Quick Update

Wow how fast did those 10 days go between now and my last post? I think everyone knows that I am on my family holiday in the USA?

We are all having a blast and I have some highs and lows to share re my gluten free challenges but importantly I have not been glutened. Thank goodness.

We went to LA first for Disneyland and it was such fun. 4 days of go go go but the boys held up remarkably well and now we are in New York City. It is as amazing as we remember and having lots of fun. I shall be sharing photos and stories soon.

{The above image is a photo my husband took. It is a window display of a souvenir‎ store. Pretty much sums up how we feel about the place}

The Week That Was: 19th July 2013

Week One of Term 3 down…hard to believe half the school year is over already. I sent in enrolment forms for my youngest to start kinder next year. 4 year old kinder! (pre school some you might know it as)

Hubby had a birthday last week, this is what our oldest made him. He rolled tennis balls in paint and plopped them on. Then we laminated it. It is now Daddy’s place mat. He loves it.

Hubby’s birthday cake – gluten free chocolate cake with ganache topping – yum!

We went to Luna Park (with thanks to Bupa’s Health Awards).

Oldest loves colouring in, he did a great job.

Luna Park is in St. Kilda, Melbourne so we went to St Kilda beach for awhile, doesn’t it look gorgeous?

Youngest wanted to get a Monsters Inc student card but the cutout was a bit tall for him, just like Mike.

Here he is testing out a proper bike with training wheels, no toddler bikes for him anymore.

Found this great little travel pack at Kmart for $9. It has 2 packing cubes, laundry bag, washing line and refillable bottles. I thought it was cool and I love the packing cubes. Makes me think I need to invest in a whole set of them.

We were rapt to find a Mickey Mouse mask in Coles (for $2), you usually cannot get Mickey anything anywhere, and it was the only one there. Yay!

How was your week?

Preparing the House for a Housesitter

Back in my early twenties oh so long along, I used to house sit for family friends while they were on holidays. I got to stay in a couple of really nice places, while looking after the owners house and pets.

Now I am a home owner, I can definitely see the advantage of having a housesitter. Lucky for us we have such a huge family that there is usually someone available to come and stay for us.

Getting the house ready and knowing what to do can be a bit daunting when you haven’t done it before. As I can draw experience on being both the sitter and owner, I thought I’d share what I do to prepare the house.

Once you have figured out where to pop your guest/s, be sure that you let them know where you stand on them having any overnight guests of their own.

Clean out the wardrobe and and drawer – don’t forget to leave some hangers.

Clear off the bedside tables

Towels – leave some out and let them know where there are more.

Car – do they have a car? Where can they park it?

Eating – let them know what they can have from your pantry. I clear a couple of shelve’s for them, as well as leave the fridge pretty much empty. I also clear out a bit of the freezer so they can use that also.

Since pretty much everything in my pantry is gluten free, I have all my containers labelled as such. (I get labels from places like Stuck on You and Bright Star Kids for mine) and I explain if they need to use the gluten free flour or the like, please use clean utensils.

Local Takeaway Menus

Kitchen appliances – leave the instructions for the appliances like the dishwasher, oven, coffee machine

Closest supermarket or shops – especially if your house sitter is not local

Phone – make sure they know the number and if you expect them to pay for STD or mobile calls.

Internet – we have a huge download limit so we are happy for them to use our internet. We leave the wireless password as they will be bringing their own laptop.

Heating – leave instructions on how to work the heater. Plus any quirky tips like how to reset it or relight it.

Washing Machine – ah you see where I am going? Leave instructions on how to use this too. Plus any quirky tips.

Iron and ironing – where are they and where are they kept.

Leave all your holiday details, like where you are staying and when. Also leave them contact details of a neighbour or family member if they need help.

If you need plants watered, be sure to let them know how often.

Rubbish – have to let them know when to leave the council bins out.

TV/DVD/Foxtel – leave instructions on how to work these units

and leave the cleaning goodies in an easy, accessible spot so it encourages use of them.

Pets

So if your housesitter is also a pet sitter, consider leaving them instructions on:

• feeding
• cleaning (ie litter)
• quirks your pet house, ie likes to run around the house at 4am or likes a particular chair to sleep on
• number of your vet
• exercise requests and where the lead etc is kept

For me specifically, this is what I like to also do:

• Put the boys toys away
• Leave extra blankets out
• Mow the lawn
• Put a hold on the mail
• Clean and tidy the house
• Leave some books and magazines out
• Leave milk and bread in the fridge, some chocolate biscuits in the pantry

and the most important thing – leave them the keys!

Have you house sat? Do you have house sitters when you go away?

Image courtesy of njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gluten Free Weekly Special at Coles and Woolworths

Coles Weekly Gluten Free Specials

Finally the Coles Gluten Free Range has come on special, hopefully we all get the chance to try something new.

Coles Simply Gluten Free Range Specials

• Cornflakes – $3
• Museli – $2.90
• Spaghetti – $2
• Anzac Biscuits – 2 for $5
• Beef Stronganoff – 2 for $2.80
• Corn Chips – $2
• Beef Pies – $7

• Hot Shot Fruit Tails or Iddy Biddy Fruity Bits – $3
• Twinings – $6
• SPC Fruit – $3
• Nescafe Gold Freeze Dried Coffee – $7
• Nescafe Blend 43 – $6.80

• Smith’s Chips Multipack – $2

• Moro Extra Virgin Olive Oil – $20
• Coles Red Salmon – 2 for $5
• Capriccio Tomatoes – 69 cents
• Sirena Tuna, Leggo’s Pasta Bake – 2 for $5

Check out the Coles Weekly Specials online here

Woolies Weekly Gluten Free Specials

• Danone Epic Yoghurt Pouches – 5 for $5
• Australian Grown Juice – $4.99
• Babybel Mini Cheese – $2.50
• Flora pro-activ – $8
• Coon Slices – $9
• Farmers Union Greek Strained Yoghurt – Buy One Get One Free – 2 for $1.99

• Smith’s Chips or Doritos Corn Chips (original flavour is gluten free by ingredient) 2 for $5

• La Zuppa Soup – $3
• Sunrice – $4
• Annalisa Tomatoes or Beans – $1
• Edgell Sweet Corn – $1.60
• Leggo’s Pasta Bake – $3
• Crisco Vegetable or Canola Oil – $3
• John West Tuna – $4.50

• Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus 4 Cheese Bake or Prefect Bake – $6
• Bornhoffen, Yoplait or Yoplait for Me Yoghurt – 2 for $8
• Perfect Italiano Parmesan – $4

• Nutella – $6
• Twinings – $3.24
• Golden Circle Fruit Squeeze – $1.40

• Sirena Tuna – $1.90 or 3 for $4.98

• Cardonell Spanish Olive Oil – $20
• Riviana Basmati Rice – $8
• Moccona Coffee – $18

• Kellogg’s Coco Pops and Nutri-Grain Liquid Breakfast – $3
• Bega Tasty Cheese – $8

• Country Ladle Soup – the Butternut Pumpkin flavour is gluten free by ingredient – $1.64

Check out Woolworths Weekly Specials Online Here

Please be sure that the products I have mentioned are suitable for you.

This will be the last Weekly Specials I do for the next month or so as I am going overseas and won’t be around to do the Australian supermarket specials.

Have you see any good gluten free specials this week?

Listmania: The current A to Z of me

This week’s Listmania prompt is to talk about the A to Z of you. In any way you like so I thought I would talk about the current A to Z of me.

We have done this prompt before but it was ages ago, back in March so it’s good to update this like this every now and then. And I’ll try not to make it all about my holiday…

Anticipation – It’s high in this house, anticipation for the weeks ahead – it’s all good though.

Big – Big cups of coffee, my daily fix.

Cottage By the Sea – My current read, it’s by Carole Matthews and I am loving it. It’s classic chick lit which is my favourite genre at the moment.

Dog – My oldest is asking and asking for a dog. We lost our last puppy dog a few years ago and we all still miss him. We will get another one some day but dog ownership is a big responsibility, most of which will fall to me and I am not quite ready yet. This photo is of my oldest when he was 3 giving our late puppy dog a hug.

Excited – We are all very excited in our house. America next week!

Family time – just love it

Gluten Free  – A cheeky reminder about my Gluten Free Kids ebook.

Health – we are all healthy at the moment and for that I am extremely grateful.

Itinerary  – I have being having fun creating ours for the trip

Jammy’s  – I am loving popping my PJ’s straight after dinner these days – so comfy.

Kindergarten – I have to do the enrolment forms for my youngest this week for kinder next year (pre school in many states). Hard to believe he is ready for kinder.

List – My life is consumed with lists at the moment so I don’t forget anything

Musicals – Do you like them? I admit I do and I saw Legally Blonde a few weeks ago with my girlfriends, it was a great kids free day out. I am hoping we can do it again soon.

New York City – what more can I say?

Organised? Not yet but soon hopefully!

Plug – A shameless plug about my current giveaway – 2 lots of family passes for Melbourne families to see Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mystery in September. I am quite looking forward to it myself.

Quiet – I am looking forward to a little bit of peace and quiet this week with school and Little Kinder being back – those 90 minutes I get to myself are precious!

Report – My oldest got his mid year school report and it was excellent. So very proud of him.

Shower – I am going to my husband’s niece’s baby shower this week. (Hubby was an uncle at a very young age) and I am looking forward to seeing her and the family and spending some happy times with them.

Travel – It’s hard to believe that we waited so long to do any travel. I think my hubby and I have got the bug for sure.

Unique opportunities – that’s something about being a blogger, it can bring some pretty cool opportunities my way

Very proud – My husband is being promoted in 5 weeks and I am so very proud of him. He has worked hard and is reaping the rewards now.

Weather – as I live in Melbourne it is just cold. Sooo looking forward to summer days for a few weeks

Xtra sleep – I hope I can get some in soon. Every time I get to bed early, I get interrupted mid sleep.

You Tube – We have been watching lots of You Tube lately, checking out Disneyland’s rides so we can prepare the kids for what they are like. It’s been fun.

Zoom – That’s what this year has been like – zooming by fast.

I have almost finished my current read, would love a recommendation for a holiday read?

What’s In My Toddler’s Carry On Bag for International Travel

Our trip away is not too far away and packing the suitcases has been the forefront of my mind.

Oh and the carry on bag for the plane. Our trip from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, USA is 14 1/2 hours long. Plus the time at the gate waiting to get on there. The first time we went long haul it stressed me out, a toddler, in nappies for that long? What do I pack? How much is too much? What if I don’t pack what I need?

Stressful.

This time around it has been a little easier in the planing (hopefully the execution too!) and I did learn so things from our first time.

Firstly it’s great having 4 people travelling. That’s alot of luggage and alot carry on. We are flying Qantas so we can take 4 x 7 kilo bags onboard. (within the specific size). I can also have a ‘personal’ bag as a handbag.

What I do is have a backpack for the toddler stuff and my stuff. It sits at the bottom of toddler’s feet for easy access, in it I put:

• in one ziplock bag – 4 nappies, wipes, bags, hand santiser, cloth towel
• in one ziplock bag, as above
• in one ziplock bag – change of clothes for toddler.

• Toddler’s own drink bottle – handy as normal water bottles are still a little hard for him
• Kids face and hands wipes
• Tissues
• Lollipops for sucking on to help ears pop
• Headphones – these ones are for the iPad as toddler likes using that as well as the onboard entertainment
• Other activities – books, sticker book, activity pad, pencil roll, ‘Spot That!’ book
• Mickey Mouse – he is a member of the family!

I haven’t added my own things yet because well, I am not that organised. I will add for me:

• travel wallet with required travel documents
• small purse for credit cards and the like
• passports
• pens (as one will always run out and you need to fill out different things as you go)
• iPad
• iPad charger
• novel
• glasses
• gluten free snacks and hard lollies (for that ear popping)
• paracetamol
• plastic bag (for rubbish)
• and anything else I think of!

A few notes:

I pack more nappies, wipes and nappy bags in another bag. You will always use more than you think. Always.

I separate some into different ziplock bags for the toddler’s carry on as then when it’s time for a nappy change, I can just pull one ziplock bag out and have all I need.

I also put in a few other things like a laptop, changes of clothes, few toiletries, travel pillows and paracetamol for the kids.

I don’t bother changing them into pj’s. Both boys wear comfy clothes on the plane, with another change in case of accidents. I also take shorts so they can change into them before landing as it is hot in LA!

I put all this into another bag which stays in the overhead.

My older son has his own backpack full of his things.

I am almost positive I have forgotten a few things, I think I’ll add them as I remember.

What is your must take item on board?

Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries Ticket Giveaway {closed}

While these school holidays are wrapping up, I am pleased to let you know about something you can do with the kids next school holidays.

Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries is hitting the Australian stage and looks like a fun show for the whole family. If your littlies don’t know Scooby-Doo you can check out the shows on Boomerang on Foxtel or Austar. I am sure there are plenty of adults who know Scooby-Doo though!

My favourite character was (is!) Scooby. I also love the Mystery Machine they all drove around in – very cool. What I loved most was the mystery solving. It always amazed me that kids (well grown kids) could solve them.

My family and I are looking forward to this show already!

There Scooby-Doo! Live shows scheduled for:

• Melbourne on 23rd September 2013
• Perth on 28th September 2013
• Sydney on 2nd October 2013

Check out here for details and to get tickets.

I have 2 x Family Passes to give away for the Melbourne Show, which is on 23rd September 2013, in the next school holidays. **Winners are: Melissa Puli and Liz – they have both been contacted via email**

Be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you did as your last family outing for a chance to win!

Giveaway Details:

• Prize is 2 Family Passes (which is 4 A Reserve tickets) for the Melbourne Show. Total value of each Family Pass is $156.
• To enter comment below telling me what your last family outing was
• Giveaway ends 31st July 2013 AEST
• Winner will be announced on this blog post as well as emailed. I’ll endeavour to do so 1st August 2013.
• This is not a game of chance, winner will be based on creativity. Judges decision will be final.

Good Luck!

{Disclosure: I have been give a Family Pass to attend a performance. I have not been paid for this post. All opinions are my own}

Weekly Gluten Free Coles and Woolworths Specials starts 10th July 2013

Supermarket specials time again. 2nd week of school holidays here and I am not getting anything done. I always forget it’s like this during the school holidays. Well for me it is.

Aldi Special Mention

I love this story, Spring Gully were struggling a little and Aldi stepped in and started selling their products at their stores. Spring Gully are made in Australia, love that. And they are gluten free. I get the pickles all the time, usually at Woolies but I did see them in Aldi last week and bought some there. They are yummy!

Weekly Coles Specials

• Heinz Beans – $1
• Moccona Freeze Dried Coffee 100g – $18
• Dolmio Pasta Sauce – $2
• Edgell Corn Kernals – $1
• Leggo’s Tomato Paste – $2
• Cobram Extra Virgin Olive Oil – $8

• Nescafe Blend 43 100g – $10
• International Roast 500g – $10
• Kraft Peanut Butter – $3

• Freedom Food Rice Flakes – $4
• Goulburn Valley Fruit – $3
• Freshfields Fast and Fruity Pourable Fruit – $2.29
• John West Tuna or Salmon – $2
• Moro Extra Virgin Olive Oil – $10

• Black Swan Dips – 2 for $6
• Kraft Singles – $2.95
• Coles Finest Juice – $3.30
• Bega Tasty – $7
• Farmers Union Greek Style Yoghurt – $4
• Yoplait Yoghurt – $4

• Smith’s Potato Chips and Dorito Corn Chips (both original flavours are gluten free by ingredient – 2 for $5
• Red Bull Energy Drink – $7
• Berri Juice – 2 for $6

• John West Tuna – $1

• Condensed milk – $2
• Caster sugar – $2

Check out Coles Weekly Specials here

Weekly Woolworths Specials

• Kraft Singles – Buy One Get One Free – $2.85
• Twining English Breakfast – Buy One Get One Free – $2.10

• Smiths Multipack Chips – (original flavour only) – $2
• Prima Drink – 3 for $6
• Vege Chips – 2 for $12
• Kraft Peanut Butter – $3
• SPC Crush Ups or Fruit Jelly – $1

• Bertolli Olive Oil – $7
• Heniz Beanz – $3
• Golden Fields Vegetable Oil – $10

• Moccona Coffee 200g – $11
• Sunrice Medium Grain Rice – $13
• Rice Bran Oil – $13

• Jalna Greek Yoghurt – $7.95
• Mainland Tasty Cheese – $9
• five:am Yoghurt – 6 for $6
• Coon cheese – $3.80
• Vaalia Yoghurt – $4

• five:am Yoghurt Pouches – 5 for $5
• Fruche – 2 for $5
• Yoplait Yoghurt Squeezie – 7 for $7

Check out Woolworths Weekly Specials here

Have you see any good gluten free specials this week?

The Week That Was 5th July 2013

One week of school holidays down and we really have not stopped. We are looking forward to a few days at home next week. I hope we can get the chance to do that.

My eldest has been busy doing some paintings (when he can).

We went to visit my brother and his kids who live a couple of hours away. We took the scenic route. I love a country drive!

I love the trees

and where the sky just goes on forever

I found a new gluten free product at the supermarket , Delite Curls ($2). Not really value for money as they are a 80g pack compared to the 100g box the Fantastic Delites come in but they are really yummy. I may have tried the Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream flavour as well and they are sooo good.

A couple of girlfriends and I went to see Legally Blonde the musical. It was really really good and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had a grown up drink in celebration of being child free for a few hours. We are friends from high school and we tried to remember the last time we had child free time together, the sad thing is we couldn’t!

And despite it being a very busy week, there aren’t any more photos to share!

How was your week?

Gluten Free Tomato, Bean and Chickpea Soup Recipe

Winter means soup. Well for me it does anyway and I have been happily making up soups for my lunches. Last week I didn’t have too many fresh vegies left in the fridge so I reached into the pantry instead… result was a yummy, easy soup.

Gluten Free Tomato, Bean and Chickpea Soup

Ingredients

• 2 small red capsicum
• 1 litre gluten free vegetable stock (I make it up from Massell stock powder)
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1 tin diced tomatoes
• 1 tin red kidney beans

Method

• Finely dice capsicum. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and red kidney beans.
• Heat a little oil in a saucepan, cook the capsicum 2 or so minutes.
• Add the chickpeas, beans, tomatoes and stock and stir.
• Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes.
• Blend if desired. (I did).
• Serve and Enjoy!