Parenting lessons

So I should know that one you have a child, nothing surprises you but today I was yet again surprised.  Dinners are semi routine at our place.  Mac 'n' cheese, PBJ sandwiches, french toast, eggs, grilled cheese, casserole...etc.  This evening I witnessed my child eat the most bizarre taste and texture selections.  Granted, we were the ones providing him with most of the food but some selections he just helped himself to.  Here was tonight's menu:

• Dill Havarti slices
• Cucumber slices
• Farmer's sausage slices
• Herb & garlic crackers
• Dill Havarti melted on herb & garlic crackers
• Pear slices
• Mandarin slices
• Peach slices
• Toasted peanut butter & jelly sandwich
• Red pepper jelly
• Banana bread
• Glass of milk
• Raspberries
• Whipped cream

He helped himself to the red pepper jelly.  We watched waiting for the funny reaction but instead he said "MMMMmmmm!!!!" and helped himself to another spoonful.  Maybe he doesn't have functioning taste buds.

Parenting lessons

We took Little Dude to the Zoo this past weekend.  His favourite book as of late is My Heart Is Like A Zoo so we thought maybe he will make a connection or two.  At the Zoo there is a new penguin exhibit, Penguin Plunge, that we were eager to experience with him in tow.  Upon arrival we packed up the stroller, lathered on the sunscreen, topped up the water bottles and headed toward the gate.  The penguin exhibit is right at the main entrance and when when arrived there was already a 30 minute wait (or so the sign said).  I thought we should wait and do this first, my husband thought we should do this on the way out because then the wait would be shorter.  I relented and off we went.  First the dinosaur park (which garnered the loudest and most excited response form Little Dude), then the safari (he liked the giraffe and zebras), the butterfly conservatory, the tigers and more.  After four hours he was pooped and so were we.  We thought we should be heading out soon so off we went to the penguin exhibit where there still was a 30 minute wait.  We successfully tried to keep Little Dude awake while waiting in line, you know all that annoying Mommy/Daddy talking and joking.  The wait was only about 10 minutes, then we entered.  What a neat exhibit!  I must say that the emperor penguins are much smaller than I thought and boy can penguins zip through the water.  It was fascinating.  Little guy didn't seem to care one iota.  This disappointed my husband but I can't say I was surprised.  All he wanted to do was sleep (Little Dude, not my husband).  Who doesn't after four hours in the sun, running around discovering and learning?

This was an "I told you so moment".

Next time we will plan to visit the main event first.

Kitchen Ventures - blueberry pound cake

So I took a week off, now I'm back.

When I was in University (the University of Guelph) there was a cafe in the loft above the campus bookstore called Pages Coffehouse.  They sold delicious baked goods, wraps, coffees and teas (pre Tim Horton's involvement I think....).  I would stop by often and buy the most delicious blueberry pound cake I have ever tasted.  Almost ten years later I can't for the life of me recall any of the complex quantitative genetics formula's, but I can remember the taste of the pound cake.

So, I have been on a mission to replicate this delicious blueberry pound cake.  The recipe for sour cream pound cake in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook comes close....I think, except it doesn't call for blueberries.  I tried it, cut back on the sour cream (by about 1/4 c) and tossed in an entire package of blueberries.  I should mention that I doubled the recipe to use up my sour cream only to discover that I didn't have enough sour cream to double the recipe.  So, I thought "no biggie" and tossed in an entire package of blueberries to make up the difference.

Pres-dough!.......a somewhat gooey version of blueberry pound cake.  It is so close to the taste of the pound cake from Pages Coffehouse......my mission continues!

This 'n' that - Smile cookie

So we went to Tim Horton's the other day.  It was Smile Cookie week so, because I can't say no to a cookie, we bought one.  Here is my cookie:

It looks a little disgruntled, no?  The Tim's website shows a picture of what the cookies are suppose to look like but they don't look like my cookie! Here is Tim's Smile Cookie.  Doesn't really matter though, a great cause and a tasty cookie. Mmmm!

Kitchen ventures - zucchini brownies & loaf

We received a rather large zucchini form our neighbour's garden.  It is the largest zucchini I have seen in a very long time.  It has been sitting on our counter top for about three weeks (I think...could be more) because I cannot decide what to do with it.  My husband says it is mocking us.  Each recipe I find lists the volume of zucchini as "one zucchini" but is this really the best way to quantify the volume needed for a recipe?  There is a difference between a 100 g and a 4 lb zucchini.

Anyhow, ready for an adventure I selected the following recipes:

• chocolate zucchini brownies
• zucchini loaf

Chocolate zucchini brownies:
Prest-oh-so-yummy!  It looks as good as it tastes...er...tastes as good as it looks.  I am planning on a second helping in the not so distant future.  I will say that it is more like cake than brownie.

Zucchini loaf:
This loaf was simple to make with little damage to my kitchen.  The only casualty was a grating injury to my left thumb (which was entirely my fault).  The loaf was moist and had a unique tart and sweet taste.  I loved the splash of orange.  All in all, a delicious loaf that I would make again.

Now what to do with the remaining 1/3 of the zucchini.............................

Parenting lessons

This parenting thing is still pretty new to me.  Little Guy has only been inhaling air (I'd say "on the earth" but technically he was on the earth for an extra 9 months) for almost 14 months and he is capable of things I never thought kids that age would be.  For example...

I decided he needed some kind of outdoor physical activity to prevent him from taking a keen interest in moving vehicles.  Something where he had more independence and control.  My first thought was a tricycle, I had a really cool one when I was little and loved it therefore he should have one, right?  My thoughts pertaining to the little guy are often peppered with nostalgia.  Anyway, we drove all over the place and couldn't find a nice one or one that was small enough.  My husband suggested the local bike shop (which is conveniently also his favourite store).  We weren't more than four steps in the door and Little Guy is yelling "bykeh! bykeh!" (bike), running up to, touching and investigating every bike he can see.  They didn't have any tricycles so we took a look at the run bikes.  They had a nice black and red one (very boyish) so we brought it down to the floor and set him on it.  I was shocked! He was actually big enough to ride it!  And ride it he did, all over the store, twice.  When I tried to take him off it...well lets just say that proved rather difficult for several reasons.

We bought the bike.

He has been out riding it three of four times already and loves it (don't worry Grandma, he wears a helmet).  He would rather you do not assist him in any way shape or form, he will voice his displeasure if you do.  When he falls off he doesn't cry, just picks himself up mounts the bike again and keeps going.  Also, thanks to the bike he is not so easily distracted by moving vehicles.

My lesson from all of this...never underestimate what Little Guy might be capable of.  

If I think he might be able to, he's probably already done it months ago.

Me & Wee Book Review

Anyone read any good books lately?  Allow me and Wee (my child) to review my latest read titles:

David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon:
Me:  Creative, lots to talk about on each page.  What a mischievous child, I hope Wee isn't taking notes.
Wee: "Uh oh, uh ohhhh...maame"

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen:
Me: "Bah ha ha ha ha".
Wee: Hat! Hat! Hat!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle:
Me:  What else can I say, a classic.  Makes me want to have a snack, a very big snack.
Wee: At the end of the book he grabs each cover and flaps the book to make the butterfly "fly"

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss:
Me: A twister for the mind and tongue.  Like rubbing your tummy while patting your head.
Wee: "Dah, dah, bahll (ball), cah (cactus)"

Freight Train by Donald Crews:
Me: Simple, clean and vivid.  Best with accompanying train sounds "chugga chugga, chugga chugga, choo choo!"
Wee: "Booka..booka.......BOOKA BOOKA BOOKA BOOKA!!!"

Reading to my child is one of my most enjoyable activities although I may need to join an adult book club soon.  Very soon.

Kitchen ventures - cinnamon bun pudding

So I found myself heading home from work today with a large plastic bag full of semi stale raisin cinnamon buns.  When they were fresh they were the most delicious cinnamon buns; warm, gooey, sticky, sweet....yum!  It was suggested to me that I should try to make bread pudding with them.  Sounded like a delicious idea, why not?  So I googled bread pudding and came up with a few recipes, some of which didn't sound that tasty.  Then I found this one:

How To Make Bread Pudding

Seemed straight forward.  So what did I decide to do, double the recipe of course.  Thanks to my new mixer the custard part was ready in no time (I left out the nutmeg and raisins - there was enough flavour and raisins in the cinnamon buns).  I soaked it then shoved it in my oven, 45-60 minutes later...ta-done! Cinnamon bun pudding.

On to the next venture.....

I Need Direction

It's been about a week since I decided to create a blog.  I still have no idea what I'm doing and I really don't feel like I've found my groove.  What exactly should I blog about?  It's funny, before I set up this thing ideas were alive in my head. I was generating them at an incredible rate.  This no longer seems to be the case.  I'll eventually figure out what direction I want this blog to take but for now I'll just continue to write random snippets about this, that and varied other things.

I need to have my "AH HA" moment.  It's coming...I can feel it...lurking in the dark shadows....

Giant Spider

Eeeek!  This thing is living on a massive web constructed over 3/4 of my deck.  I'm too afraid to kill it.  Not sure how to take a good picture of it either. Thoughts?  On how to take the photo...not how to kill the spider.  Well, actually I'd welcome advice on both matters.

Info: 1517 x 2408, ISO 200, 55 mm, 0 EV, f/5.6, 1/500

The 4th post

IN THE BEFORE TIME:


• Sleeping in on weekends was habitual (now there is no such thing as sleeping in)
• Staying up 'till well past midnight was typical (it is now a fight to keep my eyes open much past 10 pm)
• 
Going out for dinner whenever & for whatever was common (now a biannual treat)
• Entertainment meant a movie, concert or play (now it is more fun to watch my child grow, learn & develop)
• 
I actually styled my hair in the morning (now throwing it in a quick ponytail will suffice)
• I put some make-up on to pretty myself up (make-up doesn't help anymore)

• I took regular, lengthy showers and/or baths (now 5 minutes is lengthy, regular means during nap time)

• Dinner parties & hosting social events was normal (dinner parties are all but extinct, social events are kiddie play dates)
• Cooking elaborate meals & desserts was no problem (cooking means mac 'n' cheese, dessert..okay, I still bake elaborate desserts)
• 
I never went out in public with stained clothing (now I don't care if there is a food stain or booger smear on my shirt or pants)
• I could laugh, cough and jump without incident (I must now exercise extreme caution when increasing my intra-abdominal pressure)
• I didn't have giant bags under my eyes (I now cover the bags under my eyes with sunglasses)

• My currency and bargaining unit was dollars (sleep hours & number of poopy diapers hold more value now)

• My vocabulary was expansive and rich (now my I'm reduced to one and two syllable words)
• My life was uncomplicated and carefree (now disorganized, complicated, and chaotic)

Would I ever like to return to the before time? 

Never. Not even for a brief moment.

The 3rd Post

I think I am a pretty decent cook, possibly a better baker.  Don’t ask my husband because he's obligated to fully enjoy everything I cook for him and he hates sweets so he never tries my baking (unless it's carrot cake).  I am pretty sure his picture of me in the kitchen looks something like the Tasmanian Devil wielding a hand held mixer and a spatula in a cloud of flour and sugar.

This week I thought I would make caramel corn.  Simple right? Wrong! The first attempt went well and tasted pretty good (probably because I followed the recipe exactly).  Two days later I thought (at 10:30 pm) “hey, I should make some more…but this time I should triple the recipe” which was not so smart.   I eyeballed the volume of butter, added extra sugar (the bag was almost empty…what’s another ¼ c?) and blobbed in what I thought was sufficient corn syrup.  Being lazy, I popped the popcorn in a cheap air popper, problem is I thought this thing could handle a high capacity of kernels; apparently not!  The thing overheated and died half way through popping.  So….I whipped out a pot and tried to pop fresh kernels on the stove; bad idea because I burned them all.  As the smoke was clearing the air popper decided to come back from the dead and finish popping the corn (all the while my syrup is over boiling on the stove). Great! I added the vanilla and baking soda (eyeballing volumes again) and coated the popcorn.  I was suppose to bake it which was fine except that I had a 12" mountain of caramel corn piled up on my cookie sheet.  It almost touched the ceiling of my oven.  When it cooled I was able to break some of it apart, next time I will break it up in a bag because my kitchen was covered in tiny shards and sticky globs of caramel.  The end product was tasty, I took it to work for my coffee break where I discovered that the caramel was like super glue when chewed.  Good thing I don’t have fillings because I would have lost a few.  It felt like I had temporary lockjaw.

At least this escapade was better than the time I grated a portion of my hand into the shredded carrots for a carrot cake.

I live to bake another day.

The 2nd Post

My friend was a wonderful person. She was beautiful, charismatic, thoughtful, kind hearted, spunky and spontaneous. I miss her.

Today I thought I saw her. The "smart" part of my brain realized this is not possible, the "emotional" side of my brain caused my heart to flutter. In this person I saw her hair, similar style and color; her physique, similar gait and height; her face, similar profile and make-up. For a fleeting moment I wanted to yell her name, hoping this person would turn around and be my friend. This will never happen.

A part of my heart will be forever ache. I will continue to miss her, think of her and see parts of her wherever I go. Memories triggered by this smallest of things; huskys (she had three), churches (she thought they were “pretty”), turkey innards (she thought they were “yummy”), any Blue Rodeo song, all things paranormal (hauntings and such), Jeeps (she drove a cool one), fondue, francais, Winnipeg (we lived there), architecture (she had a knack for it), Harry Potter (she was an avid reader), drive-ins, junk food and many more.

Regret is painful. Stay in touch with those you care deeply for. Life is finite.

The First Post

So here it is, my first post.

Post.

Well now, that wasn't too difficult.  In fact, I think I will post again tomorrow.