how abby getting grounded turned into the best day ever

So today was a big day at our church, it's Anniversary Sunday and our church is over 200 years old.



Today in celebration the junior choir was to sing with the senior choir. Wanting the girls to look their best I got Abby up in the morning and asked her to please get into the shower. She didn't want to have a shower and I was pretty insistent that she was going to have one. I hopped in to have mine and asked her one more time to get ready to get in when I was done. I felt it was a pretty reasonable request and there shouldn't be any further problem. But I got out of the shower and she had made no move to have hers. So I grounded her.

Cue the waterworks, the stamping of the feet and the slamming of the bedroom door. After, of course, she begged me to let her have a shower. No dice..... I'm mean like that. I mean it wasn't like she was filthy, but since she's been swimming almost every day her hair gets really dry and it really needed a good conditioning.

Everything about Abby leads me to believe that she's going to be one of those girls who does the whole puberty thing sooner than later. All of the sudden she's moody, defiant and argumentative - oh and prone to tears... that one's my favourite. It's a new experience to both of us.

So we talked and I explained to her that I didn't ask too much of her, but when I did ask her to do something I expected it to be done, that it's not a suggestion. That particular issue is becoming a very large problem and that's why I felt the grounding was warranted and necessary. So we went to church, shared a potluck lunch afterward and then we headed for home.

Mike left shortly after to run some errands and then to work at the farm and it was just us girls. No TV. No friends. I was prepared for a very crummy afternoon. Instead I got a teeny tiny nap while the girls played beautifully together with their new to them Littlest Pet Shop house. Then Abby coloured quietly by herself while Maya took over full control of the Littlest Pet Shop kingdom. Abby and I played Downfall (very cool two person game that I highly recommend). Then Abby attempted to teach Maya the finer points of Connect Four. We finished reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid (can't remember which book it was). I got a foot massage from both girls. Abby is thinking these days she'd really like to work at a spa giving massages. That gave way to more Connect Four - Abby and I this time. Dinner, granola bars, then a bath, more Connect Four and then bed.

Several times today Abby commented that she was enjoying being grounded. She said as much to Mike when he called to say good night to them. "It was lots of fun, once you get past not playing with your friends," she told him. She mentioned it again when I was tucking her into bed. Going so far as to say that she was glad she was still grounded tomorrow. And you know what, I enjoyed it as well. The kids have been in bed for an hour and I've still yet to turn on the TV. Now Maya wasn't grounded from TV, but yet she never asked for it all day either. And Abby even asked if we could have more TV free days. A very big yes to that.

On one hand you could say that perhaps then she missed the point of the grounding, but I don't think so. Because today she was much more like herself than she has been in a few weeks. And for that I think we were both very grateful.

his name in lights

banging my head on my keyboard

So my internet connection has become extremely unstable. We had somebody come out and demo an upgraded product for us and we'll definitely be making the switch. I cannot wait. This patchy internet makes me want to punch something. I'll be so happy when I can get online and take care of facebook, blogging, tweeting and farmville my very important business.

So if the new upgraded internet product is so awesome, why haven't you switched yet..... I'm imagining in my head you're asking. Well we were already to sign up, when I just got a feeling we should wait until after our mortgage renewal was signed, sealed and delivered. The mortgage renewal that's taken a hundred million years to get organized. I mean I thought we'd crossed the last hurdle with some paperwork we had to get a lawyer to clear up, only to get a call from the lady at the bank saying there was a lien against our property.

Um.... excuse me?!!?

Turns out there's another guy in our city with the same first and last name as Mike and apparently he doesn't like to keep up with his support payments. So Mike had to give a statement to the lawyer saying that he wasn't the same guy and once that paperwork is taken care of we maybe... just maybe... be able to sign those damn papers.

And then I will have internet that actually works when I need it to.

Now I hit publish and I cross my fingers and say a prayer to the internet Gods that the connection stays stable enough to post this. So if posting is spotty for the next little bit you'll know it's not me, but rather my crummy little internet stick.

what's cooking wednesday - pancakes

So it seems like a long weekend coupled with a week's holidays makes it so you have no idea what day it is. Or how you got that big scratch on your knee even though it hurts like heck, but that's a story for another time. To make it up to you for being a day late with posting this I actually cooked this week. True story. My adorable little MyPie was demanding politely requesting pancakes for lunch and I was out of mix. My mother is horrified now that she's read that because do you have any idea how easy it is to make pancakes from scratch? A mix?! Pshaw!

One of my birthday gifts from my beautiful mother was Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook. It's a great looking book with fantastic recipes that I can't wait to try out. And as MyPie was harassing me for pancakes I seemed to remember the fabulous Scattered Mom tweeting about Jamie Oliver's one cup pancakes. So I grabbed my book and sure enough there they were.



Jamie Oliver's One Cup Pancakes

1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Mix the egg and milk together. In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Next add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix. Melt a bit of butter in a non-stick pan and cook them pancakes.

Recipe Notes: Well these were just super easy to make. So easy that Maya actually made them herself. I helped her a bit with the measuring, but she dumped everything in and mixed it all up. Then I took care of the cooking, because, you know..... she's four. This will definitely be my go to pancake recipe now. No more boxed mix for us.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

easily solved

Tonight I tossed a pair of underwear at Maya and I asked her to put them on. I left her alone for a moment while she changed and I dropped off some laundry down the hall. When I got back to her room her bottom lip was pushed out and she was in total pout mode.

Me: What's the matter?
Maya: My underwear is too big in the front and too small in the back!
Me: That's because you have them on backwards.

my list of awesome things #1

This year for my birthday Mike got me The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. Neil is the guy behind the website 1000awesomethings.com. The premise is pretty self explanatory, I think. I also think it would be a pretty great list to make. So keep an eye out for my own list of awesome things to pop up every now and then.

#1 - Friends doing things, just because.

Mike and I are not gardeners in any way shape or form. As such our home lacks in the curb appeal department. I mean sure we keep it neat, but beyond a mostly neglected boxwood at the corner of the house there ain't much going on. And of course we're surrounded on all sides by folks who possess very green thumbs. I really just had no idea where to start and then along came ML who said, hey why don't you do this, this and this? And I said, sure, whatever you think. I have no idea what any of that means. And she said, don't worry it will look great.

And know what?

She was right.

Tonight Mike and I had the kids out at a bonfire. It's a fun little party that's been going on for years and it really deserves a post of it's own. It will get one too, because I have super cool pictures from tonight. Anyway we pull in the driveway and I say to Mike - No way! She didn't!

And he doesn't know what in the heck I'm even talking about.

I tell him - get out! Come look!





When we left the house there was no garden. Four hours later there was. I was and am still speechless. Wow.

And also.....

Awesome.

food revolution friday

So I've been slacking on my food revolution. Well not the revolution, but the posting of the revolution. If you're pals of mine on facebook then you're up to date with the weight loss end of things. As of this week I've lost 16 pounds and Mike has lost an incredible 52 pounds. Go us, right?

It's been 5 months since Mike started weight watchers and we began this journey. I think we're both surprised that it's been a pretty easy ride. We've been far from perfect. We've indulged in some of our favourite treats, but we've found that just a small taste is sufficient to curb a craving. We've also found a lot of fantastic substitutes for some of our old not so healthy favourites.

We almost never buy chips anymore. I will pick up the occasional bag if it's jammie movie night or one of the Jersey Girls will bring some. It's fine, we'll have a few and move on with our lives. More often than not I buy pretzels for a crunchy treat. And when we get sick of those I buy sunchips. Relatively low points for a handful. Plus the bag is compostable and they run their plant on solar power. I like all of that.

Another new favourite in place of chips and dip is baked nachos and salsa or triscuits and hummus. Roasted red pepper is my fave, but we picked up roasted garlic which was very yummy. Triscuits also have a wide line of different flavours so you can mix that up as well. I love the sweet chili and the rye and caraway.... neither of which they carry at our grocery store of choice anymore. What a pisser.

And feta!!! Here's the thing, we love cheese in this family. Really love it. In the days before WW a brick wouldn't last us a week, but we kinda went cold turkey on the cheese after we figured out how many points we'd have to spend on even a small cube. Oh my gosh. I love cheese, but not at those "prices". Here's the thing we stumbled upon, by accident, if you use a very strong flavoured cheese you only need a small bit of it to make an impact. Enter the feta.

Speaking of strong flavours, I apply that theory to the rest of the kitchen as well. We've been eating a lot of greek inspired dinners the past little while. The spice aisle is full of spice mixes to help boost the flavour in your meals. As I mentioned the greek and texmex one get lots of play at our house. I love filling our grill basket with lots of fresh veggies, a drizzle of olive oil and a hearty shaking of spices. It keeps the veggies from being boring and works great as a topper for turkey burgers or stuffed into pitas with chicken or turkey sausage.

What are your favourite healthy eating tricks?

As always, thanks to the fabulous Scattered Mom for hosting Food Revolution Fridays.

what more could i ask for

Tonight....

Abby was fantastic at her riding lesson.

Maya "overcame her fear" (direct quote from Abby) and willingly rubbed the belly of a big black dog.

Abby soaked the sticky sweaty stable dirt off herself in a bubble bath while Maya went with Papa to choir practice.

Maya wrote the word 'one' all by herself on the chalk board. Then she wrote 'yoyo' and then her own name. Backwards.

We did homework - four pages of questions Abby had to answer on a book she read. She rocked the reading and the questions right out of the park. And we did it all without either one of us arguing, bargaining or begging.

do me a favour

As always there is much going on and much to tell you about. Maya's first "grown up" play date. Abby reading her very first chapter book. Bank meetings, mortgage renewing, papers to sign, lawyer to see. What I've learned about credit/debt. Wills to discuss and plan out. Finally being a "grown up".

Instead a local tragedy has been weighing heavy on my mind and my heart. So tonight I leave you with this...

Go hug your kids extra tight.

All that other stuff just doesn't seem that important.

what's cooking wednesday

That time of the week again. Time to see what my bloggy peeps are cooking up in their kitchens. It's still lots of grilled veggies and grilled chicken round here. What are you cooking?




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

knowing me, knowing you - may 2010

Time once again for that monthly interview project I started, knowing me, knowing you. Please play along on your own blog, in the comments or on facebook.

1. Coffee or tea?

I do love my tea. I've been drinking mainly green tea these days and try to get in three cups a day with varying degrees of success. I like my tea black, the idea of milk and/or sugar in it makes me gag. As for coffee I drink maybe a cup a week, if that, with milk and sugar and I usually don't finish the whole cup. I drink it only for medicinal purposes, to help with the odd case of dragon butt I get.

2. Are you watching Glee? Have I asked you that already?

Well if you aren't you should be. It's so good I can't even stand it.

3. Do you sing?

I do. Almost all the time at home. I'm not any good, mind you. You can tell by the way my children ask me to stop, but I love to sing. In my mind my performances are Grammy worthy.

4. What's your favourite John Cusack movie?

As much as I love John Cusack this is an easy one.... High Fidelity, followed closely by Runaway Jury. High Fidelity is Cusack perfection. I could watch it again and again. Oh and can you believe that Mike has never seen Say Anything? When it comes to movies he truly is a disgrace to his generation.

5. Burger or hot dog?

Burger. Always. Of course now they're made out of ground chicken. Still yummy though.




So now the rules, they're pretty simple. Post your answers to these questions on your own blog in the next few days. Remember to link back here in your post and sign the Mr. Linky too, so we can all see what you have to say. Please make sure you link to your actual KMKY post and not your blog's front page. Any front page links will be deleted. And most importantly, have fun! Have suggestions for next months questions? Leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know.

random bits

Turned out to be a pretty sweet weekend.

Took the kids grocery shopping. It's not something we do often. It was controlled chaos as I'm sure you can imagine.

It took the whole weekend to get my house back into some semblance of normal after the hectic week we had getting ready for the wing ding.

I baked more cookies..... like I needed to do that.

After the surge of interest in my baking at the wing ding, Mike thinks I need to get serious about it. Also he thinks my business name should be Old Village Bakery. All because of a painted sign I picked up for $2 when I was running around with ML that says Old Village Bakery. I bought it for two reasons #1 - It was $2. #2 I live in an old village and I like to bake. What do you think? Should I go with it/for it?

Mike and I finally got around to watching Iron Man... the first one. We were both surprised that we enjoyed it as much as we did. Also, why didn't anybody tell me how hawt Robert Downey Jr is? For reals. I hear Iron Man 2 is not as good as the first. Anybody seen it?

I could not stay up for SNL no matter how hard I tried. Kept drifting off. Ticked me off cause Alec Baldwin was on and he's always gold on SNL. Anybody catch it?

Think I've finally made a decision on which cell phone to get and with who. I may take care of it when I'm on holidays in a week. I'll be able to text again. This excites me more than I can tell you. And before you ask, no it's not an iPhone. I don't have crazy graphic designer cash like my bro.

Also think we made a decision on which TV to get. After a group discussion with some pals tonight.

Got to hang out with some of my besties tonight - HPH, ML & her family, my online BFF and his family. All to watch Survivor. Michael did not win his work Survivor pool this year. It was looking good there for a little while. It was great to watch with a crowd of people. I think this may become a regular thing. Did you watch? What did you think of the outcome?

post event wrap up

For the past three years one of the local service clubs have been hosting a wing ding for our school. They take care of all the cooking and we supply the workforce. In addition we're welcome to do any other fundraising activities that evening. Last night was our big event and it was another huge success.

So if you've been wondering where I've been hiding the past little while, I've been under the mountain of silent auction items I've been storing in my office. We ended up with about 50 items donated by parents, local businesses and major "local" tourist attractions. I donated 4 cookie bouquets that raked in $82! Can you believe it? I had a few people ask if they could order from me..... ummm sure! My ego enjoyed last night, very much!

I think after three years we've got this whole evening down to a well orchestrated science. We have a penny sale for the kids and the end of the evening is always mad chaos as kids and adults attempt to pick up and pay for their winnings. Last night we took a few minutes to organize everything before we announced winners and the pick ups and payments were quick and orderly. Our event was over at 8 and we were climbing into ML's Flex to head for my place at 9:09pm.

Here's the thing that makes me nervous, this event is organized by ML, Mrs. C and myself. We have other helping hands in there, but the three of us are what gets the event going. All that planning that takes place for months before hand, all the organizing that takes place the week before, the structure of the evening, which of our helpers we need where and when. I love these two ladies and have a great time planning and pulling off this event with them. Here's the problem though, they will both be leaving the school in the next couple of years or so when their kids move on. And then it will just be me because I will have 8 more years at the school once Maya starts in September. I'm going to have to start grooming some folks, I think.

Anybody who knows me well, knows I love this sort of thing. Sure it's a tremendous amount of work, but I love every second of it. I've said before that if I was able I would give lots of money towards helping the community, but I don't have that kind of bankroll. So I do this instead. The days before are like the days leading up to Christmas for a kid, so much anticipation I can barely stand it. Abby's school is small so we get a smaller piece of the cash pie from the board. Our fundraising events like the Wing Ding bring literacy materials, computer upgrades, play day, MI Day, School skating trips, technology for the classroom, trip subsidies, gym and recess equipment, and so much more to the school for the benefit of our students, staff and parents. I love that I get to be a part of that. I love that my kids get to see me be a part of that.

And now for the thank yous. Thanks to ML & Mrs. C, my partners in crime. Thanks to all the parents who lended their helping hands last night. Thanks to Granny, TLP, Papa and Grandma Sandi for supporting the cause, also for keeping an eye on my kids and taking them home and getting them into bed when they'd had enough. That last part was Grandma Sandi.... getting the kids home and into bed didn't require the full team. To my Robin, who comes to these sorts of things for me even though I can't spend more than 30 seconds with her and she lets me put her to work too. She is the best ever, you really must get yourself a Robin, for real life. Thanks!

broken hearted

This morning Abby woke up and climbed right into a pair of cranky pants. Boy howdy.

So we're on our way to the sitter's and Maya is singing, somewhat quietly, la la la la la la la in a tune and pattern entirely of her own making. That's all well and good, but as I've mentioned her big sister is wearing her very best cranky pants.

Maya: la la la la la la la... and so on.
Abby: Maya! Stop singing! I don't want to listen to it.
Maya: la la la la la la la la la la la... and so on.
Abby: Maya!! Be quiet!!
Maya: la la la la la la la la la la la... and so on.
Abby: Maya!! No singing!!
Maya: If I stop singing my heart will be broke. La la la la la la la la.

what's cooking wednesday

Well it's that time of the week again. Time to find out what you're all dishing up. We've gotten pretty boring around here. Lots of grilled chicken, grilled turkey sausage and grilled vegetables. Why yes, we do love our barbecue. Why do you ask? We've been eating pretty basically for the last little while. With no real recipe testing go on around here. I'm not sure how much long this will go on, but please know that recipe or not I'll always post the Mr. Linky for you to share what's cooking in your kitchen. Enjoy!




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

happy mother's day

Oh hey, did you hear? It's Mother's Day!

My whole weekend was pretty awesome. There was shopping. Hello delicious new red purse, fab oversized sunglasses that Mike hates and the girls love, Wii remote charger, a book or three, kernels popcorn and some yummy hand soap. There was lunch... mm greek. I am on such a greek food kick I can't even tell you. There was GLEE!! Abby has been singing Don't Stop Believing all weekend. Also I really think I need to convince ML to start a GLEE club. And in related news I spent the majority of Mike's iTunes gift card downloading GLEE music. I bust the windows out ya car! And I may have developed an inappropriate crush on Puck. Take that Zac Efron. Oh and Betty White on SNL, did you watch? I loved every second of it. So glad to see so many fab ladies back... Ana, Maya, Amy, Molly and Tina. Waking up with cuddlebug MyPie snuggled in beside me. Yep, pretty awesome.

I hope all of my fabulous blogging Mamas had a terrific day, spent just the way you liked.

make a wish

So ear candling, it appears some of you haven't heard of this phenomenon. Personally I haven't had it done before, but I've made arrangements to have it done soon. I watched Michael have his done a few months ago and I know a few people who've had it done.

One of my best gal pals, ML, not only does ear candling, but also makes ear candling candles. Yep it takes a special kind of beeswax candle. I believe it's wrapped in muslin and I know it has a hollow core. Very basically, you light one end and then stick the unlit end into the opening of your ear. Since the candle is hollow it creates a light suctioning type of effect that pulls all kinds of things out of your ear canal. I won't go into details, but I saw what came out of Mike's ears..... blech!

For the past week or so I've felt like my ears are blocked up. Like I've been swimming and now can't get the water out of them. Well to be honest the left one is worse then the right. So I've got ML ready to work her magic on me. I'll let you know what me thoughts are after it's done.

Has anybody else had their ears candled before?

i think i hate thursdays

Dudes, I just sent the ugliest cake to school with Abby for the cake auction. Well I sent it to Papa and Grandma Linda's cause they're getting her and the cake to school for me tomorrow. Boy howdy it is not my best work. Abby thought it was beautiful and I love her for saying it, but she doesn't know what she's talking about. Trust me, because there was no photographic evidence on that one. On the flip side though, it tastes amazing! And I learned tonight, that riding lessons, playtime, dinner, choir practice, tidying up and baking and decorating a cake is too much to ask of one evening. I'm going to watch Survivor in bed!

in my head

I need to get my ears candled.

The idea of going to bed is really kinda ticking me off. I have so much to do, the idea of all that "lost" time is really irritating.

I'd love to be able to keep my house neat for longer than 20 minutes.

Should I take chicken or chicken out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow night.

Ha! There's no time for dinner tomorrow night. There's riding lessons, choir practice and I have to bake a cake in there somewhere.

The cake is for the cake auction at school. I have decided it will be less fancy then last year's cake. It's going to taste so delicious, no one will even care.

Kinda ticked I didn't get a chance to talk to Abby's teacher tonight. I realize it was beyond her control, she was sick, but still annoying. I had some questions for her.

Bought a book for Maya at the school book fair, that's really for me. It's about SuperHero underpants. I know, sounds awesome right?

About 800 people in the past week have commented on how tall/big Maya is all of the sudden.

Abby's class drew pictures of themselves and the parents had to guess which self portrait belonged was there's. I got Abby's on the first try. Mike did not.

We've had some crazy rain here tonight and guess who's less than intelligent cat snuck out the door tonight. Mike finally rescued him a little while ago and he looks like a drowned rat. And he probably still hasn't learned his lesson. Good thing he's cute, he needs to get by on his looks.

what's cooking wednesday - marinade for chicken

When you eat a lot of one kind of thing you gotta keep it interesting, so I'm always on the look out for new things to do with chicken. Especially on the barbecue, now that the weather has turned warmer I use the bbq just about every day. Love it. I spotted this recipe in Eat, Shrink and Be Merry and thought I should give it a whirl, with some adjustments.

Marinade for Chicken

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp liquid honey
1 tbsp each minced fresh oregano and mint
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

So you mix this all up in a bowl and pour over chicken in a large ziploc bag or other appropriate container. It says to marinate the chicken for 1 - 6 hours. In the original version this was made with boneless skinless breasts, chopped into pieces and threaded onto skewers. I ignore the skewer and breast part and used boneless skinless thighs, whole. After they were all deliciously grilled up I diced them up and served them in a whole wheat pita with lettuce, onion, a small sprinkle of light feta and a tiny drizzle of tzatziki. It was pretty stinking delicious. Can't wait to have them again tomorrow night. Yum!




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

going to have to start checking the condiments

A little while a go Abby asked if I would make her a chore chart, so she could keep track of her "jobs". One of the jobs on her chart and Maya's too is, set and clear the table. And they've been doing it, which is awesome or so we thought.

Saturday afternoon Mike was in the kitchen making himself something for lunch. One of his weight watcher's go to lunches is grilled chicken and veggies with a drizzle of buffalo wing sauce on a high fibre wrap. And that's what he had made himself. I was upstairs gathering together the laundry when I heard him calling me from downstairs, requesting very insistently that I come down.

You need to come here! Now! I'm serious! Now!

I get to the doorway of the kitchen and Mike appears to be splattered with blood. There's a huge glob of something red beginning at his temple and streaking back into his hair. There are splatters across his shirt, hands and arms. His eyes are closed.

You have to help me!

I look around and my kitchen looks like a crime scene. Red splatters are everywhere, the floor, garbage can, fridge and stove. I'm going to need Dexter to solve this crime. It was a little bit of a shock to walk into a room looking like that, luckily it wasn't actually blood, but rather buffalo wing sauce dangerously close to his eye. His skin was already starting to burn, especially the skin around his eye and temple. Not surprisingly, he was afraid to open his eyes, so I helped he get into the shower to wash off. He did manage to avoid getting any into his eyes, but he said his skin still burned for quite some time after his shower.

So how in the world did he do that? Well when he grabbed the bottle out of the fridge, for some reason he thought he should give it a shake and the lid wasn't screwed on. He's the only one who uses it, so he really had no one to blame but himself......

until

later that day I grabbed the jar of mayo out of the fridge and sent it sailing across the kitchen. The lid was still in my hand, but the bottle was several feet ahead of me, on the floor with it's contents oozing out onto the tile.

Well, what the hell?!

Turns out our little table clearing crew has only be *placing* the lids every so gently on top of bottles and jars we use with dinner, instead of, you know, actually screwing them on. Yet another thing to keep us on our toes.

badump bump

Today Abby was invited to a classmate's birthday party which resulted in the following conversation.....

Maya: I want to go to the birthday party too.
Me: Sorry sweetie, but you weren't invited. It's a party for Abby's friend. Don't worry though you'll get invited to birthday parties when you're a little older and you start school.
Maya: When I'm older I'm going to marry you Mommy.
Me: You can't marry me My, I'm already married to Daddy.
Maya: No when I'm really older I'm going to marry you.
Abby: She'll be dead by then.