Sleepless Nights

Author: Veronica

  • Showcase Tasmania: Joanna’s Jams

    I’d heard good things about Joanna’s Jams from people I know, so when I was down at Salamanca Market a couple of weeks ago I grabbed her business card and emailed her, to ask about Showcase Tasmania. Luckily, she was keen and a week later, I headed down to have a chat to her and collect some of her jams to try.

    Joanna usually makes three types of jam – raspberry, blackberry and strawberry, but I was lucky enough to also get to try her boysenberry jam (limited availability).

    When I brought the jam home, my children thought it was fantastic. I was a little slow in putting it in the top cupboard and when I turned around, the jars were being rolled around on the floor “like cars mummy!”

    First bonus: A very good lid seal.

    The next day, we opened the strawberry jam to have on toast. An hour later, I discovered Isaac sitting on the kitchen floor with the teaspoon and the jar, eating it straight.

    Second bonus: Appeals to toddlers.

    Slowly, we worked our way through the jars, as the children declared it delicious and Nathan and I agreed.

    Third bonus: Tastes incredibly good.

    I’ve been meaning to go blackberry picking in order to make my own blackberry jam, but each year I want to and each year time slips away from me and I don’t get any blackberries picked. I think maybe I’m just going to keep buying the blackberry jam from Joanna, to reduce my own guilt!

    I had meant to finish this post with a gorgeous picture of scones, jam and cream, but I’ve been so hideously busy that I haven’t had time to make any scones. Which is a shame, as I think Joanna’s jam would be perfect on them.

    Joanna can be found at Salamanca markets every Saturday – or you can buy jam online here.

  • And there went the last shreds of my dignity

    Yesterday, I took my children to the Brighton Show. An institution for as long as I can remember, when I was a kid I would beg to be taken, as it usually fell on the same weekend or close enough to my birthday.

    I was a little worried about how they would cope with the heat, the noise and the crowds, but they both did really well.

    Except for Isaac and the jumping castle.

    Now, to be fair he hasn’t been on a jumping castle before and he wasn’t prepared for it to be so hard to walk around. Nor was I impressed that in the middle of the 2-6yo set jumping, there were two boys who looked to be twelve-ish, jumping around and bowling over the smaller children. It might even have been okay, if they both weren’t very large for their age and completely oblivious to the little ones.

    It didn’t take long for Isaac to fall over and start to cry and refuse to walk back to the entrance where I was standing.

    So I did what countless other mothers have done before me, I kicked off my shoes and braved the dodgy terrain to go and rescue Isaac. It was all going well until we got to the exit and my ankle dislocated and down we went in a tumble of limbs, sliding down the inflatable ramp.

    Isaac thought it was hilarious, but of course, he wasn’t the one wearing a dress and flashing his knickers to the crowd of waiting parents and teenage hanger-ons.

    Not my finest moment.

    Not at all.

  • Aiming for rubbish free lunchboxes? + Giveaway

    Amy’s class has been talking a bit about rubbish recently and how to reduce rubbish in their lunchboxes. Of course, I didn’t realise this until I was at the swimming carnival with the Kinders and heard one boy proudly telling the teacher that he had “no rubbish today!” and being praised for it.

    I know that Marita’s school has been doing similar things and so I started to think about how to reduce rubbish in our lunch boxes. I use reusable containers for as many things as possible, but I am guilty of just quickly wrapping things in cling wrap and sending them, because it’s easy.

    Imagine how pleased I was when the lovely Rebecca from 4 My Earth expressed interest in running advertising on my sidebar, and having me review her products as well. 4 My Earth sells all kinds of things, but I was really interested in the lunch wraps and pouches, that allow you to wrap sandwiches and keep them fresh.

    Not to mention that they are super cool looking.

    I’ve been sending these to school with Amy’s lunch for a week now with no problems whatsoever. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t make it home again, but Amy has adjusted really well and they are making it home at the end of the day perfectly.

    They’re really simple to use and according to Amy, they’ve kept her lunch “yummy and delicious!” as well. You place the sandwich in the middle and then wrap it, using the velcro to hold it closed. Plastic lined, but woven material on the outside means that they look great and they keep everything fresh.

    To clean, I’ve just been rinsing them in the washing up water at the beginning of the washing up and then hanging in the window to dry, which seems to be working well for us.

    The pouches are exactly what they sound like and are pouches for placing food in. I haven’t tried these out properly yet because I’ve been too slack to bake, but the large pouch would hold a piece of quiche, or a slice quite well, whereas the smaller one looks perfect for putting crackers, or sweet biscuits into, or even slices of cucumber and olives.

    ***

    Giveaway!

    Because Rebecca would like you guys to try out these eco-wraps and see how amazing they are, she is offering two Eco-Packs to give away, including one large sandwich wrap, one small wrap, one large pouch and one small pouch.

    You MUST enter through the Rafflecopter widget.



    To enter, tell me, what is your favourite lunch box food?

    ***

    This is a sponsored post.

     

  • These are intolerable working conditions.

    [Video: Now with captions]

    Internet, I give you the baby birds that are screeching above my desk. BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO SUFFER WITH ME.

    These working conditions are intolerable. I’ve tried complaining to the groundskeeper and maintenance man (Nathan) but he tells me his hands are tied and I need to discuss the issue with pest control (The Cats).

    Either way, nothing is getting done and my ears are hurting.

  • Wedding plans. I appear to be running out of time

    With a wedding set to happen in 23 days, I’ve realised that days are not as long as I thought they were and that months will fly by if you give them a chance. Just because whining grumpy children make seconds feel like minutes, they don’t actually appear to have the power to extend time.

    I’m not sure if that is a good thing, or a bad thing.

    It’s probably good.

    From being a little stressed about wedding things a week ago, now I’m feeling quite zen about the whole thing. Sure, I need to buy stacks of paper plates and work out where I can buy wooden forks from, but the spit is organised, an old family friend has gifted me the sheep to go on it and I have friends and family descending on the house the day before in order to help with preparations.

    If we can’t get things organised with all of the extra hands, then we deserve to have things left undone.

    There are a few things that I absolutely need to do before the wedding and one of them involves buying a new bra.

    [insert music of doom here]

    I hate bra shopping. Hate hate hate. But as the ever so lovely Renee pointed out when we were discussing bras at the Problogger event (as you do) – I need to be wearing a different size bra. I gained weight and it seems that a good portion of that weight landed on my breasts. Nathan is thrilled to bits about this, but I’m not convinced.

    The other thing I need to do is start seriously preparing my children for the sheer amount of relatives that we’re going to have up here – something that I’m not sure the kids are going to cope with. Isaac hides in the bedroom whenever his cousins come to visit, and he LIKES them. Amy sort of understands that the wedding is a party, but she just wants to put up the wedding tent and “live in it Mummy!”

    It’s going to be interesting, at the very least.

    And, both children need a haircut. Amy will be fine, but Isaac has a tendency to scream blue murder and require a straitjacket type approach in order to get his hair clipped.

    I visualise lots of flying time in my future.

    Anyway.

    I’m getting married Internet!

    PS, I have completely forgotten to invite a bunch of people. This is a bad thing.