Frittata Recipe

Frittata Recipe

6 med potatoes
2 carrots grated

1 med onion chopped

3 rashers of bacon

2 cups baby spinach

8 eggs

1/2 cup thickened cream (I ran out of cream so I made a simple white sauce with milk, butter and plain flour)

1 cup grated cheese

1/4 cup parmesan or enough to sprinkle over the top

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 180 fan forced

Grease oven proof dish

Slice potatoes thinly and parboil 

Dice onion and bacon, heat oil in a non stick frying pan over medium heat and cook for about 3-4 mins or until onion is tender. Add carrots and spinach and cook until spinach is just wilted.

Place some of the potatoes in oven proof dish and add a layer of the onion mix, add more potatoes and onion mix. Repeat until finished.

Mix eggs and cream (or white sauce) in a bowl and gently pour over potatoes and onion mix. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 35 mins or until the egg mixture is cooked and top golden.

This recipe fed 2 adults and 4 kids dinner plus lunch the next day, but if a smaller amount is required the measurements can be tweaked :)

Spring Cleaning - Decluttering

In my last post which you can read here, I mentioned that I wouldn't do any decluttering during my spring cleaning, as I knew I wouldn't finish what I set out to do...

Well I couldn't do it... I ended up decluttering :)

I got rid of (or put things aside for garage sale and returning to rightful owner) 50 items yesterday.

Rubbish and Recycling

• 1 x (empty) box from Missy's room
• 1 x lolly bag from Missy's room
• 1 x lonely Dora domino from Missy's room (the rest were lost long ago)
• 2 x catalogues from kitchen
• 2 x wrapping paper from main bedroom
• 1 x lolly box
• 1 x bear shaped eraser (It's been around since I was a kid)

Donate

• 1 x toy turtle with hammer
• 3 x handheld games
• 1 x jumper
• 1 x jacket
• 3 shirts
• 5 x singlets (day wear)
• 1 x baby jacket
• 1 x toy dog carrier
• 1 x purple toy
• 1 x tiger toy
• 1 x toy guitar
• 1 x kids toy cup (again the rest were lost long ago)
  

Garage Sale

• 1 x 2 pc PJ set
• 3 x sz 0 tops
• 2 x glass serving trays
• 1 x glass bowl
• 2 x glass candle holders
• 2 x small glass jugs
• 1 x glass measuring cup
• 1 x glass thing.. I have no idea what it is
• 3 x nappy covers
• 2 x 2pk newborn nappies
  

Returning

• 2 x reusable nappies to cousin
  

I was going to donate it all, but seeing as though my mum is having a garage sale in a few weeks, and I need to raise funds for our possible move, I thought I may as well try and sell some things.

Spring Cleaning - Zones

With spring finally arriving, it's time I started thinking about spring cleaning. Even with only one parent working outside the home, we've been struggling to keep up with the everyday basics, due to our busy lives. The house is starting to look a little neglected, and it's time to do something about it.

I've split my home into 4 zones, and I'll be working in one zone a week during September.

They are as follows:

Zone 1: Hallway (entryway) and  Lounge room
Zone 2: Kitchen and Laundry
Zone 3: Bedrooms 1 and 2
Zone 4: Bedroom 3 and Bathroom

• Each zone will get a thorough clean and tidy, Which includes:
  
  General - All Rooms
  Dusting (inc. walls, fans, picture frames etc)
  Vacuuming (inc. behind/under furniture)
  Washing down of all hard surfaces (inc. walls, doors, windows etc)
  Clean switchplates and door knobs
  Clean Blinds
  
  Bedrooms
  General - All rooms
  Clean air con filter
  Wash bedding, inc. pillows and blankets.
  Air out Mattress
  Dust and wipe over lamp shade
  Deodorise carpet
  
  Bathroom
  General - All rooms
  Scrub/steam clean grout
  Touch up grout
  Reseal grout
  Scrub taps
  Remove seat and scrub seat bolts
  Scrub bath
  Scrub toilet
  Scrub shower
  Mop floor
  
  Kitchen
  General - All rooms
  Clean oven
  Clean microwave
  Clean out fridge and freezer
  Clean underneath fridge
  Vacuum and clean fridge coils
  Descale kettle
  Clean dishwasher
  Mop floor
  
  Loungeroom
  General - All rooms
  Clean air con filter
  Vac lounge
  Spot clean lounge
  Wash cushions and throws
  Mop floor
  
  Laundry
  General - All rooms
  Clean washing machine
  Clean Dryer
  Shine sink
  Mop floor
   
• I haven't included jobs such as cleaning vanities, kitchen cupboards etc, as this is part of our weekly cleaning. 
• I won't, or I should say I'll try not to declutter at this point, unless I finish that weeks zone early, otherwise I know I'll get distracted and end up not finishing what I set out to do.
• I'll work little and often, instead of trying to do everything in one go and end up overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed and most probably give up. 
• The zone cleaning needs to fit around our routine/schedule instead of us fitting around it. I still have appts to attend, make sure everyone is clothed, fed, clean, happy and well rested, aswell as keep up with my daily must do's. So there's a good chance I won't get it all done this month, but as long as I do what I can, I'm ok with that.
• Most importantly I must remember to keep positive, smile, crank up the stereo and enjoy myself, after all a happy wife is a happy life :)

This was meant to be ready and posted by Saturday 1st Sept, but thanks to our crazy life its a few days late, so seeing as though it's Tuesday...

...I'm linking up with the lovely Jess at Diary of a SAHM for IBOT :)

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Boy :)

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! I can't believe you're one already! This year has gone so fast!

As a newborn Bubs loved to be close to people. He loved to lay on ones chest and listen to their heart beating. He'd often fall asleep like that. He was definitely a mummy's boy and didn't like being away from mummy... Such a nice feeling, but makes it hard when I need to duck out and do some groceries (I don't trust the hubby to go, he'd come home with nothing but lollies and coffee :))

1 year later...

He hasn't really changed :) He still loves cuddles, he's still a mummy's boy, he doesn't like being away from me (slowly getting better thankfully)..

He has such a beautiful personality. He's so sweet and caring. I love when he's crawling around and he finds the person he's looking for, he'll crawl over to them and gently place his hand on their leg or whatever he can reach and look up at them.. he loves to touch and be near people :)

But on the flipside if you don't do what he wants he'll growl at you :)

--------------------

Here's Bubba Boy's Birth Story :)

I'd been having issues with the pregnancy for a while, and the last few scans showed low fluid, small bub and a problem with the umbilical cord. Bub wasn't getting enough blood or oxygen, so probably why he was measuring small.
I was told to go to hospital on Friday 12th August to monitor bubs. His trace was good and he seemed happy in there, but his movements had lessened. The Dr didn't want to do anything til 38 weeks, but scheduled an appt with the specialist on Monday to go thru options.
Monday came, I was put on the trace. Bubs heart rate was really high, and his base rate was a lot higher then his normal heart rate. He barely moved, so they kept me on it for longer. He still barely moved, so the specialist decided delivery was the best option.
He checked me to see if my cervix was favourable, as it turned out, I had started dilating and effacing, but not enough, so he booked me in to have gel to help my cervix along. First dose being Wednesday night, followed by another dose Thursday morning, and then they'll break the waters.
I woke up Wed morning (17/08) with contractions roughly 6-7 mins apart, so I decided to go shopping and stock up on things for hubby and kids while I was in hospital. They were getting slightly stronger, but not really getting closer.
I didn't tell the Dr about the contractions when he asked. They seemed to be fading out anyway. Small irregular ones showed on the trace, but nothing impressive lol.
He applied the gel at 4.30, and kept me on the trace. Within minutes of the gel, good strong contractions started, but were still pretty irregular. Not long after that I had intense pressure in my butt and contractions came 2 mins apart. I was told to walk around to help speed it up. Some were a bit painful, but most of the time, the pain and pressure was in my butt/legs and no pain in my belly. Midwife said that is normal as long as the belly hardens when that happens, because, as it turned out, bub had decided to turn posterior (sunny side up). She got me to do all the exercises to get him to turn (bub number 1 was sunny side up and labour was long and hard). It took a few hrs to get him to turn.

I'd already been there about 6 hrs and asked the midwife when I'd be transferred to delivery or when they'd break my waters. She said they weren't gonna break my waters, they were waiting for them to break on their own.

They checked me and I was dilated about a 2, but bub decided not to descend :(

At about 12.30 I was transferred to delivery. They were still coming every 2 minutes and were wearing me out.

By 2am I had a shower to help ease, but midwife pulled me out to check me, and if bubs had dropped, she'd break my waters. Bubs was still high. I was at about 3-4 and she decided to stretch. I started passing clots, but apparantly thats normal. I decided to keep walking. They were still 2 mins apart but getting a little stronger, either that or I was just worn out lol.

4.30am she checked again. I was 6-7cm and decided she'd break the waters, but I had to push, while she pushed bub down, so there was no risk of cord prolapse.

by 5, the contractions were strong and i felt the urge to push, but wasn't quite ready yet. She said to wait about an hr and try pushing again.

Every contraction after that was getting stronger and more unbearable, and the urge to push was uncontrollable, but I held out as long as I could.

I have no idea what time it was (I'm guessing 6.30am), but I called for the midwife, bubs head was right there and with a few pushes he was out :) The last bit all happened so fast, I was scared hubby would miss it cause he was ASLEEP (nice to know someone got sleep lol). Thankfully he woke up in time.

I got to pull bubs out myself, which is the best feeling :) 

18/08/2011

@ 6:35am

7lb 3oz and 45cm long :) 

We had some trouble after the birth, I had a post partum hemmorhage (sp?) due to an atonic uterus and retained placenta. My uterus wouldn't contract, so the placenta wouldn't expel. They almost prepped me for theatre but thankfully they got the bleeding under control.

That would have to be the scariest moment of my life. All I remember was the midwife yelling emergency emergency, people rushing in. I had no energy, I was shaking but apart from that I couldn't move, I remember thinking this is it, how is my husband gonna do it on his own. I don't know what happened after that but, I got the drip and a catheter and wasn't allowed to move for quite some time.

The next morning I passed a massive clot which had parts of the placenta still in it, and after that things greatly improved. 
I thought that since this was my 4th labour/birth, and with my middle boys being fast labours (#3 was 2.5 hours from first contraction to birth), that this time around would be similar. Boy was I wrong! His birth was the hardest of the lot. He was born at 36 weeks (like #3), so I'm guessing he was nowhere near ready to come out.

Linking up with the lovely Jess @ Diary of a SAHM for IBOT :)

Coping with 4 kids under 6 - How I survive the busy part of the day

In my last post in the 'Coping with 4 kids under 6' series, I wrote about a typical day in our house which you can find here.

In today's post, I will be sharing some things I do in order to survive the busy part of the day with the kids on my own. That is, dinner, bath and bed.

At this point in time, we have no extracurricular activities to attend, so our afternoons are pretty much the same.

Homework
Originally homework was done on a Monday (Hubby's day off), but they have increased the amount of homework and have worked it in a way so it has to be done on set days. For eg. Thursdays homework is to write a structured overview of their new guided reading book, but they don't get the new book til Thursdays, so it can't be done any earlier. So now we do what we can on a Monday and just do little bits throughout the week. This is still a working progress as the extra homework was only recently introduced.

Dinner

• I usually start dinner prep from 4:30 (depending what's on the menu, sometimes later) to have it on the table no later than 6.
• I plan our dinners based on our days - busy day, easy meal. Hubby home, harder meal.
• I sometimes bulk cook and freeze things like spaghetti bol and chili con carne.
• Wednesday's are usually leftovers night, toast or something easy. This is the night Missy stays at Nanny's, and Hubby's work puts on a big feed, so I only need to cook for the boys and I.

Baths

• The kids usually bath together
• Sometimes I top and tail the lot of them.
• I used to bath bubs every other night, but will be every night now that he's crawling around.
• Sometimes I fill the kitchen sink and bath them in there one by one. I actually find this easier as I don't have 3 wet little bodies doing the noody run at once. They love it and have so much fun. It's also better for my back.
• And some days if we're too tired they go to bed as is.

Bed

• The 2 older boys share a room and are in bed by 7:30. 
• Missy's bedtime is 8:30 
• Bubs bedtime is usually between 8 and 8:30. 
• They all get story time and cuddles before they go to bed.

Chores

• They all help. Missy loves to set the table (decorations and all), Mr4 loves being in charge of the shoe rack and homeless shoes, Mr 2.5 'helps' unload the dishwasher and loves to take the clothes to the laundry.
• They are responsible for their belongings and have to pack away their things before dinner, bath, bed or moving onto another activity.

What are your mummy tips? I'd love to hear them :)

Linking up with the lovely Jess at  Diary of a SAHM for IBOT :)

An empty void

Warning sad and confusing post ahead..

I'm feeling sad and down for no apparent reason. I feel like there's this emptiness deep down inside of me. I'm not sure where it's coming from or what it's about.

I've got so much to be grateful for, yet there's still an emptiness there. What is it? What's missing? I don't know if it's one thing or a mixture of things.

Am I just tired? Stressed? Depressed? All of the above?

We've had so much happen recently, perhaps it's taken it's toll on me? We've recently lost a good friend to cancer, I found out my brother was back on Heroin, My Pop has had surgery after surgery to remove skin cancers and on top of that he has leukaemia. My cousins house caught on fire which left him, his girlfriend and baby stranded, My good friends baby was in Intensive care, another friends baby was rushed to hospital (thankfully both bubs are ok), I've been told my son might have aspergers and ADHD (which will be checked in November), my youngest might need grommets as he's always getting ear infections, and issues with my daughter and school friends..

We've been constantly sick. I used to get a cold twice a year which lasted a week, this year it's never ending.

This moving interstate business is doing my head in. I wish I knew for sure what was happening. I feel this is holding my family back.We had everything planned out and now it's all on hold as we don't know where we'll be.

I haven't been feeling myself for about 2 weeks now, but it has peaked today. I found out a good friend is having a girl. I am so excited and happy for them both, but I can't help but feel a little sad. I so badly want another little girl. Yes I know I have a beautiful little girl that I love dearly and nothing will ever replace, but I missed out on so much of her ''babyhood'' due to working so much, I guess a want to experience it again.

I have a fair few friends and family members that have had babies or are having babies and all had girls except for one friend and myself. Everyone I know is having girls.

Don't get me wrong I love all my children, I'm so blessed to have them all! I love my boys as much as I love my girl! But why do I still have that empty feeling? I wish it would go away.

Maybe I'm missing my little girl. She started school this year and I wasn't exactly ready for her to go (she was though :)) and also she's at Nanny's again tonight. I miss her :(

This was really hard to write. I needed to get it off my chest. I don't feel I can tell my husband as he doesn't understand. He says he does but he doesn't. Hopefully I'll feel better having got this off my chest.

Have you got any thoughts or ideas on how I can get over this?
How I can fill this void?
Have you had any empty voids? How did you ''fill'' it?

Moving??

{Image credit}

I've been meaning to do a post for a while now, but the truth is since we've been planning our move, I haven't really had much else on mind...

I can't stop thinking about it. I wish I could though, I've changed my mind so many times that it's doing my head in. I was 110% for the move and was so happy and excited ignored all the what ifs and wanted to start fresh. All my family and friends were supportive except for one friend. She was almost in tears and very negative which in turn made me very upset to the point of tears and I got cold feet.

From that point on I've been yoyoing with my decision. After the phone call to the said friend, I sobbed to my husband who was sweet and understanding. We decided against the move and to just enjoy what we have. I mentioned to mum how we were feeling and she said ''Oh you better not be pulling out now." Pulling out now?? It's not as simple as that.. There's so much weighing on this decision and I feel like I need to impress everyone. If I go I'm upsetting people. If I don't go I'm upsetting people...

That isn't the concern though. The main concerns are:

• What if we get there and we hate it?
• What if we regret it?
• Leaving a good paying job for a possible not so good paying job..or no job at all.
• I don't want to sell my house but unsure about renting it out. Non paying tenants, trashing etc

They are the main concerns, there are so many more, but they aren't that big, just me thinking too much. 

I wish I hadn't mentioned it to said friend, I'd probably be up there already :D