IOSWYT: January 2012

The Naming Day.

We had a tea party for Lilian on Saturday (in case you weren't listening). It was instead of a christening. A naming afternoon tea (in case anyone forgot her name).

Was it a success? I think so. Everyone said they had a lovely time. They all ate cake and gulped tea by the bucketload.

It was lovely to have our families altogether (ok that is a lie, his mum and my mum met for the first time and they barely managed a hello. Thankfully that shall be the last time they're ever in a room together) and for Lilian to be surrounded by people who love her so dearly. That part made my heart swell with pride. She is so loved. But I got black icing down my dress and I smudged the cake. And I didn't get to speak to everyone who came to Lil's special day because I was so busy running around in five inch platforms making sure there was enough food and tea bags and hot water for tea and that Lilian was happy (she's teething) and that our mothers weren't ripping chunks out of each other and no dirty looks were getting thrown around (they were). I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked. I didn't capture the moment. We should have hired a photographer or at least asked someone to walk around with a camera but we were both so busy! So now I feel sad because I don't have a thousand pictures to show our daughter when shes older.

I do, however, have a wish jar. It is full of pieces of paper with wishes and hopes and dreams for her future. She will open it when she's 18. I haven't read any of them yet (I'm not sure if I should, I'm an emotional wreck at the moment). I also have three amazing friends who accepted the responsibility of Lil's two adopted aunts and one uncle. Three very special, kind people who I know will guide her on her journey throughout her life.

We have the memories of her day in our hearts. I'm going to sit down later and write them all in my journal to her. I know for next time to just take a step back and get lost in the moment, not lost in the kitchen. And by next time, I mean her first birthday party.

Oh god, only two months to go...

See where I smudged it? Idiot.

Cake by BeccaBoo Bakery

After all this, my arse has doubled in size.

Thank you so much to everyone that came, helped and baked. We have such wonderful friends and family. So blessed.

It is finally here.

Look at the time. I'm so tired. Is it Sunday yet?

I've baked a zillion cupcakes (slight exaggeration), iced the nasty little things, tidied, cleaned, washed a bunch of clothes and got them dry. This morning I angrily told my husband 'I'm not fucking superwoman' but I'd like to retract that statement because I think I am.

Tomorrow is Lil's naming afternoon tea. We have around sixty people coming.

You wanna know the worst thing about it? What I'm dreading the most? My mum and his mum meeting for the first time. We've been so successful in avoiding this for such a long time and then Lil goes and gets born and ruins it. I'm not looking forward to it at all.

Come back on Sunday and I'll tell you all about it...

Grown up time, finally.

It's Thursday already.

Today Lil is off out with Nanny while the grown ups spend the day in London doing grown up things. I'm excited to see one of our best friends, Laszlo who has flown over from Hungary to attend Lil's naming afternoon tea on Saturday. We're going for lunch and then I think my husband is taking me shopping but then I may have dreamt that conversation...

And then when we return, the madness begins. Cupcake hell. I used to enjoy baking cupcakes, now I despise it. I don't know what happened, maybe I had a baby and decided that I wanted to cook things instead because I rarely bake any more. I should have paid someone to bake for me, because that's what a sensible mother of a crawling, fidgety baby would do. Right? Hmmm.

I shall leave you with a picture of some cupcakes I shall attempt to bake tomorrow morning. Let's see how that turns out...

As if they're going to turn out like that.

Dirty dishes.

Since Lil has discovered this new found freedom people like to call 'crawling' (personally I think it should be called 'hell'), I haven't been able to get much done. Now she's more mobile than she has ever been, she doesn't like being restricted. The highchair is her idea of hell, she tries to climb out of her cot and her little rocking chair is no longer an option unless she is sleepy.

As she now thinks life is far too exciting to nap, I cannot get shit done. The house is a constant mess, the washing pile is getting bigger everyday and the dishes are stacked in the sink. When am I supposed to get all this cleared???

Mama's, is it cruel to get a playpen for her? Just for when I need to go to a different room (either to clean or count to ten if she's being a madam) or to wash the dishes. I can't tie her to the table leg, can I? Can I?

Help!

Abel & Cole: a wonderful luxury.

Every week I spend around £15 on fruit and vegetables and every week half of it gets thrown away. Sometimes because it isn't great quality, other times out of sheer laziness because I can't be bothered to cook it.

I promised myself I'd eat better this year (this includes cutting down on biscuits - dammit) so it was like a sign from the gods when the Abel and Cole booklet came through the door.

I had never heard of them before but always liked the idea of a fruit and veg delivery every week. So I signed up and waited for the goods to arrive the following Monday.

Errol delivered my fresh fruit and veg box this morning (that's right, Errol - he delivers in my area, you get your own fruit and veg delivery man every week!) and I was so excited to receive it.

Beautiful colours!

Every week you receive a different selection and you can let Abel and Cole know what you don't like so they know not to send it. The beauty of these boxes is you don't know what you're going to get, it all depends on what's in season (although you can find out what's going to be in your box if you log in to your account) so you can experiment when it comes to dinner time and they have some great recipes on their website if you're not as ambitious as me when it comes to cooking veg!

Medium veg box and free cookbook for all customers when they place their first order.

There are different size boxes, fruit or vegetables only or a mixed box. You can order eggs, milk, CAKE, bicuits, pies, cleaning products, meat, fish.... you can do your entire weekly shop with them!

It's also a godsend for Mamas, they stock Ella's kitchen products (including smoothies) and have their own baby fruit and veg box for pureeing!

Such a great service, I'd recommend this to anyone. Especially busy Mama's who want a great variety of fruit and veg in their diet. It's a great way to introduce different tastes to your baby too. Lil is in for a treat!

Their website is great, it introduces you to the people who grow what arrives in your box. Such a lovely touch! I shall definitely be ordering a box every week (and I may even order a cake to come with it - I'm allowed a day off!).

Go take a look here.

I bet you won't resist!

This post wasn't sponsored, the views above are entirely my own. Thank you to Abel&Cole for the images.

Crawling, climbing and eating.

I've been quieter than usual. Lil has started teething again and isn't napping. She's also started crawling. Full on, forward, 100mph crawling. I'm exhausted, she isn't. Where this energy is coming from I don't know...

Bored of her toys

It's less than a week until her naming day and just under two weeks until we go on holiday. Am I organised? Am I fu........ I can't stop eating biscuits or delicious honey and oat bread topped with Brie. My arse won't fit on the plane if I carry on but I CAN'T STOP.

We've not been up to much, I've been trying to sort things out for the party on Saturday and keep her entertained. She has started to try and climb the stairs, why is she growing up so quickly?

So there you have it. She's been exploring, I've been eating. Just the norm, really.

Stay tuned for the naming day dramas...

Currently reading...

My love of books had clearly been passed on to Lilian, she's a little bookworm!

Her current obsession is 'Alphabet' by Matthew Van Fleet

A great texture/flap book with lots of animals.

Does anyone have any recommendations for any great baby books for her collection?

Homemade Tortilla Pizza

I'm running out of ideas for mine and Lil's lunch. Mine normally consists of biscuits or air and she has breadsticks with cream cheese, cucumber or any other healthy finger foods. DULL!

We both love pizza but I'm fussy about the toppings so today we made our own. It took fifteen minutes to make and eat so this is a great idea if you're short on time!

What you need:

Tortilla wraps
Tomato puree
Any toppings you want on your pizza

We shared a cheese, caramalised onion and kale pizza.