Virtually There

The Monday Report

2009-11-09T20:26:00.007-05:00

We're home from Toronto so it is time for the reveal... which Canadian celebrity made a long appearance at the Superdogs show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair yesterday?

This guy:

It looks like he is making an entrance, waving to his adoring fans... actually, he was celebrating because his "team" (I think they were called the Bow-Wows) had just won that heat of the relay race (the dogs did, I mean... he was "handling" a dog).

Rick Mercer appeared out of nowhere, with no warning just as it seems he does on his show, to participate in the Superdogs show with his own dog, a precocious bull dog named Pot Roast. Pot Roast and Rick did all the elements of the show along with the regular Superdogs. And hilarity ensued. (And if you don't know who Rick Mercer is, well, that is so sad for you! You must go here and find out. Basically, Canadian icon because of a number of reasons but mainly because he is damn funny. Ever seen Talking to Americans? Yeah, that be him.)

Pot Roast is not built for speed. He had some trouble bounding over the really high hurdle; he couldn't dance to save his life; he tried so hard to catch a frisbee but it kept going too fast (although the best part of the whole thing was when Pot Roast grabbed the edge of the frisbee from Rick's hands and would not on his life let go. I thought Rick was going to wet himself. It honestly took almost five minutes to get him off the frisbee so Rick could actually throw it); he was stupendous at the relay - jumping over hurdles then through a tunnel then back over the hurdles again.

The cameras were actually pretty inconspicuous; you noticed them but they didn't get in the way of enjoying the show or staring at RICK MERCER (!). Rick Mercer always gives the impression on his show that he is game for anything and loves his job; he gives this impression when he's filming too. Maybe it was all for the show, but he really did seem to find the whole thing hilarious and seemed to being having fun. Pot Roast seemed equally pleased.

Of course, I took tons of photos when we realized who it was who was running a bull dog up the course but a little point and shoot doesn't have much chance in an arena that size so I only got a couple of good ones. (And yes, these are the good ones.)

The girls had no idea who he was but it made the show all the better for John and I (and it was good to start with... and free with admission to the Fair).

A visit to the Royal Winter Fair

2009-11-08T22:13:00.001-05:00

We actually left the house and The Beach today! It took some convincing but we won out.

We eased into the affair by going out for breakfast at Mars Diner, a Toronto institution, albeit we were in the Beach location. From there we drove to the exhibition grounds and paid a bunch of money to go into the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

At first we just wandered around all the vendor stalls; there were lots. Then we checked out the competition ring where heifers were being shown. After that we watched a goat milking and sheep shearing demonstration (loved that). From there we went to the very large children's area. The kids loved the petting farm.

After all that Emily needed a break so we lined up with about 1000 other people, managed to get a table (dumb luck), and rested our barking dogs. As we finished our perogies we realized the Superdogs show was about to start. We headed there and watched a great bunch of dogs doing amazing things. We all loved it although the highlight had to be the very surprising guest appearance by a Canadian celebrity who I heart. (I'll reveal that tomorrow when I upload the photos.).

After that it was time for ice cream, a walk through the cattle staging area and time to head home.

It was one of those great days that I spend with my wee family that makes me want to do it again tomorrow.

And Emily made it through the whole day pretty well. I'm sure she'll sleep like a rock. Me too.

-- Post From My iPhone

A quiet day in Toronto

2009-11-07T19:52:00.002-05:00

It turns out that Emily's energy level, while better today, was still not enough to propel us through the Ontario Science Centre.... and she knew it. So, we opted to stay around The Beach today (not exactly a hardship). We had a leisurely breakfast of cream brioche, almond croissants, pain au chocolat and then walked to the playground at Kew Gardens. The girls played for a while and then we walked down to the beach (on Lake Ontario for those of you who don't know Ontario's geography well) and threw rocks into the water (always a good time). We walked along the boardwalk to the next small playground. After that Emily was pooped so we headed towards home, had lunch at Lick's Hamburgers and then the kids watched Treehouse for a while, played blocks, etc etc.

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity and headed back out of the house, after reading the Globe and Mail section by section (glorious!), and did some window shopping and some real shopping. My very best time was spent inside Alex Farm at the Beach - an amazing food shop that specializes in cheeses - tasting olive oils and balsamic vinegars. I was the only customer during that 30 minutes so I was lucky enough to get all the attention from the very knowledgeable and sweet owner who is more enthusiastic about balsamic vinegar than I am, although after today I may rival him. He gave me a taste of a balsamic vinegar that costs about $130 for 250 ml. It was liquid gold my friends. I have never tasted a balsamic vinegar like that. It was more sweet than acidic, more syrup than vinegar. You only need a drop and your mouth is overtaken by sensation. Heaven.

No, I didn't buy it. But I can dream, can't I?

We had a really nice day even though we didn't do much. I came back and played pretend with the girls for a while and then watched Food Network with Emily.

By the end of the day I saw her energy coming back. We plan to tackle the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair tomorrow. I can't wait!

In Toronto

2009-11-06T23:43:00.000-05:00

We made it to Toronto after a longer drive than it should have been, but it was a drive to Toronto and we always expect it to take longer than it should. Unfortunately I neglected to pack any activities for the girls for the car (am I new at this?) and Hope was none too please. I delayed the inevitable tantrum with Halloween candy (again, am I new at this?) and then she started screaming and kicking the back of my seat because she had to pee. Normally we'd accommodate this request but it's a little difficult when you're in stopped traffic on the 401.

And then she fell asleep and peace ensued until we arrived at Deb's house.

I took the girls for haircuts and my favourite Beaches kids haircut place - something about Tots... can't remember the name. And then we decided to get take out sushi. Unfortunately all this had been too much for Emily who is still recovering from the flu and she ended up laying on the couch coughing up a lung while we finished dinner. A little Treehouse seemed to help her recover.

We were planning on the Ontario Science Centre for tomorrow but we'll have to see how she's feeling. She and I may stay around the house while John and Hope do something else.

I hate the flu.

A much needed night out

2009-11-05T18:54:00.002-05:00

Tonight I am meeting with my book club. My book club is the best book club in the world because it consists of three people: me and two good friends who live in Waterloo/Kitchener. We started this up 8 years ago when I last lived here and we've started it up again. It's the best in the world because:

we only choose books available in the library or the remainder section at the bookstore
we eat great food and drink great drinks; each person brings either a savory, a dessert, or a drink
the food has to relate somehow to the book; sometimes the relationship is extremely remote
we often don't talk about the book until the very end but we do eventually talk about it.
there is no set schedule for meetings; we meet when we're all finished the book

I am so, so, so happy to be meeting tonight. After almost a week of being housebound due to a child being unable to leave the couch because of the flu that must not be named (thanks Lynn for adding a bit of humour to all this!) and being a single parent during that week and being 10 weeks pregnant, I need a night out more than just about anything else right now (although a day at the spa and a million dollars would be fine too).

And then tomorrow we're off for a what ought to be a wonderful weekend in Toronto that will include the Ontario Science Centre and (hooray!) a visit to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. I love the Royal Winter Fair! Great memories of my first taste of beer nuts and the smell of horses and cold weather. Lovely!

As for the stroller, well, I have no chance to win at this point but thanks for all who voted for me. I'll make do with second-hand. Shiny and new is nice but they would both get me and baby #3 from point A to point B in just the same way.

Please vote for me!

2009-11-04T07:55:00.002-05:00

Recently Amy at Muddy Boots solicited votes to win a digital camcorder at Classy Mommy . Well, there's a new giveaway at Classy Mommy and I want to win!

The current giveaway is for a Mutsy Transporter Stroller. Given that the current baby forming in utero was a big surprise, we find ourselves lacking some important baby equipment that was completely worn out by Emily and Hope, the most important being a crib, change table, car seat and stroller. We're a family on one salary so we'll be borrowing an begging for help to replace this equipment. It would be wonderful to win this stroller!

And given we normally reside in a very snowy city, our stroller has to be able to plough through snowbanks. The Mutsy looks like it is up to the job.

So please vote for me here! (I'm the name at the top.)

He's home!

2009-11-03T22:13:00.004-05:00

At 7:30 pm this evening I sat in our car, headlights on, girls in the back excited beyond belief, scanning the Kitchener train station platform for John's form. I haven't felt that excited about something since.... well, probably sometime around Christmas 1986 or so. Likely the year I got my Litebrite.

Being on my own for the past 8 days while attempting (I think successfully?) to stave off the flu, being 10 weeks pregnant, hosting my dad and Donna, keeping up with the usual stuff around here, and now the last two days, nursing Emily through *the* flu has not been a good time for me.

I've said it before when John has been away but being a single parent is not enjoyable in any way. Sure, you don't have to make any decisions in tandem, checking to see if your decision works for your partner. But that is far outweighed by all the other CRAP that you have to do by yourself.

Like tonight for instance. I really needed to get groceries. I had planned to take Emily and Hope to our nearest grocery store (my favourite, Central Fresh Market - an independent grocery in Kitchener) and get the staples we were missing as well as stuff to make chicken noodle soup. Although Emily was perkier than this morning, she had hit the wall again and did not want to leave the couch. Or the comfort of her jammies. So I started calling people: first Greg who it turns out was playing single parent himself; then Julie, no one home at her house; then I looked out the window and saw that both Dan and Jewel were home downstairs and although I'd used and abused my friendship with Jewel all day, I did it again and she graciously stayed with the kids while I ran out.

A couple of Facebook friends asked later if there was a grocery delivery nearby. You only think of these things afterward and in anticipation of a next time, I did some research. As far as I can tell no grocery stores do this in K-W. A big oversight for sure. What do single parents do in these situations? I assume they have to rely on a huge network of friends and family. It's not a role I ever want to permanently play.

And so, if you know someone who is a single parent.... make them a meal and drop it off for their freezer. Just for those times when they might need it. It will make their day.

What was I thinking?

2009-11-02T20:35:00.003-05:00

I foolishly signed up for NaBloPoMo again (that's National Blog Post Month for those of you not in the know). I'm supposed to post everyday for the month of November. Given that I only posted 10 times in October, 11 times in September and let's not even talk about August or July, one can only conclude that I am set up for one gigantic and spectacular FAIL.

Hah! But you underestimate my obsession with proving people wrong. And maybe I'll do it here. Or maybe I'll cultivate my other obsession which is procastinating and saying I'll do something and then not do it.

I guess it will just be a surprise. Don't you just love surprise endings?

Kind of like this book I finished last night where in the last few chapters a baby was born (granted it was a new sub-species of human), turned to its dad and said "Hello Mitch" and I'm not even kidding. I'm also not kidding when I say I was laying in bed last night reading this, completely by myself since John is still away (BUT COMING HOME TOMORROW THANK GOD BECAUSE EMILY THREW UP AGAIN TONIGHT AND HOPE WAS CONSTIPATED AND HONESTLY I THINK I GOT EMILY VACCINATED AGAINST A FLU THAT SHE ALREADY HAS), and said outloud to me, myself and I "Oh that is so stupid."

It completely ruined the book for me which up until that point I was thoroughly enjoying. Seriously? A talking baby? Greg Bear you couldn't come up with anything better to attribute to a new sub-species of humanity than early speech. All I could think of was those annoying commercials where babies talk about how much they like their Huggies.

Where was I going with this?

Right. So maybe I'll surprise you with actually accomplishing this whole blog-everyday thing kind of like the talking baby surprised me.

Oh, and on the topic of babies, tomorrow is my first midwife appointment. I'm seeing a midwife named Mina. Which essentially means that everytime I see her I will only be able to picture Lloyd Axworthy sitting there suggesting that I massage my perineum.

That would make no sense to you unless you currently or have previously worked at Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. And if you have then right now you are thinking I am pretty freaking hilarious. Which I am.

And with that, I close.

Post Halloween lazies

2009-11-01T14:02:00.002-05:00

I shouldn't in fact suggest Emily is feeling lazy. What she is actually feeling is sick. She has another terrible cold. She does have a fever, but not a high one. She does have a cough, but I don't think she has H1N1. Although without a vaccination I'm sure she would get it. I'm sure because she has had about 4 days since school started when she hasn't been sick with something. Her new school has not been kind to us germ-wise. And it is for this reason that we're getting vaccinated tomorrow by our family doctor here. Waterloo has issued vaccine to GPs so we're not required to stand in line for hours, thank the good Lord.

And even though Emily was suffering from her cold last night, the promise of candy as well as a dose of Motrin ensured that she was able to collect her share of loot. Hope did fairly well considering her legs are a lot shorter than her sister's. With still two streets between us and home, Hope declared that she had enough candy. Emily and our neighbours finished the route while Hope and I sorted through her things at home. Most unusual treats: pop. One can of Coke and one can of gingerale. That's what you call phoning it in for Halloween.

I sewed Hope's costume. It turned out rather well don't you think?

I made Emily's as well, a mermaid costume made out of duct tape, muffin cups and a garbage bag.

I'm all about the homemade costumes.

John is still in Ottawa and I'm pretty much done with being a single parent, especially when pregnant, nursing my own cold and Emily's. He gets home on Tuesday evening and I can't wait.

And that pretty much brings us up to speed on things around here. Time for tea and a mini-chocolate bar.

-- Post From My iPhone

And the winner is....

2009-10-30T19:33:00.002-05:00

Ecomama! Ecomama won herself a copy of Character is Key. Way to go Ecomama. Hope you enjoy it!

Apparently you can go back home again

2009-10-29T06:26:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend in Ottawa last weekend. It was a whirlwind tour but nice nonetheless. I would have liked a little more time so that we weren't feeling so frenzied seeing everyone and getting things from our house. The girls had a great time but were also up until 10:00 two nights in a row. That's never good.

We spent Friday night at a hotel in Peterborough. It had a pool which was the big sell for the girls. The big sell for me was that the pool was set about one degree above body temperature. Lovely. The hotel also offered a continental breakfast which usually, in my experience, consists of dry muffins and bad coffee. This hotel had a full breakfast (muffins, cinnamon buns, hot and cold cereal, toast, bagels, juice, coffee, tea) which included something the girls are still talking about: wall-mounted cereal dispensers. You had to twist a handle and the cereal, which you could see through the big transparent tube, fell into your bowl. It was pretty cool. Do you think Starfrit makes those?

On Saturday we drove to Ottawa and started our buzzing around - first to Meredith and Ron's to drop off our things and have a quick visits, then to Pam and Jim's for playtime and visiting and dinner, then back to Meredith and Ron's in Chelsea. The next morning our friends John and Dawn and their daughter Emily arrived in Chelsea for a visit, then everyone else showed up at noon for a brunch. After that it was to our house to pick up some Christmas decorations and other things, then to John's brother's in Riverside South for supper. Back to Chelsea and then I drove the girls home with me the next morning. It was a full day's drive and we made it without resorting to buying a DVD player. That is the sign of a good car trip. I think we can say goodbye to that technology for good (fingers crossed). We did stop at the Sandlion Sticker Outlet in Richmond Hill and stocked up on about 5 years of stickers.

Did I take photos? Not one. And that is the problem with having such a crappy camera. I often don't even bother to pull it out anymore. So sad.

More on Character is the Key

2009-10-22T22:03:00.004-04:00

I've finished going through the book Character is the Key: How to Unlock the Best in Our Children and Ourselves by Sara Dimerman. Mom Central sent the book to me for my review. As I said in my previous post, this book not only gives parents a lot to think about but also a firm plan for building strong character in our children.

The first half of the book lays the foundation for being examples for our children (modelling character) and gives real life examples on how this has changed families. The second half of the book lays out the plan on implementing this in your own family through four weekly family meetings and then regular monthly family meetings following that. During the first four meetings, you use Dimerman's worksheets so that each meeting has a specific focus for discussion. The meetings that follow from there are completely up to each family. You might be discussing where to go on vacation, where to go for dinner, or more substantial things such as finding ways to spend more time together in the midst of busy schedules. And every month each member can discuss how they've been feeling as part of the family, problems they see, things that are working or not working. The key to these meetings is honesty and respect for one another.

Being a person who likes systems, this really appeals to me and I plan to try it in our family but I still have some reservations on how this will work with a really young family. The reality is that there are many questions on the worksheets that only John and I will be able to answer because our children just won't understand the questions. Emily will be able to answer some, but not many. I do wonder if we should try part of this but not use the worksheets until the kids are older. I need to do some deeper reading and thinking.

I do think this book is worth reading for any parent, single or married, one child or many. And as such, as I said below, the publisher will send one lucky reader a copy of the book. So just leave a comment in the post below for your chance to receive it! I'll do a random draw on October 29.

Disclosure: Mom Central sent me a copy of this book as well as a $20 Amazon gift certificate in return for my review.

A book review (to come) and a giveaway!

2009-10-20T21:04:00.003-04:00

Periodically I review products, books and the like for Mom Central. A few weeks ago I was chosen to review a (Canadian! in fact, Ontarian!) book called Character is the Key: How to Unlock the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. I'm almost half-way through the book and I am very excited about applying Sara Dimerman's program to our family. It didn't hurt that when I opened it to the forward it was written by John Havercroft, former superintendent of the York Region District School Board (north of Toronto) and father to an old friend from camp, Bill. It caused me to like the book immediately. Anywho.

Let me give you a taste (a full review will come in a couple of days) from the back of the book (there are so many gems I want to share):

Would you like to see your children:

taking greater initiative at home and at school?
taking more responsibility for their actions?
valuing togetherness as a family and wanting to spend more time with you?
consistently treating peers, adults and themselves with respect?
persisting through challenges and not giving up prematurely?
being honest even when the truth is difficult to share?
motivated to help with chores around the house?
less influenced by negative peer pressure and more able to stand up for what they believe?
Looking forward to a bright and successful future?

Okay, so obviously we all answered yet to all of those questions. And I opened the book hoping that the author would show me how to do this. So far, I am getting a taste of that. The second half of the book is where the real meat of "the plan" comes into place - family meetings, worksheets, exercises. The first half is a deep reflection on modelling behaviour intentionally; that is, being a living example for our children. If we want our children to persist through challenges and not give up prematurely, then we need to do the same when presented with something difficult; we need to tell the truth even when it is difficult and make sure they see it happen; we need to stand up for what we believe in and talk to them about it when we do.

It is very inspiring and is reinvigorating me in regards to intentional parenting and character building. There is a lot her to chew on. I'll have more to report in a few days.

In the meantime, the publisher has graciously agreed to send one of you lovely people a copy of this book. So, all you need to do is make a comment here. Tell me what you do to parent intentionally or areas that you could work on. I'll leave this open for a week and then I'll randomly pull one of your names. Good luck!

A visit to the pumpkin patch

2009-10-17T20:06:00.011-04:00

On Thursday I accompanied my first class trip for Emily. Her class went to Herrle's Country Farm Market to learn a bit about farming, have a wagon ride, see the market, see the pumpkin patch and pick their own pumpkin. It was a lot of fun. The kids also got to go through the corn maze, jump from straw bales and bat balloons around inside a big inflatable pumpkin.

Given that Emily and I had such a good time, I decided that we should take Hope there today (and John). So we navigated the corn maze, chasing each other down; the kids jumped from the straw bales again and again and again; and the girls chose out two honkin' pumpkins. It was really fun and the cold sunny day made for some great pictures (great if I had a decent camera; since I have a particularly shitty camera, it made for some okay picture with great subjects).

Brown what?

2009-10-15T20:33:00.006-04:00

Tonight we were all lying (laying? I never can get this one straight) on our bed having a pre-dinner family ~~wrestling match~~ snuggle. Emily climbed on. She was wearing a favourite brown shirt of hers.

John: Hey Brownie!
Emily: Hey Browneye!

And yes, courtesy of John, she is well-aware of what it means.

Either popping early or sloppy fat

2009-10-15T20:21:00.002-04:00

I'm seven weeks pregnant and 1 day. And yet I've already been forced into those early kind of maternity pants. Not the ones with the giant panel that we all love. Not even the ones with the four-inch band. But I am having to wear the ones with the stretchy waists, the extra elastic sewn in... you know the ones.

This is my third baby. Is it normal to start showing this early or have I just let myself go? Has my muffin top grown into a full spare tire?

Should I really be sharing this with the blogosphere?

Oh baby, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what I'm willing to share over the next 7 and a half months!

My defence of homebirth after cesarean

2009-10-07T10:46:00.003-04:00

Today I heard back from the Cambridge Midwives. I called them last week hoping for a more positive response to my wish to give birth at home, even though I've had a previous cesarean. The Kitchener Midwives responded with "We don't recommend that but we review on a case-by-case basis." I didn't like the initial negative clause in the sentence. The Cambridge Midwives responded with "Our attitude is that we respect the mother's wishes as long as it is safe." Much better.

And so today I got the time for my first appointment with the Cambridge Midwives. I still have one hesitation and that is that we live a 10-minute walk from the Grand River hospital in Kitchener where the Cambridge Midwives don't have privileges. Their privileges are at the Cambridge Hopsital, a twenty minute drive away. However, I don't plan to step foot in a hospital so I think it won't be an issue.

I am aware of some people's attitudes to homebirth-after-cesarean (HBAC). This will be my second HBAC. Emily was born by cesarean after a 20-hour labour and little progress (but A LOT of pain). Hope was born at home in Ottawa - a very successful HBAC and the most empowering experience of my life so far. I plan to repeat it.

Before deciding to have Hope at home, about 30 weeks into my pregnancy, I did a lot of research into HBACs, the risks and the inaccurate statistics. I decided that the fears I had about my delivery of Hope had nothing to do with me or her but had to do with the stress of being in a hospital environment. When I removed that, my attitude about the birth completely changed and I started to look forward to it. Amazing, I know. I read as much as I could, joined an HBAC message group, and even compiled quotes about birth to inspire me and read it over often.

And it all worked out as I hoped it would.

And so I have a hard time responding well to people when they infer that it is irresponsible or dangerous to have an HBAC. I know what my body can do, I know what it was designed to do and I know that my midwives will not agree to do something that endangers me or the baby.

Of course, there is the stress of living in a house that has a separate apartment in the basement. Luckily I've become good friends with our neighbours down there and they are the type of people who will likely embrace a homebirth even if it is above their heads. At least, I hope so.

I didn't talk about my plans for a homebirth with Hope on the blog at all and in fact I kept it a secret from most people except for John's sister and my sister and one or two friends. I wasn't ready or interested in defending my choice. This time I most definitely am having been there before and come out the other side.

Just as a woman's heart knows how and when to pump, her lungs to inhale, and her hand to pull back from fire, so she knows when and how to give birth.

Virginia Di Orio

Dreading the most important meal of the day

2009-10-05T21:03:00.003-04:00

Before I started having to pack lunches for school, I had heard (from several reliable sources) that packing school lunches was attune to having your eyeballs pried out with a teaspoon.

I haven't found it bad at all but I think that is because I have a child with a very wide range of tastes and they all fall under the heading of "healthy".

But do you know what I despise making lately? Breakfasts! I find it absolutely loathsome. Most likely that is because, this week at least while I've either nursed other people's colds or my own, my grocery shopping and bread-baking has been sub-par. Every morning I wake up to find no bread in the house, apple but no other fruits that would be smoothie-worthy, eggs but no bacon (or bread as I just mentioned) or no time (or desire) to make pancakes.

And I'm looking it in the face tomorrow morning as well. I will likely be up early making muffins or pancakes.

And packing a lunch.

Whoa

2009-10-02T12:27:00.004-04:00

To all men who read here: warning, there is going to be period talk and if you don't want to read it, you may want to go elsewhere for a while.

Since my weird health mystery started last February/March, my periods have been very irregular; mostly short. So short that some cycles were 19 days long. And take it from me, that really sucks. That isn't even three weeks between the start of one period and the start of the next. And so, I started tracking the length of each cycle just so I could see if there was any consistency.

There wasn't. Some cycles were 26 days, most were around 22 or 21 days. Sometimes I ovulated and sometimes I didn't. This was weird for me because I was always a consistent ovulator. A few pap tests and a pelvic ultrasound or two only resulted in doctors scratching their heads and shrugging their shoulders. "I dunno. People have irregular periods, you know." Very helpful.

And then we moved to Waterloo and I don't know if there is something in the water but all of a sudden I had two cycles that were 27 days long. Bliss! And a big money savings on tampons.

I figured things had changed, I was back to "normal" or as normal as I can be with still no diagnosis and nothing on the horizon that would lead me to believe I'll be getting one anytime soon.

And then it was Day 30 and I told John that it was Day 30.

And then I peed on a stick.

Surprise! Yup, we're having another baby. We're going to be parents of THREE children. THREE!

Holy Hannah.

Yes, we're excited. But, wow, we're still getting used to the idea two weeks later (almost), revelling in the joy of it but also the whoa-ness of it and all the stuff we have to do/consider/think about when we are away from home, our midwives, our normal stomping grounds.

THREE KIDS!

What's Cooking Wednesday and other stuff

2009-09-30T20:16:00.004-04:00

So, my DISTRACTION (as yet unrevealed on this blog) has kept me from blogging only because I haven't wanted to blog out the DISTRACTION yet. If you're a Facebook friend with me, you already know. If you only read the blog, you'll be in the dark a bit longer. However, when you have a DISTRACTION like this it's hard to blog when that is the one thing you really want to blog about. Anywho, normal life continues and yet I've been silent... not really like me. So, I'm going to give you my recipe for What's Cooking Wednesday and then I'll give you a few bullets to get you (sort of) up to date on what's going on around these parts.

This is week three (I think) of my new foray into menu planning and by extension, reducing our grocery bill. So far, so good I'd say. The menu this week has been:

Monday: lasagna
Tuesday: spaghetti
Wednesday: borscht (finally got around to making that one and it was oh, so good)
Thursday: sushi (a special meal for our 10th wedding anniversary tomorrow)
Friday: chicken drumsticks, roasted beets and potatoes, something green
Saturday: zucchini, tomato and fontina pizza
Sunday: still undecided - something from the freezer or cupboard

Today I also whipped up a broccoli soup for lunch for my sick Emily. It is one of my favourite wintertime soups because it tastes like broccoli with cheese sauce but in soup form. Although there are more steps to make it than I like in a soup, it's worth it once in a while:

Broccoli and Cheese Chowder

1 bunch broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 large carrots, grated
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Cut broccoli tops into very small florets. Peel remaining thick stems; cut into chunks. In large pan, melt butter. Stir in onion, celery and garlic; cook until soft. Sprinkle with flour; stir until absorbed. Slid pan off heat. Add stock a little at a time to avoid lumps, stirring after each addition until smooth.

Return pan to heat. Add broccoli stems, thyme and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 15 min or til veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf and puree in blender. Return to saucepan.

Heat soup until hot; stir in grated carrots. Reduce heat to simmer, covered, for 10 min. Stir in florets; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in milk, salt and pepper. Heat until hot. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Ladle into heated soup bowls; garnish with generous sprinkle of Cheddar.

I have a photo but not a very good one. It really won't do much for you. Just try the soup. If you like broccoli, you'll like this.

On to the bullets:

On Sunday we spent the day visiting John's mum in St. Catharines. It was lots of fun. We went to the Port Dalhousie Carousel. I enjoyed it even more than the kids I think. We also stopped in my hometown of Fonthill to buy apples at Galagher's. Glad to see the place is as great as ever.
Hope had her first swimming lesson on Tuesday afternoon. It was her first time in the pool without me. She LOVED it. In fact, all caps doesn't really convey the enthusiasm she had for going in by herself.
Emily would have had two new activities this week also if not for her nasty cough. I had to keep her home from her first night of Sparks last night (the prequel to Brownies) and from her first swimming lesson today. I wanted to make sure she would be fit to go to school tomorrow. It's picture day tomorrow and we all know that we don't want her to miss the chance to pose for the camera. It's one of the highlights of my year... what will happen in front of the lens? No one knows but I can't wait to see!
I have so many projects on the go around here and none are complete. It seems I start to make some headway and then life pops up, the kids want to play, dinner has to be made and nothing ever gets finished. We've been here for 3 months and still only one curtain is sewn for the main floor room. Also, I have photos to post of our house so you can all see what it's like... still on the camera! Also, plants sitting in the garden waiting to be put in the ground... also, a tire swing to be hung up... also, peach jam to be made, tomato sauce, red pepper jelly... all still yet to be canned.... also, Halloween costumes to be sewn.... also so many blog posts to write... I've only written one "Life in Waterloo" post yet I have at least two written in my head but not down on screen yet. How can I train my body not to need sleep?

And that is my quick and unsatisfactory update.

I was doing so well

2009-09-27T17:34:00.001-04:00

I seemed to be back on track with blogging but this week threw me a curve I didn't see coming and it has left me a bit distracted.

I hope to get back to more frequent posts this week but for now just know that all is good. I'm currently relaxing at Omi's house before we all return to Waterloo and the routines that we've finally got going.

Sorry for being so secretive but that's all I'm willing to divulge for now.

-- Post From My iPhone

This week's menu

2009-09-21T09:00:00.003-04:00

This week I'll be making:

Today: cauliflower pie with roasted beets

Tuesday: beef tacos with guacamole

Wednesday: Brazilian rice and beans with a green vegetable

Thursday: borscht with homemade bread and cut veggies

Friday: lasagna with salad

Saturday: ribs with roast potatoes and green veg

Sunday: squash soup, salad, bread and cheese

Notes: I have a lot of gr beef in my freezer from last week so I planned my menu to use that up. I also didn't make the squash soup last week after all so I put it back on the menu for this week. Ribs and avocados are on sale this week so I'm going to have both of those.

I'll add links to recipes a little later.

-- Post From My iPhone

Back in the saddle.... and out of it again

2009-09-20T20:00:00.005-04:00

Today we did our first long family bike ride. Well, John and I rode bikes; the girls rode in the bike trailer. Yes, we should have done this long before now given that John and I both love to ride but I figured we'd be subject to a lot of whining and complaining given that the bike trailer makes for pretty tight quarters for the two girls for anything longer than 15 minutes.

I was wrong.

They were amazing. Now, we didn't go for a solid two hour ride. We took a long break (due to John's flat tire) at the 40 minute mark and then again after another 20 minutes when we arrived in Waterloo Park, home of a playground. The girls had been begging to stop there on our way home.

And that was the site of my EMBARASSING INCIDENT.

It wouldn't be embarassing if I was 5 or if I just learned to ride a bike. It's embarassing because I'm 37 and have been riding a bike without training wheels since I was about 7. And I've ridden a lot.

However, I'm pretty out of shape now. I was biking up a steep hill, the third one in a few minutes and I knew I wasn't going to make it (just like I didn't make the other two). My legs just didn't have the power, even out of the seat. Unfortunately, this third time though, I couldn't get my foot out of my clip fast enough. As I saw the pavement getting close to my head I shouted "DOWN!" to no one in particular. Don't ask me why. I guess I wanted John to know I was in trouble and he was a ways ahead of me. Unfortunately it also drew the attention of pretty much EVERY OTHER PERSON in the vicinity. They all got to see me fall over like a total dufus. I jumped up, shouted "FINE!" and pushed the bike up the hill wondering when I forgot how to properly use my freaking gears.

Was there blood? Yes. And scrapes? Oh yes. Did it hurt? Not so much... until the wind started hitting it.

At least I was able to point out to Emily that see? Grown-ups fall off their bikes too! Her only response was "You should have cried, Mummy."

And after all this they didn't even want to play at the playground. We were all tired, we went home and I successfully made it up the rest of the hills, thank you very much.

I could make a good mixed drink with my toes

2009-09-17T21:27:00.003-04:00

It is so cold in our house at night right now that, I'm not kidding, I could ice a martini with my toes. Not that you'd want to drink it after but it might be an experiment worth trying JUST TO SEE.

The past two nights I've worn wool socks to bed.

Last night I got up, as per usual, to see what Hope was going on about. Seems her blankets were twisted. And she had to pee. As I walked up to her room I realized that my entire body, which was clothes in said wool socks and winter pyjamas, was freezing... head to toe. I was deeply, entirely cold.

So I grabbed the giant, stored away until winter, duvet and hauled it onto our bed, under which I had another blanket. And that is how I spent the rest of my blissful night. Warm and smothered in a duvet and winter pyjamas.

People, today was September 17 and I shouldn't be doing this yet. What is going to happen in February for example when it is minus 20 outside (it does get that cold in Waterloo, right?)?

I'll tell you. I'll move into the dryer and set it to fluff.

What's Cooking Wednesday

2009-09-16T10:04:00.002-04:00

I've been so delinquent in participating in Shan's What's Cooking Wednesday. I want to get back in the habit. And since I'm now posting my weekly menus, it seems like the right time to start sharing recipes again.

This chicken recipe was given to me by a former boyfriend's mother before he became former. It has remained my favourite BBQ chicken recipe. Most people who try it ask for the recipe. If you like it less peppery, just half the amount of pepper.

Mrs. Logue's Chicken

For about 6 chicken thighs:

Mix together:

1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
4 tsp paprika
4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tarragon

Dip chicken thighs into mixture and put on grill, turning frequently.

I usually double the recipe. Enjoy!

-- Post From My iPhone