My turn for favourites

The last post was full of Miss M's post, but this one is mine! 

Firstly, being organised enough to make time to sew! Yay, yay, yay!!! Off the top of my head I have sewn 3 things in the last few weeks.  I know this doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot for me at the moment.  Two of those things weren't complete successes, but they were trials and I learnt a lot for next time.  They were also both presents for a toddler and a preschooler (they won't care about my little mistakes) and I forgot to take photos before I gave them away.  The other is the drawstring bag blogged about here. At the moment I am using it to hold everything I need to make yo yo's and I grab it and stitch in front of the TV at night or during nap time.  Oh just remembered 2 more things I've sewn! Lap blanket blogged about here and I stitched some yo yo's onto a shirt for Miss M.  Still working on that one though, so no photo yet.  I think I'm going to turn the yo-yo's into flowers.  

I'm loving sisterly love, but who doesn't? 

I'm loving that we get to see family (be it mine or daddy's) at least every weekend and sometimes through the week.  And I love that most of my family has children around the same age as Miss M.  

I'm loving ringlets in little girls hair, but don't remind me I said this in a few years time when I'm sick of getting her to brush it and untangling it! 

 I'm loving afternoons outside playing on the trampoline (do they ever stop being fun?) with Miss M and tending to the vege garden.  I meant to blog about the vege garden a long time ago when I started it, but it never happened.  oops! We made it out of star pickets and sheets of iron from our collection of 'useful stuff' in the shed and filled it with stuff cleared off the siding on daddy's parents farm.

Some little tomato plants had come up in the yard where our grey water ends up, so we transplanted them into the garden and they took off amazingly.  There are now LOTS of tomatoes, but something is eating them just before they ripen and I am determined to solve this problem.  Any tips? I'm happy to take advice if 'you' have any please?

We then planted 2 sweet basil plants and they have also taken off and are getting used regularly so we added another 3 Greek basil plants.  

We also planted cucumber seeds and I am so excited because we harvested our first one today!!!! This is my first ever successful vegetable growing experience and I am over the moon about it.  There are 2 more which will be picked in a few days and then another lot that will be ready in a week or so. 

 Next there are some lettuce seedlings that are coping surprisingly well with the heat and we have been picking leaves as we need them.  We are onto our second crop of lettuce.  

Finally, there is a 'mini capsicum' plant, which I think is some new variety that is supposed to grow bite size capsicums.  Miss M loves capsicums and eats them like apples so hopefully the tiny fruit that have appeared in the last week or so grow well and she can feast on them as she wishes.   

Hmm, maybe that needed a post of it's own.  

I get some serious sewing time next week because Miss M is going to stay with her grandma from out of town for a few days again so hopefully there will be a successful sewing story to tell.  I'm also looking forward to giving Miss C as much attention as she wants for a few days.  I do love our chat time!

Time for some favourites

I always leave way too long in between these favourites posts and so much is missed out.  In a few years time when I'm reminiscing about my babies this is not going to be a reliable source of information.  Oh well!

I'll start with Miss M who is still amazing me with the things she learns to do.  I get so excited with each new development and I love seeing how daddy notices these things too.  So, she loves her new trampoline at the moment and asks for it throughout the day until I finally say yes around 3pm.  Because it's in the shade, not because I'm a big meanie.

Giant new 'twampterine'

When I ask her what's for dinner she says "sugar" and when I say no she says "dessert".  This can go on for a long time, but I like playing this game with her.

She has started looking after her doll the same way she sees me looking after her baby sister.  Wrapping her, checking her nappy, putting her under the toys and in the rocker.

Baby playing with Miss C's toys

She's starting to enjoy riding her bike and she's slowly getting faster and today even tried a fishtail with the handlebars.

She can recognise her name written on paper and most letters of the alphabet.  I've been a bit slack with numbers, but she can recognise 1, 2 and 3.

She still loves kissing and cuddling her baby sister and she will often talk to her or give her a gentle rock if she's upset.

Singing 'Twinkle Twinkle to a happy Miss C

She has been having a great time playing with a saucepan of water, a little jug and a few plastic dishes lately.  She practices "pouring very gently" into the different vessels.

This time with milk and silicone patty papers

She builds 'helicopters', 'planes' and 'boats', usually driven by a chicken with her duplo and is starting to become very particular about how she wants it put together and gets very cranky when she can't do something.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!

Concentrating

Lastly for now, she is starting to talk quietly or sing to herself throughout the day, in a really quiet little voice and sometimes offers to sing to Claire when she is upset.

All in all, lots of new things and there's plenty more that I've missed out, because I can't think of them.  She is going to be 2 in 2 months! 

Banana Muffins

I was recently given a giant bunch of free bananas that all ripened at once, so I froze a heap to bake with.  This recipe is really quick and easy.  It's actually a cake recipe that I just adapt however I like depending on what I've got on hand at the time.  This recipe comes from somewhere in my family, but I'm not sure where.  I have it in a little photo album of recipes that my mum scrap booked and gave to me when I moved out of home.


One Egg Cake
1 1/2 cups S.R. flour
1 egg
4 TBS butter
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, add sugar, gradually add beaten egg.  Mix lightly, add flour alternately with milk, add vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

That's the actual recipe, but this is what I do.

Puree 1 large banana. Put all ingredients except the banana in a bowl and mix with mixmaster.  Fold in pureed banana.  Pour into 8x20cm loaf tin or individual muffin cases. I iced ours with cream cheese icing . I'm a very messy, non-perfectionist type of baker at the best of times, but I had my 22 month old helping me with icing so they look quite bad, but they tasted delicious.