rain

Source: None via May on Pinterest

I haven't blogged in a whole week.

It's been raining and gloomy.
My mood has oft' fit the weather.
It's hard to do cloth nappies in the wet and cold.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed as the pile of laundry gets bigger and bigger.

It's hard to go out on adventures with my sweet baby girl.
It's easy to stay in bed till midday.
It's hard to find fun things to write about in the gloom.


I'm gonna go out puddle jumping with my little one.
I'm gonna make some rainy day craft.
I'm going to add some Joni Mitchell to the sound of the rain.
I'm gonna make some pumpkin soup and eat it with a crusty warm bread roll.

And then?
I'll have something fun to write about.

Source: etsy.com via Christie on Pinterest

eleven weeks old

my little girl is eleven weeks old

we have been cloth nappying for a few weeks but for the last few days the heavens have opened up and the rain has been pouring down. We have access to a dryer but the nappies just aren't drying right and they are leaking all through really quickly. Lucy wore three outfits yesterday! I thought I had it sorted but now I'm not sure. She used to go the whole night on one nappy but this morning woke up at 5am with a soaked through one. I really love the nappies but they are a bit of  a nuisance at the moment.

However wet her bot gets, Lucy remains a happy little vegemite. She kicks her legs about, smiles and sings away. She had a lovely long weekend with her grand-nana, my mum and dad and her aunts and uncles. She is such a show pony. She loves the cuddles. Anyone will do.

She is getting really strong. She likes to stand up in my lap and can hold her neck up really well. She has a lot of force in her little legs. If she is leaning back she thrusts her little head forward to sit up straight.

She has well and truly discovered her hands. She plays with them and sometimes whacks herself in the face.

laksa

Source: myrecipes.com via Eloise on Pinterest

It's getting wintry here in ole Sydney town.
We have had lots of rainy days that Lucy and I spent indoors watching the rain splatter on the windows. It was actually flash flooding outside and poor Myl was drenched coming home from college but we were nice and warm!

So along with wintry weather comes wintry food.

Myl is a big fan of laksa. It's what he gets whenever we go to $6.50 thai.
Even though it's so cheap I thought I could make it cheaper at home. Here's how.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 chicken breast
1 carrot
2 small bunches of choy sum
3 mushrooms
1/4 packet of rice noodles
1 tin coconut cream
2 cups water
1/2 tin of laksa paste

you could use other veg if you like or add bean sprouts.

Chop chicken into strips and fry in a large saucepan with cooking oil.
Chop carrot into rings. Chop mushroom into slices. Chop choy sum and leave green leaves to the side.
When chicken is brown add the carrot, mushroom and white parts of the choy sum.
When that is slightly soft add laksa paste and coconut cream. Stir till the laksa paste has mixed into everything.
Add 2 cups of water and bring to the boil.
Add the noodles and simmer for at least 5 mins or until rice noodles are cooked.
Divide into two bowls.
Rip up the choy sum leaves and sprinkle on top.

Enjoy!

no, the picture is not of the laksa I made. It looked pretty similar. I couln't find my camera and the picture I took with Myles' phone made it look like creepy death laksa so I cheated. Hope it inspires.

practical craft

before the little one arrived I made a decision that she would be a sustainababy.

My number one method of procreating sustainably was to use cloth nappies. Emergency c-section put a dint in these plans but now I am fit and ready to start. I'm awaiting my first shipment of pikapü nappies.

It has been pretty mind blowing to see how much waste is produced by using disposables. I feel like I am always taking bags out to the rubbish bin. We have also gone through a heckofalotta baby wipes and while they are ohh so handy for when we are out and about they do kinda creep me out. (How do they stay so wet for so long?)

So the other afternoon I made my own wipes. I bought the fabric ages ago but didn't find the time to make them.

Little Luce was feeling cuddly so we crafted like this...

 I bought 25cm of towelling and cut it into squares with 3 squares along the width. I sewed two squares together with zig zag round the edge.

They frayed a lot so I had to pull at all the loose threads.

They work really well. I just pop them in a washbag so that they don't get stuck in the door of the washing machine.

Easy to make, easy to use and good for the environment. FTW!

Have you made something similar?