Nothing out of the ordinary happening here. Abigail had her ECG at the hospital on Thursday last week and thankfully they didn't find anything wrong (heart was structurally normal), so I guess that means it was an innocent murmur that the consultant found last month. Benjamin continues to struggle with his eczema. We had a really good week recently where there was hardly any trouble spots (of course, as always, this was following a course of steroid/antibiotic cream) but it was lovely and soft for quite a long time. But then he started getting red/purple patches all round his eyes (formerly only something he'd had when he had a reaction to egg or had infected skin in other places) so it's left me a bit puzzled why it started with his eyes that time. And of course, his hands and legs were soon in a bad way. Last night he was awake just before 4am and came through to our bed. I was then awake for at least 1.5 hours trying to calm him down and keep him from scratching himself too badly. :( Despite all his limbs being covered (non-opening mittens and closed feet) he's still very clever and able to do damage to himself. He moves his fingers around and can have his hands bleeding quite badly, despite being fully enclosed with mittens! Thankfully he eventually got back to sleep, tho only for Abigail to come in and wake him up around 7am (when he would have probably slept for another hour or more if undisturbed)! She is usually the first one up in the house and isn't very good at being quiet!
As for Clement, he's as full of mischief as ever - if not more! Always making messes and getting into things. He's finally started walking (as of just over a week ago) but then he got lazy again and can't be bothered very often. But he did as many as 5-9 steps in one go when he first got excited at his ability! :) All day long, he does nothing but talk about balls - he sees balls in everything - even thinks our noses are the shape of a ball! Yes, truly obsessed! Cars (known as "brum brum") are another firm favourite, as are babies! He loves to pat my tummy and say "babba". Only problem is, now he thinks he's got one inside him too! LOL Anytime he sees his tummy he says "babba" and gives it a good pat. He's lots of fun, that's for sure.
This was actually nearly a month ago! I had too many photos last time I posted, so these 2 of them in the paddling pool didn't get posted. We've had some warm weather since, but not much - and not as warm as that week in the end of May.
All having lots of fun, even if a bit crowded! You might notice the water is white - that's due to some Aveeno Bath Oil, so Benjamin can join in the fun! :-) His skin didn't benefit from water last summer, but I found that a bit of bath oil made a big difference.
I did say I'd post all about the various dietary changes I was trying to make for my family, but I'm not sure when I'll have any spare time for that. So a few photos and maybe I'll share a recipe for anyone interested! ;-) The above photo shows the process for making sourdough bread! My lovely wooden grain grinder is on the left, with the blue bowl containing freshly ground spelt flour. Then the middle bowl is the beginning of my bread dough. And the bowl on the right is the rye sourdough starter. The children love to watch me baking, but don't enjoy the noise of the grinder!
5 pans of dough, ready to begin a 7 hour rising period!
Nicely risen, after approx 7 hours. (I might add that I've since done the dough rather more "soupy", which is much more ideal for sourdough. Some of my earlier loaves were rather hard and later changes have given a more satisfactory bread!)
All baked and now cooling!Now, I don't really have time for any recipes, but I did want to share how to make something with "soaked" flour. So below you'll find Buttermilk Biscuits (scones here in the UK). And this pic below shows some I made with spelt flour.
Buttermilk Biscuits
1 1/2 cups of oats
Abigail and Benjamin enjoying the sunshine in the back garden
Clement eating a *3rd* pancake for breakfast one morning! These were some "soaked" buckwheat and wholemeal pancakes which were really good. Only problem is trying to mix Benjamin's requirement for 'egg-free' pancakes, together with soaked ones - doesn't work very well, unfortunately.
Already helping mummy!
We finally managed to replace these awful brown couch covers! I thought we'd need a visit to Ikea to get them, but we found that the Edinburgh store would post them to us for only 20 pounds! Well, that's a bit expensive for postage on just cushion covers - but we got 2 foam mattresses for the boys beds at the same time (without any extra postage charge) which made it a very good deal indeed!
The result - lovely bright couch & rocking chair! :-) (Well, I like them anyway!) But I'm not sure what else in the sitting room matches the couch now! I'm convinced the blue lamp shade doesn't go anymore, but what about the curtains & rug? I think it looks a bit better at a distance (and in real life) compared to the photo. And after all, the room is frequently covered with children, toys and books, so not sure how important a matching room is anyway! LOL
Benjamin and Clement tucked up in Clement's "new" big boy bed! No, he's not sleeping in there yet, but since someone local on Freecycle was giving away a matching pair of Ikea beds, I thought they'd be perfect for when Clement moves into his brother's room!
Excited about his big boy bed! He climbs up on it and says "night night" as he covers himself with a blanket. :-)
Attempting to do some schoolwork last week, with Clement in the middle of the table, of course!
Benjamin colouring a picture instead (as he wasn't concentrating on his "lessons" that morning)
My lovely Clement! :-)
He loves his car!
Walking in the front garden - no shoes!
The sort of mess Clement likes to make! He emptied his milk out in the floor while I was cooking breakfast the other morning, and then put his face down on the floor to drink it (hence the milk dripping from his forehead!).
Phew, I've actually got to the end of this! Must get some sleep now.
Buttermilk Biscuits 3 1/2 cups freshly ground spelt or whole wheat flour
1 cup buttermilk (tho I've used yogurt sometimes too)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
unbleached white flour
Mix flour with buttermilk to form a thick dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours. Place in food processor and process several minutes to knead. Blend in remaining ingredients. Remove dough to a well-floured pastry cloth or board and sprinkle with unbleached white flour to prevent sticking. Roll dough to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cut biscuits with a glass and place on a buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. (Though be careful to watch them, as my oven bakes them a lot quicker than this.)
Another "soaked" thing I make is porridge - which we have every morning for breakfast! It's delicious and very easy too!
Breakfast Porridge
1 1/2 cups of oats
1 1/2 cups warm filtered water plus 3 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups filtered water
For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soaked overnight or even longer. Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up in less than 5 minutes - truly a fast food!
Mix oats with warm water mixture, cover and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours. Bring an additional 1 1/2 cup of water to a boil with sea salt. Add soaked oats, reduce heat, cover and simmer several minutes. Serve with butter, honey and milk (though my children like unrefined cane sugar on top of theirs!).
So, that's all the recipes I have time for, but some very simple ones for anyone who'd like to like to try something healthy! :-) Both are taken from the amazing book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277163307&sr=8-1
(which is actually a real bargain at just over 12 pounds with free postage for a 670 page book! tho it has to come from America and takes a little while to get over here - well worth the wait though!)
Abigail and Benjamin enjoying the sunshine in the back garden
Clement eating a *3rd* pancake for breakfast one morning! These were some "soaked" buckwheat and wholemeal pancakes which were really good. Only problem is trying to mix Benjamin's requirement for 'egg-free' pancakes, together with soaked ones - doesn't work very well, unfortunately.
Already helping mummy!
We finally managed to replace these awful brown couch covers! I thought we'd need a visit to Ikea to get them, but we found that the Edinburgh store would post them to us for only 20 pounds! Well, that's a bit expensive for postage on just cushion covers - but we got 2 foam mattresses for the boys beds at the same time (without any extra postage charge) which made it a very good deal indeed!
The result - lovely bright couch & rocking chair! :-) (Well, I like them anyway!) But I'm not sure what else in the sitting room matches the couch now! I'm convinced the blue lamp shade doesn't go anymore, but what about the curtains & rug? I think it looks a bit better at a distance (and in real life) compared to the photo. And after all, the room is frequently covered with children, toys and books, so not sure how important a matching room is anyway! LOL
Benjamin and Clement tucked up in Clement's "new" big boy bed! No, he's not sleeping in there yet, but since someone local on Freecycle was giving away a matching pair of Ikea beds, I thought they'd be perfect for when Clement moves into his brother's room!
Excited about his big boy bed! He climbs up on it and says "night night" as he covers himself with a blanket. :-)
Attempting to do some schoolwork last week, with Clement in the middle of the table, of course!
Benjamin colouring a picture instead (as he wasn't concentrating on his "lessons" that morning)
My lovely Clement! :-)
He loves his car!
Walking in the front garden - no shoes!
The sort of mess Clement likes to make! He emptied his milk out in the floor while I was cooking breakfast the other morning, and then put his face down on the floor to drink it (hence the milk dripping from his forehead!).Phew, I've actually got to the end of this! Must get some sleep now.
