Life under a Pepper Tree

It's been another crazy week. Last weekend I had one of those moments of horror when I realised how old I'm getting! I had a birthday and I can honestly say I did not enjoy it one bit.  I felt old, tired and cranky. The one birthday present I told my hubby I wanted, I did not get. I know that sounds childish and self centred, but I promise it's not as bad as it seems! I really wanted a sleep in! That's all. Just to have uninterrupted sleep until say 8am... at least. Nope. Dylan woke up about 6:30am and as usual hubby somehow did not hear him until we had been up for a good 30 mins, bottle was done and we were ready to have some cuddles and a play. Grrr! The only positive that came out of the day was a lovely lunch with my family. Dylan wasn't very well behaved which made it a little stressful in the restaurant, but as it was his first major outing in his stroller I'm not surprised he didn't fall asleep. Another suggestion for a birthday gift I gave to my h

It's official! I can now tick off one momentous achievement in my life (and my little cooking challenge!). I made macarons! Yep macarons! Ok so maybe I cheated... A little... They might have been the packet variety produced for Adriano Zumbo. But they were still macarons! And I made them! Jumping for joy!! And for the negative side... They were a bit of a flop. Nothing like the delightful airy soft crispy shell macarons like I've tasted before, but not a complete disaster either. They didn't rise enough, so they didn't have what's called 'feet', (that's macaron speak for those not in the know!). They were also a bit grainy looking, so either over mixed... Or under mixed... I'm not sure which! And some were a bit wonky, not the perfect circles I'd hoped for. But they still tasted pretty darn good. My hubby went back for seconds... And thirds... And fourths!  They were the salted caramel flavour ones and I sure did enjoy them, although I'm not

Well, where do I start? So much has been happening that I haven't had time to note any of it down. From solids for Dylan, to the VW show, to the Baby expo, and bargain buys! One lovely little gift I received recently continues to amuse each time I see it. I was given a gorgeous Bed Toppings 'Sleep tips' sheet for Dylan's cot. It's a fitted sheet decorated with a set of written 'instructions' for little ones to assist them in sleeping. It just amuses me each time I put Dylan down for a nap.  Back on Sunday the 19th, one day shy of Dylan turning 5 months old, we gave him his first solids. I was nervous about making his rice cereal. Would I mix it with breast milk? Or formula? How much milk to use? How many scoops of cereal? How hot do I make it? What if its too runny? Or too thick? I managed to get it just right and Dylan was remarkably accepting of this foreign matter in his mouth! He kept opening his mouth as the spoon approached and I kept on sh