An arvo at AAMI, Port vs Carlton

On Saturday arvo, along with forty five thousand others, we made our way to AAMI Stadium in West Lakes, for the last of the AFL home and away matches. 

It was a snap decision earlier in the week to go and see Port Adelaide take on Carlton. It's the first time we'd been to AAMI, and the girls first ever AFL footy match. 

It was packed, the atmosphere was awesome, and the kids were perfect. The only complaint from Izzy was when she couldn't hear my phone from all the noise in the last quarter, she took numerous photos of the back of the head of the man in front of us. Summer slept through most of the last half and woke to chants of 'Power, power, power', and the raucous that comes with a close tussle.

Port dominated up until the last quarter when Carlton came back from nowhere to win by a point. I like to think Kenny (the port coach) told the boys to take it easy in that last quarter, to save themselves for this weekends final against Collingwood. That's my theory for Port losing and I'm sticking by it. 

I heard a Carlton supporter yell out "Carlton are playing like shit, and we're still beating them", keep thinking that sunshine, they let you have it. 

I haven't really followed much of Collingwoods games this season, so I'll will be torn watching this Saturday night. I'm a sucker for going for the underdog, so I think my heart will be with Port. I am a South Australian after all. 

The sun sunk below the members stand during half time, so we got some reprieve after that. Lots of sunscreen before then.

Dad's influence. Throwing undies up into the fan, and watching them fly around the room.
It had us all cackling in the hotel room that morning.

We've been marinading!*

*I was supplied with the four flavours of 'Marinade in a bag' from a PR company for this review, with a voucher for meat. This is my honest and truthful opinion.

Years ago,  the colour of our lounge room walls were a Dulux colour, called Marinade. It was red wine coloured and I loved it. When we built on, I wasn't ready to let go of the colour, it went so well with the space. I couldn't find the colour again and went with a colour called Murray Red. I died in the arse, when a four litre tin came to nearly a hundred bucks. Surely it couldn't have been true, but I was assured it was. Shite!

It was the best colour that went with the other colours in the space, 'WaxWay', a yellow and 'White duck', which is more of a grey!

When did paint become so expensive? I have never been such a princess on colour and price, but suck it up I did. Never looked back, I love our two feature walls in the big expanse that is our lounge/dining/ kid play area.

Recently I was asked to try out McCormicks, Marinade in a Bag. It reminded me of the wall colour in my previous, minute lounge room, and strangely enough, of a box of bladder wine. 

I have many memories of blowing up that bag to get every morsel of wine out. Those were the days. In my old age, I prefer to buy by the bottle. Especially when I have an image to protect, you know the image of wheeling a pram through the bottlo and not seeming like a total alco.

My favourite was the Terayaki flavour, when I got a whiff of this one as I opened the bag, I knew it was gonna be good, and it was. I chopped up some breast chicken into the bag and made kebab skewers. This was the most delicious of the range, but the others were just as awesome.

Izzy loved helping putting the chopped up breast chicken in.

Terayaki chicken skewers were tasty as!
Terayaki for chicken, pork, beef, fish and stir fries

The bags were very convenient, with a zip lock, however the seal was a bit hard to break open initially to get the meat into. Understandably so I suppose, so the marinade would not escape the bag. 

Once you have up to a kilo of meat in the bag, it is easily stored in the bag in the fridge, laid flat or just chucked in the door. 

If you are the kind of person who likes to be organised, it can be loaded with meat on shopping day, and thrown in the freezer for later use as a prepared meal ready to be defrosted for a BBQ or a family meal.

The marinades were very tasty and convenient. The meat is easily transferred onto a roasting dish, grill, BBQ or fry pan. There is some handwashing involved after this process though, depending on how much marinade you want in said roasting dish or grill, I had to get my hand in there and individually get the chops out the bag.

McCormicks Marinade in a Bag, is available to buy at Coles and Foodland supermarkets(RRP $2.99 each).

It is easy to throw in an esky for a BBQ or in the fridge or freezer for an easy tasty meal, using a wide variety of meats.

Chicken wingettes with Honey and Soy, der-licious :)
Honey and Soy marinade perfect on: chicken, pork, fish and stir fries.

Pork chops with Sticky BBQ :)
Sticky BBQ perfect on beef, chicken and pork.

Lamb chops with Red wine and garlic :)
Marinade perfect on beef, lamb and chicken.

Footprints in the sand

I love this poem, I have a copy on my fridge. I am not overly religious, although I was bought up and baptised catholic and all of my schooling was at catholic schools. I absolutely adored the nuns of St Joseph when I was a kid. They taught me so much about being a compassionate and tolerant person. I have my faith, but am over going to church and all that other stuff. I do appreciate my churchy upbringing in that I learned that God is there to turn to when things get rough, someone to listen when I need to talk. Someone to carry me through the hard times.

I found this song while googling Footprints in the sand. The images are confronting, heart breaking, it reminds me just how small my problems are.

It puts the craziness that goes on for Christmas, in perspective. There are so many people in need, so many innocent children suffering. I am overwhelmed.

Butterfly and Peppa Pig Cakes

I've made this cake for both my girls, for their first birthdays. It is really simple, starting with a round cake, making four cuts, slapping on some icing and a few well placed lollies, and done! It gives the illusion that you've just slaved away for hours creating a masterpiece, when really, its the proverbial 'cake walk'. I used my chocolate cake  recipe, omitting the cocoa, adding 5 Tblsps of passionfruit pulp and adding an extra half a cup of flour.

 



Summers cake 2012

I used mini marshmallows on both cakes to outline the wings and a musk stick for the body. When I made the cake for Izzys first I used smarties, Summers was much plainer and smaller, as I concentrated my efforts this year on the peppa pig cake.

Izzys 1st birthday cake, 2010. I used the same candle for Summers this year.

The girls had a joint birthday party this year, being Summers 1st and Izzys 3rd. I made a peppa pig cake for Izzy, which I concentrated my efforts on, it was freaking me out just thinking about it, but it all came together in the end. I used this template for the head and fashioned my own template for the dress.  

Izzys 3rd birthday cake 2012

I made a slab cake using the buttercake recipe and cut the head, ears and dress from the one slab. I cut a few extra ears, just in case! My one hot tip is to have a mug of boiling water to dip the icing knife into, it makes spreading the icing much easier and smoother. Have a tea towel or towelling paper handy to wipe the water off in between. I also had a picture of Peppa on the lap top next to me to use as a reference.

I had a glut of whipped cream, Mum dropped off about 5 litres of the stuff left over from the show kitchen. I used this with enough icing sugar to make it thick and used pillar box red food colouring to make the pink, and red of the dress. The eyes and shoes were done with a tube of black writing icing.

The bases I used were glass chopping boards covered in foil. They make awesome cake boards. 

Buttercake

250g butter, softened

2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 1/2 cup caster sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup milk

 Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Add flour and milk alternately, Stir to combine.

Pour mix into a greased and lined slab tin, mine was about 25 x 32 cm.

Bake at 180°C/160°C fan-forced for 35 - 40 minutes

Not a gardeners arsehole

Nothing scares me more, than when Brett decides he is going to do some 'cutting back' in the garden. It scares me because as much as he thinks he's a gardener, he's not a gardeners arsehole. He's a man, with a motor, with attachments, and he's not afraid to use it. Much to my horror.

After a few beers, he informed me of his plans. I protested. He insisted that it was too overgrown and he couldn't walk through this part of the garden. For ten years, no one walked through that part of the garden, I protested again, it's garden, it's not meant to be walked through.

I'm not sure why doing this part of the garden is so important right now. I reminded him of the other jobs that needed doing, the fly screen on the backdoor. The chicken wire, keeping the kids out of the pond was loose. The ivy is taking over the path in the fern area, that we do walk through. Chopping out the crap weed trees that have come up here and there, from the birds crapping out the seeds. I see jobs that need doing, he sees an opportunity to use his multi attachment pruner, hedger, chainsaw, whipper snipper, and I protested referring to an extension of his dick!

When he had gone out the next morning, I went and inspected the area, because I didn't want him to see me looking at it, maybe giving him an inkling that I thought he might be right.......I think he might be right. I could see where some things could be cut back, just a bit. I could see a nice little area where a bird bath or something could sit, hidden away in a little garden nook.

We agreed that when he finished the little jobs, he could go gung ho and clear out the patch. The idea has grown on me, and he's creating another aspect to our garden, another garden room.

Sometimes I have to give up control, to trust, to let him have ideas and see them through. It's his garden too. Let's face it, since having the girls, I don't have the time to give to the garden that I used to, I should and do appreciate any help that he does give. I haven't mowed the lawns for over three years, something I would have rather done myself before, because I didn't like the slap dash way he did it. I've learned to shut my mouth and get over the missed bits or the gouges where he's had the cutter too low. I just appreciate it done. I appreciate my hubby, even though, I still think he's not a gardeners arsehole. 

Screen fixed!

wire fixed!

before

after

Jobs done!! He made a start on 'his' garden clearing, and I can now see what he envisioned. I am excited and impatient now to put something in there now, to complete the picture. We have put a few fairies in there, for Izzy, and now we just need to find a nice seat to put there. I'd like a nice iron one.

Sipping tea with Rebecca

Angel Face

Izzys' playgroup kindy had a trash n treasure day on Sunday. We headed straight for the face painting as soon as we arrived to avoid the line up. Her only request when asked what she wanted, was purple and princess. Turns out, I should have had a look around first, I missed out on a $5 box full of Toy Story stuff, including a Buzz and Woody. I felt like I had failed my Toy Story lovin' little girl. I had the box in my sights, and moments before I bent down to pick it up, a lovely woman swooped it up in her arms. Feck! Later I felt annoyed with Brett, who should have grabbed it when he was looking around, while I waited at the face painting, bloody idiot. Too busy talking shit with other dads, not a metre from the bargain box. Why does he have to be so useless?!!! 

To photos of a different angel face. The roses are starting to flower, there is beauty emerging everywhere in the garden. I love it! You're gonna see lots of flower photos from me for a while!

Angel Face

This one was taken today a couple days after the first three, the  rose has opened up a  bit

Cold mornings suck right now

Here I sit, having my first coffee of the day, sitting at my computer (this is one of the few times of the day I sit here), freezing my tits off. It sucks. I have become way too accustomed to waking to a preheated house, thanks to the reverse cycle air conditioner. This morning, no thanks to the piece of crap wasting space on the wall, I have gotten up and turned on the little fan heater(kindly provided my mum), to try to at least take the chill off. Yesterday I baked cake, and purposefully roasted a chook for tea to warm the house. Today looks like it's going to be sunny, so the afternoon sun will warm the house.

Izzy licking the cake bowl

I really shouldn't be so harsh, our air conditioner has served us well the last 10 years, well 9. It packed up during the last summer, we had no cooling for 5 weeks through the hottest time of the year. We spent a lot of time at Mums last summer. We built on nearly two years ago and our poor system just couldn't keep up with the extended open plan. By early afternoon our home was a saunatious hot box. It made me miserably cranky, not to mention the kids. 

We really should have replaced it then, but now we are without any heating for the next two weeks. I can't win a trick. Our cash jobbie sparky is busy over the weekend, grand finals and all, and with a week job, he can't put our bigger and better system until the following weekend. Woo hoo! I can't bloody wait it will be nice to be cool as cucumbers this summer. 

When Izzy was born my car had buggered air conditioning, poor mite sweltered. When Summer was born we had no air conditioning in the house, poor mite sweltered. I am looking forward to living luxuriosly in coolness this year, and waking up to warm as toast next winter. I am over having to cope with things stuffing up. But you know if our heating/cooling system is all I have to whinge about, then compared to most, really, I'm one lucky broad. 

Miss Polly had a dolly...

When I had my son, my Gran said "It's looks like she's just playing with one of her dollies". Kids grow up so fast, I will probably be thinking the same thing when my daughters have babies.

You can just call me Polly, because my youngest dolly has been sick, sick, sick...

I have never had a kid with croup before, and that horrid sound of barking had me booking a seat in the doctors clinic lounge. I hate said lounge, I'm not one to frequent it unless I have to. A few days of medi and little Summer was all good. Enter the mystery 'virus'. 

It saw us back in the lounge of old mags, info-ads tv (got me buggered why they think sick people want to watch that crap while waiting for the doctor), old people, mothers, children and phone surfers. I got the answer I thought I would get, go home, give panadol, go to the hospital if she gets worse. I was angry at myself for expecting anything different. But spots, fever and a listless kid had me worried. The doctor, not our usual one, had bulk billed me when I went to pay and I was glad I hadn't wasted money on go home and give her panadol.

It did have me worried.  A few years ago, when 38 weeks preggers with Izzy, I was sent home with Jake, with 'it's just virus'. Six hours later I sobbed and worried, while I sat in a dark plane with him on our way to Adelaide with the Flying Doctor. A terrible experience I wouldn't wish on any mum, thankfully he survived his suspected encephalitis.

I took her to the hospital that night, because she hadn't changed and had a temp of 40. Our usual doctor, the one that had delivered the girls, was on call. Although he sent us home after all the usual checks, I felt more reassured because I trusted his judgement. He is so laid back and easy going, I always feel better after a visit with him.

The poor little mite has been out of action all week. Too tired to lift her head, to smile, to cry even. It consumed every ounce of energy she had.  I took her back to the doctor on the sixth day of having fevers and laying asleep and lifeless. A different doctor again. He seemed concerned so sent me to emergency at a nearby town. She was seen by two more doctors there, again I was sent home. In the time that I'd booked the appointment in the morning and getting to the hospital, she had improved, not so listless and her temp was levelling out.

Sum came good on the seventh day, it was good to see her smiling again and interesting in playing. It still took a few days before she was 100%. She's back to spreading books, toys, and food all over the house again, and I couldn't be happier. It was nice too, that Izzy left Sum alone, while she was sick. I wasn't yelling at her for annoying the bejesus out of her little sister. Soon enough Sum will be getting her own back, and Izzy wont know what hit her.

Expressing and high time for a hair do

So I sit here finally, after putting kids to bed, cleaning up toys, sweeping, mopping and expressing milk. I haven't showered yet, and am just starting my me time for the night. Its 10 pm.

I have just wasted spent the last hour with a hand pump attached to my boobs for almost half a cup of milk. I hate it.  It's the most frustrating, dissappointing and emotion prevoking job I have ever had to undertake as a mother. All for a trip to the hairdresser. Gives me the shits. It's not 'til Wednesday so I have another day of mental torture trying again. 

The last time I went was a year ago, right before I left work, when I was pregnant with Summer. So it is high time I get my time in the chair, a free coffee and some trashy mag reading.

I was there for nearly three hours, so I'm not sure how long it will take this time. My sister in law is kindly looking after both the girls, she's offered to look after them for most of the day, so I can have a day to myself. Sounds good hey! It would probably be a good idea, if I could convince myself that is OK to have some time out and not feel guilty that I am impeding on her time and that it is not an inconvenience for her to spend time with her nieces. That I am allowed to forget I have kids for hours and enjoy it, without feeling I have to rush to pick them up or feel like a nuisance for asking her to look after them.

I am very much looking forward to getting my hair done. Ever get to the stage when you could take a pair of scissors to your own hair because your so sick of it? The thought has crossed my mind the past week!!! So stay tuned for a new photo on my 'about me' page, of my new do.

I make a list every year around tax time, a wish list. I kind of plan of what I will use the money for, a hair cut and colour was on the list as well as a pasta machine. I haven't bought the pasta machine yet, I'd forgotten it was on the list in the back of my diary, until I just looked. I've been to busy hitting the shops for new clothes...and shoes ;P I have a shocking habit of going into shops looking for me and ending up walking out with stuff for the kids.

I am also bad at promising myself, after a trip to the hairdresser, to go back in two months and maintain, I never do.

The Wizard of Oz

Summer loves watching In the Night Garden, she hardly moves the whole half hour. I have it on hard drive, so that comes in very handy too when she needs some distraction and settling down and it's not that time of night(it's usually on at 6:30). Isabel loved it too, but has lost interest now she is older.

We've been watching the Wizard of Oz today, I downloaded it for Isabel, as Jake used to love watching it when he was her age. She really hasn't gotten into sitting and watching whole movies, until I tried her with this one. I think too being a musical, it keeps her interest.

It really is a good kids movie considering it was made in 1939, and even more unbelievable that we enjoy watching it seventy three years later. It's such a classic.

A fact you may not know, is that it's star, Judy Garland, who was 16 when the movie was made, died at the age of 47 in 1969.

Even back then super stars suffered from pressure to look good. She was plagued by her public image(unbelievable that she was touted as an ugly duckling). Even more sad and shocking she tried to take her own life more that once. Like so many amazing and  talented hollywood stars, too many to mention, drugs played a part in her death. 

She is the mother of Liza Minella, fathered by her second husband. Judy had two more children with her third husband. She had five husbands all together, marrying her last just three months before her death.

You can read more of her short and troubled, but amazing life and achievements here. 

There are soooo many great parts of this movie, but I love it when Lion sings his song about courage, when Dorothy sings 'Over the Rainbow', and the lollipop guild munchkins always make me smile. 

Fishy spaghetti and being awesome

This would have to be one of my favourite lunch time meals, mainly for weekends, when Brett is home, and when there is a bit of fish in the freezer. If you don't like fish, you're not going to like this.

I start by sautéing some garlic and onion. When it is soft, add a can of chopped tomatoes, half a cup of water and let simmer for 10 minutes. Depending on how much sauce you need add more water and some pureed tomato (like passata). At the last minute I add the fish (I used coorong mullet) because it doesn't need much cooking time. Serve with cooked pasta.

I have made this with mussels, or some marinara mix (frozen or from the deli). Prawns would be good too. I love how the seafood flavour goes into the sauce.

After lunch, I go see what Brett is doing in the shed. He's cleaning up a bit, and rearranging. He recently bought a cheap runabout to use for work, and moved the caravan into the shed so there's room under the carport for his new second hand car.

Last week he got a computer virus, it wouldn't let him do anything on it. While I was in the shed, I started it in safe mode, system restored it, and put some security on it (the dope hadn't installed it!!!), and scanned it. We sat in the shed with coffees and kids and watched the computer screen. He was very happy, and thankful when I restarted in normal mode and the virus was gone. Even jokingly offering me some "in the sack action" as a reward for fixing his computer..... Errr, no thanks luv. Men!!!

"That's OK dear, it's just another day in the life of being awesome!"

He can now go back to hiding in the shed to surf the net, and play his music. Don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. It does annoy me sometimes when I'm trying to get things done with two witching children and he is hiding. But then it annoys me too, when his bum is parked on my computer chair and I want to use it.

I'm happy to say that I caught him looking at laptops, and admitted he is buying me one for my birthday next month. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!! Tell me how good it is to lie in bed with a laptop, tell me, tell me. 

Mum and Dads chorizos

Got a phone call from Dad, he needed some help to tie the pork sausages up. These are not any ordinary sausages, they are mum and dads spanish chorizos. 

We have grown up with them, my son loves them, Isabel loves them, everybody loves them. The mince is mixed with paprika, garlic, salt and white wine, left overnight and then put into the casings.

Mum was in bed, she didn't get much sleep and had to work later that day, and the chorizos needed tying and hanging up. We were half way through eating our lunch at home when he rang, so we progressed our lunch to dads shed.

After a long working life, Dads hands aren't the best at tying fiddly string, he sections up the sausages and I tie string, lots of string! I really enjoyed spending time with him, he reminisced about doing this with his mother in Spain when he was a kid. Now he has retired we see a lot more of him, and I loved that my girls were there too, participating in a family tradition.

Brett is still on time off work, and he came half way through to help. It took us nearly three hours. They will hang here to dry out a bit, and Dad will put them in the smoke house for a couple of days.

This is a pork leg in salt, a familiar sight from my childhood too, only on a smaller scale. Dad used to have an old bath full of salt in his shed for salting pork. This will end up delicious proscuitto, Mum has some pancetta on the go too.

I brought home one sausage and some loose mince. We were having chicken wings for tea, so I stuffed some of them with the mince. I hung up the lone sausage in the kitchen to dry out and froze the rest. The flavour was amazing with the chicken. I freakin love the taste of this stuff, I wish you could smell it, taste it even, it really is the best!

Do you have favourite food traditions in your family? I'd love to hear about them.