Our Activity Advent Calendar

It is time for some Christmas craft! This year I decided to update last year’s advent calendar.

Last year I created stars from brown paper bags and ribbon and filled with stickers, toy cars and balloons. I thought it was a great idea until our little Duckling started opening them. We quickly  had a house full of balloons and stickers! It was too much stuff. Since calendars filled with chocolate are a no go (food allergies), I jumped onto Pinterest (yes, I’m adicted!) in search of a better idea…..I came across the notion of an activity filled calendar.

The concept is to fill the advent calendar with activities rather than things. I’ve reused the frame from last year and decided to create something that can be used for years to come. I found some blank 3×4 cardstock, perfect for writing an activity on. I used about 40 cards – I stamped 1-24 on one lot of cards, and the others are used to write activities on, this way they can be swapped around if’ I don’t have time to do an activity one day.

Most of the activities I have used  are things that we already do in December, they are now written down and makes it a little bit special to do one each day. The days I work Santa’s elves leave Christmas stickers or stamps. Our list of activites looks a bit like this:

Visit Santa and have photo taken; buy a present for a child in need and leave under the wishing tree; make a Christmas garland {left over Christmas cupcake liners from last year & string}; decorate our little man’s room; bring the Christmas tree inside {ours is in a pot and only comes inside just before Christmas}; read a Christmas story; watch a Christmas movie {thank you library!}; help Pappa Duck hang the Christmas lights; write a letter to Santa; go for a drive to look at the Christmas light displays; check Santa’s delivery box.

Santa has left a special delivery box where the Elves have been leaving special little items for our little duckling. Yesterday they left some LED battery ran fairy lights for him {$1.50 from Masters, best find!} and a note asking him to clean his room and hang from his bed {he can’t read which helps as I made up the cleaning bit on the spot! hehe!}. He was so very excited. There are a few other special deliveries due for the box in the coming weeks – a small craft activity from the $2 shop, and new pjs to wear Christmas Eve.

We are having lots of fun with this every day!

Sweet dreams and Merry Christmas,

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

Handmade Christmas Cards

Each year I make my own Christmas cards. It is something I really enjoy creating and know that my family and friends love to receive them. I guess quite a few people thought that once our little man was born, I would not have time to make Christmas cards for everyone. Although I don’t have hours to spend crafting, I still get my little craft fix as much as I can! Craft if definitely my therapy, as I have spoken about before (post here) and my time out from our busy lives. This is how I go about making my Christmas Cards.

Once I’ve written out the Christmas Card list, I create a little Christmas card making station by using a tray or box I have and I fill it with all the bits and pieces I need to create cards. It usually it goes a little like this:

glitter, stamps, ink, scrapbook paper, stickers, washi tape, ribbon, twine, buttons and anything else that takes my eye.

I  try to keep things simple and only create one or two designs. Then I make one of each card as an example. Normally after I’ve done that I have run out of time and come back to it later. It’s always a work in progress and gets done over a week or two. This is where the box comes in handy. When I have a spare hour in the evening, I am able to pick up where I left off.

This year I decided to take advantage of our little man and use his artwork on our Christmas cards.He was given some lovely children’s watercolour paints for his birthday by a friend, so I found a few pieces of cardboard and set him to work painting. This year I went for one simple design – a background of Christmas paper, a cutout of his painting and added some Christmas stamps on top. Most of the stamps are from the 1950/60s and were my Dad’s and Aunty and Uncles when they were kids, which makes them extra special to me and I love using them.

Oh and the last thing is get someone else to write on them! I make the cards, Pappa Duck writes on them (he does have lovely handwriting so it only seems fitting)

Itti Bitti Holiday

I love routine and I love order. They make me feel as though I am in control of my life. But I’m sick and tired of the same old. It’s getting really boring. Even being busy with works, home, friends and family, I’m still bored. Just exhausted and bored!

We used to put itti bitti holiday days into our calendar. We’d pack the car with a picnic and rug, swimmers, a ball and drive to the end of our street. We’d decide north, south or west and get away from the Gold Coast for the day. Our days were spent bushwalking, or rediscovering little towns we hadn’t been to since we were children, swimming, discovering markets, coffee shops, pubs, antique shops and parks.

Those days somehow have slipped out of our ‘routine’. This week (while Pappa Duck worked), the Little Duckling and I headed 45 minutes south to the beautiful Tweed Coast region to spend the day with friends holidaying. It was heavenly. The little ones ‘fished’ and a good explore by the creek, we found a nice spot in the sun for a good chat, had a BBQ, a swim and then finished the day with a scrumptious raw chocolate avocado mousse made by my gorgeous friend. I drove home feeling relaxed and recharged. It was exactly what I needed to do (instead of the planned cleaning and washing day). It made me realise that itti bitti holidays were missing from our life right now.

                                          

I’m adding itti bitti holidays back into our routine, what do you do to relax and reconnect with your little family?

Sweet Dreams,

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

An update…

Birthday celebrations are long gone and I am getting stuck into life as a 30 year old. I’m excited to be in my 30s, I feel like this decade will bring exciting times for my little family, beginning with Pappa Duck and I getting married! After being engaged for 6 years, buying a house, creating the most beautiful little baby (who is now 3 and a half – how did that happen!?!) and dating for a total of about 13 years we’ve decided March 2014 is the time to celebrate with our family and friends.

Being the slightly crazy organiser and crafty lady that I am, I have been busy searching the net for ideas. I’ve spent countless hours on Pinterest, swooning over pretty things which I’ve pinned to my page and you can check it out  here. We have found some wonderful local suppliers and Pappa Duck and I have been getting things booked before Christmas is upon us.

{Image via Pinterest}  and original source here

Christmas! My favourite time of year! I’ve updated the blackboard on the wall of our kitchen with November and December, the first step in Christmas preparations! I organise the family from this board – if it’s not on the board then I don’t do it! And yes, I will admit that I have already started initial crafting for the advent calendar and Christmas cards! I really do love the time of year and enjoy the spirit of giving at Christmas and being surrounded by the ones I love. So why not stretch it out and enjoy it for two months? I will be!

Sweet Dreams,

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

Christmas collection 2013

After much time thinking about what to write in this post here I sit with a blank page in front of me. For the last few years I have organised and collected items which we have then donated to a local charity on the Gold Coast. Come October the collection and organisation begins. I have decided not to organise a charity collection this Christmas. Right now I am really tired, exhausted and not feeling the excitement and love that I have in years past. I really need to have my heart in it to succeed. This doesn’t mean the end of Christmas charity collection for good, just need a little break in 2013. Some time out for myself, to have a break, and feel recharged. I have a very busy and exciting 6 months ahead of me.

I know some lovely followers have already collected bits and pieces for the Christmas collection. Those that want to collect more and forward onto charity at Christmas then please do so. It is really rewarding and there are lots of people that do it tough come Christmas. Shoot me an email and I can put you in touch with those that will happily take the donations. If there is anyone that has a few items, I am more than happy to collect from you now and pass onto charity or again I can put you in contact with those that need it. Even if it is a few cans of deodorant or some tinned soup. Every little bit helps.

I think it is really important to teach the art of giving to the little ones in our lives, and I know that come Christmas time we will be taking our little man to pick out a present to give to a child less fortunate.

Sweet Dreams,

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

duckeggbluem@gmail.com

September – celebrations all round.

After a busy few months here at Duck Egg Blue HQ along sneaks September! Always a beautiful month of celebrations and the beginning of my favourite season – Spring.

It also sees me move into crazy organiser lady. I’m sure I drive the people around me crazy with all my planning and organising.  I just wish I could transfer it to cleaning and organising my house more! So the beautiful month of celebrations include a baby shower, Pappa Duck and my 30th birthdays, half of my friends have a birthday this month and little duckling also has a handful of birthday parties to attend. Being the mum of a little duckling with allergies means that every birthday party we attend, I bake a cake that is wheat, egg, nut and dairy free. Our wonderful friends always check to make sure there is party food he can eat and they always offer to make him some cake and as much as I trust them I always feel more comfortable bringing my own. I think cupcakes will be put in the freezer this month so I just have to defrost and ice them as needed!  We are lucky to have family coming up to stay too, which we are really looking forward to. Busy bodies!

I have so many thoughts and ideas whizzing around in my head at the moment, I am hoping that after the celebrations are done I will have time to write them all down.

Before we know it I will be organising Christmas! (who am I kidding, I already have started, I am such a Christmas tragic, but I can’t help it I love Christmas so much!)

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

Maple Syrup Butter Cookies

This recipe comes straight from the Women’s Weekly “Classic Cookies” cookbook but of course I have adapted to make them allergy friendly. My little duckling really enjoys helping with this one! I love this recipe because it has only a handful of ingredients, they look great, taste delicious and no cane sugar.

Ingredients

125g Nutlex (or butter if you can handle dairy)

1 vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)

1/3 cup organic maple syrup

3/4 cup gluten free flour (or plain flour if not gf)

1/4 cup cornflour

First in goes the maple syrup

Then he helps with the butter. Mamma adds the vanilla.

Hands behind back when watching the butter and maple syrup. Beat until light and fluffy.

                                             

Next sift the flour and cornflour over the butter mixture. A little too hard and messy for this little duck to do. He does not like it when Mamma takes over! So he holds my arm while I sift.

Next we stir it all together. Always have to keep a close eye on my little duckling in this stage, otherwise it all goes in his mouth! Next the mixture goes into a piping bag. Little duckling likes watching the mixture be piped onto the tray. Once completed, place the tray of cookies into the fridge for 15-30mins. This makes the butter go hard and they keep their shape when cooking.

                            

Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Cool on tray.

Afternoon Tea!

I’m currently obsessed with this tea combination – fresh mint, ginger, lemon and honey.  Goes quite nice with our freshly baked cookies!

Happy Cooking!

Love Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

Colour Therapy

1. Take one box of freshly sharpened pencils in the colours of the rainbow.

Choose one of the following two options:

2a. Take a crisp white blank page and draw and colour what the heart desires.

Or

2b. Open a colouring in book and choose a picture (always the option I like!). Who says colouring in books are only for children?

3. Find a space where you will not be disturbed, grab a nice pot of tea, some calming music or silence (I prefer the later personally), and colour.

4. Forget about the world for half an hour or so. Focus on nothing but colours – calming blues, vibrant oranges, stormy purples.

This is my version of meditation. When my mind wanders from the task at hand, I gently coax it back by focusing on colouring in between the lines, what colour I will choose next or the colour I am currently using. No rules here, just what my heart desires.

I am always in a happier place and much calmer after spending some time with my pencils. Release your inner child, what have you got to lose?

Love

Duck Egg Blue Mamma

Forgotten Pleasures – The simple things

I know it sounds silly but in the last few weeks I have begun to remember things I loved doing before I became a mum. Simple things that made me happy. I cannot believe it has taken me until our little duckling turned 3 before I really started thinking about myself again. I’ve set myself a challenge this month – to seek out those forgotten simple pleasures and start enjoying them again. Somewhere in the midst of  the daily grind  – work, washing, groceries, meals, bills, cleaning, and all those ‘mum’ things, I have forgotten to look after myself as much as I would like to.

I’ve remembered how much I love reading and made time to read, run a hot bath and had a long soak, painted my fingernail pretty colours and had impromptu picnic lunches in our front yard in the sun. I’m enjoying life’s simple pleasures and I’m feeling better already.

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx

Chicken Nuggets and Chips – Allergy friendly receipe

This one is a bit of a favourite in our house with the little man. It is gluten free, egg free, dairy free and nut free. Eating takeaway is very limited with our little duckling’s allergies, so below is our version of Chicken Nuggets and Chips.

Ingredients

Chicken Breast

Gluten Free Breadcrumbs (or sometimes we use allergy friendly cornflakes crushed up)

Rice milk (or your choice of milk)

Gluten Free flour (or cornflour)

Mixed dried herbs

Sea Salt and cracked pepper

Potatoes and sweet potatoes

Coconut oil

Chicken Nuggets

1. Cut Chicken breast into nugget shaped pieces – no right or wrong way to do this step!

2. Put the gluten free flour, seasoning and a little dried herbs in one bowl.

3. Put rice milk in another bowl.

4. Put breadcrumbs and a little dried herbs in another bowl.

5. I dip all of the nuggets into flour making sure each surface is covered and place on a plate.

6. Then take a floured nugget and dip in milk and then cover in breadcrumbs. Place on baking tray covered in baking paper. Continue this step until all of the nuggets are complete.

Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 7 mins. Turn nuggets over and bake for an extra 5-7 minutes. We serve our nuggets with oven baked chips and some gluten free organic BBQ sauce or we make our own hummus.

Oven Baked Chips

Peel and cut chip shapes from potato and sweet potato. In a bowl mix a little melted coconut oil with a pinch of sea salt and toss the chips through. Place on tray lined with baking paper and place in oven for 15-20mins (depending on the size of your chips) at 180 degrees celsius.

Enjoy!

Duck Egg Blue Mamma xx