The other F word

Little Miss came home from kindy the other day excitedly talking about the big, fat giant who had been chasing her and her friends that day. Hold up – what? 

Fat?? 

The McD’s do… Kaikoura, NZ

After a relaxing week in Auckland, then a fairly hectic week in Nelson for my dad’s wedding, the four of us decided to take some extra time on our road trip down to Christchurch and stopped over in Kaikoura for a day and night.

Kaikoura is a magical little seaside town located on the east coast of the South Island of NZ.  The local speciality is crayfish, and there are gorgeous little food trucks selling freshly caught cray, oysters, whitebait and other seafood, right on the water’s edge.

Nin's Bin crayfish van (Image source: TripAdvisor)

The other attractions in Kaikoura are the seals

How to have a Dairy Free Easter

Dairy Free Easter eggs

N.B. This is not a sponsored post, I’m simply sharing some products I’ve found in the hope that it helps you to enjoy your dairy-free Easter too.

Easter can be a really crappy time if you’re intolerant or allergic to dairy. Milk chocolate eggs are everywhere, and you can’t go more than a few steps without being slapped in the face with a giant chocolate bunny. Easter eggs seem to hit supermarket shelves from the end of January, so there is a long and painful build-up to this chocolate-covered holiday.

Threats, lies and bribery: parenting a threenager

I never wanted to be ‘that’ parent. The one who yells. The one who loses her temper. The one who hisses “Shut up! Shut up!” in the middle of the night. The one who gets so frustrated she needs to scream into a pillow to release some of the tension.

But it’s happening. It’s happened. The threenager is winning.

The threenager is displeased with something

She is manipulative. She is stubborn.

She is doing my head in…

I know she doesn’t really understand what she’s doing. I know she’s testing boundaries, and learning where the line is. And yes, I know she’s just being three. But for FFS she is hard work!

The McD's do... Ramsgate Organic Foodie Markets

We love going to the Ramsgate Organic Foodie Markets, it is one of our absolute favourite things to do on a Saturday. Held in the grounds of Ramsgate Public School, it has all the elements of a perfect day – delicious food to eat, beautiful fresh produce and ingredients to take home to cook with, gorgeous things to admire (and sometimes buy), live music, and a bouncy castle with a well-managed queue. Everyone wins!

The Stuntman having a go at hopscotch at the Ramsgate Organic Foodie Markets

 I especially love it as the market stalls have a real focus on wholefoods, and there are loads of things that I can eat! Sometimes when we go out there is absolutely nothing the Stuntman and I can eat (needing dairy and soy free as a minimum), and it is so frustrating!

How to assemble a port-a-cot

Step 1: Pour yourself a large glass of wine (Expert tip: keep the bottle close!).

Step 2: Wrestle the port-a-cot from the ‘handy’ carry bag, and remove the piece that is wrapped around the main frame (Expert tip: do NOT discard this piece - that is the MATTRESS!).

Step 3: Take a very large sip of wine. Breathe deeply. Repeat.

Step 4: Shake the frame out and attempt to click the sidebars into place. Fail miserably.