I love blueberries

Poos and tanties. A day of firsts for the darling Ava Mae!

I'm a proud Mum, with another day marking a couple of major firsts in Ava's toddler years!

Today Ava did her first poo in the potty! Very exciting, until she tried to pick it up... Yes charming I know, you should have seen Burnsie's face! But these are the things that can make your day (almost) as much as a new pair of Jimmy Choos when you are a new mamma!!

And the other first? Ava had her first full blown tanty at the shops. She has plenty at home, believe me! But this was her first major tanty in the middle of The Metro. It was your full scale, back arching, ear piercing, blood curdling, floor kicking tanty.

I should have seen the signs early on. She chanted Elmo, Elmo, Elmo through K-mart; I said "No sweetheart, you can watch Elmo on tv". Then she wanted the green bananas we got in Aldi; again I said "No sweetheart, they are not ripe. Here, have a sayo." Then she wanted a balloon from the kitchen salesman; finally I said "Yes have a balloon my darling, please!!" Amazing that she hadn't lost it before this point really!

Finally it was the Wiggles big red car ride that pushed us over the edge. She wanted to get in and I let her. Then, when it was time to go all hell broke loose. Ava let out a blood curdling scream, like I had just ripped her heart out.

It was amazing to watch the number of young males who had previously been lounging about, suddenly leg it towards the exit. I got pity stares from fellow parents and judging sideways glares from young hipsters who had never dealt with a strong willed toddler before.

I freaked out a little and tried to comfort her whilst shoving her dummy in her mouth, knowing full well that was not going to work. So like the doting mother I am at home, I put her down on the floor and ignored her until she settled down so we could walk back to the car. I then let her push all the buttons in the lift and let her think she was the one pushing the trolly.

In reality, Ava allowed me to believe that I was the one in control. HAHA!

Just baked these Donna Hay Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting, sooooo indulgent!!

Ok, these Donna Hay cookies have to be the richest, most decadent cookies I have ever made or even tasted.

Not quite a cookie, not quite a brownie they are a calorific mind bender, and are loaded with enough chocolate to power Willy Wonker's factory for a year.

I saw them on Life Styled a couple of weeks ago and have been obsessed by them ever since.

I'm taking a batch of these to work for our team morning tea on Monday, this was the practice run. They were a bit on the runny side, so were way too big and flat but I'm still pretty happy with them!

Brownie cookies with peanut butter frosting

• 350g dark chocolate, chopped
• 40g butter
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup (150g) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (35g) gluten free plain flour, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder, sifted 

Peanut butter frosting 

• 1 cup (160g) icing sugar mixture 
• 1 cup (280g) smooth peanut butter 
• 80g butter 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• ⅓ cup (80ml) single cream (I used milk)

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place 200g of the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 15 minutes or until pale and creamy. Stir through the flour, baking powder, chocolate mixture and remaining chocolate and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture, at a time, onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until puffed and cracked. Allow to cool completely on trays.

To make the peanut butter frosting, place the sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the cream and beat for a further 2 minutes. Spread half the cookies with the peanut butter frosting and sandwich with the remaining cookies. Makes 12.

Our story to make Henson Park an official dog park made front page of The Inner City Weekender!

Very excited that our story about our community push to make Henson Park an official off leash dog park made it to the front page of the Inner City Weekender.

Our story is getting out there, please share the news so council hears how important this is! Come support us at Facebook.com/hensonpark4dogs.

Give our dogs a place to run, help make Henson Park leash free | StreetCorner.com.au

My article and picture of Chewy on the home page of @StreetCornerW
Give our dogs a place to run, help make Henson Park leash free | StreetCorner.com.au

Letter to Marrickville council

Below is the letter I have sent to Marrickville council. Please feel free to use this as a template. You can email council@marrickville.nsw.gov.au or use their online feedback form.

Dear Councillors

I am writing to you on behalf of dog owners and their pets in the Marrickville area to respectfully urge you to officially appoint Henson Park an “off-leash” dog park.

Over the years our local community of dog owners have frequented Henson Park to exercise their dogs and socialise with fellow animal lovers. We view Henson Park as a community area, designed to satisfy the needs of dog-owners and non-dog owners alike. We are respectful of our fellow neighbours and the environment, ensuring that we pick up after our dogs and that they behave appropriately. We also appreciate that Henson Park is a sporting ground and many dog owners stay clear on designated sporting days.

We believe Henson Park is the ideal location for an off-leash park. It has served this purpose unofficially over many years with the majority of park users on not sporting event days, being dog owners. We can work with the local council and associated sporting bodies to appoint designated off-leash hours/days and/or area based on other usage of the park, to ensure the dogs and owners do not impact on other activities and park patrons.

Appointing Henson Park as an official off-leash dog park will benefit the greater community in many ways including:

• Well-behaved dogs can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property, or wildlife.
• Dog park patrons tend to be people who appreciate the park and take an "ownership interest" in it. As a result, they keep the area free of criminal activities and other bad elements.
  
• Park patrons want to ensure a clean and safe park for all the dogs attending. Feces pick-up and disposal is an integral part of retaining a clean park. A visit to any dog park will verify this observation. Owners watch for and pick up their animal’s feces, and when a dog defecates, other patrons assume that the dog owner simply did not notice and gently remind the owner to pick up the feces and throw it away. They also will respond swiftly if a dog is behaving inappropriately.
  
• Most dogs require exercise that leash restrictions do not allow. The cardiovascular benefit provided by healthy play with other dogs is great for dogs’ longevity and weight control. Dogs are social animals whose mental health is improved by interaction with other canines. Happy, healthy dogs are calmer and better behaved, reducing nuisance barking and other annoying behaviors exhibited by dogs who do not get regular exercise.
  

No off-leash dog parks currently exist in the suburb of Marrickville. Just as other taxpayers enjoy convenient public swimming pools, jogging/walking trails and playgrounds, dog owners need a place to exercise and enjoy their pets in an off-leash environment. As a working Mum with a toddler it is difficult for me to find time to go to another suburb to visit the dog park. I imaging this is even more difficult for other dog owners in the community who do not drive or own a car.

Again, we would appreciate your consideration in appointing Henson Park an official off-leash dog park and look forward to working with you to acheive this.

Thank you

Mamma on another mission!

Many of you know that we often take our other baby Chewy to the park to run off his energy and experience a bit of grass and socialisation with other dogs. Our local park is Henson Park, it's been frequented by dogs and their owners for many years!

Recently the council decided they would start dishing out fines to people whose dogs were not on leads. With no official dog parks in Marrickville, this is quite an issue for the local dog owner community who live in this great concrete jungle within the inner west!

Hence, I am writing to the council and local government and I've created a Facebook page to request that Henson Park be appointed an official off-leash dog park.

Please show your support by joining our Facebook page Please help make Henson Park an off-leash dog park and sending your feedback to council on their Have your say page at marrickville.nsw.gov.au.