A New Mum's lifesavers

While not yet ready to be dispensing sage advice like a seasoned mother, 2 months of being a mum seems an appropriate juncture to identify my current baby sanity savers!

If you are traditional cloth nappying......the snappi-nappy. It replaces the nappy pin and is so easy to apply. About, $5 at Coles.

If your baby insists on being held....all the time....the ergo baby carrier. It leaves your hands free to get on with some of the necessities of life. Mommy Coddle brought them to my attention. And they are brilliant. I can highly recommend the Australian stockists Babes in Arms. They got it to me overnight, and we are out in the country. If you purchase the insert for it you can use it with a newborn. Baby girl always looks so snug cocooned in it and settles almost immediatly.

If, like baby girl, your baby wants to sit up and see everything....the Mother's Choice BabyCino bouncer. Target has these marked down at the moment.

And, if you want to get smiles out of your baby....a $1.50 bottle of bubble blowing formula.

A Comfortable Saturday

I love the title of latest novel in Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie series The Comfort of Saturdays. Saturday around here was very comfortable indeed.

I had my first sleep-in since baby girl arrived, albeit with two rises to cater to her ladyships demands for food.

Having discovered a nice local bakery last weekend, DH went out and got fresh croissants.

I actually got a hot cup of tea...even if it was very rushed because madam wanted to be fed yet again. I am advised this must be the 6 week growth spurt!

Fortunately we had lots of lovely spreads in the house. Mmmm, passionfruit butter!

And, DH even picked up The Weekend Australian too so we had quality reading material to peruse for the rest of the day.

Time for Centering

This early morning was a time for centering.

Time to take a break from the ever-present nappy buckets and washing pile.

Time to enjoy the crisp Autumn weather.

Time to hit the dirt track for a walk with baby girl and the dogs.

Time to take in the breath-taking scenery of the distant ranges.

Time to spot a kangaroo or two off in the distance.

Time to enjoy the butterflies dancing over the track.

(It is that yellow splotch in the middle of the picture!)

And now refreshed, perhaps, time to sneak a cup of tea before baby girl wakes again.

What's Cooking: Cabizza

We are trying to stretch the dollar a bit around here at the moment and have been trying out some budget friendly meals. I thought I would share those we enjoy on this blog.

Fotunately, I have Nanna's cavernous recipe folder to find some inspiration for these sort of meals. It does seem that older style menus were much friendlier to the wallet with the focus on simple, fresh ingredients. We tried Cabizza last night and it was a hit. The recipe says it serves 6 to 8, but I assume that is as a side as this quantity merely served my husband and I as a main meal. But, my husband was hungry!

CABIZZA (originally from the Sunday Times)

Ingredients
1/2 medium cabbage (shredded)
2 tspn vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup plain flour
2 medium tomatoes (finely sliced)
6 spring onions (finely sliced)
2 slices ham (chopped)
3/4 cup grated low fat cheese

Method
Brush the base of a large saucepan or frypan with the oil. Cook cabbage and garlic until just tender. Cool to room temperature. Stir in eggs and flour. Press evenly over base of lightly greased 30cm pizza pan or shallow dish. Bake at 210C for 10 minutes. Place tomatoes evenly over cabbage base. Sprinkle with onions, ham then cheese. Bake at 180C for about 30 minutes until cabizza is browned.