A white wash

With the completion date nearing I'm allowing myself to get excited and start planning the interior design of this grand old vicarage. A big disappointment to me were the floors. I just love old natural timber floors. The vicarage however has the beautiful floors, but, as the picture above shows, at some stage these beautiful slats of wood were painted black. Black can look amazing. I do love the look of black floors, white walls and vibrant splashes of colour. But that's not the look I'm going for.

We considered a number of options. Replacing them completely with reclaimed floorboards, stripping them, or using new machined timber floors. Something we didn't consider initially was to white wash them. That was until we went to a furniture shop on Upper Street, Islington (sadly can't remember the name but must visit again).

Their floors are in the same condition as ours and had even been painted black. The owners white washed them a couple of years ago and the result is incredible. Of course they get a lot more foot traffic then we're likely to but the paint had worn away on the heavily used areas so you could see the black and sometimes the raw timber underneath.

What really sold the white wash idea to me was these images posted by blogger Nancy Flowers. While the full white thing just isn't me, how beautiful are the floors? So that's it. White floors it is. We just need a huge house warming party to wear them down quickly to the worn through look I'm after.

Images from NancyFlowers

Simple crafting: Memo board

We have a lovely white wall that's been crying out for colour. I also wanted a memo board to display the boys' "artwork" from nursery, birthday party invites, lottery tickets etc.

All you need is shown here in the picture. A corkboard, fabric to fit with at least a 1cm hem all the way around, string (or ribbon is even better), drawing pins and some cute mini pegs. This fabric is leftover from the cushion covers I made for our lovely Ikea chairs.

Press the fabric and fold over the hem. Secure it to the corkboard with the drawing pins ensuring that you space the pins evenly. I was two pins short so added some coloured tacks at the top corner. Wrap the string around the pins and clip on some mini pegs.

As soon as we move into our new place I can mount this properly to the wall. At the moment it's on a temporary hook. Still, it's effective and now is covered in cards and art from my little Picasso's .

Homemade seedy granola

I've eaten Dorset Cereals muesli for over 4 years and recently have switched to Lovedean granola. But my man pointed out Lovedean was over 30% fat spoiling my new breakfast fav. I also want to get my 2.5 year old to eat something other than plain oats with milk or a banana smoothie for breakfast. Generally anything with sultanas is a hit.

I'm very particular about my granola. I don't like too much dried fruit, especially cranberries, preferring to add my own fresh fruit, and I do like lots of seeds and not too many nuts.

After playing around until it looked right, this is the recipe I came up with. And it's good! Master R thinks it's great too. Although he does pick out all the sultanas and give the rest to me. We'll stick to smoothies for him for a while.

Seedy Granola

4 cups oats

1/2 slivered almonds

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 cups mixed seeds (Neal's Yard salad sprinkle)

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup sultanas (raisins)

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

Mix all ingredients except sultanas. Spread out on a large baking tray. Place in oven and brown for 1 to 1 1/4 hours turning every 15 minutes until it is nicely browned.

Add sultanas. Serve topped with yoghurt and fresh berries.

Carnival cooking

Yesterday was my sons' nursery carnival. Each parent was asked to bring a plate of food from their country. Since I have two boys and we're Australian/German I thought it was only fair that I make two dishes.

The Australian contribution was going to be Lamingtons but I ran out of time so made up the cute little mini cupcakes instead. The parents ate them all before the teachers had a chance to hand them out to the kids. All 120 went within an hour (mind you I might have eaten a dozen before delivering them...).

My man is German. We spend a lot of time there an in Austria at our flat and luckily I love the rich food. I've tried buying German cookbooks and attempting to translate them but the problem is that I can't find the right ingredients here. Sometimes I can find them in Polish shops, but it's just so hard. Then I found Modern German Food by Roz Denny. I've made a couple of things from it and can actually find everything in need on Ocado.

I decided to make Reibekuchen mi Katenspeck un Kaese - potato pancakes with katenspeck (bacon) and cheese. It seems like a good idea as I peeled the potatoes and then I realised that I gave away my food processor when I left the US because it wouldn't work here. I then had to grate 2.5kgs of potatoes by hand! These little pancakes took me 2 hours to make. Luckily my little Master T slept then whole time. But hardly a productive way to spend 2 precious baby-free hours.

The result was worth it. These little pancakes were delicious and a couple of German mums commented on how good they were. The man's verdict? Nice but too fatty - from the man who loves pork crackling!

Introducing The Vicarage

Please let me introduce you to my new home, The Old Vicarage, De Beauvoir. I walk past this incredible 19th century Victorian residence most days and always romanticised about who lived there. It was so overrun that I thought it must house an old eccentric who never sees the light of day.

It turns out that I wasn't far from the truth. Owned by the local authority, it had been derelict for decades and overrun by prostitutes and drug addicts. A group of 18 squatters then moved out and tidied up somewhat, even planting a vege patch.

The beautiful house was bought by developers in September who installed plumbing, painted and did a general tidy up for a quick sale. I couldn't believe it when I saw it up for sale and contacted the agents immediately. We saw it the same day and put in an offer just two hours later. Our offer was accepted two days later and we're waiting to complete any day now. As you can imagine, I JUST WANT THE KEYS NOW!

While the house is perfectly livable now, we want to restore it back to its former glory starting with the period features. Most of the fireplaces have been boarded up and decorative plaster work stripped away. We also want to open up the back of the house so that it flows onto this beautiful garden. Don't you think a summer house will look great at the back here? I also can't wait to plant out some vegetables and make this a beautiful eclectic English garden.

There should be two fireplaces in this room which have been boarded up. We plan on making this our family room and playroom for the boys and move the kitchen to next door as it is overlooking the garden.

This will be our kitchen and will (hopefully) be opened up at the back to link into the garden. There is actually a large chimney at the back wall which will make an incredible feature between the modern glass room at the back (subject to planning of course) and the kitchen/family room at the front.

I can just picture bold wallpaper and numerous coat hooks and Hunter boots sitting in the entrance hallway.

The first task is to sort out the floorboards. Unfortunately they were painted black many years ago hiding the natural beauty of the wood. Ripping up and sanding or even replacing 4,000sqft of floors would be too expensive so I'm considering white washing them. Over time they'll wear down beautifully to show the black and the wood underneath. We will need to replace some boards and want to have the gaps repaired. I'm quite excited to see what we find underneath when they're ripped up. As a crack den I'm expected syringes. A friend suggested that we might find hidden drug profits. Given the estimated cost of the renovation we'll need to find a lot of gold under those floors.

Cracking the Victoria sponge

I can't explain why but I've been truly afraid of baking a Victoria sponge. I've baked since I could talk but never a sponge. My maternal grandma and great grandma were both famous for their sponges, as they're called in Australia. Both used a slightly different recipe one with 4 eggs, the other with 3. One with custard powder, one without. My mother prefers the less eggy recipe of my great grandma (which is the Fielder's sponge off the cornflour packet) so this is the one I chose to tackle first.

With a brunch invitation last weekend it was time to attempt this baking triumph. Stupidly I started at around 10pm the night before. I followed the recipe beating all eggs perfectly, lining and flouring the tin. I put the mix in the oven and held my breath for 17 minutes.

Initially I was not disappointed, the cake had risen perfectly and was beautifully even. But it quickly sank in the middle. I admitted defeat, texted my mum saying it was all over. We'd be eating a fruit platter tomorrow. But to my surprise, and delight, the next morning I unwrapped the tea towel and underneath was a beautifully flat sponge! I carefully cut it in half, spread the lower half with strawberry jam and whipped (a bit over whipped sadly) fresh cream, and then topped with more cream and fresh British strawberries. It really was good and my friends really appreciated it. Silly I know, but I kind of feel that I've accomplished the ultimate goal of a baker since my pavlovas are damn good too.

Of course I'll share the recipe with you! Here's the Fielder's Famous Sponge recipe here. Enjoy!

Dusting off the sewing machine

It's been a while since I've sat down at my sewing machine. It was in storage for a couple of years while I was living in New York, but after a quick service it's ready for use once again.

Girl's clothes are just so sweet. There are only so many skull and crossbone jumpers I can knit for my boys but the girls things, oh! I have scores of patterns saved in my Ravelry queue waiting for a little girl if I happen to have one. In the mean time I enjoy making pretty girly things for friends.

These little sundresses were quick and fun to make. I decided to line them with soft cotton so they did take a little longer to make up. The result was worth the time though. I thought the dresses looked amazing finished and the little girls all looked so beautiful of course.

My new toy

In a quest to make perfectly decorated cupcakes I purchased a squeezy bag type cake icing kit. The very first time I used it the bag split and I was in the middle of making cupcakes for Master R's birthday party at nursery. I was very peeved to say the least. I kept researching and found this cake and biscuit (cookie) gun type decorator. I'd read mixed reviews on Amazon but decided to give it a try.

These mini cupcakes were the first attempt. These are bite sized cupcake wrappers and a bit of a pain to spoon all the mix into them. Problem solved - add the mixture into the gun with the largest nozzle and squeeze it in. Icing them took a bit of practise and most of these were done one handed with squirmy Master T on my hip. But the decorator is really easy to use and user friendly.

Included in the set is a set of biscuit molds. I couldn't quite get the concept of them until I actually used them. They are little metal plates with cutouts which create different shapes as you squeeze the biscuit mix through creating "press cookies". I used this recipe but I didn't put the egg white on top.

It was so much fun! The cookies are really small and thin. I overcooked the first lot as you can see in the picture. They're a bit brown for my liking. They only need 6 minutes in the oven.

They are a lovely little biscuit and very elegant looking for gifts. Next time I make them I'll halve the recipe (it yields 8 dozen! I was sick of the sight of them and so were our neighbours) and make little hearts which I'll half dip in chocolate.

My laundry hell

Just a little something to make you smile. This is my laundry pile. You can't see all of it. This is about 5 loads of washing just for the past 4 days. There are 4 more loads of washing lined up to be processed. This pile lives on the dining room table until I have the time/energy to fold and put away. Quite often the clothes get folded but don't find their way to drawers. Luckily the boys' clothes live downstairs in the drawers behind this pile.

I'd love to show you the rest of my house but, as you can imagine, if I did show you I'd be sectioned under the British Mental Health Act.

Have a lovely weekend mamas and I should get to the laundry xx

Little bunny egg cosy

In response to Mama V's question this is the bunny egg cosy. I have been meaning to blog about it but where does time go? I have been doing a lot of knitting and sewing lately but can't post anything because it's all gift knits. When the various recipients have received their respective gifts I'll post because there are some really sweet things!

This bunny was the cutest knit I've done to date. I plan on making a full set with different coloured jumpers/sweaters. The next one will have a pink striped jumper and then a green one.

Most weekends we have boiled eggs with soldiers so these will be so cute on top. Master R loves his "hase" and wants to eat "ei" (two words he always says in German) every morning now.

PS. Note the floral oilcloth table cloth. Since I don't have a girl I've started filling our house with pretty girly things including tea sets, cake plates, table cloths, oven mitts and tea towels.

Am I bored?

Source: Isisthescientist

Now that I've sold my business and am officially a fulltime mum the question I get asked the most is "don't you get bored?". A working mother even asked me what I do all day (ha! She should try being at home all day and realise just how much more demanding it is than going into an office. Trust me I've done it). Just today I got asked if I get lonely for the 3rd time this week.

Until today I haven't had a chance to even think about being bored or lonely. But this evening Mr M is travelling, the kids are tucked up in bed and I'm working on an uninspiring knitting project. This has given me an opportunity to let my mind actually turn the cogs.

I can honestly say that I never ever feel bored. The last time I remember feeling bored was whining about it to my mother when I was about 12. With so much going on at all times it isn't a feeling I ever get. But loneliness? My days are filled with mothering and homemaking and I guess I haven't had a chance to think about this either.

The past week or so I had an urge to go and meet people. Not really for my sake but for Master T's. From the time Master R was 8 weeks old I was actively attending mama's groups around Battery Park. For Master T I've done nothing. He's never really had a play date. The problem is to find a group of mothers with babies the same age as Master T. Finding a group for your first child is relatively easy. Will the mothers relate to me with two kids? I'm not sure. I've started looking at music and "gym" classes. It might be a good place to start. I just hope I don't meet any more stalkers or drug dealers!

As a side story do you remember before you were a mum going to dinner parties or other events and meeting a new person. You pretty soon get to the question, so what do you do for a living? When the woman would respond, I'm a stay at home mum, my eyes would glaze and I'd start scanning the room for someone more exciting to talk to. I had to chuckle to myself. On Saturday night I was that mummy! A newly graduated MBA had just landed a fantastic job and was telling me all about it. When she asked what I do I told her and instantly saw the frozen smile and then the "oh, how nice for you". I just laughed and showed her the photo on my phone of my darlings. I'm proud to be a stay home mum and feel privileged to have the opportunity to just be mum.

Super quick homemade ice cream

Source: Unholylab

Most of you know that I'm an ice cream addict. I've tried so hard to stay away from it recently because I know that I can't stop until I eat the whole tub! I just keep thinking of all that sugar and fat going through my milk into Master T. But today I felt like some ice cream and I recalled a quick recipe that my mother used to make. It's super quick and super easy. It's also low fat, and doesn't contain any of the nasties that commercial brands contain.

All you do is freeze a tin of low fat evaporated milk. Allow to soften slightly, add a 300ml tub of low fat double cream, approx. 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp natural vanilla essence and whip with a hand mixer but not too much - you don't want whipped cream. Freeze. Once frozen allow to soften slightly and then whip again. I just used a fork and then froze again until firm and ate! The more you freeze and then whip the fluffier it becomes but I found just the once was fine.

Just omit the vanilla and add any flavour. I'm going to grate some dark chocolate and add cocoa. Can't wait!

Yummy quick meal - Pesto Pasta

Source: Peas.org

Just wanted to share this fantastic dish with you. I just made it for lunch and it was a hit. It includes all Master R's favorite foods, peas, sausages, pasta, cheese and tomatoes and is quick to throw together. Despite the sausages it feels healthy and virtuous. Enjoy!

Pesto Pasta

Ding dinners with a difference

Source: Savvymom

Since I've made the decision not to have a fulltime nanny something had to slip. And it's my diet. My diet has been crap lately. I'm lucky if I can grab a slice of toast and protect it that from Master R's greedy fingers.

So I signed up for Pure Package meal delivery service. I get 3 meals a day plus two snacks. The food is all fresh and I'm really enjoying having meals ready to just rip off the cover and scoff. Only the evening meal requires heating. The portions are huge, sometimes too big. But I feel virtuous knowing that I'm getting the required fruit and veg. If I go out for lunch I just give Mr M the meal I've missed.

The only issue is that sometimes I just feel like a slice of buttery raisin and fennel toast and a cup of tea. And that's exactly what I'm having for dinner tonight. Bon appetit!

8 boys and wanting a girl

It is quite interesting the number of boys we have between us. Out of the 8 mamas only Mama H is lucky enough to have not one but two girls. The rest of us are blessed with little boys. Personally we were really wanting a boy first. Mr M is just a boy boy if that makes sense. Second time around he wanted another boy. I really didn't mind. Again, Mr M got his wish. We'd like to have a 3rd and it would be nice to have a girl. I'd love to make beautiful little dresses for her and paint a room pink. But if number 3 was another boy I really wouldn't be worried. Boys are such fun too.

Last night a documentary aired on four families all desperate for a girl. One family had 8 boys while the others had four boys each. What I found disturbing was the desperation of these mothers. All the fathers were fine with it. Sure, it would be nice to have a girl, but they had healthy children so what's the problem. The mothers were a different story.

One mother went as far as saying that to her not being able to have a girl was the same as a woman who can't conceive at all. A dreadfully selfish and almost disgusting suggestion in my opinion. This woman was blessed with four very beautiful and healthy boys and was bemoaning this fact! The documentary showed her discovering she was pregnant with number 5 and accompanied her to the 18 week scan to see the sex. It was a boy. She sobbed openly in front of her boys about not having a girl. How will these boys grow up, especially the poor little boy number 5?

The mother with 8 boys was now in her mid forties and had been trying for a couple of years to fall pregnant again but it was just not happening. She had largely accepted it.

Two of the mothers, one in the UK, the other in the US, underwent PDG, a IVF type process of selecting only the female embryos for implantation. The practise is illegal in the UK so the British mother travelled to Spain for the process.

It was the second attempt at PDG for the American mother. Unfortunately for her it failed once again. She sobbed openly in front of her boys about not having a girl and her husband was clearly concerned about how this negativity would effect their boys.

It does have a happy ending. The British mother had refused to marry her partner of many years until he gave her a girl. After 4 beautiful boys and a single round of PDG she gave birth to twin girls. She had her fairytale wedding with the young daughters as bridesmaids. The disproportionate attention she gave to the girls while ignoring the boys was disturbing. She highly recommended gender selection as a way of building a balanced family.

Gender selection is actually legal in many US states. What are your views? Will it create an unbalanced society or just enable people to create a balanced family?

To cry or not to cry?

Source: About.com

Ask any new mum and the biggest concerns are going to be feeding and sleep - both their own and their babies. I read so many books on sleep and had formed a very strong feeling against any form of sleep training. I was definitely in the Dr Sears camp (cosleep until baby is ready to move into his own bed) rather than the Dr Cohen approach (at 8 weeks place baby in crib at 7pm, close the door and open it again at 7am). However all that changed with Master R was 7 months old.

I was going back to work on a 2 month contract with Goldman Sachs. The Sunday before I started I met with Mama V and complained that I didn't know how I was going to continue to cosleep with Master R, wake during the night for feeds and make a good impression at work. Mama V told me I was just going to have to use the cry it out method (CIO). She shared her experience and urged me to consider it. What sold me is that she said Master K was a much happier baby as a result often waking of a morning to sit in his crib playing happily with his toys - a stark contrast to Master R who awoke screaming most mornings still tired.

That night Mr M was travelling for work so I resolved myself to the task. After a bath and story we lay down together for a feed and then put him in his crib at 7pm. Prepared for the worst I was surprised when he only whimpered for 15 minutes before falling asleep. Shocked I waited for him to wake up. Finally at 10 he awoke crying but again he only cried for 10-15 minutes. He woke again at 11 and I thought this was going to continue all night. But once again after 15 minutes of crying he fell asleep again - for the rest of the night! The next night he only cried for a little while before sleeping the whole night and then every night since, except for a the odd night of course.

So now I'm a convert. I see anti-CIO parent's kids who still wake during the night at 4 years old and I'm so pleased that Mama V encouraged me to do it. Now however, it's Master T's turn. He's 5.5mths old - where has the time gone? It's not so easy. He feels like a little baby and seems to young to just cry. We've started CIO, a modified version of it anyway. He falls asleep during feeding and was waking again after 1-2 hours. But a week ago I started letting him cry. It hasn't been as quick as Master R, but so far it's working. Master T mostly sleeps through until 10:30-11pmish when I come into bed and wake him up. In the next couple of months I'll move him out of our bed and start working towards a full night of sleep. Two kids sleeping though the night, won't that be bliss!

What do you think? Did you or didn't you use CIO or a version of it?

Tuesday is bake day

Source: The Australian

Master R is obsessed with cooking. He stands up on his little stool next to the bench and insists on mixing and of course eating. An idea I stole from another wonderful blog is to have a cookie of the week. The mama blogger lets one of her 3 children choose a cookie and they bake it together. With no classes on a Tuesday it has become bake day. I'll try to post what we've baked and share the recipe.

These are an old favorite passed down from my grandma. ANZAC biscuits* were developed to send to the Australian and New Zealand Army Core while serving in Gallipoli.

*Biscuits are not savory like in the US but are just the British word for cookies.


ANZAC biscuits
1 cup plain flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup oats
1 cup dark sugar
125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup (you can find this in some stores around Battery Park)
1 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 180C/350?F. Combine all dry ingredients. Melt butter and golden syrup and add to the dry ingredients along with bicarb soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Mix well and using a teaspoon form into balls - careful they really expand. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden.

Revisiting real nappies

Source: ittibitti.com.au

A while ago I wrote about my attempts at using real nappies with Master R. Despite my best efforts it wasn't very successful. They just leaked too much. I can't do nappy changes every 1-2 hours. I think he was too active for them.

However, I'm using the same size, large, for Master T with great success! They last for 2-3 hours between changes and look great too. It's so cute seeing him in little red, blue or yellow nappies. I have about 7 sets and just throw them straight in the washing machine as they're soiled. Once I've used them all I just switch on the machine (no fabric softener though as this effects the absorbency). Once washed just throw in the dryer and viola, nappies ready. I really don't find them any more difficult than disposables. I'm also saving money but better still, the environment.

These real nappies are not going to work for the long term but if I can enjoy them for the next few months that's good enough for our pocket and carbon footprint!

Fulltime help: do I really need it?

Source: Unrealitymag.com

With great trepidation I hired a nanny - fulltime! I've ummed and arghed about it and still am not quite sure about it. Do I really need fulltime help when Master R is already in nursery 3 days a week? Sure I can't do anything with Master T glued to my hip but I like to feel independent. I always think about my mother raising 4 of us with no help. Then I have to remember the nervous breakdown.

When we last brought up this issue here on the blog I remember Mama LS saying that having the help enables he to be a better mother and wife. This is the crux of the issue - I'm a bit of a stressed, exhausted, disorganised mess at the end of the day. Mr M would like to come home and have a conversation not just incoherent grunts.

Currently I have a young neighbour come over for an hour each evening and just hold Master T while I do the bedtime routine with Master R. It's lovely to have that one on one time with each child and not frantically throw Master R in bed while Master T screams.

With that in mind I went ahead and hired a nanny, F. It was a very short interview. She's very young and very pretty (perhaps too pretty!), quite shy and, importantly German so she can continue with the boys' bilingual exposure. Rather than the gruelling interview I'm going to give her a 2 week trial where she and assess the situation after that. F will work with us from 12 until 7 so I'll still have the mornings with my boys. And I'll be here at home with her 90% of the time anyway.

I'm quite nervous about it but also welcoming the time I'll have to get this house sorted out, cook meals for the family and pursue other career options. I'll report back soon.

How not to entertain your toddler

Master R loves cooking. He's actually really good at helping me in the kitchen. He gets up on his step at the bench and mixes, measures and pours. He gets so excited about it! I made a big error yesterday though. Forgetting that toddlers need instant gratification and don't understand the word "wait" I thought he'd enjoy some jelly*.

He had so much fun stirring and stirring. I was very anxious about the hot water. But the problem started when he just didn't get the bit where it needs to set in the fridge. We had massive tantrums and tears. It took ages for him to forget about it and stop opening the fridge.

You should have seen his face that evening when I gave him some jelly! He was really excited to see how it had set and wobbled.

Today we baked a scrumptious orange cake together. A much better idea - he can lick the bowl and spoon then in 45 minutes eat a slice of cake. Later he got to make the icing and lick the bowl again! (Must post the recipe for the cake we baked. It's an orange cake made with 2 full oranges - skin, pips and all! Yummy!)

*Sorry I don't know the American word for jelly but I think you call jam jelly? I'm sure you'll understand what I mean from the picture.

Love/hate the dummy

We have a dummy (paci) free house! Hurrah. Well, kind of. The catalyst for this change was Master R's constant whining "Dummy gone!". Mr M and I were completely fed up and while we were away I threw out every last one.

It wasn't as hard as we expected for Master R to quit. After his operation I'd been a little lax and had given into the whines allowing him to play with it in until he got sick of it and gave it to me. A bad habit. We don't mention that D-U-M-M-Y word now simply referring to it as "D". He has occasionally cried out for it and it takes longer for him to fall asleep. With the D he'd fall asleep almost immediately now it takes a little while often with tears.

Master T on the other hand would not take one. I tried on numerous occasions to hold one into his mouth only for him to gag and spit it out in disgust. I tried other brands but he wasn't interested preferring only the real thing. Interestingly he'll take a bottle from our child minder but not the dummy.

There is upside to Master T's behaviour but there's also downside - he sleeps much less than his big brother. Not only that but he seems to wake more frequently. Currently he sleeps less during the day than Master R. But at least there's no attachment to an innate and often dirty object. And no weaning off it - that part I'll take.

Knitting injuries

Yes, yes have a little giggle. I have a couple of knitting injuries. First I have a rash on my finger from the wool I'm currently working with. I don't think it's an allergy, just from excessive wool rub! Second, I was experiencing pain in my forearm and shoulder. Mama LS if I was in NYC you could treat your first knitting injury. When this happens I know it's time to switch to crocheting and give my body a rest from the strenuous activity that is knitting. It was during one of these breaks that I crocheted this blanket for the MIL. I don't really think she likes it but I don't think she likes much that I do. She did ask for one though and I delivered. I also knitted her a pair of leg warmers in the same colour. I hope she gets some use out of them. I won't be knitting her the huge ski sweater she's requested though. It's just too much work when I'm not sure she'll ever wear it!

I'm currently working on one of the most exciting knitting projects I've undertaken. The front and back is finished as is 1.5 sleeves. I should be finished in a couple of weeks and can share the result with you. My only concern is that its too small. I've prewarned Mama J that she might receive a partially knitted sweater if its the case.

Gardening leave

Enjoying a jagertee in Salzburg where it was bitterly cold.

It seems that Mama J and I live parallel lives. We both managed our own businesses then gave birth to boys both just weeks apart and managed to do it again 18 months later. Our husbands both quit their jobs at the same time and we put our work on hold to go travelling for a couple of months - at the same time.

I'll leave Mama J to tell you about her exciting adventure in South America, one that I'm really envious of. We've just been visiting family. Not nearly as exciting.

The reason for our travels is that Mr M accepted a job at a new company. As is customary in Europe he has to take 3 month "gardening leave" betweeen jobs so that he doesn't pass on any company secrets. He wanted to go straight to Europe to snowboard and be with his family but I managed to convince him to spend 2 weeks in Australia visiting my family.

Australia was wonderful and we both wished we'd spent more time there depsite the 23 hour flights. The weather was amazing although a little hot for me now at +30C. It was hectic seeing all my family from Sydney to Brisbane and everywhere in between. For me the highlights were spending time with my mother and father and Master R getting to know them better. Also staying at my grandparents farm and seeing Master R's face when he saw the hundreds of chickens! It was wonderful to take him to the beach most days and splash about in the ocean. Little Master T loved being naked most of the time.

Now we're in Austria where it's freezing cold at-10C. We're having a great time here too teaching Master R how to ski, well walk in the skis anyway. If I'm honest I've had a bit much of snowboarding. A couple hours a day 3 times a week is enough for me not all day everyday that Mr M expects. We've also decided to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms so alas, it's really not a holiday at all.

After a holiday it's always nice to get home to a bit of routine. I haven't really felt at home in London since leaving NYC earlier last year. I was secretly hoping that Mr M would get a job in Switzerland. It didn't work out so I'm determined to give London another chance this year. We're going to find a house to buy and I'll get to make it home. Perhaps that's just what I need to call it home sweet home.

It was the best of times it was the worst of times

Master R taking his bear for a ride.

Dear Mamas, I do have a good reason for being MIA. Not only did I give birth to Master T in late August, but we've had some health issues with Master R which have really overshadowed everything and caused me to make some decisions about work/life balance.

From the time Master R was 4 months old I just knew something wasn't right. I was the envy of many of you Mamas with his infrequent bowel movements. He would generally go 1-2 weeks and then have a major "evacuation", the medical term. Tribeca Peds continually brushed me off saying it was normal for a breastfed baby. One of the worst events happened while we were on holiday in Barcelona. He hadn't gone for 16 days and was in considerable discomfort kicking his little legs and moaning. His stomach was quite swollen. We decided to take matters quite literally into our own hands and lets just say that new towels were ordered from reception.

Every checkup I continued to press the doctor for answers. I asked every medical person who listened but everyone said it was normal and would work itself out when he went onto solids. However it didn't. And when Master R was able to stand he started doing this little dance when he needed to poo. He would rock from side to side holding onto a table or chair and just strain. The interesting thing, without wanting to be too graphic, is that the bowel movements were normal, not hard. Well meaning friends would tell me to give him more prune juice or lentils but it isn't consipation.

It got really bad just before Master T was born. Master R would be screaming in pain with each movement which was now 1-2 times a week. Finally in August when my mum was here she decided it really wasn't normal and we'd have to see a specialist. Dragging along poor little 1 week old Master T we went to a paediatric gastroenterologist. To cut the story short he gave us a series of constipation medications which didn't work except for Picolax which is the very strong laxitive you take before a colonoscopy. If we took the quantities Master R did we'd be on the toilet all night but they just give him a normal 1-2 day movement.

When tests for Crohn's and Caeliac disease came back negative we had to use invasive methods to rule out an obstruction of, my worst fear, Hirschsprung's. On 8 December Master R went to hopsital and under a general anesthetic underwent an upper endoscopy where they put a camera down his throat into the bowel. The actual procedure only lasted for a very long 20 minutes. Straight after the GI specialist told me there was no obstruction, cancer, but we'd have to wait a week for the results of the biopsy.

Master R actually being in the operating room was bad enough but the worst thing, and something they didn't prepare me for, was him coming out from the anesthetic. He was like a wild animals clawing at me and howling in pain with this horrible hoarse scream. I could barely contain him and the nurses were completely calm almost ignoring me struggling with this fighting toddler. This lasted for about an hour and unfortunately I had to do it alone because the nurses had told Mr M that the op would take an hour or more and he'd gone out for a snack!

The results took longer than a week to get back to us with Christmas and doctors away. Finally my daily calls begging for the results paid off and on 24 December I had my best ever Christmas present when the secretary told me it wasn't Hirschsprungs. The bad news is that we still don't know what is wrong. With the Picolax Master R is quite regular at 1-3 days and not is as much paid. Clearly we don't want to have to rely on drugs forever but we'll have to wait now until we return to London to decide the next stage of testing.

Perhaps even more concerning is that the tests revealed that Master R has a thyroid problem and his thyroid will eventually give out. This could be in 6 months or 16 years. He'll need regular 6mth blood tests to monitor the situation. Then he will need to rely on drugs for the rest of his life to keep his thyroid levels normal.

That was last year. 2009 was beautiful for us with the arrival of Master T and Master R's continued development. But it seemed to be a tough one for many of us and I'm glad to close the door on it and open a new chapter with 2010. Happy New Year Mamas and I'm missing every one of you xx