Around Here

Around here I can't say I have been doing any gardening and my veggie patch is still full of weeds.  I know it will make me happy to get into the garden but there always seems too many other things to do.  My local garden shop closed down after many many years which was very sad so now I have to go to Bunnings for my plants which it not 2 mins down the road.  I did take the kids on a BBQ and bush walk to the local historical Gold Mine on the weekend and we had fish and chips in the park for dinner on Saturday night and the kids had a play on the swings etc.  I'm so glad that my kids still love the park particularly James who is turning 13 in 3 weeks time.  Thrilled that he doesn't think swings at the park are uncool and happily gets outdoors.  This is what I want to remember about October.

Sienna setting herself up in the front hallway doing some crocheting watching a tv show on her iPad.

The sunsets lately have been pretty.

Behind our house we have a pathway of trees.

Sienna and I and the pretty leaves.

My first born....he turns 13 in 3 weeks time.

This little cow wanted to come over to see what we were doing.

Golden hour photo session with my kids.

Such pretty light and my two kids.

Sienna's art work on the table.

Afternoon sun on the washing.

Playing Uno together on the couch.

Colouring in this month has been fun.

Sienna set herself up with a drum kit using the bags of compost as a seat and rulers as drum sticks.  She makes me laugh with her creativity.

James nearly a teenager.

This pic was designed to show off her hair do which she is really into at the moment which she loves.

James and all his school friends are into "bottle flipping" at the moment so they throw the bottle up with the hope that it lands firmly on the ground and lots of times it doesn't.  Let me just say that this drives me crazy from the noise of the bottle hitting the ground when done inside our house over and over again.

Sienna jumping over the swing at the park.

The kids made these biscuits on the weekend and had lots of fun.  This is Rhonda's biscuit recipe which makes heaps of biscuits.  I make the recipe and we cook half and then I freeze the other portion to make another day.

James dressed up for Halloween this year....Sienna was off at a school Halloween Party so I don't have any photos of her this year.

Interesting Article - 10 year old boy creates portable shelter for the homeless

I saw this on TV this morning and thought it was a real feel good story and a very practical idea for the homeless.  Here is the link to Channel 9's interview.

Another feel good Brisbane story is Orange Sky Laundry which was the brainchild of two Brisbane friends. Here is an article about them.   Recently they have also set up a pilot van for showers for the homeless called Orange Sky Showers.  They were Young Australians of the Year in 2016.  An amazing story and yet such a practical simple need for the homeless.  Clean clothes, someone to talk to and now trialing access to showers.  Brilliant.

Recipes from the blog

Last week was my birthday and for the past 11 years I have taken a photo of me with my kids and 4 cupcakes (2 for the birthday girl) which only seems fair.  In the first photo Sienna was only 6 months and James was not quite 3 yet so they have certainly changed a lot.  It's a very special tradition of mine and I love that my kids know we take this on my birthday.  Here's the pic for 2016.

  

Since it's school holidays in Australia I thought I would link back to a post from July last year with lots of yummy recipes that have featured on my blog and a few more from the last year.

A list of recipes from my blog post last year are here.

School lunch box ideas here.

Lime Tart recipe here.

Bacon & Leek Quiche with home made pastry here.

Home made biscuits here. 

Zucchini Slice recipe here.

Best ever fluffy bread roll recipe here.

Autumn Spicy Soup recipe here.

Breakfast Seed Muffins here.

Home made healthy chocolate with 3 ingredients here.

Around Here

Around here things have been busy and I've been sick for the past month and I think I'm on the mend now diagnosed with pleurisy after yesterday's chest x-ray.  I've been taking it easy on and off and spending a couple of days laying in bed but still doing everything you have to do when you are the only adult around raising kids.  Over the past month we have had the pleasure of an international student from Japan staying with us and the kids and I have loved learning about life in Japan and showing her how us Aussies live.  Here's a few photos from the past month.

First day in Australia happened to be her birthday so I made a cake for her and she's never made a cake or seen one made as they don't have an oven at their home in Japan.

Sitting down to write stuff on the blackboard was a daily occurrence and learning new things.

Doing Origami together.

Showing off the Brisbane city skyline.

Doing some maths equations with James.

A game of scrabble after dinner.

Aunty Lisa (my sister) got a new bird and we went with her to pick Ziggy up from the pet shop.

James on his iPad on a Friday afternoon after school.

Family pic at our favourite local BBQ spot.

 Sienna loved having another person to cuddle.

Toasting marshmallows on the fire.

Jasmine in full bloom.

Home made pies and salad for dinner.

We walked to the local park after school and these two loved making up games to play.

Afternoon at the local park.

Making up stories and drawing on the blackboard in the hallway.

The AFL Season is over for another year and the trophies were handed out by our Local Member for Parliament. James 5th year with this club.

James made this car which was part of his school assignment which he got an A+ for.

Home Made Healthy Chocolate

I love chocolate and I eat way too much of it but I can't give it up either....there has to be some good treats in my life.  The other day I made these chocolates and I had 1 to 2 a day as my treat and didn't eat any other sweets during the day.

The recipe is from Cut out the Crap blog which is a great resource.  Here is the link to the chocolate recipe.  I forgot to take a picture of the finished chocolates and now they are all gone so I guess I'll have to make another batch.

It's just 3 ingredients coconut oil, cacao powder and maple syrup.  It says you may need a touch of milk however I didn't need this at all.  If you want to make a healthy chocolate give this a go and it took less than 5 mins to mix up and put in the molds.  You could use ice cube trays but the chocolate pieces would be much bigger and hard to cut in half and only eat half.  I buy my coconut oil from Aldi and it's half the cost of the other supermarkets and it's organic too.  The maple syrup comes from Aldi as well.  These are so easy and taste great.  I put mine in the freezer (out of sight) and just got one out when I needed it.

Around Here

Here's what's been going on around our place....

Sienna up in the tree complete with her book and pillow.

Helping me take some moody photos in the backyard.

My kids are growing up...this has to be documented with James growing 2cm in the past 8 weeks.

Hair cut time while reading the iPad.

After said hair cut in the pretty light around the side of our house.

Too cold to take his hoodie off...

Sienna helping in the kitchen with disposable googles that I got after a dentist visit.

Sienna's little crochet project.

Our one lonely lemon.....very neglected.

This is my favourite flowering bush in our back yard.

Still enjoying these healthy muffins I made last week. Recipe here.

The kids and I watched this DVD which had us on the edge of our seats....along with thinking this guy was completely obsessed and crazy.

James playing AFL (Australian Football League)

Sunset after a trip to the park to play.

James playing his guitar.

 Sienna doing some knitting.