Banana Pancakes - YUUUUUUMMMM!

You all know cooking is not my thing. Fortunately, however, I CAN cook and LOVE to cook pancakes. Was a die-hard "pancake shaker in a bottle" fan until my good friend Mad Moro taught me how to make them from scratch and I realised how easy it truly is.

Best thing? Cate adores pancakes :)

Even better thing? I usually have milk, eggs, baking soda, caster sugar and self raising flour on hand.

Here's how it went tonight. Cate is still being a bratty with what she will and won't eat. Sigh. She did, however, wolf down a banana for afternoon tea. I'm sick of cooking sausages and fish fillets for her dinner so decided it would be banana pancakes tonight instead. A bit of a sweet dinner, but what the hell, I knew it would get eaten for a change...and it did.

So my very basic baby pancake recipe goes like this:

*Dash of SR flour
*Sprinkle of Baking Soda
*Sprinkle of caster sugar
*Splash of milk
*1 egg

Mix thoroughly until a batter forms. Adjust ingredients until it just looks *right*. I know this is incredibly unhelpful in terms of recipes but everyone knows what pancake batter looks like, right?

Tonight I added half of a mashed banana to the pancake batter.

(If I am poshing pancakes up for grown ups I use buttermilk and more quantities of everything. The above only makes a tiny baby batter suitable for about five pikelets.)

Pour batter into heated frypan after adding butter to make sure the pancakes won't stick. Flip the pancake when it starts to bubble.

Oooooooo, yummy. The mashed banana gave these a real kick and they were a big hit, Cate had four!!! Mummy scoffed the rest ;)

She Walks!

Hurrah!!! She really walks now, no doubt about it.

It seems my little love likes to take her merry time. When she started crawling, she got up one night in the kitchen, crawled, collapsed and didn't crawl again for nearly a month. I should have known the same thing would happen with her walking...and it did.

She took her first steps on Boxing Day - she walked four steps from my friends arms into mine. We all screamed and jumped for joy thinking 'this is it!'. Then, nothing. On Jan 15th, she got up and walked across the room! Cue more screaming and utter delight. She walked all night, meters and metres at a time, giggling and thinking she was tops. The next day I tried to convince her to show off her new skill to her daddy once he returned from work - nothing. In fact, not only would she not walk, she had a massive tantrum very time it was even hinted at!

A whole week later on Jan 22nd, Cate finally decided walking was for her - for real this time. She hasn't stopped since. Daddy bought her her first pair of shoes - a darling pair of navy blue leather sandals (I'm not saying how much they cost, you'll die. I usually don't spend that much on shoes for myself, let alone my 15 month old!). This morning Daddy and Daughtter walked all the way down the street and back - a HUGE walk for someone brand new at it! As a result, she collapsed into her cot and is sleeping soundly - bliss :)

That piccie shows Cate midstep :) She's wearing a gorgeous top her Aunty Stace and Aunty Rob gave her for her birthday - it finally fits!

A Food Disaster

Okay, the last couple of times I have blogged about baby food it's been to show off. I'll admit it. But tonight, dear reader, I have to admit to defeat. Massive defeat. Ooooo, it was a Carla Kitchen Disater tonight!!!

I thought I'd try whipping up something yummy for Cate with what I had in the house. Again. You might remember the Chicken Balls - they were a spur of the moment deal-e-o and they worked a treat. Tonight I used for inspiration a can of salmon. In all honesty, it was probably all down hill from there.

Thought I'd whip up some salmon patties for Cate. I used:
* 2 potatos, boiled, skins on
* 1/2 can of salmon
* Some chopped frozen onions
* Smidge of minced garlic
* A few basil leaves (why? They were there. No other reason)
* 1 grated carrot (sneaking vegies in no matter what)
* 1 knob of butter

Whizzied it all up in the food processor, had orange garlic smelling mush. Hmmmm. Added:

* Shredded tasty cheese
* 1 egg

and whizzied again.

Still not much better.

Over it by now and had a grumpy kid on my hands to boot. I rolled little salmon balls in bread crumbs and fried them in olive oil. Oh bad. Bad, bad, bad. They just wouldn't bond together, they were waaaaay too mushy. As I was trying to flip them, they would just turn into piles of sloppy mush.

I made six before I cracked the mega shits and chucked the rest of the orange garlic goo into the sink and blasted it away with hot water.

I presented one to Cate but she met it with distain. She poked it with a spoon for a few moments them demanded custard and two fruits, followed by strawberry yoghurt (she's no fool). Well, you win some, you lose some.

Postscript:
I did freze the five other salmon patties but do suspect the dog shall be enjoying those at a later date. Ha! Sucker dog!

Cate Update

I have been a very naughty blooger in 2010. Have been right off it in fact. Am hoping to be more inspired over the next few weeks as our new family routine settles down AND once Cate's top molars poke their horrible, sharp and pointy little heads through so my darling gets some relief.

I digress already.

I thought it was time for a Cate Update.

My little girl (and yes, she really is that these days, no longer a baby - sob!) is fifteen months old but, in reality, she thinks is is fifteen YEARS old and truly resents being trapped in her teeny tiny little toddler body. I am in awe of her strong and fiesty personality. I always imagined I would breed the 'perfect' child - sweet, gentle, loving, kind. Um, ooooooo-kay. Nope, it would appear that I have bred a stubborn, strong-willed, rough and tumble little tomboy...the only bit I predicted right was that she would be loving...she most certainly is :)

Since she was 9 months old Cate has been perfecting the art of the tantrum. She will tantrum about anything and everything with screams, wails and full 'flinging my body backwards on to the floor' moves. It used to terrify me, still embarrasses me and freqently gets me giggling (on my good days - bad days, not so much!). We spent Christmas at my parents' house and, as Cate launched her body into an Oscar worthy tantrum, she flung herself backwards into their concrete slab floor - OUCH. Since then, she still insists on doing the 'fling myself to the floor in disgust' move but now she does it slowly, checking for hard surfaces first. Fast learner this little bean of mine.

My mum thinks Cate is super, super smart. Indeed, there are many things about my daughter that amaze me. She is quick as a whip if she knows I am sneaking chocolate and now demands a portion for her silence on the matter. She loves putting adult shoes on and will pull my high heels out of the box and slip her tiny feet into them with a look that says "I know what this shoe business is all about" on her face. She has worked out how to climb up and down our stairs with ease, can open quite a few of the apparently child safety locked cabinets and loves to drag baby wraps out of her change table to use as dress ups. She's obsessed with gates and loves to swing on ours and my parents'. She can point to pictures when you say "Where's Mummy?" and she gets it right pretty much every time. She knows where her nose and her tummy are and delights in pointing them out to you on request. She LOVES giving big sloppy tongue kisses and does that often NOT on request! You can't put much past Catie - she knows what she wants and she is out to get it. Now, preferably.

It's these 'natural smarts' that stop me from fretting when I read other mummy-blogs and see how advanced other toddlers are. Cate has only just started speaking and it's very basic. She says 'mum' and 'dadda' but only when SHE wants to. She says 'ate' for Cate and 'duh' for duck. She makes a 'woof-woof' noise whenever she sees a dog (or a horse - seems we have a little way to go with animals sounds). And that's it. Apparently other children a mere two months older than Cate are talking in three word sentences already - glup! Also, on the walking front. Cate has only just started - she walked more than a few wobbly steps last Friday. It was AWESOME!!! But, since then, nothing. I swear to God she nearly ran 30 meters on Friday night yet, on Saturday morning when her daddy got home from work and I wanted to show off her new skill: nothing. Now when I ask her to walk whilst holding her hand she cracks it, plants her feet, bottom to the ground and the hysterics start. Sigh - I celebrated far too early it would seem!

She is obsessed with water. Obsessed - it is her true passion. The bath, the shower, the shower turned on IN the bath, the paddling pool, the dog water bucket, any bucket filled with water, the pool...the list goes on. We haven't yet hit the beach this summer, but when I took her at the start of October (it was freezing!) she crawled straight out into the water up to her mouth without a moment's hesitation. When I hang the washing on the line Miss follows me out and creeps to the dog bucket - most morning her pjs end up soaked as she sits her little bot down for a morning soak in water / dog slobber. No one can tell me this baby won't be well immunised!

Cate is the light of my life. She is SO VERY different to how I imagined she would be but I wouldn't change her. This firey little spirit is sure to be a go-getter, I think she will fight like a mad thing to get what she wants out of this life. Whilst this Catie Coo can definitely be trying at times, she is such a mummy's girl and such a sweet little softie that I am a great big pile of mush when it comes to her. Case in point: this morning my darling woke at 5am. Gave her her morning bottle but nope, she didn't go back to sleep: noooooooooo. I changed her bum, fresh pjs on (she's a heavy night wetter at times) and slipped her into bed with me, wildly hoping it would work (she hates co-sleeping, is a wriggle bot and a star fish sleeper - needless to say we are not so fond of it either!). Well, she spooned into me, put her hand on my face and slowly dozed off - and stayed that way for nearly and hour and half. I woke up to tiny litle fingers poking my eyes - "time to wake up now Mummy". Cracked open my blearly eyes to find my beaming bambino. Life doesn't get any better ;)

Lots of piccies for you! Most of these are from a professional shot that was organised as a gift for my 30th birthday. I also added a pic of my little Miss with her pigtails in (soooooooo damn cute!) and one her playing with Daddy's shoes. Sweetie!

I did it again...

...I cooked something! Amazing!

Admitedly, it was for Cate. Again. Because she's the only person I like cooking for. Because, it's usually easy. And, no surprises here, it WAS easy today.

I was on my on-line forum this morning and I stumbled across a recipe for Chicken Balls. I liked the sound of them and wondered if I could make them without leaving the house to purchase ingredients. With a little bit of tweaking, I could.

Here is a basic wrap up of ingredients as I used them:

* 3 chicken thighs
* 1 frozen spinach 'block'
* 1 cup mixed frozen vegies (carrot, potato, peas, corn maybe?)
* 1/2 cup frozen onion
* Small little tiny bit of minced garlic
* Little bit of cracked pepper
* Dash of garlic soy sauce
* 1 cup of shredded tasty cheese
* 1 teaspoon cornflour
* Bread crumbs.

Whizzy up the chicken in the food processor and put to the side. Whizzy up the vegies and add to the chicken(defrost what you need to). Add the cheese, garlic, soy, pepper and flour and mix. Place bread crumbs on a plate. Roll little balls out of the mixture, roll in breadcrumbs and lay on a baking tray well greased. Bake for half an hour on 180 degrees until golden brown.

Very easy and, like I said, I had all the ingredients on hand. I have snaffled a few since they came out of the oven and YUM. Best bit - check out the piccie above. Success!

Still Here

I've been a bit quiet in the new year. There's been lots going on.

First, it was NYE. Then it was my surprise 30th birthday party. The day after that, it was Justin's birthday, two days later it was my birthday. Three days after that it was 'Two Weddings in ONE Day' day. Phew. I am exhausted just reading that back!

On top of all of these events, there's been stress and tension surrounding me as Justin and I keep trying to sort out this new life as a firefighter / firefigher's wife. We're good now, but it's tough fighting it out and there's been a bit of that. So that's added to the lack of blooging as well.

Plus, don't forget the ever present Cate. My darling dauhgter has been having a terrible time with teeth and tantrums. Her tantrums are becoming epic and, as a result, very problematic. Her teeth are driving her nuts and most nights she needs a strong dose of baby panadol before bed. Sleep has been erratic at best. So add the Cate factor the explain lack of blogging.

Now...I am good, well and happy. Really had a ball yesterday at two fantastic weddings. Came home today hungover and exhausted and Cate and I napped for three and half hours - oh yeah baby! We spent the rest of the day in her paddling pool in the garden and my tired, tired little bean went to bed without any drugs and without a peep at about 8pm tonight. It would seem she's as tired as me!

So, niht night. Time for more sleep.

The Big Three Oh

I'm turning thirty in a few short hours. Holy crapola - where did all that time go?

Honestly, I've been fine with it. Seriously. Not phased. Hmmmmmm.

Hubby threw a suprise party for me on Saturday night, it was fantastic. About twenty friends and family in a nice local restaurant, we had the place to ourselves, the food was yummo and presents, my Lord, the presents I was soooooo spoilt. I drank too much, partied too hard, had a ball and ended up tucked in bed with a bucket at 1.30am. Whoops.

And my friends (lots of whom are older) were constantly telling me how well I've done, how accomplished I am for turning thirty. They added it up for me: married (for nearly five years), mummy (to a darling 15 month old), professional (okay, that's stretching it, I'm a teacher and have been for seven years) and home owner (LOVE my house. Although there IS a strange smell coming from it these days, it's sour and yucky and I can't find it, damn it. Driving me mental!). I am also surrounded by a gorgeous fam (I actually really love all my family members and count my sibs as up there with my besties) and absolutely amazing friends.

And all of that is true.

So why, why, why have I been feeling so down lately? Is it all hitting me in some way of which I'm unaware? Is it the clomid mucking my brain up? Is it hubby's new job, new routine etc? I don't know. I just know I need to get over this funk and fast.

Frustrating as hell.

So I'll be spending the last few hours of my twenties sleeping (once I get off the damn computer). See you on the other side of 29.

PS There are some piccies from the surprise 30th. Me and my cake (my dad made it!), me and my hubby and the last two show off the party guests. It was an a amzing night, I am a lucky lady.