Baby food

Weaning is well under way here - 

Our little poppet is enjoying her food, especially egg, mushy peas, fish and oranges.

It's so handy to have food at the ready so I've been making various simple purees (i.e. peas and spinach, Carrots and pumpkin, apple and prunes) that I have frozen in ice-cube bags so you can mix and match flavors on the go. 

Aline loves joining in, holding a wooden spoon and taking in the action.

One big challenge however -how get the puree into the ice cube bags... 

Yes, If I have an enormous freezer I could use ice cube trays -which would be easier -

but I don't.

First I tried spooning it in - messy, not worth any further mention.

Then I tried a funnel, but the puree was too thick and it kept on leaking out of the top of the bag.

Then I had an idea -and I'm sure someone has had this idea before me and that there probably is a contraption out there that does exactly this, but I thought I'd share it anyway...

I used my big icing syringe! 

Instead of attaching a nozzle I attached the ice-cube bag and just squirted the puree into it.  

Use a rolling pin to gently push the puree to the bottom of the bag and be careful not to use too much force or the bag might burst! 

Then just stack up and pop in the freezer and defrost a cube or five as needed!

And yes this is an "unedited" post with appalling photos- our really life mess! Embrace it.

May you live until you die,
Linda


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One of those days...

Some days you just want to stay in bed and not talk to anyone. 

On those days things tend to go wrong or I do something silly. 

Such a day was last week.

I now have a cut or a burn on every single finger on both hands. 

Quite an achievement actually.

So in this blur I have managed to get myself and Aline dressed and onto the bus in to town to meet Stefan for lunch. 

With Aline being the smiling little person she is - my days of anonymity on the bus are over. It is a lot easier to hid behind a philosophy book than a curious baby. 

So an older lady comes and sits down next to me and asks me how old my little boy is. I take a quick glance at Aline and see that I have dressed her in blue and green -which happen to be my favorite colors - as I'm not in the mood for a long talk I say "she's nearly six months " and look out the window to ward off further questioning. 

Aline on the other hand is trying to grab hold of the lady's scarf. Who then asks me if  he is my first child. So she didn't catch my "she" - still not feeling anymore talkative I don't correct her mistake and just say "yes".

Every question and comment during the following 15 min of reluctant small talk is making it harder for me to rectify the gender of my sweet baby without looking like a complete fool. The lady announces that she is getting off at the next stop and I am relived that I will soon be able to retreat back into silence. 

The out of the blue she asks me "what is his name?"

-what would you have done? 

I had a slight moment of panic and then I heard myself answer:

"Daniel"

To which she replied "what a lovely name for such an adorable boy."

-Aline I'm so sorry.

I've never seen your dad laugh so hard as when I confessed to him my web of lies.

To do list

At the end of my pregnancy I went to a mum's group at a church and I was struck and a little upset by the underlying guilt and disappointment of not having enough time to read the bible, pray and do "spiritual" ministries that surfaced when they started articulating what they dreamt of and what they found a struggle in their lives as mums. 

I really do understand this feeling - in the midst of the reality of continues nappy changes, snack making and cleaning, living with God was yet another part of life that seemingly has to be sat on the shelf, along with other dreams and ambitions until the children are a little bigger. What it means and looks like to be "authentically" (whatever that means?!) living with God (at least in many of the Christian settings I'm in)-reading the bible and praying for X minutes/hours a day, being part of some ministry and so on just seems impossible to fit into the hectic life of a mum to little children (or any normal life...). Let's be honest sometimes, we don't have time to shower or brush your teeth because of all the things that need to be tended to around us... 

While I do think it is vital in the midst of the business of motherhood to sit down (or go for a walk), take a deep breath and (re)turn to God trough scripture, prayer, a smile or a glance -I do not think it is helpful to feel guilt or disappointment for not being able to spend an hour or five everyday being with God. 

God is not another thing on your list of things that need to be tended too. 

He is the One who tends to you, and He is here bidden or not.   

So here I am again trying to figure out what becoming someone who walks with God might mean. This time it's through the lens of motherhood. Being a mum (or anything thing really...) does not mean there is even less time for God, rather it is an invitations to see and encounter God in new ways -if I just start looking for Him in the small mundane things that make up my present, rather than waiting to "see" Him until I have the time to sit down for an hour sometime in the future. 

God is not on my to do list. He is here. 

-if you want to hear/read more along these lines I can recommend

Alan Ramsey's sermon "Looking Looking" and   The Practice of the Presence of God (Paraclete Essentials) by Brother Lawrence.

Status quo

I'm a sinner, I'm a saint

I'm a mother, I'm a wife

I'm a PhD student trying to lead a balanced life...

I'm a lady with a blog 

trying to navigate through the fog...

-cheesy- yes I know.Poetry is not my strength *wink*
But this kind of sums up my life at the moment. 

Being a mum brings out the worst and the best of me -never have I been so aware of the need for God's grace and never have I felt the laying down of self for someone else in this way. Truly I am a sinner and a saint. The two people that show me myself (and Christ) on a daily basis are:


Aline, who is now 4 months and she is the joy of our life. Without even knowing she might be the one who has taught me the most about myself and God, maybe ever.

Stefan is my man, I would not trade him for anything (-not even a life supply of vintage fabric in blues and greens and purples). The list of his attributes are to long to mention. However rumors have it that he might be starting his own blog to share his wisdom with the world so you might get to know him yourself in not too long.

My PhD buddy at the moment is Aquinas. He is long dead, but still baffles me in how relevant (and elegant) his thinking is - I just wish I had more time to read and write my PhD.

I really enjoy writing my little blog and it's been a great help to me in getting me making stuff, enjoying the little things, getting my thoughts straight and keeping me sane in through the fog and rain. (Thanks to all you you who have the patience to read my meanderings, encourage my making and for all the lovely comments you leave. You have no idea how many times you have made my day!)  


As a new mum people ask me what the change is like and how I'm finding it 
- truth be told I find as a new mum I haven't really had time to think about it...
 But it is catching up with me now - so up until Christmas I want to try and articulate in different posts what motherhood has done to me. 

So please bare with me in my ramblings - and my prayer is that you might find some inspiration and encouragement -maybe even a drop of wisdom in them too.