Don't waste the Pav!

Nothing feels more suitable for Australia Day than a yummy Pavlova! It was funny to see on my Instagram and Facebook feed how every man and his dog was making and/or eating one too! 

Being the Martha Stewart I am, I ducked bought Pav shells from Woolworths and just threw the toppings together without much thought, well just a thought of the way it tasted of course! 

But it seems I wasn't the only one 'throwing' things around. When I opened the box of 10 shells, only 6 had managed to survive the rough treatment. Pretty lucky seeing as though we are a family of 6.

But what do you do with all these pieces of yummy meringue that look like they should just be thrown away? 

Why make a lovely little 'Pav Smash Special' of course! 

Simply layer cream, fruit and the broken meringue pieces in a glass or bowl then drizzle with passion fruit pulp to finish! 

No waste in this house!!

It made for a yummy desert for later that night when the kids were in bed, and in my opinion , I think it actually tasted better!!

Or maybe it was just because the kids were in bed, everything tastes better then!  

Australia Day



Some pear, date and coconut and chocolate chip muffins as our contribution to the bring and share breakfast.



Happy belated Australia Day to all the Aussies out there!!
I hope you all had a wonderful day, whatever you may have been doing.

Hot or cold, rain or shine , its such a special day and one we love to celebrate!!

The kids were so excited as we headed of to my Aunty's for breakfast. Excited to see their cousins, and excited for the day that lay ahead.  So cute...

And our Australia Day went something like this.....

Champagne at breakfast? Yes please !!

I love that our kids love my Dad as much as I do!! He is Angus' favourite person!

Aussie Paraphernalia everywhere!

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Lucky kiddos got their nails painted by their big cousins!

Plus the mandatory temporary flag tattoos, and a touch of face painting.

After our breakfast at my Aunty's, we headed around the corner to my parents house for a swim (the temp was in the high 30's in the mid west of Western Australia ) , some lunch and more swimming. The day didn't wrap up until late arvo and we headed home around 6pm.

Cousins galore. Imagine a pool with all these kids and adults to supervise + blow up balls  = FUN FUN FUN!!

And no Australia Day is complete without a yummy pavlova!! Delicious



At the end of the day we had some very tired and worn out kids but they had the best day!! We all did.
Its amazing what some family time, sunshine and water fun can do for the soul!!

How was your Australia Day?

On a less positive note, I feel for all those being affected by the floods and damage in Queensland. Praying that you are all safe and sound and there is minimal damage to your homes and belongings x

Mother nature can be so cruel x

Crafts and Activities

With a few of our favourite Special events of the year so close, last week was one for some crafting and colouring. The kids have really gotten into their colouring in of late, especially Stella, and its so delightful to see her progress in her drawings, the people now have fingers, and clothes and one last week even had an owl and clouds. Amazing!

I found there wasn't a huge amount around for Australia Day, even on the ever inspiring Pinterest, the Aussie crafts were seriously lacking, so we started with some simple colouring in of our Flag.

Notice the hat? Seriously, this boy wears a hat all.the .time. Even to bed!! SO cute!

The colouring didn't satisfy my craft loving kiddos, so we moved onto some contact hearts for Valentines Day.
VERY simple and such a clean craft, so there is nothing to not like about it. SImply cut out a heart shape from clear contact, sticky tape on either side, sticky side up. Place and decorate with whatever tickles your fancy,we used crepe paper cut into little pieces, then line the back with another piece of contact ( I used a rectangle, then cut around the heart shape).
pieces.

            Ta-da. Strung up on  a piece of ribbon and attached with itty bitty cute pegs. CUTE or what?

Then on Oz Day Eve, a simple painting activity to help warm into the festivities! I LOVE Australia Day!

I just printed a Boomerang image off the net, and set out a few paper plates with paint splodges and a cotton tip per colour ( paper plates make for easy clean up)

And we painted the Boomerangs with the cotton tips. Spot, spot spot. Max's new word for the day!!

Again, easy, relatively clean (providing your darling son doesn't like to paint his hand, face , everything etc). So easy, I managed to complete this session with 4 kids, having my niece for a play, and everyone had a ball!

Hmmm what to do next?

Aussie fun in the sun

Our Australia Day so far!!

Australian

Tomorrow is Australia Day. I don't know about you, but I am one proud Aussie!!!
Its a day when you feel like eating meat pies, lamingtons, tim tams and "put another shrimp on the barbie" ahh hello? They are prawns and they taste so much better when they AREN'T cooked on the BBQ!! Not only that but the smell of suncream, BBQ's and Aeroguard of Fly spray and the radio cranked up to Triple J's Hottest 100!!
Gone are the days that we would sit around drinking, playing games, swimming and taking bets on the winner of the countdown (and having a hellofahangover the next day!!)
Never the less we will definately be getting into the Aussie Spirit tomorrow with temporary tattoos ( an annual tradition, but they are so hard to get off!!), a BBQ brunch with family, going to the  foreshore for a mid afternoon picnic and play at the waterpark with good friends and all the while, having a husband with his ear attached to the radio or laptop listening to the Hottest 100!!



Stella, last Australia Day, down the foreshore beach!!

                              

Is there anything better?
I love the country we live in, I love that we are live so freely, are safe (most of the time), are not in a war torn country and living in fear. I love that our children get educated, that fresh drinking water comes straight out of the tap, that our cultures are so diverse, that are health care system is so fantastic and our weather is so devine!! It truely is such a great country and we are so lucky to be living here!!
Hell even Oprah loves Australia, and why shouldn't she?!

And again, in her bikinis. Can't believe how much she has grown!!

                                            


I hope your Australia Day is a good one, regardless of what you get up to, as long as you are with your loved ones, and take a moment to appreciate the lives we live, that is all that matters!

Finally, my POTD, 2 of my cherubs, saying goodbye to Dad this morning. Priceless