Spinning plates

Family

Of course, because I blogged last week about getting the hang of things, life had to tear me down. Last Wednesday I got very, very ill, and by Thursday I felt incapable of doing anything other than lying in bed and yearning for death. Conveniently it was a public holiday, so Alex was home and able to look after me/the kids. On Friday I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with tonsillitis and laryngitis and given some rather impressive antibiotics.

I was feeling better over the weekend when Morgan came down with a head cold. Sick newborn babies are the worst – you can’t explain anything, or give them pain relief, or tell them they’ll feel better soon if only they can deal with you spraying saline solution up their nose at uncomfortably regular intervals.

Sebastian went with his dad to see family on Sunday and got worn out, probably quite over-tired, and so for the last few days has been very cranky – not sick, although his nose has been runny, but just run-down and irritable, as though he was fighting off the sickness that Morgan and I had come down with. And today, while I am mostly better, Morgan remains sniffly and Alex came down with a head cold. Sebastian was cheerful all day, thankfully. 

I had energy for once, and so I cleaned – tidying away toys, doing mountains of laundry and putting even more away, vacuuming, doing dishes, cooking a casserole for dinner, sweeping the kitchen and doing groceries. I so rarely feel rested and energised to really get to much housework, so it was wonderful to get a lot done one hit. Of course, it was followed by the guilt for all the other things I wasn’t doing – not blogging, not crafting, not writing or researching. Not doing a hundred things in the limited timeframe on one day where I happen to have some energy.

I keep thinking about motherhood as a balancing act, but really it’s not me that’s balancing – it’s all the things in my life that I need to do or achieve to keep me, my little family and my aspirations running. It’s spinning plates – frantically running from one to another to give it another whirl, to keep it spinning in the air; all the while conscious that while I spin one, another is slowing down and starting to wobble. At any moment it feels like all my plates could crash to the ground.

Today I kept a few plates going a little longer by doing enough chores to keep me sane and to keep the house running smoothly. Right now I’m spinning another plate by writing this blog entry. But while I do this, I’m aware of others starting to slow down – plates about craft projects and gardening, researching and writing articles, photography or writing fiction. They’re starting to wobble because I only have so much time, energy and opportunity and I have to choose where I invest it.

The trick is not to let those plates fall completely. Keep spinning. Keep running from one to the other and hope for the best.

 

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Getting the hang of it

I think (hope) I am getting the hang of this parenting-two-children thing which, frankly, has terrified me. As my partner does shift work that consists mostly of evenings, I’ve been doing the bedtime thing on my own. There have been A LOT of tantrums from the toddler, as I don’t have the same endless time and patience for him, but at least he’s been fed and in bed by some reasonable hour each night.

As I type, the toddler is in bed for his nap, right on schedule, and the bubba is asleep in his swing chair. He’s been sleeping a lot in this during the day – it does a lot of the work for me by rocking him to sleep so I can do things like put the toddler down. And so now I have an hour or two of free time. I have no idea what to do!

Afternoon nap!

I feel like I should be attempting something productive (not that a blog post isn’t productive!) but the endless rounds of laundry and dishes do get tiring. With this opportunity for time to myself I should be sewing or cooking or crafting! But I’m paranoid I’ll start something and get interrupted in the middle.

 

What do you do when you get a few minutes of quiet? Chores that have to be done or something just for yourself?

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Tasty for Toddler: Yummy corn cakes in 5 minutes

This recipe is a quick and easy fallback for me when I’m stressing about what to give Sebastian that’s quick, fresh and nutritious. It takes just five minutes if the rice is pre-prepared, so I usually cook extra rice with some other meal, and hold onto it for a day or two until I’m ready to make a batch of these corn cakes.

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked rice
1 cup of self-raising flour
1 cup of creamed corn
1 egg
Butter/marg/veg oil for the pan

Combine ingredients in a large bowl until mixed. Heat a large pan with your choice of butter/marg/veg oil over a medium heat. Dollop big spoonfuls into the pan, allow to brown and then flip. Cool before serving to your toddler, and store extras in the fridge or freezer.

Variations

I use jasmine rice because it’s what I always have in the house, but you could try long-grain or brown rice too. I use self-raising flour because it makes the cakes nice and fluffy, but plain flour works just as well. Try adding different finely chopped vegetables like red capsicum, grated carrot or pre-cooked broccoli. My Mum has tried adding diced bacon, which was a big hit too. If the mixture is becoming dry, simply add another egg or more creamed corn.

 

My son LOVES these, and they make a great snack, or serve with fresh veggies for a really healthy dinner. When they’re hot and crispy and fresh from the pan, I add a little salt and wolf them down myself. They freeze well in freezer bags, travel in Ziploc bags and are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

What’s your favourite toddler recipe?

 

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