She's a peach

Lucy currently loves peaches. Here she is pictured in the final moments of a single-handed demolition of a nice big, juicy peach. All that's left is the stone.

Delightful though it is that she eats healthy fruit such as this, her table manners leave something to be desired at the moment. She has developed a liking for stuffing as much food into her mouth as possible as she reaches the end of her meal. Sometimes it seems to be just so she can ask for more. At others it is perhaps so she can get down from the table and play with Oliver. She's more a hamster than peach at that point.

Oliver: the chef

On visiting the "big" Tesco this Saturday morning, Oliver's eye was caught by the fresh fish counter. He asked whether we could get some. Readily I obliged, buying 3 skinless, boneless salmon fillets that were on offer, without the slightest idea how I would cook them such that my kids would eat them.

However, I had no fear, as I felt sure that the web would come to my rescue and indeed it did in the form of old favourite, Annabel Karmel. She had a simple recipe for Salmon Skewers. So simple in fact that I enlisted Oliver's help to make them. You can find the the recipe on AnnabelKarmel.com. But here is our step-by-step account of today's cookery class extraordinaire.

First, chop the salmon into cubes. By carefully assisting, not least to preserve my own digits, I was able to let Oliver do this. Obviously I wasn't so reckless as to try to take pictures at the same time, lest we end up with shots of "how I ended up in Causalty". (That's ER for those speaking the other English.)



Next make the marinade and mix.



Then add the salmon, stirring in the marinade.



Place the salmon pieces onto the skewers. (A bit blurry this one: hard to capture whilst trying not to skewers only son.)



Leave for one hour. Actually we skipped this, instead stirring for a good few minutes before leaving to stand for 10 minutes more.

The it was into the oven, where it was closely monitored.



And finally, serve with broccoli and rice... et voila!

It turned out that although he ate a little, Oliver was not so keen on salmon as he had hoped.


(He went on to have some of the chicken from Mummy's chicken korma instead.)

Lucy on the other hand loved it!


(But still insisted on also stealing some of Mummy's chicken later.)

Dessert was a yogurt followed by a couple of pieces of Dairy Milk chocolate (chopped up into 6 pieces to try to slow the rate at which it was wolfed down).

And there you have it. Next week I may venture past the fish counter again, in the hope of an excuse to cook Sea Bass baked in salt. Now, what wine goes with that...?

Lashings of hot buttered everything

Lucy has developed a near obsessive fascination with the art of buttering toast. And buttering bread. In fact if it can be buttered, she is probably prepared to do it. Things have got so bad that we have bought two lots of butter/margarine/spread/whatever-21st-century-term-you-prefer in order that the cheaper one is what Lucy uses when she has reached the point where she is spreading for the art of it rather than in much expectation of eating it.

Of course, when you combine her faultless generosity with this new habit, you have problematic consequences. The other day as Hayley and I sat eating dinner, Lucy sat in her high-chair and applied several tonnes of butter to a piece of baguette I had given her. Much to Hayley's amusement she offered it to me and I was obliged to eat it, secretly removing butter by the spoonful when she wasn't looking. Then Lucy set about the other piece. "Is that for you Lucy" I asked nervously. Still intent on her task and without looking up from her bread and butter she said with a tone that could have been Marlon Brando in The Godfather "Mummy's havin' it". Hayley's face was a picture and both of us could barely contain our laughter. Hayley went on a diet late last year to lose weight for the wedding (something regular readers will have noticed she has done pretty darn successfully). And she wasn't about to abandon her regime just before the big day. Nonetheless she too dutifully ate some before distracting Lucy's attention and avoiding any further consumption.

This evening while Hayley was out, I fed the kids dinner which concluded with a chocolate dessert each. In a moment of incredible naivety I left the room for all of 2 minutes. When I returned I fund that Oliver had decided to decorate his face with chocolate.



With this result.



Lucy obviously found this hilarious and joined in.



With this result.



I had to laugh, before managing to recover a more responsible demeanor and asking them not to do it any more (then going back into the kitchen to secretly laugh some more). Oliver obliged but unsurprisingly it was far too much fun for Lucy to listen to Daddy an I eventually confiscated her new face-pack.

Talking of finding it hard not to laugh, the other day Lucy surprised me by eating an apple and not spitting it out. After a few minutes however she walked over to where I was sitting on the floor and spat out, with loud raspberry noises, all the apple she had been accumulating in her cheeks for the last few minutes. As I implored her to stop and tried to catch the falling mush, she then turned on her heels and ran away laughing into the next room. All Hayley and I could do was double up laughing at her whilst trying not to let her hear. Sometimes it's hard to be a serious parent.

Refreshing breakfast

Yesterday at our local Somerfield, Oliver, not content with just his favourite Granny Smith apples, decided we should buy a melon.

And so it was this morning that with great import I chopped large segments of melon for the kids. Oliver tucked in with some vigour. (Please excuse the blurry images.)



Lucy less so, after an initially enthusiastic start.



Nonethless they both tried it and that in itself is always a success in my book.

How do you like them apples?

Oliver has been keen on apples for some time, but only recently has his sister started to treat them as something to eat rather than just chew then spit out. I took a few shots of them with a borrowed Nikon D40 DSLR. In the midst of the credit crunch and with the wedding approaching this might be as close as I get to owning such a fine piece of photographic kit.

Today's lesson is...

Today's lesson is that change can happen in an instant. This is a valuable, sometimes life-changing lesson that several life coaches have propounded in their own particular ways with varying degrees of plausibility. I find Tony Robbins provides a believable and useful take on this idea.

So I was grateful this morning when my children gave me a reminder of this valuable lesson. It was a calm and happy scene. Lucy was helping me to fill Oliver's bowl with Shreddies while Oliver was playing happily in the adjoining room.

Suddenly, I heard Oliver screaming "Help, help". I dashed to his aid. I arrived to find that it was not Oliver who was in peril, but Ronald McDonald who had got his tractor stuck on top of a tower. Relieved, I went straight back to the kitchen, to find Lucy had poured the full contents of the large pack of Shreddies over the kitchen floor.

Yes, change can happen in an instant.

Sixty to nought to sixty

Today I collected Oliver from nursery on my bike. It's the second week running I've done this on Friday (for reasons that will become apparent sometime soon) and on both occasions I've been lucky to have glorious sunshine.

On both occasions also we went direct to the playground in our local park for some fun in the sun. This afternoon when we finished, rather than walking home with an ice-cream as we did last week, Oliver requested a ride before we went home. So I took him along some off-road paths in our area as he merrily sang away. He had been full of beans from the moment I collected him from nursery, charging around the park shouting "Come on Daddy" with a big smile as we ran over to say hello to some child he knows in passing and who looked nonplussed when he greeted them like a long lost friend.

After a particularly fun downhill section, he shouted "let's do that again", so I dutifully turned about and headed back up-hill. But within a minute he had gone quiet and I felt his bike helmet poke me in the back. He had fallen asleep. From full-on to flat-out in 60 seconds!

I reclined his seat before meandering to the chippy, our regular Friday evening destination, where I managed to order from the door and then pay without him stirring.



I then got the little man all the way home (with our lightly battered haddock, chips and peas warm against my stomach, under my coat) before he woke. Then, after this 30 minute nap, it was immediately like he'd never been asleep. I wish I could do that!

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Free meal plan for Scots pupils

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Free meal plan for Scots pupils

Not much use to those of us south of the border.

And typical of many an administration to take the credit for introducing something good while handing over no additional cash to fund it.

New Zealand's out then

As we enter a wet British autumn after a wet British summer, my mind sometimes starts to turn to sunnier climes and dreams of raising our children away from headlines of stabbings and a life of scraping money together to pay for a mammoth mortgage on a modest home. I'm sure we won't do it, but some days it seems irresistible.

I didn't help when a former colleague now living in Australia recently sent me photos of himself surfing in the Australian winter. (That's winter, not summer.) We also have friends in New Zealand who send pictures of the expanse of green in which their children play. Compares favourably to the postage stamp we have in our back garden.

But perhaps it isn't meant to be. Yesterday I was given a sign! While I was at work contemplating the fabulous mountain biking in New Zealand over my lunch, Hayley was at home giving Oliver some kiwi only to find he came out in an allergic reaction. He complained of his mouth hurting and then his face started to swell up. She had to give him piriton but even by the time I came home in the evening his left eye was partially closed, though he was happy enough by then. We can't be 100% sure it was the kiwi but it seems to have been the culprit.

So maybe New Zealand just isn't meant to be.

Lucy's 1st Birthday

Today we celebrated Lucy's 1st birthday.



We kicked off with the little lady opening her presents at home, aided by her helpful big brother.



Later, Hayley and Oliver decorated the cake that Hayley had bought for her. Hayley then prepared a picnic while Lucy, Oliver and I played upstairs.



Then we all headed off to the park for a long and enjoyable picnic lunch with friends in the sunshine.



Oliver ran and played with his friends,


while Lucy crawled across the grass at high speed


or stood at the railings to the playground watching the older children.


After our sandwiches, she opened her birthday cards,


then we lit a candle on her cake and sang Happy Birthday. Lucy cut the cake,


then we all had a piece, Lucy demolishing a good portion of it herself.


At one point, Lucy stood up and then stood still unaided. At this point someone asked if she was walking. "No", we said. "She can stand like this but she won't take a step". Upon which, Lucy promptly took her first step! Maybe she had been waiting for an audience.


Despite indulging in ice-creams and ice lollies mid-afternoon, we all found room for our traditional Friday fish n chips when we got home.


After all the fun in the sun, a nice bath saw both our offspring settling quickly down for a good night's sleep. The end of a fabulous day.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | EU launches school fruit campaign

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | EU launches school fruit campaign

Oliver is eating lots of apples at the moment. Breakfast often starts with one. He often asks for an apple in preference to asking for a sweet or chocloate. Perhaps that's because he enjoys them or perhaps it's because he knows we will always give him fruit when he asks, whereas ice-creams and sweets have a more limited supply.

Lucy's latest

The little lady is growing into a beautiful and sweet little girl before our very eyes. And she is only 9 months old! Here are a few of her current characteristics.

She is an essentially quiet, placid and happy little girl except in two notable situations. Firstly, whenever she is required to get dressed or undressed she screams like she is watching a Takashi Shimizu movie. She also wails if she is not supplied with successive mouthfuls of food at the required rate, which has been known to hit a peak of around one mouthful every 3 seconds. But in both these situations she is not upset so much as demonstrative and she can be laughing seconds later.

Talking of mealtimes, this evening Hayley indulged her with mock surprise and indignation (as if you can be indignant whilst simultaneously having a huge grin on your face) every time Lucy threw her sippy cup of water on the floor. Lucy chuckled madly at Hayley's high-pitched protestations. I know it's right up there in the "don'ts" of good parenting, but it really was cute and quite lovely to see my two girls having such fun.

Lucy's crawling is now quite quick. She is still using the "one knee and one foot" method. Unfortunately she does sometimes get herself under chairs and tables if she's not careful and then needs to be rescued.

Her chatter is quite entertaining. I'm sure she can't really speak in any way yet, but at dinner the other evening she repeated back "Hiya!" to Hayley twice in succession. It was uncanny. She has other favorite sounds. "Ah-Gee!", which is a bit like the "Ah-Choo" of a mock sneeze in its intonation. She does this so often that Oliver often uses it as his opening attempt to engage her in conversation.

Other times she just grunts. I'm smiling as I type this because it is quite a dismissive sounding grunt and reflects the slightly superior attitude she sometimes appears to adopt. I picked her up this evening and carried her into the kitchen to watch Hayley cooking dinner. She sat there quite unsmiling on my arm looking down at her Mummy as if the re-incarnation of Fanny Craddock.

Lucy's favourite game at the moment is to take things out of a container and put them back in. This evening for the first time Hayley got her to put the little plastic cubes into the little giraffe tower that plays a tune when you do so (hard to explain, I'll get a picture later). She also loves to take the shapes out of her "cookie jar" shape sorter and put them back in.

Her other favourite activity is rolling balls across the room. I give her the toy which involves rolling balls down a helter-skelter, but within seconds she has found the more entertaining game of rolling them across the length of the living room and under the table, from where Mummy or Daddy must try to retrieve them. Throwing the plastic lid of the cookie jar toy so it spins on the hard floor was also discovered today. A noisy but pleasing pursuit.

Dare I say it, but the little lady also continues to sleep well and to go to sleep well. This evening she went to bed wide awake but didn't complain. We could hear via the monitor that she was turning over, trying to get comfortable and she even said something to Hayley when she went in to see her after a few minutes. But when Hayley left she was quiet again until she fell asleep. She is a little angel. I wish I knew what we'd done to deserve her! I do think we are in for some disturbed sleep soon though, as she still has no teeth that have come through, so surely she will be teething fairly soon.

One particular fabourite trick of hers right now is to steal my glasses. I don't help things by saying "Hey...!" in mock disapproval, which only makes her laugh and do it again. Although, she does also try to put them back on me sometimes.

And yet, none of this really adequately conveys the little lady at 9 months old. I can only say that she is essentially a very happy, smiley little girl who also brings a big smile to the faces of her brother, her Mummy and her Daddy every single day.

In the wars

Last Thursday Hayley went in to hospital to have some scheduled but rather urgent knee surgery. She had been trying to rest her knee but the Christening meant that plan went out of the window. On leaving hospital she was advised to rest her knee and not to stand for more than 20 minutes in an hour.

On Friday and over the weekend I was there to help. But since I went back to work today these guidelines have been hard to follow with a baby and a toddler in tow. Friends have helped where they can. One took Oliver to playgroup today. Another is taking him to nursery tomorrow and hopefully for a play-date with her son afterwards.

Over the weekend we were due to go to a party, my Mum coming up to babysit overnight. In the event she decided she couldn't stay over but still baby-sat while we went out. We were out for no more than two and a half hours and while there my slightly upset stomach of the afternoon progressed to full-on nausea. I couldn't even look at the delicious food and while others sipped champagne, my strongest tipple was pepto-bismol from my host's medicine cabinet. Hayley managed to accomodate a walking stick into her fancy-dress outfit but in any case spent most of the party sitting down.

The one up-side of me being ill was that by not drinking I actually felt less than
a complete wreck when I woke on Sunday morning to get up with Oliver and Lucy at 7am. I couldn't help thinking of everyone else who attended though. We were the only couple who had to get up with our kids the next day, everyone else having the help of overnighting grandparents or having dropped off their darlings before going to the party. Still, no-one forced us to have kids and we always knew we'd be pretty much on our own with my Mum the closest grandparent at an hour away and everyone else effectively just occasional turns on the stage of our children's lives.

More concerning than our own woes though is that Lucy has been ill for the last few days, in fact we think we can trace it back at least a couple of weeks. She has been throwing up all her milk some evenings as she goes to bed. Her nappies are also very frequent, runny and smell very bad. She has lost weight and we also noticed her belching at odd times of the day when she'd had neither food nor milk.

Today Hayley took her to the doctor who tentatively diagnosed two things. Firstly, she may be lactose intolerant so milk is now off the menu and we have moved to SMA-LF, a lactose free milk. This condition may not be permanent. It can disappear by age 12-18 months. The second condition diagnosed was some reflux which can be treated with Gaviscon in her milk. Hopefully this too will disappear in a similar timcescale. In fact, the doctor said his own daughter suffered from it but grew out of it.

Little Lucy never complains much despite her woes. Even when she has thrown up vast amounts of milk and food all over herself and Hayley, after a few seconds of tears she then often musters a little smile. It tugs at the heart-strings I can tell you.

Last night she must have wondered what on earth was going on. We managed to get her to bed without her being sick. A couple of hours later we came to bed ourselves (in the same room... yes we still haven't moved her!). No sooner were we in bed than we heard the unmistakeable sound of a nappy being filled. So we both got up, put the light on and changed her in her cot. SHe woke up and smiled at us. We largely managed to avoid eye contact as this is supposed to encourage her back to sleep. Then we cleaned up and went back to bed. Only one of us had made it under the covers before we heard the same sound again. The light went on again and the process was repeated. This time Lucy was making cute little shrieks and smiling madly at us. Resistance was crumbling as we smiled back. After a while we went back to bed. But not for long. About 45 minutes later a third explosion was heard and we got up again. After this change she wouldn't settle and in the end we were up for an hour.

Today hasn't been much better. As she woke she set the tone for the day with a runny nappy and Hayley reported that she has either had to change her or clear up sick for much of the day. And yet she is still one of the happiest babies I ever saw. TOngiht while Hayley went out for an hour, I sat on the sofa reading books to Oliver while Lucy sat and played next to me, occasionally entertaining herself by biting my arm. Her favourite trick right now though is to bite my nose but ever so gently, which makes me laugh, in turn making her laugh and repeating the trick.

Other pastimes for Lucy right no are to give Mummy kisses: very similar in fashion to Oliver at around the same age. She also waved to me unaided this morning when I waved goodbye to her from the door.

So Oliver is currently the healthiest member of the household, with only the occasional runny nose to boast.

Who needs Holby City when you can read my blog.

Sausage a day can increase bowel cancer risk - Telegraph

Sausage a day can increase bowel cancer risk - Telegraph

"Sausage a day can increase bowel cancer risk

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 2:03am BST 31/03/2008

Eating one sausage or three rashers of bacon a day can increase the risk of bowel cancer by a fifth, a medical expert has said.

The warning involved only 1.8oz (50g) of processed meat daily.

Daily consumption of sausages and other processed meats can increase the risk of bowel cancer.
It recommended that people eat less than 17.6oz of cooked red meat a week and avoid all processed meat.

Researchers found that almost half of cancers could be prevented with lifestyle changes such as a healthier diet, using sunscreen, not smoking and limiting alcohol intake.

The charity World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) said more needed to be done to get across the message that people who eat processed meat regularly are putting their health at risk..."

The idea that such a small amount of processed meat - including ham, which Oliver often enjoys - can increase risk of bowel cancer by 20% has set me thinking about my stance on my children's diet in general.

I don't eat meat. Unsurprisingly people therefore ask me "do you raise your children meat-free"? The answer is "no". I decided to give up meat for a variety of reasons as a young adult and they can choose to do the same if they wish when they are older.

So today they eat some meat and some veggie food too. But given that my own reasons for foregoing meat include health reasons, am I letting down my children by not choosing for them what I have chosen for myself?

Of course it's not that black and white. For a start, Hayley is not veggie and she would have a say in the decision. She doesn't eat much meat though. Consequently Oliver's diet falls somewhere between Hayley's and my own.

I don't see the situation changing in the near future, but just as I periodically review my own diet - re-introducing fish several years ago as a result - I know I will continue to review my children's diet just as closely.

Saturday Breakfast

Saturday breakfasts can be complicated. They involve 2 or 3 courses and 2 locations.

This morning I got up with both offspring and started by giving Oliver some Rice Crispies at the breakfast table. While he ate them I prepared Lucy's warm mushy Weetabix with full fat milk. As I did, Oliver requested additional servings of Rice Cripsies and milk. I then moved to the sofa where I positioned Lucy in front of me in her high chair, so that should Oliver decide to come and read next to me I can see the words in his book and simultaneously feed his sister.

Lucy absolutely loves her Weetabix and can't get it down fast enough, only breaking occasionally for a drink of water or the odd happy smile.



After Lucy had finished her Weetabix (a whole one by the way), it was time to get both kids dressed. As I hadn't taken the good advice of Zenhabits and prepared their clothes the night before, this took so long that by the time they were ready to go out Lucy needed her milk (7 ounces, mixed 4:3 of Aptamil 2 to Aptamil 1). After this we finally got under way and headed for Tesco.

At this point the score is Lucy 2 courses, Oliver 1 course, Daddy 0 courses.

On arriving at Tesco we pick up a few things on route to the cafe, Oliver on foot, Lucy in her car seat in a trolley. Oliver operates the lift, the buttons for which are now just within his reach.

In the cafe I find my favourite cafeteria assistant isn't working and hence no-one has bothered to pre-cook veggie sausages. Drat! Oliver orders 2 sausages, bacon, hash brown and scrambled egg. I get beans (half for Oliver), mushrooms, hash brown and scrambled egg, plus toast for all of us. And a cup of tea for me, finally.

Heading for the table we meet George, about 9 months younger than Oliver and a fellow regular for Saturday breakfast.

I then install both children in high chairs and serve their respective meals, and drinks before sitting down to dine myself. As I'm doing all this, a fellow Dad at the next table with two girls in tow, slightly older than Oliver, comments that my dragging around of high-chairs and conjuring of cutlery are like a military operation, adding that I have the choice of then eating breakfast fast or eating it cold. Clearly, a man who knows the score. As he gets up to leave he comments that it gets easier, but then adds that other problems replace those of today... as he hurries off with his little girl to the toilets.

We all then eat. Great!



By the time we have finished, the score is Lucy 3 courses, Oliver 2 courses, Daddy 1 course... but rest assured I didn't skimp on that 1 course.

As I stand to leave, a woman (another regular) offers to take my tray to allow me to look after the children. It's noticeable just how many familiar faces there are on Saturday mornings. I don't want to sound like an advert for the fried breakfasts of Britain's biggest retailer, but it is a nice atmosphere in there, not to mention a great way to sneak in a bit of essential shopping.

Once coats and hats are re-donned by all, we head out of the shop. On the way out Oliver has a ride on Clifford (the Big Red Dog), while Lucy watches and chuckles.





Afterwards we head off to Borders where Oliver and I read books on the sofa in the children's area as Lucy naps.



Later Lucy joins us and greatly enjoys "That's not my Dolly".

Finally there's time for a quick trip to Toys R Us where Oliver inspects the play-houses before we head home. Not a bad Saturday morning.

Hayley then takes both kids off for a play-date... leaving me at home to sneak in a nice egg and mushroom sandwich. Sometimes Saturday breakfasts can take some time.