Lust List

The wedding dress edition.

No, not my wedding dress, silly. I'm not planning on doing that again. No, this is for by brother's wedding in July. He's getting married in Barcelona and I'm beside myself with excitement for many reasons. The first, and most obvious is that I get to see my big  brother marry a truly lovely girl who makes him very happy. Also, we get to have a holiday (yay!) if the darned passport comes through in time. Lets not talk about the passport.

But...I also get to buy a pretty new dress, something I don't get to do very often. They have an informal dress code and it's going to be very hot so I've been keeping my beady eye out for floaty, summery, colourful dresses and here's what I have so far...

Janet dress, Coast

Butterfly print Maxi dress, Oasis

Tahiti dress, French Connection

A diet overhaul

I've been doing loads of research recently on nutrition for an eBook I've written at work. I trained in nutrition as it played a big part in my previous job as a personal trainer but work aside, I've always taken care to eat well and ensure my diet is as good as it can be, even more so now I have children who eat the same meals as me.

I try to include as many nutrient-rich foods (often referred to as superfoods) as I can. This means a high nutrient to calorie ratio and re-thinking my approach to meals so I eat for health, not calories. This way, I optimise my diet so I know my body is getting all the micro-nutrients it needs as well as a healthy carb, protien and fat ratio to maintain a healthy weight.

Since making the shift and including more of these superfoods in my diet I've noticed my energy levels increase, I'm sleeping better and my anxiety levels have plummeted (I was experiencing frequent palpitations and dizzy spells which have stopped completely). I'm also spending less on my weekly shop, roughly £50 a week for a family of four.

So what do I eat? My basic rule is to try and eat food in it's natural state as much as possible. Lots of salads, brown rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and tons of fresh fruit and veg. It's unintentionally a largely vegan diet with beans, nuts, lentils and quinoa as my main protien sources. If I do have something processed like cake then I'll make it myself as that way I know there are no preservatives or other nasties in there. Same with bread. I've got a huge repertiore of recipes so as I've had a few requests recently for I'll start sharing them with you on here.

Tonight I made a smoky butter bean stew, adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe.

You will need:

250g kale, spring greens or swiss chard
Can butter beans
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Half tsp cumin seeds
Tsp smoked paprika
tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil

1. In a large pan, heat the oil and sweat the kale until wilted
2. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
3. Tip in the butter beans
4. Add the paprika and cumin seeds and stir well
5. Tip in the tomatoes and simmer gently for 5 mins until warmed through

Serve with brown rice or quinoa. I had some sourdough to use up tonight so used it to top a couple of toasted slices. Quick, healthy, cheap and delish.

For loads more information on the nutrient-dense diet, including why it's important, the impact on our health, which foods to choose and more recipes, you can buy the eBook here (plug, plug) 

A little crochet inspiration

My creative juices have been somewhat repressed recently. Probably a combination of illness, having loads on at work and having no money making sure no inspiration makes its way to the forefront of my mind.

I read a great post by Charlotte last week about creativity and finding your mojo. It seems I'm not the only one finding this recently but, taking Charlotte's advice I clicked through to a few blogs. Current favourites are Attic24, Something I Made (as recommended by Charlotte), Oyster & Pearl , Tales from a Happy House and ohdeardrea.

And so I feel my mojo slowly returning. I have a huge stash of yarn left over from a granny blanket (unfinished, of course) I started months ago. I have always loved this knitted blanket from Mamas & Papas and now my babies are growing (sniff!) I've taken my inspiration from here and I'm making me a Mama-sized edition.

And so it starts. A simple treble-crochet stripe (after an enormous 200-strong foundation chain) interspersed with double crochet lines. I'm using my favourite colours from the stash and am fast running out but as the yarn I'm using is a bargainous £1.50 for 100g I shan't feel too guilty if I need a few more.

Lord knows how long this is going to take. I'm hoping to get it finished by the time I go away in July (don't know why, it's not like I'll need it in Spain at the height of summer. Hopefully).

It's very simple to do so I'll post a tutorial once I'm done. Hopefully this promise will also encourage me to actually finish a project for once.

Drama: The passport edition

I have a nemesis. The passport application form.

It should be simple. Fill out the form, send it off with a cute photo and bosh! New passport for your kid. IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE.

On the first form my countersignatory signed just outside the box. JUST. Like, less than a millimetre. apparently seeing someone's teeth is a no-no too. Anyone tried getting a passport photo for a two-year-old? Getting this kid to sit still (on my shoulder incidentally, with my arse sticking out of the photo booth) is hard enough without having to worry about his eyes being level with the line, head straight, looking forward, neutral expression. Talk about ridiculous, jeez. What's he gonna do, hide a bomb in his nappy? (actually he doesn't wear nappies but still, he's hardly the underwear bomber).

So then I did another form. Made a small mistake and had to go over a letter to make it bold. Yep, rejected again, with the second photo where Max had a shadow under his neck.

Third time lucky? Taking no chances with the photo, I took Max to a photo studio and paid a tenner for all of 3 minutes of the photographers time whilst Max sat for 2 snaps before promptly bursting into uncontrollable sobs. Still, we got the money shot. (Literally. Seriously thinking about setting up a kids passport photo studio).

How did he manage to look so different in each photo?

I attempted the form today, was so nervous about filling it out correctly that I put Andy's passport number instead of mine in the box. This is the point the form got the better of me. Oversensitive? Yup, but after countless trips to the post office, finding last-minute countersignatories, hemorrhaging money to pay for photos and a holiday booked in FIVE WEEKS I'd had enough. A new low: crying over a mistaken form. At work. Nice one.

So here I sit, surrounded by rejected applications and my final form which I've just asked my neighbour to counter-sign and guess what? She made a mistake. I'll take it to my new BFFs at the post office but I know what'll happen. I'll try not to clobber them with my reams of useless forms, get a new one and start the rigmarole again. Only this time we have a 2-day bank holiday to hold things up leaving 5 weeks to get my Son a passport. Otherwise I'll have to smuggle him across the continent in a (well-ventilated) suitcase. It'll be an adventure, yes?

Now, excuse me, I'm off drown myself in wine, eat my body weight (or the weight of the stack of applications, whichever's heaviest. I'm guessing the latter at this rate) in chocolate and laugh at my dog trying to catch the fly buzzing round the room. It's pretty funny.

Starting school and freaking out

Last night we made a visit to Finn's primary school which he starts in September. Now I'm proper freaking out. We were sat in a hall listening to the headteacher talk about settling new kids into school and I found myself fighting back the tears. What's wrong with me?

I should be ok, right? I've had 5 years to prepare for this, he's totally ready and beyond himself with excitement. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I've been overwhelmed and found myself counting down the days until the boys start school but it's suddenly all happening too fast and my baby is all grown up.

We went to a 5th birthday party last week and these kids were so different to Finn. Compared to these boisterous boys with their name-calling and rough and tumble, he's so little and innocent. It's inevitable that he's going to become more independent, form his own opinions and become his own little person outside of the influence of me, his brother and his Dad and I'm looking forward to that and seeing the person he'll become but it's laced with a sadness at the loss of precious time I'll have with him.

I find myself anxious now at what are probably very silly things, like how will he know where to go? Will he be frightened if he doesn't know where to put his stuff? Will he know what to do if he needs to go to the toilet? Things which will all be explained to him, of course but most of all I'm worried about him feeling frightened and alone.

The school seems great. Yesterday was reassuring and they are obviously used to silly parents like me with silly concerns and they were quick to say that the kids are eased in gently and will have 6 weeks of half day 'settling in' sessions to get used to the routines. They even get to wear slippers in school for the first 2 years to help them feel comfortable which is very cute.

So, I have the next 3 months to 'make the most' of my time with Finn. Though how I do that has always been a mystery to me. I guess we'll have lot of days out, lots of play and get some good quality time in. It's going to be tough on his brother, too as he's been a massive influence to him since the day he was born. They idolise each other and I know Max will miss him as much as me.

A good thing to come though is the fact that I'll have lots of one-to-one time with Max. Time we've never had. Come September, I'll be starting the application process for him, to start next September. Lord knows what I'll be like when that day comes. Time to have another perhaps...

Emerging...

Woah. Being ill isn't good. Being ill with 2 children to look after? Even worse.

For the last 2 weeks I've had some random virus. It felt like flu but I don't think it is as I've managed to infect people who've had the flu jab (sorry, Mum). To say I felt like I'd been hit my a truck would be a massive understatement. I couln't get out of bed for 5 days. Again, not ideal when you have kids and your husband is out for 16 hours a day.

Then Max got sick too, that's when I really got pissed off with these germs 'take me but don't take my baby'. So there were 2 of us, curled up in bed whilst poor little Finn has been watching 'I Can Cook' on repeat. Hey, don't judge, he's been having a BALL.

Today is my birthday, I still feel like crud and I'm totally OVER this now. But I have lost half a stone. Every cloud and all that...

Flu Soup

So today I took a sick day. Actually I didn't take a sick day because I don't work (in the traditional sense) Wednesdays and it turns out you can't call in sick to anyone when you have kids. Except your Mum. But mine was off sick. Oh, the cruelty.

As my appetite is non-existent but I need to get me some vitamins, I made soup. Flu-soup if you will. It's so easy that even the most flu-riddled can probably manage to make it (in between dizzy spells and trying not to die* as I did). It's packed with nutrient-rich foods and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

You will need:

250g yellow split peas, green or red lentils
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 sticks of celery, chopped
2 handfuls of kale
2 handfuls of peas
A thumb-sized piece of root ginger, grated or finely chopped
Half tsp turmeric
Half tsp garam masala
1.5l vegetable stock

1. Pour the stock into a large pan and bring to the boil.
2. Add all the veg, lentils, ginger and spices to the pan.
3. Bring to the boil, season to taste and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils are soft.
4. Remove from heat and blend to a purée. I like my soup mega-thick so add more water if you prefer it thinner.

See, told you it was easy. Now eat, and get better.

* I was not nearly dying. I'm a bit melodramatic when I'm ill