Miss Muffet turns Two ( Part Two )

Party Food and Decorations
I wanted to keep the party  really simple- to be honest, I am far too pregnant and too tired to have organised a huge affair and I also want Miss Muffet to enjoy and appreciate the simple things in life before she inevitably has her expectations raised.

We bought a large pack of balloons in a variety of colours and hung half around the living room in clusters. Of course we also had to hang some by the letter box- the Kiwi way of letting the world know that a party is going on! Amazing Sister had held a party previously and bought balloon holders ( long stems for individual balloons to be held by) so we copied and had a balloon for each child- they had a ball whacking each other with them! I also hung some bunting that we already held up and covered the table in a black and white polka dot table cloth. My final great idea was to buy reusable, brightly coloured, child sized, plastic plates and cups from The Warehouse. They looked nice and festive and the kids could differentiate which set belonged to them by the colour. Plus, I can use them in the future!

For savoury food, I prepared the following :

Chips and Classic Kiwi dip
Mini pies and sausage rolls
Pizza
Southland Sushi- also known as South Island Cheese Rolls a lot of people at the party had never had these and they were a huge hit!  Recipe here
 

For dessert, we had the following:
Lolly cake- made using The Little Housewife's amazing recipe
Cupcake liners filled with grapes, mandarin segments and kiwifruit slices
Amazing Sister and Amazing Brother in Law made individual jelly cups filled with layers of different coloured jelly, topped with strawberry mouse and sprinkles- they looked stunning!

This was the perfect amount of food as we hardly had any leftovers afterwards which was fantastic!

The Cake
Finally, I set myself a bit of a challenge to make a Hairy Maclary inspire cake. Every night we read Hairy Maclary to Miss Muffet before she goes to sleep and it is a firm favourite- she adores Scarface Claw and tries the mimic his shriek!

 

I made Hairy Maclary out of gumpaste earlier in the week and roped a gorgeous friend into helping me to make the flowers on one of our craft nights. The cake was a double layer of vanilla sponge cake, filled with cookie dough flavoured filling, wrapped in vanilla butter cream and topped with the gumpaste decorations and a wee bunting that I quickly made the night before. I was really happy with how it turned out and it received a lot of compliments at the party as well.


Miss Muffet enjoyed her party so much that the next morning as she was "helping" to unstack the dishwasher, she took the party plates and cups back to the table and set them up in the hopes of another party!
 

Miss Muffet Turns 2 ( Part One)

 It is hard to believe that my little girl is now 2! She is no longer a baby and has moved firmly into her pre- school years. Having only recently moved cities and with me being heavily pregnant, we decided to keep her birthday relatively low key- I also figure that she is still so little and so happy with such small things that I would keep it simple and as fuss free as possible while still making sure to celebrate!  I am going to split this post up in to a few sections so it doesn't turn into a long novel.

Presents 

I found it really hard to buy for Miss Muffet this time- we now have a playroom and she can have all her toys out instead of rotating through a box, which is what we did in Auckland. She is so happy rediscovering all her toys and has so many awesome toys that she has been handed down from her cousins that I really struggled with what I would buy her. I like to stick to the saying  "something to wear, something to read, something you want and something you need"  as it keeps me from going overboard on just buying her clothes! I am also really try hard not to buy toys that will only be used for a short period of time and prefer to buy more classic toys. 

We ended up buying her gumboots and shoes, ( need)  a dress and pinafore, (wear)  and an awesome train set which we picked up from Kmart ( want)  I want to get her a book about being a big sister and haven't found one I like yet, so will keep an eye out over the next few weeks. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

The train set was a huge hit and needed to be set up immediately.  Miss Muffet loves visiting her older cousins, and insists on getting out their trains each time so I knew she would be very happy with her own set. I mentioned this to Amazing Sister and was blown away when her boys wrapped up a few trains from their collection to give to Miss Muffet- I understand that a lot of negotiations went into which trains could be gifted! 

 

Miss Muffet also received a drink bottle, play dough set, crayons and felts, tea set, warm jacket and Peppa Pig jewellery set from her array of wonderful cousins, aunties, uncles, Nana, Grandad, Papa and Gran- she is so spoilt, so loved and so lucky! 

Tradition 

Last year I started a wee tradition where in Miss Muffet's birthday card, I write down all the things she is really enjoying and the milestones she is reaching. I hope to keep this up and give them all to her for her 21st birthday. 

 

Party

We invited family only and found that it was more than enough! We had Amazing Sister and her equally amazing husband and two boys, Uncle Bogey with his wife and three boys, my lovely sister in law with her partner and three girls, my Mum ( Nana), Action Dad's father ( Papa) and Action Dad's half brother and his fiancé. You can see how that would be more than enough guests for a party for a two year old! It also reminded me of why we made the move back to Wellington- so Miss Muffet can grow up surrounded by her family.

The party ran from 1pm and was held at home- we are so lucky to have a huge garden which is perfect for chasing each other, playing ball, riding bikes and general fun. We didn't set a finish time and our last guests left at 4.30 pm. We decided not to have party games as we wanted the party to be relaxed and also because we were catering to children ranging from 18 months-8 years. Instead we let them just have fun playing together and once they had eaten til they were stuffed,  gave them each a bubble wand. Seriously, bubbles are the universal crowd pleaser- every single child raced around with their wand, popping them, laughing and burning off energy. The funniest thing was that Amazing Sister was right there in the thick of it- clearly bubbles are her happy place.

 

Confessions of a Former Magazine - a- holic

Last week I was having a yucky day so I decided to buy a lovely trashy magazine on a whim while I was at the petrol station. I surveyed the rack of assorted titles and out of habit discounted the Woman's Weeklys and Woman's Days and all that jazz because I have always considered them to be reading material for my Mum. I grabbed an NW and carried on my way. 

 My addiction to mags started at college where I read Girlfriend, Dolly and CLEO and learnt to do such wondrous things as a zig zag hair part ( bonus points if it had glitter running through it)  and lusted over high heeled jelly sandals and off the shoulder peasant tops. I was a true Girlfriend loyal fan and religiously bought new editions, before swapping with friends who were CLEO and Dolly fans. Articles were read and reread until the mag started to fall apart and then the pictures were used to create collages on my school books- I bet my teachers loved my artistic homages to Hanson and JTT! 

The hairstyle sported by most of the girls in my fourth form year at dances ....

 

 

At Uni, I moved onto NW as it was far more scandalous and trashy so became the perfect foil for my English Lit degree. At about $5, a magazine was the well priced treat and distraction when I was meant to be studying and I soon had a sizeable stack sitting in the corner of my bedroom. When Future -Action -Dad -To-Be heard me complaining about having no money one week, he counted up the number of mags in my stack and then worked out how much money I had spent in the six months I had lived in my flat. The figure was fairly scary and confronting and I had a short reprieve from buying mags .... Before sneaking them back in a month or two later. 

NW and I continued to have a lovely exclusive relationship until the purchase of Action Dad and my first home, when I decided I was grown up and needed to expand my horizons to Your Home and Garden. Flicking through the pages, I had grand ideas about DIY and renovations, despite my lack of skills and desire to spend my hard earned cash on beautiful shoes instead of at Mitre 10 Mega or Bunnings- where we seemed to end up every weekend! 

So anyway, last week after doing some cleaning and running some errands and then doing some more cleaning as Miss Muffet had decided to "explore" the spice rack all over the floor, I remembered my NW sitting on the front seat of my car- where it had been for 3 days, untouched. I brought it in and turned the kettle on, planning on having a quick read and a cuppa.   Miss Muffet had other plans in mind for me, namely playing with Peppa Pig and reading Where is Spot ? over and over again.

Finally on Mothers Day, I made a firm plan to sit down and read my mag. I told Action Dad that this was the plan and I was not to be interrupted for 20mins and he and Miss Muffet went out to play. So I lay on the couch, hot lemon honey and ginger within easy reach and cracked open my now out of date NW. 

And I didn't know most of the people within the pages. And I hadn't heard of the movies. Or bands. And I found myself wondering if the clothes being advertised  would cover even one of my thighs, let alone both- and weren't the models cold??? 

It has been a long and lovely relationship, with memories of reading sneakily in lectures and when lying on beaches but I think the time has come for NW and I to part ways and accept that I am growing older, even if it is not so gracefully at the best of times. I need to move on- it's not them, it's me. 

 

I carried a watermelon

Did you know that the average watermelon weighs about 9kg?  And at this precise moment I feel like my lovely tummy tenant is aiming to break the records and match that weight. 

As of today, I am 36 weeks and four days pregnant. Those four days are very important as they mean I am inching closer to 37 weeks and towards the finishing line. Because I have officially reached the Over It Stage. 

I am now waddling like some kind of grotesque duck and am waking through the night because my hips ache. I am super tired and scratchy and the littlest things are setting me off. I am just so damn tired and all I want to do is lie on the couch and watch MKR and eat black liquorice. 

You too could wear a sexy turbi grip ! 

Apparently, Miss Muffet has got the memo that life is about to change and that she will need to share her role as the centre of our lives. While she generally tends toward curiosity and light mischief making, she seems to know that I can't keep up with her and has veered towards actual chaos. In the last week we have had the following situations: trip to A&E after she stuffed flowers up her nostril, attempted escape from the playground at the mall, smearing the contents of a dirty nappy all over herself and the carpet and then just yesterday ANOTHER sudocreme incident. You can bet Action Dad heard all about that last one as he was the one who left it out- remember I said the littlest things are setting me off? Read RAGE! 

All signs and scans are pointing towards baby weighing between 10-11pound. Miss Muffet came in at 10.8 pound so it's not like I should have been surprised, my family just breed big babies. To be completely frank, I am floating between denial that I will need to give birth to a baby the size of a 3 month old and fear. I am scared because I know how hard it will be and I know that the recovery is long and painful. 

My lovely, amazing and wise older sister has been all of the aforementioned things she is known for and has taken Miss Muffet for some afternoons so that I can get a break. Amazing Sister is very good at getting me back on track with knowing that I can get through this labour, that I have done it before and actually when it comes down to it, baby is coming one way or another whether I like it or not. Told you she was wise. Yesterday she ran into Miss Muffet and myself at the mall and upon looking at me, told me to go home and lie down, she would take Miss Muffet home with her. When I picked her up later, I was given a cup of tea and piece of cake and a good Talking to. Amazing Sister knows exactly what to say and how to handle me and put me back together when I am falling apart. Bless her and her wisdom! 

I have been set up with an appointment with the hospital specialist,  a week before baby is due. At my most recent midwifes appointment I was given the advice of accessing my inner drama queen and making sure that the specialist knows that I am so uncomfortable and not sleeping and that my hips are pelvis are so sore, in the hopes that we can stop me from going ten days overdue like I did with Miss Muffet.  

In the meantime I am going to be having acupuncture and will start some stretch and sweeps. I will be crawling on the floor and trying to keep up my daily walks. But I will also be counting every single day and being unapologetically pathetic- sorry friends and family! 

The Saga that is Grocery shopping

Today, I am feeling a wee bit excited. And then when I think about why I am excited, I actually feel a bit pathetic. Because tonight I am going grocery shopping ALL by myself. It's not even fun shopping, like shopping at KMart or buying shoes or anything lovely that my pre child self would have bought without having a second thought. Just your general food shop from our local Countdown. Oh Jenn, how the times have changed.

Up until now, Miss Muffet has accompanied me on our grocery shopping expeditions. As you will soon find out, I basically live in two modes- hyper organised or in total chaos, and one of those modes leads to me sobbing in the corner. So as a result, I am the queen of lists and have broken down my chores and errands and activities so that I have a weekly schedule. But I digress.

 Last week, Miss Muffet and I arrived at Countdown with our list, which had been carefully made so that we were shopping for seven planned dinners plus our weekly baking and we had shopped the cupboards so were not going to be doubling up on anything we already had at home. I had packed a snack box ( grapes and crackers) and had Miss Muffet's water bottle ready to hand out as she inevitably reached the point of no return. We left early in the morning so that she wasn't too tired and the store wasn't too busy. We were ready.

The first Big Huge Mistake occurred as we entered the store. Miss Muffet's eyes lit up as she saw that  a car trolley was free and she broke free from my hand hold and raced over to it, claiming her prize. For those who live the blissful existence of not knowing about the car trolley, they are huge trolleys which have a plastic car built around them for kids to sit in. They have a little screen inside which talks to them and a seat belt and are incredibly hard to turn around corners and do not have enough actual trolley space for a proper weekly shop. And Miss Muffet was NOT going to hop out once she was in. And I was tired and weak and gave in. Big Huge Mistake.

We started our shop with me struggling to push this damn thing around the fruit and vegetable section  and Miss Muffet happily tooting the horn and waving at people who smiled and told me she was "so cute".As we got around to the proper aisles, I looked through the back "windshield" and realised that my dear darling was collecting items from the shelves and storing them in her car. Because the damn car was so huge, you had to drive it along the far side of the aisle so that anyone else had a chance of passing you by. Which meant Miss Muffet was having a lovely time shopping all by herself while I was checking my list and naively enjoying the quiet. My second Big Huge Mistake.

I put all the extra items back and handed out the snack box to try and distract Miss Muffet from further chaos and we carried on our merry way. Until my sweet pea of a daughter realised that she could slip out of the seat belt and jump from the car trolley. So now I had a toddler in the loose. And of course she thought this was hilarious- heavily pregnant mummy waddling after her, trying to get her back in the damn cart. So she was running as fast as her little feet could take her. And lots of lovely members of the public were smiling and laughing at my cute little girl as she giggled and dodged me like a seasoned rugby player. Each time, I caught her and man handled her back into the cart and tried in vain to tighten the seat belt, the game just got to be more and more fun. And I got that little bit more fed up. Fail, Mummy. Fail.

We raced around the remainder of the store and reached the check out. Now the thing I didn't realise about the car trolley, my final Big Huge Mistake, was that you can't actually take them in the car park. You need to swap over to a normal trolley at check out. It makes  sense- there are limited numbers of the car trolleys and I bet they are expensive to replace. But none of that logical, sensible stuff really sinks in when you are nearly 2. So Miss Muffet needed to be wrangled into a normal trolley. Miss Muffet proceeded to make her feelings on the subject very clearly known to the entire store and probably the parking lot as well. We had a lovely check out girl who tried to distract her with Disney cards and I tried to distract with the snack box but my dear girl is extremely determined and at that moment she was displaying her displeasure. Loudly. And trying to escape from the trolley.

When we got home, I realised I had managed to leave out seven items from my list as we had raced around the rest of the shop. And of course they were all essentials likes milk and  rubbish bags. But there was no way I was going back anywhere near the store with Miss Muffet. Probably ever again.

So tonight, when Action Dad finishes work, I am going shopping. All by myself. My list is ready and I am going to drift in peace along the aisles, noticing the lovely new products and comparing prices and probably even reading the magazines at the checkout , even though that's naughty. And I am not taking a damn car trolley. 

And Though She Be But Little....

 Print from Missprint

Throughout my life, I have been labelled as " good with kids". I knew from a really young age , about 7, that I wanted to be a primary school teacher and before having my own babies, my life revolved around my job.  And being completely honest and not caring about being seen as bragging for a moment - I was a damn good teacher. I really cared about "my" kids and invested a lot of time in getting to know each and every one of them as individual, special people so that I could plan the best lessons for them and ensure that my classroom was a place that they wanted to be in and where they felt valued as learners and as people.

 It was important to me to earn the respect of everyone in my school community and I was often chosen to teach students who has been labelled as "challenging". Challenging for a variety of reasons- some with high learning needs, some with social needs and some with medical issues. I spent time learning about them and their needs and tailored my classroom as much as I could so that I was giving them every chance to be successful. 

My classroom was a place where I felt in control and somehow I came to make the link that because I was good at teaching, that I would be a great parent too. I imagined myself with my darling little children doing  fun activities, in a clean and organised home. My children would be settled and polite and well behaved. We would sit and read books together and my children would listen to me. 

And then I gave birth to Miss Muffet. 

And Shakespeare said it best - "She may be but little, but she is fierce". And my God is she fierce. From Day One Miss Muffet has known exactly what she wants to do and how she is going to do it- regardless of her physical abilities to complete her task or if what she wants to do is actually something that can be accomplished! Her determination is incredible and I often need to remind myself that this is a good thing. I want her to know her own mind and to be a strong, independent person... It's just hard to take in a nearly two year old when she is so frustrated that she can't communicate what she needs or can't complete her set task due to stupid constraints such as gravity. 

Miss Muffet is my greatest teacher. I have had to throw out every preconception I previously had and a lot of the time, I have to follow her lead. I have to step back and allow her to take risks and show me what she needs. Terrifying when this is at the playground and she wants to rock climb up a wall at 20 months, but she did it. All she needed from me was encouragement and to be there to catch her is she fell. I have learnt that I need to trust her. 

I heard somewhere that young kids can only focus on developing one area at a time- eg teething or crawling or talking. Miss Muffet has alway been a fast learner when it came to the physical side of things and was an early walker, climber, dancer, jumper. However, at the moment she is not a communicator. She has about 15 words and prefers to take you by the hand and show you what she wants or needs or is interested in. She clearly understands a lot more than she can verbalise but this gap can be the root of a huge amount of frustration for both her and me. I can see her clearly trying to tell me that she needs something and if I can't work out what that is it can lead to meltdown territory. I am talking full blown throw yourself on the ground, shaking with anger, frustration. And it breaks my heart. I try to talk to her calmly and spend a lot of time reading to her and naming items and narrating what we are doing- I just have to trust that she will talk when she is ready. 

That is all well and good when we are at home and I am calm myself and have had some uninterrupted sleep and some coffee and it is only the first meltdown of the day. The rest of the time.. I am that parent with the child who is shrieking in the cafe. Or clinging with all her strength to the damn car trolley at the end of the of the grocery trip and refusing to let go. I am the parent of the child who is face down, kicking and screaming at GymJam because it is not her turn on the roller coaster car ALL of the time. I am the parent on my hands on knees, trying to hold her and talk to her and help her ride out the frustration of whatever inequity life has thrown at her. 

I see the parents around me whose children are playing quietly and calmly and I wonder what on earth they have given their child to sedate them. I see the smug looks of "glad that's not my child" and I heard it when the man in the grocery store commented that she just needed a damn good slap. And I think back to the times when I could survey my class of 30 children, all doing what I had asked them to do. And how I had naively thought I was good with kids. 

I know it is just a stage and I catch glimpses of the strong, amazing, determined person that Miss Muffet is becoming. I have to make the decision to love the person she is and not get upset about who she is not. Because even through all of the heart wrenching, teeth gritting, frustrating melt downs- she is still my fiercely loveable little love, my greatest teacher and the person who made me a mother.

Weekly Baking

I really enjoy baking and get a lot of satisfaction from knowing I have made something from scratch. I try to fill my baking tins on a weekly basis and have a collection of tried and true recipes that I like to use, although I am always keen to try something new! 

This week, my cravings for ginger are still in full swing. It's getting a bit out of hand really! Miss Muffet and I went for a walk/ waddle up to Janus Bakkerij (amazing!) and I saw they had gingerbread men by the counter. Unfortunately Miss Muffet was not exactly in a social mood- read screaming at the top of her lungs, people turning to look at us kind of situation-  so it was a very quick in and out trip and when we got home I remembered the gingerbread men and decided to try my hand at them! 

I like to try and involve Miss Muffet in my baking so a chair is pulled up for her and she likes to mix a few ingredients in her own bowl and of course lick the beaters. I am sure licking the bowl is technically not good for her but I did it as a kid and I turned out OK.

 

She particularly liked watching the dough being rolled and of course needed her own piece to play with and nibble on 😀

I made some royal icing and had a little play around with piping when the biscuits were cooled down which I really enjoyed and wished I had more time for. 

Verdict? Pretty good! Action Dad had one for afternoon tea and was gobbled it straight up. Miss Muffet licked all the icing off and then handed a soggy biscuit back to me- toddlers!!!!