thisiskylie

Toddler-speak

An Isabella -> English dictionary:

Daggas = Granddad

Seben = Seven

Loddipop = Lollipop

Doddy = Dolly

Staya = Australia

Poon = Spoon

Nanny tato = Mashed Potato (after Nanny made it for her a couple of times)

Mmmm = Yes

Oh yeah = Definitely yes

Cawfee shop = Take me to the cafe, now

Coffeecino = and get me a baby cino pronto

Jojo = Her little friend Jo, or also Playdoh

Gaydoh = Also playdoh

Bed = Bread

Thomas Tank = Thomas Tank Engine pasta for dinner

When I Have a Kitchen

I don't have a kitchen at the moment. Unless you call a microwave stacked on top of a bar fridge in the middle of the hall a kitchen.  I have been without a kitchen for over a month now.  Christmas was fun!  Mucho thankso to the in-laws for stepping in and hosting a fabulous Christmas at their house with - lo - freshly prepared and cooked food.

So I'm currently dreaming about the fresh goodies I'm going to prepare when my new kitchen is finally installed:

I'm drooling over these cinnamon buns, from heaven all right.

Spaghetti with Red Onions, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar.  Bella loves this dish.

Figs wrapped in Parma Ham with a shallot and dolcelatte dressing over spaghetti.  Simple yet devine (and very rich).  I'll post the recipe sometime.

Home-made pizza, from scratch.  I'd like to do this one on Saturday, and Bella can make her own little people version (probably covered in cheese and peas).

Carluccios-style Penne Giardiniera (basically deep-fried spinach & chilli balls with grated courgette/zuchini and parmesan cheese) and Pollo Milanese (crumbed chicken with sea salt).

Thai green curry with prawns, from scratch.  Our local supermarket does an excellent Thai vegetable pack, which can be blitzed and added to coconut milk for a tasty and fresh paste.

simple but tasty Chicken, Goats Cheese and Tomato Bake.

(I'm going to be adding more as I think of them...)

Daddy's Girl

One of the benefits of having a husband who is a very hands-on daddy is that he has a very close relationship with Isabella.  She is a huge Daddy's girl.  This is highlighted at bed-time, when I put her in her PJ's, give her a bottle, read her a book, and then go to brush her teeth, have a cuddle and put her into bed.  Lately, she will not allow me to cuddle or put her to bed.  She'll call out for 'Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaddyyyy' (at the top of her voice), tell me that 'Daddy hold me', and then proceed to flutter her little eyelashes at her dad while telling me 'Back, Mummy' so that I don't encrouch on her time with her dad.  Last night she even told me 'out room Mummy' and I had to promptly leave them to the sweet business of saying good night.

I don't mind, as I still get lots of time with her.  She still says 'Mummy' as soon as she wakes up; and she still comes to me if she has hurt herself, is upset or is feeling tired and needing a cuddle.

Calm Weekend

One of my most-fabulous Christmas presents was tickets to see We Will Rock You - with free babysitting included!

So this weekend, we bundled the little one over to the grandparents, checked into a posh hotel, saw an absolutely rockin show, drank a few margarita's, slept in(!), read the paper over a long, leisurely and quiet breakfast and slowly wandered around parts of London admiring the sights.  And, one of the best parts, was arriving back at the grandparents to huge hugs and chats from Bella.

I've still got the Queen anthems stuck in my head, and a smile on my face.

Happy New Year

I managed about 40 posts last year, which is a pretty poor effort.  It also means that I can't recap what I did last year, and I'm getting so old these days that I can't call on my memory. 

Anyway, new years resolution is: to put stuff that happens here.