Cake smash!

So I'm ordinarily not one to encourage wasting food, but when it involves cute babies and cake, I'm willing to make an exception!

Last week some beautiful mums and their children gathered at my place to celebrate the first birthdays of three of our babies, born within two weeks of each other. This circle of women have helped me find my path in motherhood and feel less alone in my parenting choices. An amazing group to be part of and one I'm so grateful for.

With a photographer in the mix, and my penchant for cake, the plan for a cake smash photo session was hatched! Hugo hadn't had refined sugar before, so I wanted to go light on it. I used a classic butter cake recipe from Jude Blereau's ' Wholefood for Children' book, which calls for spelt flour as it's more easily digested than wheat flour, and raw sugar, the less refined cousin of white sugar. Instead of icing I used whipped cream, coloured red with strawberries. There were also two layers of cream in the cake, one coloured green with kiwi fruit, and one purplish one, using blueberries.

Given Hugo was shoveling whole fistfuls in his mouth I'm quite glad I didn't go with traditional icing! It was so fun to watch the babies start with licking the 'icing' tentatively, watching each other's reactions to the taste and texture, and looking for cues on what to do next. By the end they were right into it, clawing chunks from the cake delightedly.

They were really experiencing the joy of food and celebration, an important part of the food culture I want to foster in our family. I believe there is much more to food than simply nutrition.

a list: random thoughts

It's one of those weeks here where there's more balls in the air than I can catch. So many jumbled thoughts and ideas and to-dos. Inspired by Jodi's list-making over at Practicing Simplicity, here's my version.

I am...

making corn fritters, and savoury muffins and other healthful snacks perfect for little hands.
cooking well-planned meals. We save more, eat better and waste less - should have got onto this sooner!
drinking green smoothies. Perfect go-to when I have a glut of kale.
reading too much stuff on parenting. I need a breather. Next on my list is 'Plentitude: The New Economics of True Wealth' and 'Women who run with the wolves'
wanting my baby to wake a little less overnight. I need to get work done & I neeeed sleeeeep.
looking forward to celebrating Hugo's first birthday.
playing lullabies at bedtime, and almost putting us both to sleep.
wasting time faffing about when I could be doing things that 'fill my cup'.
sewing absolutely nothing - one day.
wishing for a little bit more time to myself in the evenings.
enjoying working through the Dream. Discover. Do. ecourse.
waiting to get chooks. And getting impatient!
liking being back at work.
wondering what will become of our environment, healthcare and education system under this woeful government.
loving watching Marcus and Hugo together. I think my husband falls more in love with his son each day.
hoping Hugo will settle into Family Day Care and sleep okay so we don't get kicked out!
marvelling at how quickly Hugo learns to do new things.
needing to organise and declutter. And budget and save. You know, that old chestnut.
smelling sweet baby skin at bedtime.
wearing Saltwater sandals.
following my instinct.
noticing that i've settled into motherhood quite comfortably now.
knowing that everything with children is a season.
thinking constantly. Must slow down.
bookmarking Mr Money Mustache for a financial/consumerism reality check every now and again.
opening invitations in the mail for happy occasions.
giggling at the weekend shenanigans with my girlfriends. Weddings are so wonderful for bringing everyone together.
feeling lucky.

Fading summer

A brief afternoon sojourn in the sun yesterday was a reminder of just how fleeting these days of babyhood are. 

Next summer these hands will spend their time building sandcastles instead of crawling, and the excited squeals of delight will give way to words. There'll be running into the waves, dog-chasing and dream-catching. 

As one season gives way to the next I feel a profound sense of gratitude for this moment and the beautiful simplicity of childhood. 

May this boy spend many more joyful summers getting salty.

Camping in Tasmania

Earlier this month, we hired a campervan and spent six days touring the Tasmanian East Coast, staying beachfront in Freycinet National Park and the Bay of Fires.  

The road to the coast weaves inland and out again, through ancient forest and quiet coastal towns of fibro shacks and million-dollar vistas, the winding roads heaven for motorcyclists (and babies who need a sleep!). 

We found our site at dusk and settled in just in time to watch the sunset over Coles Bay, before cooking dinner in the very well-appointed van kitchen. After going bush camping without running water a few weeks earlier, it was quite luxurious! The following day we did the walk to Wineglass Bay, a 2.5 hour return. Hugo happily travelled in the Ergobaby carrier on Marcus' back, sleeping when he needed to. 

While staying in Freycinet, we also took part in a Ranger activity on bush teas and edible plants. We sipped tea, and sampled nuts, seeds and berries from surrounding bushland, while learning about the settlement of the region and indigenous customs. 

After three nights in Freycinet we headed north to a free camping spot at Cosy Corner, at the southern end of the region known as the 'Bay of Fires'. It was given this name in 1773 by an explorer who saw many fires on the beach, lit by the local indigenous people. 

It's name could also be attributed to the fiery orange-red granite of the rocks, quite breathtaking against the aqua water. The colour of the water was a real surprise; we didn't imagine Tassie to have the inviting waters of other parts of Australia, I suppose due to the climate. February is a fantastic time to camp in Tassie as it's the end of the holiday season and the weather is still warm. I'm sure the crisp winter days are beautiful too, but with a baby it was definitely easier being outdoors as much as possible.

Here are our baby travel essentials:

• car seat for interstate travel (you can hire them, but we've enjoyed the peace-of-mind knowing that Hugo is comfortable sleeping in his own seat for long drives
• a baby carrier or two: we take the Ergobaby carrier and a woven wrap/sling
• lots of changes of clothes, particularly if you have a mobile baby!
• disposable nappies (we use cloth at home but use eco-disposables when travelling)
• bibs, washcloths, baby wipes 
• a plan for daily meals (we meal-planned for the week on our first day, doing most of the shopping in Hobart)
• a picnic blanket
• first-aid kit 
• stroller 
• a few favourite toys and books

Hugo enjoyed watching the wildlife, eating dirt and chewing travel brochures more than his own toys, but they were handy to have when we needed to confine him to the van. 

Have you done much travelling with young children? What would your 'essentials' list look like?

When worlds collide

Today I returned to paid employment after 12 months maternity leave. Waking up before the alarm, I slip out of bed, leaving my two sleeping boys, and pull on a pair of pre-pregnancy 'work pants'; they look different on this body, irrevocably changed by motherhood. And not unhappily so; where yoga teaches respect for the body, pregnancy and childbirth leave me in awe.

With post-it notes on lunches for husband, baby and grandma in the fridge, and my lunch and breast pump in a bag, I say my distracted goodbyes and i'm out the door to make the train. 

My head already at work, my heart forever at home.

I bounce up the stairs of Parliament station, greeted by the familiar cheer of the homeless man selling the Big Issue, his weather spiel unchanged (forecasting a scorching 62 million degrees today). 

My mind is a sponge, trying to absorb the information; of conversion funnels, user experience and journey mapping. Everyone asks about my son, now almost one: "how times flies!"

Everything changes, yet everything stays the same.

But I am different. 

On sourcing food and growing your own

Every Friday is 'co-op day' for us, and this assortment of organic goodness is just some of this week's haul. I'm fortunate to be part of a lovely little community of people who share the tasks involved in ordering from the farm, picking up and packing our produce. We get a mixture of farm-grown and market-sourced organic produce and functioning as a co-operative means we're making significant savings on our food bill, which of course can get quite hefty if you want to eat mostly organic! 

I supplement this with produce from our local farmers markets, our local greengrocer (for organic milk and bread), ALDI, and as a last resort, the big two supermarkets. I'd love to say we eat lots of home grown stuff but that's just not happening at the moment, apart from a handful of green beans and cherry tomatoes. 

Our plan is to clear the yard for four large raised veggie beds, put in a tank and irrigation and get some chooks. When I was pregnant we had a permaculture design plan done, but it's taken a bit of a back seat until now. The 1950s Hills Hoist in the backyard is sadly meeting its end this weekend, but it's exciting to finally be making things happen in our sad and scorched looking yard!

I'm reading Jamie Durie's 'Edible Garden Design' at the moment and it's so inspiring, I really want to get outdoors and get my hands dirty. I have a little person who I know will be happy to join me too (though i'll have to keep him well away from the potting mix, he'd eat fistfuls of the stuff if he could!)

Do you grow much of your own food? How important is it to you where your food comes from?  

Dear Hugo: Eleven months old

Dearest Hugo,

Wow, they say the early days are fleeting with a baby and i've never felt it to be more true than now, as I reflect on this past year. You're crawling around and pulling up onto everything, exploring your world with gusto. You love music and 'dancing', using me as a climbing frame, Bronco the labrador, 'birdies' and my boobs when it's sleep time. 

You like playing with food just as much as eating it, and the high chair 'car ride' to the sink to cleanup is the highlight of mealtimes; you squeal with excitement! Your favourite books are 'Noni the pony' and 'Moo, Baa, La La La'. At bedtime we read 'Kissed by the moon'. 

So far you've been in an aeroplane twice, to Western Australia and Tasmania, and you've camped in a tent and campervan. You adapt really well to new environments and you give a beaming smile to just about everyone. 

You clearly recognise the 'light', 'fan', 'dog' and 'water', and your dad thinks you've got 'mum' down pat too. Or rather, 'mum-mum-mum-mum'! You like pinching your dad, giving open mouth 'kisses', standing in the bath, putting everything in your mouth and keys. You don't like going to sleep, having your nappy changed or getting dressed.  

You're a determined, sweet and funny little person who fills our home and hearts with love and laughter every day. Raising you is our greatest privilege and our greatest responsibility and we feel so incredibly blessed to have you in our lives.

xxx