Tag: thisthingcalledlife

Miscellaneous greatness

I have no idea what the fuck to call this?

I basically had a few bits to use up in he fridge and sort of just winged it… no change there then.

It’s essentially a twist of meatballs with chicken meatballs instead with a twist on the el Classico.

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Just stay with me on this. I didn’t even take photos because I wasn’t expecting much till I tasted at the end and blew my own mind!

You will need:

  • Chicken meatballs/pre made were what we had but if you’re a culinary wizard then smash them out ya self!
  • Passata sauce
  • Worcester sauce (the tits in every meal)
  • Mushrooms
  • Onion
  • Celery
  • Spinach
  • Spaglehettiiiii
  • Garlic

Soooo, we all know where this is going, although this time I didn’t even follow a recipe so the winging was real. (I also expected it to be beef meatballs when I got them out the freezer yesterday so this all came to me like a vision in white.)

Method:

  • In a large frying pan heat oil, finely chopped onion (to the point its pulverised if your other half had an aversion to it and used less than half of one), garlic and salt (if it’s not for the kiddies)
  • Finely chop 2 celery stalks and add
  • Finely chop mushrooms and do the same (I used 2 and again, pulverising was essential)
  • Add the chicken balls, we had a 12 pack and it made 3 big meals (once they were almost fully cooked I quartered them so they were less offensive)
  • Add enough passata to get them swimming, not drowning and add a cup of water
  • Add Worcester sauce, I’d add gallons if I could but you do you
  • Get the spaghetti on
  • Let it simmer and add some pasta if it looks a bit dense. (I let it simmer for about half an hour- 45 mins to get even more flavour)
  • In the last 5 mins add spinach
  • Serve with lashings of cheese if you fancy. Of course you fancy! (Some mozzarella would have gone down an absolute treeeat!)

Beaux loved helping again chopping the mushrooms, breaking up the celery and sprinkling the spinach (could have used basil) we went on a massive walk and got an onion on the way so coming in from the chilly afternoon this was very warmly welcomed! (I did have to go over all the chopping to get it really fine but it was great to get her involved!)

I mean, I’m not sure how much Play Doh she ate with it, but it was a hit! I thought about adding a red pepper we needed to use up but I didn’t think the flavours would gel. Again you could mix up the meat/veg or even pasta type, essentially making it a completely different fucking meal 🤣

Enjoy!

Hx

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Mushroom Risotto

This one was loads of fun as it involves lots of stirring (witch brews, magic potions, cake mix) as well as cutting, breaking and sprinkling to work in all those fine motor skills.

Professional mixer

You will need:

  • Risotto rice
  • Mushrooms
  • Onion
  • Spinach
  • Asparagus
  • Vegetable stock
  • Parmesan
  • Butter
  • Garlic

(I’ll give you the measurements we used, we roughly followed the BBC goodfood (another classic). Also add wine or chicken if you want/have any)

Method:

  • Heat oil and add onion and garlic, fry until softened
  • Add the cut up mushrooms and fry until browned and add spinach and asparagus  (I got Beaux to use her child knife and cut up the mushrooms, break up the asparagus and sprinkle in the spinach)
Beaux loved this part, counting out the mushrooms and using her fine motor skills
The happiest Sous chef!

 

  • Stir in rice and coat in the oil till glossy then slowly add stock and simmer, stirring while you go until liquid is absorbed. Continue till all liquid is absorbed and the rice is silky and tender (we used 1.2l of hot veg stock)
  • Add a little butter, salt/ pepper for adults and serve with freshly grated Parmesan.(Beauxs favourite part was definitely the cheese!)

I never realised how simple this is to make but after smashing it I felt like a Hells Kitchen survivor! Now I’ve got to grips with the basics we will definitely be varying it! It’s definitely a great was to get a decent meal out of the strays you need to use up in the fridge/freezer. – Ideal end-of-the-month meal.

Obviously she then realised she had to eat what turned out not to be “cake mix”

Hx

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Feminism, Shmeminism

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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4 Blissful Years

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It’s been four years since my love and I said the big ‘L’ word.

After a night at a questionable rave and spending the next 3 nights talking about our life plan together and putting the world to right, it seemed only natural that we’d be inseparable thereafter.

Much to the dislike of his friend group as it would seem a friend of his I’d been seeing for four weeks, and with whom I’d broken up with due to him being an arsehole, before I’d even had Dan in my peripheral, decided to tell the world of our ‘betrayal’ and how we’d ‘gone behind his back’. Even though Dan had taken him out for a drink and said he’d like to take me out – future tense. It’s a shame his friends thought that little of him to ALL turn their backs bar 2. But I’m grateful for his ‘selfish’ sacrifice to chose our life together over them, after they all chose a lie over him. Thankfully my friends seem to like him more than me and when we first got together I’d get messages from them asking to ask Dan to come out with them. – Don’t mind me guys! 😅

In these four years he’s grown into an incredible man, father and friend and I would be lost without him.

4 house moves, two children and 4 chickens – He’s my constant, the Apple in my children’s eyes and gives me more reasons to laugh than cry so as far as I’m concerned, I’m guna chalk that up as a win.

My love, my bud, my ultimate co-Netflixer, my favourite new Dad of 2017. All round good guy, song bird of our generation and all-time fave. – not to mention the laughs, excessive reasons to eye-roll, the endless cleaning of pasta sauce off the ceiling and your offensively fit face.
Thank you for being born so we can love you. I’m so glad I found you in my fridge all those years ago.

“It’s not everyday you tell someone you’re in love with them after 2 days.” – Dan Bliss ’13

I’m a lucky lady to have found you and to have you by my side on this incredible adventure.

You have my whole ❤️

H x

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Absolute write off.

#savetherainforest
#newmumchic

Sorry I’m busy not being busy.

When I thought about bringing Casey home from hospital, I thought about the freedom and time I’d have to spend with him. I’d cut down Beaux’s nursery days by half to spend more time with her too and make up for the nine months I worked solidly while pregnant and spending the time we had together trying to recover from my energy sapping work days while carrying a human parasite. It can’t have been easy and I was ready to make it up to her.

Dan went back to work and I actually felt like I’d been handed a sweet deal. Second time round is a breeze in comparison to the first. You’ve got your shit relatively together, you feel like a baby whisperer (even though Casey spoke any language other than the one we’d learnt with Beaux) the house wasn’t a complete baby death trap and we were a little less thrown in the deep end, with cement blocks on our feet, like you are with your first.

Just shy of 6 weeks in and I was venturing out on my own (just with Casey – fxxk risking a 2-child-meltdown in public when you’ve only just gotten over the uncontrollable, unpredicatable, hormonal outbursts yourself)

I’d offered my services to a close friend to make her a flower crown and some other cute baby shower bits and at that point of juggling two kids and life I thought I was a mixture of Mary Poppins and Kirsty Allsopp so naturally, I headed to Hobby Craft to grab myself a glue gun and fuck shit up.

As we got closer to home I stopped to turn onto our road from the main road (aptly names ’13 bends of death’) a car went from roughly national speed limit, with about 3 foot of breaking into the back of us.

Thankfully it was a smart car (covered in astroturf which was a lol explaining to insurance companies and solicitors) so he managed to completely miss the crash bar and go right under the car, rather than completely throw us into oncoming traffic the other side of the road. Also due to the make of the car and the engine being in the boot he kept his legs which was another win.

And thanks to my ‘fxxk-taking-two-kids-out-solo-just-yet’ attitude, Beaux was at nursery and didn’t take the brunt of the impact emotionally or physically.

Casey was so preserved by the carseat he wouldn’t have felt much other than shock, (although the car had been so shunted I couldn’t open his door) but paramedics assessed him at the scene and said it would be best to go home and monitor him in his usual environment.

The adrenaline f*cked my shit up and while I showed no signs of anything at the time, I proceeded to vomit every day for two weeks and by the end of the first week I’d lost sensation in my arm and hands. CT and x-ray were clear and it was diagnosed as muscle spasms in my neck pinching my nerves causing loss of feeling – just what you need while changing 928391274012984 new born nappies a day. Also poppers – fuck you.

Fast forward to 2.5 months later, I’ve had to have physio 2/3 times a week, hours upon hours away from my children after having this dreamy plan of being with them like I was supposed to and now being crippled with anxiety.

Anxiety that I could’ve done more, anxiety driving, anxiety that I had to stop BFing, anxiety to take the medication I was prescribed, anxiety eating, anxiety thinking about having to go out, anxiety sleeping, anxiety of having to get help which would lead to more time away from my children. It’s ruined birthdays, nights out, missed weddings, missed appointments, missed out. There’s only so many excuses you can make up before you start looking like a dickhead.

The car was replaced and no one was hurt badly but all this time I’ve missed can’t and while my kids drive me insane I’d give anything to not have had this start to our journey together.

Although its catapulted me entirely away from any form of baby blues, after much anxiety, cold calling the surgery and cancelling appointment after appointment, I got diagnosed with ‘postpartum maternal separation anxiety’ and it is an absolute b*tch! I’m hopeful that I’ll see the sunshine soon, but currently my days are as grey as they are long.

Hoping to get my shit together soon.

Hx

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Warm fuzzy Bliss

So I figured as I’m currently in the ‘warm fuzzy’ point of the day, where I’ve just put my eldest to bed and she’s voluntarily kissed my forehead telling me she loves me more than the world, that right now is a better place to start than any.

(Although it could just be the glass of bubbles I’ve just poured…)

Motherhood is tough, it really isn’t for sissies and you need to be thick skinned – mostly, I’ve learnt, for the moments I’ve been faced with recently like when my 2.5 year old has told me she doesn’t want to be my best friend ever again or that once again, Daddy is flavour of the moment for both of them!

In all fairness, Daddy is always flavour of the moment. They’re his kryptonite and one look from them seems to ignite an irrational emotion in him that has been completely absent till now – Tears from just looking at our sons tiny hand or after he’s put our daughter to bed and she’s been heart wrenchingly cute. So obviously his threats are empty as he gives in to their every whim. It really is true what they say, girls wrap their Daddys around their little fingers. Although in this case, even our sons fingers are causing him to surrender into a ball of warm, fuzzy Bliss.

Meanwhile I’m bad cop for even implying that our daughter can’t go to bed wearing a dress she’s been wearing all day. Daddy put her to bed so naturally when I went to check on her she had it on under her pyjamas.. and that right their is his answer for ‘negotiation’ something essential in all parenting journeys.

And so I think I’ll end it there, before the warm fuzz wears off thinking of what impractical choice of nightwear she’ll be in tomorrow night. 😅

cheers 🥂,

H x

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