missy started school in Sept 2013 so I’ve been looking forward to dressing her up for her first ‘book day’ event. She does love fancy dress, but I’m definitely way more excited than she appears to be on this one. Armed with inside info from parents with slightly older kids, I learnt a while ago that most schools invite pupils to attend school dressed as their favourite book characters. So, at the start of the year, I asked Missy what her favourite book was. Well, there are several but without a doubt, as expected, she shrieked that her top choice is ‘Cat in the Hat’ by Dr Seuss which was perfect as this gave me the opportunity to get her dressed in what would hopefully be a less common costume in her class. Yaaay, not another princess costume (there’s always many of those at the school playground on dress up days).
I started researching what I’d need to make her costume but as I’m not the craftiest (if that’s even a real word) of mums, so cue, a trip to my favourite online store (that’s Amazon) to order this perfect Cat in the Hat costume for her.

Just as well I ordered early, the letter from school gave us a week’s notice of the World Book Day event…that would have been hefty express delivery charge from Amazon for our perfect costume. Our local library is also hosting a World Book Day party which starts at 4pm so I’ll be taking Missy along to that BUT not before she is fed and watered (why, oh why, does she always come home ravishingly hungry after school?)

How did your bunnies celebrate today?

MBx