Goodbye October...

Today we are attending to our own little projects; bird spotting, looking after the chickens, taking photos, resting, reading, eating, playing, painting and a bit of fabric cutting.

See you tomorrow xo

Collections from nature...

What colours, tones, hues and textures do you see in your garden today?

Wishing you a wonderful start to the week. 

 

weekending

 Happy weekending to you. 

moments from our week

little chicks

This morning we set about looking after our little chicks.  Well, it didn't really require that much effort but everyone wanted to be involved. 


putting in new wood shavings for the box



exploring thier surroundings...the weeds come free



somehow I don't think they are listening to their instructions, 'look at mummy'

sprinkled with wood shavings courtesy of little miss flutterby

New arrivals...

Ohhhhh they are sooooooo cute.  We are adpoting these sweet angels for a few weeks.  I must admit I don't know anything about chickens but we are learning together.  Thank you nice man from our local produce store who loaded me up with everything that little chickens need.  What a joy to see my little ones learning and caring for our brand new little guests.  We are still discussing names.  I will keep you posted. 

Here are my other little chickens.  Happy 5 months baby flutterbug!

out and about

A rest stop before more Christmas shopping with friends.

Virtual flowers sent by my friend!

Happy Monday!

weekending...

home-made pizza's

home-made bread

treats from bakery (special delivery)

this moment

A ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. (From: soulemama)

Lovely Beans & Bacon



Yes am not a food stylist just a regular mummy who grabs any plate she can so that is why you see the eyeball of thomas the tank engine staring at you!

This recipe comes from 'Jamie's 30 minute meals' (see reference below).  Its very adaptable for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I made the entire meal last night and these beans were left over.  Today I am having it for lunch on some stone baked light rye sourdough.  This recipe is super fast and super healthy.  You could really add almost any bean you like to the dish and extra greens e.g. spinich would be yum. 

From: Jamie Oliver, 2010, ‘Jamie’s 30 minute meals’, Penguin: London.

jamieoliver.com

Recipe ‘Super-fast beef hash, jacket potatoes, goddess salad, lovely butter beans and bacon’

 Page 212

4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

2 tomatoes

1 x 400g tin butter beans

Red wine vinegar

2 or 3 sprigs of fresh basil

1.       Drizzle olive oil into a frying pan on low heat. 

2.       Finely slice the bacon and add to the pan. 

3.       Toss occasionally once the bacon is golden.

4.       Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the bacon. 

5.       Tip in the butter beans and their juices, and simmer gently to cook the liquid down. 

6.       Add a little extra virgin olive oil.

7.       Add good splash of red wine vinegar, then season. 

8.       Sprinkle over basil leaves.

9.       Serve and enjoy. 

blog note...

Thanks for being patient while I experiment with my blog settings.

Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions.

What would you like to see more of?

xo

funny faces...

I just love these funny faces.  This little one is not camera shy that's for sure.

What's in my lunch box today mummy?

These days there seems to be a lot of 'guidelines' around what kids are allowed to have in their lunch box...no baked biscuits, nuts, cakes, museli bars, pre-packaged foods etc, etc, etc. 

I am lucky that the Daycare my kids attend provides milk and sandwiches for lunch. We are required to bring two pieces of fruit per child to share for morning and afternoon tea.  I know my kids will never go hungry but some days I struggle for ideas on what to include in their lunch box. Yes, I know they don't even go to school yet!

Today they have strawberries, sultanas, seeds (sunflower and pepitas), rice crackers and a little salad (grated carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cubed cheese) on the side.  They also have two tubs of kids size yoghurt. 

Do you have any good lunch box ideas, websites, recipes or tips to share? I would love to hear from you.

Here's a good website I found for more lunch box ideas. 
http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Lunchbox+10.htm

weekending...

The weather has been crazy this week; one minute it's hot and I'm pulling blankets off the beds, the next it's freezing cold and we are wearing jumpers!  This morning we took advantage of the sunshine and visited our local park to ride scooters, play on the swings and feed the ducks, of course.

 I hope you are having a lovely weekend too xo. 

birthday boy

Happy 4th Birthday!

you mean the world to us...all of us

a son, brother, grandson, great-grandson, nephew, cousin, friend
xo

right now i am...

• listening... to the sound of rain
• snipping... and pasting favourite pics from old magazines
• watching...little ones play in the rain



home-made styling...

Who needs home styling magazines when your little ones are proud to give you some of their creations.

library & down time...

It's always nice to visit our local library and every Tuesday I meet up with other mummies for a quick coffee and chat.  This morning I arrived early so I browsed the shelves and picked up some magazines.  The best part about borrowing magazines is that it doesn't damage your wallet.  At the moment I am being drawn to home styling magazines for simple Christmas and holiday decorating ideas.  The only problem is that I have spent the last hour or so on the couch reading, flicking, planning and dreaming.  Oh well it's good to have some down time. 

from the weekend

We had an early birthday celebration over the weekend for our little man.  This little fluterbug wanted a Spiderman party...because 'I'm a big boy now mummy, I'm four'. Of course there was the usual mad pre-party preparations as well as baking, decorating and wrapping presents until late at night.  Each year I try to be more organised yet last minute preparations always mean staying up late but it was worth all the effort.  His acutal birthday is this Friday so I will do a special post then. 

yes..i made the cake so don't look too close

To 5 tips to surviving a four year old's party...

• mix home-made treats with store bought food; hot and cold, savoury and sweet
• find recipes you can make prior to little people and adults arriving
• go to discount stores for colour themed party decorations and things for 'loot' bags
• get husband and kids to blow up balloons and decorate
• above all else, keep it simple and enjoy spending time with family and friends

happy holidays...(3)

Australia Zoo part 2

this is not a sponsored post

 

How did we manage with two toddlers and a baby you may ask?

Well we invited a very good friend of ours to come along because we love her and we wanted to share this special day with her but it also meant we had an extra pair of hands and that really helped; thank you 'CTL'.  We took the pram for baby flutterbug and the stroller so the little people could take turns in the stroller throughout the day. 

Notes for all the mummies out there...

• There were different modes of transport that you could use  to make it easy to get around (some free and some you can hire), however, we chose to walk to each exhibit. 
• There was plenty of space at the viewing platforms to enjoy watching the animals. 
• Remember to take snacks for kids, hats, sunscreen and sunnies for kids, water bottles, wet wipes and camera. 
• It was super clean and tidy throughout the zoo including amenities. 
• Wear comfortable shoes for walking e.g. sneakers/joggers. 

We had an amazing time at Australia Zoo.