Random stuff from a long break

So much has been going on and didn't feel like writing; renovation in the bed-rooms, living-room crammed with stuff, lots of after school hobbies for Andrei (if it's Monday it's music, if It's Tuesday it's kokki-kerho and kotava-kerho, if it's Friday it's art school and if it's Saturday it's swimming school), trying to keep balance with Andrei's school work, after school activities, my own work, renovation, the shop and keeping the house afloat.

Recently rediscovered the joys of music and it's help with concentrating on boring tasks (have been listening obsessively to Pink Floyd).

Both kids get more and more interested in clothes and I'm happy about it (shouldn't I be?). Ana wants to wear dresses now so this moment I've been half looking forward to has arrived. She has been wearing almost only hand-me-downs from three boys, but it seems this is going to change now. I've bought 3 new dresses for her this week (it's sale's season that's how I could).
She is getting lovelier every day, growing and learning and being simply adorable (when she doesn't have tantrums that is). Andrei is on his way of being a teenager soon. He is into cool clothes (but still believes in Santa) and I try to remember to give him a break. Not to tell him all the time what to do and how to do it. Let him make his choices and learn from his mistakes. But it's so hard...

As I was saying:



Covrigi (pretzels).

1 egg
100-115 g softened butter
300 ml warm milk
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
600 g flour
7 g dry yeast

1 egg and sesame seeds for topping

The process was the same as for the other pretzels.

It's been a hard day's night...

Mornings are hard for this little one. Still they go surprisingly smoothly. We have settled into a routine. I wake-up at 6, shower and pick-up things, or iron or something like that for half an hour, then put breakfast on the table and wake them up. They don't protest too much nowadays. Then they eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed and off we go to catch the bus.

Maybe I should try harder to get into a routine in the evenings too, and an earlier bed time. Then, I won't have to take pictures like this again.

Covrigi

Made a dozen of these yesterday evening hoping to have a madeleine moment with the first bite. I didn't, so it was a little disappointing. They taste nothing like the pretzels (or is it cracknels) at home which are baked in big brick ovens, but all in all they were quite satisfying (all gone by now).

(Ingredients: one egg, 100ml lukewarm water, 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 250-270 g flour. No yeast.

Put everything in the bread machine on the dough program, make the pretzels and deep them in salty boiling water for 1,2 minutes, drain and bake in the oven on 225°C until golden brown).

Next I'll try another recipe with more eggs, milk, butter and yeast. Yummy!
Cause I wanna be a pretzel maker when I grow-up.

A good evening

Manage tantrum of 3 year old in the shop. Checked.

Make house for Hello Kitty out of a shoebox. Checked.

Get Andrei to read out loud in finnish to earn his TV time. Checked.

Let the kids watch Franklin for 25 minutes. Checked.

Bath kids and put them to bed. Checked.

Cook chicken soup and green haricot beans with chicken. Checked

Also being frugal in the kitchen: cook two meals out of one pack of chicken legs; clean, chop and freeze one kilo of carrots half rotten and growing roots. Checked.

Slit open my forefinger while chopping carrots a la Jamie. Checked.

1,2 and 3

This little girl is getting sweeter by the day. Mind you, she is as stubborn as ever, but three is a great age when it comes to playing. She can play by herself for hours. She has a plan and carries it on. And it can be quite elaborate. Here she is playing in her favorite spot on the one square meter of free floor right at the entrance in the kitchen:


In case you are wondering why all the animals are lined up while the farmer is in the pen, take a closer look:


Here we have a birthday party: the farmer is the birthday girl, the animals are the children invited to the party, the bale of hay is the birthday cake with candles and everything. And she sang "Happy birthday to you" for the birthday girl.

In the corner of the first photo you can see the head of one of her babies. She's got three of them. I told her I'm jealous I only have two. She is a fussy mama, dressing and undressing the babies, kissing their booboos, diapering them and most of all reading to them when they go to sleep. She is in love with Peppi Longstockings (books and movie) and I'm in love with Lauren Child's illustrations of Pippi.



"Ana, what are the names of your babies?"
"They are called: One, Two and Three"

Weekending...

We've had a lovely weekend. Andrei has slept for 14 hours, from 6 p.m. on Saturday until 8 a.m. on Sunday. We had pancakes for breakfast:



We've made up a new reading nook:



Took decadent bubble baths in the afternoon:




And played, played and played:



As for today, I made Ham and potato creamy soup. Delicious and very filling with cheese and karelian pie: