Week 38 – a new normal

img_7605Since the birth of our son, life has changed dramatically. Of course that won’t surprise you – whether you have kids or not, you know that a baby in the house means that your life is dictated to by a tiny human who can only communicate through crying (and the odd scream), who you simply have to become a slave to.

I had high hopes of re-introducing some structure to our lives after Ioan turned one month old, and I have been a tiny bit successful. A very tiny bit … so rather than get frustrated I have decided to try and embrace this new ‘normal’.

I will still try to plan my meals (at least that means I can be somewhat organised with my supermarket shop) but am now getting a bit more realistic and won’t expect to meet my plan more than 50% of the time.

Ioan has a delightful (not) little habit of getting truly stroppy at around dinner time, which means as Andrew and I sit down to eat, he turns into a little screamer, who won’t settle. It’s like he smells our food and takes that as a sign to kick off. Until I can figure out how to manage this, I need to simplify meals so that they can be eaten one-handed if necessary! Any tips of course are much appreciated!

Some successes this week included …

An actual breakfast! In the garden! I took this photo, took one bite, and Ioan started crying. This Special K nourish I was sent is quite tasty with some natural yoghurt, although the boxes are on the small side.

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Another breakfast in the garden but Andrew was here to look after Ioan so I am not sure it counts … eggs benedict with sliced tomatoes.

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A healthy lunch! Beetroot, goats cheese and parma ham salad. It was delicious.

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Homemade pizza – yep, I even made the dough, following my wholemeal pizza recipe. I am impressed by this as I HAVE A BABY!

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Lunch out, with a sleeping baby (and a cheeky glass of wine):

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That’s not too bad is it? This week’s plan is as follows (assuming I manage half, I’ll consider this a win):

  • Monday – spinach and ricotta ravioli with butter sauce (I feel this is a tad ambitious, but will see how I get on … maybe I’ll buy the ravioli)
  • Tuesday – roast chicken and pine nut pasta (plenty of leftover for lunch later in the week)
  • Wednesday – chicken curry, which has been continuously bumped from my menu plan each week, using up the rest of the roast chicken
  • Thursday – chilli from my freezer stash
  • Friday – fishfingers, chips and beans
  • Saturday – pork chop traybake
  • Sunday – we have been invited to a barbecue, so will play this one by ear

What plans do you have for the coming week? I’ll spend most of my time out of the kitchen watching this little beauty develop his smile …

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3 Replies to “Week 38 – a new normal”

  1. Jane Billing says: Reply

    He’s got such a cheeky grin….before you know it you’ll be shopping for school uniform

  2. such a cute smile – Treasure these moments! I have one that is now pretty much a grumpy teenager and can’t even remember the last time he smiled! x

    1. Uh oh, and I bet that will come around in no time too! Thanks for the comment 🙂

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