Everything has another use

Princess & the Pea - project update

2011-12-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the final result of my Princess and the Pea gift for my 5 year old niece this Christmas.

In the end I chose a green coloured marble for the pea as I couldn't find any tutorials on making a tiny ball out of cloth.

I'm pleased with the results and I know she will love it!

Make your own compost tumbler

2011-11-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

For a total of $35 I made my own compost tumbler. I spent $15 for the old cherry barrel from the markets and $20 for the castor wheels from Bunnings. I had a panel cut out and a hinge and latch screwed on to act as a door. I also drilled some holes along the top and bottom of the barrel for ventilation. Just a tip, don't make the holes too big or a lot of dirt will come out when you tumble.

The castors where bolted to Josh's old play table that he no longer uses so it was great to recycle it for this project.

Close up shot of one of the castor wheels.

Close up of the latched opening.

Close up of the hinge on the panel.

Tumble away Josh!!

Superhero Cape Tutorial

2011-08-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

Tutorial

You will need 1 metre of polar fleece fabric. If you are lining yours then you will also need enough flannel to fully cover the inside. I had to buy 2 metres of fabric as the flannel was not as wide as the polar fabric.

The following pictures show you how to make and cut your pattern directly onto your fabric (I used paper as a guide to show you).

You will need to draw a semi circle straight onto your fabric, using a pin, a length of string just under ½ the width of your fabric and a fabric marker. My string was 75cm long. Draw a smaller semi circle at the top, the string for this one measured 13.5cm.

Cut out.

Shape the shoulders and level off any inbalances in the hem line ensuring that the centre front (CF) seam lengths match one another.

And shape the neckline.

Your fabric should end up looking like this (curved shoulders and a scooped neckline at the font).

Sew up the shoulders using a very narrow seam.

Sew up the hemline to about 1.5 to 2cm wide. I shortened my lining by 5cm in length and just overlocked the hemline.

Attach the zipper. If you are not using any lining then it will be pretty straight forward. If you are not very confident at sewing then I would recommend skipping the lining altogether, unless you can find someone to show you how to do it.

Attach the neckband. I measured 8cm (which includes 1cm either side for seam allowance) and measured out the length of the neckline. I didn’t make a note of what my one measured out to be. Pin in place and stitch. I hand sewed the inside into position to give a neater finish. Then sewed on some frog closures so that the capes can be worn unzipped and still be held in place at the neck.

For the logos, I just googled the emblems on line and traced them onto paper off my computer screen (my printer is down). I had to enlarge the superman one so I just cut and spread at 2cm intervals along the length and width to get the right size.

Cut these out of felt

and use spray adhesive to position the colours on top of one another.

Then zig zag stitch them together along the seams.

Position these about 8.5cm down from the centre back neckline and spray a little glue to hold it into position against the cape.

Then zigzag the whole thing onto the cape, remembering not to catch the lining!!

Superhero Capes

2011-08-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Jack and Josh are celebrating their 2nd and 3rd birthdays on the 14th August. They share the same birthday just one year apart which I think is very special indeed. This week I whipped up a pair of fleecy superhero capes to give them each their own on the day. I made a Batman one for Jack and a Superman one for Josh. They are super easy to make.

I'll post the tutorial on how to make one up shortly.

Lavender tea

2011-07-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

The lavender plants I planted last year when I started my veggie patch have started to bloom. While I get to work thinking about what to do with all the lovely flowers I decided to make myself a lavender tea. When you don't drink tea or coffee it can be hard finding something nice and warm to drink in the winter time.

I like to make all my infused teas in this cup which I bought in a shop in Berrima over 10 years ago. You can see it's had it's fair share of chips and breaks but I can't bear to throw it out.

I love that it has it's own steeper to put your herbs into, then you pop it's little lid on to keep the volatile oils from escaping with the steam.

Then, when you're ready to drink it, you can pop the steeper onto the upside down turned lid.

Another use for newspaper

2011-07-26T04:02:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been thinking about ways to cut down my time in the kitchen. I have been trying to reduce the number of items I need to wash over the course of any given day. Last week I put my thinking cap on and came up with the idea of using newspaper more in the kitchen. This is what I have been doing.

I have been limiting the amount of times I reach for my chopping board and instead using newspaper as my cutting and meal prep surface.

What I like about this nifty frugal idea is that it keeps my bench top clean, all I have to do after cooking a meal is fold up the newspaper and then store in on the side of the bench until later that day when I head out into the garden and bury it.

I vary the size and thickness of the newspaper "board" depending on what type of work I am doing. If it's messy work I use several layers and open the pages out fully. If I am just making a sandwich then I just need one sheet, then I fold it up into a neat little plate size parcel, containing all the messy crumbs and use it as my plate. When finished I crumple it up and store it along side the other parcels I have waiting to be buried.

I have thought about the possibility of ingesting some of the printing ink that might be absorbed into the food I am eating, but I have decided that the impact is probably too negligible to worry about.

Soccatoos

2011-07-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

It's official.

We have crossed a new frontier.

We have entered the world of kid sports - gulp.

I can now proudly wear the highly coveted badge of the soccer mum LOL

Storing cut fruit

2011-07-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

You know when you cut a small piece off some fruit for your child and then wonder how to store the rest of the fruit without it going off before you get a chance to eat it? Try this idea.

Place the fruit cut side down onto the inside surface of an appropriate sized lid and then place it in the fridge. It will stay fresh for several days and the surface won't go brown as quickly. This piece of apple is 3 days old.

I'm getting married!!

2011-07-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Stephen proposed to me a few weeks ago and of course I said YES!! We picked out the rings today at Angus & Coote during their sales. We got both of them for a grand total of $183.25, couldn't be happier witht that price.

Neither of us want a traditional church wedding so after discussing it we have decided to just have it at the court house. We won't be having any guests, just his sister and my sister as our witnesses. Afterwards we will be going out to dinner and anyone that wants to come along is welcome to.

Sugar free nutella & peanut butter

2011-07-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Since I have stopped eating sugar I have been able to come up with homemade versions of some of my favourite spreads - Nutella and peanut butter!

For nutella I just whizz up some bland tasting nuts, I had macadamias on hand today so I used those, then add 3 tablespoons cacao powder, 1 tablespoon margarine, 1 tablespoon dextrose and some milk to create the right consistency.

For peanut butter I whizzed up a packet of peanuts until it became as fine as I could get it with my blender, then added 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinch of cayenne pepper and a pinch of vegetable salt. I whizzed it up again for a couple of minutes.

Neither of these versions will look as smooth, nor taste as sweet as the commercial ones, BUT that's the whole point. To me they taste divine.

Make your own (edible) paint

2011-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a really easy way to make paint for you child, without having to worry about them eating it!

1. Take a few tablespoons of powdered milk.
2. Add in a small amount of water and mix. You're looking for a consistency somewhat like paint, so keep it on the thick side. Add more water or milk as needed.
3. Transfer it into individual paint containers.
4. Put a few drops of different coloured food grade food colouring into each container and mix it in. If you don't want to use this type of colouring then you would need to explore using natural colouring from foods such as beetroot, boiled egg shells etc.

Joshua loves to paint in the bath, he also enjoys eating it as well which is fine by me. Once he finishes with it he dumps the whole lot into the bath and he ends up with lovely, soft skin when he finally climbs out (milk is a natural skin softener - didn't Cleopatra have milk baths?)

Princess and the pea - project update

2011-07-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well I'm just about finished with the project. I did decide to repaint the bed in gold paint after all and it looks much better. All that's left to do now is get the princess finalised, make a pea and then find a copy of the book.

Polar fleece pants

2011-06-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

I made these polar fleece pants for Josh using the New Conceptions pattern.

I've been using this particular pattern to make pants for him since he was 4 months old as it has been cut to fit babies and children in cloth nappies. Although I do admit to modifying the pattern each time I make him a pair of pants to achieve the final look I am after.

These pants double as nightime soakers and daytime winter outdoor play gear.

Princess and the Pea - project update

2011-06-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here is where I am at with the Princess and the Pea gift set I am making for my niece Elisa who will be turning 5 in November. I am still undecided as to the final look of the gold colour that I am after. I might just have to go and hunt down some gold paint. The mattresses have been stuffed with 5 layers of polar fleece, stitched together so they don't move around and to make it easier to insert into the fabric pockets.

Scooter boy

2011-06-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

I captured Joshua's first attempts at riding a scooter today. Not bad for a first day! This was given to us by our lovely neighbour whose daughter had grown out of it.

Josh is at the transition stage for dropping his daytime nap (can you see my sad face) so I now just put him in his room at midday with some toys and books for an hours quiet time. I let him know that he can play or go to sleep if he feels tired but he doesn't have to and I will come and get him when time is up. He alternates days where he sleeps and days where he just plays. Today was one of the play days. He was desperate to be let out (he has a gate at his door) and when I opened his gate he bolted straight to the scooter for some more fun LOL! I couldn't sleep either if I had just been given a set of wheels.

Paper boats

2011-06-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

We had fun today playing with these colourful paper boats I made for Joshua. They are super easy to make and you can find the short tutorial on how to make them here.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/879140/how_to_make_a_paper_boat/

2011-06-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

As yesterdays test batch of teddy bear biscuits was a success I made up a half batch of the recipe this morning making enough to last us a week. This time I varied the look by using a different cutter and adding some sprikles to make eyes and noses. Very cute!

Having fun with long pants

2011-06-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

Joshua loves his new thermal pants. But he especially loves it when I don't fold up the legs so they dangle down past his feet, reminding me of Thing 1 and Thing 2 in Dr Seuss books. That way he can run around the loungroom slipping and sliding like a mad man....

Make your own tiny teddy biscuits

2011-06-05T22:46:00.001-07:00

When I did my monthly grocery shopping yesterday I was almost tempted to buy a packet of Tiny Teddy biscuits for Joshua as I never buy him anything like that. Luckily I stopped myself in time with a firm resolve that I could make something much better. I came up with this recipe and made a batch up as a trial and they were all gobbled up by the end of the afternoon. Now, I'm not the best of bakers and Josh usually rejects what I make, especially muffins, but he loved these so much he refused to share too many of them with me LOL. Looks like I have another family favourite to add to my recipe book. This is a very large batch so you can either make up the whole lot and then freeze into portions and stagger the baking so you always have a fresh batch to eat or you can half or quarter the amounts.

Recipe
500g salt reduced margarine
250g sugar
750g wholemeal self rasing flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the margarine and sugar first then add the flour and vanilla.
Dump it onto a piece of baking paper and kneed until it comes together. Leave it on the bench for 30min so that it forms a more manageable dough.

At this point you have 3 ways to work with it.
1. Roll into balls and drop them onto your lined baking tray and flatten them out.
2. Roll into a 3cm wide log and slice them into rounds.
3. Place between two slices of baking paper and roll out and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.

I rolled mine out and used a teddy bear cookie cutter to get the shapes. This biscuit doesn't spread very much when it is baked so you can place your biscuits fairly close together. Cook in a 170degC oven for 20min, then remove and allow to cool.

To make the chocolate cream binder I used equal parts peanut butter and chocolate syrup (I made this myself and will post the recipe shortly). You could just use Nutella or some cream cheese and honey, whatever takes your fancy..... Spread some onto one side of your biscuits then press another one on to make a sandwich.

Storing plastic bags

2011-05-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

We have an overflow of plastic shopping bags at the moment. This is probably because we don't generate as much household rubbish as we used to. Stephen's preferred method of storing them is to simply shove them under the sink but I'm much too organised to let them sit there like that. I like to fold them neatly so that they take up minimal room and keep them sitting in a container.

Lay your shopping bag completely flat and expel any air from it by running your hand over it.

Fold it in half lengthwise and continue to push the air out.

Fold it in half again so that you have a long and narrow piece like this.

Fold up the bottom end so that you have a triangular shape.

Fold again along the horizontal edge.

Continue folding until you get to the top, leaving the handles untouched.

Fold down the handles.

And tuck them neatly inside the little pocket that should have formed at the front.

You will end up with a neat little package.

Store them together in a container. I counted 18 shopping bags in there.

Woollen thermal pants

2011-05-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

When Joshua was little I made lots of leggings for him from old woollen jumpers. They were easy to make as I only needed the sleeves which I sewed together at the cut off seams and then just finished off with an elasticised casing for a waist. Now he is bigger this method is no longer appropriate as he needs a lot more room across his hips.

I had this 100% Australian Merno wool jumper sitting in my stash that I bought last time we were in Newtown for $3 from Vinnes that was perfect to make him a new pair. I purposely made them larger so that they should last him hopefully until he starts school - his hem is rolled up 3 times in these pictures and there is plenty of growing into room yet they still fit well now without sagging too much. The following is the method I came up with to create them. If you have basic sewing skills you will find it pretty easy.

Step 1.
Cut the sleeves off your jumper. In order to increase the depth of the crotch cut off two pieces of fabric the width of the top of your sleeves from the centre front piece of the jumper, which you can fold in half to make it quicker to cut out. I made the length about 15cm. Overlock these to the top of each sleeve.

Step 2
Fold the sleeves in half and lay a large piece of paper underneath. To maintain some accuracy line up the longer ends of the sleeves against a straight line (I used the side of the table and measured off against this to line up the other sleeve).

Step 3
Trace off around the inside of the two pieces. Remove the sleeves and draw in the lines more accurately using a square ruler to ensure that all edges are at 90deg.

Step 4
Cut two pieces out using the above pattern adding some seam allowance around the outside. I lined up the waist end to the hem of the jumper to get a neater finish to the final garment.

Step 5
Pin the triangle shaped fabric pieces to your sleeves and then overlock them together. Leave the last few centremetres at the crotch open and finish this section off by overlocking straight across and down the side seams of each sleeve for a few centrmetres. This will remove the pointy end of the triangle off giving a neater finish to your garment.

Step 6
Turn down the waist to make a casing and insert your elastic.

And you're done!!

Handmade pesto

2011-05-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

I made this delicious batch of pesto today with some basil I have growing in my garden. I chopped up all the ingredients by hand using nothing but a sharp knife and chopping board. Yes, it took me 10min of concentrated effort but I wanted a rustic result. Pesto is an old recipe anyway and all the nonas from previous generations were making it well before the invention of blenders and food processors.

Recipe
A large bunch of basil
2 handfuls of nuts of your choice - I used macadamias today
2 large handfuls of parmesan
1 clove of garlic
some salt and olive oil to taste

Chop all the ingredients up individualy and transfer into a container as you go so as not to overcrowd your board. Mix well and drizzle in as much oil as you would like.

Recycled Headbands

2011-05-26T23:34:00.000-07:00

When I exercise I wear a headband to keep my hair back and off my face. I've been using the same little number for months now and have to wash it constantly.

Today when I was taking up some yoga pants it suddenly dawned on me that I could use the cut off hems and recycle them into some much needed headbands! So that is exactly what I did.

I overlocked all the cut off edges with black thread - I'm too lazy when it comes to overlocking and changing thread colours. My overlocker is quite old and temperamental so I try to avoid upsetting it with too much poking and prodding. No one but me is going to see the results anyway. The other ends already had the hems in place so I didn't need to touch those.

I then folded over the overlocked edges and sewed into place with a straight stitch. Now I have 5 new headbands waiting to be used ( I would have had 6 as I took up 3 pairs of pants but I lost one to the overlock monster muahahaaa)

Kite flying on a windy day

2011-05-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

It's a windy day here today and too cold to be venturing far from home. I've been waiting for a day like today to appear so that Joshua and I could have fun doing this!

To make your own kite simply tie a long length of string appropriate to your child's age to the handles of a plastic shopping bag. Then go outside and have some old fashioned fun and laughter.

Chocolate custard

2011-05-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

This custard is so yummy and not very sweet as it only has a small amount of sugar in it. To make it you will need:

INGREDIENTS
1 egg (or egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
1/2 cup milk powder
2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
18g powdered cacao

In a medium size pot.......
1. Dissolve the cornflour in a small amount of water.
2. Add the egg and sugar and stir briskly to combine.
3. Add the milk powder and stir in.
4. Pour in the hot water.
5. Dissolve the cacao in a little hot water so it doesn't clump and add to the pot.
6. Add the vanilla.
7. If you have been unlucky and it has formed clumps then just whiz them out with a stick blender.

****optional****I like to add 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cardamon

Slowly bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Once boiling stir for a couple of minutes. Pour into a container, scatter some favourite biscuits on top and leave to cool. Joshua likes Tiny Teddies so I use these. As the custard gets eaten you can always scatter some more over the top. The first layer of bikkies will go soggy but as these are chocolate they will just add to the yumminess.

Clothes shopping & Wardrobe planning strategy

2011-05-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you how I manage the clothes shopping for my family.

WARDROBE BASICS
I have a little photo album book that stays permanently in my handbag. In it I have slipped in some paint sample cards that I picked up from bunnings, colour co-ordinated by person and season. On each one I have written down a capsule wardrobe for each person in our house PER SEASON. So I have 4, hubby has 4 and our DS3 has 2 (just Winter/Summer for him).

When I go out shopping and buy something I simply cross it off the list so I never duplicate buy.

I also have a monthly calendar which lists the regular sales that occur throughout the year so I know when to re-assess our wardrobes and go to the sales!!!

As my son is still young and growing I have another list that has the years on one side and 2 columns titled Winter & Summer. Underneath each column is the clothes size and shoe size he will need for that year. I need to do this as I tend to forget what size he will need as I always buy his clothes during the sales for the following year. For example, right now I am building his wardrobe for next Autumn/Winter and am not buying anything for him to wear now.

STYLE FILE
I've also started a "Style File" folder to keep track of all my outfits. This is just a large photo album in which I have placed pictures of outfits I wear on any given day. When I can't decide what to wear I just flick through the file and choose something that I have previously worn which means I don't waste time trying to come up with another oufit from scratch. I haven't gotten around to adding Stephen's or Joshuas outfits yet but I'm working on that.

By keeping these two books and keeping tabs on what really gets worn every season I have been able to wittle down our wardrobe to some basics so all our clothes co-ordinate together and our wardrobes are no longer full.

Gymboss Workout Timer

2011-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased this great little tool from the US to help me when I do my High Intensity Interval workouts. It's basically a timer that you can program to beep at set intevals which allows you to work out for a set period of time and rest for a set period of time. I bought the basic model that allows you to set 2 times. If you like to do circuit training then I would recommend you get this gadget if you don't already own a timer of some sort.

http://www.gymboss.com/?src=IAP

Make your own face exfoliator

2011-04-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a really simple and cheap ingredient that you can use to use make up your own face exfoliation scrub. Sugar or salt!

When washing your face in the shower, add a small amount of either sugar or salt to your face wash and then rub all over your face. I also like to rub my chest and whole neck, both front, sides and back as well as part of my shoulders. Keep on rubbing until the granules disappear and then wash off the remaining soap. Your face will feel sqeakly clean.

Make this part of your weekly skin care routine, especially now we are heading for the cooler months of the year, and you will have clean, fresh and glowing skin ready to apply some simple and quick make up to.

How to store greens in the fridge

2011-04-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

With the price of vegetables so expensive these days it's worth trying to keep whatever you buy as fresh as possible for as long as possible whilst stored in the fridge. I've tried various methods but this one that I'm about to tell you about is really effective. By using it I've managed to keep my veggies fresh for the whole month long and have had a few that suprisingly lasted a couple of months -like raddishes. It is really simple to do although it can get a bit tedious to maintain, but I think it is worth all the effort.

Method
To start
Wash and meticoulously dry your veggies - I store baby spinach, cos lettuce, spring onion, raddishes and herbs.
Wrap them separately in a piece of cotton cloth of some sort. This can be muslin or even your cotton tea towels - I use both.

Now place the whole thing in a giant zip-lock bag and close it up WITHOUT expelling any air out.

You will know if you have done it correctly because if you squeeze the bag with your hands it remains puffy like a balloon.

To maintain
Each time you use an item check how moist the cloth feels. If it feels damp then remove it and replace it with a fresh one and re-wrap the vegetable. Then, give the inside of the zip-lock bag a wipe with a tea towel to remove any condensation. Place the wrapped produce back inside and re-seal the bag.

If you are getting really annoyed at the amount of stuff you are throwing out because it is going off before you can get through it all then try this method - it really works. The lettuce in this picture is now 1 month old and still usable!!!

Make your own fabric softener

2011-04-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've been using vinegar around the house for a few years now. Every month I would buy 2 litres, water it down to make 4 and then leave in the sun to "set". Recently, I came across another way to make it last even longer as a fabric softener. Normally I use between 1/2 cup to 1 cup to rinse clothes or Josh's cloth nappies. With this new recipe I have been able to reduce my usage so my 4 litres will now last quite a while!!

In an empty 2 litre vinegar bottle add

2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons eucalyptus oil
2 tablespoons cheap hair conditioner

Top up with water to fill the bottle then shake to mix. Use anywhere from 1/2cup to 1 cup depending on what you have washed. I tend to use 1 cup for cloth nappies, cleaning rags, kitchen towels, linens and white clothes.

Family Photos

2011-04-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

Here we were in 2009.

And here we are in 2011.

My Yoga Teacher

2011-04-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was watching an online training video yesterday and I was immediately drawn to the trainer and his approach to fitness.

http://www.worldofdiets.com/craig-ballantyne/

I realised this was because he reminded me of one of the key yoga teachers who taught me when I did my teacher training at Nature Care College in 2006. They both have a similar training history and approach to fitness. His teachings still have an effect on me today so I dedicded to see if I could find him online and I found out he has started his own school in Sydney!

http://www.byronyoga.com/path-healing-mark-breadner-s-story

Getting kids to eat carrots

2011-04-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

If you are having trouble getting your little darlings to eat their carrots try this trick.

Take a carrot, wash and peel it.

Cut it into thirds.

Cut little triangles out of the sides with a small knife.

Cut into slices.

Beautiful orange flowers for girls or orange stars for boys!! I recently tried this out on Joshua, who has just started going off his vegetables (grrr.... I thought I was in the clear), with success. Next, I am going to tackle peas and corn. On goes the mummy thinking cap :)

Blog new look

2011-04-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

Finally, I was able to find some time today to figure out how to change the look of my blog. It took me over an hour to do and I still would like to fiddle with it a bit more. I'd like to add some personal touches to it but for now I think it looks ok. What do you guys think - is it still visually easy on the eyes?

Girls night out

2011-04-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

My mother's group friends and I had a lovely night out for dinner last Friday evening. We usually go to the Crown Hotel as we like the atmoshpere and food. This photo was taken just as all our meals came out and we were all ready to dig in. I normally like to order the same meal when I go out to dinner so at this restaurant that meant the Nepalese Chicken - very rich and spicy. I'm a big lover of exotic foods and always go for the funkiest dish on the menu.

Muesli bars (butter, sugar and oil free)

2011-04-05T21:06:00.001-07:00

I love muelsi bars but I hate the commercial ones as they are full of SO much sugar and bad oil. I like to make my own but most of the recipes I have come across have butter in them, which I don't eat. That's why when I came across this healthy baby recipe on a website when Josh was still very little I couldn't believe my luck.

I make these delicious muesli bars with slight variations for both Joshua and myself. They are chewy and not hard with just enough sweetness without making you feel sick afterwards which is perfect for small children. First, here is the original recipe:

Muesli Bars (makes aprroximately 10)

Step 1
In a food processor grind up the following then transfer to a larger bowl
1/3cup hazelnuts (50g)
2/3cup oats (70g)
2tablespoons sunflower seeds (25g)
2tablespoons pumpkin seeds (30g)

Step 2
In the same processor puree the following then add to the bowl above
3/4cups raisins (100g)
1 heaped cup dried apricots (140g)
4tablespoons apple or orange juice

Step 3
Mix together with a spoon then, with wet hands, continue to mix together till well combined

Step 4
Line a container of your choice with baking paper and place the mixture on top. Spread it out using your fingers and knuckles then cover with a layer of paper and continue to press till your desired thickness. At this point I pull the whole thing out and wrap tightly and continue to shape till the block is an even thickness all around.

Step 5
Cut into desired portions and return to the baking paper and place into a container stored in the fridge.

My version(makes 8-10 bars)

Step 1
Grind up 3/4 cups each of almonds and macadamias

Step 2
Chop up 1 level cup each of pitted dates and sultanas then combine with the above

Step 3
Add 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
Mix with wet hands,shape and cut as per the original recipe into pieces

Step 4

Roll each bar in some desicated coconut (They look like lamingtons - YUM!!)

Step 5

Drizzle with melted 70% dark chocolate

Keep stored in the fridge

Joshuas version (makes 10 bars)

Step 1
25g macadamias
25g almonds
70g oats
25g sunflower seeds
30g pumpkin seeds

Step 2
Puree
50g pitted dates
50g sultanas
140g dried apricots
2tablespoons apple puree (made from kept apple cores)
2tablespoons water
2tablespoons desicated coconut

Step 3
Mix with wet hands, and follow the above shaping procedure

Step 4
Drizzle with melted dark chocolate

Step 5

Cut into individual portions before cooling in the fridge.

**NOTE** As little hands, faces and clothes can get covered in chocolate quite easily, you might consider further cutting the bars into bite sized pieces so that they have to popped into a mouth rather than being held in a hand for too long!!

**TIP** An easy way to drizzle melted chocolate is to break up the chocolate into small squares then pop into into a zip lock bag. Microwave in 30sec increments till melted then cut a tiny snip off one corner and drizzlie it onto the bars.

Glue an ice brick to a lunchbox lid

2011-04-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

If you are sending your child off to daycare or preschool with a lunchbox and the icebrick is not finding its way back home at the end of the day try glueing one that fits to the inside of the lid!

I'm still here....only just!

2011-03-27T16:30:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

You may have noticed my recent lack of posting lately. I decided I was spending way too much time on the computer and not enough time with Joshua or getting ahead on other projects. I've been reassessing my goals again and planning a new schedule to tackle the year ahead as I felt the old one had become outdated now Josh is almost a preschooler and about to leave his toddler years behing (tear).

The sabatical has been great and I will get back to posting again shortly. I might intoduce some different topics, depending on what is happening in our lives.

Yesterday we battled the rain to drive to Newtown to take some photos for Stephen's mum. He spent his childhood there which is one reason we go there alot these days and spend an afternoon there. We took Josh to the park that Stephen used to play in.

We will be having our family portrait taken at Pixi Photos in a couple of weeks to update the last one we took in 2008 when Josh was still only crawling. I will post the old one and the new one here. I am also looking forward to a nice girls night out with my mother's group on the 1st April. Most of the mums in the group work either full or part-time making it really hard to catch up. That's why I always make sure I make time for them. I don't have many friends at the moment and I find it really comforting that the friends that I do have are going through the same life stage as myself.

Homeschooling teaching resources

2011-03-03T21:07:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of the teaching resources I will be using to homeschool Joshua through pre-school.

Felt board
I made this using foam board that I bought from Office Works, some felt from Spotlight and some pins that I already had in my office. This will be our primary reading board to use along with reading our favourite books and to learn about sequencing. We will be using it to learn about numbers, patterns and one to one correspondence. To play matching and memory games and just to goof around on in general.

Glove puppet
I glued some velcro dots onto the finger tips of an old glove I had that was passed its used by date which will be used to hold pictures up. We will use this to learn about shapes, size etc.

Magnetic board
This will be used to work with magnetic letters and numbers and also to write on.

As I develop the teaching materials that go along with these resources I will post about them here.

Free Thomas the Tank Engine DVD

2011-02-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

As Josh is now really into Thomas the Tank Engine I thought it was time to make a DVD for him. This didn't cost me a cent to make and this is what I did.

1. For a few weeks I had Stephen tape all the Thomas episodes on ABC2
2. He then edited out the unwanted stuff at both the beginning and end of each recorded episode (he has a special player that can do this, I wouldn't know how to do it myself)
3. He transferred them all onto a blank DVD (from his collection)
4. He gave me a blank DVD cover (also from his stash)
5. I cut up a free Thomas colouring in booklet that I sent away for through City Rail which I had kept aside waiting to be needed and slipped it into the cover

Here it is!

Homeschooling a toddler/preschooler

2011-02-25T15:05:00.001-08:00

Being new to the world of homeschooling I have been following a few different homeschooling blogs and over the last couple of months have come up with a schedule that I have been using. I would like to homeschool Joshua throughout his toddler and pre-school years. I don't want to send him to pre-school as there is no rebate for the payments I will be paying to the centre. I will continue to send him the one day to childcare, they are fabulous there with their program, and I will homeschool him until kindy.

This program is based around my own weekly schedule and I have drawn it up to run along side it. Be aware that I overplan the days slightly as I have a better chance of finding something Josh would be interested in doing and I don't actually do all the listed activities all at once. It is fairly loose though, so if needed I can swap the activites around to suit.

HOMESCHOOLING SCHEDULE

The following are activites that we do regularly:
- Playgroup
- Play dates
- Develop independance (toys away, clothes in hamper, sweep & wipe spills, pour
drinks, set table, cut fruit, cook toast and butter, handle lunchboxes, dress)
- Personal hygiene (brush teeth, use toilet, wash hands, wipe nose)
- Read daily to learn to sit still
- Everyday learning opportunities (shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry,
washing, tidying etc)
- Creative play (paint, draw, playdough, paste, cut)
- Outside play (backyard, park, ride tricycle, bike ride with mum, totem tenis,
kick/throw ball etc)
- Library - toddler reading sessions (to develop a love for reading)
- Spend time without me (mums on Tuesday,Daycare on Friday, dad on Saturdays)

OPENING ROUTINE WE DO DAILY

1. Check the weather and talk about it (what colour is the sky today, is it windy,
sunny etc and be like these elements)
2. "Today is..." I will be making a velcro calendar for this to learn the days
of the week with a song
3. Sing songs
- Interactive (wheels on the bus, if your happy and you know it, hokey pokey etc)
- Finger play (5 cheeky monkyes, itsy bitsy spider etc)
- Theme (a song based around the theme of the week which will be introduced via
a book)
4. Yoga with mum (enjoyed by both of us equally)
5. Quieten down now and read a few books. Start off with some favourites then
introduce the story book for the week.
6. Do an activity or craft (includes ABC's, shapes, colours)
7. Goof around with some games.

WEEKLY TIMETABLE

Wednesday
Introduce the story
Days Theme ABC'S

PHONICS
- Learn our ABC's (Leap Frog Learning Factory DVD is a favourite)

SOCIAL
- eg name things in the house
- Playgroup or playdate
- Visit the Library for a toddler session

PERSONAL CARE
- eg dress self

Thursday
Practical application of the story
Days theme OPEN
We spend the whole day at home and get things done around the house.

MUSIC
- making and playing with instruments
- dancing
- exloring sounds (soft, loud etc)
- humming, singing
- learning rhythm

MANNERS AND HELPING
- pick up toys etc
- please, thank you, excuse me, yes, no etc
- My cleaing day so teaching Josh about chores

GARDENING
- day spent gardening with mum

Friday
Tot trays
Days theme DAY CARE

Monday
Craft centred around the weeks theme
Days theme NUMBERS

MATHS
- use the book "Helping your child learn number skills" as a guide
- big and small
- learning numbers (1-3) then (4-5) then (6-10) then up to 20
- sorting
- sequencing etc

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- Park
- Indoor or outdoor games

FIELD TRIP/OUTING
- feed ducks
- train,bus ride
- pools, beach
- kids shows etc

Tuesday
Read the weeks story with the craft activity made yesterday
Days theme SHAPES AND COLOURS
Morning with mum as I do my grocery shopping.

READINESS
- sit quietly
- follow directions
- cross road etc

SCIENCE
- God made everything
- name animals and make sounds (farm, domestic, wild)
- name outside objects
- name household rooms and objects

COOKING-
day spent cooking with mum as it is my cooking/baking day

Felt and wool play board

2011-02-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

I found this piece of felt covered board in Stephen's stash in the garage.

Initially I thought of using it as the base for the bed in the Princess and the Pea play set I am currently working on. Then I decided it was too big and came up with this idea instead.

Management Centre

2011-02-14T02:02:00.000-08:00

Ok I must confess that the idea of a home management centre is not new to me. It's just that since Joshua started walking last year I had to pack it all away and shift it to different parts of the house which meant I slowly started to become disorganised again.

After reading a post on An Organised Mums's blog today about this basic concept I decided it was time to get it set up again. I've put it back in the same spot, next to the stairs and this time I have added a cork and white board.
I used electrical tape to create different areas on the white board. It's not meant to look perfect, I settled for practical. I have areas for:

Bucket
For things to be donated to the op-shop

Basket
Library books currently out on loan

Desk
1. Home Management Folder
2. Price shopping book and recipes
3. Diary
4. Bills to be dealt with
5. Stapler, hole puncher, calculator, pen and notebook
6. Laptop

Side desk
Financial folder (I use this on a weekly basis to keep track of bills and to update our financial position)

Corkboard
1. Shopping (blue sheet of paper)
2. "This week" page from my diary
3. Current recipes I want to try this week
4. Basic homeschool ideas

Whiteboard
1. Appointments/to-do overview (Mon to Saturday only)
2. Menu planner
3. Notes

Now the hard part will be keeping Josh away!! He is still curious but at least he is old enought to understand a stern NO!. I think as long as he has some paper and crayons he is happy to sit on the floor next to me whilst I get some work done - let's hope :)

Button worm

2011-02-10T00:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a great way to teach your toddler early buttoning skills. Make a button worm!

You will only need a ribbon, a button, a needle and thread, some coloured felt and a bowl to present it in. I did use my sewing machine for one step but you could easily just hand sew if you don't have one. Now as I am in the middle of a year long no spend challenge I could only use the materials I already had on hand. Of course you could always choose the colours for your project.

Steps:
Cut ribbon to desired length.
Fold over one end on both sides to form a "v" shape and sew the button on.
Cut your felt squares (I cut to 7.5cm x 7.5cm) and cut a slit in the middle to fit your button.
Take one of the squares and stitch it to the other end of the ribbon (this stops the rest of the squares from falling off). This is the step that you could hand sew or machine sew.

You're done!!

Use a large button for this project. Once your child is proficient at putting the squares on, you could have them take them off the ribbon which is a little trickier. Then, when they have this down pat you could then give them items of clothing with button closures and have them practice buttoning up and un bottoning.

Budget family sunday outing

2011-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

For less than $20 we had a great day out in the city today.

We purchased 2 Family Funday rail passes from City Rail (total $5) and caught the train in to Circular Quay. We spent a little while wandering around looking at the sights and checking out the P&O Pacific Princess which was docked on the pier.

Next we caught a ferry over to Darling Harbour (for free, as this was included in the cost of the rail ticket). We ate McDonalds for lunch (total $13.90). I had thought about taking a packed lunch but we have money put aside for this sort of thing and I felt I deserved a break! Josh doesn't know what Macdonalds is yet and we would like to keep it that way. We only allow him the chips from there and nothing else. We only eat there about a couple of times a year. Afterwards we took Josh to play fully clothed in the fountains so he could cool down. He had a ball and didn't want to leave. We changed his clothes and then headed back to Town Hall to catch the train home.

We will be doing this again in few weeks but choosing a different destination. It is much cheaper to buy the family pass than to drive the car to wherever we want to go. If you haven't heard of this offer before, here is the link to the City Rail website which has all the details.

http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/which/funday

Josh's first train trip

2011-02-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we visited Sue, our Clinical Nurse Consultant at Karitane for a follow up session to see how Josh was going. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go on our first train journey.

The fact that it was forecast to reach temperatures of 38DegC and up didn't put me off. Instead I packed a small insualted bag with our meals, a thin ice brick and some wet towels. I loaded up the thermos with iced water and grabbed our hats and long sleeved shirts.

On the trip home we both enjoyed some cold fizzy drinks, Josh had a lemonade and I chose a Sarsparilla. Of course in the shop he couldn't resist asking me for this lolly or that lolly so I happily purchased two of his choices for him.

He love the trip so much he hasn't stopped talking about it or asking to see the pictures :)

Nuggety Hill Estate - Sofala

2011-01-29T03:55:00.001-08:00

I promised my friend Sherrie some pictures of my Brother-in-law's property since we were supposed to be going up for a visit in February. Doesn't look like it is going to happen at the moment, so I found the only photos I have saved on Stephen's computer of a visit we made in 2006 (pre baby days).

Found this website which has lots of good quality pics taken around the area (Sofala main street, Turon, Peel and Nuggety Hill areas. The closest town to the property is Wattle Flat)
http://www.pbase.com/nero_design/sofala3
http://www.pbase.com/nero_design/pro1_sofala2
http://www.pbase.com/nero_design/pro1_sofala

Josh & Lauren

2011-01-29T03:47:00.000-08:00

My stepdaughter, Lauren, took this picture with Joshua when she was up here visiting recently. I think it is absolutely beautiful.

Favourite cooking wesites

2011-01-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

I love looking for new ideas on what to cook. Today I found Dani Spies' website and she cooks just the food I like to eat. I have been madly writing down a lot of her recipes and tips but whilst I am on the subject of food I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of my favourite chefs and/or cooking websites.

Dani Spies
www.danispies.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO2kz4qbz-I&feature=related

Denise Hazime Dede's Meditteranean Kitchen
www.dedemed.com

Chef Jeena
http://jeenaskitchen.blogspot.com/

Janella Purcell (from Good Chef Bad Chef)
www.janellapurcell.com
http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/shows/good-chef-bad-chef/recipes/

Jamie Oliver
www.jamieoliver.com

Nigella Lawson (hmm she's a bit high carb - comfort food but she still has her heart in the right place as far as I'm concerned)
www.nigellalawson.com

Then there's others that I'm undecided on as I haven't cooked any of their dishes up yet but I enjoy watching them cook their recipes such as:

Poh (from Master Chef)
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/

Luke Nguyen
www.sbs.com.au/lukenguyen

SBS Food Safari
www.sbs.com.au/foodsafari

Do you have any favourites? I would love to find some more names to add to my list!

Zip lock back drying rack

2011-01-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

Yay - Stephen made one up for me!

Turns out we did have dowels after all (left over from when I made Josh his fishing set) and of course Stephen had wood in his stash in his workshed.

Toddler playroom

2011-01-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

Josh has his own playroom that I set up for him in the family room. It has been a work in progress over the last 2 1/2 years as I've changed it as he went through different developmental stages. The way it is at the moment will be the way it will stay until the end of his primary school years.

He has a couch to sit on, a unit with a TV,DVD player and a radio, a play table, small cupboard and a large 9 shelf toy cupboard. For christmas this year he will be getting a Vtech Smile Motion Learning Console so that will be added to the unit.

I've done a major cull of his unused toys - some have gone to his younger cousin who is 1 year younger than him and the rest have been donated to the local charity shop. I've only kept the classic toys which he has access to play with whenever he wants. These will be added to or upgraded over the years at birthdays and christmas so his collection will grow and drive me crazy!!

1. Large cars
2. Animals
3. Wooden Building blocks
4. Lego Duplo
5. Hot Wheels cars, blaster and tin
6. Pixar Cars race track set
7. Thomas Wooden Railway set
8. Books
9. Leapfrog learning laptop
10. Magna Doodle

All his drawing, painting, toddler trays, craft material, puzzles, playdough, dress up box and educational learning toys are kept upstairs in the spare room cupboard as firstly there is not enough room downstairs in his play area but secondly I don't want the play area to become too messy or these toys to be damaged. Games, birthday presents and christmas presents are also stored out of the way in this cupboard.

Knitted kitchen cloths

2011-01-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

This is how I make my knitted dishcloths. I use 100% cotton wool and size 4 needles. I have exprimented with 50% cotton 50% bamboo but I find that after washing them they come out too stiff.

I use size 4 needles (the instructions say use size 3.5 but I didn't have any that size)
Cast on 25 stitches
K5, P5 for 5 rows
P5, K5 for 5 rows

Continue for 35 rows (7 lots of 5 rows)
Cast off loosly.

Zip lock back drying rack

2011-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" that's my goal for the entire of 2011.

I had my first challenge last night when I decided I had to find a better system to hang up my washed zip-locked bags. I found this great design on the web that I could make myself, but I don't think we have any dowels so it would mean having to spend money.

So I came up with this idea instead.

Bubble wrap play

2011-01-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

I gave Joshua some bubble wrap yesterday to keep him occupied. It only took him a minute to figure out how to pop them. He played with the one sheet all day long - whilst sitting on the couch, at nap time, whilst sitting in his car seat when we went out for a drive, at bed time as quiet time......wonderful stuff!

The Princess and the Pea (continued)

2011-01-22T02:54:00.001-08:00

On Friday I rode down to my local library and spent a lazy hour looking at doll making books searching for the perfect doll to make as part of the Princess and the Pea gift I will be making for my niece. I settled on "The Creative Book of Dolls" and in particular this doll is what I had in mind although I will have to make her a bit smaller than the pattern suggests so that she will fit into her box bed.

These yarn dolls will also work as a seperate gift for her and I am going to make her a collection as well. I think I will give her the yarn dolls for her birthday and the Princess for Christmas.

Outdoor Shower revisited

2011-01-22T02:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, well my shower is set up temporarily until I pimp it up a bit. I need to put up some sort of appealing structure as the back drop and left side wall. Also some sort of shelving system would come in handy. For now it works a treat. The solar shower bag and 20litre jerry can sit to the right (you can't see it in this picture) and they both heat up the water magically on really hot days. I have to get some cold water from the tap so that I don't end up burning myself. We have all had some showers there although I win hands down as the most frequent user. I took these photos tonight as it was a beautiful summer evening and Stephen and I were enjoying being out in the backyard.

Love how there is a lamp post to illuminate the area and I couldn't have set it up this way if I had gone to the trouble of designing it all myself.

Rice pudding

2011-01-20T14:42:00.001-08:00

I grew up on rice pudding, mum was always making it. I don't actually stick to her exact recipe when I make it though. She pre-cooks the rice for 5 min before hand and I'm too lazy to do that these days.

1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 cup milk
some lemon rind (or zest of a lemon)
a cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

This needs to be cooked for 40 min. I find I have to check it every 10 min and top up with water. You could top up with milk for a creamier version.

Then add 1 cup sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. For a creamier version add 1 cup cream. Blend 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour with some water and add slowly to the mixture. Cook on low for a further 5 min. Allow to sit for 30min before eating - it's too hot anyway!!

Oven baked fish

2011-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple little recipe that I tried out yesterday and is now going to become one of my regulars. I found it in the Spring Vol 47 edition of Healthy & Heartwise magazine whilst watiting to see my GP. I modified it slightly too.

Fish wrapped in eggplant in a Saladette Truss tomato sauce (long title for such a simple little dish!)

Make up a simple tomato sauce with some garlic, whole peeled and deseeded tomatos and salt. I just use my trusty Pasta Sauce that I posted about a while back (I use it for everything and has veggies in it).

Cook some eggplant slices in some olive oil till brown on both sides. I used some from my garden.

Place the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Place a slice of eggplant for each fish fillet you are using - I used Orydory fillets as they were on special. Then place the fish fillet on top, followed by some fresh basil leaves (I picked these fresh from the garden too) and then another slice of eggplant. Sprinkle with some more basil and drizzle with some olive oil.

Place into the oven at 180degCel uncovered until fish is cooked. Mine took 30min.

Soup for breakfast

2011-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from one of my favourite online cooking websites www.dedemed.com. Dede focusus on North African - Middle Eastern cuisine which I just love as being from the Canary Islands we are only a hop, skip and jump away from Morrocco.

RECIPE
Bring 8 cups water, 1 cup red lentils, 1 cup brown rice and 2 teaspoons salt to the boil and then turn down and simmer for 40min

When it's near the end of cooking then in a frypan cook 1 onion, some garlic, chopped carrot and some spinach for 5 min then add to the pot.
Add 1 teaspoon each cumin, tumeric and coriander and test for seasoning. Simmer for a further 15 min.

At this stage you can puree it or leave it as is, I always puree my soups. Excuse me whilst I eat my breakfast at the computer reading the Simple Savings forum posts!!

Here's a little bit of trivia - when the Sahara desert has one of their sand storms it reaches us and makes the whole sky red, blocking out the sun completely for a whole day. Not so much fun to clean the house up afterwards though!

That's the Canaries on the left of the North African continent.

Gift project #1 - "The Princess & the Pea"

2011-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

My first project for this year is to make a gift for my 4 year old niece. Not sure whether to give it to her for her birthday or Christmas yet...Anyway I am making her a Princess and the Pea play set which will consist of:

1. A bed
2. A pea
3. 12 mattresses
4. A blanket
5. A pillow
6. Princess doll (awake on one side and asleep on the other)
7. Queen doll
8. Story book
9. Play instructions

I have started off making the bed using 2 shoe boxes. This is the website I took the idea from www.cutiescitrus.com/fun_and_games/crafts/dollbed

Goals for 2011

2011-01-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

My goals for this year will be:

HEALTHY
Eliminate sugar and flour from my diet.
Run for at least 40min every day.
Subscribe to www.yogadownload.com for unlimited Yoga classes for $10 per month and not attend classes anymore saving $240 (= cost of enrolling for a year $360 less yogadownload cost of $120)
Enroll Joshua in a martial arts course at Smeaton Grange.

WEALTHY
Pay a further $5000 off the mortgage.
Save any coins left over at the end of the week into a jar to fund a family holiday at the end of the year.
A year of no spending on anything that is not a fixed or essential item listed in our budget(no clothes, takeaway, kitchen ware, household goods, toys, gifts). This means no op shopping either.

WISE
Make all gifts myself.
Homeschool Joshua through preschool.
Take Joshua out of swim lessons and teach him myself using the neighbour's pool and the websites U-swim and Austswim.
Hand wash all clothes except for Stephen's work clothes and the sheets, towels and kitchen cloths.
Shop every 2 months for fruit and veggies at Flemington Markets and bulk freeze, bottle or dehydrate. On alternate months deposit the allocated money saved back into the mortgage.
Use the library more often.

Bathroom wipes

2011-01-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

This morning I did a cull of Joshua's summer play t-shirts and made up another batch of bathroom wipes aka "wee wipes". I have been using these for the past 2 1/2 years. After starting out with cloth diapers 2 years ago I soon got over the icky factor and switched over to cloth toilet paper. Well, I will let you in on a little secret - I use these for both number 1's and 2's. What difference is there between soiled cloth diapers and soiled bathroom wipes - only your attitude to hold you back LOL.

My template measures 30cm by 20cm. I use weights to hold the paper down and cut out with scissors. If your fabric is large enough you can use both the front and back of the t-shirt. Also, be sure that you only use 100% cotton or cotton/lycra and not cotton/polyester.

I go through the leftover scraps and cut up any usable bits to make kitched wipes and spectacle wipes.

Fold lengthwise then cross wise to get four layers. Sew on three sides only, then trim off any uneven edges.

Cut off and keep any buttons.

The wipes are stored in a basket on the left and used ones in a bucket on the right. Come nappy wash day they get chucked into the wash together.

Fridge plate covers

2011-01-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

To make these fridge plate covers I used some biodgradable plastic bags with soy milk ink printing. They are super easy to make. You need some plastic bags, different size plates,some elastic, brown paper, an iron and ironing board. I just used the elastic I had on hand but if you have FOE (fold over elastic) or prefer to make a casing to thread the elastic through that is fine too. I used 6 layers of plastic for the large size cover and 4 for the smaller ones. I'm pretty happy with the results.

To fuse the plastic together turn the bags inside out so that the print doesn't run and cup open any sides that buckle to help it to lay flat. On an ironing board place a large sheet of brown wrapping paper then the plastic bags then another sheet of brown paper. Make sure the brown paper extends beyond the plastic or it will melt onto your iron. With your iron on high run the iron over continuously for about 20 seconds then stop and check if the plastic has fused. If not run the iron over it again a few times. That is basically it. If you want visuals you can find lots of instructions on google.

Trace different size plates and cut out with a 1cm allowance all around.

Sew on the elastic using your preferred method.

Trim any uneven edges and your're done! These covers won't fit back onto the plate you traced them from unless you leave more than a 1cm hem. Try adding 5cm at first to see if you are happy with the fit. They will fit back onto a smaller size that the one you traced from

Reusable wrapping paper

2011-01-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

I made a couple more sheets of wrapping paper with matching strips to make a bow. These will be used to wrap Josh's birthday presents in this year.

Brown rice milk

2011-01-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

As I have stopped eating sugar and most commericial soy, oat or rice milks are made with added sugar I have attempted to make my own "milk". For my first attempt I started with brown rice.

Take 1 cup rice and boil it for 1 hour in 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cardamon. Watch towards the end as the water cooks out completely and you don't want it to burn.

Once cooked add 2 cups fresh water and blend the whole thing with a stick blender. Pour into a colander lined with muslin and place over a bowl. Keep it in the fridge for 1 hour. Once cooled you can strain it by "milking" it with your hands to remove the liquid from the pulp. At this point it will look too thick so add another 2 cups of water. If you are happy with the consistency you can stop at this point. For a runnier milk keep adding water until you reach something you will be happy with. I ended up with 2 litres in total. It has a lovely taste that reminds me of rice pudding.

Canning tomatos

2011-01-09T02:56:00.001-08:00

At had my first attempt at canning tomatos today. We paid $5 for a box of roma tomatos and I had HEAPS in my pile. I wanted to do first some diced tomato to can instead of using store bought ones as these have sugar in them. Secondly, I am going to dry the rest in my dehydrator then pound them down to make tomato powder and use that instead of tomato paste. I think next month I will roast them in the oven and freeze it's just that this month the freezer is already full!!

I set up three bowls on the stove. The pot to the right has boiling water in it, the stainless steel bowl on the left cold water and the white pot on the left is my crockpot. I placed about 10 tomatos into the boiling water for a minute until I could see the skins starting to crack open. Then I scooped them out and placed them into the cold water to cool down. Straight away i placed another 10 into the hot water then proceeded to skin the ones sitting in the cold water and transferred them over to the crockpot whole. I worked quickly but without hurrying and it took about 5 min to do.

Then I cut the tops off as these still had some of the stem on them, sliced them in half, removed the seeds and chopped them up. This picture shows the aftermath! Next time I won't even bother removing the seeds.

I placed some frozen red capsicums in to give the tomotos some colour.

And placed the crockpot into position of the hot plate. I set it to high and left if for about 5 hours

Josh happily posing next to the crockpot and dehydrator.

I used the water bath method instead of a pressure canner because, well, I don't own one yet!

I decided to puree the whole thing to make it look like passata. To increase the acidity I added 1 tablespoon lemon juice to each jar.

I ended up with 5 and a half large jars in total (about 550mils each). Two didn't close properly so I place them in the fridge to be used shortly and the half filled on I didn't bother sealing.

Dehydrating bananas

2011-01-09T02:40:00.001-08:00

This is my second attempt now at dehydrating bananas. My first wasn't successful as I cut the banana pieces too small and they were so tiny once dried. I cut up 7 bananas from yesterdays shop and dunked the slices into some lemon juice first to stop browning.

With the small odd and end bits I mashed up with some powdered ginger and lemon juice then poured it into the leather making tray.

This took 10 hours to make. It was still a bit soft underneath but yummy non the less.

The banana chip took 12 hours. Josh loves these "nana bikkies".

Op shop finds

2011-01-09T02:36:00.000-08:00

Ok I bought this dehydrator from Vinnies on Christmas Eve, just haven't had a chance to post it yet. I googled the model and it is worth $109. Aldi is selling their version at the moment for I think $39?

It came with the instruction manual. It has 5 trays plus a bowl for making fruit leather.

TOTAL $25

Bulk fruit and veggie shop

2011-01-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Flemington Markets again for my monthly bulk fruit and veggie shopping. I have quite a lot of things already in my freezer from my garden but there are still a few things I needed to get.

The picture only shows about half of the stash. I forgot to take pictures before beginning to distribute it into boxes to hand over to mum, my sister and sister-in-law. We got potatos, sweet potatos, tomatos, mushrooms, apples, peaches, nectarines, bananas, blueberries, coriander, mesculin. So divided up into 4 we each paid $30. It was impossible to get any oranges as they were already over double the price of last month. Last month we got a box for $15 and this month the price ranged from $28 - $40!! This is the price before the flood mercandise hits the floors and is probably due to oranges not being in season any longer.

Banana ice cream

2011-01-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

When I get a craving for ice cream this is what I make. It's made from frozen bananas. I keep a big bag of bananas with their skin on in the freezer. I take one out about 1/2 an hour before I want to make it. Then I peel it and place it into my mini processor with a few tablespoons of water to make it easier to puree.

Today I flavoured it with some blueberries and strawberries, but I also eat it just on its own.

Orange peel tea

2011-01-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

Every morning I squeeze a couple of fresh oranges, one for myself and one for Joshua, and dilute these with water to get a full cup. Today I discovered that you can make tea from orange peel rinds so I gave it a try and it was yummy. I gave up tea and coffee years ago and only drink herbal tea on its own, that is no sweeteners added.

I steeped the peels in boiling water and covered the jug with a plate. Note: I don't own a teapot as I only ever make one cup at a time so used my glass pyrex measuring jug. Joshua is giving me a busy day today so I fogot I had them steeping so they were left there for over 30min I think and the water was luke warm, didn't bother me though as I can drink room temperature water flavoured with fruit or vegetabels.

Today's veggie harvest

2011-01-03T13:16:00.001-08:00

Today I harvested the following from my veggie patch:

zucchini and flowers
green chilli
green beans
eggplant
corn

I'm going to look up how to save the seeds from these plants and then I'll use my steamer to steam them and then place them in my freezer.

Stracciatella

2011-01-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

Ok so today was my monthly grocery shopping day. I start my monthly cooking by cutting up a few whole organic chickens. Actually, I bought today's last month as they were marked down at Aldi for a total of 3 for $19 instead of $30. So with the carcass I make up stock, then I pick the meat off the bones and then whilst the liquid stock is still cooling down I make this soup. It is a combination of an Itallian egg drop "stracciatella" and my mothers chicken noodle soup recipe. It is quick to make and it is what I have for dinner at the start of my shopping/menu plan cycle.

I don't really use any specific measurements so it is all up to you to decide how much to use:

Recipe
Place some of the hot stock into a saucepan
In a bowl whisk together one or two eggs and some grated parmesan
Slowly whisk into the stock and stir for about 2 min until the eggs "set"
Add some chicken bits and some mint leaves
Add a dash of olive oil

For an asian version try adding some greens like baby spinach or bok choy with some corn and ginger

Outdoor shower

2010-12-31T22:08:00.000-08:00

I found it! The floor of what will eventually become an outdoor shower!

I was walking home from mum's last week and as I came around the corner, there it was! Later that night when I asked Stephen to go pick it up for me he refused. But today he went down to the shops in his ute and when he came home he told me to look in the back and it was there. I gave him the biggest kiss ever - it was like Christmas.

My wheels

2010-12-27T18:25:00.000-08:00

Thought I would take have a picture taken today of Josh and I on the bike. Tuesday is grocery shopping day so we hop on the bike and ride to mum's where Josh spends the day. I'm not too sure of the exact distance but it is a one hour round trip to ride. Josh loves it and has been enjoying this mode of transport since he turned one last August. It's not advisable to put a child on a bike before 12months of age as their little necks can't handle the jolts.

I found the seat on ebay for $45 (It is worth $150 new) and it cost me $20 to have it fitted at the bike store plus a helmet for Josh was $20. My bike was a bit of an outlay but I purchased it before we had Josh and I was still working.

Christmas morning

2010-12-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Joshua and his Santa Sack.

My sister have him this drum kit (aaarggghhh!!)

Gift from my mum (good one!)

Merry Kiss Moose!

2010-12-25T13:24:00.001-08:00

A crazy Kiss Moose eve at mums this year!

2010-12-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Gift envelopes

2010-12-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

I made up some gift envelopes from Joshua's artwork to put the Christmas gift money into for kids this year.

Op shop finds

2010-12-22T19:30:00.001-08:00

This week I headed down to Narellan Lifeline to see what lovely treasures I could uncover. I am really excited at finding so many things that are on my list!!

Can't remember what this is called $5

Some bats I found to go with the game $2.50

Collection of alphabet and number learning toys $10

Game boards:
1. Junior Toy Story Monopoly $3
2. Junior Scrabble $3
3. Monsters Inc Leap Pad book and cartridge (unopened!!) $3
4. Numbers Start $3
5. Buzz Lightyear doll $4
Total $16

1. Baseball bat and ball $3
2. Kite 50c
Total $3.50

1. Ceramic pizza plate $3
2. Wooden rolling pin $2
Total $5

GRAND TOTAL $42

Free hot water shower

2010-12-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

Well, the "hot" part is free, I still have to pay for the water. During the hot season of summer I like to save money on our gas hot water bill by doing an old camping trick.

I use a 20litre camping solar shower bag and 1/2 fill it with the warm up water from the shower then place it black side up in full sun. As I exercise in the afternoon that's when I take a shower and the water has had a chance to heat up to a really hot termperature. I then pour it out into a 9 litre bucket in the shower and then let the shower run to fill it up to the top with the warm up water. I use a large plastic cup to scoop and pour the water to have my shower.

I have a great shower with only 9 litres which includes washing my hair.

I like that I can take hot showers in the winter and then in the summer I can make up for it by doing this. It may not be your cup of tea but as a bushwalker and camper from way back I feel right at home. I love treading lightly!

Toddler tray number 1 - Pouring update

2010-12-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Magic Water!

Magic Water!

Place one drop of food colouring in a plastic cup.
Fill jug up with plain water.
Pour water into a cup and watch the colours magically appear!
Mix from cup to cup to watch more colours being made up.

Toddler tray number 3 - Transferring update

2010-12-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

The transferring tray got the following added to it yesteday.

ice cube and paint tray

small blocks with ABC's and number 1-20

Basil

2010-12-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

This morning I collected all the basil growing in the veggie patch. Half of it got dried in the microwave and the remainder was processed in the mixer with a little bit of olive oil then spooned into an ice cube tray to be fozen.

What's the weather today?

2010-12-17T19:32:00.001-08:00

As part of our toddler teaching curriculum we will be starting each day off by checking the weather and marking it off on this cute little weather clock that I've made up today and placed on the fridge. The arrow is glued to a wooden clothes peg.

Reusable christmas wrapping paper

2010-12-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I picked up the toys I had purchased on the Kmart Christmas layby. That's the last of the shopping done! I wrapped them up in the christmas fabric I sewed up a few weeks ago. I found them in the remnant bin at Lincraft last time I was there rummaging months ago so they were dirt cheap. Just needed a small hem all the way around to finish them off, which I did a couple of weeks ago.

They way I wrapped them is my own variation of the Japanese Furoshiki folding method. I used the Otsukai fold and made some changes to it. I like this fold as there is no need to fiddle with the knot making it easy for a child to open quickly.

http://furoshiki.com/techniques/

Colour dominoes

2010-12-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Take a few cartons of milk, some paint sample cards, glue, scissors and masking tape and turn them into a set of colour dominoes for your little one to play with! Super easy and fun to play with.

Tot Tray Number 3 -Transfering

2010-12-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

I'm still in the process of building this tray but I can show you a quick picture so you can get the point. I have some ice cube trays in different sizes and I am in the process of getting items to fit into the different shape holes.

Materials
1. Different types/sizes of tongs and/or tweezers
2. Different types of bottles, containers to transfer items out of and into.
3. Different transfer items (pom poms, bottle tops, jelly beans, beads etc sky's the limit here).

Josh had fun making up his own variation to the game at the end with Zac's dog bowl and a cup from his tot-pouring tray. I do love how they are interchangeable.

Op shop finds

2010-12-15T17:36:00.001-08:00

Today's find uncovered the following treasures:

1. Satchel bag made up of recycled jeans $3 (this will be Josh's new school bag which I am going to cover up in cute patches and badges)
2. Easiyo maker complete with container $3 (I alreay have one but two would come in handy!)
3. Old fashioned sprouter $3
4. Tupperware container $2

TOTAL $11

Microwave low carb, high protein bread

2010-12-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love this bread recipe. I love that I can whip it up fresh everyday at lunch time - or anytime really - and get a fresh loaf everytime. I love that it fills me up for longer than bread made with flour and I don't get a sudden drop in my sugar levels causing me to eat more carbs. I love that it holds it shape and doesn't crumble or fall to bits. I love that I can make it up in the morning and it's not soggy by lunchtime.

Recipe
In a bowl mix
40g LSA (Linseed, sunflower seed and almond mix)
30g almond meal
2g baking powder
12g oil
20g cream (I used thick cream so I mixed it with 20g water to get 40g total)
1 egg
pinch salt

Oil a microwaveable dish in the shape/size of the bread that you would like it to be. Spread it out evenly.
Microwave on high for 1 to 1 1/2min
Wait a few minutes for it to cool, then slice in half horizontally to get 2 slices.

Today I made up a chicken, mayo, lettuce and spout sandwich to take with me for lunch today.

YUM!

***UPDATE****20/12/2010
I just made this with 40grams of full cream milk instead of half cream/half milk and it turned out just fine. I also replaced the almond meal with oat bran and it made no difference to the loaf.

Portuguese Chicken

2010-12-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

This is another one of mum's recipes and is from Portugal. We are from the Canary Islands and our culture and cuisine is very similar to portuguese so we love to eat a lot of their food. I really love the salted cod and chicken recipes. Although I've grown up watching mum make salted cod I haven't had a go at cooking it myself as I think I would stuff it up. I haven't had it in years and only get to eat it when I visit mum.

This recipe is one of my favourites that I also grew up on. It's been a couple of years since I have made it as I stopped eating animal products. But since I am back eating chicken again I was reminiscing about making it so I did. It's super easy to make.

Recipe
Chicken drumsticks (approx 8-10)
1 to 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon parsley (can be dried or fresh - double if using fresh)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon cornflour mixed in some water (this is optional and is for thickening only you can leave it out if you don't want to use it)

Sautee the garlic in some olive oil
Add the parsley, paprika and salt
Pour in the wine and add the chicken
Allow to come to the boil, cover and turn down. Simmer 15 min
At this point add the cornflour and cook for a further 15min

You can serve it with some potato and veggies or a rice dish. You really need somthing to soak up all the lovely juices. This tastes better once you leave it to cool for an hour and even better the next day.

Chocolate & Cherry Muffins (no sugar or egg)

2010-12-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

For this week's muffin batch I used up some left over cherries and added some cocoa powder to make chocolate & cherry muffins. My muffin recipe uses no egg, sugar and only a small amount of olive oil. Here is the basic recipe:

Muffins
120g plain flour
60g wholemeal flour
60g buckweat flour
15g baking powder
6g or so of salt can use less or leave out
2 mashed bananas
2 tablespoon soya flour
180g milk
56g olive oil
56g pear or apple puree

For choc/cherry:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
200g cherries (fresh or frozen)

I cook these at 200degC for about 30min. Ovens vary, the original recipe that I got this from before tweaking to my liking suggested baking for 20min.

YUM!

Ice blocks

2010-12-14T01:49:00.000-08:00

I managed to cook up a big batch of apple/pear cores today. I made all these yummy iceblocks from the liquid I used to steam them with.

I used some of the puree in my choc/cherry muffins and the rest I froze in my muffin tray to use in other baking recipes instead of oil and to flavour my yoghurt with.

Tot Tray Number 2 - Sticking

2010-12-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

What easier way to keep a toddler entertained than with a big pile of stickers? This activity works on their fine motore skills by teaching them how to peel off and place the stickers down.

Materials
1. Different types of stickers (themes, sizes, shapes etc)
2. Different types of mediums to stick onto (scrapbook, sticker book, paper, cardboard, wrapping paper etc)

Tot Tray Number 1 - Pouring

2010-12-11T03:34:00.001-08:00

Tot Trays are simple activites that I have come up with which are based around basic early learning skills. I rotate them often, using the same materials in different ways and with different twists.

This one is based around "pouring".

Materials:

1. Different sized jugs, interesting and different cups/bowls to pour into-even adding a funnel at times

2. Different materials to be poured (small beads, rice, beans, etc.). Finally graduating to REAL water at some point!!! You could also add some food colouring to the water so that you have all the basic primary colours and as your child mixes away the water begins to change colour. A very simple way to begin to explore colours in a fun way!

Here Joshua is doing a simple version of the tray. You can see him collecting water from the pool in his favourite pink jug and pouring it into a tall tumbler with the help of a funnel. He then moved the funnel to another container, picked up the tumbler and poured the water out into a cup. He picked up pretty quickly the concept of the use of a funnel when trying to pour into containers with small openings.

You could do this activity outdoors on the grass or indoors in the bathtub. If your child is fairly young then start with the rice, which you can colour and keep seperate to begin with, your child will then begin to mix all the colours up. As your child gets older you can use beans, beads and then finally water. Give it a go and have lots of fun watching your toddler entertain themselves for hours!

I will continue to post about the other trays that we use as well so keep watching.

Alphabet eggs

2010-12-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a cute little activity I made up for Joshua. They are giant "eggs" made out of craft foam with the letters drawn in dimensional paint. I think the egg container gives it a nice touch.

Art Eater

2010-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Look out! Here comes a year’s worth of artwork!

It’s that time of year again. A few days before the end of term your kids come home with their school bags full of artwork. And a couple of carrier bags as well, for good measure. And after they’ve proudly shown you the year’s efforts, you’re left with the question every parent faces at this time: what should I actually do with all this artwork?

http://www.arteater.com.au/

Toddler sewing basket

2010-12-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

I've seen a few varitions of these kid's "sewing" baskets around and I thought it was time to make one up for Josh. Our basket has the following in it:

1. Chopsticks
2. Montessori beading activity (jar, beads and pipecleaners)
3. Embroidery loops - one large and one small
4. Non-slip material to act as "fabric"
5. Wool needles and thread wrapped around wooden clothes peg
5. Tic-tac jar for holding spare needles
6. Bamboo beads (I posted about these on a recent thread)
7. Button beads
8. Fabric bag with bamboo handles for storing some of the above items in

Can't wait to use it. I will be presenting it to Josh this afternoon when I pick him up from pre-school.

Freeganism

2010-12-09T20:20:00.001-08:00

Look what I found sitting in someone's council pickup pile. Wouldn't you pick it up too?? It works beautifully and is complete with all parts. Only a minor crack in the plastic bowl but not enought to warrant having to throw it out......

Pencil tins

2010-12-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of tin pencil holders I whipped up for Joshua's craft box.