Catch up again

I often go round thinking of things I would like to put in a blog post, but then they rarely seem to make it here. I am writing this whilst my ice cream maker is busy whirring in the kitchen...making Delia Smith's Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream. and I sure hope it tastes as good as it sounds!!

I suppose I mostly want to post about how very wriggly this baby is! It's become a favourite thing of mine to sit on the sofa, and just watch my tummy undulate as she wriggles around inside, sometimes pushing up really hard with some part of her body - you can push back against it! I can't really remember if Alex was this wriggly at the same age, cos I didn't start this blog till I was about 8 months pregnant anyway. I have to plan simple things in the house, like going up and downstairs, cos I can't manage more than one 'up' (have a sit down to recover), and down again. 2 in quick succession leave me pretty breathless, and sometimes lightheaded.

Mmm, mmmm. The ice cream is good, even in it's slightly frozen state. It's all mixed in now, and in the freezer to finish freezing. Yummy!!

Been doing quite well on the cake making front recently, although I don't think the boys would necessarily agree. There is at my work, as at many, the rule that if it's your birthday, you bring in the cakes for everyone. There are about 45 in my building, so you have to cater for everyone. There are 160 in Roland's building, so he only caters for his department - usually 20, but half of them are on business trips away at any one time. I am one of only 3 in my building that actually makes the cakes, as opposed to buying them. from January to mid April I had no inclination to make / bake anything. Don't know why. But knowing that I would have to make them for my birthday, I started practising. So Roly and Alex had a few practise cakes, but then didn't get to eat the final ones...
Then I offered to make one for choir, as we were providing the refreshments in the interval of our concert, and then another one for the fundraising day for the choir as well (one orange drizzle cake, and one carrot cake).
Alex and I did make little banana muffins on Monday, which he then wouldn't eat until I'd iced them...I had to agree they were rather dry on their own. That recipe was from my birthday present book from in-laws, Annabel Karmel 'Cooking with Children'.
But now it's nearly Roly's birthday, and I offered to make a few things for him to take into work - on the proviso that he makes a Victoria Sponge (that he's been saying he'll make one day). I'm planning a picnic for him for 9th August (please don't rain), and have decided to make a cake that I will decorate with orange / gold icing, and then put chocolate fingers standing up round the outside, and chocolate coins on the top. Not sure how I'm going to do this without him noticing yet....