A New Year!

Happy New Year to all!!

We had such a fantastic Christmas! My cousin and 2 brothers stayed with us for about 2 weeks which was hectic.... i spent a lot of time cleaning.... and drinking!! Christmas Eve was a stressful day, i baked about 100 different things for different people while looking after 2 kids and 4 'grown up kids' (that included my husband!) We went to a Christmas eve dinner at a friends house (amazing food!) and i was just exhausted and ready to shoot the next person that looked my way. I couldn't even fake a smile, and it was Christmas eve! i just couldn't even feel the excitement i was that stressed!

Christmas day was fun, first Christmas with my family in 7 years! I rushed around like a headless chook helping Andy with the ham, unpacking the kids, distributing presents and trying to say hello to everyone. Gone are the days where i just turn up, me and my handbag, sit down and open a drink. Nooooooo didn't even put my drinks in the fridge for a good half hour, then ordered Andy to find me a cup, my drink and some ice while i assembled the porta cot.
Fast forward 2pm and we had drank so much we forgot to eat lunch! (My family drinks, er, quite a bit...) So out came the ham, chicken, prawns and pasta salad. Pretty much only the women ate.... No wonder the males were all write offs a few hours later!!
I wont go on to say what happened later that night but there are quite a few stories to tell!! Apparently all of us in some way 'Wrecked Christmas!' Its alright, no one cared the next day, in fact, they did it all over again!

Some of my family christmas day with my pregnant sister!

Jasmine feeding me a candy cane, YUM!

I had 4 of these loserbags staying with me for the holidays, here we are in awesome novelty sunglasses!
Andy and i took the kids to Rainbow Beach for a few days between Christmas and new year (we go every year) and i left the 3 boys at home (mistake...) Thought it would be a relaxing few days but the weather was horrible and i was in a bad mood the whole time...I came home and had to clean the house after my fun, but messy guests!!

Taking the kids to the beach on the only sunny day.

Me and my amazing husband in our unit.

New Years Eve was awesome for us, its a rare thing that we go 'out' to celebrate due to the kids but this year we went all out!! at 3pm we found out that we could go clubbing to celebrate the night so out came the champagne, dress and heels and we had one hell of an awesome (and expensive) night!!

Zeppelin starts year 1 this year and Jasmine will start Daycare and i will start my Tafe course so I'm in for a busy year! Andy works away in the mines so most of the time i do this on my own.... I'm not looking forward to running 3 of us around everyday ( and paying for it all....) But we will have a good year i hope.

I had better go as we are going to a neighbours house for dinner in 1 hour... I have made curried eggs and Cupcakes (which i am yet to ice).

Better go ice them i guess...

Marshmallow icing too!! Yum!!

Snickers Rocky Road

·   4 x 60g snickers bars, coarsely chopped

·   1 cup rice bubbles

·   150g chopped marshmallows (or use the small ones whole)

·   1 cup roasted peanuts

·   2 tsp oil

·   400g cooking chocolate

1. Melt snickers with the oil
2. Mix other ingredients into melted chocolate
3. Pour into lamington tray and set in fridge
4. Cut into fingers when set!

YUM!!

Choc Mallow Square

This is super easy to make and tastes amazing!!

• 1 1/2 cups crushed biscuits
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp butter - melted
• 2 cups mini marshmallows (I used normal ones cut into quarters)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Crushing the biscuits
1. Preheat over 180 c
2. Line pan with baking paper
3. Stir together biscuits, sugar and butter
4. Press into pan and bake 10 mins
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows and chocolate chips on top
6. Bake further 10 mins

Cool completely. Lift slice from pan and cut into squares. Store at room temperature.

2 Weeks Until Christmas!

I am so freaking excited that i think i might burst! Andy comes home tonight for a whole month!! Today is the first day of the school holidays and we are starting with a trip to the doctors for Zeppelin. The poor kid is suffering weekly headaches and his entire body is rashy and itchy.

We had such a great time at his school break-up party yesterday! We all had to bring a plate so i made a gingerbread house (From a kit... I'm not that good!) All the kids went nuts over it.
Here it is

I can tell you it went very fast! It tasted amazing! We had such a fun time at his party, the kids all got certificates and played pass the parcel and did the limbo and had some dancing games. Jasmine HAD to be centre of attention during pass the parcel!

The dear little thing, she was very cute yesterday!!

A few days before school ended we had the school Christmas concert. I only stayed for Zeppelin's song (He was first) because he had a headache and so did I! I dressed Jasmine up like a little Christmas elf. She was not very impressed!!

I cant wait to finish off my Christmas shopping!! And wrapping everything! So exciting!! I was making Anzac slice this morning  and had Jasmine in the highchair next to me, i was chatting away and looked over at her and she was asleep.... so cute! i thought she was quiet!!

I have a bowl full of velvet Christmas decoration apples.... i guess Jasmine thought they looked good enough to eat.... poor thing! Don't i feed her??

Amazing Anzac Slice

This slice was truly Amazing!! Everyone who ate it thought so and the amount that mum and I ate in one go would have shocked you!!

BEST SLICE EVER!!!!

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/4 cup butter (125g)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup (i used 3.... i like it chewy)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
• Family size block chocolate

Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl, mix and set aside.

Combine butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until butter is melted.

Stir in bi-carb soda.

Stir mixture into dry ingredients. Press into the bottom of a baking paper lined tray. Try not to eat the yummy hot and wet ingredients, you will not stop.

Bake in moderate (160c) Oven for about 20 mins. When you take it out, it will still be soft. Resist the temptation to continue poking it and leave it to cool completely. It will harden while cooling.

When its cool, melt your chocolate and spread it over the top of the slice and place it in the fridge to harden faster because you will be desperate to eat it... (i put mine in the freezer, i couldn't wait!!) When cool, lift out and cut into squares.

Do not take it to school in a container. It will go very fast and you will have to make more for the other parents who nearly die while eating it.

Do not take some to your mothers for her to try. You will both eat the lot in one go and severely regret it.

Do not make it and give it away. You will ask for it back.


ENJOY!! I know you will!!

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Its December!

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Its finally December! Ive only been waiting all year! I am so excited. Last night Zep and I read Christmas stories under the light of our Christmas tree (and some help from the kitchen light.) It was so cute, even if we did read an Aussie Christmas book (bleh!) It had a horrible looking aussie blokey Santa in a singlet, shorts and thongs and kangaroos pulled his, er, ute. Give me a traditional Christmas any day! I tried to explain to him that this was not the case, and that there was only one type of santa.... Reindeer's and all! I Loved the pop ups in this book, it was actually amazing!

This morning when we woke up, we got to open our chocolate advent calender and start our felt advent calender. This was his excited little self:

Of course after taking this photo, little miss Jasmine wanted one too.

Open. Day 1. He didn't even share the tiny tree shaped chocolate. I knew i should have brought myself one!

Today when Zep went to school, Jas and i went shopping, still have no idea what to get my mother and one of my brothers, but everyone else is pretty much taken care of. I'm baking for a lot of people and i thought that would keep the cost down but it doesn't! Zep is having his school breakup party next week and i wanted to bring something special, so today i found a gingerbread house kit, its huge and even comes with all the lollies and icing. I could make one but that would take more time and effort and i would no doubt, fail.

Ill let you know how i go at attempting to put this one together, and add a photo when I'm done, ill probably stuff it up somehow! Goodnight!



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