Flourish Family Day

Monday morning the we had our first family day out - to the Flourish Family Day.  It was a combination of the annual Teddy Bears Picnic and Welcome Baby Ceremony.  My mum, Kate & boys and Craig's mum joined us for the morning. There were lots of displays, activities, rides, etc for the kids to enjoy.

We registered Clay for the Welcome Baby ceremony.  We went up on stage to collect his certificate, teddy and gift pack from the Mayor.

After the ceremony we all wandered around looking at the displays and the kids had a wonderful time participating in all the free activities.

We took Clay's teddy along with us, but didn't enter in the teddy bear parade.

It was a lovely morning - we caught up with a lot of friends as we wandered around.  After we finished at the celebrations, we all enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park.

The certificate, teddy and book Clay received as part of the Welcome Baby ceremony.

Thrifty Thursday

I have missed my op shopping, so it was lovely to be able to spend a few hours with mum today and pop into our favourite shops for a look.  Mum was hoping to find a canvas or painting to suit the new colours in her guest room and I was happy to just see what treasures I could find :)

Books - aircraft and party book 10c each, novel $1, board book 50c and crochet magazines 3 for $1

Fabric - flanelette peices $1-$1.50 each, bag of fabric $2 and zippers 50c each

Random stuff - Brand new monster PJ's $4.50, dinosaur candles $2, pencils $1, wooden wine box $1 (I'm going to store my Project Life cards in it), robot card game 50c (for card making / scrapbooking)

Toys - Bag of wooden blocks $2, tin bucket 50c for Clay's nursery and crocodile toy $2 (Clay is only missing the zebra to have the full set of these toys - all thrifty finds!)

Bolero / shrug $5

Favourite find of the day... a shabby chic stool that converts to a step - $2!  How cute is that?!?!

Meeting Grandad

My dad and I have been estranged for many years - it's a long story that is hard to put into words and one I'm not going to share in such a public place.  Recently my dad and his wife were in town and we arranged to catch up for lunch so he could meet Clay.  It has been 8+ years since we have all seen each other, so there was lots of catching up and reminiscing.  It was a surprisingly lovely time and my mum even joined us for lunch.  I took the opportunity to take lots of photos (no surprise there LOL).

Orange Jelly Tart

Last weekend we caught up with Cathie, Kylie & Co for a catch up & lunch at Cathie's place.  I offered to bring a dessert and since I had a bag of fresh oranges from mum's orange tree I thought I would try a family recipe that I've always wanted to make...orange jelly tart.  I'm happy to say that it turned out perfectly and tasted delicious :)

2 cups fresh orange juice
Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
2-3 tbs caster sugar
2-3 tbs custard powder
Ready made tart shell
Whipped cream for serving

In a saucepan bring orange & lemon juice and sugar (to taste) to boil.  Mix custard powder and a little orange juice and slowly add to the saucepan, stirring constantly.  Once mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat and pour into pastry shell.  Refrigerate until set, then service with whipped cream.

Abstract Painting

Mum mentioned that she wanted to try painting an abstract canvas using paints and straw like the one she had seen on a home decor show.  I already had a stash of acrylic paints and straws, so we found some cheap stretched canvases and had an "art day" last week.  

The technique was to add drops of paint to the canvas and use a straw to blow the paint outwards.  After a few attempts we worked out that acrylic paint was too thick, so tried it with some cheap watercolours I had - this worked much better.  I had seen Amy Tan do something similar on a layout recently and wanted to try using heart shapes instead of splats.  

My mum is an amazing artist - she paints the most beautiful landscapes, but she really struggled with the concept of abstract.  She confesses that she can only paint images in front of her (painting, photo, etc).  She started her canvas at least 5 different times, then after squirting out too much blue paint (and unable to suck it back into the tube) she painted the canvas completely and decided to work on it again next time.  She did joke that is was finished and called it "Ocean View - from the back of the cruise ship" LOL

Everyday Moments

We took Clay to the zoo to see the new monkeys.  Clay wasn't too impressed LOL, but Craig and I love monkeys and really enjoyed seeing them.  It appears the zoo is adding a snake / reptile enclosure soon - will be visiting again when that opens.

Craig & Clay ready for the State of Origin.  I did point out that Clay is a QLD born baby, but Craig said that was his compromise cause I wouldn't let him take me into NSW to have bub LOL

It's a little early, but Cathie gave me this cute teething jewellry / necklace.  What a clever / trendy idea!

Now it's gotten colder the slow cooker is getting a workout - so to save time with food prep I cut and freeze the veges in lots ready to just pop in the pot.

A random photo of Clay & I - how cute is he?!!?

The show was on last week and my brother Tim came down to ride in the rodeo.  We popped over very quickly to the showgrounds to say hello and let him meet Clay.  It was freezing cold, so unfortunately we didn't stay out long :(

Thrifty Thursday

Mum and I have started spending Fridays together - op shopping, doing craft, watching movies, etc.  We've only popped into a few op shops so far, but I've found a few small things.  

Baby blanket & romper for Clay and jeans (for my friend's baby girl) - $1 each

Books $2 & $3

My MIL had an AMAZING find for me - a box of scrap stuff for $10!!  I'm guessing it was ex shop stock cause it all had price stickers on it.  I kept the wooden stamps, but because I already had some of the clear stamps it was stuff I wouldn't use, the rest of the stash I shared between friends.

Vest for Clay $1

Clay @ 2 Months

Weight - 4800g
Length - 56cm

Craig got the first big gummy smile @  7 weeks!

Has moved into 000 size clothes and is now big enough to fit into the MCN (Modern Cloth Nappies).

Moving to a 4-5 hour feeding routine.  Wakes 1-2 times a night now.

Has started to try and "talk" / communicate with us - so cute all the little sounds he makes.  Sometimes he lets  out a squeal and frightens himself LOL

Still lots of funny faces and now poking tongue out.

He grabs and pulls my hair and take great delight in pulling daddy's chest or arm hairs! LOL

He is now focusing on things - sometimes his eyes pop out or goes cross eyes when he's looking.

Still trying to roll from back to front - get half way there, but just can't seem to work out how to get over his arm.

Kicks and grabs at toys on his play gym.