drizzles and curries
Not much Saturday action for me this weekend. The kids kicked the morning onto the wrong foot by fighting the moment they woke, until I had to banish them to separate rooms to play on their own. They have a great knack of getting on my nerves especially in the morning, when all I want is some tea and toast in relative peace and quiet. (I know the solution is to wake before the kids, but waking up extra early is not what I want, even though it helps me get what I want argh.)
The Bun was being especially annoying, so I told J to take him out for a boys-only morning and lunch. They ended up hiking in the woods in Versoix and then having a sushi lunch at Uchino after. J also bought The Bun an ice-cream at the supermarket afterwards, and The Bun pronounced J the preferred parent, which is TOTALLY fine with me, after all the arguments we've had lately. At home, Bao played quite cheerfully on her own. There are times when the both of them play very well together, but often there are also times when all The Bun does is torment and taunt his sister. This morning was one of them - he kept grabbing her beloved Duckie (her lovey) away from her and 'flying' it above her head out of her reach. He knew how much she wanted it back (she carries it around like a security blanket at home) but he was deliberately being mean to her. I'm well aware that she's not always innocent either, but we'll save those stories for another post.
The morning off was just what I needed. After the boys came home and Bao woke from her nap, the rain was still coming down hard so we went to the nearby Blandonnet centre to get some inspiration for Christmas decorations. We had coffee and cake at a cafe, and then did a big supermarket run before going home to cook dinner. Since it was cold and rainy, I was craving for Indian food, but the restaurant I wanted to try only opened at 7pm and with the heavy rain I didn't feel like wandering around the streets with both kids while waiting for the restaurant to open. (The shopping centre closed at 6pm.)
So J and I cooked Indian food for dinner, the cheater's version that involved jarred curry sauce and chapattis from a packet that we reheated. We had chicken and courgette curry with pappadums and chapattis, and still had enough at the end of the meal for a big pot of leftovers. Everything cost us about 20CHF to cook, including the kids' non-curried chicken and courgettes. The restaurant's menu priced one butter naan at 8CHF. Their chicken masala was 19CHF. Although it took some effort to cook, dinner was actually pretty easy to throw together and a lot more relaxed with the messy, battling spawn than if we were at a restaurant.
Anyway, it didn't bother me that today was a bit of a washout because last night I had a night out with some of my mum friends from playgroup. They're actually from the Friday group I was in before the summer; the group I'm in now has a bunch of new people and we haven't quite found our groove together yet. There were five of us that went out for dinner and I am so glad we've all stayed in touch since the summer because we had a great time chatting, gossiping, and laughing like raucous hyenas over wine and pasta. We ate at a restaurant that is a stone's throw away from where I live and I never knew it was so good, probably because it has a very unassuming exterior and looks very closed-up and empty in the daytime. I go past it at least two or three times a week so I'm glad I've finally discovered how yummy the food is. I had a brilliant crab ravioli served with prawns in a creamy tomato sauce and even though I couldn't finish my food (the portions were humongous), I am thinking about having it again the next time I go there.
Tomorrow more dreary weather is forecasted. I think we'll put up the tree (am bracing myself for the chaos the kids will wreck), bake Bao's birthday cake, and make a Sunday roast.
The Bun was being especially annoying, so I told J to take him out for a boys-only morning and lunch. They ended up hiking in the woods in Versoix and then having a sushi lunch at Uchino after. J also bought The Bun an ice-cream at the supermarket afterwards, and The Bun pronounced J the preferred parent, which is TOTALLY fine with me, after all the arguments we've had lately. At home, Bao played quite cheerfully on her own. There are times when the both of them play very well together, but often there are also times when all The Bun does is torment and taunt his sister. This morning was one of them - he kept grabbing her beloved Duckie (her lovey) away from her and 'flying' it above her head out of her reach. He knew how much she wanted it back (she carries it around like a security blanket at home) but he was deliberately being mean to her. I'm well aware that she's not always innocent either, but we'll save those stories for another post.
The morning off was just what I needed. After the boys came home and Bao woke from her nap, the rain was still coming down hard so we went to the nearby Blandonnet centre to get some inspiration for Christmas decorations. We had coffee and cake at a cafe, and then did a big supermarket run before going home to cook dinner. Since it was cold and rainy, I was craving for Indian food, but the restaurant I wanted to try only opened at 7pm and with the heavy rain I didn't feel like wandering around the streets with both kids while waiting for the restaurant to open. (The shopping centre closed at 6pm.)
So J and I cooked Indian food for dinner, the cheater's version that involved jarred curry sauce and chapattis from a packet that we reheated. We had chicken and courgette curry with pappadums and chapattis, and still had enough at the end of the meal for a big pot of leftovers. Everything cost us about 20CHF to cook, including the kids' non-curried chicken and courgettes. The restaurant's menu priced one butter naan at 8CHF. Their chicken masala was 19CHF. Although it took some effort to cook, dinner was actually pretty easy to throw together and a lot more relaxed with the messy, battling spawn than if we were at a restaurant.
Anyway, it didn't bother me that today was a bit of a washout because last night I had a night out with some of my mum friends from playgroup. They're actually from the Friday group I was in before the summer; the group I'm in now has a bunch of new people and we haven't quite found our groove together yet. There were five of us that went out for dinner and I am so glad we've all stayed in touch since the summer because we had a great time chatting, gossiping, and laughing like raucous hyenas over wine and pasta. We ate at a restaurant that is a stone's throw away from where I live and I never knew it was so good, probably because it has a very unassuming exterior and looks very closed-up and empty in the daytime. I go past it at least two or three times a week so I'm glad I've finally discovered how yummy the food is. I had a brilliant crab ravioli served with prawns in a creamy tomato sauce and even though I couldn't finish my food (the portions were humongous), I am thinking about having it again the next time I go there.
Tomorrow more dreary weather is forecasted. I think we'll put up the tree (am bracing myself for the chaos the kids will wreck), bake Bao's birthday cake, and make a Sunday roast.