School Sharing Morning 2011

Rosie's school recently held their annual sharing morning for the junior students.

It is an opportunity for parents to come in and see their child's work and have a look at the displays around the classroom.

As a teacher myself, I know the work that goes into preparing for a morning like this so I really appreciated the opportunity to visit Rosie's room.

Each of the children had a set routine of items they wanted to share with their parents and they had prepared short little "speeches" on each of these.

Rosie loved showing me her reading and writing books and was especially proud of her poems and art.

She even showed me the height chart for the class and to our surprise, she wasn't the shortest! For the longest time she has always been the smallest in the class. :)

Although it isn't always easy to make it to events like these, especially for working parents, it is so worth it when you see your child's face light up when you appear at the door and I am so glad I got to go this year. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Special Notes

Project Life Tuesday for today is something close to my heart..special notes.

Rosie and Harry both love to write little notes to me (well, Harry can't write yet, he draws!) and I often find them in all sorts of places. On this day I came home after a long day at work and I could see that the kids were fussing around something on the table. When I went to investigate, this is what I found!

They had picked me some "flowers" from the garden and wrote me this little note. After a rough day of all day morning sickness, fatigue and work, this was just the thing to perk me up. I love being a mum!

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of a special note from someone you love. :)

Smurfs Premiere: Part Two

Rosie has always loved dressing up, so this Smurfs experience was right up her alley!

They all had costumes tailor made to fit and had helpers there to do their hair and make up.

While waiting in the 'green room' for their performance, Rosie started to get very nervous but with a few encouraging words she was excited to get out there.

We all went and waited in the theatre for the opening festivities to start and then the Smurfs were introduced as special guests.

I was so proud of all the Smurfs and they did a great job!

As a reward for their hard work we were given free tickets to the show and some special treats so Rosie and I sat with the other Smurfs and their parents in the reserved section and enjoyed the movie together.

Was it a good movie? Let's just say that it was 90 minutes that I will never get back but Rosie loved it and that made it all worthwhile. I am so grateful that she had the opportunity to participate in something like this and I know it is an experience she will treasure for a long time. :)

Smurfs Premiere: Part One

A couple of weeks ago Rosie had the opportunity to perform at the Smurfs NZ Premiere at Sylvia Park.

Arriving at the theatre on the morning of the premiere

Her dance class were invited to present a Smurf dance and they worked for several weeks to try and get themselves ready for the big day.

Trying the hat and shoes for size in the foyer

This involved practises twice a week and individual work at home to try and get it looking as sharp as possible.

Quick rehearsal in the empty theatre

Rosie's dance teacher uploaded their routine onto a private You Tube account and she was able to work on this at home in her own time.

Getting her hair slicked back and ready for the hat

We encouraged her to practise at least twice a day and gave her as much feedback as we could, to help her improve.

Leotard on and waiting for make up

Rosie is, by nature, a very shy girl and her dancing has really helped her to come out of her shell.

Smurf transformation begins

She absolutely loves to dance and it has been one of her favourite things to do since she was very small. She even started to dance to the background music in a department store today!

Blue face paint fun

Tomorrow I will share the rest of the Smurf pics. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Glowstick Fun

My Project Life snapshot today is this little glowstick. Who knew such a small thing could bring so much amusement to little Harry! He got this from one of the radio stations down at the Rugby World Cup opening at the waterfront and it was certainly the toy of the moment...until it ran out of "glow", of course!

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of a one hit wonder or fad that your children love. :)

The Reason I Have Been Quiet!

I know I have been missing from my blog for quite a few weeks now and it has even been a challenge for me to post my weekly Project Life updates. I went from posting several times a week, to posting once a week. I am also behind on my Project Life album by a mammoth seven weeks! This past weekend I got all my photos printed and sorted into my album, now I just need to catch up on my journaling, something I plan to do in the next few days.

There is a good reason I have been quiet though...we are blessed to be expecting baby number 3 in April! I had very easy pregnancies with Rosie and Harry, so the arrival of morning sickness was a very rude shock for me. For the past few weeks I have been sick for most of the day and night and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever feel myself again. The only thing that helped was snacking c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y! It was not fun for me and it certainly gave me a new appreciation for other woman who suffer through this with every pregnancy. Luckily for me, the sickness started to subside from around 11 weeks and I am now slowly getting back to my normal self.

We have had a couple of scans now and the minute your little one appears on the screen is one of those moments that never ceases to be amazing and special. I feel just as excited and worried (an unfortunate personality trait of mine) with number three, as I did with number one! We feel so incredibly blessed and want to enjoy every moment of the coming months. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Trophy

Project Life Tuesday today is a trophy!

Little Harry was the lucky recipient of the sports trophy at his preschool recently and he was super proud to bring this home for the week. He placed it by his bed and looked at it every day before we had to return it. Of course, I had to snap a photo of it before giving it back and I am sure this will continue to be a special memory for him as he looks back on these photos in years to come...

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a photo of a special award that one of your family has received lately. :)

Super Easy Chocolate Balls

I have a super fast and easy recipe for you today. :) These chocolate balls take only minutes to make and use regular store cupboard ingredients. They are perfect for when you need a fast chocolate dessert to take to a friend's house or to enjoy as a treat with your family.

Easy Chocolate Balls

Ingredients

1 packet of plain sweet biscuits such as milk arrowroot, round wine, etc

1 can of condensed milk

2 tablespoons cocoa

Small bowl of coconut

Method

1. Crush the biscuits in small batches using a food processor or placing them in a plastic bag and using a rolling pin to crush them into very small pieces. Place crumbs into a bowl.
2. Add the cocoa and condensed milk to the crumb mixture and mix thoroughly.
3. Shape into small balls and roll in coconut.
4. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes and then they are ready to eat!

Enjoy. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Favourite Snacks

Mmm, do you have a favourite snack at the moment? I love a good banana sandwich and the banana must be mashed with a fork, not sliced. It also must be on white bread. :)

Challenge for Project Lifers: Before you sink your teeth into your favourite snack, take a quick picture for your album. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Chaos

Chaos is the only way to describe what is going on in our front yard at the moment. Our new drains are finally in the process of being done and there is scoria and mud everywhere. This work has been many months in the pipeline and it will be quite some time before we know for sure if it will solve our leak downstairs but we are certainly hoping it does!

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of some work going on at your house at the moment. :)

Project Life Tuesday: A Favourite Appliance

What is your favourite appliance? At the moment, this is mine. I bought this as a Christmas present for myself last year and I have used it every week since then. It isn't the Kitchenaid I really, really wanted but at a third of the price, I am pretty happy with my Kenwood Patissier for the time being.

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of your favourite appliance at the moment for your album and write a few notes about why you love it so much!

Breadmaker Recipe: My Favourite White Loaf

Do you have a breadmaker? Do you love it as much as we do? Today I thought I would share my favourite white loaf recipe. It is super quick, easy and delicious. I have tried many recipes but always keep coming back to this one, you really can't go wrong with it.

Basic White Loaf

1 + 1/4 cup + 2 Tb warm water

2 Tb oil

2 tsp sugar

1 + 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups high grade flour

2 Tb milk powder

3 tsp Surebake or breadmaker yeast

 This makes a 750gram loaf and all you do is bung everything into your bread pan in the order listed above, set the menu to the standard white loaf, choose your crust preference and be patient. In about three hours your house will smell delicious and you will have a perfect white loaf to enjoy! :)

Project Life Tuesday: The Job that Never Ends

There is always a job that feels like it never ends in our house and I know I am not alone in this one! One of the certainties of life is that there will be washing...and lots of it. I actually don't mind this chore too much but on some days it feels like there is literally washing everywhere.

This is a common sight at our house. A pile of washing hurriedly thrown down the stairs in the direction of the laundry. Yes, it is untidy and sometimes it takes me (gasp!) more than a day or two to get to it but hey, that's life in any busy family. One day I will look back on all those little clothes and a smile will come to my face when I think of the fun that has taken place in those grass stained pants and muddy t-shirts.

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of your washing pile as it is right now, on this very day and at this very moment. After all, it tells a story. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Apples!

Project Life Tuesday for today is apples. Yep, you heard right, apples. Our little guy just can't get enough of them! He prefers Granny Smiths and he usually has two in one sitting. He would go a third if I let him!

Challenge for Project Lifers: Is there a food of the moment in your house? Take a snapshot of it and enjoy the memories! :)

Project Life Tuesday: Work

Project Life Tuesday for today is work...again. :)

Now I would like to say that this is my work, but sadly it isn't. It is Taff's work!

I have been wondering for a while what his workplace looks like and really wanted to snap a photo or two for my Project Life album.

We spend such a lot of time at work every day and I thought it might be nice to capture that work environment for future generations to enjoy.

I wish I could look back and see some of the places my parent's worked so this past weekend we headed in and I grabbed a few pics.

I think if it was me, I would find it hard to work in this environment. The view is stunning! It is on the waterfront and even features a glass floor panel where you can see straight through to the water underneath. It freaked me out a bit. :)

I also loved the "lunchroom" and wouldn't mind a kitchen like that in my house. lol.

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of your husband's workplace, office and desk. It will be great to look back on in years to come!

Carrot Cup Cakes

This carrot cupcake recipe is absolutely delicious and is definitely a real favourite of mine. I cannot take the credit for it myself, I got it from my good friend Sarah and have made it many times since then. You really should give it a go, they are super scrummy!

Carrot Cupcakes: Fern Cafe

1/2 an orange (skin included)

3 eggs

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups self-raising flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 cups grated carrot

3/4 cup crushed pineapple drained

Preheat oven to 180c.

Lightly grease muffin pans (I use cupcake wrappers instead to save time).

1. Chop the orange, remove pips and blend.
2. Beat eggs lightly, then add sugar, oil and vanilla. Beat again until creamy.
3. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and salt. Whisk until lightly mixed.
4. Add the carrot, pineapple and blended orange.
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 180c until skewer comes out clean and cool on a wire rack.
6. When cool, ice with cream cheese icing and garnish with chopped apricot and pumpkin seeds.

Cream Cheese Icing

125 grams cream cheese

2 cups icing sugar

50 grams soft butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat ingredients together (do not add water)

This recipe makes quite a few cupcakes and these are perfect for taking to shared morning teas and occasions where you need to "bring a plate". :)

Project Life Tuesday: Harvest Time!

Remember this post 4 months ago? Well, look at it now!

Project Life Tuesday for today is harvest time for our little vege patch. I am the first to admit that I do not have green thumbs, so this patch has pretty much taken care of itself. A few days ago we set the kids a task of weeding the garden so we would be ready to harvest part of our crop.

Now, I am pretty sure that they pulled a few things that weren't weeds but it was all for a good purpose...teaching them the value of work. Well that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Challenge for Project Lifers: Take a snapshot of your garden and all the lovely things that are growing in there at the moment. :)

Project Life Tuesday: Family Favourites

Project Life Tuesday for this beautiful chilly day is family favourites.

What is your family's favourite recipe? Without a doubt, in our family it is this yummy chocolate cake.

We make it ALL the time and our whole extended family enjoys it for everday and special occasions. Why not take a snapshot of your family's favourite recipe the next time you make it!

As always, the best part is licking the bowl...some things never change. :)

Project Life Catch Up

I am about 3 weeks behind on Project Life! Arggghhh!

Today I will be attempting to fix that and having a good session this afternoon. My photos are printed, my pens are ready and I am excited. :)

Perfect Playdough!

We love playdough in our family and I am constantly amazed at how long a batch will keep the kids entertained for!

It is so easy and cheap to make and is a great way to get creative on a Saturday afternoon.

On this day we had few colour options available so we used the one bottle of red food colouring we had and got to it.

The recipe we use is quick to prepare and you will have a big ball of warm playdough in your hands before you know it.

Here is the recipe we use for perfect playdough.

1 Tb Cooking Oil

1 Cup Flour

2 Tsp Cream of Tartar

1 Cup Water

1/2 cup Salt

2 Tsp Food Colouring

Mix ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until dough is no longer sticky and gathers together in a large blob. Take pan off stove immediately. Turn out onto floured board and knead until smooth.

Have fun! :)