Super Yummy No Bake Choc Peppermint Slice

So I stumbled across a fab no bake choc peppermint slice on the internet and had a go at making it.... Anyhow here are the pics of my attempt :)

FAB! Yummo! I changed the recipe a little by adding an extra packet of sweet biscuits to the mix as my mixture looked a little sticky. You can go to the recipe via this link bakesmileplay 

Another Gnome Home

We have been busy planning more gnome homes and fairy doors. We just finished this one :) 

More Pics of the little man

Ace Update- its been a little while.

Well, life moves on... babies grow so fast ... here is a little dose of Ace Monroe ... 6.5 months old - 10kg, and 71cm long. 

He is going to be musical.... I just know it!

Ace is 6 months old!

Our beautiful little man, is now 6 months old! We are so proud of what a happy engaging fellow he is. He is very active and strong. 

Ace's favourite thing at the moment, is to blow raspberries - at the most in-opportune times!

He has also taken to saying uuh-uhh-uhh to me when I am doing something he doesn't like. (he learned that from us as its what we say when he grabs our glasses.)

He is eating solids - twice a day and is growing, growing, growing!

Ace thinks his daddy is the funniest thing in the world and giggles non stop when he is around (probably because of the funny faces he makes, his tickly whiskers, his insistance on daily raspberries, and that Shawn has been known to put the baby's shorts on his head while changing nappies!)

Dancing to bluegrass - Baby Ace busts a move!

Here is Ace Monroe - shaking his booty to bluegrass music while we were tuned into Lee Elliot's Show on www.worldwidebluegrass.com this morning!

What Ace has been up to lately.....

This week Ace has been doing a lot of hanging around....  

with our dog Mac....

with his "girlfriend" 
Strawberry Shortcake..... 

 with Daddy.... 

 and he has found a new place to stash his dummy....

 Ace has also been enjoying the hot weather ... 

growing, growing, growing ..... so fast!

wow.... growing is the best word to describe what is happening at our house at the moment.... Ace is growing, and so is the mess and laundry! Its amazing how much mess a solids munching, rolling over and scooting backwards 5 month old baby boy can make. 

Ace has a good appetite but is not satisfied until mummy and the floor are wearing as much of his dinner as he has eaten!

Ace is now sitting up quite confidently too.

He is also cutting his top two teeth, while having a growth spurt! this means I am not getting a whole lot of sleep- however when he is done, I am SURE (please God) he will start sleeping through the night.

The other new trick Ace has learned is "giving me the eyebrow" I only have myself to blame for this cheeky trick, as he learned it off me. 

The last 3 days in pictures

This is what is happening at our house this morning.......

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is what was happening at our house yesterday....

mmmm nom nom 

Ace loves watermelon!

This is what was happening at our house the day before yesterday.....

can you believe Ace is really 5 months old???

note: just after I took this photo, Ace wormed himself completely off the bouncer.... bye bye bouncer.. 

My Birthday.....

I had a wonderful birthday. For quite a few different reasons. It was my first birthday as a mummy, I am now officially closer to 40 than 30 and I really enjoyed having Shawn home to spend the day with me (he got a surprise day off work) 

I was blessed with lots of kind gifts and well wishes. 

If you didn't know it was my birthday, or just plain forgot, here's a reminder for next year....

Heather's Birthday : 17 January 1977.... mark it in your diary :P

When do you celebrate your birthday this year? Let me know so I can add you to my brand new birthday calender Shawn made me for a birthday gift this year :) 

Shawn's Birthday, Christmas, and New Year

Hi everyone!

yes its been some time since I posted but its been a busy time of year.

Shawn celebrated his birthday on the 23rd of Dec at his moms house in Morrinsville - which he enjoyed greatly. 

Here is a video of Shawn and Ace that morning:

The weather has been hot and humid - so Shawn decided to put Ace's paddling pool to good use:

pin up pose!

Here is a photo of Ace under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.... he is the best present I ever got!

and like any baby at Christmas time..... Ace's favourite part was the wrapping paper:

and since I hardly ever have a photo of me on this blog here's one for all of you that miss seeing my face around.

January 2013

hope you all had a great holiday season

love from us here 

The Carrigans xxx

Ace and the chicken bone

This is a video of Ace's first experience with a chicken bone..... I think he liked it!!!

Ace's first night in his own room....

Ok, so I am the first to admit I am tearing up as I type this. 

Tonight, for the first time in 4 months, Shawn and I went to bed without having to tiptoe past the bassinette at the end of our bed.... Our Ace had gone to bed, for the first time, in his big cot, in his own room. (He has gotten too big for his bassinette and kept waking him self up when his arms hit the sides in his sleep and we couldn't fit his big cot in our bedroom)

As I lay down to sleep there was a huge sense of emptiness in our room, it was horrible. Ace was only on the other side of our bed room wall, but I felt so vulnerable without him in my sight.

Ace on the other hand was relishing his new found space and went to sleep happily- arms spread out like a star fish :D.

it's a bit blurry but it was taken in the dark with a flash

When he woke, for his 12.30am feed, I must have heard him the instant he cried because, by the time I woke up properly I was sitting in my lazy boy chair in his nursery with him happily chowing down on his midnight feast. I can't remember getting up!

Funny, since I had tossed and turned earlier trying to put all the fears to rest. 

"what happens if he wakes and I dont hear him and he gets scared in his new room?"

'What if his arm gets stuck in the slats of his cot?"

"what if he's cold and I don't know?"

"What if his quilt comes lose and he kicks it onto his face and suffocates?"

I am surprised I have slept at all. (Shawn came up with the great idea of using a safety pin to secure the cot quilt to the mattress at the right level, so I felt better about that.)

He has had his feed now and has drifted blissfully back to starfish sleep in his new big bed.... 

I, however, have felt the need to spend precious sleep time debriefing via this blog.... phew.... this being a mum thing is full on... it's like someone cut out my heart and put it to sleep in the next room.

Just a side note, for those who are interested, this whole scenario hasn't bothered Shawn at all - he was asleep as his head hit the pillow and he hasn't stirred at all since!! thank goodness we are not BOTH worryworts! 

Ace meets mashed potatoes!

Daddy says: Mmmm Mashed Potato is made from McDonalds French Fries..... that's why everyone likes it!...

Very creative, imaginative fibbing Daddy 

Bucket Head - sorry Ace LOL

Ace and the chocolate wrapper :)

You think the wrapper is great son - wait till you're allowed to eat what's inside!

Art Deco Gnome Home

Here's another gnome home

No Place Like Gnome

Every now and again, I come up with a kookie, creative idea, this time it was a minature gnome garden. 

Shawn and I whipped up this little gnome home with our ninja construction and gardening skills :) 

I LOVE IT!!!

Cherub

Interview With Ace- 12 Weeks Old