Maternity Style: 27 weeks Harem Pants

The bump is growing!! I've had a couple of people this week act surprised when I told them I was only 27 weeks, which has made me a little more self conscious about my size, and starting to get me worrying about how much more growing I still have to go.  I definitely feel bigger, earlier this time around, apparently I look it as well. I am starting to feel like that energy from the 2nd trimester is starting to fade and I'm feeling that tiredness again, I just want to nap all the time. 

  

These harem pants pictured were one of those purchases that you see on the rack and think, 'this could either go really well, or really badly.' Thankfully, I had a couple of girls at the store with me to encourage my purchase, otherwise I may have just walked away. They aren't specifically maternity pants, but the waist goes up over my belly, which is perfect. The best thing about them is how comfy they are. That is really my goal this pregnancy, to be as comfortable as possible!! Plus they will work for post-labour as well, they feel like pj's but look a lot nicer! 

I had to endure the horrible glucose tolerance test earlier this week. They are now making everyone (In West Oz at least I don't know about everywhere else) do the full 2 hour test, instead of the 1 hour. Meaning I had to fast for 12 hours and then go and chug down that horrid green sugary drink. I spent the next two hours sitting in the waiting room of the pathology place trying not to throw up. The fast food ads that kept coming on the radio were making me gag. I had this grand plan to get some blogging done and be productive, but instead I just stared queasily at gossip magazines because I didn't feel I could concentrate very well. 

I hope everyone is having a great Easter break! I know I have been feeling really relaxed and am just enjoying being with my family, more on that later! For now, for me, it is bed time. 

HAPPY EASTER

Top: Billabong found HERE
Pants: Billabong as well, found HERE

Here are a few other maternity posts I have done:
Maternity Style: Aztec Print 26 weeks
Bump Update: 24 Weeks
17 Weeks Prego Style
My Maternity Style Wish List

Karen xx

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Spinach and Ricotta Rolls

So you may have already picked up on this, but I have a serious weakness for anything Spinach and Ricotta.  I have a really difficult time passing up any pastries that contain these two ingredients, and have a tendency to over indulge!!

So I'll use any excuse to make these babies! I've found these Spinach and Ricotta Rolls are great for toddler lunches and kids or adult parties as well. They are really easy to make, and they aren't full of potato or rice fillers like a lot you find at the shops.

Ingredients:
250 grams Spinach (I use fresh and steam it, but frozen spinach also works)
250grams Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
Puff Pastry (I think I used 4 sheets)
1/2 Cup of Cheddar or Parmesan cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to Taste (I didn't add salt, and they still taste great)
Tsp Oregano
Tsp Tarragon
1 egg yolk

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (425 F).
If you have fresh spinach you need to steam it until it is soft and mushy, then drain and chop.
Mix the ricotta, cheddar, oregano, tarragon, 1 egg, spinach, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl, and make sure it is all mixed through.
Cut the pastry sheets in half
Brush the long edges with egg yolk
Fill a piping bag, or zip lock bag with the corner cut off with the ricotta and spinach mixture and then pipe them down the center of each pastry half (as demonstrated below)

Fold the sides over so they overlap and then cut the long roll to make smaller rolls. Any size will work.
Flip them over so they are 'seam' down on a tray covered in baking paper.
Brush some more egg yolk over the top so they brown nicely.
Then put the tray in the oven for 15 minutes on 220C degrees and then reduce to 180C (350F) for another 15 minutes.
They should come out looking like you see in the picture!

 If you have a weakness for Spinach and Ricotta like me, then you will probably love this
Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna recipe too!

I hope you love them as much as we do!!


Karen xx

I'd love for you to follow me on FACEBOOK or TWITTER or INSTAGRAM or PINTEREST or SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER (or everything)

Family Dinner: Veggieful Quiche

Surprise, Surprise!! I have yet another Vegetarian meal for you. This Quiche is quick and easy to make and great for the whole family (including toddlers: mine had no problem digging in). Even the pastry is so simple. I had actually never made Quiche pastry before trying this one, so if I can do it! You can to. I made a big one so that we would have leftovers for lunch the next day. Even though I post a lot of recipes, I actually don't enjoy cooking as much as some. I like simple things, making the minimal amount of meals a week, and if don't have to think about lunch the next day, then thats even better!

The thing I really like about this recipe is how much flavour the quiche has, and there isn't very much salt and no butter! But, look how stuffed full of Veggies it is!! YUMMMMM!!


Ingredients:

Base:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil (I used grape seed oil)
1/4 cup cold water (from fridge)

Filling:
1/2 red capsicum (peppers)
5 button mushrooms
Handful spinach
1/2 onion
Garlic
1/2 zucchini
Splash of milk
6 eggs
1/2 cup of cheese
Handful coriander leaves (cilantro)
Pepper

Method:
For the base, (really, really simple!)
Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
In a separate bowl add the olive oil and cold water, and then whisk it. It gets thicker!
Then add it to the flour and salt
Stir it in a bit, and then I gave up with the spoon and just used my hands to make a ball of dough.
I rolled it out with a rolling pin, and placed it in the quiche pan and pressed it firmly around the edges.

For the filling:
Add the 6 eggs to a separate bowl, and just hand whisk them for a couple of minutes
Chop all the other ingredients (minus the cheese and coriander) and add them to the eggs
Pour this whole mixture into the quiche pan, on top of the pastry.
Then place the coriander and cheese on top
Stick it in the oven at 180 for around 35-40 minutes or until it is cooked through, and browning a little on top.

I'm linking up with Stacey at The Veggie Mama for Meatless Monday too!!

Have a great day, come and visit again soon! Please! 

Karen xx 

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Family Holidays at Cabarita Beach

If you follow me on Instagram (@yellowdandy), or you've read some snippets here and there on my last couple of posts, you would know that we went on a holiday last week. This was a holiday that we had booked a long time ago, before we even decided to sell the house, and all the chaos that came with it. We had some frequent flier points saved up, and some really cheap return tickets became available, so we decided to head over to northern New South Wales to celebrate my Nephew's 1st Birthday. I only have one nephew, and we had only ever seen him twice before this trip, so needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity to go and visit our east coast family, who live in the idillic town of Cabarita Beach. Even though the lead up before the holiday was pretty chaotic, it turned out to be pretty good timing for a trip, I'm so glad it didn't happen before we had settled on the house.

The only thing that I was dreading about this holidays was the 5 hour plane ride with a toddler that NEVER EVER sits still. I was stressing myself out just thinking about what a nightmare the flights were going to be, and how we would be getting death stares from every other passenger on board. Thankfully on our flight over we had a row of 3 seats all to ourselves (even though we only paid for 2, I love it when they do that for you!!). We managed to keep Ezra happy with copious amounts of food and a season of Timmy Time and Shaun The Sheep on my iPad. For the most part it was a pretty decent journey, it certainly wasn't as relaxing as plane flights used to be, but we were all mostly sane by the end of it. So I call it a win.

Even with the on and off rain and storms that have been hammering Northern NSW and QLD we had a really great trip. It wasn't about sight-seeing or touristy stuff (we've been over there enough times now that we've seen most of the sights), it was about spending time with family and friends and just enjoying each others company. Ezra got to spend some quality time with his cousin, which usually meant trying to sit on him as he was crawling around, he just couldn't keep himself away. Luckily his playful eagerness was reciprocated and his younger cousin didn't mind the rough housing. He started to learn to share the attention of his Nan and Pop, and to get to know his Aunty and Uncle.

The flight home wasn't as pleasant as the flight there. We were told at check-in that a seat had been blocked for us, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a night time flight, so I thought Ez could sleep in the middle seat and we could get some rest too. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, the airline had ended up allocating the aisle seat and we were crammed into two seats (middle and window) with a tired boy sleeping on our laps, and a guy who stunk like cigarette smoke and booze who was blocking our exit to the aisle. Our row companion chugged 5 cans of VB, and then fell asleep, SNORING loudly, and took up my entire arm rest!! Lets just say I was not happy. . . but, with all that, at least Ez slept. We made it home safe and sound, and because of the tight quarters I managed to score some swollen feet as well!

Here are some of my favourite pictures from our trip. I love how wild and furious the ocean seemed while we were there. It is so tame in comparison over here. 

 

And because it is Tuesday, that means #IBOT and linking up with Jess!!


Karen xx

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The demise of Google Reader

So you have probably heard the news by now that come July 1st, Google Reader will be no more.
You may have a back up plan in place, or you might be wondering how on earth you are going to keep track of all the blogs you love reading.
I am going to suggest moving to Bloglovin.
I use it, I like it. You can import your Google Reader list into Bloglovin, they have apps for your phone, and you can search through their site and look for other blogs you might enjoy.
There are other ways to manage your RSS feeds, like Feedly too! There's plenty I'm sure I don't even know about.
What are you going to use?

Karen xx

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Avocado and White Bean Wraps

It seems to be a bit of a trend for me to be posting a lot of Vegetarian meals/recipes at the moment. I still eat meat, but I am definitely enjoying a lot more meat free meals during the week than we used to. So, with that said, here is yet another Vegetarian meal that we eat on a pretty regular basis. If you've read my blog much before you would know that I am a pretty massive fan of Avocado, especially Guacamole that you can find HERE.
So this meal is right up my alley, full of yummy avocado, beans and some cabbage as well.

Although, in these pictures you will notice some Fish, we thought we would mix it up a bit this time and add fish to the recipe. You don't need it, but it is another option if you can't imagine a dinner without meat. I think that chicken would go pretty well with them too.

The best thing I think about this meal is that it doesn't take any cooking. Everything is raw and ready to go, so if you're looking for something quick to whip up for lunch or dinner when you are pressed for time, I'm suggesting this!

This is so simple we made it for dinner while we were on holidays. Which is why you will notice the amazing decor in the background of the top picture. Classic early 90's holiday rental furniture to make your experience more enjoyable!

Ingredients:

Wraps (I prefer the Sorj ones because they are preservative free, or in the photo these are some soy and linseed organic ones I found, but they are a bit too pricey for me to justify buying on a regular basis)
3 x Avocados
1 x Can of White Beans
1/4 Red Cabbage
1/4 Green Cabbage
1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
1 Carrot Grated
Pinch of Pepper
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

Method:

Drain and pour White beans into a bowl, then mash.
Add the Avocados and mash them in to the mixture
If desired add the grated cheese
In a separate bowl add the grated carrot, and cabbage (chopped finely). Then drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add the pepper and stir until everything is covered.




Then you are done!
So easy.
Just add some from each bowl to your wrap. Wrap it up and chomp it down!

Usually Ezra is my proof that toddlers will eat it! But, this time my nephew who just turned 1 is digging into it with enjoyment! 

Karen xx 

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Bump Update: 24 Weeks

It's hard to believe we're at 24 weeks already (actually 24 and a half). I need my pregnancy app to remind me how far along I am because the weeks are just flying by, I feel like there has been so much going on that I haven't really had much time to reflect on this pregnancy, and the changes that will come in a few months. Not having time to think about every detail of the pregnancy this time is probably the biggest difference I have noticed compared to the first time. The other difference is that I feel like my bump is so much bigger this time round, I'm feeling huge, and im getting a little worries about how much more I still have to go. I guess my body was all ready to stretch again.

I still haven't bought any baby things, and definitely haven't spent anywhere near the amount of time 'researching' everything as I did last time. I'm hoping we will get some down time soon just to prepare for the growing of our little family, and help Ezra to understand the big changes that are about to happen for him. I keep asking him 'where's the baby?' and the first thing he does is lift up his shirt and rub his tummy. It's so cute. Then he runs over to me and rubs my tummy, I'm not sure how much he really understands, but I think every little bit will help in the transition.

Karen xx

Won over by E-Books for Kids

I had stayed away from electronic kid's books thus far because I wasn't sure how I felt about them.  I feel like kids need that authentic experience of touching the books, physically holding them and turning the pages. I think that it is easier to engage in the book by having it physically in their grasp and feeling the pages and you just don't get that same feeling from holding an iPad. I didn't want to start an iPad addiction for my toddler too early in life, or have to share my iPad with him!!

Then, the other day I decided to try out some electronic kids books and made a couple of purchases. I pretty much only read books on my phone or iPad these days, I can't remember the last time I bought a hardback, and so it got me thinking about kids books again. I thought because we were going to be going on another plane trip this week (a 5 hour one eeeek), it might be worth investing in some.  So, I looked up one of my favourite kids authors, Nick Bland, the guy who wrote The Very Cranky Bear (my favourite kids book!!!). I found that there are some really cool versions of his books as iPad apps. I bought The Very Hungry Bear, and The Wrong Book. I love that they are narrated by Aussie comedians, they are interactive, Ezra spends most of the time touching the screen to make things happen and he really loves them too. You can also record and play back your own voice (handy for FIFO families), and they are just fun. They are easy to pull out at a Dr's waiting room to subdue a wild toddler, or if you are travelling and don't have lots of room for books, I read Fox in Sox twice a day for a week when we were in Broome, because it was the only book we brought, and it drove me batty.

So, I guess the E-books have won me over. I still don't want to use them exclusively, I  love real paper books. But, I definitely see the value in E-books for kids, and the cost savings is also massive. The electronic age that we are living in probably means that when Ezra and kids of his generation are older, they wont be reading physical books, or writing very often on paper. They will be relying almost entirely on a device that hasn't even been invented or imagined yet.  So, teaching them young to use electronics is not a bad thing, as they will need to be able to adapt and be prepared to use them when they are at school,  I feel it is just another part of adding value to their development.

Have you gotten into Electronic books for kids yet, or how do you feel about them?
If you have any good recommendations I would love to hear them too!

And of course linking up with Jess @ Essentially Jess for #IBOT today!!

Karen xx

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Moving On

Our old cottage

It's been a week since we moved. What a full on day, we decided based on financial reasons that it would be more viable for us to move ourselves and just hire a rental truck. Obviously, I couldn't help with much of the lifting, so we engaged the help of some of our friends, who were a HUGE help and massive blessing to us. I tidied and cleaned, without my little helper, who my Mum came and picked up. We managed to get it all done in one day. Well, almost, Joel didn't finish until after midnight. He was so exhausted, but knowing that we didn't have to go back and finish anything off on Sunday was a huge relief.

It's so weird thinking that someone else is now in our house. We were both a bit sad, thinking of all the blood, sweat and tears that went into making that house our home. We did so many renovations and projects in that old cottage, it was our work, our ideas and things we loved, so in many ways it was pretty emotional to walk out for the last time, knowing that we will probably never go back inside.

We moved in with my parents, who live about an hour south of where our old house is. An hour isn't a long way, but our old local places are no longer local, and we're trying to figure out where we can find the stuff that we are used to. Joel even stopped by our old local IGA to pick up with brand of Mexican food we love, because I can't find it around here, I told him to stock up. I am looking to find new local friends, and a playgroup for Ezra, it feels a little like starting over again, and that is a little hard.

Although, I love where we are living now. It is quiet, and it's beautiful. We can walk to the beach, and have a canal right out the back yard, with a little man made beach perfect for toddlers. We spend so much more time outdoors, and having no real yard forces us to go for walks with Angus during the day, which is great, because it is such a nice place to walk around.

We know we made the right decision. It was time to leave, and move on to the next step. Our block is almost ready for building, and we are excited about creating a new home for our growing family.
Change is always hard, but after all our moves and big life decisions, I have learnt to embrace change, and face it head on, because there are always wonderful things and people to discover!

Have you had to say goodbye to a house or place that was dear to you?

Karen x