Such Is {a crafty} Life

2012-01-26T20:42:00.000+10:00

Homemade Chocolate Bars {recipe}

Ethan asked me to make some Titan bars. If you know Aldi you will know that is their version of the Mars Bar. For some reason my kids just think i can do anything! lol So i set about to find a recipe, thinking that surely someone has made these before. I couldn't find ANY easy recipe. Most called for nougat and to make nougat you need a candy thermometer, apparently. Well that's just all too hard for me. So i started thinking of what was sort of like nougat in texture and taste but didn't require me ~~burning~~ making anything with hot sugar! I am NOT good with lolly making. at all.

So i came up with this recipe. I've tried it twice with great success. If something doesn't work for you, let me know! Also let me know if it DOES work for you. My kids love them and they get gobbled up in no time. I thought my sister was going to drool all over my kitchen bench when i asked her to try them. ;)

Ingredients

'nougat' layer
1 packet of marshmallows (375g)
1 packet of milk chocolate melts

caramel layer
1 packet columbines caramels
1/2 tin condensed milk

1.5 packets of chocolate melts for dipping
2 tablespoons copha

So here we are....mmmmm...goodness.....

The 'nougat'
Step 1. Melt 1 packet of milk chocolate melts over low heat.

Step 2. Melt your marshmallows in a microwave bowl. 60-90 seconds on high should do the trick. depending on your microwave. Stir to combine. (don't worry that they are pink...they won't be pink in the end)

Step 3. Place melted chocolate and marshmallows in a mixmaster with a whisk. Whip until it is combined and it is hard to mix. If your chocolate and 'mallows are quite hot this may take some time. You can cool them slightly before you mix them together if you like. But don't leave it too long or it will be hard and you won't get them mixed together right.

Step 4. Should look something like this! You should be able to mould it in your hands.

Step 5. Press into a lined lamington tin. Leave to cool on the bench.

The Caramel
Step 6. In a saucepan melt over low heat your caramels and condensed milk.

After a few minutes it will look like this. mmmmmmmmm caramel.....*drool* If you are wondering what the brown specks are in there - it's chocolate. I had a few chocolate eclairs in my bag of caramels. lol

Step 7. As soon as it's melted and combined (no need to bring to the boil or anything like that) spread over your 'nougat'.

Step 8. Cool on the bench. Cover with baking paper and place in the freezer until hard. Then cut in bite size pieces. You may need to heat your knife up to do this.

Step 9. Melt extra chocolate with copha and stir to combine. Dip each bar into chocolate with 2 forks and let drain over a cake-cooling rack. When they are set you can eat them! Store them in the fridge. :)

*drool*

*Variations*

Use white chocolate melts and white marshmallows to make white 'nougat'

Use pink marshmallows and white chocolate melts to make pink 'nougat'

Enjoy!!!

Rhinokey and {birthday} Cake

2011-10-13T10:42:00.002+10:00

It was Nicholas' birthday yesterday. 5! And he's obsessed with monkeys. obsessed. I managed to find a pattern for the Wuzzle Rhinokey, who Nic loves.

We went to Spotlight and chose fabric and then i made Rhinokey. The pattern wasn't too difficult to understand. Fur isn't the easiest thing to sew with but i got it done. His mouth proved the most trouble. I just couldn't get it to look right, luckily Nic doesn't care. :) I am happy with how he turned out. He is cute and fuzzy and very much loved.

And now Ethan wants a yellow and orange one....

And here is the cake! It was lemon on the top and banana on the bottom. And coconut cream cheese icing. it was SUPER yum!

2011-08-26T20:48:00.004+10:00

Cakes
The two last cakes i did.
This one was for a 12 year old girl. She likes spiders apparently. So i tried to make a spider cake a little girly. It's chocolate fudge cake with blue buttercream between four layers. White passionfruit flavoured fondant and white chocolate spiderwebs.

This one was for an 8th Birthday/Baptism cake for a girl. her favourite colour was lime green. Six layers with purple buttercream between the layers. Unfortunately i don't have photos of the cake cut! I would have loved that.

2011-06-26T20:36:00.000+10:00

Jane Austen and Regency Wear

In the last month I've been making Regency clothes for the Jane Austen party i'm going too on the 23rd of July. I've got my dress, bonnet, spencer jacket and now my corset is almost done!

My dress was pretty simple. I had a maternity dress that i hadn't worn for ages(even when i was pregnant) so i just made a new bodice out of some taupe chiffon and cream ribbon.

The bonnet i made from a straw hat using this tutorial. The fabric is the same as my dress.

The spencer jacket still needs some work. It need some long sleeves put in under the puffs.And i might even redo the whole thing.

The corset i made from this pattern and instructions. This is the second one i did and it turned out just perfectly. It took me several hours but i got it done in one day. It's extremely fiddly and time consuming but worth it. There are 18 eyelets up the back. I opted for metal eyelets rather then handsewing it. I'm not THAT crazy. lol I need to buy some cords for the back and i need a busk.

Sorry those are crappy pics. Hopefully Graham will be able to make me a wooden busk for the center of my corset. And maybe i can lose some weight in the next month so i can fit into it. lol So now i just have 3 boys costumes and Graham's to make too. no sweat.

2011-06-19T09:21:00.001+10:00

Blog Changes

I am going to be making some changes to my blog layout and possibly a new name...so over the next week or so don't stress if you see some funky things happening. :)

2011-06-18T17:17:00.002+10:00

Ruffle Skirt

I used this tutorial to make this skirt. Turned out good i think. :)

It's 2 sheets i bought at the op shop this morning. Grand total of $3. The elastic was more expensive because i bought that new at Woolies. It was $4 something for a packet. The lace was a curtain my mum gave me.

2011-06-10T13:50:00.005+10:00

My {Boys} Creations

I found a pair of ladies pants from Katies at the op-shop for $1. They are now a cute pair of pants for Lachlan. I used a pj bottom pattern to get the general shape. I kept the original band on the pants and added elastic at the back-as you can see in the first pic here.

Super cute!
This was a mens t-shirt. Now it has a v neck and it opens with snap clips on one shoulder.
I made this from scratch. It's just a plain tshirt with 2 snap clips on each shoulder that a bib can be clipped onto. When you don't want the bib on you just clip the white shoulder thingys on.

2011-06-06T17:11:00.003+10:00

Shoe Fixup {SpongeBob Style}

Lachlan LOVES his SpongeBob shoes. Unfortunately they were falling apart. He's been wearing them broken because he just won't wear any other pair of shoes! So today i decided they were broken enough for me to fix them. lol

see?! all the velcro was coming off and the part up the front was broken so the strap had nothing to slip through.

First i cut off the straps and the middle strap holder(i have no idea what the real name for that part is) and cut new pieces out of black FOE. I also cut 2 new pieces of velcro(the fuzzy side).

Then i hand sewed the velcro on to the ends of the new straps and rounded the ends off so it wasn't spikey. I could have machine sewed it but i was too lazy to get lift my machine from the floor to the table. lol I used thick thread too and a nice strong needle.
Then i sewed the little middle strap holders on and i sewed it over existing stitching so you can't even tell. :) Then i threaded the straps on like they are supposed to be and sewed the ends onto the shoes. Finally i hot glued pieces of black felt over the parts i sewed so that it was hidden and it won't rub on his cute little feet.

2011-06-06T09:55:00.004+10:00

The Summer {winter} Boy

It's not often you come across blogs that cater to boys. And since i HAVE 3 boys it's rather disappointing. But then i came across MADE. Best blog ever for boys! I can't seem to stop sewing little boys clothes and i always seem to have ideas floating around my head. lol YAY FOR BOYS!!!!

2011-05-25T18:01:00.004+10:00

Refashionista!

That's what I'm calling myself these days. I am OBSESSED with refashioning clothes. Also called 'upcycling', refashioning means taking an old piece of clothing and turning it into something else. I raided my husbands wardrobe and found some old shirts that he didn't fit into anymore and made them into new church shirts for Lachlan. I also make a cordaroy jacket and a vest.

The vest was a womans one with some weird neck and i thought it would be PERFECT for my little man. It's brown and just so soft. It was a shame to cut it up. He looked very daper on Sunday but wouldn't stand still for a good photo. lol

2011-05-06T20:49:00.003+10:00

Jammies!

Winter is coming up and i realised that Lachlan didn't have many pairs of winter jammies....actually he only has one. So it was time for some sewing!

2011-04-30T18:00:00.004+10:00

Lachlan is 2 today!!!! He's such a sweetheart and a joy. Unfortunately don't have any good photos from today. Everything turned out blurry. I will try and get some tomorrow. But until then, here's the cake. Nothing too fancy today. :)

2011-04-20T12:37:00.003+10:00

Baking day today! Why is it that we always run out of food before the end of the week?

Brownies -

Lamingtons-

2011-04-06T13:36:00.003+10:00

Another cake...... are you sick of cake yet? lol

2011-03-17T11:03:00.001+10:00

This was for a 5th Birthday Cake. Fondant planes are not my strong suit obviously. lol But i was pleased with how it turned out. And the little boy liked it so that is the main thing :)

2011-03-03T21:40:00.005+10:00

Sorry I've been busy these last couple of months! I've been getting into my hair accessory business and having some good sales. I even have a Facebook page now. :) I've also been making cakes!

It was Ethan's birthday and he wanted a Harry Potter cake so i made The Monster Book of Monsters. The first thing to get eaten was his eyes. lol followed by his teeth. I think he is pretty cute!

I also made a cake for my friends baby shower. She had a little boy. the colouring is off in the photo but you get the idea. The elephant is adorable. I'm still getting the hang of draping the fondant.
Then it was my friends daughters 8th birthday and i suprised her with this cake. And i got the fondant to drape like it's supposed to. YAY!
I have another birthday cake to do this month. Should be fun!

2011-01-27T15:46:00.003+10:00

Raspberry Apple Streusel Custard Pie

I got a Kenwood Patisserie Mixer for Christmas. Holy exciting! So i've been busy using it for all sorts of things. Yesterday was Australia Day so while Graham was bbqing our dinner i whipped up this pie. I changed a couple of things and it became Raspberry Apple Steusel Custard Pie! I did every step in my mixer and it came out wonderfully. This recipe is definately a keeper!

Ingredients

1 uncooked pie crust - i used half of this recipe. ps i LOVE Jamie Oliver
1 can condensed milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup hot water
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
1 medium all-purpose apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) i left them out.

Method

Preheat oven to 200C

1.Roll your pastry out and put in a greased 20cm spring form pan or you can use a pie dish. Something with deep sides.

2. Mix together - condensed milk, eggs, water, cinnamon, raspberries and apple. Pour over pie crust.

3. Mix together brown sugar, flour and butter until it resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle over custard mix.

4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes on 200C. Then turn down to 180C and bake for 40 minutes or until brown and crusty on top.

5. Let cool and then put in the fridge. I recommend you eat it cold because it's easier to cut and the custard will firm up nicely.

Serve with ice cream or cream or whatever you like.

and no i didn't eat three pieces. *nervous laugh*

2011-01-01T09:12:00.000+10:00

Tutorial : Jeans to a skirt

I was given a pair of high waisted 'mom' jeans. And even though i AM a mum these are hideous and i would never in a million years wear them. I did try them on and the waist was up near my boobs. So ya. Hideous. SO i decided to make them into a skirt. Why waste good demin, right?

So here's the jeans - a lovely 15 inches from crotch to waist

The first thing you wanna do is cut them off at the top. I measured my hips and then found the spot on the jeans that would go around my hips. Cut through the zip or if you want to keep it - unpick it. I hate unpicking so i just cut right through it and then cut the zip out of the part that was staying on my skirt.

Measure from the top down to how long you want your skirt. Mine is 21 inches. And cut it off on both legs.

You should have something like this -

Next cut up the seams on the inside legs. don't unpick them, just cut neatly.

Next cut about 2.5-3 inches up the crotch. Neatly, like so -

It will look like this once it's folded over. It needs to sit flat because there is nothing you want LESS then a buldge in the front of your skirt. lol If it's a little knobbly at the end just cut the excess fabric away. Sew it down. I used black thread sewn closely to the existing thread and you can't even see it.

Flip it over and do the back. And because the back used to be for your bum there will be extra fabric. So unless you want to look like you have a tail - cut it off

I cut mine on both flaps. Just make sure it sits nice and flat like the front. Sew it down.

Next -With the cut off legs of the jeans you need to make a triangle shape to fill in the gap. Front and back.

Sewn on the front will look like this - so go ahead and pin and sew both triangles on. Now try it on. If it's too big you can just pull in the sides a bit by sewing down both sides equally. I had to to that.

Now for the waist. Grab and old t-shirt and cut about 7 inches off the bottom. Measure around your waist about an inch below your belly button. Take that measurement and subtract off 1-2 inches. Join the seams at the end.

double it over and pin it to your skirt. Since you are pinning on stretchy material, pin the front, back and sides first and then stretch the rest of the fabric around. Sew.

You should get something looking like this!! Now you can hem the bottom but i'm going for the casual look so i'm leaving it unhemmed so it will fray.

And this is the end result!! No more Harold High Pants.

Happy Sewing!!!

2010-12-25T16:14:00.005+10:00

Fruit Cake Truffles

Merry Christmas everyone! to get in the Christmas spirit this year i decided to make Fruit Cake Truffles instead of Oreo Truffles. Same principle, slightly different ingredients.

You will need -

-1 packet of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (i use light to try and counter-act the effect of the chocolate ;) )

-3/4 of a fruit cake. - i just buy a Homebrand dark fruit cake. You could use light if you wanted too.

- 2 blocks of chocolate for dipping. I like Dairy Fine from Aldi.

Crumble the fruit cake into a bowl. Then add your cream cheese. Beat until it resembles cookie dough.
Roll into balls and place on a tray. I use a small melon baller to help me get even size balls.
Refrigerate until they are firm.
Dip in melted chocolate and place on a tray that has been covered in baking paper.
Make it fancy by sprinkling on crushed candy cane, choc sprinkles or drizzle with white chocolate. You can even roll them in coconut. Whatever takes your fancy. I also like adding essences to my dipping chocolate - so in mine i did some orange, some peppermint and some plain. Have fun and be creative!

Try not to eat them all at once.

2010-12-17T22:43:00.002+10:00

Almost Christmas!!!

Two Mondays ago (yeah, i'm a bit late) we had a gingerbread man making FHE. I made 30 gingerbread men for Ethan's class at school and then the left overs got decorated and eaten by us. they were yum!!

Ethan's -

Lachlan's
Nicholas'
All lined up and ready to be packed!

It was fun!

2010-11-27T22:13:00.003+10:00

Female Koel

Female and Male together. He was trying to get frisky and she was trying to get away from him. typical.

2010-10-11T16:43:00.003+10:00

Hollywood Style!

This post is for my sister Chrissii. I made these hair combs for her for the Hollywood Stake Ball. So Chrissii you can pick which ones you want. Or you can have both! :)

2010-09-30T12:01:00.004+10:00

Pale -Headed Rosella!

I was standing in the kitchen eating my lunch when i looked out in the backyard and there were 2 pale-headed rosellas walking around! I RAN to get my camera. I am so glad i was able to get a good pic this time! SO EXCITED!!

And thank you Graham for not mowing for a while because they were feeding on the dandelion flowers.

2010-09-29T15:04:00.003+10:00

Australasian "Green" Figbird

I was very excited to see this one because i didn't know what it was. lol The common everyday birds like crows and magpie aren't very exciting. It took me a little while to identify but i'm pretty sure this is a male Green Figbird. I took a ton of pics but this was the best one. Very hard to take pics at such a distance. Another Figbird came and they had a midair fight. Unfortunately i wasn't quick enough with the camera to take a pic.

2010-09-28T15:33:00.006+10:00

BIRDS!

I've decided to take photos of all the birds i see so these are some of them. I need to get photos now of the ones i've observed but didn't capture.

-Darter

-Silvereye

- Rainbow Lorikeet
Pale-Headed Rosella
- Kookaburra
- male Koel aka Storm Bird

Eastern Great Egret
Blue-faced Honeyeater with a Noisey Miner

I'll post more birds as i see them. It's amazing that i never really noticed how many birds there are around until i started birdwatching. I go out in my backyard and the air is full of bird calls. It's so beautiful!

2010-09-18T17:27:00.002+10:00

Bird Watching

Over the last few weeks i've started bird watching. It's so fun!! I was inspired by some friends who do it and so i bought a field guide and Graham bought some binoculars and then i found a check list on a website, so i've been finding birds and checking them off the list! Whenever we go somewhere i always take my field guide and my binos. Last weekend i found some King Parrots and Red-Browed Finches. They are so cute and beautiful. Today i saw a bird of prey - it was too far away and flying to fast for me to identify. But it was either a juvenile Periguin Falcon, a Little Eagle or some sort of Kite. I'm counting it as a sighting though!! lol So with that one today i have found 19 different birds in and around where i live.

I found a Kookaburra on my neighbours tv aerial. I need to take more pics of the birds i find.

Spring!

It's Spring although the last couple of days you wouldn't know it. It's been freezing! We had our fire going last night but unfortunately we only have 2 pieces of wood left so it will probably be rationed. Anyhow, since it's spring and we actually have water now and can water our gardens(by bucket after 4pm) i decided to have another go and planting a veggie garden. I bought a 'friend' for our lonely tomato plant and it is growing SO well. I swear it's doubled in size since i bought it last week. I also planted radishes and they have also sprouted! YAY! I love radishes in a yummy salad. I also seem to have sprouted another plant that is NOT a radish. It may be a cuccumber since i planted some of those too but they haven't sprouted. I just have this rouge seedling that is obviously not a radish come up with them. lol I guess we will just have to wait and find out what it is. :) Those are just in pots but i plan to dig up the bigger garden in the backyard soon :) Stay tuned!

2010-09-08T19:02:00.006+10:00

Doily Do-over

I was blessed to be given several doilies from my Aunts mother-in-law after she passed away(the MIL not the aunt ;)) So what is one to do with so many doilies? I am not really a doily person. I think they are beautiful works of art and as a crochet-er i appreciate the work that goes into them so i didn't want to waste them or give them away. Some of them are just gorgeous! I've seen cute things been done with doilies on blogs so i thought i would give it a go to do a Doily Do-over!!!

And so i made a shrug. I have never had a shrug and i'm not even su

re i'm a shrug person but i think i can become one with just the right clothes to go with it and maybe if i lost a little weight so i don't look like a quarterback.

I had 4 rectangle doilies that were just the right size. 2 longer one

s for the front and 2 shorter ones for the back.

I sewed them together carefully on my sewing machine with black thread because i was going to dye them since 2 were white and 2 were cream. And thread sometimes doesn't dye so i went with black instead of white. I sewed them down the back, sides and shoulders.

Then i dyed it. It didn't come out black but it did come out this nice greyish blue which i actually really like.

Then i sewed on some velvet black ribbon.

And voila! one doily shrug.

2010-08-21T20:44:00.001+10:00

Blog Changes

My blog is going through some changes. :)

2010-07-28T22:22:00.001+10:00

Crazy. My blog has gone crazy. If anyone knows how to fix it please drop me a line. Much appreciated.

2010-06-30T14:43:00.007+10:00

Singed Flower Hair Accessory Tutorial

What you need -

Candle
Scissors
Tweezers
Organza or Chiffon or other synthetic fabric
Needle and thread
Beads or brads
Matching felt
Elastic, bobby pins or clips

Step 1. Cut circles of fabric. About 4 or 5 pieces depending on how full you want your flower to be. My pieces start from about 2.5cm(1inch) and the biggest is about 9cm(3.5in).

Step 2. Light your candle and singe the edges of each piece of fabric. You won't need to put your fabric IN the flame, just hold it above and the heat will make it curl. This can take some practice. Don't hold it over for too long or it will melt completely. You need to be quick and move it around.
These are all the pieces done. The bigger ones i've singed in the middle of the petal so it's not so bowl shaped.
Step 3. Assemble. Just lay the pieces on top of each other.

Step 4. Sew together. Get some matching thread or you can use invisible thread and sew them together in the middle. Just a couple of stitches and then you can thread on some beads and secrure them with a couple more stitches. DONE! almost..... Step 5. Cut 2 pieces of felt - one circle and one rectangle that will fit inside the circle. Sew down two sides as shown to make a little 'tunnel'. That's for elastic or clip to go in.

Step 6. Hot glue it to the back of your flower.

Step 7. Insert elastic or clips.

VOILA!!

And if you are feeling adventurous you can even make baby ones and do something like this -

Try it with different fabrics and colours. You can also use them to accessorize your clothes if you want.

I made this one out of ribbon for my 6yr old niece and used brads in the middle instead of beads.

2010-06-04T13:16:00.014+10:00

Homemade Cleaning Products

I've been experimenting with homemade cleaning products. I LOVE that i make my own baby wipes. And they cost me $2.77 instead of the $4-5 i was paying. But as much as they are great for wiping bottoms and messy mouths i didn't really want to use them for cleaning other things. I love kitchen wipes. So easy but also pricey. So i found a recipe for homemade cleaner. Who knew it was so easy!? I know lots of people already know about the excellentness that is vinegar but i'm a little slow on the uptake. But that's ok, i've now 'discovered' it. I made my own Spray Cleaner and it is fabulous.

For a while now i've been buying Earth Choice products. They are grey water safe and cheap! So i have incorporated the Floor and Surface Cleaner into my own.

So for the recipe you need-

A spray bottle

1/8 cup Earth Choice Floor and Surface Cleaner

1/4 cup white vinegar (Homebrand. It's so cheap it's like you never bought it.)

And then top the bottle up with water. Give it a shake and away you go! I like to label my stuff too so i know what it is. Total cost per bottle - 11cents. Not including the bottle. Cost of shop bought spray of the same quantity - $3.87

Then came the Cleaning Wipes. You will need -

1 roll of Viva Paper Towel (i recommend this brand because it is the only one that doesn't fall apart when wet)

1/8 cup Earth Choice Floor and Surface Cleaner or cleaner of your choice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 1/4 cup of water

a cylinder container with lid (cost me $4 at Woolies)

First off remove the cardboard roll out of the middle of the paper towel. You will be pulling from the centre so you don't need it in there.

In the container mix all your liquid ingredients. Then place the paper towel in there pushing down if you need too so it fits inside. Pop the lid on and wait for it all to absorb and for no reason other then my own quirkiness i turn the container upside down while it's absorbing. Total cost for this is $2.10 per roll - 60 sheets per roll. I use it in my kitchen or for wet dusting of furniture. Cost of shop bought kitchen wipes - $4.85 for 40 wipes.

I also made my own Laundry Powder. It so easy!

You will need for 1 batch (32 loads)-

1 cup Borax ( you can find it at Bunnings)

1 cup Washing Soda (in the laundry aisle at Woolies)

2 bars of laundry soap (i use Woolies brand)

A container to put it in (The Reject Shop has cheap jars)

A 1/8 cup scoop (which i already had in my kitchen)

First off cut up your soap, just roughly chop it with a sharp knife. I then wizzed it in my hand blender. You want it to be like a powder. Place the Soap, Borax and Washing Soda in the jar, put the lid on and shake it around to mix it. And that's it. Use 1/8 cup(or 2 tablespoons) scoop per load of washing. The cost of this is $3.44 per batch. That's 10 cents per load!! I compared that with the Aldi brand of laundry liquid that i usually buy and it is $5.99 per 2L bottle - 37 cents per load. Over 3 TIMES the cost.

Homemade Stain Remover

This was a bit of an experiment. And i am pleased with the results.

What you need -

750ml Spray bottle (i recycled one that i had)

1/4 cup bleach( I used White King)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon of your homemade laundry powder(i made a seperate batch just for using for stain remover)

water

Put the first 3 ingredients in and then top up the bottle with water. Just mix it all up in your bottle.

I experimented with one of Lachlan's outfits. These are fresh 'stains'of chocolate, warm milo and baby drool. I first washed it in my laundry powder and most of the stains came out. I just wanted to see how much it cleans. There were a few dots of brown still left up near the collar which was the messiest spot.

I sprayed it with the stain remover and left it for 5-10 minutes and washed it again. It came out pretty clean!

In future of course i will spray the stains first and then wash. I just wanted to see how much came out in the regular wash. If you wanted a strong stain remover i'd try experimenting with the quantity of bleach.

The cost of my 750ml bottle of Spray Stain Remover was 22 cents. See if you can find a stain remover that cheap in the shops.

2010-05-26T13:27:00.003+10:00

Fingerless Mittens

It's almost winter and so that puts me in the mood for knitting! So i whipped up these cute fingerless handwarmers. I bought this yarn for $1 a ball at LifeLine. It's so gorgeous. 100% Australian wool too. Love the colour! And i have 3 more balls of it left.

I got the pattern here. Now i just need the right buttons to put on as a feature. :)

2010-05-01T13:48:00.004+10:00

Baby Shirts

So i'm always trying to find ways of saving money. I also love baby clothes AND sewing. I found a great way to combine all of these. Courtesy of this blog. The 90 minute shirt! Why didn't I think of that?! I raided my drawers for unwanted t-shirts and i scoured the op-shops.

This is what i came up with -

The cutest rock star off all time.

2010-04-25T21:39:00.003+10:00

One of my new favourite craft blogs is U Create. LOVE it. I found a cute tutorial for headbands. I am always on the lookout for grown up girly things since i haven't be blessed with baby girls as yet. So i was super exited to find something that I could wear!

The tutorial is here and this is my results -

2010-03-30T09:49:00.003+10:00

Hot Cross Buns!

Ahhhhhhhh i love hearing that song played on the recorder. It just reminds me of my childhood. :) Hot Cross Buns are just the perfect comfort food don't you think? Last night was our Easter FHE lesson so i figured i'd make them for the treat. We had the lesson complete with paper cut outs about how Jesus died and was placed in the tomb and on the 3rd day he was resurrected. Then we discussed the symbols of Easter. And how we eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday because they have the cross on them that symbolises the crucifixion. Then we, well Graham and I ate a hot cross bun that i made from scratch in my breadmaker. Ethan was opposed to homemade ones for some reason. *rolls eyes* I have to say they were delishious! So good. Here's the recipe -

In your breakmaker place these ingredients in this order -

1 egg
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
60g brown sugar ( i'm wondering if i can replace this with honey...something to experiment with next time)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
520g whole wheat plain flour
2.5 teaspoons dry yeast
310ml warm water

Select your dough cycle. 15 minutes into the cycle add 3/4 cup mixed dried fruit or just sultanas if you don't like fruit peel.

At the end of your dough cycle it will be REALLY puffy. Mine was almost spilling over. lol Take it out and gently kneed on a floured surface for a couple of minutes. Just until it's not sticky. Divide into balls however big you want them and place them on a greased tray. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together -

80g plain flour
80ml water
1 teaspoon sugar

Put into a piping bag and pipe on the crosses on top of your buns.

Put them in a preheated 180C oven and cook for 25 minutes. When they come out of the oven you can put a glaze on them or leave them.

Glaze -
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin

Combine and heat on Medium for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Brush over hot buns.

I didn't do the glaze because i was lazy.

Serve your buns cut in half and spread with real butter. *drool* try not to eat them all at once.

2010-03-27T21:02:00.002+10:00

Fondant Cake

My second fondant cake! I was asked to make a cake for the Relief Society Birthday Dinner. The theme was "If friends were flowers, i'd pick you" I thought straight away that i'd use fondant since i've been wanting to experiment with it more. I googled cake photos and tutorials and figured i could make roses. Looked easy enough. I decided to make the Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake but in a round tin. Unfortunately that didn't work out. For some reason the bottom of the cake didn't cook. So it was back to the old faithful recipe that i've been using for years for birthday cakes - Chocolate Fudge Cake. It's the yummiest chocolate cake ever! I made the marshmellow fondant and put a little passionfruit flavouring in it. It's so yum. I have some left over which i may or may not get to eat. My kids like it too! I found a tutorial for fondant flowers and the woman doing it suggested putting bits of toilet paper in mini muffin tins. I did paper towel though in case you were wondering. I didn't think toilet paper was all that hygenic since the toilet paper is stored BESIDE the toilet and my boys can't aim that well all the time.
Anyways it worked so well at propping up the flowers while they dried. Here's a pic -

I made a vanilla buttercream to put between the layers of cake (2 layers) and over the entire cake so that the fondant had something to stick too. And then i layed the main pink fondant over, put the flowers on and voila! oh and i did add some sheer purple ribbon around the bottom.

And it was yum. super yum!

2010-03-20T11:56:00.004+10:00

Recent Projects

Crocheted Necklace - you can find the pattern here. I think it's really cute! And it's so easy.

Memory Wire Bracelet
Earrings - the little blue beads match the ones on the bracelet - i LOVE drop earrings.

2010-03-18T08:23:00.015+10:00

Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding

My dish arrived!!! It came yesterday and i was so excited. I am seriously impressed and in love with the dish. It's HUGE. Alot bigger then i was expecting. I'm going to have some fun cooking in it! It would be really good for a large family or for a potluck dinner.

The recipe had great potential but it didn't turn out as good as i'd hoped. But before i turn you all off lets get going with it and see what we can do to improve it.

Read the recipe here - http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3729/chocolate+hot+cross+bun+and+butter+pudding

The dish - as you can see it fits right across my stovetop!

The ingredients-6 chocolate hot cross buns. (I used regular fruit ones. And i used 8 instead of 6).

-30g unsalted butter

- 125g roughly chopped chocolate. (I used Club 70% cocoa. The darker the better in my opinion.)

- 1 vanilla bean. (I used a 1/2 teaspoon of imitation vanilla.)

- 600ml thin cream

- 600ml thickened cream

- zest of 1 orange. (I used a seville orange)

- 4 eggs

- 170g castor sugar

- 1/4 cup brandy(optional) I used orange juice because i don't consume alcohol.

First up cut your hot cross buns in half and butter one side. Place them in the dish.

Next scatter over roughly chopped chocolate. Taste it just in case the chocolate is poisoned.

Replace the lids.
Next start making the custard. In a bowl put your eggs, sugar and juice.

Mix until just combined.

On the stove in a saucepan put your cream and orange zest. Heat slowly on low heat until it just starts to simmer.

Remove from heat and add the egg mixture. Stir well.

Pour in and around your hot cross buns. mmmmmmm. Then leave them for 30minutes so that they can soak up the custard a bit.

Preheat your oven to 170C.

Place your buns in a large roaster or something else big enough. Fill half way up with boiling water. If you've ever made baked custard then you know what i'm talking about.

Bake for 45 minutes.....or an hour....or however long it takes to cook that custard. Recipe says 45minutes...i found i cooked mine for an hour and it STILL wasn't cooked.

Finshed product! Looks yum huh? It IS yum but the custard is so 'creamy' that it made me feel ill. The actual hot cross bun was divine though. I am not sure why the custard didn't set. I used the exact quantities for the custard. Some was set around the actual buns and a little on top but underneath was just runny like cream. And there was a heap of custard. Maybe it was too much? Maybe half the custard would be better. I'd like to try and make a healthier version of this so that it can be eaten and enjoyed for Easter. If anyone has any suggestions let me know!!!

2010-03-05T15:48:00.007+10:00

Recipe and product Review

I love cooking. I love trying new recipes and making people happy with food. I guess you could say that I ‘love’ with food. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that’s not so good. Not so good for my waistline…or lack thereof. Nevertheless I am excited for Easter. One of the best parts of Easter is Hot Cross Buns. That and the massive amounts of chocolate I am ‘allowed’ to consume because hey, it’s EASTER! And whoever invented chocolate hot cross buns should be given some sort of award.

Thanks to the awesome people at Buyster I get to preview a little something for the kitchen. They don’t just sell kitchen stuff however they sell all sorts of things – Furniture, Home Decor, RUGS! I didn’t even know you could buy rugs online. But you can! Right here - http://www.buysterrugs.com.au

What I am going to be doing is reviewing a baking dish. See it here. Looks awesome. And the recipe I will be attempting is Chocolate Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding. You’ll get to see me make this step by step and hopefully it will taste good! Not that you will be able to taste it. But I’ll tell you all about it. ;) And then maybe you can make one too.

Stay tuned!!

2010-02-09T09:32:00.001+10:00

I've got a shop!

www.madeit.com.au/justjewell

2010-01-02T08:42:00.002+10:00

Jam!

I love homemade jam. I did plum and apricot.

2009-12-27T22:12:00.003+10:00

Well Christmas is over for another year. I love Christmas but i'm always so glad that it's over. I cooked a huge turkey this year and we still have leftovers that we will eat for the next week no doubt. I've already gained 2kgs in the last 2 days. It's a good thing we bought a Wii Fit for Christmas. And speaking of which - who's idea was it? Ethan gets frustrated that he isn't good at the games even though it's the first time he's ever played them and then there is much weeping, wailing and nashing of teeth. I'm very ready to take the stupid game back to the shop! Although it IS pretty fun. :)

And as the year comes to a close i can't help but be pleased with some of my accomplishments this year. If you can call them that. I had 3 things i wanted to do this year - 1. have my baby naturally and without drugs, 2. Get my licence, 3. Get my citizenship. 3 from 3 ain't bad ;) I don't have any goals for next year yet. I need to make some.

2009-11-02T21:55:00.003+10:00

It's probably a good thing Heavenly Father has a sense of humour. Nicholas seems a little self absorbed. His prayer tonight went something like this....

(me helping): Dear Heavenly Father
Nic: Heo Faza
me: Thank thee for this day
Nic: no Nicky do it
me: ok (pause)
Nic: Nicky, Nicky, Nicky
me: *silent laughter*
Nic: Nicky, Nicky, Nicky
me: *not so silent laughter*
me: *composing myself*
me: Please bless all the Nicky's
Nic: Nicky, Nicky, Nicky
me: in the name of Jesus Christ Amen
Nic: AMEN!

Amen indeed.

2009-10-21T12:19:00.006+10:00

Success!

I have successfully made yoghurt!!! wooooo!! Ok so i wasn't putting enough water in the canister but i finally got it figured out and made some delish strawberry yoghurt.

I've also redecorated my lame-o kitchen. New curtains and decor. I found that awesome green vase for $9 at Lifeline. It was MADE for my kitchen.

Before -

After -

Still not quite finished. I need to put this pic in a frame and hang it up above the power plugs there on the left.

2009-10-19T08:25:00.009+10:00

Feeling Crafty

I'm not sure if it's motivated by wanting to save money or just sheer boredom. The first thing i decided to do was make my own baby wipes. Instead of paying almost $5 for 80 wipes i get 180 wipes for just over $5. I searched for a recipe that i already had the ingredients for. No use making my own wipes to save money if i have to go and buy a heap of stuff that i don't usually buy, right? I found this recipe - http://www.essortment.com/all/howtohomemade_rhjg.htm and it's perfect! I added lavender oil and tea tree oil. I read somewhere that tea tree oil helps then keep longer. Who knows really? I just know that it smells good. So i had all the ingredients except for the paper towel. I found Viva paper towel for $3.49 for a 2 pack (120 'wipes') You need a good strong paper towel that won't fall apart once it's wet. I had an old Huggies wipe container which i reused. I unrolled the towel and refolded it back in the container. This takes some time and effort but worth it imo. I also experimented with a cylinder container i bought for $4. Both ways work really well.

Yesterday when i was at church i used some store bought wipes. I didn't like them! I prefer my own wipes. So much nicer. The store ones suddenly felt slimmey and didn't seem to clean as well. I'm sticking to my own from now on.

My next project involved a lamp. I am revamping my bedroom. I wanted it to be more inviting. I got new curtains, new bedding and de-cluttered the room. I needed a new lamp. I went to Target but nothing jumped out at me and said 'buy me'. Then i was cleaning up Lachlan's room and came across an old lamp from when i was a kid.

It's shade was long gone but it stilled worked. I thought maybe i could do something with it. Only problem is that is was pink. Very PINK. And it had no shade. I then happened upon a cane basket at the op shop. PERFECT for the lamp shade. It was $1.

I painted it in a reddish-brown shade and spray painted the pink bottom black. I think it's now perfect for my room!

The rest of my house is going to get a makeover because it's horrible. I need cute lamps for my boys rooms. And my kitchen needs a complete makeover. So stay tuned for that. :)

Also on the 'crunchy' side of things, my mum gave me a Easyio Yoghurt maker. The only thing i've successed in making is sour milk. I've tried it twice and still - curdled sour milk. I'll give it one more go before declaring yoghurt just one of those things i cannot make.

2009-10-07T16:34:00.002+10:00

2009-10-04T21:35:00.002+10:00

Just a catch up...

Just thought i'd catch up whats been going on lately. I have been fairly slack with my blogging.

First up - i have allergies. Sucks. Last year i had 'hay fever' for the whole spring and summer. First time in my life i've ever had allergies! This year, same thing. Except now i've got itchy, gritty eyes aswell as the itchy throat, sneezing and runny nose. Joy. It's like having a cold for 6mths. Graham has it too. So we are both not feeling the best. Tomorrow i'm going to buy some Claritin and drug myself up.

It's been school holidays. We went to Brisbane for the first week. A dust storm blew through while we were there. It was pretty cool...until we came home and discovered i'd left some windows open. There was fine layer of dust over the kitchen and our bedroom...oh and my exercise bike. We had another dust storm a few days later but it wasn't as bad. Yesterday was dusty too. All the dust sure isn't helping with the allergies either! So it was school holidays, we went to my nieces Nija Turtle Birthday party. That was fun. Then we went to Natural Bridge. Unfortunately we didn't see any glow worms. We also when to the Koala place...can't remember the name of it...saw some Koalas and the kids ran around the bush while my sister and i sat and talked and Graham went off to find geocaches. The weather was nice. Sunny and hottish but nice.
We've also been to the movies and we saw UP. Great movie! I really liked it and so did the kids. I love going to the movies and eating popcorn, lollies, m&ms, drinking fizzy. Fun!
On Saturday just gone we went out to the Oakey Amy Flying Museum. That was cool. There were lots of planes and helicopters on display. The boys got to go in one. It was dusty and HOT but good.
Tomorrow we are going on the bus into the city. The boys love the bus so we are going in. I'm sure we'll have to go to Target and then there will be much wailing and nashing of teeth when I try to leave WITHOUT buying toys.

I've also been trying to lose weight. calorieking.com.au is my friend. LOVE IT! I really hate dieting but it's a must right now. I had 17kgs to lose after having Lachlan. I've lost 1.5kgs. lol But i'm sticking to my calories(mostly ;) ) and exercising 6 days a week. Tomorrow is weigh in day. I'm sort of nervous. I want to have lost another .5-1kg this week. I've only gone over my calories ONE day. Pretty good. for me. I'm an emotional eater and i tend to binge. Not my best quality obviously. I love food. I just need to eat less of it.

Graham got another job. Promotion i guess is a better word. He starts at the beginning of November. His new job is Admin 2IC. cool as.

I have to get my licence by the end of the month because i'll need to take over school duties when Graham starts his new job. I need to practice my manouvers and parking. Lots of lessons coming up!! And plus Ethan starts swimming this term. I'd like to be able to go and supervise. At least to start with. I'm very nervous about my boys and water. Ethan has almost drowned twice. I can't let him out of my sight in a pool again.

Nicholas started talking. About TIME!! He turns 3 on the 12th October. And he can finally speak! He went from saying a few words like mum, dad, juice and blabbering noises to constructing a sentance all in about 2 weeks! It was amazing really.

Lachlan is getting big. He was 7.15kgs at his 4mth weigh in. He's SO cute. SO CUTE!!!! He is almost sitting up by himself. He has started eating food too :) I wasnt going to start him until 6mths but he was grabbing everything and looked interested so i tried him on some pureed potato and he loved it! He's 5mths now. He's a pretty good sleeper too. Doesn't seem to be getting any teeth just yet.

Will post some pics tomorrow....i better get my boys to bed!

2009-10-02T21:01:00.005+10:00

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

So i decided to do some sewing. I didn't think there was actually anything that i wanted to make for myself. I found a tutorial for a very cute Very Hungry Caterpillar. So i had to make 2. One for Ethan and one for Nicholas. Aren't they cute?! Ok so mine don't look exactly like they should..but the boys LOVE them and that's all that counts. :)

2009-08-28T21:58:00.004+10:00

My new project. I bought this yarn on Wednesday.

It's 30% corn and 70% acrylic. Who'd of thought of corn, huh? It feels really nice. I thought i'd go for another beret. This one turned out MUCH better. I LOVE it! I will actually wear it...although with the weather these days i probably don't need it. I crocheted it with a 4.5mm hook.

2009-08-25T08:55:00.003+10:00

Lookie what i made. Nothing fancy but I kinda like it.

And one more for good measure. lol

2009-08-19T16:51:00.006+10:00

Fun with fake facial hair

A pirate and Groucho Marx

Hitler or maybe Charlie Chaplin ??

Merv Hughes

2009-08-16T11:18:00.002+10:00

Finally Daddy's boy.

Nicholas never used to really like his daddy. He was super attached to me. Still is. But since he was forced to spend 4 days straight with his daddy while I was in hospital with Lachlan, he discovered that daddy is kinda alright.

2009-08-14T09:25:00.003+10:00

I've finished!!

My new beret. I'm not sure i'm really a beret person but i'll give it a go. It was a great project to work on.

2009-08-12T11:03:00.003+10:00

Here it is! THE beret. I finished it and then had to undo half of it because it was wrong. There doesn't seem to be any decreases in the pattern when there should be. So i'm doing it again.

I LOVE the puff stitch.

2009-08-07T10:02:00.002+10:00

I just found this photo i took of Lachlan a little while ago. Poor kid. Can't escape the trains. lol

2009-08-06T12:10:00.002+10:00

I feel restless. Life is pretty good at the moment i guess but i still feel like there should be more. There should be more to life then housework and cleaning up after kids. More to life then the mundane routine. I read, i knit, i crochet, i sew, i talk to friends but it doesn't seem enough. I don't know why. I have a husband and 3 gorgeous boys. We spend time together and have fun. But it feels like something is missing. What? I don't know. I asked Graham this morning when we are going to Canberra. I need something to look forward to.

Another thing thats getting me down - my MOF board. Why does the actions of one person have to affect the whole group? It makes me so sad. I feel like my friends are slowly disconnecting themselves and it makes me want to do the same. It makes me want to leave. But can i leave my friends who have been there for me for 5 years? If i leave the board will anyone keep in touch with me? Am I a REAL friend? Can i really be friends with people i've never met? But at the same time i need friends. I need people i can talk to about anything and everything. I need the sisterhood that comes with that. I love my 'girls'. Sometimes they are the only thing that makes me do my housework.

2009-08-04T11:34:00.010+10:00

On Saturday we went to Brisbane. I was supposed to go to the Temple but we got lost and by the time we found our way there we were too late. So instead we took some photos up on the Kangaroo Point cliffs. There is a stone gazeebo there that i thought would make a cool background. I've been looking for cool backgrounds now thanks to my friend Misty. :) Here's some pics that i took of Nicholas and Graham. Ethan didn't come with us so he missed out. And i have some new cute pics of Lachlan. He's 3 mths old now and growing up so fast. I may cry.

Brisbane Temple

View of the Brisbane River from the Kangaroo Point cliffs.

Nicholas and Graham

Nicholas and me

Doing what he does best. LOL

Lachlan

2009-07-27T17:11:00.003+10:00

I'm feeling kinda homemakery today. I've stacked wood and made 3 different snacks for Ethan for school - rice bubble bars, brownies and ham and cheese muffins. Which are VERY yummy btw. I almost burnt the brownies. They are a little crispy on top but edible. lol

Lachlan has been so fussy today so i didn't get to cook or clean as much as i wanted too. The poor darling was in so much pain. He's fine now - he's been de-gassed so alls good. I think. He's whingin again. I think he's tired. And it's also time to get dinner cooking. I don't know what to make. I get so stuck for ideas. Seems like we have the same things alot. What i really want today though is something i can just chuck in the oven. I need to find more recipes.

2009-07-25T19:56:00.005+10:00

I finished the leg warmers! I tried them on Nicholas and they look so cute. :) I hope my niece likes them.

Lincraft was having a sale on yarn so i went looking today. I bought some nice yarn to make a really nice coat.

I know this is a crappy pic but it's the white coat that i want to knit. I don't have a long casual coat so this will be good. Considering this is my first real challenge it should be interesting. lol

2009-07-20T17:07:00.003+10:00

So i've ventured into the world of knitting. I've never been that good at it but i've decided that i'm going to knit until i get good at it. I need another hobby. Life is pretty boring and i need some distraction.

So.....my first project. Cute baby legwarmers for my niece. I'm doing this pattern -http://nevernotknitting.blogspot.com/2008/01/legwarmies.html Very cool blog. And i've got serious knitting envy.

And here's my work in progress -

2009-05-07T20:38:00.000+10:00

2009-04-26T11:27:00.002+10:00

Happy Anniversary!!!!

It's my 6th wedding anniversary today. And i'm pretty uninspired as to what to write. lol

2009-04-07T10:08:00.002+10:00

37 weeks and counting.........

My belly needs it's own postcode. :(

So who wants to guess how big this baby will be?? lol

2009-03-31T17:46:00.000+10:00

The baby has turned!!!!!!

That is all :)

2009-03-30T16:49:00.003+10:00

Move baby, MOVE!!!!!!

I'm 36 weeks! YAY! At the end of this week i'm considered full term. I can't tell you how much i love that. This is almost over. But not over without some drama. I went for my 36 week antenatal clinic appointment at the hospital. The Dr was really nice. Checked my last blood test and GCT - all perfect. BP -perfect. Time to feel the tummy. hmmmmmm that feels like a head up there ABOVE my belly button. Sure enough - baby is breech!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Is Nicholas the only one of my children that has read the book and knows how he's supposed to sit in the womb??? If you didn't know, Ethan was a malpositioned baby and i had trouble birthing him. Now a breech baby?! *sigh* So i was given the option of going in to get him turned by the dr (done at 38 weeks) or i could just book in for an elective c section at 39 weeks. A c-section to me is a LAST resort so i opted to have him turned. Tomorrow i go in for an ultrasound to check how big he is (i bet he's gotta be 7lbs already ;) ) and to check fluid levels and some other stuff to see if turning him is a good option. The Dr thought i was the perfect candidate since my placenta is in the back and i've had babies before.....those stretched out muscles are good for something.

So since last wednesday when we found out i've been trying to get this baby to turn on his own. Which means i've spent alot of time with my bum in the air. I've played him music and shined the torch way down low to encourage him to 'come into the light'. Babies apparently like music and light ok, i'm not just weird! Graham and i have both been telling him he needs to move.

So tomorrow is the big day. I HOPE he's turned. He's been moving alot in the last couple of days and things feel different but that could just be wishful thinking on my part.

To be continued....

2009-02-22T22:33:00.003+10:00

Woe is Me

Yeah, i know, i'm a complete whinger. But seriously, other then having the wonderful squishy baby at the end of it, why would anyone choose to be pregnant? And why am i doing this for the third time?? I must be crazy. As you can tell i don't exactly enjoy being pregnant. The 9 mths of sickness, the muscle pain, the constipation (yeah, that was pleasant), the varicose veins, the breathlessness, the dizziness, the restless legs, the insomnia, the exhaustion, the feeling-like-crap-all-day feeling, the backache, the tailbone ache, the sore hips, the swollen feet and last but not least the wonderful feeling that the baby is trying to claw his way out through my cervix.....with an ice pick.

But the good news is that i am 31 weeks today! I am counting down the next 6 weeks because at 37 weeks this baby get his eviction notice. At 37 weeks out comes the evening primrose oil, the clary sage oil, the accupressure and lots of walking and praying. Last time i did the shopping to try and help my contractions along. The check out woman thought i was going to have the baby right there! I had Nicholas the next day so i highly recommend going to Woolies when you need to get some contractions going. I have had both my boys early(39 weeks) so i'm hoping for the same result this time. And they were 9lbs and 9lbs 6.5oz so going overdue SCARES me!

I'm really looking forward to the actual birth. I wish i could have a home birth but Graham won't be in on it. I want to try and go as natural as possible this time...with maybe a little of the happy gas ;) Unfortunately my hospital only has showers so i don't get to have the waterbirth i would like but nevermind.

My boys are really looking forward to seeing the baby too. Ethan has felt the baby kick a few times now and he gets all excited. Nicholas LOVES babies and just wants to hold it now but i keep telling him that he needs to grow a bit bigger. lol I can't wait to see their faces when they come and visit for the first time at the hospital.

We have no idea what we are going to call this little munchkin. Ethan suggested Gate Opener but we have finally convinced him that that really isn't a proper name. I like 2 names but Graham doesn't like them and every other name doesn't seem to fit. I guess we will decide when we see him :)

Well, that's enough rambling for today. I'll leave you with my most recent belly shot. :)

And trust me, it's going to get a hell of a lot bigger! lol

2009-02-17T08:51:00.009+10:00

Time goes so fast! Ethan is 5 today. So 5 years ago, right now, i was in pain. Alot of pain. lol I went into labour at 1.30am on the 17th of February 2004. He was born after a lot of hassel at 6.33pm. I think that was the longest day of my life. I was so glad he was out though, i cried when i saw him for the first time and he had my chin. Unfortunately i didn't get to hold him until the next day because he was in Special Care because they were worried about his breathing and he had a huge lump on his head because he had to be born with help of the vaccum. Even though he was 9lbs, he was so tiny.

It hasn't been an easy 5 years. We had a rough start Ethan and I but i'm so glad he's a part of our family. He can be such a good boy and is always making us laugh. :)

Me 8 mths pregnant. This is the only photo i have of me at the end of my pregnancy.

Ethan and daddy at the hospital

At home

And now some cute pics of him over the last 5 years. :)

Aunty Kiki made this hat :)

Ethan and my dad. This photo is special to me because my dad passed away not long after.

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday - also the day i found out i was pregnant with Nicholas :) I felt really sick but had to pretend not to be. lol

He got a chalk board off my mum.

3rd birthday - we had a bbq in the park

He couldn't decide between a Nemo cake or a train one so i made both! lol

4th Birthday - he had a Pirate Party. He was Captain Feathersword

First day of Prep! 27th January 2009. He was so excited. He's doing really well at school.

January 2009 - Underwater World

5th Birthday

They are just so cute together! I wish they didn't fight so much. lol

2008-12-17T08:54:00.002+10:00

Almost Christmas.....

It's almost Christmas and i'm almost ready for it. I've got Graham and the kids presents all done. Just have to wrap the kids. So then i've just got to buy the food *drool* i'm doing ham. I thought i might forego the turkey this year. They are so expensive! We have the tree up, well 2 of them. lol And all the lights on the house.

I'm 21.5 weeks pregnant now and still sick. It's a serious pain. I don't know why it's lasting this long. I'm guessing i will be sick the whole entire time. It will be a relief to not be pregnant anymore.

2008-10-28T11:44:00.007+10:00

OK so i promised photos of Nicholas's birthday. I can't believe he's 2. He's just so cute. I made a duck cake and Ethan insisted that he wanted a pussy cat cake so i made both. lol Nicholas didn't want me to cut the ducky so we ended up eating the cat on his birthday and the duck the next day...when he wasn't so attached to it. lol

I also turned 14 weeks on Sunday. YAY for the second trimester. I sure hope it's better then the first. Here's a pic -

Those are my new maternity pants - size 12! Those 5kgs i lost came in handy. lol i never would have thought i could fit into a size 12 pair. That makes me happy. I know its dumb but whatever. lol

5 weeks to go until we find out if i'm having a boy or a girl. It's no secret that i want a girl...of course i wanted Nicholas to be a girl but i would't swap him. So while i may cry if it's another boy i'm sure it will work out just fine. :)

2008-10-10T12:42:00.002+10:00

I apologise for my absence. Nothing much happens here and plus i've been sick as a dog. You see i'm pregnant again. Almost 12 weeks. Bring on the second trimester!!! Hyperemesis sucks alot. Big time! It has robbed me of the last 2 months and i'm hoping it will leave sometime soon. Though i am feeling heaps better and am not throwing up all the time now - only twice a day. I can sort of handle that. I've lost 5kgs and i feel pretty horrible still but it will pass...it will pass.

Nicholas is going to be turning 2 on Sunday. I'll post some cute pics of him then. Ethan keeps insisting his birthday is today, he's just excited to give Nicholas his presents. lol

2008-04-26T16:01:00.002+10:00

Happy Anniversary!!!!

It's our 5th wedding anniversary today! :) We were married at 12pm on Saturday 26th April 2003 in the Sydney Australia Temple. It rained a little but thats supposed to be good luck, right? For our reception we had a picnic on the temple grounds with our family and a couple of friends. Alot of changes have taken place since that day. Lots of good stuff and some bad too but i'm glad to be with Graham and hopefully he'll keep me forever and i mean, if it wasn't for him i wouldn't have my 2 beautiful boys. So he's good for something ;)

2008-03-18T12:42:00.014+10:00

OK so i just recently reconnected with a high school friend and i wanted to show her some pics of what i've been doing over the past few years so here are some pics. Enjoy!

Wedding day - 26th April 2003

8 mths pregnant with Ethan. Jan 2004

Ethan born 17th Feb 2004 weighing 9lbs.

Ethan now

October 2006 - 37 weeks pregnant with Nicholas. He was born 2 weeks later. I was HUGE!

Nicholas born 12th October 2006 weighing 9lbs 6.5oz. Very easy birth considering how big he was. lol

Nicholas now - he'll grow some hair eventually. lol

Both boys - Christmas Day 2007

My hair is short now though...it looks something like this

2008-01-26T23:07:00.000+10:00

Scrap happy!

Everyone knows that scrapbooking is of the devil right? First you get lured in because you like your photos to look all pretty. Then you start discovering stores all over town that have cool scrapbooking supplies that you just have to check out and which you inevitably spend hundreds of dollars in. Sucked in i tell you! And don't get me started on the sales! Actually i usually only buy stuff if they are on sale because otherwise they are usually as dear as poison. I've spent a few years scrapbooking now and then. I love making cards and invitations mostly although i have started Ethans scrapbook. Yeah, i've done like 3 or 4 pages. *cough* loser *cough*. The kid is 4 next month and i've only done that much. sheesh, i'm lame.

Anyhow then a friend....who we'll call Kristie...because thats her name, introduced me to digital scrapbooking. Holy addiction Batman! It's so easy - download some templates, download some free kits and whala! scrapbook page!!
Well it does take a bit more effort on my part but it's super fun and addictive. So in the last couple of weeks i've done what it took me a couple of years to do by hand, you know with real paper and stuff. lol I'm in love although i'm guessing that eventually i'm going to run out of free downloads and i'm going to have to pay up.

I think i have to credit the people who i got the downloads from before i go and post them on here, so i'll figure that out and then post them.

2008-01-05T15:29:00.000+10:00

A Happy New Year

Last year was the year from hell. I never thought it would end but it did and i'm glad. We had a great Christmas and a very uneventful New Years. We have a few exciting events planned for this year -

1. Ethans' birthday is next month. He's 4. How did my baby get to be 4??? He's growing up waaaay too fast, he's already acting like a teenager, how am i going to cope when he actually becomes one?!
2. Our 5th wedding anniversary in April - 5 whole years. wow.
3. Our trip to the US in September!!! I'm HUGELY excited about this. HUGELY!!
4. My 30th Birthday in October. Yes, i'm quietly freaking out at the thought of turning 30 but then again so is dh since he won't be married to a young chicky babe anymore. lol I am hoping to have a big party. You are all invited of course ;)

Oh and sometime in the next year i hope to have another baby. I don't know when. I'm not in a hurry really but yeah, sometime soon before i get too old and wrinkly would be nice.

2007-10-12T12:53:00.000+10:00

One years old today!!!!

My stats

Age: 12 months
Weight: 8.8kgs
Heights: 72cm
Hair colour: Blonde
Eye colour: Blue
Complextion: Fair

My favourite activity: Walking, climbing, playing chase, eating, playing in the garden
My least favourite activity: sleeping
My favourite foods: banana, yoghurt, spaghetti bolognase, chicken, potato, chocolate
My least favourite food: olives
My favourite drink: breastmilk and water
Most exciting thing i've done this year: Went to a Brisbane Lions AFL match.
Things i've learned this year: smiling, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, wrapping my mummy and daddy around my little finger.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!!

2007-10-05T21:34:00.000+10:00

I'm baaack!!

I'm sure noone reads my blog anymore and thats fine, i guess. It was always nice to see comments and people stopping by in the early days when i used to blog regularly and i had something to say. I guess there is a season for everything and i think i maybe ready to come back from the dead, so to speak.

Alot has happened since June when i blogged last time. I guess i will just go over the main points of interest....

1. My baby is walking. Nicholas turns 1 later this month and i can't believe it. He's the most gorgeous thing ever, though he gets sick alot. So different from Ethan. They are like night and day.

2. I finally got a wedding ring. It's about time my dh made an honest woman out of me ;)

3. I got 3rd in a photographic competition. For this photo -

I was pretty darn excited i can tell you. I won a $100 store credit, which i bought photo frames with.

4. My garden is growing. I have lettuce, carrots, peas, onions, brussel sprouts, capsicum and a pumpkin growing. I'm so pleased with my efforts and i'm looking forward to harvesting!! oh well, i grew radishes and harvested them but they didn't grow very big. We don't have a lot of water so i think thats the reason.

5. My dh got a promotion. YAY!!!

6. Ethan is completely toilet trained including nights. BIG relief i can tell you(pardon the pun ;)). I am loving not having to buy 2 lots of nappies.

7. It's springtime!!! I love spring. All the flowers are out and the air just smells wonderful. But it's getting hot. Which i don't really like that much.

8. I got my drivers license. Yep, finally at the grand old age of 28 years 11 months. It took me 3 flippin' times to get it though. And i'm not sure how many weird looks i got when i said i wanted to try for my LEARNERS...at least 6 i think. So i'm old, get used to it! I can't drive by myself yet....i have to drive supervised for a year. So dh has a whole year to teach me. Maybe he should take out the life insurance i've been bugging him about.

9. I'm clucky. I don't mind admitting it. Everytime i see a newborn baby i whine to dh that 'i want another baaaabyyyyyyyyy' and then pout. Oh well, next year maybe when i've had a full night sleep and can't remember what morning sickness is like.

10. I've lost heaps of weight this year. Ok so not HEAPS heaps but like 8kg heaps. Still at least 5 or 6 or 7 to go. When i finally do it i'll post my before and after pics so the whole world can see what a huge fatty i was and what a hot babe i am at the end. ;) ahhhh yeah, right. lol

I'll be back to blog more often. When something exciting happens. :)

2007-06-14T10:42:00.000+10:00

Sorry, who would have thought that having 2 kids would take up so much time. I rarely have time for blogging anymore.

2007-04-20T22:23:00.000+10:00

Peek-a-boo!!

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2007-03-30T21:38:00.000+10:00

I feel a little overwhelmed but at the same time relief. We have moved house. Just another rental but a better one. That is the relief. I am so happy with this house. It is nice and pleasant to live in. Since i have to be at home 24/7 i should at least get to live somewhere nice, right? Moving has been a hassel though. Real Estates are the pits. And it looks like we won't get all our bond back because we put holes in the lino when we were moving our ruddy big heavy glass dining table. Stupid thing. We bought a new one and gave the old one to Vinnies. We have had a few hassels with our new place - blocked pipes, running toilet and i can't use the laundry tubs yet...should be fixed soon i hope. Oh yeah.....and the plumber said he couldn't find our house(after waiting for him to come for 2 flippin weeks).....then turned up at 7pm to fix the blocked sewage pipes. That was yesterday after i noticed a horrible smell coming from the vent out the back. ewwwww.

Our house is still a mess but i'm getting to it a bit at a time. Its hard when you have a clingy baby that cries everytime i put him down or leaves his sight. Luckily my mum has been coming over and helping out heaps. She takes the kids and amuses them while i do some work. Still doesn't look like i've done anything at the end of the day....slowly slowly though. I will do it! Eventually. This century. Maybe.

2007-03-07T10:24:00.000+10:00

My babies are growing up

Our video camera just came back from repairs so i was watching our old videos from when Ethan was a baby. Its amazing how much he's grown and changed. I mean he is 3 afterall. lol but it just amazes me. The baby on the screen just doesn't seem to be the same little terror i now have. He was so cute with his little black mullet hair-do and dimples. Thankfully he no longer has a mullet and its no longer black. I do miss those dimples though. Of course he's still as cheeky as hell but sometimes in an annoying 3 year old way instead of a cute baby way. lol

Nicholas is growing up too. He's 5mths old in a few days. 5 MONTHS! wow it just seems like yesterday that i found out i was pregnant. It was actually 1 year ago on the 17th February that i found out i was pregnant. He was both a planned baby and a surprise. I guess i can have my cake and eat it too. He's just the most precious thing ever.

I love my boys so much. I don't know what life would be like without them.

2007-02-10T15:36:00.000+10:00

I hate screaming kids. At the moment i have 2 of them. Ethan is screaming because he's upset with me for putting him in his room and just because he can and Nicholas is upset because he is tired and i want him to go to sleep but he doesn't want to.

Makes me want to crawl in a hole.

2007-01-22T16:15:00.000+10:00

Comet McNaught

My dh took some photos of the comet. This is the pick of the bunch i reckon.

Pentax MZ60, Sigma 28-80 Lens @ 28mm, 4 minutes @ F3.5, Konica 100ASA Film.

If you want to see some more:

http://tinyurl.com/3bdns2

2007-01-11T12:49:00.000+10:00

Because i love my husband and i love his talent i thought i would showcase it a bit. My husband LOVES photography so much so that we just spent over $80 on getting a heap of slide film developed.

Here's some of my faves from over the years......

And some b&w....

More later......

2006-12-27T21:04:00.000+10:00

Christmas is over for another year.....

For some reason in the past few years i haven't looked forward to Christmas. Just seems like the magic was gone and its always so damn hot its hard to enjoy. The only good thing about it was eating as much as i like guilt-free.

But having kids has rekindled the magic just a little for me. Last year i was so excited for Ethan to be able to open his present and actually enjoy it since he was 22mths old. But, he was struck down with tonsilitis just before Christmas and hardly had the strength to stand let alone open his presents. We ended up having to take him back to an after hours dr on Boxing Day just as all our family was arriving for Christmas celebrations at our house. Add that to the heat(about 37C in the house) and you have a pretty crappy Christmas.

This year i wanted it to be different. I was hoping for a cooler temp since we have been having unseasonally cold weather(Victoria actually had a white Christmas!!) and Ethan was showing no signs of being sick. We decided to have Christmas at my sisters place about 1 1/2 hours East of here. We divided up the food and other things to bring amoungst ourselves and planned on having a relaxing day just veging out and eating...as you do. So thats what we did. We got up at 7am and mum came over and we opened pressies. The look on Ethans face as he opened each present was priceless. I'm so glad he wasn't sick and he was able to enjoy it all. The weather was nice and actually I've been wearing winter pjs for the last week or so. lol He loved his 'toss 'pute' or in english that translates to 'Thomas Computer' he got a Thomas and Friends Laptop off daddy. He LOVES it.

He also got a bike and Wiggles helmet. A hobby horse off Granma and a few other Thomas things, oh and a Wiggles sun hat from granma too. He's got spoiled this year. Nicholas got a couple of cute things. But I guess when your 11 weeks old you don't really care. lol

We had bacon and eggs for breakfast then made our way down to my sisters.

IT WAS HOT!!!!!

It was 32C and muggy. I didn't want to get out of the car that was sitting at a nice comfortable 20C. After lunch we decided it was way too hot and went to invade her inlaws. They have a/c and a pool. Score!

So other then the heat it was a good day. Here's some pics -

And these are possums.....just in case you didn't know. Very special christmas possums. Ok so not really, they were outside my sisters house on the power lines. I think they're cute!

2006-12-26T06:33:00.000+10:00

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has and is having a great Christmas. I will have exciting anicdotes and pics to follow later. ;) maybe.... lol

2006-12-21T21:12:00.000+10:00

You know, i knew that artistic talent ran in the family. My dad was an excellent painter, my brother is an excellent sketcher, my uncle paints and has had exhibitions. I used to paint and draw but don't have time anymore....i was kinda OK...the more i did it the better i was...pity I've almost lost my talent. BUT it pleases me to see my son Ethan is displaying the same talent.

At the moment he has a slight obsession with snowmen. I have no idea why but he loves them. he likes to draw them on the chalk board. Here's an example of some of his work - i drew the 2 round circles of the snowman's body he did the rest:

Its nice to see that this snowman is anatomically correct - he has boobs and a belly button and boy bits. No, that's is not a third leg. And if your wondering about that thing floating above his head - that's his hat.
My child is a genius.

2006-12-09T13:56:00.000+10:00

You know i think us Australians are a little crazy. Not crazy-psycho, crazy-weird. Last night we went looking at Christmas lights. There is a funeral home that does a killer display(pardon the pun) every year. Its the best in town i reakon. Other then the gorgeous displays they have free plum pudding with custard, tea and coffee. They also have a sausage sizzle and drinks that you can buy. What a way to rake in the business.....lights AND food. Donations are welcome and all money goes to some suicide prevention fund(which my dh finds funny - can you guess why??lol) Anyhow this year they added something else.....FREE ice cream!!!! You can guarantee i will go anywhere there is free ice cream.

This would generally be a great idea considering we do celebrate Christmas in summer but this year our weather has been weird. So much for global warming - we have been having cold days sprinkled amoungst very hot days. Last night it was cold. It was windy. We had the heater on in our car. We had jackets on!!! Outside temp was 13 degrees celsius. I know, not mega cold but c'mon its summer!!!

We get to the funeral home and make our way to the entrance...its cold, its windy. I was wishing i had a scarf and gloves......we walk pass the ice cream van.....'would you like a free ice cream???' someone asks me......'YES!!!!!' of course i want a free ice cream, its not like its winter or anything. Its summer, of course i want to eat ice cream!!!!!

It was damn good too. Free food tastes so much better then food i've had to pay for, wouldn't you agree???

Here's a pic of me and Ethan in front of the winter display...complete with fake snow. Please excuse the painful look on my face. 12kgs sitting on your legs is difficult when your off balance to start with and i was talking to dh too at the time. lol

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2006-12-06T21:35:00.000+10:00

As i was getting a little bored with my blog i thought some christmas cheer might be nice and i will revamp my entire blog in the new year...maybe when i've got some more time!!!

2006-11-18T16:03:00.000+10:00

Things i've re-learned since becoming a mum second time round...

* sleep is important for controlling my mood
* sleep is something i need
* sleep makes me happy
* i love my bed

That is all.

2006-11-06T14:54:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was Nicholas' blessing day. So I bought him a cute little outfit and some family came over. It was a really nice blessing....of course i cried(how can a mother NOT!?) and he cried through it all too. lol
We planned on some family photos, which i was looking forward to taking. That didn't happen! We came home and had a nice lunch which i had stressed over (yes, on fast sunday but too bad, i was having a luncheon and that was that) we talked and by the time photos were remembered everyone had changed out of there church clothes. damn. So we didn't get any family photos. So these are the only photos i have of Nicholas on his blessing day and in his cute little blessing outfit.

He looks like he has a big nose in this pic...he doesn't really. His cuteness just doesn't come across that well on camera. lol

And a pic of my boys asleep on our bed...just for good measure.

Hopefully we will take some family pics soon!!!

2006-11-02T10:47:00.000+10:00

Things i've learned this week

I'm being a copy cat today - thanks Emily ;)

1. I don't do well without sleep - I knew this was coming, of course i did but seriously can anyone function on 4-5 hours sleep a night?? why aren't babies born with the ability to sleep for 8 hours at night??

2. I also don't do well with having a splitting head ache for 4 freakin days! - enough already, i'm over it. It hurts and i'm cranky.

3. My dh is an idiot - last night he ate a habanero chilli to see how hot it was. It was very hot. Then i had to listen to him complain for the next hour about how hot it was. I could have told him that and i've never even eaten one before. He suggested that that he was being brave or couragous for eating it...ummm no, you were just being stupid.

4. Thompsons Pharmacy Wind Mixture for windy babies is a life saver - This stuff ought to be given to every new mother!! Seriously a miracle cure and the best stuff i have ever used....beats Gripe Water hands down!

5. Turning 28 kinda sucks - my dh lovingly reminded me that i'm no longer in my mid-20's, i'm now in my LATE 20's. In other words - old. I feel old. My birthday was on Halloween btw which is kinda cool...or it would be if we celebrated it more here.

2006-10-26T14:27:00.000+10:00

When your tired...you'll sleep just about anywhere.....

Ethan doesn't always think he needs a nap in the daytime. Actually sometimes he doesn't think he needs one at night either but thats a whole other story. So instead of calling it a 'nap' i tell him he needs to go to his room for a 'rest'. Totally different thing. He goes in there and plays with his toys and if he is tired he will usually go to sleep. I give him an hour and a half of 'rest' time then he can come out. He does the usual crying...fake crying mind you. The 'i'm just going to pretend you've cut out my heart' type crying that doesn't work at all on me. Then he decides, well thats not working so i'll just play...which he does....then he goes into sneeky mode. The 'i'll see if mummy is really watching' mode and tries to sneek out into the living room. At first he'll peak around the corner and i'll see him of course and tell him to go back to his room.....he runs away and then tries again. I ignore him. Then he starts on the army crawl....on his belly trying to sneek into the living room. You see i usually sit at the computer while he is napping and there is the couch between the computer and the door...so he thinks if he gets low enough i can't see him. ahhhh yeah in a perfect world maybe.
Most times i tell him to get back to his room...he looks up in surprise and wonder at how i managed to see him despite his army crawling. He will go back to his room where he either comes out to try again and again until his 1 1/2 hours is up or he will play some more or go to sleep.
Today though....it was just too much for him and this is what i found in the doorway of the living room....

And yes, that is a half naked doll and some black pasta tongs....but also works well as a pillow. No army man would go anywhere without them, right?

2006-10-17T13:44:00.000+10:00

Introducing.......

Nicholas Patrick, born 12th October 2006 at 10.17am. Weighing 4270gms and measuring 55cm long.

2006-09-30T16:56:00.000+10:00

See this little boy...doesn't he just look so innocent? So unassuming? So perfect? Don't let that fool you.

Behind that cutsey smile is a little boy who likes to hit and punch and shout. Ahhh yes, like most 2 1/2 year olds he has a problem with sharing.

My sister and her 4 kids are up visting for 2 weeks. Thankfully they are staying at our mums house and not mine(I would have been insane by now if that was the case) My sisters kids are aged 7, 5, 2 1/2 and 1. The 2 youngest(both girls) are the main issues. You see...well they like to play with things and touch his things and touch his Granma too. Big no-no in Ethans book!! How dare they! But trust me his cousins can give as much as they can take...so my sister and i have spent the last week trying to stop our kids from killing and/or maiming each other. Just 1 week to go. I love having my sister up but Ethan has been on the 'naughty spot' so many times i swear i might just have to make him stay there all day! I can't believe how he acts with them around. It's driving me nuts!!!

Tip for the day : do NOT go looking at display homes with 5 children in tow!

2006-09-21T14:24:00.000+10:00

The Nesting Instinct

What on earth is this thing? Seriously, i don't think i had it with my first son. I can't remember wanting to clean everything...maybe i did have it and just didn't notice. But this time i've noticed. This morning i woke up and did the usual routine - pee, eat, iron dh work clothes, get Ethan installed on either the 'pute or the tv and then collapse while the wooziness takes over me. While in this woozy state this morning i realised that my house was a complete and utter mess and it would be criminal to go off to the hospital to birth my baby with the house in such a state. Even worse would be my dh coming home from the hospital after said birthing to a dirty and messy house!

When your 36 weeks pregnant you will know that it isn't easy to bend down and you get tired easily. I also seem to lose my breath when i bend over aswell, so it's slow progress to do anything. Thankfully my mum rang up this morning and she said she wasn't doing anything today and did she want me to come over. YES!!!!
So we have spend the morning cleaning and de-messing the house. It looks a darn side better, let me tell you!

But you know what perplexes me? I read somewhere that the 'nesting instinct' comes from the male side. Men having a nesting instinct???? WTH??? Ok maybe some men are like that...but seriously, who would have thought that. Its usually the women who are clean freaks.....
My dh for example.......the house can look like a tornado hit it and he wouldn't even notice...there could be dead animals in the house and he wouldn't even notice. I pity my daughter(if i ever have one) because she's not going to get any 'nesting instinct' from her father!

2006-09-13T16:54:00.001+10:00

Confessions of an addict.....

Hi, my name is Andrea and i have a problem. I'm addicted to dying my hair.
My problem started when i was about 14. The lure of dye that only cost $3 was too much for this little black duck. Plus my big sister and future sister-in-law was all into it aswell so hey, you can't fight that.
It started out with temporary dyes. You know, the wash out in 6 washes ones. Then it advanced to much more permanent dyes. My sister also succumed to the dreaded 'streakers cap'. We have a very lovely pic of her posing with it on. Then came the ultimate. Me going completely blonde. I did this stupid thing when i was 16 and in year 12. One day i was a brunette/red head(depending on what i'd done with it lately) and suddenly i was a brassy blonde. Brassy being an understatement considering my sister did it and you know, she was no hairdresser. lol
That lasted until after graduation and i had lovely regrowth for that......i'd show you a pic but they are all downstairs in a box somewhere and then i would have to scan it.....too much hassle right now.
I got sick of the blonde and went back to being a brunette.

When i left home at the age of 19 i was still to set foot into a hair salon and get my hair done properly, though i had ventured to getting it cut by a professional.
Once i had a job and could afford it i went to a salon and had it dyed properly for the first time in my life. It was fabulous! Though the cut and colour did cost me $160 it was worth every penny.
I continued my movie star life style of getting my hair 'done' until i got married. After i had Ethan i decided i needed a pick-me-up and went and had it done. My dh almost had a fit at how much it cost...he didn't realise it costs that much. I have had it done a couple of more times but the guilt is just too much...spending that much on myself and i have yet to find a salon as great as the one i used to go to when i was single. So i have returned to doing it myself and i think i'm actually quite good at it. And it only costs me about $15 for the dye and up to $20 for a cut.

Yesterday i dyed it again. Now its a dark brown and will stay that way until after bubs is born. I am planning on getting it cut too for the warmer weather.
My dh and i actually have a deal. He loses 10kgs and i will go blonde (done professionally of course.....blonde and home jobs just don't go ;) He's supposed to do it by Christmas......yesterday he had to choose a smaller notch in his belt. Guess i'm going to be blonde soon......not that it bothers me......i'll probably be 'dying' to dye my hair again soon.

2006-09-08T23:04:00.000+10:00

We've lost 3 famous Australians this week. Things happen in 3's right? On Monday it was Steve Irwin and Colin Thiele and today Peter Brock. Isn't it weird how you just never expect things like that to happen and yet everyday people are dying. I guess celebrities just seem to be able to live forever and its always a shock.....unless their known druggos or something like that.

I just wanted to touch on and reminisce about my association with Austraila Zoo. Of course i didn't know Steve Irwin, but I have been many many times to the zoo. When i was a kid it was run by his father. We lived only 1 town away from it and would go regularly. Back then it was called The Australian Reptile Park(i think) lol we used to just call it The Reptile Park and it was small and didn't have many vistors. When you went in the front door the small entry area was filled with speciman jars and spiders in those perspect blocks. It was kinda creepy and cool at the same time. The park wasn't very big and there weren't that many animals. I remember the snakes and that there was a big carved wooden crocodile out the front(i believe its the same one they now have inside).
We moved away from the area when i was 12 and sometime after that Steve took over and it became Australia Zoo. We have been twice since it became 'famous'. We first went when i was about 5mths pregnant with Ethan....it was November and it was hot! I think that day i almost passed out. But other then that it was great! Heres a pic of me and a kangaroo:

The next time we went was this year for Ethans 2nd Birthday in February. It was hot(again...please remind me never to go there again anytime from October to March)
Here's Ethan and Dh on a ride:

And Ethan and I taking a tour of the park...Ethans wearing Koala ears. lol

Its a great zoo....but you know what it will be missing now? The excitment that comes with wondering if Steve will be there the day you go.

2006-09-05T13:26:00.000+10:00

Something too cute not to share.....

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2006-08-31T14:22:00.000+10:00

7 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I bet you probably can. lol 9 months seems like such a long time...especially in the first trimester when all you do is puke and sleep and feel like absolute crap. But yep, 7 measley weeks to go. I can't wait! I've finally done some preparation and have almost packed my hospital bag. The hospital booklet says to have it packed by 34 weeks, which is next week. It seems crazy that i could have my baby in as little as 4 weeks, considering 37 weeks is considered full term. I can't wait to have him out and i can't wait to be able to bend over without any pain......actually i would be happy to be just able to bend over ;)

2006-08-12T14:41:00.000+10:00

Dh and i are having a slight dilema. Baby names. As you know we are having a boy. Which is great but we already have a boy so we already used the name we love on him. hmmmm so how do you pick another favourite? Very tough. I'm 30 weeks pregnant so we have had 12 weeks to pick a name and still have 10 week to go. BUT i am having real trouble feeling a bond with this baby. Its weird actually. It feel like it will never happen, like i'm not going to have a baby. I didn't feel like i did when i was pregnant with Ethan. Anyhow i thought that maybe it has a little to do with the fact we haven't named him yet. So last night, we got serious. We wrote down some names we each liked. For the first name we just wanted one we both liked and for the middle name we are using a name from my side of the family and this is what we came up with......please vote which one you like the best!!

Dhs fav first names -

Seamus
Patrick

Dhs fav middle names -

Cyril
Patrick
(yeah you can tell he has thought about this alot, huh? )

My fav first names -

Shamus(just different spelling to dhs)
Nicholas
Erik
Tobias
Silas
Sebastian
Reuben

My fav middle names -

Wentworth
Patrick

I didn't realise it was going to be so hard to choose!!