Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Its been a long time between posts. A lot has been happening the last six or so weeks.

I've been thinking about just shutting down my blog because i just don't have the interest in documenting the details anymore, but then i feel bad for Sofie not having any records of her babyhood so i expect i'll keep it and just update it infrequently for the time being.

So a basic recap minus too many details of the last 6 weeks includes: a week away at my dads to celebrate his 80th birthday, we came home and Andrew had 2 weeks study leave before finishing up his exams for the semester (more on that in a minute), we moved house and that involved all the horrible cleaning and unpacking stresses but we had loads of help from various members of Andrews extended family which i will be forever grateful for and we got it done and everything is looking like a home now (i even have my very own sewing room which i will post more about soon) We also began Harry's 3 weeks of school holidays (we are on the final week now) and its been a really wonderful break. I love having a break from the routines of school and having to be out the door by a certain time each day and  we have had lots of play dates and time has just flown.

Oh and most excitingly we  have a new addition to our family. We have called him Dusty and he is our robot vacuum. He is amazing. Best thing i have ever bought!!!! Seriously!!! And i know we are quite a gadget family but this is one of the greatest inventions.

Anyways while i'm here i'll do a quick Sofie update:

She is an absolute gem of a baby. She just oozes happiness and we all adore her (as you would expect ;))
She is 8 months now and sitting up. She weighs 8kg at her last weigh in. No teeth and no movement yet. Which i think is a positive, cos im not ready to be chasing after my toddler, She is going great guns with her solids prefers fruits and yoghurts and discovered today that she is an absolute strawberry monster.
I'm still in my mothering bliss with her.  Its a really nice feeling, after feeling so sad and anxious for so long to just feel this happiness.

Now onto a quick proud post about Andrew. He got his exam results the other day and managed to get a distinction and high distinction for the course he is doing. Im so proud with how he managed such great marks along with working full time and being an awesome dad/husband at the same time.

Im just glad he is happy in his new job but it still allows him the time with the family.

Anyways gotta run, offspring is starting, will try to not be so infrequent with the posting but no promises :)

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I'm single parenting it for a week or so while the husband is away working out west. The thought of coping by myself with no support is always so stressful but the reality of it is always so much better than what I imagine. I am of course only day one into this temporary gig but it's going well so far.

3 kids are all asleep, all at the same time, I call that a success!

I have been super productive today. I've vacuumed,dusted, steam mopped, done all the washing and baked some school snacks for school lunches. Now Ive got all that out of the way today, tomorrow after the usual running around with ballet and appointments/ drop offs I'm planning on getting back into some sewing.

I have a few projects started but life has been a bit busy lately so finding time to finish things is tough. So tomorrow I'm hoping to get a top started and or made and have a go at some ruffle trousers for Moo.

Tomorrow is our busiest day of the week and with Andrew away it's going to be even harder. We start the day with ballet and then after school pickup it's swimming for the big girl and the big boy and then at 5pm it's time for soccer training which doesn't finish up till after 6pm so I'm thinking I might make use of the slow cooker tomorrow night.

If I can figure out how to load pictures from my iPad I'll share some from a great fundraising dinner we went to last week at Harrys school. Was a great night sans kids, such a rare thing for us.

Gotta run NCIS is on :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Weekend nothingness

It's been a relatively boring weekend. Andrew has an assignment due by midnight tomorrow night so I've effectively being single parenting it so he can study uninterrupted!

Yesterday we did some painting.

I searched online and found free printable pictures of different things like dinosaurs for Harry and butterflies for Milla and then we made some paints from flour and water and food coloring and the kids spent hours outside painting.

They made a HUGE mess and a couple of their masterpieces were eaten by the dog but overall it was a brilliant choice of activity and much easier to clean up than the bought paints.

This morning I forgoed my sleep-in and took the kids to church.
It's a lovely little anglican church community attached to Harry's school that we began at last year and stopped when I fell pregnant and sick with Sofie, so it's been a while but its nice to get back into it and the kids get to go to creche and a version of Sunday school which they love so it was a nice way to spend our Sunday morning.

This afternoon we have no plans I'm making one of our favourite dinners that is almost always on the fortnightly meal planning rotation: the yummiest potato bake, steamed beans, baked brown rice and pork loin chops.

Hope you are having a super Sunday of your own xo

Friday, May 13, 2011

Liking/ Disliking

Disliking - 

Early soccer games on a Saturday morning, meaning no sleep in for me and a mad rush getting us all up, dressed and fed and on our way in time.

Rental inspections and all the cleaning and tidying that goes with preparing for it, although considering this is our first ever rental inspection in about 8 years of renting we have had a pretty good run of it.

That i can't seem to find Two Kisses for Maddy as an ebook available to buy in Australia. I spent an hour today trying to buy it and kept hitting brick walls with stores not selling to Aust.

Little bloody ants that have infested our kitchen bench tops. I will win this battle though.



Liking - 

Forgetting i registered for a maybelline baby lips freebie and it arriving in the mail at a perfect time when the cooler weather has kicked in and my lips are paying for it.

My pretty purple pedicured nails i got yesterday complete with foot massage and massage chair. Oh so relaxing.

Finally completing my shirt i have been making at sewing class and even more likeable is it's something i can be seen wearing :)

My new h20 steam mop, so easy to use.

This beautiful climate that is Townsville in winter. Coldish at night and beautiful and warm during the day. Bliss.

Coles kalamata olive sour dough batard, if you haven't tried it you really should its oh so good!

Damnyouautocorrect.com 
I have not laughed so hard in a long time. So funny, i highly reccomend.
Although a warning Don't view if you are easily offended by rudeness, or you have a weak bladder or a mouthful of drink ;)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Mummies Day

This was the hardest mothers day for me so far since mum died.

I'm not sure why now, 5 years since mum died.
Maybe because Dad has been in hospital recently and thats brought back the memories of mum being diagnosed but it was definately a teary/bittersweet day for me.

Sweet because of my beautiful little angels spoiling me with gifts they made/picked themselves, but bitter because mum isn't here to share it all with us.




And Harry's handmade gifts from school

Harry's interview the school did for all the mums

Being a mum is seriously the best thing i have ever and will ever do and while yes i agree you should appreciate and love your mum every day (which i did) i still think its nice to have a day just for mums. 

(Because i really, really enjoy the sleep in, and breakfast in bed and no poopy nappies for one whole day :)) 

Monday, May 2, 2011

Yummy in my tummy

Vegetable Pancakes (taste.com)

I decided a couple of months or so back that along with meal planning i was going to also give up on buying all the packaged food snacks and make everything from scratch.

I've tried meal planning before but never stuck at it for much longer than a pay period (fortnightly) but this time its going brilliantly. It saves money best of all and is much healthier and with the help of taste.com we are eating way yummier meals than before (And its not all mince haha)

Each fortnight i sit down and troll through all my saved recipes on taste and pick out some new and old favourites, work out what ingredients we don't have for the recipes and start the list.

Anyways yesterday was my day of school snack/work snack baking and i decided to try a new recipe for Veggie Pancakes and it was so good that i thought i'd share.
(None of them actually made it into the freezer to be used for school/work snacks so i'm going to have to make another batch.)

Vegetable Pancakes

Insanely good.

I didn't follow the recipe to a tee. I kinda chucked in what i had so some zucchini, carrot, light cheese, skim milk and some mushrooms cos i didn't have any corn on hand, pepper/salt and I doubled the milk amount instead of yoghurt only because i didn't have any and the baking powder really added to the making of the crispy outside but moist inside.

If you use oil to cook them in just use a little then pop on paper towel so the oil is sucked out and the crispness stays. Or you can do it with the spray oil so its healthier again. (i did a combo of both)

The kids even loved them which is saying something for mine who consider most green vegetables to be evil.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Sofie @ 6 Months

I looked at the date today and realised, my baby is now 6 months.

I'm sad and deliriously happy all in one. Sad that its all going too fast, but happy that i'm spending my days with this gorgeous little girl. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I've been a bit slack with the updates but i think thats just the life of the 3rd child. She is doing everything she should be doing and i have no concerns, although i'd like it if her sleep routine improved.

She likes to lull me into a false sense of security with sleeping through for a week or so and then wham we are back to feeding a couple times in the night.

I think she is ready to not be wrapped to be honest. She gets her arms out so easily now and stays asleep okay once i've got her down but i'm finding it hard to actually get her to go to sleep if she isn't wrapped. Have tried the one arm in and one arm out thing and that doesn't really work so i'm going to try cold turkey and see how that goes.

She is slowly starting on solids, she is the least interested of my 3 and i'm not pushing it, i have noticed the last few days she is getting more interested in it all but she much prefers chewing/sucking on crusts and bread etc than any of the pureed foods, so am hoping to do a combination of baby led weaning, once she is sitting up.

I have no weight stats but my nurse is coming Thursday so will get them then but she is becoming a little chunky thing so there is no concern.

I stopped breastfeeding about a month ago now and transitioned onto Bellamys Organic and she has really, really started to develop weight wise, she is getting little fat rolls and its super cute.

She laughs, she giggles, she poops and eats and sleeps. Pretty normal baby in my books.

All in all she is such a gorgeous little thing, happy and adjustable to different routines.

Its certainly been a wonderful 6 months, i'm still feeling the love for it all, the good and the bad :)

Cushy Cuhions

Our lounge needed a bit of an update, so on the weekend i grabbed some material from my stash and made a few cushions for it.

The sewing isn't perfect but if you don't closely inspect ;) i think they look fab (even if i do say so myself)

I did one side spotted minkee and the other side was with some floral fat quarters i found in my stash, the minkee, is such beautiful material, its a total shit to sew with but its so, so soft, i love it.

As a side note, you know how you rub your cheek on a babies head cos its so soft and lovely? 

Or maybe that is just my freaky behaviour?? hahaha but anyways Minkee reminds me of that softness, minus the baby.



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Harry's interview about Daddy

I did this originally back in 2009 so thought i'd resurrect it to see how his answers have changed.
Here is the original one back when Harry was 3.5 years old and here is his one from today:
What is something Daddy always says to you?
He always says he will read us a story
What makes Daddy happy?
Staying in bed at night time when Milla and i don't keep coming out
What makes Daddy sad?
When i do something naughty
How does your Daddy make you laugh?
When he gets us to say Mummie is the king and then we all yell NOT!!
What did your Daddy like to do when he was a child?
He liked to do stuff with Nanna
How old is your Daddy?
Pretty old
How tall is your Daddy?
He is about this tall (jumping as high as he can)
What is his favorite thing to watch on TV?
Football
What does your Daddy do when you’re not around?
He does uni
If your Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Pulling beds apart and putting new ones together
What is your Daddy really good at?
He's really good at mowing the lawn and Mum i'll tell you something else he is really good at, he is good at saying naughty words. (Harry leant over and whispered Daddy says Bloody Hell hahaha)
What is your Daddy not very good at?
Taking the rubbish out, i always see the rubbish at the door and the bins full.
What does your Daddy do for his job?
He pays money for us, thats it.
What is your Daddy’s favourite food?
Baked Rice
What makes you proud of your Daddy?
By mowing the lawn
If your Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Fireman Sam
What do you and your Daddy do together?
Lego, daddy is awesome at Lego
How are you and your Daddy the same?
We both have A's in our names.
How are you and your Daddy different?
My name is Harry, Daddy's name is Andrew
How do you know your Daddy loves you?
Because he always says i love you, see you in the morning.
What does your Daddy like most about your Mummie?
Thats really hard, I know he likes you to do good stuff.
Where is your Daddy’s favourite place to go?
To the computer shop

Ironing can be fun

We were about to run out of toilet paper and bread which wouldn't have been a good thing so i thought i'd duck up to the shops quickly this morning and grab some things, and well wasn't that a bad decision!!

People here are going crazy, stocking up on things and the shops are only shutting for one day, one whole day and opening again Saturday but people can't cope. Boggles my mind.

Anyways, while i was out i found this plain white top for Moo for $3 so i had a play with some floral scraps of material i had and ironed them on and found some little dangly butterflies in my sewing box and thought i'd add them and this is the result:




Now Harry wants me to do something with a shirt we found him, poor little guy is feeling a little left out with all the dresses and girly things i've made so i'm going to make him a pillow for school and a library bag and hopefully that will satisfy him!

Excuse the poor quality of the photos, using the iphone camera, i can't find my camera charger. I'm thinking its the kids doing...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Mummie maker

So here i am, i'm back. 

I've made a couple of changes (namely name and address) to incorporate my newfound love of sewing and making things for the kids and me. 

So to catch up on me i've been busy with just basically life, as happens i've discovered with 3 kids,  and in my spare time i've been sewing madly. I'm hooked.

I'm sure you haven't missed all the facebook stores and etsy items popping up that are selling burp cloths and blankets and nappy wallets and all things baby related and they are fabulous, don't get me wrong, i even purchased some earlier in the year before i had Sofie and before i started sewing lessons, but seriously it is so easy and cheap to do yourself that i no longer have to buy these inflated in price items and i'm having so much fun making them. 

I've done 5 lessons and will be continuing weekly and i'm getting so much better with every thing i make. I'm following tutorials and learning new tips and its like everything once you get the hang of it, its really not as hard as it first seems.


This was my first go at something, an owly spew cloth for the baby girl. Its certainly not perfect but its pretty cute and best of all its functional!


I was super proud of this bib. So easy and cheap. I was given a pack of white plain bibs when Sofie was born, functional but pretty boring. So i was having a play with some iron on vliesofix and decided to jazz a bib up with some cut out little owls and ironed them on the bib and voila.

So it was baby steps to begin with and then i decided to branch out and make Milla a dress. I brought some cute little sunflower material and found a pattern i liked and made this:



Again another super proud moment here. Isn't it cute. The ruffling in the bottom trim is brilliant as it covers any minor imperfections with straightness :) and the elastic in the top serves the same purpose both are very forgiving for the beginner sewer.

After that accomplishment i found some cute material when i ducked into Lincraft and i thought it would make a cute dress for Moo. It was $24 per metre so not super cheap BUT i've managed to make moo a dress, there is enough to make Sofie a dress later and enough for a bib and spew cloth as well of the bottom material after i hem the dresses so really i don't think its that bad for $24.



I can't take credit for the shirring on top but have discovered since a couple of blogs who have used the elastic thread and its defiantly something on my to do list. 


To be honest this is going to sound super crazy nutso, but sewing is what has been missing from my life. I can see now why mum loved it so much. 
Its relaxing, its actually my go to activity now. Instead of heading to the computer for forums or facebook i ignore the computer and head to the sewing machine.
I love the feeling of accomplishing new things and actually making something that you could be seen in public wearing, it feels good and it feels even better knowing mum would be up there super proud of me. 

Monday, March 21, 2011

Jesus loves you

I've been in desperate need of some days at home with no activities or appointments. Last week was so hectic and i'm feeling exhausted from some late nights (well late for old nanna me) and waking to Sofie who doesn't want to sleep through the night apparently, so today i made sure that other than school drop off/pick up which i can't avoid we would have a day at home.

I've caught up on the washing which was huge and organised and baked the snacks for school/work - this week on the menu is banana yoghurt muffins which thankfully only need 2 bananas because they are like gold at the moment in price thanks to Yasi, but taste bee-yoo-tiful! And i made a oat slice and some savoury scrolls.

But enough of that, today's blog is all about Sofie and her christening on Sunday. Here is the day in pictures.

Daddy and Daughter

The kids were able to be included in the service and helped pour the water!

No tears

Us and the godparents, A's aunty and A's youngest brother, missing my cousin Nat who is also a godmother

The baby girl with the christening cake, was so, so cute!

The cake and one of her gifts. 

It was a lovely ceremony and i'm glad to have it over with, its been on my to do list for months.

We had a small thing back at our place for whoever wanted to come back and we served finger foods. Found some delicious recipes, taste.com and i are now tight lol and they were so easy.

We had sausage scrolls, scotch eggs, capsicum dip, mini pizzas, marinated chicken legs, egg and lettuce sandwiches and sweet and sour meat balls.

Desserts were the beautiful cake made by Sweeter than Sugar and i made mini raspberry and custard tarts, mini baked raspberry cheesecakes, caramel kisses, mars bar slice, i attempted cake pops which tasted beautiful but looks wise were a bit of a failure hehe.

I did make slight variations to the recipes, i had loads of capsicum dip so i used that on the mini pizza bases as well instead of tomato paste and because i had the raspberries all mixed up i used that to make the little custard tarts instead and omg they are so good and so simple and i'm not the biggest fan of custard. 

Here is a few photos of some of the things i made with my hubby as my assistant:



Here is the cake pops before and after. The recipe is so, so simple literally get 2 packs of oreo cookies and blend together with a tub of cream cheese then roll into balls and decorate. I did buy the special wilton candy melts but mine wouldn't work and i was doing them at 10pm so gave up and ended up with these. Very yum though and something i plan on practising and getting better at.

The capsicum dip before and after. Another really simple dish. Literally bake some red capsicum and then blend with cream cheese and voila yummiest dip i've had in a long time.

Raspberry swirl cheesecakes, a little more time consuming but turned out so yummy. Definately adding it to the to do again list.

Mini custard tarts - easy as, especially when you buy the tart shells :)

Selection of the desserts. Drooling they all taste so, so good. 

And finishing off with Sofie Sof because i think she is the cutest thing in the world (along with her brother and sister of course)

And now i need to go research healthy recipes because i've eaten way to many sweets lately!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Yo-ho-ho- ho doin the pirate dance...


Sunday just gone we celebrated Harry turning 5 with his big 'invite all his class party' that i had promised him. 
I booked the pirate room at the local party place and ordered the cutest little pirate cupcakes as the birthday cakes, i ordered the invitations online and made up some loot boxes and that was the extent of my efforts.

BUT It was a great party and such an easy way of doing things when you just don't have the time or energy to organise and entertain all by yourself.
The kids had a great time.


Harry was super excited when he woke, and came running into our room where i was feeding Sofie and he said "Do you know what today is Mummy?"
Above are the pirate loot boxes, i just bought plain black noodle boxes and popped some pirate tattoos, and gold chocolate coins in and we had a problem with the original invites and long story short i ended up ordering a second lot that didn't come in time to hand out so i cut the pirate boys off of them and stuck them on the boxes just for a little bit more of the piratey theme. 




The cute little pirate cupcakes (un fortunately a couple of kids couldn't eat them so i got one because they were SO yummy)


The spoilt birthday boy after the party with his stash.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Caf-Pow



 Today started for me at 5:30am with both girls awake and add in a couple of Sofie feeds at 11pm and 3am, and you might say i am a little tired!
Its definitely been one of those days that i've relied heavily on the caffeine!

Its pouring with rain (AGAIN) as i type and the kids are creating mess and destruction in the lounge as per their usual afternoon routine and Sofie is napping so i'm having some ME time! 
Something that feels very rare these days.

Although actually i tell a lie, because last night i had 2 whole hours of alone, me time! (Well i shared it with a few other ladies at my sewing class) but it was wonderful to just have that break from the regular house mummy duties! 
We didn't actually get to the sewing part last night but i have my patterns cut out and pinned and next week i will get to christen my new sewing machine that is still sitting in its box in the cupboard and actually start sewing something all by myself, i'm very excited actually.

I think i'll run a nice hot bath when the husband gets home and have an early night with the littlest baby girl snuggled up with me!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Wet, Wet, Wet

It's been one of those days that you just wish you could curl up in bed with a book and some chocolate and alternate between the reading and the sleeping and the eating.

Shame life always seem to get in the way!

We are experiencing what the experts call a monsoon trough i think it is?
All i know is that its really, quite wet!

This is our backyard and the water thats collecting there...




So anyways i didn't get the lazy day at home, but I did make sure that I got the chocolate :) 

 Regardless of the inconvenience of rain, I love it and the cosy feeling i get from it and especially up here the lovely thing about the rain is that the hot weather gives us a reprieve and it becomes almost pleasant. 

Of course its going to get horridly humid once the rain disappears, but for now i'm going to enjoy it and cuddle up in bed with the baby girl and Anne of Green Gables on dvd.

New Header Design

I've been having a play with shabbyblogs.com, such beautiful designs and so easy to use.
The only thing i can't figure out is whether i can centre the image but eh i think its pretty cute as it is!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Feed me Seymour...

It was A's birthday yesterday, he was 32. It was just another day for him really with an early start at Bootcamp, work and school drop off cos i was feeling a little blah.

I haven't even bought his present as yet, such a bad wife but this is what he is getting so i think all will be forgiven once it arrives.


For our first anniversary together, many moons ago i bought him the single cooks knife and its been brilliant, we always wanted the full set but couldn't justify the expensive price tag that was on it in the shops but i found it online for half the price so i decided to splurge and get him that!

He wanted to go to dinner with his family, but his family is slightly dysfunctional (which is a whole other post/whinge) but we did manage to organise a dinner at Hogs Breath with his parents and his one lovely, normal brother and his girlfriend, the food was nice but just reinforced to us how shitty it is taking kids out at nighttime!

Now being honest and not trying to sound all "my kids are perfect" (because they are so not) but generally i think our kids are pretty good kids, they are usually well behaved and listen and respond but put them in a busy restaurant situation with a sugar hit of juice and family members they don't see all that often well basically they just drive us nuts. On top of that Sofie was very not herself and couldn't settle which isn't surprising considering the noise level and bright lights happening and H and M both pulled the i need to go to the toilet routine just as our mains arrived.

Seriously does this happen to anyone else? Without fail when we are out they will need to go poop in the toilet, they don't need a toilet break when we are home having lunch so lord knows why they do when we are out, its so annoying and so predictable that its actually funny now. 

Anyhoo, we ate to much, i got my chocolate mud cake hit and the kids enjoyed it and we came home knackered and unfortunately have to do the whole thing again tonight for A's Nanna's birthday dinner, only a different restaurant and a later time. Gotta love, people organising family dinners for meeting at 7pm, so thoughtful of them to think of the young kids.



Thursday, March 3, 2011

Family fun days

We decided to have a day out with the family last weekend.

We headed to the museum, I highly recommend the Townsville Museum for something to do with the kids, its free (best of all) if you are a local and there is loads of interesting fossils, boats, artefacts, bugs and insects to keep you and them occupied for a good couple of hours.


Sofie having her first go facing out to the world!




Harry saw this chamber pot exhibit from the Pandora ship and said "Wow Mum, look at the size of that coffee cup, you can have a lot of coffee!!!" Hahaha don't think i'd be wanting coffee from it myself! 

After the museum, we decided to go stimulate the local cafe economy and had lunch at my favourite cafe in Townsville, Seriously, it is the best!
 Especially so if you love salt and pepper calamari like i do, its the yummiest i've found in my 30 short years here at the Rockpool Cafe, I go there and order the same thing every time these days.
The other meals are also great value and really big serves for the prices and its a beautiful location on the strand overlooking the rockpool and ocean!

So yeah a big 2 thumbs up for this place if you are ever in the area :) 


Overheard

Milla in the back seat of the car as Sofie who was sitting next to her was beginning the early stages of whinging.

"Sofie, don't be a pain in the arse!! Okay?"

OOPS, think i should be more careful of my choice of words these days! How do you not laugh though?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Nighty night

Walking past the kids bedroom while Daddy was doing the usual night time routine and my heart just about swelled right out of my chest, my 3 babies having a story. Too cute!

Ahh how i love the 4 of them!