Ethan turned 11 just last week and present-wise it was a total non-event. He had been saving for a big ticket item (Xbox One) for ages, and after tucking his pennies away and pretty much everyone gifting him cash for his birthday he was able to …
Last night was a rare, rare occasion where I was simply too exhausted to do anything else but lay on the couch under a blanket (WTF is this weather about!!), drink wine and watch tv. Usually my mummy-ADD kicks in after about 25 minutes …
I love the classic old Kiwi Bumper Bar SO much but haven’t been able to bring myself to buy one for years due to a whopping 20.6 grams of sugar in each bar! I do not practise a restrictive diet for either Dave and I or the kids but even I know that 20 grams is just way too much sugar per serve. I decided to try and recreate the delish apricot and chocolate flavour with some slightly more healthy ingredients including Vogel’s new Café-Style Toppers. I wanted to keep this recipe raw so used the Raw Protein Mix ( paleo + no sugar added!) containing Sunflower Seeds, Linseeds, Cashews, Almonds and Pumpkin Seeds. This is a protein packed snack using easy, unfussy ingredients that will get your through the 3pm slump without heading for the nearest vending machine.
A delicious raw alternative to processed snack bars.
1 cup Brazil Nuts 1 cup Vogel’s Toppers Raw Protein Mix 1 cup Pitted Medjool Dates 3/4 cup dried apricots 2 cups Desiccated Coconut 1/2 cup Cacao Nibs 3 tbsp water
Combine nuts, Raw Protein Mix, dates, apricots and coconut in a food processor (I use my NutriBullet Pro which got the job done but took a while as I had to blend in batches) until well combined. Add water gradually until crumbly mixture becomes sticky. Stir in cacao nibs and press mixture into a lined baking dish. Pop in the fridge for at least 3 hours until firm then cut to desired size. Store in fridge.
Vogel’s new Café-Style range is perfect for incorporating into raw baking recipes, bircher muesli and just lightening up your traditional cereal breakfast. I’m not usually a cereal-for-breakfast kinda girl but this morning post-run, I added a handful of Vanilla & Almond Café-Style Light to the top of my smoothie and omg, best breakfast ever! No gluten guys and less than 6g of sugar per serve! 
It feels odd to be writing this on a very gloomy and rainy Saturday here in Auckland, but the weather is (slowly) heating up and I’m feeling the urge to crank up the BBQ and relax into a season of easy salads and lazy dinners …
I hope no-one ever feels sorry for me for not having any little girls to primp and style. I know I’d love a daughter, but I have enough trouble picking out my own outfits each day (hence my ever-present ‘active wear’!) and dressing my two …
As much as it pains me to admit it, jumbo Nix is just TOO big to ride his classic plastic motorbike anymore! Every time I run behind him as he careens at full speed down a hill I can see the little axel at the back shuddering and groaning under strain.
Time for an upgrade Santa!
Balance bikes are the obvious choice for toddlers in that transition period between a trike and a bike. On a balance bike, kids learn balance first, pedalling last compared to a traditional bike where the opposite is true. Makes so much sense to get your balance down first right?
The bike we’re putting under the tree for Nixon this year is a super-cute lime green racer from online baby specialty store www.babies.co.nz.
I love this bike! It’s perfect for Nix who will be 2yrs 5mths come Christmas. It was pretty hard to hide this away from little eyes for another month but Dave whisked it off to the garage after he put it together so out-of-sight-out-of-mind for me at least!
I can’t wait for Christmas Day!
I think it’s fair to say that as we move through life, we go through various stages and phases, trying out different eating patterns and meal favourites until we find the things that just ‘fit’. Whether it’s the way we drink our coffee, the way …
On Sunday I finished my first ever, road running event. This was my second fitness event – I ran the Mud Run back in winter. So a lifetime total of TWO events! In one year! I actually can’t believe it! The Skechers Women’s 6k was a …
Nixon is two and quite the savvy YouTube aficionado (Imma let you finish, but don’t even go there about letting my 2 yr old on the iPad mmkay? Time and place, time and place). He has his favourite Mummy Finger music videos, favourite ‘Egg’ opening channels and his All Time Favourite Show EVER – Tayo The Little Bus.
Tayo is a public bus from Seoul, South Korea. He lives with his ‘brothers and sisters’ under the watchful eye of mechanic Hana (female, yes! No gender stereotyping here!) and quite simply, does a stand-out job of being a Friendly Little Bus. He also has a kick-ass, catchy K-Pop theme song which is stuck in my head 24-7.
Nixon LOVES Tayo.
Do you think I can find a small, plastic Korean bus anywhere in New Zealand? The answer is no. No. And NO. So I took my search offshore and found SO many cute toys which ONLY ship overseas that you just can’t source here in New Zealand! Check out my faves below:
Rosi The Little Patient from Sigikid
Constructables Motorized Building Dinos Playset
Peaceable Kingdom / Hoot Owl Hoot! Award Winning Cooperative Game for Kids
Fairy House Making Kit By Liza Gardner Walsh
My search has been further hindered by the Little Tyrant being quite specific in his requests. Tayo and his family of buses are of course on the wishlist, but there is also Bong Bong (a baby VW bus) and Carry (a car carrier) to consider. Oh Help!
There was a way around my quandary, I’d just always put it in the ‘too hard’/expensive/complicated/what-if-I-mess-it-up basket. As luck would have it, that basket is currently overflowing in my brain, so it was time to give YouShop from NZ Post a go. I’ve said it before, I’m pretty much a professional shopper and as such, there was no way I was going to be beaten by a hard-to-find toy bus from Korea! ::::::shakes fist::::::
Here’s how it works in picture form – in case you haven’t had your morning coffee yet lol;
……..and here’s how I did it;
Making the Little Bus Mine
I lived in the states for six years and my husband is American so there are lots of things we miss from many different stores. YouShop is a game changer for us in that we can aggregate purchases from different retailers plus we can now shop from stores that only deliver to American addresses! Also, my shopping will earn Airpoints as my packages are winging their way over to us!
Loving it.
Also loving that the search for Tayo the Pesky, formerly unattainable bus from South Korea is now over. We can move on!
Thanks NZ Post for contributing to my shopping and providing free YouShop shipping!
Last month saw our Jetstar Flying Start panel convene again to (somehow!) choose between this quarter’s 160 amazing applicants. I LOVE being part of this team – hearing about the incredible community initiatives happening all over New Zealand is nothing short of inspiring, plus, we …