An Outing With Mathilde

Things have been a little quiet here on Little Hiccups this past week. Almost our whole family (apart from Lola) has been knocked down by the flu and, man, did it hit us hard. I spent two full days pretty much unable to get out of bed, and if you know me personally, then you know that means I'm feeling super crap. I kind of lack the ability to sleep during the day no matter how tired or sick I feel! It's my super hero power. Well, actually, it's probably not such a good "skill" to have! I also couldn't eat for two and a half days - or drink coffee - and that's saying something. We're all still feeling sick with coughs, sore throats and runny noses, but I'm pleased to say that the fevers, body aches and that horrible dehydrated feeling are gone. And with those nasty symptoms gone, I feel a million times better. And I'll feel a billion times better once I can stop coughing.

Anyway, before the flu knocked me about completely, I tried to write a couple of posts to share. But my brain couldn't think of words. And then I'd forget what I was doing and move onto something else. Until I forget what I was doing there too. No matter what I was doing, I just couldn't concentrate. I guess my body was trying to tell me to slow down before I got really sick, but I wasn't listening to it. My brain is slowly starting to remember what words are (woo hoo!) but I thought it best I take it easy for a bit and share a post that doesn't require me to write much. You know, after I've already written half an essay above! Ha - I obviously don't have that whole concentration thing back yet!

So, instead of a post that requires much thinking (like my super intellectual regular posts!), here's a bunch of super cute photos I took of Mathilde a few weeks back. We had a tax appointment in North Berkeley and on our walk there I spotted a few great spots for photos, so we just had to stop on the way back for a little camera time.

Oh, and I just had to share Mathilde's cute Rags to Raches romper with you. I love it! It is one of my absolute favorite outfits to dress her in at the moment. It's super comfy, easy to get on and off (she can take it off herself for diaper change) and it features a design by one of my most favoritest illustrators ever, Dallas Clayton. Uh oh... my brain just made up a word there. Time to stop writing and look at pretty pictures.

Australian Party Food + Sausage Rolls Recipe

Each time we throw a birthday party I find myself introducing my American friends to classic Australian party foods.

At first this was completely unintentional. Growing up in Australia, a kids' birthday party is not complete without fairy bread! But the first time I put out a platter of white bread covered in butter and sprinkles at a party here the guests were confused. And I was confused that they were confused! Ha! Isn't it funny how something can seem so completely normal to you but completely foreign to everyone else around you? I guess that's what happens when you're a foreigner!

Anyway, as time has gone by I've learned a little more about foods that are and aren't common here in America (or at least, California) and I've been trying to introduce a little more classic Australian party food to my repertoire.

At Ava's recent birthday party (which you can see here) I served up a few of my favorite Aussie classics. Along with the fairy bread I made cream horns (a must have at all of my family's parties) and sausage rolls.

Sausage rolls are regular party food in Australia. They go with the party pies! Don't know what a party pie is? I'm sure most people outside of Australia don't! Party pies are a miniature version of the classic Aussie meat pie. But more about the sausage rolls...

Lunar New Year in Berkeley 2016

This weekend has been a busy one for us - one filled with lions, monkeys, candy and lots of music!

This Saturday we headed to Berkeley's Fourth Street shopping district for the annual Lunar New Year festivities celebrating the Year of the Monkey. We had attended this particular celebration for the first time last year and it was absolutely perfect for little kids (as opposed to the big festival in San Francisco that can get a little overwhelming), so we were keen to go back again. The celebration including martial arts demonstrations, lion dances, arts and crafts, and a procession along the street with blessings of the local stores. Oh yeah, and candy. Lots of candy!

Ava's Peanuts Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Ava's ninth birthday with a Peanuts themed party on our roof top.

The past two years we've had incredibly rainy weather for Ava's party and haven't been able to use our roof top. This year, however, we had a beautiful, sunny day. Perfect for a roof top party.

The Peanuts gang make such a fun party theme - and gave me the chance to get a little creative! We had a Snoopy doghouse piñata, Charlie Brown cookies, a comic strip photo booth, Lucy's psychiatrist booth for photos (and bad advice!), Snoopy doghouse party bags, and Ava decorated her birthday cake herself with a drawing of Snoopy and Woodstock. How cute is that cake? I covered it with fondant and Ava decorated it with edible markers. Seriously, those edible markers are one of the best things ever!

Bath Bomb Hearts for Valentine's Day

Today Ava and Lola will be celebrating Valentine's Day a little early with their classes at school (they have both Friday and Monday off school). There will be all sorts of fun love themed crafts and activities throughout the day in both of their classrooms, but we all know that the best part about celebrating Valentine's Day at school is, of course, sharing Valentine's gifts and cards with classmates!

This year the girls will be handing out home made heart shaped fizzy bath bombs that we made together. I'm so happy with how these little beauties turned out. And the smell! Ah... I've been bagging them up this evening and I can't tell you just how nice our apartment smells! Mmm... lavender and rose. They smell so good.

Making bath bombs may seem a little daunting, but they're actually pretty easy as long as you follow the instructions. Speaking of instructions, I'm sure you're wanting to know just how we made these so here you go...

Valentine Bead Hearts

Looking for a last minute valentine idea?

This one is super simple, takes little time to make and I've got a free printable template for you.

Oh, and it's fun to make too!

A Peanuts Party Invitation

Can you believe it? 

Tomorrow my oldest baby turns Nine! Nine! I still can't wrap my head around it. She's not a little girl anymore. She's a big girl. A tween even - maybe. How old is a tween? I have no idea. All I know is that she's growing up too quickly.

To celebrate Ava's ninth birthday we'll be having a Peanuts themed party with her friends on Saturday. Ava chose the theme and she is really excited about it. I actually half expected her to chose a Minecraft theme as she's really into Minecraft at the moment (aren't all almost nine year olds?) so I was pleasantly surprised when she told me she wanted a Peanuts party.

I am working on all sorts of fun Peanuts themed DIYs for the party and I can't wait to share them with you next week, but for now let's have a look at the party invitations.