Benben

Shrek has made some improvements re my maternity stays. It took him only four tries to get it almost right. Almost because it was not quite but nevertheless I appreciate the efforts he made in getting the house in order for my return from the maternity. I highly appreciate because it might not seem like much but it was still a surmountable mountain.

It is wondrous and amusing how I was the one delivering a baby and Shrek was visibly exhausted from watching. His excuse was he had not slept properly for days. Newsflash neither had I...and he had not experienced the pain before, during and after and the final hours of pushing which ended in joy because I would have been mighty upset to have to go through C-section after all that had taken place...the long and arduous wait and the prolonged suffering.

It's over and Benben is finally here and that's what matters most finally.

Also the children were fed and lobotomised... but once again it was reassuring that at least he was able to feed and lobotomise the children, no baths etc... or surplus, just the basics but that'll do.

Thank you Shrek for your gestures...

Golden showers

Not content with just being given golden showers by his kids...previously and most notably Petit Suisse and Baby Taz and most recently and spectacularly Benben including some fecal matter. Excuse my slightly scatological posting. Shrek took it upon himself to golden shower his trousers whilst being encumbered with Benben in kangaroo pouch mode. It is a preview of things to come in old age.

I know exactly what I have to look forward to tending to and caring for an elderly Shrek.

Decoupages

Elves hats and ears, crowns and spears, butterflies and bears...The latest craze to hit my household is 'decoupages'. Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N are absorbed by the desire to cut out as their fertile imagination allows them fanciful paper cut-outs of objects near and dear to their hearts. Petit Suisse's fave is 'cœur'. He loves tracing on paper patterns of hearts and cut them out and distribute them to his mummy, daddy, sis, bro and amourette.

Scavenger hunter

I do not know what the fascination is but Baby Taz is worrisomely obsessed by the rubbish bin. He loves opening and scouring waste. I do not know how many times I have repeatedly told him that it was dirty, disgusting and that he was not to touch it under any circumstances.
No, no and no, I cannot be any more clear and decisive or commanding but Unfortunately this concept of rubbish being yucky has not sunk in.

It is such that I have a scum scavenger in my family. Hopefully this phase will be short-lived.

My personal culinary triumphs and disastrous flops in the kitchen juxtaposed.

Triumphs:

My always scrumptious and impossibly moist carrot cakes. My attemps have been most satisfying and I have successfully modified the recipe to my liking with a few of my personal touches I am rather proud of. Although the last carrot cake I baked was more than two years ago for Lil Miss N's birthday carrot cake is still one of my favourite if not my favourite cake to bake and eat. I just have not been in the baking mood lately and I have a convection oven with limited capacity and function.

My very first but highly successful attempt at a 'tourte aux marrons' or 'chestnut cake'. It was moist, melt-in-your-mouth and wonderfully chestnutty.

My wontons which can be boiled and eaten in a soup/broth, deep-fried or oven-baked.

My chicken drumsticks- which I bake for a lower cholesterol version or deep-fry when I am hankering and craving oily goodness. It is a big hit with my kids.

My cream of carrot/velouté with a ginger and sweet potato twist. It is rather flavourful and with a touch of cream can do no wrong.

My version of Vietnamese pork paste (cha) which I pan fry using no oil and a Tefal anti-adhesive frying pan. The trick lies in the marinade.

My bo luc lac-shaking beef which I add just a hint of satay to.

My bun rieu- tomato based broth with crab.

My tiramisu sans œufs leaves people wanting more (mainly Petit Suisse, Lil Miss N, Baby Taz and Shrek of course)

My Vietnamese beef noodle soup is a real hit in my household. They always ask for more in my household.

My strawberry/mixed berries friands.

Any type of egg-drop soup with aparagus and crab, quail eggs, surimi/mock seafood sticks etc or any ingredients I fancy/have on hand.

My Vietnamese sandwich : banh mi with varying meats such as char siu, roast chicken, pâté, pickled condiments-carrots and daikons, coriander.


Now onto the flops
I have had quite a number of misadventures with egg whites. The first few times involved me having tainted the whisks with a tiny bit of yolk and the whites refused to rise and glisten like glossy peaks the way most recipes call for. Needless to say it frustrated me to no end. I had to abandon a few gâteau recettes because the egg whites failed to behave and cooperate.

I once made chocolate mousse and instead of sugar or what I thought was sugar added a teaspoon of MSG and subsequently salt. I will never live that one down. It was horrible.

I made the mistake of attempting to roll spring rolls while Petit Suisse was a wee baby- four months or thereabouts. He did not know I was in the middle of doing something important and as it was the year where heatwaves swept through Europe and left my mum mistaking Geneva for a typical Sydney summer it meant that the filling that was taken in and out of the fridge due to Petit Suisse's interruptions meant that I secured a sure way to poison Shrek's fragile stomach. I think that this experience traumatised me and I have not made more attempts since that disaster to make spring rolls and vow only to make them when the children are nowhere in sight. This is partly why there are lots of recipes that I am dying to try which I think will be part of my repertoire or signature dishes that I have to postpone and put off until I can have several uninterrupted and tranquil hours to kill without the fear of being hindered by demanding kids.

A few times I put too little baking powder/baking soda into a cake batter and the end result was miserable globs of barely edible baked good.

That is all I can remember for now. Only the outstandingly remarkable or unforgettable can make the list because it would be endless to include everything.

Come out come out to our welcoming arms.

Bennnnnn, if you are able to decipher and discern anything at all please end my enduring pelvis pain and enter this world. I am prepared, well never entirely ready because it still is a risk each time and there are always enjeux... It is never just a routine 'in and out' process.

I am still scared out of my wits and apprehensive and though I know more or less what to expect it does not render it more trifling or trite.

It is still an event I look forward to with dread and embrace with longing at the same time.

It is a defining moment.

So Ben it is time for you to leave the security and warmth of my womb and to embrace this brave new world.

Sew, a needle pullin thread !

Shrek is a consumate garment adjuster when called for. He shortens hems, expands and fixes chemist labcoat's flaps, make button holes and most of all use a sewing machine etc... He is a rare pearl indeed because in this day and age one will be hard pressed to find a person let alone a macho man (with a feminine eye for detail) willing and able to adjust and tailor garments/clothing to meet his needs.

I cannot begin to say how totally clueless I am when it comes to sewing.
One cannot seek for perfection. Perfection does not exist and so I am not an all-rounder who can hem.

I do have lots of graces and strong points in other areas to make up for my shortcoming. I am a consumate lover.

Mother

While my mum is becoming acquainted with the Interweb for the first time, her grandchildren are already light years ahead and I have to compete with them for the use of the computer during their waking hours.

They say necessity is the mother of invention or in my mum's case necessity creates a desire to exploit the web's wonderful and powerful tools like that of Skype/yahoo messenger and webcam facilities to keep in touch with her grandchildren who are 2 continents away.

I guess that technology is progressing at lightning fast pace and the older generations have a difficult time keeping up. Given the circumstances and necessity of keeping in touch with family who are separated by several oceans my mum has decided that it's time to try her hands at communicating via the miraculous Interweb. She still has a long way to go before she can navigate through simple menus and openly access whatever she needs on her own accord without a third party but still it's a huge step for her.

Extra, extra

There is a curiously extra-terrestrial living plant in my appartment. It has survived from 16 February until now and still going strong without any efforts or investment on my part whatsoever. It is living on its own accord in a vase filled with water that has not been renewed. It is a remnant of my 30th birthday bouquet. I hope it lasts...

I will wait and see how resilient it is. It is a sight to behold as this household is not used to seeing a plant survive more than two weeks without coercing.

Shrek and I are just astonished that a plant could live in the barren conditions in our appartment.

I will have to photograph this plant before it bails out on me...

Quotidien

Morning has broken
Grey sky is the norm
Begins impending Routine
Public transport, toil, sleep for certain.
Urgings, change of clothes and school for others

Rumpled demeanour of a bed-head
Ding ding ding dong rings the school bell
Quick shuffle and peck.
'See you at lunchtime'

Trot, trot, trot homebound
Food preparations
Chop, chop, boil, steam or stir-fry
Stew, sautée or sauce it up

Ding ding ding dong signals the imminent lunch break
Dispersed kids spatter about scrambling and searching awaiting parents
A hot lunch or cold meal awaits on the table.

Back to school
Back home again at the tick of four o'clock

Back and forth, back and forth
Round the clock Beckoning

Shower and bathtime intertwine
So refreshing

Between laundry, kitchen,dishes and general cleaning up
Duties dictate chores that bore never end.
Exasperation

Attempts to rehash some old concepts
Teaching new lessons
Lots of yelling, heaving and sighing
Television
Practice some more

Constant distractions
Tiny tot clambering at every opportunity
No chance of undisturbed tranquility or even peace

Finally the end of the day nears
Dinner, toothbrush, storytime, prayer
Off to bed

The daily struggle of a stay at home mum.


Always physically exhausted and mentally drained

Tomorrow it all starts again