Arrrrr it's my swashbucklin partee of all things piratical

You missed the greatest pirate party ever.  

Well, in my head it was, though in the confines of 24-hours in a day there were some economies of scale and creation that took place. 

But somehow, in the blink of an eye, O is now 4 and Goosey turned 1. 

You were sorely missed and I know you wanted to be here too ... but next year (started pinning ideas already!)  On a separate note, Jac has told me I am not allowed to send her any ideas next year, no matter how good, in fact she will not even tell me if there is a theme before arriving ... her rainbow party for S was pretty mindblowing and stylish.  Far fewer toilet paper rolls and scrunched up bits of foil than ours.  We even failed on the balloon front when our ?two-year-old-stash of black ones we bought 4 packs for 25c somehow spontaneously popped (and tasted weirdly salty when inflating) ... oh well!

So here's some decorating / setting the mood ...

Using gold chocolate coins in along with napkins was a BAD idea ... it was main course of choice on most plates, particularly Mr 4

The Plundering GUP - a salute to the last-minute Octonauts obsession: an amazing huge cardboard box boat, with umbrella stand, broomstick mast, cot-sheet sail, binoculars, anchor. 

.. and operational pulley for trapdoor.  All cut and painted with O & G one afternoon.  There is still the outline on the floorboards as I optimistically didn't lay dropsheets!

We finally hung the beautiful Danish mobile that Nat gave us when Goosey was born ... what do you mean viking boats don't fit with a pirate theme??

Craft table: felt hats, bandannas, eye patches for any pirates "missing" attire, crepe papered shoebox treasure chests with individual treasure bags, face paint and supplies to make cup & wire hooks, popsicle stick catapults, gold sparkly pasta necklaces ...

Mustache straws

We played a looting game - leaving the ship via the trap door with their own unique treasure bag (in place of a party "favor" bag)...  

 ... under the seaweed forest and onto the plank .... 

.... leaping past the snappy crocodile (Nanna's hands above left!) and crawling through the tunnel to the pool of treasure....

Sorting through the packing fill was fun and hard work.  And after it had been trampled and thrown and spread, we still have static-y bits on ceiling and appearing on the floor ... but loads of fun finding red rubies (boiled lollies), buttons (which had pirate-y motifs on them), bits of metal (buckles, chains, medals etc), jolly-rodgers (stickers, bags, buttons), the first letter of their name) and of course, the first of many chocolate gold coins.

I think my parrot had died by this stage. Recognise the MTC costume dept hat??!!

Getting those 5 children to play was no small feat, as these getting all the kiddos to play in any one area was a bit like herding flies.  

Some jumped on the trampoline, others braved the sideway to visit Obie the fearsome seadog who was tied up munching on bones, others played with presents indoors.  

There was even one very good little pirateer who indulged me by playing the magnetic fishing game I had set up (sewn bits of paper together with 4 jelly beans inside, after working exactly what our fridge magnets could manage weight-wise with a paperclip as the metal bit holding the tail shut)

There was food naturally enough (though no sausage rolls in honour of your superiority in this field!)
Swashbuckling Sushi, Bags of Treasure (Shanghai Village dumplings courtesy Nick),  Chickpea of the Sea sandwiches, Fishy green (avocado) sandwiches, Fish and Chips (all shop bought, I succumbed!), Piratey cheese, and other non-piratey food too.  But again, mostly the decorative gold coins were plundered.

Look away, there IS red cordial "shark's blood" on the table ... what was I thinking?

And of course the cake which was if I do say so, pretty impressive.  

I had to grab the Lego people immediately after the candles were blown as at least one kid picked it up, tried to eat it, then pocketed it!  I think all the little pirates had an enormous slab each as they wanted to have a piece of the wood (kit-kat) edging! And Malteser cannon ball! Ooops!  The cake & icing was from this months Donna Hay kids magazine and was quite good.  Much easier than last year's fire engine .. and better ... there's learning and improvement!!

Finally the treasure hunt where again, we had about half the interested scoundrels who hunted with a highly professional (*snort*) clip-art map, connected by red crayon marks.  It took them around the house in 2 teams to washing machine, under tables & beds, in shoe baskets, for goodies such as gold glittery penne pasta on wool, a package of jellyfruit "rubies", and some piratey stickers.  It culminated in digging in a pot of sand to find a collection of foreign and local coins mingled with more chocolate coins.  Again all good until one kid tried to bite the copper 2 cent piece.  And another kid fell into a stinging nettle which was part of our green manure-crop / weed patch in the front.  Fail!And not even any photos of that bit ... so just imagine.

So that was it really ... grandparents and uncles here for dinner ... early to bed for the youngest pirate who has been ill ever since.  and much playing with all the new toys this past week.  Even if he does have too many (really, is such a thing possible??). So here's some of the crew that were here ...

Such a tired little seadog .. he did so well without his usual nap ...

I love this photo!

The party, as all those previously, wouldn't have come "off" without family help - thanks guys!

Such gorgeous little pirate friends!

And some not so gorgeous!! But realistic and scary!!

Gulp: Worst bloggers anywhere, ever

A shoe-in for this award I thinks ...

So a short err 4 months has rushed by.  Somehow this is my first attempt infront of our clunky old desktop where there are no awake children, the internet is working, and the job I came to do (check family assistance claim) took waaaayyy less time than I thought.  So with no content in mind, ignoring all my drafts Ive been busy concocting from my iphone (gee that burns my thumb-pad) I am writing. Just to say hi.  And to say we are all so excited to see you in six short months.  But mostly to update some pictures.  So without further padding on the chance that Owen is going to wake up vomiting again shortly (we have just washed 2 changes of bedding, beanbag, pillow and various stuffed animals) ..... here are our family in a few pics.

And do check out our (well, mine so far) Pinterest which has been sustaining my short attention span in bed nursing Gus most nights. If you can get past the awful spelling and the overload of wedding "inspiration" you may find some love.  Or not.  

And Andy wants to know if you'll be at Coney Island to see Kobiachi (?sp) in the hot-dog-eating contest?  I think it was the second reason he would consider getting on a plane for 2 days with 2 children < three years.

Owen being Elton-esque.  He still loves putting on a good concert. He is really into Justine Clarke and often comments on her good singing and guitar playing ability.  Dinosaur Roar is on repeat.

 

 

Mama is so clever: she made a fancy new dressing gown from that material bought 2-years ago but was forbidden to cut.  And I made dragon slippers for both Owen and Gus.  Both chuffed.

 

 

Shit. Busted hanging out on the dog's bed, removing the oh-so-gorgeous (but very effective) bubblewrap window insulation

This is a self-portrait from Owen.  He is thoroughly "in to" borrowing cameras and pointing and shooting.  Which I find hilarious seeing he is THE most reluctant subject.  Well 2nd most reluctant subject!  I will update a whole series of these as they are quite telling!

Asleep, together, in the big bed.  It still sometimes happens.  This (I think) was a few weeks ago when Andy was out and they both miraculously fell asleep before 7.30.  About ten minutes later one thumped the other and there were tears all around.  But the peace and beauty is lovely while it lasts!

This is a highlight of Owen's creativity.  Window crayons remain winners. These (with the exception of Andy's dodgy batman) are under-sea creatures.  See if you can spot the whale, fish, moray eel, manta ray?

Gummy Gus playing peek-a-boo with red material at the table.  That gum has continued to swell, split and recede for the past 2 weeks.  He will have top teeth any day, any day.

Hilarious classic Gus face.  This usually means there is a bad smell (often in his own nappy). Or that something tastes bad.  Or I have done something that meets disapproval. 

 

 

Forgive me my slackness.  I won't promise to do better, though perhaps now with a deadline??? I work well under pressure.

Also must discuss - lonely chicken version 2 for gifts this year?  I'm thinking yes.  Will workshop with you soon xxxxxxx

Love you to pieces

My little sister from then to now

A happy celebration of my dear sister's birthday on Thursday (post-dated entry).  In true generous form, after working all week, she hosted our whole family (minus Nick, our brother, living in large in Asia after finishing uni) and supplied more Asian greens in oyster sauce and pork ("chicken" for the benefit of Owen, the sometimes pedantic 3 year old) than you could poke a chopstick at.  It has been HOT in Melbourne and steamy courtesy of all the rain (I have had to drain our pots of tomatoes of several liters of excess water each day), so this was no small feat.  We had vanilla cupcakes which I seem to use for pretty much all birthdays, weddings, blessingways, picnics etc (recipe below).

I was 6 when my sister was born.  I don't really remember it clearly.  I do recall her beauty being admired by everyone who met her (all golden curls and smiles - the only babe in our family to have professional studio photos displayed in the family home, early 80's - lots of baskets of jip and dusky pink).  I also remember being rather pleased at having a sister and taking her to show & tell while mum was on canteen duty, and the devastation at having my teacher turn us away (wrong day? time? details some 19 years later are sketchy).

Fast forward through years of shared bedrooms with her and our two brothers, playing nicely (sometimes) and at others being told by our mother to take it out to the yard and finish it for good. From teaching her to push mashed veggies through gaps left by her lost baby teeth through to continued annoyance as a moody teen at her attentions, not having privacy & space.  

Somewhere along the way we became friends, long after I fled the family home aged 18 to live in sin (seems far too young now on reflection).  I think it might've been around the time I spent a year working and traveling through the United Kingdom and Europe in 2001, as all health professionals seem to.  We connected with email and talking long distance - who knew I had such a great women for a sister? And who knew how fabulous a sisterly relationship could be? In many ways more honest and resilient than friendships, and at the same time amazing to still be learning more about each other in spite of our shared history.

We had a beautiful role model for sister relationships in our maternal grandmother, Mama, and Auntie Maureen who lived in LA.  Our Mama died earlier this year and I know for me some of that grieving was imagining being in the same situation. These photos were used for the memorials and I think captures some of the warmth and mischief that sister-hood encompasses.

So now my successful little sister is going to live abroad.  I can't quite imagine life without her right here.  She has been there through thick and thin of mundane and exciting life events with me.  She was the only person I could imagine having with me as I recently birthed our second babe, Augustus, at home - she looked after Owen (our eldest), keeping the space calm and loving, holding me up through contractions on the edge of the pool.

It was at her recent garage sale I sounded out the idea of blogging (where yes, I indeed pillaged her life and argued over many items of contention - who really actually owns that doctors bag?  And no you don't need to take that awesome shirt dress, leave it with me..).  I think the idea of blogging has grown on me, much like the idea of a non-tradie having a mobile phone back in the mid 90s, or the ubiquitous iPhone along with all the apps in more recent years.  
I was thinking of how a blog could be a modern family journal of sorts.  Was it too narcissistic?  Or is it a practical way of reflecting on life given how plugged in the world is becoming and the fact I haven't albumised (totally a word) any photos from that Europe trip, and stopped printing or looking at digital photos when Owen turned 1 (more than 2 years ago).  
I am glad Katie jumped in and just did it ... I would still be trying to mull over how do I want this to be ....trying to find some framework ... thinking I love the snort-out-loud funny blogs out there, but couldn't keep the energy or material coming.  I love the generosity and depth of thought that occur in some and hope that others might find some of my (our) stories helpful, inspiring, or of interest.  I was keen that while chronicling my days and the stuff I do that it doesn't become show-offy or intimidating (how some of my favourite bloggers manage to do the stuff they do, let alone write about what they do is beyond me).

So with a big breathe, and a merciful 20 minutes of Gus sleeping in bed (by himself!!) I have put fingers to keyboard, introduced me and my sister and will take the space to say how proud I am of my sister, the talented writer,  an amazing auntie to her 3 nephews, a sounding board for everything for her sister, a beacon of style, vessel of inspiration, an ally in our (at times) crazy family, an EXCELLENT cooker of all things minestrone, sausage roll and peanut butter choc-chip cookie maker. Now off on scholarly pursuits in New Paltz, New York State, and with the most fabulous gift registry to set-up her new digs (Liberty sheets anyone?) - I will miss you, but am so happy to share this blog to keep in touch with thoughts, pictures and writing.

x L 

Vanilla Cupcakes

These are my go-to cakes.  They are super simple, coming as they do from a kid’s recipe book from the king of simple, Bill Granger.   I make them for weddings, birthdays, blessingways, afternoon teas, baby showers, farewells, welcome homes … basically any time I have to make a cake – they have even been used in large format for recent fire engine, sea creature and lion cakes.  They are equally good in tiny weeny cases, or big muffin type cases, adjusting the cooking time accordingly.   The icing is pretty magical (play guess the ingredients with unsuspecting recipients) but you could substitute boring normal icing.  You can pretty them up with a large freckle, some silver cachous, smarties, sprinkles etc (but do this close to time of serving or the colour leaks into the soft icing)

1 ½ cups flour	1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt	125g butter, softened
1 ½ tsp vanilla essence	3 eggs
¾ cup milk	1 cup caster sugar
Icing:
250g white chocolate	300g sour cream
Lollies/smarties to decorate

1.       Preheat oven to 180°C

2.       Line muffin tray with paper cases

3.       Sift flour, baking powder and salt

4.       In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar

5.       Add vanilla and then eggs, one at a time. Mix

6.       Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk until a soft dropping consistency

7.       Divide between paper cases and bake 20-25 minutes.  Should be a mild gold tinge on top.

For icing

1.       Melt chocolate and allow to cool slightly

2.       Mix in the sour cream

3.       Cupcakes must be cool before icing

The remains of the day...

After a dreary Spring, the sting of sunburn is a stranger.


The accompanying drowsiness is proving problematic this evening as I try to motivate myself to clear up the remains of todays garage sale. 

I've so far counted my takings twice, eaten 3 rows of Cadbury Dairy Milk and downloaded the new Girl Talk album. Bored of that procrastination I decided to embark on some brand new non-cleaning activities so I started this blog that my sister and I discussed starting today.
She doesn't know that I'm doing this yet but when I tell her I've just forged ahead and done it without her, I'm sure she'll be fine with it. Rash decision making is my forte, so I'm sure she's used to it by now.


I like the idea of having a place, if you can count a blog as a place, to share all sorts of things about our lives. 


Only weeks away from leaving Melbourne behind for the bright lights of New York, New York (and shortly afterward the dimmer lights of New Paltz, New York) I'm worried about how I will be without my sister. 
For some time now I've suspected that my sister is in fact the love of my life and if films like Love Actually have taught me anything, it's that you are supposed to stay by your true love's side irrespective of pragmatism or geography.
But in very un-filmic fashion I'm rushing off overseas for the year.


I will miss her and the million myriad things she does in ways that nobody else can; whipping up haute cuisine that appeals to three year olds, saving the world one Bokashi bucket load at a time and raising her beautiful family in the most beautiful fashion.


Now I've gone and gotten all soppy so I'm obliged to put up a picture of baby Gus that I took today to counter any cynicism that might have been created.

It's alright, I also just said "Aww!"


I should get back to the cleaning, sorting and packing ahead of me. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can move all my remaining worldly goods (all 3 bags full!) to my brother's apartment and flop on his couch for the night with the remains of my Dairy Milk.


Lovely blogging to you!
x K