You know, it should be a fundamental law that toddlers should learn the cute stuff like “Mummy” and “I wub you” before they learn the word “Nah”. Of course, Li’l Bhaji wouldn’t have a clue to say the first two, but is becoming a pro at the third.

Typical conversation:

“Can I have a kiss?”
“Nah”
“Can I have a cuddle?”
“Nah”
“Can I tickle you?”
“Nah”
“Are you going to eat that lunch?”
“Nah”
“Use your spoon please, not your hands.”
“Nah”
“Do you know any other words than ‘nah’?”
“Yeah”
“Can I have the yoghurt pot now?”
“Nah” *pause* …. *blows kiss and grins cheekily*

In other news, I was really proud of myself today. I splurged on THREE books, and only one of them was parenting related (and that I got a £1 discount on because I pointed out a sticky mark on the book and asked nicely if I could have a discount – bonus was the mark wiped off with my thumb when I got home! Then promptly got ravioli over it from lunch… oh well). TWO of the books were *proper novels*.

They are: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey and Small Island by Andrea Levy. It’s been ages since I’ve read anything that couldn’t be read in about 2 hours straight, so it’s going to be a “novel” (boom boom tish) experience for me…

For those of you who are experts at throwing things together and getting something edible, this recipe will probably be a “well, duh!” one for you. If like me, though, you need to check the book for timings whenever you want to have a soft-boiled egg and are always short of ideas for quick and easy children’s lunches, this is what I came up with today…

Sticky savoury chicken rice

Ingredients

100g long grain rice
1 chicken stock cube
½ onion
15g butter or 1tbs olive oil to fry the onion
50g frozen peas
100g cooked chicken breast, minced (a quick zap in the baby blender is perfect)

Method

1. Dissolve the stock cube in ¾ pint boiling water, place in a saucepan with the rice and simmer for 10 mins. Meanwhile, gently fry the onion until softened (about 3 mins)

2. Give the rice a good stir, add in the fried onion and the frozen peas. Cook for 5 mins – the water should be getting nicely absorbed now, so will probably need the occasional stir to stop it sticking on the bottom.

3. Turn off the heat and stir in the minced cooked chicken really well. Should make a nice sticky mixture!

Serves: 1 adult & 2 small children.

Well, I finally got off my arse and donated blood for the first time today. Previously been unable to due to either being under their minimum weight or by being pregnant. Almost chickened out at the last moment, but I’m glad I went – if only because I now have the perfect excuse to be smug and eat lots of chocolate (I have to recoup my strength, you see… honest).

There was a bit of an iffy moment though when the lady was unsure she could find a decent vein and called out for a second opinion … *gulp*. Wasn’t as bad as I’d hyped it up in my mind though, so as long as I’m still within guidelines, I’ll probably go back in 4-5 months time. I’m anybody’s for a nice cup of tea and an orange club…

National Geographic WildCam Africa. It’s a webcam based around Pete’s Pond in Botswana. Highly addictive, I’m currently watching a small herd of elephants having an afternoon bathe…