The Things We're Planning

Ohhhhhh Boy! It's going to be a BIG weekend for the kiddos. (And the adults are uber-excited as well.) First - It's a bright, beautiful day! The temperature is 25 (let's say upper 70's for you North American folk). The races are on across the road and it feels like winter is supposed to feel in Queensland.

The kids are due in just a few mintues. We'll be having some new ktichen adventures for lunch. (And if that doesn't work - well, we always have a snag (aka sausage) or two lying around.) PLUS - Tara discovered a new park close to home that we will try out this arvo (afternoon for the American readers).

But, the really big deal is that on Sunday we're taking the munchkins to Movie World! We've been tossing around the idea of Sea World with the kids for ages and we came across a pretty decent discounted deal for Movie World instead. We checked out the differences between the two parks and Movie World has about a third of their park dedicated to smaller kids (ahem, Hunter.) Going to Movie World means he won't miss out on rides because he's too short.

We're not going to tell the kids. And Dean just can't wait to surprise them. We've planned ahead and got all the necessitites for a picnic lunch - which, coincidently, seems to be the best way to get them to eat a full meal.

So, watch this space for happy snaps!

But that's not ALL we've got up our sleeve. Miss Poppi Claire turns 5 in September! We were hoping to help LeeAnn throw a party with her school friends, but, unfortunately, that's not going to happen. And Poppi is going inter-state on her actual birthday.

But have no fear fans of little people parties! We're going ahead. Grandma from Kingston will be here with us just before the big day. So, we're going to combine the two events into one really fantastic party for a special 5 year old on September 8. We've already invited friends, other little people and family and we're just trying to decide what kind of party to make it. We're fairly certain pink, princesses and fairies will go over really well.

So, if you have ideas, suggestions or tips on how to throw a fantabulous little people party, please feel free to pass them along to us.

Oh .... He's a funny little bugger!

Our kitchen adventures with the kiddos were not just limited to marshmallow treat-making. We thought the kids would like to have a go at making pizza! And you don't have pizza without pizza dough, do you?

Dean had the kids make it from scratch. Yeast. Rising in the sun. The whole she-bang. Poppi gave the rolling pin a try after carefully observing the dough rise.


She also gave a whirl to trying to spin the pizza dough in the air like Daddy. In the end, she was successful in spinning the dough. You see, if she spun herself while holding the dough, by default, the dough spun too!

But, by far, the funniest part of making pizza was our little bull. Trying to flatter Dad, he gave his best to trying spin the dough in the air. The result? We had a kitchen and sitting area covered in dough! More funny than the video clips below can do justice.

Enjoy!

It's a Blog-Off! (AKA Let's Start a Recipe Exchange!)

Janine is up and running with her blog. And we are soooooo excited!

And given the ever-present sibling rivalry, when Dean found out, he challenged Janine to see who could be the best blogger. It was in jest, of course. We're just tickled we'll get to keep up with her family and the future "Great" Scott baby that is joining the world soon. Heck, she's even inspired us to get up off our slack-bums and get our own blog updated.

While there will be no actual blogging showdown, we did run a couple of meal ideas by Janine. They're pretty standard fare in America, but not really something you'd have here. Dean really enjoyed them and when he described them to Janine, her reply... "Yum."

So, since we're a happy little cyber-family, we'd thought we'd share some recipes we enjoy right here. We'll even post some photos (taken with a flair for art by Dean) of the dishes if we have them!

Our first offering - Sloppy Joe's (aka Manwich)

Ingredients (American Names, if needed, will appear in parentheses)

1 can Tomato Puree (Tomato sauce)

1 cup Tomato Sauce (Ketchup)

1 tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes

1 tablespoon Green Capsicum (Green Pepper) diced

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Minced Garlic

1/4 teaspoon Celery Seeds - *Note: We chose to use Cumin, instead.*

1 teaspoon American-style Mustard

0.5kg (1 pound) Beef Mince (Ground Beef)

Directions

1.) Brown the mince in a large skillet and the drain the fat.

2.) Add all remaining ingredients to the skillet.

3.) Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4.) Spoon mixture on to bun of choice. (Standard American serving would be on a hamburger bun. We chose to use Turkish Bread Rolls.) Toast the buns first, if you prefer.

5.) Serve and eat as either a open-face sandwich (as pictured) or standard sandwich. Beware - it's messy as a standard sandwich. And now you know why it's called a Sloppy Joe! :-)

Surprise at the Airport!

Dean's "favourite aunty" - Aunt Maree - came up to Brisbane to see the newest Balmforth family member - "**New**" Baby Thomas. In some very sneaking planning over dinner with the Mackenzie's, Dean asked (nearly begged and pleaded) to be the one to get to pick up Aunt Maree from the airport.



With the condition of having to supply a silly sign and photographic evidence, Kate and Cheryl agreed. And Dean couldn't wait. Cheryl even kept the gag up on the night of arrival, leading Aunt Maree to believe she was at the airport doing a lap outside of baggage claim to pick her up.



Then Aunt Maree walked down to baggage claim....

Have you ever had a Rice Krispie Treat?

1 - For those of you who are Australian... A Rice Krispie is the same as a Rice Bubble. Same cereal, same branding, same silly characters, same manufacturer, etc, etc etc...

2 - A Rice Krispie Treat is perhaps one of the easiest recipies ever created. EVER. It's butter, Rice Krispies (Bubbles) and marshmallows. That's it. (Recipe follows.)

3 - Making Rice Krispie Treats is fun for everyone! Don't believe us? Just look at the kids! Last time we had Poppi and Hunter visiting with us - we had alot of fun in the kitchen!

"Swell, Dad. Thanks. How am I supposed to eat it if you stick it to my head?"

(And for you Americans... Check out how BIG marshmallows are here!!!)

We told you it was fun to play with Rice Bubble and Marshmallows!

Poppi Claire - Following in Daddy's footsteps??? Or just a fan of sitting on the counters? Hmmm... We'll let you decide.

The ORIGINAL Rice Krispie Treats Recipe:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows
or 4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies (Bubbles)®

Directions
1. Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S® RICE KRISPIES® cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day.

Yield: 24 squares

Boys Having FUN!

Cousins Kate and Stuart welcomed their bundle of joy (**NEW** Baby Thomas) a couple of weeks early. Accordingly, Auntie Cheryl and Uncle Bob came down from Mt Isa to spend some time with the proud new parents.

We were lucky enough to have dinner with the Mackenzies. Dean was keen to remind Uncle Bob of his so-called "job" on Saturdays and invited him for a test ride. And Bob, of course, took him up on his offer!

Did the boys have fun "working"? Gee.... that's a hard one.... You tell me!

Visiting Cousins... Well, kind of...

Tara's Uncle Brian's Niece (Sharon) lives just up the road from us on Bribie Island. Sharon is mum to Jack (he's 4) and Thomas (he's just 6 months old). Jack and Thomas came down to Brisbane awhile back to meet Poppi and Hunter. And they kids got on like you wouldn't believe. It was soooooo cute. So, in early July, we scheduled another playdate / barbeque and headed up to Bribie to see our "cousins".

The whole way up to Bribie Island, Poppi couldn't stop telling us what she was going to do with Thomas. You see, when they first met, Sharon let Poppi feed Thomas his bottle. Well, she was quite excited to do just that. We heard lots of "When will we get there" and "Are we there yet" type of questions. We told Poppi which numbers to look for on the clock (1130 am) and wouldn't you know - she paid attention and when it was 1130 was telling us that we MUST be there - just look at the clock! (My oh my - she's such a bright little mind!)

And when we arrived, Thomas was sleeping! So, it was off to play with Jack and Hunter. Before long, Thomas was awake and Poppi was in baby heaven while the boys had a ball playing on bikes, scooters, slides, cars and each other!

Poppi's First Favourite Baby Thomas

It may look like Hunter is a bit suspicious of Jack, but it's soooo not the case.

And, of course... what we ALL were waiting for - Thomas' feeding time! Thomas is starting on real food these days. Sharon (and mum Narelle) helped Poppi to give Thomas his lunch. We're fairly certain Thomas got most of it in his mouth. He did get a little cranky with Miss Poppi - She wasn't feeding him FAST enough!

The funniest part of the afternoon (for us anyway) was when Hunter snuck into Thomas' bouncy seat for a bit of a rest and a stretch. He only just fit in the seat. Luckily, he was keen to have a cuddle and share Thomas' seat with Thomas himself! :-)