Tuesday 28 June 2011

Little H the mermaid


Our little H is not only a cheeky monkey, a fruit monster, a ‘snuggle bum’, but now also a little mermaid.




On Sunday the sun was shining, the temperature above 20 Celcius and we had the whole day ahead of us for some family fun. We decided to go to a lake nearby to dip our toes in the, probably, freezing water. But first: Little H needed her nap, we needed our lunch, we had to make smoothies to bring, we needed to localize the sun cream and to pack a bag with all other necessities, change and dress Little H, apply this sun cream and get her highness into her seat in the car .


The list was almost endless of ‘to dos’ and ‘need to bring’ and when we finally sat in the car, it was not only us who were heading for the lake, but also some very dark, very big clouds, bursting with raindrops. Great.


Little H has had a rather ambivalent relationship with water. She loves being in her little blue bathtub. She used to hate the shower, these days she cannot get enough of running water and has a tantrum every morning if she is not allowed to join either me or Pappa Kas in the shower.


She liked her baby swimming classes. Sometimes so much that she squealed in delight and scared the other babies. Other times she got silent, clingy and very cold, looking at me with blue lips and sad eyes to tell me that this is neither fun nor comfortable ( I could not agree more).


So how would she react to the real thing?


We were optimistic. Swimming diapers were on, we had brought a bucket and a spade for playing in the sand, and only the rain could stop us from having a jolly good time.


I have to admit that I swim like an old lady (breast strokes, no water in my hair- thank you very much), and do not go swimming in lakes or in the sea unless it is +22 C and no other people around. Would Little H take after her mother, as she does with her appetite for strawberries, a belly a Buddha would be proud of, and blue-grey eyes? Or would she take after her father, and swim like a dolphin, fight the waves and not to care about her hair whether in salt water or water with chlorine.




Here I am glad that the Spanish genes came through. While I was sitting on our picnic blanket, sipping smoothie and supervising from a distance, the two Castro’s were jumping from small rocks and into the water, splashing around, walking out to water high enough to reach the belly (Little H ones that is), in water that to me “looked” like 12 degrees warm.


Oh, have I told you that the in-laws are here? Watch this space…

Thursday 23 June 2011

Happy Birthday to H, part 2 of 2

First of all: my apologies for not updating the blog for more than a week, ehrmmm close to two. I am ashamed and sad to have disappointed my fans ;-) and most of all you.


Not sure who's got most butterflies
Well here we go:

Little H’s birthday weekend disappeared in a flash. After Friday’s extravaganza we still had cupcakes left, but the marzipan cake was put in a tupperware and given it to my dad, the cake monster, the ice-cream monster, who can eat tons of desserts and chocolate in one go. The only person whom I know to be able to match his dessert stomach is Pappa Kas dad, Aitxitxe Sebas. And I am not far behind myself.


We made it!

On Monday we had invited the Skinheads, Sergio’s (Pappa Kas) Senoritas and other dear friends to come so that I could show off my baking skills and Little H her 7 teeth (some say it's only six, but the bitemarks on my arms says differently). Being a public holiday we were aiming for few guests (sorry), so that they day could pass in peace and quiet. Never happened, almost everyone came and the ones who did not, had all valid excuses.
The weather was fantastic and we had such a great time. Little H was on fire, but Pappa Kas had her all under control while I chatted with the mummies to get the latest updates. How many teeth’s does Julie have? Can Oscar say mamma yet? When will they start to eat peas? And other “must know” information.



For the big day, I had of course cheated a bit on the catering side. I did not want to make a lot of sugary cakes and snacks, but made buns with whole meal flour and blueberries inside, had lots of different fruit chopped up and had made cupcakes, both chocolate ones and pink ones (OMG! What kind of mummy -monster have I turned into? PINK cupcakes!


As you know I do love baking, but it can be a bit much sometimes so I cheated and bought cupcake mix, who Jespers mum, Marita, told me was just like the real thing. I made the pink cupcakes as it said on the pack, but improvised a bit with the frosting. Sadly no photos were taken, but they looked exactly like the ones from Magnolia bakery. That was to be my downfall…


When all the guests were gathered and inspecting the table of temptations, the very same mum who recommended the ready mix said out loud “Oh, I can see that you used the readymade cup cake mix, not to worry, they do taste really good”.


Thanks a lot…

Monday 13 June 2011

Happy birthday to H - part 1 of 2




On the 10th of June Little H turned one! Can you believe it? It is one year ago since the little bundle of joy stepped (well, was pushed) into our lives, giving us sleepless nights, spit up on our sweaters and pee on our trousers. Not to mention her darling smile, her chubby little tummy, her few strands of hair and the way she laughs. It’s impossible not to love her.

In spite of thinking that it is naff to celebrate babies’ birthdays, I decided that I cannot be a worse mummy than the others, so let’s throw a party, no let’s throw two - to make sure we celebrate in style!

So this is Friday: The Family Party.

As you might know Little H has been feeling under the weather since returning from our holiday in Denmark. It’s been on and off and we were certain that the nastiness must have passed. Nevertheless a party had to be held, Little H feeling a bit low could be down to nerves before her big day.


The guests were due to arrive at 5 pm. At 4.15 pm Little H almost passed out in Pappa Kas arms. It was time for a nap. The snot was running, her eyes blank and her forehead could be used for frying eggs. The wee lassie did not consider that I had been up until late the night before baking cream cake AND cheese cake, had been running from shop to shop in pouring rain to get materials to make a princess crown, and that I had spent all my pocket money on a new cute (but cool) denim dress for the birthday girl.


Since Pappa Kas’ part of the family is located on the “Continent" (to be exact, Elorrio, Bizkaia, Spain). Amama Socco and Aitxite Sebas were not able to make it on time. I believe that their flight arrives sometime Thursday afternoon, so no panic – yet.


Ouch Gran don't ruin my hair!

No hats at the table, please!

The by invitation only guest-list consisted of: Granny B and Granddad G, Auntie Janne and Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother, so the Nyhus clan was heavily represented. 100% to be exact. The troops arrived just as we heard baby H cry of boredom, so as the good host that I am I welcomed the guests while Pappa Kas changed and dressed Little H.


The guests brought a mountain of presents and we certainly do not need to buy Little H any summer clothes any time soon. Funky cotton and denim trousers, t-shirts, sandals – the works. Her Auntie had of course bought a noisy toy, but she was forgiven when she also handed over two small picture books of the type Little H loves (she is a smart one reading books already). Her Great Grandparents had also gotten her clothes and a super nice but practical purple nursery backpack with butterflies on it. I wish they had had one for me as well. When we tried it on her, she cried and was clearly uncomfortable- so she’s not ready for the nursery yet (neither are her parents).


We gorged on cakes, chocolate, fruit salad and more before Little H started rubbing her eyes and telling us that the party was over by waving furiously from her throne. Well, when her royal highness says that the party is over, the party is over.


We said goodbye to our lovely and generous guests, thanked them for the very nice and extravagant presents and went to fetch the winebottle….


End of part 1







Thursday 9 June 2011

An amateurs mistake

The sun has been shining over Lier the last couple of days, so we have removed Hannas wollen clothes from her drawer, bought a small inflatable pool and stocked the fridge with ice-cream. Of course it’s pouring down outside today. It seems like the summer is over.

Nevertheless this is a “sunshine story”:

After our holiday in Denmark, Little H has suffered from diarrhea from time to time (if this is too much information, don’t read the rest, it gets a lot worse…) the poor little thing. Luckily I have been to work when it’s been at its worst, so Pappa Kas has suffered the consequences of a little daughter with a lot of runny poo - the hard way. Well, that is what you get on paternity leave; it is not all fun and games.

Since the weather has been so nice and little H’s bum so sore, I decided to give her sore parts some “air”. After a change, where I put on a super cute pink and green cotton dress with girls and umbrellas on it (sadly it is in the washing machine, so no photo) but left out the rest of clothing - and the diaper. Big mistake.

We went out on the veranda to watch Pappa Kas cut the grass. He is the best gardener even when it brings out his allergy he cuts and fixes the garden relentlessly. He’s the best! To see over the veranda railing I held little H on my arm and while we were standing there waiving to the super gardener I felt something warm running down my arm, and heard a splat on the veranda floor. I bet you can guess the rest.

The tummy trouble had returned and while little H waved to Pappa Kas brown yellowish stuff was running down my arm onto my trouser and on the veranda. What could I do? It would be stupid to run into the house, down the stairs and to the bathroom and put her in the shower. The whole house would be full of shit (literary). So I stood there until her face turned from bright red back into her normal Spanish glowing complexion.

I then ran downstairs to the bathroom and into the shower with our clothes on. Both little H and I was crying. After two rounds in the shower, the second one without clothes, we were ready to face the world again (read- clean the veranda- ugh), this time Little H with a diaper.

Bums will not feel the summer breeze for the foreseeable future.

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