Happy Australia Day!!!

Paige and I are home alone until this afternoon as Craig had to work today :( I've been busy this morning though and have all of the makings of a great Australia day lunch/dinner. I've just put a chicken with lemon rosemary and thyme in the slow cooker. I've sat it on top of baby potatoes and onion so fingers crossed it turns out ok. We also have lamb cutlets and scotch fillet for the BBQ and a green bean and tomato saled to go with that :D I may make up a potato salad too, that way we can have it with our BBQ tomorrow too. We're off to the markets tomorrow and we get nice lamb there and always have a BBQ with it when we get home.

Paige's third lot of Gymboree arrived late yesterday and I'm so pleased with it!!! She is going to have a very pink winter lol Here are a couple of pics from Paige in it this morning. It 's a bit too big at the moment, but should be perfect by the time it's cold enough to wear it. We'll be in Wollongong by then and hopefully she'll have lots of places to wear it (other wise you'll be getting lots of visits Leanne :p).

I'm feeling ok today, so that is good :)

Take care xoxo

Rudie Nudie 2

Ok, One of those photos was a bit too nudie for the www, so here is the other one. Isn't she adorable :D

Paige's 1st birthday and 1st birthday party photos :D

Here are the photos of her special day :D The ones where she is wearing the butterfly dress are from her actual birthday and the half nude ones are from her party. It was a hot day!!! Check out the butterfly cake that her aunty Michelle made for her party!!!

Ahhhhh peace at last.

Well what a day!!!

I've been so busy cleaning and cooking that I actually forgot to eat lunch :O THAT doesn't happen to me often lol Paige has just gone to sleep, and I'm hoping she stays that way for at least a few hours. I want Craig and I to be able to eat our dinner without one of us having to rush in and resettle her numerous times. Today I've cooked lamb korma in the slow cooker. Once again, I had to vary the recipe as I couldn't get the curry leaves. I had a frozen korma sauce (from the farmers markets, it's authentic and so tasty) so I threw that in as well in the hope that it'll compensate for the missing, important ingredient. Paige was sooooo cranky with me for cooking instead of spending time with her. Someone make the whingeing stop!!! :p I think she had a few too many milk arrowroots today in an effort to keep her entertained, oopsie!!! She'll thank me when she gets korma for her dinner tomorrow night :D

Anyhoo, I'm going to come back in a minute and post the photos from Miss P's first birthday and first birthday party, YAY!!! In the meantime, here are a couple of random pics from when she was much younger and chubbier. I miss her chubby legs and cheeks :'(

Eeeek she is so tall!!!

OMG I just put P into her brand new size 2 (!!!) all in one pyjamas and they are almost too small for her!!! :'( They are so cute and she'll be out of them before she can wear them very much (see photos).

This afternoon I made the banana muffins I've been meaning to make for the last few days. I decided to leave out the sugar completely and they are still super sweet because of the banana. I made them in the mini muffin tin too, so hopefully they'll last longer that way :p

The chicken cacciatore was a success (although P wouldn't eat any of it, only muffins lol). There isn't really anything I'd do differently I don't think. The flavours were lovely and the meat just fall off the bone.

Here is the recipe I used Leanne :p

Chicken Cacciatore

12 chicken drumstick sith skin removed (this is painful :s Get the butcher to do it if you can!!!)

I large tin of whole tomatoes

I large tin of tomato soup

1kg of baby potatoes (leave skin on)

2 large onions sliced thickly

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp fresh basil

1 tspn dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown chicken and while you're doing that put everything else into slow cooker. Add chicken and cook on high for 5-6 hours :D

Enjoy!!!

Need some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Paige and I are both getting a cold, and I'm so tired. She was coughing a lot overnight and so we both had broken sleep. We still took her swimming this morning, and I felt so guilty about putting her in thepool :'( While she was in there with Richard, I had a few tears, knowing she wasn't 100% and that the last place I'd feel like being is in a pool. It's the first real tears I've cried since we started. She is doing really well, floating on her back, although she still hates it and screams and cries :( Oh well, I'd rather she be upset now, than not do anything and have her drown. If that makes no sense, have a look at this site, as that is where we're taking her...

http://www.infantswim.com.au/

Onto happier stuff, our roast lamb that I cooked in the slow-cooker yesterday was delicious and today I'm putting on chicken cacciatore mmmmmmm It's going to be a slightly altered version though, as Craig doesn't like olives and I want to put some veges into it. Paige decided this morning that she likes tomatoes, so hopefully she will eat some too :D

I've got to go to the post office this afternoon to pick up some parcels, and to post something. I'm hoping that one of the parcels has Paige's swim nappies in it.

Ok, gotta scoot,
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Paige's fav recipes at the moment :D

Golden Chicken Bites

300g chicken breast fillet
1 carrot, peeled
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 zucchini
1 1/2 cups tasty cheese
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour

* In a food processor, process chicken until smooth. Transfer into bowl
* Process carrot, corn kernels and zucchini. Add to chicken
* Add cheese, soy sauce and cornflour. Mix all ingredients well.
* Roll into balls, each one about 1 tbsp, and place on a tray lined with baking paper.
* Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes, or until golden.


Sultana Scrolls

2 cups SR flour
90g olive oil marggarine
2/3 cup reduced fat milk

FILLING
1 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup sultanas

* Combine flour and margarine, rubbing until mixture feels like breadcrumbs.
* Slowly add milk, mixing well until dough forms. (You may not need to use all the milk).
* Roll out onto floured surface, making a rectangle.
* Mix margarine and sugar, making a paste.
* Cover dough base with sugar mixture. Add a layer of sultanas.
* Roll dough into a cylinder.
* Cut dough into slices about 2cm wide. Arrange closely on greaseproof paper-lined tray.
* Bake for 12-15 minutes at 220C. or until dough is cooked through.
* Let cool before serving.

Enjoy and I hope Linc has a great birthday Amanda :D

Mid-week catch-up

Hi everyone :D

Just thought I'd come in and put up some new photos of P. I received my Gymboree order yesterday after only ordering it on Saturday night from the US :O Very, very happy with how fast it was and delighted with her cute, new winter clothes. I've only tried the tutu on Paige and it's soooo cute!!! Here are a few pics of her modelling it and a pic of us playing it cool in our sunnies :p

I"ll BBL to post some recipes I'm loving for P atm :D

xoxoxoxoxo

An afternoon of sultana scrolls and dollies

This afternoon we've had a lovely time eating sultana scrolls (see pic)and playing in Paige's newly decked out playroom/bedroom. It's a bit messy this afternoon, but it's so much better than having all of her toys out in the lounge!!! I'm now looking for houses with 4 bedrooms so she can have one room as a play room and one as a bedroom. I made the sultana scrolls with wholemeal flour and if I can get my hands on the ingredients I'd like to make a totally organic version sometime this week. Craig finishes work shortly and has tomorrow off, so I'm going to do some snoozing after I make P some banana muffins to freeze for snacks. I'm loving my kids cookbook!!! The recipes have hardly any sugar in them and apart from the falafels (YUCK!!!) everything has been good :D

Mum, I've posted a pic of P with her dolls pram you guys bought her for Christmas :D It's my current fav pic. The vid is from this afternoon.

Amazing shots from Amanda Keeys.

Ok, I've got some more videos from our trip to the park, but they're taking agessssssssssssss to load, so I thought I'd put the professional shots up :D These are from Paige's photoshoot for a knitting book. The photographer is amazing and we're so lucky to have these photos :D:D:D