Who in his right mind would let a 17 month old baby play with paint?

before ........

after ....... the room at the far end will be the laundry and the wall on the right still needs to be cleaned but that can be done after we move in.  For now we are focusing on priorities.

 This here is the view from the terrace of the main bedroom, which is also overlooking the yard/garden. The terrace is tiled but the room is still in shell form. 

This I think is my most favourite room of the house. It's slightly wider that what I could get in the photo.  A lot of work has been done to make this room look as it is .  As you can see in previous posts I have mentioned once or twice that things had to become ugly before turning pretty.  First of all this was not one room but two smaller ones.  We kept the original tiles but had to take them out  clean them and place them back to be able to do wiring for electrics, plumbing etc.. where you see the white pipe sticking out from the floor will eventually become part of the kitchen and where the cooking will be done. In the meantime works are being done on the extension of the top floor and the stairs.  The latter part involved an unbelievable amount of dust :((  but alas once the works will be finished the house will start looking wonderful... well at least in my standards ;)

I have decided to re arrange the blog.  So far I have only managed to change the design a little.  I will try and update a little more often, however at the moment I have my hands full with projects :))  Here's a photo of my little one who thought that the bottom carrier of the pushchair is a fun place to be :) 

Time for a little update.......

Our lemon tree is full and we have way too many lemons. I don't know what to do with all these lemons.  I mean really.... how many lemon cakes, lemonades and lemon meringue can one make?

the yard has been tiled while we were on our holiday.

the house is still very much works in progress but things are looking better now :))

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Our Christmas holidays this year were full of snow . 

Tucked away in a little village in the west of Germany we have spent two weeks of playing with snow, playing triominos, watching family movies and most important of all spending time together.  Drinking mulled wine or eggnog and eating german sausages and yummy treats we had a much needed relaxing break.  We went skiing, sledging and walking around the village enjoying the smell that came out of the chimneys.

And now back on this little island I wish you all a year full of health and happiness

According to a blog I follow 14 month old babies behaviours can test limits and patience.  He/she may become suddenly assertive about where he/she wants to go , wants to eat and also might refuse to put on a hat or a jacket or in my daughter's case wants to put the same jacket on even if it is warm outside!!.  Consider ways you can make your house or at least parts of it utterly safe for his/her investigations.  Also something very IMPORTANT -  experts agree that spanking or any form of corporal punishment does not work.  It's true however that parenting a toddler can be frustrating so try and figure out ways to set limits and you and your child will be much better.  Praise and pay attention to him/her especially when he/she are playing quietly and nicely.  What do you think ?

A rare photo of me, taken this morning with my little man.

Here's the latest finished work on this section of the house.

This is being cleared out as I type this post :))

Here's our one and only tree.  Lemons anyone?

and here's a lovely lemon pudding I made from here

work in progress.........

the sleeping quarters are being built .....upstairs.  Since I've taken this photo the roof has been put on for the upstairs bedroom (which will be our bedroom) . 

this room will be our en suite :))

St.Martin's day .....

........... and here in Malta together with a bag full of figs, chestnuts, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts it is also a tradition to bake this cake.  Here's some information about this day San Martin .  I will also be posting the recipe once my other hand is not holding baby :)) (too long to type recipe with one finger!!)

An update...... Not much is happening  at the moment as I am stuck indoors with middle child who is sick     :(( .  However he can still goof around with his little sister.

Hello everyone, I would like to share this with you and wish you all a great week.  I've just seen this over at Capers and Olives  and I think it is wonderful.

American frosting and walnut cake . Recipe can be found here Rachel Allen

Friday after school we went to see the Science fair.  This was great fun with hands on experiments, an earthquake room which was the kids' highlight, science shows explaining water and it's components, static electricity and lots more.

Saturday evening was spent with our friends enjoying a delicious meal and Halloween treats. Then on Sunday morning we were invited to join our dear friends for a hat birthday party which turned out to be great fun.

Cinnamon Rolls 

1/4 cup granulated sugar (50ml)
1/2 cup warm water (125ml)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 cup milk (125ml)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups plain flour

Filling

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cp coarsely chopped pecans/walnuts (optional)
1 generous tbsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, dissolve 1 tsp of the sugar in warm water.  Sprinkle in yeast, let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.  Meanwhile in small saucepan heat together milk remaining sugar, butter and salt until butter is melted, let cool to lukewarm.  Stir into yeast mixture along with eggs.  With electric mixer, gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups of the flour, beat for 2 minutes or until smooth.  With wooden spoon, gradually stir enough of the remaining flour to make soft slightly sticky dough.

Turned out dough onto lightly floured surface , knead for 7 - 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Place in large greased bowl , turning to grease all over.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap let rise in warm draft free place until doubled in bulk. 

Filling :   meanwhile in a saucepan over medium heat melt butter and sugar mixing well together add cinnamon and pecan/walnuts (optional) and set aside.

Turn the oven on, punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured surface.  Roll out into 18 x 14 inch (45 x35cm) rectangle.  Brush with half the melted butter leaving a 1 cm border uncovered.  sprinkle the sugar mixture, here you can leave some of the mixture to pour on top later.  Starting at long side tightly roll up pinching seam to seal.  Brush with melted butter.  With a serrated knife cut into 15 pieces place cut side down in the pan cover and let rise until double in bulk.

Finally pour the remaining sugar mixture on top and bake for 30 minutes (this all depends on your ovens really)| or until golden and top sounds hollow when tapped.  Let stand for a couple of minutes and then you can serve and enjoy.

Depth of field no.1

Depth of field no.2

Watching football practice

Painting at the mother and child group

Wednesday and Thursday,  we've been watching the middle child playing football down at our temporary football pitch (I'm emphasising temporary because this year after I do not know how many years the government has  allocated the funds to build a new football ground  YEAH!!  I have been trying out again the Depth of Field technique and for the first time I think I'm on the right track.  Lastly yesterday for the first time I took my little girl to the local mother and child group.  At first she sat on my lap and observed the other children and the new surroundings then slowly slowly she started playing , ate a banana, painted a red fish and to end the session we sang together as a group.  It was fun and I've also met some new mums :) 

quiet time ....

This photo was taken a while ago with my phone, however this is becoming a frequent scene here and I just love watching them :))

weekend cooking........

Cinnamon buns are by far my most favourite food indulgence.  However this is not something I bake often but when I do I really enjoy the process,  from dough making to the smell in the house and finally to the enjoyment of eating them. 

Today we woke up to thunder storm and lots of rain.

On another note, I've also managed to took a couple of photos with the depth of field technique which is not as easy as I thought.

I wish you all an enjoyable week.

This is part of the back garden of our home to be.  At the moment it's a big mess but once we clear all the stones etc...we will turn this into our personal relaxing outdoor space.  In the meantime we go there and kids play with the soil, they build, they cook and of course they get very dirty!! Happy Sunday to you all :)

Me and my girl and our daily walks.....

After walking my daughter and son to school I like to go for a walk with my little girl. This off course does not happen every day, there are days when other matters take priority, but this week we managed twice.......

once to this lovely gated  garden in a nearby village

and this morning down our local promenade, where the sun was shining ...... a little too much ;) for my liking.

Hot chocolate and cake day.............

yesterday my eldest daughter came home from school excited about her teacher's plans for today.  'Mum tomorrow we're having a hot chocolate day!!'    Two minutes after she comes next to me twinkling her eyes and all that   ''could you mum please, pretty please with a cherry on the top, bake a cake so I can take it to school and we can have a hot chocolate and cake day'.  I couldn't say no of course :))

On an autumn weekend this little family went out for walks, baked and watched one of the many games played by the older generation down at the local 'bocci club'.  I should really do a post about this game but first I have to get some significant information and take some more shots.  My middle child loves to watch these men play. Sometimes they argue , sometimes they joke and make fun of one another , it can be pretty amusing watching them.

In the last photo you can see my littlest chef trying to pull the cake tin full of cake mixture away from her sister because she wanted to play with the mixture.  She thought that the cake mixture should be thrown out of the tin and onto the table!!!