O christmas tree, o christmas tree...

We left our Christmas tree and ornaments in Auckland.  In our current place, there isn't a dedicated spot for Christmas tree.  However, Abel kept asking for one.  Finally we gave in.
$9.80 later, tada.......the tiniest tree we ever had but the boys had so much fun putting it up :)

 

The Christmas angel was made by Abel at IBC in Miss C's class. 

Christmas party at Kidszone

Abel's preschool organised a Christmas party.  It was held on 14 Dec.   The highlight for us was the performance by the children. There were 2 dances, one by the older kids and one by the younger kids.  Abel told me before the party they had been working on the dance for the party. We were delighted to find that he was Rudolph in the dance. He was so happy, confident and cute throughout the dance.

Then there was morning tea.  The children were given packet of foods and parents were served some yummy slices and Christmas goodies. We got a good family shot here.

 

Right after the morning tea, Santa arrived with his big sack of goodies.Abel got his presents. Not long after, Noel also received his presents from Santa.

 

Festival of Lights part 1

13 years ago, we came to visit New Plymouth in summer after our varsity break.  The highlight for the trip was visiting the Festival of Lights at Pukekura Park.  We had very fond memories of the event.  This year, we made sure we bring the boys to our favourite park.  The lighting display is switched on each night from 8pm and on the first night there was also the Christmas in the Park at the adjacent Christmas bowl.

Below are some of my favourite pictures from our outing.

This waterfall changes colour every few seconds.

The Golden Bearing by Reuben Paterson. It is a sculpture of tree with leaves and trunk all painted gold.  It's nice to look at in the day time, but with the spotlight it looked even better.

 

We got to the Flock of Birds area (Black Light Area).  The boys really enjoyed this area as it glows in the dark.  The display looks to be a multi-coloured swallow tailed kites. 

We managed to catch the end of the Christmas in the Park held at the TSB Bowl area.  It was so crowded and the lines to use the rows of toilet was unbelievably long.

 

The jellyfish display in the Enchanted forest area.

 

 

The Poet's Bridge also features Cloud 9 -lighting installation encompassing giant bird nests, water droplets . 

 

 

View of the lake taken from Poet's Bridge

 

 

 

Leche flan or creme caramel

The version that I am making is a Filipino version.  I once tried it in a gathering and it is the one item that DH loved to eat and had asked me to make so many times I have lost count so finally, this Christmas I gave it a try.

Note: Above is taken when I cut it with cookie cutter to provide better presentation

I researched on youtube and read a few recipes and in the end, I chose to go with this youtube tutorial ;) No voiceover but clear instructions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POe8LEsUyzo by JoyMac13

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs ( I use size 7)
1 lemon zest
1 can of Nestle Carnation Evaporated milk (375ml)
1 can of Nestle Condensed Milk 395g (note: DH reckons this brand is creamier and nicer)
1 tbsp Vanilla extract

To make the caramel:
Add 1/2 cup white sugar and 2 Tbsp water and into a pot (16cm) and swirl over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  When the color of the sugar becomes brown and smells like caramel switch off the fire and pour the caramel on the dish.  ( I have used my small rectangle pyrex)

 

 

As for the custard, preheat oven to 180c. Peel the lemon zest into the mixing bowl.  Next separate the egg whites into separate bowl and add 5 egg yolks with the zest.  Then add 2 whole eggs.

 Note, in the youtube tutorial, the evaporated milk needs to be heated in the microwave for 1 minute.
Then it is poured into the mixing bowl with the yolks and egg and zest.  Add in the can of condensed milk and whisk it until everything is well mixed.  Use a strainer and pour the custard mixture into the pyrex bowl and then bake it for 30-35 mins in a water bath (ie putting the dish in another baking dish filled with hot boiling water)

 

Above is taken after the leche has been tipped upside down from the Pyrex. For each serving, I cut it with cookie cutter and pair it with strawberries or just have it as it is. (see top photo) 

Hooray, Abel outgrew his training wheels

Abel had a milestone on 4 December 2014.  His preschool had a bike day and he brought his bike with him in the morning.  By the end of the day, he came home with his training wheels taken off :)
Well done Abel.  We think this has to do with the Bike Programme he had at the preschool in Term 2.  They spent an hour each week for 4 weeks with Carol a lady who came to talk about cycling with the children and then had their practical session.

Here's what Abel shared with me earlier in the year:

Before going on the bike, you need to check the tires for the air, check the brake is working.

• Puts on a helmet.
• You need to stop at the STOP sign. (he recognised STOP sign)
• You need to go on the bike on the opposite side of the chain
• Apply brakes
• Also need to watch if there's people coming opposite you, then need to stop to avoid clash.

These are the main stuffs that he shared with me. Good job, Abel!

Abel's school visit

Earlier in December, Abel gets to go on a school visit.  He will be attending Central School as well.
We received a letter to attend a Parents session.  The Principal and Associate Principal welcomed us and went through what is expected when a child starts school.  Most schools in New Plymouth runs a swimming programme in summer (Term 1) even for the youngest children(year 1).  Children will swim for 30 mins and are expected to know how to change into their togs (swim suits) and dry themselves. While teachers can assist,

He got to meet hir teacher Mrs C. They spent two hours in the classroom

 doing reading, colouring and freeplay.  Finally,

Scones take 2

Last Sunday I made a batch of scones.  I managed to make it all under 40 minutes.  Again, I used the recipe from here.  The change I applied this time is using lemon juice instead of vinegar to make buttermilk (as I ran out of vinegar). 

Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
4 tsp of baking powder
1.5 cups of milk (to which I added 1.5 tsp of fresh lemon juice to make buttermilk)-note you need to let the milk sit for at least 5 minutes
2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt (I used 1/4 tsp)
80g very cold butter


Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degree C on fan bake.  Sift the flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl and grate in butter and with clean hands work the butter into the flour until the mixture is fully integrated and resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir the buttermilk and add the buttermilk into the dry ingredients.  Use a butter knife to mix. (as if you are cutting the flour)  The mixture should look moist.  *This  time, I did not need to add any extra milk.

Place the mixture on a floured bench and gently pat out into shape with a quick knead. Cut and place on greased tray.

Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven). My oven took 20minutes. It should look golden.

Once they are coloured they are done.  Serve with butter and good jam.

 

This time I used scones cutter* to get very even sized scones.  I made 12 in the above recipe.  They disappear pretty quick when I took it out of the oven.

 

After church, I had another piece with jam and cup of tea.

 Note: The scones should feel light when you lift it out of the tray. 
Hints and Tips:
If you're using a cookie cutter to cut the scones, don't twist the cutter after cutting the dough. Twisting a round cutter, while removing it, will cause the scone edges to seal. This will inhibit them from rising.  Courtesy of: http://www.blackbookcooking.com/scones-hints-and-tips-sb

Christmas lights

  Back in Auckland we would drive about checking the Christmas lights.  Here in New Plymouth, we found out a number of houses that's put up real pretty Christmas lights.  It is much prettier in real life 

 

Discovery time

 

Now that the weather is warming up, after dinner, me and Noel would usually go for a walk. Sometimes all 4 of us go, and last couple of days it was just me and N.  Today we explored this part of beach that we don't usually go to.  Noel spent some time making mud pies .

 

Then we found these wood pieces amongst all the other rocks, sea sponges etc.

 

 

 

 



Bounce and Ho Ho Ho

We had the first Christmas party last Sunday at the Action Indoor Sport Centre.  There were lots of bouncy castles and the kids had a ball.  I was invited to join them on one of those obstacle /giant slide thing. I had to go on it 3 times.

 

 

After some pizza, the bell rang and Santa arrived.  All the children gathered and waited to get their presents. 

 

 

 

Seriously Silly Colour

Both Noel and Abel are into the Seriously Silly Colour series.  The stories are usually funny and there's always a 'baddy' or a 'lazy' prince or a 'jokey' frog, or 'silly' goats, or 'angry' troll. The list is too long for me to type all out.  Each book is full of colour and the font size is usually about size 16 and some pages have speech bubble.  Imagine Abel's delight when there was 7 to be borrowed from the library all at once.  Never mind that we have already read some of them, he wanted to borrow them again.

So I have to read them to him over and over again (okay, it's like 4 to 5 times).

 

Noel likes it because it's light reading.  He would read them himself too in a quiet corner.  The series is written by Laurence Anholt and illustrated by Arthur Robins.  Definitely a series I recommend for young boys.