Those infamous words: let's make a gingerbread house

We are totally addicted to Masterchef in this house - a TV cooking show where the contestants are pushed to the limits of endurance, before having their dishes picked apart by the odd couple of Michel Roux Jr, and Fat-Boy-who-the-fuck-is-he-anyway-Greg-Wallace.

But I always say, that to really test them they should chuck in one kid having a tantrum, another trying to "help'", a pig sty kitchen, a third child destroying everything they do and then see how much they can cook!

So today I took that challenge upon myself. Yup. Nutter!

In reality when you utter those infamous words "let's build a gingerbread house" you start out with fantasies of creating something like this...

From christmaswarmth.tumblr.com on my Pinterest board Creating Christmas

If I were a cruel "perfect life" blogger I'd show you a cutesy finished picture, which you would promptly pin on Pinterest and go away hating me. But I'm not, so instead I shall regale you with the reality behind a "happy family time" making a real gingerbread house, in order to reassure you of my enduring lunacy, and why NOT making Christmas memories together is the sane loving thing to do!!

It all started with a 4 year old who came home from school and tantrumed long and hard. Hot on the heels of a 2 year old tantrum. The 4 year old ordered a chocolate bar, the fire put out, hit her sister, the sitting room to herself to watch TV, her shoes put back on (after having kicked over her sister's bowl of mushroom soup). He brother went and started banging his head on the door in anger and frustration, having spent the past hour lighting the fire. And also because it meant we couldn't make candles over the fire like I'd promised.

So I uttered those infamous words: let's make a gingerbread house. We've made one every year four the past four years. They are always a festive and semi fun way to destroy the house and achieve multiple arguments.

So we started. Me and the boy. It wasn't long before middle child smelt fun she was missing out on and abandoned CBeebies. Cue fight over whether or not she deserved to join in and forced apologies for having been a little so-and-so.

Carols on. CD 3 is lame ass. Change to CD 1. Much better.

Rolling out one part gingerbread with one part glitter from earlier "Christmas card making session". Can't find the rolling pin, so we use the cling film roll!

Guesstimate the house parts. Bake. Make caramel. Don't burn it. Assemble house - snapping off the bits that don't fit. It doesn't collapse like usual. Very chuffed. Haven't even burnt myself!!!

I start to get cocky and make a sugar work cage of spun sugar. Michel Roux Jr would be proud. Burn my finger on the last drop of caramel. Fuck it.

Girls come racing past for the second time. It is then that I realise that the youngest is chucking Hobnob biscuits out of the packet at her older sister whilst chasing her round the house. Her older sister was retaliating with a pot of blue glitter. I kid you not. And the cleaner was here only 24 hours ago.

Mama roars.

Boy makes icing. Littlest girl adds way to much water. We do a fine job of decorating it together. No one dies. Look at our handy work!

And look at the fucking mess!

Now I have to cook dinner!

For inspiration on Christmas crafting with friends and family, see my popular post from last year: Craft-Tea Christmas celebrations.

Pin-tastic creative ideas

Welcome to the July 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Creations
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared crafts, recipes, and philosophies of creativity. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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My rule of thumb is this: whatever makes my creative fires burn normally works for my kids too. 


I have a number of deeply thought out philosophical theories as to why this might be but it all boils down to this highly complex equation:

Mama doing something she is interested in = Happy mama

Happy mama = happy kids

Kids not under pressure to do or perform = happy kids

Happy kids = happy mama

And so, as I have recently become totally obsessed with Pinterest, this is what is (P)inspiring us all at the moment in the Pink House.

OK, a couple of asides: 

1) Yes I know that’s so January 2012, but I’m a bit slow on the uptake, OK?! 

2) For those of you who don’t know Pinterest from your elbow - where have you been living these past 9 months? Sorry, Pinterest is both a form of social media and a way of collecting and organising images onto online pinboards. Each pinned image is linked directly to the site it was taken from – so you are also collecting a bunch of great resources as well as pretty pictures.

Now, I am not, I might add, at all interested in creating cut out images of the 50 US states, carving a watermelon dragon or contouring my face like a celebrity

 

But if you are – then now you know where you can find them!!

No, I use Pinterest in two ways: as a resource gatherer for recipes and crafts - I have a great board of crafts for each season now.

And as an inspiration gatherer for my art and creativity. Check out my boards here on: cherry blossom, Street art, rainbow therapy for hungry souls, mandalas, red tents…

So I get all inspired collecting these pins. And then the kids like to whizz through them on my i-pad, in the hyper speed way that only kids can.  And when they find one they love, out goes the cry, “Let’s try this mummy”...

So far we have made a zebra cake, once with homemade cake batter – delicious but failed on the stripe-contrast front. And once with bought cake batter – grand taste, looked the business.

This is what it SHOULD look like 

And this was ours!

We have made summer punch for mama’s birthday. 

And next on our list to while away the long days of the summer holidays are...

some rather cool science experiments 

 

and zany looking citrus slices

And tiny tom ladybirds too!

And home made puffy paint 

A cute fairy garden

Perhaps a tee-pee

And guess which 7 year old lego mad boy is going to be getting this cake made for him in August?! 

Do follow along if you like what I collect. Happy Pinning! (As they say in Pin-land!!)

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Garden Soup — Bailey finds a way to help momma Katy (from Muse of a Daffodil) in the garden.
• This One Time, I Tried To Make a Car — Ashley at Domestic Chaos tries once again to make something crafty from stuff around the house.
• Pin-tastic creative ideas — Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares how Pinterest is inspiring creativity in her family this summer.
• Baby Hiccups In The Womb — Alinka at Baby Web shares one of the ways she bonds with her unborn baby.
• Turtle Mosaics — Lyndsay at ourfeminist{play}school and her little family spend a quiet hour making a turtle mosaic inspired by the work of Melanie Mikecz.
• Edible Art Plus 8 Art Supply Recipes — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares some natural, chemical-free art supply alternatives, which are gauranteed to be tons of fun for children of all ages. They taste great too!
• A surprise art lesson — Tat at Mum in search has been taking art lessons from her 5-year-old son.
• Memory Creation — Laura from Pug in the Kitchen talks about how her family aims to create as many memories as they can as a family.
• A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words — Melissa at Momma Beer tries to replace cars with crafts.
• My Creative Family: Sometimes Messy, Always Fun — Emily at S.A.H.M i AM embraces the messes that sometimes accompany creative play but admits you don't always have to get dirty to have fun.
• Fun Family Learning: Constellation Cave Tutorial — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter gives step-by-step instructions for building a fun new twist on a cardboard box playhouse.
• Cooking... Kind Of — ANonyMous at Radical Ramblings makes pizza with her daughter, hoping to inspire a love of cooking and encourage a bigger interest in food. As well as making mess and having lots of fun, of course!
• Crockpot Refried Beans — That Mama Gretchen's family loves to experiment with new recipes, and today she's sharing a kitchen success!
• Creating Memories — Andrea at Tales of Goodness reflects on how the best creations can emerge from just letting kids be kids.
• Making Beautiful Things ... And Sometimes Just Average-Looking Ones — Tamara at Tea for Three looks for ways to add more craft and creativity into every day family life.
• Making Fruit Leather Together — When Amy Willa at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work took some time to involve her children in the process of finally trying a fruit leather recipe stored on her Pinterest food board, she got more than just a scrumptious homemade snack as a result!
• Making Glasses from Children's Art — Mandy at Living Peacefuly with Children used her children's artwork to make some very special glasses for her husband for Father's Day.
• Preparing Family Meals Together — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares how she started the tradition of creating meals together with her children, which makes family gatherings more fun.
• It's a trap! — Lauren at Hobo Mama shares the innovative snares her son and husband have set for her.
• How To Make The Most Of A Very Wet Summer — Luschka at Diary of a First Child shows us the first few weeks of the Summer Camp At Home project for keeping boredom at bay.
• Creating with... well, what do we have? — If necessity is the mother of invention, Momma Jorje thinks perhaps boredom is (or at least can be) the mother of creativity. In a pinch, she got creative with a household item to entertain herself and her toddler.
• Creating Joy! Felt Counting Fish and other Fun — Terri at Child of the Nature Isle started creating Felt Counting Fish and then fell down the rabbit hole of fun with a number of other games.
• I Am Going! (A Code Name: Mama Homemade Theater Production of Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie book) — This might be the finest example of child and baby acting ever recorded. Enjoy this Mo Willems treasure via video from Dionna at Code Name: Mama.
• DIY Summer Sleep Sack for Baby Tutorial — Shannon at GrowingSlower made an organic summer sleep sack for baby, and you can too with her easy tutorial.
• Chalk It Up! — Amy at Anktangle recounts how an impulse buy has turned into a fun collaborative activity that she hopes will continue to foster creativity in the whole family.
• The Family Garden — Excited that her son has been a big help in the garden this year, Ana at Pandamoly shares how her garden grows and offers up some secrets on how a toddler can be a great assistant in the garden.
• Getting my craft on — In a guest post at Natural Parents Network, Jona at Life, Intertwined takes a trip down memory lane — and finds it in stitches.
• Easy DIY Sandpit for Toddler Play — Christine at African Babies Don't Cry shares her easy DIY toddler sandpit tutorial.
• Building Without Nails — Laura at Laura's Blog builds a swinging bar using just sticks and twine.
• Family Talent Show — Erika at Cinco de Mommy holds an after-dinner family talent show.
• Ar matey! Fun and Learning with Pirate Play. — Positive Parenting Connection is sharing lots of really fun Pirate-themed learning activities for the whole family.

Layer Cake

Life for me as a mother is like a layer cake: I just can't jam it all in my mouth in one go. I can't savour its wholeness, the harmony of its completeness, the careful balance of the textures and flavours. I get all of one, and then all of another. I love it, I hate it. I want it forever, I can't bear another second...

I taste the tartness of tantrums, tiredness and despair at my lot. Red and raw as raspberry jam, the pips get stuck in my gums.

The rich oozing chocolate love of adoration hits me another moment. They are edibly good, my little cherubs. I shower them with kisses and thank the heavens for all my blessings.

And then there's lots of boring sponge - laundry, washing up, nagging them to get dressed, and brush their teeth, and lie down and go to sleep and don't hit your sister say sorry andwhatdoyouwantinyoursandwichtoday?

And then there's the smarties on top that you want to pick off and pop in your mouth, all at the same time - baby curls and toddler kisses and flowers picked from the garden just for you

And more fucking sponge. Who the hell likes sponge any way? Tidy the toys, sweep the floor, nag over homework, where's your shoes, Idon'tknowanddon'tcareifthereareanymatchingsocksrightnow- we're late- again!!!!!

And some bitter coffee gucky stuff- who makes these bloody cakes anyway? I don't like coffee icing, didn't order coffee icing, you can take these kids and give them to someone who cares because right now I am SO done with being a mother - oh sorry, coffee icicng, yes, yuck!

Oh more sponge cake, my favourite!

And light fluffy vanilla icing - whipped like the white clouds that float lazily over the summer beach where we lay on our backs and listen to the timeless chatter of children's voices as they build castles in the sand, and solve the world's travel problems by aiming at Australia, straight through the centre of the earth. Those moments when time goes slow, and you have no timetable but your own, and you pinch yourself because these beautiful golden creatures are actually yours.

That. That is parenthood. In cake form.

Only at Dreaming Aloud!

Royal-tea Party

So today was the day when my British passport holding half of my split personality got to wave its Union Jack in mock delight. The Pink House hosted a very, very tongue in cheek Royal Wedding party, a royal-tea party... geddit?!

The Queen of Puddings started baking early, thanks to her two little girl alarm clocks...
Cupcakes were on the menu...

Union Jack cakes

And red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese icing

Chintzy china was laid on a white table cloth (for that read sheet!), bunting was strung, and pink, white and blue balloons inflated.

Glad rags were put on. 

And lots of girly bling was sported by the assembled (and anonymous!!) throng!

Wedding hats were created

And Earl grey tea was brewed most delicately.

Let the festivities begin!

The ceremony was watched at top volume, with great critiquing of fashion...

Hymns were sung along with... and God Save the Queen - with irony of course... and with the windows well closed, so that we weren't stoned!
Then time for a picnic lunch in the sunshine...
With English sandwiches galore, cucumber, ham, smoked salmon and chicken liver pate. and the first of this season's strawberries.
Washed down with home made lemonade... and pink champagne...
And lots more cake!
God save the Queen ;))

A Cherry Blossom Picnic

Having lived in Japan, we fell in love with their spring tradition of o-hanami, a spring picnic under the cherry blossoms (sakura). In late March and early April, in parks, gardens and along river banks around Kyoto, famed for its cherry blossom, you would find o-hanami in full swing. Grandparents and grandchildren. Mums and dads. Lovers. Lots of students. Many in traditional kimonos. All out to celebrate the season's snow-petal beauty with mochi (rice cakes), plum wine, rice balls...

Happy days

Another sunshine day...

Children playing in a room full of patchwork quilts...

There is a gorgeous exhibition at the Grain Store where our playgroup is.

Washing on the line...

Spring flowers nodding in the sun...

A walk in the Cookery School gardens...

A picnic on the lawns...

Random acts of beauty whilst waiting at the school gates...

And another on the way home...

A dandelion sun...

(We made it on a big patch of living dandelions on the communal grass area in our housing estate)

Home again...

Watercolour painting in the sunshine...

A pot of chilli bubbling on the hob

Luscious lemon squares baking in the oven...

And eaten in a flash - more yellow to fill our souls.

Happy days.

And for the sake of balance...
We were up VERY early, the kids are waking when it gets light...and the baby had woken multiple, multiple times in the night.
I yelled at my daughter cos she wouldn't keep her shoes on, and so she whinged walking bare foot over the stones to playgroup, where she clung to my skirt driving me mad. And she slammed the baby onto the ground and lay on top of her whilst she screamed. The baby whinged the whole time I was hanging the washing. And I'm going to have to cook something else for number two's supper cos she won't eat chilli. And the kids spend their whole time calling each other "stupid, stinky idiot", and they're now watching TV... So it's not perfect, we're not perfect. This is cherry picking the good, the wonderful good of which our life is full, though there are plenty of stinky bits thrown in to chomp on. But let's celebrate - all is well in my world!

Something for the weekend

Banana Loaf Cake

From my cookery blog, The Queen of Puddings

A homely cake which fills the house with a wonderful cakey fug which seductively lets everyone who enters know that you are truly a domestic goddess. A crisp crust and moist springy sponge. Kids love it. And the adults do too! It's perfect for using up those deep brown spotted bananas that populate the fruit bowl.

Wordless Wednesday

Except it's lots of words...and it's not quite Wednesday!!

A five-year-old's recipe...

Wee and 

Some Poo

And some brown sugar

Whisk

Peanut Butter

Butter

Don't stink!

Written all by himself on freezer labels and stuck on the fridge, whilst I was cooking Peanut Butter Blondies with his sister (yuck he said, and refused to help, until he tried them! - See MY recipe for them on Queen of Puddings blog. They are most definitely NOT yuck!)

Mindful consumption

Is sugar a drug?


There are those who would have you believe that it is as dangerous as crack cocaine. I have seen vitriolic online debates where people refer to it as a poison, and that they would rather feed rat poison to their child than sugar. I am sceptical. But I also know how powerful it is. I eat, we in this family, eat far more sugar than we need or is good for us. And when we're sick it seems to be the only thing we're capable of eating.

Craft-Tea Christmas Celebrations

Welcome to the December Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let's Talk Traditions
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama.

Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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We love Christmas in our house. And for me it has to be a home-made Christmas. 

The excitement is two-fold: the craft element of making and decorating, and then the food aspect of stocking up and then feasting on special seasonal treats. I start to get excited about Christmas in September, so by the beginning of December I feel entitled to go all out in celebration. After all I have been waiting so long for it!