Wednesday 17 February 2010

Recent Notes

  • Reading Biography on AR Rahman by Kamini Mathai.Extremely hard to believe the kind of person Rahman is.I wonder are there any people left in this world with billions in their bank accounts but live with no material desires.Also the kind of environment he works in its hard to imagine that how he survives it.
  • Hosted a lavish lunch for our friends Nitin and Manu. I made Baked Matar Paneer/Sabz Paneer/Daal Makhani/Moong Daal Pakoris/Three Bean Salad/Fruit Salad/Mix Veg-Bhopali Style/Fruit Cream.It was a lunch for 6 adults/3 children and 2 babies.
  • Visited my office to meet colleagues and to have a informal chat with my manager regarding my return to work and also to get some flexible working arrangement.
  • Sorted all documentation and paper work for our residency in UK.It took us the whole of Sunday afternoon sorting bills and bank statements filing them in separate files.
  • Made Brocolli and Bottle Gourd parathas for dinner on Friday evenings.
  • Had a light hearted evening with Gaurav and Mughda on Valentines Day.Mughda prepared Rajma Curry and Paneer Sabzi along with Cucumber Raita.
  • Made Paneer Kathi Roll and Thai Spiced Mushroom Soup inspired by Nupur 's One Hot Stove.
  • Attended my first session of Physiotherapy at Holly house Hospital.I have been prescribed some pelvic floor muscles as usual to strengthen my lower stomach muscles which will ease my back pain.The physiotherapist said that my body is too mobile which is how my body is made up of. Due to my traumatic childbirth my pelvic muscles are weak and that needs to be strengthened.
  • My subscription to Love Film came to end this week. I watched some very excellent movies which i wanted to watch from a long time.I watched Amelie(French)Maria Full of Grace(Spanish)Tokyo Sonata(Japanese).I also managed to watch Invictus and Its Complicated in cinema leaving baby with Ashish.
  • Flipping through Rose Elliot 's cookbooks "Vegetarian Four Seasons" and Vegetarian Fast Food.Already tried Spicy Bean Chilli from the book so far.
  • We have finalised for a new house to be completed in July/August this year. It is a 3 bedroom detached house .. all new built.I am not so excited for the house as i love living in my current home and just love this area.But maybe as Aayush is growing up we do need a bigger house than this and then it would all fit in.I am taking my time to warm up to new house so far. I am excited but cautious as this will also slightly longer commute and also now we have to also consider dropping and picking Aayush up before and after work.
  • So despite the fact that i am not to keen to move - i am planning the new home already that how it will look and how i will decorate. We will have a modest garden to take care of and so i was thinking of planting some herbs and vegetables and definitely flowers.Off i went to my local library and issued myself some books to get a basic idea of how to start and maintain a garden.I am going through books like "First Time Gardener" By Jonathan Edwards ;"Vegetables for Small Garden" By Lynda Brown;"Harry Dodson's Practical Kitchen Garden"; and the best of all i liked "A Busy Person's Guide to the 20 Minute Garden" by Gill Page.I loved this book as this had step by step pictures on how to grow flowers and vegetables in a container.

Tuesday 2 February 2010

5 Months

  • Baby A is very much settled into a routine ( Thanks to Gina Ford).He takes his first feed of the day at 7 am.He either plays in his cot or sleeps for an hour before i prepare his bath.He enjoys his massage and bath now and smiles a lot while he is in his bath tub.After he is all dressed up i leave him on his Activity Mat to play.Since i have started Weaning him -he gets to eat Baby Rice/Fruity Porridge or Baby Rusks mashed with milk.Then he is given his second bottle of the day after that which he goes to sleep for an hour or 2 hours.His next feed his due between 2-3pm.The time after that is the most difficult one as he gets restless.Sometimes i take him out for a ride in his pram.His second meal of the day is his dinner which could be anything between Apple/Carrot/Sweet Potato/Pear puree.He takes his last bottle and sleeps at 7 pm.
  • He has been gaining weight steadily with just one blip when he lost an ounce of weight.That was because he had a Tummy Bug.He suffered from diarrhoea and his throwing up increased.But thankfully he was fine within 3-4 days.
  • The first signs of tooth are all there and i can see two white specks in his lower gum.He wants everything to be chewed on and just loves to chew my finger when he gets his hand on it.He has variety of teethers at his disposal but he loves to chew his spoon/his muslin cloth/his fingers or mine/sometimes mobile as well.
  • He giggles hard when i tickle his tummy and can laugh uncontrollably at times.He loves to move his head from side to side observing everything around him.He is an extremely attentive baby and would turn his face quickly as soon he hears any sound or voice coming from any direction in the house.

Things that kept me going....

  • I finally finished my pile of newspapers (London Evening Standard,City AM and Metro) which was pending for a very long time.I like to keep myself updated about what's happening in London therefore Ashish brings me these newspapers everyday.
  • After almost 3 years i have started visiting my local library and got myself some cookbooks such as "Jamie's Ministry of Food","Rice and Noodles by Emma Lee","50 Great Sandwiches",and Women's Weekly Great Vegetarian Food".
  • I make it a point to go out everyday with baby either to shop locally for grocery or library or for long walks.This helps me to get some fresh air and helps me to loose that extra weight.
  • Been doing loads of cooking -Idly Sambhar for Sunday afternoon lunch,Vegan Aloo Dum ( Recipe taken from Nupur 's One Hot Stove),Chocolate Cake with Ganache,Pizzas with unusual toppings like Artichokes,Black olives with pesto sauce.
  • Subscribed to Love Film and so watching movies almost everyday.. Seen so far "Mamma Mia","There will be Blood","Six Days Seven Nights","Guess Who's coming to Dinner","Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day".