Loving Bloom

Last week I was lucky enough to win a family pass to the Bloom Festival thanks to Kiwi Families.  I had never heard of the festival but a quick look at their website and I was really keen to go.  So on Saturday Hubby, the girls, a cousin and I went up to Matakana for the day and had such a wonderful time (the big boy had a sleepover to go to and preferred to hang out with his mates rather than come out with us).  It was the best day out we have had in ages.  We struggled to get the girls away from all the fairground rides.  Their favourites - the largest inflatable water slide in the world, and the crazy swing thing.  They also saw jousting and went to a play writing workshop and there were loads of other fun things, but we just did not have the time.  Hubby and I enjoyed watching some of the fantastic kiwi musicians who were playing there, especially our favourite, Greg Johnson.  We finished the day by watching the fantastic Wellington Circus.  We had to drag ourselves away at about 10pm.  I would definitely go again next year, but I would be keen to go for the whole weekend as there was so much we didn't get to see or do.

Jousting

The girls went on this so many times

Bear at the end of the slide

Suse coming down

Emma, finally brave enough to go

And she loved it and did it again...and again

Greg Johnson

Happy girls

Love the hair!

Bouncing

Happy cousin

Circus girl

Real circus girl

Fly by wire

A flying picnic table

Totally mesmerized with fireworks in the background

Such a fun day out.  Thanks Kiwi families.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

Loving the year so far

We are probably the only family in town who has been loving the weather lately.  Why would anyone love Auckland's wet, windy unpredictable weather I hear you ask?  Well quite simply because with two sick and grumpy kids and the other one with a broken arm, sitting indoors watching movies and tv, having computer time, a bit of craft and playing games was going to be the routine anyway and we didn't have to feel sorry for ourselves being cooped up all day cause the weather was rubbish!!!!!!

What about this cute dog? What's not to love

Oh to be this relaxed!

And also finding these stashed behind boxes in the garage - I had given them up for lost, given away or thrown out but oh the excitement of seeing them again.  Our record collection, a real nostalgic look back at the eighties, and this is but a few faves...

Also Loving that this week, the sick two have felt better.  Bear had a wonderful catch up with her bestie and the girls all enjoyed making cupcakes together, then decorating them and of course we all enjoyed eating them.

The girls concentrating on their designs

Love Emma's smiley face cupcake.

Broken arms can't stop you baking.

YUM!

Loving a night out just with the girls.  What better way to spend a fun night than Fish and chips on the beach and then a quick play at one of our stunning playgrounds with the best views ever.

Loving friendly strangers who offer to take a photo of all of you

A few other friends dropped by

Feeding the gulls

Enjoying the view on the swing

Circus girl 1

Circus girl 2

How high can I go?

A little surf dancing before we go

Yep, it hasn't been the healthy, energetic start to the year that I had hoped for, but there was a lot to love in there anyway.

Linking up with Paisley Jade

What Emma ate

Menu Planning  

I've been trying to do it for the last year or two, but this year I am going to make it happen.  2012 is the year to get my act together and get organised.  I know menu planning saves money and I know it makes life easier.  On Monday this week I planned my menu and then did the groceries.  Not only did we eat well, but we came in right on budget as well.

This is what we ate this week:

Mexican Mince with Rice, salad and guacamole
Chicken and Tomato Pasta
Cajun style fish'n'chips with salad
Home made burgers with roast vege chips
Asian style pork noodles
Pumpkin and Chick pea curry with rice and poppadoms
Corned Silverside beef with mashed potatoes, carrots, beans and spinach

pumpkin and chickpea curry - recipe here -
not my photo

Emma's snacks have been Orgran's itsey bitsey bears (left over from being away), Healtheries Rice Wafers with olivani and vegemite, chocolate chippies (made by Dan), Banana,Blueberry and chocolate chip muffins, sultana's, carrot sticks, nectarines, plums and oranges.

Breakfast has been Weetbix with hot water & sugar, Emma style coco-pops (ricies with hot choc mix and hot water) and home made waffles with blueberries and banana.

This week Emma has enjoyed various sandwiches for lunch - filling included red onion and tomato, hot beef, hummus, sweetcorn and baked beans.

And just to make sure I keep on being organised, I even tidied out my pantry!

Now all I have to do is think about next week.

Creation Muffins

I love playing around with recipes to make something that fits in with what we like, what we have in the pantry and of course, to make it safe for Emma to eat.

So today I created these muffins

1 cup mashed banana's ( I always put bananas in the freezer when they start to get a bit over ripe to use in cakes and muffins)
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup rice bran oil
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup oat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup bran
1 3/4 cup plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder

Mix banana with the sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, milk and vanilla, then add chocolate chips, bran and blueberries and mix well.
Add sifted flour and baking powder to wet ingredients.  Mix until combined.
Put into greased muffin tins and cook for about 15 minutes @ 200 C.
Leave to cool in tins for about 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack.

These muffins were moist and tasty and got a thumbs up from the big boy.

Happy New Year

2011 was a tough year for us - you could say we became frequent flyers at Starship as Emma's health fluctuated so much, but we managed to weather the storm and got through the year somehow.  I started working more, and coaching sports teams and became a waterwise instructor.  I had less time for home and family and everything suffered.  Christmas prep was a blur (not helped by Emma breaking her arm...), although the day itself was great, spent in Wanganui with my family.  We then headed over to Napier to spend New year with my sister.  I forced my self to stay up to and farewell 2011 and to see in the new year full of hope and promise (and less hospital visits.  P.L.E.A.S.E.).

Family Christmas Lunch at the Farm

2012 is only going to be better.  The methotrexate is working with Emma, her skin is better than it has ever been and she doesn't seem to be suffering from any of the side effects that long term drug use can bring.

Last year it seemed that everytime I had run out of time and energy and the house was a mess and there were no groceries to be seen; we got thrown a curve ball and everything fell down.  This year we need to be able to handle those curve balls better.  With a kid like Emma around, I know those curve balls are coming, it isn't "if", it is "when".

And this year, I am not going to let things fall down.  This year is the year I am not going to listen to my lazy, do it later, dont feel like it self, and focus on being the organised, tidy, on top of it self that hasn't been around for awhile.

Spending time with our friends and relatives for the holiday season made me realise what a struggle we have with feeding Emma on a daily basis.  And just how hard it is to find food for her when we are out.

Where oh Where would we be without hot chips!  

And sometimes it feels like everything we do has to be okay for Emma.  And whenever we go out the first thing that we have to think about is "can Emma do this?", "can Emma eat there?" and so the other two sometimes miss out on being normal everyday kids.  We are lucky that Emma understands her allergies so well and is often okay about getting something different  - like getting a bottle of Fanta, whilst we enjoy Rush Monroes ice-cream in Hawkes Bay.  Her recent Anaphylactic reaction has meant that the risk of cross contamination with Dairy now has to be taken even more seriously than before.

So this year I am going to spend a little more time planning, take an extra few minutes looking out for new things she can eat and sharing more of my finds and tips that we use for dealing with our allergy kid.  Coz at the end of the day, the allergies aren't going away, the curve balls will keep coming, and we have to make the most of each day.

Happy New Year to you all.