January 2008
“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”
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2008
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| A walk on Hampstead Heath | |||
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| Christmas scenes | |||
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Grandpa and Lyra
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Harriet and Nova
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Could we look more glum?
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Nova's gingerbread house
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Oliver
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Nova
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Lyra
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Marni
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January 31, 2008Went round to Christine's for coffee. (I am a coffee morning machine these days!) Lyra and Alice were very interested in one another at first -- lots of tentative poking, prodding, and jumper pulling -- but before long were engaged in what the childcare books call "parallel play" (basically, ignoring each other). Alice is just cutting her top teeth, so perhaps Lyra won't be far behind. They are only a week apart, and actually they'd be a day apart if they'd both arrived on their due dates. She's off her food again, which is worrying, and didn't really eat any of her meals today. That said, she's drinking an enormous amount of formula milk, so perhaps we need to cut back on that a bit. Hard to do when the poor little mite is still so underweight... Nova is really getting into her piano practice at the moment. She's
just started playing songs with chords and is finding it much more
rewarding than picking out silly little melodies. She practiced
every day last week, and by the time her next lesson came round
she could really rip off the tunes she'd been set. I really enjoy
practicing with her -- and if she carries on like this, we'll have
to consider buying (or renting) a piano, or at least a better keyboard. |
January 30, 2008My friend Patty came down from the Midlands for a visit. I met her at Euston at noon and we had a great day in London. Started with a sushi feast at Centrepoint Sushi, then some shopping in Soho and Oxford Street, and a bit of culture at the V&A. We returned to Highgate so I could breastfeed Lyra and put her
down. Had a couple of glasses of wine then caught the tube back
to Camden to see "The Savages" with Laura Linney and Phillip
Seymour Hoffman. Popcorn for dinner. My kind of day... |
January 29, 2008Today was my first day back at work -- I went in for a team away day. I'm not back officially until 21 April, but I'm doing a few "keep in touch" days between now and then. I hadn't been looking forward to it, but actually quite enjoyed it when I got there. In some ways it seemed like I'd never been away... Simonia served notice tonight, which was a big surprise. We've kept her on this year I've been on maternity leave on the understanding that she'd work full days once I returned to work. She claims she's very happy with us and it's only because we aren't offering as many hours as this other job, but I think there must be more to it than that. I said I wished that she'd talked to us before signing the contract as perhaps we could have negotiated something that suited her, but what's done is done. Nova was distraught when I told her. I was surprised, as I didn't
think she was all that attached to Simonia. When she finally stopped
crying enough to speak, it turns out her main concern was that she'd
have to go back to Teresa's again. Once I explained that would never
happen, she got quite enthusiastic about a new nanny, even suggesting
that perhaps we could get one of her friends nice nannies to come
and work for us instead. Now there's an idea...;-) |
January 28, 2008Went for coffee at Alicia's after drop-off. After a few days of good eating, Lyra was off her breakfast again this morning, and seems to be coming down with another cold...;-( However, she snaffled Mason's jam sandwich and absolutely hoovered it in, so that's good. Maybe she just doesn't like the fare we're dishing up at home... Had a bit of a clear out of Lyra's clothes this afternoon. She's already grown out of a number of things, and this time we won't be saving them in hopes of using them again. There are a couple of little outfits I can't bear to part with, but the rest of it can go to Oxfam, maybe via Eytan and Dina first. Adam and I went out for dinner at the Wells Tavern in Hampstead.
We try to go out once a month, and generally manage it. We had salads
to start, and I went for the daube of beef, which is one of those
dishes I've heard of but never tried. It was absolutely delicious,
the chunks of meat meltingly tender. You could have eaten it with
a spoon. I forget what Adam ordered, my daube was so entralling.
Had a bottle of Crozes Hermitage to go with it. |
January 27, 2008Made a birthday card for Beulah this morning before the family lunch at Durum (their local Turkish restaurant). Adam is going to take her to the Arsenal v AC Milan game, which inspired this effort:
We were running late as usual, and Adam was throwing the car around the winding roads like a rally driver. Eventually Nova piped up from the back seat: "Dad, are you a forty year old man with a wife, and six year old daughter, and an eleven month old baby driving a Megane, or are you a footballer, three shiny on the cards(?), driving a sports car?" Couldn't have put it better myself...;-) Durum is a good choice for the kids. What with hummus, pitta, sliced cukes and tomatoes, olives, skewers of chicken, chips and rice on offer, Nova pretty much ate her own body weight, and Lyra wasn't far behind. Eventually, Lyra tired of sitting in the high chair and started grizzling. The owner popped up and handed her a lollipop. I couldn't face the hullaballoo that would have arose if I'd tried to pry her little fingers off that stick, and just went with it. The smile on her face when she first tasted that candy was a picture. She sucked away furiously and polished it off within minutes. Went back to the Garfunkels for birthday cake and a visit afterwards.
Home about dinner time, not that any dinner was needed after all
that feasting. Made the baby a little haggis, neeps and tattie purée,
but she wasn't that keen. |
January 26, 2008Nova called me on using "a long time" when in her opinion I should have said "in a while". She is so particular about language -- it's quite cute. Adam says she gets it from him. Fay came round to play in the afternoon. Afterwards, Nova reported that, "Fay gives me a big hug like she's a man and I'm this posh dancer." I think maybe she's thinking of those ballroom dancing couples where the men are always lifting their partners into the air... Harriet came for a sleepover. Now that they've moved to Warwickshire,
they like to leave Harriet with us when they come to London. The
girls were thrilled to see one another and played together really
well. I had a bit of hassle getting them into bed. They popped up
around 9:30 to inform me that "they weren't tired one bit and
wanted to have a pyjama party. Apparently it involves dancing around
the bedroom like maniacs. I left them to it for a half an hour,
then went back downstairs with my "firm hat" on. |
January 25, 2008Had a Burns night supper round our house with Paul and Alicia. We'd invited Pete and Pasc as well, but they'd doublebooked and had to cancel. It was a fun night, but I broke my Burns night guiding rule of drinking only whisky. They brought champagne, which we polished off, followed by a couple of kiwi martinis, white wine, red wine, and finally a wee dram of whisky. We did serve some food as well... gravadlax with a frisée
salad; haggis, neeps, and tatties; and apple cake with raspberries
and creme fraiche for dessert. To bed about 1am... |
January 24, 2008Went to a mother-and-baby screening of "No Country For Old Men" at the Everyman with Jemima. You've got to admire Jemima's get-up-and-go -- I would never have got it together to take Lyra to the cinema when she was ten weeks old... I thought NCFOM was an odd choice for mums and babies as it's a pretty violent film, but the 12pm showing was packed. Maybe that's why only babies under one year are allowed -- they're still too young to pay any attention to what's on the screen. It's also quite a noisy film, with regular gunfire and explosions that inevitably startled at least one dozing baby to tears. They set each other off like car alarms the whole time, which diffused the tension somewhat...;-) That said, I think it's a great idea. I like the way it creates a situation where not only you do you not feel uptight if your baby is squalling, you also feel benevolently inclined (and ever so slightly superior) towards the other mums whose babies are behaving worse than yours. Lyra didn't cry -- she was too busy filling her face. She worked
her way through the arsenal of snacks I'd brought in the first half
hour, and guzzled her bottle and water beaker dry. On the plus side,
her appetite seems to have returned. On the minus, I had to juggle
a wriggly, squiggly baby for more than an hour... |
January 23, 2008Spent a lovely "me" day in town. I'd hoped to see the terracotta warriors exhibition at the British Museum, but all the day's tickets had been sold. It's tough to see those guys... Spent a couple of hours in the Enlightenment gallery instead, which gives a great overview of the range of their collections. Ate lunch at Centrepoint Sushi, a non-descript little sushi bar over a Japanese grocery store that does terrific sushi at good prices (for London anyway). Swung through Soho, where I picked up some cachaça and a bottle of Krupnik vodka. Caught an afternoon showing of Michael Clayton, which I thought
was an excellent film. I do love George Clooney... It makes you
realise how few men there are on the big screen these days. George
Clooney=man. Brad Pitt=boy. Johnny Depp=boy. Nicholas Cage=boy.
Tom Cruise=boy. It didn't used to be like that... Gregory Peck,
Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracey, Cary Grant -- no one would have
described those guys as boys... |
January 22, 2008Went to a great fabric place in Finchley with Pasc to buy material for the girls' bedroom. Unbelievably, it was right next to Waitrose... I bought a bolt of sea green velvet, from which I plan to make bed curtains for Lyra's cot. We're going to remove the bottom bunk and pop the cot in there instead. The curtains will attach to the inside of the upper bed frame and allow me to enclose Lyra at bedtime so that Nova can still use the room (quietly) once her sister's gone down. That's the theory, anyway... Got a parcel in the post from my cousin Brenda, on the Horth side.
(What are the chances of having two cousins out of six called Brenda?)
She's sent me a terrific nursing top from her
maternity line as well as a sweet little yoga outfit (black
teeshirt and leggings) for Lyra. Very kind of her... |
January 21, 2008Went round to Trish's for coffee after drop-off. Lyra really enjoyed herself. Great big expanses of floor for her to crawl around, and Trish is lovely with her. She was a schoolteacher at one time, and is one of those people who love children. Kids can always tell and they respond to it. Sagra broke the hoover this afternoon. We're having one of those
phases where all the appliances seem to be packing it in -- the
printer, shredder, and now the hoover... |
January 20, 2008Lyra is still very tetchy. She's eatinga bit more, but it's still pretty hard work and the broken nights are punishing. Adam took her over to his parents for a little visit in the afternoon and I crashed on the sofa for an hour. Nova returned from a birthday party feeling unwell. She requested
dried toast and a glass of water for dinner and went to bed early.
Frittata and a glass of red wine for us once she was asleep. |
January 19, 2008Nova's insight for the day: "The trouble with growing up is that your favourite clothes don't grow with you." I thought it was quite profound, but then I am her mum...;-) After breakfast, Nova and went to a show at Lauderdale House. They regularly stage childrens' entertainment on Saturday mornings, and we've been to a few things there. Much of it you'd be willing to gnaw your own leg off to escape from, but today's show sounded promising so we gave it another go. Sister Mary McArthur is a big hairy guy in a nun's habit who sings show tunes. Actually, he was a bit wasted on a group of toddlers -- I imagine he'd do better on the gay circuit. Nova felt the indignity of her position a bit at first (she was the oldest child there by about two years) but once the show got going she really enjoyed herself, and actually knew the words to most of the songs, unlike the rest of the kids there. Stopped for a drink at Cafe Nero afterwards, where Nova finally lost her front tooth. I was glad to see it go; it had been hanging by a thread for days. It was so loose that there wasn't even any blood when it came out. I was never like that with loose teeth -- I'd worry away at them constantly... Tonight's cocktail was the classic daquiri, made with some lovely Cuban golden rum. It was less deceptive than the kiwi martini (you knew you were drinking alcohol), but damn delicious. I picked up a couple of other bar supplies, so we can try the next few cocktail recipes. I accidentally bought a cherry Coke -- shows how rarely I buy Coke I guess. When I was a little girl, my brother Greg used to buy me glow-in-the-dark
monster models, which we'd assemble together. Frankenstein, Dracula,
King Kong... Once built they lived on the shelf above my desk, where
they would glower dimly at me as I was falling asleep. We'd often
drink a Dr Pepper while we worked, but once Greg made cherry cokes
by adding a maraschino cherry and juice, which I thought the height
of sophistication. The only time I've ever had one... |
January 18, 2008This morning Nova said, "I'm sort of glad Lyra came to our family, though that means Oscar W is the only one in the class with no brothers and sisters. Good thing he has his sea monkeys!" I'm sure they're a great consolation to his parents as well...;-) Lyra seems a bit better today -- perhaps the antibiotics are having an effect. At her follow-up appointment, the GP still didn't think she seemed right and referred to the emergency paeds clinic at the Whittington for a chest x-ray. The clinic is a drop-in, and it took us a couple of hours to be
seen. We'd been there about fifteen minutes when a nurse came along
and told me to wake her up to be weighed. I said I'd rather not,
as she'd just fallen asleep, but the woman was completely inflexible.
Which meant instead of her having a good snooze in her buggy, I
had to hold a writhing, grumpy baby for the next hour and three
quarters until we were seen. The paediatrican (who was young enough
to be our GP's daughter) spent about five minutes with Lyra before
deciding that a chest x-ray was unnecessary. So that was a colossal
waste of time... |
January 17, 2008Little Lyra was up loads in the night. She may be spiking fevers a bit less often, but she's not eating a thing. There's no fat under the skin on her back, and a little fold of empty skin where the fat used to be at the top of her thighs. It makes me sad to look at her. I been tempting her with her favourite foods -- pieces of pear, bits of cheese and biscuit -- but she'll only take a few bites. She won't sleep either, and was getting hysterical in my arms this afternoon... I had to leave her to cry it out, which makes me feel a complete ogre. Poor Nova has fallen by the wayside at the moment. I didn't even see her before school yesterday. I'm going to take her out this weekend, just the two of us... Once the kids were down I made a kiwi martini for Adam and me.
What a great drink! I've fallen in completely love with it... |
January 16, 2008Another bad night, but at least Lyra and I managed to doze in bed together until 10am... It was Simonia's long day, but I was unsure whether to go out and leave the baby. Then I thought "Adam's there, and he's happy to go off to Germany when Lyra's sick and trust her to my care." I decided she'd be fine with the two of them for three hours. Checked out some photographs from Scott's expedition to the Antarctic at the Geological Society, then walked to the Serpentine for the Anthony McCall exhibition. It was basically beams of light projected in darkened rooms, with a bit of dry ice to give the light some weight. Walked across Hyde Park afterwards (it's been years since I've done that), arriving home in time for Adam to head off to football. Nova was hit in mouth at school, and her loose tooth was nearly
knocked out. She was a bit disappointed it wasn't, as she's keen
to use her tooth pillow from Margo. Her reading book from school
this week is a children's version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night,
and she can't get enough of it. Interestingly, she couldn't understand
the plot twist where Olivia falls in love with Viola who's pretending
to be a man. "But mom, girls can marry girls!" |
January 15, 2008Lyra's pretty poorly. She was coughing half the night, and not eating a thing. She's been running a temperature for days, her eyes are sunken, and you can count her little ribs. I took her to the GP this morning, and practically the first words out of his mouth were, "I don't like the look of you." He checked her ears (which are fine), listened to her chest (inconclusive) and measured her respiratory rate (high). He gave Lyra a prescription for antibiotics and I'm to collect a urine sample (in a little baggy that sticks onto her tinkler). She's got another appointment in three days time, and if she isn't on the mend he'll send her for blood tests. All a bit worrying... Had another life coaching session with Caroline. We talked a lot
about my job. It made me realise that I've found a job that is right
for me in almost every respect -- family friendly, well paid, high
profile, etc -- except for what I actually do... |
January 14, 2008Went to IKEA with Pasc this morning. I bought Lyra a new highchair -- the old one is getting quite rickety and unstable, and has become a biohazard. It's made of wood -- you need a chisel to remove dried porridge from the armrests. And there are all sorts of nooks and crannies that I'm never satisfied I've cleaned properly. We also stopped at Tesco, where I bought a microwave for the flat and a few groceries while Pasc did her weekly shop. Lyra enjoyed the change of scenery, though she's still not herself. Got home with my IKEA meatballs and bags of polar bread to discover
that Pete had unplugged the deep freeze when he was working on his
bike last Friday, and forgotten to plug it in when we was done.
Everything had to be chucked, and the bag of frozen berries had
oozed everywhere. Cheers, mate... |
January 13, 2008A little worse for wear this morning...:-p Pat and Patty set off about noon, and Lyra fell asleep soon afterwards. It was a little inconvenient because we'd planend to meet Trond and Ben on the Heath. In the end went off to meet them on my own. It's been nearly ten years since we've met up and it was great to see them. They've scarcely changed in that time -- perhaps not having kids helps...? I got in touch with Trond through Facebook, and was wondering if he and Ben were still an item. Very much so -- in fact, they got married last weekend. We had a good walk round the Heath, then swung back to pick up
the rest of the family. Spent the afternoon in the Bull, eating
and drinking. The girls were pretty good. Although Lyra wouldn't
eat, she was happy enough to crawl around on the banquette, and
Nova spent the time drawing. Trond and Ben are both artists and
they took a real interest in Nova's sketches, which pleased her.
Home about 5:30pm. We didn't bother with dinner, though Adam and
I finished off the leftover cheese with a glass of wine before bed.
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January 12, 2008Adam did his pancake breakfast routine. After a decent interval for digestion, we set off for the British museum. Worked our way through the ancient Egyptians and the Romans, then had some lunch in the cafe. There was nothing for the baby -- though she probably wasn't hungry anyway. She's scarcely eating a thing these days... I'm taking her to GP if she's not better by Monday... After lunch, we strolled through Covent Garden, checking out Neal's Yard Dairy and the various street performers. Patty and I left the guys with the kids and made a sweep through Chinatown, where she stocked up on Asians ingredients that aren't available in the Midlands, including a rice cooker. We'd thought about going out to Zizzi for dinner, but everyone
got stuck into The Sound of Music when we got home and it seemed
easier to order in. Pizzas all around, including Nova who's in training
for Mia's pizza party at the end of the month. After dinner, we
got into the spirits, and it was another late one... |
January 11, 2008Lyra was awake half the night, and when Kim arrived for her first observation session at 9:30am, the house was a complete tip, the floor was strewn with food and Lyra and I were still wearing dirty pyjamas. It seems to me that the only way this observation thing can work is for her to take us as she finds us. I can't be racing around cleaning the house and gussying up for her visits. Likewise, I'm not going to put on a show of great parenting either. After getting her a cup of coffee, I said, "If you weren't here, I would stick the Teletubbies in the VCR and try to get a bit more rest on the couch," and that's what I did. Lyra was reasonably cheerful while she was here, but was pretty miserable the rest of the day. It was pouring with rain, so no option of a trip to the park to distract her. Pete came over to work on his bike in our garage, and Freddy and Beulah stopped by to take Nova to Oliver's sixth birthday tea, but otherwise it was a more or less uninterrupted day of holding Lyra. At 5:30 I dashed out to the shops and grabbed some sausages, ice
cream and spinach. I cooked a simple meal for Pat and Patty's boys
when they all arrived. The adults waited until Adam got back from
Germany, when I made bibimbap. Very glad he's home again... |
January 10, 2008Lyra slept pretty well for a change... Sometimes I wonder if Adam's snoring disturbs her. I know it disturbs me...;-) Nova walked to school with Fay so I didn't have to take the baby out in the drizzle. She's not feeling great at the moment, and I ended up holding her much of the day. Once Lyra was down, Nova and I had chicken wraps for dinner. I
got Nova to bed I had a couple of hours to myself girls sleepover
take two... |
January 9, 2008Simonia did her first long day, arriving at noon and staying until nine, which is the length of day she'll do when I start back to work in a couple of months. We've decided that we'll gradually increase her hours between now and then so that they can get used to each other, and she can learn the routine. I took the opportunity to pop into town to see the Jeff Wall exhibition at the White Cube. Pootled around in Fortnams and Waterstones, then stopped for a bowl of dumplings in Chinatown before heading home. Once I had the kids in bed I went off to play badminton with Pete and a couple of his friends. He invited me at their cocktail party last month, and I was hoping I hadn't been drunkenly boasting about my badminton prowess. It's been more than twenty years since I've played. It took a while, but the touch gradually came back. Actually, it was great fun -- and I discovered little muscles in my back, arms and bottom that I haven't used in an awfully long time. As Adam's in Germany for a couple of days, I shifted Nova in with
me at bedtime. The girls' sleepover has become institutionalised,
and the one time I fell asleep on the couch overnight and failed
to move her, she was pretty upset with me. |
January 8, 2008According to Adam, who read back on the website, Nova started sleeping through the night at Lyra's age. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I stopped breastfeeding, or that she was in her own room... Lyra was pretty much unputdownable all day. It's quite remarkable
the amount you can do one handed with a baby on your hip: make tea,
pack I met my Waterloo when I tried to chop a tomato... |
January 7, 2008The first day back to school/work is often a bit frantic, but not today because I was up from 3am... Lyra woke then for a feed, and again at 5am. Unfortunately, I hadn't managed to get back to sleep in the interim. I settled Lyra in bed with me, then got up and made Nova's lunch and got her off to school okay. Adam slept in the flat last night -- he's got a big week with adidas -- and emerged about 8am. I doesn't make sense for both of us to exhaust ourselves when the baby won't sleep... I've agreed to participate in a study on the emotional development of small children, and Kim (the woman who will be observing Lyra and me) came round for a coffee. Basically, she'll spend an hour a week with us for the next twenty weeks observing how Lyra and I interact. She'll aim to make herself as inobtrusive as possible, but hard to imagine us forgetting there's a stranger crouching in the corner of the room watching our every move. Lyra was running a temperature this afternoon, and I dosed her
up with Nurofen at bedtime. Once she was down I made some miso soup
for Nova's and my dinner. When I asked Nova if she'd rather have
green onion or seaweed in her soup, she said, "Definitely green
onion! Seaweed is one of my enemy foods!" I'm sure it would
have been one of my "enemy foods" when I was her age... |
January 6, 2008We had to be out of the cottages by ten, which was okay as we were home by noon. I was really pleased to see that my "Night Before Christmas" puzzle had arrived. I got started on it almost straightaway. Nova helped at first but
it's a bit challenging for her still. I was surprised to discover
that there are sections of it I've never done before in all the
years I've done it. I guess mum and I must have had a system worked
out where we always did our favourite bits. Or more likely, she
let me do all the good bits and occupied herself with the reindeer
bums and lettering. |
January 5, 2008Lazy day... A bit of swimming, lots of lazing about with the kids, a long afternoon nap with Lyra... Tom yum soup with leftover veg for dinner, followed by chocolate surprise... still surprisingly good... |
January 4, 2008Another bad night with baby... I let Adam have a lie in, and started my musical education by watching The Sound of Music with Nova and Martha. And to my surprise, it's really quite good. It was very moving when Christopher Plummer sang Edelweiss in front of the Nazis. Brought a tear to my eye... While Adam and Pete went into town for supplies, I took Lyra swimming again. Nova's such a competent little swimmer now, I barely need to keep an eye on her. And Lyra seems a real water baby -- she's a terrific kicker, and didn't mind at all when Martha splashed water her face. I skipped the group lunch this afternoon and had a chill out with my book. I spent a lot of solo time with the kids this morning -- I had four of them to myself at one point. Three year old Ellie's in the "why" phase: "Why does Lyra have a high chair? Why is it blue? Why does she crawl? Why is she a baby?" Why, why, why... It's Pete's 38th birthday today. Adam invented a cocktail in his honour, which he named the Free and Easy:
Dinner was lamb burgers with cranberry sauce (a winning combination), baked sweet potato and watercress. Store bought cheesecake for dessert, plus "chocolate surprise" -- the baked chocolate soup, which turned out really well, kind of like a fallen chocolate souffle. People would pay big bucks for it in a trendy London restaurant. After dinner we played the movie quiz card game we'd given Pete.
Each card had a quote from a film. We divided into two teams, and
took turns answering questions. Naming the movie was worth two points,
with an additional point for director, star, and year. I know it
always seems like the other team gets the breaks, but they did get
"ET call home", "You lookin' at me?", "May
the force be with you," "I made him an offer he couldn't
refuse", and "I could have been a contender". Half
of our films seemed to be pre-1950, with titles we'd never heard
of. Which is another way of saying my team lost...;-) |
January 3, 2008Only one wake up last night at 2am, then 7am, which is much more like it... Very cold, grey day, with the threat of snow. I got Lyra down for her nap about the time we'd planned a bird sanctuary walk so I stayed behind. Lyra slept for two whole hours, which was glorious for me. It seems quite a while since I've had a chunk of time like that. It was my night to cook again. I made a yellow Thai curry with rice, and served ice cream for dessert. Liana was feeling a bit off and we've all been overindulging, so we opted for a quiet night. Nova and Martha stayed up almost as late as we did. They were up until 10:30 watching The Sound of Music, which I've never seen. I've always hated musicals, and avoided them whenever possible. It occurred to me that having seen almost none, why am I so confident that I hate them? So I've decided to catch up with the classics and have an opinion that's based on knowledge rather than ignorance. After some discussion, I've settled on the following:
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January 2, 2008Had our worst night in ages and that's saying something... The poor baby woke up at 11:30, 1am, 3:30am, 5am... I'd bought some Bonjela in case her teeth might be bother her, and tried applying it to her gums, but couldn't get the damn stuff off my finger. I didn't seem to do Lyra any good either. Adam got up with her at breakfast time, but it sounded so fractious that I got up to help. I was starting to feel a little cabin feverish, and once I'd got the big girls fed I went into town for groceries with Jane. We cooked lunch today. I'd made a creamy parsnip soup, which I thought would suit everyone, but Pete and Liana's kids are really fussy. Yesterday, all I saw Ellie eat was three tablespoons of hummus and a piece of mango. She's in no danger of wasting away, so she must be getting her calories from somewhere. Did an exercise session with Liana in the little gym. She used the Nordic ski thing and I used the treadmill. She showed me some pilates moves to tighten your core muscles. Apparently, if you do them regularly, you build up an "internal girdle" of muscle that keeps your stomach flat -- sounds good to me. Adam made pineapple cardamom martinis tonight. They were delicious, though I wouldn't describe any of these cocktails as a martini. Personally, I think a martini can contain flavoured vodka (for example, cranberry) but not cranberry juice. Jane made chicken and sweet potato stew, with chocolate soup for
dessert. I think chocolate soup works better in theory than in practice.
It was hard to get away from the feeling you were eating a bowl
of cake batter. There was loads left over, so maybe we'll try baking
it tomorrow... |
January 1, 2008With baby Lyra on the case there was no danger of sleeping past Ed's departure time. We had breakfast together, then he gathered up the last of his things and headed off for Heathrow with Adam about 9:30. I was very sad to see him go, and felt a bit morose afterwards. At least we're planning a visit to Kelowna this summer... Hung about the cottage with Lyra, Martha and Nova. I got baby settled a nap about 10:30. She's taken against the travel cot, and I ended up breastfeeding her in our bed until she dozed off. In the afternoon I took the girls swimming. Lyra is a real little water baby -- as soon as she hit the water she was kicking like a little outboard motor. Nova's swimming has really come on as well. I seldom go to her swimming lessons, so I hadn't seen the progress she's made. She's especially good at backstroke. I'm sure she's better than I was at that age. I don't think I learned to swim properly until I was seven. Tonight's cocktail was a strawberry balsamic martini. It was my turn to cook, and I made turkey enchiladas with a red cabbage/Mexican salad for dinner. A few New Year's resolutions:
When I asked Nova if she had a New Year's resolution she told me
she wants to learn how to play tennis. I had no idea... |
