lachinvasion

First Day of School

2012-02-06T22:22:00.004+11:00

Dear World,

Today, my little boy with tousled hair, two big brown eyes, a cheeky grin and a big hearty laugh began his journey to become a man. It tugs my heart, when I walked him through the big school gates, his little hand in mine. He could hardly contain his excitement, a skip in every step. He waved goodbye with his confident hands, and said "bye mum" and went on with the rest of the class, doing whatever he was doing like he has done it many times before. It was his first day at school.

Daddy came along to say his "goodbyes". He said goodbye... about 9 times. But still stood in the corner of the class. Looking around, lingering. Come on daddy, let's go!

I walked out, proud and tall. Thinking I deserved a big pat on my back, and maybe pop open a bottle of champagne when we got home. 1 down, 2 more to go, hip hip hooray. But... I couldn't help myself, I peeped into the classroom window and looked at my little boy with tousled hair, two big brown eyes, a cheeky grin and a big hearty laugh. All grown up, in his new school shirt, shorts and black shoes.

My heart tangled in knots, crying silent tears. This small person has been my whole life for the past 5 years - and now there's all this time and space without him. And HIS days will be filled with new experiences, new friends and new interests. Without ME.

Lucas and Lily, wondered where's big brother koko? What is he doing? Where is his school? When's he coming back? Is HE coming back? Asking a million koko questions in a short span of time, over and over again (and it was only half day today). How will I cope with two little siblings WITHOUT HIM??

I guess it's just a matter of getting used to...

My babies, growing up too quickly too soon.

..

Lychee Dessert Plate

2012-02-03T00:05:00.000+11:00

What a sweet way to celebrate the passing of 2011 in the lunar calendar - chinese new year eve. Whilst I knew exactly what I wanted to make for dessert, 5 components to a lychee themed dessert plate (a good friend laughed at how I like to make themes for dessert!), I was utterly and completely blank with dinner itself! Luckily enough, my mother in law was here to help.

Lychees are not native to Australia and it is quite difficult and expensive to get it fresh here down under. However, during the chinese new year season, you do see quite a bit of lychees at the supermarket, no doubt not as plump and juicy as the ones you get from Malaysia. I don't know why I was thinking lychees this year, maybe because it's such a "chinese" type fruit, I've certainly heard of stories of the fruit being used widely as a delicacy in the Chinese Imperial Court. It's from Chine, no? Hence CNY = a lychee dessert??

This dessert was planned so thoroughly, started 3 days in advance. (And the rest of the menu in havoc, 3 hours prior!)

Lychee and nectarine frangipane tart
Fresh lychee ice cream
Lychee cream macaron
Lychee japanese jelly
And a green tea infused syrup (which I regretfully omitted in the end)

The frangipane tart was the hero, the recipe I adapted from Citrus and Candy. I love the buttery, very short, melt in the mouth pastry. Yum yum...

Almond Frangipane Tart, with fresh nectarines and lychees.

Buttery Shortbread Pastry (Pate Sablé)

Makes 1 x 20cm tart

Ingredients

125g plain flour
50g icing sugar
pinch of salt
100g butter, cold and chopped
1 egg yolk

Method

In a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt and give it a quick whirl to mix. Add chopped cubes of cold butter and process until it roughly resembles breadcrumbs. Add the yolks and process until the dough comes together.

Pat dough together into a round disk and wrap well in clingfilm (you might need a little sprinkle of flour if dough gets too soft or warm). Refrigerate until ready to use or until well chilled.

Lightly grease a 20cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin. Roll pastry between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to a circle roughly 25-26cm in diameter and about 3mm thick.

Wrap dough around the rolling pin removing the baking paper from the bottom as you do so. Line the tin and tuck in the pastry into the sides and bottom. Remove the top sheet and run the rolling pin over the top of the tin to cut off the excess.

Use excess dough to patch up any holes or flaws. If the dough gets too warm and soft, refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to firm up.

Chill pastry for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Scrunch up a sheet of baking paper and lay on top of the tart shell. Fill with ceramic pie weights and blind bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked, lightly golden and the bottom is ‘dry’.

Remove the baking paper and weights and bake for another 3-5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Note: This is a really buttery pastry so it isn’t exactly summer/humidity friendly. Be sure to refrigerate as soon as the pastry softens too much to make it easier to work with and rest it adequately to prevent shrinkage in the oven. It definitely needs to be rolled between two sheets of baking paper but don’t worry if you mess up a little when lining the tin. You easily can use the pastry to patch up any holes or mistakes.

Almond Frangipane

Ingredients

150g butter, slightly softened
150g icing sugar
150g almond meal
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
20ml Grand Marnier
1 tsp vanilla extract
30g plain flour

Method

Cream butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy (at least 5 minutes). Add the almond meal and beat until mixed. Add the eggs, Grand Marnier, vanilla and flour and beat until combined.

Mixture can be refrigerated covered for a couple of days or frozen. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature to soften before adding to pastry case.

Spoon enough frangipane into your cooled shortbread pastry case and use an offset spatula to even it out (do not fill more than 0.5 cm below the top of pastry case).

Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for around 15 minutes until frangipane is puffed, cooked through and lightly golden (it’s ready when the centre springs back).

Remove tart and cool on wire rack.

Brush the surface of the warm tart with some warmed apricot jam then shower with sifted icing sugar. Allow to cool completely.
Tart is best served on the day but can be stored for a short time in an airtight container.

Lychee Cream Macaron

Macarons and me, we have a hit and miss relationship. I started with the french method (macarons au blanc monte) after a bit of research online, fell in love with My Tartelette, and then hovered over the Italian method (macarons au sucre cuit) after a few failed batches of macarons au blanc monte. And I still couldn't get it quite right.

Call me crazy but I am not a huge fan of 'em macs. Perhaps, maybe I like ONE macaron. Then it becomes sickly sweet. But I want to make them. I need to make it perfect. To achieve the standard beauty of a macaron, you need a smooth dome of a shell with pretty little ruffles down the bottom otherwise known as the feet. You could almost jump with joy at the first sight of "feet" hurrah!

So I went back to basics. I counted how many successful batches of french and how many italians, strangely enough, the french method wins! (The Italian method is known to be more stable and hence more feet successes).

I will not post the recipe for macarons here, but if you would like to make them, hop over to raspberri cupcakes. She has the most gorgeous looking macs and her ideas are just brilliant!

Lychee Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 whole vanilla bean, split
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup castor sugar
2 400g cans peeled whole lychees in heavy syrup

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and vanilla bean. Place the mixture over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light. Pour a small amount of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the milk in the pan and cook and stir until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

3. Drain the lychees, reserving 1/4 cup of the syrup. Place the lychees and the reserved syrup in a food processor or a blender. Process for 15 seconds, or until the mixture is puréed but with some pieces remaining. Stir the purée into the cream mixture until well blended. Chill.

4. Transfer the chilled mixture to an ice cream maker and churn for 30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer safe container and chill overnight.

There you go! That was my lychee dessert plate for chinese new year eve. Never was I this excited over a dessert plate before. I think I had my dinner guests in a sugar high as we ushered in the new year. Beauty!

***

Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog at the Melbourne Museum + Giveaway!

2012-01-31T00:13:00.009+11:00

Product Talk by Nuffnang.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid sponsored post.

During the school holidays, we were given complimentary tickets to the Melbourne Museum to check out a performance featuring a Victorian aboriginal creation story, Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog. This was a live stage performance by the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in collaboration with Ilbijerri Theatre Company.

I was excited! This was my first ever true taste of aboriginal storytelling. Having grown up in Malaysia, I know just very little (if anything) about the Australian history and culture. I must admit, I was nervous at the start. My own children will be starting school, and soon there will be endless questions to answer! My husband was born and bred in Australia, but he has NEVER heard of Tiddalik.....(gulp).

I packed all three kids in the car, nearly 2, nearly 4 and nearly 6 years old and explained that we were going to the museum to see Tiddalik. And as I was going to explain who and what it is all about, my nearly 6 spilled out EVERYTHING he knew about the thirsty frog. He learnt about it at kinder the year before. Now, I'm glad someone was paying attention!

Tiddalik tells the story of the Gunai people of Gippsland, Victoria. It's about a greedy frog that has drunk all the water in the land, all by himself, leaving the other animals and plants dry and withering. They needed to find a way to get the water back. It sends an important message about water conservation.

Uncle Herb played his gum leaf. There were lots of dancing, laughing and clapping.

The stage set up was bright and colourful, and the actors were so lively and engaging! The kids sat through 20 minutes of it all, with lots of laughter, dancing and clapping!

Now, if you would like to see Tiddalik, you have to be at the museum RIGHT about now. Unfortunately, today is the LAST day for the performance as part of the school holiday program. So I could not offer you a free ticket to watch Tiddalik. BUT. There are JUST SO MANY things to see and do at the Melbourne Museum. So if you would like to win a free adult pass to the Museum worth $10, (kids enter for free!) do read on.

The Melbourne Museum is one place you would bring the kids back again and again. There's just so much to do, and always too little time. Every little space has so much to explore. The dinosaur walk was one of the highlights of our trip.

Whooaahh dinosaur bones!!

The kids also checked out the dynamic earth, evolving over 600 million years in funky 3D glasses. It was such a stunning exhibition, they were immersed in the formation of the earth, and surrounded by active volcanoes!

Then it was off to the children's gallery, where there were just SO much to keep the kids entertained both inside and outside. The kids played hopscotch, hula hoops, stacked up blocks, skipped ropes and so much more. Now this is the one place you have difficulties getting your kids to leave!

It was such an enjoyable outing and I am sure we will be back for more in the near future.

Give Away – 1 Adult Entry to Melbourne Museum

Thanks to Nuffnang and the Melbourne Museum, I have an additional pass for an adult entry to the Melbourne Museum, valid until 30th of June 2012. To enter:

Leave a comment below and tell me what kind of dinosaur you would like to be and why.
The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
If outside of Melbourne you must be able to use the pass by 30th of June 2012.
You may only enter once.
Entries close at 5pm AEDST 12th Feb 2012.
Good luck!

Fine print:

Excludes special exhibitions and events.
Not valid with any other offer. Not redeemable for cash.
Open daily 10am – 5pm (closed Good Friday)

Cost: Additional entry prices to Melbourne Museum – Adults are $10, children and concessions are free!

Chinatown in Pictures

2012-01-29T23:35:00.006+11:00

Perfecting the Pasta Recipe and Making Fresh Egg Noodles

2012-01-28T23:00:00.011+11:00

Hubby says that I have to use the pasta maker attachment 500 times to make it worth while. So I am nearly 1% there. I am honestly in love with this little extra helper in my kitchen. I don't know, there's something about playing with flour and dough. Seeing all that transform into silky smooth sheets of dough and long oodles of noodles. So I am happy. 500 times? Oh yeah, we'll get there some day.

Having tried and tested a few basic pasta recipes, I've settled on one from Gary Mehigan and George Colambaris' book: Your Place Or Mine?

200g Strong Plain Flour (00)
2 large eggs
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Water

And this will feed 2 people. A nice and easy recipe to remember.

***

As a child growing up in Malaysia, on the first day of Chinese New Year, I would wake up to a cloud of sweet warm heady aroma of garlic fried in oil and tumble out of bed to a breakfast bowl of steamy heart warming mee suah soup - delicate, silky smooth strands of fine wheat noodles for longevity and health. And each bowl has a red egg, a symbol of luck and prosperity.

Now having children of my own, I am trying my absolute best to uphold and honour this tradition. Long oodles of noodles for longevity! It may not necessarily be mee suah (some noodles are better store bought!), one year it was spicy Taiwanese noodles and the other year it was Maggi 2 minute noodles (only joking grandmother!). And each bowl MUST have a red egg in it.

So this year, we had home made egg noodles in a clean chicken broth, shredded chicken breast, shittake mushrooms, fried garlic AND a red egg.

(Funnily enough, I did not take a photo of the CNY noodles.)

***

My sister in law suggested we made yet another type of noodle, Pan Mee or some call it Mee Hoon Kueh. We ate this as little kids in hawker centres back in Malaysia! So we googled the recipe online (after trying to decipher her mom's recipe over the phone - a pinch of this and a handful of that!) and we came across this (click click). The dough recipe works and I'm keeping it for next time! I used this exact same recipe for the egg noodles too. It's pretty similar to mom's.

Mee Hoon Kueh
Adapted from Cooking Crave

Dough Recipe

250g plain flour
1 egg
100 ml
1 tbsp cooking oil
pinch of salt

I threw everything into the KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook on and let it mix for about 10 minutes or so. Then I took it out and knead gently with my hands and shaped it into a ball. I wrap the dough with some cling film and let it rest for about an hour.

You can read the rest of the recipe HERE.

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and eating lots of yummy Chinese New Year goodies! Enjoy the weekend!

.

Happy Australia Day!

2012-01-26T23:00:00.000+11:00

Australia celebrates its National Day today. And so did we. Nothing says it better than some good ol' snags on the barbie (except hubby didn't feel like cleaning the barbie, so we did it on the stove!), cold beer and thongs. And oh, pavlova of course!

Zucchinis from the garden. Scroll down to see where it came from!

Brown sugar pavlova with fresh cream, raspberries and coulis.

And here's a bit of weirdness from the garden. The zucchini that we ate for dinner today was part of this giant monster. Just over 3 kgs, it weighs just about the same as Lily when she was born and half a meter in length! Crikeyyyy!

Something I Made...

2012-01-25T22:24:00.007+11:00

Photo A Day|Day 25
Dolly

This is a dolly that I made some time ago. Look at Lily, she was sooo tiny then! And can you see how contented she was with her little dolly friend? Anyways, this little dolly has found a new home and I promised Lily that I would make her another one......

3 other dollies came and went. Didn't think they would be SO popular!

(Look! She's got the same mohawk!)

Hush little baby go to sleep... mummy will make you another dolly someday.

(I did not buy a sewing machine to just make 4 dollies.... or did I??)

Reflections: The year that went by...

2012-01-25T00:47:00.003+11:00

Cunningham Pier, Geelong Waterfront.

Year 2011 was a BIG year for us. It was eventful, challenging, emotional and life changing.

In February, we moved homes. It was one of the most arduous and challenging tasks yet. Packing up our lives in boxes, moving and then unpacking. 3 kids in tow...

In April and May, we celebrated ALL 3 kids' birthdays all within a week of each other. 3 birthday bashes, 3 birthday cakes. Just the thought of April creeping up is enough to make me shake in my boots!

June: we started renovating our kitchen and dining area. We ripped up the old and tired slate tiles, sold our existing kitchen on eBay, laid down new floors and got myself a brand spanking new kitchen. Yeah, baby!

My father in law was diagnosed with liver cancer in September. It was a tough battle, no doubt a short one. He passed away in November. It was an emotional roller coaster ride for the entire family. We missed him so dearly!

December was such a busy month. The boys started swimming lessons again, there were kinder breakups, school transitions, orientations, concerts and parties. Christmas and New Year whizzed by in a few blinks. It was quiet...but peaceful.

In just under 2 weeks, my biggest baby will be going to school. What a milestone! And my 2nd baby will be at kinder twice a week. Lily, it's you and me babe, we are going to do BIG things together!

2012 awaits us... bigger and bolder dreams, greater challenges. Bring it on!

Reunion Dinner 2012

2012-01-23T00:20:00.007+11:00

This year, Gary and I are honoured to host the family Chinese New Year reunion dinner - a Chinese tradition, where family members gather round to eat and usher in the new year.

We started dinner with lo hei – which is a celebration where everyone gathers around a special salad called yu sang. Everyone uses their chopsticks to help toss the salad, lifting up the ingredients as high as possible, as a symbol of great prosperity in the new year.

Then came the feast, a home made banquet that was really sensational! It was a joint effort, between my mother in law and myself, my dear sister in law Ching Mei and brother Kelvin. We had abalone soup, braised sliced abalone and sea snails (hmmm... an Asian delicacy??), braised shitake mushrooms with oysters and fat choy, curry chicken, sang choy bao, roast duck, roast belly pork with a crispy crackling and pan fried prawns. It was delicious! We ended the night on a sugar high: a lychee dessert plate - Lychee and white nectarine salad on a frangipane tart, home made lychee ice cream, lychee jelly and lychee macarons.

We ate and ate - until our bellies hurt and our hearts deliriously happy.

Here's wishing my dear family and friends, my (Chinese) readers near and afar a Happy Chinese New Year! May the year of the Dragon bring in to you all good fortune, good health and prosperity. Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Sweet As...

2012-01-19T23:41:00.004+11:00

Day 19|Sweet

Pistachio Cream Macaron

I haven't got a picture for today but I thought I'd point you back to one of my favourite post. It's one of the rare occasions that they actually turned out not bad!

So click click HERE to read the whole post.

With the Chinese New Year lurking around the corner, I have my egg whites separated and I'm thinking... NO pineapple tarts this year, but how about some pineapple macarons?

Citrus and Candy has some serious sweet eye candy, as well as some heart throb dessert happening, so why not hop on over that way and tell her I sent you?

Cookbook Junkie

2012-01-19T00:36:00.003+11:00

Day 18|Confessions of a cookbook junkie...

There are things that I can't live without and cookbooks are one of them. I have such a soft spot for recipe books and can never EVER resist buying a book that I like. And whether I've outgrown them, or exhausted their lines, they still sit comfortably on my shelf, holding pages full of sweet and delicious memories.

Do you know that you can publish your own recipe books nowadays, at the comfort of your own home? And it's dead easy...

Check out Photobook Worldwide's Readybooks, they are free to download, and it has all the templates and designs ready. Just insert your favourite recipes and pictures!

Will you buy my cookbook if I have one?

34 degrees...

2012-01-18T00:32:00.006+11:00

Day 17|Water

It has been hot these past couple of days. The swimming pool has been a real treat. Boy am I glad that the theme for today's photo challenge is "Water". Because we did play with a lot of water today.

(I think I shall skip Day 16|Morning... I am obviously not a morning person. Mornings {on a school holiday} are for sleeping in...)

If you are wondering what all this is about, Chantelle over at Fat Mum Slim is hosting a Photo A Day Challenge for January. And I thought it would be fun to join in. If you are doing this challenge too, feel free to leave your link here. I would love to hop over to have a peep at your photos... :)

Happiness is...

2012-01-16T22:55:00.010+11:00

Day 15|Crepes with homemade strawberry ice-cream, strawberry coulis, fresh strawberries and cream.

I was at the shops the other day, wanting to buy some fresh strawberries to make ice-cream. Yes, home made ice cream! The ice-cream maker was my other evil post-boxing day sales splurge. Anyways, I digress. Strawberries are in season right now and they are so cheap at the shops. I couldn't help myself to a box of strawberries for $6! There was at least.... 6 kilos in there.

So, what did I do with the box of strawberries? There was plenty for ice cream. I made strawberry jam, strawberry sauce, strawberry and white chocolate muffins (that I forgot about, left in the oven for an hour at 200 deg...it was burnt to a crisp!), the kids ate bowls after bowls of strawberries (they had strawberry poo...yuck!). And there's still some left in the fridge. We are all strawberry-ed out!

I declared love at first sight with these crepes, one of Poh's recipes from her book Poh's Kitchen.

I love the texture of the gorgeous folds of thin silky crepe, even more luscious paired with the ice cream and strawberry coulis. Heavenly! I've declared that I love them more than regular pancakes now. The batter is quite thin, not too floury and you only need one small dollop at a time. Makes it all OK to have more than one crepe in the one serving! And the vanilla hit...mmmm. It goes so well with the strawberries.

Crepe batter (makes about 8 crepes)

Ingredients

40g plain flour
2 large free range eggs
190ml whole milk
pinch of salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
butter, softened to grease the pan

1. Pop a non-stick pan on low heat to begin warming.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk until silky smooth.

3. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, greased with a little butter, roll it around to cover the surface of the pan. When the edge crisp up and turn a little golden, it is perfect to flip it over to cook on the other side, just for a few seconds.

4. You should end up with crepes that are about 1mm thick and a little translucent.

Let Lachie show you how it is best eaten!

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
(Adapted from Cuisinart website)

Ingredients

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 cup sugar, divided
1-1/4 cups whole milk
2-3/4 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours. Strain the berries, reserving juices. Mash or purée half the berries.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries, and vanilla.

3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely.

4. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Strawberry Jam
Adapted from taste.com.au

Ingredients

3kg strawberries, hulled, halved
3kg white sugar
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Method

Wash and sterilise jars and lids. Place strawberries in a saucepan and stir through sugar. Leave for 1-2 hours while sugar softens the fruit.
Add juice then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fruit is soft.
Remove 1/3 of fruit. Set aside. Cook remaining mixture until fruit is mostly dissolved and jam coats the back of a spoon. Divide reserved fruit between the jars then fill with jam. Allow to cool,then seal with lids.

I Am Reading...

2012-01-15T22:53:00.005+11:00

Here's my photo for yesterday...
Day 14|What I'm reading

Paullina Simons' Road to Paradise

I am also reading...

How to talk so kids will listen & listen so KIDS will TALK by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

It's one of the books that I have by my bed side, that I will flip through every now and again to remind myself... It's a good book, I do recommend it to any parent. Here's a summary page that I've book-marked (this book mark was a present for me, made by Lachlan at kinder for Mother's Day last year *loved it*):

Helping Children Deal with Their Feelings

Children Need to Have Their Feelings Accepted and Respected.

1. You can listen quietly and attentively.

2. You can acknowledge their feelings with a word.

"Oh... Mmm... I see..."

3. You can give the feeling a name.

"That sounds frustrating!"

4. You can give the child his wishes in fantasy.

"I wish I could make that car you are looking for reappear for you right now, with my magic wand!"

All feelings can be accepted.

Certain actions must be limited.

"I can see how angry you are at your brother. Tell him what you want with words, not fists."

...

My Vegetable Garden

2012-01-14T22:43:00.006+11:00

There is SO much stuff happening in my vege garden right now. Vines are growing everywhere! Monster zucchini plants, cucumbers rolling about, tomatoes, eggplants, chillies, capsicum, sage, rosemary, basil, chives, lemon grass, hairy melon, rocket, lettuce, pumpkin and maize. It's haphazard, it's chaotic, it's gone crazy after a few rainy spells.

When my dad came for a visit a couple of months ago, he built 5 vegetable plots from planks of wood. Impatiently, I threw all my vegetable seedlings into the 2 plots (while he was still building the other 3!), chucked in some more seeds for good measure, heaped in lots and lots of manure, compost and all the good stuff. Now I need to commando crawl through the vines, to go looking for a spiky cucumber, or a glossy zucchini. I go into some sort of a sun salutation pose to pick chillies and tomatoes.

We've eaten lots of zucchini, made lots of chilli jam, picked and eaten lots of cucumbers, given some away and we still have heaps left in the garden. The corn is yet to bear fruits, as is the eggplant and pumpkin. There are lots of tomatoes ripening on the vine. The zucchinis just grow into monstrous proportions after a rainy day or two. It's mad!

There is a great deal of satisfaction to see a trug of beautifully fresh vegetables, grown organically at home. It's chemical and pesticide free! It is grown with love. The end result is rewarding and it just adds to the sense of well being, knowing that we are a part of the cycle of life and the production of food.

In My Bag...

2012-01-13T23:55:00.003+11:00

Photo A Day|Day 13
Here's what's in my (other) bag...

To be honest, I have not been carrying this bag at all this week. My phone and my wallet does not belong in there. It goes into the swimming bag, it wobbles along with the nectarines and the eggs in the "green" grocery bag, or it just sits atop of the shoe cabinet in the foyer. This is the going out going out bag.

The kids have been swimming ALL week, 5 days in a row. L1 has swimming lessons, a holiday program. L2 and L3 goes along for a little swim. It's great! The past week has seen all three of them being a lot more confident in the water. L1 learnt a few arm strokes, he could swim underwater for about 6 meters. He does somersaults! L2 dunks his head underwater, blows out bubbles for a good 6 seconds. He is also a lot more coordinated now in the water. L3... simply just loves to splash, paddle and play.

Boy am I glad the weekend is here, and the swimming program has ended. It's all good fun, but packing and unpacking the swimming bag is a bit of a chore! And the head is a bit dizzy and sore... eyes darting from L1 to L2 to L3 to L2 to L3 etc etc. And oh yeah, getting them ALL out of the pool and in the shower is good fun... NOT.

I'm ready for a little bit of a sleep in.

Happy weekend everyone!
XOX

Close Up

2012-01-12T22:28:00.009+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge|Day 12

Then came the boy with the long eye lashes...

Guess who they belong to?
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.
.

.
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My pretty boy Lucas is 3 and a half. He's got such long eyelashes, I often say isn't it such a waste on a boy? But of course I do not mean it that way! It compliments his big puss in boots eyes. Don't you just want to put a glob of Elizabeth Arden Double Density Max Volume on those curls? Haha! (I can just hear a 13 year old Lucas saying....NOT FUNNY MOM!)

Lucas is our 2nd born, our "middle child", if there's ever such a thing. He has always been a challenge, the family clown. He could go from cry to laugh in 3 seconds, and back again. He holds the record for the longest tantrum thrown. He is ridiculously noisy, aggressive and deliberately provocative. He picks fights, he spits and he taunts his OLDER brother until he explodes in tears. He teases his sister, takes her dollies, trip her over. AND there is always NOISE where he is. His terrible TWO has turned into terrible THREE, and now I wonder if it is ever going to go away (Will he become fantastic FOUR?), or what he might turn out to be when he became an adult.

BUT he is also the most funny, the most witty and the most entertaining. He goes about doing his own thing without a single care in the world! And he melts hearts when he batts those long eye lashes, and he throw one of those gorgeous smiles your way! He can chat you up, he calls on you the LOUDEST, he says GOOD MOOORNING to everyone, when everyone was having a sleep in on Sundays.

Grandma says he is also the cleverest.

Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

Sanctuary

2012-01-11T23:49:00.004+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge
Day 11|Where I Sleep...

Childhood

2012-01-10T22:33:00.005+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge
Day 10|Childhood

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

I found this picture today of my grandparents, my siblings and I. It must be taken nearly 30 years ago.

This is one of my fondest childhood memories. Every holiday season, my parents would pack us all up in the car and drive 7 hours up north to Penang (Malaysia) where my grandparents live. It's a big wooden house on stilts with a gazillion rooms. There is no front door, just some wooden steps leading up to the house. Creaky floorboards covered with vinyl, old style plantation shutters and an outside dunny! The house is old style colonial and it's simply beautiful.

I remember the aroma of roasted peanuts and sesame seeds, hot sticky sugary caramel as my grandmother makes peanut brittle for Chinese New Year. I remember my grandfather, holding my hand and leading me out the long driveway, to a little mobile candy shack. Buying us Hacks lollies, little black liquorice wrapped in red cello.

My grandfather passed away nearly 30 years ago...
And not long after, that historic house was demolished to make way for modern development.

This is one tiny bit of my childhood memories.

Lily @ 20 months

2012-01-09T20:16:00.000+11:00

Do you remember, my precious little baby girl? The little lump I used to cradle, nurse and carry around in a sling? Her skin all wrinkly and covered in fine, downy hair. Her smell of new baby skin, clean and milky. She lies there, a little helpless, just gazing at you. She gurgles, coos and smiles... Remember THAT baby??

Well, she is that baby NO MORE! She puts on her own shoes, picks her own clothes and carries a handbag on her forearm like a grandma, not necessarily in that order! She puts 3 words together, to try and make a sentence. She climbs the fort and jumps in the trampoline with her brothers.

Oh dear, where has my baby gone?

Eating

She loves her food, and just eats whatever we have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Her favourites are sausages, mash and peas, spaghetti bolognese, fried rice, noodles and egg. She picks apart her sandwiches. She loves fruits - peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, mango, kiwi. She drinks cows milk from a cup, 2-3 times a day. She is very independent with her eating. She feeds herself, but gets food in her ears, nose and hair! One thing that sets her apart from her brothers, is that she won't take another bite until everything in her mouth is chewed and swallowed. Where as the boys just shovel their food down like there's no tomorrow!

Playing & Activities

She loves her dollies. She loves playing cooking and tea cups. She's a girly girl. But occasionally does play with her brother's cars, trains and trucks. She gets very territorial at times, not wanting to share her toys. "Mine, mine, MINE!" She chucks a hissy fit when her toys are taken from her. She enjoys puzzles, loves to read. And she wants to read her favourite book over and over and over....and over again! She holds her pens and pencils in a palm grip, and just scribbles whatever she wants to.

She is one brave girl when it comes to swimming. She jumps too eagerly into the pool and dunks her head into the water although she hasn't found a way to swim back up for air! Yes, a little too "brave" for my liking!

Motor skills & Coordination

I must say, Lily is very coordinated in her own ways. We used to have all sorts of baby safety paraphernalias with the boys, but they've been thrown out, given away or even sold online! Lily climbs up and down, weaves in and out of furnitures very very carefully. She rarely gets stuck and gets herself out of tricky situations a lot better than the boys. She follows her big brothers around, climbs up and down the ladder of the fort, hurtles herself off the slide. She climbs up the ladder onto the trampoline and bounces along when her brothers jump. She does it all slowly and steadily.

Language

She can say many words now, and even throwing a few words together. Her first 3 syllable word: NIN-JA-GOOOO!! She surprises people with what she can say. She picks up the phone and says "Hewow?" She knows her daddy's name, mummy's name and her grandpa's name. She practically just repeats everything you say like a parrot. One day she surprises us by saying "har kau (prawn dumpling in cantonese), siu mai (pork dumpling), yue chi kau (shark fin dumpling)" what we've ordered at a recent yum cha session! What a cracker! My sister in law is now trying to teach her a few words in Hokkien.

Tantrums & Emotions

Oh yes, we are starting to see some signs of "terrific" twos and threes. She throws a tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants...sometimes. And she is very VERY loud. She screeaaammms, screeeaacchh, yeelllls and it often sounds a LOT worse than it actually is. She is also very loving and readily give hugs and kisses.

I can't help getting all nostalgic again, knowing that my LAST little baby has grown out of her baby skins.

Breakfast

2012-01-09T15:53:00.004+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 9|Daily Routine

It's the school holidays.

There is NO routine. The kids wake up...LATE. We sit at the kitchen bench and eat our breakfast at 10.30am! And then we lounge around in our peejays ALL morning. And finally brush our teeth at noon.

We might watch a little TV, play lots of video games... like LOTS of video games. We might go outdoors if the weather is good, jump on the trampoline or take a dip in the pool if it's warm enough. There is JUST no routine.

One thing is for sure, we get under mom's skin a lot... and that is a LOT.

In the picture, daddy was getting ready for work. And he's really REALLY running late! First day back at work...

Night Sky

2012-01-08T23:50:00.004+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge
Day 8|Sky

10:56PM
Oh crap! Babes... how's the sky?

Errr.... it is... dark?? Why, what's wrong with it?

I need to take a photo of it. I've forgotten my photo a day challenge...

Babe: ??????

Sunday Selections

2012-01-08T12:56:00.011+11:00

Do you have many pictures that is stored away in your computer, just sitting in folders, not doing anything? (Try making a photobook at www.photobookworldwide.com!)

Today, I'd like to share with you a couple of photos for each month in the last 5 months. Looking back before this blog was resurrected again, my last post was in July 2011. July! So, I came across a photography meme at Frogpondsrock, and thought maybe I should pick a few photos of the kids at random, just for the past few months.

Enjoy!

August 2011

Daddy, lend me your shoulder...

The boys at RSPCA Cupcake Day

September 2011

My grungy boy, Lachlan at the local park

October 2011

November 2011

Falling asleep in grandpa's arms

December 2011

Raindrops on roses...

2012-01-07T19:43:00.001+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 7|Favourite

My favourite author (at the moment) is Paullina Simons. She writes on frailties of family, and of human nature. I am on to my fourth book at the moment, and "The Girl in Times Square" is by far my favourite. It's about a girl called Lily Quinn who is faced with 2 pieces of extreme, life changing luck - one good and one bad. She struck lotto, but at the same time was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I had my emotions wrung so completely, one minute I was sobbing my heart out, the next minute laughing through my tears! It also has everything a romance glutton like me needs, a bold dashing hero (NYPD cop!) sweeping up sick girl in his arms, into a heart stopping love affair. Great read!

Makes me smile...

2012-01-06T22:29:00.003+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 6| :)

Baby kiss me one more time!

Disclaimer: This photo is published WITHOUT permission! :) :) :)

What she wore...

2012-01-05T22:11:00.002+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge|Day 5

Necklace by Cotton On Kids

Making Fresh Pasta

2012-01-05T16:42:00.007+11:00

A few girly chit chats, one or two clips on YouTube, a few clicks later... this arrived at my doorstep!

So fresh pasta is on the menu tonight.

I have made fresh pasta before, but with a manual pasta roller and cutter. 2 batches later, it's packed up in the box it came in and stored away at the back of a cabinet.

So what's different about this one? Why, it's so that I use my KitchenAid stand mixer to its full potential? Haha! Powered by the motor of the mixer, the three roller attachments will make lasagna sheets, fettucine and spaghetti for the family, many many times over. (I'd better! At $274.95 plus free shipping at YourHomeDepot.com.au, fresh pasta better be on the menu EVERYDAY so says hubby)

Here's the recipe for fresh pasta:

(Adapted from Taste.com.au)

Ingredients (serves 4)

375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, at room temperature
Plain flour, extra, to dust

Method

Place all ingredients in the mixer bowl and attach the flat beater. Turn on to speed 2 and mix for 30 seconds.
Exchange flat beater to a dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. Take it out of the bowl and hand knead for 1-2 minutes. Let it rest, covered with a cling film for 20 minutes.
Divide dough into 4 pieces, and start working each portion into the pasta roller. Pass it through the roller a few times, folding it 3-4 times over each time. This process is called lamination.
Pass the laminated pasta sheet through a cutter. I made fettucine this time.

Now I need one of those fancy pants pasta drying rack!

Fettucine with garlic, prawns and zucchini ribbons...

...made with love.

Snail Mail

2012-01-04T22:01:00.004+11:00

Photo A Day Challenge...

Day 4|Letterbox

A little bit prehistoric, a little bit odd (quite odd actually, I've not seen another like it!), but full of character. It was one of those things that grew on me. I didn't like it when we first moved in, but I'm quite proud of it now. Weeds stand tall around it. Snails live in it. I love my letterbox.

Here are some catch up pictures of the first 3 days of the challenge that I missed...

Day 3|Adore

The loves of my life jumping on a trampoline.

Day 2|Breakfast

My breakfast today is well and truly digested, I thought I'd show you our resident snail's instead.

Yum Yum...

Escargot anyone?

And finally...
Day 1|Me!

A new hair colour and cut, feeling refreshed and renewed for the year!

A Challenge for January

2012-01-04T16:27:00.008+11:00

What better way to ease myself back into the world of blogging!

I am taking up this challenge, albeit a little late to start. But better late than never.

Here are some of my new favourite sites, who will also be participating in this challenge:

Chibirun

Fat Mum Slim

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-03T23:38:00.003+11:00

Hello and happy new year from bloggy heaven!

Here's my first blog post for the year 2012. A surprise for some of you that have been checking back on me. See, I have not (nearly!) given up.

Looking back, I have been reflecting. A full time mom juggling three kids under 5, captain of the house and playing taxi driver, butler, chef and confidante to my loved ones. It hasn't been easy. There has been some big life changing events. A death in the family. Kids growing up. Last day at kinder, orientation at new school. Going to a new kinder, new teachers, new surroundings. A growing toddler, tackling terrible threes (and fours! and fives!), the list goes on....

My blog. I wondered if my heart was still in it. If I'm still able to find the balance and the time to write.

Obviously I haven't given up. Here's my half attempt on trying to revive something I once put my heart and soul in. Something that kept me up into the wee hours of the night.

Without my blog, I wouldn't have won my little mini dell, that sadly has also gone up to (bloggy) heaven. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to write and review, and share my thoughts, my joy and my pride with all of you. I could not just.give.up.

:)

So welcome back! Happy new year 2012! Here's to an exciting, awesome year of blogging.

Going To The Dell

2011-07-28T22:43:00.000+10:00

There's a place that we love to go to, just a short walk from where we live. We step into the parkland bush just off a rather busy main street, and we are immediately met with a sense of stillness and calm. It's one of the things I love about this area we live in. There are remnants of the bush, walking trails and wetlands. A lake, where there are ducks and frogs. Tall trees and wild flowers. Open grass areas and picnic tables. If you come to visit one day, I must bring you there!

The boys, their eyes sparkle with excitement as they stumble upon a fort, tall and majestic. They play pirates and make their little sister "walk off the plank". They chatter with the ducks, I kid you not. Both of them squatting on a big rock by the lake, making small talk like "have you had dinner?" "I had ducks in pancakes the other night but I won't eat you for dinner tonight" etc. It was so funny I wanted to cry!

My 1.5 year old toddled about in the grassland, intrigued by the plants, wild flowers, pebbles and the multitude of wildlife droppings. It wasn't very busy when we were there, just a couple of kids walking past after school, dogs on leash with their owners. And in amidst that stillness and the quiet enjoyment of the lovely lush surroundings, a crazy mother was yelling out to her children. NO DON'T GO TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE, DON'T TOUCH THE POO POO, NO PLEASE DON'T TOUCH THE WATER, GAAHHH NO WE ARE NOT HAVING DUCKS FOR DINNER!!!

But it was great! A nice place to stretch out our legs, recharge the soul.

Here Kitty Kitty

2011-07-08T23:45:00.003+10:00

I am SO in love with handmade. Anything handmade. But especially cute little girl's stuff. Isn't it obvious already? My poor boys, they go around in their K-Mart trackies and hand me down t-shirts. But little missy gets dressed up to the nines even on the rainiest, darkest, coldest days. Who says there's favouritism around here?

:)

(The boys do get showered with love in different ways!)

Anyways, this post is to point you over to this gorgeous site on facebook: Here Kitty Kitty. Stacie, a WAHM (Work at home mom - sounds crazy if you ask me) makes beautiful retro-inspired clothing and accessories that makes other moms like myself melt with jealousy, and husbands cringe with horror, every time she hosts a Market Night sale on her website. Thank goodness that doesn't happen too often.

So the spoils for the night: A cape for my little red riding hood ($30) and a matching bag ($25)! Aren't they gorgeous? *Happy dance* I could not wait to get them in the mail.

Hop over here to see some of my (meagre in comparison!) handmade creations: Hello Dolly, Super-E (sock monkey) and Ollie the Owl.

Happy weekend!

Sleeping Children

2011-07-04T22:33:00.005+10:00

I love this picture of my sleeping babies. This was the last photo that I took in our previous home. It brings back lots of memories. Ask Lachlan what he remembers most in that house, it would be this last night that we spent, all 5 of us huddled together in the living room. That very room that he came home to as a newborn, that he toddled into his pre-school years and watched endless episodes of the Hi-5 on telly! It is precious. I'm glad I took this photo as it is how I would like to remember "the old house", forever.

I sleep with my babies, all of them. And I still do! Not simultaneously, just when they are babies. Well, it's nothing to be proud of, but it just felt like the most natural thing to do. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to let your children sleep. And believe me we did have many sleep battles (and still do!). So over the years, we have just learnt to go with it. Sleep baby sleep, and just let mummy and daddy sleep with you.

And we do get there eventually, believe me! Lachlan slept with us for years, even after his baby brother arrived. We thought he would never grow out of it! But he did. He sleeps independently now in his own bedroom and he did that just before he turned 5.

And Lucas. He was a darling! He was such an easy going baby. He is the one baby I slept the least with. He would go to sleep in his own cot. Until we moved him into Lachlan's bedroom, in hope that he would teach his older brother a thing or two about sleeping. That is when the opposite happens! He is now daddy's baby. My poor husband, he shares a teensy tiny IKEA single bed all 6 foot of him and his size 12 feet, with his baby Lucas, who isn't exactly quite a baby anymore, nor is he petite.

Aahhh this is MY baby. Isn't she just the most adorable thing in the whole wide world? Watching her drift to sleep is like a magical moment. Eyes fluttering. Chest breathing. Limbs getting heavier... and heavier... God, I love my children! If you don't normally sleep with your children, you should snuggle in with them one night. It is one of the most beautiful moments of being a parent.

Playgroup

2011-07-02T00:08:00.004+10:00

The best part about being a stay-at-home mum is to NOT stay at home with your kids at all.

Really, what do you do with 3 kids five and under everyday, all day under the one roof! Let me tell you, I have tried this and it is not good! I must tell you, it is not by choice that we have to do it this way. But having a kitchen reno going with trades people coming in and out, we'd rather have someone home at all times. And who would be a better person than THAT stay-at-home mom and all her little lambs that will sure to follow, every where she goes. Or not.

So today, glorious weather and NO trades coming in *yippeee* We went to playgroup. Little explorers run free with the wind and growing through play. Look at that big carefree smile on her face (and the unruly hair), it screams happiness!

Hello. Goodbye. Hello.

2011-06-30T22:02:00.005+10:00

Hello blog. There has been a very long pause. I don't know, I seem to have lost that momentum. And I'm sorry for the lack of fore-warning, or at least a notice that says "BLOG PAUSE" or something like that. But I want to thank you all for coming back to check on me. I know that because just the other day I received an email from my sponsors, Nuffnang, to tell me that they will be advertising on my blog. Gasp, my blog! So that's how I know that there must still be sufficient traffic coming through. Thank you also for the encouraging notes and heartfelt messages. I definitely feel the love, and hope that I could return them by blogging again.

How have I lost it? Hmmm.... it could have all started when our lives got a little topsy turvy (a good kind of topsy turvy) when we moved to this amazing place we now call home. I counted 50 steps the other day taking my laundry to the line. And back 100 steps. If I did two loads of laundry, that would be 200 steps and then another 200 steps to retrieve them. I love it! It gives me extra pleasure in eating that piece of chocolate afterwards. And then we decided to rip out the beautiful slate tiles because they gave our socks holes and feet calluses. My new kitchen is being installed and I'm cooking on a portable electric stove in the laundry. Totally uninteresting!

Then I lost my ~~stay at~~ work from home hubby to a little shop near by *happy dance*. I am happy that the business is growing and just NOT sustainable in this very home. Along with it went the computer with all my precious photos. I don't have a printer in this house. Nor do I have any envelopes, stamps or even sticky tape!

My three precious are definitely keeping me on my toes. On some days, they drive me insanely up the wall. Yet, the little things they do, like big sloppy open-mouthed kisses could send me over the moon. You wait, I will do an update on them real soon and that's a promise!

I thought I'd leave you with a photo of our brand new PhotoBook office:

Pop by for a visit, coffee is on us!

PhotoBook Australia
Shop1/475 Burwood Hwy
Vermont South VIC 3133

Making Gnocchi

2011-05-19T21:44:00.008+10:00

Someone told me you can never have too much mash potatoes. Only too little gravy!

So that is the trouble. We never usually have gravy with our mash potatoes. And when I do make mash potatoes, I forget they are meant to be a side dish. NOT the main meal. And I end up with a whole heap of leftover mash. My husband loves them! I know... he pretends to transfer the leftovers into a clean glass container, only to lick the spoon and the OTHER bowl clean. He eats them for lunch the next day. Or a pre-dinner snack.

So today, before he got to my leftover mash, I quickly turn them out onto my stone bench. With a pinch of salt, an egg and just enough flour, I knead them into a soft potatoey floury dough.

I made gnocchi. Oh, I meant we. We made gnocchi.

Everytime he sees me working on my bench, he would ask "what's that mummy?" and "can I help?" Before I could even respond to that, he has taken the little foot stool out of the bathroom and climbing up onto the stool so he could reach the dough.

He loves it, he loves getting his hands (and face) dirty. So, I admit. The flour on the face was my doing. One for the camera! He he he! But I didn't even have to. Before I knew it, this little man is covered in flour!

He made Twisties shaped gnocchi. Oh so cute! And that's exactly what he had for lunch today.

Mmmm.... Twisty gnocchi with burnt butter, garlic and sage. Delicious!

The 'Transformation' of a 5 year old!

2011-05-02T00:03:00.004+10:00

Lachlan, for his 5th birthday, requested for 20 or so of his kinder friends, to bring their energy cubes to his Transformers Birthday party. And THAT is a lot of energy packs crammed into the longest 3 hours of my entire life! Phew!

He is one transformers (and voltron) mad kid, thanks to his hand-me-down transformer toys from his daddy's days. He loved them to bits. So for his birthday cake, he wanted you guessed it right, a transformers cake! And gee, that was a little mind boggling for me for days as I was cracking my head, thinking what this cake would be or if it has to "transform" or not.

So 25 kids (including some siblings) or so went hunting for toy soldiers who went missing on a mission to fight the deceptacons (I made that up). Kind of stole the soldier hunt idea from another party we went to earlier in the month. And then, they saved aliens from a frozen ice block. The kids were divided into 3 groups. It was a race to melt the ice with little bowls of warm water that the kids took turns scooping, walking or running to, and pouring over the ice block. The first group who manages to free up the alien wins. I would have made 10 frozen blocks of ice if I knew how entertaining this would be for five year kids. Thank goodness the weather was warm enough for this game. It was so warm that the buttercream icing on the cake was literally sliding off the cake!

Speaking of which, I am so so so in love with this chocolate cake recipe by Nigella Lawson. It is so super moist, so ultra decadent. You can find the recipe here. Click click. The cake was a simple rectangular chocolate cake covered with red buttercream. We make a lasting impression with our parties, and I am sure the kids would be bouncing off walls when they got home that day with all that red food colouring they had with the cake. Not to mention all the lollies from the pinata. Sorry moms and dads! For the autobot logo, I looked for images on the web, printed one out on an A4 page and cut the shapes out. Then I used it as a stencil to cut out the shapes on rolled out fondant icing. And yes, it did "transformed" to nothing, as each piece get cut and eaten off.

So 2 parties down, and 1 more to go........ I hope someone left an energy cube behind, because I will need it muchly. Lucas turns 3 next week!

(Top photo: Lachy pictured with this kinder teachers who were so kind to pop by for the party)

Birthdays and more to come

2011-05-01T23:10:00.006+10:00

Crazy is what I would describe the last couple of weeks. And that is an understatement. There seem to be things popping up to-do everywhere. I hope by the end of next week, things will settle down a wee bit. Another project awaits us... but more of that to come.

I can't believe my little girl is 1 year old. I am a mother of a 5 year old, a soon to be 3 year old and a 1 year old! My precious babies are growing up way too quickly.

Lily's birthday was a huge success. Having 3 kids around your knees doesn't quite go with throwing big parties especially when you're doing all the catering and entertaining by yourselves, but luckily for me my guests were really easy peasy to please. Some even brought along some delicious party food. We had about 50 people, young and young at heart.

I am so pleased to say that I made this cake myself! I'll let you in on a little secret. (It is no secret anyways haha!) I have been eagerly, waiting, wanting, yearning for a girly girl cake. No choo-choo trains, pirate ships, blue or green dyes. Just sugar and spice and all things nice! Uhmm... actually just sugar, lots of it.

It's a two tiered vanilla butter cake with a fondant icing, some farm animals: a chocolate cow, a pink pig, little ducks in a pond, a wooly sheep and since it was Easter, 2 bunny rabbits in crocheted dresses. Oh no, I have not gone mental enough to weave dresses for animals on a cake, I bought those two bunnies from a little shop, they came on a skewer that I thought would be perfect to keep those 2 cakes stacked atop one another. Everything else was hand crafted.

To keep to the easter theme, the little ones went on an easter egg hunt in our garden. We had such a good time, but before the day is over, I was already planning for our next party...

...to be continued.

Our House - Part 2

2011-04-14T00:29:00.005+10:00

This is the front of the house. This is the long drive way leading to the front of the house.

And this is a little boy on his scooter, zooming up and down the driveway and getting our mail.

But there's no mail today.

But guess what? We have snails living in our letterbox. One of the many rotating inhabitants we share this house with. Snails eating our snail mails! Quite literally.

Lachlan will get the mails usually, and Lucas, those snails. Errgghh...

(Gaaaahhhh.... I hate my own voice on videos!)

Yes Ma'am!

2011-04-03T21:23:00.004+10:00

I have a blog detective. She has been checking on my blog every SINGLE day and counting the days I have NOT blogged. Awww... we know you are our number one fan! So this post is for you.

So here are my troop, oh how they've grown. It's funny how I don't realise how big they've become (although they're constantly under my brow!) until I find last winter's coat and put them on. They've become 2 inches shorter!

My Lilypie will soon be 1, Lucas 3 and Lachlan 5! How time flies...

So yes Madam Detective, I don't blame you for missing these gorgeous faces. I know you miss their smiles, their laughter, hugs and kisses. I am saving them all until we see you again soon!

I want to apologise to all my loyal readers, who has also been checking up on me. No particular reason why I haven't blogged as much as I used to. At the end of each day (if there's such a thing!) I plopped myself down on the sofa, lazy and uninspired. Gorgeous faces they seem to be, they're little energy zapping bunnies.

On a more positive note, there's a LOT happening. Socially, there seem to be birthday parties every weekend in April and oh, did I mention we will be throwing 3 birthday parties in successive weeks? The home business is blooming wonderfully and soon I will be losing my wonderful ~~SAHB~~ work-from-home husband to a little shop nearby. AND the house! We're enjoying it.

XOX

An Unexpected Visitor

2011-03-14T23:09:00.004+11:00

So yes, we do have a swimming pool in our backyard that we share with a multitude of other organisms!

The water has been gorgeous, blue. Icy, even at the height of summer. There's this solar thingy, but it doesn't "heat" the water up one bit. Probably just takes the edge off the iciness.

The boys LOVE it so so much! Lachlan wanted to have a pool party for his birthday. It's just that, I had to explain to him, his birthday would be late autumn. I didn't think anyone would come in their bathers, let alone jump into the pool with him.

Anyways, just a couple of days ago when the boys jumped in. Something else had already jumped in....FIRST. A little green frog that reminded me of first year uni lab practice! Uggggghhhhh..... Lucky I didn't jump in with them, else I would've jumped straight back out.

There was something else that I noticed that day, the pool somewhat turned green. Gaaahh, what's happened to resort style, crystal clear water overnight? Now I've got swampy ugly muck in my backyard with a frog??? I quickly googled "green pool water" and found out that there was a full-scale algae bloom in my pool. Awwww.........just bloomin' beautiful.

The rain must have brought these little buggers with it. Now here's what we have to do to reverse it. Sounds like a bloody science experiment to me, frogs and all.

Our House - Part 1

2011-03-13T23:13:00.010+11:00

Over the next few weeks, I hope to be putting up pictures of the house. Mind you, the house is not new, it's almost 30 years old! But like a good wine, I think it has aged quite beautifully.

Now, I'm going to have to do this in a few parts. One, because I need the photos to actually look good to impress (teehee!) ie. minus the mess. Two, I can only do THAT much tidying up at the one time and taking the photos before it gets messed up again. Three, it will keep you in suspense. Four, there's no four. Don't worry, I will still be showing you the psychedelic, low hanging lamps from the 80's that we try not to bang our heads on, and everything as is, when we moved in.

We have not renovated, or done anything to the house. We simply moved in and unpacked.

Let's go from back to front! The rolling lawn, that was quick to impress. But when one has more time to ponder on how gruelling mowing the lawn can be........

So tip no.1 on buying a house, do it quickly before the hubby changes his mind!

It's always handy to have a lemon tree, especially one as established as this. Only problem is, they all ripen at the same time! So tip no.2, come and say hello to me during the lemon season, I will have a bucket load of lemons to share with you.

You can see the fenced pool area on the right, and the back facade of the house.

This is a fully covered patio, where we will be having lots of alfresco dinners in the warm summer's nights.

One of the things about this place is the well established garden, there is so much green. But it takes no genius to figure out, a big garden means a lot of hard work maintaining and time. Thank goodness, we have our parents to help out every once in a while. And it helps having a hubby that doesn't mind sweating it out with the lawn mower.

More pictures to come, so stay tuned!

Lego Lad

2011-03-10T23:21:00.007+11:00

My first born child is almost 5 years old. He goes to kinder this year.

I get asked all the time when we go out together, why isn't he at school? Is he cutting classes? Surely this charming young lad, often very very suave with the ladies (especially grandmas) is of school age. No, he goes to kinder. 3 times a week, only 3-4 hours each session. Every other time, he gets to hang out with his mom. His poor mom!

Often when I potter around the house, picking this up and that, I would come across many of his interesting creations. A Lego police speedboat, with wings so it could fly and fold out tyres, so it goes on land. A rotorcraft house, so you can bring it with you on holidays (I like that!). Vehicles that change into robots, and robots that transform into humans. Space crafts, space shuttles and rocket ships.

And he talks to himself, in his imaginative play. In R-O-B-O-T like sounds. So sci-fi.

My first born child, he builds houses and space crafts. Perhaps one day, it will become a reality.

Hello Blog!

2011-03-09T22:07:00.006+11:00

OK, so I think I am back. I have taken a rather extended hiatus from blogging. There has been quite a lot happening over the last couple of months. Buying a house, selling a house, moving house and now, renovating a house! But I could safely say that we have ironed things out, and on the right track back to our normal routine. It has been a smooth sailing adventure, but hey, packing and unpacking boxes is not too much fun when you're up to Box No. One Hundred and Twenty-Two!

Moving house takes up SO MUCH of your time, it zaps up your every last bit of energy, it's like a never-ending marathon. Whatever bit of time I have left, I thought it was only fair that I spend it on my children. I must admit though, inspirations have been hard to come by and I am struggling a wee bit (I think) to think about what to blog about. Maybe there are just SO MANY things I don't even know where and how to start!

How about this: We are so madly in LOVE with this place! The kids are crazy about their own little rooms (OK, except Lily), the space to run wild, the big gum trees! Oh it is so so green here, I absolutely love it! We stretch out our arms and legs, and there is SO MUCH room to streeeeettcchhh (and also SO MUCH HOUSE WORK!!) Oh yes, I absolutely love it! Haaaa......

And have I told you, we share this house with a gazillion of other living beings? We find 2, 4, 6 and 8 legged creatures of all shapes and colours and sizes, I feel like we're in a freaking museum of entomology!

Here to greet me on my kitchen window sill early in the morning...

Hello Mr. Mantis :)

Ugghhh... I'm not a big fan of 8 legged creatures! This orangey number is apparently a baby huntsman and she's already the size of Lily's palm. Gaaaaahhhhh!!

Often there will be a row of cockatoos sitting on the fence outside the window when the kids ate their breakfast. And one night, we heard hoot hoot, hoot hoot and we thought it was one of the kids snoring. But there he was, Mr. Owl perched on one of the gum trees.

Maybe I should start charging rent.

The Omnitrix

2011-01-28T22:32:00.004+11:00

I remember those days when sugar crafting was completely alien to me. And now I'm crafting mysterious watch-like alien device out of sugar! By the way, this is a birthday cake for a Ben 10 themed party.

For those who don't know, an omnitrix is a device worn by Ben 10 that is used to transform him into some kind of alien form (I think).

It was Nigella Lawson's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe, an old favourite and lots and lots of ready rolled out icing.

Disclaimer: No person(s) were transformed into aliens in the making and the demolition of this cake.

Check out some of the other cake creations that I've made in the past. Click click.

The Middle Child

2011-01-28T08:58:00.006+11:00

This is Lucas, our second born child. Some people say, he has the middle child syndrome. He craves the family spotlight, the attention seeker. He is LOUD. He is boisterous, adventuresome and somewhat destructive.

He wants to be independent. He picks what he wears. This is his absolute favourite shirt of all. His "Party Shirt", I picked from a $2 rack at the second hand kid's market. He NEEDS to wear it every time we go out. And here, he paired it with a pair of RED ugg boots, in the middle of summer.

Just imagine him, sitting in a supermarket trolley wearing his red party shirt and his red ugg boots! We do get a LOT of attention!

So the middle child phenomenon, is it true?

Lily Jade @ 9 months

2011-01-25T22:19:00.004+11:00

My baby girl is 9 months old, can you believe? She is at this SUPER CUTE age, I wish I could bottle her up and keep her this way forever! She's full of smiles and giggles, constantly exploring the world. It doesn't take much, even the simplest thing keeps her happy. She loves her fruits. Throw her a nectarine or an apricot, she sits on her chair munching her fruit for ages.

Over the space of one month, Lily's development has PROGRESSED at lightning speed. And she has all her aunts and uncles, grandaunts and granduncles, grandma and especially grandpa, to thank for that.

She is 8.5 kgs. She has grown 3 teeth and she looks so cheeky when she smiles. Just one of her top incisors has grown and it's so freaking huge, it is so scary to feed her. Just what happens when she has two?

She loves to crawl to where the big boy's toys are. And often you would find part of Buzz Lightyear sticking out of her mouth or Lightning McQueen smothered in her saliva. She loves to stick her bum up high in the air, with her feet and hands firm on the ground, like in a downward dog (yoga) position. She pulls up on furnitures to stand, and sometimes couldn't get herself back down and calls out for help.

Thank you grandpa for teaching me how to clap hands and wave bye-bye.

Thank you grandma for teaching me twinkle twinkle little star.

Phaik Gunn Kor-Poh for teaching me how to blow. Kim-kim for splashing hands and kicking legs in the water. Aunty Yee Ling for blowing kisses. Ching Yoong "che-che" for teaching me how to say "che-che". And everyone else who has cuddled me, talked to me, nurtured, taught and showed me so many things in life. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me how to smile.

She oozes happiness, everyone just can't get enough of!

Camping at 'The Prom'

2011-01-22T00:02:00.009+11:00

Over the Christmas holidays, our family went for a camping trip at the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilsons Promontory (affectionately known to Victorians as 'the Prom').

Day 1: Yanakie Caravan Park

31 family members, a convoy of 7 cars packed with tents, camping equipments, food supply, 7 pitched tents, 4 camp sites and 2 cabins. Well, we sort of went "camping". When we stayed very comfortably in our very well heated cabin, the rest of the family were freezing their butts off in their tents!

The drive from Melbourne to Yanakie was quite pleasant. The kids were well behaved and Lily slept most of the way there. We settled into our cabin, while the rest pitched up their tents. We spent the day just relaxing and lounging around the camp site, exploring the caravan park and its surroundings. The boys watched boats being pulled to the docks and released into the water and dug on the sand in a near by beach.

Day 2: Wilsons Prom and Mt. Oberon

The drive from Yanakie to the Prom was interesting. Blackened trees amidst bursts of fresh green eucalypts, the views were simply breathtaking although what's left behind was a sombre mood, a memory of the "Black Saturday".

Early on the morning of Sunday 8 February 2009, the day after what is now known as Black Saturday, a dry lightning storm passed over Wilsons Promontory and a bushfire ignited. Lightning struck a gully just north of The Cathedral, a mountain at the north end of Sealers Cove on Wilsons Promontory's east coast. This bushfire burnt 25 200ha over five weeks, close to 50% of the national park.

We saw some wallabies and kangaroos along the way.

What we did on day 2 of our trip amazes me, up till today. Some of us still shook our heads in disbelief! We hiked up Mt. Oberon, ALL 5 of us! I had Lily (8 months) in a backpack carrier, Lucas (2.5 years) managed a third of the hike on foot and the rest on alternating shoulders of various strong gentlemen. Lachlan (4.5 years), well HE DID ALMOST 100% of the hike (up) on his own. It was 3.4km each way, with a gradual moderate slope.

Photo credit: Top photo was taken at the peak of Mt. Oberon, panoramic views of the prom. Second photo, on the way up to the top. Both taken by an uncle (Thanks Uncle Yeoh!) :)

We did not bring our camera as our hands are already full as you can imagine!

Squeaky Beach.

Exhausted but not defeated and very VERY hungry, we got takeaway fish and chips and headed to squeaky beach for a picnic. Wrong move. When you put a 2.5 year old and a 4.5 year old in a beach with sparkly quartz sand that squeaks AND fish and chips, you end up eating very VERY sand peppered crunchy chips. What a cute name for a beach don't you think? It was because of the squeaky noises made when you walk on the sand. Squeak, squeak!

Day 3: Whisky Bay

There are so many beautiful beaches at the Prom, and we love them all! Day 3 was spent at Whisky Bay. Here are some snapshots of the kids...

It wasn't her first touch of the sand, but here Lily had her first real taste of the sea! She rolled in the sand with the gentle waves, ate fistful of sand, and then another. She splashed her hands and feet in icy cool water (the water is still very cold although it was a rather hot day) and had sun kissed nose for a couple of days. (But she is still very VERY fair, just like her mummy who tried so terribly hard to get a nice golden tan. Did not happen!)

Day 4: Home sweet home.

End.

Hello 2011

2011-01-14T23:18:00.006+11:00

Why, hello there! It has been a while hasn't it? Here's wishing all of you a very VERY belated merry Christmas. I hope you all had a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends. I hope you are well rested and rejuvenated for the new year and I wish you a blessed and successful year ahead.

The last few weeks for us has been interesting. A little crazy, but we had a blast. We celebrated Christmas and ushered in the new year with guests from Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Shah Alam, Sungai Petani and Brunei. Exactly how many of them I don't actually know, that's because I loose count everytime I hit 30. We had mattresses rolled out in the lounge room, people lining up to use the bathroom and puzzled neighbours wondering if we were hosting a convention.

Oh, one very important bit of news: We are SOLD! Yayy! It was a few days before Christmas, and our lovely neighbour Pam saw us jumping up and down the nature strip posing for photos! She must've been the first to know.

:)

Santa (you know who you are!) had been very generous to us. While I was busy cleaning windows for house inspections, I was totally unprepared and disorganised for the silly season. Even our christmas tree was put up haphazardly a few days before. As it got closer to the day, presents started piling up so high I was getting worried. We have to move. But thank you! Thank you all santa(s) for spoiling us silly!

Christmas morning 2010.

Even I got spoilt rotten by my own personal santa. He bought me a book, the exact same book I have that had been sitting on the shelf for a couple of months!

I have forgotten how many christmas dinners, banquets, feasts we had but this was one of them:

Roast turkey with a pork, walnut and cranberry stuffing and Chorizo sausages.

Pumpkin, caramelised onions and brie tart.

Hassleback potatoes.

Chocolate ripple log with fresh berries and cream.

Smooth and elegant, red velvet cake.

So yeah, that was our christmas in a few pictures and words. I hope there's more to come from me to you in the next few days.

Welcome 2011! Here's to an exciting new year, a new house, a new chapter of our lives.

Graduating from 3 year old kinder!

2010-12-12T10:42:00.004+11:00

Oh my goodness, will you just look at my little man! The past year has seen him blossomed into a charming, handsome boy, a serious chatter and a caring and giving person. He is a home-body, a mummy's boy. He does amazing things with his agile fingers. He loves building, making fantastic structures from bits of Lego.

Last Friday, Lachlan graduated from 3 year old kinder. They had a mini Christmas concert and a break up party. Oh goody, he goes from 3 to 4 year old kinder, so that means an extra 2 hour session in a week. 2 HOURS, 3 TIMES a WEEK! Golly... just enough time for me to have another cuppa with just 2 littlies at home.

The K.S.G.

2010-12-08T22:45:00.004+11:00

Here's something I wanted to share. My husband calls it the K.S.G.

Koay. Sweat. Gene. Koay being my family name.

It would be in the middle of winter. My boys go to bed rugged up, but not excessive. Their limbs and torso would be nice and warm. Sometimes even cool to touch. But their heads would be drenched... in sweat. They call out, waking up in a puddle. Their pillows soaked through.

Now Lily has the K.S.G. too. She has little beads of perspiration on her cute button nose and it's just terribly TERRIBLY cute! Her soft black hair curl up in thick wet locks. ~~I must remember to take a picture one day.~~

There was an incident that I wouldn't forget. It was in the early years when I was still a little girl in Malaysia. My father had taken the family out to dinner. We had curry and rice on banana leaf. When Papa was signing for the bill, drip, drip, drip. There were droplets all over the bill and the waiter attending to us had looked up to the ceiling, thinking that there MUST be a leak on the roof. Drip, drip, drip. You should've seen the look of astonishment when he found out!

It was the K.S.G.

Passed In

2010-12-08T15:13:00.003+11:00

The gruelling weeks of sleeplessness, renovations and cleaning for open for inspections did not pay off. The auction that took place last Saturday was inconclusive, our property passed in at a price lower than anticipated. Oh how I have been looking forward to sticking the "SOLD" sticker on the board outside the house, how I thought never again would I be cleaning windows for the rest of the year, how exciting it would be that I could now look forward to the "new" place.

But.

We have not sold. We're back on the drawing board. We have more open for inspections to come, offers to be considered, decisions to be made, a household to run and a LOT to be done. The game is still on.

I am exhausted, a little bit deflated but not defeated. We shall see what the week ahead bring us.

5 Top Tips for Home Inspections

2010-11-27T10:21:00.000+11:00

from a non-real estate expert!

It's all about playing with the senses. You want to be invited into a home, and be tantalised not only by what you see, but what you can smell, hear, touch and possibly taste.

Openness create a sense of space. So removing a piece of furniture here and there, or hiding all traces of mess and clutter takes away a lot of distraction from the room. Neatness and cleanliness is paramount. You want to show that the house has been looked after.
I like a house with rooms bathed in natural light. A house that is bright and airy is a happy, cheery one. We're lucky that this house has windows lined from the front door to the back, and that was one of the main reasons why we bought the place. (This makes cleaning windows a pain in the backside, but hey, they didn't need to know that - make sure all windows are squeaky clean though, no icky finger prints or slobber marks)
A little birdie told me that houses that smell like freshly baked bread makes you warm and gooey in the inside, and will sell better. I concur! So I whip up a batch of cookie dough or bread the night before and leave it in the fridge, then stick it into the oven an hour or so before inspection time. I do serve up the cookies during inspection times too, and the real estate agent promised me a couple of grand more for that reason. And they better stick to their promise!
I try to create a scene and stick to a colour scheme for every room. Like for the master bedroom, a red romantic hideaway. The guest bedroom, a blue countryside retreat. I bought new cushions to jazz up an old couch, borrowed some paintings and pictures to brighten up a wall or two, bought some new pots and plants for the garden, and freshly cut flowers for the lounge. You don't have to spend a fortune, and remember that these things can be used for your new place when you move out.
And finally, a no brainer, a soft lullaby playing in the parents' retreat, a jazzy tune or two in the lounge and the sound of trickling water in the courtyard. Some aromatherapy candles burning (but make sure they don't burn the house down or clash with the smell of biccies).

Fingers crossed, someone will fall head over heels with this house like we did 7 years ago, and bid bid BID!!! But who are we kidding? It is definitely not the seller's market at the current moment, but we're remaining positive, and we can only hope for the best.

'Tis the season...to be SUPER busy!

2010-11-25T23:36:00.006+11:00

What can I say? It has been a whirlwind past couple of weeks. We are selling our house.

It is funny how we've lived in this place we called home for the past seven years, built our little cosy cove, breathe in so much life and in fact made three precious little lives (OK, so we won't go into much more detail here). Damn, we got married in this house, right here in our very own back yard. And we think we know every nook and cranny. It's not until we want to sell the house, that we scrutinize every little mark on the wall, the hair line cracks, the unevenness of the paint, a leaky tap etc etc. Every little scuff has a memory to it. A nail in the wall that held a precious picture. Every little stain on the carpet has a story to tell.

So it is common knowledge that selling your house is a busy and exciting time. You want to ensure that the features that make your home stands out among the rest, really does stand out, so to achieve the best possible price for your house. And that's what it comes down to. Money. Buyers look for negatives to give them bargaining powers in negotiations. So for exactly that reason, we have put in our best effort in eliminating the negatives. And it is here we begin to depersonalise this home. Erase every little scuff of memories that we won't be bringing along with us to our new home, fill up holes that held the nails for our pictures and make some space in the house so someone can come along and say hey, I could make this house mine.

A new coat of paint. Refreshing the carpets and polishing the tiles. Ensuring that every room is as neat and as clean as it possibly can be. Decluttering (a very therapeutic exercise!). Little finishing touches, it does count. And creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere, so that a potential buyer would feel that emotional tug as he or she walks into the house.

First impressions count.

So yeah, we've been busy. 3 little kids tagging along with the ride. Literally, during house inspection times. We practically LIVE in the car during those times. Throw the kids, the dirty laundry, the mess on the floor, dirty cups, saucers etc etc into the car and off we go! Haven't we noticed, kids and mess come in the same category? So that very room every house has, the room that we shove all the mess into when there's an unexpected visitor, our car has become just that. And it's a bloody good one too.

So too-do-loo, off we go for another car ride!

More on Open For Inspections.... later.

Internet Listing is Up!

2010-11-08T12:43:00.004+11:00

I am completely happy with the professionalism and services of our real estate agent. Things are happening at lightning speed, and everything seems to fall into place nicely. Even the sun cooperated on the day of photoshoot!

Anyways, here is the internet listing:

Lifestyle With An Architectural Edge

A grand and unique home with the sweeping lines of cathedral ceilings and imposing angles makes ‘The Diplomat’ by Bellemore a truly distinctive residence.

Set on a gorgeous tree-lined street in the company of equally distinguished display homes, the 31 square (approx) family retreat offers lavish living bathed in natural light. A palladium window to the lounge and glass walkway along the dining room’s atrium set a glamorous formal scene, flowing to spacious open plan living set against lush paved gardens.

A magnificent kitchen impresses with north facing light, amazing bench space and a host of lime-washed solid timber cupboards, with the meals area and rumpus room opening to a private palm-lined patio.

Clever bedroom zoning has a parent’s retreat out front with a palatial spa ensuite, walk in robe and a sun kissed sitting room, two bedrooms upstairs for teens and another on the ground floor near the main bathroom and open study. Decked out with ducted heating, evaporative cooling, stylish furnishings, a secure dog run, double garage and a smart Merbau front fence and perfectly placed near Knox City Shopping Centre, Eastlink and The Knox School. This is the home and lifestyle a discerning family deserves.

Click here for more photos.

Lily @ a little more than 6 months

2010-11-06T21:30:00.004+11:00

Babies are so darn flexible! I love how they could reach out for both their feet, and pull their big toes into their mouth. Or arch their back at a 90 degree angle at tummy time. Amazing! The pictures here show how Lily tries to roll over. She props her head up, and unlike the boys who would just tumble and flip, this little girly girl would do this graceful arch with her back. She stretches one arm like doing the arabesque. Then with both hips still planted firm on the ground, she rolls her upper body over, sometimes her head touching her bottom. With a swift motion, she does a little pirouette with her bottom half, and end with a cute curtsy and a smile that covers half her face.

I know her ballet teacher kim-kim would be so darn proud of her!

:)

We Are Ready!

2010-11-05T08:14:00.006+11:00

So, this is the place we called home for the last 7 years. It has served us well, a fairly decent sized house: 4 bedrooms, a study, 4 living areas including 2 dining, a magnificent kitchen, a double garage, a private courtyard and an ultra low maintenance garden.

The past week, busy is an understatement. We have given this house a makeover, a fresh coat of paint on the outside and window frames, a little touch up on the inside. We now have a lawn! The biggest task of all perhaps was to get rid of all the clutter, and it's amazing how much stuff we collected over the years. We are truly lucky to have enlisted the help of both sets of parents/grandparents. My dad dug and levelled the soil for the lawn. My mom looked after the kids. My father-in-law painted the awnings and ceilings. Even my mother-in-law was up on a ladder painting the window frames! My handy husband did an amazing job with the alfresco area, pulling down the old screens and shade sails and replacing it with a new ones with a modern edge. While I had the endless task of cleaning, decluttering, more cleaning and redecorating the joint.

Now, we are ready to sell.

A whole new adventure awaits us.

Mattel does 4 Way Cradle Swing n Glider

2010-10-26T21:00:00.000+11:00

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.

Lily Jade must be the luckiest baby girl of all times. Just after she was born, her grandparents arrived from Malaysia. She was cradled, soothed, rocked, held, sung to and talked to. And then, like most good things, it came to an end. My parents left. And I wished I had an extra 3 pairs of hands. Much to my relief, a parcel arrived in the mail from our sponsors at Nuffnang. We were so excited, the Little Lamb Cradle and Swing was such a handy little helper in our household. Lily loved it, as much as I did.

When the lovely people at Nuffnang contacted me once again, to see if I wanted to review yet another toy from Mattel, I could hardly contain my mirth and excitement! Oh yes please! And then this one arrived...

Fisher Price i-Glide Cradle and Swing.

So we have been spoilt by the option of swinging from left to right, front to back on left and front to back on right. And now, we have even more choices! The i-Glide is more than just a swing, as its name suggests, it also glides.

With the i-Glide, Lily can enjoy not only the swinging, but also a head-to-toe and side-to-side gliding motion. There are four different motions to soothe and entertain, all in the one baby cradle swing.

The cradle itself is quite easy to assemble. My four year old son and I put it all together. It's easy enough as long as you follow the instructions. The seat is a nice soft micro plush fabric in vibrant green and it is easy to take off and put on for washing.

Other features include a variety of jazzed up classic tunes, 6 different speed settings, a fun fluttery mobile and two-position recline for baby’s comfort. The control panel is down on the ground, with easy on-off buttons. It is really easy to work out the different modes, and the transition from swing to glide is made with just a push of two buttons. The seat can be rotated to the left or right.

I love the globe mirror on the mobile. Lily does enjoy looking at herself, and the colourful fluttery butterflies surely are engaging. The mobile does swing out of the way, so it makes it easier to put her in or take her out of the seat.

But perhaps my favourite bit of it all is that, not only does it use battery power (4 D size batteries), but there is also an option of using an AC adaptor. You have no idea how many batteries we have used in this household in the last 4 years. It is phenomenal! Not to mention spending a fortune on those exorbitant D-size batteries. And every time batteries need changing, it's my job to unscrew the itty bitty screws that hold the casing, and then replacing the batteries and the itty bitty screws! Oh how I disliked toys that ate up batteries! So I was really stoked with the thing that plugs into the wall.

The other important bits...

Product Dimensions:

76.2cm in height x 40cm x 27cm

Batteries are not included.

And you see, it has worked its magic again!

Sshhhh....baby's now asleep.

I don't know which one I would choose between the Little Lamb and the i-Glide. We are certainly spoilt for choices. The one thing I know, a cradle or a swing or a glider definitely comes in handy, for those sneaky times when mummy just needs to plonk baby down. And baby loves it. Real sweet.

www.fisher-price.com.au

A New Beginning

2010-10-23T09:26:00.004+11:00

One day not so long ago, I fell in love.

It has only been a week, and we have been taken on a whirlwind journey. From the moment we set eyes on this vintage charm, its land so vast screaming out endless opportunity. To the moment we decided we could live there, and so put in an offer for the house. The visits to the banks. The visits to the house again and again. The realisation that we needed to sell the current house and works that needed to be done to get the house in shape to sell. The phone call that told us we were new owners of this property. Whoaa... it is all happening. And it has only been one week.

And I wasn't even looking.

Love is blind. Love is fate.

It is here, we shall begin a new chapter of our lives...

Four Kids

2010-10-13T23:22:00.005+11:00

Last weekend, we played mum and dad to 4 kids. We were minding a friend's 5 year old son, Isaac, for the day.

We had 4 child restraints in the car, the third row of seats in our 7 seater SUV resurrected. It was the hubby's dream come true! In fact, he bought the car for exactly this reason. To fill the seats with kids. Though I'm pretty sure he ain't getting anymore from me!

So off we went, Isaac, Lachlan, Lucas, Lily, Gary and I to attend not only one, but TWO birthday parties that day. Packing the family into the car was uneventful. Pffftt... easy. 2 minutes tops per child. It just felt like the whole house was coming with us. Bag for Isaac, bag for Lachlan and Lucas, baby bag, water bottles, stroller, baby carrier, sun screen, hats for everyone, birthday presents, costumes etc etc etc.

The first was a party for a pretty little girl. She turned 4 that day. It was held at a park. What an awesome park it was! The kids had a ball, running free and wild, climbing, swinging, sliding. (Mental note: must have kids' birthday party at a park next time.) It was a lovely day for that too. They decorated gingerbread men and fairy biscuits, did crafty things. 4 hours and lots and lots of cupcakes, sweets, jellies (and maybe a little too much sun) later, we were ready for the next party.

A superhero party for 2 year old super-e!

Just imagine 4 little superheroes, tearing into the house of our next hosts. Cape flapping, a little worn out from the previous party, maybe a tad (ahhh just a tad) sugar high. Sheer terror, for me that is! I don't know how the hosts felt. It was a great party no doubt!

I had the darting eyes all day that day. Uh, where did he go? OK, now where's the little guy. Eeeps, I'm sure he's just hiding in the bush. What? You mean a 15 year old got shot in this very park? Gaaahhh better keep both eyes on the kids. Yeeeeekkk, where are they. Can't they ALL stay in just the ONE place at the ONE time? OK, so you need to use the toilet? What I need to go with you? Here use this tree.........

By the end of the day, I really didn't care if the kids ate chips for dinner.

The best part of the day was when Isaac called out to me... "mum, mum, mum!" I was like "huh? you're calling me mum?" Isaac says, "yes mum, I want to be part of this family FOREVER!"

*smiles*

4 kids? Pfft... easy. Uhmm... but no thank you.

Happy Birthday Master Elliot! You are just too cute!
Photo credit: "borrowed" from someone's facebook page. :) Just can't resist it!

Reflections on Death

2010-10-13T22:53:00.002+11:00

I got a phone call on Sunday afternoon. I was out with the family. We were coming home from a birthday party. A friend of mine had passed away. We went to school together, and later reunited in uni when she did dentistry and I did medicine. We shared some lectures together in the first few years.

She was 30. It was sudden, and tragic. I do not know exactly what happened.

That night, I took a deep breath, and looked at her facebook profile. I clicked on her pictures, and went through them one after another. And I procrastinated that moment all evening.

Four years ago, I organised a little get together with a few school friends. We chatted, we laughed and we remisnisce the old times. We laughed so much. She was always so bubbly. There was a certain positive energy that she emits. She laughed at my behind being so massive, pregnant with Lachlan at that time. After dinner, we walked her to her car. And that was the last time I saw her.

My brother bumped into her on Flinders Street a few months ago whilst being on holiday in Melbourne. She ran up to him and gave him this massive jump hug. She was always so full of......life. And now she's gone. And it doesn't seem real. It's so hard to think about death, without thinking about life.

Even now, I still feel numb.

It made me reflect. On how fragile life is. Somehow, I am just more aware of how alive I am today.

Super-E!

2010-10-10T11:30:00.002+11:00

We're off to a superheroes party!

Happy Sunday!

Starting Lily on Solids

2010-10-06T08:00:00.000+11:00

Some time last week, I was eating an apple.

And I found Lily gazing at me, longingly. Watching my every bite. So intently. Not blinking. Dribbling. So I offered her a little lick of my apple. She sucked on a bit of apple, smacking her lips, making squeaky noises. Just as she would with her fists. I didn't make anything out of it, until...

I finished the apple. And she gave out this huge wail and started crying real tears! What a drama queen.

Alright. So my iddy bitty baby is ready for a little more than just breast milk.

When Lily turned 5 months a couple of weeks ago, I've been asked a few times. Have I started her on solids? Solids? Hah, the word solids just reminded me of shiny, sinewy, hard-muscled men in spandex. Quick mummy Grace, snap out of your day dreaming. Uhmm, yeah, solids. I'm a little busy this week. Maybe next week, when I get the chance to pick up a packet of rice cereal from the supermarket!

From as far as I could remember, the two boys are real natural when it comes to eating. They're guzzlers, just with whatever food that you present in a spoon for them, all except rice cereal. (And up until they figure out what the colour green is). So I started Lily with the recommended blah blah, a bit of rice cereal in breast milk. She took a little spoonful, swirl it in her mouth, made a funny little grimace and spat it right back out. Suffice to say, she is not at all impressed with it.

Lachlan asked what's that mom? And I said why son, it's glue. You know, the stuff you make craft with...

Why don't you feed her noo-noo (noodles), I'm sure she will like that better!

I completely agree!

Mr. Chatz

2010-10-05T17:07:00.003+11:00

My 4 year old Lachlan, is a chatterbox.

At Play...

"Mum Mum, look over here. I made this tower (from Lego), and in the tower there's a princess, not Princess Fiona, but just another princess with long yellow (blonde) hair. And outside, there's a dragon. The dragon spits fire like this... bleh bleh bleh. It's awesome isn't it? And a black horse will come and rescue the princess so he can kiss her, and then she turns into Princess Fiona"

Huh? Is that how the story goes??

At Kinder...

"Hi Leanne (teacher)! How's it going? Did you enjoy your weekend? Yeah, me too. It was lovely weather isn't it? What did you get up to? I was in the garage, just helping dad out. His car needed a big clean up. And there's all sorts of tools for fixing cars. You should come over to our house some time."

Yeah, mate!

At Swimming Class...

"I can't blow bubbles with my nose. I have a cold. All the green stuff will come out. See? You know, last week my brother caught a cold, and he had green stuff in his nose too. He passed it on to me."

(You're not meant to say that Lachlan, just shut up and swim)

When I was mad one day...

Me: "Lachlan, you are really testing my patience!"

Lachlan: "Mum, you don't have any patients. You're not a doctor anymore, remember?"

I didn't get it straightaway. I thought, yep I have definitely lost all of my patience, vamooshed, along with my sanity! A 4 year old telling me I have NO PATIENCE! What a wake up call!

(And yep, surely I have lost all of my patients!)

Pigs In Blanket

2010-10-01T16:45:00.001+10:00

You may remember some time ago, I made little piggies in blanket or little frankfurts wrapped in sweet bread rolls. Yummm... these scrumptious little beauties are a favourite with my boys. They scoff them down, one after another after another straight from the baking tray. And there's no stopping until...every little pig is gone.

Well, mom is here. And guess what?

:)

Hop over here for the recipe. Click Click!

Dig, Plant, Grow...

2010-09-19T22:30:00.004+10:00

...water, harvest, chop, cook.

There's a certain satisfaction in watching your kitchen garden grow that is unexplainable. The seeds that we sow, sprout little shoots, leaves, flowers. The slugs and snails come uninvited, aphids, caterpillars and downy mildew. And it takes such a long time! Not to mention the costs, laying down a garden bed, seeds, seedlings, soil, lime, manure, fertilisers and more.

It's so much easier to buy vegetables from the shops is it not?

This is what my cauliflower looks like, after 5 months. Just yesterday, I bought a head of cauliflower, with lovely firm white florets for $1.20.

I read in the books, that beetroot should be harvested when it is roughly the size of a tennis ball. I pulled a bunch out today. I have beetroots the size of... marbles.

Aahh... silverbeet. They are so easy to grow, I have harvested yet again and again. The leaves rich, glossy green. But no one else eats them in this household...but me. And my mother-in-law told me, once upon a time ago, in their village in China, they fed it to the pigs.

Sigh...

Brussel Sprouts! Cute little buttons that has just started to appear... I can't wait to sink my teeth into them.

Well, at least my cabbage does look semi decent if I say so myself. It is now the size of a mini (junior) football.

Nevertheless, there has been some successes (no doubt more failures) and the kids are fascinated with the whole process of it all. There is so much pleasure in stepping outside into the garden, and picking just what I need for the next meal. In saying that, my herb garden in flourishing. There is SO much mint, lemon verbena, rosemary, Vietnamese mint and coriander. Please feel free to pick some if you're in the area. A kitchen garden is rewarding after all.

And on that note, my Kitchen Garden Companion (RRP $125) arrived in the mail last week. I am so excited! I waited 2 months on pre-order from www.bookdepository.co.uk and paid a little less than $40 for it with free shipping! Stephanie Alexander is such an inspiration, an Aussie icon. Her role in initiating the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is tremendous. And this promotes a kitchen garden programme for primary schools across the country, in the belief that the earlier children learn about food through example and positive experience, the better their food choices will be through life.

Let's pray for my kitchen garden, let it be a positive experience for the sake of my children!

Roll Up! Roll Up!

2010-09-17T22:38:00.005+10:00

It's the last day of term, and I thought let's just finish off our week with a trip to the circus, why not? It is school holidays afterall.

The Silvers Grand Magic Circus came to town, just a suburb down from ours. It so happened, we drove past a circus one day, a different one, and I pointed out to the boys, "Look, that's a circus!" and went on to explain what it is, the animals, the clowns, bla bla. Then, that very same day, I received an email from TicketMaster with news that the clowns are in town!

So off we went to the circus, my boys and I. We dropped the baby off at my parents' as I didn't think she's into clowns just yet. First impressions: it ain't no Cirque du Soleil, but hey, we pay for what we get. But what we got, was an unforgettable experience! My boys were in awe, completely enthralled in the night's performances. Balls juggling, batons waving, clowns squealing, techno lights, hoola hoops, tightropes and all.

The big top tent was set up at the car park of a hotel-motel. The seats were makeshift plastic chairs that gave you pressure sores, elevated on the ring sides by wooden crates. The box office is literally just that, a little box of a caravan. A buxom lady dispensing thumb size tickets. The smell of popcorn and candy floss fills the air. This is what a circus is all about!

My personal favourite was the hoola hoop girl, I thought she was simply amazing, juggling so many hoops at the one time. And her b-o-d-y, oooohh aahh!

Lachlan and Lucas both had a lollipop each, given at the start of the show as an extra special treat. They held the lollipop, their mouths agape, eyes wide open for the longest time. They didn't even finish their lollipops by the time the show ended, the longest ever time taken to polish off a lollipop! And the show, was 2 hours long, with a 10 minute intermission.

The grand finale was a show stopper. The death globe. 3 crazy bikies riding their thing, in a web of metal in a form of a globe. The speed, the sound, the terror, a death defying act, enough to make me cringe behind the head of my 4 year old. And the look of glee on my boys... priceless!

If you're planning to go to the Silvers Circus, I suggest you get the tickets online on TicketMaster. There is a promotion running for a limited time for Wed-Fri 7.30pm sessions, with $10 off each ticket (MY TICKETMASTER SPECIAL, the codeword is MAGIC).

$13.95 per child (under 3 is free)
$23.95 per adult
($7 booking fee per transaction)

So, for less than $70, we got a night of entertainment. It usually costs me more to go shopping at Coles!

Otherwise, the prices are as follow:

Adults elevated seating: $30
Adults ringside: $35
Children (3-12 years old) elevated seating: $20
Children (3-12 years old) ringside: $25
Pensioners & Full Time Students elevated seating: $25
Pensioners & Full Time Students ringside: $30

Happy Weekend everyone!

Banana Bread

2010-09-10T22:20:00.001+10:00

Bananas! They're like a household staple, my lazy last minute snack box item, a guilt-free hunger buster or a pre-exercise re-energiser. Every time we're at the shops, there will always be a bunch or sometimes bunches of banana in our shopping trolley. And in our fruit bowl, a display of bananas in different shades of green, yellow and... spotty dotty browns.

So every now and then, when there's a spotted banana or two, I always throw them together in a loaf. And it's great when you yearn something freshly baked, because it is just so quick and so easy. This recipe is one of Curtis Stone's, and isn't full of the usual butter and cream. Once you have tried this, I am sure you will be hooked, like I have!

Banana Bread
Recipe by Curtis Stone

250g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
150g caster sugar
125ml vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
3 overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp Greek style yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g walnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8cm x 11cm x 30cm loaf pan.

2. Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl.

3. With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and pale. Reduce speed to medium, and drizzle in olive oil in a slow steady stream. Add bananas, yogurt and vanilla and beat until well combined. Fold through flour mixture and half of the walnuts.

4. Pour into prepared pan, and scatter the rest of the walnuts on top.

5. Bake in preheated oven for about an hour, until skewer comes out clean.

6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

7. Serve warm, thickly sliced.

I love the method of emulsifying the oil in the egg mixture, as you would in making mayonnaise. It gives the cake a lovely fluffy texture, not too heavy or dense. The trouble with this is that you always end up having another slice, and another! Mmmm... the aromas emanating from the oven is almost as good as the flavours for this banana bread, and you can guess what's for brekky tomorrow. If it doesn't get wolfed down piping hot from the oven for supper that is!

Happy weekend everyone!

Things Money Can't Buy

2010-09-02T23:57:00.003+10:00

Leonny from Our Everyday Things wrote ever so brilliantly on "Things Money Can't Buy", I can't help but to share this with you. You must hop over to her site and have a read! It is a reminder of what I already have, that the time I have given to my children are the greatest investment yet, and no amount of fortune will take precedence over...my family.

One’s childhood will be over sooner than we think.

Time will fly.

And there’s nothing we can do that can turn back time.

So.

While we still can, and while we still have time, let’s remind ourselves to treasure our children and their growing-up years (however tough and often challenging our moments with them are).

Because really, there are just way too many things in life that money can’t buy.

And one of them is, time.

-Leonny, from Our Everyday Things.

Hoot Hoot!

2010-09-02T23:00:00.006+10:00

Meet Ollie the Owl.

I know, she does have a strange face, with buttons around her eyes and all. But just between you and me, I botched up the stitching around her eyes and it needed some cover-up. Sshhhh...

She is a real nice snuggle up pillow if I must say so myself, and she has taggy tag feathers on her rear end. What is the obsession with tags anyways? Is it just me, but have you noticed little people love playing with tags? Tags on their blankies, tags on their clothes, tags on MY clothes. So I made tags on Ollie the Owl.

She is made from brushed cotton on one side, and soft 100% cotton on the other. Her eyes are recycled material from one of my fluffy scarves, new and recycled buttons, and her nose is recycled felt. Her eye lashes are leftover bits of wool from a previous knitting project.

I haven't decided who I made Ollie the Owl for. But as you can see, the colours are swaying a little to the feminine side.

Do you want her? Maybe I should start an etsy... :)

To Do:

2010-08-31T15:09:00.004+10:00

Well, guess what? My mom and dad are here from Malaysia, and whilst we have babysitters handy...

Here's 15 things to do:

~~Run away to a tropical island somewhere and hide.~~
Have a hair cut (ticked).
Eat less (which is real hard when Mom's cooking fabulous dishes every day!)
Exercise more, yay!
Nag less, talk more.
Watch a movie, or maybe a movie marathon.
Blog more.
Catch up with girlfriends.
Spend more time with mom and dad.
Go shopping!
Why 15? I can't think of any more.
Is there a problem with me?
I have all these time to do things NOW and I sit around twiddling my thumbs.
Any suggestions?
:)

Banana Ice Cream

2010-08-24T22:37:00.001+10:00

OMG, it works! Thank you Lins for sharing this recipe. Well, err.... it is not really a recipe or is it?

Here's the recipe for banana ice cream:

Ingredients:

Bananas. That's IT!

Gosh, I never thought I would be this excited over bananas.

Method:

Freeze bananas in the freezer. Whizz it up in the blender until smooth and creamy. And voila, you have banana ice cream! And it seriously did work.

If you ask me, it's like eating bananas, well it is. Except it is frozen. But the boys, they love it! Because ice creams work a treat. And the best part, it's fruit, no added sugar or fat.

Hello Dolly

2010-08-22T23:04:00.006+10:00

The pixies are busy at work again the past few nights, and I can finally reveal to you, my latest stuffing (and for once, it's not food!). Hmmm... what shall we name her?

I sourced for inspiration online, and armed with a brand new sewing machine and not much sewing experience at all, I drew a design, just free hand. Then I dragged all three kids to Spotlight and picked up a few pieces of fabric and knick-knacks. I was bursting with excitement. I couldn't wait for the kids to be tucked into bed that night.

And I surprise myself. And of course I had dark circles under my eyes for a few days after that.

There my darling Lily, a little friend to keep you company.

And oh, she has a mohawk too!

Oh wait, she has real make up on.
:)

*heart*

Lily @ 4 months

2010-08-22T21:40:00.004+10:00

My baby is 4 months old, can you believe? Just the other day, we went for a health nurse check up and she's ticking all the right boxes, weighs 7kgs and 63.5cm long. She is such a happy and contented little child.

On a good night, she sleeps a long stretch of 8 hours. But being a parent the third time round, (a veteran parent I'd like to think, teehee!) you just know that there is not such a thing as sleeping through, night after night. There are good nights, and there are still sleepless ones. You would have realistic expectations and just accept it. And soldier on during the day, especially when there are two others with bountiful energy that seems to zap yours away too. Anyways, I digress. She sleeps here and there and everywhere. In the car, on the way to kinder pick ups and drop offs, in the sling, in the shopping trolley, in the lounge room of my in law's when we have late dinners. She is brightest in the morning, but really dopey and sleepy as the day goes on. I guess it could be that her sleeps are always interrupted, and being dragged along to places, when she could have snoozed comfortably in her own bed.

She gives out the cutest smile ever. And it is so easy to make her smile. And the other day, when I was laughing so hard with the boys over something I couldn't even remember, she gave out this big belly laugh too! And you can make her laugh again and again by just making silly burping noises or smacking your lips. Aaahh.... it's silly but we do it over and over again.

She is purely breastfed. And I am not really looking forward to starting her on solids. Really, its novelty runs out after the first 5 minutes.

She wears really cute hand-me-downs that I love oh so so so much. I never think I would be such a girly girl mummy, but I tell ya, some days I dress her up like a cupcake!

She is growing up, and once again I feel a little tug in my heart. I am happy but I am sad. Especially when I put her little clothes away...for the last time. Sigh, such bittersweet moments...

Coconut Panna Cotta with Mixed Berries

2010-08-15T10:06:00.007+10:00

A very delayed post.. :)

It was MasterChef grand finale some weeks ago, and we had a very impromptu dinner get-together.

So I wasn't going to let a MasterChef dinner go without a dessert. But I opened my pantry and nothing jumped out at me. And next the fridge, a half opened carton of coconut cream and a half bottle of cream. Hmmm....

(....Panna Cotta with berries, brought to you by... my junior masterchef!)

You see, I have seen a fair few Panna Cottas being made on reality TV (?My Kitchen Rules and of course MasterChef). It looks simple enough, but then again, those that I have seen have somehow ended in a disaster! And the fact is, I have never made one before, nor do I remember ever having eaten one in my life! I probably had, but even if I have it wasn't quite memorable enough, you can see. So will I pull this through with the limited time that I have (It was 5pm by the time I decided I wanted dessert!) and knowing that it needed at least 4 hours to set?

With the wonders of the world wide web, a simple google search brought me here. And the recipe:

Coconut Panna Cotta with Mixed Berries

Super Food Ideas - February 2004
Recipe by Janelle Bloom & Dixie Elliott

Ingredients

400ml can coconut milk
300ml thickened cream
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon gelatine
250g fresh strawberries, hulled, quartered
150g fresh blueberries
200g fresh raspberries

*I reduced the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup, also I didn't have fresh berries so I used frozen raspberries and blueberries instead and fresh cherries (that was initially intended for a black forest cake).

Method

Place coconut milk, cream and 3/4 cup of sugar into a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Remove from heat.
Place hot water into a small bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Whisk with a fork until dissolved. Add to coconut milk mixture. Whisk well to combine.
Rinse (6) 8 x 1/2-cup capacity dishes or moulds. Shake out excess water. Pour in coconut mixture. Cover. Refrigerate for 5 hours, or overnight if time permits, until set.
Place strawberries, blueberries and raspberries into a bowl. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Turn panna cotta onto plates. Serve with berries and any juice.

Easy...it's child's play!

On my reading list this morning, I read on one of my favourite foodies blog, a post on The Perfect(ish) Vanilla Panna Cotta. And that was what reminded me of this post that needed to be done. So thank you, Karen, from Citrus and Candy. You have been full of inspiration and wonderful ideas. Here's a line from her post that I lazily copied and pasted here because I love it!

A wise man once said that, "a panna cotta should wobble like a Rubenesque woman wearing 5 inch heels". That wise man was Matt Preston wasn't it?

So did mine wobble and jiggle like a seductive temptress? Silky and smooth it was, but I don't remember it wearing 5 inch heels. So maybe next time I will try ~~undressing~~ unmoulding the sexy goddess and see if it wobbles.

This Panna Cotta was completely dressed by Lucas, my 2 year old MasterChef and later completely demolished by that same little person.

Hugo

2010-08-12T23:28:00.004+10:00

My name is Hugo. I'm a sock monkey.

Don't you think I look more like a lemur?

I was stuffed... too much. My crotch is busting at the seams!

Then I was made a pair of pants...

With stars so bright and blue.

But it was wee too small, it gave me a wedgy.

And it made me look silly.

So I'd rather not wear pants, and look a little dodgy. The stitches will not come apart but it look really messy. AND you know who made me!

:)

Sunday Brunch: Blueberry Pancakes

2010-08-08T10:43:00.004+10:00

It's a leisurely Sunday. The hubby is sleeping in. So is the baby girl. The boys are up and going about their usual shenanigans. And I'm making blueberry pancakes. I love Sundays.

This is my favourite (basic) pancake recipe. I got it off a wall calendar some years ago, and it made it into my recipe journal.

The Best Ever Pancake Recipe:

2 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup castor sugar
75g butter, melted and extra for cooking
Pinch of salt

*1 cup of frozen/fresh blueberries. This is optional.

Sift plain flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add in a pinch of salt and sugar.

Whisk in eggs, milk and melted butter and mix until well combined. Set it aside for 10 minutes.

Sizzle some extra butter in a non-stick pan, and dollop a ladle of pancake batter in the middle of the pan. Cook until little bubbles appear in the batter. Flip. Cook for a couple more minutes.

As for the berries, you can either gently fold them through the batter before cooking, or scatter them fresh on top. I did both. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Happy Sunday everyone!

A New Kind of Hobby

2010-08-05T23:24:00.006+10:00

Who can guess what?

One that doesn't involve whipping egg whites and licking bowls in the wee hours of the night.

A sock monkey! Isn't he a cutey?

We named him "scuby", because that's how Lucas says "excuse me"!

All you need are a pair of socks, hobby (polyester) fill, scissors and a sewing machine. And oh, a pair of buttons and some felt for the eyes.

Howdy scuby?

Not a bad effort for a first timer eh?

Pistachio Cream Macaron

2010-08-02T23:10:00.001+10:00

Some say 'ons and some say 'oons, although purist may say that they're two different things. But I say I have become quite accustomed to making 'em My Tartelette style, so I say MACARON.

We have been swept away by the MasterChef Macaron mania, have we not? Let's just say I have whipped up a fair few batches of these little dome shaped biscuits myself. With soft shiny peaks that looks as if it's been kissed on the top, pretty colours of pink, green and purple, who wouldn't fall in love?

Thus far, all the shells for the macarons that I have made came from only one source, and that is from Tartelette. They have worked for me, so why not? It's a simple basic recipe, just four ingredients and the rest is up to your own imagination.

Engineering macarons relaxes the brain cells, so says My Tartelette.

Here's my twist to her recipe.

Pistachio Macarons with a Pandan Pistachio Buttercream.

For the shells:
55g almond meal
55g shelled natural pistachios
200g pure icing sugar
90g egg whites
30g castor sugar
A drop of green food colouring (I didn't have any green colouring, so I used Pandan Paste*)

*To those who don't know what Pandan is, it's the leaves of a tropical plant used mainly in Asian cooking. The juice from the plant is extracted from chopping and blending up the leaves, and then straining them. You get an intense green coloured liquid with a lovely fragrance. We can't grow them here in Melbourne, so I got the Pandan Paste from the Asian Grocer.

Hop over here to see the method for this recipe.

Now for the filling, I was looking for a buttercream recipe that sort of allows me to use the technique that Gary Mehigan used for his Gateau Opera. (But the amount of butter he uses is phenomenal!)

So I searched through some of my favourite food blogs and came across this from Sea Salt With Food.

Pistachio Buttercream

50 g Egg Whites
100 g Sugar
150 g Unsalted Butter, softened
50 g Pistachio Paste**

Instead of whisking the egg whites and sugar over a bain marie, I followed step 4 in the Gateau Opera recipe.

Step 4: For the butter cream, dampen sugar with a little water in a saucepan, place onto stove and bring to boil, brushing edges down with pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallisation. Bring the syrup to soft boil (121°C). Meanwhile whisk egg (whites) until light and fluffy on high speed in an electric mixer. Once sugar has come up to temperature, add to eggs in a slow thin stream, whisking continuously until all has been added. Continue to beat on low speed until the mixture cools to room temperature (this best done in bench top mixer). Once cool, gradually add butter and (pistachio and pandan paste), beating until well combined.

What I achieved was something I didn't expect after all these years of making buttercreams for the kid's birthday cakes! A smooth, soft and buttery consistency (not too sweet) and not having to use ANY icing sugar. Sifting icing sugar is so labour intensive!

**OK. Here comes my favourite part of the whole recipe! The pistachio paste. I was wondering how and where on earth I would be able to get this from. So I put 45g of shelled pistachios in a small food processor and blend it to a meal. Then I added 1/4 tsp of Pandan Paste and gave it a few pulse until it is blended through. The aroma of the pandan and pistachio was just a perfect match! Seriously, you must try this!

Nope, not pandan leaves. But just a pot of lemon thyme I got from the market last Friday. Their little leaves are just too cute don't you think? I just needed to have a picture of them taken.

One last thing, the buttercream is enough for 2 shell recipes. And I would love to have doubled the amount of the pistachio pandan paste for next time for a more intense flavour and colour.

Rich Almond Tart

2010-08-01T23:26:00.000+10:00

How can we ever forget Ben O'Donoghue's Beaut Brownies? The very first recipe I have tried from delicious magazine a little while back. Here's the link. A visit to that very post makes me crave chocolate, just one slice please!

Ever since then, my delicious magazine never stopped coming. And that was because my dear husband ended up subscribing them for me. And it turned out to be a sweet deal for him, don't you think?

The August 2010 issue of delicious magazine is full of inspiration. I have pages after pages, dog-eared, a promising sign of delivery from my kitchen. And this is one of them:

Rich Almond Tart with Drunken Strawberries
by Belinda Jeffery.

And it is so very good I have to share it with you. I love a dessert with ground almonds, actually I love anything with a nutty, earthy aroma, a crunch that melts in your mouth. It is just one of the many desserts that I love, really, judging from what I have written in this blog if you have followed me right from the start!

OK. Delicious magazine is doing much damage, things are going pear-shaped, quite literally. I really need it to stop coming. But I want it never to stop! Gaahhh....

It sort of reminds me of a frangipane tart. And yet it's not really a tart for there's no pastry to make (phew!).

"It's not really a tart, or even a cake for that matter, but sits somewhere in the middle."

It really is easy to make, as promised. And incredibly, dangerously moreish.

Alright, so here's the recipe.

150g castor sugar (reduced from 220g)
7 egg yolks
3/4 tsp almond essence
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour
200g almond meal
225g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

Drunken strawberries* and whipped cream to serve, if preferred.

*Strawberries marinated in strawberry liquer or Grand Marnier, or Cointreau, or anything that tickles your fancy.

Grease a 25cm loose bottomed tart pan and line the base with greased baking paper. (I used a 27cm pie dish which works out well too)

In a bowl, whisk 6 egg yolks with almond essence and vanilla.

Place flour, ground almonds and sugar in a food processor and whiz until combined. With the motor running, pour in yolk mixture and whiz until it starts to form a paste.

Add butter and whiz again, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until thick and creamy.

Pour batter into the prepared tart pan and level the surface with a palette knife. Chill for 5-10 minutes until the top is slightly firm. Beat the remaining yolk and brush it over the chilled tart. Chill for a further 5 minutes.

Use a fork to mark long squiggles on top of the tart. Place on baking tray and bake for 12 minutes at 190 degrees Celcius. Reduce heat to 16o degrees and bake for a further 20-30 minutes until golden and just set on top.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing, and then cool completely.

I would serve mine with some drunken strawberries, except that they are not at their peak in winter, and any strawberries in this household doesn't last long enough for them to be dangerously covered in alcohol. Plus, we don't want Lucas to want "some"' "some", "some, please mummy" of the drunken berries.

I prefer mine with a little crunch. Pop a slice under the grill for a couple of minutes and you'll have it toasty, and serve with a little orange blossom cream.

Just wonderful.

Winter Vegetables

2010-07-31T10:37:00.005+10:00

When I was at the peak of my pregnancy with Lily, I had a sudden urge to get my vegetable patch ready for winter. What do they say when pregnant mothers have sudden urges like these?

So there I was at Bunnings, this HUGE momma of a belly pushing this great big trolley, with two mischievious boys hanging of it. We picked winter vegetable seedlings of cos lettuce, beetroot, rainbow beet, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage. And a packet of sweet pea seeds.

I got home, don my gardening gloves and gum boots. Heave HUGE bags of cow's manure and mushroom compost as well as my HUGE belly and started working through the soil. I planted rows of seedlings, mulched and watered them in. I hammered in a trellis for the snow peas to grow upon. ALL by my pregnant self!

One week later, I had Lily.

So now the vege patch, left to grow on their own accord, a little bit haphazard, a little bit "slug-eaten" are soon ready to be harvested*.

*We have since munched on crisp lettuce leaves.

We Have Lemons!

2010-07-31T00:04:00.008+10:00

Citrus are in season right now, and for the first time in seven years, we have some lemons! Big juicy yellow globes hanging off the branches, I love it! It reminds me of happy yellow smiley faces. I wouldn't say that they are in abundance, but hey, there's definitely enough for sharing between our family and a few friends. And if you're in the area and needed some lemons, yell out won't ya?

I have been on a mission, a quest to search for the perfect lemon tart recipe. I love a lemon dessert that packs a punch. It has got to have that zing that goes straight to the back of the jaw, one that is so tangy it makes you shudder with delight!

I tried a Matt Preston recipe last weekend, from the MasterChef magazine and was somewhat disappointed with the end result. The pastry wasn't quite right, or I must have done something wrong with it. There wasn't just enough zing in the filling for my liking. Hence, I shall not share the recipe here. I mean it was an alright recipe, but not one that blows you away.

I did however, tried one made by my sister-in-law, and it was quite delightful. She got the recipe from www.exclusivelyfood.com.au. Perhaps this could be my weekend project. (But there's SO many lined up!)

Oh, tarte au citron! I haven't found the perfect one yet, but oh yes someday I will...

Making Paper Chains

2010-07-24T14:00:00.000+10:00

Ever since Lily Jade was born, I must admit, the boys spend a lot of time in front of the telly, and that is A LOT of time in front of the telly! And every now and then, I get struck by overwhelming guilt and come up with something really random - some kind of activity for them. Be it art and craft, just scribbling in a bit of paper, counting pasta shells or helping me in the kitchen. It just depends on what I'm doing at that time and what I have in front or around me.

So last week, I was clearing out junk mail and magazines, and here's what we came up with: Making Paper Chains.

It's simple really, you need a pair of scissors, strips of paper roughly cut up to 3cm by 12cm and some sticky tape.

Bring the two ends of each strip together and secure it with a bit of sticky tape, making a ring. With another strip, feed it through the hole and make another ring. Repeat until you get the length you're happy with.

This is not rocket science, but it keeps them occupied, OK maybe for just 20 minutes and helps with dexterity and fine motor skills. And that's 20 minutes less of TV time. AND it uses recycled materials.

And now what??

Lily @ 3 months

2010-07-23T15:19:00.003+10:00

Here's a video of my two littlies taken this morning:

Lucas calls Lily "wee wee". At 2 years and a bit, he is quite chatty and is able to form short sentences. Both brothers just adore their little sister and often "fights" for her attention. And now you know why Lily is an "easy baby". She gets her entertainment from her two big brothers!

Super Busy

2010-07-23T14:42:00.002+10:00

No, really. Does it get any busier than this?

I wake up every morning with a list. I love making lists. To do this and that. Shopping list. etc. But at the end of the day, nothing gets done. How did I get so busy over nothingness?

We do things, just the usual. I cook, I clean and I feed, three little mouths. Doesn't seem that many, but it certainly feels like I COOK and CLEAN, ALL THE TIME! Three little lives depended on me. So it may seem like I haven't crossed off anything on my list, but we survive yet another day. I guess that is a big achievement in a way.

And this other baby of mine gets a bit neglected. My blog.

I have a ton of posts to write up, a lot of photos to upload, recipes to share and videos to show and tell.

But right this moment, I have a baby hanging off my booby while I try to type. A very chatty 4 year old asking impossible questions and a cranky 2 year old who has just woken up from his afternoon nap, clinging to my leg and whinging. So, I can't make any promises, but I do owe it to you my dear readers, so I will try my absolute best to update every once in a while.

I leave you to ponder on these questions:

Oh mummy, why are there only 7 days in a week?

Why did Humpty Dumpty sit on the wall?

Why are there only two "arrows" on the clock?

Why do boys like blue and green, and why does Lily wear pink all the time?

Why, mom why?

Morning Walk

2010-07-18T09:42:00.004+10:00

I'm in dire need of some serious exercise. Post baby fat and some recent indulgences in good ~~macarons~~ food, need I say more?

So this morning, while everyone is still asleep, I slipped into my joggers, zipped up my woolies and stepped out into the frosty cold. Brrrr.....

I walked to my sister-in-law's house a good 1.5km, snuck in through the side gate, ran to the back and dug out four fresh stalks of lemon grass. The missing ingredient for my satay beef marinade. You didn't even noticed, did ya? ;)

All in the name of food!

Oh, a plate of satay skewers coming your way...

Home Made Mayonnaise

2010-07-16T11:21:00.001+10:00

Here's another recipe from MasterChef.

Home Made Mayonnaise

1 egg
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs white balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Process eggs, mustard, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a small food processor until creamy. Add 1/4 of the oil to the egg mixture and process until slightly thicker. Add the remaining oil in batches until the mayonnaise is thick and creamy.

Once you've made and tasted home made mayonnaise, you will never buy them in the shops again. It is unbelievably easy!

Raspberry Macarons

2010-07-13T14:22:00.000+10:00

I must admit, I'm a sucker for reality TV and especially one that concerns food. So I love MasterChef. Much to their protest, the boys know that when MasterChef comes on telly every night at 7.30pm, they give up the reign of the TV remote control. And they play their air guitar and dance along to Katy Perry's Hot and Cold, the theme song.

So when Adriano Zumbo brought out his macaron tower for one of the pressure test challenges, and hubby sitting next to me making ooohhh and aaahhh noises, I knew I had been "pressured" to make some. And I have never made macarons before in my life. I researched on the web for a recipe, and there are millions out there! The MasterChef recipe seems a little complicated and requires a few ingredients that are somewhat peculiar to me (powdered egg whites and beetroot powder?) So as I was about to abandon this task, a friend send me a link to this site on Serious Eats: How To Make Macarons (Thanks Jas!). There were a few handy tips and tricks for optimum macaron creation, and only 4 ingredients to a basic macaron recipe. How hard could it be? After sifting through a few more recipes, I settled on one from My Tartelette because her pictures look pretty, and the recipe looks similar enough to the basic recipe. And raspberry why? Because they are my hubby's absolute favourite.

Raspberry Macarons and Raspberry Buttercream
Inspired by MasterChef and My Tartelette.

For the shells:
90 g egg whites (From about 4 eggs)
25 g castor sugar
200 g pure icing sugar
110 g ground almonds
1 tsp of rose pink food coloring

Here are a few tips:

Use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge. I left mine to "age" overnight on the kitchen bench at (wintry) room temperature.
Put the almonds and icing sugar in the food processor and give it a few good pulses to make sure that they are super fine to give the batter a smoother finish.
Preferably, use powdered food colouring.

Prepare the macarons:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the castor sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.

Fold the almonds and icing sugar mixture, and colouring into the meringue until fully incorporated.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 155 degrees Celcius. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size with the oven door slightly ajar (Use a wooden spoon). Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

Raspberry Buttercream

125g butter
2 tbsp good quality raspberry preserve
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp milk

I kind of made this recipe up as I went along. Just whip up the butter and icing sugar until as pale as possible, light and fluffy. Fold through the raspberry preserve and milk until fully incorporated. Add enough milk to the right consistency to pipe.

Fill another piping bag with the buttercream and pipe a small dollop onto the centre of a macaron shell. Sandwich the cream with another shell. There you have it, a raspberry macaron!

So here's the story of how I actually went creating these little fluffy puffy pink buttons. It was somewhat disastrous to be honest, and don't be fooled by the prettiness in the picture. These 8 macarons are what was left, salvageable. You see, I don't own a piping set, and honestly my piping skills are close to none. Sometime ago, I bought a pack of disposable piping bags that comes with 3 plastic tips that I have kept. I've been recycling those tips every now and then, using zip lock bags instead and I thought it has worked marvellously well over the years.

The consistency of these macaron batter are like "magma" and should "flow like hot lava" as Matt Preston once said, so the thickness of it meant that it needed a bit more force to pipe them out. Needless to say, my "ziplock piping bag" burst open when I started to pipe and I had lava flowing everywhere. It was very very messy. I contemplated making one HUGE macaron instead.

Oh well, I manage to salvage some batter and with another dodgy piping bag, I got some done.

The outcome was delightful. Light and crisp on the outside, a slight acidic note from the raspberry cream, chewy and creamy on the inside. The flavours come together very well.

Now, on to my next task. That is to get a good piping set, one that will not explode on me. I hope you are reading this my dear hubby.

...

The Icing On the Cake

2010-07-09T21:25:00.004+10:00

Lemon Butter Cake
with White Chocolate and Lemon Ganache

Royal Icing

Hand Moulded Toppers, Marshmallows and Sugar Fairies

...

Let me explain. This is what I love doing.

A lot of people asked me where I'd find time to do all these. Well, I just do. I would happily give up that extra two hours of sleep to dust out the rolling pin and roll out the icing. I don't mind the red and blue pigments around the edges of my fingernails, even if they stay for weeks. I love creating that little fairytale scene on the cake. Little pirates on a pirate ship. Toadstools and fairies and chocolate freckles. To see their smiles on their happy faces... it takes them to a different place. It takes me to a different place.

By the way, this cake was especially for a little girl named Elizabeth. She turned 6 years old this week. Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Notice how the pictures of all my cakes are taken in the dark? Haha... that's when the pixies come out to work! (Or rather when all my little pixies are fast asleep!)

XOX

Click here to see some of my other creations.

Phonics with a Four Year Old

2010-07-08T22:52:00.003+10:00

Lachlan, my 4 year old child, has started recognizing some words using phonics. In all honesty, he learnt most of his ABC's from a toy bus with little A-Z buttons. When each button is pressed, it will tell you the letter and the sound it makes.

Today, we had a conversation that went like this:

Car starts with the letter "K", "kuh-kuh-kaarr..."

I said, no Lachie, C is for Car.

Mum, listen to this sound..... "kuh" for "kar".

I said, "C" for CAR, just like "C" for CAT.

No mum, Ceeee is for Snake. SSSss, Ssss, Ssnake. Ceee for snake.

No Lachie, "S" for SNAKE. Hissssss....

"S" mom, is for ES-ca-la-tor!

*sigh*

Better start using the books, I'd say.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T14:39:00.004+10:00

Jamie Oliver's Cheese and Bacon Quiche

2010-07-04T11:00:00.008+10:00

One of the things that excites me, is the sight of fresh, farm eggs. Smooth, ellipsoidal mounds and their creamy coloured shells! Today, we were given a tray of these beautiful eggs, and they were HUGE! So thank you, Mags & Benny and your gorgeous boys!

Just look at the size of these beauties.

The one on the left, rested on the rest of the giant eggs, is a 59g egg (From a 700g carton of extra large eggs). We cracked a few open, some are triple yolked and some are double. It makes me rub my hands with glee... just wondering what I shall make. The possibilities are endless.

But anyways, this is what I made earlier this morning, but not with those huge eggs.

Cheese and Bacon Quiche.

I came across this recipe from Jamie Oliver's website.

It's a classic. Very few ingredients and relatively simple to put together.

Recipe from jamieoliver.com

Ingredients
Pastry:
220g plain flour
120g cold butter
1/2 tsp salt
about 3 tbsp of ice cold water

Filling:
4 large eggs
150ml double cream
100g mature cheddar cheese, finely grated
200g bacon, cut into small strips
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Pastry:

1. Place the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes then add to the flour.
2. Rub the flour and butter between your fingers till the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Add the water, continue mixing, then knead gently into a ball. Place in the fridge for about 15 mins.
3. In the meantime, grease a quiche/flan dish (approx 24cm) and preheat oven to 180C.
4. Roll out the pastry and lay in the quiche dish . Trim the edges.
5. Cover the pastry base with some greaseproof paper and then fill with dried beans or peas.
6. Pre-bake the pastry case for about 12-15mins, then remove from the oven (remove the paper and beans).

7. Prepare the filling:
Fry the bacon strips in a dash of olive oil, till lightly browned. Remove from the pan.
8. Fry the chopped onion gently, till soft.
9. Place the fried bacon and onion into the quiche crust and spread out evenly.
10. Whisk together the eggs,cream and cheese. Season with a little salt and pepper.
11. Pour into the quiche dish then place in the oven and bake for approx 30-40 mins.

My variation:

For the pastry, I simply throw the dry ingredients and the cold cubed butter into my KitchenAid food processor, and with a dough blade, I gave it a few pulses. Then with the motor running, I drizzled in the cold water until the dough comes together into a ball. I threw it into the fridge, and half an hour later, it's ready to be rolled out.

I was feeling generous with the filling, and pretty much used 1 and a half quantity of all the ingredients. It came out just right for the size of my quiche dish.

The end result: a nice little Sunday brunch for the family.

Now, more egg-baking to come from Gracey's kitchen so watch this space.

*Rubs hands with glee...*

Lily has a Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing

2010-06-29T10:00:00.009+10:00

This is a sponsored post by Nuffnang.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by my sponsors, Nuffnang, asking if I'd like to review a toy from Mattel. So I said, yes of course, I am a stay at home mom with three young kids, toys are our expertise! But if you've seen my house, you would know it sort of resembles Santa's workshop or a second hand toy store. Train sets and a train table, speedy sport cars of all shapes and sizes, a footy all rough around the edges, tools for little boys, toy soldiers and other little boys' toys! What is it that we haven't trialled and tested?

When the big box arrived at our door, I was excited. I have been secretly hoping that it would be a toy for Lily, my youngest of the three. She is 10 weeks old and the only little girl of the family. Lo and behold, in that big box we unravelled My Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing, fit for our little princess Lily. All of a sudden, it was ALL ABOUT ME! This is JUST what I need.

In our busy household, sometimes I could use an extra pair of hands. Although Lily is an easy baby, sometimes she still wanted to be held, cuddled and rocked. Here's a swing that cradles and swings, here's a place I can plonk Lily down and she can easily entertain herself.

The swing rocks with a side to side motion, a bit like how you would rock a baby in your arms. And the cradle that surrounds her has a really soft, squishy fabric and a canopy, making it a cozy little cocoon. Above her a little hanging mobile with cute little felt lambs, fluffy clouds, moon and star in pretty shades of pastel.

When I first saw the dials and buttons on the body, I was a bit overwhelmed! So many different functions, tunes, speed and volume. There are 8 soothing lullaby tracks as well as 3 nature sounds. The volume and speed dials allow for control of a comfortable setting.

What I love most is the globe mirror on the mobile. I watch Lily watching herself, she could stare at herself without blinking for ages or she makes these little funny grimaces that are sooo cute! The rotating toys engages her attention. And I think Lily enjoys looking at her own reflection, and it encourages self-recognition. And the best thing is, it rocks her to snoozy sleepyland.

Now that's not all. When Lily grows a little bit older, the seat could be repositioned into a more upright position, and the rocking motion could be changed to back-and-forth motion. It also comes with a tray that can be snapped on in front of her. The tray has little tethered toys and beaded bars for when she can reach out with her hands and fingers for tactile stimulation.

What's more, it has a lovely neutral colour that blends into the home. A nice visual appeal. The sturdy steel frame as legs that could fold in for easy storage.

Overall verdict: I think this toy has many positive aspects. It stimulates, it soothes, it entertains and it is an extra pair of hands for me. Perfect for Lily, perfect for me. I couldn't be happier.

Would you buy this for your newborn? What do you look for when choosing a toy for a newborn?

Drop me a comment, let me know what you think.

Here are some links that may interest you:

My Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing

Age by age resource for toys

What's new at Fisher Price Australia