Happy Birthday to our gorgeous girl Ella.
It’s hard to believe five years have passed since this photo.
And that we now have this:
I can only shake my head…
Love you, love you and a big Happy Birthday. x
Blog
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Aussie Giveaway Linkup #75: Playing charades
Ella and I were playing Charades, a game she received as an early birthday present. The game has either words (the majority of which she can’t read) or pictures. She always goes for the pictures. This is a little of how the game unfolds for us.
Ella: (twirling her finger above her head)
Me: “A helicopter?’’
Ella: “No, Mum. Try again.’’
Me: “Twirling hair?’’
Ella: “No, but it is something curly.
Me: “I give up. What is it?’’
Ella: “A tree’’.
Oh, of course. Silly me.
Do you play charades with your child? I wouldn’t recommend it with five year olds. Phew!
A loss for me and a win for Ella. OK, onto some more wins.
Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:
If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
5. Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.
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What to do in Melbourne with young kids
Melbourne has become a bit like our second home. We visit so often we nearly need to buy a house – if only they weren’t so bloomin’ expensive. Seriously, I could buy three houses in Tasmania for the price of one in Melbourne.
Our regular visits also mean we have done, what feels like, most things in Melbourne. This time however, we did get outside the usual Melbourne zoo and aquarium – both of which we love, by the way – to have some new experiences.
Here is what we did:
Build a Bear
Build a Bear was part of our first day in Melbourne. We headed to Chadstone Shopping Centre and Ella got to make Rabbi (a hugely original name for a rabbit). She chose the bear, gave him a heart, selected a sound (she chose the song Under the Sea), watched him being stuffed, cleaned him and then picked out an outfit. The whole bear cost us $60. It might sound a lot for a teddy bear, but it really was worth the experience. Plus, she gained a bear at the end that holds sentimental value because she created him herself. And it was with less pain than I went through to bring her into the world.
Scienceworks
Julian and I went to Scienceworks years ago – pre-kids – and thoroughly enjoyed it. We knew the girls would love it because it’s so hands on. When we got there we were blown away. It was just fabulous, with a Wallace and Gromit display (ending this month). The highlight was certainly Nitty Gritty Super City.
Collingwood Children’s Farm
We arrived on a day when the Collingwood Children’s Farm was free and a Channel Nine film crew were there, so it was extremely busy. Ella unfortunately didn’t make an appearance on TV, but she didn’t care – she “got to milk a cow, Mum’’. Her summation was that it was “very wrinkly’’. She also rode a pony, lining up for about an hour for that five-minute ride. I’ve never seen her so patient. Holly, absolutely petrified of animals, was excited by the whole show. Just as Ella dismounted, Holly piped up with: “my turn’’. Maybe next time. By the end of the day, Holly was feeling much more comfortable being around animals.
Royal Botanical Gardens
We’d had a picnic dinner in the Royal Botanical Gardens before, but had never had the chance to look in the children’s garden. Super sweet, it gave Ella the chance to learn about The Magic Pudding. She also found a ladybird she was thoroughly fascinated with. The girls were excited to see all the veggies and herbs growing and asking which we were going to plant this year. We also sat by the lake at the other end of the gardens and watched the ducks, geese and a few eels. Eww.
There were plenty of other smaller things, but that sums up the main attractions.
What are your favourite things to do in Melbourne?
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Aussie Giveaway Linkup #74: Laughing out loud
Holly was much more comfortable with the ladybird Ella had.
The Aussie Giveaway Linkup couldn’t go past sharing a funny story this week.
Friday night, the girls get to shower with their dad. It’s a big event here. Yes, and I know how sad that sounds.
This Friday, while Julian was holding Holly and washing her face under the shower, she sang out “Spider Daddy, spider’’. Julian, who hates spiders and always asks me to dispose of them, squealed out in an equally high-pitched voice: “Where?’’ She then proceeded to point to the inside of his nose.
It seems she thought his nose hairs were spiders. Looks like Julian is getting a spider trimmer for Christmas!
OK, onto some more wins.
Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:
If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
5. Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.
Hosted by Three Lil Princesses
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Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe
It’s hard to go past a chocolate recipe, so when I opened up Nan’s mothers’ group cookbook the girls immediately wanted chocolate cake. Chocolate Fudge Cake to be precise.
I was a tad dubious. The recipe had two steps. – beat together and bake. It didn’t even tell me how long to cook for – usually a recipe for disaster for this home cook. However, it’s proven a success, especially with the addition of chocolate icing. It’s now on our favourites list.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup SR Flour
2 dessert spoons cocoa
1 egg
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butterMETHOD:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat together for two minutes. Place in two 20cm round tins. Bake in moderate oven for 20-25 minutes.
ICING:
Combine 200g softened butter, 200g icing sugar and 200g melted chocolate.
You can download the recipe here:
[scribd id=111889883 key=key-25qntlz1ozc4gaq8kzce mode=scroll]
What recipes are on your favourites list?
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Household tips and recipes – Nan’s mothers’ group recipe book
Visiting my nan on Sunday, I started asking her if she still had some of the old recipes she cooked us as kids. Nan was renowned for her biscuits and I thought some of them would make a perfect addition to Ella’s school lunch box as a treat.
What I got was far beyond what I imagined. I came home with a shopping bag full of recipes to look through. Some were even from my great grandmother. Among them was this treasure:
Now Wondrous Ultra Special Sensational Mouthwatering Cookery
This is nan’s mother’s group recipe book. Nan is in her mid 80s. It’s a yellow cardboard covered book with three simple staples in it. Nothing fancy. In the back it says “The North West Union of State School’s Mothers’ Clubs. Donation…. 30 cents’’.
Throughout there are old fashioned recipes typed up neatly, like Chocolate Sponge Cake, Five Minute Cake and Steamed Pudding. There’s also some obscure treats like Apricot Festival Cream, Weetbix Cake and my all-time favourites – Nameless 1 and Nameless 2. There’s a note underneath saying “both are scrumptious – ask Mrs Dodd for the names”. I’m wondering if anyone ever asked Mrs Dodd.
The book even has a couple of pages of “hints’’, like:
- To sharpen scissors, cut on the neck of a sauce bottle or similar as if you were cutting the neck off.
- When requiring a small quantity of lemon juice, pierce with knitting needle and squeeze out the required amount.
- Bunches of mint placed about the kitchen discourage flies.
And so many more.
Over the next couple of weeks I thought I’d share some of the recipes from the book and from her shopping bag full of treasures she’s given me to look through. I might throw in a few of the handy hints too.
To end, here’s the first page in the book. Timeless comedy.
Recipe for Happy Home
1lb of good temper
2lbs forbearance
1lb patience
1.5 lbs contentment
3 lbs unselfishness
1lb fun
2lbs cheerfulness
Method: Mix well with 2 quarts of milk of human kindness.
Dose: 1 wine glass full the first thing in the morning. To be repeated as the effect wears off.To Preserve A Husband:
Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When once selected give your entire thought to preparation for domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in pickle. Others are constantly keeping them in hot water. This makes them sour, hard and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.
We mums have come a long way in how we go about sharing recipes today!
Do you have anything from your grandparents you treasure? What about an old recipe that you still cook today?
Make sure you subscribe to the eNewsletter to see Nan’s recipes.