Maree Rose

IT'S TIME!

2011-09-09T14:23:00.003+10:00

Currently I have a To-Do List of 627 items.

I scroll through blog after blog and save tutorials. And I think I have an addiction bordering on obsessive with Pinterest.

I have every intention of getting to all these "To-Do's" someday because they are all so beautiful and look like great fun BUT I have done maybe 10 in as long as I have been collecting them.

Sooooo - the time has come to actually do something, to be accountable and that's where you come in.

I pledge to complete, from start to finish, at least one To-Do List item each week.

It's time to reclaim my creative mojo!

So hold me to it!!!

Back to Normal

2011-03-11T19:12:00.002+10:00

Boobs no longer the size of boulders: Check!

No more leaking of small milk lakes from both breasts: Check!

A very content, happy little man who sleeps for stretches longer than 2 hours: Check!

Dealt with my feelings of guilt at not feeding anymore: Check!

Feeling slightly liberated and a bit more freedom in having my body back to myself: Check!

I think we are on the road back to normal....whatever that is.

Thanks for the kind words - they really did help xoxo

Weaning = Hell

2011-03-05T09:20:00.002+10:00

I weaned Paddy on Monday. Monday was the first day of complete physical and emotional chaos in my world.

I weaned because his teeth weren't working too well with my nipples. The result was a lot of cracks and a lot of bleeding. He has been eating real food since he was 6 months and had weaned himself through the day - he just fed at night. Instinctively I made the decision that we should go all the way.

Tuesday morning I woke up with engorged, painful boobs. Tuesday afternoon I was at the hospital and on antibiotics to keep mastitis at bay.

Wednesday morning I woke with a overwhelming feeling of guilt. Had I weaned too soon? Did I really think it was the best time for him to wean or did I just give up because it got hard? Did I break the bond between mother and son? Was I just purely selfish?

I wanted to feed Paddy until he was 18 months old at least but we only got to 11 months. I felt I failed.

Now 5 days on..... my boobs aren't as bad but really painful still. I can't leave the house because the milk is slowly leaking out. I have gotten over the guilt to some degree and told myself I just have to move on. It's too late now anyway....

Why doesn't anyone tell you how hard and how emotional breast feeding is?!!

I know we are moving on to another stage in Paddy's world and I know it's going to be great. I just miss the little baby I had.

We will get there...... One day at at time.

Recharge

2011-03-01T08:22:00.002+10:00

During the week I declared to my husband that a breakdown was near. I needed a change of scenery and a chance to recharge me.

So we booked a weekend away at Rainbow Beach (it truly is as beautiful as it's name). No phone reception meant it was only us and we spent our days eating great food and playing together.

I am now recharged and ready to tackle the next session of life.

I did manage to get in some crochet time so will talk again soon with photos....

I love hanging things

2011-02-21T18:09:00.008+10:00

Garlands really brighten things up I think. And with my brown floors and brown window furnishings I have slowly become addicted to using them to bring colour into my house.

This is the main dining area - we look out at the view through salt dough yellow and orange stars.

In the guest bedroom I strung up my first attempt at crochet flowers.

In Paddy's room I made pom poms and another round of salt dough - this time Christmas decorations.

And this is all the things we want to do. Every time we think of something we peg it up on our dreams garland.

Quite fitting that I have taken a photo of the photography course card. Think I might have to invest in that soon judging on the quality of these photos!

I don't Op-Shop, I Garage Sale

2011-02-19T18:19:00.004+10:00

Anyone for a picnic?

The back basket is fully lined and was $15.

The picnic basket at the front was only $0.50.

Rain, rain go away.....it's picnic time!

New Addition to my Sewing Space

2011-02-17T18:18:00.004+10:00

I am lucky enough to work at a factory and right now some mistakes in a refurbishment of a work space left me with this awesome cabinet.

I have filled it with pretty colours and it just makes me smile every time.

Great addition to a creative space that needed a little boost.

And the good news is there are more to come. I think the next one might live in my guest bedroom full of fun things to play with. I might even give that one a bright coat of paint.

Ah the possibilities.....

Button Toy

2011-02-14T08:58:00.004+10:00

Paddy always plays with the buttons on the clothes I am wearing. So I thought I would make him a button toy.

Apparently he doesn't like it.....

I don't Op Shop, I Garage Sale

2011-02-12T12:53:00.005+10:00

Today's Garage Sale finds....

A set of Australian legend story books for Paddy.

Two brand new hanging lanterns (the other one is blue) for $5

I always pick up cheap baskets and use them to store stuff at home or to put gifts in. Today I got a wicker hanging basket to put Paddy's outside toys in.

I also got a book of card games to take with us on our camping trips when everyone has nowhere else to go and are forced to play cards with me.

One women hosted her garage sale outside her shipping container in the container yard. She was unpacking more boxes as things were being sold. I think I might head back there again soon to see what else she has unpacked.....

Pizza Dough

2011-02-06T05:55:00.002+10:00

I will remember one day to take photos of the food BEFORE it is all eaten. Everytime I take the last bite I slam my fist on the table in frustration because I didn't take any photos....AGAIN. Sorry guys.

Pizza has fast become my go-to food when I am out of time or lacking desire to stand over a stove stirring.

Every weekend I make a batch of pizza dough which does us for 6 pizzas for lunch and dinner through the week. I wrap them up and put them in the freezer. They can defrost in a matter of hours (or in about 2 seconds with this crazy heat!)

Here is the recipe I stole from Jamie Oliver.

1kg tipo '00' flour

1 tspn salt

2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast or 6 tspns

1 tbsn caster sugar

4 tbsn extra virgin olive oil

650ml lukewarm water

: Mix together the yeast, sugar, evoo & water in a jug and set aside for a few minutes

: Sieve together the flour and salt.

: Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in your jug of wet stuff.

: Slowly mix the two together.

: Put in a floured bowl with a damp tea towel over the top and set aside to double in size (in the crazy heat yesterday this took about 30 mins!)

: Knock the air out of the dough and divide into 6 balls.

: Use straight away or wrap in glad wrap and then alfoil and freeze.

When you are going to make your pizza, turn up the oven to the hottest it can go and put in a baking tray to heat up.

Get all your ingredients ready to go so you can whip the baking tray out, put the dough on it and assemble the pizza as fast as humanly possible and then back in the hot oven. Turn the oven down then to 180 or 200 degrees and watch it cook away. It will only take about 10mins.

Beautiful and easy I promise!

I don't Op-Shop, I Garage Sale

2011-02-05T08:51:00.005+10:00

I started when I was pregnant and has become the thing I must do on a Saturday morning.

There can be some dodgy ones that's for sure but this morning was a cracker!

I bought this great Japanese fabric for $4!! Destined to become a cushion cover I think.

It is made up of all these little story squares, kinda like a cartoon.

This is mine and Paddy's favourite square. He loves birds.

I bought gorgeous doilies, a few books and a bag of wooden clothes pegs to turn into little people.

All up a total spend of $18.50. Gotta love garage sales!

Improvising

2011-02-04T07:17:00.003+10:00

Wooden floors and a baby new to crawling = sore knees and lots of frustration.

I found these little things in the "crafts to finish" pile and strapped them on.

After a bit of freaking out and lots of tugging on them they seem to be doing their job.

Next in the crafts to start pile - baby crawling knee pads

Boredom Busters @ Mini-Eco

2011-01-28T09:22:00.002+10:00

I have had to come to the realisation that my 10 month old is no longer a baby and needs stimulation to get through the day. Gone are the days of plopping him on the play mat with some toys.

It has been a hard transition having to come up with things to stimulate him during the day. It is my first baby so I have never had to prepare activities and fill in the days before.

So in anticipation of when he gets bigger and the activities need to get more exciting I have been drawn to different sites that offer activities for kids.

I found the Mini Eco site and just loved it. Here is a link to her Boredom Busters post that attracted so many ideas for kids activities from her readers.

There are some great ideas here.

Picnic Food - Paprika Chicken & Walnut Wraps

2011-01-10T15:15:00.002+10:00

Despite the rainy weather I think everyone needs a good recipe for picnic food. And with my pledge to take snacks wherever we go, I trawled through recipes and came up with this beauty.

Paprika Chicken & Walnut Wraps

3 chicken breast fillets (600g)

1 tbsp mustard powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup walnut halves, chopped finely

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 finely chopped basil leaves

salt & pepper

6 wholemeal Lebanese breads

60g baby rocket leaves

Combine chicken, mustard, paprika and oil. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate.
Heat frying pan over medium heat and cook chicken until brown on both sides and cooked through. Set aside for 20mins to cool.
Combine shredded chicken, walnuts, mayonnaise and basil. Season with salt & pepper.
Spoon equal amounts of mixture onto bread. Top with rocket leaves and roll up to enclose filling.

Isn't it funny when you write out a recipe you see the steps or ingredients that you changed.

This is what I did...

I used chicken thighs instead of breasts
I marinated the chicken overnight
I used the parsley which is in my garden instead of the basil which I would have had to buy.
I made flour tortillas instead of the Lebanese bread. We also had the leftover on some Turkish bread I had in the bread basket

Definitely file this one to take on your next picnic.

Inspired by Will Smith - surely not....

2011-01-07T14:46:00.002+10:00

"Your talent is going to fail you if you aren't skilled."

"I wan't the world to be a better place because I was here."

"There is no reason to have a Plan B because it distracts you from Plan A."

"Being realistic is the most common road to mediocrity."

"Demand that the universe will become what you want it to be."

"Make a choice - just decide what is going to be, who you are going to be and how you are going to do it."

"Focus with all your fibre, all your heart and all your creativity."

Just some of the things I got from EcoMilf's Will Smith post.

Not as cliche as I thought it was going to be. And strangely I feel inspired....

Hello Colour are you there?

2011-01-06T10:25:00.004+10:00

One beautiful picture from Attic 24 blog post showing the gorgeous colour in her home.

Dear Colour

I love, love, love how you have taken over Lucy's house at Attic 24.

I surrender! Please invade my drab, brown and grey house and share a little of your magic.

I promise to embrace you when you arrive.

Love me xoxo

In a Perfect World...

2010-12-21T20:03:00.004+10:00

I would blog more.

I would have more time to craft and potter around my house so I had something to blog about.

I would clean up the dinner dishes every night.

I would wash more so my husband wouldn't have to wear socks two days in a row.

I would have made all handmade gifts for Christmas instead of buying plastic.

I would only eat homemade bread and would feel the joy of kneading our daily loaf every morning.

I would have organised a camping trip for our Christmas holidays instead of now having to beg and plead with hotel owners to let us stay just one night.

I would be able to keep my eyes open long enough to read more than two pages of my book in bed at night.

I would never forget to put deoderant on during the hottest day of the year.

Maybe my world isn't perfect but I am sitting here surrounded by dirty dishes and piles of laundry, and the smelliest armpits in living history and I am still smiling.

It helps to be able to laugh at yourself....

Moving Forward

2010-11-18T15:15:00.003+10:00

After spending the last week feeling sorry for myself, I have finally snapped out of it.

The change came when I walked outside and saw that I was growing sunflowers without even knowing it. I had been so consumed by my self pity that I had forgotten to look around me. What a joy to find at least 10 of these little beauties dotting the paddocks.

So I give myself a good stern talking to and went inside and baked these Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip cookies to celebrate.

(By the way, I halved this recipe and it made at least 30 little cookies)

1 can condensed milk

500g butter

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

5 cups SR flour

250g white chocolate

250g milk chocolate

Cream butter, sugar and condensed milk until pale and fluffy.
Add sifted flour and choc pieces and mix well
Bake at 180 degrees for 15 mins

I know the acceptance has come when today I got home from work and planted some herbs in the garden. This is a long way from getting home from work and slumping onto the couch.

Definitely moving forward!

Rhythm of a Working Mum

2010-11-08T16:00:00.002+10:00

My new weekly routine conisists of 4 half days and 1 full day at work. Paddy comes with me every day and on the full day my wonderful mother looks after him for me. I can do this, in fact I am finding my work life far easier because of it. It's just my home life that isn't easier.

I have never been a working mum before so things like getting to the end of the week and not being able to see my floor for mess or deciding what is for dinner at 4pm that afternoon on the drive home are new ones for me.

I am desperate to find a rhythm for this new way of being. A rhythm that will still allow the home me to shine through - the me that bakes, the me that grocery shops for quality and nutrition rather than convenience, the me that crafts, the me that blogs.

Other working mums out there, how did you find your rhythm so that the most important things remained the most important and didn't get swallowed up by the working you?

Birthday Party Decorations..on a budget!

2010-10-30T20:00:00.004+10:00

My 30th is fast approaching. We are having a party at our house where everyone is bringing their own picnic basket with food and drinks. So for once I am having a party where I don't have to cook anything.

So I can concentrate on the far more important subject of decorations and theming.

I found this tutorial on my blog searches and loved the idea.

While babysitting a 4 and a 5 year old I decided to have a craft session. This is our version of the butterfly straws.

I shrunk the template down a fair way and just used red coloured paper I had lying around. And then painted the markings on the wings using a skewer.

It was heaps of fun doing it and something different I think...

The Light at the End of a Long Tunnel...

2010-10-19T17:46:00.002+10:00

I can see it! After 3 weeks of working full-time with a teething 6 month old who doesn't sleep, tomorrow will be my last day at work for a whole week. Then I am back to my old routine of one day a week.

Sorry for the absence - you have no idea how much I have missed being on here.

Especially sorry to Sarah who was so generous to give me a blog award and I didn't even acknowlege it. Feeling very guilty about that one I truly am.

Very very soon - the light is getting brighter....

Natural Mosquito Repellent

2010-09-17T06:19:00.002+10:00

Help!!! We have mosquitoes the size of dragons!!!

This is our first summer at this house so we weren't prepared for these critters.

I would love to sit out on my verandah without smelling the chemicals of mosquito coils burning.

Does anyone know of a proven natural mosquito deterents?

I am not happy to put any RID on Paddy's skin. Are there any baby friendly mosquito repellents out there that you have used?

Thanks friends...

Operation NICE

2010-09-15T15:09:00.002+10:00

If you haven't checked this site out give it a go - Operation NICE

This week's assignment is to be nice to yourself.

I think I am going to give my feet and toes the much needed attention, and moisturiser, that they crave.

It is a great site to check in to when you want to feel the love that is out there....

Another Roast Success in the Slow Cooker

2010-09-13T05:56:00.002+10:00

This time with Topside Beef Roast. Got the meat on special for a bargain.

6 hours on low with oregano and garlic.

It just fell apart and was really beautiful.

This slow cooker roasting is so easy! How come I have only just discovered this...

This week I have been....

2010-09-12T05:30:00.003+10:00

...consumed by work. In my other life I run a business with my brother and my husband. I am able to manage the two fairly well but this week has been a really tough one.

4 weeks ago our Graphic Designer had a baby. 2 weeks ago my brother wanted to fire her because we could only communicate on email and she wasn't producing good work, if she produced any work at all. This is when the bond between mothers came in and I said I would work closely with her to produce what we needed.

I called her to discuss things and she was in real trouble. Her 4 week old wasn't sleeping through the day and was screaming the whole day. She wasn't breast feeding very well at all and she had just cottoned on to the fact that he might be hungry. So the dilemma of switching to bottle feeding and the harsh self-judgement that comes with that was the place she was in. My heart went out to her.

So I basically did her job for her for these last couple of weeks - sourcing every bit of information. All she had to do was put it together.

And she did a bad job. And I have had to tell her that we won't be using her anymore. That decision was really really hard for me. I don't want to be one of those business owners that puts moral decisions on the back burner but the stress associated with her not producing the work we needed is at its peak. But still the decision was really hard for me.

So all week I have been desperately trying to find a way out of letting her go and that has meant my other role - which I love the most - has been put on hold this last week.

Unfortunately this week will be consumed with finding someone to replace her and getting the work done in double quick time.

I look forward to getting back to doing this really soon....

How do I use up milk?

2010-09-07T04:59:00.002+10:00

One of the great mysteries of the universe - why when I buy two litres of milk we never finish the bottle and when I buy 1 litre of milk we always run out?

I have gone to always buying the 2 litres now and the off milk I give to our dog as a treat. But I always look at it and think how I could use the milk in our food before it goes off.

Can you freeze milk and use it later?
Any recipes that use up a lot of milk that can be frozen?

Thanks for your help!

Godparents

2010-09-06T09:04:00.005+10:00

I have two god-daughters. With these two girls I feel an extra special bond.

We aren't a religious family so Paddy is not christened or baptised and we didn't go through any other ceremony when he was born.

I'm not worried about this - the down side for me though, is that he doesn't have any godparents. I know he will have so many people in his life that will love him. I just wonder whether he is missing out by not having a close connection with someone other than us.

Any thoughts? Do your children have godparents?

Cutting Corners

2010-09-03T06:33:00.002+10:00

Last night I cut some corners which I am paying for this morning.

The usual routine is to wake Paddy up around 10pm, feed him, change his nappy and play with him for half an hour or so until he is ready to go to back to sleep.

But last night I fell asleep at 9pm, didn't change his nappy when he woke at 11pm, was woken up every 2-3 hours through the night when finally at 5am he woke and was absolutely covered in wee.

So since 5am I have had a bath with him, changed his cot and finally got him back down.

So this morning I vow to not be lazy and never try to cut corners again.

But I was just so tired......

It was 6pm...

2010-09-02T20:44:00.004+10:00

and we were still outside playing.

I love it when winter is finally gone!

Taking Snack and Drinks

2010-09-01T20:15:00.004+10:00

I am forever buying a snack or a bottle of water when I go out. And every time I do I get so cranky with myself.

There are exceptions when it makes me happy like the banana smoothies from our local cafe or the to die for sausage rolls at the bakery. Oh and let's not forget the doughnuts!

But those things cost $4 and $5 a pop and to do it a few times a week just adds up.

I feel cranky because I can easily fill up a bottle of water at home and save myself $3 and I can put a snack pack in my bag for when I need a boost.

So my monthly money saving habit for September is to take snacks and a drink with me whenever I leave the house.

I will get my hands on a little snack bag. It might be kinda fun to find recipes to make that I can pack in my snack bag.

I predict this will save me at least $20 a week and over the course of a year that will be over $1000!!

First test is meeting up with a girlfriend tomorrow at a park which conveniently has a cafe attached. Fingers crossed I don't succumb to the tasty cakes in the window...

Homemade Washing Powder

2010-08-31T15:24:00.005+10:00

I make my own washing powder. I just had to do another batch so I thought I would document it just in case anyone is interested.

I grate 4 bars of Sunlight Soap.....

Add one tub of Borax...

And two cups of washing soda.

I have been using this for a while now and my main motivation was to cut out the chemicals and who knows what else is in the bought laundry powders.

But in the interest of budgeting I decided to document how many washes I get from my batch of washing powder. The last batch I got 69 washes from it.

When you do the maths.... The cost of the three ingredients is a total of $7.84 which means that each wash costs me $0.11 in washing powder. Pretty good hey.

I use Sunlight Soap but I have a box of generic laundry soap in there to give a try. If this soap still does the job - and the test is definitely the pooey nappies and my husbands socks - then that will cut the cost of each wash down to $0.09 per wash.

And another positive is you get good biceps from grating the soap bars!

Expressing Advice

2010-08-30T08:49:00.002+10:00

We are going to a wedding this Saturday and Paddy is staying with a friend for our time at the reception. My friend, Sal, was also my midwife so if I was going to leave Paddy with anyone for the first time, she is definitely the best candidate.

There is still a level of anxiety about leaving him though. And I have pinpointed this anxiety down to the feeding factor. That's why I need to express so I can make sure if he is hungry there will be enough milk there for him when I'm not there.

I have a flash breast pump so that base is covered. The problem is I don't know too much about expressing. When is the best time to do it? Do I express from both breasts at the one time?

I considered looking this up on google but decided you are all way better qualified than the google world. If you have had an experience with expressing please let me know....

Another mission in preparation for the wedding - take my white winter legs out of hibernation and introduce them to the sun. And maybe a shave wouldn't go astray too.

If I am going to pull off the dress I have in mind this is very necessary. Only shorts for me for the rest of the week.

Tag Toys

2010-08-27T14:41:00.002+10:00

I am a really bad sewer. I have only just started to learn and even the basics are beyond me. So don't look too closely at this photo, I beg you.

I made two tag toys for Paddy. He is addicted to putting things in his mouth and will always find the tag on anything that is laying around. I got the inspiration for this from here.

I put a long ribbon on them with a safety pin so I can pin them to Paddy's shirts. He is still not so good at hanging onto things so all the toys he wants to put in his mouth are forever ending up on the floor. I don't mind at home but we are off to a music festival this weekend and I thought that dirt mixed with beer on his toys was not the best thing for him to be putting in his mouth.

Next time I will try and make them with the plastic inside. It's a great sound and I have been keeping my scrunchy food wrappers aside especially for this toy.

I just chickened out this time.

Which Boob was it?

2010-08-26T16:45:00.002+10:00

CAUTION: Below post features lots of boob talk. And boys that is realistic boob talk - not sexy in any way.

Ever since Paddy first day with us I have been asking that question. I am forever forgetting which boob I need to feed off next. And this small thing is absolutely doing my head in!

My tactics to try and remember in the past have been
....ask everyone around me if they know or remember how I fed last time. That has included people I hardly know.
....use the hair tie method and swap from hand to hand when I feed. There are two flaws to that system (a) I always forgot to swap the hair tie over to the other hand; and (b) I would always take the hair tie off my hair to tie up my hair
....very indiscreetly grab both my boobs and try and decide which one feels the fullest. I have been known to do this in every public place I have been in only to be reminded by the person I am with that we are not at home.

But I think I have cracked it. I am going to not do up the clip on my bra after I feed from it. That way the unclipped side is the breast I last fed on. Just remembering to clip up the other side is going to be a hard one but I am committed.
The only other major problem I see is that I am going to come out of this breastfeeding experience with lop-sided boobs from one being unclipped all the time.

However, that is a risk I am willing to take.

Cloth Nappies

2010-08-24T14:04:00.003+10:00

I use cloth nappies for Paddy (Baby Bee-Hinds). Everytime I tell someone this their response is "There is no way I could do that - it is too much work." I try to tell them that it really is easy but they are never convinced. So I thought I would show you just how easy it is.

I purchased a pack of 32 nappies and 3 nappy covers. It cost me around $500 which was a big upfront cost but compared to using disposable nappies it is very cheap. These nappies will last Paddy until he is 3 years old.

Anyway, this is my process.

When I change Paddy I put the wet nappies into the nappy bucket which is right beside his change table. I don't rinse them - well the wet ones anyway. The pooey nappies I rinse in the laundry tub and then put in the nappy bucket.

I also use cloth wipes that I made myself and these go straight in the bucket as well.

At night before I go to bed, I take this nappy bucket to the laundry and sprinkle over about 1/2 cup bicarb soda and fill it with hot water. I soak them in this overnight.

When I wake in the morning I put the load of nappies in the washing machine. I hang them on the clothes airers instead of on the line. This way I can move them into the sun, or move them easily out of the rain if it is wet.

I don't have to do this every night but I do it at least every second day.

It really is that easy. And every wash I know I am saving money on disposables and not contributing to the landfill with the disposable nappies. That makes me smile.

I definitely believe in everybody's right to choose the cloth or disposable nappies and this is by no means a guilt trip, but I thought I would just outline how easy it really is just in case that was the only thing stopping you from giving it a go.

Pork Shoulder in the Slow Cooker

2010-08-23T20:48:00.002+10:00

Oh my god!! It was beautiful.

I put it on low for about 8 hours with a bit of garlic and rosemary and it was the most delicious, moist, soft pork I have ever eaten. I cut off the crackle and put it under the grill so it was just like having a pork roast from the oven.

And the pork shoulder which I have never tried before but bought because it was cheap at the butcher - it is definitely a winner!

If you have a slow cooker I reckon tomorrow you need to get yourself a piece of pork shoulder and put it on low for 8 hours. You will love it!

P.S I put the Monthly Money Saving Icon in the left column - I need to start getting serious about saving money around here so I am going to get money saving tips from around the place and commit to one each month. They say it takes 21 days to create a habit - I'm giving myself at least 30 days to introduce money saving behaviours in my world. Join in if you like....

Collecting Cans

2010-08-21T17:49:00.002+10:00

....to make this fabulous bunting for my birthday celebrations at the end of the year. This is one of Sarah's great bunting ideas over at One Perfect Day.

Any ideas on what I can make to put in them...?

Cake Stall...Check!

2010-08-20T08:41:00.003+10:00

Yesterday was a day of baking for the cake stall. I am so proud that I have completed my first volunteer job for our Neighbourhood Centre.

To pack my goodies I made origami boxes out of some white copy paper. It worked out really well. Here is the tutorial I used - super easy.

I baked hummingbird cakes, the famous white chocolate and macadamia biscuits, melting moments, chocolate crackles, coconut ice, chocolate fudge and this little beauty below.

Creamy Caramel Fudge

2 x 395g cans condensed milk

2 cups brown sugar

250g butter, chopped

1/3 cup liquid glucose

1/4 cup golden syrup

400g white cooking chocolate

: Place condensed milk, sugar, butter, glucose and golden syrup in a bowl

: Microwave on 70% power, uncovered, for 8-10mins stirring every 2 minutes with a whisk. Do this until the mixture comes to the boil.

: Microwave on 70% power for a further 5-6 mins, stirring every minute with a wooden spoon. You want your mixture to be thick and golden.

: Stand mixture for 2 mins until bubbles subside.

: Add white chocolate and stir until it melts.

: Pour mixture into a pan lined with baking paper.

: Stand at room temperature for 3 hours and then refrigerate until set.

Enjoy!

Encouraging Creative Thinking

2010-08-19T05:17:00.002+10:00

The journey of finding my parenting style was something I wasn't prepared for. I always thought that it was be an instinct based approach. But now I realise that it takes work and it takes making a conscious decision on how to approach different situations using a parenting style that you relate to.

Some of qualities I want to foster in Paddy are:

Empathy
Kindness
Compassion
Imagination
Creative Thinking.

Which leads me to this post over at Childhood 101. It opened up a whole new world of ideas for me. I always would have asked the first question but I love how you can turn a question around to encourage your child to use their imagination and think creatively about the answer.

Really cool idea I thought....

Homemaking as a Career

2010-08-18T19:18:00.003+10:00

Very wise words in this post from Rhonda at Down to Earth.

I especially like the line..."Housework rewards us with homes we want to spend time in."

It got me thinking. I just love a clean, tidy house. The feeling of satisfaction I get in the afternoon when I have worked hard to get the house in just the right order, really is a good feeling.

When there is no washing in the basket - that is a good feeling. When I can walk on my kitchen floors without sticking to them - that is a good feeling. When I can climb into my bed with fresh, clean sheets - that is a good feeling. When I can go to the toilet without my husband's markings all over the bowl (ladies, you know what I mean!) - that is a good feeling.

So I think it's time for me to embrace making a home as my career. I do it as a chore and bitch and moan about it while I am doing it, but it takes up such a major part of my day so why approach it with negativity. Instead of seeing the housework part of my role as homemaker as something I resent having to do, I am going to start looking at the chores of our house as my work to create a home that is welcoming, relaxing and easy to be a part of.

I kind of like the idea of being called a homemaker too....

Organising my Recipes

2010-08-17T06:27:00.003+10:00

When we moved I opened a cupboard to find it full of cooking magazines. Yes, I was once addicted to buying every cooking magazine each month. I decided, and my husband strongly suggested, that we weren't going to move all of these magazines. So for the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the first few weeks of Paddy's life I went through every magazine and came up with a basket full of torn out pages.

This basket has sat on my shelf for 4 months now. One of my ODI's was to organise them.

So I unloaded a pile of manilla folders and sorted all those recipes into category folders. Now when I want to cook something sweet I can go to the dessert or cake or biscuit or confectionery folders and find something to cook.

Whoever eats the food gives it a rating - "Do we really love it?" "Would we eat it again?" If the answer is "No" we turf the ripped out magazine page. If the answer is "Yes" it makes it to the Good Recipe Box which is slowly filling up with recipes we love.

Slowly but surely I will get through all of these recipes - the idea is kind of exciting. My husband always says that he never gets to eat the same thing twice. I think that's going to be the case for a lot longer.

How do you organise your recipes?

I love my husband but....

2010-08-16T08:05:00.005+10:00

This really annoys me!

And then when they do make it to the washing basket, they are put on the lid.

Just another thing to add to the ever-growing list of nag worthy things my husband does.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Biscuits

2010-08-15T08:21:00.002+10:00

These had to be shared - they are seriously good.
Baked Friday - all eaten by Saturday

250g butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tspn vanilla essence

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tspn baking powder

3/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

180g white chocolate

: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

: Beat butter, sugars and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

: Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition

: Sift flour and baking powder over butter mixture

: Add nuts and chocolate.

: Stir with a metal spoon until well combined
(I have no idea why you have to use a metal spoon but I just went with it....)

: Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto lined baking trays.

: Cook for 12-15mins or unitl light golden and firm to touch - not crisp.

Enjoy!

Creative Boost

2010-08-14T08:43:00.004+10:00

We spent the day at the Ekka - the Brisbane Royal Show. And I could have spent hours in the Arts Pavilion. These are the only two photos I got before my battery went dead. I apologise for the quality - they were taken with my phone while I was holding a sleeping baby.

Now I need to learn embroidery

and go crazy cooking up preserves and jams.

The talent of so many creative people has really given me the boost I needed to try something new.

That is not good news for the many half finished projects I have lying around this house though....

Waiting for the dream feed...

2010-08-11T22:51:00.002+10:00

...I decided to play with my blog.

There are a few more things left to do but he is fed and back down to sleep and mamma needs some rest.

Sorry if it all seems a bit out of wack.

Does it matter if I don't watch the news?

2010-08-11T07:53:00.003+10:00

We have a no TV house. Except when my husband apparently NEEDS to watch the rugby. The reaction I get from people when I tell them that we don't watch TV is nearly always the same. They say....

"What do you do?"

"How do you keep up with the news?"

The first question I don't mind responding to - "We actually talk to each other" I say to which most people nod their heads, understanding that watching TV together isn't actually spending time together.

The second question just plain annoys me. (are you ready for my rant...) This question almost always comes from the people who have just told me about the latest con artist they saw on A Current Affair or Today Tonight. Or about Paris Hilton's new love.

This is the moment where I find it hard not to say....

"The commercial news that you find so important and interesting is not objective and is programmed to fulfill someone else's agenda.

Why don't you independently research the areas of the news that you are interested in and create an opinion for yourself.

It absolutely does not matter to my life what the latest celebrity is doing or whether there is a neighbourhood dispute in the suburbs of Perth.

What is wrong with this society is people being told what to think by bias news broadcasts and current affairs shows instead of looking at all the angles of a piece of news and coming up with informed opinions for themselves."

Instead I say "Oh we listen to Radio National or Podcast."

Scaredy Cat aren't I......

Winter has arrived.....

2010-08-09T20:55:00.002+10:00

Time to bring out the hats!

Bi-Carb Soda as a Fabric Softener

2010-08-08T17:33:00.002+10:00

I experimented and put bi-carb soda in the fabric softener compartment for my nappy wash.

And it worked! Paddy's nappies are definitely softer.

I can't give any details because I have no idea how much I put in. Next wash I will take more notice.

Just thought it was a little tip to share.

The Cake Stall

2010-08-02T14:40:00.002+10:00

I am officially a volunteer at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre. I feel really proud that I am doing something to help out such a wonderful centre.

First job - bake for the cake stall. I met with Merryl today, the wonderful organiser of the stall and am ready to go. I need to recruit a few helpers - I think a baking day with friends will be heaps of fun.

Any suggestions on good food for cake stalls, swing them my way.

My Beaters Broke

2010-07-29T12:18:00.002+10:00

I wanted one of these....

I got one of these.

Let's hope when these dodgy hand beaters break down there will be room in the budget for the red machine.

Do I wake him up moment

2010-07-28T16:03:00.002+10:00

I know you will all know what I am talking about.

It is 4pm and I am at that moment.
I am in the quiet, reading my blogs, spending much needed time with myself.
Paddy has been asleep for the last half and hour and it has been really nice and quiet. Have I mentioned how quiet it is here at the moment?!

Do I wake him up knowing that my peace and quiet will be shattered?

Or do I let him sleep knowing that if he sleeps much longer he will be a nightmare to put down early?

It seems like I go through this same dilemma every afternoon and every afternoon I never know what to do in the moment.

What is Success?

2010-07-27T21:50:00.002+10:00

I was reading this post over at Girls Wear Blue Too and it has stuck with me all day.

I used to measure success in my life by things like doing a good job at work, making new friends, going out with old friends, finding a bargain at the dress shop, being able to afford those new heels, attending all the right events.

All day I have been thinking of how I measure success and this is what I have come up with.

: If I can cook a meal from start to finish in one go
: If I can get dressed or have a shower without anyone watching me
: If I get through an entire day without completely smelling of breastmilk
: If we go for a drive without hearing a crying baby
: If I get a load of washing hung out and put away in the one day
: If I get to finish a conversation on the phone
: If I can drink a whole cup of tea while it is still hot

It may seem simple but I kinda like it that way....

What I am Eating Now

2010-07-26T20:18:00.002+10:00

Homemade Choc-Honeycomb crunched up in Icecream!

Thank you to my beautiful sister who whipped me up a batch.

You can see the recipe on her blog This Little Piggy

My New Blog Header

2010-07-25T21:50:00.002+10:00

I decided to change my blog header. The old header didn't seem like me anymore. When I started this blog I was just married and my life was all about me. Now my life is about so much more.

The photo of our boots was taken on our honeymoon at the Port Fairy Folk Festival. It really represents to me how our two different lives have come together. I love this photo.

And what would be a blog header without a picture of Paddy.

Just felt like I couldn't make this change without explanation.

To Panadol or not to Panadol?

2010-07-24T15:41:00.002+10:00

I gave my baby Panadol today. And I cried - I cried when I was giving it to him. I cried when I called my husband and told him. But there was nothing else I could do....

My little 3 and half month old is teething. Yes I know! He has two little white teeth in his top gums. We noticed them about 2 weeks ago but I have been in teething denial.

I really understood the school of thought that his behaviour would change around this age and that too often people use teething as an excuse when their babies aren't sleeping or are irritable. So I thought I would stick it out and keep going with my routine and that he would adapt with his new behaviour.

But as time has worn on I am becoming less convinced that this is a behavioural change and more convinced that his teeth are hurting him.
He has gone from a baby who has slept through the night without feeding for nearly 2 months. Now he sleeps when you put him down for a good stretch and then wakes up every half an hour crying. He was a great day sleeper and would do his hour long sleeps in the morning and arvo and a two hour sleep in the middle of the day. Now I am lucky to get two 40 minute sleeps out of him each day.
And he has become super clingy, he drools constantly and has started this whine like an alley cat when he is unhappy which is pretty much all the time.

Today he just started screaming with real tears, which get me every time. There was nothing I could do to console him. So I drugged him - well that's what it feels like. I dosed him up with Panadol, comforted him off to sleep and he slept for 3 hours straight.

Why do I feel like I have just given in to the easy road and dosed my baby up with foreign bodies? I know, as any mother knows, that my child was in pain. And I would do anything to stop my baby from being in pain. But pumping him with panadol - was that really the answer?

Gosh I really didn't realise how much you second guess yourself as a mother.....

Cheap Dinners: Meatloaf

2010-07-23T08:36:00.002+10:00

I know, I know, I know. The same happens to me..... When someone would say "meatloaf" I would automatically picture a bland log of meat that very closely resembles a dog turd.
But in my quest to find cheap dinners I came across a beautiful meatloaf recipe - yes you heard right. And it is even more beautiful with cheese on toasted sandwiches the next day.
So why not give the old meatloaf another chance....

Glazed Meatloaf

500g beef mince

500g sausage meat

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 brown onions, finely chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsn chopped flat leaf parsley

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 red onion, cut into wedges

Barbecue Sauce:

2 tbsn olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tbsn white vinegar

2 tbsn honey

2 tbsn worcestershire sauce

1 beef stock cube

1 cup boiling water

1/2 tspn dry mustard

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
Combine mince, sausage meat, breadcrumbs, onion, curry powder, parsley and egg. Season.
Mix in milk and 1/4 cup water
Shape into a loaf in a baking pan. Top with red onion wedges.
Bake for 30 mins
To make the sauce: heat oil and cook onion and garlic until softened. Add remaining ingredients and salt to taste. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins until it is reduced by half.
Remove meatloaf from the oven and pour off fat from the pan.
Brush half the sauce over the meatloaf.
Bake for 35-40mins, glazing with the sauce once or twice during cooking.

I have made a couple of variations.

I use 1 full red onion for the wedges on top.
And I double the sauce and keep some to drizzle over the meatloaf when I serve it.

This is the original recipe so I will let you play with it.

Sorry there are no photos. Though it may taste different to the meatloaf of old, it still looks like a piece of dog turd.

Enjoy!

My First Blog Award Woohoo!!

2010-07-20T06:04:00.004+10:00

Lj at With My Own Two Hands passed on her first blog award to me. I read her blog every day and watch her journey of transforming her life as I go about transforming mine. It is a great source of inspiration to me. You NEED to have a read.

Anyway the Sunshine Blog Award means that I need to tell you 7 things that you don't already know about me.....

1. My name isn't Maree it is Natalie. And it isn't Natalie it is pronounced Na-tar-lee. For some reason my parents decided to spell it differently. This leads to much explanation but has been a great ice-breaker in the past.

2. I met my husband when I was a barmaid and he was a singer in a band. Very cliche and I love it!

3. I own 40 party dresses and 38 pairs of party heels. Definitely part of my former life as I learn to embrace flats as a mummy.

4. I run a family business with my brother and my husband and we make Christmas lights (among other things)

5. I am a fast mover - we got engaged in November 2008, married in February 2009, pregnant in June 2009 and had a baby in April 2010. Lucky we had been together for 9 years before that.

6. I am petrified of horses which doesn't work well when my husband plays polo and we have 5 horses at our house.

7. I have only recently developed my sweet tooth during my pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy I was a cheese platter orderer off the dessert menu. Now I am cheesecake all the way baby! Just another thing I have to thank my gorgeous little man for.

So there you go......

I also have to nominate 7 of my favourite blogs. Here they are

LJ at With my own two hands

Helen at Dal, Hel & Bel

Renee at This Little Piggy Bakes

Anna at Anna Bartlett

Rhonda at Down To Earth

M at EcoMilf

Christine at Slow Living Essentials

Thanks again LJ! This was a lot of fun.

Tea Anyone?

2010-07-19T09:18:00.002+10:00

One of my beautiful girlfriends arrived at our house after 8 months overseas with this gorgeous teapot.

Now I am definitely equipped to host my very own tea party.

Random Question

2010-07-16T14:01:00.002+10:00

Here is another question I have always wondered the answer to

What is the role of an egg in a cake?

Just another random question floating around in my head.....

My House might nearly be my Home

2010-07-15T09:40:00.003+10:00

I work every Wednesday so yesterday was my first day out of the house in 4 days. And when I was leaving work I got this great sense of excitement in knowing that we were going back to our home.

For me this is definitely a different feeling. Pre-Paddy I was always at work. And when the weekends came I would always plan something to get me out of the house. I have never felt a real connection to any house that we have lived in.

I don't know whether it is Paddy - or the sheer effort I have to go through to go anywhere these days - but the realisation has just hit me that I am happiest at home. Rhonda at Down to Earth always talks about this but in the past it has been a foreign concept to me. Now I think I am starting to get it.

Now I am eager to create the homely vibe in my house - crochet rugs over the couch, the smell of food cooking, photos of things we love surrounding us, an inspiring sewing room.

I think the nesting that I didn't experience in my pregnancy has just hit me!

This feels good.....

ODI or OWI

2010-07-14T06:33:00.003+10:00

We had a business coach who told us about ODI's - One Daily Improvements or OWI's - One Weekly Improvement. Every day or every week you pick one thing you would like to change and just do it.

So I decided to apply this to my home. You know those annoying things you always say you are going to do but never get around to it.

Yesterday my ODI was re-organising the pantry - it was in a complete mess and I had no idea what I had in there. About 20 mins later I had an organised pantry. I even labelled the tops of the spice bottles! I had such a great sense of achievement.

Today I have to go out of the house to work so because I am going to be in the car my ODI today will be to clean out the car.

Just an idea to help tackle the never ending list of "one day I will get around to it...." jobs.

By Ourselves

2010-07-13T13:13:00.004+10:00

We have had a constant flow of visitors for the past few weeks. Some left today and we now have a few days before the next flow arrives.

It is the first time Paddy and I have been home by ourselves in a long time. So today I am just making the most of it.

So perfect.....

Forgetful Bread Making

2010-07-10T06:02:00.002+10:00

Whoops I forgot about the yeast!

Could this be why my bread didn't rise so well?

Random Questions

2010-07-08T06:53:00.002+10:00

The response I got when I put the buttermilk question out there got me to thinking....What other random questions can I get answered by putting things out into our blog world?

So I thought I would devote one day a week to getting all of the mysteries in my life solved.

So today's Random Question is......

"Why do my armpits get itchy when I breastfeed?"

Not the prettiest question I know but still something that puzzles me every single time. Oh, and yes I do wash regularly...

Does anybody know?

The Great Grocery Store Debate

2010-07-06T05:50:00.002+10:00

I live in Maleny - scene of the great "No Woolworths" protest a few years ago. Despite the protests Woolworths went ahead and seems to always have cars in the carpark.

Maleny is definitely a town divided when it comes to this issue - you are either a Woolworths shopper or an IGA shopper. And where you buy your groceries defines the person that you are. If you shop at IGA you are a community minded person. If you shop at Woolworths you are a sell out. So being what I consider a community minded person I am a loyal IGA shopper and I am proud of that.

The trouble is though when it comes to things like Buttermilk..... I can't get that at the IGA. So I have had to make some compromises about the brand of products that I am used to. I can handle that....

The other problem is the cost. We are now living on one wage and I am having to be a bit inventive about my grocery list and meal plan each week. (Any suggestions of cheap meals would be really welcome.....)

So every time I get the final total from my IGA shop I think how much cheaper that would have been at one of the two big chains.

But the protest did change my beliefs. This is what I believe - in this country we have two huge companies controlling our grocery market. And these two companies are putting the squeeze on our farmers and food producers. They are demanding perfect looking food which means that farmers and producers are wasting a lot to meet the standards of these two big companies. These farmers and are also using a lot more chemicals to comply with this pressure to produce perfect looking food. And they are paying them peanuts for it!

This is my belief and therefore I make the following choices about my grocery shopping:

I will buy all of my groceries from either IGA or Aldi
I will buy all my fruit and veges from the local growers market or fruit stall
I will buy all my meat from the local butcher

But where to get my buttermilk................?

Buttermilk

2010-07-05T12:55:00.002+10:00

Where on earth can u find this stuff? All the most beautiful cake recipes need buttermilk.

Right now this is a major mystery in my life and I need it solved.

And not just because I am addicted to baking beautiful cakes.....

Newborn to Baby stage

2010-07-02T05:38:00.002+10:00

The latest challenge in my world is having a baby instead of a newborn.

My newborn used to sleep and feed in two hour cycles - he would wake, feed, be awake for 1 hour and then sleep for 1 hour. He would have a 2 hour sleep in the middle of the day. I used to have oodles of sleep time to do the house and my work.

Now I have a 3 month old baby.... He is awake for 2 to 3 hour stints at a time. When he sleeps it is for 45mins to an hour and god forbid he has to be entertained when he is awake. No longer can I just put him on his playmat to play by himself. He needs someone to talk to all the time.

This new reality is hard and it has taken some processing. I was getting frustrated that I didn't have the time when he used to sleep. It is so much harder to get the things done in a day.

Now I need a completely different mindset - I ask myself why I want him to be asleep instead of interacting with him and seeing his personality grow? Why do all the chores in the house and my work take priority over being with my boy?

I need to chill............. I need to rearrange my priorities............

I need to enjoy my baby.

I know it's crazy but I love my family!

2010-06-29T08:40:00.003+10:00

The last 5 days we have celebrated my Mum's Birthday. My house has been full of my family. This used to feel like a chore to me - I would love it for the first few hours and then I would be wanting my house and my space back. Though when everyone left yesterday and the house was quiet I felt a little bit empty. I then realised that not only do I want Paddy to be surrounded by family, I want to be surrounded by family.

We have never been a close family and I have always turned to my girlfriends instead of my sister but I think that having babies has brought some common ground between two very different people. And our maturity to realise the differences we have as mothers and women and the ability not to judge and feel judged is what is bringing us together as sisters.

Now to convince her to move closer...........

And my Mum, what can I say! She was with me every step of my pregnancy. She was in the birth suite waving a hand fan in front of my face for 12 hours straight. She was up for every feed with me when Paddy was a newborn. And she comes to stay a few nights every week to be with us. Seriously what a women! And what an inspiration as a mother - a mother who has always put her children ahead of herself. I can't wait for her to enjoy every minute of her grandson.

Now to convince her to move into our house full-time.....

This is my beautiful family at Mum's birthday luncheon. I love you all.

Come back soon!!!!

Who Irons Anymore?

2010-06-19T06:13:00.002+10:00

A friend said to me yesterday "I have to go home and do the ironing". Was she blowing me off or do people still have the traditional ironing basket in the corner.

I used to but found that I would only ever iron what I wanted to wear and left the rest. Now I don't even know where my iron is. I just take everything off the line and hang it up straight away.

If I don't have an ironing basket does that make me a bad person?

A Satisfying Day

2010-06-16T16:33:00.003+10:00

I was working on my feet again all day and Paddy fed what seeemed like every hour again all day but as I am sitting at my computer reflecting on the day I have a feeling of ummmm.....satisfaction.

A few things happened today.....

After weeks of battling with Paddy in the car we finally bought a car seat and faced him forward. Today was his first trip in it and it was quite successful. Only minimal crying compared to all out screaming for the half an hour it takes me to get to work.

I went to the Op Shop today. I needed fabric to make this for my Mum's Birthday luncheon (it is a green, white and lavender theme). Glad to say I found an apron, some napkins and scrap fabric which I think will work.

On my hunt for green fabric I found this little top which I think is great (will be even better when my milk starts to calm down if you know what I mean....!) I hate to admit it but this is my first serious clothes buy from an Op Shop. I have always bought clothes for the fancy dress parties but nothing that I would actually wear. Now I am going to start to look more seriously.

And lastly I received my Etsy order in the post. My serious Mum earrings - I love dangly earrings but now I have little hands that like to grab I decided to invest in some smaller dangles. These are from Simple Serendipity. Check out Sara's shop - it is full of cute little inexpensive earrings.

So on reflection today was a day that was satisfying. That's all you can ask for I guess.

Now all I want to do is crawl into bed and be done with it!

Sunsets

2010-06-16T06:09:00.004+10:00

I may have worked all day on my feet... I may have had a baby that refused to be put down all day.... I may be stuck in traffic....

But at least when I stop at the traffic lights I get to appreciate this beautiful yellow sunset.

Monday Mamma: Sleeping Through!

2010-06-14T16:22:00.002+10:00

We are full of celebrations at our house - we are on Day 4 of Paddy not feeding at night. For the last four nights the latest I have fed him is 9pm and then he doesn't feed again until 5am. He wakes twice every night and we just give him his dummy and he goes back to sleep. It is a huge step in our house. Up until now I have been feeding him twice during the night.

When he was born I read The Contented Little Baby Book and implemented the routine that she recommended. The main aim of this routine is to get the baby used to the difference between day and night. So during the day we would feed and then be awake for a period of time before we go down to sleep. This was hard to do with a newborn who wanted to sleep all the time - we tried all the tricks in the book including wiping his face with a wet washer! Then when we settled at night we had a bath and then fed with dimmed lights and the night feeding was always done with no talking and no lights.

As Paddy and I have gotten used to each other we have worked out a routine that works for us but isn't exactly by routines in the book. We have been doing this for the past 4 weeks or so. And now at 10 weeks we are one step closer to sleeping completely through the night.

I am dreaming of all things that may be possible if I got a block of sleep longer than 3 hours. Imagine if I could sleep for 8 hours straight - the possibilities are endless!

Mothers Groups vs. Playgroups

2010-06-10T12:19:00.001+10:00

In the 10 short weeks of Paddy's life I have had the experience of both a Mothers Group and a Playgroup.

I attended a Mothers Group where you took your child into a different room where carers minded them (I got to keep Paddy with me because he was so small). There was food and tea and candles burning in the mothers room. The focus was on the mothers - mothers contributed by sharing their stories about what is going on with them.
I then attended a small playgroup in the town closest to us. There were about 6 mothers there with their children and it was a great facility with heaps of activities for the kids. The focus here was on playing with your babies.

Being a new Mum I feel so positive about this new phase in my life. When I attended the Mothers Group I left feeling so negative about having a baby - how having a baby changes me not for the better. At the playgroup the atmosphere was so much more positive. We were engaged with our children and everyone there, though I am sure some people get to the end of their rope on lots of days, was in a positive frame of mind. These people weren't looking for time apart from their children, they gained strength and positivity from interacting with their babies.
I couldn't believe that two groups of mothers who are in the same stages of life could be so different in their attitudes.

So I have decided that I need to leave the negative Mothers Group behind and join in with the positive Playgroup. Eventhough Paddy is too small to play in the sandpit or swing on the swings he is still exposed to an atmosphere that values his contribution and engages with him.

Monday Mamma: Freedom in our Routine

2010-06-07T13:35:00.003+10:00

In the spirit of The Byron Life we are joining in on Monday Mamma posts.

Being a new Mum there are so many new experiences that I go through every day. What is new to me is the constant routine that I now find myself in and the restrictive feelings of living inside the walls of a routine.

My life before Paddy was so easy. I lived for spontaneity - I loved waking up late and deciding what we would do for the day while lying with my hubby in bed. Working for ourselves we weren't really ever restricted in our day.

And then BAM this all changed. To go anywhere we had to time it with the sleeping and feeding. Even in the home I couldn't just go for a walk outside.

I remember when Paddy was first born this was the reality that hit me the hardest - "I am never ever able to do things on my time or by myself again". I had worked my life to get to a space where nobody could restrict what I did. I didn't feel obligated to do anything - everything I did was something that I wanted to do. I lived my life for me. And when that reality hit I was really truly scared.

But what a difference 9 weeks can make. Now Paddy and I are starting to get to know each other we can work together. I no longer have to wait until sleep time before we can put him in the car to go somewhere. I feel more comfortable about taking him out of the house because I know what is wrong when he is upset (well 80% of the time anyway!)

The reality that I am tied to my little man is now a joy. I no longer mind bowing to his routine because my love for him dictates everything - I would do anything for him.

Strangly enough in this what was once a restrictive routine I have found a person within me that is capable of living for someone else and that feeling is liberating. Probably because it comes from a source of absolute pure love.

Breastfeeding and Drinking

2010-06-05T13:59:00.003+10:00

Let me set the scene..... Last night we were having visitors over. It got to 4pm and I was feeling really flat, my day had been really challenging and I really felt like a wine to try and lift me up before the visitors arrived.

So I grabbed this glass. I filled one quarter of it with wine and the rest with soda water and I drank it right after I fed Paddy. And I felt super. I had the music going, Paddy and I were dancing and I thought to myself this has done the trick.

About one hour after that I hit a major wall. I felt sick in the stomach and I got the most amazing headache. I felt ridiculous for even thinking that I needed that wine to help me through the night.

Am I destined to be without wine in my life forever? Or is it my body telling me that my one glass of wine was totally unnecessary?

Any breastfeeding and drinking stories or advice would be appreciated......

Housekeeping Thursdays

2010-06-03T14:07:00.002+10:00

I never in my life thought I would have a designated day for cleaning the house. So how on earth did I get to a place where I clean my house on Thursdays? Can I really blame this one on hormones....?

At least my toilets, my bathrooms, my floors, my washing is all done on one day. And more importantly I know that every Thursday night I get to crawl into a bed with clean sheets. An event that to me is pretty close to pure bliss.

Time to pick up where I left off....

2010-06-01T07:08:00.002+10:00

I am back online at home. Being online and working out my baby's sleeping habits (finally!) means I can get back to regular blogging. I am so enthused to be back online that I started a new blog to record our family adventures - The Simple Cooks

I toyed with ending the Maree Rose blog. A couple of reasons.....

I felt like this blog was just about me and I felt that I am so much more than I was now that I have Paddy.

I felt a bit self-centred having a blog about my life that didn't record everything about him.

Then I thought a little more clearly - I need to have this part of me to stay strong. I can't completely give up on everything for me just because Paddy isn't the main focus.

So with that sorted I will use this blog to record my mission to get on track to a simple world. Achieveing this has become even more important now he is here with us.

This renewed excitement started when I did a Frugal Housekeeping workshop. I am lucky enough to live in the same part of the world as Rhonda from Down To Earth. I attended her free workshop in Maleny and it was brilliant. If you haven't checked out her blog you must - she is a truly inspiring woman.

Anyway, I have her notes close by at all times and am getting through them step by step.

Step One for us is Tracking our Money and Budgeting.

A budget has always floated around in our lives we have just never stuck to it.

We are both tracking where we are spending our money - I have followed Rhonda's suggestion and have a little notebook to write down everything that I spend my money on. Then we can see where it all goes and work on reducing the wasteful spending. In just one week it has made me think about everything I buy.

Give it a go.....

Paddy Cook

2010-05-04T12:12:00.002+10:00

This is why you haven't heard from me.

Paddy Cook was born 1/4/10 at 8:55pm.

We are doing really well and he is giving me plenty of sleep at night.

Just about to go and get some wind drops for his sore belly which is proving to be a bit of a challenge at the moment.

I am completely in love and spend hours just staring. You all were right - I never knew I could love someone other than Danny so much.

To me he is perfect.

Will be back on deck with regular blogging really soon, once we sort this wind issue out!

15-minute Decluttering

2010-03-16T12:32:00.004+10:00

I just decluttered the cupboards in the bathroom and our medicine basket. Very very old stuff was found. Lots of those smelly bath bombs and hand lotion that you get as gifts and never ever use.

Can we all make a pact never to gift these things to other people - we all know they end up in the back of the bathroom cupboard.

On a mission to try and declutter some stuff from the house in preparation for moving house with a baby.

So I am trying the 15-minute declutter every day theory.

Tomorrow is the mail shelf which is full of paid or unpaid bills - really I don't know.....

Sorry for the absence.....

2010-03-12T03:30:00.002+10:00

My world at the moment is completely consumed with myself.
I am consumed by......

Working out easier ways to walk without weeing myself
Trying to roll over in bed
How I am going to bend over to pick up the many things that are lying on my floor
Elevating my extremely puffy feet
Attending midwife appointments, baby classes, capsule fittings
Trying to make or buy everyone's birthday presents for April & May
Getting baby clothes washed and dried in a part of the world where it has been raining for 2 weeks solid
Freezing meals
Making sure I have enough chocolate and ice in the house to last me through each day
Feeling everything that my body does and every move that Paddy makes and thinking "am I in labour?"

You know normal first baby 3 week from delivering jitters.

I realise I haven't shared with you my chemical free house that I pledged to achieve in February and happily did. And told you about my March one small change which I am working on. These things take a distant second to the every important things on the list.

I can't believe I have become so involved in myself in such a short time.... I will be back with a more positive chat but for now it is 3:30am and I have been up for hours so we might have to leave the positive chat for another day xoxo

My first day as a housewife

2010-03-01T08:26:00.002+10:00

I finished work on Friday and am now officially on maternity leave. I should feel good. I should feel free. I should feel relieved of pressure.

Instead I feel a bit slack. I feel like I am not contributing. I feel bad that I just sent my husband to work. I feel like I need to clean the entire house to prove that I actually did something today.

I need your help to clear this craziness and reassure me that it is ok. That I am nearly 36 weeks pregnant and need to rest. That being at home doesn't equal being lazy.

I think today is about taking a step back and letting all of these emotions pass over me. I think tomorrow maybe I might be able to reconcile this one.

But for now I have set myself the enormous task of getting through the even more enormous pile of washing and doing all of this on a rainy day.
That's enough for today I think.....

My baby shower

2010-02-21T05:59:00.002+10:00

Imagine this.....

Wild mushroom soup with truffle

BBQ's Rannoh Farm quail with green mango, fresh coconut and nam jim

Mooloolaba prawn risotto with marcarpone & lemon

Victorian lamb loin, boulanger potato, fresh baby peas & Woodside goats curd

Warm dark chocolate soft centred pudding with thick cream & local strawberries

+ 7 wonderful, loving and supportive friends.

That was my baby shower.....

A little late....

2010-02-15T07:01:00.002+10:00

Has anyone else only just taken down their Christmas tree?

Now to fit it into that ridiculously small box I bought it in........

Belly at 33 weeks

2010-02-12T11:51:00.001+10:00

Latest self-portrait of my belly at 33 weeks.

Now I am wondering if those white spots were on my shirt all day.....

Chemical Free House

2010-02-09T09:08:00.003+10:00

This morning I packed up all the chemicals that seem to multiply under my sinks and am donating them to friends.

What on earth did I use all this stuff for... Is anybody's elses house just growing chemicals?!

First step towards my February goal....done.

By the way, the lack of posting has been due to my body attempting to navigate through this last trimester and me resisting the urge to fall asleep constantly. Am missing my second trimester mojo terribly!

One Small Change - February Pledge

2010-02-01T13:49:00.002+10:00

FEBRUARY ONE SMALL CHANGE -

Rid my house of all chemical cleaners and make all my own cleaning products

I have become so much more aware of not only what I am eating but what I am using to clean my house.

Under my sink is a concoction of chemicals that make me really uneasy. I have transferred to homemade dishwashing liquid but that is as far as I have gotten.

So my pledge for the February One Small Change is to change over our....

Washing Powder
Dishwashing Liquid - already been happening since before Christmas but must continue with this one
Toilet & Bathroom Cleaner
Bench spray
Floor cleaner

My plan is to

Get rid of all the chemical cleaners I have under my sink. I think I will bring them to work to give to our team members instead of throwing them out. I know that doesn't help promote the environmental message but I think getting these guys on board would be a hard one
Make my washing powder - I plan to make a big bucket full before Paddy arrives.
Make up a vinegar spray bottle for the kitchen, bathroom and toilet
Stock up on vinegar for the floor cleaning

Another thing I have wanted to try is this recipe for homemade toothpaste. Promised myself I wouldn't buy any more toothpaste once the tube ran out and it is nearly there. So I might add that to my To Do list this month.

I will keep you updated with how I am going. Anybody else thinking of joining the one small change pledge....? You can join here

Slow Readers Book Club

2010-01-28T12:13:00.003+10:00

It seems all I am doing is joining up to things but when I heard about the Slow Readers Book Club at Down and Out Chic I loved the idea.

Reasons I want to join a book club.....

* I need to broaden my reading horizons - I tend to only read a few authors and I just don't know where to start to find new good authors.

* I love the community feel of reading together with other people. And being able to see other's views on something that you have just read is priceless. Look forward to it!

* I am addicted to reading and hope that this continues when Paddy comes along. I am so conscious of not getting sucked into the daytime TV trap when I am home with him all day. This might help turn off that TV and get me reading as much as I have alway done.

* And I am the slowest reader in the world so this suits me down to the ground!

So check out the Slow Readers Book Club if you want to start the year off with some new books in your life......

2010-01-27T14:00:00.002+10:00

I have joined this challenge over at Hip Mountain Mama

Wanna join? I think we should all give it a go!

If we all made one small change towards sustainability for every month of the year think about impact on the world.

Yes, we actually can make a positive difference to our environment.

Because I am a late starter I think my one small change for January can be my bread making. We haven't eaten bought, processed bread for months.

This means we are reducing waste as there is no packaging. Also we are buying local, organic, stone-ground flour to make our bread which contributes to smaller local businesses who are environmentally aware. And we are eating Real Food which gives us more energy to do the things we love.

So my one small change for January is the eating of Real Homemade Bread...

Better World Books

2010-01-22T02:01:00.002+10:00

Not much to report lately other than working and crashing when I get home from work. I think the third trimester is coming up on me pretty fast.

I saw this on Nikki's blog and can't believe what a great idea it is.

I will be buying all of my books from this online bookstore from now on. Any way we can help, no matter how small.........

My new mission

2010-01-15T07:27:00.003+10:00

To change this....

Into this!

To do that I have cooked a new meal every night this week. I write the good recipes on recipe cards and put them in my new box.

I created a menu plan for the week complete from loose bits of paper with recipes I tore out of magazines years ago.

There have been some winners and some losers (fish pie was terrible!) but it has been fun finding new, easy recipes.

Here is a marinade for pork chops I made last night....

4 tbsn maple syrup

2 tbsn grainy mustard

1 tbsn olive oil

This is for 4 pork chops....only marinated them for 1/2 hour but longer would have been better. They are really nice....

I'll let you in on some easy recipes as I come across them.

MEN!!!

2010-01-14T05:35:00.002+10:00

My husband had a typically Aries day yesterday - that is completely selfish.

On thinking about it I realised just how much of my day is spent making sure that he has food, his clothes are washed and he is comfortable in a clean house. I plan ahead for the meals, I plan ahead for the washing and I even put in my diary what to clean.

His day is spent not thinking about making me more comfortable at all. He gets up to breakfast, goes to work - the same work that I go to for the same amount of time, he has home-made sweets to have with his cuppas, he gets lunch made for him, he leaves work and rides his horses, comes home to dinner and then sits on the counch watching TV until bed.

Very busy day he has!

I really get a great satisfaction from having good food to eat and our house in order (50's housewife mentality I know but it is how I feel). But when I don't feel loved for it or I feel ignored that's when I crack it.

So I went to bed cranky which ruined my sleep and now I am up at the crack of dawn still harping on it.

Hopefully this post will help me let it go..... But can't men be so selfish sometimes!!!!!

Last day of the Holidays....First day at work

2010-01-11T15:26:00.003+10:00

Spent our last day of holidays at the races watching a friend's horse come last - not too good.

The highlight of the day was cooking my first lamb shoulder. I have only ever cooked the legs of lamb and now I have found out that the shoulder far exceeds meat on the leg.

Get your butcher to bone the lamb shoulder. Lay flat in a baking dish with 1 cup of water in the bottom. Wrap in 2 layers of al-foil. For a 1.5kg to a 2kg piece cook it for 4 hours total. You can take the al-foil off for the last hour to crisp it up. The meat just falls apart - it really is beautiful.

And today I made flour tortillas and we had kebabs with the leftover meat. I made up a tzatiki type sauce and salad. Yummo!

Made the first day back at work not so hard to handle.

Now that I am back at work I am full of inspiration and excitement about what 2010 holds. We have our 3 monthly goal meeting tomorrow and I can't wait to get cracking on all of our ideas. It's a great feeling to want to be at work and to be excited about the future.

Pity I am so tired by the end of the day..... Must keep going!

Day 22 of the Holidays

2010-01-10T10:08:00.001+10:00

Danny got back today so not much to report - loved up couple laying in bed all afternoon with a movie thrown in. Can't believe how much I missed him.

Finished off with dinner and drinks in Caloundra. Perfect xoxo

Day 20 & 21 of Holidays

2010-01-09T04:09:00.002+10:00

A visit from a friend who I adore, my mum coming to stay, a Spotlight shop which resulted in new curtains for Paddy's room and my mum making doll nappies for Ra-Ra - all made up day 20.

A walk of my dog to the beautiful beach we live so close to.

Got an invitation in the mail to my girlfriend's wedding which is on the same day that Paddy is due on Magnetic Island! So upset we won't be able to go.

Purchase of Bio-Oil to try and get rid of these magically appearing stretch marks on my butt!

Another Spotlight visit to purchase lining for previously purchased new curtains (reason they were on special I think).

Lunch with Sal and the girls at our favourite Moffat Beach restaurant (dessert was a meringue with strawberry gelati on top - to die for!)

Slept the afternoon away while Mum cleaned my house, then had a huge one-on-one chat with Mum which I love - lasted to 8pm so had to scramble together dinner which was rice, peas and cheese - an old favourite of mine from uni.

Watched a new series of a show on SBS called The Nest - it's a really interesting social experiment looking at 3 families who need to create some work/life balance. If you get a chance have a look - I assume I am going to get completely addicted to this one.....

Day 19 of the Holidays

2010-01-06T22:26:00.001+10:00

Saw my husband off - he has gone mustering for 4 days. I was a bit hormonal about the whole thing. I think I am spoilt because I am so used to having him with me all the time.

Plan on getting the house sorted before we start work next week. Instead of getting a start on that I rented 4 girlie movies and watched two of them in bed this afternoon.

Definitely getting a start on the house tomorrow! Well that's the plan anyway......

To butt in or to butt out....

2010-01-06T05:19:00.002+10:00

I have a moral dilemma.....

There is a young girl (couldn't be more than early 20's) who I saw about 4 months ago jogging past my house. She didn't have any shoes on, really straggly clothes and was really, really thin.

Over the last few months I have seen her again a handful of times and each time she is getting thinner and thinner.

This morning at 5am she jogged past the house again looking extremely thin and really sick, again with no shoes and straggly clothes.

I want to go to her next time and ask her if she needs help - I want to reach out to her. But, I have no experience with any type of anorexia disease and maybe it just plainly isn't my business.

But how can I, in good conscience, watch this girl do this to herself.

When does moral responsibility take over from just minding my own business?

Day 18 of the Holidays

2010-01-06T05:11:00.002+10:00

My sister-in-law's birthday. Had a great lunch and then headed to an Irish Bar in Caloundra for the afternoon where the girls got drunk on wine, shed tears during the deep and meaningfuls and the "I love yous" flowed. I was the driver of course but had a really good time.

Danny was involved in all of this but when the deep conversations started headed to make friends with an Englishmen at the bar. Best move I think.

Spending the day with my sister-in-law always highlights to me her strength and my respect for her just grows and grows. She is a true women who has always and still puts her children before anything else, but who is now gaining a new confidence and independence for herself. You can't help but admire someone with two jobs, four kids and who studies full-time to gain back her qualifications she had before she had children. What a women!

She is a major contender for the godmother role, let me tell you.....

Day 17 of the Holidays

2010-01-04T18:51:00.002+10:00

Danny and I went to Maleny for Ra-Ra's real birthday. When we arrived Danny was confronted with 5 mothers and their children all there for the birthday party. He promptly went upstairs to watch TV - poor guy.

It was a great morning talking to other mothers - I met a girl who is due 2 days after me. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in how I was. I really, really loved being in that environment and it only made we wish to be up in Maleny full-time and involved in that circle of support. Soon....

When Sal came to visit a month ago she saw how I was making bread and eating naturally. She also washed up with my homemade dishwashing liquid. The whole time she seemed uninterested and a little put off by these things.

However, over lunch today she spoke about really thinking about all of these things - she said she looks at the ingredients on the labels now and has changed from margarine to real butter. We live by the "no more than 5 ingredients rule" and she is starting to take notice of the labels. She has also changed to organic, natural washing powder and hand wash.

Sal said she has spoken to her mum about it and her mum has started getting interested in these ideas and has even spoken to some of her friends about it.

Danny and I were both so excited - we didn't force these ideas onto Sal. We simply told her how we have decided to live and she took the time to make up her own mind about these ideas.

It's also really good to have a girlfriend who understands our ideas rather than thinking we are "hippies".

I am very proud of her open mind and excited about what we can achieve together. The natural way of living has become a real belief for me and Danny but it is something we have to really work at in terms of changing old habits. Now we can do it with a friend.

Mini Journal Album - is this Scrapbooking?

2010-01-04T08:06:00.002+10:00

So I have no desire to take up Scrapbooking but I came across this Mini Journal Album and was completely drawn to it.

Am thinking of doing one for the year.

Is this doubling up on my blog for recording memories? Is this another unneccessary project that I won't be able to finish when the baby comes along?

Or is this something that we will be able to record our baby memories in?

Ever since I came across this album I can't stop thinking about it - I think I absolutely love it!

Oh what to do....what to do....?

Day 16 of the Holidays

2010-01-03T19:03:00.002+10:00

Up early to bake bread then back to bed.

Breakfast complete with pancakes and maple syrup.

Lunch at the neighbours and a swim in their pool.

Then home to the couch, more food, start of a new book, cricket on the TV and my husband next to me.

I am definitely in holiday mode!