Foxtel Minimote

I never thought I would be the parent that lets my kids embrace technology, but here I am and it seems like the obvious choice... I bought Marley a mini Foxtel remote, which is preset to the children's channels, it does seem extreme, but I work from home during Mace's sleep and Marley's rest, which is spent on the couch chilling with books and TV... It is the worst when a client is opening up to me on the phone and Marley is whinging that she does not like Handy Manny!!! So now she can take control of what she watches, obviously within reason, and I can get my work done uninterrupted so that it doesn't overlap into our play time!

Ben and Jerry's Maple Tree hugger

This is new in Australia so we had to try it, and I will tell you now, it is goooood! My favourite Ben & Jerry's flavour is Phish Food, this comes close! The mapleness of it is such a refreshing flavour, with enough breaks from it to leave you wanting more and not overloaded with sweetness... You should definitely try it!

Divergent and Insurgent Books Veronica Roth

I'm pretty sure this is one of those young adult type books that isn't a literary masterpiece but is very easy to read and is also addictive! The characters are likeable, you want to know more, it's goes down a treat! I'm almost certain it is being made into a film, I will definitely catch it... An easy read in the same sense as Hunger Games, some politics and a love story... I read it quite quickly and started the next one immediately and finished them both in a week... I still felt like there was more to get out of it, so I read them again! I do this, it's a kindle thing... I read so quickly I miss the characters terribly when I am done so do it again, why not?!?

La Soirée at the Forum in Melbourne October 27th

My ticket to La Soirée was a gift from my aunts for my birthday, The Forum is quite possibly my favourite venue in Melbourne, and I had good things about some of the acts... I was excited to say the least! We made a plan to go out for drag, drinks and dancing afterwards, but unfortunately my Aunty Doris, who was terminally ill, was in her last moments, so we cancelled and kept it as quiet as we could...

The Forum was set up as a little circus, we sat third row in hope that we didn't get roped in for audience participation of any sort! There were loads of brilliant acts, mostly obscure, quite like a super freaky circus, in the best possible way! Opening was Le Gateau Chocolat, who I just adore! He came back for more, which made me very happy... The English gents with the intense strength and balancing acts and later an act by each of them individually, one on a pole which was so hot!!! Ursula's famous magic hanky/striptease, which I wish Mark had have got to see, stripping AND magic!!! She ended up butt naked, which was a surprise! Captain Frodo the hilarious contortionist, I loved and hated this, too stressful to watch but couldn't look away!!! Gloria's fabulous stage debut - if you see it DO NOT volunteer to read for her! Bret Pfister who I just fell in love with, did some amazing aerial ballet to some 80's synth pop... Some of the acts were on twice, only one wasn't completely enthralling and I haven't detailed it here because I'm sure someone liked it!

Really it was awesome, completely unexpected and it's on for another few weeks, so book a ticket already!!!

www.la-soiree.com

Halloween Spiderweb Nails

I do love me some Sally Hansen Salon Effects, nice to switch it up a little! For Halloween I went with the spiders web, and I must say, they are very cute! I stupidly opened both packets trying to get centre of webs on each nail, but they just weren't made that way, so I got a pedi out of the pack too!

Toca Boca Tailor is out!!!

Marley has counted down to yesterday when the new Toca Boca app 'Toca Tailor' was released... It's a great app, geared towards pre schoolers, making outfits for the Toca crew... She is obsessed with it, spending 45 minutes playing it before bed, talking about it relentlessly and asking for it the minute she gets up this morning!

We are big fans of all the Toca Boca apps, they are about free play, not winning or losing or running out of time etc... They just work out what they want to do - no rules! And do it... As they get older the way they play changes and they cater for that... And no in app purchases!!! So If I need to make a work call, I can slip them the iPads for 20 mins and work undisturbed... The only downside with Tailor is Marley wants a photo with all of her creations, which is a bit of a bummer... This morning she has worked out that she can make Mace pose with them though, hopefully that sticks! But there is a reason that we don't use iPads unless its the end of the day, car rides or if everyone is sick, and that's because iPad addicted babies are like crack addicted grown ups, keep it in check!

Marshmallow Halloween Spiders...

I saw these on www.taste.com and had to make them... To start with they were really hot to mould into spiders, so I only did half that way, the rest I put into cupcake holders... It was much easier that way and they still look like spiders! They taste about a million times more delicious then chocolate crackles because it marshmallow holding them together... A fun easy treat to make for your little ones on Halloween!

The Robert Hunter Cup...

I don't know where to begin if you don't know Hunters story... Google it... Seriously...

To celebrate Hunters life and commemorate his death, Bias B and Dedlee put together a friendly AFL game comprising of artists and fans from the east coast (Eastside Kings) and west coast (Westside Warriors)... There was a massive sold out night on Saturday with many of the artists playing, and the game on Sunday...

I still have a rush of feelings about the day, and Hunter's death... He wasn't someone I was close to, hung out with or had even spoken to for around 8 years, in fact the majority of our relationship was held on msn messenger (the way we communicated before twitter/Facebook/MySpace)... But the news of his illness was heartbreaking, we donated things to the Heat For Huntz eBay auction, and followed his story closely... In a community as small as ours I'm sure just about everyone was touched and sent our prayers, love and support... This was made clear, by the interest that this event inspired, the amount if people who showed up from all over Australia, to play and to support, that people with long history or beef were setting it aside to have a wonderful, peaceful day filled with love...

The weather held out, the game was intense, everyone was kind to each other... You couldn't have asked for more... I'm sure Hunter would have been proud!

His son, Marley, did the coin toss, there were lots of tears... I was just hoping that one day he will find comfort in what Hunter meant to this community, that he will see what a good human his Dad was, that he could bring us all together in this way.. And maybe when he is big enough, he can play in the Robert Hunter Cup... I do hope it continues, even if it switches from one coast to the next, we will be there... RIP Hunter...

Also if you want to check some non iPhone photos check www.runtheline.blogspot.com for my husbands pics...

My Week With Marilyn Film

There was so much talk about how well Michelle Williams did as Marilyn, they failed to mention how boring the movie was... A brief liaison between a man and Marilyn, a brief opportunity to see how messed up she was, but that is all... There is nothing else to say, it sucked!!!

I need some good movies to watch... Feel inundated with crap right now...

Rise of the Planet of the Apes film...

As lame as it was, I really enjoyed the remake of Planet of the Apes... I watched it a lot in my early twenties... When I saw that Rise of the Planet of the Apes was being made, with James Franco, who I just adore, I wanted to see it... Mark did not, so I had to make child free, work free time to watch it, in instalments!
The first half I was enjoying, felt like it was almost believable, in a fictional sense... The story line felt honest, then the second half of the film happened and it was just terrible! Completely unbelievable, like it was just being finished to fit into the right time or something... Bad, bad, bad... But it was too late, I finished it and wished I hadn't...
Not good...

Nail Rock Union Jack

When I saw these I was beyond stoked, perfect nails for our birthday weekend!!!! I zipped to Dangerfield to get some... At $15 the price is right, unfortunate you can only get one manicure out of them, and they are wraps... I didn't process this until I was ready to apply them, they are foil stickers! They go on, and sort if stay on, but not for long... Not if you use your hands!!! 3 days in they are chipped, scratched and lifting at the edges... No good... At all... If you want fancy nails without having to have someone touch your hands (this is my biggest issue with mani's, even with my trusted beauty therapist, I just don't like it!), stick with tried and trusted brands...

As a side note, they did look good, for about a day... Personally I don't have time to be doing my nails every/every other day!

Royal Melbourne Zoo and our birthdays!

While I got to celebrate my birthday yesterday, with my kids, my girlfriend Kelly (who made a chocolate mousse cake!), my mum and my aunt Michelle all visiting... In the afternoon I met up with my honey, we did some shopping in the city, met up with Cassie for a pre game drink then watched as Melbourne Victory win against Adelaide United!!! It was so nice to get the win and make the best if an already awesome day!

As always we went to the zoo to celebrate our birthday weekend... Mark and I got to sleep in until 7.30!!! Wake up, get kids, shower him with wonderful gifts and then go to the zoo... I am loving all of the 150 years banners at the Zoo, especially the ones from the 80's which I remember.. The new meerkat area at the front is lovely, glad they have two now because they are Marley's favourite... It was a chilly morning and a lot of the little monkeys and gorilla's weren't out yet, but most if the other animals were... Tigers roaring, butterflies landing on Mark's hand, seals splashing around, a great day at the zoo! Kids were exhausted, as were we... We still managed to go to Chadstone in the afternoon for a birthday shop! Our kids are awesome!

Friday baking caramel chocolate chip blondies

Up and at em early on my birthday, got this recipe off the two peas and their pod blog
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/caramel-chocolate-blondies/

And it is seriously good! I couldn't find 'baking caramel' so I just used pieces of cadburys caramello! Deliciously sweet and lovely, perfect birthday blondies!

The Wideacre Trilogy - Philippa Gregory

Am a big fan of Philippas, her more recent books have been a staple if my reading pleasure... This was her first book/s, and while I did enjoy them, the incest theme was a bit much for me... I also found the first two with such dark and miserable themes, at times I felt I was reading just to see if there was a happy ending... True to her style, you will love some of her characters and hate others, they feel like real people in your life!
I wouldn't recommend reading them, unless you are a big Philippa fan...

Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery Documentary

Russell Brand made a great documentary called From Addiction to Recovery for the BBC... As a drug worker I am already on board with the theories he is projecting and his fury at the way the government treats addiction (especially with funding)... I think it is a really good watch for people who don't know a great deal about the system, which is quite similar in the UK to ours in Australia... As someone who is already on board, it's great to have all the information and argument in once place... I definitely suggest watching it...

A night in Brisbane...

To get into practice for our child free trip to Vegas in May, we have a few nights away planned... The first one was Brisbane on the weekend... There were two reasons, my BFF Tracey has been living there for 9 months and I haven't visited AND it was Melbourne Victory's first game in Brisbane since we poached their coach...

I am not a drinker, since preparing my body for getting pregnant with Marley... Drinks are few and far between, well they were until 11.30 Saturday morning when I started drinking cocktails... We did a pub crawl all day around Brisbane after getting the ferry in! I drank, a lot... I am seriously surprised that I wasn't legless by the time we hit the game...

The last pub before the game, the LA Hotel, was a bit crazy... Starting quite tame, with some jovial cheers and chants, by the time many hours and drinks had passed, things were getting just a bit more loose then I like... A bit too rowdy, so we went to the stadium...

All I will say about the game is that it sucked... But overall, our time in Brisbane was good...

Friday baking: caramel chocolate brownie and chocolate brownie...

Baking with Marley this morning, we had The Wiggles on to keep Mace busy while we did... The song Fruit Salad came on, she says 'listen to these cheeky Wiggles singing about fruit salad when we are trying to bake brownies...' The stuff kids come out with!

I accidentally added double of one part of the batter so quickly doubled everything else leaving me with two brownies, added caramel to one and chocolate pieces with chocolate filling to the other... The recipe is from taste.com google caramel chocolate brownie and its right there... I made these again today because they are my favourite and I wanted to take some up to Brisbane for my BFF to taste, having two trays means she can have some and I can leave a tray for mum and my aunties who are looking after the kids! And of course, they are delicious!

Vans x Yo Gabba Gabba kids sneakers

They have finally done a new release! I must admit the kids still have box fresh pairs of the last release for future sizes... But I am so happy with the cuteness of the new release... Go to the Vans website to check the entire range, and keep in mind they take many months to filter into Australian stores, last time it was at least 4!!! There are so many cute kicks in this range, the DJ Lance ones are way out there! The ones I like for Mace are the blue Velcro ones with all of the characters, the Foofa ones are cute, but I think Marley may have moved on... Anyways, want, want, want!!!

Lego Advent Calendars

Last year Mum bought Marley a chocolate advent calendar and I did not like it... I don't like the idea of my kid/kids having chocolate every day, December or not... This year I stumbled across something AWESOME, Lego advent calendars!!! A special treat every day that isn't sugar, am definitely feeling that! Coupled with my families Lego obsession, perfect! I I got Marley the Friends Lego and Mark/Mace the Star Wars Lego, they were a bit pricey, but they can keep it and use it, besides, Christmas is a time where no expense is spared! Get them at Myer...

Melbourne Victory Away trip to Brisbane with OPI nails..

We are off on our 2nd interstate away trip tomorrow morning... Off to Brisbane to see Melbourne Victory take on Brisbane Roar, also to see my BFF's digs in Brisbane, where she moved many months ago! It's also the first time we have left both kids overnight to go away... So there is excitement and nervousness on many levels! Football, best friend, child free quality time with my husband (not in that order!)...

I have gone with OPI Roadhouse Blues with a top coat of OPI Gonzo for our trip... Love the combination, perfect for our boys in blue!!!

Nike Dunk Hi Supreme x Married to the Mob Collab!!!

Another beautiful sneaker I slept on, another reason to believe that if you want something bad enough for long enough, you will get it! I love these kicks, however impractical they are! They are beautiful Goddess shoes, I just have to find somewhere worthy of wearing them...

Aziz Ansari Buried Alive Tour Melbourne Hamer Hall 09.10.2012

In our home Aziz Ansari was always on our list of people we needed to see... The minute his tour went on sale, we got tickets, even at the extortionate price of over $80!

There was an opening act, Matt Okine, I wasn't impressed that it wasn't straight up Aziz... But he was so funny, and about stuff you could totally relate to!! Will definitely be following him up! Aziz started with a spiel that I wasn't feeling, and I was worried that I wouldn't be feeling it, but that segment finished and the dude was hilarious!!!

He did quite a long show and kept us laughing throughout! Overall I was stoked with the whole performance, from opening act to encore... If you get a chance to see him, do it!!!

Mama, mama, mama...

It's so funny that when you have a baby, you just can't wait to hear that baby call out your name 'mama'... I remember hearing other mothers with older babies saying that they want peace and quiet, I couldn't ever imagine wanting my baby (Marley was just a baby) to be quiet... Fast forward 3 years: Mace is obsessed with me, the minute I go to the loo, or prepare dinner, or someone else picks him up, it's 'mama, mama, mama...' Sometime I think he just likes the sound of it... He can, and does say loads of other words and word combinations, but Mama is his favourite by far... By the time Mark got home from work he had been chanting it for a couple hours, and did so all the way to bed time... Even kissing him goodnight, he was trying to climb on to me... And I finally get it, why Mum's want some peace and quiet, want a break from hearing their name... I look forward to yet another day of the Mama chant tomorrow, it doesn't feel so bad after a couple hours of mindless television!

The photo's are of my little crazies this morning... Starting to think about our Christmas card photo this year, have no idea how we are going to get them both in a good shot!

Nike delivery... Kids Nike Dunk Hi...

I love getting a delivery of trainers... These are so cute! I got the cherry dunks for Marley, again, because I loved them so much on her little feet the first time! And Mace doesn't have loads of dunks coming up in his wardrobe, so why not!

Friday Baking... Chocolate pudding chocolate chip cookies...

Friday baking, it has been 2 weeks! But felt like an eternity! Was lovely to bake with Marley today... I did a take on two peas and their pod's banana pudding cookies with stuff I bought in case that recipe didn't work out! They are delicious...




Banana Pudding Cookies
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Soft banana pudding cookies with white chocolate chips and vanilla wafers. These cookies taste just like banana pudding!

The original recipe from
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/banana-pudding-cookies/
I just replaced chocolate pudding and chocolate chips to make a yummy chocolate explosion!!!

ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package banana cream instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped vanilla wafer cookies
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat and set aside.

2. Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the vanilla wafer cookies and white chocolate chips.

3. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Zombie Garden Gnomes...

After being with someone for 8 years, the last thing you want to do is lose your creativity when giving them gifts... Marks birthday is this month and of course I have had his gifts ready for months, I saw this after I had bought everything I wanted to get him and knew he had to have one... We both love zombies and I adore flamingo's so this was a perfect fit! There was quite a long turn around, being hand moulded and painted as well as coming from the US... I was so excited when they arrived that I gave it to him early...

If you would like one, or at least to check out the collection go to etsy.com and type in zombie gnomes... They are brilliant!

Football V Football (Soccer V AFL)

With the AFL finishing up and the A League starting up, there has been a lot of smack talking on the Internet from die hard fans from one or the other... Personally, AFL doesn't do it for me, unlike the A League, I have been to AFL games and it has not inspired any passion in me, for football it was love at first site... But I can absolutely appreciate that people love to watch and play it, we can't all like the same thing! Imagine if we did, memberships would be harder to get for a start... It's a bit like religion, well a lot like religion, I feel like everyone should be able to respect each others passions, doesn't have to be a fight...

Last night Marley and Mace had their first AFL experience... My cute little ones playing in the garden with their big cousins, both trying to kick it like a football, no hands! Haha... Ultimately, while I would be ecstatic if both of my babies fell in love with the round ball like we have, to watch and play, I will just be happy that they love to play anything, should their passion and talent lay somewhere else...

Baby toes...

Baby toes are an absolute highlight of being a parent... These tiny little feet carrying them around, up, over the world around them, but still manage to be the cutest! Mace's toes are much more masculine then Marley's, he has the biggest big toe ever! Thinking his feet might end up a size 13 like Daddies, time will tell... Baby feet are just as good as hands, they use them to experience the world, and so I always do my best to keep shoes off them, unless we are going out, even then Mace has been known to throw away his shoes on shopping trips! I have been waiting to see at what age their toes lose their cuteness to me, Marley is 3.5 and hers are still beautiful!

Lactose and comfort food...

Today I bought Mark some Lacteeze, in hope that we can eat cheese every now and again... It gives him the enzyme required to digest lactose effectively, sounds like a dream come true... It would be nice to have cheese in a meal every now and again! Or to be able to go out for a meal together and not be stressing that Australia in general doesn't cater for vegans...

Tonight he gave it a go, I made one of my comfort meals, cheesy tomato rice.. Rice, tomato, stock, peppers, corn, onion and garlic... Nothing complex about it, just yummy goodness... It was so cute, Mace was loving it so much he dropped his cutlery and started feeding himself with fistfuls like a cave man! I allowed it because it must suck taking so long to get something do delicious into your mouth! So far Mark hasn't shown any signs of sickness, which is brilliant!!!

The pic looks a bit dodgy, but it is so good! I got it from our BBC UK Vegetarian cook book, but this is the same recipe but they have added meat

http://f00d-for-thought.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/baked-cheddar-and-tomato-rice.html?m=1