This month has had its ups and downs, from a lovely half term week, to the washing machine breaking and another hospital stay for Ethan, albeit a lot shorter this time (only one night). Our photos this month are a bit last minute and are not the best quality as the light wasn’t great on Sunday but I think we still got a few nice shots thanks to my Mum.
What do you feel when you see Beyoncé’s twins introduction photo? What do you see? Do you just see a beautifully styled photo and think “aww, a Mum and her babies”. Do you see a perfect image of motherhood? Does it make you feel jealous that you didn’t look like that one month after giving birth? This post is about my thoughts on that photo and a reflection on my own experience.
It’s been a cold and dark month and we haven’t actually had much time to spend together as a family. The first two weekends I was teaching and then the third Saturday I went on a study day so on Sunday we made an effort to get out the house for half an hour and go for a walk together to get some fresh air, even if it was absolutely freezing. I took my tripod and new camera and was determined to figure out the self-timer setting. I only got two good shots but I LOVE them. I can’t believe we’re actually all smiling! We went straight home after this as we really were getting cold.
As we only have a small kitchen we don’t have room for a lot of gadgets, I literally have room for my kettle and (smoothie) blender that I use every day, add some post, a lunch box, two fruit bowls and some water bottles and it’s more than cluttered! If you’re lucky enough to have a bigger kitchen than us and have a bread maker you can do the first bit of this recipe in it, saving some time.
We’re not back into routine at all and I’m not sure we will be for a while. I’ve been waking them up every morning and struggling to get them to calm down at bedtime. I think they’re over tired and have been having a crazy half hour just before bed every night. I’ve just felt like a broken record, telling them over and over again to eat and get ready in a morning and then asking them to calm down and get ready for bed at night. They’re just not listening to us at all. Oliver especially seems to be in his own little world most of the time and the only person he lets in is Ethan apart from when he wants cuddles at bedtime.
This recipe serves 2 adults and 2 small children but makes lots of sauce so if making for more people you can increase the number of sausages you put in. If making for 4 like us and you don’t want to serve all the sauce for dinner you can save some and have some with pasta for lunch or dinner the next day.
This recipe serves 2 adults and 2 small children as part of a buffet lunch. We like to eat it with grilled halloumi cheese, sautéed spinach and salad potatoes. It tastes great served straight away but even better when it’s been left for a few hours or even eaten the next day.
Why didn’t I question the constant fetal monitoring, the breaking of my waters or the syntocinon (artificial oxytocin) drip to induce my contractions? As an educated women in her late 20s who had attended the hospital’s own antenatal classes you’d think that I would have wanted to have a part in these decisions but the truth is I just went along with it. I trusted the doctors and knew them to have more knowledge than me and to want the best outcome for me and my babies. The thing is though, in a medicalised environment, do they always know what is best?
You do need a bit of time to make the sauce as it tastes better when the meat has been cooked for a few hours and so breaks down. If you don’t have time in an afternoon to keep checking on it in a pan, you could try making it in a morning and leaving in the slow cooker on a low setting all day.
We’re right in the middle of the summer holidays. I can’t believe how fast the first three weeks have gone and just like that I’ve waved the boys off at the airport today to spend the rest of their holidays in Italy. They were so excited, Oliver was a bit more cuddly early this morning but absolutely fine when they left. I hope they will both be ok when Daddy comes home in a few days. I’m more than ready to go and join them at the end of the month for a proper holiday!