2 eggs

2 lbs (907g) extra lean ground beef

1 cup (250ml) sliced green onions

1/4 cup (50ml) water

1/4 cup (50ml) soy sauce

1 tbsp (15ml) diced hot pepper rings

1/2 tsp (2ml) salt

1/2 tsp (2ml) pepper

1/2 cup (50ml) fine bread crumbs

2 tbsp (45ml ) flour

2 tbsp (30ml) quick oats

Wash your hands and mix all of the above ingredients together! Feels nasty but its the best way to mix it all together. Form into meatballs ( whatever size you prefer ) I then cover the bottom of a large wok with E.V.O.O and add the meatballs. I use tongs to turn them constantly. I really have no idea how long they take to cook. Watch them carefully, as they brown quite fast. Turn them down once they’re fully cooked and pour rice vinegar all over them! Simmer for a few more minutes to allow them to absorb all that yummy flavor!  I use quite a bit but you can be more cautious if you would like.

My daughter and I love making a rice vinegar, soy sauce mixture to dunk them in once served. For all the men in your life a brown gravy on the side makes them happy. Freeze the left overs and add them to a spag sauce for a later date!

Enjoy!

Honestly though with all the hard work I put into it I can truly say I love it! Watching my perennials grow, the lilac tree bloom outside my kitchen window, my annuals overflow the flower beds, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, harvesting fresh veg, and eating them of course! I’m in love with the smell of fresh cut grass, I enjoy washing windows thanks to the Windex window kit, cleaning up the yard, weeding and taking all summer gear out of the garage. I will do everything and anything I can to soak up natures vitamin D.

Last year I had a veggie garden at my father in laws house and I grew Tomatoes, Green Onions, Cucumbers, Hot Peppers, Snow Peas and Melons. This year I have a garden at my father in laws again and another mini above ground garden in my backyard at home. I started planting seeds in pots and I transplanted nearly everything that went into the ground. This year I’ve planted Roma Tomatoes, Sweet Cherry Tomatoes, Green Onions, Sweet Corn, Green Peppers, Snow Peas, Green Beans, Bok Choy, Cucumbers, Round Carrots, Cauliflower and Broccoli, Oh my! After listing all these veggies I realize this is going to be a yummy Summer/Fall!

We’ve had the opportunity to enjoy snow peas, green beans, bok choy and cucumbers from the garden already and I can’t wait to sample more!

After last years tomato harvest I was able to make enough scratch sauce to last us the winter and I have learned so much I look forward to this years harvest! I absolutely love the direction I have taken as a person, mother and wife. I have made a huge efforts to cook more, bake more and buy less packaged goods. As a consumer I really have a hard time knowing what is good and bad these days. As a mother and a wife it’s very overwhelming trying to feed the family right. As a person I’m proud to say I can grow from the earth and feed my family the fruits of my labor! Here’s hoping for many successful harvests and the will and want to continue doing what I finally realize is something I am truly passionate about.

Range

I currently have 3 children under the age of 2 1/2 in my care Mon-Fri most weeks. I have one, two or maybe all three children sleeping at any given moment.  I’m not the kind of person who can just sit around waiting for children to wake up, I need to be able to move around throughout the house, garden or even walk up and down the street with one or more nap refusing children. This monitor has a 2000 ft reception range and it has an alarm to let you know when your out of range. Once back into range it links up every time.

Portability

I already have an amazing monitor for my own child but the other two children in my care need a monitor in their room. I don’t mind having a monitor or two clipped at my waist….god forbid three of them I think not. So I bought this one knowing that it works in two rooms for two different children and I would only have to carry one more monitor!  So if you see me on the street I may be leaning a bit to the right with the two monitors and maybe a cell phone hanging from my waist but it could be worse there could be three monitors! Now if only they can make one that works in 3 rooms. I should probably mention that the clip is by far the best too. I garden with it on my waist and it always stays on.

Indicator

Ok so this is the best part! Each room is named one and two and you can have the monitor switch between the two rooms as often as you would like, there are time intervals you can set up…..OR you can just have it tune into one room at a time. On the parental unit there are two rows of five tiny lights that will light up when the child is making noise. The left side is for room #1 and has orange indicator lights, the right side is room #2 and has green indicator lights. It’s actually very cool, and I know I’m such a nob for being so excited about it.

Interference

This one is easy…..there isn’t any! I live in a 90 year old home with original plaster walls in most of the house, I have almost every gadget a technology geek could own ( not me ) a existing baby monitor running at all times in my daughters room, cordless phones ect and I have still to hear any static come from this unit. I have even walked right out of the 2000ft range and still heard no static. I have returned at least 3 different monitors all because of static in the search for this golden monitor! Graco claims it’s their 100% digital technology that makes it interference free, whatever that means. All I know is this thing is awesome.

Battery Life

It comes with rechargeable batteries with AC adapters and honestly does it get any better than that? I’ve run it for 2 hours and maybe the battery is dying by then but if you need to use it for longer periods and don’t plan on leaving the room they work great charging on the dock.

Ok Graco you will this round, I love you again! Let me give this my personal this is “some good shit” rating . With your 90 day manufactures warranty and your already proven great product I will recommend this again and again!

Why don’t I update my blog? Because I am just too darn busy these days! I am going to try to write a tidbit here and there because I have really become quite the slacker.

It’s been over a year since my last post and I am appalled! My hubby didn’t help me with this to have it sit in limbo with all the other tired forgotten things on the internet. So from here on out I’m making it a personal promise whether it be a product I want to complain/rave about, a funny story about the kids, or a wonderful life experience I will try to update this page if not for anyone else but for me because I would like too!

To all of those people who only read this to snoop for there own stupid selfish reasons I hope you have gotten some sort of life and leave mine the hell alone. You know who you are, hopefully you’re not nearly as pathetic as you once were

So here I sign off for now you’ll see I’m going to get better at this

Deanna xo

We wanted to celebrate her actual birthday close to home. All that is normal on our day to day, and with a little added “Love” with fun little surprises and details along the way. She slept in ( which is very rare ) and woke up to pink streamers in her home, and small wrapped gifts with her toys. She ate her favorite cereal, munched on her favorite fruit ( banana ) had many kisses and cuddles, and then basically got spoiled with love throughout the day. That evening I made her a ham, mashed potato, cauliflower, and green bean dinner ( her favorite “people food”) and then let her dive right into her very own banana cream pie. We placed the pie in front of her while she sat in her highchair. She didn’t actually eat any. Addison seemed quite content to splash around in it, until there was a nice mess to clean up. It was off to the bathtub after that, then a warm bottle and then momma rocked her to sleep.

The following Saturday we had a little get together at our place to celebrate her. Not many people, a few close friends to us, some family, and of course a couple little cuties to toss into the mix. She seemed to have such a wonderful day. There were 3 baby girls all under a year and a half, and not one made a fuss that afternoon. They were very happy playing and enjoying each others company. A beautiful day with no stresses, good people, and a beautiful cake that Kelly ( grandma ) brought for her. She got a couple really choice gifts, and ever since that day she can’t stop making out with herself in her musical mirrored piano she received form grandma, and grandpa.

It was nice to have a perfect day for a perfect little girl. Until next year baby, I hope you enjoyed your special day

Hannah has grown up so much in the past year! She is a wonderful, amazing little girl. 10 years old, in grade five, and going on 16. She loves French, and is doing very well at it! Sometimes I need to remind her that she needs to speak English just so I can understand her. I do hope she keeps it up, we all know that a second language can come in handy in this world of ours. I can’t even explain how much she seems to adore Addison. Something about Hannah just lights Addison up. All she has to do is look at her, and Addie has the biggest and brightest smile across her face. Nobody can get Addison all excited like Hannah can! She is a wonderful big sister, and an amazing daughter This month she wants to become a archaeologist. Last month it was a fashion designer. If I know one thing, Hannah will become whatever she wants to become. Only because she is a wonderfully stubborn little girl who dreams big!

Addison, Elizabeth, Brett where do I start! She is seriously the joy of the household right now. The last time I wrote about her, she was a sack of potatoes! Now she is a running, tooth grinning little toddler, with a giggle that can melt our hearts. She took her first step in her ninth month of life, and started walking two weeks after that, and now two months later she is running all over the place! She has been a blessing, and a challenge. Teething has really been a huge bother to her though. I can’t even imagine how a little one must feel cutting teeth for the first time. She now has her two bottom front teeth and one top tooth. I can see she has the other top front tooth coming in as well. She makes sure that we all feel a little bit of her pain too! If I’m not holding a cranky baby all day long, then she’s waking us up at 4:30 in morning for the day. So that’s 3 teeth already, one coming in, 20 baby teeth in total, we are in for many more early mornings aren’t we? Addison doesn’t say too much yet. We get momma, dadda, Hannah, and I have heard her say hi dadda. I’m going to enjoy this silent moment for the time being. I have a 10 year old daughter, and I only wish we could  go back to these days when she didn’t know how to speak! haha Addison still has a really nice red tint to her hair, although there isn’t too much hair to talk about. She’s getting a mullet for sure. I promised that we wouldn’t let it get out of hand, so that may mean a teenie haircut in her near future All in all she is definitely the blessing we were asking for, and I thank god for her every day, as I do for all my family.

As for Matt, all is wonderful with him. It’s business as usual, for this proud pappa! Still working for himself, in his office down in the basement, tossing out amazing sites for every project he completes. I couldn’t be prouder of him. Not only does he have an incredible talent, but even after all these years he still strives to get better! Not many people can say that about themselves. I love to watch him when he’s looking at our kids. It makes me so happy to know I married a man who is not only a wonderful father, but an amazing husband It’s pretty cool to watch his reactions when it comes to Addison. Not being there for Hannah’s infant childhood, it’s great to see all these firsts through Matt’s eyes. I am, or should I say we are all very lucky girls.

Thanks baby And watch out, sharing a home with 3 girls, you have plenty to look forward too;)

As for me, I am exactly where I am supposed to be! I’m sure of it. I find myself now in a position to do something totally different starting in Feb, and be here to raise my family. How wonderful is that! No more commuting, no more nonsense, only that from which I create myself. I love being home when Hannah walks through the door. I love waking up each morning knowing I will not miss out on my kids lives. So all in all this is where I am supposed to be.

Addison, Hannah and I are heading out West. I haven’t been to the island in 4 years, it’s long over due. I am excited! but…..at the same time terrified to fly with Addison. Her attitude is so sketchy at times. Out of no where she could freak. Walking around, and getting some fresh air is not an option. I just hope I can keep her entertained for 5-6 hours haha! Wish me luck.

The weather here is fan…freakin…tastic! So beautiful. The sun has been shinning for days. The heat is therapeutic! I find myself with way more energy. It’s a vitamin D high! I like it. Addison is enjoying her walks with her little bonnet on. Hannah has been taking advantage of this weather too! Bike riding most days, and she’s pulling out all the cute outfits. I love how “matching” she is. My little fashion queen. Everything is colour coordinated, to some degree. The flats match the coat, or the hat. Maybe she will carry a matching bag. It’s pretty cute! I’ve even busted Matt with the curtains open in his office now. Something he doesn’t do often. Could it be he wants to enjoy the sun too! I do detect a bit of colour on all of us. Ahhhh Summer days. I know it’s Spring but, this really feels like Summer.

Addison has been smiling, and cooing more. We can tell she’s almost ready to laugh. That will be an adorable moment. Addie had her shots recently, I won’t even get into that too much but, she weighed in at 11lbs 4oz. Hannah finds picking her up harder and harder yet, we always see her whiling to pick the baby up. It’s crazy seeing Hannah as a big sister. She is so wonderful with her, and so excited to have Addie around. I just love my gals.

That’s all folks……..now time to make dinner!

As much as I wish she would stay a little baby forever, I am also wishing that this hard newborn phase will hurry up and pass us by. I think we are doing a great job considering Addison isn’t an angel by any means. Sometimes though I tell ya, I could run for the hills.

With all the crying aside she’s doing so well though. Addison is smiling at us everyday now. What a wonderful feeling that is, to know we can make her smile. Everyday she is “talking” to us a little more. She is such a strong girl, way beyond her months. She loves to stand on her own two feet with support of our two fingers. I can’t believe how much she tries to do at such a young age.

I heard someone say that it was a head trip to think that being the mom automatically makes us more responsible. Yeah, whatever! It is so true, even my husband thinks so. Woman have this instinctual thing about them, that babies know! From the moment that a mother holds her baby, babies know mom’s can do it just a bit better, and a bit faster, with a bit more ease. ( Thanks Krista ) I’m not saying this is the case for every woman out there. I’m sure there are a few super dads out there too. In fact I believe Matt is a super dad! If anything he gives me the emotional support to do what I need to do day to day, and to me that is so important.

I was thinking about doing the same thing I did when I was pregnant, and write Addison’s weekly milestones on the blog. I printed out my weekly posts when I was pregnant, and put it in a folder for Addison to one day read. So I thought it would be cool for her to read about herself growing up one day in the future. I wanna include pictures and stuff too!

So well see if I actually do that. I have been trying to publish this post now for a whole week. Time is just flying by, and there never seems to be enough time in the day  to do things I wanna do. Off to get my fussy baby!

“Happy St Patty’s Day”

I’m really missing my family these days. I still haven’t actually met my nephew Brandon either. It’s been awhile since being home. I hope that happens soon. Hopefully the weather clears up soon, so my mom can come for a visit as well. I really want her to meet Addison. She’s gonna loooove her!

It feels strange, that only one ( Addison) out of six of my moms grandchildren will have a very hard time getting to know her. Hannah grew up with my mom around all the time. Addison will get a visit here and there. Hopefully we can find a way to grow the same relationship that Hannah and my mom have. Those two are very close. My vavo ( grandma ) was a huge part of my childhood. I remember her being around all the time, and ohhh did she love us all. I really want Hannah and Addies vavo to be a big part of their lives, like mine was. I know she would if she could!

I recently got in contact with a girlfriend I met when I was Hannah’s age. We were really good friends growing up, you know “Best Friends Forever” kinda gals. It’s been so wonderful hearing from her again, it’s like we never lost touch. Life has been very busy around here, so I haven’t had too many opportunities to chat with her on the phone. Hopefully soon. We have been speaking daily though, through messaging. I can only hope my daughter can have good friends like Kim and I were when we were her age.

Addison has been sleeping on my chest here for awhile now, and I need to get my ass up! Until next time….