Welcome back...to me

I've been AWOL for a couple of weeks, busy with girls in school holidays, away in Queensland and then back into the swing of things.

I saw this rocking chair idea on Design Mom and LOVED IT! And then immediately wondered...do these sorts of projects photograph better than they look in real life?



Photo from Design Mom

I will have my own DIY project soon on a shadow box I bought for a steal on ebay which came from the States.

I'm planning to strip and paint it and use it in our holiday house (on track for being ready in December YAY!). I love the idea of shadow boxes - it gives a special home to display small objects or nick nacks which kids seem to love (but otherwise lose).

I'm hoping my AFTER picture looks a little like this....

And on the home front...these three little girls are growing up, getting bigger, wiser and older.

Love to your house too.

xx

It's been a busy few weeks. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, a couple of lingering viruses, and now, our Term 3 School Holidays. However, I am happy to report:

1. I am finally on the mend, thanks to resting and LOTS of vitamins and herbs.
2. The girls have been (mostly) lovely these holidays, playing well, enjoying being together and fighting far less.
3. My Urban Outfitters package arrived and my $40 jeans fit PERFECTLY!
4. Layla has FINALLY, FINALLY said goodbye to her dummies. It was far less traumatic than last time I anticipated and I spent a few days both immensely proud of her and shocked that she'd actually done it.

We celebrated with my first ever batch of meringues, as requested by Layla.

Finally, inspired by my lovely friend of 15 years from halfway across the world, we've been getting busy with FIMO making alien creatures. If you haven't used it before, FIMO is modelling clay that you bake in your oven to harden. So, after showing Yasmin Meri's blog featuring her own Alien Army, we set to work. It was fun for the girls and I. It's always great to find an activity that all three girls (2.5, 4.5 and nearly 7 years) can do.

Hope you've got a happy house too.

xxx

Australia: Meet Urban Outfitters

Have you ever seen a toy somewhere that you know your kid would LOVE, so much that purchasing it becomes a quest to secure their long term happiness? Well, you know what I mean.

And so it was with the vintage Fisher Price Record Player. For months I've been scouring Ebay to get one - and they were either crappy condition, or way too much to justify spending on something second hand.

Until I discovered that Fisher Price are re- releasing the Record Player.

And Urban Outfitters stock them online. For $40.

And they ship to Australia!

FOR FREE! (Ok, well you do need to spend over $150 to get free shipping, but still....)

And so, one little devilish two year old and four monther is about to get the most gorgeous little present that I JUST KNOW she will love.

And I just know I'll love this gorgeous Birdcage Duvet Cover too...

Etsy love part 53

I stumbled upon these gorgeous prints on Etsy, via Charlotte's Fancy. Even better, they're on sale! I think the Paris picture with the balloon might be gorgeous in a contemporary bathroom or girls bedroom.

The Red Balloon, by Irene Suchocki

Looking for Love, by Irene Suchocki

You can find more here at Irene's Etsy shop.

Shana Tova and a little craft for a gorgeous Wednesday

We have a few days off school in honour of Rosh Hashanah. The table is set, the apples and honey are ready, and we're (mostly, mostly I say) taking it easy. I took the girls on a long walk and play in the park today, to celebrate a gorgeous spring day. The older two were on their scooter and the little one in our Radio Flyer wagon - all this resulted in two long naps and one long rest for three girls. Check!

I'm going to try this crafty little project - looks perfect for 2, 4, and 6 year olds. Check out Sunset Skyline Art Project.

Here's a snap of our festive table. The placemats are actually scrapbook sheets I got from my local art shop for 25c, and the placecards are handmade by me.

Warm greetings to you all.

xx

As I've mentioned before, I'm an avid reader of the Nie Nie Dialogues. And I've oohed and aahed at their gorgeous, vibrant and love filled family shots by an American photographer husband and wife duo called Blue Lily. So, when I read on Nie Nie's blog that Blue Lily are coming down unda! Wowza, I went straight to their link and booked in....for next April. I already can't wait.

Here's their photos of the Nielson family. Beautiful I'm sure you'll agree. You can also see some more of their shots on Design Mom's blog.

PS. If you are looking for someone local in Melbourne, we used Tea and Jam Photography and loved their shots too. Highly recommended and fun to work with.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend. We've been passing bugs round between us so it's night night for me.
xxx

Our inaugural visit to holiday house

Our lovely abode in the mountains is now official, and we took the girls on Sunday for an adventure to look at the house again.

I quickly made some banana bread in the morning as well as some hot chocolate because it is COLD up there!

Our first stop - Bunnings. This is a loved Aussie tradition, complete with the morning sausage sizzle outside the store. By 10.30, we were in Bunnings, eating our sausages, white bread and ketchup. Yum. We bought our gumboots in anticipation of some serious mud, and a little while later the girls were gleefully jumping in the muddiest puddle they had ever come close to. They loved it.

We were joined by a kookaburra landing right next to us, some ducks grazing on grass, some rozellas, peered at some funny looking alpacas (belonging to the neighbours), and watched the cockatoos soaring in the sky. I do love it up there.

The girls were SUPER excited in the house. It's spacious, well laid out but needs a little facelift. They literally played for about 30 minutes tackling, wrestling, laughing and rolling on the floor. I couldn't believe they could entertain themselves for so long in an empty house while we discussed ideas, layouts and such, but as my insightful husband commented, 'they have nothing to fight over.'

It's been busy organising all the things needed to renovate a house - tiles, cabinet makers, carpets, furniture etc, but what an exciting project. I can't wait for it to be ready. Here are some gorgeous bits I found (from Simply Seleta) that have inspired me.

I'm in love

..with this new blog I found, Pioneer Woman. It's amazing, so funny, and full of great stuff. And the writer is a city girl turned homeschooling mum of four living on a ranch. There are some great recipes too, I'm making this Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce on Friday night for dinner. You will love it, I promise.

This week I'm also loving:
- Layla's questions about robbers, God, whether we are allowed to talk on mobile phones in the car and "Mummy, how do you write dot com dot au?"
- this real life Summer Table Settings, some gorgeous inspiration in the thick of our Australian winter
- this Printable Alphabet Bunting - beautiful colours. Just click, print and cut.
- watching all the differences emerge in these three girls

- our Sunday night garden bonfire with toasted marshmallows

Hope you've got some lovin this week

xx

Etsy love

As I mentioned, I have a hankering for the country. You'd be shocked if you knew me to hear me say that. You see, I am an unabashed creature of comfort. My love for glossy magazines and a spot of shopping is well known. But now that I'm a little older, and a mother of three children, a part of me yearns for the simplicity of the country, the clean air and the lack of distractions here in the city.

I'm pleased to say we are getting closer to realising this little dream of ours. But in the mean time, I have started a little stock pile of sweet, gorgeous and things for this country patch of ours.

Where from? Etsy of course.

These little babies are on their way to me, as I type. Aren't they lovely? They make me want to snuggle in the couch with a cup of tea and a magazine. (A girl can dream can't she?)

Abstract Flower Cushion, from Olive

  

Heart Pillow, from Olive

 

Colorful Afghan Blanket, from AtelierAfra

Coaster, from AtelierAfra

 

Keep Calm and Carry On Archival Poster, from Cut Paste Print

Enjoy
xx

Fabric Wreath

Image from Ready 2 Quilt via Etsy

I am daydreaming of a little place in the country, and while biding some time on Etsy the other day, came across this lovely little fabric wreath. My first thought was, "oooooooh I want it!', quickly followed by, 'Hang on, I think even I could make that!'.

After googling 'fabric wreath', I found this easy tutorial. I do have some fabric from my shortlived (ahem) stint with my sewing machine, and once I find a wreath frame, am going to give this a go. I love the idea and look of a wreath on a door.

See what you think....
xx

Some fun

Image from Made by Joel

Here's something so fun and simple you could do with your kids - and best of all, you only need to click and print and your own little paper city is ready to colour in and make. It's from Made by Joel's blog and it's a gorgeous little paper city he created. I've never seen a dad quite like him! What a blog (bordering on depressing) - full of the MOST creative things this dad makes for his twin toddlers.

Thanks Meri for the link to Made by Joel's. My lovely friend Meri has a great blog too, called Meri Cherry, full of fun crafty stuff to do with kids.

Hope your weekend is fun and relaxing (ish).
xx

Best tips for surviving (and maybe even enjoying) school holidays

It's the night before we go back to school, and I always give myself a little (invisible) toast - you made it! I always get to this point with the same mixed feelings - relief and anticipation of some time to myself again, a sense of accomplishment that we had a mostly (I say, MOSTLY) nice time, and a little 'aawwwwww I'll miss them tomorrow' (quickly replaced by my brain working to create 10 lists of things I'd like to get done tomorrow).

We travelled, swam, saw, explored, rode, flew, drew, painted, made, read, sculpted, cooked, ate, snacked and most importantly, PLAYED.

Here's my top tips for getting through school holidays:

1. Planning
Firstly, plan ahead. A few weeks before the holidays, look online or in your local children's magazines for shows, workshops or activities you want to do with your kids. Book tickets to what you want early. Once you've done that, you have a loose schedule to work around. Spread out your activities so you have some quiet days interspersed with the busier ones.

2. Surrender
Accept that for the next few weeks, your time to 'get things done' is being suspended. In fact, you can kiss your 'me' time away for the time being. You simply cannot get as many errands done as normal. I always feel like a kindergarten teacher during the holidays (but without the lunch break). Your focus has to be on the kids. Having a quiet cup of tea and making dinner is sometimes it for the day.

3. Stock up
Before every holidays start, I go to my local art and craft shop and stock up on supplies we need, plus some extra things that will be fun for the girls. Paint, new textas, paper, glue, glitter etc. I do a tidy up of the play room so things are more easily accessible and bring out some old stuff that hasn't been played with for a while.

4. Get inspired
Use the internet for easy, quick printables when you need to give your kids something to do. Colouring in pages, word mazes for older kids, dot to dots - these are all great. I source these in the evenings and keep them in a little folder when needed.

5. TV is your friend
During holidays, when the days can seem awfully long and the kids can get a little sick and tired of doing stuff or being home by afternoon, or to keep older kids quiet while little ones nap, there is nothing, and I mean, NOTHING wrong with some TV. I'm not talking about hours in front of the TV, but an hour here or there will restore a little calmness and can give you a chance to have some peace and quiet too. (My older girls love The Parent Trap, Mary Poppins, Toy Story and Annie.)

6. Make some time for yourself
This is critical. I have found some time away from my kids always rejevunates and refreshes me, and that makes me a better Mum(my). Use a 15 year old neighbour, family, babysitter, whatever you can afford. It will be good for everyone. Plus, I'll admit, being with your kids all day every day can be boring sometimes. Go for a walk, go to the supermarket, whatever just GET OUT!

7. Keep some perspective
Know this is only temporary. We all have bad days where the kids drive each other and us nuts. I've had days where I've felt like the worst mother in the world, shouting at her kids and just not 'feeling it'. We all have those days. Try to stay positive, keep it light and fun. Know this is all normal and part of motherhood. I still feel lucky to be able to be home with my kids and to be making their childhood memories with them.

Hope you have managed these holidays too and had some fun along the way.
xx

There's no place like home

We flew in today and it's sooo good to be home. I always love coming home if it's been 2 days or 2 weeks away.

We had a (mostly) fun week away, lots of swimming and sunshine which is a real treat in the middle of winter. Travelling with three young kids is a continual juggling act - it's regular toilet stops, snacks, drinks, sunscreen etc - you get it. They can also melt down pretty quickly after a day playing in the pool but we are always prepared with early dinners and a couple of DVDs from home to give everyone time to rest.

One highlight of our trip Yasmin made a friend from Sydney at our hotel in Bali and they swapped addresses after I explained to her what a pen pal is. Cute. 

I always really clear my brain on holidays and use my empty headspace to think about things I want to achieve when we get home (hellooooo Extreme Makeover!) and do some mental planning. This time I continued to mull our choice of school for our kids (hmmmm), how to be healthier and some fun things we can do at home. I've been reading that although school is important, we shouldn't forget that kids really get their grounding and values from home. This is something we all need to hear sometimes because we can all get a little too caught up in day to day running around, playdates, TV etc, but it's good to be ask ourselves - what am I teaching my kids at home?

One thing I thought of after reading Steady Days which will help fill those sometimes dreadful afternoons after school is to make a Country Board. This will involve a simple bulletin style board where we can hang up any artwork, drawings, words or pictures related to that particular country. After the girls will choose a country, we will do fun little stuff like drawing that country's flag, learn a couple of words, some very basic customs and  of course, try the local style food . This is all easily available online and I think this will be fun for all of us. As I've mentioned before, we have several books about kids living around the world, and this as well as their travels has given them a real interest in places around the world.

We had some serious sleep deprivation today after our overnight flight but as we are still in school holiday mode it's not such a big deal. This week we the girls have a couple of shows - Luigi Zucchini at the Melbourne Magic Festival in Northcote (random!), Circus Oz, a magic workshop at Gasworks and a local production of The Magic Hat. In between that will be a trip to our local Prahran Market (my favourite place to food shop) and continued generalised chaos and malarkey.

In the mean time, please drool with me at this gorgeous kid's pencil scarf (not to mention the rest of the items) I spotted in the recent edition of LMNOP, an online kids style mag.

xx

Some inspirational reading

If you haven't heard of the Nie Nie Dialogues you'll no doubt be moved, saddened and inspired all at once. I've been following Stephanie's blog for some time now, as well her sister CJane.

Stephanie is a gorgeous mother of 4 young kids in the States, and was in a horrific light airplane crash with her husband last year. She almost died from her burns, but survived. On her blog, which she started before the crash, she wrote witty, sweet and honest posts about life with her kids and her Mr Nielson. Stephanie was also a guest on the Oprah show and has a huge following of blog readers.

You can watch a video if Stephanie here and here.

At the very least, you'll be reminded how lucky most of us are and how we take all the little things for granted.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.
xx

In our kitchen

When my kids aren't around or when Zahara is pretending to sleep, you will often find me, apron on and cookbook open, in my kitchen. This is where I love to be - feeding my family. I have had lots of years practicing my cooking now, and I have really come to enjoy it.

Luckily, my kids are also pretty good eaters. They love to try new foods as well as eat a variety of foods. Cooking is also one of the things I love to do with my kids at home. They are always up for some cooking, and it's great to give them practice and confidence in the kitchen. They'll need it eventually! I've also found (as I'm sure many of you have) that they are more likely to eat what they cook.

And so, inspired by Amanda at Soulemama, here's what we've been eating in our kitchen.



Banana Bread, Donna Hay kids 2008
I made this last week with Zahara and Layla and it was easy, great for kids to make and really tasty. It was great for after dinner desserts, lunchboxes and general snacks. The girls really enjoyed the novelty of using a knife to cut up their bananas. If you are visiting from the States, Donna Hay is our version of Martha Stewart. She has a magazine, cookbooks, homeware products and an annual kids issue that is great.
1. Oven on to 160degrees celsius.
2. Grease long tin and line with baking paper.
3. Beat 130g butter with 1 cup brown sugar and 1teaspoon vanilla till pale brown and creamy.
4. Slowly add 2 eggs and beat till well mixed.
5. Mash approx 3-4 bananas to make 1.5 cups and add to batter.
6. Sift 1.5cups plain flour, 1tsp baking powder and half tsp of bicarb soda over batter.
7. Add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon (we used more) and 1/4 cup of maple syrup.
8. Beat until mixed.
9. Bake for one hour.



Shepherd's Pie
I've made this countless times, it's a great, hearty meal perfect for winter and I pack it full of vegies. The layers of meat, potatoes and peas look gorgeous in a big glass casserole dish. I use this Annabel Karmel recipe as a base, adding in lots of vegies in the meat sauce. For the mash, I replace most of the potato with sweet potato which is more nutritious but still really tasty. Add some dollops of Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce and ketchup to the meat sauce will also make it delicious.

Pikelets for breakfast
I used a Donna Hay kids' recipe for this as well. I made the mixture the night before and in the morning, it was ready to cook.
1. Place 2 cups SR flour and 1/2 cup caster sugar in bowl, make well in centre.
2. Place 3 eggs, 30g melted butter, 1 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in well.
3. Stir with wooden spoon until combined.
4. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes.
5. Heat lightly greased non stick pan on low. Spoon 1tblespoon of mixture on pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes till you see bubbles appear.
6. Flip and cook 3-4 minutes until golden.
7. Serve with jams, maple syrup or fresh fruit.

These are easy and best of all homemade. Enjoy!

Weekend wrap

It was a nice, fun weekend. Our highlights:
- Taking Yasmin to see Rock the Ballet. Fun, great music and high energy dancing. This is time just for Yasmin without younger siblings in tow. I tend to do something one on one with Yasmin every weekend so she can feel special doing something the little ones can't.
- Going out for yummy dinner at Chez Olivier in Greville Street. Highly recommended. Seriously delicious steak and fries followed by chocolate mousse. Heaven.
- Filling our empty Play do container with homemade playdough.
- All the girls in bed by 6.30pm. Sharp. Asleep within 5-10minutes. And now, silence.
- Seeing Gill get tired and grumpy after staying home with two tired and grumpy girls today. Kidding.
- Counting down to a nice, warm holiday in less than three weeks to Bali and Singapore.
- Replacing our melamine and plastic kids ware with this , this and this. No more plastic. Yech.
- Shopping online at Minifashionista's sale with some great kids clothes on SALE people. I love Polka, I am proud to say they are Australian kids clothes and sooooooo cool.
- Waiting for my takeaway Japanese to be enjoyed in peace and quiet.
- Watching Underbelly. Addicted.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.
xxx

Meatless Monday - dessert

I recently bought The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook on a health kick sort of whim. We eat quite healthily, lots of home cooked organic food, but I wanted to take it to the next level and broaden our diet. This book is quite full on (recipes like Millet Porridge and Quinoa and Pea Pilaf, if you get my drift), so we are slowly trying new dishes. One that I made, that was a success with the girls and really yummy was the Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies.

Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
1-1.5 cups medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup almond spread
4-6 TBLSP of cocoa powder (you need the high quality stuff)
shredded coconut

Put almonds and hazelnuts in food processor and process until finely ground.

Add all other ingredients except coconut and repeat.

Press mixture firmly into 8 x 8 inch square baking tin. Sprinkle with shredded coconut. We keep our tin covered in gladwrap in the freezer which makes it less crumbly. It's really delicious and satisfies any sweet tooths out there.

Layla's 4th Birthday

Like I said a while ago, May is a busy month for us. This past weekend we celebrated Layla's 4th Birthday. Our parties are not huge, some friends from kinder and cousins and family, at home with homemade food, homemade decorations and homemade take home bags. This is all lovely as we enjoy the process of preparing for the party as much as the party itself. But now, I am pooped!

It was lovely but truthfully, having Zahara's birthday only two weeks ago, I'm glad it's over.

In any case, here are my party principles:

1. We don't invite the whole class or even just the girls from the class. The girls are allowed to pick 3-6 friends. This plus two siblings and four cousins is plenty.

2. We handmake our invitations, decorations and take home bags. We do this because
- the girls can all be involved in the birthday celebrations and feel a part of it
- their handiwork is proudly displayed during the party
- it gives us something to do after school
- I want to teach them that you don't always have to buy things, you can make beautiful things (that aren't perfect) at home.

3. Parties are in our own home. This is because I like to do things my way and also because it's just nicer and more intimate. It's also probably more comfortable for the girls.

4. Birthday girls are allowed to choose whatever theme they like (or gently guided).

5. Prior to the party, we talk through manners, being a nice host and what we say to our guests when they give us presents and also when they say goodbye.

6. Treats are included in the kids party food, but so is fruit and cut up vegies. I don't go overboard on the junkfood. For Layla's party we had jelly and fairy bread, as well as sandwiches, strawberries and cucumber, carrots and peppers.

7. Give kids a snack right before party so they are relaxed and comfortable. Enjoy, savour and celebrate.

Meatless Monday - Baked potatoes

Our dinners can be hectic. I often feel more like my kids' waitress to keep up with spilt cups of water, ketchup, and some more of this mummy please. Zahara often wants to sit on my lap at mealtimes which make it harder. All this and trying to keep dinner a pleasant experience with a little conversation shared about everyone's day...

But, I've found that my kids will really enjoy a meal a lot more if they can make it, or even assemble it, themselves. Even though this is not a meal that I really love, it's great for the kids and pretty easy to prepare in advance. I prepare all the toppings in individual bowls during the day, as well as the potatoes to keep it easy and ready to go.

Baked potatoes with toppings
Use washed potatoes, wrap individually in foil and bake for 1.5 hours at 200 degrees celsius in the oven
Unwrap carefully when cooked, cut top off and scoop out filling.
Mix with grated cheese and some salt till a little gooey
Put back in potatoes and let the kids serve themselves with any of the toppings below
- corn kernels with butter (I steam fresh corn first and then cut off)
- sour cream
- grated yellow cheese
- chopped up tomato
- cooked chicken, bacon, canned tuna
- baked beans
- guacamole

Easy, tasty for kids and fills their little tummies on these cool Autumn days. Yum!

Safta Rachel's Moroccan Meatballs

This is a delicious and so very tasty all in one dish perfect for dinner. It warmed us up tonight!

It's my grandmother's recipe (she's Moroccan) and my mum taught me how to make it. It's not very hard and it is sooooo delicious.

Ingredients
1kg of mince meat
3/4 packet of frozen peas
1 bunch of celery
2 x zuchinis
2 x small onions
Flat leaf parsley, one handful
Spices - mace, ginger, cloves, turmeric, salt and pepper

Heat a wide pan with about 1 cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Chop the celery and zukes and simmer on a medium heat in the water with the lid on. (The turmeric will colour the water and the vegies giving it a nice colour.)

While it's cooking, fill your food processor with the parsley, onions, mince meat, salt pepper and the spices. You don't need to have all the spices. I've made this dish with various combinations, and it always tastes good. The amount of spices you use will depend on your preference, but allow about 1/3 - 1/2 teaspoons per spice. Chop in the processor until well combined.

Lift the lid and roll meatballs, gently putting them in a circle around the pan. Close lid, reduce to medium heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, gently turn the meatballs in the sauce. Add your frozen peas, then cook for another 15 minutes or so. Add some salt and pepper to the vegies and sauce. Serve with rice. Yum. Your house will smell amazing and if you're like me, feel good about serving your family a nice hearty meal. Watch your kids inhale and pat yourself on the back.