Virgin air

After some awful experiences with jet star as a family, we only fly Virgin with the kids... Flights to and from QLD were completely uneventful in the best way, great staff, on time flights, calm children... It really doesn't get any better then it was!

Gold Coast Hospital Emergency Rooms

This past week we have been on holiday at the Gold Coast, at Melbourne airport Mace hurt his elbow... I wasn't sure how it was hurt, so I decided it would be best to watch him in flight, as I would at home, and go to the doctor if he didn't improve... In flight he didn't use his arm at all, and cried if I moved it, so we wet straight to the hospital...

The wait was maybe an hour, or a little more, they fast tracked him because he is a little one... They took X-rays which showed nothing, the lovely Scottish  Doctor got a senior practioner to check him out and she thought it might be a dislocated elbow... It was hard because Mace wasn't visably upset, only because we know him, we knew he was out of sorts, and the fact he wouldn't use the arm was setting off alarm bells!

They tried to put it in, which made him cry, broke my heart! Then gave him something similar to morphine to dull the pain while they pushed it back in... It took a second, and the next second he was back to normal! Just chillin, clearly high! Saying some pretty funny stuff... I was so happy, my baby boy was fine! The staff were all amazing, we had a really good experience... 

World War Z...

Two great things, zombies and Brad Pitt, I was in! My main issue with this film is the zombies, the move quick as lightning, and the virus takes 15 seconds to come in... It made for stressful viewing! Aside from that I really enjoyed the film, didn't feel even remotely as long as it was, I liked the direction, the acting, the plot, it wasn't heart wrenching at all, which was a nice change... It did remind me how much I love Brad Pitt, he is an awesome actor, I forget this with all of the other media attention he gets! If you like zombies, check it out!

Oz Comic Con

After last years ridiculous drama with entry, gridlock, people being locked out etc, opening the doors a little late this time to massive queues felt like it was going to be bad... We arrived half hour early and the queue was already loooong, by 9am it had doubled again! Took half hour to get us in, a bit too long, but you expect that... The crowds were a bit hectic by 11, just as I was going in to see J August Richards... I caught the last half of the panel before, which was pretty interesting, all animation voices... And then J August Richards was on, dude was humble, hilarious, interesting... One of those perfect humans for a Q&A, adding little stories to answers, a proper entertainer! At the end we had a little chat, he's such a lovely man...

More cruising around, lots of great stalls this year... Including 'geek' tattooing! Was amazing! Overall it was a much better job then last year, I look forward to next year!!!

Masterchef Rockstar Banana Bread...

The plan was not to bake on Friday, but Thursday night Cassie talked about the Masterchef banana bread and I thought it was a good plan because you can freeze it! A great plan considering we were going away.. I grabbed the recipe from the masterchef website, just made the bread, no icing, even though the icing looks amazing!

Totally forgot to take pictures because Kelly and I ate it warm out of the oven, there was no pause...

http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/rockstar-banana-bread-or-muffins.htm?prefer_mobile_site=false

Monet's Garden exhibition at the NGV...

When I heard this exhibit was coming, I was planning when we should go... Mark wasn't interested, I thought I might go alone... Marley and I were hanging out and saw an ad for it and she thought the waterlilies were beautiful... I asked her if she would like to come with me on Mace's crèche day in the school holidays, she was very excited about it, wanting to catch the train in, get a pink donut and see Daddy's work...

Many weeks on it is school holidays, we dropped Mace off at crèche, and hopped a train to the city... After a week of sunny and 17, it was windy and freezing! We rugged up and at times I held on to her in that wind, for dear life! The exhibition didn't open until ten, we were early... The water wall was really intriguing to her, she was quite ambivalent  about it, but eventually she touched it! We entered the exhibition and she was so cool about it... We talked about each piece of art, what she thought about it, content, colours and her impression of it, I was really mind blown about how interested she was! She really loved the art, as did I... Obviously the water lilies were amazing, I was also taken by the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Station... We looked at every piece and left... The multimedia room at the end was too much for her, I fancied staying, but she is the ruler!

Next was a donut from Flinders St that she ate on the tram on the way to see Mark, and the long walk to Daddy's work! Back to the shops and on the train home... A lovely way to spend half a day!

Campari House for dinner and drinks...

I have been so busy I forgot to post! A couple weeks ago we went to Campari House for dinner and drinks to celebrate Cassie's birthday... I was a bit concerned when I called ahead to discuss any possible vegan options for Mark and being told that they are an Italian restaurant so everything has meat or cheese in it... Usually places are more helpful... So Mark ate before we left... However, my dinner was delicious! I had the lobster bisque risotto with scallops and prawns, very good! 

We moved upstairs where Cassie had a booth reserved and started the drinking portion of the night... I had a two cocktail plan, with limited childcare, so I started with the Havana Chocolate Delight, the sound of this was better then the taste, a bit too strong with a brown liquor taste... However the Marshmallow Monk was amazing! 

23-25 Hardware Lane

Melbourne VIC 3000

P +61 3 9600 1574

Misty's Diner

This is our 'place'... We don't go out for dinner often, but when we do, this is where we go! It's a heart attack on a plate, but it's delicious, US diner style comfort food... We have been twice in the last month with Cricket and Dave! Squeezing in dates before they become parents...

I just about always have the same dish, and then I move on... I have had numerous BBQ bacon and mushroom burgers, more recently meatball sub and tonight I went back to the 24 hour pulled pork sub, always with curly fries instead of straight fries, and the mozzarella cheese sticks... All delicious, all the time! Tonight we had our first dessert, the red velvet volcano cake, it was pretty good... Glad I only had half though, such a serious amount of food! Everyone needs to go there!!!

The Wiggles - Taking Off - Comedy Theatre

June 2013

The new Wiggles tour was surprisingly intimate, I have seen them 4 times in the past 2 years, so I feel qualified to say that! The comedy theatre is not a great theatre for kids, they can't see over the people in front... There are loads more theatres that would have been better suited... But between our 4 seats, with a kid on each lap (aisle dancing aside), we shuffled around until we found a good view for both babies...

The show was as entertaining as any that I have seen, and I have seen the wiggles in all possible combinations! The addition of Emma has been a welcome one... It's so nice to have a girl, for all the girls, and boys, to adore... She's a proper sweetheart too, being lovely about taking a pic with Marley... The songs were mostly new songs, little bits of old songs, and a couple full old songs, but definitely more new stuff... Which was a little disappointing, but refreshing, it's nice to see a new path being forged...

Friday baking... Red velvet crinkles stuffed with Oreos...

Red velvet crinkles stuffed with Oreos... These looked amazing on the website, so I was in immediately...

http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2012/12/oreo-stuffed-red-velvet-crinkles.html

I did the work, made the deliciously smelling cookies, took them out of the oven, and they were one big blob, no crinkle anything... Too ugly to photograph! But they did taste good, really good... I'm still undecided as to whether I will make them again...

Monsters University

We ALL love Monsters Inc, so we thought we would try to see it at the cinema, as a family... Hahaha... Taking Mace to the movies was a gamble, one we planned for... We got through the first 30 minutes and he was done, so Marley and I watched the rest together... 

The prequel to Monsters Inc was hilarious... Something for Marley, and something for me... The story was brilliant, and less 'scary' then Monsters Inc, I loved the characters, back stories, watching the friendships develop and how Mike and Sully ended up where they are... Nothing not to like! 5 stars from each of us... As we walked out, as I opened the door and Marley said 'that was amazing!', I agree!

Friday baking... Chocolate chip cookies filled with Nutella...

When I saw this recipe, I was in! The reality was much more serious... We had a kinder party at ten so I baked these without the help of the babies... The whole recipe made only 9 muffin sized biscuits filled with Nutella! And eating one for breakfast was the wrong idea... These are almost suitable as an actual dessert, rather then a little cheeky snack... As a dessert they excel... 

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/giant-nutella-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Y'all gonn make me lose my mind! Hip hop cross stitch...

I have seen hip hop cross stitch around and really wanted this particular one in my kitchen... I sing this to my kids when they are acting crazy, songs truly get me through my hardest parenting days! I saw a complete one framed, on etsy for $60, or the pattern for under $6, I grabbed the pattern! 

I have never cross stitched before and with sick kids and my own exhaustion, I never started it... Mum offered to start it, and then finish it and I said yes please! So a week later it is framed in my kitchen... I LOVE IT! It captures my family perfectly!

Mothers Day Classic...

I meant to blog about the Mother's Day classic at the time that it was on, but it was a crazy time as we had just returned from Vegas... Now the Mother's Day classic has let the world know that it has raised five million dollars!!! Thanks to all of the participants and sponsors! I raised $600 this year, taking my total over $3,000 over the years, had some amazing sponsors as usual... Our team raised around $1500, and we had a lovely morning walking together... 

Marley showed a lot of interest this year, so I am going to take her with us next year... It really is the perfect way to spend Mother's Day, walking for my mum, who is a breast cancer survivor, and my Nanna who passed away from breast cancer in her early 50's... Looking forward to walking with my sweet girl, fingers crossed she manages! 

Friday baking - gingerbread...

We had a bit of a family baking session today... I made the dough at 7.30, we all went to Chadstone, on our return home Michelle and Mum helped the kids with cutting out the gingerbread, I baked it, and michelle and I helped the kids decorate it... Team work! I used a Betty Crocker recipe 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/gingerbread-cutouts/29072204-d392-4ce5-850d-7e3cf11f4cde

Baby Jordans...

In case you didn't realise, we love sneakers in this family! Our kids have quite a few pairs in each size, to match their outfits, moods, whatever... Mace is a full on diva when it comes to fashion, Marley has been since about the same age... Nike is Mace's sneaker of choice, the minute he realised his big winter jacket was Nike, he just wanted to wear his Nike's with his jacket alllllllllll the time! 

When Mark got the rerelease of fire red Jordan 5's, we got Mace some too, and from the moment he fit them, he resisted... Every morning when we discuss what shoes he is wearing and I asked 'Jordan?' His answer was 'NO JORDAN!', I was pretty sure that he wasn't ever going to wear them... And then on the weekend Mark wore his Jordans, Mace cottoned on, and now loves them! It's a relief, at the price that they were, that he finally likes them, with room to grow... So the men are happily wearing their Jordans, and now Marley wants some... Sigh...

Puzzles on cold days...

Winter is here, and this winter Mace isn't so babyish anymore... This bodes well for activities that match both kids skill sets... Mace has been killing 9 piece puzzles by himself, and Marley does 30-50 pieces on her own, so every afternoon we spend an hour or two doing puzzles... I also have some BIG floor puzzles that they do together, at around 20-30 minutes each, they kill am afternoon quite easily... If you have little ones at home, I highly recommend buying a bunch, they are relatively cheap compared to other toys, and bring hours of fun!

Art attack on a drizzly Friday morning...

In our house, Friday mornings are an equal worst parenting experience with Thursday nights... After they both have a 7/7.5 hour day at kinder/crèche, they are tired and grumpy, I get the brunt of it... It takes about an hour until they have pushed me to the edge, and then I usually bake, but today thought we should get into the Art Attack pack we bought last week, especially for a miserable day like this... Because we already have a cupboard full of arts and crafts, especially Pompoms and googley eyes which are in this pack, I thought we would be cheeky and got Mark to make extra colour copies on card for future use! I set up while they were in bed so I didn't have to deal with a whingefest while I was setting up, nothing happens quick enough for a tired 4yo... 

Mace needed some extra help, where Marley was fine on her own... We stuck on the Pompoms and eyes, when that was over, made a couple birthday cards and a spider... It was really really good and positive, until the end which inevitably ended up in tears (a Friday morning signature)... We distracted with puzzles and I promptly packed up... A great activity, would have been even better with non tired kids! The art attack packs are like $10, definitely money well spent, especially with the re-uses I have planned!

The Sapphires, Mandawuy Yunupingu, and racism...

Racism is rampant in Australia... It makes me sick... The casual racists get me the most (same exact thing applies for me with homophobia)... The 'its just a joke' 'I didn't mean anything by it' idiots... Race isn't a joke, minorities have been shat on since white people took over their countries... It's awful... And then to add insult to injury Mandawuy Yunupingu, passed away at a young age this week... Keeping in line with the 20 odd year gap for indigenous Australians and white Australians... Yesterday, upon hearing that news, I cried on and off all day, feeling powerless to undo all of the wrong thats been done... Way too emotional... And then I put on The Sapphires...

I had been meaning to watch this for ages, but we were listening to soul music and it reminded me... It was a really good film, great cast, can't fault any of them! The story was good, I did cry a bit, another reminder of our shameful history... It made me laugh too, really ticked all my boxes... 

Salted caramel macaroons dipped in chocolate...

This cold of Marley's has come back full force, I feel like since we got back from Vegas, my life has been defined by these germs... Adding gym to feeling like there is a cold on the horizon, it's been hard going... The weather both creates and perpetuates it... In any case, one of my beautiful and pregnant girlfriends came over for morning tea, and I made her some of these salted caramel macaroons dipped in chocolate... They could have done with more caramel but they were still divine!!! I didn't add the toffee because I didn't have any!

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/salted-caramel-toffee-coconut-macaroons/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+twopeasandtheirpod%2FrNNF+%28Two+Peas+and+Their+Pod%29

Salted Caramel Toffee Coconut Macaroons Dipped in Chocolate

Yield: 18 macaroons

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 17-20 minutes

Chocolate dipped coconut macaroons with salted caramel and toffee. These macaroons are heavenly!

ingredients:

1/3 cup salted caramel sauce
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups sweetened coconut
1/2 cup toffee bits
2 cups chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the salted caramel sauce, sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until combined. Add in the coconut and toffee bits and mix well.

3. With a spoon, scoop up about 2 tablespoons of the coconut mixture and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Form the cookies into mounds that have a peak at the top. Use your hands to gently squeeze the dough together to create a slight point at the top. Your hands will get sticky, but that's ok:)

4. Bake the macaroons for 17 to 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until they are firm and set. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

5. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure you keep stirring the chocolate every 20 seconds or so until chocolate is melted and smooth. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Dip the bottom of the macaroons into the chocolate-just so the bottoms are covered. Set dipped cookies on the paper to dry. Dip all of the cookies and let them sit on the paper until completely dried.

Note-you can make these 2-3 days in advance. Store in an air tight container on the counter.

Print this Recipe