Nephew's 5th birthday party

We went to my nephew's 5th birthday party this weekend. I had no idea what to get for the little boy so I asked my sister-in-law on Facebook messenger. She said that he has got plenty of Duplo, but would love to get some more Lego. I also asked her if he'd like some Lego men as these now come in separate sets. All of us went to the Warehouse since it has the largest selection of Lego to choose from. We settled with a box that has all the different colour bricks and also some wheels so my nephew can create his own Lego cars. He already has some Lego men from Ninjago and another set so he doesn't really need more men. We ended up getting this one. I've decided to blog a bit more in the future. I took my son on the bus today since my car keys are still missing. It was an adventure! I also had the chance to wait at the bus stop and look at some trees and flowers on the way to daycare. I was lucky that I saw my husband taking my daughter home. I was actually prepared this time, holding my daughter's small blue umbrella and waiting for her to come out. I hope the weather will clear up in the next few days, although there are still quite a lot of grey clouds in the sky at the moment. I guess it will not clear up until all the moisture are gone. The ground isn't saturated yet, but there are some surface flooding because the gutters are blocked by autumn leaves. I also managed to take some photos of the Three Sisters and the seashore on the way home. It was fun to be a tourist in one's own country some time. I managed to colour some pages during the weekend as well at my mother-in-law's place. We went to my husband's grandmother's grave and put some fresh flowers there. We lost her on 28 June 2017 and it is almost a year since she past. She has missed all the great grandchildren's birthdays, and all her grandchildren's birthdays, and her children's birthdays. We looked at some other gravestones in the graveyard as my husband has other relatives who were also buried in the same cemetery. It was interesting to look at these old gravestones. Some of them really need a clean up as moss have covered the names of the deceased. Some gravestones probably need to be fixed or another erected since they are so old. I also saw my new nephew who is only two weeks old. He's very cute, very milk drunk, and haven't opened his eyes while we visited. We will have other chances to see him in the future. I am really happy for my sister-in-law because they have been trying for a baby for so long and finally got a baby. I am happy that I've taken some nice photos on the trip so I can paint these scenes when I go to Arts for Health this week. I am always on the lookout for new inspirations. In fact, I have always wanted to paint the trip down to Taranaki but never got around to taking any photos on the trip before this one.

Kids' birthday party at the pool

I've been busy this week for today's birthday party at the Gallagher Aquatic Centre. My plan was to make a Moana cake with two tiers, and since my daughter is allergic to egg, milk and peanuts, it has to be specially made beforehand. Pinterest is a great party-planning tool. I've looked at numerous Youtube videos about how to make a Moana cake and decided to do this one. Here is the Youtube video from the original cake decorator, and I have modified their method to make the waves in the ocean for the bottom tier. The cakes I baked is a butter cake from Edmonds cookbook, an essential kitchen guide for a Kiwi kitchen. I've substituted butter from the recipe with Olivani, two eggs with Orgran No Egg and water and milk with soy milk. The icing I used for both tiers is buttercream icing from Edmonds cookbook as well with butter again substituted by Olivani. Here is a link to the cake recipe and this is the buttercream icing recipe from the same book. Mum used the same recipe to make the top tier. However, it was difficult to see the ocean waves because the cake is not high enough. I made some white icing to put on top of the waves like foams and bubbles. For the top tier, I made light green icing and cover the top tier first. Then, I used a toothpick to tease the icing, making some negative spaces and dip the toothpick into a dark green icing to "paint" the grass all around the top tier. I've put both tiers in the fridge overnight so the icing will not melt in this weather. It has been so hot and it's not easy to keep the icing intack. I would have to make a taller cake so I can have more prominent waves around it. I planned to make chicken kebab and cocktail sausages, but ended up making Hawaiian pulled pork burger. It was really easy, but I didn't have ready-made BBQ sauce so I had to make my own. Mum gave me some fresh tomatoes so I just cut two up for the two cups of ketchup in the recipe. The secret ingredient is pineapple chunks and pineapple juice from the can. It's done within four hours in the slow cooker. I thought I would have enough time to make chicken kebabs this morning, but I only had half and hour left. I've marinated the chicken and prawns for the kebabs and left that in the fridge. I asked my husband to crush the milk arrowroot biscuits and dust it on top of the green tier as edible sand. I've used acrylic paint to draw red Moana symbols on brown triangular sail shapes and put toothpicks through them. Mum made blue jelly and put crushed biscuits on top as edible sand, and Oreo cookies as boats on top of the set jelly. After that, you just pop the sails on top of the Oreo and Ocean jelly is made. I had to get Blueberry Fanta and pineapple juice from the supermarket to make Ocean Paradise Water. I've poured the pineapple juice into ice trays to make ice cubes so the drink won't be too warm on the day. I think there wasn't enough fizz in the drink so next time if I make this again, I will add more Fanta or lemonade to the mix. The weather held and we were eating food under a big tree and sitting on picnic blankets. The seating area was occupied by another family for their kids' birthday party, and they got a bouncy castle to play on. My husband took the children to the pool and I just said and relaxed with the adults. It was fun to catch up with friends, one of them went to India recently and he showed the photos he took while he was there. He went to three weddings and visited his friends from work there. My daughter invited her new friend from her new class. His mum said he just joined the school last term last year so he's still a bit shy. He was kind and told my daughter not to go to the deep end in the pool. I am glad that she's already made new friends. My son was so happy that he got the Paw Patrol stamps and he showed everybody at the party what he got. He also couldn't wait to play with his Lego Minifigures. We wanted to get them, but hubby reckoned that for six dollars one minifigure it was too dear so he got two boxes of Lego with 7 figures. Now the children are asleep, I might have some time to rest for the rest of the weekend and perhaps play some World of Warcraft later. I've been leveling my Highmountain Tauren last night, and have been leveling my Void Elf Warlock as well. I guess I can make Lightforged Paladin next, and make Nightborn (mage?) last. I am enjoying leveling my low level Horde character because I am a bit over the starting area in Eastern Kingdom.

New artwork on Redbubble

I've made some new artwork this year and put them on Redbubble. My first painting is inspired by World of Warcraft. You can check it out from new artwork on Redbubble. I am going to put more images in the portfolio so watch this space. I found a photo of Kit Harington from a movie magazine and painted him and his co-star as practice. I am going to paint the same image again, trying to get the head proportion correct this time. I am really happy about the painting because I've done a good job to capture the lady's face. I am slowly gaining confidence as I work in the studio. I have also increased my studio time from one day a week to three days a week. I will have more time to do art, and the people who works there have become my friends. They are very friendly and supportive of my endeavour, and I am supporting them in their ventures. I've made a castle based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon for my daughter using cardboard boxes. I really enjoy making and painting the bed for the ponies. I want to make a doll house as well. It is so much fun, and much better than buying a toy from the shop.

Planting some spring flowers

I do have something happy to report though. I have planted some Dutch Iris and daffodils recently. It was hard work. My left leg was hurting afterwards, aching before I went to bed.
The story started when I took the car to get a new Warrant of Fitness. Husband was in bed, and I thought it was a good idea to get at least one thing ticked off from our to do list. I took out the car seat, cleaned up the mess that is nothing compared to how messy our house is, then drove to VTNZ. It was funny, I waited in line for half an hour, and when I got to the counter, I discovered that I didn't bring my Eftpos card. So I had to drive home, get the card, and jump into the car again and drive from one end of town to the other. An hour later, I was all set for the car to be tested and now I have some time to shop.
Palmers, a garden supply shop, is very close to the VTNZ I took the car to. I actually wanted to get some tree killer because I have a lot of privet to get rid of in my backyard. However, the shop only has Roundup and I already have a big bottle of it at home. I saw some bulbs on sale, then I noticed that they have sprouted. Fantastic, I think, because they are growing already, I should buy them and put them in the ground as soon as possible. The package says they should be planted in June. No matter, it's only start of July, one week in, there's only been one frost this year. Plenty of time for them to grow and sprout a bit more.
Mum took me to Warehouse to get garden soil, we also got some strawberries seedlings that need to be planted. It is impossible to keep the garden tidy with two kids, but they like strawberries, and we already have an impressive orange tree in the yard. I think it's perfect. I read the instruction on the package and put the bulbs in small biodegradable pots. Top them up with soil, and they are ready to go into the plastic container. The daffodils go in one, and the iris go into the other one. I took the strawberries out of their original home, loosen the roots, and put a generous amount of strawberry soil around them. Each pot has three strawberry seedlings.
I have to be careful and check whether snails and slugs are eating the new plants now, but since I am not planting any vegetables at the moment, it is easy. I am hoping that the rain these few days will keep the soil moist enough. I haven't put them inside the garage or the shed in spite of the cold. If they cannot survive winter then they cannot bear fruit or bloom. You can't expect to succeed 100% with this kind of venture.
The bulbs are what I need for my cottage garden. It is amusing, my track record isn't great when it comes to growing flowers, but I have some success growing trees. Our lemon tree is making lots of lemon right now. I moved it from its original spot into the sunnier position. Mum helped me put some ashes around our orange tree and it's doing quite well this year. I just prune the rose bush not that long ago. I only have one, and that's plenty.
I will leave the rest of the flower planting till later since it's freezing. Weeding will be my next job.

The truth about a tidy house

I can't remember the last time when our house is tidy enough so people can come visit. I also can't remember the day when I last see the floor. I am exasperated by the questions from my husband: how did the housework go today? I don't ask him about his work everyday.
The feminist in me just wants to scream when he asked me about housework. Everyday, I would get up and wrangle the kids when he lies in bed, still asleep or reading the news on his mobile. He doesn't even get up when it's time to go to work. It's freezing. The fire isn't on. I have learned to ask for help, but what I really want to do is for him to help without me asking.
I don't know who said that women must do all the housework. I don't have a job, but it is my "choice" to be a stay-at-home mum. My family needs me. I need to run errands when my husband is working full time. No big deal, right? Wrong. The crux of the problem is he isn't here during the day. He doesn't have to wrangle the kids, put the dishes in the dishwasher, or wash all the clothes. It's laughable when he came to me and said that he's done most of the dishes. He asked me to finish up the dishes for him. You cannot "finish" washing the dishes, my dear, dishes just keep appearing. They appear on your desk after dinner. They hide in the kid's bedroom under a pile of homework. They are stacked high in the bookshelf. I used to think that being a housewife is a breeze, but I was wrong. There is no end in sight. Just like the washing. He would announce that there's no socks for him to wear tomorrow. Woe for him. I told him that if you don't put the socks in the laundry, or indeed, the laundry machine, and put laundry powder in it, don't expect that they will be washed. They aren't going to magically clean themselves when they are under the bed, or still sitting in your shoes. I also don't know where your shoes are.
I have given up on cleaning the house. There's no joy in it because it is constantly getting dirty. However, the kids are happy and healthy. I am not worried about cleaning the house. I am playing with them, painting, laughing at funny videos, and watching them jump up and down on the bed. My priority is not cleaning the house or do housework. My job is be there for them and ride the happy roller coaster with them. After all, I am their mum as well. I don't make money, but that doesn't mean that I am not working. I work so hard that I had to take naps sometimes. Husband thinks I sleep all day and sit on the sofa watching TV as well. I hope I was, because I certainly don't feel relaxed at all. All I want to do is to have a holiday, but mums don't have holidays. I imagine sitting on the beach reading my favourite book and sipping Coke Zero. There are a lot of clouds in the sky because I don't want to get sunburnt. There's a breeze, and no one is asking me whether I've done any housework today or not.
I ask myself what to do in this situation. I don't think he can do all the housework, wrangle the kids, and make money. I can't even cope without going to work, how can he?
His mum is obsessed with cleaning. I understand why though. Her kids have left home. What else can she do apart from cleaning the house? Maybe I should ask her to come and clean my house, and spend some time with the kids so I can have a holiday.
It's not that I hate cleaning. In fact, before I got married, I was the one who vacuumed the house, keep everything in good order. I am organised and I used to work. I believe that my career was going nowhere. I quit a job that was making me feel depressed. I am happy about my career as a mum now, but I am not happy that I am a housewife. My job is thankless, invisible, and hardly ever appreciated. I will take a photo after I clean my house, I promise, but I don't want it to be tidy. I want it to be messy and full of laughter. I want it to be filled with happiness. I want to hear the kids sing. I want to.........maybe that is what I should capture with my camera and not worry about what other people say when they visit or see my photos. If I can let it go, and show everyone the adventure I go through everyday, perhaps I will be happier. That is what I will do.