Random thoughts

Another relaxing morning at the botanic gardens.

I finally got round to putting Brynn under his play gym, up until now he's mainly been asleep or feeding. He seems to love it, and Cassie the beagle is looking on with great interest.

There are lengthy queues to get into the hospital, I've never seen anything like it. This morning I arrived bright and early at the ICA only to discover that I had forgotten the one vital piece of paper that I needed to extend Brynn's visa that expires today. Half an hour later Leny arrived in the cab bearing said piece of paper. I am fed up with living in a country in which I have no rights. Every time it comes to visa renewals, I am rudely reminded of this. Currently Brynn is on a two month social visit pass, if his dependents pass doesn't come through in time, then we'll have to leave the country and reenter to keep him legal - just ridiculous! Rant over.

Brynn is amazing. He is already sleeping 11 hours at night! Such a different experience from my other two. Here's some early morning cuddles, the girls were singing him a lullaby, so sweet.

I wanted some raisin buns for the girls after school snack, but the ones in the supermarket looked stale and heavy (not to mention full of ingredients I don't like the look of). So I decided to make my own with the help of Tasha. They were ok,next time I'll trt to make them a little lighter. Recipe for raisin buns from Cook and Enjoy 4 cups bread flour 300ml warm water 1 packet yeast 2 T sugar or honey 1 T oil 150g raisins and/or cranberries For glaze 1 egg lightly beaten with a little water Method Mix together dry ingredients (apart from raisins) . Add in wet ingredients while stirring. Knead for 8-10 minutes either by hand or in stand mixer with dough hook. Allow to rise 30 - 40 minutes . Knead in raisins and/or cranberries Shape into small balls, place a few cm apart on greased baking sheet Allow to rise another 30 - 40 minutes. Brush with egg mixture Bake for 10 - 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius until they sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire racks

I'm heading outside, can you tell?

The haze has now reached hazardous levels, I have aircon on in all bedrooms. Haven't left the house since 1pm. This sucks, maybe it's time to leave Singapore, I can't sleep because my eyes are stinging and my throat is burning. Sumatra and the greed for palm oil money has a lot to answer for. I'm seriously craving some fresh air now, the burning smell and haze has been with us since Friday, just nasty.

This photo taken shortly after a chant of "I'm not tired, I don't want to go to sleep...". A trip to the zoo always results in zonked kids. It was lovely to see Inuka the polar bear back on display.

It seems worse than usual. The whole island smells like a bonfire. Sumatra is burning trees again, much to the detriment of the quality of life in Singapore (and Malaysia I understand). In the city the buildings are a blur, my head aches, my eyes are itchy, Tasha is coughing like a smoker and the baby is grouchy. I can't wait for some decent tropical rain to come and wash it away. Goodness knows what it's doing to our lungs.

TVs , dvd players, cameras... Anything electronic just does not last long in this humidity. The TV (only 5 years old) has just died mid movie (Goldeneye). The dvd player is on the blink. My CD player died this week. Not a good week for electronics in this household! For people who look after stuff and expect it to last, it's pretty frustrating. I guess we're going to be an entertainment-system-free household until we find replacements.

We love this little tea set that Pippa handpainted, it's given the girls many hours of tea party joy.

The frustration of insomnia is hard to describe, but very familiar to those who suffer. I am grateful that my insomnia is restricted to pregnancy and the first few months of having a baby. Tonight is one of those nights. Brynn woke at 2am, fed, then went back to sleep at 2.10am. It's now almost 3am and I'm still awake, so wide awake that I have resorted to the phone for company. I think I need to find some sleep strategies, otherwise I'll be exhausted in the morning. Any tips for overcoming insomnia? Feel free to comment.

At the science centre today. We went to see the bugs exhibition which was a bit of a ripoff. What Tasha really loves is this mechanical gravitram. We've spent ages here so far and are showing no signs of moving. She also loved the plate spinning. I love the school holidays, shame that the girls' holidays don't overlap!

Tasha and I got busy cooking again at lunchtime yesterday. Chicken balls 250g Minced chicken 1 Grated pear 50 Breadcrumbs Chopped mint Pinch of dried thyme leaves Pinch of dried oregano Mix together, form into walnut sized balls, then fry. They were delicious, definitely to be repeated.

I've always wanted a herb garden and have had several attempts at cultivating one. Here's my latest attempt. I'm planning to add basil and oregano to the mix soon. The heat here and torrential rain has seen off all previous attempts. I'm hoping the kids/dog aren't the ruin of this one. I have high hopes, what can I say? I'm an optimist.

Thanks Auntie Laura for the thoughtful gifts that arrived today. I love them. Can't wait to show Paul the scrabble artwork.

Having not cooked with beetroot for about a decade, it seems that I've made it vegetable of the month. I'd planned to make Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall beetroot soup, but I will save that for a cooler season (ha ha, somewhat meaningless here in Singapore). So, instead I decided to use the beautiful beetroots to make this salad. Roast beetroot salad Serves 4ish 1-2kg beetroot, stems trimmed and sliced into wedges 1 small orange, zested and juiced 2 T balsamic vinegar 5 T extra virgin olive oil 1 t honey 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 T chopped fresh mint 150g feta crumbled 50g toasted walnuts 25g pumpkin seeds Heat oven to 220 degrees C Place beetroot wedges in roasting tin with orange zest, 2 T olive oil, 1 T vinegar, 2 T orange juice and some S&P. Toss together well, cover tin tightly with foil. Roast for 60 mins until just tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Mix the remaining vinegar with the honey then add olive oil, a bit more orange juice, crushed

Maybe I should take up homeschooling. The girls love practicing their letters together.

In an attempt to get Tasha into cooking something other than cakes and cookies, we tried out an old recipe I had for salmon fishcakes. They turned out well, we ate them with a simple salad. Salmon fishcakes 400g tinned salmon, drained 400g sweet potato, mashed 1 small onion, chopped small Salt and pepper 2 cloves garlic, crushed Cook (about 20 minutes boiling) and mash sweet potatoes Mix all ingredients together Make patties Fry in olive oil

The Evanietta, as named by our good friends the Jelberts. Paul has been perfecting these pizzas cooked on the gas bbq for the past two years. They are now a firm favourite with the family and a fair few of our friends. Compliments have included "The best pizza in Singapore " " The best pizza I have ever tasted" Our dough recipe is popular, here it is Thin crust Italian style pizza dough 1 packet active dry yeast   1 t sugar  1 cup warm water  2 3/4 cups all - purpose flour   1/4 cup wholewheat flour   1 t salt 1 T extra virgin olive oil    Dissolve the honey in 1/4 cup of the warm water. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 cup water. Mix until the entire mixture forms a ball. Knead by hand for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be smooth and firm. Cover the dough with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave to rise for 2 hours. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 balls. Work each ball by pulling down the side