Holiday food ideas

We tend to eat a lot more junk food over holidays as our sense of maintaining a balance during meal preparation tends to take a backseat. This holiday we had more homemade goodies than takeaway food.  I decided to prepare easy (the kids could pitch in and help) but nutritious meals. It wasn't all bland boring stuff, it included a number of sweet treats as well.

Homemade pizza is always a winner and affords you an opportunity to clean-up the fridge.

Pizza a la bambine

Cinnamon buns easy and delicious, perfect for afternoon tea in the early autumn.

The easiest cinnamon buns ever!

Traditional South African chicken stew, prepared in a slow cooker,with 'dombolo' (steamed bread) and vegetables.

'Dombolo' (Steamed bread)

Chicken stew

Pancakes made by eldest, a definite favourite rolled with cinnamon sugar and sprinkled with golden syrup.

Pure decadence!

Oatmeal and banana biscuits, mixed with a handful of raisins and chunks of chocolate, prepared by my 5 year old.

Oatmeal biscuits

Decadent brownies, made by my son. He was too delighted to be finally baking all by himself.

Chocolate oozing from the brownies

Puff pastry wheels with bacon and cheese. Yummy!

'Bollas' a Cape Malay sweet delight. Deep fried, dipped in syrup and rolled in coconut.

Cape Malay sweet treat

Banana pancakes, easy delicious and healthy.

Banana goodness

I have to admit that the best quality time we spent, was during mealtime! Some of us are a few centimeters wider and others a bit more active, as a result of all the sugary goodness, but it was all worth it! 

Share your favourite holiday treats!

The woman in the mirror

I always review my progress, as a parent, on a quarterly basis and I must say I sucked the past four months. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT about to belittle myself, it is my assessment of what went wrong!

I am proud of being a single mom of three, pulling a full time teaching position, entrepreneur, parent representative of a school governing body and aunt,those are the relationships and areas that require the most from me and lately there just hasn't been enough of me to go around. My forty-something year old self just needs an additional 12 hours added to my day in order to be a better version of my fabulous real self!

I love my kids dearly and am fiercely protective of them, but my overtired self has really made it painfully impossible to express that. So how bad has been, you might wonder.

As bad as:

• Snapping at my already children
• Bad mouthing their dad for not pitching to pick them up
• Threatening to have the dogs impounded
• Screaming and shouting 24/7
• Slacking on preparing good nutritious meals

The worst is that I really just want to forget about being late for work again and drop happy kids off at school, and drive off to my mornings only job and be there waiting when school dismisses. My desire to be more available for my children is destroying the results of what I am already doing! Now, that is 'mommy bashing' par excellence!

How do I convince myself that whatever I am doing right now is my best, without comparing myself to any other mother- single, married, co-parenting, SAHM or all other forms of mothering?

I shall acknowledge that :

• I am doing the job of two parents
• I step up to the plate when required
• I am a woman and mother of substance
• Without my efforts my children's world would be poorer 
• I am doing my best, albeit imperfectly

I long to pledge to myself that I will no longer aspire to be a perfect mother, because she is the figment of my and many others' imagination. She does not exist and demonizing of self, is not going to improve my performance as much as loving myself and acknowledging my works-as good- can potentially do.

I will from now on, aspire to:

• Hug instead of snap!
• Laugh rather than frown!
• Sing instead of shout!
• Pray before complaining!
• Dance in the eye of the storm!

The woman in my mirror deserves love, my support, my compassion, and to be acknowledged by me as a QUEEN!






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Peace for life

The thought of peace for my birthday was born from whispering a prayer, "during a tired but can't sleep rendezvous" ; two days before my 43rd birthday.

I prayed for peace about
* choices and decisions I made in the past, am making in the present and will make in the future
* Raising my kids
* My health
* My future
* My children's future
* My dreams
* My finances
* My family
* Growing older
* The woman I am and own
* My relationships
* My earthly and spiritual journey
* My destiny
* Everything that broke my heart
* The dreams and desires I never verbalised and might never fulfill
* The times I could not gather my pieces after falling
* The times I gave up prematurely
* The times I held on too long
* I did not like or love myself
* The times I was more merciless than my worst critics
* The times I didn't celebrate myself
* For not listening to the Holy Spirit guiding me
* For allowing envy and jealousy take a hold of my heart
* Rejecting good people to please fake ones
* Allowing fear of failure to paralyse me

The time is right and ripe to love ME with all my perfect imperfections.