In which the children brawl over a magic mirror...

Life is fairly chaotic at the moment.  This morning we were running late for school and the kids were having an epic brawl in the back seat of the car.  I went to glance in the rear vision mirror to see what all the ruckus was about and then realised the mirror wasn't there.  So I glanced over my shoulder to find the two of them wrestling over the said mirror.  I don't even know how this is possible.

Turi (bless) doesn't know what to do with himself when his sister is at school.  When he isn't staging an epic tantrum to demand that his needs are immediately met, all he wants to do is veg out on the couch watching 'The Brave Little Toaster' until his sister returns.  I have to had to work very hard to divert his attention.  At one point he even watched half of 'Chicken Little' in Dutch because he was too scared to ask me to change the audio track to English in case I made him turn it of!!  Here he is, looking very innocent and playing with his 'box props'.  This brief contentment lasted all of ten minutes.  Thank god kinder goes back tomorrow.  I am exhausted.

In which Minty is swaddled and falls for a sea captain...

We're currently working our way through a glut of fresh produce.  Our weekly veggie boxes have been positively bursting with fruit and we've been struggling to get through it all before it becomes overripe.  So I've been stewing plums, freezing grapes and making scores of banana muffins and bread.  I've been trying out lots of different recipes - some more successful than others.  These little beauties are chocolate zucchini muffins (you can find the recipe here).  The batter seemed a little dry to me but they turned out well, if a little dense.  

These zucchini and banana muffins on the other hand were a complete disaster.  The batter was far too wet and even after a lengthy time in the oven the middles were still raw while the outside was overcooked.  I should have trusted my instincts and added more flour.  Oh well, you live and learn.

The kids have been sick this week with some kind of virus.  Minty was up most of the night coughing.  She finally succumbed to sleep at about 4am after I swaddled her tightly like a baby and propped her head up on a few pillows.  It is very funny and oddly endearing that even after all these years she still finds swaddling comforting!  I miss the days of popping a tiny sausage wrapped baby to sleep in a cot.  Nowadays the swaddled shape is somewhat bigger!  This is actually a picture of Turi as a baby (all my pictures of baby Minty are stored on a different hard drive and I couldn't be bothered dragging it out) - you get the idea though!

Understandably the kids are a bit overtired today.  They're currently wrapped up in blankets watching The Sound of Music.  Minty is quite enamoured with Captain VonTrapp.  I think she finds the fact that he is a sea captain alluring.  I have to admit I do find Christopher Plummer pretty dreamy in the film!  

Dreaming of a white Christmas...

I've been sick again… hence the lack of posting.  I'm having a bunch of tests done blah blah boring.  Moving on to more festive subjects…

Our advent activities have been ticking along…

We let the kids stay up last night to watch 'White Christmas' on the big screen.  Minty and I loved it.  I was in costume heaven.  Turi was really a bit overtired and too little to sit through a whole movie.  But when he woke up in the morning he ran into the lounge and said, 'Movie turned off?  Again!  I lub it!'.  The Mr. on the other hand was not at all impressed pronouncing the movie 'slow'.  I am yet to convert him to a musical lover.  Who doesn't love a bit of snow?

In which Danny comes to breakfast...

My kids are wretched first thing in the morning.  Low blood sugar prior to breakfast inevitably leads to some combination of sobbing, whining and brawling, with flash points caused by disputes over who will or will not get honey drizzled on their porridge, and who will get to sit on the much coveted pink chair.  The usual scene at breakfast time, involves the two kids jostling at the  child gate to the kitchen, both chanting 'I want pink' with increasing hostility, whilst I hurriedly try to make the porridge before someone comes to blows or bites someones ear off.  By the time the breakfast is ready it is not uncommon for one or both children to be so overcome with grief that they are unable to eat a single bite.  On the very worst mornings, my solution is to invite Danny Kaye (via youTube) to breakfast.  There really isn't much Danny can't fix.  I defy anyone to start the morning with 'the best things happen while you're dancing' and not feel energised and ready to face just about anything.  Other firm favourites include the songs from Hans Christian Anderson (particularly the ugly duckling), everything is tickety-boo and of course lullaby in ragtime.  By the time breakfast is over Turi is usually tapping around the lounge swinging his best broadway arms!

In which we peek under the sea and see First Love...

Yesterday we went back to the big smoke and took the kids to the aquarium (or the 'maquarium' as Minty fondly refers to it).  It was a fun day out, though I did feel a little sorry for the penguins who really didn't look like they belonged in captivity (like the zoo scene in Happy Feet brought to life, minus the tap dancing).  Also, whoever is behind installing a room of coin operated arcade machines and rides near the exit should be shot.  Isn't it enough that we have to navigate our overstimulated children through the gift shop on the way out without adding another dimension to the horror?

Note: today's photos were taken by the Mr. (except of course for the one he's in - he's clever but not that clever!)

In the evening we went to see First Love.  I hadn't been to the cinema in about 2 years so this was a bit of a treat, and to make it even more special, Claire, the film's director is a friend of ours.  I can't tell you how inspiring it is to meet someone who is living their dream.  I'm sure when Claire first told people she wanted to make movies about surfing there were plenty of people who thought it would never really happen.  And yet here she is at age 24, with her first full length feature film being released at village cinemas around the country.  If you haven't already seen it, I'd really encourage you to check it out - it's a really enjoyable film even for those of us who are not surfing obsessed!

First Love The Film - Trailer from First Love on Vimeo.

In which there are jazz hands and zucchini muffins...

I'm missing our weekly organic veggie box.  The coop is on holiday during January so we have had to fend for ourselves the last couple of weeks.  Initially it was a novelty.  We ate a bunch of takeout and played at being carnivores.  But the novelty has well and truly worn off and scurvy is a very real threat.  Minty has decided she will only eat vegetables if they are a mushroom or some kind of legume.  I decided it was time to take some drastic action and make some scarily healthy zucchini muffins.  Don't worry I haven't gone all Jessica Seinfeld on you, I told the children what was in them, but somehow all vegetables are more palatable in baked goods.  Everyone gave them the thumbs up, with Minty even coming back for seconds.  I think these might become a regular snack time treat at our house.  These don't have dairy but do have eggs so we can't clock them as vegan.  

A couple of quick recipe notes: we omitted the walnuts and used half canola oil and half pureed apple for the wet ingredients.

No one slept very well last night in the heat so everyone was pretty fried by this afternoon.  I decided to take it easy and we all watched Singin' in the Rain together.  The kids loved it and Turi even got his jazz hands going!  If ever there was a movie that was going to make you want to tap this has got to be it.  Minty donned her tutu and  spent the rest of the day dancing.