Early morning wake up call

Well this morning I was woken up to my son screaming at 3am. Not a usual occurrence at all. I ran into the kids room and tried to calm him down. After 15 mins it just wasn't going to happen so I got my son to build the 'travel bed' for my daughter in another room so we transferred her.

She absolutely loves her travel bed and would live in it permanently if we let her. It's a Phil and Teds Traveller cot and it is just awesome. Even at 2.5 yrs she still has lots of room left in it. Though when there are lots of toys in it, it kind of fills up.

It took me till just before 5 to calm him down. When he did fall asleep in my arms, I got a big shock. It wasn't till he has sleeping was it obviously just how much he was struggling to breathe. His whole chest rattled and rumbled and it was really hard on him.

Finally about 6 am after deliberating with myself on calling an ambulance, running him up to the ER and just letting him sleep, I decided it was time to take him up the hospital.

They were excellent and have diagnosed him with bronchiolitis. He is on baby prednisone and an inhaler and seems heaps better and we got to go home 3 hours later. Such a relief. I'm hoping tonight will be better as I am shattered.

I hope your weekend is going better than mine!

Being prepared for disaster

For a few years now, Civil Defense have been telling New Zealanders to be prepared for disaster. I think this happened in earnest since the earthquake in Haiti.

I think most people largely ignored the advice. Then Christchurch had that serious quake in September last year, followed by the deadly devastating one in February.

Since then, instead of my previous half hearted efforts, I have been getting organised in earnest, as being where we live we are at a remote chance (though in fairness, not really any more remote than places that have had such things happen) of earthquake, tsunami or volcanic eruption. The latter being really remote.

Bearing this in mind, there is every chance if disaster strikes, our home won't be safe and we will have to flee. So what makes the most sense for us is to make our holiday home the disaster plan.

Enter the campervan! Perfectly suited to keep our family sorted in case of disaster and is already stocked with a lot of the basics like towels, sheets, crockery etc and is already our home away from home.

I have been getting organised with the plan to get it well stocked with enough food and supplies to last 2 weeks and am well under way, though I need a bit better planning.

This month I have been focusing on Leo. So often in these situations, the pets are forgotten. This month I have moved into the camper hit cat carrier, harness with leash so we can take him to the toilet and have purchased enough cat food. Good job done!

Next month I will create an inventory list so that I know exactly what I have in order work out what I still need as it has been fairly haphazard so far.

Hand knitted dolls

The kids grandparents (my in-laws) have just come to visit and with them, they brought two dolls, made by Nana. We had so much trouble finding a male doll for my son who is obsessed with his sisters ones, that Nana took it upon herself to make one. And what a fantastic job she did!

These two are from a pattern book we purchased at the local craft store. There is a whole series of them. Both the children love them and Nana is happy to be able to get rid of some of her wool scraps.

Our Siberian Cat, Leo

A friend of mine is thinking of getting a cat and it has brought back to mind when we first got our Siberian Cat Leo. It took us 6 weeks to name said cat, now almost 4 - don't even ask how long it took to decide on the children's names!

We did a lot of research before we settled on the Siberian breed. They were very rare here in New Zealand at the time, and they still aren't easily available. We got ours from the only breeder in the country at the time.

What attracted us? Well the fact that the breed stood one of the highest chances of us not having to send him back because of my husbands asthma. We were worried about allergies. Well I am so glad we have our not so little Siberian because even my brother who is badly allergic has no reaction to him.

When we first got him, he weighed only 1.5kg and could easily be carried on the palm of the hand. Affectionate and oh so cute, with those big ears and paws that gave a hint to the beast he was to grow into.

The only downside - the fur. If you have dark carpet like us, don't get a cat with lots of white based fur, it is everywhere and we are forever vacuuming, but I guess that's better than not knowing it's there and leaving it.

Siberians will make you laugh, have beautiful natures, love to play, can jump oh so far and want to cuddle right in bed with you. Definately a breed to consider.

The childrens playroom

Putting a playroom in our house was seriously one of the best things we've done.  It keeps the kids toys mostly contained to one room and the bedroom becomes just a place of sleeping.

Loosely the color scheme for this playroom is blue, green and white.

We painted the playroom with the bottom half green and the top half and the ceiling blue. The window trim, doors, skirting and architraves white. Next we added a lovely pattern suiting under 5 year olds where the blue and green meet.

We had a large toy box made with cushion on top, and painted that the same green as they playroom walls so it is hard to tell exactly how big it is.

In the photo above you can see the slide / climbing structure that has been brought indoors for the winter.

The kids toy collection is stored and displayed on the cube structures. It is two bookcases of cubes, 6 x 2. One of them has been tipped on its side. There has also been two white shelves added. All the small toys are stored in the bins across the bottom.

None of the toys have a particular place, they just get shoved back on the shelves or in a bucket at the end of the day, leaving room to play and bring it all out again the next day.

We also have a green plastic round table and four blue stools, but they are currently in the tiled dining room as a playdoh table. Playdoh and carpet do not mix well.

The fold up tent and tunnel is fantastic. My little crawler thinks it is so much fun, and my daughter is just getting into imaginative play, so they each have a 'house' connected by tunnel.


My favourite bit to it is that it folds down like the sun shades on your car and takes up no space!!

Day trip Awhitu Peninsula Auckland

Yesterday we went for a drive over to the Awhitu Peninsula, south west of Auckland and somewhere I had never been before. It was a lovely drive once we got off the motorway.

Even though the picture is a bit blurry, you can see the lovely green countryside. In fact, we felt so far outside of Auckland, yet we were not far from the city at all.

We arrived up the end of the Peninsula to the Awhitu Regional Council park. It is a park run by the Auckland Council and is one of the many that they have where you can day trip as well as camp. Just opposite the entrance way, I glanced to the left and saw something so out of place that I had to ask my husband to reverse so that we could see it again.

Now I'm not a plane expert and couldn't tell you what it was actually doing there, but it was just sitting there wingless and unloved. It didn't look like anyone was doing anything with it at all.

The campground itself was shut due to the heavy rain we have been experiencing, but in summer I think it would be quite lovely....

Carrying on from there, we went up to the lighthouse right at the Manukau heads. It was really windy and freezing cold, but definitely worth the visit.

We were able to go inside the lighthouse and up the top. I didn't go outside up the top as it was just too windy, but the lighthouse itself was really interesting.

The view was quite amazing, I never quite realised how big the Manukau Harbour is. I would recommend the Awhitu Peninsula as a day trip destination from Auckland, even better on a summers day with a picnic lunch!

Pinterest - the easy way to collect ideas

Today I want to talk about Pinterest - found here

It is an online Pin board where you can have as many pin boards as you want and you can see other peoples pin boards and grab their photos for your ideas.

It is a really nifty idea and I have been using it for a few weeks and loving it.

How many times have you been searching the web for an idea - like children's playrooms, thought it was great, only an hour later when you think it was the coolest one you saw you could get back to it, well it's not a problem anymore!

In this post I have included a screen shot of my pins which shows what I have been collecting.

Pinterest is still in an invitation mode, but I have a few if anyone wants them. Happy Pinning!

Making Gardening Easy

The hardest part with gardening I find is knowing what to plant when. This makes all the difference in having a successful garden.

Last night while researching ways to make supporting frames for my snow peas, I stumbled across this site, Garden Grow.

Yes it is New Zealand based, but it tells me based on where I live when I should get the seeds out and plant straight to ground or into seedling pots in the glasshouse and when to move those seedlings out.

Oh so easy!!!

Now the USA isn't so simple with its growing zones because it is just so much bigger. They change many times across states and trying to work it out looks oh so hard. The best information looks to be here at the National Gardening Association

Now I'm off to install the iPhone program from Garden Grow so it can keep me organised!

Winter buggy liners Baby Jogger City Mini Double

The second buggy liner is finished and I am so happy with the results. The kids are so snuggly and warm.

The top bit hanging over the belly bar tucks up nicely on the kids. It needs to be folded over a little when they are sitting up, but when they are laying down it's perfect.

In reality though, I still need to attach some press studs to the top to stop it from sliding down putting the kids in and out. I'm also thinking of a few press studs to keep the flap in place.

I'm so glad I made it so high up the sides so the kids have plenty of room in them and space to grow, especially room for their feet.

More details can be found at my post at the completion of the first one, here.

Hearty Beef Stew

This is a super simple receipe great for those cold winter nights. Collect the ingredients:
1kg gravy beef or similar casserole steak
2 medium onions
1T minced garlic, or 2 cloves
1 400g tin crushed tomates
1 400g tin ked kidney beans or four bean mix
1 400g tin baby potatoes
1/4 c tomato paste
1t steak seasoning, or any paprika based seasoning

Turn on the slow cooker. Cut the meat into cubes and dice the onion. Put everything in slow cooker. Stir a few times during the day if you can.

Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Baby and Toddler in one room

A few months ago we were talking about having the kids in the same room to make going away easier - ie they were used to each others noise.

Well about a week after that they both got sick and needed a vaporiser to help them breathe at night and we only had one, so hesitatingly we put them into the same room.

Talk about easy! My daughter was so happy to move into my baby sons room and on the rare occasion he makes noise and it wakes her, she is very concerned asking if he is alright. He just doesn't wake up to her noises.

On the bright side, we have one heater on, the vaporiser works for both of them, and we have freed up a room.

Sometimes it takes them up to an hour to have their afternoon nap from being put in the bedroom as they are so happy talking - but hey that gives me more time to get things done.

No plans to separate them back out at this point

Toddlers Apron

Cut two identical pieces of fabric. 18.5 inches long and 15.5 inches wide (to allow for seams). Fold in half lengthways and at the top leave 4 inches to the fold then cut the arm holes.

Cut 4 strips 18 inches long for the two side ties and the two neck ties. They should be 2 inches wide for the sides and 1 inch for the neck ties.

Fold each tie in half lengthways with right sides together. Sew one end closed and down the side. Turn inside out. Do this for all the ties.

Position the ties on the right side of one piece of the apron so that they are facing into the fabric like the picture above. Fold them up so they do not stick out past the sides of the apron.

Lay the other piece of apron on top, right side down, so that the two right sides are together with the ties inside. Sew around the fabric leaving a 3 inch gap on one of the sides to turn the apron inside out. 

Turning it inside out will look like the picture above. Sew around the outside of the apron main fabric piece1/4 inch from the edge. This will sew closed the opening that was for turning it inside out and give it a nice even finish.

Begin the square foot gardening

Here in Auckland it is the middle of Winter, but that means it is the best time to get the seedlings started so that they will be nice and strong come Spring.

Earlier this week I put seeds into 320 punnets. This included broccoli, mini broccoli, purple cauliflower, carrots, onion, basil, coriander, parsley, snow peas and beans.

These are quite happily sprouting on the shelves of my glasshouse.

This year I am going to get into Square Foot Gardening in earnest and in the next few weeks we modify the garden bed and put up the square guides.

Ultimate Sore Throat Remedy

Hate the feeling of a sore throat? First the tingling, itchy feeling, then the pain. Well I recently stumbled across a remedy that works wonders and is oh so simple.

In a mug of boiling water put a teaspoon of each:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Honey

stir and serve. repeat

Savoury Bacon and Cheese Muffins

 

Bacon and Cheese muffins are my husbands favourite and since he is ill today, I thought I'd make them. The secret to them is to use deep muffin tins, make double the mix and pile them high like the picture above before putting them into a hot oven. That way they give you the feeling of cafe bought ones.

Recipe - For regular sized muffins - I double this:

2 cups grated cheese

4 bacon strips, cut and cooked

4 spring onions finely sliced

2 cups plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

lemon pepper seasoning to taste

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 c melted butter

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix the egg, milk and butter together in a separate bowl. Combine the two. The mixture should be quite thick.

Put into muffin tins. I pack them up real high like the top picture. Bake in the oven at 200C for 25 mins

Duck cookies

These cookies are made using a basic Sugar Cookie recipe and a duck shaped cookie cutter. To get the ducks to keep their shape, make sure you put the dough in the refrigerator before baking. My 2.5 yr old daughter had brilliant fun using the cookie cutter to help me.

 One they are baked, cover them with Royal Icing in yellow. I used a mix that was a tiny bit too thick as you can see how it was applied with the back of a teaspoon. It takes some practice getting Royal Icing right as you can't dilute it with water etc, it's about adding the icing sugar slowly.

Leave them to dry for a few hours or overnight, then using a piping bag and a small nozzle pipe the shape of the beak and fill completely. Only do two or three at a time so the icing doesn't start to set.

Sprinkle orange coloured sugar over the beak on a sheet of baking or greaseproof paper. Using the paper means it's easy to return excess sugar back to the container to use later. Tip the excess sugar off and complete the rest.

Pipe dots for the eyes and stick a silver cachous on it. Leave to dry for a few hours

Indoor Trampoline

Winter for us in Auckland New Zealand means months of nearly constant rain and windy weather. Getting outside becomes very difficult and the kids go stir crazy.

With my fathers help we have managed to bring the outdoors in a little bit in the shape of the trampoline which is always a huge hit with preschoolers.

 In order to fit it in the garage, he removed the bottom piece of the legs that join two together and fashioned some stands using planks of wood. He also removed the bottom poles of the net support and replaced them with dowel.

I then rethreaded the net onto the mat with the extra rolled up on the blue mats.

It doesn't fit adults, or older children, but for anyone under 5, it's just perfect!

Winter buggy liner / foot muff

 

This is my son enjoying a day out in his new winter buggy liner. It was originally made for our Baby Jogger City Mini Double (I'm just finishing off the second one now) but with my daughter wanting to walk places, it has found a home on the Phil and Teds Dash. It's a good thing they are universal - the Baby Jogger just needs two extra slits in the seat for the fold mechanism.

I made two using  2 metres of green fleece, 2 metres of the pattern fleece and 2 metres of double layer wool wadding. The wadding is sandwiched in the middle to give the warmth.

Using the City Mini as a template, I drew up the seat area. Then I sketched out what I would need for the sides - you can see in the top picture how it is folded over the top of the dash seating area to keep it in place. Then I made a top cover that can be attached by zips. The zips go level with the belly bar, but I made an extra 20 cm of length on it and made that bit wider so I can tuck it right up around him, especially when he is lying flat asleep.

As you can see he loves it and he was perfectly warm. It is great for napping too. I have discovered they also fit in our car seats which is awesome when we do long drives.

For summer I have just seat liners (the back bit) and they have a waterproof backing in case of spilled drinks or accidents.

Making Play Doh or Play Dough

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
Gel food colourings - I have the Wilton ones for my cakes and they work a treat

Makes approx 1kg of dough.

Put everything but the oil in  large saucepan, give it a bit of a stir. Add the water a bit at a time and stir it in. This reduces the chances of lumps. Put the stove on a medium heat and stir until most of the water is absorbed. Dough will look sticky at this point.

Dump it out onto floured board and give it a good knead for a few minutes, it will soften up and give a nice consistency. If still sticky add a little bit more flour.

Break into sections and colour as required. I store them in old Play-Doh containers and they last a long time.

First birthday cake

It was my sons first birthday last weekend. Here is the cake I made. It is from a book called Magical Cakes by Debbie Brown - the Labyrinth Cake. I am really happy how it turned out.

I baked the cake on the Wednesday and spent Thursday and Friday icing it for Saturday. All up it took about 8 hours. The instructions from the book were excellent for the most part and I didn't have any trouble interpreting it...making the little gnomes look like the pictures on the other hand wasn't something I could really pull off!