What I love about the cooler months :)

Now the cooler weather has well and truly set in, so has all of the lovely things I love about autumn/winter (which I must admit isn't as much as I love about the other seasons..) But the following things make the cooler months all the more tolerable, cuddly and cozy!

• Dressing Gowns - Nothing like rugging up in the morning in a warm and fuzzy dressing gown.
• Bed socks - I love my bed socks, so warm and toasty & cute..
• Flannelet Sheets - Snuggling into Flannie sheets on a cold night is the bestest feeling!
• Hot chocolates & Warm Milo's - Not being a coffee drinker, its the only time of the year that I wake up each morning to a nice warm drink to heat me up.  I might even add a marshmallow or two! I also love making the kids a nice warm milo before bed.
• Warm showers with gorgeous body washes - need I say more..
• Our pot belly stove - the photo frames come off of it and we stoke it up for a warm winter without the excessive heat bills.
• Comfort food - Soups and stews and all things warm and gravy! YUMMO
• Decadent deserts - Puddings, cakes and warm custards - although not every night though :P

And Iv yet to get these, but can't wait to squeeze them into the budget in the next few weeks to make winter even more tolerable;

Aren't these Lupin Heat pack bears absolutely ADORABLE! from Mellebug

I think Indigo and Nich need one to cuddle up to at night :)

Sunbeam heated throw rug.. if I could keep my eyes open long enough at night!

And that's my winter wish list so far..

One of those days..

I've had a great week, filled with motivation - where no job seemed too big or too small, I felt on top of the domesticated goddess world (I blame nesting.. which I couldn't possibly keep up for the next 10 weeks, surely??) The house was clean by an insane hour, washing done, ironing done, errands run, dinner cooked and prepared during the day in advance, baking done etc etc.. need I go on any more - I felt organised and on top of the world - but today, I woke up and my motivation had packed its bags and disappeared overnight and I had one of 'those days' that could be best described as 'Why did I get out of bed this morning??' 

A day where everything seemed to take forever and I didn't even want to look into the freezer this morning and plan dinner, because dinner seemed too much effort even at 9am to contemplate..  Why this sudden lack lustre approach to daily life? I think because last night my son felt sick and when one of the kids is sick, my mind goes out the window.. and I can focus on nothing more than temperatures, keeping them warm/keeping them cool, Panadol, Nurofen and Dimetapp.  Although he had brightened by this morning and went with his Dad to see a movie, my nerves were frazzled and on high alert for the rest of the day.. still tonight, I can't sleep and keep checking on him to ensure he doesn't get warm again.. frantic, yes?  typical of me - yes.. likely to change? No..

So in answer to my "Why did I get out of bed this morning" only to make it again at 1pm, vacuum at 2pm, peg out washing in the dark and sulk until hubby cooked dinner - to be a Mum and take care of my little family.. which today, wasn't as shiny as it was all week.. but still everyone went to bed happy at the end of the day, none the worse off for cupcakes still sitting in their container un-iced or the gardens not being watered, kids dont tend to notice dust and chaos as much as us adults do - which I feel is a lovely quality to have, because at the end of the day.. none of that really matters does it? What matters is our family first.. and sanity second :)  (with lots of other good stuff in between).  So right now, i'd best head off to bed - tomorrow is another day and I'd like to start off on the right side of the bed in the morning (the Sunday sleep in side!) well here's hoping! xo

Warm food for cold nights..

The past few nights we have been craving wintry foods as the weather has gotten so much cooler. I found these two yummy recipes that iv found are family friendly & super tasty too :)
Cheesy ham and macaroni bake

Ingredients:
3 cups of Macaroni (when cooked)
2 cups of whole milk.
1/4 cup of plain flower
60g Butter
100g of ham or bacon diced up.
1 cup of grated cheese (for sauce)
extra cheese to top with.

How to make it;

1.Start by boiling you macaroni as per manufacturer's instructions in a salted pot of water.
2. In the meantime.. add 60g of butter to a saucepan on medium heat, heat until butter is bubbling then add 1/4 cup of flour to the butter and combine (mine went to a dough like texture)
3. Take the saucepan off of the heat and add 1 cup of milk to the butter mixture. Whisk until the butter, flour and milk is smooth - once smooth, add the remaining 1 cup of milk and continue to whisk until smooth. 
4. Return to the heat and constantly stir with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens, add chopped ham and 1 cup of grated cheese to the sauce and continue to mix.
5. When the sauce is thick, you can pour it over the cooked macaroni.
6. Once combined add it to a greased baking dish and top with grated cheese.
7. Pop it into a preheated 180 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Shepherds Pie
You will need;

500g of Beef Mince
1 cup of mixed peas/corn
1 brown onion diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 x Beef Stock cubes
2 Carrots, diced or sliced.
1 cup of grated tasty cheese to top before baking.

1. Wash, peel and cut up 6-8 potatoes and cook them in a saucepan til soft. Once soft, mash them with some milk and butter and set aside.
2. Brown the mince, onion and carrot in a frying pan.
3. Mix the tinned tomato's and stock cubes in a cup and pour over the top of the beef mixture.
4. Add the peas and corn.
5. Mix all together and let simmer (keep stirring) until the carrots soften.
6. Pour this mixture into the bottom of a casserole or baking tray and top with the earlier prepared mashed potato.
7. Top with grated tasty cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Bake in a preheated oven of 180 degrees for approx 30 minutes until cheese is melted.

ENJOY!

We served the macaroni and cheese with a side salad and the shepherds pie with chips and additional vegetables.

Happy Mothers Day

As I fall into bed tonight,  I feel like one of the luckiest Mums in the world - I have had a wonderful Mother's Day and was spoilt terribly. From the moment I woke up I was given a big cuddle from my six year old Son and told I should be sleeping in because it was Mothers Day - How sweet.. He then bought me in an adorable little tea pot card and ferero rocher chocolate he had made at school, with more cuddles included :) 

I was then showered with gifts that my husband, son and stepkids chose the other evening - 2 gorgeous pairs of owl PJ's (cant get enough of owls at the moment), chocolates, Babushka doll drinking glasses and some little magnets in the shape of cakes - very cute.  I was then confined to my bedroom and left with a Better Homes and Gardens magazine (and my box of chocolates) whilst they cooked me Mother's Day Breakfast.

My Son wasn't impressed that I could smell bacon cooking as it would ruin my surprise, so he insisted on blindfolding me and leading me out to the breakfast table so I wouldn't know what my surprise breakfast was.. bacon, poached eggs, tomato's, mushroom and onion with toast & the cup of tea made from the tea bag that came with his school gift. So cute.

This afternoon was spent visiting my Mum at her place, was great to catch up and nice to spoil her on Mother's Day,  I have a great Mum who is my best friend, she is always there for me and is a wonderful person who is the only person I know in this world that can talk and shop as much as I can.  We are a perfect match!  

This year we focused primarily on handmade gifts that both I or the kids had made and its probably a tradition we're going to become more accustomed to, because it felt so nice to make something for someone over a shop bought gift, ill put a seperate post up about some of the Mother's Day craft that we did a little later on. 

So overall a very special day topped off with my Son's favourite dinner, tortelini with creamy sauce and garlic bread.  We were going to watch a movie tonight, but we were all a little tired, so we'll save that til tomorrow night when my Stepkids are home and we are going to do a little dinner rerun as they weren't able to come back for Mother's Day this year unfortunately.

So yes, as I fall into bed tonight I do really feel like the luckiest Mum alive, like im sure many other Mums around the world feel tonight.. I am a Mum, Stepmum and Mum to Be and with 5 special children, I couldn't ask for much more, the past 6 years have been the best years of my life and there is no where I would rather be, than waist deep in all of the washing, housework, cooking, fighting, homework, cuddles, laughter and craziness that being a Mum brings..

Happy Mother's Day to all of the special Mum's out there xo

Back from yet another trip..

Anyone would start to think we were the holidaying type! but no, unfortunately it is rare for us to go on a holiday, let alone two in two weekends!  this time we travelled to Bundaberg QLD for my husband's, Pop's 80th Birthday and enjoyed 3 nights away with more swimming at the beach, collecting shells, going for walks, fishing and catching up with family..

Overall it was a lovely trip, but we are very happy to be home now with our pets and back in our own comfy beds.  For now we're going to hang up our holiday shoes and get back into reality.. that doesn't sound quite so fun does it? LOL.

Back to School..

Well the kids headed back to school today, I can't quite believe how FAST the holidays went! I could still do with an extra week (or two) I think.  So today is all about tidying up the kids bedrooms after the break, cleaning out the car after our holiday and topping up the fridge and the pantry before school pick up!   This term 2 of my 3 stepchildren come back to live with us for the entire term (aside from every second weekend) so the house will be a little more busier than normal. 

However, my eldest stepson, who turns 11 tomorrow, has decided to trial living with his Mum this term (aside from every second weekend)  and this was a decision we felt he was at liberty to make as it's something he has desired for many years now.. So that will be a big change in our household that will take a little getting used to over the upcoming weeks but we wish him the best & he knows he is always welcome back. 

This morning my Stepdaughter Hayley went off to school camp - rather excited and each of the boys went to school elated to have $1 in their pockets to buy a fundraising chocolate with..

Life is busy, life is good.. life is normal :)

Easter Long Weekend Camping.

A few weeks ago we decided we would give camping a go for the Easter long weekend, not having camped since my childhood and never having camped with children before, I knew it would either be an experience we would either love or loathe.  But it was an experience Hubby and I have been eager to embark on for the past couple of years, we just never got around to it (we always fell for the allure of hotels/houses for our past holidays instead!)  BUT I'm so glad we did give it a go, because thankfully we loved it & we're glad to have given the kids a different perspective on holidaying.  We headed to North Stradbroke Island, which is a short ferry trip off of Brisbane, Queensland - It's a gorgeous island, we fell in love with it last August when we stayed in a holiday home over there and so far to date it's my favourite holiday destination. 

Gorgeous weather for our first camping trip..

Our campsite, early morning..

We had the first night to ourselves as a family, which was nice to set up, explore and relax just the six of us and the next day we were joined by my Husband's family (they were the ones who initially invited us & had the two campsites next to ours).  We spent an enjoyable 3 days swimming at the beach, going for walks, eating yummy food and relaxing at the campsite and the kids got to enjoy time playing and fighting with their cousins ad mist all of this. 

Kids swimming at Cylinder Beach, our favourite beach, all time!

Easter Sunday was also spent on the island and the kids awoke to find the Easter Bunny had visited our tent and scattered mini crunchie eggs everywhere and left them a bag of goodies at the end of their beds.  They were rather excited. 

Carrots, Milk and Letters for the Easter Bunny

We headed back Sunday afternoon, so nice to be homeward bound - as relaxing as it is to be on holidays, it is always nice to return back home, my Brother had house/pet sit for us & as usual he'd done a terrific job and all of our pets were waiting for us, excited as ever..

So overall, we were blessed with great weather and great conditions for our first camping trip - I'll give it two thumbs up & definitely be back! 

Hubby overlooking the Headland @ Point Lookout.

One Happy Camper.. LOL