Recipe of the week - Salmon Bake (and Menu Plan: 31st Oct-6th Nov)

It really looks much better than this. Couldn't find a picture on Google, so took a photo of our leftovers in the fridge!

Salmon Bake

(Adapted from Cooking with Aldi: One Family, One Supermarket, p. 126)

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1.5 cups cooked white rice

60g butter

1 egg, beaten

1 can (415g) pink salmon, drained and flaked

1 onion, finely chopped

1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

3 tbs plain flour

1 and 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheese

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbs dried parsley

Method:

Spray a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish with cooking spray

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Melt 30g of the butter. Add butter and the beaten egg to the cooked rice. Combine.

Press the rice mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish

Top with the flaked pink salmon

Set aside

Melt the remaining 30g butter in a saucepan over low heat

Add chopped onion and crumbled stock cube and cook 1 minute

Add plain flour and stir for another minute

Gradually add the milk and continue stirring until smooth

Continue stirring until sauce boils and thickens

Remove pan from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese

Spread sauce over the top of the rice mixture/ salmon

Decorate with the sliced tomato and dried parsley

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown

Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.

This week we are eating-  

Monday: Chicken and Vegetable Rissoles, broccoli and mashed potato

Tuesday: Fried Rice

Wednesday: Slow cooked red wine and beef casserole with potatoes and vegetables (double batch)

Thursday: as above

Friday: Cottage Pie

Saturday: Thai take-away (big kids staying with grandparents)

Sunday: Quiche

Bake: Caramel and Almond Squares
           Honey Joys


What is on your menu plan this week?

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Preparing for Christmas: Advent Calendar

Image Credit

[I'm posting over at Life on a Hill today].

Do I need to remind you that it is now only 58 days until Christmas?

I love Christmas. I come from a long line of Christmas lovers. From my earliest memories, Christmas has been filled with anticipation, excitement, and joy. The 'shopping centre' Christmas is fun and exciting in itself, but how much more exciting is Christmas for Christians:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2 and 6)

These days sadly, Christmas tend to be less a celebration of Jesus' birth and coming salvation, and more a festival of excess - even among Christians. Since having children, my husband and I have been conscious of trying to make the celebration of Jesus' birth more exciting and significant for our kids than any of the other (mostly nice) paraphernalia that comes with Christmas.

One of the tools we have used to help in the lead-up to Christmas is an advent calendar. Not a cardboard picture with opening flaps for each day from 1st - 24th December, but an advent calendar of Bible teaching... (Click here to read more over at Life on a Hill)

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Being perfectly imperfect

So, in case you hadn't guessed it yet... I'm not perfect.

This month, Kate from Picklebums has been celebrating mums and their imperfections...perfectly imperfect. For a little while, let's lose the mother-guilt (or the something-else guilt for any non-mummies). Let's revel in our God-given situations and personalities. Let's enjoy our gorgeous kids. Let's enjoy being how God has created us.And, let's share how we are all taking short-cuts!

I'm perfectly imperfect.

I am prone to dressing my children like this on a hot day (and forgetting to bring hats!):

And this on a cold day:

When I would like my 3-year-old to wear this (isn't it cute?),

she insists on wearing this (No amount of negotiation will change her mind. It is not a fight worth having):

But often at home, my kids just wear this (child on right hand side):

And, throughout most of winter, they accessorise with a runny nose. Unless the children themselves protest, the noses usually go unwiped.

 

In other imperfect news...

I lost my 2-year-old son (and 10 years off my life) at this busy Darling Harbour Park...(grandparents, block your ears)...for at least 3 minutes.

This made me so scared, that I made my 2 and 3 year olds play in a puddle next to a brick wall, instead of on the fun play equipment until my husband returned with our coffees. Free-range parent, I am not!

I let my kids drink this kind of thing... probably too regularly (it was actually one milkshake split over 2 cups, but still looks pretty impressive)...

I over-rely on a dummy for Miss 10 months.

I am always 'losing' my keys by putting them down here, on top of the pram instead of in my handbag. (I also notice the paint stains on the pram shade, which I haven't tried to clean off. It is no small feat to get 3 small children and 2+ wet paintings from the church hall to the car on a windy day!)

And finally (and you can borrow this tip...), I line my baking tins like this... who has time for cutting to size?

Share your best "perfectly imperfect" short-cut.

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A little space of my own

You may or may not know that I have been coveting my own desk space/ paperwork area since moving to our new place. Gemma (My Big Nutshell)'s post a few weeks ago only served to increase my desire. We have no room for a designated office area and our living spaces are small (and already full). I just assumed it couldn't/ wouldn't be happening. 

Then suddenly, inspiration hit in the form of an IKEA catalogue and a disorganised master bedroom. I'm getting a work space! I may choose to share it with my husband.

Here are the before photos:

Not very inspiring yet...

The side view...

To give you some perspctive with the rest of the room... Actually, the whole room needs to be re-thought (if you can really use the word 'need' in this situation)...

 I don't have any after pictures. I'm asking for inspiration. Here are a few ideas I have found so far:

This is made from the side-rail of a baby cot. But, I'm not ready to re-purpose our cot yet!

Think a little less sewing, a little more all-purpose.

White furniture and a pretty notice-board gets me everytime.

Love the pin-board, love the clip-boards on the wall. The overall look is maybe a little too modern and industrial for my liking.

Feel free to offer ideas, suggestions, suggested products that would suit our space... And, has anyone else got a "bedroom" desk space?

I'm linking up with Jess for IBOT

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Menu Plan: 24th - 30th October 2011 & Lebkuchen Recipe

It is a bit of a different menu plan here over the next couple of weeks. My husband is doing HSC marking every weeknight until 9pm, and then all day Saturday. He will only be joining us for evening meals on the weekend (*sob*). To make life a little bit easier for me, I have decided I will only cook every 2nd day, and we will eat the same thing for 2 nights. A friend has also advised me to serve the evening meal at afternoon tea time, then serve a snack at dinner time. She does this regularly when her husband is away. It means the dinner clean-up etc is completed before bath/ bed time. Sounds good to me...

Here is what we are eating:

Monday: Tuna burgers (I still have the ingredients from last week, as we ate at my mother-in-law's place on Saturday)

Tuesday: Pumpkin, Ricotta and Chicken Pasta Bake with green veggies

Wednesday: as above

Thursday: Salmon Bake

Friday: as above

Saturday: Pumpkin, Spinach and Coconut Beef Curry

                (Dessert Night): Apple and Berry Crumble with custard

Sunday: Home-made Pizzas

Bake: Chewy Chocolate Cookies

          Lebkuchen (see below- thanks so much Katherine W for the recipe!)

Lebkuchen - Traditional German Gingerbread

(Recipe thanks to Katherine W. Adapted from The Women's Weekly Beautiful Biscuits book)

Ingredients
 (makes about 40 biscuits)

60g butter
2/3 cup syrup
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
30g mixed peel
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp milk
extra flour
jam (smooth raspberry or apricot is probably most traditional but use what you enjoy)
125g dark chocolate

Method:

1. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, add syrup. Bring to the boil, take off heat.
2. Add dry ingredients, milk and peel. Stir until smooth.
3. Stand 1 and 1/2 hours at room temperature to thicken.
4. Knead on a floured surface until not sticky.
5. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out into heart shapes.
6. Place biscuits on greased or lined trays. Push a hole into each biscuit using the end of a wooden spoon (not the whole way through). Fill hole with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of jam.
7. Cook at 180 c for 8-10 minutes. Leave until cold.
8. Melt chocolate, dip base of each biscuit and smooth.
9. Place jam side down in refrigerator until set.

Katherine's variations:

1. I never use the peel since we don't like it!
2. For kids, I leave out the cardamom and cloves and I up the cocoa to a good tablespoon or so.
3. I don't need to leave the dough for a full hour and a half. After about 40 minutes I find it is cool enough to handle and doesn't need that much kneading before it's easy to roll. I work with about 1/4 of the dough at a time and add the cutting scraps in with the next quarter.
4. I tend to cook the biscuits only about 6 minutes for a much softer gingerbread. Probably depends on each oven and preference though.
5. For kids (and speed) I don't use the jam or chocolate. If I can be bothered, we might ice them but my Mr 2 enjoys them plain anyway. (They are really delicious with jam and chocolate though!)

Note from Katherine: I've been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. I love it - only one saucepan and a wooden spoon gets dirty, other than the boiling, easy for kids to do the mixing and measuring, and I don't think I've ever had the mix not work and find it's not sticky for cutting or handling. I hope now that I've recommended it, anyone else finds it trouble free and yummy too.

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There is no such thing as Christian parenting

I am in the middle of a bit of an uncomfortable situation at the moment. I know that others would think nothing of it, but since I am extremely anti-confrontation, and this situation involves a bit of confrontation, I squirm just to think about it, and I am loathe to see it resolved properly - I just want to let it all blow over.

The situation is about Christian Parenting. The problem is; I don't think Christian parenting exists. Christian parents, yes. Parenting based on broad Christian principles and attitudes, yes. Christian parenting, no. You may think I am just playing with semantics here, but the implications of the subtle difference in phrasing are quite significant.

Christian parenting tries to tell me that there is a clear, God-ordained method by which I should be raising my children. Christian parenting books use a confusing mix of random out-of-context Bible verses, some truthful biblical ideas, some human wisdom dressed up as biblical wisdom, some case studies and some nifty tips. They try to convince me that God gives me specifics about how to raise my children his way. They try to convince me that every other way is wrong. They tell me what my itching ears want to hear. Of course I want to hear that I just do x + y + z and my children will turn out to be mature Christians, well-rounded, contributing members of society. Guaranteed.

The problem is that the Bible is not that specific about parenting. The Bible is God's story about how he reveals himself through history, and saves his people through Jesus. It is not my story about how I parent my children.

The Bible is not irrelevant in parenting. It is highly relevant. The Bible tells me how God deals with his people as a Father. God's fatherhood is grace, and truth, and love, and compassion, and sacrifice, and forgiveness, and gentleness, and patience, and justice and... (See this post for some Bible references). The Bible instructs me about how I am to relate to others with grace, and truth, and love, and compassion, and sacrifice, and forgiveness, and gentleness, and patience, and justice, and... The Bible establishes the order of God's creation, reminding me that God is to be my ruler, that my marriage relationship comes second and my children come third (Genesis chapter 2-3). This has huge implications for parenting. The Bible reminds me that Jesus is coming again, and that I have a role to see that my children know and trust Jesus (Revelation 22:7).  The Bible tells me to train my children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). The Bible urges me to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)... and this includes prayer for my children. The Bible tells me to be light and salt to the world  (Matthew 5:13-16) - including living as a witness to my children.

But, the Bible does not give me any specific instruction on sleep (routines, co-sleeping), or on feeding (bottle or breast - and for how long?), or on methods of discipline (rewards, punishment, time-out, smacking - apart from a widely disagreed upon Proverbs 13:24). The Bible does not talk about spending one-to-one time with each child, or teaching children to play on their own, or the balance between structured and unstructured play. It doesn't address pocket money, or promoting early learning, or appropriate types of toys, or how much TV our kids should watch. It doesn't even talk about the importance of consistency, or the distinction between childishness and disobedience, or how to really love your child.

I am not bagging any of these things of course (one look at the topic menu on my blog would reveal that I love talking about this stuff!). There is a lot of wisdom to be found in parenting books and ideas. There is a lot of wisdom to be found in parenting books/ courses/ ideas that are promoted as Christian.

But there is a danger when the distinction between what the Bible says and what are just good ideas is not made clear. There is a danger when mums and dads are made to feel that they are not parenting "God's way" because they want to sleep in the same bed with their children. Or because they don't want to sleep with their children. Or because they choose not to smack their children. Or because they choose to smack their children. Or because they let their children watch 3 hours of TV per day. Or...

I have a friend who was a relatively new Christian. After reading one Christian parenting book, trying to implement it to the letter, and failing dismally (much of it was just inappropriate for her own personality and that of her daughter), she began to question her worth as a parent. She even began to question whether she was in fact a Christian! I cannot even express how much this grieves me. To think that there may be Christians who doubt their very salvation over an extreme case of mother-guilt (brought on by over-zealous "Christian" parenting instructions). I don't even want to think that there may be parents who are turned away from getting to know the true Jesus because they don't like the parenting style that his followers espouse as being "God's way".

What do you think? Has the Christian parenting movement gone too far?

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Wordless Wednesday: Sydney Wildlife World

Linking with My Little Drummer Boys for Aussie Wordless Wednesday

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But my kids will miss out...

 

We are a family of do-ers.

It starts with my husband. He rarely sits still. He is busy at work, at church, at home, in physical training.... If he knows he will be at home for a morning or afternoon, he will give himself a (mental) list of jobs to do (mow the lawn, fix something, paint something, plan a family outing, go for a 20km bike ride...). I never need to be a nagging wife of the sort that is always asking for things to be done. Instead, I nag Matt to sit down and just chill out with us!

Although I protest, I am pretty much the same. I complain about how busy we are, but I don't like to be at home for more than one day in a row. Although I am an introvert (in that I need downtime alone to recharge), I like social activity in my day. I like structure and routine. I like going out - even just to do the grocery shopping. I have a mental structure in my head for every day (yes, even on holidays).

Sometimes, however I worry about how all this 'activity' will impact our children. While Matt and I thrive in our busy-ness, I am becoming conscious of how much activity I schedule for our kids. It is already a big struggle for me, and I know that as our kids get older, it will only get worse.

 

There has been so much talk lately about how having less structure is good for kids. Unstructured, free play-time, without adult participation, provides opportunities for kids to use their imaginations, and improves their social, emotional, physical and mental development. Over the past 3-4 months, my two bigger kids have really increased their unstructured play-time together (without me). I really love watching my two bigger kids play this way. But, sometimes when they are involved in their play, I feel a little bit aimless. They don't need me. I'm not helping them. I'm not scheduling them. I'm not teaching them. I'm not even driving them somewhere.

Particularly as they get older, there are so many good things for kids to get involved in. There are church groups (there are weekday groups at our church for kids from Kindergarten age in addition to the Sunday program). We wouldn't want to discourage those organising these programs by not having our kids involved. There is music (I learnt piano from age 6, and I am keen for our kids to learn too). There is organised sport. They have to learn to swim. They might enjoy drama. Or art. Or cooking classes. Or...   

But, what if we didn't encourage participation in m/any of these? What if our kids just came home from school and played (and we had more time as a family)?  I love this idea in theory. It feels right to me. The experts tell me this is the way to go. But I can't shake the feeling that they would miss out on something.

How do you feel about structure for kids? Have you found a good balance?

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Menu Plan: 17th - 23rd October 2011

I know I have bugged you about menu planning in the past. If you don't do it, you must! (Even The Organised Housewife does it.) Seriously though, menu planning is the most important housework-y component of my week. Other housework (vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, washing) can be ignored for a while, but the family will not tolerate being fed less than 3 times daily!

Menu planning means that I can go confidently through my days, knowing that dinner will be on the table at night. The ingredients I need will be in the cupboard or fridge. The meat will be defrosting. I will be aware of any early preparation I need to start at lunchtime, and not suddenly decide I need another 2 hours at 5pm. 

I won't go into anymore detail about what I do now because I will be guest-posting about menu-planning somewhere next month... stay-tuned! But, here is our menu-plan for the coming week:

Monday: Chicken and vegetables with cheese sauce

Tuesday: Sweet and sour beef stir fry with noodles

Wednesday: Potato and Broccoli Tart with salad

Thursday: Seasoned Lamb Chops and vegetables

Friday: Tuna Burgers

Saturday: Curry Mince Pasties and salad

                Chocolate-custard trifle (Saturday is dessert night here...)

Sunday: Leftovers (if we have any) and/or scrambled eggs

Bake: Ricotta cheese chocolate slice 

I haven't posted any of these recipes before. If you are interested in any of these, let me know, and I will include it as Recipe of the week sometime. (I haven't tried the potato/broccoli tart or the ricotta cheese chocolate slice yet, so can't guarantee that these are any good!)

What are you eating this week?

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They said it better... #7

Some good reads from the last couple of weeks (quite a few this time):

Did you know you can make a lasagne in the slow cooker? (I haven't done it yet)
Fiona at Inner Pickle - Make your own ice-cream

A thought-provoking interview with Soph at The Fountainside
Kelly at Be a fun mum - Being fallible
Be a fun mum (again) - I don't want to give my kids advice

Jess at Diary of a SAHM - How I feel when a daughter blogs
Caz at The Truth about Mummy - Blogging: highs and lows
Deb at Aspiring Mum - Brown-Nosers and cliques in blogging (This convicted me about a post I wrote a few weeks ago)

This brought a tear to my eye - Ninety-six

Happy Weekend!

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Do you like your kids?

A couple of days ago, I was in a conversation with some other mums. There was lots of talk of life with kids, and discipline, and difficulties, and frustrations. There were funny stories. It was a funny and fun conversation for the most part. 

But later, when I reflected on the conversation, I came away with an overwhelming impression. These mums don't like motherhood. Or even, these mums don't like their children. 

I know what you are thinking... and I reasoned the same thing. Of course they like their children. They love their children. I'm sure these mums do.

But to listen to our conversation, you could be forgiven for thinking differently. You could be forgiven for thinking that motherhood is all about feeling irritated, and frustrated. Or about trying to bring unruly children under control. Or about cleaning up mess, after mess, after mess. When mums get together it can be easy to focus on the hard bits, and the boring bits, and the frustrating bits, and the bits no-one tells you before you have children. We are united in the struggle of motherhood.

I confess I like to join in these negative conversations too. We happily tell the stories about the nights when we are up all night with sick children. Or the stories of toilet-training gone wrong. Or the stories of when kids embarrass us at the shops. We love to say to mothers with younger kids... just wait until they start walking, or until they turn 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5 or...)!

Life at home with kids is not easy. Yes, there are very hard times. There are very frustrating times. They are times that we regret. But would we make others feel awkward if we talked about how much we enjoy being around our kids? Or how much they make us laugh? Or how great it is to watch their little personalities develop? Or what joy it is to see them learning? Or how blessed we are to spend time with our little people?

What does your conversation reveal about you? Do you like your kids?

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Recipe of the week - Caramel and Almond Squares

I included a picture of this yummy slice in a post recently. Bri, who has been reading and commenting here and on my old blog for some time (thanks Bri!), asked about the delicious-looking slice in point 9 - the one I don't want to regret not making. I didn't quite realise how decadent this recipe was until I started typing the recipe out. Over 300g of butter! Luckily you only serve it in VERY small squares - unless you are the cook and you have to eat all the crooked-looking edge bits. *cough*

 
Caramel and Almond Squares

(Source: Cooking with Aldi: One Family, One Supermarket p. 192, with own minor adjustments)

Ingredients

(Base)

1/4 cup self-raising flour

60g butter

1/4 cup white sugar

2 egg yolks

(Topping)

250g butter

1/4 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar

250g flaked almonds

1 tbs thickened cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
Line a slice tin (about 18cm by 28 cm), with baking paper extending over the edges of the tray

 (Base) Combine the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg yolks and continue to process until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Roll out the pastry or press directly into the base of the lined slice tin.
Bake for 12 minutes. (Note: the recipe says to cover the pastry with baking paper and baking weights/ dry rice before baking. I didn't do this and it was fine)

(Topping) Combine butter, honey and brown sugar in a saucepan.
Place over low - medium heat at stir continuously until mixture boils.
Reduce the heat and simmer 3 minutes without stirring.
Remove from the heat and stir in almonds and cream. 

Pour the topping over the cooked pastry base.

Reduce oven heat to 180 degrees C.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Allow slice to cool, then place the pan in the fridge to firm.
Serve at room temperature, cut into small squares.

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Wordless Wednesday: Operation Christmas Child

No she's not doing OCC, but she can't miss out. (Also, how cute is this picture?!)

 Linking up with Aussie Wordless Wednesday

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How to really love your {spouse}

I have recently been doing some research into a book by Ross Campbell entitled How to really love your child. In his book, Campbell emphasises that there is a difference between a child who is loved and a child who really feels loved. 

The same could easily be said in marriage. There is a difference between a husband or wife who is loved and a husband or wife who feels loved. Most of us could say that we love our husbands/ wives. Most of us could say that we are loved in return. But do we always feel loved? And do our husbands/ wives always feel loved? (Click to read more at Life on a Hill...)

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Making housework less depressing

A couple of weeks ago, I had a depressing dream. Actually, the dream itself was quite nice. The depressing part was how much pleasure the dream gave me. 

In my dream, I was home alone. My husband had taken the 3 children out, and I was cleaning our house from top to bottom. In the dream, I remember the elation of standing back and admiring my hard work - the shiny surfaces, the sparkling kitchen floor, the freshly vacuumed lounge-room rug... and enjoying the cleanliness for a good while.  I woke up with a smile on my face and joy in my heart (or something).

In real life, with preschoolers at home, the enjoyment of the cleanliness is fleeting. Preschoolers have the capacity to undo anything you can achieve in the clean and tidy department in about 1/10 of the time it took to get it to clean and tidy. There are some days this frustrates me no end. Other days I can accept it more readily.

Over the last few years, I have discovered a few little things that help reduce the frustration:

1) Don't bother cleaning

2) Don't clean everything at once. I spend 10 minutes in one room/ area, then clear out of that room - at least for a little while. (Incidentally, why do preschoolers always need to go to the toilet immediately after you have cleaned it?)

3) Don't clean the floors until night-time. Once the kids are happily in bed, I can be confident that the floor will stay relatively clean for at least 10 hours!

4) Use kids to "help". I find that having the kids help is useful to (a) keep them occupied, (b) start teaching them some skills and (c) help me resist my perfectionist tendencies (a table wiped-down by a 3-year-old, or a bed made by a 2-year-old is never going to be perfect)

5) Keep cleaning materials/ products close to where I use them. This helps when a little touch-up is needed. (e.g. I keep a vinegar/water spray bottle in the bathroom vanity cupboard. If things are looking desperate, I can grab a face-washer and wipe down a few surfaces before throwing the washer into the washing machine)

6) I clean it when I see it. If I notice something I don't like the look of (e.g. a pile of food under the table, dust bunnies on the TV cabinet, a dirty hand print on the wall), I try to deal with it straight away. I don't spend time looking at mess waiting for a big clean (which never happens!)

7) Choose a "shiny sink". The shiny sink concept comes from Flylady. The "shiny sink" is basically one place in your home that is kept perfectly clean and tidy. When you are feeling discouraged about the state of the house, the "shiny sink" gives you confidence! I have two "shiny sinks" in our house - our bed is (almost always) made, and I keep the kitchen table clean and free of junk between meals.

8) Let it go/ put up with it. A house that is constantly lived in is never going to look like a show home. I need to remind myself of this!

Do you find housework depressing? How do you make it less depressing?

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Are mummies superficial?

My husband Matt is very supportive of this whole blogging thing. He loves that blogging encourages me to think more deeply about certain topics, allows me to garner the opinions of others and gives me a bit of a mental outlet. He receives my new blog posts in his email every morning, and enjoys reading most of them.  

In some ways though, Matt is baffled by blogging, and in particular, by "mummy" blogging. Although Matt receives the blog emails each day, I'm sure he skips over anything about cooking and housework. (He hasn't told me this, but I'm right aren't I?). Matt always laughs about the fact that one of my most popular posts ever (in terms of the number of comments received), was one on my old blog about whether you leave your clothes-pegs on the clothesline, or keep them in a peg basket. Then a post about the famine in Africa, or the impact of large families, or the Bible is somewhat overlooked.

It does make me wonder if I have become more superficial as a mum? I  sometimes almost always find it easier to read and comment on blog posts about housework than about poverty. I find myself attracted to posts on making homemade ice cream more than those on living a godly life. I read a short post  (or a post with beautiful pictures) over a long post. I prefer to read Alexander McCall Smith over Charles Dickens. I would rather read "How to really love your child" by Ross Campbell than "The Cross of Christ" by John Stott (although even in my deep-thinking uni days, I never made it through "The Cross of Christ"!)

In our family, my husband worries about the "big" stuff (work, where we live, where we go to church, schools and the education system, Australia's political system, theology) and I worry about the "small" stuff (our home routine, housework, kids' activities, returning library books...). Though we both help each other out (I have a strong opinion on some of the big stuff, and he gives me ideas and assistance with the small stuff), my natural inclination is towards the "at home", and his is towards the "out of home". Occasionally something like the famine in Africa, or a part of the Bible will jolt me out of my home-based focus. But more often than not, I am too busy contemplating what we will have for dinner to contemplate the world economy.

I don't think this is all bad. I also don't think "narrow-focus" is always the same as "superficial". There is still huge intensity of relationships, emotions, ideas... even in a single home environment.

What do you think? Are you a "superficial" mummy?

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Wordless Wednesday: Nice neighbours strike again

Check out more Wordless Wednesday at My Little Drummer Boys

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Thinking my way to a better marriage

Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

 Philippians 4:8. 

Stop and think about your husband/wife. What are the first things that pop into your head?

Are you thinking about the lawn that still hasn't been mowed? Or his workaholism? Are you remembering the time he was late home from work and forgot to call? Or how he leaves his shoes in the lounge-room every night? Do you want him to take more leadership in family prayer and Bible reading? Do you wish she was more gentle with your children? Do you want her to be a better cook? Or less anxious? Do you wish she would look after her physical appearance? Do you want him to spend less time on the golf course?

Do you think about the honourable, praiseworthy aspects of your husband/wife? Or does negativity crowd your thoughts? Do you think about whatever isn’t honourable, lovely, commendable…? 

There are many situations in which our thinking can be tested... (Read more over at Life on a Hill)

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Communication in children: 3-4 years

 

I am continuing the series of posts on Communication Development at Be a Fun Mum.

Today's post covers communication development from 3-4 years of age. If your little ones are not quite there yet, you can follow the links to my previous guest posts:

Communication development from birth - 12 months

Communication development from 12-24 months

Communication development from 2-3 years

Communication development from 3-4 years 

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Recipe of the week - Basic Cookie Recipe

I have been searching for this type of recipe ever since my eldest child could eat biscuits (cookies). It makes a simple, versatile cookie dough that can withstand the helping efforts of young children. Other cookie doughs I have tried are the wrong consistency for little hands. They require a little more finesse when it comes to rolling and shaping, otherwise the dough either crumbles, or sticks. This one is just right...

Chewy Choc Cookies  (makes about 30)

(Adapted from One Family, One Supermarket - Cooking with Aldi - p. 191)

Ingredients:

125g butter, chopped

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 and 3/4 cups self-raising flour

200g dark chocolate (or milk, or white chocolate)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line 2 trays with baking paper

Gather ingredients

If using a block of chocolate (rather than ready-made choc-chips), get kids to break the block into squares. You will probably also have to chop the squares into about 4 smaller bits.

Meanwhile, combine the butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy.

Add egg and beat until combined

Add self-raising flour and chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined.

 Re-enlist the help of the little ones. Roll small balls (about the size of a walnut) and place them onto trays, allowing about 3-4 cm between balls. (Do not flatten them).

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies spread and turn slightly golden. Do not over-bake. Cookies will be soft at first but will firm as they cool.

Variations: 

Instead of choc-chips, you could try:

• Pressing a  "freckle" lolly or a "jube" (or other preferred lolly or sugar decoration) into the top of each biscuit (Credit to my mother-in-law for that suggestion)
• Making a small well and adding 1/2 tsp jam in the top of each biscuit
• Adding dried fruit - sultanas, chopped dried apricots, prunes or dates
• Adding coconut
• Adding cocoa (for chocolate biscuits) - sorry I haven't done this, so couldn't say how much to add. Any ideas?
• Adding cornflakes
• Adding coloured sprinkles
• Any other ideas?

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