Here We Are Together

You know those days where nothing goes quite right?
We had one of those days today,
so when Anthony came out of the studio this afternoon & saw everyone (including Mama) in tears,
we decided that it was about time to make this day a good day.
We packed a picnic & went down to the beach.

We had our dinner, played in the water, fell asleep, had some strawberries,
found some stones, went swimming, ate some sand (George, mostly ..)

We chased some waves, the waves chased us,

it really was a lovely day.

I often forget how simple things can turn a whole day around,
how having ice cream for breakfast will make a day a memory, (not that I’d ever do that..aehm…)
or how to just get out & have a picnic can easily change everyone’s mood for the better.
I will ( try to ) remember that more often.

For now, I better get these two bathed..
Have a lovely day,
♥

Every once in a while , thanks to things like Facebook, I get a chance to talk to people i used to know, people I went to school with, & friends I used to have before I had children. Most of them, after asking about my job, say things like

but wouldn’t you be happier working?
doesn’t it get boring doing nothing all day?

I used to get really angry about those questions, but now I mostly just smile & think to myself,
they don’t have children yet,
they don’t know how very hard, but yet so very lovely our days are.
They don’t know how much fun it is to play Monkey Bingo a million times in a row with an almost three year old,

(& a little one trying to eat the monkies,of course..)

They don’t know the fun of waking up because someone opens your eyes with two fingers & says
I know you are awake, your eyes are open!

They never saw someone growing up , going from not being able to hold their own head up
to putting on their own shoes,

(even if they are the wrong way around..)

They don’t know what I love you, Mama sounds like.
They might earn a lot of money, but I’ve got the greatest job in the world:

I”m a Mama.

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.

I hope you are having a lovely day,
♥

Yes, another recipe, but this time it is the easiest & probably most delicious
& versatile dinner roll recipe you will ever find,
& the best part? It is absolutely toddler friendly!

You will need:

2 cups of self rising flour
1 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of mayonaise. (don’t worry, you will not be able to taste this!)

how to :

Mix it all together, add flour till you can form the dough into balls,
bake for 15 minutes at 200°C (that’s 390 °F ).

You can add pretty much anything to this recipe to make sweet or savoury rolls.
We like to add 3 cups of grated cheese & 2 cloves of garlic,
& 5 minutes before the rolls are ready we sprinkle grated cheese on top ,too.
They taste grate with sugar & cinnamon , or with blueberries,too!
Just be crative & have fun!

have a great weekend! <3

This family just loves to cook & bake,
there is always a lovely sunday lunch at Nanny & Grandpas house,
& we are always trying out new recipes,
but it is not just the grown-ups who enjoy cooking,
it’s the little one’s, too.
One of Emily’s favourite books is “Zed’s Bread“,
so I was on the lookout for a very easy bread recipe that Emi could make with very little to no help,
& I think I found it.

These Potato Buns are easy to make & should not be a problem for a little one,
the flatbread is a bit more complicated, but only because it uses yeast & takes about one hour to rise.
(You will need to help by cutting the onion,though)

(excuse my children in the background, dinner is a busy time ..)

You will need:

500 g flour
2 onions
a little bit of salt
a tiny bit of sugar
500 ml water
100 g of mashed potato mix (trust me!)

(& , if you are making the flatbread, one yeast cube )

How to:

Mix the flour with the mashed potato,sugar & salt.
if you are making the flatbread then add the yeast now, & let it stand for 15 minutes.
Now add the water & knead it into a smooth dough.
For the flatbread, put it onto your windowsill and let it rise for one hour, the amount of dough should double.
Now cut the onions into strips & mix into the dough.
Seperate your dough into four balls,
for the flatbread, push them down till they are flat
Bake for 45 minutes at 200°C (that’s 390 °F ).

Serve with homemade garlic butter. (half a cup of butter per 2 garlic cloves, just crush the garlic & mix with the butter..)

I hope you enjoy this,
have a lovely day!
♥

The reason I really feel like I need a break?
I don’t sleep.
I can’t.
I stay up, I read books, I walk around, I read some more.
Mostly Chuck Palahniuk, all his books,over & over again. Careful not to start with “Fight Club” , because after that, every single male charakter turns into Tyler Durden.

With insomnia, nothing is real.
Everything is far away. Everything
is a copy of a copy of a copy.

In the past two or so months I have lost about 16 kg.
Not because I am trying to lose weight, not because I eat less,
Just so.
Which is why my husband did what every responsible husband would do,
he brought me 3 sandwiches for breakfast & then took me to the doctor.
The doctor sent me to the hospital for some blood tests, & if you know me, you know I hate blood tests.
There was crying, a lot of it, in the car, in the supermarket, (we needed some snacks!) & in the hospital.
My little family, they were all so wonderful, kisses from my baby George, Anthony trying to convince me that it is not actually that bad, & Emi saying “don’t worry Mama, it’s just a doctor!” ,
so I went,
they took my blood,
& the day was ruined.

That afternoon, while Anthony was working,
I went upstairs to get a blanket.
On my way down the stairs I heard someone splashing,
I heard giggling,
I thought “this can’t be good”
I opened the kitchen door to find this:

Emily had tried to make breakfast.
For a very tired Mama, who had just been jabbed with needles & her blood taken from her,
who had been poked into her chest & stomach so hard it left me bruised,
this was too much.
George was grabbing hands full of coco-pops, shoving them into his mouth,
Emi tried to get him to use a spoon, saying he could eat “a tiny bit of mine breakfast“,
the floor covered in milk that was slowly turning into chocolate milk..
It was one of those situations where you can either break down & cry,
or you laugh.

So I laughed.

Always try to see the good side of things,
at least they shared, right?

When was the last time you had a choice between crying or laughing?
Which did you choose?

ps// I am sleeping better now, thanks to valerian root.

Do you remember the seeds we planted about a week ago?
Well, they grew, so today we decided to move them outside.

My little gardener had a lot of fun,

but when we spotted him , we decided to call it a day & move inside to read some books.
It was a great day, even though I really feel like I am ready for a break.
Hope you had a good day!
♥

This morning when I opened the windows the air smelled salty & sandy.
Beach air.
Even though our original plan was to meet up with Emily’s friends Poppy,Daisy & Petal,
we decided to go to the beach instead.

We really had a good time, & were even thoughtful enough to bring some lunch (fried garlic Linguine).
It was a bit cold, but it didn’t bother us at all,
& it gave me an excuse to wrap my little ones in handknits. (As if I ever need an excuse!)

(The outfit? I think he’s absolutely rockin’ it! “The man with the yellow hat“? I don’t see it..)

What did you do today?
Have a lovely weekend!
♥

After having read “two little gardeners” over & over again for the past months, Emily was thrilled when I told her about the lovely gift that the nice people from the BBC had sent our way;
carrot, squash, lettuce, beetroot & tomato seeds!

We immediately put on our “gardening aprons”, (mine being a sling with Georgie in it..)
& went outside to find some dirt to plant our seeds in:

My little gardener had a great time putting all the dirt into little pots,
she loved planting the seeds & is very excited for them to grow.
They are on our nature table for now,
ready to be planted outside when they are ready.

Do you grow your own food?
Are there some things you prefer to buy?

I am so sorry for not answering your emails & for not blogging,
my computer broke, & I am now using Anthony’s.
We have been doing a lot of reading the past few days, (yes, even more than usual!)

But we have also been very busy, lots & lots of crafting & even more trips to the beach,
trips into the village & trips to meet new friends!

When we were on our way to the beach on friday we walked past some builders who were putting in new lamp-posts, & when they noticed that George was asleep in the sling they stopped their work to let us walk past without waking him.
I still smile when I think about it.
Yes, there are a few bad people out there, but , more importantly,
an awful lot of lovely ones, too.

Hope you are having a lovely week!
♥

Mothers Day in England was on the 22nd of march,
but in germany, which is where my mother is,
it is today.
Happy Mothers Day Mha,
We love you!!

♥