Weekend Wonder

We had a good weekend. 

I love a weekend where I can take the boys places they haven't been before or show them things they haven't seen before, this was one of those weekends. 

 Saturday we headed to Artspace which is our art gallery, they have regular 'kidspace' days where you turn up (its free), there is a heap of craft activities set up and older ladies to help you make a huge mess, take home some craft things and someone else cleans it up. Sounds good yeah? It really is.

Well its usually on a weekday but Saturday there was a book signing so it was a special event, poor Jack misses out on a lot of the fun things we do because he's at school so James was very excited about getting to show his big brother something he does that Jack doesn't.

It's funky right?

We came home covered in permanent marker and ink....

....And some fun activities to try at home, like a zine which is just a folded A4 piece of paper which you can stamp then colour in your stamps and make up a story to go with it. Simple but fun, maybe even a Christmas present or two! 

Sunday morning Charlie was off, temperature, cranky, nothing good, so instead of heading to the water park like we'd planned to I drew a very quick race car track around our deck, the boys spent ages colouring it in, making car parks and buildings. 

Then after nap time we headed off to get some culture. 

Really was some culture, singing dancing, international food, fashion parade, markets, stalls. It was amazing. I wish we'd gone earlier. 

The boys always find good money wasters. 

How funny is this photo, Charlie and I trying to take a self portrait. 

Poor Charlie he was actually really enjoying the music and dancing but he was defiantly still under the weather. 

I dragged the boys away to eat, we had vegetable samosas, satay sticks with a seriously good peanut dipping sauce, chick pea curry and freshly made naan, oh my goodness so delicious. 

The big boys loved it. Even eating dinner they were still watching what was going on.

I was feeling far to large to be dancing so I made myself comfy and watched, the band were African and they kept encouraging everyone to get closer and dance, they were so amazing to watch. 

By far the funniest part of the weekend was the amount of people that asked me about the boys and if they were all mine, or commented about me being brave to go out with them by myself. I know people are trying to be nice but it still bugs me, I figure if Naomi can do it I can defiantly do it!

Baby Daze

Week 31

The weeks really are flying by now. 

I waddled off to the hospital this week to see my doctor and I've put on 2kgs in two weeks and I'm measuring 2 weeks ahead. No wonder I've been so tired and cranky. Everything else is good, baby doesn't like the doppler being on him and moves as quickly as possible away from it, my doctor giggles every time this happens, which makes me giggle which makes it even harder to find his heartbeat. 

We got a little more organised this week, Charlie got a new car seat so the bambino can have Charlie's and a few more outfits and bibs, and some cot sheets. I'm excited for him to be here but I'm not at the stage where I want it to be over already, I'm enjoying this pregnancy more than any other and it's defiantly my last I'm not ready for it to be over just yet. Michael on the other hand is, he wants baby here already!

Next week I need to tackle the Christmas list, it's going to be here before we know it! 

Name Change and a Giveaway!

I never thought I'd have to change the name of my blog, I never thought it would cause me so much to think about either! 

The closer this boy gets to being born the more people ask me what I'm going to do, keep it, change it to +4 or something completely new and different. 

I don't think +4 is what I want. 

I think I should start fresh, new name, new look, whole new feel.

I have a few ideas, none of them are grabbing me at the moment. 

This is where you step in. 

I need your help. 

So suggest away and if I choose the name that you suggest you will win a mystery pack worth over $60 just in time for Christmas, so you can keep it or feel free to re gift as you choose! 

So get thinking! 

All you have to do is come up with a fabulous name, you know that's so easy, leave a comment with your name your suggestion and your email address. 

The competition will be open until the 7th of November 2011. 

image 

Rolly Rolly Rolly

During the 31 photos in 31 days project the lovely Tracey from Sh1ft.org asked me to post the recipe for my sausage rolls. Well that was August and now it's the end of October. Sorry Tracey! 

So today I share with you the easiest recipe ever.

500gms of Sausage mince.

1 egg.

50gms of breadcrumbs.

A splash of tomato sauce.

A splash of Worcestershire sauce.

A few shakes of dried herb of your choice, basil, oregano, sage whatever you prefer.

Salt and pepper.

4 sheets of puff pastry (You can make your own if you want, I don't) 

Optional extra: When my kids were going through a fussy stage I used to sneak veggies into everything possible including these. I still do even though I don't need to, it just makes me feel better that even though they are having sausage rolls for lunch their is something in there that's good for them. So a packet of frozen spinach, or 2 zucchini's grated. Whatever your kids (or husband) don't want to eat can be hidden under pastry and covered in sauce! 

Add all ingredients together in a bowl, apart from the pastry, if you add grated/pureed veggies you will need a little more breadcrumbs, add enough so that it isn't as wet. Thaw the pastry and cut in half, shape a ball of the mixture into a sausage and place along 1 long edge of pastry. Roll up pastry to enclose mince mixture. Cut roll into 4. Continue until you have none left. Pop on a lined/greased tray and brush with milk, bake at 180 until golden brown around 25 mins. 

Serve with your favorite sauce and enjoy! 

Baby Daze

Week 30.

10 weeks to go until I'll never be pregnant again. This very scary, very final fact hit me this week and considering we weren't planning #4 I was shocked by how hard it hit me. 

I have really enjoyed being pregnant this time. I've been so well apart from having very thin patience and a raging temper. I have really let loose this week and if you've had anything to do with me you'll know it. I was complaining to anyone and everyone about everything. I'm really sorry about that. I'll try harder this week to put my happy face on!

Baby still has no name but I think I'm wearing Michael down so I may get my way again, sorry hunny I do love you.

This week baby is getting porky and his skin is smoothing out, if he was born now he wouldn't look wrinkly. That's an important fact to know isn't it?

My mum knew I was having a hard week (she got lots of cranky venting phone calls) so she sent me these seriously cute outfits. They are vintage no idea what era but the tags are tiny and very basic, love them.

We have set up babies room there's basically nothing in there though so I'll wait til I've started decorating a little before I show you. I have organised his clothes and my goodness there is lots of them! Still need to wash them but that can wait a little longer. 

This is all I see these days. Still can't figure out what position he's in. He moves so much it's hard to tell. Soon enough he wont be doing somersaults anymore, well not on the inside!

My Place and Yours

In case you don't follow me on twitter or facebook (obviously you should), I have given My Place and Yours to it's second owner Vic from Punky & Me she started on Saturday and already there is 38 people playing along. Way better than the one or two that used to play along with me over here, so it's defiantly in a better place.
This week's theme is On The Shelf 

This is my bookshelf shelf, I'm not game to put any 3M hooks on these walls so everything is propped up on shelves or still in boxes for now.  Michael snuck his little cars and diggers up there while I wasn't looking, it is his house too so I guess I'll just have to keep walking past them : ) 

If you want to play along as well head on over to see Vic

Your all Stars!

Well it's Tuesday afternoon and guess what, I didn't kill the property manager. 

Thank you to everyone who commented and showed their support. It really did lift my spirits. So much that Michael let me stay home this morning when the lady came and I was even polite to her. Yes polite. I think I may have even smiled. Ha! 

So while the house is still clean and tidy here are a few pictures of it while we still live here. 

Real estate really?

A couple of weeks ago I bombarded my lovely online mothers group, twitter and poor Suger with ranting and raving about our house inspection. 

Our real estate agent which shall remain nameless (although I believe the reference to prostitutes in their name is appropriate) told us we had not made the property presentable enough and they were coming back to do a second inspection because...

...our garage 'wasn't tidy enough'

and

...the floor 'had obviously not been moped' 

and 

'the property needed a tidy before the inspection' 

I took these photo's a few hours after they had been, and apart from James watching cartoons and a few things on the kitchen bench it looked the same. 

So on Tuesday they are coming back to make sure we have 'made more of an effort'. 

I'm not going to be home, I think that would be better for our real estate history than me ripping the property manager's head off. 

Stay tuned for next week's installment of Crazy Pregnant Lady V Real Estate Agent. 

Baby Daze

Week 29.

The baby and I are having issues this week, big emotional issues. Luckily there is only 11 weeks to go til my hormones can settle a little. Ha! Who am I kidding?! 

Yep 11 weeks. I know your thinking, well I must be ready. Pfft. I'm not ready at all, not ready for Christmas either but that's not unusual. We have so much going on at the moment, mostly boring bills but it is all getting in the way of me spending a small fortune on all the beautiful ridiculous nursery things I want. We have organised the bambinos room now I just want to make it look pretty, I'm sorry I mean boyish. On a positive note I think I have found a name (yeeha!) and Michael thinks he likes it as well, just to see if it lasts for the next 11 weeks.
I had my glucose test this week and of course like every other time it was a little high so I have to do the extended 2hr test. The actual drink is quite tasty but the effect it has on me after fasting for 10 hours is not so nice. Apart from that I've developed the waddle. It really is getting to the business end.
Next week is serious count down 30 weeks means only 10 to go! That's crazy! 

Bad day

Today we had a bad morning. Not death in the family sort of bad, just cranky mum, ridiculous bills and upset ebay buyer kind of morning. So to cheer myself up I made cake for afternoon tea. A sultana cake which I packed with green food dye and coconut and smothered in Betty Crocker icing and piled high with sprinkles. If that doesn't make me feel better I don't know what will. 

What do you do when your in a bad mood?

I swore I'd never...

...but here I am, the parent of a child with crocs. 

Damn it.

After losing yet another thong, (because it's never a pair in our house only ever one at a time) we went to buy three new sets of thongs for the boys, and then Michael saw the crocs. He decided they would be good fishing shoes and after Jack scrapped his toes riding his bike last week I said they can wear them for riding bikes as well. But if I see them on their feet when we leave the house there will be trouble. To make matters worse they wanted matching ones. My children are so daggy. 

What is something you do as a parent that you swore you'd never? 

Rap Stars

Lions Rap Video "Rockn' The Vest" 

When we lived in Blackwater Michael was apart of the Lions club, he still gets stacks of emails, mostly about boring stuff but occasionally he gets a pearler like this.
I had to share, seriously one of the funniest things I have ever seen a bunch of volunteers doing. These are actual Lions club members from the US. I especially enjoyed the line 'If you've got a dry turkey sandwich I'll mayonnaise you' . 

Bed Love

This is Jack's cool new bed. 

My darling Michael spent 4 hours putting this bad boy together. He told me if I bought any more flat pack he would divorce me. Sorry about that hun. 

I'd love to say we've unpacked all of Jack's stuff and there is now things on his shelves and in the draws but that would  be a complete lie. 

Charlie loves Jack's room so next week I am going to get Jack a baby gate for his room so he can have his lego/books/things on and in his desk without Charlie 'playing' with it all.  Now all he needs is a chair for that desk, he's so excited to do his homework in there instead of having to sit at the dining table. He should have been an only child this one! 

Baby Daze

Week 28.

I was channeling Dani for this photo, I realised we have a fence like her's, pity James' photography skills are about as good as mine and he cut my head off. 

I am officially in my third trimester. 

Babies brain is going from smooth to lumpy. Isn't that a gross thing to know? 

I've been getting some serious big kicks this week, I feel like the ladies off the maltesers ad. I think James is going to be my baby whisperer. Every time baby kicks and I put James hand on my belly baby stops. Jack on the other hand has felt baby kick lots, and he really likes it. I think he's at a really good age to understand what's happening and be excited, when Charlie was born he was defiantly not interested. He keeps coming up with names like Bob (the builder) or Honey or any other weird thing he can think of. 

I think Michael and I have found a name we both agree on, although that may change by next week. I wont be sharing this time until he's born, there has to be some surprise after all. 

I haven't been sleeping very well until last night when Michael put on the air-con in our bedroom and I slept through the night. Unfortunately I think it may be the way it will be for the next three months, sorry electricity bill. 

On Wednesday I have to have the gestational diabetes test. Thankfully I booked it when Michael is home so I can sit in the hospital for an hour by myself without having to keep little boys amused, I may even sneak off to have a quiet lunch my myself before heading home. 

I fell off the wagon

Well I didn't fall off the wagon. I was pushed. We have a house inspection tomorrow so Michael and I have been cleaning and weeding and all the fun stuff you do before hand.  

So I leave you with this very fun pink rainbow cake until Thursday at least. 

Now tell me you have done something more interesting this week than clean toilet walls??

image

Wonderful weekend

I love weekends. 

Especially weekends like this. 

Emily from the Beetle Shack thinks she's bogan. I beg to differ and will top her with this for sure. I am not only married to a bogan I also really like fast cars, ridiculous fast cars that do ridiculous things whilst making lots of noise. I love them so much I bought us tickets for Saturdays sun state nationals to watch lots of fast cars drive fast. Yes I was meant to be a mum of boys. 

Charlie hanging out in Dads shadow, it was really hot out there. 

He's a special boy this one. Not exactly a sun safe way to wear one's hat, but hey at least he isn't the guy in the background he still had the price tag on his hat. 

Love these cars. I could have watched them all day, this one especially it had awesome teeth painted on the side. 

Big boy enjoying his lunch, he later got a show bag full of catalogues for car parts, I don't think I'd seen him as happy all day. 

What I'm the only one who wears pearls and lipsticks to watch drag racing, well me and the pit girls. 

You know it's a good day when your so pooped you fall asleep with your cup in your hands. 

It was awesome, and I loved it way more than the boys, especially the nitro funny cars, those babies are seriously loud. 

Then Sunday we followed it up with a trip to the circus. 

When we got to the door I was informed no photos were allowed to be taken inside the big tent. That's a kick in the shins but I guess I really enjoyed it much more without my camera in front of my face the whole time. 

The big top. 

Daddy and a cranky James who wanted to go on the jumping castle. He had no idea what we were about to walk into. I love the front of the 'laff'n'clowns' caravan. That's what I call old school circus caravan. 

The circus was awesome we had ringside seats, literally ringside, we were front row. This made for fun when the clown dragged volunteers out of the crowd to 'help' him. Towards the end Jack got to go in the ring, he looked so red faced but I knew he was enjoying it. It's defiantly what he will be telling his friends when he goes back to school.

They finished off with the ball of death which is two guys on motorbikes riding around each other in a ball of metal. Scary but so fun! 

Tonight were having a BBQ on the deck before our big by goes back to school tomorrow. Not a bad way to finish the school holidays that's for sure! 

Baby Daze

Week 27.

Don't be fooled by the smile this week kicked my butt. 

A mixture of being busy everyday (It is school holidays after all)  and not sleeping very well over night made for a very cranky lady in the house this week. Every afternoon you could have found me comatosed on the lounge while Charlie napped and the big boys made amazing creations from lego or watched countless episodes of Wallace and Gromit. 

I finally had my booking in appointment at the hospital and discovered I've put on 7kgs already, I was shocked and a bit peeved, I've been eating quite well and this is probably the most active during pregnancy I've ever been. I'm putting it down to the wide and tasty array of take out we have at our finger tips compared to the couple of dodgy choices we had in Blackwater.

Apart from that I've had a few nasty leg cramps which I always get when pregnant, and suffered a bit of heartburn, completely my own fault from eating things I know will hurt me but I do it anyway.
We still have no name choices really. We have a front runner for a few weeks and then we get over it. I know when we find the name I'll know it and it will just be right, until then we just have to keep searching and  I'll just keep baking!