Carols by Candlelight

Yesterday was a warm humid day and the evening was perfect for Carols by Candlelight at the local park.  We had a lovely time although have discovered that Kelvin goes a bit silly when he's tired!!

Today we went to a work BBQ and my contribution was the usual Chocolate Ripple Cake (with a touch of rum).

And our calendar task for today will be to make some Lolly Holly to decorate our Christmas presents.

And our book is the beautifully illustrated The First Christmas.  The words are directly from the King James Bible and the images created by Jan Pienkowski (who did the pictures for the Meg and Mog books I love from childhood).

Fabulous Christmas Wreath

Our task for Wednesday was to make a Christmas Wreath for our front door.  I was inspired by this post.

Matilda and Kelvin made one each and now I have a red wreath hanging on my front door (to welcome guests) and a green wreath hanging on my back door (to welcome robbers - noone uses our back door except us!).

I love the way they waiver in the wind.

I can highly recommended making one and my kids loved the stapling and glueing.

Childcare Picnic

Our task for yesterday was another easy one - have a picnic for dinner if the weather was fine (which is was).  It was the annual childcare picnic and it was in our local playground - there was a Christmas fairy, Santa dropped by and the kids got their faces painted.

Kelvin as a dinosaur.

Matilda, the 100th butterfly they'd painted (or at least it felt like 100)!

Santa Liam hanging with his Dad.

And our book for the day was the classic Golden Book version of The Christmas Story.  I finally found our Fisher Price nativity scene so we read the story and found the characters and played a bit before bed.

Today our book is Aliens Love Panta Claus - all about decorating your house with underpants and Santa's sack being exchanged for a massive pair of bloomers!!  And we're looking forward to a quiet day at home making a new wreath for the front door (and probably the back on too) - inspired by this one.

Another Christmas Book, Another Christmas Thing To Do!

Today is a school day (Matilda) / childcare day (Kelvin) / work day (Trev) / rest day (Liam and me) so our Christmas countdown activity was appropriately easy.  It instructed us to drop our presents under the Wishing Tree.  Which is what we did on our way home from dinner at Granma's.

But on the way to Kmart we passed a group of Salvation Army horn players tooting carols in the street.  We used to live in the area and this was always one of my favourite things in the lead-up to Christmas.  So I swerved to the kerb and hauled the kids out and we listened to a few carols and then requested Jingle Bells and then I found myself squatting on a busy street corner with a child on each knee singing carols out loud and although the weather doesn't feel like Christmas it's beginning to feel like Christmas!!

My kids have never really been toy shopping with me before - it has always been easier to do it on our own.  However, this year I decided to let them choose something each for a child the same age and gender as themselves and they were really good!

Octonauts Book & Kwazii Kitten playset for a boy who's 3.

A fairy Barbie with an extra outfit for a girl who's 5

And I chose a Fisher Price toyset for a 6 month old boy and added in some nappies, wipes and scented nappy bags and then we headed off to put our gifts under the tree.

And then fortune had it that our book for today was 25 December Lane by Helen Ward.  This book was give to Matilda by my Mum - for her first Christmas as a big sister.  Helen Ward has also dedicated this book to a Matilda and it's about a little girl who's searching for the perfect gift for a special little brother celebrating his first Christmas.  My mum has written Kelvin's name on the last illustration, along with his birthdate and I can see this becoming a book to treasure.

Two More Days, Two More Books, Two More Tasks

We're still counting down to Christmas!
On Saturday we were to visit the old fire station - celebrating 100 years of being on that site.  Enjoying the old, old fire engines, honking the horn and dinging the bell.  Pondering the no longer used fire pole.  Wondering what Hobart would have been like back when they had hand-drawn fire fighting equipment!

Sunday's task was to go to the Sorell Fruit Farm.  The heaven's opened just as we finished buckling the third kid into the car but the Oesch and Doots's were already on their way so we decided to join them!

It was our first trip to the Fruit Farm where you buy a punnet for each picker and fill it with whatever you can find. First we started with strawberries - the perfect fruit for little kids to pick (and delicious to sample too)!

Liam is not so keen on sitting in a stationary pram so Trev tucked him into his raincoat for a little bit - bringing baby wearing to a whole new level!!

 Next we headed up to the very remotest part of the farm to pick some cherries - which is when we all got very, very wet dispite our coats and gumboots!

And the only way to get at the good fruit at the top of the trees was to work together!!

We also picked just over 1kg of silvenberries (a domesticated blackberry?) which were a bit prickly but delicious too.  These were quickly made into yummy jam - a great rainy afternoon activity, with much sampling!!

And our books for the last few days?  Wombat Devine by Mem Fox about a sleepy wombat and the Mr Men Christmas Extravaganza!

What Book Today?

Our Christmas Countdown Book for today was Melrose and Croc a Christmas to Remember. I was lucky enough to win this in a giveaway last year and it's a sweet book about a dog and a crocodile who feel lonely at Christmas time and crash into each other whilst ice skating and the illustrations are lovely and a little bit retro in their muted colours.

And our activity for today was "To have a photo with Santa"!  And we had a reasonably successful trip into the city.  We didn't have to queue for a photo, there weren't too many toilet stops required, the kids chose some lovely presents to give to their Wishing Tree recipient, and the big kids both chose new sandles for summer without too many tears from anyone (including me!).

Advent 2011

It happened again - I totally forgot that there are only 30 days in November!  So at 9:30pm last night Trev and I were wrapping books so that we could have a literature countdown to Christmas Day (totally inspired by Dana)!

We already had 16 Christmas books in our collection so we wrapped them up in butchers paper (using the Christmas sticky tape) and numbered them and have lined them up along the window).  Our book for today was I Love Christmas by Anna Walker - love her illustrations!

 We also have a "things to do" countdown too.  It's just 25 bits of card bluetac-ed to the window.  Don't tell the kids but only one of these had an activity on the back - we're going to see what's happening tomorrow and write something on each evening!! 

Today's activity involved cooking playdough and chocolate cake with our friends - courtesy of Holly the Tupperware demonstrator.  I was roped into hosting a demo last week and I can really recommend the Kids in the Kitchen party, although the Flaming Pineapple party would be tempting!!

It's summer and we're officially counting down to Christmas at our place!  I wonder what we'll do tomorrow?

Killer Coffee Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes this evening to share at an afternoon tea Tupperware party tomorrow.

Of course, we had to try them to make sure they were OK.

Trev declared them some of the best cupcakes he'd ever tasted!  He's a good man.

Coffee Cupcakes
125g butter, chopped, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups SR flour, sifted
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup strong black coffee, cooled

1.  Preheat oven to moderate, 180 oC.  Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper patty cases.
2.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar together until light and creamy.
3.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Fold in flour alternatively with sour cream and coffee, beginning and ending with flour.  Spoon mixture into paper cases until 2/3 full.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing
1 cup soft icing mixture, sifted
10g butter
2-3 tablespoons hot strong black coffee
12 pecans, to decorate

5.  Combine icing sugar and butter in a small heatproof bowl.  Stir in enough coffee to make a smooth paste.  Place over a saucepan of simmering water and heat gently, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until mixture is a spreadable consistency.  Spread over cooled cupcakes and top each with a pecan.

6.  Eat with a hot cuppa!!

I struggled a bit with the icing - I think I put in too much coffee too soon and then had to add nearly another cup of icing sugar to correct it.  Next time I'll be adding the coffee a teaspoon at a time!

2 Months Flies By

Well, Liam is 2 months old.  Time has really flown by.  He is starting to smile heaps, especially at older ladies which makes him very popular when we're out and about.  He coo's and really loves to watch his brother and sister when they are careering around the house (loudly).

He's sleeping well at night but in the last week he has decided he no longer does long sleeps during the day and is doing 40 minute cat naps which really doesn't suit me!

Especially when I had grand plans to get crafting in the lead-up to Christmas.  Oh well, it can wait - this little guy is growing fast!

Oliver+S Hat Love

We were given a beautiful hat for Liam, made by our dear friend Sarah.  She blogged about it here.

Doots modelling the hat - I still need to get a picture of this on our boy!

It was from the Oliver+S book Little Things to Sew.  It inspired me to make new hats for the big kids for the summer.

I was in Spotlight on the weekend and this linen fabric with retro bikes was willing me to buy it and make a hat for Kelvin - so I did!

He loves it.

So do I!!

The Graduate

This has been sitting on my dining table overnight.  It arrived yesterday.

I now have a Masters Degree.  I didn't attend the graduation ceremony, but opening the postpack tube at home seems like a bit of an anticlimax after a decade of work.

I might spend a bit more time baby gazing!!

BlogtoberREST = LifeFEST

Wow, where has October gone!  My baby is nearly 6 weeks old, I now live with a 3 year old and there has been much thinking about projects (and reading crafty-type books whilst breastfeeding) - if only I didn't waste so much time waiting for the baby to wake up!!

Some photos from our October...

A family of five (sans the dog).

And a pirate family (sans the baby)

Ahoy-me-hearties - it's Pirate Liam!

The pirate galleon cake (thanks to the new Woman's Weekly Birthday Cake Book)

And Liam at one month (we did this with Kelvin too, here he is at the same age)

The first Irish Dancing competition!

I've also managed to squeeze in some sewing.  Another pencil roll for a birthday gift.  Some toy sacks to tidy the lego and baby toys (and one for another birthday gift).

I also made some pirate pants for Kelvin's pirate party (as well as a pirate sash).  I used the Sewing for Boys Kickin' Back Sweats pattern.  It's a fabulous pattern since it only has two pieces!!  I must admit, that I wasn't that enamoured with this book when it arrived but I have changed my mind since and have cut out several more pairs of pants to sew for Kelvin!

I have been knitting too and once I've finished my Common Ground Cardi I have grand plans to knit myself a Coastal Hoodie using this...

Bendigo Woollen Mills, Classic 5 ply

It's going to be a hard slog swapping from 12 ply knitting to 5 ply!

BlogtoberREST

I have participated in the annual Blogtoberfest for the last two years.

But given there is a new little man at my house I am officially having a BlogtoberREST!

This October, I may or may not post on my blog.

This October, I may or may not visit your blog.

For all the Blogtoberfest participants - enjoy, it's always fun to have new readers and to discover new blogs!