G is for girl, green frog and giraffe. Can you find these three g things in this picture? I wonder if you know where the letter g is.
By Rosie
Rosie likes to dabble in all manner of things. But her main aim is to find ways to capture life’s precious moments. Sometimes this is through words, and others, it means catching a moment as a picture and framing it. Times passes by so quickly. Everything is in the process of change. It’s the only way she knows how to freeze time. Capturing people in their natural environments is what she loves the most. People are fascinating and beautiful.
Don’t forget to head on over to the Alphabet Photography Challenge page, where you’ll find a series of “look and find” photographs to help your child learn the alphabet.
Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys’ Wordless Wednesday. Click on the link to check out more photo posts.
TODAY I was hoping I’d be posting about what I was going to wear when I met Princess Mary next week. Instead, you get to hear about another Tasmanian princess – the Princess Theatre at Launceston in the State’s north – as part of the My Tasmanian Backyard series. Yesterday The Bloke in The Shed received an invite (plus one – aka me) to lunch with Prime Minister Julia Gillard (yeah, whatever) and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (woohoo!).
Except he declined. What? I know. It seems getting from Tasmania to Canberra and back in the hours the girls are in childcare is just a bit beyond Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar.. Why did I have children again?
So while I’ve just forgone an entire week’s worth of princess posts, here’s a post about a more child friendly princess that will still tickle your fancy. And might I add that she turned 100 this year. She’s looking mighty fine for an old duck.
Is that a cheesy grin, or what?
On Sunday she hosted fairies. Now you wouldn’t get that in Canberra. Actually, maybe you would. The fairies in question happened to be THE Fairies – Harmony, Rhapsody, Fairy Minuet, Barnaby, Elf and Wizzy.
Oh, and Santa. Anyone would think the big guy in red was part of The Beatles, considering the reception he received.
The old theatre is exactly what you’d expect to see in most cities – old grand buildings with exquisite detail,
Looks much more impressive in “real life''.
elaborate seating, beautiful lights
and red velvet curtains. The Princess Theatre, under the Theatre North umbrella, has featured some of my favourite concerts while an entertainment journalist. We usually got treated to far better seating than we did on Sunday too.
See the dots on the stage? To be honest, despite being as far back as was possible (because someone booked the tickets too late), our vantage point was still impressive. This wasn’t our first concert at the theatre this year either, having also watched The Wiggles. You’ve got to love a man in a skivvy.
And a dinosaur in pink.
Conclusion: Entertainment buffs will enjoy the variety the theatre offers, with everything from children’s entertainment, theatrical performances, concerts, comedy and school productions. There’s little fear of numb bum with comfy seating and the slope of the theatre making viewing easier – important for someone who’s shorter than a Melbourne jockey.
Highlights: Seeing Ella have the entire aisle to herself to bust a move. If only Rhapsody was close enough to see her triple twist, which led into a back flip and finished with the splits.
What does it cost: This depends on the show. See the site for the latest concerts and prices.
Attractions nearby: For The Wiggles, we arrived early and had a picnic at City Park – also known as the Monkey Park to locals. It has plenty of area for the kids to run around, Japanese Macaque monkey enclosure, a miniature train for children to ride on, duck pond, barbecues, play equipment, clean toilets and the John Hart Conservatory. It’s within walking distance to the theatre.
WHEN I say you can make a princess tiara birthday cake in two hours, I’m including the baking of the cake too. Oh yes, this was definitely not in the realm of the princess castle cake.
It’s fair to say she was pretty impressed!
Although, that only took about an hour longer and heaps of extra muscles.
I actually was super organised and had the cake cooked the day before for Princess Ella’s birthday on Saturday. However, due to a teething Li’l Holly who refused to let me put her down while I cooked the cake and a recipe that I really doubt was up to scratch, the cake ended up feeling like rubber.
So Saturday morning, the day of Princess Ella’s fourth birthday, I ditched the rubber wheel and went for my trusty old Women’s Weekly rich chocolate cake recipe. I swear it’s foolproof. If you need that recipe, visit the princess castle birthday cake tutorial.
Adding to the drama of the morning, we realised we didn’t have a tiara anywhere in the house. Kind of crucial for a tiara cake. The spin off was I got some free time while The Bloke in The Shed and Ella went off to buy one. They came back with a pretty tiara and a rather ugly princess wand.
This is what happened while they were gone:
After the cake is baked, knead and then roll out the ready roll icing on a bench dusted with icing sugar. Lay the icing over a rolling pin and transport it to the cake so it doesn’t break. Smooth it down around the edges and cut off any excess.
Add some colour to leftover icing and knead in well. I had two small batches of icing and put more colour in one than the other deliberately. Cut out letters with cookie cutters and any other shapes. The word “princess’’ was spell checked before assembling.
Boil some sugar water (one part sugar, to two parts water). Brush over cake and letters. Add silver balls in a pattern. You can add lines with a knife as a guide. I started to do this, then changed my mind. Hmm, always a nice effect.
Add the tiara. And presto, a quick birthday cake
Oh, and I forgot: blow out the candles
and then lick the tiara.
Need a tiara? Click the image below to grab this gorgeous one! How long do you usually spend making birthday cakes? Or does the local supermarket do your cooking for you?
NB: Please note, some links are to products I’m an affiliate of. This means if you click through and choose to become a customer of that business in the future, I may receive a commission. This doesn’t mean you pay anything extra.
ANOTHER month, another birthday. It is seriously like that in this house. Yesterday we marked Princess Ella’s fourth birthday. Writing that down just blows me away. It seems like only yesterday I was holding her in my arms for the first time. Totally dependent. Oh, so tiny. And covered in gunk.
Now, she’s a super confident young girl. A social butterfly, who can ease the toughest of social situations. Incredibly bright and a big thinker not bound by limits. And she also happens to be the funniest person I know.
We marked her birthday today with a small family barbecue at the Bells Parade park, at Latrobe,
and the traditional O’Brien candle race (it’s seriously like watching grass grow, but they love it). Note there are only two candles. We forgot to pack more.
She was also spoilt with some beautiful gifts, including a 300-piece bead set. We ended up with the 300-piece bead set on the floor, at which point I was tempted to get the Dyson out.
I might add the majority of her presents are still on Christmas layby. Well, seriously, what store creates Christmas laybys that can’t be picked up until Christmas!
Before you go clicking to try and score yourself a bit of Christmas cheer, here’s a video of Ella’s first year of life, put together for her first birthday. Please, feel free to fast forward to about the 50-second mark. The first part is her family members and obviously rather boring for most readers. Every time I watch this video I end up in tears. The music is by my Twitter friend Martina McBride. Although, at this point, she’s unaware we’re friends.
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Meeting other bloggers: I went all the way to Radelaide just to have breakfast this week. Breakfast with some fabulous bloggers, I might add. This bloggy thing is better than journalism, I swear. I’d swap cocktails with Jason Donovan for breakfast with bloggers any day. Especially ones as lovely as these.
Princess Ella’s 4th birthday: We are back in birthday mode… again. It never stops at this end of the year. When Ella discovered her “party’’ would be with grandparents only tomorrow, she started crying. “I don’t want the nans and pops to come,’’ she said. I asked her why and she said: “I just want (insert teenage cousin’s name) to come.’’ A few quick calls and it seems now she’s having a “real party’’, complete with grandparents AND her cousin. Very grateful to her cousin.
An all clear at the dentist: Thankfully, when the girls had their checkups at the dentist yesterday, they were both given a big tick (or a sticker, at least) for good care of their baby teeth. Ella even got to ride in the chair. Although she was slightly underwhelmed. “It wasn’t very fun, Mum,’’ she said. “Why?’’ I asked. “It didn’t go to the ceiling.’’ Looks like a trip to the Gold Coast might be in order.
I’m joining with Maxabella Loves to share what I’m grateful for.
BREAKFAST has suddenly become a big deal in this house. And I’m not talking about the fact I have breakfast once in the morning and again about 8pm. That’s just normal. Right? The big deal is that when Princess Ella, Li’l Holly and I sit down to breakfast, The Bloke in The Shed now joins us.
Following up Weetbix with toast
We’re going on nine years of marriage and during that time I’ve only seen him eat breakfast a dozen or so times – and it usually involves eggs, bacon and a holiday. So when he started going to a personal trainer to find a thinner version of himself, he came home the first night announcing “apparently I’m not doing myself any favours by skipping breakfast’’. Really? You don’t say. (Sorry, can’t help the sarcasm).
The fact Li’l Holly and I were flown all the way to Adelaide this week for breakfast just shows you how important it is. OK, so the trek was for a Kelloggs Bloggers Brunch, but still. The aim of the event was for Kelloggs to garner input from mums on its brand and breakfast in general.
Three Li'l... on a cereal box!
The breakfast topic for me was the search for a transitional food now Holly has moved from baby rice through to “big girl cereals’’. I had to confess that the princesses have been brought up on a diet of porridge and the cereal that starts with W and ends in X. Well, what other options are there?
Ernie, enjoying Weetbix
At the bloggers brunch, as I was deep in conversation with the hilarious Lucy and fresh from The Morning Show Jodie, a packet of Sultana Bran Buds was pushed under my nose. So I pushed some under Holly’s nose. She devoured the lot. Jus like a snack. While Kelloggs has gained a bad rap (and still is from some corners for its so-called pester power), the company has capped the amount of sugar its new products contain. So, while I’m not advocating eating Coco Pops every morning, some of its newer additions can eradicate early morning mother guilt – or boredom if you’ve been lacking brekky inspiration. Like me.
Breakfast is important. And if I had to choose my final meal, it would be a bowl of cereal. A bowl of Be Natural Pink Lady, Flame Raisin, Fruit Flakes and Clusters cereal to be precise. And, just so you know, Be Natural is part of the Kelloggs stable. That’s a coincidence, I promise.
What generally gets served up at brekkie time in your house – if anything at all? And what would your last meal be?
PS. So sorry, but I didn’t take photos at the event. Something to do with carrying a baby around. But you can see a whole host of gorgeous shots of the mum bloggers and Holly on Flickr. Or you can just visit the blogs of mother to a tribe Tatum, super sweet (without using sugar) Alyce, the girl with the awesome name Kellie, Kelloggs new product development team member Bianca, all-natural Cat, Super Nanny educated Glowless, too funny for words Georgia and my roomie and inflight entertainment Louisa.
How long do you usually spend making birthday cakes? Or does the local supermarket do your cooking for you?
