Homely Things

Wow!  I'm so impressed with myself!!!  Who would have thought that a die-hard tomboy would turn into a sewing nut, trying hard to reduce her carbon footprint, and almost going back to 1950's housewife stuff in making things from scratch!!!

Since I've had kids, I've thought a lot more about what we put into their mouths, and ours, and even the sorts of toys we buy for them to play with!!  To be honest, I had never really given much thought to what passed through my lips growing up, I just ate what I ate, and bought what I felt like eating...  I've slowly turned a corner, trying to find new (old) ways of doing things, making them taste better, be made cheaper, and without many of the additives that are hidden in the foods we buy today.

I thought I'd share with you a few of my most recent 'success stories'.  Many of the ideas come from other blogs, which I adore and love to follow.

The other night, at 9:45pm, I decided it would be a great time to make my own peanut butter... Crazy you say?   No way!  I seem to have some cravings for peanut butter since being pregnant - I always have it on my toast or crumpets, or anything else I think it'll taste good on...  I found this idea from the blog A Beautiful Mess written by lovely sisters Elsie and Emma.  They have tons of great ideas, including homemade Nutella which I'm dying to try out...

Ta-Daaa - The finished product

My peanut butter tastes pretty good, although it's a little grainy, as I don't think I blended it quite long enough - a little tip to remember for next time - don't skimp on the blending just because you're exhausted and should have been in bed a couple of hours ago (early starts with kids and work)

I had some on my crumpets this morning at work, and also made an otherwise very healthy snack of celery and carrots, into a very tasty, but not so healthy one...  Yummo.  Do you remember as kids having celery and peanut butter for a snack??  We used to pile the peanut butter through the channel of the celery!  I used to LOVE it, and thought I'd reminisce!!


And on another trial of making prepackaged foods at home, I decided to make some LCM bars (don't ask me what it stands for, because I have no idea!).  For those of you who don't know what they are, they're a kiddy snack by Kelloggs, that are ridiculously expensive, and actually not all that nice!  They actually taste as if they'd be full of preservatives!!! 

BUT, I saw this recipe and decided it was worth a shot, since it was made from rice bubbles, marshmallows and butter I figured it would be pretty easy and let's be honest, who doesn't just love marshmallows???  My kids certainly do, and I had to lie to them for about 3 weeks, telling them we had none in the house, because I wanted to make these up, and had no time made no time :)  I found the recipe at Frills in the Hills.  Liss the fabulous mummy blogger has great recipes as well that I love to try.  Next time, I might even make the marshmallows myself too - I'm sure the kids would love to help me.




Yummm...  Melted Marshmallows :)



When I told Timmy I was making LCM's he said 'Oh mum, I don't like them'..  (I had previously bought one packet just to try, which needless to say didn't go down so well :))  Oh dear, I thought I'd made a boo-boo, but then he is a marshmallow NUT so I figured he'd like mine!!!!  I backed myself and made them anyway (afterall, they were meant to be part of his school snacks, so I'd be a little annoyed if he wasn't so keen on them...).

The finished product - LCM's - yay

Guess what, he LOVED them!  I'm sure this will become a staple in our house for yummo treats.  I'm not sure who liked them more though, me or the kids.  I know I sure ate my unfair share!  Might be something easy to make with the kids these school holidays.


Another kiddy snack come mummy's work snack! (No I didn't eat all of them!!)



Fresh Eggs!!

I picked Timmy up from his dad's house the other day, and he came sporting a present!!  Fresh chicken eggs from his very own chickens :)  How lucky are we!!  It was just in time too because I'd just finished all our eggs at home.  Now to think of some baking projects...  Any thoughts people??



My handsome little man Timmy

Random Thought...
On another note, who knows how to get a 3 1/2 year old to STAY IN THEIR OWN BED ALL NIGHT, without waking up and coming into mum and dad's room because they want to be carried back into their own bed, and be sung the lullaby song (daddy's trap, not mine!)...  Hmm...  I do have some ideas, but I'd rather not put them in writing!!!  Here's the little darling, asleep, in the car, on the way home from daycare...

Poor little Matilda, she's so cute, but so annoying at 3am when she throws a tantrum because I won't take her back to bed!!!  Luckily I'm not in that position much, as she's a daddy's girl, and it's always his turn - woohoo! 

Aargh - any suggestions??

Enough rambling from me now.  Hope you are all doing brilliantly.  We are now into our second week of school holidays, and are about to move house this weekend - wish us luck!!

Take care

Cath