Toy Store Vs Library

It is Murphy's Law that the weekend I've organised lots of indoor activities, is the one weekend were we have decent weather.

Saturday we went to a Cars 2 Launch party at Toys'R'Us. The wording of the promotion lead me to believe it was to celebrate the release of the Cars 2 movie. Therefore I assumed (I know, that was silly) that the party was a Disney PR and Toys'R'Us collaboration. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

The 'party' was a bunch of tables with buckets of colouring items and a couple of Toys'R'Us store workers, who were hopeless with children, playing games that were totally not age appropriate. All this was set up in front of a massive wall of Cars 2 merchandise. The approch of throwing the 'Launch Party' was obviously to bore the younger children out of their mind until they throw massive tantrums and their parents would then buy them Cars 2 merchandise to stop the tears.

The boys were happy to colour for about 15mins but after that they were completely bored and just wanted to go. The little boy that was about 8 won all the 'Mater says' games so left with about 6 balloons, much to the despair of every parent of a young child there, as they then had to explain to their 2-4 year old why he was getting all the balloons  As the boys' had already managed to get texta on their clothes we decided to skip the fabric flag decorating, which was supposed to be the climax at the end of the 'party', as that involved paint and glue and we left early.

The boys' didn't come away with any of the over priced Cars 2 merchandise but I did feel bad that it had been such a massive let down and bought each of the kidlets a hot wheels car to add to their collection.

Notice Baker Bob's super impressed expression

The kidlets had a lot more fun on Sunday when we headed to the library for a book reading and signing by Hazel Edwards.

We got there early and Hazel came over and signed the kids books and talked to them and us about her family and how there was a famous historian name Manning.

The kidlets were a little bit younger than most of the other kids there and being 2pm meant they were way overdue for a nap. We sat down and read some books, entered a competition and then settled in to listen to Hazel Edwards read one of her most famous books "There's a hippopotamus on our roof eating cake." before the free activites started up and the competition was drawn.

Linc is the one with the monkey on his back

But all the excitement became to much for the kidlets and all three started to loose it right at the end of the story. The librarian assured me it was okay, that Hazel would be used to it and the free activities would start up soon but I think they'd reached their limit, and so had I. We'd walked to the library so I flew the white flag and started the walk home early, which was disappointing. I really would have loved for the kidlets to stay and join in more but the library still came out the winner!

Overall it was weekend of family together time.

Plus I sent off my first Assessment for school on Sunday. Can't wait to hear how I did.

More Food

I made Pumpkin Rissotto from scratch and am super proud of myself.

Kudos to me!

Rissotto has always been one of those meals that seemed too hard and scary to tackle without a little help, or backup. I feel a similar sense of fear when I think about making custard from scratch or anything that involves heating sugar, though I have done both before.

It needed a bit more seasoning and the pumpkin chuncks were a little big but I think it turned out alright. As usual Eva gulped it down and the boys' wouldn;t touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone their forks.
All well. Doesn't matter.
It's not like I spent more than an hour slaving over a low heat hotplate, painstakingly absorbing stock into the rice 1/2 cup at a time or anything guys.

Inspired by this recipe by Annabel Karmel and deseparately wanting eggs I made mini Spinach and cheese quiches. We had no baby tomatoes, hence the spinach and no short crust pastry so I improvised and rolled flat crustless pieces of bread instead. (Would have used multigrain if I hadn't have used the last of it at breakfast).

Eva and I enjoyed them for lunch. The boys' took one look at them and refused to go near them.

Once again, FAIL mummy!

Where are the Kidlets?

I noticed I haven't posted much about the kidlets lately. (It's been all about me, me and me)
So, here's what they were up to a couple of weeks ago, while we still had ok weather and before the snots set in.

Scuttlebugging

We spent a whole weekend of scuttlebugging. Saturday we toddled over to the the walking track leading to the wetlands reserve, the two boys half carrying, half dragging their scuttlebugs along.

Nice of someone to release the Trolley Bird back into it's natural habitat

 Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch with them - and 'Uncle Crist" and "Aunty Ta". We all walked up to the park for more scuttlebugging plus...

Swinging, Sliding, Running, Catching and Laughing.

The Annabel Challenge - Carrot and Cheese Mini Muffins

What do you do with two little boys who need a bit of excitement before their nap? Especially when their Daddy has snuck away to the footy and their baby sister has enthusiastically hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on her bedroom door?

You bake with them of course!

As part of my Annabel Challenge I decided to get them to help whip up Annabel Karmel's Carrot and Cheese Muffins (Recipe below)

I prepared all the ingredients prior to ushering them into the kitchen with freshily washed hands, that way it was just a matter of tipping and stirring.

The only problem I had with the recipe was the dry ingredients were in weights instead of cups. Made it a bit harder to organise but nothing major.

85g self-rasing flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
a pinch of salt
a pinch of paprika
30g Cheddar, grated
30g Parmesan, freshly grated, plus 2 tbsp extra for topping
2tbsp milk
2 tbsp sunflower oil
4 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 egg
1 medium carrot peeled and finely grated
1 tsp snippec hives (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 180C or 160C fan forced
Line mini muffin tin with 18 paper cases
Stir flour, bicarb, salt, paprika and cheeses together in a bowl
Beat milk, oil, yoghurt, maple syrup and egg together
Stir into dry ingredients, followed by carrots and chives
Drop heaped teaspoons in to paper cases, almost to the top
Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and bake for 15mins until risen and golden brown
Remove and allow to cool for 5mins in tin before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Verdict: Eva, Baker Bob and I loved them. Mans enjoyed his and Linc gave his to Eva. I think they could do with a bit more carrot and a little less cheddar but overall I think they were a hit.
Thinking about adapting the recipe to make baby spinach and ricotta ones...!

Hair Clip Winner

And the winner is - Suzi!

You were the fifth entrant so you've won the prize!
Could you please email me your address and I'll post them to you.
Congratulation!

There's Water Up My Nose

I feel like I'm drowning a little bit today.

My 4 year degree starts on the 2nd July and currently I don't feel like I've even got a handle on the current singular subject I'm doing through Open Uni.

A lot of reading is involved. Intense, descriptive, big word reading which can not be adequately absorbed by my brain while I settle, sooth and entertain the kidlets.

Trying to find an event to case study is proving to be a dead end road. Which is frightening in itself as the case study is 40% of my mark.

The house looks like a toy - food bomb exploded. How the food got mixed in with it I don;t know because I haven't had time to cook.

The kidlets need to get out and enjoy something just for them but the weather is crappy and cold and it's affecting their moods just as much as mine

My first crocheting project is sitting gathering dust. It's a big project and I'd like to see it finished.

Eva's hip review is at the end of the month. We find out whether she's good to go or whether she has to go back in a brace.

Christmas is coming. No lists, no ideas, no time to think!

I have so many things to organise and a stack of paperwork to do. It may fall and bury me. Please bury me.

Just breath and tread.

The Annabel Challenge - Baked Parsnip and Sweet Potato Crisps

I thought for the first of The Annabel Challenge I'd start with something simple.

Baked Parsnip and Sweet Potato Crisps have only 4 ingredients and other than owning a swivel peeler (which would make things easier but definitely doable with out one) no real technique.

I liked them, though they have a chewier texture than normal crisps . Baker Bob liked the parsnip ones. Eva ate them after a bit of hesitation. Linc ate a couple but I think that was because I was threatening to eat them. Mans licked one and refused to touch them after that.

The Verdict: I think if I made them more often they would learn to like them. Eva's reaction is encouraging.

My 1st Blog Giveaway

You might remember my post last month about the fabulous hair clips I bought from MoniMeek*Designs.

Well today I'm lucky enough to be able to offer you guys a set of 2 matching 3cm snap clips from MoniMeek*Designs as a giveaway.

To enter all you have to do is head on over to her Facebook page and leave a comment on her wall, then leave a comment here to let me know that you have. That's it!

The giveaway finishes 17th June. I'll use a random number generator on the 18th to draw the prize.

The Annabel Challenge

A lovely friend of mine surprised me a couple of weeks ago with these fabulous recipe books by Annabel Karmel.

Knowing I have been struggling with the boy's eating (never Eva, she loves food) she thought it would be a great avenue for new ideas, particularly since I've exhausted all mine.

I was particularly appreciative of the Children's First Cookbook. Just 2 days before hand I'd been browsing the cook book selves at Big W, wondering whether getting them more involved in making their food would mean they would be more inclined to eat it.

They are filled with great ideas and ways of presenting everyday food in a more 'kid friendly' way.
So my mission is to try a new recipe every week and report back to you guys on the verdict from the harshest food critics around.

Food Reviews

Lately I have come across a few food products that I've fallen in love with.
Firstly these Select Ripple Wholegrain Chips.

The flavours are all delicious, but my favourite are the Roast Onion and Rosemary. They have been getting me through many a night studying. Even the kids like the original flavour. I don't mind giving them a couple on occasion. They are better for them than normal chips and a lot more substantial, even though I find them lighter than Grainwave chips.

Then there's the fruit cups from Aldi.

The kids LOVE these. They are in juice NOT syrup. The juice is easy to drain away from the fruit making them less messy. They come in the usual two fruits but also Mango & Papaya and Mandarin Slices.

And finally The Heinz Romano frozen vegetable mix.

I'd never seen romanesco broccoli until I bought this frozen veg mix. They have a milder taste than the usual broccoli and I can usually get the kids to eat these vegetables. The bright yellow and orange carrots against the dark green beans make for a colourful contrast on their plates and means we spend much of the meal practising our colours.

Why not give them a try and let me know what you think?

Back to School

This is why my posts have been few and far between lately.

I've gone back to school!
At the moment I'm studying Event Management online through Curtin Uni which is only going for 3 months. But in July I start a 4 year online course through William Blue College for my Bachelor of Business in Event Management.

So far I've been struggling a bit but I've been away from school since 2004 and been away from work for2.5 years now so I'm hoping once I get back in the swing of things I'll find it a bit easier.

It's definitely fun and challenging but please excuse my limited attention for a week or two, I am here, I'm just studying.

Busted!

Tonight, as I loaded the photos off my camera, I came across this gem of a video.
It made me laugh so hard I cried.

It seems my lovely kidlets had absconded with my camera and made a little video recording of it.
It's rather artistic don't you think?

My favourite part is when Mans hears me coming and dumps the camera on the floor (at Eva's feet) to which she picks it up and says 'Ta" to me as bust HER with it. I then dump it on my bed with the chorus of Linc crying in the background because he missed out on the fun, while I'm none the wiser to the fact that they made me a video.
Gold!

Vividly Paranoid

I have been really slack with posting lately.
But that's because I've been really busy. It's relative.

Last night I got locked up in a Bali prison.

Well, in my dream I did.
I have been having the most vivid dreams lately.
You know the type when you wake up and you feel disorientated, like something profound and life changing has occurred but you have no idea what.

For three nights in a row I dreamt 'end of world' dreams. Everyone centred around trying to save and protect my children, playing on the anxiety and fear that nibbles at the edges of my brain everyday, that if I don't concentrate on my breathing and focus inwardly, it will take over my mind, body and soul until I'm a panting, sweaty, crying mess.

It's happened before.

There was a shadow of it before the boys were born, but it became a big growling monster when the boys were about 2 weeks old. Linc had a mild case of jaundice. .As recommended they had been having their day sleeps in the porta cot under the window in the lounge, so Linc could get some sun.

I remember talking to Baker Bob when there was a massive squealing of tyres and loud crashing. Baker Bob when racing out the front to see what was going on. I went racing to the window and at a pace I didn't think I possessed, I dragged the cot to the other side of the room. You see as I heard the squealing of tyres and the crashing getting closer by the second, my mind instantly thought of a car ploughing through our front window and taking out the cot. Excessive, maybe but not too far fetched.
The car ploughed through the neighbours fence.

Ever since I see danger around everywhere. But worst still life threatening danger I won;t be able to save them from. I have gotten better. I can see the signs of a panic attack coming now and am slowing learning how to control it. But obviously my dreams aren't cooperating.