Hangin’ with the nephew

I visited my brother and his fiancé today, and 10 day old nephew #2. He slept in my arms for about two hours. He lay content while I fumbled my way through a nappy change. He smells like baby.

Bliss.

In my kitchen this week

While cleaning out the house I’ve also been busy baking and cooking this week, with some love in my heart.

I made a lasagne for my brother, his fiancé and their little growing family – I’m not sure exactly what is the most helpful thing to a family with a new baby, but I’m pretty sure lasagne is  good for everything.

I also made these cookies which turned out perfectly. They were like subway cookies but without the fake after taste! So chewy and soft and awesome! I gave away 2/3 of the batch to Mr RG’s workmates, who gobbled them up lickety split. I gave five away to our electrician, for himself and his four kiddies. The others we have been enjoying at home :)
I feel all warm and fuzzy through sharing my food love :)

Oh joy! (?) I found the ‘before’ photo!

Dear Pebble,
This is the sty that was once your living space.

Love Mummy xxx

It’s Tuesday and I can’t wait…

… to see my little nephew this week :)
… for my friend to come home from overseas
… and for my house to be back in order. On that note – back to work!
thanks Lou

Blog Love

Blog posts I’m loving this week….

Baking Mondays - U is for Uncupcake by The Red Deer. These little uncupcakes are TOO cute. They’re on my ‘to bake’ list, for sure!

Little One by Baby Mac – a gorgeous tale of an ultrasound and an excited big sister.

Update on the BabyGarden by Frills in the Hills – because I really want my own veggie garden and need the inspiration.

Easy Peasy Baked Cheesecake – by Buttons by Lou Lou – one for the recipe file. YUM!

The cake…. my creative space – by Wouldn’t it be loverly – an awesome Where the Wild Things Are birthday cake! Heart that book.

Leaf Rubbings with Rainbow Crayons – Squiggle Mum via http://www.mumblers.net/crafty-mum/129/Mumblers – a gorgeous way to spend an afternoon with a kid.

Clearly I’m into all things baking lately!

Nesting

Finally, the nesting bug has bitten me! Mr RG, his brother and I spent Sunday working hard to get the baby room ready. I’m SO annoyed at myself – I accidentally deleted the ‘before’ pic which really showed how much work we had to do.  So far we have emptied the spare room (previously the gym and junk room). This room was overflowing with STUFF as the before pic would have clearly illustrated.  Now the room is just waiting for baby gear – and a baby!
UPDATE: I found the BEFORE photo!


No, we don’t know if we’re having a boy or girl. The room was blue when we bought the house. We want to paint it a neutral cream colour. I’m really not the interior decorating type, so expect to see a very functional space without much fuss when it’s finished!
We also plan to get rid of the nasty old brown shed outside, but that won’t really improve the view much. The poor lil tacker will have a lovely view of the washing line :)

These cupboards were once jam packed with our (mostly my) stuff. Now they’re completely empty, and ready to be re-painted. We are also getting rid of the old carpet off cut – which we used to protect the floor boards from the big gym that was in here.
Now for the next job…..


We have a guy coming to give us a quote to spruce up these lovely floor boards that were hiding under our mangy old carpet. I’m so glad to have the carpet gone, it was just awful. Thankfully these photos don’t show all the old stains. Yuck!
We’re leaving carpet in the lounge, and with all our FWK (that’s Friend’s With Kids) advice, we’re not getting new carpet just yet. They all say not to bother when we’re about to have a baby. We’re thinking of either tinting the lounge room carpet a darker colour or buying a cheap rug, hopefully one of these options will make it look a bit fresher than it does right now.      
Not satisfied with this effort, Mr RG and I waved goodbye to our helper and embarked on a clean out of the main bedroom, in order to fit in some of the stuff that we’ve decided to keep.
Unfortunately my study is now overflowing with uni gear that I need to sort through and cull. I can’t bear to part with it all without looking through it. I studied Early Childhood Education, and I can’t help but think that a lot of it will come in handy in the very near future! Then again, am I really going to flick through uni text books and articles to find the answer to a sleepless night?
Here’s the study – I have my work cut out for me!

Here lies the goodwill pile – I’m sorry to whoever gave me that very nice candle holder. It’s lovely, but I’m being very ruthless with this cull!

Once the main bedroom was tidy and neatly packed (we have lots of storage in the high space of the built in wardrobes), we went outside to finish the day with some gardening. Or weeding. I detest weeding, but it needed to be done. Our driveway is white gravel, and little green aliens were invading everywhere. Persistent little green aliens. We spent about two hours outside in the freezing weather, the sunlight from the day fading over the tree tops. It wasn’t so bad really.

At about 6.30pm I announced I was going inside, as I was at breaking point. Mr RG has the stamina of an ox, and would have kept going, but decided to come in with me too. I think he could see a little madness in my eyes…… We had lovely hot showers, and treated ourselves to some takeaway and a vegetative state on the couch. We tried to watch TV but both fell asleep!

Productive Saturday

I have spent today ticking off some to do’s from my holiday list – and getting a head start on the yuckier jobs which could easily be put off until …. never!
I started with cleaning out the Tupperware cupboard, which was at the stage of quickly opening the door, throwing stuff in and shutting it again.
Before:

After:

I then tidied up the saucepan cupboard, which was not quite as bad as the Tupperware, but getting on my nerves.
Before:

After:

I sorted out the pantry too. I didn’t do a full pantry clean, but tossed out some out of date food (only two things, an improvement as I buy less processed food these days), wiped down the shelves and gave it a general tidy up.
Before:
After:

I also gave the noticeboard the once over, as stuff was starting to fall off, and some things needed to go, or be filed away properly. I had to keep a few keepsakes though, including the cards that came with the first two bunches of roses Mr RG sent me four 1/2 years ago. Awww.
Before:

After:

I then tackled the wardrobe, putting away all the clothes that aren’t going to fit me again until after baby and making room for all my summer gear which has been right up the back. Thankfully a lot of summer gear has been flowy and loose in recent seasons, so I’ve got plenty to wear during pregnancy.
Sorry no pics of the wardrobe – it was TOO shameful.
I rewarded myself with an ep of Gossip Girl while have a late lunch, and am about to shower and get ready for dinner with friends tonight. What a lovely way to start the school hols!
I may fit in some of the next job – writing and enveloping our wedding thank you cards…..

It’s raining, it’s pouring…

It’s hailing!

TGIF and end of the school term! The kids were out at 2.30pm, I socialised with work peeps for an hour then came home, watched two eps of Gossip Girl (season 2, ep 5 and6), and did some washing. Now I’m soaking up some blog goodness while a storm rages outside and I’m nice a cosy next to the fire.
Mr RG will be home any minute and it’s snuggle time. Life’s pretty good!

Thursday night culture

Last night my dad gave me a late call to come along to an art show where my uncle (dad’s youngest brother) was showing some of his art. Mr RG and I jumped at the chance to get out and support my uncle, and also to catch up with the olds :)

This is one of the pieces that my uncle showed. It’s created using paper, ochre and glue. This is one of my favourites, though this pic doesn’t do it justice.

Wicked Step-Mother checking out some work.

My uncle and another of his works. He’s been getting quite the cred in the local art scene. If you’d like to know more please leave a comment and I’ll hook you up.

Arty farty – the photo on the left is by Emma Hack.

Then we took my baby belly out to dinner at a tried and tested restaurant. I’ve  been here for work xmas dos, coffee and cake during uni (I went to the campus over yonder) and family celebrations (including my graduation celebration lunch!).

Delicious soft but crunchy, melty, buttery, garlicy bread.

I think Mr RG had the best dish on the table – Veal Scaloppine.

I was craving veg, so got this plain pasta with lots of green veg in it. It was what I needed but not so tasty.

Here’s something I DIDN’T need – white chocolate cheesecake. It was very good, but equally as good as  my sisters efforts. I shared it with Mr RG while supping on this decaf coffee (no caffeine for bubs – sugar yes, caffeine, no).

How awesome are art openings for a cheap night  out? There were people with babies there, so Mr RG and I are totally planning on some post-baby budget evenings to crash these events, mwahahahahaha. Free wine! Sometimes free nibbles! Out of the house with real humans, with a bub in tow!
I jest, peeps, I jest. Artists and art lovers: please don’t send  me hate mail. Respect.

Kid’s say the darndest things

Kid (7yo girl):“Is it going to hurt you when your baby comes out?”

Me: Yes, it will hurt a bit, but the hurting will stop and then I’ll be happy because I get to hold my baby.

Kid: *pause* oh! so it’s like when I got my ears pierced!

Bless  her little cotton socks.

It’s Tuesday and I can’t wait…

I love this game, thanks Lou! Tuesday is a good day to look forward to things.

I can’t wait for SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!!! Hehe.

I love my job, but MAN do I need a break. Bring it ON.

I plan to:

- spend time with family and friends

- get the baby’s room ready

- do some research and shopping for baby gear

- clean out the pantry, kitchen cupboards and my wardrobe

- do a little bit of work

- do a little bit of nothing :)

Makes me smile

Here’s what made me smile today:

I was at work, talking with the kids (Year 1/2, aged 6-8yo) about our latest unit of work, and all that we have learned now that it is coming to an end.

One of the kids put up his hand and says:

“You know, it’s funny because we always think that the new thing (topic)  is going to be boring or bad, and we want to keep doing the old thing because we like it so much. But then we start learning about the new thing and it’s really cool and we really love it and we don’t want to stop learning it!”.

This little moment gave me one of those lovely warm teaching fuzzies, that remind me of why I love doing what I do.

Butta Cake!

I imagine this title being read like Butta-face! What a horrible adjective…. I think this cake could be called Butta Bum.
Yesterday the school was quickly abandoned – as were my plans to stay late and tidy my classroom -  as a wild and wooly thunder storm hit our ‘burb. I found myself at home at 3.45pm (!!) with rain beating the window panes, and thought – time to bake!
I toyed with the idea of Anzac biscuits, then settled on a basic butter cake. Cake is something that I have not quite mastered, so I turned to good old Margaret Fulton to help me through it. I just wish I’d found this video yesterday, to help me out more!
I own the Margaret Fulton Cookbook, and used her basic butter cake recipe. You can find the recipe online here.
Step 1 – grease and line the pan. I never understood (understand?) why I need to grease and line a non-stick pan. This leads to further questions, however…..

Cream the castor sugar and butter with vanilla.

Add two eggs, one at a time, and beat well between each.

Sift the flour and salt three times.

Gently fold the flour into the creamed mixture, slowly adding the milk alternately with the flour.

Pour into your prepared tin (I had to spread mine, it was quite a thick mix!).

Bake at 175 c for 25-30mins for until a knife comes out clean.

Now for the bane of my cake baking existence….. burnt bum! WHY, oh internet, WHY?????!

The cake was otherwise lovely, but I don’t know what my problem is (the problem with my cake’s bum – not any of my other problems).

Can you help?

Is it the non-stick pan? Is it my oven? Is it me?

p.s. I highly recommend eating this cake (bum sliced off) with strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmmm.