How old are you? Two!

Nearly a month late, but a little post to remember Maggie and Elisabeth's 2nd birthday celebrations.

I got excited mid year, and was planning an elaborate Teddy Bear picnic party for the girls. But then realised the girls weren't really particularly fond of a teddy yet. Then I read a post somewhere about trying to keep children's parties simple which struck a chord with me. Thinking about it I thought better of my elaborate plans (especially when it is so close to Christmas), and decided to pare it back. I kept the invite list short (family and a few close friends), and reduced the decorating to some fresh flowers from our garden, a few garlands of honeycomb decorations (that I already had) and helium balloons. The menu like-wise was simplified to bbq chicken wings, home made burgers and chips, and an ice cream cake.

Their actual birthday fell on Friday this year, so I organised to have the day off work to spend the day with them. The day before I sent along strawberry cupcakes with them to celebrate with their play mates and carer at family day carer.

On Friday we woke up early enough to ensure we could let them open their gifts from us, which we had hidden under their cot! We sent them off to find them, and they were highly excited to see their new dolls. Rob had to head off to work, so we had a morning of playing together, then after lunch we headed into the city to pick up Rob and take some brownies to the nurses at the NICU.

Usually when we visit we just greet the nurses in the foyer, but one of the nurses (who was at their birth actually) whisked Maggie off to meet some tiny babies. Maggie was intrigued and as we peeked into a humidicrib at a small prem baby, I started crying, much to the surprise of myself and some of the nurses. He seemed so small and fragile, and combined with the all too familiar beeps and alarms, I was taken back two years, to the feeling of fear, as we dared to hope we could bring home two healthy babies. The nurses then told me that the baby was twice the size of my girls when they were born! After chatting to all the nurses on duty, and having a family photo (the girls refused to smile- I wonder if they remember some of their experience in the NICU?) we headed off to our car.

As we left the hospital via the air bridge to the car park, I quickly took a similar photo to the one I took the day we left with the girls. In the original Rob was looking down at a baby carrier with both girls tucked in it together! The new version the girls insisted on walking across themselves, but Rob had the same expression, so proud and in love with his youngest daughters.

The next day was warm, with a perfect blue sky. After heading into the city to collect the best brioche buns from Pigeonwhole bakers, and the meat, we headed home to get ready. Cleaning, and setting up the party area down on the verandah of the laundry hut. We had a quick break to feed the girls lunch and then put them down for a nap. Rob prepped the burgers and potatoes, and I quickly decorated with the garlands of mini honeycomb paper balls. We inflated the helium balloons together, including two jumbo balloons, the girls woke up and immediately started playing with the balloons!

The run down to party time, was relatively smooth, with enough time for me to bathe the girls and dress them up in their new outfits, and even for us to have a shower (one of us is usually in the shower when our first guests appear).


They were a bit overwhelmed by all of the visitors, but excited to see their cousins and a friend's baby. We sat around in the warm late afternoon sun, the adults drinking cider whilst the girls opened their gifts and Rob cooked the chicken wings. These were quickly devoured, and then followed by home made pork and apple burgers on the softest brioche buns from Pigeonwhole Bakers. After a little break for bike riding we lit the candles on their Neapolitan ice cream cakes. The cakes had three layers of homemade ice cream, baci (nutella) chocolate ice cream, vanilla with glace fruits and pistachios and raspberry.




The guests headed home not long after, and we took two tired but happy girls to bed.

Birthday week and party

On their actual birthday, we had a very quiet day. We woke up after snuggling and their morning breast feed headed out to the living room. Rob made them a mini stack of pancakes each, we topped them with a candle and sang Happy Birthday.

The girls had a stack of gifts waiting to be opened, but we found they quickly lost interest, so we savoured gift opening all day and the next. They loved the wrapping and ribbons best!

Rob headed into work eventually. We had a quiet morning together, the girls napped and then we ate lunch.

Rob came home with their favourite dinner. Steak and pink eye potatoes. They are so good at eating, and love to feed themselves. Now they are in their new high chairs, we can actually enjoy our dinner too. Using both hands is quite a novelty after 8 months!

We headed to bed together not long afterwards. 

After a restful day, party preparations swung into action. We had invited some of the NICU nurses we got to know over the 16 weeks in hospital, some friends and family. As usual my job is to plan and organise, poor Rob I hope he didn't feel too hen-pecked. We went for a casual lunch menu.

Ocean trout gravlax with Pigeonhole molasses and rye bread and horseradish yoghurt cheese.

Slow roasted (24 hours) free range pork shoulder (Berkshire from Bruny Island via Vermey's), served in buns, slaw and apple sauce.

Lemon coconut cake with cream cheese frosting birthday cake.

Triple chocolate brownies (both normal and gluten free)

Rob had started the gravlax on Tuesday night. On Friday I baked the brownies.

Saturday was a big day. We were up at 6am, juggling baby feeding and wrangling with our various tasks. I picked some fresh flowers to arrange. The week before I had decorated the room with rainbow fabric bunting and my favourite (signature) honeycomb paper decorations. I chose an array of flowers in the colours of a rainbow, red roses, orange and yellow lilies and poppies, green Blechnum fern fronds, blue and purple delphiniums, blue Nigella and pink ranunculus.

I quickly made up the Annabel Langbein lemon and coconut cake. The recipe is super easy and made a large cake and two smaller smash cakes.

Then it was Rob's turn. He started Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 24 hour slow roasted pork shoulder. After rubbing in a paste of chili, ginger, garlic and oil into the scored skin, it went into a very hot oven for half an hour to start the crackling. Then the oven was turned down and the pork turned over and you cook it as low as the oven will go. Rob then headed outside to mow the lawn, and scythe the sides of the driveway. I made the cream cheese frosting for the birthday cake, but decided to ice the cakes on the day. We fed the girls early, and were feeling smug about just cleaning the house (I'd been doing some of it amongst baby wrangling) and some more food preparation. Then the power went out. Not only do we lose power, we also lose running water. Rob headed off to do some last minute shopping and pick up hot chips for tea. With the furniture rearranged, no power and the kitchen in disarray it felt like we'd just moved in, as we sat eating our chips on the floor.

The power came back on after an hour and a half, and I admit I headed to bed with the girls for their last feed, whilst Rob stayed up to cook. Apple sauce to go with the pork and a creamy coleslaw.

The morning started early, feeding babies, and Rob picking up fresh bread and buns, and ice for drinks. Despite forecasted showers, it was sunny and warm with a breeze.

I gave the girls a wash while Rob did a final vacuum and mop, then I tried to get the girls to sleep. Poor Rob headed outside alone to tackle a cheap 6x3m marquee I had bought. Of course the breeze picked up. I watched uselessly inside under breast feeding babies and rushed outside to help as soon as they were asleep. But the frame had twisted and kept unclicking as soon as you let one section go. After one last attempt with the gaffa tape, we baled, took it apart and decided we'd be cosy in the hut.

Our friends arrived then to give us a hand with the last minute prep. I passed the babies over and headed off to have a much needed shower. With the marquee debacle behind us, we got back on track, Rob and our friends slicing the gravlax, fresh rye bread, and mixing the drained yoghurt with horse radish. Meanwhile I fed the girls a quick lunch. Rob cleaned up too and we were all ready when the guests started to arrive.

More presents to open for the girls.

The hut is set up well for parties. We turned the breezeway into the bar.

The main room opens up and creates lots of space for sitting and serving food.

The gravlax had cured perfectly to a ruby colour.

The pork was ready, I love these photos of Rob and our friends chatting as he carves.

The slaw and salad a perfect accompaniment to the tender meat. 

Soon guests sat around inside and out munching happily on pork-filled buns. 

The girls even sat in their high chairs and munched on some meat.

Next course needed some final prepping, but soon the cakes were ready.

Ready for "happy birthday" to be sung and blowing out their candles. The girls listened as we all sang and then we helped blow out their candles.

Then the real fun began. We put them in their high chairs and placed a mini cake infront of each them. At first they looked confused, then Elisabeth plunged her hand into the cream cheese frosting and quickly transferred the handful to her mouth. Maggie used a different technique, she face planted the cake, licking the frosting and creating a frosting beard. They had all of us in fits of laughter as they continued to demolish their cakes with their individual styles (they didn't actually eat much cake!)

Eventually we cleaned them up, but they had had a fantastic time! 

As most guests left a few others arrived and we sat and relaxed as both girls fell asleep on the window seat. Everyone remarked how laid back the girls were, and I admit they were happy to be passed between guests for most of the afternoon. 

We headed to bed tired but very happy.

Monday Menu {the Hoot cake}

Well this last week was all about one thing the cake. My sister sent me a text a while ago with a photo of a Hoot cake (up until that point I admit I had never heard of Giggle and Hoot). It looked doable. I gave them a few types of cakes to choose from (for inside) and they decided upon a caramel mud cake.
So over the last couple of days the cake took shape, I baked two mud cakes, made some buttercream, Rob sandwiched them and covered them in the white fondant (he's much better at that than me, and believes he has a second career in plastic surgery if he ever desires a career change), then the cake was carefully transported to my sisters. Where, on a very cool and miserable Friday evening, she and I set to work with 2 kilos of coloured fondant and that photo. We're pretty proud of our effort. Although it didn't start promisingly when I was quickly trying to make some royal icing to use in sticking the bits together with. I hit a spatula in the mixing bowl with the electric mixer throwing icing sugar and goopy icing all over me and the bench and the wall. My sister just heard me say "oh no". She had the good grace just to laugh at me, and the damage wasn't too bad. But we moulded and rolled and cut and came up with:


My sister had cooked up a storm, baking cupcakes, jelly cakes, scones, biscuits. meringues, fudge and fairy bread. I offered to make a second cake just in case the 40 guests were still feeling hungry. I quickly made the Annabel Langbein lemon and coconut cake on Saturday morning, covered it in cream cheese frosting and added some pink mini bunting. I left the coconut out of the icing this time, as I thought that last time it made it look a bit lumpy.


The party was a great success, the birthday girl walking around (yes she can walk), dancing to music, opening lovely gifts and being loved by all her many Aunties, Uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, great aunties and uncles, and friends. I'm not sure what she thought of the Hoot cake, she smiled and looked intently at it, and seemed shocked by us all suddenly bursting into song. But she knows how to clap and clapped along with us.

I got the icing from a new-ish cake decorating shop in South Hobart, A Tiny Bit Marvellous. A bit like a lolly shop for cake decorator professionals and wannabes like me!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and doing some de-beige-ing.
The menu this week (apart from the cake):
Monday: leftover beef and quince tagine with pumpkin and fennel couscous, and a fennel and orange salad.
Tuesday: a fish-less paella, with roasted red peppers and olives.
Wednesday: a spinach and pine nut omelette.
Thursday: Tomato pasta sauce, with red peppers, olives and fetta.
Friday: THAT cheese (1792, a washed rind matured on a piece of Huon pine board).
Saturday: Beef, mushroom and red wine pie.
Sunday: Beer braised ham hocks, with fennel, apples and cabbage.


What's been on the menu and your place?

Doctor Who and my little brother turns 30

My brother, James, is a mad keen Doctor Who fan, but he's also quite likes any science fiction story. So it was a no-brainer when we started to plan his 30th birthday party. My sister and I did most of the planning and preparation for him.
So yesterday was the day, and it all came together quite well. We spent several hours turning my parent's carport into a space/Doctor Who themed space. Throw in 50m of Aluminium foil, some black garbage bags, my collection of honeycomb ball decorations (as planets), a Tardis, darlek and an alien (my sister is so talented, she painted them all last week, they looked brilliant) and you might get the picture.
James had decided long ago he'd like to be Tom Baker's Doctor Who, so had the scarf, wig, hat and jelly babies ready. Rob decided to use Claudia as a prop (although she was a most reluctant one!) and dressed up as Will Smith's character in I am Legend. I decided to be a Stepford wife, complete with blonde bob, silly heels and apron.
Food wise we kept it simple, snacks followed by a BBQ (Will did brilliantly there, despite his brown makeup running in the slight rain that fell half way through cooking).
The guests really got into the dressing up, we had several Star Trek characters, Storm and Wolverine from X-men, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy characters, Men in Black, numerous Jedi Knights, Angels from Doctor Who, a nutty professor, and many others I couldn't pick! (Not being a huge sci-fi fan myself!)
The local party shop must have done well in wigs, hairspray, face paint and other props.
With appropriate party music to groove to, we all had a great time. My other sister Skyped in from London, and also dressed up as Holly from Red Dwarf, which was inspired as she wore black and set up her camera against a black background so her head really did appear to float. Dad took her (via his laptop) around the party to chat to everyone, and she hung on for a few short speeches and the cutting of the Tardis birthday cake.
A fun evening, and I think James had the best time. We headed off home to wash off the make-up and head to bed. Today is our last day of holidays. It's been lovely, but like always went so quickly. I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow morning. Hope your weekend was relaxing.