March?

March? Fucking march?

Really?

Would someone care to explain to me exactly how it is March already? Its quite possible every single one of my posts from here on out, will have at least (emphasis on the least) one whinge about how quickly time is going. I had heard this is a ‘Mum’ thing, but I tend to lean more towards a ‘we are all getting old’ thing.

So anywho, despite my protests, it is infact March. Which means- my teeny tiny infant still-rocking-him-in-cradle-position-even-when-he-is-resisting baby boy Oscar is approaching two. Yup, two. March the 12^th is the day to be exact. So whilst he is sprinting, walking, talking (and I don’t just mean ‘Hi, Bye, Mum, Dad’ either. I’m talking “Mum, we are going over da bridge….. Mum we are SOOOO high….. Mum I can see da water….. Mum Look! A truck! Mum it’s a truck and a digger! Its yellow! MUUUUUUMMMMM!  Y E L L O W!!!!), and eating his own meals without any help (“No, I’LL DO IT”), snoozing in his big boys bed minus any safety rails because he’s a bad ass like that, and just generally NOT being an infant at all, here I am standing back in bewilderment thinking “Now, tell me again where the hell those two years are hiding please?”.

There he is! So devilishly handsome 

Despite feeling incredibly nostalgic (as always) about my little humans growing into big humans, I’m also at a stage where I feel especially excited about the people they are becoming. Watching them race around pretending to be dinosaurs, all teeth bared and raaaaawwwwwwwrrrrrrsssss, releasing and expanding their imaginations- exuding confidence and an astonishing amount of energy is fascinating. And then when five minutes into said pretend play, someone inevitably gets injured in some small (or sometimes large) way, watching their empathy unfold as they wrap their arms around each other kissing the sore spots and reassuring with “there you go, its ok now” is enough to make me weak at the knees. Buckling I tell ya. They’re just so bloody precious. Delicious. Mischievious. Adventurous. Smooch-their-cheeks-until-they-break-free-on-a-daily-basis-ous.

And here they are just out doing their own bunnings shopping- who needs Mum anymore?

About now is the point where everyone starts asking on the regular, “so how about that third kid eh? Eh? Eh?”. Crikey, give it a rest- I’ve only just recovered from the trauma of two consistent years of sleep deprivation, my uterus is shivering at the thought. Seriously though, Oli and I are still on the two child bandwagon two years in. And even though some days I’ll have an overwhelming maternal tug at the heart strings where (we’ve obviously had a rare full sleep and no tantrums day) I’ll think ‘whats one more?’. To which my realistic hubby would reply, its another mouth to feed, another two years of no sleep, another step away from our budding freedom, aaaaaand another 9 months of you moaning. Oh yeah, that’s right, lets stick to two.

On another note, my work hours have recently been extended to 4 full days a week Mon-Thurs, and despite every single morning being absolutely and utterly manic- I’m talking flying lunchboxes, smoothie sculling until I gag, half ironed clothes and shooing kids out the front door- we are managing to make it work (kinda), and its really making me appreciate the time I do spend with them over those 3 day weekends. Dare I say it, I actually miss them when I’m at work. And in turn, it helps me have less screaming matches at/ with them and be a heck of a lot more patient too which is bloody good for the soul.

Whilst I've been wrangling work and the kids, Olis been working his ass off to start his new business. There's some very exciting things I will share with you all shortly, but for any of you Mounties, make sure to remember to refer Olis exceptional electrical skills to your neighbours, your parents, your grandparents, your grandparents friends, and anyone else who will listen. 

Besides all of the above, when we get a spare sec, we’ve been chipping away at our house, trying to sex it up as much as poss on a somewhat limited budget. Last weekend we (along with Dad and TJ) gave the new fence a fresh lick and it turned out pretty suave in a smooth grey:

Next on the agenda, the overwhelmingly large agenda, is doing some landscaping. Good old Grandma is popping over this weekend, soil in tow, to guide me into growing our first veggie garden, woohoo!! Trust me when I tell you, Granny knows what’s up. Her green thumb is world famous (in Te Aroha). So I’ll be sure to fill you in on how that is growing, and if you’re in the neighbourhood I may even skip over with a basket full of fresh goodies. (The chances are slim but theres always hope).

Speaking of fresh delicious goodies- its about time I posted a recipe. Its only been a good 6 months-ish right? Last night, after spotting a particularly drool-worthy Instagram post by Loni Jane, I decided it was dhal time. Dhal is such a perfect meal for cooler nights, its full of nutricious fats & proteins, and it makes for warm full satisfied (bloated) bellies.

There wasn’t an actual recipe on the Instagram post I saw, just a snap, so I just took a stab at it and it turned out pretty damn delish:

I threw in;

Two cups of red lentils (washed thoroughly)

1 x tin of brown lentils in brine (drained and washed)

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

2.5 Cups of water

1 x onion finely chopped

2 x plump cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 thumb of fresh grated ginger

2 x red chilies sliced

1 heaped tablespoon of curry powder

1 heaped tablespoon of garam masala

1 tablespoon of turmeric

1 tablespoon of ground coriander

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

And jasmine rice, fresh spinach leaves, fresh coriander and lime to serve

Method:

In a deep pan, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger in coconut oil for 5-10 mins. Add the Curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin & cinnamon and stir for another couple of mins. Add the coconut milk, water and red lentils and bring to the boil. Season well (next time I will use vegetable stock rather than water as I had to salt it quite a bit). Bring it down to a simmer after it has come to a boil and leave for 30-40 mins. Add the brown lentils and chilies and stir. I left mine for a good hour but it could have gone for much longer to soak up all the flavours. The dhal should have a porridge like consistency, thicker than soup but runnier than hummus. Serve on a bed of rice & spinach and top with limes and coriander.

Enjoy at least 4 times the recommended serving size in one sitting, and then bask in your bloated glory.

Lately I have not been digging meat at all so I’ve been loving veggie dishes- another dish I made on Monday night was potato crisp tacos. Filled with crispy potatoes, avocado, spinach, jalapenos and cucumber- these little babies hit the spot! Sorry I don't have a snap to insert but you can picture the goodness. 

So stoked winter is right around the corner, its carb season- rice and potatoes for miles.

Ok I better wrap this up before I become a bore to you all,

Happy hump day creeps,

Gem

Thought of the day “I have major girl crush feelings for Margot Robbie”