my daily challenge

One of my biggest challenges and frustrations lately is finding things that all my children will eat. All three of the kids have been good eaters...not those kids that have a repetoire of 10 things that they'll eat. What gets me is things that I made 6 months ago, that everyone loved, now isn't met with the same enthusiasm. When I did my meal planning for the week there were dishes that I could count on, ones that I knew they would be happy eating. Like homemade macaroni and cheese, even pasta with spaghetti sauce. Now Nathaniel sees the mac and cheese and declares that he doesn't like it. Both Abigail and Nathaniel now have a thing about the black specks (spices) in the spaghetti sauce. AHHH!!! Last night I wanted, needed, to try something different. I made risotto with butternut squash thinking that it was pretty bland, no specks of herbs to be seen. I made each of them do the one bite rule and neither liked it. I didn't get it. I thought it tasted great. As I warmed up the leftovers today for lunch, for myself, Nathaniel asked what I was eating. I told him it was the rice dish from yesterday. He tried to be kind and said "OH, I love that. I just didn't like the way it tasted." Thanks Nathaniel.

So, it is at these frustrating moments that I need to reflect on the things my children do eat. What many kids wouldn't even put close to their lips. I am thankful that they all love fruit (although Abigail can be particular about that one somedays), we have a huge fan club at our house for guacamole (another 3 cheers since it is so yummy and so good for you) and they always eat the tofu first out of the tofu curry that I make every few weeks. That is one thing that all three of them don't complain about.

I have always tried to expose them to different cuisines and have been thrilled that they all find something to eat when we go out for Japanese. This morning Abigail, Jesse and I (PD day for Abigail, preschool for Nathaniel) went grocery shopping. Abigail loves picking out a tray of sushi when she comes along. So, we got home and she immediately dove in. I also got a tray of brown rice california roll which Jesse was eyeing. So, here they are, my sushi lovers. Notice the piece of rice on Jesse's cheek. It wasn't until we were in the van going to get Nathaniel that I realized he had dried sushi on his face. Oh well.

And another food related issue. My boy Nathaniel is no good if he doesn't eat. Yesterday we were playing outside when he had the hardest time holding it together. It wasn't until he got some food into his system that he was back to being chipper and full of energy. I guess I figure at 4 years old he might mention that he is hungry. Nope.

a favorite

This recipe for S'mores is one of my favorites. I first tasted this yummy square at Olson's Bakery in Port Dalhousie a few years ago. I was lucky to receive Anna Olson's cookbook Another Cup of Sugar from Andrew's brother and sister-in-law. Now I can enjoy these decadent squares at home. I made them this past weekend for our church potluck. When I got to church I realized that the potluck was next week. Our family could have easily eaten all these squares ourselves, but knowing that wasn't the healthiest choice I was able to donate them to a concert that was going on at church in the afternoon. (I did keep a bunch for home to avoid a revolt from my children and Andrew!) I usually make these squares in the summer and store them in the fridge. After trying one this past Sunday I realized that I prefer them cold and not room temperature.
S'mores Bars
14 to 16 whole graham crackers
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
3 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-inch (I use 11x7) square pan. (This is important so the parchment paper stays in place.) Line the pan with parchment paper so that the paper hangs over two sides of the pan. Line bottom of pan with a single layer of whole graham crackers (about 4 1/2 crackers).


In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar, milk and vanilla until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in graham crackers crumbs (this will make a soft paste). Spread half of graham mixture over crackers in the pan. Sprinkle with a third of the chocolate chips and half of the marshmallows.


Top marshmallows with another layer of whole graham crackers and


spread remaining graham mixture over top. Top with another third of chocolate chips and remaining marshmallows. Finish with a last sprinkle of chocolate chips.

Bake for 12 minutes, until marshmallows are browned. Cool completely before slicing. (I usually have to put it in the fridge so the chocolate chips completely set.) S'mores Bars can be store in an airtight container for 3 days. (Good luck having them last that long!)

weeks 6 and 7

Another round of pics from my Project 365 - picture a day album.
Here is week 6.

Here is week 7.

a new addition

I've been playing around a bit with my blog and now have some fun tunes for you to listen to. So, turn up the speakers. I have recently discovered Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson...love them both. I also have a bunch of songs by John Mayer after thoroughly enjoying a live concert I caught on tv a number of weeks ago. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you can check out my playlist. Edit - my playlist is now on the side panel.

early birthday present

Andrew has been waiting patiently for almost 5 years to buy his dream sliding compound mitre saw. On Saturday night I was getting ready for bed and heard him yell "Tomorrow I'm going to Home Depot!" His big ticket item was on sale for a great price and he was finally ready to cash in all his Christmas/Birthday gift cards from Home Depot. Yes, he has been saving them up for all this time. How is that for patience?! So here it is. He couldn't be happier.

And a quick thank you to those of you who left comments, Brenda and Gina, and all the others who were thinking of Andrew on Saturday afternoon. He got home safe and sound and feels good about the exam. It is the long wait for the results that is most agonizing. In 2 weeks his exams for this winter will be complete. He was busy studying his acupuncture meridians last night. Isn't he awesome!

my student

Andrew is off to write his second physio exam this winter. A few minutes ago he was sent off with lots of cheers from the kids saying "I hope you have an awesome time!" If you happen to check this Saturday morning or afternoon, Andrew is writing his exam between 1 and 4 pm. Please send prayers and good thoughts Andrew's way. And with lots of snow coming into Ontario, we also pray he has a safe drive home from London.

no nap

We made it through the night last night. Jesse woke OFTEN but eventually slept a few hours between waking. I spent the night laying on the floor, periodically having my finger clamped by his warm little fist. It is actually quite adorable...just not at 2 am. Jesse ended up sleeping until after 8, which is unheard of. So, the little stinker decided not to nap this afternoon. I'm not sure if it was the late start, our fun morning playing at Heather's watching the dogs and guinea pigs and finding all the brooms in the house, or knowing that it was just way more fun being up in the afternoon. Whatever it was, I was preparing for a very sleepy boy around suppertime. But, true to his nature, Jesse was stellar all afternoon. I dropped by the doctor after school and he didn't peep during the exam. (The doctor figures it is just a virus and he should be better in a day or two). He was happy pushing his goldfish around with his truck. He actually started eating again this afternoon. He wasn't even acting tired when I decided it was an early bedtime. Gotta love my sweet natured boy!
And this is a picture of what Nathaniel was up to when I was attempting to put Jesse to sleep this afternoon. The boy really doesn't need toys...he just finds his dad's belts and builds himself a crane...or that's what he calls it.

just a sec

This will be a quick post tonight...and no time for a photo I'm afraid. Jesse has had a fever all day and has woken up around 5 times in the last hour. I have already set up my "bed" on the floor beside his crib. Should be an interesting night. He has started saying "Mommy" and "Daddy" in the last couple of days. Tonight, as he cries out "Mommy!", he wants to hang on to my finger and drift back to sleep. Of course I try to wiggle my finger out of his grasp, but it just makes him hold on tighter. So, what's a girl to do. I start thinking about all the different projects I would love to have time for. I have been wanting to do a scrapbook all about me at 35 since last fall. I have spent a number of hours writing things down (this is usually what I do during Abigail's dance class) but need to commit myself to this project and start organizing pages, pictures, etc. I have also wanted to do a small scrapbook for the kids about my brother Dan. He lives in Nelson, BC and I'd love to get all the pictures that he has taken of the wild animals that live in the mountains and get them in a book. It would be a great reminder of Uncle Dan and all the cool creatures he has come across in his daily hikes up the mountain. And of course I have lots of pages to do of the kids and I still would love to do a small book about our cruise last winter. So, this is what I am thinking about tonight.
gotta go and put Abigail to sleep now.

the official opening

It is definitely still winter but the layer of snow that covered our sandbox is now gone, so yesterday was the first time this year we opened our sandbox. It is by far the earliest we have ever played in the sandbox. After dropping off Abigail at school this morning and picking up a few things at Sobey's, we walked home to play in the sandbox. Nathaniel turned our playcentre into Noah's Ark and we were both very busy making food for all the animals. Jesse was content to dig and move the trucks around. I need to prepare myself for MANY more days spent in the sandbox with these two.

weeks 3,4,5

If you're just checking in and missed my February 12th post about my photo a day project, scroll down and read my explanation. Otherwise here are a few more weeks.

Week 3 - january 11 -17, 2009

week 4 - january 18 to january 24, 2009

week 5 - january 25 to january 31, 2009

emerg

Well, Abigail had been fighting a low grade fever all week. By Thursday evening her voice had become a bit raspy and a cough developed. At around 10:30 pm she woke up having difficulty breathing. After a call to Telehealth and the direction to go to emerg, we packed her up in the car and headed out. Luckily our neighbour (Thanks Martha) stayed at our place until my parents arrived to stay with the boys. We arrived and got right into triage. The nurse (as well as Telehealth) told us that she sounded croupy. Abigail's fever was treated and we were shown to a bed at exactly 12:01 am. A nurse arrived shortly and checked Abigail's breathing and gave her a popsicle for her sore throat (note the very pink lips on Abigail in the picture.) At this point Abigail was breathing much better. Well, the girl that had previously said she was scared about going to the hospital did a 180 and became the life of the party. Andrew and I desperately tried to get her to lay down so we could get some rest. But no, Abigail was now on a sugar high and couldn't stop talking. She asked what the different instruments were for, what the big light on the ceiling was for, where the doctor was, why it felt like day and not night, why all the nurses had their hair up, would she be given a needle, why the curtain was closed, where the doctor was, if she could write on the blackberry, why we had to wait so long, why the nurses were talking and not working....and on and on. Andrew and I kept looking at each other and smiling. Well, the doctor did come and said that she had croup. She was given steroids and we finally left just before 2:30am. We were in bed at 3. Now, Jesse did not get the message that it was a late night and decided to wake up at 5am. I was not amused.

Abigail is much better, no fever, just normal cold symptoms and she is still catching up on her sleep.

365

Back in December, I was really excited about a new project that was being promoted by Creating Keepsakes magazine. One of my favorite scrapbookers/designers, Becky Higgins, had developed a kit called Project 365. It is all about taking pictures (a pic a day) and journalling (little notes about your day). What I love about the concept is that it captures the everyday moments in your life and is a true representation of life in 2009. Plus it is super easy and I am all about that. While I have scrapbooked a lot for my kids, these books will go with them when they are adults. I have always wanted to do family albums that will stay with me and Andrew, but haven't had the time to do it all. This was a perfect album that would allow me to capture the everyday moments that would be our family album. Although I was nervous about the discipline of taking a picture a day, I am loving how it gives me the opportunity to improve my photography skills. The more pictures you take, the better photographer you become.

There was huge hype about the Project 365 kit and the company seriously underestimated demand for the product. The kits went on sale January 1st, 2009 and in between the site crashing several times, the kit was sold out in a couple of hours. I was not one of the lucky ones to get a kit. I still wanted to continue with the concept of taking a picture a day and having one place to display the photos and journalling. After some brainstorming and walks through the aisles of Michaels, I came up with my own system. Although a bit more expensive and more time consuming than the kit, I am thrilled with how it is coming together. Becky was awesome and gave some free downloadable cards from her kit and I have included these in my own personalized Project 365.

I'll be sharing the pages here. Each double page covers a week in our family's life. I wanted each week to run from Sunday to Saturday, so I chose to begin my year on Sunday Dec. 28/08. The quality of the pictures aren't great since they are in page protectors. But they give you an idea. perhaps clicking on them will make it easier to see as well.

Here is week 1 - december 28, 2008 to january 3, 2009

Week 2 - january 4 to 10, 2009

random love

I took this picture last summer and it is now one of my favorites. This is Nathaniel...observing, taking it all in, just chillin. Lately, I've been doing the watching. Seeing my boy grow up and marvelling at how wonderful he is...and how challenging he can be too. Yesterday we went to school and registered for Kindergarten. Another step out of my arms and into the world. I am
excited for him...to see the friends he will make, the lessons he will learn. He will be a good friend to many, will easily play what another will suggest and will be attentive and eager to learn.
Another wonderful quality that I have been enjoying recently are his random compliments. The past few weeks Andrew and I have been hearing lots of "Mommy, you're the best mommy in the whole world!" "Daddy, you're the best daddy in the whole world and outer space!" "Mommy I still love you, even when you yell." And this morning...I was blowdrying my hair when I sensed that Jesse was into something. I came out to find him at the kitchen table with the milk bag pulled out of the milk container. Luckily the milk bag wasn't completely full. As I calmly took the milk bag out of Jesse's hand, Nathaniel sat watching everything and said "Mommy, you are beautiful!" What a boy! I love you so much Nathaniel.

And this morning while Nathaniel was at preschool and Abigail was having another sick day (although I took her to school before lunch so she wouldn't miss her Dance-a-thon) Jesse was playing with the bubbles in the sink. Then he discovered a fly that was buzzing around our window. He was so excited. It is certainly not normal to see flies in February. But it had come out of hibernation with our spring like temperatures today. Winter will return tomorrow and then byebye fly.

Nathaniel and I were busy making these tasty treats this afternoon. Most of them will go to Andrew's work potluck tomorrow, but I did save a few for us tomorrow. These are super easy and quick. My neighbour Martha gave me this recipe.

Toffee Crunch Chocolate Bars

Base

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

Topping

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I used the low fat kind today and it turned out fine)

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 pkg (200g) SKOR toffee bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 13 by 9 baking pan.

2. Base: Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden.

3. Topping: Heat sweetened condensed milk and butter in heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes, or until thickened. Spread over baked base. Bake 12-15 minutes longer, or until golden.

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top. Return to oven and bake 2-3 minutes longer, or until chocolate is soft and shiny. Remove from oven. Spread chocolate evenly. Sprinkle SKOR toffee bits on top, pressing lightly into chocolate. Cool completely. If necessary, chill to set chocolate before cutting into bars.

a productive morning

Abigail is sick today so there was no mad dash to get out the door, no walk to and from school and no struggle to get Jesse inside after returning home. (He loves playing outside and hates coming in.) So while Abigail camped out on the couch reading and colouring, I was able to capture this sweet moment between siblings as well as dust the family room and vacuum the main floor. The boys cooperated and played by themselves for the most part.

Jesse is now napping, the other two are watching a video while I blog and finish a layout for Jesse's scrapbook.

I also had a few overripe bananas and was also able to make my favourite banana bread. I got the recipe from Whining & Dining cookbook by Emma Waverman (and another author I don't remember). Jesse was on the counter for a few minutes but got bored when I kept moving bowls and spoons out of his reach. Luckily he went on to build a tower with his brother.

Here is the recipe if you're interested.

Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Loaf

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

1 1/2 cup mashed banana (3-4 bananas)

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

(I've adjusted this and use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

3. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl and stir until uniform. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir to incorporate. Add oats, banana, buttermilk and vanilla; stir until uniform.

4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; stir with a fork to blend.

5. Add flour mixture to banana mixture one third at a time; stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until loaf is dark brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen, turn out of baking pan and cool on a rack.

now this is winter

If we had winter days like this everyday, then I wouldn't complain about our Ontario winters. It was absolutely beautiful this morning. The boys and I spent the entire morning outside in the front yard. We walked down the street with their "cars", played hockey and played in our fort. Nathaniel's imagination kicked into full force when he turned 4 last month and I love his creativity when he plays outside. The fort became a boat and then a rocket ship. He also prepared us fish to eat which Jesse attempted to sample. It is unfortunate that tomorrow our ship/rocket will melt with all the rain that is coming our way.

Super Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love baking. I got this recipe from my friend Joan years ago. If there is a healthier chocolate chip cookie...maybe this one would win the prize for the yummiest. Our family loves them.

Super Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
4 Tbsp. dry milk powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup wholewheat flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup sunflower seeds

Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients separately and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Eat 3 while they are still warm.

This is why I don't bake when Jesse is awake. Andrew quickly came to the rescue.

Yes, Jesse agrees. They are yummy.

the boys

For those of you who haven't seen our boys recently, here are some pictures of Jesse and Nathaniel.

a new look

Abigail needed a bit of encouragement and coaching when her front tooth was looking like this.

She was very brave and persisted in pulling her tooth.

Here is the new Abigail!

Daddy would be proud

It seems our boys have received their Daddy's love for hockey. Nathaniel made up this game a few weeks ago playing hockey with a ball, broom and small tent pole. It was Canada vs. Germany. The boys had a blast. On top of their love of playing the game, Jesse started pronouncing "hockey" two days ago. Although for lunch today he said he wanted "hockey" when he meant "hot dog". We'll keep working on that.

He amazes me

Good news for Andrew last night. He found out that he passed (with flying colours) his first of three exams this winter. I am so proud of him! Next exam is in a few weeks with the last one being in March. I honestly can't wait for this winter to be over. It still amazes me when I think of how much Andrew does. Working full time and in my opinion giving his all to his patients, being an amazing husband and father and still finding the energy and focus to study so hard. I know that I couldn't do it. Heck, it's just past lunch and I am already thinking if it is okay to have French toast for supper two days in a row. Perhaps Andrew will be my inspiration for the afternoon and I'll go make some yummy soup for my kiddos. Heck, it would be doubly amazing if they all ate it!

long time no see

I have been thinking about wanting to restart my blog for a little while now. After a chance reconnection with a friend, I have been motivated to get this up and running again. I am excited about being able to put my thoughts down, share pictures and have another creative outlet. Here goes.