Hands down

At playgroup today, we were invited to get creative and engage in a spot of arts and crafts to create a special card for dad for Father’s Day which is not too far away!

The cards were created simply with paper, glue, paint and glitter. Bugs was extremely cooperative as I quickly painted her hand and printed it on the paper.

While Bugs was busy entertaining herself in her new found ride….

I took the opportunity to quickly sprinkle on some glitter and glue some paper on the card in an attempt to jazz it up.

Ok not the prettiest card I know, especially with the glue streaking down the sides! I did put this together with one eye on Bugs to make sure she was alright sitting in the toy car. Hopefully The Dude loves it, in the meantime, I’ll have to think of a present to go with that card. Hmmmmm I think a trip to the craft shop is needed very soon!

Hope your day is going great!

Maple delights

Oh how I love Sundays! It’s the best day, really, to have pancakes smothered in maple syrup for breakfast and morning tea!

Speaking about maple syrup, I had the chance to try out a brand new baking recipe with it as a key ingredient – a batch of nutty hazelnut cookies!

These cookies were special on a couple of fronts : One – they involved hazelnuts, which The Dude loves to bits (due to its close association with Nutella). The picture below shows the dry mixture of ground hazelnuts, flour and baking powder.

Two- the cookies contain no other sweetener except for the maple syrup. Which makes it kind of healthy I think! Thumbs up for that! Here’s how the cookie dough looked just before rolling and cutting.

The cookies didn’t take that long to bake. The moment we smelt the faint nutty smell wafting from the oven, they were ready!

We wasted no time in sampling a few while they were still hot from the oven, just so we could taste if they were still delicious despite having no sugar in them.

The result? Three words -Yum yum yum! Wow! Who would have thought using maple syrup could produce such delicious cookies! Nutty and not too sweet- its the perfect after meal snack, especially if you’re watching your sugar like we are!

We gobbled a few more to go with our tea…

And packed a tiny bag for The Dude to share with his work mates.

I took a peak into our cookie jar after dinner and there weren’t many cookies left (four to be exact)! Looks like I’ll have to bake these again in the very near future!

Have a lovely Sunday!

Winding down

It’s late in the house now and everyone’s asleep. Everyone, especially the little one.

When you’re very little and have teeth trying their best to poke through your gums, it’s no wonder that you find it difficult to sleep. Or wake up feeling somewhat grumpy. Which kind of sums up how Bugs had been feeling (I think) over the past couple of days.

The Dude and I have been taking turns the last few nights in what we now dub as “The Night Watch” to rock Bugs to a gentle and hopefully deep slumber. We’d been expecting to perform our usual routine tonight but amazingly, Bugs was so tired out from the day (and probably the last few nights) that she fell asleep within minutes of lying on the bed!

Perhaps the teething pain had finally subsidised? Whatever it was, it gave me the opportunity to sneak in a few minutes of knitting, something I’d hadn’t done in days!

What a perfect way to wind down after a tiring couple of nights! Happy Saturday everyone!

Just a little bit orange

Today’s post is about the evolving taste buds of the little gourmet in the house. It’s been ten months since Bugs began her journey into the world of solid food.

Things had been pretty positive from the start. The first taste of rice cereal was met with some apprehension but that quickly changed to “Yes I want more!” after the second bite. We faced similar outcomes as we introduced bananas, yoghurt, apples and a whole variety of other types of food to Bugs. “This is easy,” I thought to myself naively, “Baby will eat anything we feed and sit contentedly in the high chair, just like those advertisements on tv!@

And then Bugs turned one. Gone were the days when feeding was a breeze. Instead mealtimes now involve chasing the speed crawler/ dodger around the house to shove a few mouthfuls whenever the opportunity arises. Unless its something (foodwise) that takes her fancy, otherwise be prepared to get a good workout squatting and moving around on your knees to get a few bites in!

Enter this plate of pumpkin risotto. I’d been trying out different recipes recently to try and whet Bugs’s appetite. This one seemed to have hit the nail on the head for Bugs was willing to sit down ( and stay in the same location) for the duration of the feed! Any recipe that produces something that interests Bugs is definitely a winner in my books!

There was a bit left over so The Dude and I had some to taste – so sweet and creamy, no wonder it was a hit with the little one!

I’ll have to make a huge batch the next time round so that everyone gets to eat it!

Hope your Thursday is going great!

A tale of two adventures

Wow! Is it Wednesday already? The week seems to be just whizzing by! Well, Bugs and I went on a bit of an adventure today near the Yarra river! First up on our itinerary was some Mali spotting!

We found three more elephants located pretty close to each other by the river! Yay! More to cross off the list!

I especially love this vibrant blue one located near ArtPlay. Sadly the information about the artist printed on the metal plate had been washed away by the recent heavy rains.

This Australian animal themed one was quite popular with a group of tourists who were exploring the area on this gorgeous sunny day!

After elephant spotting, we headed indoors to the one and only ACMI – the Australian Centre for Moving Images.

We were greeted at the door by one of the volunteer guides who suggested we check out the free Screen Worlds exhibition at the ground level.

I was absolutely blown away by the exhibition which was about the history and evolution of film and video in a nutshell! There were lots of interactive displays to entertain – Bugs had a ball playing with some of the exhibits! We headed back with a little souvenir from the gift shop – a special flip book of our images that animates as you flip through the pages!

We’ll have to revisit the ACMI with The Dude! A family flip book sounds like such a great memento to have!

Have a fantastic Wednesday folks!

Sprout takes flight

It was D-Day today – the day that we decided to hand in my charity knits. Early this morning, I spent a little time getting ready for the trip.

Sprout the baby cardigan and dear little Ignatius the koala were carefully packed into a plastic zip bag, together with some extra yarn and buttons, in case they needed a little mending in the future.

I was really very reluctant to part with Ignatius. It took a bit more effort than usual to create him and I was quite fond of him (who can resist a face like that!).

But I reminded myself that someone out there could really use Ignatius much more than me so Bugs and I gave him a little cuddle and kiss and continued packing.

Also included in the package was this cloth bag that I’d handprinted a few weekends ago. It seemed like a handy thing to have to carry everything which was why I packed it in.

The drive to the drop off did take us a bit longer than expected due to traffic. Bugs was extremely patient and cheerful despite the long ride, which was really nice to see and very much appreciated.

The ladies who accepted my charity knits were really friendly and we spent a little time talking about Sprout and especially Ignatius. Before we left, we were given this pin as a souvenir for being someone’s guardian angel! Super cool!This pin is sitting proudly now on the little bag that I store all my knitting bibs and bobs in!

Hopefully Sprout and Ignatius brighten up someone’s day – I’ll never know but I’m glad I had some hand in making it happen!

Tips please!

It’s been almost a month since Bugs and I started the new Monday playgroup. I’ll have to say I’m quite enjoying the experience!

Joining a playgroup is such an interesting experience. You get together in a room with other moms and their kids, all of whom you’ve never met before. There’s the initial introduction of names ( both yours and your kid’s). And then the conversation begins.

Its amazing how parenthood opens up a wide range of topics for you to chat about. From sleep habits, to eating and the perennial favourite swapping of birth stories, there’s always something that you can share about, even if it’s as simple as how your day is going.

The best parts of playgroup for me are seeing Bugs having fun in a new environment and learning new things from talking to the other moms! Through our conversations, I’ve picked up breakfast ideas for Bugs, learnt of new play centres, remedies for the common cold, strategies to encourage walking and useful recommendations for good family doctors! Pretty cool huh for a couple of hours of chit chat a week?

Here’s a tip that I picked up from one of the moms – always have a duplicate soft toy on standby when the main one is washing. Shhhhhhh promise not to tell Bugs that the toy in her hands in this picture is a temporary substitute!

Where the wild things are

We visited the city today to run some errands and participate in a bit of Mali spotting!

A total of 50 elephant sculptures (named after the Melbourne zoo’s little baby elephant Mali) had been commissioned to celebrate the Zoo’s 150th year! These elephants have been very recently ‘released’ into the city and are sprawled across several landmarks. Finding out where they are located is all part of the fun of this unique art installation!

Our first stop was Fed Square where we spotted three Malis -the two in the pictures above and this one with a knitted fabric for skin! Amazing!

Bugs was particularly enthralled by the pink elephant outside the cathedral…

But not so much by this leopard/cheetah one designed by the famous Graeme Base aptly named “Night and Day”.

As we walked along the street, a few more Malis came into sight!

This sparkly, shiny elephant was probably the most popular of the lot. You can’t help but stop and stare at it, especially when the mirrors are reflecting the sunlight!

The last elephant we spotted today was this bronze one right across the tram tracks from where we were!

9 Malis today, 41 more to spot! I wonder where the rest could be!

Big day out

Wow! What a big day it has been for us today! All because of these two rectangular pieces of paper!

Free tickets to the Napoleon exhibition!! The NGV held a special complimentary members’ viewing session today. The Dude and I were fortunate enough to score a couple of these tickets recently- the event was all booked out weeks in advance!

I won’t reveal too much about the exhibition except to say that it was fabulous! Bugs seemed like she had fun too as we toured the exhibits. That was surprising to us as we’d expected her to be somewhat bored with looking at paintings and artefacts. Needless to say, the biggest fun that she had was at the awesome Kids’s Space!

What an amazing Saturday it has been! And the best part is that the weekend is not over yet! Hope your day is going great!

Frankie’s twenty

I was flipping through a old library copy (I heart the library) of Frankie this evening when I chanced upon an interesting article.

It was a feature which got a handful of celebrities like Myf Warhurst to state twenty significant or interesting things that had happened in their life in the past year.

Pretty cool idea huh? Sounds like a really great way to capture your memories while they are still kind of fresh in your mind! Anyway I thought I’ll give it a go so here’s my twenty:

1. Started a blog
2. Bought a real Christmas tree for the first time in my life
3. Really understood the meaning of sleep deprivation
4. Bought a bed and finally slept in it after 6 months of holding Bugs and sleeping sitting up on the couch.
5. Ate sashimi for the very first time after 14 months of going without.
6. Made a giant pear and a tiny pirate.
7. Saw Bugs roll, crawl and stand for the very first time
8. Got The Dude hooked on baking.
9. Moved house.
10. Started gardening
11. Visited the hairdresser for the first time in 13 months.
11. Did charity knitting
12. Went on our first family holiday
13. Baked Bugs’s first birthday cakes from scratch
14. Discovered that frosting makes everything seem a lot more delicious and pretty. Especially the cream cheese kind.
15. Realised that paper crafting is fun but I’m not as talented as my cousins in it.
16. Discovered the joys of the libraries (both books and toys)
17. Fell in love with the Pontipines , Wottingers and the Tomblyboos
18. Made new friends
19. Felt more confident in my new role as a mom compared to the same time last year
20. Melted when I heard Bugs say “Duck” (her first word) and “Mama” for the first time

Phew! This was much quicker to complete than I’d expected! Hope you enjoyed reading my list!

Have you thought about your twenty? What would you put on your list?