MIND THE GAP(S)

waiting for my train 

Taking on a bit far too much. Sound familiar?

I have a tonne of work to do before Christmas arrives. I haven't really started Christmas shopping. Ben and my father both unhelpfully have December birthdays. I really need to have to finish off one two book ideas in the hope so that they become actual paid contracts in the New Year. I am almost ready with no where near having two new prints up in my etsy shop by the weekend next week. I have roughs planned am yet to start two other personalised animal prints that were supposed to hit the ideal time of the Christmas present buying rush. Don't even ask about those new cloud pillows. Hey ho (as Father Christmas would say), I guess there is nothing I can do about it, I really need to work longer days (like Father Christmas does.).  I've taken on a few days teaching and it is really so nice to be back which means a day illustrating my own stuff is wiped out and I'm quite tired knackered from the commute to London. But I really shouldn't feel like complaining, and I never do only occasionally do on here, it just suddenly felt like the whole treading water thing had slipped to some light drowning... Lets not even mention the lack of blog posts recently hey?!

So anyway I hope you can bear with me. I still intend to put up those prints in my shop sometime before the New Year next year is out so please keep checking back. I also hope to blog a little more, but that is perhaps definitely on the back burner while I keep up with all my illustration and general life stuff being a mum. Thanks for all hearing me out, and I really hope you don't mind hearing my woes. I'm sure I'm not the only one that struggles to juggle mamahood, Christmas, freelancing, showering, eating and being some sort of housewife EVERYTHING from time to time?!

HONEST FOOD

So to be honest (hehe) things are pretty much good on the food front. I think this will be my last post on this topic dealt with in my normal moany manner. On the whole it looks like young Stanley is giving most things a go and eating much of it. Yes he'll never quite be up to the level of young Marlowe, but hey that kid is spectacular. It may still take us the best part of an hour to finish a meal, but mostly I'm happy to report I'm relaxed. I've realised my kid aint ever the type to sleep in to 8am. He's an early riser and I just need to deal with it (and maybe go to bed a little earlier...) No amount of food, protein or not, late at night is going to keep that child in bed past 6am, if I'm lucky!

So hey ho, suck it up mama. You signed up to this, and really things could be a whole lot worse. In the future I think I'll stick to posts about nice recipes or surprising things Stanley has eaten. Not show the world how many mouthfuls he managed to eat this week. Thanks for being there for me though, and without the food trouble I never would have met the lovely Ashley. So there is always a silver lining.

chickpea, tomato and roasted veg with couscous

green beans, filled pasta, egg

(lazy) fish fingers, 5 beans mix, green beans

roasted veg, passata, red lentils and halloumi 

daal and rice with mange tout. (he ate none, I made a second meal...)

tortilla with cucumber and olives (no tortilla eaten)

marmite sandwich, pea humous, red & yellow peppers

carrot cashew and orange salad, quiche and olives (so he'll eat quiche, but NOT tortilla?)

HONEST FOOD

Still getting on okay over here. (I know, I should never say that out loud!). Sorry Ashley...

Embracing the nibble tray as much as possible at lunchtime as it gets a sneaky way of introducing yet unknown foods onto Stanley's radar without freaking the child out and wasting a tonne of food. It also means I get to use up lots of bits from the fridge and nothing goes to waste. This week he managed to surprise me by eating the raw mushrooms I was cutting up to add to this soup recipe. Still likes to keep his Mama on her toes that boy! Hope you are all having some joy with your eaters. I'm hoping I can encourage some soup eating from Stanley now that we have most definitely entered Autumn and it is no Indian Summer for us this year that's for sure!

One of the nibble trays from this week is below. It still took him almost an hour to eat it, and we moved from high chair to the lounge table, but hey ho they was no stress involved which was good. He ate and played, and ate and played. I can't ask for more than that I don't think...

at the beginning

just before we moved to a new eating spot

what was left in the end

Oh and if any of you wouldn't mind taking a second to keep voting for us that'd be aces. We've dropped waaaaaay out of the top 50. It's not a big deal, just nice to see the votes taking effect when they do! Many thanks,
♥ S&s

HONEST FOOD

I think we are doing a little better. In fact I guess I know we are. I never like to say in case things change, but hey, welcome to motherhood. These little tikes do like to keep you on your toes. Since the initial success of the nibble tray experiment over on Ashley's blog I am yet to repeat it, which is silly really as even though time wasn't on our side, eating definitely was! I will try it again for my next food post. In the mean time Stanley has had this range of meals over the last week. Most of which he ate, and the time where he didn't I remained calm about it. More than ever people are telling me he eats "so well", and you know what? I'm beginning to believe it!

scrambled egg, cucumber, marmite toast and smoked salmon

steamed veg, chicken in breadcrumbs and baked beans

eggy bread

banana and ready brek

homemade tomato and pesto sauce with pasta

chicken 'soup' (I had it as a soup, Stanley with less broth)

fish pie

HONEST FOOD {Guest Post by Ashley}

Howdy folks. Sarah and I did a little switch today, per my request, to shake things up a bit. Sarah's done her own version of the nibble tray experiment to share with my readers and I've decided to try my hand at "Honest Food" to share with ya'll. I'm Ashley, by the way, author of The Stork & The Beanstalk. Hooper is my horrible eater. He is 22 months old. I'm also mother to Van, who is nearly 2 months old (where does the time go?). Here we go...

ROUND ONE.

{Veggie burger & Kiwi}

Like a child, my challenges with feeding Hooper are constantly in a state of change. There was a time when it was hard to get Hooper to try new things. Then there was a time when it was hard to get him to eat period. This included things he "liked". Now we're at a stage where he is more willing to try new things and is better at eating his regular stuff. So you're probably wondering what the problem is, right? The problem is chewing. And swallowing. Yup, he'll put the bite in his mouth but then it just sits there. If I remind him to chew, he does this fake chew to totally mock me.

What I should have done, to give the complete honest truth, was photograph the clock at the beginning and at the end because each meal is taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. Seriously. Some meals take an hour to finish. I've learned to plop myself down at the kitchen table with the boppy to breastfeed Van, the remotes to the TV (in case I need to turn on Gabba Gabba for distraction), my phone (in case it rings), and his cars (an alternate distraction, if needed). It's ridiculous. I even position my chair close enough to the door so I can let our dog in and out. But, as you can see from above, he ate... to be continued.

ROUND TWO.

{Avocado & cream cheese on whole wheat toast, strawberries not pictured}

I got smart for this round and included a before and after of the clock so you have a better idea of the length of the struggle. You can't photograph the struggle. It's like taking a picture of someone before running a marathon and after. Yeah, they did it, but can you feel the burn in their legs or the deflation in their lungs? No soiree. In any case, as you can see by the photos, he ate. I feel like a putz because I'm always complaining about how hard it is to feed Hooper and, lately, how l o n g it takes. And then I photograph this particular meal, and am therefore bound to it, and it doesn't really take so long. If you questioning if the 30 or so minutes it took to "finish" is considered fast, the answer is yes. It was also relatively easy, meaning no major distractions were needed. The TV stayed off and no toys were on the table. Well, that's not totally true. The truth is that the gardeners were next door and he was mesmerized by the sound of the lawn mower. He knows this means strangers in the yard. My favorite day and time to feed Hooper is on Tuesday, when the gardeners come. This boy's eyes are stuck on the window like Jerry Sandusky's eyes are stuck on little boys (low blow?, okay I take it back). In any case, just the mere sound of the gardeners next door had Hooper captivated, eyebrows raised and finger pointing like the coolest thing was going on so close and I was missing it. And with that, his mouth opened and this teeth chewed and by golly, he swallowed. It all has me wondering if it wouldn't be easier to drive to the local hardware store, pick up some of the workers lining the street in front, and pay them to fake mow our lawn during mealtimes. I guess I'll reserve that as a last resort because, you know, sometimes it's nice to have a trick in the back pocket.

ROUND THREE.

{Spinach pancake with blueberries & raspberries}

For this round I also included some photos of the struggle I speak of. I started with bribing him with cars. I do this by giving him a car, letting him play with it briefly, then I take the car away and offer it to him only if he takes a bite of food. Then he takes a bite (best case scenario) and I give him the car back and we repeat. Or... he still refuses the bite (worse case scenario) and I have to turn to plan B which may include either of the following: moving his high chair away from the table (he protests every time) or turning on the TV (Yo Gabba Gabba). Today, the cars were enough and when he did get bored of those, I broke out his favorite book "Go, Dog, Go!" (because of the dogs in cars, of course). Although it did take a while to finish the meal, this one went relatively smoothly with minimal protest. You can only imagine how much longer it takes when there are tears involved.

I think we all do the best we can as mothers. Maybe what I'm doing isn't "right", per say, but it's what works. I'm always open to suggestions, so by all means. I'd like to conclude with a special thanks to Sarah for welcoming me as a guest on her lovely blog and another special thanks to Stanley, who in making his "mum's" life difficult, has made me a new friend across the sea.

*footnote: my post over on Ashley's will be posted tomorrow, her time. Because you see we are in different places and times and well I'm off to France tomorrow too!

TEA

Of the ginger, honey and lemon kind. I'm sick. I feel like I've had this cold for ages. It's the horrid kind where you really have to continually breathe through your mouth, eating is boring. I can't taste a thing, but yet craving sweet food and really salty and spicy food too, even though I'm not enjoying any of it. I know woe is me hey?! I'm so behind on everything, but mainly illustration work, and it's frustrating because I have some lovely things to be getting on with. Stanley has been really poorly too, all last week a hacking cough, a cold, high temperature and the pleasant stuff that is diarrhoea. We have enjoyed a lot of 'uddles' which are always nice even for all the wrong reasons. He's not wanted any food at all and only now eating a few bits so I'm worried that I'm now on set back having made some eating progress.

For now though I'm on a tea kick using the below ingredients. Ok so it's not rocket science but I thought I'd show you the cordial I love as it delivers a really good ginger hit but also a little sweetness too. I'm adding extra ginger beacause hey I love it and I reckon it can only do me good. If you're not into honey any sweetener would do, but I like honey and even better actually know the beekeeper!

I loathe all those medicine powdered lemon things, they taste gross to me and I feel they aren't doing me any good beacuse they don't taste real...anyway maybe that's just me but I prefer my homemade tea blend. Anyone else out there got any good fix up drinks, meals or tips?

HONEST FOOD

Things seem better this time around. Perhaps I've chilled out a bit without really meaning too, and maybe all the conversations with this lady and her little Hooper have helped me feel more sane! On the whole Stanley seems to be eating a bit more, and in one sitting. Hoorah! He is understanding the phrase "all done" and he now uses it himself when he's finished. He's pretty clear that he is in fact most definitely all done, if I even try to put another spoonful his way his little face screws up in disgust! This is fine by me, by no means do I want this to become a future battleground, so when he says enough, I just stop. If I think he's proabbly eaten enough and is not being picky I offer him pudding - some fruit, a sweet rice cake or a yogurt. If I think he's being difficult then no pudding is offered.
He is trier though I'll give him that. This week he decided he was into olives and radishes since myself and Ben were eating them for lunch and he wanted them too. So that is good, he is never put off from a first taste and I've realised that something may take at least 4 goes before it is fully accepted. I am only giving him things I'd be happy to eat after so I don't have a complete melt down over food wastage.

cucumber, fish fingers, courgette polpettes (has never eaten them...)

roasted tomato and veg pasta with orzo (he eats this pasta, but not rice???!!!)

pancakes with raspberries - he at last likes pancakes!

soya burger with cheese, veggie fingers and corn on the cob

beans, scrambled egg and toast (note the toast is untouched)

lentils in a tomato sauce with peas

sweet potato cakes, humous and peas

home made pizza with tomato, pesto and cheese

So a few other things...he refuses to wear a bib, always needs a toy with him at the table (eating is just sooooo very boring by itself, right?!) he also normally needs to feed the toy or car some of his food and almost always stands up at some point in between mouthfulls. He also exclaimed this week when I pointed to his peas (I point to everything on his plate and say what it is so he is not suspicious) "I like peas!", I was like, oh good!

Hope all of you that are having fun with your picky eaters had a good week. As always feel free to share tips, recipes, woes here in the comment section or link back your site! Happy feeding everyone!

♥ S & s

HONEST FOOD

Another post to do with my child and how he eats. It seems to be the one thing I really obsess over and worry about. Occasionly, even if I've had a good day, the whole feeding ritual can really ruin it for me. Mainly I find it boring, a little tedious perhaps...is that a bad thing to say? Sometimes I find it frustrating, wasteful. And more often than not, time consuming. I'm always grateful for Tuesdays. Tuesday morning Stanley goes to nursery from 8-12.30pm. The one day I have two meals taken off my hands, suddenly not my problem, and boy oh boy it is such a relief!

Chickpea, carrot, pea tomato stew with paprika and cumin and avocado and mash

tuna mayo on toast with cucumber and leek, cauliflower cheese 'sausages'
{such a random lunch. poor child. although i ate the same...a nothing in the house kind of day! notice how he scraped off the tuna leaving all the toast...}

grilled chicken, cauliflower, cucumber and chickpea patties 

leftover aubergine, mango noodles from this ottolenghi recipe
{he HATED the aubergine, but ate all the mango off my plate too}

Pesto pea pasta, chicken, blueberries and yogurt
{lunch on the move}

Spaghetti bolognese and yoghurt
{ALWAYS a winner!)

On the whole though he is getting slowly better, I think. I'm still on occasion chasing him round the house, trying to shove food in his mouth every time he runs past me. It seems that no matter how hard I try, that feeling of motherly instinct that I simply must feed my child means I lose the battle to remain calm and discipline him in the same way I would if he was throwing things or hitting. When it comes to meal times I seem to lose my sensible logic, I panda to his whims, to his mischief. I let him get down out of the high chair so he can run around and yet still have food put in his mouth. It is like it is too boring to just sit there and eat. Anyway, I'm getting a bit stricter, and since his vocabulary has improved vastly I am now confident he undersatands full well what I'm saying. The phrase, "all done?" seems to work well with him, hinting that now when he leaves the table, that is it. No more food. No more me runnning about him while he plays and I still feed him. Not only is it is messy, it takes forever! I also feel he should be feeding himself a bit more, taking control of the spoon. He does with a few things, like yogurt or scrambled egg. I'm slowly moving away from me shovelling the food into his mouth while he does a puzzle or plays with his toy cars! Arghhhhh!! I swear, next baby is going to be fed baby led weaning style....I'm sure that'll be a better idea. Right? Right??!!!

If anyone wants to share their links to any 'before & after' feeding pictures I'd love to see them, so put your link in the comments section. Or, any successful feeding tips or toddler friendly recipes - always happy to hear those too!

I really relate to the feeding stories on this blog. It seems I have similar battles to this Mum feeding her little Hooper. It's a beautiful blog by the way, so check it out if you get a chance...

Final chance to enter my giveaway!!! I will be choosing the winner Sunday night by Random.org and announcing the winner sometime on Monday with a blog post on my bicycle and bike seat for Stanley as some of you asked before what make I had decided on.