Another highlight of going to the farm, is being able to ride on the quad bikes. Dida loves taking the boys out on them and they have a ball!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Quad Bike Rides with Dida!
Another highlight of going to the farm, is being able to ride on the quad bikes. Dida loves taking the boys out on them and they have a ball!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A Trip To The Farm
We went on a last minute trip to the farm last week. I happened to be talking to my dad last Saturday and we organised for my brother and his girlfriend to give us a lift out to the farm. We stayed from Sunday to Friday and then my mum drove us home.
Mum and dad weren't expecting us to visit so they didn't have a lot of time to spend with us. It didn't really matter though. It was so nice for me to spend some time with the boys doing different things and not having any other committments to interrupt us. We went for walks down to the river, explored the river bank, climbed trees and hid in mud caves. We saw wallabies, horses, dogs, chickens and cats. The boys had a huge fear of the dogs and cat at the farm though which limited them a little as they were both petrified about going outside. I found it really hard to cope with - especially seeing as the dog and cat really didn't show any interest in the boys! The dog could be 50 meters away and Liam would start screaming, which in turn would set Ewan off!
Mum's garden is lovely and there are so many places to play and explore. The "Cubby House", as Liam calls it, is one of their favourites. It's a big old tree that is great for climbing and hiding in. Our river walks were great too. We would walk down together in the morning, checking out rocks and trees along the way. Bob, the dog, would run ahead looking for wallabies to chase. One morning we were walking along when we heard Bob barking. Next thing we knew, there was a wallaby bounding straight for us. The boys and I stood still, both of them clinging tightly to my legs while the wallaby went around us. It was great - very exciting! The walk leads down to the river crossing. At Christmas, when we were there last, the river was flowing quite strongly. Now though it's very shallow and there is only a small trickle. We made a bridge out of logs and crossed over to explore the other side of the river bank. The bank on the other side has eroded up the top (from floods mostly) so there are big caves in the mud. We played hide and seek there with mum one day and the boys were hiding in these little caves - Liam even crawled through a tunnel under ground! Freaked me out a bit when I started to think about the possibility of all that dirt collapsing on him! He loved it though!
We also got to see my cousins and their children while we were out there. Their kids are the same ages as the boys so it was great to catch up with them.
In my typical style, I took HEAPS of photos! While the boys were busy exploring, I was clicking away and got some great shots. I had a great time experimenting with the camera.
Mum and dad weren't expecting us to visit so they didn't have a lot of time to spend with us. It didn't really matter though. It was so nice for me to spend some time with the boys doing different things and not having any other committments to interrupt us. We went for walks down to the river, explored the river bank, climbed trees and hid in mud caves. We saw wallabies, horses, dogs, chickens and cats. The boys had a huge fear of the dogs and cat at the farm though which limited them a little as they were both petrified about going outside. I found it really hard to cope with - especially seeing as the dog and cat really didn't show any interest in the boys! The dog could be 50 meters away and Liam would start screaming, which in turn would set Ewan off!
Mum's garden is lovely and there are so many places to play and explore. The "Cubby House", as Liam calls it, is one of their favourites. It's a big old tree that is great for climbing and hiding in. Our river walks were great too. We would walk down together in the morning, checking out rocks and trees along the way. Bob, the dog, would run ahead looking for wallabies to chase. One morning we were walking along when we heard Bob barking. Next thing we knew, there was a wallaby bounding straight for us. The boys and I stood still, both of them clinging tightly to my legs while the wallaby went around us. It was great - very exciting! The walk leads down to the river crossing. At Christmas, when we were there last, the river was flowing quite strongly. Now though it's very shallow and there is only a small trickle. We made a bridge out of logs and crossed over to explore the other side of the river bank. The bank on the other side has eroded up the top (from floods mostly) so there are big caves in the mud. We played hide and seek there with mum one day and the boys were hiding in these little caves - Liam even crawled through a tunnel under ground! Freaked me out a bit when I started to think about the possibility of all that dirt collapsing on him! He loved it though!
We also got to see my cousins and their children while we were out there. Their kids are the same ages as the boys so it was great to catch up with them.
In my typical style, I took HEAPS of photos! While the boys were busy exploring, I was clicking away and got some great shots. I had a great time experimenting with the camera.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Caramel Biscuits!
Well they're actually "Caramel Cookies" according to the recipe but we don't do "cookies" in this house - biscuits all the way!
I'm making my second batch of these as I type (waiting for the caramel to cool), they are deliciously simple and were a big hit with the 3 boys!
So here's the recipe....
Caramel Cookies
Serves: 36
Quick and easy to make and kids love them.
Ingredients
125 g butter
125 g sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
250 g self-raising flour
Method
Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add sugar, golden syrup, milk and vanilla essence.
Boil gently for five minutes.
Cool, then add to flour.
(If you are doing this with the kids, discreetly have them leave the kitchen while you lick the saucepan clean - the caramel is divine!!)
Roll into walnut-sized balls (best to do all the mixture at once as it is hard to roll once it dries out). P
lace on greased baking tray and flatten with a fork.
Bake in moderate oven for 10-12 minutes.
From www.bestrecipes.com.au
I'm making my second batch of these as I type (waiting for the caramel to cool), they are deliciously simple and were a big hit with the 3 boys!
So here's the recipe....
Caramel Cookies
Serves: 36
Quick and easy to make and kids love them.
Ingredients
125 g butter
125 g sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
250 g self-raising flour
Method
Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add sugar, golden syrup, milk and vanilla essence.
Boil gently for five minutes.
Cool, then add to flour.
(If you are doing this with the kids, discreetly have them leave the kitchen while you lick the saucepan clean - the caramel is divine!!)
Roll into walnut-sized balls (best to do all the mixture at once as it is hard to roll once it dries out). P
lace on greased baking tray and flatten with a fork.
Bake in moderate oven for 10-12 minutes.
From www.bestrecipes.com.au
Rules of Communication (according to Liam and Ewan)
So the boys are big talkers (at least at home - they get a bit shy when they're out!) - no one is ever without anything to say and they both want to be in the limelight with all the attention on them when they are talking.
They have 5 Golden Rules (and probably a 100 other minor ones!) :
Rule No. 1 - If they are talking, we must listen!
Rule No. 2 - We must listen until they want to stop talking.
Rule No. 3 - Everything that they say should be classed as URGENT and deserves immediate attention.
Rule No. 4 - If each statement is not acknowledged, they will repeat it 10 times just to make sure that we are listening.
Rule No. 5 - If we do not agree or their requests are not granted they will repeat it 100 times before they give up.
Ewan is getting quite good with getting across what he wants to say, though we still get stuck sometimes. We will keep taking guesses, while he says angrily and frustrated, "NO not that!". Then when we get it he'll exclaim in a matter of fact voice,
"That what me talkin' 'bout"
Very funny - especially the tone of voice!
Liam is understood easily enough, but the problem with him is that he just wants to talk and talk all day - and no, not hold a conversation with me - but for HIM to do the talking and me to do the listening and no one ever to interrupt. He gets very stroppy if he's interrupted, though it's ok for him to do it. As soon as he says "Excuse Me mum", I must stop whatever conversation I am having to listen to him. If I don't, he tells me "It's really important!". So I stop and listen, and Liam usually has something to say along these lines.... "So, in Star Wars, why did Obi-Wan......." - very important to an almost 5 year old, who loves Star Wars!!
Liam is also very authoritative - I overheard him and Ewan in the bath the other night, Liam was saying "Ewan, look up at the roof. Put your head back so I can pour water on your head" - and yes, there was Ewan, looking at the ceiling obidiently!!
They have 5 Golden Rules (and probably a 100 other minor ones!) :
Rule No. 1 - If they are talking, we must listen!
Rule No. 2 - We must listen until they want to stop talking.
Rule No. 3 - Everything that they say should be classed as URGENT and deserves immediate attention.
Rule No. 4 - If each statement is not acknowledged, they will repeat it 10 times just to make sure that we are listening.
Rule No. 5 - If we do not agree or their requests are not granted they will repeat it 100 times before they give up.
Ewan is getting quite good with getting across what he wants to say, though we still get stuck sometimes. We will keep taking guesses, while he says angrily and frustrated, "NO not that!". Then when we get it he'll exclaim in a matter of fact voice,
"That what me talkin' 'bout"
Very funny - especially the tone of voice!
Liam is understood easily enough, but the problem with him is that he just wants to talk and talk all day - and no, not hold a conversation with me - but for HIM to do the talking and me to do the listening and no one ever to interrupt. He gets very stroppy if he's interrupted, though it's ok for him to do it. As soon as he says "Excuse Me mum", I must stop whatever conversation I am having to listen to him. If I don't, he tells me "It's really important!". So I stop and listen, and Liam usually has something to say along these lines.... "So, in Star Wars, why did Obi-Wan......." - very important to an almost 5 year old, who loves Star Wars!!
Liam is also very authoritative - I overheard him and Ewan in the bath the other night, Liam was saying "Ewan, look up at the roof. Put your head back so I can pour water on your head" - and yes, there was Ewan, looking at the ceiling obidiently!!
Happy Mother's Day..... for last week!!
To all the wonderful mother's out there - I hope that you had a great day surrounded by those that love you!
To the world you might be just one person, But to just one person you might be the world!
We had a quiet morning at home with the boys cooking me breakfast and then playing together so that I could have a break. Afterwards we went out for a lovely lunch with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, brother, my mum and dad, and my mum's cousin from Italy, Laura. It rained too - first good rain fall for ages - so a lovely thing to wake up to.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
A Morning At The Park
We went to the park a few weeks ago. The boys had a ball on their bikes and playing together.
Anyway - the pictures pretty much speak for themselves so I won't write too much!
Anyway - the pictures pretty much speak for themselves so I won't write too much!
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