Yesterday he was just a baby, playing in the lounge room and falling asleep in his favourite box. Note the comfy pillow he used as a mattress.

Today he's a "big kindy boy" off for his very first day at kindergarten. See how excited he is? School started for the big kids yesterday, and they are very happy in their new classrooms. Joshua started kindy today, and was over the moon. As soon as he got there he was off bouncing on the inground trampoline. A quick kiss goodbye and I was on my own. I called at lunch time and heard that he was still very happy. He was thrilled to see me when I cmae to pick him up, and I confess I was equally thrilled to see him. He is looking forward to going back again tomorrow.

We love it when the Australia Day holiday slips into a weekend. With a brand new baby to meet, it was only natural that we hop in the car and drive the 3 hours to spend the weekend with Darling Hubby's Lovely Sister, and her beautiful family. So my first picture today is of Alexandra Rose, at just 9 days old. She is like a little doll, just picture perfect.

Our evening plans of pizza and cricket were all but annihilated by the weather (and to a lesser degree by the English cricket team ;). The town we were in was struck by a tornado. We were lucky, and didn't sustain much damage, but 18 houses lost their roofs, and a coal train derailed by the winds.


We lost power for the night. I am not a big fan of cricket, so I could cope with the loss. Spending a hot night in the dark was not the ideal scenario for Australia Day, though!

Emma's Super Dooper You Beaut, All Aussie Pumpkin Pizza ;)

I first make a batch of bread dough in my bread maker.

Dice the pumpkin into bite sized pieces, and place in a roasting pan with one purple/red onoin cut into strips. Spray with cooking spray and bake until the pumpkin is cooked and the onion soft. I alternatively microwave the pumpkin and caramelise the onion in a small pan with some butter.

Roll out the dough into two pizza bases. I make rectangular pizzas because the topping stays on better for the kids. I add the toppings in this order - a thin layer of mozzarella cheese (to act as glue, The pumpkin/onion mix. At this point I just top the kid's pizza with loads more mozzarella. Our more sophisticated pizza also gets fresh oregano or sage leaves, roughly chopped macadamia nuts and a liberal topping of fetta cheese.

I cook it for about 25 minutes on the lower shelf of a very hot oven.

It's very simple to make, and hugely popular in our little family!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Marinated chicken thigh fillets, mashed pumpkin, beans and carrots

Tuesday: Pasta with a creamy artichoke and tomato sauce

Wednesday: Pumpkin pizzzas

Thursday: Spaghetti Bolognaise

We are spending the Australia Day long weekend with family, visiting one of the brand new babies that arrived this week, so no menu plan.

Sunday: Frozen dinners.

Do visit Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!

A Walk in the Park

A wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening. Christopher reluctantly had the training wheels taken off his bike this weekend. After some hesitation he has discovered that he CAN ride his bike without them. Brett has had a good workout, running after a very fast little red bicycle. I love the look of incredulous joy on Christopher's face in this photo.

And of course there are plenty of photos of my silly monkeys!

We saw two very contented sulfur crested cockatoos. They let me come very close for these photos. As you can see, I was regarded as a bit of a curiosity!

In all, a lovely way to spend some time together.

Yesterday we spent the day at Indigiscapes, a natural bushland park about 3/4 of an hour from our house. They have koalas living in the trees there, and each day they signpost the trees so you know where to look. Koalas are very hard to spot though, and we didn't actually find any yesterday. I have a theory that the koalas wait for the sign to be put up, then move to a quieter spot and laugh at us all staring into an empty tree.

So no koala photos were taken yesterday. This photo I took in 2004, from the front verandah of the house we were living in. During the breeding season koalas roam far and wide, apparently, and this one found himself in suburbia. He visited our tree for a morning, and then moved on.

My weather pixie says it's raining. I think maybe she's playing cruel mind games with me. It is definitely not raining. I even got up and checked.

Last Saturday, while Mum was visiting, we took a trip on the CityCat. We travelled up to South Bank and went and saw the National Treasures exhibition at the State Library. It was fascinating, and well worth the trip.

We are truly lucky to live in such a beautiful city. The weather was glorious, not the scorching summer heat that January usually brings. I got a bit snap happy on the boat, as you can see.

The kids love passing under Story Bridge. I prefer gawping at all the fancy homes along the river banks. The colonial ones are my absolute favourites, simply grand.

And here are my three children, Happy, Grumpy and, in the background, Silly! Joshua napped through most of the Exhibition, much to the relief of myself and countless other library patrons. He made it known that he did not wish to be there right before he crashed! Samara and Christopher enjoyed the kid's brochure they were given as we entered. In each section they had to locate an item, given a partial picture as a clue. Then they had to complete a task relating to the item. For Ned Kelly's helmet they had to draw a picture of what it would look like looking out of the helmet, etc.

The treasures exhibited were so exciting to an amateur historian such as myself! Henry Lawson's pen, a full convict uniform, Captain Cook's ships log, and so many other amazing items. I could have stayed there all day, but ended up resorting to buying the guide book, a wealth of extra information. I found it all very inspiring.

It is my birthday today. I have been wonderfully spoilt, with lovely gifts from husband and children, Mum and all my dear inlaws. The teapot and cup in the picture are part of a 'grown up tea set', from Darling Husband. I had an impromptu tea party this afternoon to christen them. I baked cupcakes with a lime glace icing this morning, to serve on the tiered cake plate. Miriam Pauline, the tea infuser fits my new teapot perfectly!

Tonight we'll be enjoying Chinese food. I am really looking forward to it! I know, I know, it's a deviation from the menu plan, but Hubby insisted, you know ;)

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Milady the Most Honourable Emma the Lackadaisical of Longer Interval Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Oh wow! It's really me! Stop laughing Mum!

Thank you Imperial Majesty Xsquared the Indefatigable of West Smeesborough for this bitter reminder of my true nature. *giggle*

Edit: If you hover your mouse just below my shiny new title, there is a link there to get your own. For some reason it's turned out to be white?

Menu Plan Monday on a Tuesday.

Ok, I did actually write it on Monday, but it turned into Tuesday before I got around to posting it! It is still Monday in some parts of the world!


Monday: Cold chicken, salad, bread rolls.


Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognaise


Wednesday: My birthday dinner! Lamb shank casserole, potato bake, beans followed by a strawberry and cream cake


Thursday: Steamed fish with Couscous


Friday: Grilled Maple chicken, baked potato with cottage cheese, steamed vegies


Saturday: Steak (sausages for kids), mashed potato, vegies


Sunday: Roast lamb, mashed potato, steamed vegies, gravy


For more wonderful menu ideas, check out Organizing Junkie!

Teresa Wentzler's Trade Wind

This is why I have not been blogging this week. I have been working on this cross stitch since mid 2002, and I was determined not to spend another year avoiding it. It has been a huge challenge. Not only is it a complicated and enormous piece, but Joshua cut a hole in it a little over a year ago. You can still see some of the damage he did, outside the border near the righthand mermaid's tail. So as well as simply finishing it, I had to figure out how to repair a hole in order to finish the stitching. I did better than I thought I would.

I have stitched this for my husband. Yesterday, just after I added the final beads, he admitted he'd never thought I would finish it! Doubting Thomas! Truthfully, though, I wasn't sure I would either.