So non-nursery days, thanks to my somewhat barmy decision to give up full time work last year, are the days I am in sole charge of a small child. A small child who I lovingly refer to as “the gremlin” – owing to the fact that this beautiful bundle of joy and loveliness that I thank the stars for every day, if not fed, watered and napped at very specific and stringent times of the day unravels into a ball of god-fearing chaos, epic tantrums, and meltdowns that would rival Naomi Campbell. (N.B. This behaviour may also manifest itself in an all-the-live-long-day whinge that is deliberately produced at just the right decibel and pitch to reverberate through its victim like a pneumatic drill performing a root canal).
So although happy to not have the early morning mad rush involving asking a million times to brush teeth before forcibly shoving toothbrush in mouth, frantically zipping up unwilling zip on duffel coat, cramming heels into velcro-strapped Clarks shoes, and sprinting out the door faster than you can say Usein Bolt to deliver said bundle of joy to his other victims, I do embark on mummy daycare with an air of somewhat trepidation.
As long as I have the day planned out we’re golden. Parents & Toddler groups or classes, swimming lessons, trips to the park or grandparents’ house, play dates, or soft play lunches where Theo launches himself at dribbled-on, weathered-down foam shapes whilst Mummy savours a few minutes of peace to herself to enjoy cake and some form of caffeine-jacked hot liquid. Beautiful.
Oh but getting to the purpose of this blog, so this particular day we’re screwed. Some foolish twit, ahem beloved husband of mine, ordered a delivery for today, so we are shackled to the house. For the whole day. Why in the name of all that is holy can’t these people just assign a time? Do they think our short-lived existence on this planet should consist of days where we just sit about and do nothing all day twiddling our thumbs? And more importantly have they never shared living space with a toddler or small child? The day was unquestionably hellish. Anyone who has a small boy, or just a child with a shed load of energy, will understand they should not be contained in a confined space for more than a few hours otherwise boredom will arise and gremlin-like behaviour may once again rear its ugly head, just to the point where Mummy’s patience has worn so thin it may as well spontaneously combust into flames.
So what to do on days like this, on rainy days, or when it’s too cold to chuck them in the garden and after you have watched Paw Patrol or Blaze and The Monster Machine until your eyes bleed. One key tip is keep them occupied and turn to random activities in the house. These may involve one or a mixture of the below;
1)Hide and seek (bear in mind small children are actually incapable of hiding well but play along as this may well give you enough time to have a cup of tea)
2)Puzzles (when they try to jam a jutty-outy bit into another jutty-outy bit for the umpteenth time, please take a deep breath, leave them to it, have a cup of tea)
3)Drawing (again keep in mind small children are unable to keep within lines, so more deep breaths needed when they decimate your beautiful carefully-coloured-in version of generic squiggly black lines)
4)Build a massive den for them to hide in or decorate a box and stick them in it (leave them there as long as is possible and humane, get some chores done, haha chores…ok maybe just have a cup of tea 😉 )
5)And lastly, try your hand at a bit of baking.
Ok, so side note, I can’t actually bake that well. Well I give it a whirl but the results can vary as I seem to lack the skills and patience required for baking. Plus the kitchen ends up looking like a scene of utter devastation, like the aftermath of Predator v Terminator, only more like Mary Berry v Tazmanian Devil. But here’s the thing with small children, they do so love to help out and even if you do get stressed out and flappy (my two specialities), they are out of mischief and eager in anticipation of a sweet culinary sub-standard baked good at the end of it. And if they don’t get involved, at least it gives you something to do whilst they expend all their energy tearing up the place around you.
So without further ado, here are some recipes (from various different sources) that are healthy, not too complicated and that kids love, thought I’d share them with you. If you have any to add to the mix please use the comment box below and I will happily keep adding to the blog. 🙂
So there you have it. Everyone’s a winner. Happy Baking all!
Peace out x
