Potato fritters

I've been quite uninspired about dinner recently. Cooking for two children is never quite the same as cooking for two adults. And I'm a little out of routine, I'm not in my own kitchen, and Esther has been a bit funny about vegetables over the last few days. But the more picky the kids get, the more determined I am to make dinner work, and I nailed it the other night. Esther seems to have got back to her usual quite-well-eating self too.

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A portrait of my children every week for a year.

Hummingbird Cake

We had a good day the other day. A good day! Reuben and Esther played together beautifully when he came home from kindy and that makes everything better. It was another hot day and I just felt like making a cake - and managed to do just that amid the peace and quiet. Actually, the quiet was interrupted just as I was about to put the cakes in the oven, by loud, crackling, heavy rain. It took me a moment to realise what the noise was, then I threw the cakes in to the oven and flew down the stairs to get the windows of the car up, the car in to the garage and the washing off the line - preferably simultaneously.

Heavenly Blackberry Pie

Blackberry Pie! Now there is something worth living for. Nana braved the heat and the thorns at a secret South Wairarapa location the other day, and brought home a container full of blackberry jewels. Oh the options! We started with homemade blackberry icecream, which was out of this world, and the next day moved on to blackberry pie. Gosh it's good. I'm suddenly ecstatic about the idea of free blackberries, and am feeling very motivated to hunt down some edible ones a little closer to home - right after I've finished eating the leftovers.

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A portrait of my children every week for a year.

Sticky Situation

Stickers are great for kids aren't they? And for parents. They're cheap to buy and they make kids' eyes light up. They're easy to pop in your bag and get out at those moments where a little distraction or entertainment is needed. There's an infinite variety and everyone can find something they like.

But what on earth does anyone actually do with them?