Over for another year.

Well christmas is done and dusted for another year and I have to say I honestly felt glad, relieved even, when it was over and very ready to move on.  I mentioned a fall out I had with a very close friend in my last post and thoughts of her and what went wrong have been eating away at me taking up a lot of my spare brain energy.  This should NOT be happening and it was ruining my christmas (no-one's fault but my own for letting it bother me) so I was kind looking forward to christmas being over so that I could stop trying to make myself feel like I was in the spirit of things when I just wasn't.  Now that we're back to normal it just is what it is and I'll hopefully get over it and be able to move on with my thoughts very soon.

Anyway, enough of that! I'm glad christmas is over (I was even glad to put away the decorations and have christmas completely forgotten by the 27th), but that certainly doesn't mean that I didn't have a good day.  We trecked our little family to 3 different venues on the day and had our own little celebration at home with just the 4 of us before we went anywhere.

We started off with breakfast at home (toast in my new 4 slice retro looking toaster that I love thank you daddy!) and some present opening.  I opened Milly's sand and water table the night before to build it only to find that it was missing a leg and I would have to return it.  I built it without the legs and she loved it anyway.

opening the sand and water table

Claire's present hadn't arrived yet, which was a bit disappointing because Milly would have been excited for her, but never mind.  When it did get here, she loved it and already seems to be growing into it in only a few days.

Testing out her new activity centre

Daddy had to decipher some word play and do a crossword to figure out his present, but he will be going to Melbourne to enjoy some time with a friend.

solving his find a word

Then onto brunch with some family where we were fed, received and gave many more presents and had a swim.

ooh, shiny paper!

Next was lunch with more family.  More food, present giving and receiving and catching up.  Milly spent quite awhile riding her new bike up and down dad's hallway and we had a lovely surprise visit from some more relatives.

New 'big girl' bike

Quickly raced home to empty the car and reload it for dinner with more of daddy's family.  This was our first christmas without Daddy's grandma and although not necessarily sad, it felt very different to past years celebrations and it was quite tough to see and feel the changes, even with 2 small children to distract me.

We didn't make it to one of my family's celebrations as 3 venues in a day was enough for a toddler and a 3 month old.  It was also another first christmas without my grandma (we've both lost our grandmother's to cancer this year) and I think I would have really struggled with 2 in one day.

 Overall we had a great day and we were all very spoilt with our gifts, but I also think the gifts we gave were well received even though there was no handmade, except for a few small food items.  I made this rocky road, one of these cookie jars and a few jars of Nigella's chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce.  More important than the gifts though, is that we got to spend time with our families and that's why we moved here.

bobbing for lemons

We have been spending late afternoons with relatives that live down the road this week.  They walk down to us or we drive (because I'm scared of meeting snakes along the way if we walk) up to them for some catching up.  We sit around the trampoline while Miss. M jumps with her toys and Claire Bear cuddles with somebody.  One afternoon this week I made a cheese ball, which I LOVE!!! I only have terrible photos to show you, but here's the recipe.

125g cream cheese
125g cheddar cheese
125g strong flavoured cheese
2 gerhkins
1 onion
1 tablespoon worcestishire sauce
1/2 red capsicum

Grate these ingredients and mix together.  Form into a ball.

combine 1 1/2 tsp paprika with 1 1/2 tsp curry powder.

Roll the cheese ball in the paprika and curry powder mix to coat.

Serve with plain crackers or fresh vegetable sticks.


I usually leave out the capsicum and this time around I used parmesan and it was a bit too strong for me. A mature cheddar would have been strong enough.

Christmas

Yesterday it was exactly 1 year since we left Brisbane for our big shed adventure.  What a hectic time that was for us.  Handmade presents and cards all wrapped and packed ready to come up here, packing of our entire life into 2 cars and a hired trailer, a little lady getting into everything and just learning to stand on her own, final catch ups and goodbyes with friends and family and saying goodbye to our little house that we loved so dearly even though it was tiny and had horrible carpet.  It was the home we took our first baby home to and we will never forget it. I didn't even know this at the time, but I was pregnant with Claire during all of this too!  I'm getting all nostalgic and emotional now and this is not meant to be my 'reflect on the past year' post so I will leave it at that.  But Brisbane friends, if you're reading this, I miss you.

So, onto Christmas! Well, actually I have not felt it much at all here this year.  As I said, by this time last year almost everyone had a gift handmade by me and it was wrapped with homemade wrapping and had a homemade card.  This year I didn't make anybody's present, I bought rolls of wrapping paper and am recycling sample christmas cards.  I'm not really one for christmas carols and usually find that watching a christmas movie might help to get me into the spirit of things, but I never got around to watching it.  For the past few years, I have had friends who also have children and enjoy crafting around me and I have shared christmas with them.  Not only did I not have that this year, but all my family here is still at work and I had a massive fall out that came as a huge shock to me with one of my closest friends in Brisbane (so bad in fact, that the friendship is apparently no longer) that we would normally spend christmas day with and I can't get it out of my head.  I really need to because the other party certainly seems to have and I should not be letting it ruin my time, but it's really eating away at me lately.  Anyway, I've put away the guilt of not making any presents and have happily decided that it's ok to sometimes take the easy way out when you have 2 small children and have had so many things happen over the year.

We don't have room for a christmas tree here so I made a christmas nook instead and used a small real tree instead.  Miss M. played with the baubles while I put them on the tree and occasionally 'picks' herself one to play with, but that's the most interest she's shown.  She will be 2 in a month and doesn't quite get it yet.  She is starting to understand presents though, as I took her to a christmas party with my friends mother's group last week and Santa gave her a present.

We did do some christmas baking today and I made some rocky road to give away yesterday.

 I also did the christmas food shopping yesterday and that definitely helped my mood.  We will be going to 3 different venues on the day and at least one the day before.  Normally I would be baking and cooking up a storm to take to people's houses, but I didn't even manage that this year.  I decided on 2 things to make and the rest is all store bought or just has to be thrown together at the last minute. I'm going to write what we are taking to each venue, just incase anyone reading needs an easy idea (or incase I need an easy idea in years to come).   Here we go: Chicken and avocado sandwiches to lunch on Christmas eve, punch to brunch on Christmas morning, a cadbury yule log to christmas lunch, and chipolatas and our little portable webber to dinner.  I also have some crackers and I will make some cheese balls to take as well.  I feel really happy that I made the decision to go easy this year as I have more time to spend with my girls and less time spent cleaning up.

Have a Merry Christmas if I don't see you before then!

My turn for favourites

The last post was full of Miss M's post, but this one is mine! 

Firstly, being organised enough to make time to sew! Yay, yay, yay!!! Off the top of my head I have sewn 3 things in the last few weeks.  I know this doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot for me at the moment.  Two of those things weren't complete successes, but they were trials and I learnt a lot for next time.  They were also both presents for a toddler and a preschooler (they won't care about my little mistakes) and I forgot to take photos before I gave them away.  The other is the drawstring bag blogged about here. At the moment I am using it to hold everything I need to make yo yo's and I grab it and stitch in front of the TV at night or during nap time.  Oh just remembered 2 more things I've sewn! Lap blanket blogged about here and I stitched some yo yo's onto a shirt for Miss M.  Still working on that one though, so no photo yet.  I think I'm going to turn the yo-yo's into flowers.  

I'm loving sisterly love, but who doesn't? 

I'm loving that we get to see family (be it mine or daddy's) at least every weekend and sometimes through the week.  And I love that most of my family has children around the same age as Miss M.  

I'm loving ringlets in little girls hair, but don't remind me I said this in a few years time when I'm sick of getting her to brush it and untangling it! 

 I'm loving afternoons outside playing on the trampoline (do they ever stop being fun?) with Miss M and tending to the vege garden.  I meant to blog about the vege garden a long time ago when I started it, but it never happened.  oops! We made it out of star pickets and sheets of iron from our collection of 'useful stuff' in the shed and filled it with stuff cleared off the siding on daddy's parents farm.

Some little tomato plants had come up in the yard where our grey water ends up, so we transplanted them into the garden and they took off amazingly.  There are now LOTS of tomatoes, but something is eating them just before they ripen and I am determined to solve this problem.  Any tips? I'm happy to take advice if 'you' have any please?

We then planted 2 sweet basil plants and they have also taken off and are getting used regularly so we added another 3 Greek basil plants.  

We also planted cucumber seeds and I am so excited because we harvested our first one today!!!! This is my first ever successful vegetable growing experience and I am over the moon about it.  There are 2 more which will be picked in a few days and then another lot that will be ready in a week or so. 

 Next there are some lettuce seedlings that are coping surprisingly well with the heat and we have been picking leaves as we need them.  We are onto our second crop of lettuce.  

Finally, there is a 'mini capsicum' plant, which I think is some new variety that is supposed to grow bite size capsicums.  Miss M loves capsicums and eats them like apples so hopefully the tiny fruit that have appeared in the last week or so grow well and she can feast on them as she wishes.   

Hmm, maybe that needed a post of it's own.  

I get some serious sewing time next week because Miss M is going to stay with her grandma from out of town for a few days again so hopefully there will be a successful sewing story to tell.  I'm also looking forward to giving Miss C as much attention as she wants for a few days.  I do love our chat time!

Time for some favourites

I always leave way too long in between these favourites posts and so much is missed out.  In a few years time when I'm reminiscing about my babies this is not going to be a reliable source of information.  Oh well!

I'll start with Miss M who is still amazing me with the things she learns to do.  I get so excited with each new development and I love seeing how daddy notices these things too.  So, she loves her new trampoline at the moment and asks for it throughout the day until I finally say yes around 3pm.  Because it's in the shade, not because I'm a big meanie.

Giant new 'twampterine'

When I ask her what's for dinner she says "sugar" and when I say no she says "dessert".  This can go on for a long time, but I like playing this game with her.

She has started looking after her doll the same way she sees me looking after her baby sister.  Wrapping her, checking her nappy, putting her under the toys and in the rocker.

Baby playing with Miss C's toys

She's starting to enjoy riding her bike and she's slowly getting faster and today even tried a fishtail with the handlebars.

She can recognise her name written on paper and most letters of the alphabet.  I've been a bit slack with numbers, but she can recognise 1, 2 and 3.

She still loves kissing and cuddling her baby sister and she will often talk to her or give her a gentle rock if she's upset.

Singing 'Twinkle Twinkle to a happy Miss C

She has been having a great time playing with a saucepan of water, a little jug and a few plastic dishes lately.  She practices "pouring very gently" into the different vessels.

This time with milk and silicone patty papers

She builds 'helicopters', 'planes' and 'boats', usually driven by a chicken with her duplo and is starting to become very particular about how she wants it put together and gets very cranky when she can't do something.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!

Concentrating

Lastly for now, she is starting to talk quietly or sing to herself throughout the day, in a really quiet little voice and sometimes offers to sing to Claire when she is upset.

All in all, lots of new things and there's plenty more that I've missed out, because I can't think of them.  She is going to be 2 in 2 months! 

Banana Muffins

I was recently given a giant bunch of free bananas that all ripened at once, so I froze a heap to bake with.  This recipe is really quick and easy.  It's actually a cake recipe that I just adapt however I like depending on what I've got on hand at the time.  This recipe comes from somewhere in my family, but I'm not sure where.  I have it in a little photo album of recipes that my mum scrap booked and gave to me when I moved out of home.


One Egg Cake
1 1/2 cups S.R. flour
1 egg
4 TBS butter
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, add sugar, gradually add beaten egg.  Mix lightly, add flour alternately with milk, add vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

That's the actual recipe, but this is what I do.

Puree 1 large banana. Put all ingredients except the banana in a bowl and mix with mixmaster.  Fold in pureed banana.  Pour into 8x20cm loaf tin or individual muffin cases. I iced ours with cream cheese icing . I'm a very messy, non-perfectionist type of baker at the best of times, but I had my 22 month old helping me with icing so they look quite bad, but they tasted delicious.  

Outside

It's been awhile since the last 'shouse' update, but lots of things have been happening.  It's been liveable for 6 months now, but we are always adding/changing/replacing something to improve life in the 'shouse'.  I haven't shown you the outside since the photos I took when I came to inspect the shed over a year ago so I'm going to update  on that now.

Firstly we borrowed a little slasher and cleared all around the shed. Then we borrowed a backhoe and did some DIY earthmoving to remove built up dirt/leaves/rubbish etc. and reshape the land so that water from excess rain flows into the creek and not into the 'shouse'.  We did all this about 4 months ago and until recently that's how it stayed so our yard was a complete dustbowl.  Our aim at the moment is to grow some grass and pretty the place up with some plants and gardens.  I'll post about the back yard and the rest of the yard later this week, but for today, this is the front yard (dustbowl).


So, I know it looks pretty pathetic, but here it is.  Until a few weeks ago there was no green out here at all so it is growing quite well.  At first we just planted some buffalo grass that we got from a relative then we sprinkled a cheap box of lawn seed on it and it seems to be growing ok.

Today Milly helped me collect some rocks in her wagon to make an edging for our little flower garden.

I just bought a few punnets of little ground covery, flowery things and planted them straight into the ground.  They have little flower buds that look like they will open soon.

So that's the front yard.  It doesn't look like much, but if you compare with this 'before' photo I think it's quite impressive.

And of course there's more plans to put into action.  Still to come is the backyard (much more impressive) and the fruit trees (I'm very excited about these!!!)