Merry Christmas to you!

I have been meaning to write a post about how great the Myer Melbourne windows and Christmas experience was, and about all if the awesome things our football club, Melbourne Victory, have been putting on for it's fans, but this is the busiest time of the year... For my work, it gets crazy, looking after around 100 high school students book and uniform lists... And then there is the general Christmas social fun, and planning for the big day... So here I am saying Merry Christmas to you! From my family to yours... We have the kinder, soon school, holidays and we are both home with the kids for two weeks! So there will be loads of fun, probably not much posting! See you in the new year!

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Catching Fire: Hunger Games Trilogy

If you are new in my life or to my blog, you may not know about how much I enjoyed The Hunger Games books... I read them twice in a row, and once we saw the movie, I read all 3 books aloud to Mark... The first film was actually that bad that I felt bad he had to sit through it before knowing the story...

We went to see the film with the same couple that we saw the first film with, who had also read the stories... Gold class is the only way to see a film this long (over two hours), and it was worth every cent... I was really happy with everything about this film, I felt that it was true to the books, as well as being something someone who hadn't read the books could get easily... Even if you were disappointed with the first one, definitely give the second one a go!

Perfect Mums?

Perfect Mums?

I don't read tabloid magazines... No interest, no time, would prefer to read a book... But today I was at my Nanna's and had a moment of browsing her Woman's Day... This was a mistake... Front cover is Katherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, new mum, on the front cover with what is effectively a before and after Prince George picture... She looks tired... I was horrified that there is even comment about this, let alone a front cover!!! The woman is a first time mum, raising a Prince and doing it without all of the usual household staff required to raise a prince... Way to let all the new mums down, nobody feels great after a bad night, the last thing they need is some before and after shots...

Then Fifi Box going on about losing weight to be a mum her kid can look up to... Seriously... Sure if the actual focus was the healthy lifestyle she says she has taken on to lose the weight... But ultimately the headline was that she lost the baby weight to be a good mum...

Now I know that parenthood is different strokes for different folks, and what I think is best for my family may make you cringe, and we can all be a bit judgy sometimes, but ultimately we all do our best with our families, what works for us... And we should all support each other in that... Whole I think it makes all the sense in the world to lead by example, to eat healthy meals with your kids, and let them see you exercise and prioritise being healthy, but being thin doesn't make you a good mum... If there are days that you look and feel like crap, that doesn't make you a bad mum... It's all so bad... I hope that only old people read these magazines and that no new mums out there can possibly take these publications seriously or let them affect their self worth...

Clean November...

Clean November

Late October I was reading my girl Amy Cohen's fitness newsletter (find her at AC fitness on Facebook) and she suggested we all try Clean November, giving up wheat, sugar, sugar substitutes, dairy, dairy substitutes, processed foods, caffeine and alcohol... Immediately the answer was no, the more she wrote about it, and the staggered approach, giving up food groups one by one, by the time November 1st came, I was ready! Was completely sucked in to the idea, and as a happy surprise, Cassie decided to join me in this venture... This was a highlight because there was support, only a text away, in moments of triumph and moments of weakness... 

There was one caffeine detox headache, it was mild, but then I only drink a couple cups of tea a day... The most surprising thing that happened was sugar detox! Holy moly it was bad!!! I was feeling so low, I thought I was getting really sick, this went on for a couple days, ending in me having a 10 hour sleep, and waking up fine! Until I really thought about it, I didn't realise that sugar is in just about everything we eat... It's bad! And of course explains the detox...

The meals themselves were mostly delicious, though more then once I are food just because it was nutritious instead of being because I actually wanted to eat that particular meal... I felt like I was eating all the time, I have never consumed so much food! 

Once that first week was over (even though it was a staggered approach, I cut just about everything immediately), my skin was glowing... My insides felt great, my body was functioning brilliantly! Overall it did feel like my body was happy with my eating choices... And as a reward I lost cms off everywhere, which is a nice kick start to Dirty December! 

I definitely learnt a lot about my own willpower... Preparing food for the kids was very hard, but I did it, I even threw out sweets they didn't want! I baked chocolate caramel brownies for a kinder meeting, and didn't even lick the batter off my fingers! We went to Sydney for a weekend and I even kept it together there! 

A great experience, highly recommend doing it...

Veronica Mars Movie

When the call came out that the Veronica Mars movie would go ahead, if they could raise the money, I wanted to be involved... It took them a while to work out the logistics of overseas backers, once they did, I backed it... For $50 plus shipping I got the tshirt and will get the DVD, once released, delivered to my door! The tshirt and sticker pack is cute, can't wait for the film!!!

Play Doh Marvel Super Hero Squad and Strawberry Shortcake

Play Doh Marvel Super Hero Squad and Strawberry Shortcake 

Mace is deep into superheroes, seriously deep... He found these at Target at the bargain price of $13, my plan was to come back in a couple of days and buy them in secret, but there weren't thaaaat many of them and I would have kicked myself if I missed them... For $13 you get 4 different colour mini tubs, a full body mould and the heads of all the characters, plus a knife and rolling pin... I think that is pretty good value, for the hours of play (and it really is hours) that they get, making them and doing imaginary play with their new friends... Great fun!

Exploding Volcanoes

At kinder last week the kids made volcanoes and exploded them, it was a great success... Marley brought hers home with instructions on how to explode it...

Volcano

Upside down cup covered in foil, decorated and stuck on card

Explosion

Fill concave at top of cup with vinegar and two drops of red food colouring

Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda and watch it fizz

This brought great joy to our house this morning!

Peppa Pig Live! Treasure Hunt

Peppa Pig Live! Treasure Hunt

Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse

Melbourne, VIC

We all love Peppa Pig in this family.. I think the kids have had long periods of time where they thought that they were Peppa and George... When Mace was smaller and had fewer words, that was their favourite game to play... We were lucky enough to get tickets to see the show, I am so glad we did!!! 

The show was a great production, puppets, sets, songs, interaction with the crowd and the story... Both of the kids (2.5 and 4.5) thoroughly enjoyed it! Dancing, shouting back when called for, bopping along to the music... Completely sold on it! As was I! It was one of the best children's productions we have been to... Highly recommend...

Cherry ripe cheesecake balls...

I love both of these together, so when I saw the recipe on www.stayathomemum.com.au I thought it would be a great 3rd sweet for my cup day afternoon tea... It was the only one with anything left at the end of the day, but it was a very small amount, and people took them home!

250g cream cheese softened

4 cherry ripe bars diced

3/4 cup coconut

1tblsp sugar

Coconut to coat

Chocolate dukkah (I used cadburys drinking chocolate) to coat

Beat cheese and sugar until smooth

Add coconut, mix well

Add cherry ripes and mix with wooden spoon

Roll teaspoon sized balls

Coat in coconut

Cost in chocolate

Refrigerate for an hour before serving

These go straight from fridge to table, they will keep in fridge for 5 days in an airtight container

No pictures because the day was just so busy, I didn't even touch my phone!

It's Halloween in the house of spooks!

It's Halloween in the house of spooks!

I know people get their back up on Halloween, it's fairly new over here in Australia, but it's a nice celebration, we have celebrated it for years... This year it fell on crèche and kinder day so the kids did dress up, but we did a part two to it today, with some Halloween craft activities and carving our annual pumpkin... Marley loves Halloween, mace does too, but I'm sure it grows as you get bigger... The only confusing part is that it's really meant for autumn, so much like Christmas with that seasonally weird feeling!

A day out with Thomas the tank engine at Puffing Billy

A Day Out With Thomas The Tank Engine at Puffing Billy

We have talked about going to Puffing Billy since having Marley, but never really got around to it... I had heard about Thomas at Puffing Billy and thought that Mace would dig it, so booked with some friends and their little boys... All in all, it was a good day, there were pros and cons of course, it sort of felt that it could do with a bit of an organisational and customer service overhaul...

My first tip is to print two sets of tickets if you have 2 children, so you can separate if you desire... They aren't always staunch about checking tickets in the non train ride section, but it is inconsistent, and I prefer to be able to comply with the rules... So we had to show tickets at the face painting for Marley, and the boys were going to get seats at the pantomime, we needed tickets for both! Luckily I had my email saved and showed the pantomime people that to get in...

The train ride was the highlight, 20 minutes on a train with open windows, pulled by Thomas... The best tip I have here is sit on the same side as you enter for the best views! Rolling hills, lots of greenery... 

The pantomime was boring as can be... It was completely uninteresting for all 4 of us, and the seating is organised in such a way that if you are at the far right of the stage, you catch about an 8th of the show... Complete waste of time!

The jumping castle and animals were a nice add on, what kid doesn't like those!?! And the face painting was a bit hit and miss... Marley wanted a rainbow unicorn, I knew it could be a stretch and had seen some lovely butterflies, so I suggested that the artist (?) do something else... Unfortunately she didn't think unicorn was above her expertise, she was wrong! It looked like a dinosaur drawn by Marley, it was embarrassingly bad!

The staff were mostly abrasive, car park staff aside... It felt that they were doing us a favour by being there... Lots of bad communication over crossing the tracks, lots of grumpy faces...

Korma time...

Pre kids, curry was a huge part of our lives, many nights a week we would eat it, and love it! Lots of types, it sort of became my specialty. Then I got pregnant with Marley, and the smell of curry didn't sit with me, then we ate it out a couple times and it made me sick. Just like that, it was over. Poor Mark, taking away an easy vegetarian dish out of his life! We have been talking curry with people lately, and it has been on my mind, then out of the blue today, I decided it was time to go back. It was delicious, Marley disagreed!

Veggie korma

Big onion

2 garlic

Tblsp coriander

.5 Tblsp cumin

.5 Tblsp turmeric

.5 Tblsp garam masala

Chilli to your taste

1-2 cups veg water

1/2 cup pasata

Tin lentils

Cup of soy milk

Whatever veg you like

2 zucchini 

2 carrot

Fry up onion, garlic and spices, fry up veggies, add vegetable stock, pasata, boil up and let simmer for 20 mins or so. Pour in soy milk and keep simmering until you are ready to eat. At this point I stick blend almost half to beef it up a bit, give it a good texture. And serve, with rice or roti. Mmmmm

Friday baking: clinker slice...

It's been a while since I have baked on a Friday, there have been too many sweets in our lives! But today by 8.30 I had made a chocolate caramel tray of brownies for my beautiful girlfriend and her husband to celebrate their new baby girl, and a clinker slice for our family to celebrate the weekend! Haha... The caramel slice is surprisingly good! Sweeeet, but good!

The recipe was from the stay at home mum website...

This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl - Paul Brannigan

This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl

Paul Brannigan

As a Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl fan, I have read a few books about them, this was a good one... The beginning can be a bit much, way too much about other bands, bands Dave liked, bands that were around at the time Dave was growing up, it just felt like it was more about bands on general then Dave and his bands... As he enters Nirvana the story gets really interesting, I love reading about Dave's life, the path he was on... The touring, the band, Kurt, Krist, and then the Foo Fighters... When nirvana and the foo fighters started, the internet wasn't quite what it is today, so it is nice to read about things that weren't highly publicised, things that I have never read before... It's also really interesting to go deep into each Foo Fighters album, tracks, touring, band changes, Taylor's path... It covers a lot, and the vast majority is really interesting...

Honey Joys

Honey joys

After the Little Mermaid tiffin, the kids fell in love with honey joys... So I grabbed the recipe and made a batch, non dairy to suit Marks needs... The recipe online is the same as the one on the side of the Cornflakes packet... They are delicious... It's very hard to stop eating them once you start!

Little Mermaid Childrens’ Tiffin at the Langham hotel

Little Mermaid Childrens’ Tiffin at the Langham hotel

We heard about this and booked immediately for the one day mace is in crèche... Girls morning out! 

The hotel is beautiful and the Aria Lounge is lovely, perfect for high tea... Big cushy couches, amazing food, and gorgeous little girls dressed as princesses everywhere... Definitely a lovely treat for your special little one...

The kids menu was:

King Triton Cupcake

Ocean Jelly Square

Ursula Red Lip Cookie

Sabastian Cakepop

Flounder Honey Joy 

Starfish Fairybread

Ham & Cheese Sandwich

Scones with jam & cream

Babyccino’s or Ariel Red Hair Lemonade

Marley loved it, couldn't eat even half, brought the rest home to share with Mace after dessert!

FourFourTwo magazine A League preview...

As you may know, we love our football…  We are fierce supporters of Melbourne Victory Football Club and were lucky enough to be included in the 'Who do you sing for?' fan special in A League preview of FourFourTwo magazine this month... I must add that the A League preview was awesome, thoroughly enjoyed it! Bought a copy for my Nanu, another Victory supporter, and he was blown away 'a whole book about football?!'...  Definitely amped me up for the impending season! 

School holidays, without any holidays...

I know I have been incredibly quiet over here... But school holidays will do that to you! I have no idea how I used to manage before Marley started kinder? Or maybe it is just since kinder, it's can I paint/cut and paste/do craft etc etc etc, which is fine, except mace wants to join in and isn't quite there yet... It's the only time I can really see the difference as bring so wide in their skills... All of the independent play, football, imaginary play, Lego, they share the interests and Mace can keep up with Marley, sometimes even go beyond her skill set, dude can kick a ball!!! But I am definitely struggling...

One of the best ideas ever was to send Marley off to K&C performing arts school holiday program for three days last week... It was awesome, and somehow cheaper then childcare! They had three days from 9-3.30 with a concert on the last day to show us their singing, dancing and drama (including little outfits and all) that they had learnt, as well as a little art show... It was amazing! I can't put up much in the way of photography as other kids were close at all times! And if this sounds like an awesome program to you, check with your local school to see what's available in your area...

W axl rose unauthorised biography - Mick wall

W axl rose unauthorised biography

Mick wall

Back in the 80's and 90's I was a bit of a Guns and Roses fan... Right up until use your illusion 1&2, then it went weird, and I grew up! When I saw the paperback of tis on sale for $10, I thought why not? A good book for take off and landing, when my kindle must be turned off! So I used it for just that, over several flights, it wasn't so special that I felt the overwhelming desire to finish it outside its initial purpose... It did provide lots of interesting background on Axl, and the band, I did really enjoy it while I was reading it, but made zero impact once I had put it down... Definitely $10 well spent, I definitely know more about him, worth a read if you ever had any interest in him!

The Great Gatsby

I haven't read the book and didn't know what to expect, but it was a big deal when we were in Vegas (which feels like forever ago!), so I thought I would check it out... I didn't know until I turned it on that Baz Luhrmann did it, which meant it was beautiful... So lovely on the eyeballs! The story and acting was all quite average, the whole film was, except for the beauty of the sets and costumes... 

The White Princess -Philippa Gregory

I have read just about every book the Philippa Gregory has written, and enjoyed every single one... Having watched her most recent series on tv 'The White Queen', based on her books about the York/Lancaster Wars, the war of the roses or the cousins war, I was already in the zone for her work when The White Princess was released... It's a very speculative book which I thoroughly enjoyed... Reading her interpretation of a time when history was written by the Tudors, about an incident that no-one will ever know the truth about... It was gripping, and kept me addicted right up until the afterword... A time period I know nothing about, but an interesting one at that...

Friday baking... Gooey caramel condensed milk slice...

Friday baking

Gooey caramel condensed milk slice

My best friend who LOVES condensed milk (seriously, as  a teenager she used to eat it out of the tin/tube), and I saw this a couple weeks before and decided immediately that this would be our sweet after brunch with the girls... It IS gooey, and crazy sweet... Definitely a recommend, but maybe if you had lots of people to feed, you could convincingly cut the pieces very small, like 16pcs in a brownie tin!!! Delicious and way too much for a big piece, of which I had several!

http://www.stayathomemum.com.au/occasions/christmas/food/gooey-caramel-condensed-milk-slice/

Flamingo at Ikea!

We saw, and bought these this morning at Ikea... They are too cute not to share! So far just cups, trays and napkins, totally affordable too... Fingers crossed for placemats!!! Love, love, love...

Lovelace the film

A movie about a porn star with isn't R Rated? Interesting... I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this... An awesome cast, was pleasantly surprised by Amanda Seyfrieds performance... It was an interesting story, made me really want to read her books... Much more depth then I thought it would have... Don't make the mistake if watching it in a public place, because there are boobs and sex scenes!

Sound City The Movie

To start, I am a huge fan of Dave Grohl, Nirvana and the Foo Fighters... I didn't know much about Sound City, and I feel better knowing about it... It was informative with some great interviews, really easy to get into and absorb... If you get the chance, have a look... Definitely highly recommended!

Jetstar

Jetstar

I always say that we only fly jetstar without kids, but it seems that the attitudes from staff have either changed, or a 4 year old isn't as annoying to them as a toddler or infant... The staff were great, flight was fine... Only gripe was that there were only 3 food options available from the advertised menu, on a flight that goes over dinner times for 3.5 hours! So glad I had snacks, poor Marley didn't like anything that was left, me either really! It's pretty poor form, and all because the flight before was hungry.... If you are that low on supplies, get more stock!

Barnacle bills Cairns esplanade

Barnacle bills Cairns esplanade 

In all if these years if my aunt living on the Cairns esplanade, we have passed by this spot a million times and never thought to eat there! They have a $16 lunch special, which we all took advantage of, I had the Thai beef salad and the flavours were amazing! Not sure what I was expecting, certainly not the awesome deliciousness that hit my plate, that's for sure! 

Bay leaf Balinese Restaurant Cairns

Bayleaf Balinese restaurant

http://www.bayvillage.com.au/bayleaf

It was my aunts birthday while in Cairns, and we all went out for a lovely meal to celebrate... They have been before and so we booked an early meal with the kids, in hope of getting out early... Unfortunately half of the family ordered the banquet, a mistake that cost us lots of time! We started with cocktails, a Balinese spin on the honeybear, it was huge, deliciously coconutty on top of the chocolate milky goodness, and to be honest, had we not started with that, I probably would have lost my ish waiting for our main to come... I ordered the suckling pig with crackle and a pork mince salad, it was amazing, when it came... They were incredibly busy and it was slow service, slow coming out, which I found stressful with my 4 year old who I wanted to get to bed after a big day of travel! My main piece of advice would be to go with the banquet if that's what everyone else is having, so you don't have to wait an eternity for your food while everyone else eats...

Muddys playground Cairns esplanade

Muddys playground

This is our families favourite spot in Cairns... We went every day and Marley had fun on her own and with her cousin... There are kids everywhere, some pretty lax parents, great play equipment, an amazing water play area! It's free too, with a cafe that has really yummy food, with broad choices to suit most types of eaters... Take bathers and a towel, let the little ones wear themselves out...

Tiger air

It feels like an eternity ago that mum, her partner, Marley and I flew to Cairns to meet my cousins new baby... But it was only a week and a half ago, a roller coaster week and a half, but there are still things worth mentioning...

Tiger air 

I had flown Tiger Air on one return journey before this trip to cairns... It was about 3 years ago and it was bad... We were trying to get the best flight times, as well as a good price for our trip to cairns and thought we would chance it... As far as human service and delays went, it was fine... The plane felt squishy, every time someone moved on front, behind or to your side, you would move too... The chairs in front felt quite close, I really didn't like it! We won't be doing that again...

Mace's little leg injury...

Have a mental list of things to blog about, but am absolutely exhausted! Mace hurt himself on a trampoline yesterday, resulting in him not walking... We went to the ER, because I needed to be sure about what was wrong, especially after the incident with his elbow... We waited for 3 hours, a long time for a 2yo through dinner time and well past bedtime!

The doctor felt quite dismissive, checking us out in the kids waiting area, saying that because he could bend his legs without crying and was in good spirits, we should go home and wait 2 days and go to the GP if he still can't walk... It just didn't make me feel any relief in his diagnosis... He is always in good spirits, regardless of pain, anyway she said she would write a letter for the GP, we waited for another 30 minutes for that, I asked what was happening as it was getting late, the nurses said to go home... Annoying, tired, stressed and by this stage livid, we went home...

This morning Mace was still crawling around... We went to the GP, after everyone I know just about giving us their diagnosis, and it is a soft tissue injury... Will last around 5 days, neurofen twice a day until then... Since being dosed up on neurofen, he is taking a few steps here and there... Relief doesn't describe it! Although I'm tired, carrying around a 15kg kid is draining, along with emotional  exhaustion, I am happy that its nothing major! No energy to blog though...

Amazing ginger biscuits!

After my ginger biscuit fail the other week, and knowing that Marley and I are going to cairns for a long weekend leaving the boys at home, I thought I better bake something for the boys! This is my go to ginger biscuit recipe... I made it vegan, swapping out the butter for nuttlex, and adding extra spices to my liking...

From Favourite Muffins, Biscuits, Cakes and Slices

Vegan chocolate mud cake...

Mark has been vegan since his vegetarian self discovered he had lactose intolerance... Not strict, but 98%... He can eat eggs, and if he takes lacteeze he is less sick from dairy... 

As you may know, I enjoy baking and missed this weeks baking because I was busy at my scheduled baking time... Then I found this recipe, and thought I might give it a go, because I love my man and want sweet treats for him too! It was on the stay at home mum Facebook site, it said to use coconut milk, but that triggers Mark's fructose malabsorption, so I substituted soy milk...

It was surprisingly good! I'm not a cake maker, but it was perfectly edible, not quite as rich or moist as I like, but hey, no dairy... We all enjoyed it, mace telling us all that he was very happy he had cake... 

http://mobile.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/baking/dairy-free-chocolate-coconut-mud-cake/

Dairy Free Chocolate Coconut Mud Cake

Dairy Free Chocolate Coconut Mud Cake is a deliciously wicked cake, so good you’d never know it was dairy free!

Ingredients:

• 380 grams dairy free dark chocolate, chopped (available from health food stores)
• 800ml coconut milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/4 cups self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Line a round tin with baking paper and set aside.  Set up a double boiler with a medium saucepan half filled with water and a metal bowl on the top. Add half the chocolate and the coconut milk together in the bowl and stir until the mixture is melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat.Add the sugar, sifted flour, baking powder and vanilla extract and beat with an electric hand beater for a couple of minutes or until well combined.  Pour into the tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Turn carefully onto a wire rack to cool.

Heat the remaining chocolate and coconut milk in the double boiler and again stir over the heat until smooth.  Pour the chocolate sauce over the cooled cake and serve.

This is the end...

These men are all funny, there are some incredibly funny moments in this film... In fact the first half or so, it was really enjoyable... And then it just got weird... It was like they had some quality hilarity but didn't know how to finish the story, or write an interesting and cohesive story to fit in their jokes... A great cast, it just felt like a forced and fake apocalypse story... 

It's annoying because we desperately wanted to see it, got a last minute date sorted out, and then the end was just such a let down... Not what it was pegged to be at all... I can't believe the ratings on imdb and rotten tomatoes... Sigh...

Little eyes...

No Friday baking today, because I had to take Marley to a paediatric eye specialist... At her healthy kid check the nurse and doctor 'discovered' that Marley has a squint in her left eye when she smiles... I have always seen it, it matches mine, and my Dads, I never thought twice about it... But they thought it might be related to her vision, so off we went... I was incredibly stressed about this, having about 10cm of vision, and having had glasses from the age of 5...  The idea of my little girl feeling anxious playing sports, in the water, waking up unable to see her room, all the things I have gone through, I don't want for my kids...

The experience was good, the games they play to test vision are good fun, Marley was so interested, she forgot to be shy! Haha... They did lots of tests and finally gave her eye drops, which we had to wait for them to develop... This brought back my uneasy feelings, I have many years of memories of sitting in waiting rooms unable to see, ergh... One last set of tests, and she got the all clear! Her squint is just like mine and Dads, just a squint, she has great vision and fingers crossed she won't need glasses... Relief is an understatement!

Dilated pupils...

Glory Box: Paradise Finucane & Smith - 45downstairs

I love burlesque, I love edgy shows, naked, funny, hot, dancing women, so the minute I saw this, I booked! There were 4 of us, but things changed, and it ended up just Mark and I, date night! There was a lot to love about this show, and love it we did! Ursula Martinez and Jess Love were absolute highlights! I had seen them both before, and in this very intimate setting, they were even better! Ursula's magic trick will never cease to make me smile, they did a double together that was face achingly hilarious! And Jess had a lot of nuances to her hula hoop act that were hilarious, and then cheeky! The other acts ranged from some amazing choreography to trying to shock, to being actually shocking... 

45downstairs is a great venue, intimate, and well decked out with lanterns and candles... The hosts were lovely, seats not too close together... Definitely worth the money, time and childcare!

Glory Box: Paradise Finucane & Smith - Friday, 02/08/13 - 07:00 PM
Organisation: Finucane & Smith
fortyfivedownstairs
45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne, VIC 3000 

Friday baking: soft ginger snaps...

Been hanging for ginger snaps, and the ratio of spices looked delicious, so we baked these this morning, in our pjs! I missed the soft aspect, which as a finished product, isn't the best... I have an amazing ginger biscuit recipe that's better then this if I didn't want a snap... There is no snap here! I also omitted the frosting, which just seemed weird! In retrospect, with a non snap biscuit, it probably would have made the biscuit!!!

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/soft-gingersnaps-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+twopeasandtheirpod%2FrNNF+%28Two+Peas+and+Their+Pod%29

Aleague Allstars v Manchester United

It's been a week, and my opinions haven't changed... I was hoping that they would, but no... We love football in the offseason! So when they announced that there would be an allstars game, the idea really appealed to us... I loved the idea of getting to choose a team and back that team, first mistake... The team that actually played barely resembled the team chosen, more like the Aleague NO Stars... How could they organise it at the same time the Socceroos (our best players) are away!?! The minute I saw the line up, I started to regret getting tickets (flights and accommodation)... But we had everything paid for and childcare, so we went...

There are a couple things we like to do in Sydney, so we checked those out, then met up with some people at a bar and after a few Moscow Mules made our way there! It was a chilly night, I left my MVFC scarf at the hotel because I wanted to buy an Allstars scarf... Would you believe that after checking every merch stand we could not find one piece of Aleague merchandise?!? This was the final nail in the coffin for me, why did they advertise this to aleague fans at all, they should have said aleague fans need not attend... I felt rolled and ripped off... Have since written an angry email to the FFA, to which I got no response... The best thing about it was the freedom of a child free weekend away with my love and some friends, the rest was a bit meh...

Friday baking strawberry milk whoopee pies

These are yummy! But look nothing like the blog I got the recipe from, annoying, but oh well... I wanted something delicious for mums birthday, in that respect the recipe achieved its goal... The lack of pink was distressing to Marley!

http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2011/06/strawberry-milk-whoopie-pies.html?m=1

Sea World on the Gold Coast

Sea World used to be my least favourite theme park before having kids, now it's my favourite... Loads of kids rides, and we didn't even go on one, we were busy with the shows, the different things to do!

Mace and I went to dinosaur island and the dinosaur exhibit, the island was awesome! Big dinosaurs roaring and moving, my little soldier even said the  T Rex, his favourite, was scary! Then we found the dinosaurs that we can move by pressing buttons, he loved it, I think it took away the fear factor for him which was great! The stingray pool was really exciting because Marley touched a stingray and wanted to keep doing it, she was so brave! And the shark area was typically awesome, though the kids least favourite thing of all, they did enjoy the touching rock pools...

The dolphin show was brilliant as usual, kids were mesmerised... I was surprised at how fast it went by, it always feels like forever! The penguins at the start and further in are both great... Photos with spongebob and Dora were beautiful, we wanted to buy, and the family photo with spongebob wasn't there! I was getting ready to growl and the lady suggested we look at the heroes of the day wall, and there it was! I was stoked, and then she said that means it's free!!! That was awesome, so we bought the Dora picture and sat down to watch the spongebob parade... It was so colourful, and busy, but not too much for the kids, bubbles everywhere, great floats, costumes and dancers... 

All in all it was the best day/theme park of them all... There was so much joy, with something around every corner, the kids didn't lose their high... 

Die Hard 5

This will be short and sweet...

We watched the first half hour, there was nothing Die Hard about it... Just a boring action flick...

Next... Not in the die hard 6 sense...

Meriton Serviced Apartments Campbell Rd Sydney

We go to Sydney once or twice a year, yet we have never stayed in the same property twice! But I can tell you now, we will be back to the Meriton... On check in the staff were so lovely! Really good vibe... Get to our apartment, it is big enough to live in! With a kitchen, laundry in the bathroom, king bed, lovely sheets, big living area, tv in both rooms... It was very clean and felt new! So comfortable! And central! Across the road from central station, easy to get everywhere! Value for money too, cheaper then our hotel rooms past... Seriously impressed, will be back!

Govindas Centro Surfers Paradise Gold Coast

We love Govindas... We eat there whenever we get the chance! We got the chance 3 times in Surfers Paradise and took it... The beauty is that it is ethical food, that tastes so good and is absolutely affordable! So good in fact that when we got home I googled one of their dishes to make at home...

It's located in Centro on Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise... If you like to eat meat free every now and again, or all the time, check it out..

Dream World Gold Coast

Dreamworld  has changed loads in the last 3 years... Wiggle world is similar, but the other kids section, the nickelodeon section, is different... Changed into Madagascar, kung fu panda and shrek rides for big kids, I really felt a bit rolled  that we paid that much money to go there! If it was just us, there would be loads to do, but we are a family now, there is only space to go on rides for the tiny humans... Sure the tigers were cute, the Australian animals were amazing, but we are members of the zoo over here, so there wasn't much to be gained from going there... Marley did enjoy petting the kangaroos, and wiggle world, but the rest of the time she felt that there was nothing for kids... We probably won't be back until they are big kids and we can do some medium sized roller coasters!

Moorings on Cavill Surfers Paradise Gold Coast

Before I book any accommodation I check trip advisor... I have stayed in many hotels, and aside from one in Sydney about 6 years ago, I haven't ever given one a bad review... Now I'm not saying that it's bad, but the pros and cons are about equal... If you want a budget apartment, that's what you will get... 

You get a big space, it's huge, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, separate laundry and kitchen... It's all very open, with big windows, a lovely balcony (room 18)... First alarm bells was the smell of cigarette smoke in the foyer, it's supposed to be non smoking... Some days you could smell it in the lounge room, with all doors and windows closed, Marley (4) asked of there was a fire... Then there is a great big GLASS coffee table, all glass, and we have a 2 and a 4 year old, that kept a level of stress the entire stay... The fixtures and fittings are old, this place would be amazing if updated! There was no cover on the back of the remote, just weeks after a kid died locally from swallowing a lithium battery... All of these things individually I could have dealt with, but as a group along with the terrible beds (my back never hurts, and right now it does) and polyester/cotton blend sheets, was just too much for me...

Location is quite central, a short walk everywhere, but to get anywhere, including the super close woolworths, you have to cross the Gold Coast HWY, I don't like to walk out on to super busy roads with small children... I'm sure at this point I sound fussy, but really, I'm not, it was just so many little negatives!

The pool area was genuinely beautiful, the big pool was heated, the spa was hot! A good time swimming, but the toddler/small children's pool was freezing! 

Almost certainly won't be back, just a bit too outdated and cheaply kept for me... The staff were nice, the parking was good... Pros and cons, just have to work out what works for you...

Superheroes... For preschoolers...

I never really thought too much about super heroes before... I loved Wonder Woman as a girl, I remember one of Dads girlfriends used to do a WW spin for me when I was young that filled me with delight... Sure I saw a few superhero type films and old style tv shows in my time, but overall they haven't impacted my life too much... 

When I had kids I was very clear that I didn't want fighting/characters that fight, to be a part of our lives... And then came Mace, he isn't quite 2.5 but he has somehow found out about superheroes... It hasn't been unpleasant, he likes Darth Vader, who he says is 'naughty' and plays the naughty character in his imaginary play... Batman is a new one, he was warming to Batman and at the Gold Coast he drove it on home... He pretends to be Batman in his cape, running around like crazy, while Marley is SuperGirl or Catwoman, and I am Wonder Woman, we catch (not fight) the bad guys, and overall there is no violence... But the minute there is, all superhero merchandise will be put on ice until they are bigger...

Chengs Chinese

After a tumultuous first day, we let Marley choose dinner because she was soooo well behaved through a very long and trying day... She wanted fried rice, so in a bit of a rush, and with no research at all, we went to Cheng's Chinese food... We ordered fried and steamed rice, the BBQ pork/duck combo and Mark ordered tofu and vegetables... The food came quickly, thank goodness as the kids were getting close to the edge... The BBQ animals were delicious, fried rice was okay, but the tofu with vegetables also came with pork! Poor Mark! I wouldn't go back, it wasn't awesome, wasn't terrible either...