eyes as wide as saucers

By Mama

His eyes just about popped out of his head. K10 repeated over and over and over "Oh man, oh man, oh man".

We had pulled into the carpark at Gengys Restaurant and K10 had thought we were pulling their legs, and were about to drive out again. But then someone spotted Grandpa's car. And if Grandpa were there, maybe it meant we were going to stay for dinner.


It was a surprise too big for anyone to hardly believe! What a way to finish Dadda's week home with us. Eating this Mongolian food made EVERYONE eager about the day Dadda leaves work behind and we are all together - just like this last week - and hopefully in Mongolia!!


Eating out meant we didn't need K10's birthday cake.....so we get that tonight. YUM.
It looks like pizza and a glass of fizzy drink, but don't be fooled; there's a chocolate cake and carrot cake underneath copious quantities of sugar and food colouring.

Big Birthday Boy

By K10

Do you see that? K10, not K9!!

It's my birthday and so I'm very excited. I've been looking foward to my pudding breakfast. At our house, whenever you have a birthday you get to choose what's for breakfast.
Today it was caramel self-saucing pudding with whipped cream.
Yes, for breakfast!!!! Last year I had icecream and Weetbix (yum), but everyone else thought this year's was infinitely better!

Mobile Meatballs

we all worked together to produce

a MILLION meatballs.......

somehow we always seem to end up

making fun of our work!

CHOP CHOP

"Chop chop, hurry up, into the car" Mama called out to us.
We had to go out for the day, because we were bombing the house to try to get rid of the fleas L6 brought back from the hospital last week! We had one of those days Mama calls "productive"....revised memeory verses in the car, looked at a section, picked up some card for the games we are making, popped into Kathmandu and snapped up a bargain (they had made some gloves too small so were getting rid of them for $2 and our little girls need extra-extra-small!!!), did grocery shopping, visited some more sections, had lunch in the car, drove into town to pick up packs for the Big Trip (now it seems like it's really happening), played in Albert Park, watched the flower clock, listened to the university clock in the clock tower, zipped home, emptied the car, tidied the house, read some stories, watched some Gladys Aylward movie, cooked dinner...oops chop chop again. J11 chopped the end of one of his fingers. Not a little chop - a chop that required visiting the neighbour-nurse who advised getting it seen by Someone Who Knew What They Were Doing. Good ol' Grandpa dropped his going-out-dinner-plans and came over to watch the rest of us kiddos (coz of course today was the day Dadda was working til 7pm!)....we raced down to the doc and got it patched up nicely. His verdict wasn't the most encouraging: "I can't promise you won't lose the end of the finger, but we'll have a better idea in a few days. Come back tomorrow and we'll have a look and change the dressing." Hopefully it will be fine...and in the meantime, J11 is sporting an impressive-looking bandage!

we have the tools

Our church is taking part in "Self-Denial" at the moment to raise funds for the poor around the world. Each family has a little toolbox to put the money in.
They didn't all come with wax seals;-)


This week we had vegetarian dinners so we will be able to donate our *meat money* and today we are eating rice. Rice for breakfast, rice with soy sauce for lunch and rice with veges for dinner. We will be able to give today's food money too.

While we waited for the rice to cook for breakfast, we talked about and prayed for the people who have to collect their firewood from the forest and water from a well or river before they can even start to cook.


We are doing our dishes in a bowl outside to help us remember them more.

We have done other things too - but Mama said we have written enough - when you give, you should not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing! We didn't know that.

not too late to swim

It's been well over a week since we ate T3's cake, but Dadda has only just uploaded the photos.

Here 'tis. The Swimming Pool.

look what we caught!

the 3 fish fed 7 kids "fish-n-chips" at the 1st dinner sitting

and then 5 adults (at an adults-only sitting) had an entree

(one fillet each on a bed of red and yellow peppers and green basil
with chilli sauce drizzled over

and a hailstorm of freshly-ground black pepper)...

and there'll be fish stock to turn into Spicy Sunday Soup.

The Blog Hog

Sorry guys - I really am hogging your blog, aren't I!

Today's message is for K9. That's you spunky:


Sometimes I would like to be like you! You and I are v.e.r.y. different.
It's interesting getting to know you more and more as the years pass by!

We were sitting there today at MOTAT, waiting in line for a ride on the horse and buggy. waiting. waiting. waiting.

You sat down and after a few minutes declared, "Time goes so much quicker if you switch off and don't think."

switch off. don't think. I need to learn how to do this!

I was standing there thinking about baking bread when we got home, reminding myself not to forget the errands on the way, wondering if I would get any sewing done today, trying to work out if I should cut all the pieces out first or make them completely one by one, dreaming about our trip, feeling confident that you kids will cope, wondering if we should pop in to Dadda's work and say HI.......

switch off. don't think.

Do you remember the day you were waiting at the bench for your turn to help with kneading the bread? I suggested it might be more interesting for you if you helped cut up the apples we were stewing rather than just sitting there. Your reply: "I'd rather just sit and do nothing."

favourite friends

We really enjoy going to the Eds' place or having them come over or going away with them or going out with them or even bumping into them at the museum (that was fun guys). We just wish Mama and Dadda would organise get-togethers more often! We used to do things with them every week and we LOVED that, but it hasn't happened that way this year. About four years ago we both read about Ancient Egypt in our families and we were going to have an Egyptian dinner together....we've all read about Greece and Rome since then, and the Middle Ages aswell. Now we're both reading about the Renaissance and Reformation.....but still no ancients dinner!
However, last week we got together and enjoyed soup and bread and Mrs Ed's famous chocolate pudding.

The biggest boys:

The littlest girls:

HOT X BUNS

Yesterday we made hot cross buns to be ready for today...the day we specially remember Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for all our sins.

sweetie-pie surprise

This morning you came to me and said, "Mama could you take a photo of this for tomorrow's blog? This is the best apron I've ever made and I really like it".
Sweetie, I loved how you were so proud of your effort, your smile stretched across your face as you pointed out the special features, the double pocket, the small handsewn stitches. And so I thought I'd surprise you and sneak in a post for you....today!
Love ya lots darling....and I'm sure ER will love this first birthday present from you. She'll be able to wear it when you teach her how to make salads or spaghetti!

happy birthday to......

This is old news, but we need to put up a photo of it before the next birthday comes creeping up. (You see Mama is going to print all our posts out and make a book for us and we'll want all the birthdays in it!)

K8 wanted a gingerbread house....with the three bears taking a stroll in the forest.

Pumpkin Paradise

We love soup.....any sort of soup....but our absolute favourite is pumpkin.....yes we all share the same favourite (well we don't know about ER, but she sure liked this one).

Yesterday we picked our first pumpkin and Mama made Dadda's favourite chewy crusty bread and we had a scrummy dinner.



Here's the soup recipe:
2 onions, carefully chopped
as much garlic as you can manage, chopped as well as a 6 year old can
a good shake of cumin (2 teaspoons perhaps)
a little bit less coriander
about the same of turmeric
a pinch of ginger
a pinch of nutmeg
a few cracks of black pepper
as many mustard seeds as you feel like
fry together in a little olive oil and butter until nice-n-smelly

6 parsnips, chopped up
3/4 large pumpkin just picked from the garden(that's all that would fit in the pot)
this one actually



a few cups of chicken stock left over from the other night
add and bring to the boil, boil for five minutes or so transfer the pot to the cooking bag and leave a few hours


a can of coconut cream
just before serving stir in and sprinkle fresh coriander on top - oh yeah, you need to whizz it up so it's nice and smooth like this:


serve with Jim Lahey's New York Times No Knead Bread

mmmmmmmMuffin

Mama discovered late in the day yesterday

that she needed to take supper out last night,

so J12 made a couple of batches of muffins for her

(with blueberries from her own bushes).

We all enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast this morning
(and yes that's chocolate on top!)

a kiwi party

Summer parties in New Zealand revolve around the BBQ.....so we are finishing our party week with a "barbie" tonight (and not the doll sort!).

We've got lamb chops as well as lamb, mint and rosemary sausages to eat with lashings of mint jelly. We'll stirfry some veges from the garden on the hot plate to go with the sweetcorn. YUMMO. We love summer evenings.



Look who ended up coming for dinner.....Grandpa (well that's usual enough)....and he brought his brother and his wife and daughter too......when T2 saw Grandpa's brother she said "There are two Grandpas". They sure look alike!

Tea Party

Special biscuits and muffins we made that were not ready in time for lunch called out to be eaten at an AFTERNOON TEA PARTY. Mama even set the table with a tea set from her childhood and the remainders of a painted-by-K8 porcelain one. L6's flowers-for-Mama decorated the table.



K9 had made T2 a very special skirt to wear. He sewed it by hand.

Chinese Dinner Party

Having a Malaysian grandmother (Poh-poh) is a great heritage, especially for the foodies of the family. Yesterday we beavered away in the kitchen cooking a very tasty sour chicken laksa and chopping lots of veges from the garden to make spring rolls. Mama accommodated our request for steamed BBQ pork buns from the local Chinese vege shop - she thought that was a pretty easy contribution to the meal. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Kids Can Cook

T2 enjoys helping make the pasta.....this batch is full of basil from our garden.....mmmmmmm


Look at this whopper - it greeted us when we got back from our camping holiday.


And we can't wait for Pumpkin Soup. We've got quite a few pumpkins growing this year. J11 wanted to feed a milk pumpkin just like in "Farmer Boy", but there were already too many on the plant by the time we noticed them this year.

Still Hot

Plum sauce in the pot

Plum sauce bubbling hot

Plum sauce in a jar

Can be smelt from afar


Plum sauce rich deep red

Plum sauce thick to spread

Plum sauce tastes so good

I would eat it if I could

written by J12, J11, K9

The plums off this tree were very tart this year so yesterday I made plum sauce.

1 large green apple
1/2C water
Simmer, covered for 10 minutes

2 fresh chillies, chopped finely
1.5kg plums, halved
2C brown sugar
1 1/2C white wine vinegar
1 onion, grated
1/4C soy sauce
2T fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Add and bring to the boil.
Cook uncovered over medium heat for 45 minutes
**stir often**
Remove from heat and press through a seive
Discard the stones
Return to heat and cook rapidly, stirring constantly until thick
Pour into clean warm jar and seal
Leave for a month before opening

A Moment in Time

Saturday morning chores are complete and we are free to pursue whatever takes our fancy.
ER8mo takes a nap - as usual, she has kicked her blankets off.


The big three are resting in preparation for tomorrow's triathlon! Monopoly keeps their minds off the big event!


K8's mind is working overtime. "Mama I can do up to 10 or 11 on the clock but I don't know the ones after that" she said as she chopped up garlic to go in the savoury bread they were making. A few minutes later she was enlightened as to how the 24 hour clock works! But subtracting 12 was a bit tricky, so she used the cherry tomatoes just picked from the garden to help her!


The two little boys were in the garden....catching cicadas. Cicada-buzz is surely the most distinctive sound of summer round here.


T2 accompanies dolly playing with the playdough.


It's now 10:26am.