Camera Play - Getting my Usher On

  Week 2 of Camera Play

you can play along too just head on over to

 Mum's The Word

for the how to and get involved.

This weeks pic is of me and my bestie Miss K

We got a night to ourselves to see 2 fabulous

and might i add rather sexy

but extremely talented singers

this friday night.

I am talking about none other then USHER and his supporting act Trey Songz

OHH EEMM GEEE

were they fabulous!!

There was tops ripped off

*insert drooool here*

Amazing dance moves and just an all out fantastic atmosphere!

I loved watching and singing along, especially when he let us sing the lyrics lol

and it was just wonderful to get out of the house, get all prettied up and groove away.

Was defiantly the highlight of my week and the best concert i've seen!

 Top left Me and my bestie Miss K

Top right Trey Songz mmmm hot!

Bottom Left the man himself USHERRRRR

Bottom Right the man doing his thang

2 little boys...

I have 2 little Masters

Master J who is 3 in June and Lil C who is 1 in september.

I have no pink in my house,

it is all blue and green and red and brown.

Matchbox cars, building blocks, animals and planes.

I wouldnt change it for the world...

When I first found out Master J had a peen

I wont lie..

I was sad I went to the toilet after my U/S and cried on my mums shoulder.

WHY you ask?

well its a silly reason but i wanted a girl first.

Im an older sister and loved the relationship i had with my brother

It just seemed to me how it was suppose ot be for us.

It didnt take me long to get over it, we were exicited.

we wrapped our baby boy in blue, made plans for him to play in the dirt and play footy when he was older.

He was going to be an awesome big brother I just knew it.

When I fell pregnant with Lil C

I think it was pretty clear i was baking another blue

I still held onto the hope i would get the pigeon pair

because that seemed perfect to me!

And yep he was our 2nd little man.

And yes my heart slightly fell again BUT it was pretty awesome too

they were gonna grow up to be best buddies...

thats the plan anyway haha

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero"
~Marc Brown

kisses for little brother on mothers day

The first bonding momment

i love you

6 months on and that plan is looking pretty good so far.

Master J ADORES his little brother.

Always finding his dummy, helping me where he can playing with him, talking to him, making him laugh.

They bath together, have "tummy time" together, sometimes just "be" together

Dont get me wrong he has his momments of terror and jealousy

but im pretty sure thats all normal.

He is also extremely protective!

He has in his mind who and who isnt allowed to touch and hold Lil C.

He has smacked total strangers hands for touching Lil C or yelled NO at the kiddies at daycare.

He starts to get worried if he thinks we are going to leave Lil C behind

and

He will come running if somethings not right

(example if Lil C has toppled over whilst sitting up) 

Its so very cute to watch and makes me so proud.

I can just see once Lil C starts to crawl and walk Master J will acquire a shadow,

they already get along so well, laughing at things they only know,

playing with cars

and just being brothers.

I look at my boys now and think they are perfect.

and, honestly,

I am so happy to have

2 little boys, 2 little best friends, 2 little mischief makers.

I dont think there is anything like the bond that forms between 2 brothers

and i can not wait to see it turn into something so unbreakable.

"There's no other love like the love for a brother.

There's no other love like the love from a brother."

~Astrid Alauda

One day mumma might get her girl but for now...

I will just enjoy the love and bond of 2 little boys for their mummy

because that is like none other too..

Mum's The Word... Camera Play

My gorgeous friend miss Emily of Mum's The Word

has started a play along called

Camera Play

you can read about it ^

So i thought id join in for my very first one!!

(sorry about the quality of the photo its an iPhone image)

I took this of my gorgeous boys playing Cars together!

Lil C was having some tummy time and was kina whinging a bit so i gave him one of the bigger ones to grab on to

So master J came along and started driving cars around him

It was very cute i cant wait for them to be old enough to actually play together

for now this was just pefect though

smiles and giggles and matchbox cars



Helllloooooo Linen Closet...

So part of my 2011 New Year, New Me plan was to become more

Organised

Ive already taken

The Organise your Pantry Challenge

and did great

I will admit it needs doing again

but sshhhhh dont tell Katrina ;)

The most recent challenge i decided to do was

Organising The Linen Cupboard

In my baby brain wisdom i didnt take a photo of my cupboard before..

But this is it after...

Im pretty impressed with myself again

hahaha

Top Shelf : Green bags and board games

Second Shelf: Nappys, bath towels, facewashers

i even had a spot for birthday presents im buying in advance =D

Third Shelf: Master Bedroom sheet sets and Master J's sheet sets

Fourth Shelf: All things baby, wraps, spew rags, cot sheet sets, blankets

Last Shelf: lots of differnt things extra blankets, throw rugs, table cloths and esky bags.

I got rid of blankets and wraps (some to giveaway some to sell), yucky towels and facewashers

It felt gooooood

Now with any luck i'll be able to keep it this clean.

Next Task for me personally is to find some draw that were featured in

Organising the Dirty Laundry

I think these will work wonders for my little family.

Cant wait to see what the next Organsing task is

yes i love to be organised!

Will you join in?

A Happy organised house equals a very happy mummy

well in this household!

Meal Planning Tuesday

Its Tuesday again which can only mean one thing...

ITS...

Tuesday

this weeks menu looks a little something like this...

Wednesday - Bolognese roll

Thursday - Jacket/stuffed potatos

Friday - Takeaway

Saturday - Chicken Schnitzel, vegies and gravy

Sunday - "Roast" Day Beef and Rocket Kofta with Roast vegies

(curtosey of Miss Holly Homemaker)

Monday - Beef and red wine casserole in the slow cooker

Tuesday - Chicken pie



Traditions...

Tonight for dinner we had some yummy Balsamic chicken and roast vegies

thankyou to miss Holly Homemaker for the recipe it was delish!

Which got me thinking of sunday night roasts dinners

which lead to family traditions.

I decided then and there that we would be having some sort of

"roast"

every sunday night.

It wont necassarily be roast meat

but it will defiantly be roast vegies and some sort of meat, even if its just schnitzel.

My partner agreed and i think master J will love it as he devoured his roast potatos and roast pumpkin

om nom nom.

So these thoughts and decisons got me thinking about all our other family traditions we have.

image from here

I love traditons i think they are important it gives us something to look forward too to get excited about its the little things in life that make the days so much brighter.

Its also something for just you and your family no-one else shares the same thing at the exact same time

So heres a few of our traditons...

Every Easter we head to the Easter races at

Oakbank

we use to camp there, Mr S and his family have been camping up there for years

since we've had master J and now Lil C it's a little harder

but one day we will camp up there again.

We still get all dressed up for the 2 main race days and have a flutter hehe

Easter Presents consist of one choccie egg or bunny a few small egss and a set of Pj's

Mr S gets ferraro rocheres and i get a Lindt bunny

Every Christmas Eve we open one pressie each

well not so much mum and dad now but the boys will get too

We also try and watch the Polar express or go looking at christmas lights.

For mine and Mr S's birthdays we always ither have homemade sghetti/lasagne and garlic bread or Chinese from our favourite chinese shop for dinner.

Every 2nd sunday (as Mr S works the other atm)

will be our

Family Fun Day

Our newest one will be a "Roast" something every sunday.

I'm also trying to bake with Master J once a week and now i think we will be doing some craft once a week too ive found some gorgeous craft ideas that we can do together

well thats all i can think of at the momment

im a tad disappointed i thought we had more :(

Im sure theres plenty more i just dont realise!

Im sure theres lots of smaller things and things we do in differnt seasons at differnt times of the year.

Anywho because it seems we dont have as many as i thought, i think its time to start adding some more!

What family traditons do you have? i would love for you to share them 

and 

the inspiration would be appreciated ;)

Recipe Book - Meat Pie/s

Ive had a few people ask me for this recipe so i thought id add it to the recipe book.

Its another recipe from the

"Family Circle"

Fast Finger Snacks cookbook

when i make it i alter it slightly but il let you know what as i go

Meat Pies

makes 16 party pies or one large

4 Sheets of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

2 small tomatos, sliced

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

Filling

1 tbs oil

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed (i never use this)

500g minced beef

2tbs of plan flour

1 1/2 cups of beef stock

(i just use a beef stock cube in warm water, 1 cube to 1 cup of water)

1/3 cup of tomato sauce

2 teaspoons worcesterchire sauce

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

(i use fresh or dried or mixed herbs are good too)

1.

preheat oven to moderatly hot 210oC (190oC gas)

Cut pastry into circles using a round, 10cm fluted cutter.

Press pastry circles into large muffin tins (1/3 cup capacity)

i just use a normal muffin tin i dont have anything special for these

2. to make filling

heat oil in pan, add onion and garlic.

Cook over medium heat for 2 mins or until onion is soft.

Add mince, cook over high heat for 3 mins or until well browned and all liquid has eveaporated.

Use a fork to break any lumps of mins as it cooks.

3.

Add flour, stir until combined, cook over medium heat for 1 min.

Add stock, sauces and rosemary, stir over heat until boiling.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 mins or until mixture has reduced and thickened; stir occasionally.

Allow to cool.

4.

Divide filling between pastry circles.

Top each with a whole slice or 2 half slices of tomato, sprinkle with oregano.

Bake for 25 mins or until pastry is goldne brown and crisp.

Serve hot

HINT

to make traditonal meat pies, follow the recipe up to the last step and cut off rounds of puff pastry to fit the top.

place the pastry rounds over the tomato and oregano topping, seal the edges with beaten egg.

Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden.

i have never used the tomato slices or puff pastry tops

i use another smaller round of the shortcrust pastry for a lid.

just brush edges with beaten egg or just milk and press lid down around edges.

Bake until they are golden brown.

I also add loads or vegies into the meat mixture, capsicum mushrooms, zucchini, carrot, celery

ither grated or chopped finely

great for fussy kids

If you want to do one big pie

i use two sheets of the pastry on the bottom of my pie dish so its fully covered add the filling and place another 2 sheets on top so its completely covered.

put a tiny slice in the middle of the lid for the steam and brush with an egg wash

place in the oven and bake until the pastry is golden.

There we go this is my FAVOURITE recipe out of this book

my mum made them several times

Hope you enjoy them too

they look time consuming to make but are soooooo easy and quick.

Meal Planning Tuesday...

Its...

TUESDAY

On the menu this week!

Wednesday - Massman curry with rice

Thursday - Chicken schnitzel burgers

Friday - Chicken Satay with salad and naan bread (it was goooood)

Saturday - Family dinner at SIL house so making my beef pie to share

Sunday - Balsamic vinegar chicken with roast vegies

(take 2 curtosey of miss Holly)

Monday - Nachos with guacamole and sour cream

Tuesday - Beef olives with gravy



Falling into Autumn

I was reading a blog over at Team Mummy

you can read it here

That inspired me!

Amba had a quote:

"Cease the opportunity. Live life, enjoy the little things."

How very true!

What followed was pictures of her beautiful little family and all the fun spontaniuous things that they had been doing whilst embracing life.

I decided that day because of Ambas post
that it was time to make some

"family time"

I told my partner that the following sunday would be

"Family Day"

That day was today.

We packed up the car with toys and towels, sunscreen and fishing rods.

We were heading to the beach

Master J had a fabulous time as did we all.

Master J and Daddy fished, Mummy and Lil C just relaxed in the shade
we had hot chips for lunch,
fished some more, built some sandcastles and jumped some waves.

It was then followed up with winter clothes shopping for the kiddies
and a few bits and pieces for mummy and daddy
including a new beach umbrella and beach shade!

here's just a few pics that captured the day and my heart

So a big thankyou to you Amba

without your inspiration i would never have kicked Stuart up the butt to get us out and about

We had the best day today

I cant wait for what the next family fun day may bring

My Bag of Tricks...

So heres my second installment of

My Bag of Tricks

hints and tips to help make the busy mumma's life a little bit easier!

*This helpful tip was suggested by miss Em over at Mums the word

If you have a huge pile of washing that needs to be folded, and you just can't be bothered. Separate the bigger things form the smaller, and put into two piles. Then fold the bigger things first (sheets and towels etc) and the small last!

Trust me; it will seem alot easier this way!

And do so infront of the telly!

image from here

* If your drains are dirty or theres a funky smell coming from them

pour some bi-carb soda down there and then the some vinegar

it will fizzle and froth and hopefully take the smell away!

*How to tell a good egg from a bad egg!

Fill a glass with some water and drop your egg into it

if it floats its FUNKY!

if its sinks crack away

image from here

If youve got any hints, tips or tricks to do with anything that would help another

let me know and il include it in my next bag or tricks post

giving credit to you obviously.

Hope you get some usefullness out of these tips and tricks

Things im lovin' right now...

things for my hair!

i am loving ribbons and clips and girly things to put in my messy buns or ponytails

i purchased these from

Ya Ya Dreamz

they are quite large so will look stunning when i actually get a chance to wear my hair down!

.....

Playdates with my gorgeous mummy friends!

We had a catch up on thursday and it was awesome all the kiddies run a muck

we had some lovely snacks and lots of chit chat and laughter.

Im looking forward to it being a regualr thing its nice to get out of the house

and enjoy the company of other mummas

.....

One on one time with my Blue eyed tornado

since having Lil C its been hard to find some quality time with Master J

but i am defaintly making more of an effort and really enjoying it!

We bake cookies and paint

i take him to swimming lessons every friday

It so special having that little bit of  extra alone time with him

even if he is in the pool with just his instructor!

.....

Gorgeous smiles from Lil C

.

all my little Owlet does is smile he is very rarely upset i am so very lucky!

.....

Trying new rceipes!!

Ive made it an aim that in my weekly meal plan i will have a new dish to try

and ive gotten my spring rolls, samosas and meat pie recipes out fo this fabulous book from

Family Circle

image from here

ok so they arent all healthy but they sure are delicious!

These are just a few things i love

What are you lovin' right now?



Where oh where oh where is shadow...

This another one of those

if you dont like it dont read it

or

if you think its about you it probably isnt

posts!

It seems my 'real' shadow the one thats cast by light has been replaced..

Yep replaced, by a real person!

Someone is following me around, using similar words, ideas and just plain out being a copy cat!

picture from here

(and not even a first rate one pffft girl please! your giving me a bad name!)

WOW how high school does THAT sound!

But its true and its annoying me and thats why i have come to blog it

As they say

"imitaiton is the sincerest form of flattery"

But you know what?

Whoever said that needs a swift kick in the head

because its a load of crap

I dont feel flattered at all.

I feel used, angry, fustrated and so very disappointed.

But mostly i just want to stab, you know how it is..

Ok yes i am not the queen, i am not the sole creator or the first person to do this or say that

BUT

i did work hard to put MY twist on things, use MY brain and ideas, MY time and effort

and for it to just be used as if they did all the thinking themselves

PISSES ME OFF!

Its hard to sit back and watch someone play out your life little bit by little bit

pretending that it was all THEIR idea! pfffft

Yes i know there is also room out there for everyone

BUT

when its a someone you know it kinda starts to get a little cramped and i get claustrophobic

which in turn gets me stabby.

Honestly is really that hard to come up with your own ideas? or your own words?

im so grateful my mumma taught me to use my imagination

because clearly some people are VERY lacking in it

*THANKS MOM*

I have however come to the conclusion

not only am i AWESOME (naturally)  ;)

It makes this person look like a complete twat! a liar a faker

and quite frankly a selfish person

KARMA will get you... just saying!

Anywho i will hold my head up high and keep on creating things using MY take on things

and pretty much just sit back and watch...

Cocktail in hand of course!

(makes it easier to celebrate karma)

please excuse my Awesomness ;)

Meal Planning Tuesday

This weeks menu is...

Wednesday - Satay Chicken skewers with salad, naan bread and tazatzki

Thursday - Samoas with soy sauce/chutney dipping sauce

Friday - Honey chicken with fried rice

Saturday - Meatballs/porcupines with homemade garlic bread

Sunday - Balsamic chicken with roast potato and vegies (Thankyou miss Holly for the recipe)

Monday - Teryiaki beef stirfry with noodles

Tuesday - Going out for dinner but if that falls through our family favourite spaghetti bolognese

om nom nom

Enjoy