you capture - play

Both Abby and Maya love playing with our Little People. We have quite a large assortment of people, vehicles and buildings and they definitely topped the list of things that get played with the most. My pal JJ had the ingenious idea to move all of her Little People (and a lot of hers are vintage) to a deck box on her front porch and it's really been the hit of the neighbourhood.










you capture, hosted by --

wrodless wednesday - just hanging around

what's cooking wednesday

Oh my gosh I am so in love with my barbecue. Grilled veggies again with dinner tonight. This evening's offering was 'shrooms, onion and yellow pepper. I had hoped to toss a tomato in for the last few minutes, but as it turns out we didn't have any left.

What have you got going on in your kitchen?




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

hell of a way to start a monday

Abby appeared at my side of the bed some time before 5am. (Funny how it's always Mommy's side they go to isn't it?) She said she needed to get into bed with me because her night light had burnt out. Since I was not getting up before my alarm went off to rummage around in the junk drawer looking for a new bulb, I let her climb in.

A few minutes later she sat up clutching her stomach and said those words no parent likes to hear... especially when they are supposed to be sleeping -- I think I'm going to be sick.

So she took off running for the bathroom and by the time I caught up with her she was sitting happily on the "throne". I'm okay, she chirped, I just had to poop.

Okay, let's go back to bed then, I suggested, hoping to catch another 30 minutes of zzzz's.

Could I just stay up and watch TV?

Sure, but I'm going to go back to bed, 'kay? -- Have I mentioned before what an awesome age 8 is? So I went back to bed and she watched some TV and coloured until we came back down a little while later. I quizzed her and she said she felt fine. Her stomach wasn't upset, she was ready to go to the sitter's. So out the door we go.

We are no more than a kilometre down the road when she shouts -- I'm going to be sick!

I can tell she means it (Mom's just know, don't we) and I yell at Mike to pull over now!

Nobody wants to be cleaning puke out of the back of the van... again. Abby's sitting on the side with the power sliding door, which is locked because Mike is just stopped on the side of the road, with the van in gear. So Abby is hitting her button to open the door, while holding a hand over her mouth. I'm hitting my button to open her door and we're both canceling out Mike who's trying to unlock the door so it will actually open. Somehow we managed to work together and get the door open and Abby upchucked in the ditch instead of the back of my seat.

Then it was turn around and head back home. Pukey clothes in the wash. Sick girl on the couch with pillow, blanket and puke bowl. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but it didn't last long. She was back to herself by dinner time, thank God. And Maya, so far, seems to have missed it.

that was fast

So it was a good and very busy weekend for us that involved a birthday party, a marathon of baking and decorating and barbecue. The whole thing just went by in a blink and I'm kind of surprised it's over. It was lots of fun, but I kind of feel like a need a couple of days off just to recover from it.

And how was your weekend?

oh, now i get it

Mike and I are sitting at the kitchen table when Maya comes marching in.

Maya: Do we have any U buns?
Me: Any what?
Maya: U buns!
Me to Mike: What is she saying?
Mike: What do you want honey?
Maya: A U BUN!
Me: I don't know what that is. What's a U bun?

Maya exasperated with us already walks over and grabs her letter U magnet off the fridge.

Maya: A U bun. This is a U.
Mike: She must mean a croissant.
Me: Maya, is it a croissant you want? Because I didn't buy any of those this week.
Maya: No!
Me: What do you eat with a U bun?
Maya: Hot dog.
Me & Mike: Oh a hot dog bun!
Maya: Yeah, I want a hot dog with a u bun and ketchup.

home

The past few nights I've been pretty good about taking my walk, four nights in a row so far this week. Just me and GLEE! on the ipod as I walk my regular 3km circuit through the hood. And I on that walk I see....

Beautiful gardens and corn standing tall in farmer's fields.

Bunnies, birds and dogs.

Well loved old homes that have historical significance in this village. Like the church and the house that used to be the church, but now it's someone's home. The old funeral parlour and the grist mill. The hotel and the old general store. Newer homes and brand new homes.

The house that Mike's Uncle built and raised his family in and his in-law's place next door. Now new people are raising their families there.

The house where Mike's cousin and his family used to live.

The church where Mike and I were married and where our babies were christened. Where they now sing in the choir.

The house where Papa's Grandfather lived. That would be Mike's great grandfather, Abby and Maya's great great grandfather.

The house where Papa grew up with his brothers and sisters.

The houses of my wonderful and talented friends. My jammie movie night crew. My Jersey Girls.

Houses where childhood friends, of both Uncle Dave and I, used to live.

Finally my feet bring me to the house my Dad bought for our family of four. The house my Mom raised Uncle Dave and I on her own... our family of three. The house where Mike and I started our marriage.... our family of two. The house that we brought both our babies home too.... our family of three and then our family of four.

It's a pretty great walk.

what's cooking wednesday

Well so far this summer it's been lots of grilled chicken and even more grilled veggies. My bbq wok is getting a serious work out this year. Mushrooms are my absolute favourite on the barbie. So that's the state of my cooking the past month or so.

But 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

finally

For the past year I've been trying to make plans to get together with Karen, one of my very first bloggy bff's. Actually we're pretty great at making plans, we've exchanged plenty of emails trying to work out our schedules and a couple of times we've had solid plans to meet.... only to have one of our kids get sick. But this was crunch time, in a couple of weeks Karen and her family will be heading back up to Ottawa, the land of fabulous bloggers. Hi all my favourite Ottawa ladies! So we set up plans for this morning and our husbands both sorta rolled their eyes in a "ya, whatever" kind of way, certain there was no way it was going to happen.

But it did!! It so did!

Once the plans were in plan I thought I would feel more nervous then I was. You know.... me and meeting people. Especially since I was flying solo, Mike was gone for the day. Just before they got here I started to get anxious because while I'm incredibly witty (HA!) on the internet, maybe I don't translate very well into real life. I wondered if that initial moment would be awkward. I mean it's weird, you already know so much about a person you've never met before.

But it wasn't! It so wasn't!

The girls got along very well, but kids are great like that aren't they? So they swam and Henry hung out being all adorable. Adorable, I tell you! And Karen and I just talked and talked and talked, in between interruptions from the kids, of course. I have always been thankful to know Karen, but I was thrilled I finally got the chance to meet her in person and really just solidify all the wonderful things I already knew about her. Our visit today was much like a visit I would have with Robin or ML or any of my local besties. So much of what I write here is filtered so it was nice to be able to connect without that in the way. I really couldn't have imagined it any better.

I have only one complaint.... well two actually. #1 - the visit was too short. I mean we talked about a lot of things, but there was so much more we didn't get to talk about like GLEE! and The Office and Dwight and knitting and books! #2 That we did this just before she moved back home... we could of had a whole year to discuss all those important issues.

And now for the photographic evidence....



The girls. Okay I promise Abby was having a much better time than she appears to be. And crap, where is the picture of Henry?



You know what's funny. I had on a orange v-neck before Karen got there, but spilled something on it and had to change. Also she has awesome hair!

here's how it stands

So it's been like forever since I did a weight loss and I'm sure you're all wondering how it's going. And it really it's going kinda meh right now. We're both a little bored with the whole thing. And bored = lazy. I know I haven't been drinking near enough water or green tea. And the eating thing... well it could be better. Much better.

In the past two weeks Mike's back up 4 pounds and I'm up 1.8..... not great, but it's not a real train wreck either. We just need to pep talk ourselves back into the game.

Mike's loss - 48 lbs
Shan's loss 15.2 lbs

you capture - vehicles

This week's You Capture prompt was vehicles.



That is Papa's truck parked behind our trailer load of stone dust that Mike used to lay the new walkway. As often happens Papa popped in to say a quick hello and we ended up putting him to work.





While the fellas were working in the front yard Abby was busy washing her "sweet ride".

you capture - hosted by:

wordless wednesday - flowers in my garden

what's cooking wednesday - chicken fajitas

I don't have much of a recipe for this week's What's Cooking Wednesday, more of a how-to, that I meant to snap a picture of, but totally didn't.

So as I have mentioned Mike is on Weight Watcher's and by extension I am as well. So we're always trying to figure out how to cut down on points. This is our new take on fajitas.

Get some boneless skinless chicken breasts and season them well. I use a texmex spice blend. Do this while you're preheating your bbq. I have four burners in mine and I turn them all on high, so it's nice and hot. I turn them down for actual cooking, but I want to sear those spices on when it hits the grill.

Into the bbq wok I toss a chopped up red pepper and purple onion..... The Blogger Formerly Known as The Mommy Project, says it's definitely a purple onion and not a red onion and who am I to argue with her? sigh... I miss The MP!... anyway - I toss that with a drizzle of oil and a few good shakes of that texmex blend and on the barbie it goes as well.

When everything is sufficiently cooked we bring it inside and stuff the meat and veggies into pitas - less points than wraps - with some salsa, fat free sour cream and as for cheese you can do a couple of things, low fat cheddar, feta or con queso cheese are all low in points, with feta or con queso being your best choices. We serve it with brown rice, with some salsa on top and Bob's your uncle.

And that is a new lower point version of fajitas.




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 - july 2010

So here we go... time once again for that monthly interview project I like to call - knowing me, knowing you.

1. Do you like to garage sale?

I do, but we don't go very often. Maya gets (perhaps got... it seems like she may be growing out of it) very car sick on even very short trips. Like more than 15-20 minutes in the car and you're pushing it. This past Sunday we went to a huge one down by the lake. We walked the thing for three hours and didn't see it all. Papa kept the girls overnight Saturday so we could be up and out the door at 6 am. Gotta get there early to get the deals. Our garage sale pros tells us there are 3 big yearly ones that are "must hits". In the future I think we'll make arrangements to check them out, sans kids..... at least until they're older.

2. What do or would you garage sale for?

As we left on our garage sale adventure Sunday morning the question was asked of me... what are you looking for? And I didn't really have an answer. One never knows what they will come across at a garage sale. I can't tell you how many times I kicked myself for forgetting my camera. There was some stuff that had to be seen to be believed. Like the adult wicker tricycle. Yep, it was an actual adult sized tricycle that had wicker baskets front & back, a wicker seat and a bike frame completely encased in... you guessed it.... wicker. Also the bicycle that had a small chain link steering wheel in addition to the handle bars. Crazy stuff. Like the box of used up porno.... true story... cardboard box on someone's lawn with vhs tapes and the cautionary note written on the side.... adults only - blue movies. Classy! But back to the question. I am always looking for books. I picked up a replacement SNL book that I loaned out and never got back. $37 book for $3. I was very happy. Mike is always looking for 70's - 80's glassware. And then sometimes you get lucky... I picked up cookie cutters for a quarter that were the exact set my Mom had when I was a kid.

3. Cloth or paper napkins?

Cloth napkins more often than not. I will pick up paper if we're having a party, but other than that it's all cloth all the time. Something I got from my English Grandmother. Cloth napkins just seem easier. Also, better for the environment.

4. Ever re-gift?

I have, yes. If I feel someone else will get more use out of than I will. I have also been known to purchase gifts at Value Village and garage sales. Usually books.

5. Are you watching Big Brother or Last Comic Standing?

Hmmm? Are you? I need to know where my summer reality TV peeps are. Big Brother is of course ridiculous TV, but I am totally hooked already. Who is the saboteur? And I love me some stand up comedy, but I think those judges made some errors for the final group. How could they not put Fortune through? How?




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.

vacay

So we've spent the past week or so on holidays and this is how we've spent it.....

Enjoying the a/c. It has been hot 'round here, yo! I mean sticky, humid, skin melting hot.

Enjoying the pool. We followed a strict schedule of staying up late, sleeping in, having a bite of brunch and then lounging in the pool until someone got hungry enough for dinner. And then... back in after dinner. Although by Thursday the pool was 90 degrees and not exactly refreshing.

I've been reading. I've got The Chris Farley Show going upstairs and Scooter by Mick Foley (Yes, I'm talking WWE'S Mankind Mick Foley) going poolside.

The girls had sleepovers with all the Grandparents.

There have been some shopping trips for new bathing suits, barbies (because.... and I quote.... a girl can't have too many barbies, Mom!), gummy coke bottles (the girls just discovered how delicious they are, so that means I'll have to start hiding them), water cannons, groceries and patio stones.

Mike has been busy with some very small home improvement jobs. Like reattaching my curtain tie backs that have been hanging out of the wall. Rearranging the pictures in the living room so they work with our gorgeous new large lamps. Doing all the trimming because while I will cut the grass I do not use the weedwhacker. And the small job of leveling the front step turned into a much bigger job that required digging, leveling, stone dust, patio stones and just like that we have a nice new walkway in front of the house. Well half a walkway... it's a work in progress.

We took the girls to see Despicable Me, which we all loved even if some of it was too loud for MyPie. Also, she doesn't quite weigh enough to hold her own seat down. So she spent most of the movie in my lap.

We did crafts on the deck. The girls are already getting their masterpieces ready for the fair in September.

And I did take some super cute pictures, but I can't seem to find my camera..... anybody seen it?

you capture - canada

This week's You Capture prompt was America and since I'm not American..... well we'll just make mine Canada m'kay?




So Canada Day. We spent it in the next town over. Yep, we're a village but they are an actual town. What's the difference? Well they have a library, post office, corner store and a gas station. Oh and sidewalks on both sides of the street.

Anyway they put on quite the nice little Canada Day celebration and I'm not just saying that because My Michael and The Abster were in the parade. Oh yes they were! Abby was supposed to go with Mike and hand out pencils for the fair, but she got a better offer that involved a friend's daughter and some squirt guns.



Here she comes.



The good news is she ran out of water before she got to where we were sitting. The bad news is they gave her an air horn instead.



As for Mike, he realized a life long dream and pulled a float in a parade with a tractor.



And it was a *RED* tractor too. His very favourite kind.

And if that wasn't excitement enough we headed back over at dusk to catch the fireworks. It's funny, they've been doing this whole Canada day production for a whole lot of years and this was the first time we've ever been over to see the fireworks. Fabulous display for a little town. We had great seats... which led to great pictures.







You Capture, hosted by:

what's cooking wednesday - peanut butter & fudge swirl pie

So I'm back and I've even been cooking a little bit. I actually made this for our family's father's day dinner, but in the end I stayed home with an unwell MyPie while Mike and the Abster took off with the dessert for dinner. And since the pie plate came back with nary a crumb in it, I'd say it was a hit.



Peanut Butter & Fudge Swirl Pie

1 1/4 cup oreo baking crumbs
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 pkg (250g) brick cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip
3 tbsp chocolate fudge dessert topping

Mix the crumbs and melted margarine together and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Beat cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter together in a large bowl with a mixer until well blended. Gently stir in the cool whip until blended. Spoon the filling into the crust, drizzle with fudge topping. Swirl gently with a knife. Refrigerate for four hours or until firm.

Recipe Notes: Well like I said, not a crumb came home, so I guess this was a winner. This is a great summer dessert because it requires no baking. It's even quicker and easier if you use a pre-made crust. I will certainly make this again. If I was going to use my own pie plate I think I'd double everything, it looked a little wimpy in my deeper dish pie plate.




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

all i want for christmas

So Abby finally lost one of her two front teeth. It had been loose for a little while, but last weekend she was determined it was coming out. So she and ML and some dental floss worked on it for about 30 minutes before it popped out while I sat in the living room with my face buried in US Weekly and my fingers in my ears while I la la la la la la'ed to block out any gross tooth pulling noises that may have been coming from the kitchen 'cause I'm a grown up like that.

roasting of the weenies - now with pictures

Flickr is being a tremendous pain in the ass tonight, so off I go to bed and I'll try and get the pictures up tomorrow morning.

So last night was our sixth annual Roast Your Weenie Event and I'm just going to say it.... best Roast your Weenie ever! I think it had to do with a combination of record Roast Your Weenie crowds and our commitment to the Canada Day theme. Oh yes, we went all out this year my friends.



We issued a challenge to our guests - show up in your most patriotic gear and you just might take home a prize. We had three categories - best family, best couple and best individual. There was even some last minute decorating that went on.



Winners were decided by the very scientific "applause-o-meter".





It was a real horse race, but Iona and Donna managed to edge out Robin and her crew. The "applause-o-meter" doesn't lie, I'm afraid.



Nikki cleaned up as the most patriotic individual. Those are some super adorable Canadian flag themed cake balls she's got right there. Of course she's holding the mug the wrong way 'round. Now our most Patriotic Couple had a great picture for showcasing the mega cuteness that was my cake balls, but I forgot to get them to sign the waiver that would allow me to publish them across the interwebs, but trust me it's super cute... the cake balls and the couple.... and I'm not just saying that because he was creeping me..... on his iphone.... at my very own weenie roast.... just moments after meeting me. Is it wrong I find that flattering?

And my super adorable husband went out and scooped up a bunch of Canadian themed items to use as prizes for his Canadian Trivia Contest. A few sample questions - how many national parks are in Canada, when did Canada become a country and when did Canada adopt the metric system? Any idea on the answers? The last question was required a three part answer that he thought everyone would get in a second and they didn't, it took a while.... a long while, but JJ's crew managed to blurt out the answer finally.

This year we mixed things up with a candy toss for the kids and then we decked them out with glow bracelets so we could keep track of them while they played hide and seek in the dark. We skipped the fireworks this year, since #1 They're pretty crappy for what you pay for them and #2 our kindly old neighbour in who's yard we used to set them off has moved and in her place are a young couple and it's just not the same dynamic anymore.

*

It was a great night, great food, great friends, great big laughs.... just perfect. I can't wait for next July.

*cake by Auntie Yoli!

i'm back, for real

Well I guess it wasn't all that nice of me to announce my return to the internet and then disappear again, but I assure you it was not my fault. My internet was just barely usable. So we would hop online and cross our fingers that email would load and then maybe give facebook a try if we weren't too pissed off by that point and then usually at some point, walk away in disgust at the whole miserable thing. So Mike called the nice lady to come and hook up our new internet and she did and it works and I literally did a happy dance in the kitchen after she left. Oh I did. Ask my Mom, she was here.

So I hope all my lovely Canadian bloggy peeps had a terrific Canada Day today. We did, I'll post some pictures of all the days awesomeness tomorrow. Night folks.