Come Take a Trip!

Ben and I started the day beautifully.   Here we are playing with his kindy-made binoculars.

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The late afternoon didn’t go so well.  We got stuck in this!!!

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A drive that should have taken 45 minutes took around 1 hour and 30 minutes.  I can not recall a more uncomfortable drive home.  I went through my entire spectrum of emotions trying to console Ben in the back of the car.  He was beside himself.

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This photo just breaks my heart xo  I thought taking a photo might make him smile…what was I thinking!!

I finally calmed Ben…. by rubbing his foot (that was all I could reach) while still driving the car.  Can you picture it?

I know that this is not the most uplifting or cheerful post.    I am just keeping it real.  Putting it out there that parenting for me is not  always ‘all roses’.  I am pretty sure it is this way for most Mums.  But I don’t know a Mum who would change any of it.  Being a Mum is precious, even after a long screaming drive home.  Nothing really prepared me for being a mother which I was reminded of in the car today…. it made me think of this –

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

Something pretty….. wonderful xo

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Linking to – Embrace the Camera

Dinner in 15 minutes!

Picnik collage dinner

Mini Shell Pasta with creamy smoked bacon and pea sauce…..delicious!  Even better is that it only takes 15 minutes…SO EASY and child friendly!!

Ingredients
10 slices of bacon
a small bunch of fresh mint
150 parmesan cheese
sea salt
pepper
400g dried mini shell pasta
olive oil
a knob of butter
300g frozen peas
2 heaped dessertspoons of creme fraiche
1 lemon

(I use either light sour cream or light philli cooking cream instead of the creme fraiche and what ever pasta is in the cupboard)

You can watch Jamie here and he will take you through the steps.

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linking with Heather – Recipe swap and What we ate Wednesday

Our First Harvest of the Season

Picnik collage garden

We are a little excited around here.  We finally picked our first tomato…..YAY!!  We get a lot of birds and they have been enjoying our vegie patch more than us lately.  We have Australian King Parrots that have been particularly fond of our tomatoes!! It’s hard to get cranky as they are an amazingly beautiful bird.  But now that our plants are covered in tomatoes there is enough for everyone.  We don’t mind sharing xo

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original photo from here

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Linking up with  Life Made Lovely Monday

Week 5 with Jamie – Beef

Picnik collage Week 5 Jamie\'s Ministry of Food Ipswich

This week on the menu was – Good Old Chilli Con Carne, Guacamole and Fluffy Rice.  Let me start by saying – SO SO GOOD!!  This was so out of my comfort zone and I am a little proud for diving in head first and not whinging!! I always thought I didn’t like chilli, beans or coriander.  Well…… now they are my new best friends!!!!  We  made the quickest, tastiest guacamole all on the chopping board (no bowls for washing up) and again SO GOOD!

After cooking we headed over to Mum and Dad’s with dinner for everyone.  My wonderful parents look after Ben while we cook.  We had a feast to share this week.  Bowls full with  Chilli Con Carne, Rice, Guacamole, and natural corn chips (the corn chips added for Ben to make it more appealing for little ones).   It was such a hit!  Seriously the tastiest meal I have had in some time – the flavor……yum!!  I can’t wait to cook it up for friends (or Andrew can cook it and I can relax).  So who’s up for dinner?

You can get the recipe from here.

Next Week – Pasta

Oh I forgot….. we also enjoyed some pumpkin muffins to celebrate Jamie’s Birthday…Happy Birthday xo

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Linking up with What we ate Wednesday

Cowboy… good or bad?

I have always had a no toy gun policy!  Well……. kids don’t need toys to make a gun. Their finger become a gun, they pick up  a stick or pen or anything and it becomes a gun.   I have toyed with the idea of allowing Ben to have a toy gun for months.  He has asked for a ‘star wars blaster’ or a ‘cowboy blaster’ a number of times.    I had one, my brother had one and it didn’t seem to harm us.  I have fond memories playing cowboys with my brother in our backyard.  We had a metal cowboy pistol in a leather holster.

I have watched Ben with his toys.  He has favorites for a period of time and then he moves on to new favorites.  So I  came to the conclusion today that he can have a toy gun.  My thinking is that it will be a favorite for a time and then be replaced by something else.    Ben got his cowboy pack today.  We were in the $2.00 shop and there it was in front of him – A cowboy gun, spurs, holster, belt and badge – all for the fabulous price of $2.00.  He LOVES it. Here he is at Gamma’s house modelling his new look!

Picnik collage cowboy

Fingers crossed my theory is correct…. if all else fails it cost $2.00 it has to break soon!!

Did you have a toy gun?

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