Puddles

A few times a week you can find us doing this...taking baby dolls for walks in their buggies. 



Of course, we always come prepared with wellies for jumping in big Glasgow puddles. 

Mike was working from home a few weeks ago.  I took the girls out for a walk, and was gone for two hours.  When we returned he asked where we'd gone for so long.  "Around the block, once" I answered.  It takes a while when there's so much to see! 

Just some cute pics...

Hopefully I won't jinx it, but now that a certain someone (ahem, Thumper) is sleeping better and everyone is relatively healthy, I might just get around to posting more.  In the meantime, here are a few of our recent favourite pictures of your prized grand-babies.  

Our annual day-out to Largs

Wobbles teaching Thumper how to ride a scooter 

Yay for Nardini's!  Best ice cream in Scotland, with an Italian/Californian atmosphere

George delicately eats her ice cream

Mama's massive sundae -- it was amaze-balls.  

Thumper finishes her ice cream and promptly steals the rest of mine.  

Wobbles has a "Little Mermaid" moment on the beach.  

What better way to beat the "all-day school blues" than making sugar cookies after school?  

George's new obsession is putting nappies on all of the dolls.  Poor Cindy, this won't keep her dry at all!

George models one of Mummy's old dresses.  Yay for 80s lace and ruffles.  She even has the pink converse just like mama!

  Thanks Auntie Ashley!

In summer...

I know, it's been a while.  I have a rule that if I don't get at least 6 hours of sleep a night, I go into survival mode and no blog.  That and we were having so much fun in America, it seemed a complete waste to turn on a computer.  Here's a photo re-cap of our summer:

Wobbles finished her second year of nursery school (pre-school).  Here she is with her two main teachers, Jennifer and Rebecca.

Let's pack (and unpack, and repack, and unpack) to go to Grandma's!  

No school?  Let's do face paint every day!

Sundance: Grandma's Happy Place

I'm a sucker for Sundance suckers.  

Excuse me, I need to take this.  

So, I'm supposed to wave these?  Happy Birthday America (at the Freedom Festival). 

Spot the George. 

Visiting where Mummy and Daddy got married.  

Wobbles adds her bit of art to the Provo Farmer's Market

Nickel City.  The lights, the noise, the excitement.  

How we spent most of our summer.  Otter pops and a kiddy pool in Grandma's back garden.  Everyone is happy.  

Fun with Uncle Mike.  Definitely more for another post.  

Making s'mores at Cousin Wendy's house.  

I forgot to take a camera with me to America.  Seriously?  Who does that?  There are lots of things I wish I would have gotten pictures of: more of the Freedom Festival, family, the mountains, splash pads, OPUB, Wobbles swimming lessons...  I would love it if anyone wants to share pics with me.  

I know I'm terrible at documenting things, but genuinely, we set out to have a laid-back, easy-going summer, and that's exactly what we did.  We went to my favourite library countless times, saw good friends, went to the cheap cinema loads, and had lots of tacos and milkshakes.  Bliss.  And to top it off, we got to stay with doting grandparents for five weeks.  It was our perfect summer (besides Mike being locked away working on his dissertation), and was even worth being named the "spew crew" on our journey home.  More on that later.  

It's a lovely holiday

We're down in Southerness, Dumfries this week with Grandma and Granddad Green and Uncle David and Aunt Jennifer. 

It's so nice to be out of the city.  On the drive down Mike, Wobbles and I were in awe of the beauty of the countryside.  Thumper and George slept through (thankfully). 

We spent Monday afternoon on the beach.  These aren't the smooth beaches of Oceanside, but are covered in seashells and steep rocks. 



Uncle David's Dragon



One of the jellyfish we found on the beach

Wobbles' mermaid with seaweed hair, white top and mussel shell tail



Exploring the rock pools

Thumper enjoys using a spade

Sneaky little sisters

"Dear Wobbles, Thanks for getting such great birthday presents.  We love your new glasses and hat.  You have great friends!  Love Thumper and George" 

 

George about three seconds before she was found-out by Wobbles. 

"and they eat but a very little meat..."

Confession: I watched Vegucated on Netflix last week.  Mike was away on business, and halfway through I texted him saying "I think I've just become a vegetarian..." Gasp!  What?!?  Seriously?

Now a week later after some actual thought, I must say I'm not a vegetarian.  I think it would be offensive to my actual non-marshmallow eating vegetarian friends to claim to be one.  Having said that, vegetarianism/pesceterianism has been on my mind for a while.  Here are some reasons why I've been thinking about it:

- I'm not a huge meat fan anyway.  After watching Vegucated, I realised that it had already been five days since I'd last had meat.  It's not very often that I crave me some steak.  When I was pregnant, there were times when I was desperate for a hamburger.  Not really now.  What I do love (and Mike too) are really fresh, simple dishes.  Living in Glasgow I love ethnic food more and more.  My food cravings are for simple pasta and roasted vegetables -- yum.

- Aside from animal welfare concerns, I think it is incredibly difficult to know the conditions your meat has been raised in and processed.  I know it's not as simple "Old MacDonald had a farm" and then he individually sold his cows to a butcher.  I'm not going to dwell on it here (as I'm not trying to convert anyone to give up meat), but it is worth educating yourself about how your meat gets on your grocery store shelf. 

- Meat can be expensive.  Chicken breast is incredibly expensive in the UK.  We hardly ever have it for that reason. 

- Even though I remember having to colour in the food pyramid in elementary school, I don't think that meat is necessary to a healthy, balanced diet.  From what I understand it's only been in relatively recent history that meat has become such a large part of the Western diet.  It used to be a treat for a special occasion. 

So, I'm not going to completely give up meat.  Yay! I'm sure both sets of Grandparents are relieved and thinking "Great! We were wondering what on earth to feed her..."  Having said that, we are making a conscious effort to cut back our meat.  As great as Quorn is, there are some things you can't replicate -- like good slow-cooked pork.  But, we do want it to be a special treat, something to be savoured and thankful for, not just expected.

Since we do love to cook in the Green family, and I think we eat pretty darn well, I'm going to share some of our favourite recipes with you.  I'm awful at photographing food, so just follow the links. 

Last night we had Aubergine (Eggplant) Parmigiana.  It was amazing.  Wobbles gobbled hers up without stopping, and the twinnies screamed for more.  It was easy to make, and since aubergines were on sale this week, the whole meal cost less that £2 total.  You can't even buy a pack of chicken for that! 


Photo from kitchennostalgia.com

Even better was the bread I made (from scratch - go me!).  Mammers and DJ, you know that awesome Macaroni Grill bread?  Well, I can make it now for pennies.  I'll make you some this summer.  Thumper loved the bread.  She nearly ate a whole loaf herself and kept wandering into the dining room all evening trying to sneak some.  I just wish I would have thought to have some olive oil and vinegar with it.  Next time...which will be soon.

"Dear Mum, I want more bread...now! Love Thumper"

 

Bread recipe here: Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread



Just give the lady what she wants

The day after Wobbles' birthday we were invaded by five other little monkeys.  Chaos.  Fun, but chaos.  Every day (no joke)  for the past year Wobbles has been telling us what she wants to do for her birthday party.  And it changes pretty much every day. 

I'm a no-nonsense type of girl.  I think I get it from my mom (Thanks Mammers!)  We don't do big bashes.  I have nothing against bouncy castles, I just cannae be bothered to organise one.  So, we told Wobbles she could invite a few friends over for a special birthday dinner.  Basically the afternoon was spent doing her favourite things -- some craft projects, silly games, and dressing up.  Dinner was Wobbles' favourite: Morrison's salad bar pasta salad (Don't judge; it's really good!)  I did want to make a special cake, but in the end decided she would prefer to choose a shop-bought cake.  We were treated to a very pink Disney princess cake.

The only regret of the day was that our iPod ran out five seconds into the girls' dramatic karaoke of "Let it go."  I'm pretty sure each of those girls thought they were Elsa.  Who doesn't like a strong female lead? 

Happy Birthday Wobbles!

Today was Wobble's favourite day of the year -- her birthday!  Most make-believe games that she plays revolve around her birthday, so I think today was essentially a dream come true.  She was over the moon with her birthday presents.  You grandparents know her so well.  Mike took video of her, so we'll have to post that to you later.  She spent a good chunk of the morning alternating costumes. 

Our present to her was a trip to Build a bear workshop.  It was magical.  Wobbles had the store to herself, and two wee grannies spent ages helping her pick her bear, stuff it, and dress it.  As Wobbles rubbed her bear's heart against her cheeks, and made a wish before it was placed inside, I know she truly believed that her bear was coming to life. Wobbles decided to name her bear "Isla."  I think Isla is going to become another member of our family. 

 

 

Here's the birthday girl in her new birthday frock.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but she still has those wonderful, thick, spidery eyelashes like when she was born.  I should have made her do her duck face -- just like when we first saw her.  She still makes that duck-pouty face when she's irritated.  Too cute. 

 

Just look over there....

FYI: We're making the little people incognito on the blog.  A: it's fun.  B: it's safe.  Please try and refer to them by their code names on the blog.  If you need help figuring out who is who, you are a bad grandparent.  Just kidding!  You can always ask via email or phone! 

Wobbles has been trying a new trick of "Mummy/Daddy, just look over there for a second..."  Because we weren't born yesterday, Mike and I know that this usually precedes her doing something she already knows is naughty and which she will get in trouble for.  I have never fallen for it.  Mike only fell for it twice. 

One of the great examples of this came this week at the local Tesco.  We had nipped in for a few things, and it was completely understood by all parties that this was a "milk trip; no sweeties!"  Of course Wobbles had to be reminded of this during all stages of the visit.  Unbuckling from the car, getting the trolley, getting the milk and bread.  We finally get to the till, and I absent-mindedly chose a till next to the pick and mix.  Wow.  You could see the saliva forming in the corner of her mouth.  Again came the pleas.  I stood firm and said "No."

Wobbles has the best poker face.  Seriously, that kid has got skills in the lying and schmoozing department.  Her tactics turned and it was suddenly very calmly, "Mummy, I know I can't get sweets today, but can I just go look at the sweets."  For just a second I thought to myself, "Sure.  She can just look.  What kid doesn't like to plot about sweets."  Then I noticed her tell -- the put-upon, if-I-throw-a-tantrum-I-won't-get-it calm.

"Wobbles, I'll be watching you every second you're at the pick and mix."

"What?!? No!  You can just...look over there for a few seconds!"

"Nope.  That seals it.  You stay with me.  I know you're going to go over and eat those sweets, and then I will take you straight home and you'll be in BIG TROUBLE."

First came shock and surprise -- "What?  How did you know?" 

"I'm your mother.  I know everything." 

Then came the pout.  And a few tears.  And then we left and she moved onto something else. 

So.  If Wobbles ever tells you to "just look away for a second,"  be prepared.  She might be plotting how to take over the world. 

Concrete stairs, soap, and those troublesome ears

Twins.  Sometimes Mike and I just look at each other, sigh, and say it  -- "Twins."  The inevitable happened today.  Again.  I was chasing after one 18-month old, when the other one took that 10 seconds to get into major trouble.  George won the trouble prize today.  We spent the morning at a friend's house, and as I was chasing Thumper, George took that opportunity to escape outside -- and totally biffed it on her face down concrete stairs.  I didn't see it, and didn't know about it until I heard my friend screaming.  George was of course hysterical by the time I got to her.  She's okay, but has a full-on scrape from her chin up past her hairline on the left side of her face.  My friend was asking, "What can we do? What can I get?  What will help?"  I just smiled and said "Chocolate."  She kinda blinked, handed me some leftover Easter egg, and voila -- George stopped screeching and started munching on chocolate while we cleaned her face with good old hydrogen peroxide.

This pic was actually Daddy trying to get a photo of the damage.  We couldn't get George to show her battle wounds, but isn't that mug cute?  Can you guess what we had for dinner?  That's right!  Tomato Soup!  And these little beauties.  Yum.  Who doesn't love to dip?



After dinner, twinnies had bath.  Yet again, George got into major trouble.  As I was getting Thumper out, I turned around to see this happening...

I've been reassured by a health professional (Thanks Val) that she'll be fine.  Her insides will be nice and clean tomorrow.  But wouldn't you know it?  The kid ate soap, and still had a mucky tomato soup face.  Go figure. 

And poor Thumper.  We're into our second week of unsettled nights.  She finished her anti-biotics on Saturday, but has still been screaming and pulling her ears at bed time.  We went back to the doctor today -- she still has a double ear infection.  Hopefully this second round of antibiotics will do the trick.  At least she has a new favourite hat and her favourite puppets to keep her happy.