Why I scrapbook

I have been scrapbooking for years. In fact, 13 years if you want me to be more precise. I love it; I really do. I started just after we got married and I have no intention of stopping. I love to look at the photos we have taken over the years, to remember the good times we have had together with family and friends and to read the stories I have written in our albums so they won't fade (as my memory surely will). I love to sit and create my album pages, be it traditional (cut and paste) or digital. It is a relaxing and creative outlet. But that is not why I scrapbook.

I scrapbook for these gorgeous girls of mine. I want them to remember the fun we have had while they were little. There will be many of the things we have done together that they were too little to remember but they will be able to see it in their albums. I want them to know how much they are loved. How much we enjoy their company. The things we notice about their personalities. The record of the funny things they have said. And it gives me no greater joy than to see them turning the pages of their albums and seeing all this for themselves.

When Megan (my firstborn) was just 14 months old, (and I was 28) I was diagnosed with a heart condition. I was 3 months pregnant with Alison at the time. After seeing a specialist cardiologist, I decided that rather than be on medication for the rest of my life, I would have heart surgery to try to eliminate the faulty circuits. This couldn't be done while I was pregnant, so we set the date for 10 weeks after Ali was born. While the surgery was fairly straight forward (for a cardiac surgeoun I guess) I still had to be made aware of all the potential risks and it was a long list. I am an optomist so I tried not to worry about it but the thought did cross my mind that if something was to happen to me, my toddler and my baby would grow up without their mum. Without knowing how precious they were to me. Without knowing all my dreams for them. So I spent every minute I could with them and when they were sleeping, I scrapbooked like a maniac to make sure their albums and their stories (especially of Ali's birth) were up to date.

My surgery was a success and 8 years later (and 2 more gorgeous girls), I still try to keep their albums up to date for the same reason. No one knows how much time they will have on this earth. If something happens to me, I want them to know they are truely loved. I want them to hear my voice in the stories that are written in their albums. Hear it in the Life Lessons pages I have made for them. To know what I thought about different things. It won't matter to them whether I was up to date with the latest season of Glee or Castle but I hope that these albums will be something they will treasure so it is where I spend my time. Life is short. Treasure every minute. xx

Multi-tasking: don't do it!

I used to be a huge fan of multi-tasking. You can get so much more done (apparently) and it is a much better use of your time. The only draw-back is this .... if you tend to get side-tracked, then at the end of the day, rather than a lot of tasks ticked off the to do list, you just have a rather large trail of destruction in your wake. I am definitely in this category!

As my blog title suggests, I lead a perpetually interrupted life. So despite my best intentions, I am inevitably drawn away from whatever task I was doing (often but not always by my children) and then having the very short working memory I have been "blessed" with, I forget all about the original task and am drawn to something else. So this year, I am making a renewed effort, NOT to multi-task but rather to start and more importantly, complete said tasks. I make a couple of exceptions; I can talk on the phone and do almost anything at the same time and I rarely watch TV without something else to sort through or do.

Every now and then, I revert to my old ways which is usually where everything goes horribly wrong. Take my Sunday evening for instance. Thinking I would get myself organised for the week ahead, I decided to whip up a batch of cookies for school lunch boxes. While I had these cooking, I was also preparing our evening meal, reading out spelling lists to at least one of my girls and listing several items to sell on a local Facebook group. Which is the primary reason I forgot to take the cookies out of the oven. Overcooked does not even begin to describe these offerings; they could be used as a weapon they are so hard. Bugger! It seems that I was on a roll because after popping down to the supermarket to get some milk I got sidetracked chatting to David when I got home and forgot all about the milk. All 6 litres of it left on the kitchen bench all night.

It pains me to say this but multi-tasking is just not for me. Better baby steps that I can complete in one session than a huge mess that becomes overwhelming. So back to my mantra "only one thing at a time". I might actually get something done this year.

Love Notes

 My girls love to get notes from me. I often leave them in their lunchboxes for them to find while they are at school. Over the years, they have even kept most of these notes which makes me smile when I see them hanging from their noticeboards. But I also like to leave them around the house for them to find; usually in their bedrooms somewhere or the bathroom mirror - somewhere where they won't be easily overlooked. It is just another small way of telling them that I love them and that I am thinking about them.
 

To make this easy, I have a small Love Notes Kit on the shelf in my kitchen. It has all the goodies that I need to jot a quick note to them .... post it notes, sticky tape (so the notes don't flutter off whatever I have stuck them to and end up under a bed or somewhere on the floor), assorted stickers (my girls love stickers) and a pen. You could just as easily keep all of this in a drawer but I find that a little container is just much easier. That and I am a visual person so I need to keep things where I can see them to remind me to use them!

The afternoon after I had left notes for all the girls (and David - I don't let him miss out) Rebecca came to me and asked me if I had seen a surprise. She said I should look in my room and I might find something special. And there it was stuck on my bedside table - a little note from her. She stood next to me and asked if I would like her to read it to me. "It says ... Thankyou for my notes. I love you. Rebecca." I love her too - with all my heart.

Chocolate Spoons

Family Movie Night is tonight and I wanted to make a quick treat for the girls. I came across these chocolate spoons a while ago and the couple of times I have made them they have been a big hit. They honestly could not be easier - just melt the chocolate, scoop it up on a spoon and decorate with a few sprinkles. Leave to set or pop in the fridge for a few minutes. They are also great party treats and of course you can colour coordinate them with any theme (smile).

Sand Art

School holidays are fast approaching and I am thinking about activities I can do with the girls. This is one that we did a while back but I thought I would share it as the girls really enjoyed it. They had asked on several occasions to do sand art when we have been at fairs and the like. The jars are pretty but it is a very quick activity .... they pour the sand into the jar in different coloured layers, it is all done and then you hand over the money. So I was very excited when I discovered that they could make it themselves at a fraction of the price and we would get a longer lasting activity out of it too.

You will need a bag of table salt, coloured chalk, a sheet of paper and some glass jars for this activity. A word from the wise: You will NOT need a 10kg bag of table salt! Been there, done that.  A little goes a long way. The jars in my photo I found at Ikea (love that store) and were quite inexpensive but you can use any size or shaped jar you like.

To colour the salt, spread a small amount on a sheet of paper. Then just rub the side of the chalk over it until it is all coloured. The more you rub it with the chalk, the darker the salt will be. Then bend the paper in the middle and use it as a shute to put the sand into the jar. Repeat with as many colours as you like. Easy.



Enjoying the Simple Life

It was a glorious day in Melbourne today and Josie and I were having a lovely day together. We weren't doing anything exciting; in fact we did the banking, the grocery shopping and the washing, but it was a good day. For Josie is my last baby and just for this year, I have her all to myself. She is at that delightful age (2 1/2) where she chatters all day long and is developing quite the sense of humour. And I just know that this time will pass all too quickly and before I know it, she will be heading off to kinder and school too.

Today we got out the baby bath and her babies along with several outfits and she gave them all a bath. Then she hung her washing on her little line while I hung mine on the big line. "I'm same as you mum". Her delight in such a simple activity made my heart burst with love for her (and how could you not love that adorable face?) Having 4 children, we have been considerable supporters of Mr Fisher Price and Co and there is much evidence to support this fact strewn around our home, but I think she got much more pleasure from a little tub of water today than she ever has from a piece of molded plastic. And I did too.

Fudgy Chocolate Slice

I just have to share this recipe with you. It was a new one I tried for my various weekend events and it was a huge hit. Not only was it delicious but it was also quick and simple - 2 words I love to see associated with recipes.

FUDGY CHOCOLATE SLICE

2 packets of buttersnap biscuits (200gm each)
90gm butter
200gm dark chocolate + extra 100gm for topping (I used milk chocolate for the topping)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Note: The original recipe says this will fit in a lamington tray. I doubled the recipe and then spread it across 3 slice trays.

Spray baking tray with oil and line with baking paper (this will make it easier to lift the slice out when it is finished). Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until evenly crushed. Melt butter and add to biscuits. Melt chocolate in the microwave - it will take about a minute but I do it in 20 second bursts so as not to burn it. Stir chocolate until smooth. Add condensed milk to chocolate and stir then add to biscuit mix. Stir until well combined. Spread into baking tray. Melt the second lot of chocolate and pour over base. Refridgerate until firm.

Note: Allow the slice to return to room temp before you attempt to cut it up or the top layer of chocolate is likely to shatter. You can cut it into squares but as it is quite rich, I cut my squares in half.

Enjoy!

PS. I plan to be back with another post later today but for now must go and hang some washing and make the most of this glorious weather.

Celebrate 60 in Style

Well after a ridiculously busy few weeks, I am back to blogging. I have so many ideas that I have written down over the past couple of weeks so expect to see lots of posts headed your way. Think packing, organising projects, part 1 of my bedroom makeover, my home ideas planner, fridge organising stations, school holiday ideas and some great new recipes I have trialed recently. I can't wait to share this all with you but before I do, I thought I would share a few photos from my mum's 60th birthday celebration on the weekend and a couple of event planning tips.

1. Have a basket or tub set aside to hold all of the things you buy or collect for your event eg. coloured napkins, lollies, invitation cards etc. It will save you a lot of time looking for things on the day (I learned this the hard way!) or forgetting to use the things you gathered.

2. Choose a colout theme ... you know I love to colour coordinate right? Everything looks better when it is colour themed. Just trust me.

3. Square or rectangular platters are a great investment - they look great on the table. A trick I picked up from a good friend is to label your platters with a post it note of what you plan to serve on them. That way, you won't forget to serve that dessert you slaved over and you can organise the table before time.

4. Cupcakes make the perfect "cake" for any occasion and they look extra festive on a cute cupcake stand. We chose sparklers as we didn't want mum to wear herself out trying to blow out 60 candles (or set off the smoke detectors!)

 Happy birthday Mum. xxx

Comfort food

Sorry I have been AWOL for the past two weeks. Some weeks are just like that - life gets busy and all the non-essentials just get pushed to the side for a bit. And as a result of too many late nights and trying to cram too much into our days, both David and I have managed to be struck down by the dreaded cold. We are both feeling miserable - sore throats, stuffy heads, a cough for him and a headache for me. The only good thing is that we haven't managed to share it with the girls ... yet. Fingers crossed we can keep it that way.

So these items have become my best friends. Nothing like a hot honey and lemon drink when you are feeling yucky. And comfort food ... think soups; easy to swallow, warm and you can fill them with lots of vegies. Last night, I made a HUGE pot of Minestrone Soup. It is actually the recipe from my Year 8 Food and Nutrition class at school. Easy to make and delicious.

MINESTRONE SOUP

2 onions - roughly chopped

300gm bacon - diced

garlic

2 large potatoes - cubed

1 tin diced tomatoes

8 cups water

4 teaspoons of beef stock

4 medium carrots - diced

3 celery sticks - diced

1 large zucchini - diced

1 cup of pasta

Fry onion, bacon & garlic. Add water and other ingredients (except pasta). Bring to boil and then simmer for 1/2 hour. Add pasta and continue to simmer until pasta is cooked through. Serve with crusty bread and parmesan cheese.

The great thing about this soup is that with the potatoes and pasta it is really filling. Add the bread and it is a meal in itself.

What comfort food do you like in your family? I would love you to share your favourite recipes.