What I Can Do on Very Little Sleep

I have had one sleep deprived weekend. Emily has a cold and although it's nothing serious, it's hard to breath through runny nose when you still suck on a dummy all night. I believe the last decent nights sleep I had was last Thursday.

This morning she woke up at 4am and decided that it was time to get up and play. After an hour and a half of warm milk, back patting and lullaby's I put her in my bed. Half an hour of kicking and mucking around later I decided stuff it, we're up!

Saturday night Emily told me she wanted Macaroni Cheese for dinner....either that or it was Macca's. In two year old speak they both sound the same. Anyway I thought I'd do a little experimenting. We had no macaroni and I have no idea what cheese goes into it so I cooked up some spiral pasta and cauliflower. Then I sweated off some chopped leek and garlic and poured in some cream, grated Edam & Chedder cheese, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I mixed the sauce with the pasta and cauliflower.

Emily did her first bit of cooking by sprinkling the breadcrumbs, cheese & rosemary mixture on top.

Then I popped it in the oven for 15 minutes till the top was golden. Emily wolfed it down and we even had enough leftover for Sunday lunch, which was good because I was definitely too tired to cook.

To kill some time today, and to burn off a little excess toddler energy, we went to the park. Finally Emily can reach the peddles on her tricycle and it was nice that she actually sat on it without insisting on jumping off and pushing it herself.

I'm loving this stage that she's at. It's all make believe and pretend play. She watches everything I do and if I'm sweeping the floor, she has to get her little broom out and sweep too.

With a huge week ahead including the Kids In Style expo next Friday, I really hope she sleeps well.

How was your weekend? 





A Blissful Weekend

What an absolutely glorious weekend! It helped that I got loads of sleep, something that is normally unheard of in this house. Emily was away at her Daddy's for the weekend so I took full advantage of the peace and quiet.

Waking up this morning I just had to go for a run. When my husband and I first met I was running 7km a day (I know that's not much for some but for me it was a huge achievement), but since Emily was born and with all the problems we have been going through at home, the running has been put to the side.

I felt so good to get out in the fresh air. And boy was it fresh! 2'C fresh! Even the cows were huddled under the trees and I could hear the white frozen grass crunching under my feet as I ran across the paddock and into the reserve.

When I got home I couldn't help but notice my garden and the sun shining on it. Even though everything has been pruned and the leaves are long gone from the trees, you could still see color and life everywhere.

My Mum calls these winter roses and says she just wishes they'd straighten up and hold there heads up.

This precious angel has survived more gardens than I can remember. She has been with me for about 15 years now and looks magical under the white Camellia.

These beauties popped out there heads in the sunshine last weekend. They were such a lovely surprise as I didn't even know they were there. I must remember to plant more surprise bulbs around the garden this Spring.

So what better way to finish the weekend than with a Sunday Roast? Silverside is a seriously underestimated cut of beef. 1.5kg cost me a mere $7.00 and would be enough to feed a family of six. I knew the best way to do it justice would be to slow cook it all day in my late Nana's crock-pot. Just seasoned with salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil and I cooked that sucker for 8 hours. The result.....juicy, fall-apart on your fork, salty silverside served with roasted root vegetables and green beans. Delicious!

Those beautiful daffodils looked lovely on the table at dinner tonight too.

It was truly a glorious Sunday. How was yours?