Early Celebrations





Just happy to have another year....let's not add them up, shall we?!





 

My parents arrived home from two weeks of sun and sand in Mexico. Liam loves his new 'spinner'!





Take Me Back Tuesday

My 17th birthday with my two side-kicks.  How's them bangs?  Curling iron masters!  Oh and I did indeed LOVE my Club Monaco sweatshirt.  I had two and kept them for a long time.  Did you ever have one...or more?
My mom's country kitchen is pretty retro!

True Appreciation

Liam enjoyed this leftover cupcake soooo much that he paused in the middle of eating it and said, "Thank you Jesus for my cupcake".

Soon Baby, Soon!

I had a shower to attend today for my sis-in-law Suzanne.  Her baby boy is due next month and we are very excited.  She had bragged on my baking and therefore I was asked to bring something to contribute to the shower.  I felt a bit of pressure to bring something 'fancy' but I don't do fancy.  I do plain and basic.  I put in a call to my 'fancy' baking friend and Kori was ever gracious and offered to help me out!

 She helped me turn ordinary cupcakes into beautiful cupcakes!  And they tasted great. 

 I'm sure looking forward to meeting this little nephew of mine.  And my children are most thrilled to actually have their very first 'first' cousin.  They've plenty of second cousins but not first.

 She was positively spoiled with wonderful items.  We also we able to write down some words of widsom for her in a keepsake book. 

I think grandma was hoping for a grand-daughter but it seems that boys are the way things happen around here.  We will love this little guy lots and hope to meet him in a few weeks! 



Take Me Back Tuesday

Our sweet little family in 2002. 
Keith is so thin....and where's all that grey hair?  Those were some cute boys.  Now they are large and gangly and often smell less than sweet.  Good thing I've got my little Liam to cuddle when I need a fix.

Slurp

And now the snow is melting.  This is an ugly stage.  Puddles, slush and a general mess for several weeks while this stuff disappears.  I know the kids enjoyed the snow staying for more than one day for a change!  And I will be happy to not have mitts, pants, hats and boots drip drying all over my house.

Snowy Days

Potty Talk

Liam is fascinated with potty talk.  Bathroom talk.  Bum talk.

He loves to say poop, pee, toot, and let's not forget his all time favorite.  Bum-crack.

Somehow we've discovered that by letting him say all these words to his heart's content the novelty is wearing off.  The catch is that he can only say them while he is physically in the bathroom.  So, basically at bathtime he's saying all his favorites in a sing-song voice and telling me what a good boy he is because he's in the bathroom doing this.

He does obey quite well at times!

Anyhow, this my friends is where my life is at right now.

Bum-crack.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Halloween 1990.
My really good friend, Shawna and I heading out to a youth function...I think?!  Anyhow I thought we really rocked those clown outfits!

Snow Day

This morning I had to be at school for early bird registration at 6:45 am.  It was difficult to put it mildly...getting up at that sort of unholy hour.  Anyhow, as I drove to work it was snowy madly.  We successfully registered 100 new students and learned that MEI was closing the campus for the day.  Nate was very happy to stay home, Liam was happy to have a 'mummy day' and Chad still had to go to school.  Who said life is fair?!  Anyhow, there is plenty more snow forecasted so maybe we'll repeat this again tomorrow.  Minus the early morning!

Flying!

After standing around watching my kids have fun sledding I decided it was my turn!  It was just as fun as I remembered but it certainly did nothing good for my five day headache.

Gone Squirrelly Yet?

In my endevour to bring up my kids on nutrious food I have discovered a great new bread.  I'm sure many of you have heard of Squirrelly Bread that is made by Silver Hills Farms.

My mom has been eating it for years but I never really paid much attention to it.  I don't often eat bread or toast.  As a side note, I have an attraction to unhealthy and soft white bread which I almost never buy.  But I will always order white toast if we eat breakfast out!

Anyhow, I have always bought my toast-loving family regular old brown bread from either Superstore (their own brand) or McGavin's three pack from Costco.  This bread is pretty blah....nutritionally and taste-wise. 

Even though I knew how much healthier Squirrelly Bread was, I was put off by the price.  It runs between $3.50 - $4 per loaf!  

I didn't really realize that you could buy the bread directly from the outlet for $1.50 per loaf.  They are their 'seconds' so perhaps they were sliced imperfectly or the loaf is slightly misshapen but they are 100% still edible.  I went to the outlet last week and picked up 9 loaves for $13.50.  You can't even get the regular blah bread from Costco for that price!

So I am pleased that my family is eating highly nutritious bread and I am able to do it on a dime.

They have many other types of bread I am looking forward to trying as well.  Check out their website  www.silverhillsbakery.ca/.

That Boy Can Cook!

On the way home from school Wednesday afternoon, Nathan asked if he could bake something.  I did not say no to that!  If he's keen then I am all for supporting that.

And this is what happened.....

Yes, he also cleaned up after himself!

Meatless Supper: Lentil & Brown Rice Burritos

Joseph's Grainery: Lentil Brown Rice Burritos:

Click on the link for the recipe.  It doesn't LOOK that awesome but it really tastes great.  We used soft flour tortillas and topped them with fresh salsa, cheese, chives, lettuce, sour cream and tomatoes.  Everyone enjoyed them!  Even Liam ate an entire burrito.
The cook time is rather long so next time I am going to do this in my crock pot on low while I'm at work.  Prep time is minimal.  We try to eat meatless once or twice a week but still have some protein to keep the tummy satisfied. 
And if you are on a post-Christmas budget you'll love how inexpensive this is to make!

Rats!

So this past weekend I realized that we had run out of bread.  I thought it would be easy to just whip up a loaf in my breadmaker.  I don't often make bread in the machine.  I mostly use the dough setting and make buns.
As you can see it was a dismal failure.  I followed the recipe to a tee!  Very frustrating and yet rather amusing.
I hate wasting good ingredients...shouldn't this sort of thing be fool-proof?!

Take Me Back Tuesday

Maybe 1986 or 1987?  I do believe this was our first Japanese student in a long line of them.  Yuko was her name and she was such fun.  We truly enjoyed her company!

New Things

This past weekend, Nathan had an appointment to get contact lenses.  This was more my idea than his and I was to find out that this did not help the process.  I don't have glasses or contacts so my knowledge of all things related to vision correction is limited.  I thought popping in a contact would be a breeze. 

We were told thta the appointment could take up to 90 minutes.  They would not let Nate leave with the contacts until he could properly insert and remove them.  So we get there and I was a bit disappointed to have a trainee looking after us.  And a trainee with limited English skills.  This was the first strike against us.   We had to first watch a 10 minute video and then it would be time to practice.  So, after the video, the contacts were set in front of Nathan and he was told to just start trying.  The fitter didn't say much...he tried to be encouraging but it wasn't doing much good.  With each failed attempt Nate got more and more frustrated and I got more and more tense.  After a good 30 minutes of this, Nate pretty much gave up.  He told me this wasn't his idea in the first place and he didn't want to try anymore.  So I handed him back his glasses and told him we were getting out of there.  Well, he didn't like that either and said he would try one more time.  Meanwhile the fitter had left the room mumbling about 'our chemistry' not working together.  As Nate was about to attempt it for the final time we had an  experienced professional come into the room (which the trainee had run out to find...thank goodness!) and the whole atmosphere changed.  He was so encouraging, positive and upbeat.  He made Nate want to try again and gave me hope.  At this point I coudn't even watch anymore.  Lo and behold, Nate popped it in his eye and had success! THEN, the fitter realized that Nathan had the incorrect prescription lens and so Nate would have to take it out and put in the proper one.  Sheesh! So he removed it first attempt...again success!  After that it took a few tries but he was able to get them both inserted with many helpful tips from the fitter.  Then they tested his vision and it was all good.  I could tell at this point that Nate was still not sold on the idea as his eyes were adjusting to the lenses.  We left the opticians and I told Nate that after that stressful 90 minutes we both needed a drink and if he had been 19 years old I would have taken him for a beer.  He was aghast and said he didn't ever want a beer :)  It was cute.  I offered a blizzard from DQ in lieu and that put a big grin on his face.  As we drove home he started to grudingly admit he was enjoying not having glasses, and it was pretty cool to be able to see without glasses on his face.  Hmmmmm...I told him that he could say 'Mom, you were right' at anytime!

So, I'm glad that's behind us...I proud of us both!

Fresh Air and Fresh Scenery

The day before we were all scheduled to be back at work and school, the boys and I took a chance between rain showers to walk through a park that we had never been to.  We all needed some exercise and fresh air if we were going to adjust getting back to bed at a decent hour.

 We went to Albert Dyck park here in town.  It's a man-made lake that mostly used for the local water-skiing club.  It's not too big....the walking path around the water is about 1.6 km.  There were many people walking their dogs which  means watching for dog poop which is one of the annoyances of life.

 We stopped for several photo ops along the way.  It was chilly but dry.  I used my camera phone for all these photos....it's quite handy to have a good camera in one's phone. 

 I would have loved to have walked the loop at least three times at a good clip but Liam is not quite there yet so it was more of a meander.  Good thing he's so cute!

This park is right next to the airport and upon getting back to our car, we were able to watch a plane practicing for an airshow.  Loop-de-loops, free falls and spins were among the things that absolutely captured Liam's attention. 

It was a great morning out!

Super Liam!

 On Thursday afternoon when I went to pick up Liam he had been transformed into 'Super Liam!'.  Yes...that is Super Liam! with an exclamation point.
My m-i-l had found Murray's costume that she had sewn for him when he was three years old.  This is a vintage costume!
Liam was zooming around their house just as a super hero should and insisted on wearing it the rest of the evening. 
That cutie can rescue me just any old time!

Enjoyment

 Oh, we are most certainly enjoying our hot tub....even in the rain! 

Funny, we thought that once we had a hot tub (5 years ago) that so many people would want to enjoy it with us but basically, my parents and brother are the only guests we ever get.  It's weird.

That being said, please invite yourself over sometime!

PS.  For the record Keith changes the water very regularly and is stringent about the chemical levels so you won't find any ickiness in our water!

Weddings are Exciting

I was in grade 10 when Bethany was born.  Another cousin in our very large extended family.  She was a sweet little dolly and then all of a sudden she grew up!  A few years ago she left for Alberta to attend university and lo and behold found her future husband as well!  A few days ago my aunt hosted a wonderful bridal shower brunch for her while she was out for the holidays.

Glowing, as a bride to be should!

 We all brought a dish to share and enjoyed a delicious brunch in my aunt's newly renovated kitchen.

 The family room was simply decorated with a wedding dress and bouquet from my cousin, Erin's wedding.

 It was a time of day shower and I had the 10 pm slot.  Now that was fun!  She held up the negligees but wouldn't hold up the undies :)

 There were also practical gifts!

 Both her Omas were in attendance and were MOST interested in inspecting the lingerie!

We look forward to the wedding in May!

Take Me Back Tuesday

I thought that I was MUCH cooler than I actually was in 1986!

A New Toy for Me!

 This is my Christmas present.  I have upgraded from a flip phone to a modern touch screen smart phone.  I am barely using all it's capabilities but it's fun to explore and play with all the features.  Basically, as long as I can text and check my email, I'm content.

The camera is pretty nice...below is a shot I took the other day.   Not too shabby for a cell phone!

Welcome 2012

We had a lovely time last night 'partying' it up (and I use this term loosely) with our traditional group of friends for New Year's Eve.  The typical activities were partaken.  Eating, games, eating, visiting, and eating.  I daresay others had more exciting nights than us, but for our group it was just right.

No resolutions or expectations for the year on my part.  Although I do wish Keith and I would socialize a bit more.  I think that we did a lot of 'nesting' this year in our new house and were most content to stay home. 

Happy 2012 to you and yours....may you seek and find happiness and peace!