Back to school 2022

Back to school today for these nuggets! After a long hot summer, with covid finally cracking the WA markey, it's masks galore and school time for everyone. They were so keen to go and I am so happy for them.

I love that they are so close. It's nice to know that they will always have each other if something goes wrong at school.

Madeline is off to year 5 this year and is absolutely thrilled to pieces as she managed to score the teacher she really, really wanted. She has had a lot to do with Ms. Berman in the past and is super excited as her dog Sasha also comes to school a lot, she is a therapy dog!

Joseph is really calm about school (this is wonderful for me!) as he has Mrs Southee, who was his spelling mastery teacher last year. He copes a lot better with people who are familiar to him, so that's an all round win.

Maddie is also playing flute this year which she is really excited about. I can't wait to see what's in store for the two of them. 

2022 - Let's do this!

Joey's with the neighbours

It's back to to school tomorrow, so on Friday night, we hit up the local diner with our neighbour besties. We love having the Hayes live next door to us, it's genuinely the best thing that's ever happened. Their kids are all similar ages to ours and they just get along so well that it's actually a pleasure to have them spend time together. I mean seriously, you can tell how much fun they are having together.

On Great Northern Highway in Herne Hill, there is the most awesome burger joint, a retro looking diner style place, called Joey's. Their food is excellent, including their delicious burgers, waffle fries and iceberg desserts. All simple, but amazing. 

In winter, there is outdoor heaters and a closed in gazebo to sit in, in summer, aircon in the outdoor areas. Plus a kids play area, sandpit and arcade games. We really should come more often, everyone loves it.

 

Weet-Bix slice

This is the taste of childhood if you grew up in Australia. I remember eating this at parties, or just at home... and loving it. Good old Weet-Bix slice. So when I scored a box of recently expired Weet-Bix, I knew exactly what had to be done - and it tasted just as good as I remembered. I took a batch to Ledge Point the other day and the whole lot got eaten. Plus my kids loved it too. This is absolutely going to be a regular roll out.

CHOCOLATE WEET-BIX SLICE

Ingredients

180g Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

3 Weetbix, crushed (45 grams)

1 Cup Desiccated Coconut

1 Cup Plain White Flour

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

 

BASIC CHOCOLATE ICING

1 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar

1 heaped Tablespoon Cocoa

1 teaspoon Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Water, teaspoon at a time

 

Instructions

1.      Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan forced

2.      Prepare a rectangular baking tin

3.      Melt the butter in the microwave. Add to this the vanilla and set aside

4.      In a large bowl add the Weet-Bix, coconut, flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder and stir well to blend

5.      Add to this the melted butter and vanilla and stir until fully combined

6.      Pour into the prepared baking tin and press until firm and smooth

7.      Bake for 15 minutes and remove from the oven, set aside to cool

8.      Once cool prepare the icing. Melt the teaspoon butter and add the vanilla

9.      Add sifted icing sugar and cocoa and stir to combine

10.  Add a teaspoon of water at a time until the consistency can just drizzle off the end of the spoon

11.  Spread over the slice evenly and if desired sprinkle with a little desiccated coconut to finish

12.  Allow to set, then slice and serve or store in an airtight container

Ledge Point

Today the kids and I headed up to Ledge Point for the day to hang out with the Macqueens who were camped out at the local caravan park. The kids always want to got camping, but we have neither a tent, or caravan as an option, so this was the next best thing I could offer.

We started with a drive up, then met them at the beach near the caravan park. They had driven down onto the beach and parked on the sand, so the kids went straight for the water, Alex got dumped by a wave almost immediately when he let go of Maddie's hand and came running back to me...

Madeline was absolutely in her element, straight into the water and messing about with Uncle Mat

He even picked her up and threw her into the waves a few times!

Joseph was less than impressed. It was too windy and the water was too cold and he wasn't having a bar of it. You can almost taste his excitement in this picture. Ha.

Needless to say, that made it a little hard to get a nice beach pic of the three of them. Oops, oh well.

He was more than happy to play in the pool though, once we got back to the caravan park. 

They splashed around forever before sausages in bread for lunch with weet-bix slice for dessert... real little Aussies! 

Some snacks for the adults and an afternoon of laughs, running, tag, playground and icecream from the caravan park general store. Don't even ask how much they cost haha.

A day well spent with the bestie. Our kids had to be friends too... they had no other choice. ❤

Hillarys boat harbour with the Niupalaus.

Without a doubt, the kids favourite part of every school holidays is our standard date with the Niupalau's. We always have the very best time with them. This time we hit up Hillary's Boat Harbour and had a swim at the beach.

Joseph loved it! He was so happy because the water was nice and warm. I even came and stood in the water with the kids so he was thrilled.

Alex was in his element. He is such a water baby!

Maddie will find absolutely any excuse to wear a bikini, so today was definitely one of her favourites haha. I love that nearly every photo of her I manage to get is her sitting by Alex watching, which is what she does day in day out. It's very rare, but every now and then she tells me "MUM! You need to watch Alex, it's not my job!" Um well yes I know that, but considering you've made it your job and always tell me to go away...

We ended our day with a trip to Cold Rock for some icecream for everyone. $63 later, but worth every single cent. Look at those happy faces!

Just wouldn't be a real holiday without our party. ❤

The Ranga twins

There is a set of twins that live in this house... that were born seven and a bit years apart. Honestly, if you see their baby photos, sometimes you can't even tell if the photo is Madeline or Alexander. The only thing that is different is that they have different coloured eyes.

It is so cute watching them together though, Alexander is completely obsessed with being everywhere she is and loves to be her shadow. Sometimes she even dresses him up to match her, which is even cuter.

They laugh and play and make up little cuddle skits to show to me... and it's basically the highlight of his day. How lucky they are to have that bond. It's the most beautiful thing. My little ranga twins.

Sunshine slice

A few weeks ago I screenshot a recipe from a Facebook page I love - 4 ingredients, for a recipe called Sunshine Slice. It looked absolutely delicious, but I was a litle suss, as I often am when things look that easy - that they'll be average, or just not good all...

But this slice, that requires barely any ingredients or effort, is absolutely incredible! It has a yummy shortbread style base, a pineapple cheesecakey kind of middle and toasted coconut on top. Well worth the make. This will absolutely be made on repeat.

SUNSHINE SLICE (from 4 ingredients Australia)

340g packet vanilla cake mix

150g melted butter

300ml sour cream

440g can crushed pineapple (drained)

1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan forced)

2. Line and grease a slice tray

3. Mix together cake mix and butter, then spread evenly in the baking tray

4. Bake for 15 minutes

5. Mix sour cream and pineapple together

6. Spread across the warm biscuit base, then sprinkle with shredded coconut and return to oven for 15 minutes

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then store in the fridge.

Honestly, go make this. It is amazing. We are hooked!

Kids are vaxxed!

I am so, so proud of these kids for making a choice to get vaccinated for covid-19. When the option was released in WA for kids just a few weeks ago, they decided of their own choice that they wanted to. We talked about it, they asked questions and they decided that it was a good idea.

We live in an age where medical research is at its best and most refined. Within months of the covid-19 pandemic becoming huge around the world, a vaccine had been readied and was being tested for effectiveness. I'm not here to preach from my vaccine soapbox as I still firmly believe that people have the right to make their own decisions regarding their body, but I was ready and willing to protect myself and my family and other loved ones as soon as it was an option. The kids have watched me receive my doses and decided to do the same.

Joseph had his done today and was much calmer having already seen Madeline have hers done a few days ago in Ellenbrook. That was a good move obviously to have hers first.

Both of the kids took it really well, but were understandably frightened of having a needle. Madeline was the worst- she was shaking and crying and I felt terrible. I kept telling the staff that she wanted to get it and I feel like they all thought I was full of it. Baha. Thankfully she recovered instantly when she realised that it didn't actually hurt that much and only for a fraction of a second. 

Bless them. So proud. 

Smashed teeth - Round 2

I swear keeping the boys in this house alive is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. In 2017 while I was in the US with Madeline for 2 weeks and Joseph was staying with my parents, he tripped on a ladder end and smacked his front teeth resulting in a trip to emergency, multiple dental follow ups and as the final blow, emergency dental surgery to remove them after they developed an abscess above each tooth. Last night we got to play a second round of that game, when Alex fell off a bar stool where he was perched playing Nintendo. A place he's sat a million times before, but this time was a dismal fail. Smacked his face on the way down on a wooden dresser and there was blood and tears all over the place. He did exactly the same thing as Joseph and his teeth were bleeding around the edges requiring a trip to the Midland Emergency Department.

He screamed the place down when Doug tried to clean him up, then wailed in the car until we got to the highway, but was still breathing shakily and sobbing when he fell asleep. so it was definitely something that needed checking, not something I was comfortable with leaving. 

People always talk about their horrendous waits at the hospital, but we have been so blessed in the past and yet again last night. We were seen within 30 mins of arriving, by a wonderful doctor, then by his supervising doctor to confirm his diagnosis. All his teeth were still firmly in place and still well aligned and we were sent home to sleep it off. We went into the McDonald's drive through to get him a frozen drink, but he was fast asleep before he could even drink any of it, it was still sitting untouched in his seat when we got home.

His mouth is well and truly bruised, and he has a giant fat lip, but it's looking okay thank goodness.

Now we are just on high alert for the next few months, watching for the abscess that would alert us to nerve damage and making sure he doesn't suffer the same fate as Joseph did.

Poor baby. That was a hell of a whack!

Heart attack!

One of my favourite ladies from our church is celebrating her birthday today - and when I was given the sneaky heads up by a friend, Madeline and I headed down to her house to give her a "heart attack" while she was out at dinner. We spent ages cutting letters and hearts from a bunch of coloured paper we had on hand, only to get all the way down to her house and discover that we had forgotten to bring the sticky tape along! 

Quick trip to the IGA in the next street and we were back on task. We made quick work of taping them all in place and then quickly got out of there before she had time to return. We were rewarded a little while later, by a gushing Facebook post about how loved she felt.

Totally worth it. ❤

Pandora Tree of Life set

I have loved Pandora for many years and this is my favourite set, the Tree of Life. I am proud to report that many, many years after getting my first piece other than the original charm (the ball necklace) I have finally found the last piece in my size - the ball ring! With the help of a friend I made through the Pandora Buy and Sell Australia page, we tracked one down in NSW and it arrived last week. I am thrilled to bits! I love all of it and I am so happy to have it all together.

Funny story about the first piece, back in my Chippers Subiaco days, one of my colleagues had been put in charge of purchasing a gift for me when I went on maternity leave to have Madeline. She asked me point blank what I would like and I showed her a picture of the necklace only to have her pooh pooh at it and tell me it was ugly. I was so surprised as we had such similar tastes and I thought she would have loved it as much as I did!

Turned out that (of course!) she did and it had been purchased for me on the sly - and she had even worn it to a wedding the weekend before my leaving do. I love her style. That had me roaring with laughter, because of course I didn't mind one bit, I would have happily loaned it to her! Mum and I still laugh about it every time I wear it. I mean honestly, telling me it was ugly? Baha. 

I'm so very pleased to have my set complete. ❤

Encanto obsessed

Since Maddie and co watched Encanto on Disney+ at the Pinkers, they have been hooked. The keep singing the songs, making jokes from it and today, we were treated to an Encanto dress up challenge from the Madi's while they were trying to entertain themselves. I haven't actually seen the movie yet and had to google pictures of who they were dressed up as, but I think it is safe to say they absolutely nailed it!

The Madi's as Encanto characters...

Madeline as Bruno

*

and Madison as Isabella.

I cannot stop laughing. So impressed with their efforts.

*********************

Since this post, I have seen Encanto, about 20 times. I know all the songs, all the characters and oh my goodness are the kids nuts about it, especially Alex so we often have to sit through it (or at least just the songs) on repeat. They are so ridiculously catchy - especially "We don't talk about Bruno." I am amazed by that song, with so many melodies going on at once, but all working perfectly together. I was not at all surprised to hear that Lin Manuel Miranda had written the music to the movie, everything he touches turns to gold. It's another classic for sure.

Sing 2

For months, Alex has been obsessed with the movie Sing. He loves it. He is always singing along to the movie when it's playing, asking to watch "Johnny" (the gorilla) and laughing his little head off at all the jokes. We are talking head thrown back, mouth open laughing. he loves it.

For a while now, we've been debating whether or not he's old enough to take to a movie and whether or not he would sit through it or try and run about the place. Knowing how much he loved the first one, we thought Sing 2 would be an excellent test and oh was it a success... He loved it and we did too! 

What a wonderful movie. I couldn't even imagine how they were going to top the first one, but they did. It was amazing. It was bright and fun and kept everyone, toddler to us adults engaged from start to finish. Lots more fun songs and dancing. Highly recommend you watch it, I know we will be watching it time and time again!

 

A visit to mums

We took a quick trip up to mums for an op-shop run at the York Salvos, then a sleepover at Nanna's followed by breakfast at Dome in Northam and a visit to the Northam Aquatic Centre with their cool waterslide setup. The kids were completely wasted by the end of day two and slept like the dead... so much so that when Alex woke up in the night and had a fit then parked himself between Madeline and I, she didn't even stir. In fact, come the next morning, she was still fast asleep with him laying practically on top of her. That pretty much defines their relationship. He wants to be two centimetres from her at all times and this was no exception. Alex loves Maddie 3000% and there is no doubt about that.

 

Family Christmas - in January

Yesterday was a very delayed family Christmas celebration at my brothers house in Glen Forrest. Christmas in January because of the gastro that went through our house between Christmas and New Years. It was a perfect day for it, with the pool looking oh so inviting for the kids.

Doug was a fair pack mule heading up the to the house with all the bags containing the kids swimming stuff, food and presents... nothing out of the ordinary for a trip to their house haha.

This had me in hysterics though... I had made veggie and ricotta parcels to take up and had the most hilarious surprise when I got one of the trays out of the car, he had eaten one of the parcels and stuffed the empty hole with leaves from the ground by the car. I could not stop laughing. Especially when he kept telling me that he had no idea what I was on about.

The kids had the best time in the pool with their cousins... and no matter how many times I see this pool set up with that epic view, it never gets old. I love how they've done it almost as an "infinity" style pool because it's above ground on the back side, allowing them to not need a pool fence that side by law as it's too high for a kid to climb into.

Alex was nice and snuggly after his swim and happy as anything and...

These bestie cousins were thrilled to see that their matching PJs from Christmas last year still fit. I love that they are so close. Today was an awesome day spent with the family celebrating, even if it was a little later than usual.