MUMMY STUFF

It shall be called "The 3L Milk Fail"...

2012-10-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, as much as life with my toddler is awesome and I consider each day a gift and by keeping him consistently amused with stimulating activities there are still just 'those days'. Thought I would give you all a bit of a giggle with an insight into one 'those days' for me yesterday.

It was your typical Sunday morning in our house. I get up and play with Huddo on waking and try to keep noise to a minimum so that Troy can have a much deserved sleep in from a hefty work week. But had already set up with Troy that I would be heading out at 8.50am to run to the gym do a pump class and run home. .... 10 minutes into being up. I really wish I could remember the trigger but whilst we were sitting on the floor of the living room doing a puzzle with the tv on next to us, Huddo just decided to get up and bash his hand really hard on our 42" TV. I told him off very sternly "Never EVER hit the TV like that you will break it!". It was on. He threw toys, yelled, hit me, screamed. And I tried to remain as calm as possible and said "Ok shake it off." So he ran and hid in his little tent that is in the corner of our living room....... well there was triggers and repeats of this over the course of the day and somehow, cause Troy had an assignment that he needed to work on I had this brain surgeon of an idea (she says sarcastically) to take Huddo out and go and do the groceries. Why?

Well, I must admit I'm normally very fortunate when it comes to shopping. I get whatever errands and grocery shopping I need to do with Huddo in tow very easily........ except yesterday. First time ever he was not a happy camper about grocery shopping. I kept calm and chatted to him throughout the shop trying to keep the conversation flowing to distract him. Well as we were finally looking for a checkout it happened.....
With so much ease and one swift movement, my 26 month old had managed to pick up and THROW....yes THROW about 3 metres a 3 LITRE bottle of milk! It caught me so off guard as he was actually quite calm I thought by this point... but just randomly he threw this thing and of course as you could imagine the smash and splatter seemed to run from the end of the checkouts to the start. There was milk EVERYWHERE. Pretty sure I was so embarrassed I was thinking about where the next closest supermarket was as I didn't think I could ever go there again. ....3 staff rushed over to clean it up each with a smile on their faces. "Oh please don't be embarrassed that was soooooo worth the cleanup!"............me: "I'm so sorry"..... "no seriously please don't be sorry that was without a doubt the coolest thing we've ever seen a kid in here do! How old is your son?"..... "26 months".... "WOW! We all saw that...how strong are you matey!?"....

Yeah, not the type of reaction I wanted Huddo to see as now his little face from these 3 staff laughing and in awe of his super-toddler-strength was priceless...he thought he was top stuff. So I tried to be firm and tell him despite this that throwing things is not on!.......

But as I sit here today with my son having woken up this morning back to his awesome self I can laugh about it and hey I too kind of can't get over the strength really? But oh the surprises that come with 2 year olds....Happy Monday Everyone and hope your kids aren't giving you 'one of those days'.... :)

Going into a 'Big Boy Bed' ..in Style!

2012-10-10T04:09:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Huddo's room got a definite 'Big Boy' upgrade.

The transition to a bed from the cot has (touch wood) been a smooth one and I am much preferring the comfort of laying on the bed next to him to read the copious amounts of bedtime stories as opposed to sitting on the floor!

As I mentioned in the posts about his birthday he is quite the 'Car' and 'Toy Story' fan and I've run with a definite 'Cars' theme in his room but his New Buzz Lightyear, Woody, his old Woody (yep we have 2) and Jessie the Cowgirl have their spots in the top corner of the bed every night.

I don't really have any massive pearls of wisdom for the transition just the basics:
1)Make sure you have a railing so they don't fall out
2)A mattress protector!
3)Continually boost their esteem on what 'Big Boy/Girl' they have become.
4)They aren't babies anymore....don't stress as much (it's mummy nature to stress a little) about temperature and conditions. Ask them! .. "You comfy?" If it's cold I say things like "you all toasty warm? you pull the blankets to how you like them."..... and lately it's been hot so each night I say "I don't want you to get hot and sweaty, how does just the sheet feel and we put the quilt down the end."....One night despite this and I was quite hot myself he still insisted on pulling up and adjusting his quilt..... He's got to sleep in that bed, how he likes it is his choice and once again I think giving asking the questions and empowering with choice rather than just fussing to what you think will be right is just another step to assisting with the development of their personal preference and common sense.

As I leave Huddo's room of a night I say to him "Please stay in your bed, go to sleep and have great dreams matey. I'm just out here if you need me we will have a great day doing ______ tomorrow!"

I mentioned in last week's 'motivation' post that I have been Spring Cleaning with this upgrade of Huddo's room came a massive routine cleanout and organise the 'grown out of' clothes' into spacebags.
Oh and to give you an insight into how big puzzles have become I've attached pics for a bit of a laugh. I swear I see puzzle pieces in my dreams now! I don't let him have all of them in reach at once. Every Friday I rotate 3-4 different ones. Otherwise there can be completed puzzles like stepping stones all over the floor.

assembling this bed was a job I'm glad I didn't have to do!! God bless being engaged to an engineer!

Some Mid-Week Motivation...

2012-10-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

In serious 'spring clean' mode this week....

Right at the back of my cupboard was these pair of shorts. A pair of shorts that I was devastated on New Years Day when I could barely do them up. And even though I moved house in February and have tidied up and gone through my clothes several times over the last 8 months these were the 'dreaded pair'...yet the turning point for me.

I was on holidays down in Adelaide and the heat wave was in full swing. I had reluctantly bought these shorts the month before Christmas because none of my other shorts fit me.....The first time in my life I bought a size 14. (Australian). And by New Years Day they were tight. I had a bit of a cry in private in the bathroom when I was getting ready. Wiped the tears put on some makeup....and a baggy dress. :/

Well I saw them last night. Put them on this morning OVER my workout pants...

Nothing more needs to be said..

I'm one very happy Australian size 8 girl now! :) So one question for you... "Have you exercised this week and been eating lean protein, plenty of fruit & veg, oats and EFA's?" :)

Cakes: Rainbow, Fondant & A CatDog...

2012-09-29T15:18:00.003-07:00

At the end of July I invested in the Wilton Course Book 3 for Fondant and Gum Paste. For those with a keen interest in cake decorating who haven't already I highly recommend you get on Amazon.com and order yourself it. Like all Wilton products and guides it was so straight forward and over a few late nights after Hudson was asleep and the housework done I worked through this book.

August was a big month for me for cakes. Lots of birthdays and friends putting their faith in me to create some masterpieces for their childrens' birthday cakes.

In one of my Posts from last week you can see Hudson's Toy Story & Cars cake. Which inside was a banana sponge with banana white chocolate ganache. Those interested in the banana component. For the cake I used a basic butter cake recipe opting for gluten free, but added one fresh banana mashed well and half a teaspoon of banana oil. For the ganache I simply added half a teaspoon of banana oil to the white choc ganache. It gave it just a hint without being too overpowering. And in terms of flavouring desserts I always love combining essences with fresh ingredients where possible.

I also went down the path of creating a 'rainbow cake' they seem to be a trend at the moment to say the least. This is definitely not a style of cake for parents that are against colourings! Like everything I say 'in moderation' but I will admit Huddo didn't have a piece of this cake. The kids all LOVE the effect though and thought it was just amazing when it was cut.

I also attempted to create a dog cake for my little cousin Olivia...I say attempted because I have realised I went wrong with the shape of the ears and it in turn came out a bit 'cat like' I think. I used pineapple essence in this cake and in the buttercream and that got a massive thumbs up.

Above in the top left is the 'inspiration pic' my friend Kristy sent me for her son Bailey's 2nd Birthday party...the other 3 pics are shots of the cake I made for this party.

One of the main things in the Wilton Course 3 Book I got was teaching how to create a bow from fondant. I also got myself an 'embosser kit' and this was the cake I made for my cousin Julia.

Finally this was a cake I just made because I was visiting some relatives and had bought this 'Giant Cupcake' cake tin and really wanted to give it a whirl. :)

Cake decorating is such a great hobby and I really love challenging myself with new things and there truly is nothing like the look on kids' faces from admiration of a great cake.

Dippy Deluxe

2012-09-28T19:03:00.001-07:00

Just a little morning tea Huddo has been LOVING....

One green apple peeled and chopped into fingers
Carrot sticks
Few almonds
A piece of my 'nice and naughty slice'
And a pot of organic yoghurt to 'dippy' .

Yummo

Nice & Naughty Slice...

2012-09-24T20:28:00.002-07:00

This week's baking experiment for Hudson's morning teas....great cut into fingers and dipped in
5am's Organic Honey Cinnamon Yoghurt.

Nice & Naughty Slice

Ingredients:
100g Butter
50g Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Scoops Vegan Pea Protein Powder
2 1/3 cups of Gluten-Free Self Raising Flour
3/4 Cup Almond Milk
1 banana mashed
1 green apple, peeled and grated.
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g of mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 tablespoons flaxseed
100g almonds chopped roughly.

Cinnamon sugar

Method:
1)Pre heat oven to 180oC
2)Beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence.
3)Add and stir in milk, flour and protein powder
4)Stir in rest of ingredients and pour into a rectangular baking tray.
5)Sprinkly cinnamon sugar on top.
6)Bake for 30 mins. Until golden.

The Last Few Months...Part 2: Fitness

2012-09-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

On August 26th I did it. I finished my first ever Half Marathon. In 1hour 58mins 19secs. I was stoked. I now have a regular exercise program where I complete a 4 days split with my weights training Monday-Thursday (mon:legs, tues:back&biceps, wed:chest&triceps, thurs:shoulders,calves&Abs) and sprinkle in a mix of low intensity and high intensity cardio over Sunday-Friday. I do two mornings a week Wednesday and Friday where I do fasted cardio of a 6am RPM(spin)class and seriously those 2 days of the week, the most awesome way to start the day.

I'm successfully maintaining keeping off the 15kgs I lost from January-May of this year and just find that my body composition is changing and I am looking much more toned and 'fit'. It can be a difficult thing for women to make the decision to do something for themselves once they are a mother. Luckily being a stay at home mum as much as it was a hard decision for me to come to, it is easier for me to find the balance of time with my family, getting my housework done (well most of the time..... ;) ) and cooking time. Yes cooking is still a lengthy process in this house. Troy is still on track and getting fitter by the day but with building muscle requires lots of food. And I have my growing son that I cook for too!

But I really do appreciate that to be the best mum you can be you need to take the time to look after yourself and re-energise and I truly have found that in exercise.

The Last Few Months....Part 1: My Huddo

2012-09-24T19:46:00.003-07:00

Well I guess you could say alot has been happening with my Huddo... he turned 2 last month. His talking is coming along and I've become well acquainted with how busy life is with a two year old and keeping him amused.

This mummy now has a schedule board with all my Huddo activities, housework and exercise training mapped out so I can keep on top of things and have plenty of time for fun stuff with my Huddo.

Huddo also turned 2 and even though he didn't have a party this really turned out to be quite a celebration over a couple of weeks catching up with most of the family and yes I got a little crazy in the cake department...He has gone into a 'Big Boy Bed' so far without drama. I really love our new night routine of laying in bed with him before he goes to sleep reading multiple stories.

And I have been attempting to find a balance between educational activities that are done both with and without Apple Technology! (Children these days are born with a programmed knowledge from Apple for iPads, iPods and iPhones...I swear!) But I have found these to be great tools at expanding his intelligence for games like Memory, mazes (I reckon I didn't understand the concept of navigating a maze until primary school...my 2 year old now solves them quicker than me) and just general recognition and learning the good old problem solving of process of elimination. Huddo has also found a love of Troy's passion for computer games and does the odd stint a couple of times a week sitting on Dad's lap observing...Troy asked him how old he was going to be before he could play games with Dad....Huddo replied "2!".... hmmmm .. lol.
But with old school games jig saw puzzles are definitely Hudson's forte. In May I started him with 9 piece puzzles, educating him in the basics of 'corner pieces', 'edge pieces'... and then the middle. It is now the end of the September and my 25 month old can confidently finish 30 pieces on his own. He loves the challenge and fun if I assist and we take an hour or so on 48 and 50 piece puzzles. Recently my friend Mel gave him a 28 piece puzzle of the alphabet. He can finish the puzzle in just under 10 minutes but now I am trying to incorporate his love of puzzles to teach him the alphabet. He has had this puzzle for almost a week and when asked knows 8 of the 26 letters. .....progress! And he thinks it to be quite fun when in the middle of a story and I stop and go "Oh there is a H in that word....where is it?" :) I think with everyone constantly asking if the 'terrible twos' have kicked in I find myself acknowledging yes there are definitely some changes and boundaries being tested but I think there is a lot to be said for not treating them like babies any longer and not writing off 'oh he/she won't have the attention span to learn that she/he is too young' and just giving something a go like a jigsaw puzzle or teaching them 'memory'. I'm not by any means one of those parents that thinks my child is 'gifted' I do think he is being assisted with capitalising on his potential and find that these activities are making for transitions with his 'turning 2' a lot easier as he is being challenged and well occupied. Like anything I put on this blog, I am no expert and have only one child. I simply love this blog for sharing 'what works' for me and it just may assist you. :)

So to give you the highlights of late in awesome 'picframe'
glory (yep I'm still a photo junkie...love all these multipic apps. And I recently finished Huddo's 2nd Year Photobook....70 pages and over 650 photos...I'm a dork)

Yep life is definitely great for our little family of 3!

3 Breakfast Recipes...

2012-06-25T04:57:00.001-07:00

So to continue along my post from last night, I thought I would post 3 recipes that I've been making lately for breakfast. I've always been an egg lover and from previous posts you may have seen different ways I've served eggs to Huddo and to myself and Troy but in adapting the '6 Meals A Day' lifestyle I've switched things up accordingly and now do eggs in my 'meal 2' and this generally falls around Huddo's morning tea time so he has 2 hard boiled eggs for his morning tea with his cup of milk.

RECIPE 1: IMMUNITY BOOSTING MUSELI (for grown ups)
Most days Troy and I are having oats with a cup of berries, tablespoon of flaxseed oil and 50mL of Almond milk (Troy has Trim Milk and no flaxseed oil) But once a week as you saw in the previous post I make up a batch of 'Immunity Boosting Museli'. This was a recipe I got from Oxygen Magazine (April/May 2012 Issue) and I now just interchange different ingredients in it from week to week.

The original recipe is (in brackets are some substitutes/variations I've used)
These quantities make 2 serves. (adjust accordingly to how many serves you'd like, I make enough for 4-5 generally)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1 cup of non-fat plain greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds (I've been using Pura Veda for something different the last couple of weeks, have used Chia seeds)
1 tablespoon crushed/chopped almonds
1 tsp cinnamon (I also use 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 cup fresh mixed berries
1 tablespoon 100% maple syrup (I don't use maple syrup to avoid the sugar I use Xylitol)

Method:
1. Stir oats into yoghurt
2. Mix in ground flaxseeds and crushed almonds.
3. Stir in cinnamon and mix.
4. Toss berries and stir in syrup. Refrigerate overnight.

Some info on this recipe when made with original ingredients-
Cals: 242, Total fats: 5g, Saturated fat: 0.5g, Trans fat: 0g, Sodium 36mg, Carbs: 36g, Sugar: 18g (by switching in the xylitol you lower this big time) Protein 16g, Iron: 1mg.

RECIPE 2: BANANA RICE (for little people....and grown ups too if you like the sound of it :) )
For my Huddo...well he has decided he's not into porridge this winter so for a nice warm carby brekky for him I have been making him

1 cup of cooked brown rice, 1 banana mashed and splash of full cream milk and heated in the microwave (I have a massive bowl of brown rice on the go in the fridge these days so even tho the rice is cooked it's generally cold) for 25 seconds. It's currently his favourite breakfast.

RECIPE 3: PROTEIN PANCAKES (for grown ups)
for a kiddy version please see my post from earlier in the year. (I use a different protein powder for Hudson)

Ingredients:
150g Gluten-free self raising flour (yep I go with the better tummy options these days)
pinch of salt
300ml of Almond milk
1 egg
2 scoops of your protein powder of choice
1/4 flaxseed meal

Method:
1) Sift flour into a bowl and add remaining ingredients and whisk well.
2) Cook in a fry pan on high heat. I cook these using Nuttelex Olive Lite. Remember best time to flip a pancake is when there are some serious bubbles occurring.

This mix should give you about 8-11 pancakes.

For anyone who suffers with a bit of a funny tummy, something that I've personally been doing first thing when I get up is having a glass (250ml) of warm-hot water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it. By drinking this it assists with clearing the mucus in the digestive tract that can build up through the night so that by the time you have your first meal for the day things are bit clearer through there and function a bit better. (Anyone who is a fan of the Blood Type Diet this is particularly beneficial for Type A's.) The difference I've found with this is amazing.

Hope you all had a great start to the week. :)

What stuff this Mummy has been up to lately...

2012-06-24T05:45:00.002-07:00

The days just seems to be flying by and what do you know.....I'm now only 2 months away from celebrating my Huddo's 2nd birthday. Even though we aren't having a party this year I'm already deep in research for making him an extra special birthday cake and today Troy and I scoped out the Target Toy Sale to get ideas as to what we will get him for pressies. Decisions decisions.

I've been staying well and truly on track with my fitness goals and hitting new highs each week, whether it is running a distance in a better time, lifting heavier weights in a strength training session or being able to run at a faster pace on the treadmill for my sprint intervals. (got up to 17km/hr for 1 minute on Friday on my 5th sprint interval....I nearly died, cried and squealed all at the same time!)

The saying generally is with fitness and transformations that 20% of the result is from training, 80% is from nutrition. Troy has been working really hard also and we have well and truly adapted the '6 Meals a day' lifestyle. The organisational skills I've had to step up have been huge to keep on top of the food for this little family of three and as well as keeping on track with the health side as always I'm mindful of waste and being economical. I'm actually in the process of a little experiment and planning to share tips into the costs of planning of how all three of us are eating our own catered meal plans but keeping cost and time effective.

To give you a peek into the world of 'food prep' in my house...things look a little like this:

This is an example of a breakfast that I make for Troy and I and there was 5 portions there for 3 days worth for Troy and 2 days for me. I have been doing this will so many meals because ultimately everything I do I aim to be so efficient as my favourite thing to do is play with my Huddo. He's really getting into puzzles and so many activities that I pretty much am his main play mate. Things aren't all sunshine and rainbows by any means though, we are starting to see glimpses of the 'terrible twos' and tantrums seem to be getting more frequent. But all the more reason to be organised so that I have the time to be with my little man and keep him busy and well distracted. :)

Mega-Veg Slice.....with Mediterranean Couscous

2012-05-13T20:49:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing I find a bit of a challenge to set myself some weeks it's assessing what is in the panty and the fridge that may be in need of 'being used' before it's too late and becoming waste.....which is seriously my pet hate. So last Sunday I was meal planning and cleaning out the pantry and the fridge and got myself a pile of things together to make Huddo's savoury snack of the week. (I like to have one savoury and one sweet on hand).

This is what eventuated...

Ingredients:
1 Cup of cooked Continental Mediterranean Cous Cous (pictured below)
1 cup of freshly grated beetroot
2 Zucchinis peeled and grated
1 Carrot peeled and grated
1 Celery stalks chopped finely
1 Cup of baby spinach leaves.
2 cups of Oats (blended through the food processor to make 'oat flour')
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk of choice (I use full cream cow's milk or almond milk for 'Huddo things')
1 teaspoon of bicarb soda
1 tablespoon of linseed meal
1/2 cup of grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

Method:
1)Chop and prepare veggies as pictured above and preheat oven to 190oC
2)Get Cous Cous cooking as directed on the box
3)Combine all ingredients except beetroot, and cheese. (Once cous cous is cooked measure out one cup and add in) Stir thoroughly.
4) Place into baking tray and spread out evenly. Sprinkle beetroot and cheese on top.

Note: you can put the beetroot through the mix however, just note that obviously your mix will turn red/purplish and just a silly thing with Huddo but I've noticed he's not to keen these days on his food being dominated by this colour. .......don't ask me why! :/ So I chose to sprinkle on top as I love the nutrients in beetroot.

5)Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until cooked (will go golden around the edges).

Slice into 8-12 pieces and store in the fridge. (I sliced into 10 pieces and put 6 in the freezer and 4 in the fridge).

Happy Monday!! :)

The 100th...

2012-05-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today I give you my 100th post into the blogisphere.
This week also marked the 1st Birthday of this blog and only 120 clicks away from the 10 000 page view mark which hey I realize that in blog terms I'm very very small potatoes but there is definitely a sense of achievement in myself that I've stuck to this and watched it grow..

I really feel that this blog has gone down the path of anything this mummy encounters and to be honest as I click back over the previous 99 posts there is just so much more. I truly love being a mum and embrace the fact that I have so many moments in a day where I look at Huddo and just take in the stage he is at as he is growing so quickly and I can't believe he is less than 4 months away from the milestone of his 2nd Birthday.

I feel that I have been lucky to stay at home with him and in that time find hobbies and interests that I always thought about but just never took the time to really learn and expand on when I was working. Watching our routine change and incorporate different activities means there is just never a dull moment and I like that we are always keeping busy and not taking for granted our time home together. I've also been very lucky that as much as I call myself a 'Stay-at-home' mum I still work 2 days a week at Eumundi Markets. One of those days Huddo stays home with his daddy, the other he comes to work with me and watching his confidence grow in that awesome environment I have no words for.

I just all round feel like a lucky girl with both my Huddo and my Troy and at this moment really proud of my most recent personal achievement which is that I have now lost a total of 13.2kg and truly am the fittest and healthiest I've been in my entire life. I haven't latched on to the latest fad diet but just simply eaten awesomely healthy food while still have the occasional indulgence, kept up breastfeeding and found fitness in that old expression of 'stepping out of your comfort zone'.

So here is where I share with you a couple of photos....ok.

This was a photo taken of me at Christmas. I was 70kg and a size 14.

This is me and my Huddo 3 weeks ago. I've lost another 1.2kg since this pic I'm most proud of the fact that in this pic I'm wearing size 8 skinny leg jeans. (they are starting to feel a little loose). So now comes into the great mission of toning up and maintaining my new weight (1.8kg until I'm at my 55kg goal weight) . ....Let the mission begin.

Last September I set myself a goal of running at 10km running event....well better late than never but for the last 4 weeks on Sunday afternoons I've been running 10.5kms and last Sunday ran 12kms....in 1 hour and 17 minutes. So not only am I getting the endurance I'm actually starting to get some good pace which I'm so proud of. I love running and plan to keep it up but this coming Monday I start the "Jamie Eason LiveFit Program" which is more weights and strength based to help tone up this mummy......mainly so I don't jiggle when I run. :)

Hope you are all having a great week.

Ginger & Soy Mince Stirfry

2012-05-09T15:33:00.001-07:00

I got a little experimental....as I tend to do....the other night and created a dish that incorporated all the things that particularly Troy and I are after at the moment with exercising daily. And I knew it would also be beneficial for Huddo and something that he would love.

I'm calling it Ginger & Soy Mince Stirfry..

Ingredients:
500g Organic Chicken Mince
1/2 a large sweet potato diced
1/2 a sugarloaf cabbage chopped into thin strips
2 cups of baby spinach
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of ground ginger.
1 teaspoon of extra virgin coconut oil

Method:
1)Cook mince on its own in the coconut oil. Once cooked take out and place on a plate.
2)Cook sweet potato until moderately soft with a lid over the fry pan to try and trap and some steaming effect on the potato.
3)Add chicken back into the pan as well as adding cabbage, spinach, soy and ginger.
4)Cook for 5-10 minutes on med-high heat.

For the serving suggestion on this one for the calorie conscious....measure out 2 cups full of the mix.
This gives you 204 calories. 27g carbs, 4g fat, 16g protein and 3g fibre.

Recent Cakes.....

2012-04-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month I had two cakes to make within 30 hours. Trust me when you are a mummy and doing parts of a cake in stages fitting in amongst keeping your house clean and organised and still doing your day to day activities with your toddler........let's just say as much as I love cake decorating as a hobby I stand by the theory that I don't think I could handle it as an 'at home' business.
However with a bit of sleep deprivation I managed to get these 2 cakes done and the recipients were very happy! :)

First up was my little cousin Charlie whose top 5 favourite colours are red, pink, purple, aqua and blue. So I made her a butterfly with all her favourites on it....

The camera alters the colour of the pink slightly. But if you are wondering "Where is the red?"....inside is red velvet cake. For the shape I simply hired the 'Wilton Butterfly' cake tin.

And you would think I would of learned from the 'Bejeweled Cake' disaster but no. I was getting ready to go to a barbeque for Charlie's birthday and had the cake in a large container ready to go when ....thud....yep you guessed it, a certain little person was very curious about what was inside the container. Thank god for the cake board fitting very snuggly into the container as the cake only dislodged slightly but I did have to redo the writing on the board and repipe some of the pink edge...hmmmmmm.....I was not impressed. More so with myself than Huddo.

Next up was a cake for my brother Thomas. He turned 12 this month and is an incredible young rugby league player. He is also a keen supporter of the Gold Coast Titans. So like the 'North Queensland Cowboys' cake I did for my cousin Harley. I hired the 'Wilton Football' tin and attempted to free hand the Gold Coast Titans logo and do a custom footy just for Tommy.

I was quite happy with both of these and more importantly that I actually got them both completed in the time I had!

A Dinner Idea.....and my new fav way to have cauliflower.

2012-04-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well it has been 3 months now that I have been on this awesomely wonderful life changing health kick. Don't even know if I'd call it a kick anymore as pretty much it is a complete lifestyle change. Opening my eyes truly to portions and weighing pretty much anything and everything if not just for the sake of losing weight but curiosity as to the calories within particular portions. It's one thing to eat healthy but portions....oh portions, can be shocking. Particularly when you live with a male and you find yourself on your gorgeously large Maxwell & Williams square dining plates going scoop for scoop with him. Keeping in mind you are probably serving him too much for even his daily allowances to begin with.

One of my favourite new dinners that is quick easy and something that Hudson has been loving also is
Chicken & Crispy Broccoli with Low Fat Creamy Cauliflower Mash. A little hint from my lovely friend Dani.

Ingredient:
500g Chicken Breast
1 head broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons of Philly cream cheese
2 cloves of garlic
50 g of grated parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Desired cooking oil...either Olive Oil or Cold Pressed Canola Oil.

Method
1)Break cauliflower head into smallish florets and cook in water that just covers the all the florets. Cook on medium to high covered for 15 minutes until soft. Remove lid for last 5 minutes to assist with reducing the water. (Try to aim for minimal if any water to be drained! The less nutrients you lose in draining water the better I always reckon).
2)Dice chicken and break broccoli into small florets. Crush one of the cloves of garlic and cook chicken in a fry pan on medium heat with garlic, oil and touch of salt, pepper and paprika.
3)Once chicken is cooked add broccoli into the pan.
4)While broccoli is cooking take cauliflower off heat and mash loosely with the little remaining water and add crushed clove of garlic, parmesan, philly, salt pepper and half a teaspoon of paprika. Return to low heat and stir every few seconds for about 5 minutes.

Now for the tricky serving part...... if you can, separate the chicken and broccoli into two separate sides of the fry pan.
Measure 1 cup of cauliflower mash and place onto the plate first.
Then 1 cup half filled with broccoli and half filled with chicken. Place on top of cauliflower.

This portion size is only 285 calories. Contains 31g of protein.....and my personal favourite....8g of fibre! Half most people's daily requirement and such a godsend when you are on a high protein low carb eating plan. .....but best of all it is DELICIOUS!!!

Passionfruit & White Choc Bikkies...

2012-04-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

As you all know I love baking and healthy cooking but I love living life in moderation and where I can I make the treats myself so at least I know what is going into them, particularly where Huddo is concerned!
This week I came up with a naughty little recipe that is by no means full of chia seeds and linseed meal....warning: it's naughty. However by breaking up the mixture and only cooking a few bikkies at a time, one biscuit is only 50 calories. But for a little treat I assure you they are delish.

Ingredients:
275g Plain flour (I use gluten free)
200g Unsalted butter
90g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon passionfruit extract
1/2 cup of cooking white choc bits.

Method:
1)Combine the butter and flour in a food processor until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2)Add icing sugar, vanilla, passionfruit and white choc bits. Process for one minute.
3) Remove mixture and knead lightly into a sausage shape. Now this is where you can opt to separate your mix into a few 'sausage' shapes and keep for another time.

4)Place in fridge to cool to firm for at least an hour. (for ones you are keeping until another time place into the freezer)
5)Preheat oven to 180oC.
6)Slice thinly and place onto tray that is covered in a sheet of baking paper.
7)Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I got about 8 biscuits from one of these logs of dough. They are so quick to bake and taste so yummy that it is great to have them on hand for when friends drop by for a playdate or for weeks when you are just really busy but want to have a little something for your family.

Before you start the new week.....

2012-03-18T04:47:00.001-07:00

Sunday nights can be a bit hectic. Planning the meals for the week, writing out list after list....the errands, planning the week's activities for your child, exercise plans etc. Tonight as I sit here and write a few posts I had a thought, I don't know about you but I often get so caught up in planning the next week that I forget to just take a moment to be a little proud of the previous week.

I by no means am one of the stay-at-home mums that boasts that I have a harder job than my partner that works. Yes he likes his job and he is amazing at it, but I LOVE my job and consider myself one very lucky woman that in this day and economy age that I get to stay at home with my son and document closely every milestone and pretty much don't miss a minute. And the job that I do work, it's at a market and I get to take my son with me!! I couldn't ask for much else.

However, everyone no matter what may plan little goals or make lists for their week but do you truly take a moment to congratulate yourself on what you achieved for the week before you plan the next one. ....I don't!

This week, I lost another 1.7kg. I exercised for at least 45 minutes 6 out of 7 days. I managed to take my son to at least 2 out of the house activities each day and made him some pretty yummy food as well as followed thru on the at home planned activities I had for him, like piano time, puzzle time, drawing and lots of hide and seek and dancing. I managed to get majority of the housework done that I wanted to and somehow despite the rain and having no dryer stayed on top of the washing. And still found some time on Friday to make time for my hobby while Huddo was sleeping and made some very pretty cupcakes! .....All in all a pretty productive week! ...What about you? Take a sec to smile and have a think don't dwell on what you didn't get done....just whack it on this week's list and try again............And from me I say to you.....Good on ya lovey! ......Now where are those lists, bring on the next week. Happy Monday for tomorrow! :)

For the kiddies.... 'Sweet & Savoury Quinoa Balls'

2012-03-18T04:01:00.000-07:00

Lately I've made a few dishes with quinoa and earlier this week I made a dish for Huddo that was a bit of a hit. (Note: They resemble risotto balls)

Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
half a sweet potato chopped into small cubes
1 cup of finely chopped chicken breast
2 pears, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons of cinnamon sugar

breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons of flour

Method:
1)In a saucepan cook quinoa (1 cup with 3 cups of water)
2)In a fry pan cook chicken, sweet potato, and pear in a little olive oil. Note: if the pear is quite ripe you will find that will go to mush quite quickly, that's fine!
3)Once the quinoa is cooked add the chicken, sweet potato and pear mix.
4)Combine all together and mix in cinnamon sugar.
5)Cook on low and covered until the sweet potato is soft.
6)Place the mixture into a bowl and refigerate for a few hours until the mix is cool and a bit gluggy.
7)With the cooled mixture, roll small balls in your hands and roll first in the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
8)Repeat step 7 for as many times as you like with the mix to get desired serve. Excess mix can be frozen and kept for another time.
9)Cook in 2cm deep oil on high for 2 minutes. Be sure to drain and cool on a papertowel before serving.

Crunchy on the outside and mushy on the inside......yuuumm! :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes......

2012-03-18T03:31:00.000-07:00

This week it was one of my very special friends Jennilee's birthday. I work with Jen at the market and she has the most amazing clothes which I have become quite the fan of ...for those that are interested here is her link to her website. So yesterday when I went to work at the market I took along a little box of cupcakes that I made as a little gift. Jennilee is a gorgeous woman who loves all things feminine and loves wearing various shades of pink! So with this in mind I made red velvet cupcakes topped with ivory, pale pink and dark pink flowers.

The Recipe for the Red Velvet Cupcakes.... courtesy of Iris at How to Cook is:
Now please keep in mind as I was making cupcakes I have halved the original quantities.
To make 3 x 20 or 2 x 23cm cake pans do double the quantities mentioned.

Ingredients:
125g Unsalted butter
1.5 cups of caster sugar
3 eggs
1.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
15mLs red food colouring
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon bi carb soda
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

Method:
1. Preheat over to 180oC
2. Line cupcake tray with desired cases.
3. Beat butter, vanilla extract and sugar in a bowl until white and creamy. (about 5 minutes)
4. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition
5. Slowly add food colouring with the eggs and beat till combined
6. Add sifted flour and cocoa alternately with butter milk
7. Combine vinegar and bicard in a separate small bowl and combine the until frothy (note: you will feel a bit like a mad scientist as this fizzes.. :) )
8. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter
9. Pour into cupcake cases (or cake tins)

Cupcakes will bake in approximately 15-20 minutes.
Cakes will bake in approximately 28-30 minutes.

The icing I made for the buttercream that I list the recipe for in the post 'Cakes Cakes & More Cakes..'
but this time instead of just a teaspoon of vanilla essence I did
-1/2 teaspoon of clear vanilla essence
-1/2 teaspoon of clear lemon essence
-1/2 teaspoon of clear butter essence

All of the flowers were made on Thursday and kept in the freezer overnight.
The cupcakes I baked on Friday and once cooled I decorated Friday afternoon popped them into a cute little pink cupcake box and took to the market on Saturday.

(Oh and as for what happened with the other 8 cupcakes of the batch.....Huddo has 2 uniced ones and I gave the remaining ones to my neighbours who have 2 school-aged boys for their afternoon tea) ...

I got this box from 'How to Cook' but generally the cupcake boxes I use I get off eBay.

A Variety of Breakfasts....not just for little people!

2012-03-10T02:59:00.000-08:00

Recently I posted about the Toddler Power Pancakes. Tonight I'm going to post about the other 2 brekkies my little man has been enjoying of late. ....And they aren't just for little people.

First up I give you his:
Poached Egg on Toast with Salmon.
As simple as it sounds this consists of a piece (or 2) of multigrain toast, one (or 2) poached egg(s) mashed over the toast, topped with a piece of smoked salmon and cut into little squares. ...The salmon is always the first thing to be eaten. ...What can I say he's a kid after his mumma's heart!...and makes me feel good about the protein and omega 3's he's getting.

The other breakfast is a bit of a modified long-time favourite. Since early on last winter I introduced Huddo to porridge with my fruit purees mixed in. Now I like to make it a bit more nutrient packed....I like to call it ...
Porridge with The LOT!
1/2 cup of porridge
1/4 cup of fruit puree (generally mixed berries & apple....I still am a fan of freezing the fruit purees into icecube trays. ...They just come in handy for adding healthy little flavours to various things)
1 tablespoon of yoghurt
1 teaspoon of flaxseed meal (aka linseed meal)
1 tablespoon of protein powder

The protein, fibre and other vitamins make this one nutrient packed bowl.

Throughout the week the breakfast meal plan generally looks like this over the last couple of months:
Sunday: Power Pancakes!
Monday: Power Pancakes (remaining mixture)
Tuesday: Eggs & salmon on Toast
Wednesday:...now this is the day we work at the markets and he generally has a plate of little Dutch Pancakes (definitely more sugar in this than the ones I make but hey it's one day of the week!)
Thursday: Porridge with The Lot!
Friday: Porridge with The Lot.
Saturday: Eggs & Salmon on Toast.

Also I often get asked about what liquids Hudson is having these days. When he was a few months old I was experimenting with different juices diluted, water and breastmilk.
Now I find he just doesn't particularly care for juices which doesn't phase me. He does however consume alot of water over the course of the day (generally between 600mL to a litre...some really hot market days it's much more) And he is still going strong with the breastmilk. However on Saturdays market day when he is home with Troy he has cow's milk in a cup with 3 teaspoons of protein powder shaken in.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! :)

Beach Cake....

2012-03-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Last week was my cousin Jerry-Lee's 12th Birthday and for the occasion I made her a beach cake for her love of surfing and the beach. Also she has much admiration for the movie 'Surfer Girl' so I couldn't help myself and put a shark fin in the water also.

To talk you through a bit about the techniques I used for this cake first up I give you the recipe link for the Caramel Mudcake.
I doubled the quantities mentioned and made 2 rectangular cakes with the mixture.
Allowed both cakes to cool and used one as the base and the other to carve the 2 waves, the shark fin and the surfboard.
I covered all parts of the cake in buttercream icing and covered the waves, surfboard and shark fin in appropriately coloured fondant.
For the sand I used a packet of Arnott's Nice biscuits and put them thoroughly through the food processor. (I also added a teaspoon of edible glitter to the sand too to give it a bit of shimmer)
Over the top of the blue fondant for the water I swished around with a spatula a tub of 'Wilton Piping Gel' that I had coloured blue to give it a real water glossy-like effect.
Finally I used buttercream to decorate the surfboard, create the foam in the waves and write her Jerry-Lee's name in the sand.

From my favourite cooking shop How to Cook I got the shells which are made from sugar and give the finishing touch to the cake. This therefore made the entire cake edible and very much loved by my cousin.

Toddler Power Pancakes....

2012-03-05T12:58:00.001-08:00

People that read this blog regularly will know aside from my love of baking and cake decorating my other food passion is breakfast! It's the meal of the day that I don't mind making something different for Troy, Huddo and myself to meet our needs and preferences to start the day.

Something that Huddo absolutely LOVES is pancakes. I came to realise this one Sunday morning a few months back when we did a rare visit to McDonalds and I ordered him hotcakes. ....He devoured all 3 in the same time it took me to eat a Bacon & Egg roll.

So with this I got thinking about pancakes and what to do to increase their nutritional value so that I could incorporate this fav on a weekly basis. This recipe is what I came up with:

Please note that I do specify gluten-free self-raising flour in this. For my baking at home I have switched to gluten-free plain and self-raising flours as I find it is a little gentler on the gut. However, the recipe works perfectly well with common flours.

Ingredients:
150g Gluten-Free Self-Raising Flour
250mL milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Protein Powder
1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds
1 teaspoon of Flaxseed meal (aka Linseed Meal)

1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
bit of butter

Method:
1)In a bowl mix flour, milk and egg.
2)Add protein, chia seeds and flaxseed meal.
3) Have a fry pan on high with a bit of Sunflower oil or butter in the pan.
4) Pour in a tablespoon or 2 of the mixture onto the hot fry pan. Make the pancakes however big you like. I tend to make them more pikelet size.

5)Once several bubbles are occurring in the mixture then flip and cook until both sides are golden.
6)Repeat until have desired serve. I find that this mix makes about 16 pikelet size pancakes and Huddo has 8. Which means generally once, I've made 8 I cover the mixture with glad-wrap and use the rest the next morning.
7) Put frozen berries into a bowl and in the microwave for a minute or until they are very soft and easily mashed with a fork.
8) Add maple syrup to the mashed warm berries.

9)On plate with cooked pancakes, spread a little butter over the pancakes and drizzle the berry syrup. (I find that have the berries with the syrup gives a great amount of flavour without too much sugar from syrup).

Just a little note and reminder to all readers.... if you are enjoying this blog...please have a little click on any of the ads you see on the side toolbar or below the post as clicks on these earn me a little $$. Thanks in advance for any clicks and continuing support. Also, please 'like' the facebook page. I post links to the blog when I do up a new post. :) Have a great day.

'Bejeweled Cake' ...

2012-03-04T01:34:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas and with being quite busy with all Huddo's activities, getting fit....and moving house...I haven't made many cakes of late but last month I made a cake for my very good friend Melinda for her birthday and this week I made one for my little cousin Jerry-Lee who turned 12.

So first up to give a little backstory on my friend Melinda we have known eachother since we were 6 years old. We lost touch with each other after high school but thanks to Facebook over the last few years we have reconnected and now both each have a child, a love of baking and a strange addiction to the game Bejeweled. Therefore for her birthday I thought I would be funny and make her a birthday cake with it's decoration centering around this game. I predominantly used fondant icing and wanted to create a swirl of irregular jewel shapes in the colours from the game. (Those that are fans of the game will notice there are some other shapes in there too that I ad-lib'ed)
The cake itself is coconut sponge (just use a basic vanilla sponge cake recipe but as well as putting in a teaspoon of vanilla essence add a teaspoon of coconut essence) with milk chocolate ganache inbetween the layers. I also decorated with baker's buttercream icing I make myself and edible glitter.....lots and lots of edible glitter.
The end result was this

However, I finished this the morning that I was going to meet up with Melinda. Huddo was ready. I was ready. "Just wait a sec matey Mum mum has to go to the loo".......within 30 seconds I heard this little thud. ......Turns out my now 91cm 18 month old can fully reach our kitchen bench and was a little intrigued by the sparkly thing on the bench.....this is what became of my cake:

So I cut the smooshed third off, chalked the whole situation up to a parenting fail and vowed to never underestimate my son's height and what his little fingers can reach again and took the rest along with my camera. With Melinda having a toddler herself she found the humour and appreciated 'Huddo's touch' to her birthday cake.

A few little changes for a big result!..

2012-03-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

So after I returned home from our road trip I did the usual thing you would do after you unpacked, did all the washing and just generally enjoyed the comfort of being home......I looked at the photos I had taken. There was a particular pic of myself (undecided whether to post it yet or not!)...that I nearly died when I saw myself. Not to mention that on more than one occasion (despite the fact I had actually lost a few kilos before going on holidays) I was asked if I was pregnant again. So as I feel that I have done a few times in the past year I took the opportunity of being home and getting back into routine to look at my eating and exercise and what else I could do to change the body I had but really didn't want.

First up, I had been very eager to go and have acupuncture to assist with aligning my general health and assisting with my ongoing problem of poor digestion (I'll spare you the details that go with that one). So I went and had a treatment with an acupuncturist who is also a naturopath and spoke about what she recommend for an effective eating plan. To cut a long story short and give you the highlights. I pretty much eliminated sugars, dairy and wheat/gluten for a month. I went for a treatment each week for 3 weeks in a row to assist with my sugar cravings and now I go fortnightly.

So the food was in great shape (I have a little bit of wheat probably once a week but I'm still pretty much off dairy and sugar) and starting to have some great results.

On the fourth treatment of acupuncture I was asked if I was a member of a gym and what I was doing for exercise. My response "No, I used to years ago but not since living up on the Sunny Coast and I don't have the time to fit it in with Hudson." ...her response "Have you ever considered joining a gym with a creche?" Basically this conversation ended with it being established that I had a problem with this as I felt that I was being slack if I put Huddo in any sort of care so that I could take the time to do something for myself. But when you are devoting all your time to your child is it really that bad to take an hour to an hour and a half a day to go and workout so that you are taking care of yourself?? This was the magic question. After quite the discussion with Troy and basically establishing that it wasn't going to be a matter of Hudson not liking it, it was going to be a matter of me not being a sook and letting go a bit to basically stop me from letting myself go!

A few days later I joined the awesome gym up the road and as Troy thought (and deep down I knew too)...Hudson LOVED it! He had so much fun and now when I get my gym clothes on he gets this little smile on his face and gets himself his water bottle that he takes and is nearly standing at the door waiting for me so we can go.

In terms of what I do at the gym, well I pretty much am happy to try whatever class is on when I get there. (Les Mills classes mainly)...BodyPump, BodyStep, you name it I'll give it a crack. But my favourite would have to be RPM or 'Spin Class'. I get on that bike and pretty much just punish myself for 45 minutes and oh I feel great at the end of it.....exhausted, sweaty and near death but great.

The last change has been that I have basically swapped my facebook time for My Fitness Pal. A place where you can calorie count and not just look at total calories you consume but a breakdown of carbs, fats and proteins and insert your exercise to see roughly how many calories you have burnt in exercise sessions and how that goes for you for the day compared to your consumer calories. I have really enjoyed tracking this as I know I've mentioned before but due to still breastfeeding I'm always very conscious of not disrupting my milk supply.

So, my first Acupuncture treatment was on the 12th January.....since then, I'm coming up to 8kg lost. I'm no longer being asked if I'm pregnant again which is great. And my size 14 clothes are swimming on me and somehow I seemed to have bypassed size 12 and a comfortable size 10 again...........Size 8 here I come!

Back from my blogging holiday....Road Tripping with a Toddler!

2012-02-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Well hello there!......I've taken quite a break from blogging in the last few months but have been taking lots of 'mummy stuff' notes and plenty to come. To start at the beginning:

Our Christmas Road trip. When Troy and I told our friends and family we were going to have a 3 week holiday driving from the Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast to Warrnambool to Melbourne back to Warrnambool to Adelaide and then home to the Sunshine Coast (About 5 200kms round trip) with our 16 month old toddler we got a lot of 'Good Luck with that!' (sarcastically)..."You two are mad!" and other various similar comments. But we were pleasantly surprised with every hundred kilometres we drove that Huddo was just amazing.

In the 5000+kms he cried once. On the leg from the Gold Coast to Warrnambool we left at 5pm and drove straight through the night and day to arrive in Warrnambool by 6pm the following evening. The cry (which lasted less than 2 minutes) was at 2am when Huddo woke in a fright that he was still in the car. But all we did was stop at the next McDonalds. I gave him a nappy change, a breastfeed and let him have a little run around in the McDonalds playground for 20 minutes. Yes, a little strange at 2 in the morning but like us adults were dying to stretch our legs I thought Huddo would enjoy the same. And sure enough within 5 minutes of being back in the car, he was back to being sound asleep.
With each leg of the trip we were nearly expecting or waiting for him to 'have had enough' and just lose the plot. Nope. He soldiered on. The only difficulty of the trip was the first night we were at a new destination. Considering I can't remember the last time Huddo woke through the night (think it was somewhere back at 10 months old) the first night in each place was very unsettled and would wake several times upset.
So with so many kilometres of 'toddler travelling' I give you my tips to road tripping with one!

1)If you have enough drivers. (on the way to Warrnambool my inlaws travelled with us so there were 4 drivers) Start a big leg in the late afternoon after you little one is bathed, fed and comfortably in pjs. Basically think of what you would feel most comfortable in if you are travelling for long stretches.

2)When you are driving thru the night and if your toddler's car seat is placed in the middle of the backseat tie a blanket or jacket between the back of the 2 front seats to create a darkness in the back to block out street lights and headlights from cars coming passed you. This consistent darkness is very relaxing.

3)Car temperature! Like at home keeping your car not too warm or cold can be key to your little one having the best sleep.

4)DVDs! Although it is frowned upon and not ideal to have your child watching too much telly day to day.....for road trips it is a saviour. We are fortunate that our car has and inbuilt dvd player but an inexpensive portable one would do just as good. Huddo has become OBSESSED with 'The Little Einsteins' and his one dvd with 3 x 20 minute episodes of this show nearly got worn out on this trip.

5)Surrender to the backseat of your car being COVERED in a vairety of books, toys, stuffed animals.
I spent the majority of the trip in the back seat with Huddo reading to him, stabilising his colouring-in book on his lap whilst he coloured, passing him various toys and doing my assorted range of voices with particular favourite stuffed animals.

6)Having a steady supply of snacks on board! And ensuring that the usual routine of eating times, milk times and nappy changes occurred. For your snacks I do recommend going with as low-sugar as possible. As when you think about it you are aiming to contain your toddler for extended periods....no need to hype them up. Things such as 'Rafferty's Garden Fruit Bars'. Ready-chopped fruit salads, rice crackers, vegemite sandwiches and kid's yoghurt sachets (beware of high sugar tho. I favoured the Vaalia ones). When we were staying at family members' homes I would make Huddo meals that I would make for him at home and when we were at hotels I would order him room service meals like 'spaghetti bolognaise' or go and get some tuna and avocado sushi rolls and chop up into small pieces. Whilst frequently going to Coles or Woolworths and re-stocking snacks. However there were a handful of times where McDonalds McBites (small chicken pieces) and chips were allowed. The fact is you are on holidays. Nothing is perfect but it doesn't mean your child has to live on Maccas for the entire trip!

7)Water! Water and more water!!! Troy and I were constantly aware that due to being the car with the air-conditioner on for so many hours it is crucial that you drink water in abundance to stop yourself drying out. So Huddo constantly had his water bottle in reach.

8)Finally. Ensure that you and your partner and other travel companions stay relaxed. Like any other time if you are organised, relaxed and in a great mood. Your child is bound to be too! :)

We had a great holiday and wonderful Christmas.
Looking forward to sharing more about the last few months with you soon.

The funny part of doing a 3 week road trip at Christmas and seeing both sides of a very very large family......the amount of presents your child gets!
Let's just say the kid did alright....