Lou's Creative Chaos

Tiptoeing in the Tulips!

2009-10-01T15:44:00.002+10:00

Yesterday i took the girls up to the "kids day" at the Tesslar Tulip Festival. We have gone the past few years and always had a ball! I dont think that anything could have prepared us for the amount of people there this year - the word seems to be spreading about what a fantastic family day out it is! The weather was just gorgeous, and a fun day was had by all. Here are a few pics - take note of the gorgeous face painting! We had to wait in line for an hour and a half to get this done, girls loved it but boy that was a LONG wait!

Another highlight of the day was "bumping" in Karen who recognised me (well my daughter actually :-)) at the tulip farm - was really nice to "meet" you, thanks for saying hi!

Wordless Weekend!

2009-09-26T09:26:00.002+10:00

A simple little popover sundress...

2009-09-21T17:30:00.003+10:00

I made this dress for Eleisha this afternoon, its a Oliver + S pattern (free too!) and its called the popover sundress! Its so simple to make, and looks pretty cute on i think! Eleisha has a really bad cold/cough etc at the moment so she was not very co-operative when it came to smiling or letting me take her pic but here are a few snaps of the dress after she tried it on!

Free Pattern

A little bit of inspiration...

2009-09-08T23:02:00.002+10:00

Just a really quick blog to say i received a new book today that i bought online and it is making me sooo excited about christmas and sewing again!!

Can not wait to get started on some of the projects!! I am just about to place an etsy order for some new fabric to go along with these new projects!

Look forward to seeing what everyone else is making as the christmas season approaches!

VOTE FOR ME PLEASE!

2009-09-03T20:00:00.002+10:00

Well as i mentioned last week, i am a finalist in the SMILE Centro Photography Competition!

The voting lines are open and id love you to vote for me!

Here is the photo i have entered

If you would like to vote for me please go to: VOTE HERE /and click on Centro Cranbourne in VIC and vote for the first photo named "Caitlyn"

Thanks :-)

Centro Smile Photography Competition Finalist!

2009-08-28T10:20:00.004+10:00

I found out yesterday that i am a finalist in my local centro smile photography competition. Im not sure what photo is it yet but here are the ones that i entered. I will let you all know next week which photo it is that got through.

Smile Competition

Im happy being a finalist even if i dont win (which i am def not expecting too!!) as i will get the photo mounted in a nice big size which is great!! I love my one from last year and now will have another one!

Be back soon with more info!

Snow fun!

2009-08-24T17:22:00.003+10:00

On friday we headed up to Mt Buller for some fun in the snow!! This was the first time we had ever taken the girls to the snow, and they were sooo excited!! We had the BEST family day that we had in a long time and we all came away with huge smiles on our faces!! Best of all it snowed on us nearly all afternoon which was exciting for all members of the family!!!

Here are some photos of our day

Frogs & snails & puppy dogs tails....

2009-08-18T17:32:00.002+10:00

That's what little GIRLS??? are made of....

Yup girls were in their pj's and i couldnt hear them so went looking and found them out in the backyard having a ball finding snails!! Needless to say they had another shower and new pj's before bed but the smiles made it all worthwhile!

Heather Bailey papers & craft in Australia....

2009-08-02T15:59:00.002+10:00

This is just a really quick post especially for my aussie readers that i found heather bailey craft stuff at my local spotlight the other day!! Was super excited about this find (they also had some martha stewart stuff too!!). Could it be that Australia might finally stock the stuff we usually have to either buy from overseas or just drool over!?!?!?!

Anyway here are a few pics, i used the papers and ribbons to make some boxes for a fundraising night i went to last night!! Too cute!

Happy shopping :-)

Last day of school holidays...

2009-07-17T16:47:00.002+10:00

Today was a crazy end to some incredibly hectic, yet fun school holidays!! Despite having to vacuum twice a day due to various cooking, eating, crafting, spilling that has happened these holidays i have really enjoyed the lack of routine as a nice break to our ordinarily organised busy life!!

Hannah & Caitlyn both had friends over today and my nephew was over this morning whilst we were making "face biscuits" which was what the girls requested we make with their friends and of course J couldnt be left out of all the fun!!

At first he was spotted in the playroom at the play kitchen eating a fake doughnut!!! It was hilarious as he kept looking at it strangely yet shoving it back into his mouth in the hope it might be the real deal!!

Here is J with the fake doughnut!!

This is what happens when you feed lollies and iced biscuits to an 18month old then proceed to clean him up and not give him any more lollies!!!

And here is the difference between some bikkies made by the girls and bikkies made by the boy (hannahs friend) See if you can guess which is which!!!

And just a couple of pics of my 2 older girls (E was at kinder!) because...well just because!!

Raspberry White Choc Muffins!

2009-07-12T17:41:00.003+10:00

We had some friends over for morning tea, and some others drop by in the afternoon so i decided to make some muffins with using some raspberries we had early this morning! This was the first time using this recipe and they were delicious so i thought id share the recipe with you all!

Raspberry & White Choc Muffins
(makes approx 15)

2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup milk
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup oil (i used peanut oil for mild flavour but you could use any)
2 eggs
2/3 cup castor sugar
180g white choc cut up into chunks (plus extra if you want to some to the top before baking)
200g raspberries

(preheat oven to 170 for fan forced)

Place flour, sugar and choc into a bowl

Stir to combine

Add berries

Gently stir to combine, try not to mix too much or berries will lose their form.

Whisk all wet ingredients together (milk, lemon juice, egg and oil)

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently and for as little amount of time as possible.

Spoon into muffin cases and place choc on top if desired.

Bake for approx 25 mins and serve with a dusting of icing sugar on top

DELICIOUS and easy...

EB Bag Swap!

2009-07-10T09:16:00.005+10:00

I particpated in a bag swap and i opened the parcel i received today from Lisa!! The bag is just gorgeous...i LOVE the Amy Butler fabric used and i cant wait to go out and take this bag with me!!!

Here are some photos!

This is all wrapped up and looking gorgeous already!

Here is the fabulous bag!!

This is the cute matching purse!

I made a bag and wallet for Anna and i forgot to take ANY photos of what i made so go and check out her blog!!

The pattern i used for the bag i made can be found here and the pattern for the wallet can be found here both PDF files from ETSY!!

Thanks again Anna for organising this swap - i had a BLAST!

Some Sunday goodness...

2009-06-28T13:54:00.006+10:00

Firstly just to apologise about the lack of blogging in the month of June!!! How very slack of me!! To my defence i have been completely FLAT OUT and barely had a second to stop so no time for blogging!! However, we have 3 weeks of school holidays starting tomorrow and i plan to get back into blogging and crafting and spending lots of time with my gorgeous girls...so stay tuned im sure i will have more posts to blog soon...

Anyway, we were meant to have friends over for morning tea today but they let us know early this morning that they werent going to make it. I had already planned on scones for morning tea so the girls and i set about making the scones together! They were very YUMMY and the girls wanted to make some chocolate milkshakes (another of their faves!!) Hannah even set about making us invitations to her special morning tea and wanted to make sure we would all be there!! After we had eaten we played a family game of charades (which has become a fav with Hannah lately). Family fun is SOOOO important, i cant wait for some more of that over the holidays as we let go of our routines and just enjoy being together!!

Anyway here are a few pics from our day so far..

Milkshake mustache!

Hannah loving her scones!

Can you tell she isnt impressed by the scone!! Caitlyn is a VERY fussy eater and it took her a bit of convincing to try this!

Sisterly love!!

I will be back tomorrow with some more blogging goodness!!

My baby turns 4!!!

2009-06-09T16:18:00.005+10:00

I can hardly believe that my baby turned 4 yesterday!! Hubby and i have spent all week wondering how time has gone and how our little girls are growing up so quickly!! I really LOVE babies so in a way its hard to let go of knowing you wont have anymore!! In other ways its fabulous as babies really are hard work!! I have lots of sisters so im hoping as long as they keep having babies i should get my "fix" somewhere!!!

Eleisha has been talking about her birthday for a long time now and given that her birthday is the day after my birthday it makes for a busy time of the year!! I was going to throw Eleisha her first real party but a lot of the people we wanted to come were going away as it was a long weekend so we had a little get together with her cousins at maccas!

Here are a few pics i took of Eleisha throughout the day!

This is the new vanity thing we got Eleisha for her birthday, she loves it as you open the doors with a button on the wand and then its starts singing!!

Eleisha with the new library bag i made her. We put her sleeping beauty costume in the bag and also tickets to disney princess on ice which we will hear about for the next 4 weeks til we get to go lol!!

This photo truely captures Eleisha, this is just E being E!! (with her new barbies in hand!!)

Eleisha blowing out her candle on her cupcake at maccas!!

Oh and i heard her telling everyone at school this morning that she is turning 5!!! Wow..can we just be four for a while before we are turning 5 :-)

Stripwork Skirt...and some funny moves!

2009-05-29T16:38:00.002+10:00

I have had this pattern since before i even had a sewing machine! Yes thats right, before!!! I was keen and loved the pattern so i bought it online. I was meaning to make it up in beautiful summer girly colours but i ran out of time and here we are heading into winter...

So i found this fabric on etsy the other week and just fell in love with it! So different from the pinks and girly colours i usually buy the girls and i thought it was gorgeous autumn/winter colours so i bought it!! The fabric is Timeless Treasures Fabric - Apple Family. Here is a pick of my stash!

I finished the skirt earlier in the week and decided to applique an owl onto a plain white top! The applique i messed around with a bit and had ditzy moments trying to remember how to do it (i will blame it on the really bad cold im enduring this week!!!) so today i quickly finished the applique as Eleisha had been promised all week she could wear it to Aunty Tracey's birthday lunch today!!! (note to self: dont make promises to 3 year olds!) So i let her wear it but i am yet to stitch around the applique yet but E didnt notice!! :-)

Here are a few very quick pics i took of her...as you can see E was far from wanting to be cooperative in letting me take some nice pics of her and the outfit!!

Am hoping to sew up a jacket to match this outfit...

{LOVE}

2009-05-25T12:32:00.005+10:00

Just a quick post to show a pic of my new tattoo that i got done on the weekend. It was part of my mothers day present only had to wait a few weeks to get a weekend appointment so hubby could come along!

I wasn't worried about the pain at all but hubby (who got one done about 4 years ago) was trying to freak me out the morning of getting it done, i think he was just worried that i didn't realise it was going to hurt!!! Anyway it did hurt a bit for the outline but nothing like any other pain i can describe and it was bearable...the colouring in part was fine. I watched the whole time (i too also watch whenever i have a blood test etc it doesnt phase me!) and it only took about 15-20 mins all up! Hubby said i was very brave and he couldn't believe i was watching it being done!

I have wanted a tattoo for a while (started talking about it when hubby got his done years ago) but i wasn't exactly sure what i wanted so didnt want to get it til i was. I always knew i wanted it about my girls, and for anyone who knows me and my family knows that from birth we have called Hannah princess, Caitlyn angel and Eleisha butterfly. They know what they are called too and will often correct people who for example call Caitlyn princess etc! I tried to think how i could combine these three things to symbolize my girls but for the life of me i couldn't think how i would like it until i came up the idea below which is simple but means a lot to me!!

Here is what i came up with on the computer which is what i took to the tattooist!

And here is the final product, placed on my left wrist!! (excuse the shine but its still covered in bepanthen!!)

Final pair of PJ's (for now!)

2009-05-18T17:44:00.002+10:00

Sorry i have been MIA but i have been without a camera for the past week as i had to give back the one i was borrowing and i only received my camera back from being fixed today!! WOW that was a long wait...i think it was close to 2 months to fix my camera but at least it was under warranty or else it would have cost me almost $600 to repair!!

Anyway here is the final pair of Oliver + S pj's for my girls for now, (i cant say i wont make more as im getting really really good and QUICK at them!!). This was some of the fabric i picked up at spotlight for $2 a metre!! There werent too many fabrics that i liked on the sale rack but this was cute and thought it would make some nice pj's so all up these cost me about $4 to make!! C is very happy that she has her pair, she kept telling me she was being very patient lol!

Will hopefully be back soon with some more sewing projects completed. The next few patterns on my list are these Oliver + S patterns. Not sure which pattern to start with and also which child :-)

2 + 2 blouse & pleated skirt

sunday brunch jacket + a-line skirt

Keep watching this space.....

{CUPCAKES}

2009-05-11T20:16:00.002+10:00

I had an order today for 100 cupcakes. I originally was asked to give them a price, then next thing i knew they came back and accepted only for me to find out the order was for today (the day after mothers day!!). They had to be in the city this morning by 730am which meant a big day of baking yesterday!! Oh well you live and learn! The asked for simple iced cupcakes (for a work morning tea) and here are a few pics!

Note to self...really must be more organised and make the flowers in advance not on the day!!!

Have a pretty busy week but will hopefully update my blog again soon :-)

{Autumn}

2009-05-08T15:45:00.003+10:00

Today at kinder Eleisha got a balloon from a girl who was celebrating her birthday today! When we got it home i decided that we should go for a walk with the balloon and get some photos with it as i have been meaning to get out and capture the rich colours that autumn bring! In no time i will be wishing i could still see those gorgeous colours once winter sets in, and its also a lot harder to take outside pics when its cold and raining all the time!

Anyhoo, here are a few pics for our little adventure!

{BASKETBALL}

2009-05-05T20:44:00.003+10:00

Saturday was Hannah's second basketball game! I missed her first game as it was my sisters wedding! The girls are all from school and are in both grade 1 and grade 2 - they have been put in under 10's though as some of the girls turn 8 soon therefore making them ineligible for under 8's!

The lost the game 36 - 2 but that was exciting for them all the same as they scored their first goal! The last game they lost 40 - 0 so theres hope for them yet!!

Having played basketball for 18 years now and being quiet a competitive person (in sport that is, i dont think that runs into any other aspect of my life but then again i think im a different girl on the basketball court!!! :D) i have to watch myself and tell hannah as long as she is having fun and trying her best then thats all that matters!!

Here are a few pics from her game! Really proud mummy moment - how cute is she in her uniform!!

oh and the one team foul on the scorebaord was Hannah's - just like her mummy already :D

You guessed it - more PJ'S!

2009-05-05T20:23:00.003+10:00

So i have now finished H's pj's! I promised her yesterday that she could wear them to bed tonight so i had a big day today of sewing!! I am actually getting really good at these jammies and really have learnt alot making them (3 times now! cant say the $$ spent on the pattern hasnt been worth it can i??!!) I have to make them at least one more time soon as C is still waiting for me to sew her pj's!

Anyway here are some pics! Hannah picked the fabric, which is a lovely lemon colour and has little fairies with glitter all over them! Doesn't she look proud to be wearing them :-)

Hope your not getting too sick of seeing these, i REALLY want to start sewing some other patterns but i need to be a fair mum and complete the pj's i promised all 3 of the girls!!!

Happy sewing all...will be back soon with another post as i have been a little slack in posting lately :-)

All TIE'd up!

2009-04-28T12:42:00.004+10:00

This is just a really quuick post with a photo i wanted to share! I sent my girls today in their winter uniform , since Melbourne has been soooo cold and this is the first time C has worn it! Isnt she soooo cute! (biased mummy moment!!) I think she is growing up soooo fast this year!! Where has my little girl gone! (Well actually she is still little as you can see the dress is HUGE on her...and i think i definitely need to take it up!)

I love the cooler weather for being all snuggly in warm clothes and hot cocoa (a fave lately of my girls!) and also cos its good weather for baking!!

{ABC}

2009-04-27T21:40:00.004+10:00

Well since i am well and truely addicted to making pj's (well for the moment anyway :)) this afternoon i decided to make Caitlyn and Kai (my nephew) some since they use the same pattern size that i had already cut out for Eleisha thus making it easier! I bought some flannel from spotlight today which was a bargain only $3 a meter so i got some to make these pj's! I made a tear on Caitlyn's pj's when i had to unpick a mistake (ooops! im such a newbie!!) so i couldnt finish hers until i go back to spotlight to get some more fabric!! I think thats all i know who wear a size 4 so i might need to trace the pattern again to make some different sizes!!!

Anyway i didnt get to give them to my nephew tonight as i finished them too late and he was already in bed but i thought id take some pics before i gave them to him, hopefully his mum will take a pic for me of him wearing them (hint hint Tra!).

An up close of the flannel and the stars!

Im sure ill be back again soon posting more pj's! HAPPY SEWING :)

oliver + s bedtime story pajamas!

2009-04-24T12:24:00.003+10:00

Well as most of you know i have spend a good part of a couple of days trying to make these gorgeous pyjamas!! As per usual it took me longer than i first thought, basically because i am so VERY new to sewing and i find tracing and cutting the pattern takes ages too!!

So here is a pic of the pattern i bought, its so cute!! I bought on the recommendation of a few lovely ladies. You can check out another blog with these pj's here!

And here is Eleisha modeling the finished product!! They are a little too big ( i made her a size 4 which is her size so i do think this pattern is a little larger if you are planning on making them!). I still have 2 more pairs to make for my other girls so hopefully it will mean i will get quicker at making them by the end of it all! Eleisha chose this fabric, i wasn't too sure on it but she was adamant that it was what she wanted for her pj's!!

So there you have them, i made a few mistakes making these and the end product is far from perfect but E loves them and cant wait to wear them to bed tonight! In fact when she first saw them this morning she said they were her karate pyjamas! LOL!

I have 2 other oliver + s patterns here to make, so once i finish the pj's i cant wait to get started on them!

Quick pic...

2009-04-23T16:56:00.002+10:00

Not much really to share today, thought i would post this funny pic of my girls at swimming lessons yesterday! We are well and truely back into the swing of school now, with all the after school activities beginning! I am enjoying being back in routine, i think we all function better with it!

Hannah resumed swimming lessons yesterday and is doing well. Caitlyn had her first swimming lesson (we finally convinced her it has taken us 2 years for her to be brave enough for swimming lessons!) She must have done something right as she ended up with 2 certificates at the end of the lesson!! YAY CAITLYN! Eleisha is also doing swimming lessons on a Monday during the day, as it then fills up some time with her during the day and gives her something else to look forward to when the girls are at school! I think that 3 year old kinder should be more than one session a week!!!

Anyway i am trying to sew some pj's at the moment, they are proving a little harder than anticipated but hopefully will be back later with some pics of the final product!!

A sneak peek!

2009-04-19T22:16:00.003+10:00

Yesterday was my sisters wedding!! It was a wonderful day and i had a blast at the reception and paid for it today :-)

I thought i would share a couple of pics with everyone. I helped take the photos yesterday (and am thankful i am NOT a wedding photographer as i definitely felt completely out of my comfort zone!

Me trying to be artistic lol...

This is my neice and nephew (bride and grooms children). I was having trouble getting a nice pic of them together then T spontaneously kisses E on the cheek...so cute!

The happy couple

These are the cupcakes i made for her wedding cake...

My gorgeous nephew

Jane in the mustang on the way...

I just LOVE this photo! This is my nana and pa dancing on the dance floor. Pa was telling me earlier that he now has 27 GREAT grandchildren!! WOW!

Anyway thats all for this sneak peek, might post more at a later date!

{HOORAY}

2009-04-16T17:03:00.005+10:00

50th post on my blog!

I am celebrating 50 posts on my blog! YAY! I think its fair to say i am addicted to blogging - and i have all of you to thank! I love receiving comments on my posts but most of all i LOVE all the inspiration and motivation i gain from reading other blogs!

I made another margaret bag, this time i made it smaller and with a longer strap so that it can go across my body! YAY I LOVE IT!! I much prefer this fabric too, its more subtle and more likely that i will use this one!! The other one is still too bold for my liking so i am not sure what to do with it! Hopefully give it away to someone who will make use of it!

Here are some pics of my new bag...

And again THANK YOU to my blogging friends...and celebrating 50 posts with me!

Margaret Sling Bag

2009-04-14T08:26:00.003+10:00

So, i FINALLY finished this bag that i was meant to be making as part of a March sewing challenge!! I definitely can see now i was being over ambitious to think i would get this bag sewn in March as i had waaaaay too much on already! But, i finished it, with a few challenges along the way and i think i might make another one soon {gasp}! Im not too sure i like the fabric i chose and i have some yummy fabric waiting so i might sew another one for me to use...or maybe the fabric will grow on me - who knows!

Here is the tutorial, and free pattern in case you would like to make one too!!

Margaret Sling Bag Tutorial

And some pics of the finished project!

And the pockets on the inside of the bag

{HAPPY EASTER}

2009-04-12T15:54:00.002+10:00

Happy Easter to all my blogging friends, hope you all had a wonderful day!

A quick post...

2009-04-11T23:31:00.003+10:00

Tonight just a really quick post as its late, but wanted to share a pic with you all! I am LOVING this cooler weather! Last night before we headed out, the girls all got on their flannel pj's and dressing gowns and slippers and i just had to take a pic! They looked all warm and snuggly and i wanted to just snuggle with them on the couch! I LOVE IT! One of my fav things about the cooler weather!

Anyway here is the pic of my gorgeous girls...{LOVE}

Oh one more thing, last week my 2 little girls got their ears pierced, so this is the first photo on my blog of them! They are super proud of having earings and happily tell everyone they didnt cry :-)

Til next blog...Happy warm winter snuggling :-)

An old chair....

2009-04-07T21:16:00.003+10:00

I got this old chair from my MIL about a month ago. We went to her house to collect some things that she was going to get rid of and i rescued this little old chair from the tip pile and have been meaning to fix it up.

Today, well actually it was about 4pm this afternoon, i got motivated to finally sand it back and repaint it. I also decided to make a cushion and a cushion cover to tie it to the newly painted chair!

This is the end result, quite cute (no way near perfect!) for a couple of hours of my time!

Here is the next project on my list, i have had this cradle since before christmas. I picked it up from an op shop (ich liebe op shops!!) for $7 which i thought was better than the $70 i saw a really cute dolls cradle for in the toy shop! Hopefully i will get to this one too in the next couple of weeks. Any ideas or suggestions let me know :-) ...and yes the dog and butterfly will def be going!

Athletics Carnival!

2009-04-02T16:24:00.002+11:00

Today the girls had their athletics day. It started straight after their Easter Chapel service this morning and went until the finish of school. It was a long, fun and VERY exhausting day for all of us. The girls loved that i stayed all day and watched all their events and i know that not all mums have the opportunity to do that so i feel blessed that i can!

Caitlyn got a first in relay race and a second in long jump! Not bad for probably one of the smallest preps!! Hannah also got a second in relay! Very proud mum moment!

Here are a few pics from our day...

Caitlyn doing her high jump!

Hannah doing relay

Hannah doing long jump

Caitlyn doing long jump

The girls at home once they had finished their ice creams!!

A few projects done...

2009-03-29T17:14:00.003+11:00

This week i have been helping to organise my nephews 1st birthday. It was a week of firsts for me as i made some bunting for the party (first time doing this). It was pretty easy (but seemingly time consuming!) and i think my girls would love some in their rooms. I forgot to get a photo before giving it to my sister so the photo is from the party.

I also appliqued for the first time too. I bought a red top (i could only find long sleeve so he didnt get to wear it for most of the party! but since its coming into winter i struggled to find any plain tshirts!). I knew i wanted to applique a number 1 onto the front and i ended up putting a little cookie monster on the back of the top! It also was quite an easy and effective project (and not too time consuming even better!) so this is a winner. Again forgot to take any pics of the top so here is one of the birthday bot wearing the top...

On Friday night i made the cupcakes for Jett's party and i enlisted the help of my wonderful friend Kez. It ended up that my sister Kez also came over to sleep the night so we had her helping also!! I am not sure i would have got these finished if it wasnt for their help and laughter! Things are always so much easier when shared with people you love, we were up til 1:30am doing these but we didnt feel tired cos we were too busy having fun!

Here is a pic of the two Kez's...

Dont they look great for 1:30am :-)

This was what we all were doing once we finished. Was a very funny sight to see, early hours of the morning with 3 girls and their cameras taking pics! Kez got a new baby (aka camera!) and so i took a pic of her!

The finished product!

Was a great party, my sister did a lovely job and im sure the birthday boy had fun and got lots of pressies!!

Fun in the sun!

2009-03-23T21:04:00.005+11:00

Holidays are such a wonderful time out of lifes hustle and bustle! Relaxing by the sea is something i could definitely get used to! We had a wonderful time filled with lots of swimming, laughing, relaxing, eating, walking and more laughing!

We headed up to the Gold Coast where George's dad and step mum lives, and we caught up with them for a couple of days before they headed off overseas and we enjoyed staying in their apartment!

This is the girls with their poppy George and granny Varri (yes my husband is called George and so is his dad and dad's dad!! PHEW thank goodness we had a girl first :D)

We had a wonderful seafood lunch sitting on the boardwalk with George's parents before they left! Was lovely and relaxing and great to spend time together

We had a great day at dreamworld and also the water park that has opened up as part of dreamworld! The girls LOVED the waterslides and didnt want to leave

George got called onto the stage for a nickelodeon show we were watching, he had to be silly and dress up and the girls thought he was hillarious!!! I couldnt help but think that in only a few short years im sure this would be more of a "ohhh dad" {embarrassment} so we will treasure this moment in which they were so proud of their dad!!

We spent a gorgeous sunny day at Byron Bay (this is the first time we had been there). We checked out the lighthouse and the picturesque views from up that high. We then spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach, swimming and playing and then ended the day with fish and chips on the beach. Was a really lovely day...here are some pics

As you can see i have a thing for sun-flare photos at the moment, im sure the phase will pass!

We also drove up to Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, here are a few pics from here

Here are a few other pics from our holiday. My camera broke half way through the holidays {SOB} so it is about to go off for a service so i didnt get pics of a few days of our holidays but im sure the hundreds in this post will do for today :D

Hopefully looking at these pics might give you a sense of relaxation...

I {heart} Amy Butler!

2009-03-11T15:52:00.004+11:00

As you all know i went to the stitches and craft show today, we left early this morning (me, my gorgeous sis Tra, her boys and my little girl!). All set for a big day of walking, looking and hopefully not too much buying! The show itself was not as great as i remembered last year, i think it might have something to do with the fact that we didn't get to do any workshops this year as we had our children with us (last year i went child-free and this is definitely what i recommend to get the full experience!) Also i think you have more on when you go on the weekend as opposed to a weekday!

I did have a great day out with my sis and nephews though, we weren't there all that long and that was probably good for the kids, i guess i just expected a bit more after loving last years one so much!

I got home and found my mailbox overflowing, and was sooo happy to see my parcel from ETSY had arrived! YAY. Here is a quick sneak peek at the Amy Butler fabric i purchased!! Cant wait to use it for some projects!

This is how it came, all wrapped up and looking sweet!

Here are the fabrics i purchased!

My Sewing Afternoon...

2009-03-10T22:04:00.002+11:00

Today i spent the afternoon sewing, as i havent really done much of that lately! I decided to make a little bag, it was quite easy to sew, and i think i might make a few more, maybe do the next couple a little bit bigger!

I got the pattern/measurements out of a book i have that is called "Learn to Sew". Its a great book for me, as someone who has never been taught anything about sewing, and i picked it up from Borders for about $5 which i thought was great!! It has 20 simple patterns/projects in there and there are quite a few i would like to make!

Here is a quick pic, its been a long day and im feeling it tonight :-)

Happy sewing all...

Crafty Events!

2009-03-08T07:48:00.003+11:00

Well i am trying to organise my week and realised that this week The Stitches and Craft Show is on in Melbourne. I LOVE this event and hope i can fit it in my week as its on wed - sun but Thursday Hannah has her assembly (which her class are running - cant miss this!) and Friday we leave for a holiday. I really want to see the movie also of Handmade Nation which they are showing at this event (by Faythe Levine). So if any of you are interested in craft you should try and get along to this event this week, it really is worthwhile and very inspiring!

Also on my to do list is Magnolia Square. It is on in Malvern Town Hall on the 26-28th March and if you have never been you really should!! I do love it, even if you are just going for a look and some ideas (things can be a little more expensive here i think but they are gorgeous!!)

So, this is a bit of a mundane post really, but blogger has become my new journal/diary so if none of my readers are interested it still makes it faster for me to find the information!

We are off to Mornington Craft Market now, (see this post is really all about craft markets!) Also another recommendation if you have never been!

Enjoy the long weekend all...

CAKE SMASH!!

2009-03-06T13:07:00.004+11:00

I have been asking Tra if i could do a cake smash session for Jett's 1st Birthday! Today we decided at the last minute that we would do it this morning while the other 2 children were at kinder! It was lots of fun and Jett LOVED it!! Hope you like the pics Tra! Im not sure Jett will want cake for a loooong time after eating as much as he did!

Hope these bring a smile to your face!!

For the chocolholic!

2009-03-06T11:59:00.002+11:00

Tonight we are all heading out for George's pop's 80th birthday celebrations! I love that my children still have their great grandparents alive from both my side and George's side of the family! I made a cake, i wanted something simple, as i have had a pretty full on week and the weekend is looking just as busy!

Only a week til we go to QLD! YAY! I cant wait to relax with my hubby and our girls!

Anyway here is a cake, i wont post the recipe as i used the same one as previously posted by me!

WooHoo!

2009-03-04T21:08:00.002+11:00

Well no photos are anything fancy today but some good news to share! Went back to the neurologist today to get the results from my MRI and the brain and spine were all clear...thus ruling out MS (Multiple Sclerosis) which is what i was told 3 months ago was more than likely what i had!! I am still not much closer to knowing what is causing my unusual symptoms that are still persisting, but i am thankful and will sleep better tonight knowing i dont have to deal with this disease!

I do however have a new found respect and appreciation for people who deal with this disease (and many others) on a daily basis with a smile on their face!

Im so happy tonight i could sing.....FA LA LA LA (thats as good as it gets!!)

Anyway keep smiling til next time...

An afternoon in the house of....

2009-03-02T19:12:00.003+11:00

I came home from school today a little bit exhausted and some what overwhelmed by what the afternoon beholds. Usually they are something i have come to cope with and sometimes even enoy the craziness of but today i struggled probably as a combination of being out all afternoon and tiredness from not sleeping so great!

I decided i would write this blog, more out of my own curiosity of learning more about how you "do" the craziness of afternoons and i thought if i went first hopefully YOU - yes you, reading this blog - will follow my lead! Since i love photos i decided to narrate the afternoon with pics!

The girls finish school at 3:10pm and we leave home at 2:45pm to get there early enough to collect the school bags and chat to some mums. We are usually home between 3:30-3:45pm depending on how much time the girls spend playing on the playground whilst i chitter chat with the mums!

Once we are home, there are some rules in place! The girls know that they have to bring in their school bags and the first thing is lunch-boxes are to be put on the bench ready to be cleaned out for the next day. Also the diaries need to be put on my desk along so they can be checked for notices and signed.

School diary!

Once this is done they are allowed to have an afternoon snack and drink. If they haven't finished their fruit from their lunch box for that day this is the first thing that has to be eaten, and generally i try to keep this afternoon snack to fruit or popcorn or something light! Between 3:45 - 4:30 is snack and unwind time.

Around 4:30pm we start doing the homework. I have really noticed having 2 at school when it comes to homework time. Caitlyn (in prep) seems to have a fair bit to do at the moment, i guess it is because they are learning so many new things they are trying to reinforce them at home as well.

Tonight we started off with Catilyn's "golden words". For those that dont know these are the 12 most common words used in english. We first did them off the sheet just going through them in rows.

Caitlyn is doing alright with these, its really hard going back to basics with one of your children when you are used to the other being able to read anything easily!! It is also hard not to compare you children to each other, i really try to catch myself in thought before i ever actually say things out loud. Its not at all that i think one is better than the other, but their differences can often be noted. I also try to stay out of the conversations that parents often engage in about how their particular child is doing, although i have generally found this only to be so in prep, the parents in grade two couldn't care less about comparing their child's reading ability with anyone elses!! I guess its the uncertainty that sending your precious child off to school brings, that you are looking to see how your child falls in the "ranks" of the rest of the class!

Anyway back to it...golden words. I found some flash cards with these words on them (actually i think it is the top 100 words which is great because i think they learn the top 200 in prep). I use these cards as well, most nights, just to check Caitlyn is learning the words by sight not by the place they are on the paper!!!

Next Cailtyn "reads" to me her reader for the night! Thankfully these are really short and basic as she is still learning to "read" and we will do the same book twice just so it sinks in a little (i hope!!)

While Caitlyn is doing this Hannah is on mathletics. Hannah loves mathletics and as she is a "computer nerd" (lol) i do not need to encourage her to be at the computer.

Hannah at her computer doing mathletics - notice for anyone who uses this she is actually in the section where you buy clothes etc for your person! This is her favourite part im sure!!! :-)

Caitlyn also starts her mathletics on my computer once she has finished her words. I need to sit with her still to direct her with what she needs to do (today it was sorting numbers in order both forwards and backwards!) Caitlyn also loves time on the computer (often the computer is the source of any arguing between my girls)

By this stage it was around 5pm and bath time. I usually shower the girls then they watch tv or play games whilst i cooked dinner but tonight they wanted a bath. In the winter time i use my slow cooker a lot which i just LOVE! It means i get dinner on when i get home from school in the morning and frees us my time to do other things in the night! I really should start using that again soon (any good recipe ideas for slow cookers id love to hear them!!)

By 6:15pm they were sitting down at the table eating dinner. We usually eat dinner around 6:30-6:45pm as this is when George gets home but today and tomorrow he is working in Sydney so we ate a little earlier. Usually when he is away we opt for really easy dinners that i know the girls are going to eat too! Just makes the night flow smoother if i dont have to face the battle of getting them to eat dinner alone!!

Around 7:15pm its brush your teeth and get your drink time!! Once the girls are in bed they usually spend time reading and talking with George and telling him about their day. As he isn't home tonight (they got to talk to him on the phone before bed!) i did the story and listening! We aim to have the younger 2 lights out by 7:45pm as they are both completely tired by this time.

Hannah will often read for an hour or so once in bed, she does her reader then and usually will read one other book at this time too. As she loves reading and it helps her unwind i don't mind her doing this. George might listen to some of her reader but generally since she is such a good reader she will read to herself. (i know bad mum alert!! DISCLAIMER - id like to make it clear at this point that i do listen to her read as i stay for reading 2-3 mornings a week!!)

So, thats an afternoon in our house! Its not always exactly the same, but generally follows a pretty similar pattern during the school weeks!

I would LOVE to hear from any and all of you (whether that be through a reply or your own blog) about a "typical" afternoon in your house! Maybe you can give me ideas on how to make mine run smoother or more efficient or offer different ideas i may not have had! That is what i love about this "blogging world" people of all different backgrounds and family dynamics who you can learn and grow from!!

Thanks for reading, but since you have taken the time to read this mundane post, please take the time to reply :D

Lazy Sundays...

2009-03-01T16:01:00.002+11:00

We LoVe lazy sundays in this house. After a really busy Saturday today we woke up and decided it would be a nothing day! (this generally means that we arent going anywhere!) George had heaps of work to get done today before he heads to Sydney for work in the morning so i decided that the girls and i would do some baking and prepare for the busy week we have ahead of us! Im going to put some recipes and photos here, even if none of my readers are interested in the recipes it makes it easier for me to access them too having them on my blog!

First thing i made today:

Banana, Honey & Cinnamon Muffins (or to a fussy 5 year old honey muffins!!!)

2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
75g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2.5 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1.5 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)

Preheat oven to 180°C

Melt the butter. Mix in honey, mlk, vanilla, eggs and mashed banana and use a whisk until combined.

Sift in a separate bowl; flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix in brown sugar. Make a well in the flour and pour in the wet mixture. Use your whisk again to mix until combined (do not over mix!!!)

Bake for approx 20 mins.

These taste and SMELL soooo yummy!

Choc-Chip Cookies!

I also decided to make some choc chip cookies, i havent made these in a while but they are soooo easy and the girls LOVE them! I think i originally found this recipe on a tin of sweetened condensed milk!!

180g butter, softened
1/3 cup castor sugar
125ml sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups S-R-Flour
250g choc chips

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and creamy. Beat in the condensed milk. Add the flour and mix on low speed until smooth. Stir in the choc chips until well combined.
Roll about 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on baking paper lined trays. Press each ball gently with a fork.
Bake for 12-15 mins or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on trays.

Hannah also borrowed a recipe book from the library the other day at school so that we could do some cooking out of it this weekend. I asked her to pick the thing she wanted to make and she choose "frogs in ponds!!!" I don't think she could have chosen a easier "recipe" but they are looking forward to eating them after dinner tonight!

I have some cheese and bacon bread baking at the moment, another of the girls favourites for their lunch boxes! Might post about that one later on though...

Happy Baking :-)

Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipe!

2009-02-27T16:25:00.002+11:00

Thought i would share the recipe from the other night, it makes a great cake or also really yummy cupcakes!

3 cups plain flour
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbs instant coffee
1 cup hot water
1 cup cocoa
1 cup milk
200g salted butter
2 3/4 cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract

Whisk together the hot water, cocoa and coffee until you have a smooth paste. Add the cold milk and whisk until everything is combined. Sift together the flour, bicarb soda and baking soda. In a separate bowl cream the butter for 2 mins. Add the castor sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating for 30sec after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until combined

Add part of the four mixture and part of the cocoa mixture and beat until combined. Do this until you have combined all ingredients together (try to mix as little as possible i use a whisk for this process not my kenwood as you dont want to overbeat and make them turn out tough!!!)

I then made a choc ganache/mousse filling which was 1.5 cups of cream and 400g cooking chocoalte melted over the stove and allowed to cool to room temp. Once it is cool add two cups of whipped cream to the ganache to make it more like a mousse. I also added chopped violet crumble at this stage to the filling.

I then made a chocolate buttercream to frost the top and outside of the cake and added more chopped violet crumble to the top!

Here are some pics....

What the cake batter looks like

The filling with violet crumble being mixed in

Before the cake was iced

The finished product! YUM!

HAPPY BAKING...

Just a quick share...

2009-02-26T21:46:00.004+11:00

Well i feel like i haven't really blogged much lately! Life has been hectic and im not one for posting long deep posts on here...maybe i should start, and one day i might, but sharing my life, the deep stuff, with people i dont know, just hasn't happened yet! (wow im sure there is a rule for how many commas i can use in one sentence, do you think i just set a new record??!!) So here is a little share...

I had a brain and spine mri today which wasn't too fun! I have been dealing with lots of health issues for the past 3 months which i try not to harp on about because there is so much more to me and life than these issues, but they are always there constantly in the back of my mind even if they are not talked about a whole lot! I get the results sometime next week hopefully...and i have fingers and toes crossed that they are completely non eventful results as i haven't even had the mental or physical strength to think about what could be if they show up something i dont want them to show!! Im sure thats being really naive but thats how im choosing to deal with it so far! The good news was that i think i managed to have a few little naps whilst having the mri (dont ask me how since its so loud in there and not very comfortable) it might have something to do with the fact that it took nearly 2 hours to complete!

If you have been reading my blog from the start you will remember my earlier post about eating to live or living to eat. I have been doing fairly well in my eating/drinking. I think it is though all these health issues there seems to be only a few things i can actually control. What i eat is a major one of those, and whilst i haven't seen any improvements in the issues i have been experiencing i know that i wont be doing any harm by eating well and healthily! I have also done so much research on health its not funny! I do find it really interesting and i like the idea of taking as many steps to alternatively and naturally heal my body as possible, i mean weren't our bodies created with the function to heal? Anyway just a journey i wish i wasn't on, but at the same time have already learnt and changed a whole lot so got to find some positives from it!

Thats it, enough being inside my head for now :-) Cant scare you all off at once!

Here are a few cute pics to lighten up this post

Aww, this is my gorgeous sis, whom i want to thank for all her love and support through everything! You are a wonderful sister and friend and i love you lots xoxo

My gorgeous nephew again, he is too cute!

My little girl, just cos i think she is adorable!

A celebration for a few reasons....

2009-02-23T22:59:00.004+11:00

Today was my dads birthday, so we all headed up to the "farm" to celebrate! It was a great night where we all got to celebrate together. My girls had been so excited to go there tonight, they were in their bathers as soon as they got home from school. They had a swim with their cousins which is always lots of fun!

I made dad a birthday cake which was demolished! Hopefully that is a good indication that it was yummy! It took me all afternoon so hopefully it was good!!!

Here is dad while we were all singing "Happy Birthday" to him!

This is the cake once i finished decorating it! It was chocolate layer cake with ganache in between the layers iced in chocolate buttercreme with violet crumble bits!! (very healthy as you can see!!!)

This is another one of the grandkids favourites, "the gator" or otherwise known as the poppy mobile!! As you can see they LOVE it!

There was also another highlight of our night! Our little nephew Jett started to walk!! YAY! It was soooooooo cute (very proud aunty moment here!!) and i got a couple of snaps of him taking these steps! How cute is he?!

I did it! Im so excited!!

Might post the recipe tomorrow for the cake for anyone interested...

Total Tigers!

2009-02-22T17:59:00.005+11:00

Well today we headed to Jells Park for the Richmond Tigers Family Day. For Christmas we gave hubby a family membership to Tigers for 09 as we have regularly taken the girls over the past 7 years and they really are total tigers! We headed out early, hoping to get there before the big crowds but unfortunately it was packed!!!

The girls wore their jumpers and badges and we were hoping to get them a few signatures to add to their jumpers! I waited in one line for 2 hours for what we thought was autographs (being that we could get the players to sign the girls jumpers!). Ok well the line was to see Ben Cousins and so i expected it to be a popular line! After two hours of waiting we finally got there, only to get told we couldn't get the jumpers signed or take pics and we had to settle for pre signed posters and photos and a few smiles from the players!!! PHEW! I was a little peeved to say the least but the girls were happy so i guess that was all that mattered. In the meantime George had waited about 1.5 hours in another line to get a photo with some other players which the girls loved!

I took my camera (as i usually do anywhere i go, its like my 4th baby!) and when i went to take some pics it came up as change the battery pack! I was very confused since i had charged it before i came but put it away in my bag thinking something had happened cos it wouldn't work! I then had to rely on using our little point and shoot camera (arrrgggghhh this was not fun, the quality just doesn't compare!) only to get home and realise my camera was working again and had full battery power! It must have just been an error or something....but all in all was very annoying not to be able to take the pics i wanted of the day! The girls had a fun day, met players, got signatures and posters and also got to jump on the jumping castles there whilst we listened to a great cover band! All in all was a good day, and here are a few pics (excuse the quality!)

We then had to rush home as Caitlyn had a fairy party to attend late this afternoon! This was the first of the string of parties i am sure are about to come...she had lots of fun but is exhausted now from this huge day!

A new era!

2009-02-20T12:34:00.002+11:00

Today my baby had her first full day of kinder! Ok so its only 2.5 hours a week but to me thats a huge deal! I am not used to having any "child free" time during my weeks over the past 7.5 years so it makes me feel a little lost! This morning during my few hours i was going to come home and put on some music and clean up the house with no interruptions! However, it didn't take me much convincing to drop the cleaning and head to the shops for a coffee with my sis! Plenty of time for cleaning!

Eleisha LOVES kinder. We already have a PILE of pastings and paintings from only a couple of half sessions! Every morning she wakes and asks if its kinder today and generally the answer is no! I am happy for her to be at kinder but part of me is sad that the era of having my babies home all day everyday has gone! Dont get me wrong there have been days when i would have given my right arm for a little peace and a few child free hours, however on a whole, i have loved the precious and valuable time i have been able to spend with my girls, watching them grow and teaching them a variety of different things (and them teaching me plenty too!!). So, i guess its left me wondering what i might like to do once all my girls are at school? (ok so thats still a few years away yet but the question seems to be asked by me more and more often lately!).

One thing i notice as my girls have grown is how much more organised i am as every year goes by. Like this year, having 2 of my girls at school has made me much more organised with things like lunches, baking, homework, activities, washing (to name a few)! I seem to "embrace" more my title of "mum" as each year passes. Im not sure if thats because my girls are getting older its easier to do, or (and this is what i think it is) being a mum is such a long learning curve, each year (month, week & day!) you learn a bit more about your child, or about being more efficient with housework, or how to fit in homework, snack, bath and dinner before hubby gets home but its a learning curve i embrace and strive to get better and better at!

Anyway enough ramblings from me for now, here is a quick snap of my kinder girl!

Banana Choc-Chip Muffins

2009-02-12T13:32:00.003+11:00

Eleisha has been a little bored to say the least without her sisters around! Today i thought that we could do some baking, kill two birds with one stone so to speak, as i needed to make some after school snacks and keep Eleisha entertained! We had some bananas going old and decided to make banana choc chip muffins ( i have a REALLY fussy 5 year old who barely eats anything so i have to hide fruits and veggies in things that she might like).

Here are some pics from our adventures and i will include the recipe at the end in case anyone is after a really yummy recipe!

I caught Eleisha checking herself out in the reflection of the bowl! She was testing many different expressions, this one is definitely the cheekiest :)

Eleisha and mummy's reflection! (doesn't the bowl look filthy!!!!)

The best part im sure! In fact probably the main reason she loves to bake with mummy!

The final product! I love these baking cups from Robert Gordon they look beautiful before you bake in them but once you bake in them they just dont look that great! The only way i can see to get around this is to bake in just a plain white one then sit them in these nice ones! It probably didnt help that a 3 year old was helping put the mixture in them (and on the sides!!!) Oh well they still taste delicious!

Ingredients (makes 12)
60g butter
2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 packet of Cadbury Choc Chips (220g)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a medium muffin tray (12 sections) with paper cases. Melt butter in a small saucepan or heat-proof bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients.
Using a whisk, lightly beat milk, eggs and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients, along with mashed banana. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix ingredients until just combined. Stir in choc bits. Don't beat the mixture or the muffins will be tough.
Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm on top when lightly touched (get an adult to help with this). Leave in the tray for 3 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Peek-a-boo!

2009-02-09T20:35:00.002+11:00

Well this is Eleisha's favourite thing to do lately with me, so i thought i would take a pic today and share! We go outside once we hear the postman and she loves it when we both stand on opposite sides of the letter box and look at each other!! I dont know why but she finds it hilarious!!

Hope you get a smile, one was definitely on my face!

Hot cinnamon scrolls!

2009-02-05T13:47:00.004+11:00

Well today i decided to make a treat for the girls. You know those cinnamon scrolls you can get at the shopping centres sometimes, well they are my girls favorite! We will usually buy them a mini scroll from the shops every now and then and they just rave about them. I stumbled across a recipe last night whilst looking for new bread recipes and decided i would try them today for the girls!!

Here is the recipe for anyone who might be interested (they dough was made in my bread maker but im sure you can just knead it yourself otherwise!) I would also suggest you half the dough...unless its for entertaining and you need lots!!!

ingredients
Dough:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
60g butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
750g plain flour
1 1/2 tablespoons dried active baking yeast
100g caster sugar
2 eggs

Filling:
90g butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
extra 150g caster sugar
125g raisins (optional)
100g chopped walnuts (optional)

Vanilla icing:
250g icing sugar
60g butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons milk

preparation method
To make dough: In saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm (butter doesn't need to be completely melted). Place milk mixture, salt, flour, yeast, sugar and eggs into bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle and press Start.
Once cycle is complete, remove dough from machine, punch down and divide into 2 equal pieces.
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease two 23x33cm baking trays.
On a floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a large rectangle. Smear each piece with the softened butter. Combine the cinnamon and extra sugar and sprinkle evenly over the dough. If desired, sprinkle on the raisins and/or walnuts.
Roll the dough into two logs, starting with the long side. Cut each log into 12 rolls and place, cut side down, on baking trays. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size (about 30 minutes).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. When cool, spread each roll with icing.
To make vanilla icing: Combine icing sugar, melted butter, vanilla and milk in a small bowl to make a thick icing.

Here are some pics for you to drool over!

Blog Design

2009-02-02T18:02:00.004+11:00

Im trying to personalise my blog to be more "me"! I figured since i have officially blogged for a month now i might try and work this thing out a bit more!!! Love to hear any ideas or suggestions too!

Thanks for reading...

School Days!

2009-02-02T09:34:00.004+11:00

Well this morning i sent my two little girls off to school! Where has the time gone? I cant believe Caitlyn started prep today it seems like only yesterday she was born! WOW! Hannah was off to her first day of Grade 2 today also. The morning started at about 645 am and i could hear Hannah and Caitlyn teaming up and getting themselves dressed together. Was so nice to see, Hannah has really taken on the role of looking after Caitlyn with all things "school" as she is the expert after being through it all before!

It felt so nice to be back in routine this morning. Don't get me wrong, i love the sleep ins and relaxed mornings and having my girls home and enjoying them! However, i also love the routine of being organised, being out of the house in the mornings at 820 am and having all the girls dressed beds made and ready to start the day! I think it will be great for the girls to be back in routine as well.

So this morning i am sitting here enjoying peace and quiet, however Eleisha is noticeably missing her big sisters who usually entertain and amuse her all day long!

Here are lots of pics from this morning!!

Caitlyn in her classroom doing an activity

Hannah in her classroom (taken through the window so excuse the bad photo! The teachers are very eager to say goodbye to the parents in Grade 2!!)

Gratitude Wrap...

2009-01-29T21:23:00.003+11:00

Well i decided to finally make a gratitude wrap today, i have been meaning to make one for a couple of weeks! You can read all about how to make one here http://www.soulemama.com/SouleMamaGratitudeWrap.pdf and you can also see the reason behind them here http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2008/07/gratitude.html!

I started sewing this morning then my sis Tracey called to say that they had a power blackout so they came around to my house where there was power. They stayed a couple of hours and just as they left all the power in my house (and area) had a blackout!!! I lost my power for nearly 4 hours and it was SOOOOO hot!! I cant imagine living without some sort of cooling in this heat. On a good note whilst we had no power i started to read a book i have been meaning to read for a while, and i am now half way through it and completely engrossed! (hopefully finish it tonight!!)

Anyway, dont look too closely at my pics. I have made sooo many mistakes in making this wrap! I guess thats one way to learn right?? I decided after today i really need to invest in some lessons, especially in regards to bias binding ARRGGGHHH!!

Here are the pics

Oh i forgot to say, you can use these to put in cards, and stamps and pens with the idea being (as you might have read if you read the links above) that you always have stuff handy to write thank yous or letters of appreciation. I think i will put a diary and a notebook and pens in this one! I just have to get to the shops to find a nice diary and notepad!

Baking baking baking...

2009-01-28T20:27:00.004+11:00

On the weekend i got a surprise pressie from my hubby!! i was SOOO excited! Actually i cant believe i havent blogged about my pressie and excitement already!! I got a Kenwood Chef which i just love! So suffice to say...even though the weather has been SOOO HOT these past few days, lots of baking has been happening in my kitchen.

This is my new baby

This morning i decided to bake some sugar cookies with the girls, i thought they would love to use their cookie cutters and then ice them together!

Here is some of the shapes they did before they were baked

Half way through rolling these cookies out i got a call from my gorgeous sis Donna who said she was dropping by for a visit! When Donna and the girls got here we quickly decorated the few that were baked and then the girls quickly demolished them!!! I will probably bake up the rest of the dough tomorrow and decorate the rest with the girls.

Olivia

Hannah

Caitlyn

Ellie

I thought i might post the sugar cookie recipe in case anyone out there wants to try it! Its a great recipe to use with cookie cutters and then just ice with a royal icing

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
6 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
250g butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Directions
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients a little at a time until it all comes together to form a dough. Chill for 1-2 hours.

Bake for 8-10 mins or until just starting to go gold/brown on the edges.

HAPPY BAKING

Summer Days...

2009-01-26T09:48:00.003+11:00

Yesterday we took the girls down to Phillip Island for the afternoon/night. Our first stop down there was to see the koala's which the girls loved - we only saw about 8 or so though and were expecting to see a few more!

We then went to the beach for a play and a swim!!! It was a beautiful afternoon and the girls just love it when we go to the beach! We are lucky enough to go a fair bit as we only live twenty mins or so out of frankston and over an hour to get to the island!

After that we went and had some dinner before heading to the penguin parade! We sat waiting for the penguins from 8:15pm til nearly 9:30pm before the first one showed up but it was a beautiful experience though and well worth the wait!!

Happy Birthday Kai!

2009-01-23T17:02:00.002+11:00

Well today we had my nephew Kai's 3rd Birthday at Hungry Jacks! It was so nice to see him enjoying his party as he has had a rough year and totally deserves to be loved and spoilt! Thought i would share a few pics from his bday!

I thought i would also include a link to my Flickr account to a set of photos of all the cakes i have made over the years (well most of them anyway!) Hope you enjoy the pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/louisebeddoes/sets/72157603980827241/

Dressing up days...

2009-01-20T12:19:00.002+11:00

Well today it is meant to be 38 degrees and so the girls and i have decided to stay inside in the cooling today! We havent been doing much really, but the girls have been into the dress ups for the past couple of days, and so i thought i would share a few pics of my girls!

I processed the photos a bit more high key/ cooler than i normally would but i think it was nice to have a different effect once in a while!

I read the book Vanishing Acts, by Jodie Picoult yesterday (yes the whole book in one day, it was too hot to go anywhere and the girls were happily playing :-)) and it was a really good book. I have also read her book My Sisters Keeper and that book was amazing as well so i think i might have to read some more of her books.

Hannah keeps asking when i might sew the tops for the dolls, in actual fact i have been putting it off for fear of it being too difficult for me to do!! I really should get out my sewing again and see what i can do for the dolls!

More blogging to come later...

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes!!

2009-01-18T19:40:00.005+11:00

This afternoon i finally got around to make Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes! I LOVE ferrero rocher chocolates so when i found this recipe on hot to eat a cupcakes blog (found here http://howtoeatacupcake.net/2009/01/ferrero-rocher-mini-cupcakes.html) i knew i would one day have to make them!!

Cupcake recipe adapted from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman
Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes
Makes 36 regular cupcakes

3 1/2 cups plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups Nutella (i ended up using a whole large jar and most of a small jar including the filling!)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Ganache
400g semi-sweet or milk chocolate ( i used half and half depends on your taste)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Filling
36 whole dry roasted hazelnuts
Left over nutella

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius . Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners ( i used gold foil to give the ferrero rocher feel).
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes) . Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add 1 3/4 cups of Nutella and blend thoroughly. (Warm the milk in the microwave. Stir in instant coffee until disolved.) Alternately add flour mixture and milk, blending well after each addition (Don't overmix this makes them tough! Blend only until no traces of flour remain.)
4. Using a ice cream scoop (or spoon if you dont have an ice cream scoop) , fill each cup with batter. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.
5. When cupcakes are cool, use a round icing tip to remove part of the centre of the cupcake. Fill them with the remaining Nutella and push a hazelnut (whole) in the centre.
6. Make the ganache. Put chocolate chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium hear for for 2-3 minutes, depending on your microwave. Stir gently with a rubber spatula. Heat for 40-50 more seconds. Stir until well blended. Let sit about 30 minutes, or until ganache is spreadable. Stir in chopped hazelnuts and spread on cupcakes.

This is what the final cupcake looked like!! SOOOOO YUMMY!!! A MUST FOR FERRERO LOVERS LIKE MYSELF!

Sewing, sewing & more sewing!!

2009-01-18T14:27:00.004+11:00

Yesterday, my little girl woke up with an upset tummy and i knew that we wouldn't be heading out anywhere all day so i set myself up for a day of sewing!! I thought i would try and sew the dolls clothes that i had previously promised the girls! They were excited and so off i went! I decided to make some little jeans with ruffles on the bottom!! Lets just say as a complete novice sewer they took a lot longer than im sure they are meant to but i think i am learning lots and lots about all the functions of my sewing machine and i am sure thats what its all about right!!!

Anyway here is a pic of the two pairs of jeans i ended up making for my girls dolls! Dont look too close they are definitely not close to perfect! In face the edges are quiet messy really BUT they look like jeans and they fit the dolls and most of all the girls were very happy!!!!! So now my next project is...yup...you guessed it!! TOPS!! I just hope they arent too hard!! I will update with pics of the matching tops this week hopefully once i get back into some more sewing!

And one of my little girl who wasnt feeling so well and fell asleep on the couch mid morning! She looked so peaceful

Im off to bake some ferrero rocher cupcakes so ill be back later to share pics!

Our fun, yet exhausting day...

2009-01-14T20:28:00.003+11:00

After not leaving the house yesterday due to the extreme heat outside and my need to sew today i thought i would take the girls out for some fun! We went to the shopping centre which had Strawberry Shortcake there for the school holiday activity. The girls got to give her a big cuddle! The girls, especially Caitlyn have been big fans of Strawberry Shortcake for years so they were very excited

They got to decorate a cupcake each (they were given some frosting and some lollies to decorate with)

After decorating the cupcakes and cuddling strawberry shortcake again the girls and i went and had some lunch with my sister Kez who works there! I had told them before we got to the food court no maccas then as soon as they saw aunty kez she said lets go get some maccas!!! Got to love sisters :-) It was great to see her for lunch and lovely to spend some time chatting!

We then went up to my dads and had a big swim in his pool and played for a while

And this was the end result of the day

First time at sewing!

2009-01-13T17:13:00.004+11:00

Well, today i finally used my sewing machine, that my lovely hubby bought me for Christmas! It was another one of my ingenious ideas, i think i will start sewing! Yes it was that simple in my mind! However after sewing ALL DAY today and still not finishing my first ever sewing project (an apron) i have learnt its not that easy!!

Here are a few pics of my WIP!

This is my setup at the kitchen table, halfway through the days work

This is the pattern i am attempting to make. Notice it says its SO EASY!! Ha!

This is how the apron looks after todays effort! I need to add the pockets and also i think i will add some ric rac or some other sort of embellishment to finish it off!

Here's to more sewing and getting quicker at it!!!

My little scrapbooker...

2009-01-11T22:33:00.002+11:00

Hannah (7), got a scrapbook kit from santa and has pretty much been asking every day since Christmas if she can sit down and scrapbook. I finally got around to printing the photos for her from her party so that she could complete the scrapbook. The smile on her face says it all! I think we will be doing more of this...(I know mummy certainly has been neglecting hers!!)

I might even be a rock star....

2009-01-11T22:16:00.005+11:00

Yesterday my girl Eleisha, who is 3 years old was dressed up in Hannah's "Hannah Montana" wig and guitar with the headpiece on singing loudly and knowingly to each of the songs! Was a very cute and very typical Eleisha moment and i thought i would catch it with photos, who knows, one day she might be my very own rock star!!

Hope you get a smile out of this!

2009-01-11T21:39:00.002+11:00

Well its been AGES since i last blogged!! I have for some reason found the interest and time to want to start blogging again, so lets see how successful i am this time around! Maybe its just the new year, you know, all the resolutions you make and good intentions you have! I certainly have plenty of those.

Some of my "resolutions" for this year 2009, are to make more time to do the things that i want to do (crafty mainly!), to be more organisined (two kids at school this year I'm thinking this might be a good res to stick to!!), and to eat much more healthily as a family (more so just knowing what is going into our bodies, less processed and more FRESH!). I am sure i have more than those, but they are the ones i can think of at this late hour of the night!

Anyway i am going to leave it there for now, i am going to post a couple of photos from the past few days!

More blogging soon...(fingers crossed!)

Lollypop faces!

2008-04-04T17:23:00.001+11:00

lollypop faces!
Originally uploaded by mumof3girls

I love this photo. Even though they were all windblown and therefore a little (ok a lot!) hyped up a nice combination of all the sugar they were consuming and the wind it still captures my girls looking very happy! I am actually a little sad today that my two weeks of school and kinder holidays with them has now come to an end!! I really enjoy having them home, but im sure it will be great for them to get back into the rountine of school and kinder!! One day in the not too distant future i will lose all my babies to school! ARGGGHHH!!!

Cupcakes

2008-04-04T17:19:00.001+11:00

my cupcakes
Originally uploaded by mumof3girls

Well i really cant get into the blogging thing but im still plodding along trying to get my grove!! This photo is from the cupcake course i went to on monday night and today is friday!!! I have no excuses just havent got around to blogging!!

I had heaps of fun Monday night and learnt a bit too! Am hoping to make some more cupcakes this weekend so maybe, just maybe, ill post some more photos soon!!

That is all for now!

Toilet Training - the JOYS!

2008-03-27T23:25:00.001+11:00

Potty Time!
Originally uploaded by mumof3girls

Today and yesterday we have hit the jackpot with potty training! For the past few months Eleisha has sporadically sat on the potty most of the time to exclaim "its not working mum!" in only a way she could! Well yesterday the penny dropped and as she was sitting there and i was on the phone talking to my sister about how funny it is that Eleisha will sit there but still not know to do wee on there she exclaims VERY loudly and even more so PROUDLY..."ITS WORKING!!"

Well i jumped off the phone to see if it possibly could have worked and was happy to see it had! Since then we have had 2 days of being housebound in order to continue with the potty training which seems to be working really well! No accidents (YET) and only nappies for bed time!

So all in all it was an exciting day today...

Caitlyn's Easter Hat

2008-03-26T18:07:00.003+11:00

Here is Caitlyn's easter hat the she made for kinder! All she wanted was for it to be purple as that is her favourite colour (for the moment anyway!!) I tried not to help her with the painting etc as the kinder specified that they wanted it to be made by the kids not parents (but i put it altogether for her i think otherwise that would be asking a 4 year old a bit much!!)

Hannah's Easter Hat

2008-03-26T18:02:00.003+11:00

Well i have finally set up my flickr account so that i can post photos from there to this blog!! So, whilst i have been MIA action for a whole week (hey its been easter long weekend, my sister had a baby and excuses, excuses, excuses!!) i hope this will be even more motivation to post on my blog more often!! I helped Hannah with her hat and she really wanted it to be pink! There was an awesome hat at her school which was a chocolate easter egg looking hat (it went over his face) was really effective, might have to try that one in the future!

Easter Hats!!!

2008-03-19T21:55:00.000+11:00

Well, i think i am officially all easter hat'd out this week!! Hannah had her easter hat parade yesterday and Caitlyn has hers tomorrow! I feel as if i have spent all week painting and decorating pieces of cardboard all to get used once!! I have definitely used all my creative juices on easter hats this week! Oh well it is so cute to watch and its not long im sure until they grow up and dont want to wear easter hats anymore!!

I hopefully will post some pics of the hats tomorrow! For now i really should get back to the kitchen, i have chocolate crackles and honey joys to make for the kinder party tomorrow!!

Til next time...

To blog....or not to blog!!!

2008-03-16T22:37:00.000+11:00

Well here it is, my first ever blog!! For a while now i have wondered if i should start this blog, would i be committed enough to keep it up to date and would it be interesting enough for people to read but hey its a great place to get thoughts out and share parts of my life so here goes!!

Today i went to a craft market and it was soooooo inspiring!! I left with so many ideas and so many new things i want to learn yet as i sit here tonight i am unsure where to start with it all and feeling a little overwhelmed!!! I guess i will see how much i have learnt (if anything at all :o) over the next few months.

Well thats it from me for tonight, until next time....