More pics of Ellie.

Ellie is doing really well! She is 9 days old today, and gorgeous! So far she is sleeping and feeding well, and the midwife was really pleased with her weight gain !

She was born on Wednesday March 21st at 12.51 am and weighed 6lb8. She stayed in hospital with mummy until Thursday 22nd. She has had lots and lots of visitors, and tons of presents and cards. The pink Bunny in the picture was a present from Toby Green. Thanks Toby!! When the midwife came on Tuesday she was 7lb1, and didn't cry when she did the heel prick test!!

More news soon.

Ellie Grace has arrived!

Overdue...

It is 16th March, 2 days past the planned delivery date... but it seems that the stork is awaiting stock.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience and we hope that this matter will be solved as soon as possible.
We would like to thank you to have waited for the past 9 months and we are asking you to be patient just a few extra days.
We are hoping to sort out this delivery problem shortly and you should be receiving your parcel by the 28th March 2007 at the very latest.

Yours sincerely,

The factory that makes pink and blue babies

Nearly there.... we hope!!

Well, tomorrow is baby Wilky's due date... not that that really has much to do with anything!! Apparently there is a 5% chance of a baby being born on its due date!! So that's a 95% chance that baby won't be arriving tomorrow!!! I have to say, we are both eager for baby to be here. Steve wants to see baby, as do I. I'm looking forward to being able to sleep comfortably, and wear clothes that aren't HUGE! So that also has something to do with my eagerness for baby to arrive. I will say at this point, before 500 people email me to break the news, I do not expect to get large amounts of sleep in the next few months, but the idea of lying on my stomach, or my back without suffocating is appealing!! We will not be ringing you all tomorrow to say that baby is NOT here, but will of course get messages around when baby does arrive!!

The problem with nesting!

Now then, after spending the last 8 months telling anyone who'll listen that the nesting instinct won't be coming near me, I am loath to say that I think I've gained it! Now, don't get me wrong, I am not cleaning every spare part of my home, nor has my house become the neatest ever, it still looks just the same as ever, but a small part of me is urging me to get things ready for baby!! Now, this varies, from cleaning the tiles in the bathroom, through baking lovely biscuits, and straying into cooking home made soup to freeze.
I have 2 problems:
1. Is it better to start a job and not finish it or just not start it?! I ask because the majority of the tiles in my bathroom reflect the light in a never-before-seen-in-my-bathroom kind of a manner!! It started off being a mission to clean the grout between the tiles near the bath, and became a clean the tiles exercise! However, when I got to the towel rail, and the cupboard respectively, I gave up!! My slight excuse was that it was past tea time, I was starving and my knees hurt from kneeling on the floor, but still, a job not quite done!! The grout looks a million times better, and the tiles you can see whilst in the bath, or on the toilet do look lovely and shiny!! It really is the ones you'd have to squint to appreciate anyway that still need a quick scrub to glisten... but should I have bothered? Most of me thinks yes, but then everytime I walk in now I feel like I should finish them off..... I guess that when I do get inspired again it means that it'll only take a few minutes as most of it's been done...
2. Now, I have read tons of books, magazines and websites on almost every aspect of pregnancy, even glancing over a few on the good old nesting instinct!! They all, without fail, tell you that the best thing you can possibly do on your maternity leave is cook!! (Actually, I think rest was perhaps the best thing, but cooking was definately the second best!!) Now, I like baking, and Steve has been the grateful recipient of many lovely baked treats in the last few weeks, although not apple pie I have to say, which he loves dearly!! But at the weekend I got inspired!! A trip to Tesco later and I was merrily making soup to freeze. I mean PROPER sou!p!! A huge pan full of mushroom soup and a pan of carrot soup too. Lovely lovely recipes from my stepdad, talk to me very nicely and I can pass them on to you!! Lovely and easy to do, so very tasty, and of course, good for you!! I had bought tubit things from Tesco to put soup in and put it in the freezer, and here came the second problem..... WHERE DO I PUT ALL THIS FOOD I'M GOING TO MAKE?! I had plans you see, plans beyond soup, plans to double the portions of what I normally make and freeze half of it....... Except no-one had told my freezer!I'm sure I'm not actually the only pregnat person in the world who doesn't have a chest freezer, but the pregnancy books/magazines and websites don't mention that to fulfil your true status as fab pregnant person by cooking and therefore providing meals for your expanded family after baby arrives, you have to have a chest freezer!! Part of me now feels cheated out of the experience... although i have to say, I'm not too gutted!! Admittedly, if we ate all the pies, chips, ice creams and ice cubes that are in our freezer, we could perhaps squeeze in a little home made goodness, but really, why should we?! I really am glad that Betty at church is organising a meal rota for at least the first few days after baby arrives!! Doubt very much I'll be awake enough to defrost frozen goodness had I room to freeze it anyway!!!

My mum's lovely coconut wafer recipee

Well, having made lots of biscuits and the like in the last few weeks, I wanted to post my current favourite recipee! This recipee came from my mum, and I remember her making these when I was a kid!

Coconut wafers:
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
2 tblsp golden syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
4oz plain flour
2oz dessicated coconut
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the syrup. Add lemon juice, sifted flour and coconut. Drop the dough in teaspoons onto a greased baking tray. Bake below the centre of the oven, gas mark 4 (180c) for about 12 mins. The spread lots!! Allow to cool slightly on tray before lifting onto wire rack.

I have to say, the butter really does make all the difference! I didn't have quite enough today, so used good old baking marg... and it's just not the same! They are less like wafers and more like crunchy biscuits, really not as good!! These are biscuits of the they're-nearly-all-gone-when-you've-finished variety!! They are extremely moreish, but can induce feelings of nausea!!!