Bran Does America

Time?

2012-01-26T08:37:00.003-05:00

Some days, I feel like I could blog for hours. Of course these are the days I'm no where near my computer or the timing is completely wrong(like 1am when I should be sleeping but can't). When I finally get a chance to sit down and speak my mind.. it is blank. Blogging isn't suppose to be a work of art. Who gets writers block from the thoughts in their head? Apparently, I can blog about not being able to blog!

I have been thinking of directions I want this blog to go in. Photography, children's theme parties and cooking are my passions but I really just don't have the time anymore. I need more hours in the day. I need more time.

It is kinda funny...

2012-01-17T12:46:00.002-05:00

Life. It is weird. It is complicated and the journeys you go on can be just plain funny. This blog was a big part of my life a few years ago but now maybe I should rename it "Bran is too busy..." Or perhaps "Bran does Walgreens" As that is what my life seems to be lately.

November 26, 2010 Our lives changed. Chris came home from work, the day after Thanksgiving. I made spaghetti and meatballs that day. I can still feel the lump in my throat when he told me. I wish I never asked the question "How was your day, babe?" The words still echo in my head. He twirled some pasta and stabbed a meatball, looked at me and said "They fired all the managers today."

It took a minute to process... Chris was a manager. He didn't really mean ALL of them did he?

Over the next few weeks, with Christmas looming, The roller coaster of emotions was never ending.

Fear.
Fear of being evicted from our home. How will we feed the kids. How will our marriage survive this? We were already on shaky ground as it was.

Denial.
Nah, this can't really be happening can it? He will find another job in NO time and we will be fine! We can use this time as a vacation for him, he needs it!

Love.
The outpouring of love for us and our kids from my parents but also from people I've never met but love as family. If you don't believe in Santa, well you weren't at my house for the month of December. Packages came for the kids. Packages came for US! Gift cards to help us buy groceries. I cried a lot of sad tears that month but double in happy tears.

Over the next few months, Chris and I did our best. We were home together, the kids in school, the bills piling up. Tension was there but we pushed it back and tried to just make the best of it. It lasted until March.. then the built up tension blew.

Chris and I never fight, but when we do, the balls go flying (metaphorically, of course, Chris doesn't actually let his balls fly but it would be a neat trick if he did)

We screamed, we cried. The kids were at school so we didn't hold back. By the end, we were holding each other and we came to an agreement. Since the job force wasn't knocking down Chris's door.. I would try. Pointless, of course, I though. Who would ever hire a 7 year Stay at home mom!? I filled out some applications. I didn't hold my breath at any call backs.

The first interview I went on was for Subway. Ok well this might work out.. I worked at subway before. And it did. I was hired and started the following week. Then another call. Walgreens. Oh well, I'll go to that interview and see. I was hired and started the following week. Two jobs? Are you shitting me? I tried to work both for about a week but Walgreens won. It was full time, steady and .50/hr. Damn, I got a job!

Those who know me, know I'm about as shy as they come. I have social anxiety and hate talking to people. I don't know what happened to me but as soon as I started at Walgreens.. I changed.

I worked until June as a cashier before being unofficially promoted to the photo department. I was making friends and for the most part, really enjoying my job. By July, there was an opening for another promotion. STL(Store Team Lead). Manager on duty two or three days a week and SIMS (Inventory) two or three days a week. I got the promotion and a nice little pay raise! Wow, how the hell did that happen??

We made it through the summer, spending our free time at the lake. Bills were mostly being paid(ehh ok so half paid), we were getting the kids ready to start school. The big K for Christopher and 2nd grade for Elizabeth. We were doing ok, not great but surviving.

In October, Chris went on a few promising job interviews. A few turned out to be a bust but two looked really good. Then the call came in.. He got a job! The pay was decent and included commission. Parts Manager for a company that sells and repairs snow plows and dump beds.

Our schedules had to be rearranged. The kids started going to Kids Korner, an after school program. Things were starting to fall into place. We were busy, we were tired but hell, we were doing it!

We have been in this routine for a few months now. It isn't always convenient but life rarely is. We had another wonderful Christmas, Santa was very good to all of us. We are setting up for our next big day, Elizabeth turning 8! We may not have two cars, or a big house with more than one bathroom(ohh how I want that though!) but we are enjoying our family, we have wonderful friends who I adore and our fridge has fresh vegetables. Chris and I are more in love today than we ever were. It is kinda funny...

Who knew losing a job would be the best thing for us.

A big change

2011-04-07T08:18:00.002-04:00

Since the end of November, Chris has been unemployed. He, along with the other managers, were let go just weeks before Christmas. It was a huge setback for us. Over the last few months we have struggled but with the help from a few amazing people we were getting by. Recently, we decided it would just be easier if I got a part time job to help make ends meet while Chris was trying to get a job that paid enough to support us. After a very short search, I got not only a part time job but a full time job as well! I was unable to keep the part time one and quit after a week to focus on the full time.

I've been working at a local Walgreens and so far I really like it. Sure, getting up early and standing on my feet all day really sucks but it is getting better. I have a set schedule which I love and the benefits that will come are pretty good as well. Mostly, it is just nice to get out of the house and do something just for ME for a change.

Chris is really taking well to the stay at home dad role. The house is always in order, dishes and laundry done and there is a yummy hot meal ready for me when I get home. He drops me off, puts Elizabeth on the bus then has some one on one Daddy Christopher time. In the few hours before the kids get home, he does the errands and shopping. Kids get home and its off to get me from work. It is all working very well. A car is in my near future and that will change things even more. I love this new independence I have and am even making friends at work. Although they are all much younger!!

Vermont

2011-03-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

Ohhh we had SUCH a good day yesterday!! We drove up to Canadian border, popped into Duty free just to look at prices. ($50 bucks for a carton of Canadian cigarettes.. it is over $100 for a carton in my hometown!). From there we drove down over Lake Champlain into VT and down past Burlington over to where Ben and Jerrys, Cabot Creamery and Green Mountain coffee is.

We first went to Cabot and got an amazing deal! We got a 30 month aged Cheddar 2lb block for $7 dollars! To compare for you, in Walmart a 1/2 lb block of just reg Cabot is $3 bucks. Chris also bought me a shaker of Cabot popcorn cheddar cheese because I love cheesy popcorn LOL.

From there we went to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory and it was their winter festival day! Free cones and free factory tours! They usually don't run production on the weekends but did for the festival so we got to see them making the ice cream. Apparently I didn't get the memo it was spoil mom day but it was. Chris bought me a stainless steel coffee mug at B&J's because I don't have a travel mug and yay 25% off so we only paid $8 for it

After B&J we went to Green Mountain coffee to pick up some beans. We got Sumatra and Costa Rica beans(two that aren't sold in stores here) and we also got a coffee from the cafe for the trip home. Large Latte....$3.50! And it was better than any $12 dollar cup at SB! We made our way through Montpelier just to see the area and onward home.

Oh and about spoil mom day, Chris bought that cheese and shaker JUST because I like sharp cheddar and he didn't even think he would like it. I said why would you buy me a whole block of cheese? He told me that he knows I like the sharp cheddar and he knows I've been so depressed lately, especially after hearing my parents aren't coming this summer and I'm always sacrificing for everyone else that he wanted to do just for me. So I happily accept my new travel mug and my very yummy cheese :) I'm glad we didn't spent too much either, the guilt of that would of killed my happiness. Plus he does like the cheese so yay, he gets to share :)

A special Day

2011-02-10T07:23:00.003-05:00

A very happy birthday to my sweet princess. Elizabeth turns 7 today! Where has the time gone?

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2011-02-04T08:53:00.002-05:00

1 pkg boursin garlic cheese(in deli section of walmart or your grocery store)
1 pkg cream cheese
1 pgk frozen spinach- thawed and drained
1 can artichokes- drained

Throw everything into a food processor until well blended. Add to a small casserole dish and back at 350 for 30 mins. Serve with tortilla chips.

Garlic Chipotle Mayo

2011-02-03T08:39:00.003-05:00

This has to be one of the easiest, yummiest dip/spreads we have made.

3 ingredients easy!

1 cup mayo
1 tbsp chipotle sauce. Tabasco Chipotle is the best but Goya isn't too bad either.
2-3 med size garlic cloves.

Smash your garlic and chop it as small as you can. Add a little salt and drag your knife against it on your chopping board to make a garlic paste. Add to your mayo with the chipotle sauce, mix and lock away in the fridge for an hour or two before use.

We use this w/on:
chicken nuggets
burgers
steak sandwiches
chicken burgers
pulled pork sandwiches
as fry sauce

**Your breath will be awful so keep some breath mints nearby.. it is worth it though!**

Honey Mustard Chicken

2011-01-20T09:59:00.003-05:00

This is a family favorite that goes back to my childhood. The recipe started out as my Aunt Mo's but of course, I had to make a few changes along the way. Here is my version of Aunt Mo's honey chicken!

1 lb chicken pieces. I prefer thighs and drumsticks but you can do breast too if that is what you prefer, your cooking time will vary depending on if your breast is split or boneless*
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp ginger(if using fresh grated ginger up it to 1 tsp)
3 tbsp butter(or marg)- melted

Salt pepper and about 3/4 cup flour for dredging.

In a bowl mix a couple shakes of pepper and salt into the flour and evenly coat each piece of chicken, shaking off any excess flour.

Arrange your chicken pieces in a baking dish so they are close but not touching. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

While your chicken is baking, mix together your sauce ingredients in a medium sized bowl. When your chicken is done, take it out of the oven, using tongs you want to roll each piece in the sauce getting a good coating over the whole piece. Put it back in your baking dish and pour the remaining sauce over the chicken. Put it back in the oven at 350 for an additional 25 minutes.

I serve this dish with rice and a nice crisp green veggie, green beans are my favorite side.

*boneless chicken breast will bake at 15 mins then an additional 10 mins with the sauce on, until the juices run clear.

This also makes a great dipping sauce for chicken nuggets.

Taco rice via rice cooker

2011-01-19T08:55:00.002-05:00

We got an 8 cup rice cooker for Christmas and we just love it. It steams veggies, it cooks rice and we have also been doing a few rice casserole type dishes. Today, we will talk Taco Rice!

1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning.

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar or colby jack
2 cups rice
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 small can diced olives

Sour cream and green onions to garnish.

In a pan, prepare your taco meat according to the directions on the package.

In your rice cooker, add the rice with the amount of water suggested by your cooker. Add tomatoes, olives, prepared taco meat and cheese. Set your rice cooker for the normal cycle and walk away!

That is it!

When your cooker turns to warm, let it sit 10 mins then serve with a dollop of sour cream and a few chopped green onions on top.

I also make this recipe with shredded chicken and I add a half cup of thick salsa, omitting the shredded cheese (expect if you want a little for garnish).

The menu :)

2010-12-18T10:53:00.003-05:00

So my Inlaws are coming for Christmas day and I am so excited! We weren't expecting them until Boxing Day so this is great that they will be here all day on Christmas.

I have started my menu for Christmas eve and day!

Christmas Eve:

We always do a finger food spread and watch movies for our Christmas eve tradition. The menu is generally the same every year, with our favorites!

7 layer taco dip w/tortillas

Hot spinach and artichoke dip w/tortillas

Summer sausage, cheese and cracker tray

Christmas Day:

We will start the day with fresh blueberry muffins for breakfast.

For dinner, I will be making a turkey with all the fixings. Instead of having lunch, we will bring out any leftover finger foods from the night before. My mother in law is also bringing along a couple new appetizers we can't wait to try!

It is going to be a great time with lots of presents, laughter and 24 hrs of a Christmas Story on TBS!

Dear God..

2010-12-13T11:00:00.004-05:00

Or whom it may concern,

Please grant me the strength and will to get the presents wrapped BEFORE Christmas Eve! I am not a procrastinator but I am having such a hard time getting motivated! MUST GET WRAPPING!! Chele, Jen, Cynthia and Jules will be so disappointed in my lack of organization this Christmas. Although I do have my lists made!

Green Bean Casserole

2010-12-02T09:41:00.002-05:00

Before I married my husband, I had never tried green bean casserole. The commercials made it look gross and I didn't want to even try it. My first Christmas with my new family included green bean casserole. I was hesitant at first but didn't want to be rude so I took some. It was weird at first but not bad... and I eventually grew to really enjoy it. Chris's family recipe is a little different than normal but good.

Here we go.

For a large family you will need:
1/2 pound of bacon, cut into bite sized pieces and cooked into bits
1 can of fried onions.
6 cans of french cut green beans(and don't try and serve Chris whole ones.. he needs his french cut!)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of mushrooms (I dice them a little more so they aren't huge chunks)
2 jars of old english cheese

I put the green beans and diced mushrooms into a colander for at least an hour to get rid of any liquid. I will even squeeze the juice out because it is not good if it is watery!
In a small sauce pan mix the soup and cheese until creamy and mixed well. Mix well with your drained green beans and mushrooms in a large pammed Cassandre dish. Add bacon on top then the fried onions. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 25 mins or until it is all hot and bubbly!

Crazy start to the week!!

2010-11-23T13:30:00.002-05:00

So this week is, of course, Thanksgiving break for the kids. Elizabeth's school was having Parent Teacher conferences so she only had half day on Monday and Tuesday. Christopher went to school as normal.

My Monday was a little different this week. Ok, well REALLY different. To start, I was filming an interview for a new local show called Parentology. I was asked to be a guest and give a small interview about living on a tight budget. Now, anyone who knows me know I am terribly shy and have horrible social anxiety. This task I agree to was way beyond my normal capabilities.

Since the show was filmed in the morning, I wasn't really sure if I would make it home in time for Elizabeth to get off the bus. I decided to take her and Christopher with me. They really enjoyed it and loved seeing the filming. They sat in the control room during our interview.

I was very nervous but I made it though. It went really well and I *think* I did ok. They told me I did at least. The actual interview was only about 5 mins but there was 30 mins of setting up, checking lights and testing mics plus the pre-interview to get the jitters out. The crew was great and told me don't worry, we are here to make you look good. The one thing they said was don't look at the camera and I'm pretty sure I didn't so yay me. Hopefully I didn't at least.

We got home shortly(as in 10 mins) before Christopher had to head off to his school. It was a big day for him too! They were having their little thanksgiving party at school. They at corn bread muffins, popcorn and had some pudding. He had a great time.

While Christopher was at school, Elizabeth decided she wanted to put together a presentation for her class about her morning at the studio. She wrote a little paragraph and drew a picture of her in the control room watching Mom on the screen.

This morning, Elizabeth went to school for her half day and was able to give her little talk. The class sat on in the reading corner and she told them about her little field trip followed by a short q&a. Her teacher was very impressed with her.

At noon, Eli came home and Christopher was sent off to school. Elizabeth brought home her report card and her teacher phoned to do a phone conference.

Elizabeth is doing excellent in school. She is reading way beyond her grade level, which we already knew, and is exceeding her grade in almost every area. She is doing very well in gym, library, music and art. She has exceeded all her math expectations as well.
One area she needs to focus a little more on is well, focusing! She finds the work very easy at times and because of that, she flies through her work and can make some silly mistakes at times. She is quick to notice and fix her mistakes though.

Overall, her teacher is very impressed with her and was happy to have her join a special program with a few other kids every Monday. The librarian will take the kids aside to do a special project every week to challenge them a little more.

Christopher also received his report card last week. His report was a little less detailed but focused on all the basic skills one should have at age 5(although he is 4). He is doing very well with control of scissors, pencils and crayons. He follows the class rules very well and plays nicely with his classmates. He is respectful of his teachers and they enjoy having him in his class. He has not had any time outs or any discipline problems at all.

We are very proud of the kids and are happy to have them so well adjusted to school life. They enjoy going and are always excited to tell me about their day when they get home.

Chocolate Mint Torte

2010-11-20T15:12:00.003-05:00

This is a great chocolate mint holiday cake.

1 pkg dark chocolate cake mix- prepared as directed into two 9 inch pans.

Peppermint Filling:
3 cups cold heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup finely crushed candy canes. (I prefer the green/red/white stripped because they add more colour. I crush a little extra for garnish)
3/4 tsp vanilla

In a small mixer, beat cream and powdered sugar until stiff. Gently fold in crushed candy and vanilla until evenly blended.

Chocolate Ganache:
9 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward.

After cakes are completely cooled, slice your cake in half so you have 4 even layers. Spread whipping cream between layers, saving some for garnish and pour chocolate glaze over top allowing it to drip down the sides. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Serve with a dollop of extra whipping cream and sprinkling remaining candy as a garnish.

**This cake can also be made with a white cake mix and a white chocolate ganache instead of chocolate if you prefer.**

11/17

2010-11-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Sister. My angel in heaven. I love you.

Turning a recipe don't into a recipe do!

2010-11-10T07:41:00.002-05:00

Last night I made a new recipe for Chris. He has been wanting this for a while and well.. I hated it.

The recipe was for stove top casserole. It was quite simple. Cube and brown some chicken breast, add a can of cream of celery, cream of chicken soups as well as one can of milk with the chicken in a casserole dish, top with prepared stove top and bake for half hour.

He really enjoyed it but I just don't like stove top! Last night, I couldn't sleep. I started think about how I could change the recipe into something better. Something I would actually enjoy. Something I could make and freeze for later. Then it hit me. Of course.. Leftover Thanksgiving!!!

So my plan started out with leftover turkey instead of chicken(although both would be good) and my OWN stuffing which I do enjoy!!

I wanted to leave out the cream of chicken and celery soups and instead add maybe try cream of cheddar broccoli as well as some frozen veggies(really any would be good I think. I think it would be much better if I used the leftover gravy instead of the soup as well. Building in my head. I mixed the soup and veggies together, added them to shredded turkey and topped it with my own stuffing. I really think this would freeze well for a later date. Thanksgiving after thanksgiving. So, now I have a plan for my leftovers! Thanksgiving Shepard's Pie if you will! Wish me luck!

Halloween preview!!

2010-10-29T11:54:00.002-04:00

I got the kids all decked out in their costumes today for their Halloween parties at school!!

Christopher turns 4!

2010-10-21T15:56:00.002-04:00

Baked potato soup

2010-10-03T12:36:00.002-04:00

* 6 + 3 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled, save the 3 extra for garnish
* 2/3 c butter
* 2/3 c all-purpose flour
* 6 c whole milk
* 4 large baked potatoes, cubed in very small pieces (you can peel if you want, I like the extra texture of the skin or at least one)
* 4 + 1 green onions, chopped, saving 1 for garnish
* 2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, saving 1/2 for garnish
* 1 c sour cream
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp ground black pepper

In a large pot, make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Add bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. Serve with the extra garnishes added on top.

100

2010-09-16T15:45:00.002-04:00

My friend, Tracy, announced today there are exactly 100 days until Christmas. Not cool.

This means I have around 60 days to make 50 digital scrapbook pages. I need to do them in enough time to get them to the printer to be made into glossy printed books.

I really haven't been taking many photos with my canon lately. Not because I don't want to but didn't really have many opportunities this summer. It was easier to use my phone, which still takes nice photos, instead of bringing an expensive camera along and risking damaging it.

I still will have many photos, enough for at least 30 pages but my goal is 50. Wish me luck!

The big day.

2010-09-08T13:23:00.003-04:00

My kids, both of them, have gone off in to the big world of primary learning. ABC's, 123's, shapes and colours for Christopher. Adding, subtracting and reading for Elizabeth. Today starts a new life for both of them.

Elizabeth is an old hand at school now but still 1st grade is a new big adventure. She will be playing on the big kids playground now! She went off to school with her head held high, eyes full of excitement and a huge smile on her face.

Christopher has no idea what he is in for. I'm sure he expects it to be a day of playing and meeting new friends. In part, he will be right but also a day of learning, sharing and listening. Raising his hand to speak, sitting still and listening without interruption is all new to him. He is good with listening but like all 3-4 yr olds, fidgets a lot. He will also be learning how to write his name better, have good pencil control and I think a few starter sight words.

All in all, they will both have a great year coming up. They will be challenged, make new friends and have a lot of fun.

I, on the other hand, only cried for 10 minutes. I'm good now. Time to do laundry.

Banana Bread!

2010-08-26T15:35:00.002-04:00

This originated in the Five Roses cookbook but I changed a few things.

Dry:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Wet:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup veg oil
2 eggs- beaten
1 cup mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, slowly add wet to dry mixing only until combine. Don't over mix. Add to greased loaf pan(I use pam) Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Let cool 10 mins then transfer to a baking rack to cool for one hour.

Porcupines

2010-08-26T11:48:00.002-04:00

A family favorite around my house.

Meatballs:
1 1/2 pound of hamburger
1/2 white rice
1/2 small onion diced finely
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper

Soup base:
3 cans tomato soup
2 cans water

Add your soup base to a large soup pot and start to heat on med-high or crock pot on high. Mix together your meatball ingredients and form into meatballs a little larger then a bite size, dropping them carefully into the soup base. Simmer for at least an hour on the stove or you can simmer longer in a crock pot on low all day if you prefer. I serve my porcupines with mashed potatoes.

Almost time!!

2010-08-25T12:41:00.003-04:00

Two weeks from now, I will be home alone. *sniff*

My lil man will be starting pre-k on Sept 8th as Elizabeth is off to the 1st Grade. We have done the supply shopping, the new shoes and clothes and even the new fancy lunch box for Elizabeth.

I don't really know what I'm going to do with the 3 hours Christopher will be gone. I'm sure the first few days... I will cry in the corner until he gets home.

The rollercoaster of life continues.

2010-08-11T11:52:00.002-04:00

Over a year ago, Chris sent me a text telling me to pack up the house. We were moving. He was offered and accepted a manager position at a brand new store in Hudson Falls. We had 3 weeks to pack and move an hour north. We found a great little house and did it. Chris worked hard at setting up his new store and even started to turn a small profit by Christmas.

Shortly after Christmas, his boss was having problems with the Saratoga store. The manager had quit suddenly, just as the one before him had done and the replacement manager was just too new to take the more difficult store. Chris was asked to trade his store to the rookie and take on the huge project of getting Saratoga back on its feet. Not only was the store deep in the red but it had on going staffing issues. Chris worked hard at it but could never quite break into the black. His boss transferred to another district leaving him with one boss 200 miles away who did not offer any sort of managerial support. The staffing issues continued losing staff due to quitting and maternity leave. The support from corporate was never there but they were quick to blame Chris for the years of issues that store has had.

After facing yet another string of 75 hr weeks with no overtime and constant criticism from corporate, Chris had enough. He interviewed for another company and was offered a job as Parts Manager. 40 hours a week but less pay. He took it.

This new job leaves us with a small problem. The less pay is significant. We were riding the line of pay cheque to pay cheque as it is but the stress of his old job was taking its toll on Chris's health. We have always made it through hard times and we will again. Standing together, budgeting and the big one. I started looking for part time work. The process is terrifying for me.

I filled out a few applications on Saturday and today was called in for my first interview! The job will be at the local grocery store not far from our home. They are only open until 9pm so the hours wouldn't be too late and of course I have all weekend open to work. I am trying not to get my hopes up but I think I would like this job. I am nervous but excited about going on my first interview in well 7 years. Even if I am shaking in fear, I will hold my head high and do my very best.

I wonder if it would be weird to have Chris hold my hand during the interview. :)

My first Pedi!!

2010-07-23T09:35:00.002-04:00

Last year for my birthday, Chris bought me a little introductory spa package. It included a pedi, 25 massage, facial, and brow wax. It expired at the end of this month. I put it off for a year because I was too nervous to go. Finally when I did call, they didn't have any spaces to fit me in! She was able to get me in for the spa pedicure and I agreed.

I went yesterday. It was an hour long appointment so Chris took the kids to the park. I was nervous up until the moment my feet hit the water... then ahhhhh. The lady who did my pedi was also the owner. She was so warm and welcoming. I laid back in my chair and relaxed. There was another woman in the chair beside me and we all chit chatted together about the area. It was nice to have some adult conversation for a change and no one was interrupting with Mom Mom Mom!

Part of the package Chris bought included some discounts on other treatments. I asked her if she had any openings for next Thursday for hair and she did! I will be going back and getting my walmart hair cut fixed, some added highlights and she is going to do my free facial at the same time. The cut will be free and highlights at a 20% discount. I am so excited to go back and even more excited to find a "me" place. Not that I will be able to go back often but if anything, I can get my hair done.

My toes are so pretty!

Our Forth of July

2010-07-06T12:25:00.002-04:00

We decided to keep the Fourth very low key this year. It was just too hot to be doing anything too extravagant.

We got up early and headed out to Walmart for some supplies. Charcoal, salad fixin's, and a certain little girl really wanted to spend her tooth fairy money. After much thought, she decided on a hula hoop. Somehow though, it was $5 and she only had $3 so Daddy bought her hoop and she kept her $3. I think she did it on purpose. Daddy is a sucker for his little girl.

We came home and Chris started on dinner. A beautiful little chicken placed up the butt on a can stand, rubbed down with a little Cajun salt mix and onto the grill for a long bake in the hot smoke. Chris added some hickory chips this time and it smelled amazing right away.

We set up the sprinkler and hopped into our swimsuits. The kids of course in patriotic swim wear. Then we all enjoyed the cool water on a very hot day. Elizabeth tried out her hoop and within an hour she really got the hang of it. She is going to rock the hula hoop contest next spirit day at school!!!

Dinner was amazing. The chicken was nice and moist with amazing flavour. We added a light green salad and some rice to complete the meal. Iced teas all around, it was a beautiful dinner.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Toof-less

2010-06-29T14:49:00.001-04:00

The wiggler has been set free!!! It was was super wiggly last night. Chris was teasing her about hooking it up with dental floss to pull it out. This morning she was playing in Christopher's room and she came out yelling "Mom Mom" mouth bloody with this big toothless grin. She had been wiggling it and it just popped out into her hand! The Tooth Fairy brought her $3, which was all that the Tooth Fairy had in her purse :) Tooth Fairy's husband forgot to get cash from the mystical fairyland ATM.

Elizabeth was very happy with that and has already mentioned going to Walmart. She is saving for a new pair of earrings but she did mention something today about going to get some ice cream with her new money. She even asked me if I could call a cab to take her to the store. Yeah. Sure.

Spirit Day!!

2010-06-22T12:31:00.001-04:00

We had SUCH a great day, I know this post will probably ramble a bit so be forewarned!

We all got up at 7 to start our day. Eli was sent off to school and Christopher powered through some cereal and out the door we went. We went to Christopher's new school. We filled out paperwork for his busing and his medical information while he went with one of the teachers to do a basic screening test. When we were done, he was also done. They did give us a paper for speech therapy, but we were expecting that a little. He often does say words wrong/different. Buppons instead of buttons, for example.

We looked around his school, which is very small of course but very nice. There are 3 pre-k classes and 1 class for 2-3 yr olds(they only go 2 days a week for 2's and 3 days for 3's). We are confident in this school.

After that, it was still a bit early to go to Elizabeth's school so we drove up to walmart and did a very needed grocery shop. Of course the one thing I needed the most, dishwasher tabs, I totally forgot to put on my list and there for forgot to buy. Luckily I found a stash of 6 tabs this morning under my sink!

We rushed home to put away our groceries then drove over to Elizabeth's school. We met up with her class just as they were going to the water balloon game. It was so nice that, in the few times I've been to her school and Elizabeth's birthday, we knew all the moms that were there! I did come out of my shell a little and talked to them :) Go me!

After water balloons, we headed to lunch. Typical school lunch.. hot dog, plain chips, salad, apple, chocolate milk and a little ice cream cup for dessert. It was.. umm worth the 1.75 but it did the job of filling us up.

After lunch the real fun started. Christopher was included in all the games and Elizabeth's little friend Hanna was playing mother hen to him.

We went to play a hula hoop contest. 4 rows of 4 kids. Front kid in each row goes up, hula's(?) until it falls, passes to next in line and goes to the back of the row for another turn. Christopher was in Hanna's group with two other boys. Since he couldn't do the hoop, Hanna and the boys picked it up, and started circling HIM with it!! It was hilarious!

The next game was octopus freeze tag were the tagger has a ball and throws it at the kids to freeze them, they become octopuses and use their arms out to also grab kids. The kids run from one side to the other in a line. Christopher won one round! He was so excited, hands up in the air cheering for himself as he took a victory lap around the kids!

After that, they did duck duck goose, the parachute and then class vs class tug of war(Christopher did not participate in that one!!) Elizabeth's class took on another K class and won! As the winners, they took on the other class but lost. lol They had such fun.

We went back to Elizabeth's class room for cake and juice then we signed Elizabeth out early and took the kids for ice cream(yes after cake)

We stopped at another store for some chicken(we don't eat walmart meat), came home to play in the sprinkler and Chris BBQ'ed a whole chicken and some corn on the cob. It was delicious!

Our Graduate

2010-06-19T14:22:00.005-04:00

Taking to some of my friends about their Kindergartner's graduation I noticed quite the difference in the degree of celebrations. Some as far as little caps and gowns with a whole production to similar as Elizabeth with a small ceremony for parents only.

I was very happy with Elizabeth's ceremony. There was 4 classes with 15-18 kids per class. They got up and sang us a few songs then received their little certificates announcing they were moving up to First Grade. It was small, short and just right.

Elizabeth was very happy to see Mommy and Christopher. She did a great job with her 3 songs, which she has been practicing for days!

After the ceremony, the kids went to a near by park for an end of the year picnic. Christopher and I stayed for a very short time but there was just way to many kids. I was starting to lose track of him in the sea of small children.

It was a great day and we are very proud of our little Graduate!

Today's Christopher-ism

2010-06-16T08:14:00.002-04:00

"Hey Christopher, when are you going to school?

"In Sometember!!"

Milestone

2010-06-14T21:30:00.002-04:00

One of the most important learning years of Elizabeth's life is coming to an end. Her first full year at school. This is the final full week of Kindergarten. Her school is having a Spirit Day next Monday at the local park where families are encouraged to come and spend the day with their kids, then two small half days and she is done with this school year.

Friday, her class as well as the other two K classes will be having a small moving up ceremony then they are having their own little picnic in the park. She is very excited but I think she is going to be a little sad to see the year come to an end. Elizabeth loves school, loves learning, loves her friends and just enjoys her time away from home. It will be a very bittersweet day when she comes home on the bus for the last time this year.

It has been such an amazing year with her. This year she learned how to read, how to tie her shoe laces and met some very good friends. She has already asked to have a couple girls over during the summer and we will definitely be scheduling some play dates. The summer is not a total loss for her though. We do have plans for mini golf, perhaps go karts and I'm sure a few visits to the park and the beach.

By Friday afternoon, I will have an official 1st Grader! By Monday, Christopher will be registered for pre-k! When did they get so big? I missed that memo.

Fancy

2010-06-07T17:01:00.001-04:00

This is the first ever blog post from my new Sprint EVO!

Chris and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Saturday. It was beautiful day until I got sick. Nothing like a fever and puking to ruin an evening. Oh well, such as life.

I want to wish my mom a very public Happy Birthday!

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To whom it may concern.

2010-05-22T15:56:00.004-04:00

Hi,

I would like to take this moment to address all of those with unsolicited advice. I really don't care if when YOU were a kid it was ok and encouraged to smoke while pregnant, beat your children and basically leave them unattended to roam the neighborhood. I don't really care if you fed your kids lead paint or steak and potatoes at 1 month old or that you left them in the back yard all day. I don't care if you think it's ok for a child to get bullied at school, sorry but that is NOT a learning experience for life. It's what makes serial killers. I certainly don't care if you think its fine to let a 5 yr old walk a mile to school by themselves. And please don't tell me its fine to leave my kids belted in the car without car seats. I know you just threw your kids in the truck but my kids, my rules.

This is 2010, not 1954. In case you haven't been paying attention, the world has changed. Remember the kid that went missing and presumed dead when you were a kid? Yeah it was the "happily married" pedophile that lived down he street. There are MORE people in the country right now and sorry but the facts are that many of those can and will hurt children. It isn't a myth, it is a fact. We don't turn a blind eye anymore.

Just because things were acceptable back in the 40's does not mean they are acceptable or will be tolerated now. It is called GROWING UP! Evolution of life, if you will. Oh and by the way, if you don't have children and you still try to tell me how to raise MY kids, I believe I have the right to punch you in the face.

Thank you.

A clean break... almost

2010-05-21T08:38:00.002-04:00

So maybe late May is too late for a New Years resolution and really this isn't a resolution at all. It is time to take a break. Not my marriage or anything like that but a break from this relationship I have with my computer.

I usually get up and turn the computer on first thing in the morning. I sit in front of the computer until it's time to take Eli to the bus, then again until usually noon. I'm tired of it. What is the point?

I've made a commitment to myself to spend a half hour on the computer. Whatever I need to get done, I can so in 30 minutes. Do I need to play 8 facebook games? Hell no! I picked 3 of my favorite games and that is it. (Don't worry Fairyland friends, I'll try to keep my garden stocked so you can still find critters)

It is too nice to be stuck inside all day on the computer! I had such a great day yesterday outside in my chair with a book. My phone keeps me in touch with friends, I can still check or post FB statuses if I want without being tied to my desktop.

Here's to a nice break from my desktop! I love you but I think we need to part ways for a while. Mother Nature is calling.

What a wonderful Mothers Day weekend!

2010-05-10T11:58:00.002-04:00

I was so happy to have Chris home for the whole weekend! Saturday was the start of my Mothers Day. Chris took me to Uncle Sam's for some hand dipped chocolate, then he dropped Elizabeth and I off at Walmart to get our shopping done and told us both to get our hair cut! Yes, I had Elizabeth's LONG locks chopped off! She looks adorable. I also got the same shoulder length cut and I added some wispy bangs as well! After shopping, Chris took us to Sorentino's Market and Deli to get a couple AMAZING subs for a late lunch/early dinner. Later on that evening Dave, Steph and the kids came over with pizza. The kids played and the adults tried to watch The Hangover.

Sunday morning, the kids let me sleep in until almost 10am! I got up and start on the potato salad I was making for Steph's house then made chocolate chip pancakes for the kids and I. We went over to Dave and Steph's house for their daughter Nala's 6th birthday party. We had a great time, lots of laughs and the kids had so much fun running around and playing.

After we left their house, Chris took me to Walmart to buy me a new tripod!! Unfortunately they didn't have the one we were looking for but I didn't leave empty handed. We bought a little ceramic pot for the plant Elizabeth brought me from school, some soil and Chris spotted some tomato and strawberry hanging basket kits! We also picked up some pumpkin seeds. I can't wait for the seedlings to sprout and we can plant the pumpkins in the garden and hang the baskets!

What a great mothers day!

Time to buckle down and get to work!!

2010-04-28T10:52:00.002-04:00

No more excuses!! I need to start SCRAPPING! I have my photoshop back, I have my old digi scrap stuff back, I have all my photos, I have time. It is time to get to work and make some books! This Christmas's book will be the biggest one I've made simply because it will have TWO years worth of pages in it! I will be documenting some very big moments in our life. Our move, Elizabeth's first day of Kindergarten, then 1st grade coming up in September, Christopher's first day in Pre-K and his first trip on the bus, last Christmas with my folks, birthdays and more!

My goal is 50 pages by December 1st. That should give me enough time to get the books printed as well as be able to get some photos of the kids with the Christmas tree and hopefully some snow photos. Wish me luck! The countdown is ON!!

3rd term report card.

2010-04-16T18:32:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth's teacher called me today for our phone parent/teacher conference. Mrs. Johnson was very happy with Elizabeth's progress, especially with her reading.

As a recap, from my previous post in February Second Term Report

They have 3 Scales.

Achievement scale which ranges 1- little understanding doesn't meet grade expectations, 2- Limited understanding, 3- General Understanding, 4- Thorough understanding always meets grade expectations

Effort Scale N- Needs improvement, P- making progress, G- Good, O- Outstanding

Skills Code- NA- Not assessed, X- Progress Needed, I- Improving, Blank- Acceptable.

Elizabeth's marks were

Kindergarten Readiness Skills- Achievement- 3, Effort G

Writing, Speaking Listening- Achievement- 3, Effort- O

Technology- Effort G

Reading Readiness Achievement- 4, Effort- G

Math Readiness- Achievement-3, Effort-O

Social Studies/Science- Effort-G

This report has following improvements or has stayed the same.

Kindergarten Readiness Skills- Achievement- 3, Effort- O <- effort improved

Writing, Speaking Listening- Achievement- 3, Effort- O <- stayed same
with the added improvement of her retelling a story.

Technology- Effort G <- Same

Reading Readiness Achievement- 4, Effort- G <- Same

Math Readiness- Achievement-4, Effort- G <- Her achievement has improved but her effort decreased a little, simply because she knows it and gets a little bored.

Social Studies/Science- Effort-G <- Same

She is improving with talking in class but still needs a gentle reminder now and then.

She has also read 25 more books this term.

They also did the AIMSweb test which is a requirement in our district.
The outcome measure is based on the following:
Letter Naming Fluency
Letter Sound Fluency
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
and Nonsense Word Fluency.

She score above average in all areas.

Mrs. Johnson commented on how much she has improved with reading in such a short time. We also noticed reading "click" in just a week or so. She is doing well with sounding words out and she is writing stories now without help, writing her words phonically. Elizabeth is a little big of a teacher pet, from what I gather.

swoon

2010-04-14T12:14:00.002-04:00

There are few things in life that make my heart pound just a little harder with want and desire. I'm not a materialistic person. I don't have a closet full of designer clothes or tons of jewelry. I don't own a fancy car or a huge house. But every once in a while I get a bad case of the I Want!'s

This little beauty, for a *eye roll* small price of $400 dollars, screams out at me BUY ME BUY ME BUY ME!!

Cricut Cake

Where do I sign up to be a random tester?? Cricut Cake, I desire you!

Back to the grind.

2010-04-12T12:29:00.002-04:00

Spring break is over. My sleeping in until 8am days are behind me. Elizabeth is off having a great day at school. Christopher is happily playing in his room with all his little plastic solders. The house is clean, dinner is leftover lasagna and I have absolutely nothing to do! I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. I've been so busy for the past week with spring cleaning, referring the kids squabbles, and of course having our little visitor Alexa come over to play on Thursday and not it seems like I have a little post vacation funk.

We had a great weekend together as a family. Saturday we had some running around to do. Grocery shopping and a trip to Sportline to pick up a petcock repair kit for the bike fuel tank repairs. We came home to throw some hot dogs on the grill for lunch. He took over dinner and make some amazing Chicken Marsala. We bought quite a big bottle and it was very sweet(he should of bought dry!) so Chris decided to head out once again for some strawberries. He also bought some blackberries and jiffy mix so we could make shortcakes! It was amazing, the smell from the berries simmering away in the wine was mouthwatering, the taste was even more delicious then I expected!

Sunday, Chris slept in until late morning. After his relaxing start to the day he was in a great mood. We laid on the couch all day watching movies and holding hands. I love sweet lazy days like that. In the afternoon we started on lasagna. By we I really mean, I chopped some onions and garlic, opened a few cans and let Chris do the rest! He added more meat sauce then he normally does to the lasagna this time because we were using the no cool Barilla noodles and wow the extra sauce really made the meal! I threw together a quick salad, sliced some fresh Italian bread and we enjoyed another meal together as a family. We don't get very many of those with Chris' schedule so every family dinner is appreciated even more than the last. I love weekends like this. Calm, relaxing and just all of us together.

Best. Easter. EVER!

2010-04-05T14:34:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Easter yesterday. Don't confused that with celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Chris, we celebrated the Easter Bunny and Chocolate. I am really big on holidays, the non-religious side. They are fun, I love watching my kids enjoy the magic of it all. Christmas, Halloween, and of course, EASTER!

Yesterday, we started the day with the kids digging into their Easter baskets. We didn't do a lot for their baskets but they loved them.

Christopher received a Black n Decker tool set which included a tool belt full of the tools he needs to do his important work, a vest so we can see him at all times, a hard hat and safety goggles because we all know how dangerous pretend carpentry is. He also received a sticker book just for BOYS. Full of fun stuff like bugs, trucks and spaceships.

Please excuse the Peter Griffin stroke eye.

Elizabeth received some sidewalk chalk, hairclips, a new ubber cool alarm clock and a new Melissa and Doug magnet calender.

After a very delicious breakfast of pancake and bacon (which was amazing btw, see my previous post MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT) I went out to scatter the eggs for the egg hunt. 250 filled eggs. Yeah, what was I thinking?

The hunt was soon on. We have a huge yard so it took some time for the two kids to gather all the eggs. We gave them two boxes to unload their full baskets into. The final count: Elizabeth- 139 Christopher-111. Math don't add up to 250? Yeah, we had to return and find the missing eggs.

After the eggs were gathered, we took a small trip to the grocery store for some hot dogs and the fixin's to rub on our beautiful ribs we had for dinner. We had the choice of a turkey or ham but with the day being a beautiful 75 degrees, We just needed to BBQ! Chris rubbed the ribs with some amazing spices, added some pepsi and wrapped those bad boys up in tinfoil for a low and slow bbq. We added some hot dogs for a quick lunch before decorating the real eggs. What is it about a hot dog cooked on the grill or over a campfire? To me it, they taste like childhood. Memories of camping with my parents all over BC and Alberta. After our perfectly cooked dogs, the kids and I sat down at the table for some serious egg decorating. 20 eggs to be exact. Why? No will eat them. Just because we can I guess.

The ziplock baggie method. Way less mess to deal with. Add your colour and some vinegar, drop in the eggs and let them sit for 10 mins or so. Swish the bags now and then to make sure they are evenly coloured.
Tinted gold paint makes a huge mess but the kids had fun so C'est la vie!

Our beautifully bright dyed eggs.
Elizabeth putting the final touches on the dyed eggs with glitter and stamps and stickers.

I would like you all to take a minute to bow your heads in honor of my next photo. Breath it in, can't you taste the bbq goodness? No of course you can. Trust me, they were heavenly! Sweet and tender. Mouthwatering. And I get leftovers for lunch!

Of course, a nice garden salad. The perfect side dish to our 'Summer in April' Easter Dinner!

Did I mention the ribs were mouthwatering... and I get some for lunch? Don't hate!

Meat Meat Meat Meat

2010-03-24T09:31:00.003-04:00

First I would like to apologize to any vegetarians out there for my following post. I am a carnivore, I love a good steak, love chicken and enjoy a pork chop now and then. Bacon, ham, beef stew, it's all good.

Last Saturday, Chris and I went to a local butcher. It is a small family run Mom and Pop business, supplied by the local farms. Organic, free range, tasty tasty meat. When we first walked in, we were a little overwhelmed. Not really sure what we wanted exactly, we could of picked from the small meat case or order a package to be cut to our own specifications. We decided on a combo package which includes beef steaks, roasts, stew meat, hamburger, pork roast, chops, ham, bacon, spareribs, italian sausage, whole roasting and frying chickens, and chicken breasts. The whole package of 62lbs came to $200 dollars. We requested a porterhouse steak to be cut right away and the rest to be picked up tomorrow. I am so thankful for our freezer. We would never be able to save this

We came home, Chris fired up the grill and cooked the most amazing steak we've ever had. It was almost sweet, buttery and oh so tender. Oh meat how I love thee!

The jewels of my life

2010-03-19T12:17:00.002-04:00

After almost a year, I decided to drag out the backdrop and take a few photos of the kids. We haven't been able to get all my photoshop goodies off my old computer yet so I didn't play around with these.

I will be digital(-ly creative) once again

2010-03-10T11:57:00.003-05:00

Almost a year ago, after moving into our new house, my computer's power supply decided to kick the bucket. I had all of my digital art supplies on that computer. For the past year, I've been completely out of touch with my creative side.

My wonderful sweet husband just found a very reasonably priced external hard drive for me, with the promise he will pull my old hard drive and hook it up to our new computer. We will take all of my supplies, the kids photos and my digital recourse bookmarks and put them onto the new external. This will leave the old hard drive available to be reformatted as a backup.

By next week I will be back! Editing photos, making cards, creating scrapbook pages and of course doing siggies for my message board friends. It feels so good to be creative again, I have ideas already for many projects! The search for new fun (FREE) kits will begin soon!

Will Pride be the boost I need?

2010-03-01T11:26:00.003-05:00

I am so proud to be Canadian and so proud of my country. The last 17 days have been amazing! I wasn't able to watch every event but I did my best. The USA/Canada Hockey game was by far the most intense moment of the Olympics. What a fantastic game played by both teams!

I'm inspired to get passports for myself and my kids because I really need a trip back home. Hopefully, we can make the trip by next summer. Elizabeth was too young to remember her visit but I think by next year, both kids will be old enough to take. There is a lot that goes into a trip this far, first being both kids making the 3 flights it will take. Going to customs is always a treat and then of course there is switching planes and making the next flights. I really want to do it but am terrified at the same time. I hope making the first steps of getting our passports will go smoothly and we can start preparing and planning. I need to thank Vancouver and the Olympics for giving me the homesickness I needed to get myself motivated for a trip home.

Sloppy Taco Burgers

2010-02-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

My kids love sloppy joes. My kids love tacos. Why not kill two bird with one stone? Sloppy Taco Burgers!

This recipe makes quite a bit but the meat freezes well for later meals if you prefer.

1 lb lean hamburger or ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can traditional refried beans
1 cup chunky salsa

hamburger buns(larger buns are recommended because they are easier to fill.

Toppers: shredded lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese if you like a little spice.

Brown and drain your hamburger adding taco seasoning with half of the recommended water on package. Add refried beans and salsa. Let simmer around 15 mins.

Lightly toast your buns under the broiler, then pile on the goodies. This is a great messy fun meal to combine two kid favorites!

Vancouver 2010

2010-02-19T10:53:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm obsessed with Winter Olympics. Even more this year as it's not only in my home country but my home province!

The opening ceremonies brought out so many emotions I did not expect. Overwhelming pride in my country and a complete and uncontrollable homesickness that had me in tears for 4 hours. HelloBC.com.. thank you for your commercial that turned me into a blubbering me. I call it home too.

There was only one thing that got me pass the emotion and stopped me from drowning my children like Alice in Wonderland where she cried herself an ocean. It was a song. Now I'm not much for pop music or Black Eyed Peas at all but this song... it was the perfect anthem for the evening. The evening where Vancouver welcomed itself to the world for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

There are many versions of this song on youtube but this is my very favorite.

Kindergarten second report.

2010-02-10T20:06:00.002-05:00

We received Elizabeth's second term report card today. She is doing really well.

They have 3 Scales.

Achievement scale which ranges 1- little understanding doesn't meet grade expectations, 2- Limited understanding, 3- General Understanding, 4- Thorough understanding always meets grade expectations

Effort Scale N- Needs improvement, P- making progress, G- Good, O- Outstanding

Skills Code- NA- Not assessed, X- Progress Needed, I- Improving, Blank- Acceptable.

Elizabeth's marks were

Kindergarten Readiness Skills- Achievement- 3, Effort G
Everything acceptable except:
She had a P for her phone number but that is our fault I think. I teach her my cell number since its my go-to always on phone and they have been asking her her home number and I think she is getting the two numbers confused. I wrote a note to her teacher about that.
She also had an I for dress herself (ie, tie shoes) which is up from P from last term. She can now tie her shoes but its loose and needs practice.

Writing, Speaking Listening- Achievement- 3, Effort- O
Everything was acceptable except:
Retelling a story she got an I. I totally understand this because she tends to rattle on, (like me!!)

Technology- Effort G
Everything was acceptable

Books to Read- There is 25 for the year they are required to read, she did that last term and added 15 more.

Reading Readiness Achievement- 4, Effort- G
Everything was acceptable

Math Readiness- Achievement-3, Effort-O
Everything acceptable

Social Studies/Science- Effort-G
Everything acceptable

The last thing that needed improvement was limited talking in class!!!

Today, 6 years ago...

2010-02-09T09:44:00.003-05:00

I would like to bring these two posts to everyone's attention

The day is set!
Introducing Elizabeth Catherine Boggie

6 years ago tomorrow, on February 10 2004, my life changed forever.

Watching my daughter grown into a beautiful little girl has been such a joy. She is a wonderful big sister and loves everyone. We had Elizabeth's birthday party on Sunday. Her first REAL party with her friends from school. She had such an incredible time, I loved watching her play and giggle with her best girls.

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel.

Mexican Chicken and Rice.

2010-01-25T11:34:00.003-05:00

Chris loves chicken and he loves rice. I'm always trying to find ways to make chicken and rice new and exciting.

The other day I was looking in the cupboard to see what I could come up with and after a couple tweaks here and there I created a new Chris favorite.

2 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can finely diced black olives
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 cup water
1 clove of garlic- chopped
2 tbsp salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish- sour cream and green onions.

I started with browning chicken pieces in a large skillet. Adding the tomatoes, olives, garlic, cumin, chili powder salsa, water and rice. Bring to a simmer, add a cover for 20 minutes on med-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the rice was tender, I stirred in the cheddar cheese. I let it sit covered for 5 mins then served with a small dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions on top.

Beef Stew with Cheddar Dumplings

2010-01-07T10:30:00.002-05:00

I love stew. Since I'm Canadian and not American, I never got into the whole chicken and dumplings deal. Where I come from, stew is made with red meat. Deer, Beef, Buffalo, Moose, Elk and Caribou if you're lucky.

My stew is simple, basic and delicious. Stew isn't suppose to be fancy. It sticks to your ribs. This is my stew.

To start, I use a cast iron dutch oven with a lid. Having a pot with lid is very important if you are making dumplings. My cast iron goes into the oven so it is my preferred vessel. You can use a crock pot/slow cooker if you wish.

STEW:
1 large onion
1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/2 to 2 lbs red meat of your choice cut into cubes, dredged in flour
1 large cardboard container of beef stock, *College Inn Bold Stockis great!

Veggies that you may add:
potatoes cut into large pieces
carrots
cubed turnip
green beans
corn
peas
mushrooms

In your large pot on med heat, add oil and onions (and mushrooms if you wish). Cook until they onions are lightly tender then remove and set aside leaving the oil in the pot. Turn your heat med-high and add your meat. You want to brown the outside but not really cook the inside of your pieces. Add onions back to the pot along with one container of beef stock.

Simmer this on your stove top, in crockpot or inside oven at 300 Degrees for 4-6 hours. Stirring every now and then. Add your veggies when you are an hour from serving.

CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS:
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1/2 grated cheddar cheese plus 1/4 cup (optional)

Combine dry ingredients and cut in shortening with a fork or your fingers until crumbly. Add your 1/2 cup of grated cheddar and milk and stir into a soft dough. Drop spoonfuls onto of your cooked stew, cover with lid(DO NOT REMOVE) and cook for 15 minutes.

The next step is something I prefer but is not necessary. After 15 mins is up and your dumplings are fully cooked. Remove lid, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar on top and place pot under broiler until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Please make sure your pot is oven safe before trying this step.

Enjoy!

Tissmiss

2010-01-05T11:41:00.002-05:00

A photo blog of our Christmas Activities

Christmas Eve:

Christmas Morning:

The Cluster

2009-12-22T11:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, my parents were due to arrive from Seattle. I was expecting them around 11am. What I wasn't expecting, was a complete mess due to the recent snowstorm down the east coast.

It started in New Jersey. The flight from New Jersey to Seattle was delayed due to the snow storm which spiraled. Seattle was late going to Anchorage which was late going BACK to Seattle to pick my parents up to take them to Newark New Jersey. Because of this, they will missed morning connection to Albany from Newark. Great. Perfect. It is 4 days before Christmas, half the flights have been canceled while they other half are delayed and no one knows what they are doing.

At nearly midnight PST, they are on the red eye to New Jersey.

Standby.
Having missed their connection, my parents were automatically put on the first standby flight list to Albany at 12pm. No luck. They were shipped from one terminal to another terminal back to the first one and so on.
They were put on the next standby flight list to Albany at 4pm, which happened to be delayed 2 hours. Finally, they were ON the plane and landed in Albany nearly 12 hours late.

Arrival.

A little after 10:30pm EST they finally arrived at my house. Over 36 hours without sleep but save, warm and very hungry.

They are here. Yay!

Potato Stuffing

2009-12-13T15:32:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

7-8 medium Potatoes
8 slices fresh white bread
1 package pork sausage meat
2 large onions
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons pepper or garlic pepper if preferred
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon sage
1/2 cup softened margarine

Directions

Cook and mash plain potatoes, cut bread into small cubes, ground onion and uncooked sausage meat in food processor fully cook meat mixture, do not drain fat. Add salt, pepper, sage and poultry seasoning. Mix sausage, potatoes and bread in big bowl. Add margarine and mix well. Add more seasonings to taste. Stuff in raw turkey, chicken or bake in lightly greased casserole dish with tinfoil cover for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Christmas Time Christmas Time

2009-12-12T11:01:00.002-05:00

I love Christmas. The excitement of watching my children open their gifts, the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven, the feeling of being with family is what makes Christmas so special to me. We've had a few hard years and the generosity of my online friends towards us just astounds me every year. I love Christmas.

Christmas is also the time of year that makes me a little more loonier then normal, if that is possible. There is stress that really isn't necessary but because I am the way I am, I stress out way to much over things that don't matter. This year I thought I would find a way to relieve my stress by writing everything down. The organization does help me keep my cool a little more. I wrote a note on facebook yesterday which started as a menu for the 3 days of Christmas (Eve, Day, Boxing Day) and turned into a shopping list as well as an itinerary for the activities. Realistically I know the itinerary is not as detailed as my mind wants it to be but you really can't PLAN Christmas. I thought I would share my organization on my blog. If you think I'm forgetting something or would like to share your own Christmas menu in the comments section, that would be wonderful! A few of the recipes are on my blog. I hope to add more in the coming days.

Christmas Eve:
Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip with Rye bread pieces
7 Layer Taco Dip with tortillas
Mushroom and Cheese Turnovers
Veggies and Dip

Dessert:
Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

Christmas Brunch:
Bagels
Assorted flavored cream cheese
Blueberry muffins

Christmas Dinner:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Steamed mixed veggies
Gravy
Cranberries
Crescent Rolls

Desserts:
Carrot Cake
Pumpkin Pie

Boxing Day Brunch
Leftovers from Christmas Eve
Turkey Sandwiches

Drinks:
Cranberry Gingerale
Pepsi and Coke
Sprite
Eggnog
Hot Chocolate

Itinerary

Christmas Eve:
Finger Foods
Scrabble
Watching A Christmas Carol
Wrapping presents and setting up for Santa

Christmas Morning:
Stockings
Presents
Brunch
Early Dinner
Watching A Christmas Story all day long on TBS(even if we have it on DVD) LOL

Boxing Day:
Grandparents Brunch

Shopping list:
(4)cream cheese
boursin garlic cheese
frozen spinach
(2)green onions
canned artichokes
refried beans
(3) avocado
(4) tomatoes
(2) cans olives
(2) cheddar cheese
pepper jack cheese
large sour cream
puffed pastry
4 cans mushrooms
swiss cheese
garlic
frozen veggies
half n half
coconut
chocolate shell
whipping cream
frozen mozza sticks
tortilla chips
rye bread
carrots (full and baby)
broccoli
turkey
potatoes
sausage
white bread
bagels
flavoured cream cheeses
crescent rolls
cranberry sauce
pumpkin
flour
shortening
eggs
Ziploc bags
roasting pan
tin foil
lettuce
cheese
sandwich rolls
french fried onions
bacon
(2)mushroom soup
(3)green beans
old english cheese
sugar
pie shells
soda
eggnog
coffee

Oh and my parents will be here in 9 sleeps!!

My little secret

2009-11-11T09:30:00.003-05:00

Although I'm not sure it is much of a secret to anyone who really know me, knows I'm a little freaky, anal, OCD, whatever word they may use to describe me.

Anyone who may meet me may think I'm friendly but a bit shy. What they may not notice is I'm freaking out on the inside. I have social anxiety and it is really debilitating at times. I'm not really sure when it started, sometime when I was a teen but living in a small town where everyone knows everyone, I dealt with it a lot better then I do now. Although I may appear normal, my brain is screaming at me to run away, hide, lock myself in my room, curl up into a ball and never come out. This makes life with two kids very difficult. I would love to join the PTA, volunteer with my daughter's school but there is this HUGE wall stopping me. Whenever I'm in a situation with new people I start to get very nervous. I get migraines and make myself sick. It is very hard being this way, especially when it is my dream to start my own business. I keep reminding myself that in order to work with people... I have to actually talk to them!

I love my online world, which most people would think is a bit sad, but to me it is perfect because I can really open myself up. I have two friends who I talk to daily and although I've never met them and they both live a bazillion miles away, they are my link to the outside world, to friendship and normalcy.

I'm not sure what to do to cure myself of this anxiety. I'm sure there is a medication that can help and therapy but with our health insurance we have now, only until February, I'm not sure I should start something when I'm not sure I can follow through long term. Am I destined to remain in my shell forever?

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T19:46:00.002-05:00

We had Halloween at home this year. It was raining very hard so the kids couldn't go Trick or Treating since they were just getting over the flu. Instead we let the kids dress up and took them to Walmart to pick out their own bag of candy, then grab a pizza and watch a movie with popcorn.

Elizabeth was ok with the plan but Christopher didn't understand and was very upset..at first. Once we finally got him calm, he understood the plan and was happy about it.

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Jack

2009-10-28T19:54:00.000-04:00

Chris and the kids carved our big pumpkin tonight. While Chris was busy working, the kids separated the seeds from the guts so we could make roasted pumpkin seeds!

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Jack Skellington!

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Hello Big Boy!

2009-10-19T17:49:00.002-04:00

My baby is no longer a baby. He will always be MY baby but he is now a big boy.
On Saturday, Christopher turned 3. He was very excited about this birthday. I'm not sure if it is because he knows what to expect now or because he knew he was getting a pirate ship cake!

The birthday boy

His pirate ship cake

His gifts

Curling hair with flannel strips.

2009-10-13T10:03:00.002-04:00

The best rags to use are strips of flannel. I used an old sheet. I snipped it about 2 inches wide (then just pull, it will tear straight) and did them twice the length of Elizabeth's hair.

You need the cooperation of your kids.

Put the strip on their head and have them hold it tightly, you don't want it to be loose. You want to start a few inches down the strip so there is a good part left to tie.

Take a section of (wet with a little hair gel combed in) hair and start to wrap it.

There are two ways to do it. Wavy:

You are going to corkscrew the hair around the strip, twisting the hair slightly as you wrap

For ringlets you will wrap the hair around completely without twisting:

When you get to the bottom, tuck the end around as best as you can, take the end of the strip and start to wrap it back around the hair so its completely covered (you want to have it flat)

When you get to the top, bring the end your child is holding and wrap it down to tie with the other end piece.

Let this dry overnight. Untie in the morning and gently unwrap from the hair. Run through your fingers or just leave as is, little hair spray to hold it and you're done!

This is the final result using the corkscrew

*** I used to do this to myself and would use a couple barrettes to hold the strip to tight to my head

Porcupines

2009-10-09T13:13:00.000-04:00

1lb of raw hamburger
1/2 cup of white rice (NOT minute rice!!)
1 egg
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp cloves
salt and pepper

1 family size can of tomato soup (some prefer canned tomatoes but I think the soup works best)

Throw a couple cans of tomato soup( I use one family size can) and a couple cans of water in the crockpot and get that heating up while you are making the meatballs. Sometimes I cheat and throw the soup and water in a big dish and pop in micro to get it hot first.

Mix up the ingredients and form into meatballs...

Add your meatballs into the soup and let simmer a few hours until the meatballs and rice inside them are cooked.

We serve over mashed potatoes.

Burlington Vermont

2009-10-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

Chris and I took the kids to Burlington Vermont for the day on Sunday mostly to take photos and have lunch.

The first bunch I took are pretty rough because I took them from a moving car.

This barn was SOO cool but we hit a bump just as I pushed the button and I swayed back and got the door thing in the shot! DAMN!!

Some turkeys lol

The boardwalk

There were these cool rock formations all along the waterside

The playground

The harbour

Our trip to North Carolina Part 3- Family

2009-10-05T11:25:00.002-04:00

The whole reason for our trip was to meet Chris's brother and his family. Chris and Denise's family made us feel so welcome. We felt so at home.

Brothers

Family!

Fun with Uncle Chris

Fun with Aunt Neacy

Fun with Cousin Danielle

Saying Goodbye :(

Thank you Uncle Chris and Aunt Denise for a wonderful trip! We hope to see you in New York soon!!

Our trip to North Carolina Part 2- The Cabin

2009-10-03T11:34:00.002-04:00

The best part of our trip was our cabin. My new Sister in Law's parents own a few cabins they rent out and they graciously let us stay in one. It was the most adorable rustic cabin but had all our modern needs.

Behind our cabin was a little creek. It was so nice to just sit and listen to the water running.

Our trip to North Carolina Part 1

2009-09-29T12:49:00.006-04:00

I am finally getting focused. We have all be suffering from a never ending cold and I haven't had the energy to post about our trip to North Carolina. I will try and do it in 3 or 4 parts.

Saturday, September 12th we decided to leave a day early for our trip to North Carolina! Chris had to work that day. After a quick meal of McDonalds, we hit the road a little after 5pm.

We quickly skipped through New York, New Jersey and on to Pennsylvania! A little past midnight, with kids sound asleep, Chris and I decided it was time for some food. We pulled into Denny's for some midnight pancakes!

An amazing thing happened when we finished our pancakes. A nice lady, who was dining with her husband, came over and told us how cute our kids are and how well behaved they were for it being so late at night. After the lady left, our waitress came over and asked what the lady had said to us. We told her and the waitress said,
"Well, they paid for your meal."

*Shock*

Apparently, the couple told the manager they wanted to pay for our meal because they were having such a fun time watching the kids enjoy their pancakes. We asked the manager to please send our thanks to the couple the next time they came in.

After our amazing meal in southern Pennsylvania, we flew through Maryland and West Virginia. At 3am, Chris decided he had enough. We found a Super 8 and pulled in for a few hours of needed sleep.

The kids had a few continental waffles (ie, reheated frozen waffles) and we were off again by 10am

We did not realize how long it takes to get through Virgina... it seemed to take forever! Finally we reached Tennessee.

Soon enough, after what seemed like forever, we reached North Carolina!!

We drove into the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina near Asheville. At 3:30pm, we reached our destination! Meeting Chris's bother, the OTHER Chris Boggie! His wife Denise, her folks who graciously lent us one of their beautiful cabins, and Denise's nieces, Danielle and Elizabeth.

At this point the trip, the car ride up and down through the mountains, and all the anxiety of meeting new people hit me hard. I had a horrible migraine and spent the first nice in the Cabin resting. So I will leave it at that for this post and pick up with the following days in the next post.

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-09-10T19:03:00.001-04:00

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We survived the first day of Kindergarten. By "we" I mean Christopher and I, not Elizabeth. She was so excited that when the bus came, she didn't even say goodbye!! Just hopped on and me and her brother were just a passing moment in her life.

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As we walked back to the house, Christopher started crying. He was totally pissed off that HE didn't get to go too! "don't like you"

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After twenty minutes, he finally came in from the porch and was happy to have control over the TV. After the cab came, we went to the school and there was a fairly short parent meeting with the Principal, school State Trooper, Nurse, and the PTA which they call Home School Association (HSA) here.

The parents then split off according to grade where they had different speakers in different stations around the school. The kindergartners were in the library listening to a local Iroquois man who was showing them different tools and weapons from the area. One was very cool, a snapping turtle that had been made into a musical rattle! The shell had seeds in it and the head was mounted on the end as decoration.

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Elizabeth was on the floor to the left of me. I could see her but she could not see me. She was desperately scanning the crowd for me and getting a little flushed and teary eyed thinking I wasn't there.

Then she spotted me. Happy girl in her new school shirt which was given to each kid in the school purchased by the HSA for all the kids.

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We went to the classroom for a story before lunch.

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Her cubby in the hall

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and door

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After that we went to the cafeteria for lunch. Hot dog, two fruits and chocolate milk

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After lunch Christopher and I came home and she continued on with her day. I was planning on staying all day but he was getting cranky.

Finally my little girl comes home. Funny, the paper says bus drop off was 3:27 and by god, she was dropped off at exactly 3:27! Somehow I don't see that happening every week!

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A week to go..

2009-09-01T11:01:00.001-04:00

Next week tomorrow, my daughter will be a kindergartener. I don't think I'm ready for this but at the same time, I really could use that 8 hour break in the day from the constant chatter! Christopher is pretty quiet so we will have some quiet times during the day.

The first day of school parents are encouraged to come and spend the day. They have lots of activities planned so Christopher and I will go and see what everything is all about. Meet her teacher, see her classroom and have a good time.

My baby isn't a baby anymore, she is a kindergartener!

New Car!!

2009-08-23T21:52:00.001-04:00

We went to Schenectady today and traded in our car.

They gave us 4500 for the trade in, 3000 rebate and we gave $600 cash then the guys haggled a bit. The car was 18k and we paid 10 after taxes. It was quite entertaining watching a car salesman try to sell to an ex car salesman who knows ALL the tricks!

We did have an 05 Hyundai Elantra and now own an 09 Kia Optima.

Hyundia's and Kia's are very similar and the Optima is a Kia version of a Hyundai Sonota which we were also thinking about. It is bigger then our Elantra and we ended up paying over 1000 less then we did on the Elantra!! Our payments are 230 bucks vs 370 for the Elantra(which was paid off in March)

The pics are pretty bad because it was dark in the garage, we didn't get home until 9:30. I'll take new ones in the daytime when I can. It is a metallic brownish cocoa colour. The trunk is freaking HUGE!! It is a lot roomier then the Elantra.

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Roasted Garlic Tomato and Sausage Pasta

2009-08-07T13:39:00.002-04:00

I saw this recipe on Cooking This and That and immediately though, Chris will love this! I am not big on sausage but have started putting hot Italian sausage in my meatballs and don't mind it too much on pizza. I hoped this pasta would be as good for me as it would be for Chris. He saw the recipe and insisted I make it immediately!

1 box of small pasta, she suggested penne but we used rotini
1 large head garlic, top sliced off
1 can of fire roasted tomatos (she used grape tomatoes cut in half, roasted with the rest of the veggies)
1 large red onion, quartered and layers separated
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
large pinches of kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
8 ounces hot Italian sausage, bulk or remove the casing.
extra virgin olive oil
large handful of grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced
fresh basil to garnish

Instructions quoted from Cooking This and That

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

Place the garlic, tomatoes, and onion on the baking sheet. Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to spread over vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until garlic is browned and mushy and other vegetables are slightly charred.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage and cook thoroughly; remove to a paper towel to drain. Wipe out skillet with paper towel.

Once vegetables are done, remove from oven and transfer to skillet the sausage was cooked in. Remove the garlic cloves from the skin. (You may need to wait a little bit for the garlic to cool enough to handle.) Mash the garlic and tomatoes if desired with a fork.

Add pasta, sausage, and Parmesan cheese to skillet. Mix until pasta is coated, adding extra olive oil as needed. Gently mix in the mozzarella and garnish with basil. Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately.

What a birthday!

2009-08-03T16:24:00.002-04:00

On July 28th, I turned 30.

We didn't do anything for my birthday because Chris's accounting dept screwed up the expense cheque he was suppose to get. It was suppose to be a normal day at home but turned into a very abnormal evening!

After the kids went to bed, Chris was using my facebook account to play games. He is too cool for an account of his own *insert eye roll here*. While he was playing, I got a FB friend request on my phone from...Chris Boggie! I laughed and started to tease him about finally getting his own account. He said he didn't and had no idea what I was talking about. I brought up the request on the computer and saw that my Sister in Law and a random woman named Denise, I added the day before were mutual friends with this Chris Boggie. Imposer? Stalker posing as my husband?? I had to find out. I added him and send a simple message asking who he was and if he was some distant relative. He responded with a simple "I think so".

Hmmm...

A few minutes later I got a long detailed message from the mutual friend mystery woman named Denise. She explained who she was and shockingly, who Chris Boggie was. Her fiance who was seeking out his long lost father. His father who happens to be my Father in Law.

I told Chris, this man says he is your brother. He was a little "eh" at first and knowing my husband I didn't push the issue. I responded back to Denise that we would need more time to let all of this soak in.

After everyone has recovered from the shock, emails flying every which way between my mother in law, my husband, Denise and this "new" Chris Boggie, we are so pleased to have new family members and are excited to get to know each other.

Chris was apprehensive at first but has embraced his older brother and we are planning a trip to their home in North Carolina sometime in September.

I should turn 30 more often!

Banana Apple Bread

2009-07-22T13:10:00.003-04:00

I love banana bread and so do the kids. Since I'm trying to cook lighter, I made some changes to my regular banana bread recipe. Using shredded apple, I cut the white sugar and the oil!

Here we go. I also put this recipe on Pioneer Woman's new online recipe website.
Tasty Kitchen

* 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
* 3 whole Ripe Bananas
* ¼ cups Sugar
* 4 whole Eggs
* ⅓ cups Vegetable Oil
* 3 cups Flour
* 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
* 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
* ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
* ½ teaspoons Salt
* ½ cups Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Peel then shred the apples. Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add 4 beaten eggs, oil, sugar, shredded apple and mix together. Add your dry ingredients until combined. Pour evenly into two greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Wii Fit

2009-07-21T09:40:00.005-04:00

I've had a Wii for almost a year now. I wanted a wii fit but they were so hard to find for the longest time! Finally, the demand dropped and supply has increased. My parents bought me one for my upcoming 30'th birthday. I decided why not embrace my 30's by getting more in shape!

I've dedicated 30-60 minutes a day to the Wii Fit. Some times I break the 60 minutes into two half hour sessions.

I've started to unlock many new exercises in the game. For those who don't know, there are 4 main areas. Yoga, Strength exercise, aerobics and balance. I've made a game plan of doing them in that order. Yoga first to stretch the muscles, then strength to really work. I do aerobics next and finally the balance games to lower my heart rate and cool down.

I'm keeping it easy to start but try and do every thing at least once which is bringing my duration of play up. After an hour last night, I felt great! The first couple of days were a little brutal. I was sore, it was hard but I kept at it and now I feel a lot better about it.

Chris and Elizabeth are giving the wii fit a try but they mostly just like the games.

Here is Elizabeth having a go at another game that uses the balance board.

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Pancakes!!

2009-07-09T08:46:00.002-04:00

My kids love pancakes, so much so that I go through a boxed package in no time. I decided why continue to buy it when I can make it from scratch in the same amount of time?

The Ingredients

1 1/3 cup flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 dash cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk)
3 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp vanilla

Combine your dry ingredients, add your wet and mix lightly. Do not over mix, its ok if its lumpy!

I love to add to this recipe too

Mashed banana
Pumpkin puree with a little pumpkin pie spice (this is good just the spice as well!)
Mini Chocolate chips (they go great with the mashed banana!)
Berries of any kind

The pies!!

2009-07-06T13:20:00.003-04:00

I used Alton Brown's crust recipe which was quite different than my moms. I was very hesitant on trying a new recipe for guests but I did it and it worked out wonderfully!

The Crust (minus the beans of course!)

Ingredients

* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, chilled
* 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lard, chilled
* 6 ounces (approximately 1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
* 1/2 teaspoon table salt
* 1/4 cup ice water, in spritz bottle
* Approximately 32 ounces of dried beans, for blind baking

Directions

Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Remove lid of food processor and spritz surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place 2 metal pie pans in the refrigerator to chill.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

The Fillings!!

I was doing strawberry rhubarb and bumbleberry pies.The rhubarb was grown in my very on garden but the rest of the berries were just regular frozen (thawed) mixed berries and a bag of frozen (thawed) strawberries which I cut into small pieces when they were half thawed.

I used 2 cups of rhubarb and 2 cups(1 small bag) of strawberries tossed with 3/4 cup of white sugar and 2 tbps instant tapioca for one pie
I did the same with 2 small bags of mixed berries, 1/2 cup of rhubarb mixed with the same amounts of sugar and tapicoa.

Baked in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.

***The berries are VERY juice and will make a mess in your oven, use a tinfoil covered cookie sheet under the pies to catch the juices before they make a mess! I made the mistake of putting the berry pie on the shelf above the strawberry rhubarb instead of putting them on the same level and had a little dripping. Oh well, extra flavour!

Bumble Berry

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Strawberry Rhubarb

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Making plans

2009-06-30T19:27:00.001-04:00

I have a plan.. a plan for pie.

4th of July brings strawberry rhubarb and bumbleberry pies. It also brings some recipes and photos!!

Splish Splash!

2009-06-23T19:42:00.002-04:00

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Bubbles and frogs

2009-06-12T15:52:00.002-04:00

There is nothing more fun for my kids then playing with bubbles. They love them and it makes great photo ops! The kids played with the bubbles and I checked on our newest little babies. We have an old disabled inground pool. The frogs laid eggs on top of the pool cover that was covered in a foot or two of water. As a result, we have little tadpoles!

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I am a blackberry geek

2009-06-03T10:45:00.002-04:00

The most exciting thing worth blogging about is my new Blackberry Curve. I always wanted one but didn't think I needed one. Now I can't imagine life without it! Instant message, phone, texting, internet, gps, camera, video and music. What more could you want?

Well, I do want a wii fit, wii mario kart, Photoshop CS4(with a working computer!)and a digital video camera... but in all due time!

I really need to get back into blogging. I don't have any other excuse then just plain laziness.

6 years.

2009-05-20T12:54:00.002-04:00

It has been 6 years since my sister took her trip to Heaven. 1 year since my Grandmere joined her.

Today is a day of celebration of their lives and their love. It is a beautiful warm sunny day. No tears, only smiles and laughter. Ok maybe a tear or two but no more then that.

I love you Cathy, I miss you so much. I would give anything just to talk to you one more time.

Rest well Grandmere. Don't give Cathy too hard of a time up there.

School time

2009-05-15T14:11:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth has been out of school since mid April. She is starting to whine for school work.

At Christmas, Santa sent her this really big preschool workbook. Hindsight says now, I should of kept the book nice and photocopied pages out of it but I didn't have any paper or ink so I just let her do the book. She is finished it and is now bored. If I had photocopied some of it, I would just give it to her for review.

Now I am looking around the internet for workbooks. I found a couple (at 10 bucks a pop!) that I *MIGHT* get her. They are preschool, kindergarten and Gr.1 range. I think the preschool would be great for review. Kindergarten will be good to get her moving on next year and Gr.1 just to see really what she can do.

Is it odd that my daughter is on a extended summer vacation and she wants to do school work? I will have to remind her of this when she is 15 and faking sick so she doesn't have to go to school!!

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T08:17:00.002-04:00

Mothers Day started on Saturday for me. Chris took me to this new(to us)place called Juicy Burger. It was great! Not your regular burger joint at all! The sweet potato fries were amazing!

After, Chris surprised me by suggesting I go next door to Fantastic Sams for a much needed haircut! Even more surprising, when they lady found out I was looking to cut 15 inches off, she grabbed some elastics and told me my hair would be donated to locks of love! This was even MORE(I know amazing right) surprising when we found out my donation meant my haircut was free!!

Mothers Day continued on Sunday with a shopping trip that resulted in Chris making me some amazing baby back ribs in the oven low and slow all day along with corn on the cob also in the oven. It was very very good! The ribs were perfect and the corn was so sweet and tender.

After the kids went to bed, Chris and I snuggled on the couch for our weekly Sunday night animation domination. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, the Sunday night lineup on fox is The Simpsons, King of the hill, Family Guy and American Dad.

Yes, we both remembered to call our moms!

My new 'do

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

It is such an honour!

2009-05-07T15:25:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it. This just brings tears to my eyes. To be recognized like this is just such an honour! Thank you!
http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=XQGqEWb1mGERyxNA09nLuTExMDE2NDY1&referred_by=15539750-AvLZ4hx&p=jbj

My boy.. and his bug

2009-05-04T12:20:00.003-04:00

I went out and put the swing set together today. The kids had fun running around and Elizabeth helped me a little when I needed it. I got everything set up and they were able to play a little while before lunch.

While we were out there, I checked on my strawberry and rhubarb plants. They seem to have taken the transition to their new homes well. I spotted a little ladybug in my garden and called the kids over to see. Elizabeth wanted to only look but Christopher was a little more interested. He didn't want to pick it up himself so I put it on a little leaf then put the leaf in his hand. The ladybug crawled off and onto his finger. He thought it was very cool.

Photos of the house

2009-04-27T12:53:00.003-04:00

Our home is nearly ready!

2009-04-24T14:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I finished the unpacking and moving the rest of the boxes into the basement. Chris will be home tonight! Tomorrow we need to go to the old apartment and clean up, get some groceries and home to set up the coffee and end tables, as well as the dining room table. When we are done, our home will be ready!

We are having a beautiful warm day. The garage is already quite warm but the house is nice and cool! I don't think we will need the central air much this summer if they house stays this cool all the time.

The kids are having a grand time in the sun room with all their big ride on toys and the art supplies. Elizabeth is working on a masterpiece for Daddy's homecoming.
He will get home way after bedtime so it will be an exciting treat to see him in the morning.

My back has suffered a lot with this move. I am in almost constant pain right now in the middle of my back and hope that it is just strain that will heal itself with rest. We will bring our old good shower head from the old house tomorrow. It has a massage setting which brings a powerful pulse that feels good on the back.

Chris has had an awful week as interim manger in North Adams. The store he is working at is a mess of disorganization. He is trying hard to get organized for the permanent manger and of course, Chris being Chris, he needs to make sure that everything is done to perfection. He can't wait to be home tonight but is dreading going back on Monday. We both hope this won't last the whole 4 weeks. Two is enough!

We are Here!

2009-04-21T11:16:00.002-04:00

We are officially moved! I am still unpacking so I won't say moved *in* but we are half way there. The new bed came today! There is something magical about a king size bed. It looks so big and beautiful in our room! I stressed about this bed for the last two days because I wasn't sure it would fit down the stairs! The men who moved it in were a little worried too until they took it out of the box and realized how flexible the mattress was!

Besides our new bed, I am fascinated by my new house toys. Ice maker, dishwasher and I adore our built in microwave! We bought a new 4 slice toaster and how did I live with only a 2 slice for so long? I haven't tried the new coffee maker yet because I forgot to get some half/half and well I'm a coffee snob! I need my cream!

Our living room is missing the love seat and end tables. Chris didn't have time Sunday to put them together so this weekend he will be doing that as well as the dining room table. We are loving the used sectional we bough off craig list. I am so happy Chris found it. It looks great in our living room and gives us more sitting room for company. That was a major problem for us in the old house.
The kitchen is slowly coming together. I am finding places for all the necessities and we will buy two plastic shelving units for the basement that I can use for my extra appliances and bulk food storage. The kids rooms are also slowly coming together. I am bringing in the toys today and separating them into the two rooms. Elizabeth is loving her new queen size bed(our old one). The bathroom is part way done. We need to get a new shower head though. The one we have reminds me of a hotel shower head and I don't like it at all. We need one with more pressure. The sunroom and backyard stuff haven't been touched yet and won't for a while.

While I'm doing all the unpacking and organizing, Chris is stuck in Massachusetts. He was told yesterday that they need him in the North Adams store immediately. As in, call your wife to pack you a bag and get to the new store by 4! They fired the old manager and since Chris is almost in a limbo between his current store and the new store opening, they pushed his Manager status through(his raise also! Yay!) and he will be managing North Adams for the next 2-4 weeks. He can come home on the weekends and is staying at a motel during the week. This is good because we can really use his raise right now but the store is a mess and Chris is up to his eyes in paperwork.

All in all the last week has been a whirlwind of change! I hope to have everything unpacked or at least unpacked and the rest in the basement storage by the time Chris gets home on Saturday. I hope to remember to put the trash out tonight! Our first trash day is tomorrow. Weird that I am actually excited about that!

I am taking pictures of the progress of our unpacking and will post later with the finished house.

I love my new home.

Yes, I can!

2009-04-14T09:45:00.002-04:00

One of the big things we are moving is the kids swing set. It needed to be dismantled but with Chris working and Mike working, that only left ME to do it! I asked Chris if he thought I could and he laughed and said no!

Yesterday, I was determined to get the swing set ready for the move. I grabbed a screwdriver, the set of wrenches and went to work. 20 minutes later, the swing set is in a pile in the back yard waiting for the moving van!

Chris was amazed that I didn't hurt myself! Of course, my shoulders feel like fire this morning...but I won't tell him that!

Last day of school

2009-04-10T19:31:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Elizabeth's last day of school at Tecler Elementary. The class was having an ice cream party for all the hard work they have done this year. Her teachers were so sweet to do something special for Elizabeth's last day.

She came home with an adorable book called Off to Kindergarten from Ms. Fura, a gift card to Payless from Mrs. Eunice, a work book and pens from Ms. Kathy but the best gift of all was a book made by her friends. They each coloured a picture for her and her teachers made it into a little book. I teared up at the last page. Her teacher wrote:

Elizabeth,

We wish you & your family the best of luck in your new house. You are a very special little girl! Look at our pictures we made for you when you want to remember us. We will miss you! Love Ms. Fura, Mrs. Eunice & your Pre-K Friends. :)

Boxes and Bags

2009-04-08T14:14:00.003-04:00

The packing has begun. Mike and Elizabeth's teacher brought over a whole bunch of boxes for us and Chris bought some of those space bags, which I love!

Yesterday we were in vacuum pack heaven. I used 2 jumbo, 4 extra large, 5 large and 1 medium bags. I have a few left for the last of our laundry just before we move. My closet looks funny with all these suctioned bags of clothes and teddy bears!

I've packed the toys, books and school supplies, my books, our dvd's and videos games and all of the bathroom stuff.

Not bad start and we still have a week and half to go. We do need more boxes though, I am running out!!

I also took Christopher's crib apart to sell it and put Elizabeth's toddler frame in his room for the time being.

For the love of Shopping!!

2009-04-05T19:43:00.002-04:00

We were going to go out browsing for new furiture today but didn't get past our computers.

Chris started looking online for beds and came out with an amazing deal! USMattress.com had a king size Serta memory foam mattress, box spring and frame on sale for $1199.99, no sales tax with free shipping! We grabbed it right away! We had sampled mattresses at a local place last week and this was the same as one that I feel in love with at almost $1200 cheaper!

To go with our new mattress set, we hopped over to www.Overstock.com for some bedding and came out with a set of 4 king size pillows, duvet, sheets and this duvet cover set

A quick hope over to Walmart.com for the following
Two desks

Two Chairs

TV Stand for the living room

and living room tables

We still need a sofa and we didn't order a dining room set yet because Walmart was sold out but we will pick this up at a local store.

New House!

2009-03-31T09:48:00.003-04:00

Everything has been hectic around here since we learned of Chris' promotion. Tuesday, we went to scope out the area a bit. We saw one townhouse but it was more of a last resort then anything we considered. We were hoping on one house that we both really liked from its description and the street view of the outside on google maps. We met with the landlord, Tammy, on Sunday. We did a house tour and discussed the lease. She wanted time to call Mike and talk to him about us and check a couple of our other references before she made her decision. We met up with her later on that day, after driving around for an hour or so looking at schools and whatnot. We did another walk through and signed the papers! We will get the keys on the 15th and move in around that time as well, depending on Chris' schedule.

A couple photos of our new home.

Moving!!!

2009-03-25T13:48:00.002-04:00

Well the announcement has been made! Chris is getting the new store in Hudson Falls NY!

Yesterday, we went up to Hudson Falls to view the area and see the new store location. It is approximately 1.5 hours to 2 hours north of where we are now. The area is very nice, lots of amenities and the schools seem ok. We aren't sure if we will put Elizabeth into Pre-K there or just wait until Kindergarten and just try and keep up with her studies at home. I will talk to her teacher on Tuesday at the parent teacher meeting and bring it up to see what she thinks is best.

Next Sunday we are taking another trip up to view some houses that I have appointments at. Hopefully we can find something availible for May 1st.

The deadline as of two days ago was April 24th, giving us really only 3 weeks to fine a house and move. Luckily today, they pushed back the opening until May 15th.

Spring? What happened?

2009-03-21T11:01:00.003-04:00

It is cold again. Not bad winter cold but it is spring now and only 31 degrees despite the sunshine! I hope it will be a bit warmer later today for our first trip to the park this year! Of course the camera will be in hand so fair warning.

The kids really need some outside time. They have been stuck inside most of the winter with the occasional romp in the snow. Hopefully spring break will be warm and sunny and we can spend lots of time outside. I am also hoping to get some grass seed down in the back yard and fertilize it for a lush summer lawn.

Twilight

2009-03-20T15:53:00.002-04:00

Yes, I am not ashamed to admit, I am in the cult. I only recently came across this deliciously addictive saga but I am hooked. My friend Jen sent me the first book, named Twilight of course, last week. I got into it and was hooked right away. Then she pointed me towards some online freebie access to the movie and I had to watch it.. then again.. and again. I know some people were disappointed with the movie but hey its a MOVIE based on a book! We all know how those turn out.

I happened to really like the movie. It did not go into all of the book I had hoped and missed out on some parts I thought were prominent to the story but all in all it really helped put faces and places in my mind when I re-read the book.....which I did 3 more times!

Jen sent me the second book, New Moon, which should be arriving any day now. I am on pins and needles to read it as well as the Twilight DVD release tomorrow!

I even know people who are going to Forks, Washington for the big DVD launch party they are having there! Fun stuff.

Waffles

2009-03-19T08:10:00.002-04:00

My parents bought us a Black&Decker Grill and Waffle Baker for Easter. The kids love waffles and have been very disappointed that mom stopped buying Eggos a few months ago. This waffle maker has removable plates that flip over to a flat griddle side perfect for grilled cheese!

This little beauty arrived Tuesday and we did a test run yesterday morning. I used the old recipe my parents used when I was a kid. I didn't remember it being so runny though. I think next time I will use my normal pancake recipe and see how that goes. It has a bit more bulk to it!

The first batch of waffles were throw aways. Some online friends reminded me of the first batch throw away rule. I cranked up the heat so the following two batches came out wonderfully. The kids are now enjoying some of the waffles I made yesterday and tossed into the freezer.

Thanks Nana and Poppa! Waffle maker is a hit! I can't wait to try grilled cheese!

Too Cool

2009-03-17T16:28:00.004-04:00

It was such a nice warm day, we just could not stay inside! Christopher grabbed his sunglasses and out we went to soak up some Vitamin D!

Christopher thought he was pretty hot in his glasses and had to show off his latest trick.. Thumbs Up!

Bakerella and Pioneer Woman

2009-03-13T19:00:00.003-04:00

I've been a close follower of PW, MM and the Punks for over a year now. The most recent posts have been centered around the visit of Bakerella . PW invited a few contest winners into her home to have a hands on demonstration by Bakerella herself! I am loving her work! I am inspired! I hope to save up some money and head to Michaels to pick up some supplies and try my hand at Cake Pops on my own!

Homemade Pizza

2009-03-11T16:07:00.006-04:00

Since I've been cooking more and more from scratch, we stepped away from our usual mode of pizza which is to call one of the local pizzeria and wait for the delivery. I decided to try my hand at making my own. Chris had done it before but I hadn't tried yet.

Pizza Dough Recipe
I looked up many recipes online and found this was the best fit for the ingredients I had on hand and seemed to be the most simple and straight forward. I love that she includes pictures.

The first night we made a white pizza. For those who don't know what white pizza is, it simply is pizza without the sauce. Some people use an Alfredo sauce so you could do that if you want.

On our white pizza, we brushed on some Extra Virgin Olive Oil, threw on some mozza, cubed (cooked) marinated chicken breast, minced garlic and sliced (seeded) tomatoes. It was great!

Tonight, it's just the kids and I so I used the rest of the dough I had left in an olive oil brushed metal bowl with covered tightly with plastic wrap and let Elizabeth help out.

We made a more traditional pepperoni pizza this time. I really recommend skipping any sauce labeled "pizza sauce" it is usually crap. We bought a tomato pesto by Classico, it was just what was needed. Using a thin layer, it was just the right amount of sauce and flavour. Sargento mixed shredded mozza and cheddar cheese and sliced pepperoni were added on top.

Into the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Pizza always tastes better on a Scooby Doo pizza plate!!

Digital Mom

2009-03-11T08:45:00.000-04:00

I was reading Dooce tonight and saw the clip of her interview on the Today show. They were talking about the aspects of a Digital Mom.

I know I am very much a Digital Mom. Everything I do is on the computer. 80% of my life is digital! My small work at home job, my hobbies, my family and friends!

Let's start with my job, since it is a very small part of my life. It is more of a hobby that earns me a little money here and there. I blog for a child photography website when I can and I also work for kgbkgb.com answering questions that people text in from their cell phones.

My hobbies are photography which is all done digitally. I rarely ever get prints made and when I do, they are usually larger frame size rather then 4x6's. I also do digital scrapbooking which can be printed into photo books but also put on DVD slideshow.

Finally my Family and Friends. Using Facebook, I stay in touch with many members of my family and friends from back home. I also belong to 3 private message boards with women I met on Ivillage during my pregnancies. The friendships made on these messages boards and the bonds we have created is just as strong if not more so then with friends I have outside of the computer. I really feel I can tell these women anything and know I will have support from them. I love how we share our children's lives and how even though most of us are hundreds of miles apart we are very close!

It is really amazing how the internet has connected so many people. I always wonder how many other digital moms are out there thinking the exact same thing. How does this digital world work in their lives.

Elizabeth's big score

2009-03-10T19:29:00.002-04:00

Today, at Elizabeth's school, the 5th grade class had a book sale. All the books were donated and gently used. I gave Elizabeth 3 dollars as the price range was from .25 cents to 2 bucks. I was shocked at how heavy her book bag was when she got home! She bought 12 books for herself in great condition! She was really happy with her purchase and loves shopping for herself!

I was happy to see this twist on the same boring fundraisers! After 5 bake sales already, a book sale was a nice treat!

Bran Does America

Time?

It is kinda funny...

A big change

Vermont

A special Day

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Garlic Chipotle Mayo

Honey Mustard Chicken

Taco rice via rice cooker

The menu :)

Dear God..

Green Bean Casserole

Crazy start to the week!!

Chocolate Mint Torte

11/17

Turning a recipe don't into a recipe do!

Halloween preview!!

Christopher turns 4!

Baked potato soup

100

The big day.

Banana Bread!

Porcupines

Almost time!!

The rollercoaster of life continues.

My first Pedi!!

Our Forth of July

Toof-less

Spirit Day!!

Our Graduate

Today's Christopher-ism

Milestone

Fancy

To whom it may concern.

A clean break... almost

What a wonderful Mothers Day weekend!

Time to buckle down and get to work!!

3rd term report card.

*swoon*

Back to the grind.

Best. Easter. EVER!

Meat Meat Meat Meat

The jewels of my life

I will be digital(-ly creative) once again

Will Pride be the boost I need?

Sloppy Taco Burgers

Vancouver 2010

Kindergarten second report.

Today, 6 years ago...

Mexican Chicken and Rice.

Beef Stew with Cheddar Dumplings

Tissmiss

The Cluster

Potato Stuffing

Christmas Time Christmas Time

My little secret

Happy Halloween!

Jack

Hello Big Boy!

Curling hair with flannel strips.

Porcupines

Burlington Vermont

Our trip to North Carolina Part 3- Family

Our trip to North Carolina Part 2- The Cabin

Our trip to North Carolina Part 1

First Day of Kindergarten

A week to go..

New Car!!

Roasted Garlic Tomato and Sausage Pasta

What a birthday!

Banana Apple Bread

Wii Fit

Pancakes!!

The pies!!

Making plans

Splish Splash!

Bubbles and frogs

I am a blackberry geek

6 years.

swoon