A few snippets of recent life on Planet Baby

Ah, Lovelies! I’m delighted so many of you found my last post helpful. I hope you are now enjoying emailing your fellow bloggers and having fun ‘offline’ chats like I am. As for me, I’m currently knee-deep in some blog planning (with the help of a very dear bloggy friend) and have had a day looking after two particularly active pixies who seemed to need my attention every two minutes on a rainy day. But most importantly, I am about to log on to start the Blogging Your Way e-course with the gorgeous Holly Becker from one of my all-time favourite blogs, Decor8, and the talented Leslie Shewring of A Creative Mint fame, one of the prettiest and most inspirational blogs around. I am absolutely *beside myself* with excitement at the prospect of working with these creative women who are being aided by the technical expertise of Holly’s husband, Thorsten Becker as well as meeting fellow bloggers from around the world. It’s going to be an exhilarating ride!

But before I start this four week e-course, I thought I’d share with you some photos of recent happenings on Planet Baby. Here goes!

Quicksilver Sam – the latest update

After the recent handiwork of Barry the Brilliant (remember him?), I’m pleased to tell you that Sam has not managed to escape from Planet Baby. No crawling out onto the road. No climbing up the steps. No slipping through the balustrades. Zip. Nada.  Nothing. The neighbourhood children have mastered the art of chaining the gate shut. Mind you, that doesn’t stop Sammy from *trying*. Here he is, trying to work out the mechanics of how to unchain it. Look at the concentration!

I really wonder if he’ll turn out to be a problem-solver like an engineer when he grows up.

The Great Lamington Making Affair

Now, lovely Planetarians, remember how I posted about my fail-proof pavlova recipe here and here? I challenged you all to give my recipe a try. Well, the fabulous Rhi, an expat-Australian living with her husband and two young children in Belgium, took up my challenge and posted about it on her blog in her funny ‘Life on Planet Sugar’. Do have a look at how luscious her pavlova was – apparently it was served up to her Mothers’ Group to great acclaim. No wonder – it looks scrumptious!  Mission accomplished, Rhi challenged me to the ‘Aussie Classic Inter-Continental Blogger Bake-Off’ – my task was to get the pixies to help me make some lamingtons like hers you can see here.

I asked Rhi for her recipe but she had made hers up. Undaunted, I turned to my trusty Women’s Weekly ‘Sweet Old-Fashioned Treats’ cookbook and found the magic recipe. My plan was to get the pixies involved on the weekend. However, Mr PB decided to throw an impromptu birthday party for his father for afternoon tea. And *forgot* to mention this small fact to me. Suddenly, I found myself (ie no pixies involved, so short was the timeframe) hurriedly making lamingtons for the first time since my exchange year in Germany in 1989. Oh, and running out of coconut (which I loathe) right in the middle of preparations when, of course, his parents turned up early. Hmm. Anyway, even although the icing had hardly set, they were promptly devoured. I’ll let the photos tell the story.

They’re not the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Next time, I’m going to use tongs to dip them in the coconut so I don’t end up with big thumbprints in them!

Looking a little fancier here. Maybe.

But the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. Let’s see if they pass the ‘taste test’ with Joshua.

I’d say the lamingtons were winners – what do you think, Rhi? Oh, and are you keen for another round of the ‘Aussie Classic Inter-Continental Blogger Bake-Off’? Any other Planetarians are welcome to throw down the gauntlet – just comment below with your suggestions!

Harvesting in our garden

All the rain we’ve had lately has resulted in luxuriant growth in the Planet Baby garden. Mr PB and the pixies have delighted in some harvesting. Cherry tomatoes have excelled.

Joshie was as proud as punch of his efforts.

Painting time

One of the pixies’ favourite pastimes is painting. We hauled out our trusty roll of kraft paper and let them do their thing. Here’s Sammy’s first attempt.

It didn’t take him long to get into it.

Miss India revelled in it, as usual. The perfect picture of concentration.

Joshie also relished having the freedom of the whole roll to paint upon.

We saved the best bit for last. Sammy was the first up.

And here’s the end result – something to remind us of these precious years on Planet Baby.

So, does anyone want to issue a challenge for another round of the ‘Aussie Classic Inter-Continental Blogger Bake-Off’? If there’s enough interest, we could even try a linky. Leap aboard with your suggestions!