Spring...... Where are you!?

Ok. Seriously. Winter. Go Away!

Everyone is sick. Snotty noses. There is snot everywhere. On my clothes. On the boys bedding. On the couch. On pillows. So gross!

We are ready for warmth.
Sunny days.
New plants to go into the garden.
Come on already!!!

These were all taken on a rare day the temp was above 10C. I think it was 13C!!! Hallelujah! But of course, this was followed by days of 3-4C, wind, hail, rain. What I wouldn't give to let the boys run around outside in tshirts and no gumboots!

Soon. Sooooooooon!!!

Curry Kumara Puffs - More Freezer Fare! {Leftover Makeovers}

"Snacks!" demanded two crazy wee boys. "Snacks!!!" they yelled again. It was actually time for lunch, but they never yell for lunch. Snack. Snack. Snack! Always a snack. And in my head, I hear "Milk! Milk for the morning cake!" Ugh. Too many kids books!

For these two little men, food is something that must be consumed at all times. There is always a cracker stashed somewhere in the house. Raisins find their way out of books and into their mouths if they are denied a fourth helping of dates. I know they are growing boys (growing like mushrooms according to our 90 year old neighbour) but the consumption levels are incredible. "Astounding!" said the Gruffalo.

I hate throwing away food, and luckily most days there is little that goes to waste. But once in the while, there is a bit of leftover curry or bolognese or roasted potatoes. They get thrown in the fridge or the freezer for tomorrow's lunch for me or... A leftover makeover! (Que the cheezy music and the fancy intro.)

So. Seriously. Veggie Korma. What to do, what to do... Pasties. Pies. Puffs. Samosas. Call them what you want. Well, this version, we call them Curry Kumara Puffs. There was maybe about a half-cup to a cup of korma left over from the night before. So, hello kumara!

We baked a couple kumara (or you can use regular sweet potato, or not sweet potato) for an hour and then let them cool down. You could peel and cook them in a pot I guess, but baking them is a nice "leave it and play with the boys" way of cooking. Once they are cooled, take off the skins and mash them all together with your leftover korma.

While this was tasty on its own, don't eat it all!

Next, roll out some shortcut pastry. You can use the store bought stuff, which I did here, or you can easily make your own. Roll it out until you have a nice thickness, about 5mm or so. Then using a bowl or a big cup that is about 10-12 cm in diameter, trace or press through the pastry to make your circles. Keep doing this and then re-rolling until you've used all of you pastry. 

Now - fill it! I used about a tablespoon and a half in each pastry circle, but use your best judgement with the amount the leftovers you have. Plop it on one half of the pastry and then with a wet finger, dampen the edges of the circles. Carefully fold over and press the edges together. I used a fork to make some silly edges as you can see, but they barely ended up noticable once they were cooked. 

Brush them with some beaten egg and put them into a preheated oven, 200C for about 25 minutes or so. 

Pretty awesome. I put them in the freezer on the baking tray after they cooled a bit. After they were nicely frozen, I then put them into a freezer bag. The boys love them. I love them. Before I go to bed, I take a few out of the freezer, leave them in the fridge and after we get back from an outing before lunch, I put them under the grill for about 15 minutes to warm them through. 

Pretty damn tasty. But I'm a sure for carbs and fluffy crispy pastry!

xx

A plastic-free life...

Is it possible?

It's something that I would love to achieve. Last week I realised how much our recycling had gone down. We recently started getting raw milk which is delivered in a 10L bucket that gets sent back to the farm every week. And we keep our milk in big glass 2.2L jugs in the fridge.

So that and getting the boys off formula recently (yaaayaayyyyy!) has cut down our fortnightly plastic/metal/paper recycling to one bag instead of two! That's pretty massive really.

But the question I have at the moment, plastic bags... The ones we do get from the shop are strictly used for rubbish. It seems sort of pointless to have my green bags with me everywhere if I'm still going to need a couple plastic shopping bags anyway! It's a stupid cycle that we need to break. It's the fact of the matter that they are STILL going into landfills. Frustrating!

We compost, we recycle, we try and avoid excess packaging, so that's all working. But we still have rubbish.

Then, I saw this image again recently and I started to wonder...

Yes, she is amazing. Always an idol, but the bin. A newspaper liner? This is what got me thinking. We don't need plastic bags at all... But what's the best way to go about this? Using newspaper and those pesky junk mail flyers to line a bin? A washable cotton liner? Or just go without all together?

What are your thoughts? How can we see an end to it?

X

 

Holy Winter! Where's the playdough!?

Ok ok. I know it's not THAT cold - or rather what cold used to be. Living in Minnesota for the better part of 8 or 9 years makes you hard. But winter here in Wellington just makes you grumpy. It's still cold. There is rain. 100k+ wind gusts. Almost freezing temperatures. But never cold enough to snow! At least seeing snow would make it alllllll worth it. 

We've all been trying to keep busy. Playgroups. Baking. Trying to evade those cold grumpy moments. And as we try to find new and fun things to do, my new favourite recipe for the boys is...

PLAYDOUGH. LOTS AND LOTS OF PLAYDOUGH.

Both Hendrik and Willem have been requested "plydu" every day since I made this first batch. It's one of those recipes that make you wonder why anyone would ever have a want to buy it in the shop. Easy. I got it at one of my new most visited blog/sites, The Artful Parent. You can find the recipe here.

It's so scary that these little men will be 18 months old in a couple weeks! Amazing. I remember seeing other kids at 18 months, thinking "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" And honestly, it's better than I ever imagined. Even with the newly found screaming and running and temper tantrums, watching them at this stage and all of the cuddles are truly amazing. 

Hendrik. Eating. Wanting cumr (camera). Watching birds. Eating.

Willem and his new favourite word, Helloooo. Getting upset. Getting more upset. Getting REALLY upset.

But they love each other. Cuddles and hi-fives on request.

And in case playdough, markers, toys, snacks, etc etc... Balloons. Always balloons. *pop*

With Love,
vH
x

Growing up..

Today was one of those days when you realise how fast it all goes. Today was filled with questions being asked and actually answered. It's so odd.

"What would you like?" "Snack."

"Would you like some water?" "No."

Hendrik especially has begun to become this very adventurous, curious, independent little man. During playgroup, he wanted to go off and see what was over "there", he came back holding a hand of another mum, looking above the tops of the heads of other kids sitting on the floor, sees me waving to him and smiles his big smile with dimple and all, and comes trotting over. He came over, flung his arms around me and gave me a huge cuddle. It almost made me cry..

Then in the afternoon we went to the Lyall Bay playground. It was a stunning day, so it was a no brainer. As soon as they saw the water, "OSHN!!" Yep. Ocean. Hendrik decided he was going to walk on his own to the playground, looks out over the wall to the beach and the waves, and decides that's where he wants to be. He keeps walking past the swings and slides and down to the beach.

After finding their footing on the sand and finding a couple of shells for Dad, Hendrik sits himself down in the sand. He sits, quiet and calm, watching the ocean, the waves and the surfers. Quiet and calm. The seagulls and the airplanes, taking it all in. Willem cuddles my shoulders asking about passing surfers and pointing to them in the waves.

It makes me so proud on days like these. Some days, I'm happy just to have survived. But these are the days that make this journey truly amazing.

Have a happy weekend!

X

 

Willem and Apple.

I know I post a lot of photos of my two wee nuggets... But I can't help it! And of course, I have to post them for Grammy Weber! We love you! Miss you!! x

Hendrik wants the camera. Always. Wants. the Camera.

These toes of Hendrik's are now walking toes. Look out world.

Willem and apple. And YES this is Willem...

Giggles for Timmy.

Have a great weekend!!

x

A family weekend away - Castlepoint

The boys have had their first overnight, New Zealand road trip! I had tried to plan the drive out around the boys naps and it worked like a charm! They were happy and chilled out most of the ride.

We met up with the some of the clan in Masterton and had a lovely walk around Queen Elizabeth Park, with some good playground time, and some lunch. It was the perfect point to stop.

 Such beautiful weather, such beautiful autumn colour. Swans, ducks, acorn whistles and apples.

Another hour or so driving, lead to this...

Photos do not do it all justice. The rest of the weekend was rainy and windy, but still fantastic.

I am so proud of our little men. I wasn't sure how they would go with the long drive like that. But they were so great. I can't wait until the next road trip!

Happy Friday!!! (and fruit picking!!)

Today, it's just strange. Apparently there is a cyclone on it's way and you can just feel it in the atmosphere. A chilly breeze from the north, a humidity you can see in the air. It's all quiet except for the cicadas. So while we have the chance, today was spent outside for a long long time. Because I'm sure the next few days will be relentless and horrible with two bored and ansty beasts running around. Yikes!

Lately, the boys want to go outside a lot. I think mostly to eat the ripening chilean guavas. Dodgy sneaky men! Today I was finally able to get a small handful to save for Jacob and me. They are sooooooo tasty! They are a cross between cranberry-blueberry and somewhat tropical. Jacob has done such an amazing job growing them, but sadly the boys seem to have taken over the pruning of them... Hopefully they survive Cyclone Lusi and Cyclones Hendrik and Willem....

Have a good weekend! And stay safe if you're in New Zealand!!!

xx

Mondays aren't what they used to be...

I remember dreading Monday when I had the normal 9-5.

But when you have amazing weather like today, the sun shining, the northerly breeze keeping you cool, but not too cool, you slap on the SPF 50, pack up the nuggets and take a drive around the South Coast. I have been waiting for the perfect day to take the boys to the play area along Lyall Bay! I was probably more stoked than they were, but after a couple of snacks they got stuck into some good action!

Not too long after, we stopped for lunch, checked out the view and the boys made some new feathery friends. I love our new Mondays!
x

Merry Merry Christmas one and all!

What a lovely holiday we have had here in Wellington! Christmas Eve day was spent waiting for Jacob to finish a short work day, listening to christmas songs, and reading The Night Before Christmas!

Christmas Eve was pretty icky weather, rainy most of the day, gusting winds, but Jacob being a brave cook, headed out to the BBQ for some tandoori chicken and an oven roasted terakihi for the fam. Odd combo, but so yummy!

Our first whole fish! Love it! And I think we'll be seeing more of them! The rest of the evening was getting ready for a lovely Christmas... Washing hand-me-down wooden blocks, decorating chalkboard toy boxes that Jacob built, drinking wine and snacking on mince pies.

So, the next morning...

Then off to Auntie Lisa's for an amazing day of feasting, beautiful weather, and warm family fuzzies...

Santa Etta

Silas opening a rather important gift from Opa

Monkeys all around!

Hendrik loves his monkey!

Timmy may be a bit over Christmas...

Cheese of the addictive variety

Etta's Adventures in Cheese Appreciation

Opa and Silas

Yes. Turducken.

Layer upon layer upon layer....

Thank you Lisa, Paul and Jeremy for an amazing meal!

And somehow I ended up on the wrong side of the camera. A rare sight.

A little playtime before...

... an beautiful Christmas dessert!

We hope everyone has had an amazing holiday filled with joy, love, family and the warmth of summer!

xo