Friday, 4 November 2011

Yom Yom!

What a beautiful day. 

The sun lit the earth and warmed the ground...fog lifted and...Mr.Man drove Little E to school!

A glorious day indeed. I was able to relish in my cup of tea and the local paper while Baby A rifled through tupperware baskets and then had a rest in her bed. Gave me time to clean the house, fold laundry and prepare this for friends...


Yummy Pizza. 
You can find the recipe for the BEST (and I mean BEST) dough HERE

So easy. 
No kneady...no fussy...no complicady...just easy peazy. 

I made my pizza with Italian sausage,  
onion, 
fresh spinach,
 mushrooms, 
sun dried tomatoes,
 goat cheese and mozza cheese. 

OMG. 
So good. 


I like to pretend I am on the FOOD NETWORK. 
I feel special using my little mixing bowls. 
All neat and organized. 


A flour counter top = lots of love. 


I have yet to perfect the pizza circle. 

I kinda like it all funky. 
Messy.

Like me. 


I also pulled out the old kid stand-by. 
Just in case. 

Cheesy noodles and frozen peas. 
How could one go wrong I ask you?

Peas are green and green = nutrients. 

The noodles got thrown around (by you guessed it...Baby A) and wiped off of faces...not many were consumed.

 Too much playtime...


This was a popular toy toady. 
I call it the Whirly Whirly. 

Kept them busy for at least 30 min. 
Okay...10.

It was a good visit and the sun poured through the windows. 
It was soon time to wake Baby A and head to school to pick up Little E. 

Never enough time ladies. 
We will have to do it again soon. 

When we got home I went and did a photo shoot for friends across the street. 
The best walk to work let me tell you! 

It was easy. Things flowed and the kids were good. 
Then I came home and Little E watched Tom and Jerry Wizard of Oz...

Baby A did some design work...


Little E wasn't into the art until a few months ago...Baby A has a fixation with the crayons. 
LOVES them. 

Mr. Man made dinner and then put her to bed while Easton and I made muffins. 

These were sitting on my counter all day. 


They reminded me of Banana slugs. 
I know. 
Sorry.

The ones in the middle are the frozen ones that I pulled out of the freezer. 
Thats how I do them. 
Freeze them then thaw and they squeeze right out. 

Perfect for bread or muffins. 


I tried a new recipe....


The chocolate chips were all that I really wanted. 


My assistant thought so too. 


This kid has skills! His Dad is so proud. 


He even mushed the bananas. 


I told him to do a real smile. I got this one.


Good enough for me. 
He was so proud. 

Did them all by himself. 
Well...I loaded the cups. 
One has to sleep sometime tonight. 

I wanted to document my Costco weakness moment purchase here... 

A GIANT SIZED BAG-O-FLOUR. 


Mr.Man frowned when I brought it home. 
To quote..."You are never going to use that before it goes bad."


Almost done.

Word!

After 45 min and some retro Madonna on itunes...."Open Your Heart to Me" and one of my personal faves..."Who's that Girl " they were done.


Not the best food blogger picture. 
But it is after 8pm in November. 
I am using the point and shoot. 

So there it is. 

Friday. 

No go and make some pizza dough cause the longer it stays in your fridge the better it tastes. 
Seriously. 
And no kneading!!
 I add flax too...roasted milled flax. 
Makes it yummier. 

Is that a word?

Off to bed soon...busy weekend ahead. 

E

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Catch Up...Lets Play

A lot has happened in the past few months. September, October and now we are into November. I wish I had the energy to BLOG it all. To capture all the memories...but that would be difficult. It had been a difficult few months. No need to get into that here. This is my happy place so instead of rambling on and on telling you all why I haven't been blogging...lets just dive right into what I missed.

SEPTEMBER


Little E's first Day of Kindergarden.
Like I said...lots to cover and catch up on.

He was so excited. Not sure what to expect. He is in french immersion. I have my anxieties, my fears and my personal battles with it. But at the end of the day it is really about him. If he likes it, if he succeeds, accomplishes and likes...I like to. 

Here he is in his classroom. 
So grown up. 
 So sure. 
So confident. 
So...Mom you can go now. 

After school Little E road his bike to the park and Baby A and I followed in the bike trailor. It was a great adventure. He road the whole way without training wheels. Then...coming down our street on the way back he lost his balance and fell. 
Hard. 
It was horrific to watch as I was coming behind him. 
 I could do nothing but watch him fall. 
Hard. I cried. I freaked out...I felt helpless.
I took a picture the next day. 
He didn't go to school. 
Poor guy. 
He was a little traumatized too. 

 It was bad.
Super bad. 
Thankfully they heal well at this young age...right? 
He is back on his bike...doing jumps on the wooden boards on our street, but still hesitates when approaching a hill. Still gets off and walks his bike. 
He is a trooper.
I am so proud of him.

OCTOBER


October came fast. I think the whole school thing threw me for a loop and September was a blur. We hit the pumpkin patch in Fort Langley like we did the year before.

 Love this pic...they are growing up...this is the one from last year...
Little E has changed so much. Baby A...well...she is a given.


Me and the peanut by the chicken coup. 

Most of my pictures are like this one these days. 
Baby A is a mover. 
She DOESN'T sit still. 
All day she runs, moves, touches, pokes, pushes, drools, jumps, climbs...she is 18 months. 
Need I say more?


Calgary Cousin was in town for the festivities. 
He just loves little E and little E...well...he talks about him at least once a day. 


E wanted me to take his picture in all the cut outs.



He had to look at each picture. To make sure I got them all. 
Kids.

We saw the big cows...I know there is some fancy name for this one...but it escapes me. 

Auntie and Uncle were there...so was their baby. 
In her tummy. 
Yes a wee bun is in the oven! 
Should be making its debut in late late December or early Jan. 
I am SO excited!!!  

She is only having one...unlike this poor soul...


She was a BIG piggy. 
HUGE. 
H-U-G-E. 

Pigglets are so cute. 

My sister and her family from Calgary. And my Dads hand and phone. 


This pig looks like I have been feeling the past few months. 
Spent. 


Tried to get all the grand kids together for a picture. 
You can see how that went. 
It was hard to get them to focus...what with dancing pigs across the room and all. 

Here we all are. The whole lot of us...well...one side anyway. 
Then it was time to go and get a pumpkin!

Nothing held her back...

Till she found the perfect one. 

 We had to leave this one. We couldn't lift it. Little E thought it was awesome. 

Here we all are.

I look so scary without my glasses on. 
Not like me. 
I have to stop taking them off for pictures. 
Other than that it is a great shot that captured the spirit of the day. 

Thanksgiving/Wedding Celebrations...

My sister got married over Thanksgiving so we decided to celebrate it with a turkey dinner and champagne. How could one go wrong with Champagne? It goes with absolutely everything.

The table looked festive...


As did Little E. 
He came down wearing it. 
I was proud. 
Taking a fashion risk and all...



Great Grandma with her grandsons. 
She just turned 98. 
Word. 


The cake. 
I baked it and Mr.Man decorated it. 
He rocked it. 
He is amazing people. 

Everyone touched the bling. 


I couldn't get enough of the bubbles...


Mr. T couldn't get enough of the microphone. 
Looks like a wee British rocker with the sport jacket and bare feet. 


Little E couldn't get enough French reading from Auntie Jocelyn. 
She brought that book to life for him. 
I have attempted to explain based on the pictures...but never really got it until she translated it for us. 
For him. 
Thank-you Auntie. 

Again with the bubbles. 

 Here is the happy couple celebrating the evening as newlyweds. 


And here is trouble. At least there isn't any food in her hair. 
Yet.


The men circle the turkey while Mr.Man carves and prepares. 

Then we sit and feast. And what a feast it was. 
I love Thanksgiving dinner.  
My most favorite meal.
Ever.

They thought so too. 
Monkeys.


Then it was time to cut the cake and fall asleep from the turkey poison.  
Thank-you all for making the day memorable and cozy. 

The days fell into one another and soon we were decorating the house for Halloween. 
Each year it gets more fun as Little E really gets into it. 

Baby A was pretty excited this year too...


She started early with the dress up. 

I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer at Little E's school that day and see all the kids dressed up in their costumes.
It was so cute. 
They were so cute. 
So you see him? 
Little Buzz. 

They paraded around the school then did some crafts in the classroom. It was organized chaos. It was fun. 
It was something that I wouldn't have been able to do if I was working. 
I am thankful. 
For my Dad too as he came to watch Baby A while I went. 
Thanks Dad! 



 After the volunteering I headed home to do some baking...I was feeling like it was time to start again. 


Thankfully the kids played together in the living room so I could turn these into... 

 These! 

Mummy Cupcakes. Can you see it?
I tried. 
I was pretty happy with how they turned out. 
So was everyone else cause they sure disappeared fast.

Mr. Man attempted Pumpkin Carving 101 with Little E, but he was VERY hesitant to get his hands "dirty" or "yucky". 
Hmmm. 

He did it though and baby A entertained us all.




Mr Man out did himself this year. 
I HATE carving so I leave it up to him. 
I thought it was awesome. 
All free hand too! 

Baby A loved the decorations...she kept saying ohhhooooooooo....WOW.....WOW.....
After yummy chicken pot pie scratch built by Nanny it was time to get down to business...


Firefighter E and Lady Bug A. 


She was mesmerized by the Trick-or-Treaters. Okay...stunned. 

WOW!


She hit maybe 2 houses then wanted to be carried. 
It was just too much stimulus for her I think. 
Next year. 


Until then I will just chill with Daddy and Grandpa.


Wow. WOW. Whoa! 


Little E got quite the haul. I was impressed. 


A great Halloween and a great end to October. 
A month I was glad to see behind me.
Looking forward to November...lets hope it's a good one! 
E