Cookie Making by Tae

Step by Step Baking - The Betty Crocker Method;)

1. Have mummy organise all the ingredients.

2. Open the box.

3. Pour out the mixture.

4. Pour in the oil and water (previously measured with mummy's help).

5. Beat the egg.

6. Pour in the egg.

7. Mix it all up.

8. Try to get some cookie dough off the spoon.

9. Roll it into a ball.

10. Hand it to mummy (saying each time 'there you go') to put on the tray. Repeat steps 8, 9 & 10 x15.

11. Examine your wonderful work before mummy pops them in the oven.

12. Become very excited to eat your own cookie.

13. Enjoy whilst watching cartoons on the iPad.....

Trip to the farm

  Tae cycled, Tim scootered and Tig and I tried to keep up.

This was Tae's first trip out on his new bike. (We may have been a little ambitious going all the way to our local farm)

The sun was out (not seen it too recently) and it was open day at the local farm:)))

So off we went!

Tae did really well. He cycled most of the way by himself. Most help was with the steering. His feet coordination was fine, and when he concentrated he could steer no problem (he has a special talent to steer right through e.v.e.r.y. puddle). But to stay focused and look ahead was a challenge on a busy road. Lots of exciting cars, buses and trucks to look at! It got much better when we hit the lane to the woods.

Once at the farm, Tim met his friend and disappeared. Tae enjoyed looking at the pig, sheep, lambs, hens and horses.

Yes, that may be my son, sneaking behind a prickly bush to talk to the hen;)

After checking out  the animals, it was time for an ice cream break. Note Tim managed to find us when it was icecream time!

A certain member of our family became very tired and had a total break down on the way home. He was not a happy boy and has a distinctly loud scream when he wishes to express this! Once home he played on the floor with his cars for a while, then climbed onto the sofa and under one minute we had peace.....

Tim's Table

Tim has just completed a woodwork rotation at school. This year they cover needlepoint, woodwork, knitting, and 'a secret' (he will not disclose this information to his mother).

He loves all the art lessons and his Super Mario Mushroom cross-stitch was fabulous! I love how they learn how to do the stitches by making a pin cushion and then were were allowed to create their own design.

 

I think he found all the measuring, sawing and sanding in woodwork the most fun.

He was very proud when came home with his table.

He based his design on a smiliar table I made at school that had wooden beams between the legs!

He did not have time to varnish or paint his table at school, so Tig set up a painting station in the basement for him to finish the job. (he may have also helped him even out the legs a little so it was not so wibbly wobbly:)

 

 

The finished result!!!

Now, I'm quite curious what the knitting section will bring:))

Wordless Wednesday - Flowers for Mummy

A New Look!

We have an unwritten plan when it comes to upgrading our house and furnishing.

A kind of agreement.

A list of things we have casually chatted over and prioritised for the next few years.

Things like new dressers and a fitted wardrobe for our bedroom. Landscaping the garden. Underfloor heating in the hallway. A new kitchen. New sofas.

Everything on this list has a rough timeline depending on a lot of things, nothing is really urgent, somethings we specifically have decided to put off purchasing (please reference this later;).

So, we decide to start with dressers and have scoped out a few, but wanted to recheck the ones we think we actually want.

As we walk through the shop, we obviously have to mooch around all the other departments. Get a feel and refine what we actually want when the time is right for all the other things on our list.

As we went through the sofa section we tweaked our criteria list. A large corner sofa or 2 three seaters, hard wearing fabric in a medium to dark colour - brown/blue. Must be comfy and deep seated. (reference criteria)

 

I will also add at this point, we had specifically agreed that a new sofa was waaaaay down on our list. Just in case you hadn't noticed, we have 2 boys, aged 3 & 10 years old in our house (reference the age and word boys for later).

So to sumerise - The last thing on our list is new sofas. When the boys are older we will be looking for either 2x 3 seaters or large corner and in a dark, no stain showing colour.

Yep - We have been known to be a little spontaneous and go with our gut instincts. When we like something - we just like it!!

Hence, we have bought new sofas. A 2 seater and a 3 seater in cream!!!!!!!!!!!

Please look at referance point 1 2 & 3. Yes, we had not planned to buy sofas anytime soon, they are not the size we discussed and completely a colour that was NOT on our radar, especially with 2 young boys.

However, they seem happy with our choice:)

They are lovely and VERY comfy, and hey, we may be in our 4th decade, but we still like to live life on the edge;)

Loving Books!

Let's say that Tim Loves many thing in life! One thing he has a love-hate relationship with is reading.

He hates the thought of reading - or starting a new book, but loves it as soon as he is a couple of pages in.

It tends to be flood or drought around here as far as his home/enjoyment reading goes.

What works for him is if he can get hooked into a series of books. Then it's usually full steam ahead.

We started out with Horrid Henry and Beast Quest in English then moved onto Taynikma and Bjørn Sortland books in Norwegian. These were the main series he covered. We also have had quite a few other books in between, including Harry Potter.

However, recently he could not find any books or series that he loved. Until he started reading the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan!!! Yay.

Please note, he has had the first 2 books since Christmas, but refused to open them up. Well, during Easter, I decided it was time and put him on at least 30 mins reading each day. Soon he was hooked. He loves the books and it is wonderful to hear the excitement in his voice as he talk about them.

He started book 1 then, and just over 2 weeks later he is already half way through book 3!! Thank you Amazon for quick deliver of the rest of the series;)

So we are good to go until the summer. Now.... All I have to do is find another series of books to hook him into for then!!



Pappa's Pizza

In true Norwegian tradition we quite often have pizza at the weekend.

So we are quite the pizza experts in our house.

Quick Pizza History

Tig refuses to buy the most common 'shop bought' pizza called a Grandiosa (or any other frozen pizza). In fact, when I first came to Norway, I'd heard so much about it, I asked if we could have it one evening - apparently it was not an option:( I ended up buying it when he went out one night - very junky pizza, not that bad, but wouldn't describe it as good either.

Then you have the 'chain' take away pizzas. Dolly Dimples and Peppe's Pizza. Both made fresh, great choice and they deliver, but expensive - enough said:)

 

A few years ago Tig decided that he would learn to make pizzas himself from scratch. We have not looked back. They are far nicer than anything we have ever bought! 

Over the years he has experimented with different doughs, toppings, tomato sauces and cheeses. We pretty much have it all worked out now!

We love it ALL. Tim far prefers what he refers to as Pappa's pizza than any other.

We have now entered the Italian style - thin and crispy phase. Tonights offering were 4 pizzas:

Pepperoni

Serono ham

bacon

Tuna & Capers (my favourite)

Tim's contribution is to make the dip to go with it. ( He got tips from his friend O, that it was far better to mix your own from the spice rack than to buy the ready made packets).

Seriously yummy - a major family tradition around here:)

Wordless Wednesday - A new big boy bike