One Year Old

Happy Birthday to my little Scrag, born one year ago today.

Born April 16th 2008, 4.10pm weighing 9lb3oz (4.2kg) at Auckland hospital; delivered two weeks early by Caesarian section.

Where would we be without you in our family? Your throaty chuckle, your cheeky grin, your lovable, fun-loving nature...

We all adore you, love you to bits. You really are our Bundle of Joy.

Happy First Birthday, Scraggy!

Wordless Wednesday: When the Cat's Away...

What happens when Daddy is left in charge...
(It's felt-tip pen)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Our Last Supper tonight was a bit of a hoot. Grandma had to leave the room a few times to "collect herself", and afterwards said she hadn't laughed so much in years!

The kids knew it was me and Mr G dressed up, but somehow they related to us differently in costume, hanging on our every word and speaking oh-so-politely.

We were Mary Magdalene and the Apostle Peter come in a time machine to have dinner with them and tell them our memories of what happened on the first Easter.


Mr G sounded like a Greek fruiterer and kept going on about fishing and "kebabs, peeps"! I'm not sure I sounded much better (a cross between a South African and a Russian??!!)

There were a couple of serious moments when the kids would be listening to my (very enlightening and inspiring) stories and that crazy "Peter" would come in and start doing a dance from Fiddler on the Roof or something and distract them!

We had great fun though, and with Grandma there we even got photos with me in them! A great night, very simple, memorable and yummy food too... highly recommended!










(Miss Fab whispered to Grandma after I had left in my time machine, "Grandma, I know it was mummy being Mary, but wasn't she a good actress?" Tee hee)

Here's a video clip that Grandma secretly shot... the first bit is pretty funny (although it does drag on a bit at the end) but you'll get the general idea!)

OTHER EASTER STORIES

• Our last Supper
• Dinnertime in 30AD
• Easter, Me and Mine
• How to throw a Middle Eastern Theme Dinner

Faith of a Child

With Easter nearly upon us, it's got me thinking again about how to make this time special, memorable and meaningful.

In the middle of all the chocolate and bunnies, how do I help my kids get in touch with the deeper themes, create meaningful traditions, how can I pass on to them the richness of my faith, so that it becomes real to them?

As a mother this has been one of my many parenting dilemmas. I grew up as a 2nd generation Christian; I was immersed in Church culture, was even a pastor's kid for a while... I got to see plenty of the downside that goes hand in hand with the good (because after all Christians are humans).

I watched my parents do their best to live out their faith, making mistakes (of course) and errors of judgement, which us kids had to sometimes pay the price for. I struggled to find God in the midst of all of it.

I mean, it all made sense to me and I could see that God was real to lots of people around me; but it was like I hit a brick wall myself. It wasn't until my 20's that I finally began to find God as a personal reality, and my faith became a living thing.

The thought of my children repeating that frustrating journey frankly terrified me for a long time. It is my constant prayer that my kids will know not just stories about Jesus but will know the real Jesus in their own hearts... giving them peace, confidence and help through their own journeys and struggles. How do I pass on my faith to them in a real and meaningful way? It's a daunting task.

So Easter is a very important time.

My friend Linda attended a session at the Parenting Place which was all about creating great Easter traditions. She came over for coffee and told me some of what she learned, and there were some great ideas!

My favourite one we will be doing on Easter Sunday morning...

The plan is to get up early, when it's still dark. Bundle up warm and head off to a hill somewhere, with hot chocolate and Hot Cross Buns. Walk up the hill together, watch the sunrise while you eat the Buns and drink the Hot Chocolate; then read the Easter Story together.

I love it! I can imagine how mystical and magical it will feel to walk to the top of our local mountain together (from our car conveniently parked near the top of course!) To look over our city as it starts to wake up on Resurrection morning. To share the Old Story in that special place. I have stocked up on Buns and Hot Chocolate sachets. Now I just hope I can wake up in time!


The other thing we plan to do is a Theme Dinner tomorrow night (Thursday), which is the night before Good Friday. I am going to make diced Lamb with Pita pockets and salad (some Passover-ish food) We will have red wine, the kids red grape juice.

Me and Mr G are going to dress up as Mary Magdalene and the Apostle Peter and knock on the door to come as guests for dinner and tell the children the Easter story as if from our recollections. It should be fun, and very impromptu.

Of course, there is also a good supply of Easter Eggs stashed away in the cupboard for a good-ole Easter egg hunt as well! (because, in my view you can never have too much chocolate...)

Wordless Wednesday

"Not bad... is there any more?"

A GrownUps Birthday Party

Last Friday night I finally got to realise my dream of a grown-ups party under our grape vine. The occasion was Mr G's birthday, and I have to say it was a lovely night.

We had the patio heater going, fairy lights, flaming torches and candles, mood music, platters of nibbles and drinks on ice; there was good company, great conversation and a few laughs in a relaxed and (I think) magical setting.

Here's a few of my quick and easy recipes for the next time you have a grownups party to do...

Home-Made Pita Crisps

Ingredients

1 packet of 8 mini-pita pockets
olive oil (in spray bottle is easiest)

cracked black pepper & sea salt

parmesan cheese, garlic salt (optional)

Cut pita pockets in half, then in quarters then in 8ths so you have triangle-shaped wedges. Split each wedge in two (pita pockets have two layers) and then lay on trays lined with baking paper, with the rough side facing up. Spray or brush with olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper and rock salt (and parmesan cheese or garlic salt salt if you like). Bake in oven for 10 minutes on 180oC or until crisp and golden. Serve with hummus and other yummy dips, like Home-Made Guacamole.

Home-Made Guacamole

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons of lite sour cream
Sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice, cracked black pepper

Mash up the avocado, add sour cream, a squirt of lemon juice (prevents browning), a good sprinkle of pepper and a splodge of sweet chilli sauce. Mix together and serve with carrot sticks, pita crisps and corn chips.


Easy Canapes

Ingredients
3-4 pre-rolled Pastry sheets
4 Tablespoons Lite cream cheese mixed with 1 Tablespoon Basil pesto
Cherry tomatoes, cracked black pepper

Cut each pastry sheet into 9 squares and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Use a glass to mark a circle into the middle of each pastry square. Put a small splodge of basil cream cheese mixture into the midle of each square and top with half a cherry tomato cut in quarters; dust with pepper. Bake at 180oC for 10-15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve when cooled.

Variation: Mix a little with of tinned salmon into the cream cheese for a different flavour.


Cheats Strawberry Gateau

Ingredients
1 unfilled sponge cake from the supermarket
125ml Cream whipped with icing sugar and vanilla until stiff
2 cups of strawberries, hulled and sliced
Plum or strawberry Jam
Crumbled Cadbury Flake Bar or grated milk chocolate

Spread the bottom layer of the sponge cake with jam, then a layer of strawberry slices, then spread with cream. Place second layer of cake on top and spread liberally with more cream. Arrange the strawberries on top; sprinkle with the flaked or grated chocolate.

Yummo! So easy to do, very cheap to make and yet still impressive!

The perfect drink to accompany all this? Sangria of course! Click here for my Sangria recipe...

Middle Eastern Dinner

Here's a fun idea, great for Easter, or even just a Theme Dinner...

Invite an extra friend or two (the more the merrier)...

Make outfits out of sheets and tea-towels, scarves, fabric and dressing gown belts...

Set the table with candles and a white cloth; use anything you can find made of earthenware or pottery...

Stir fry some lamb chunks with cummin, cinnamon and coriander; or roast some lamb instead. Make a paste of olive oil and spices and smear it all over for a middle eastern flavour...

Cut pita bread in half to make pockets. Stuff with lamb, rice and salad greens. Serve corn, olives, hummus and grapes on the side...

Light lots and lots of candles...

Serve red grape juice in wine glasses. Call it Kids Wine. (Give the adults the real stuff)

Get everyone to choose a Biblical or Arabic name. Try speaking in Middle Eastern accents. Pretend you live 2000 years ago. Imagine you have just seen a historical event. Let your imagination run wild!

Shalom! (Peace be with you!)