This Wordless Wednesday post is linked up at 5 Minutes for Mom and A Lot of Loves!
Archive for September, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy Toothbrush
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy Toothbrush
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
What’s Cooking Wednesday - Cinnamon Rolls
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Cinnamon Rolls
from Allrecipes
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 (.25 oz) quick rise yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup buter, softened
Heat milk in a small sauce pan until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat and add butter. Cool to lukewarm.
In a large bowl mix the whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup of the all purpose flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the milk mixture, egg and water. Mix well. Add remaining flour and mix well.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a small bowl.
Prepare a 11X13 pan by coating the bottom and sides with butter. Leave a bit of extra butter in the bottom if you want extra gooey cinnamon-y goodness on the bottom.
Roll out the dough into a 12X9 rectangle. Spread butter mixture evenly across the dough.
Roll up and pinch the seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal rolls. Place in the prepared pan, cover and let rise until doubled (usually around 30 mins).
Before Rise
After
Recipe Notes: So my rolls didn't really rise like they were supposed to. Thankfully when I baked them they poofed up wonderfully. These turned out so well. YUMMY!
Top 10 Tuesday - Favorite Activities for Kid-Free Vacations
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
I *might* be going away soon for a work trip with Dewey that will also include some rest and relaxation. We will be spending a few nights in Austin before heading to San Antonio. Since I lived in Austin for 5 years, I am super excited to see all my friends. Even without that perk there are a few things that I love to do when I get to have a flashback to BK (before kids).
- Sleeping Late - definitely the number one thing I miss the most. Evan sleeps until 8 or 8:30 on days I have to go to work.....weekends he is up at 6.
- Leisurely Meals - Oh the days of taking my time over breakfast....enjoying that extra cup of coffee....all without having to say "Get up off the floor, Evan....NO don't drink any more of the creamers off the table.....etc"
- Shopping! - I keep trying to go to the mall & take Evan. Dewey usually isn't with us so I will sometimes stop into a store to do a bit of shopping. HA! Three year old boys do NOT want to watch their mom shop.
- Listen to Live Music - Bar hopping and going out to hear bands is not really something you can do when traveling with a 3 yr old unless you have help.
- Eat Weird/Spicy/New Food - I am a huge foodie. I love to try new types of food and new restaurants. Not really something that is easily done with a little guy. He likes a wide variety of foods but he needs time & repetition to try new things.
- Happy Hour - A big part of our social scene in Austin revolved around Happy Hour on Fridays.
- Unplanned Days - Okay this isn't an "activity" really but I love having days where I can go with the flow and it doesn't matter where I am when.
- Coffee with Friends - I still do this now AK (after kids) but it's usually during the work day or late in the evening. Nothing like grabbing a cup of coffee with a girlfriend in the afternoon to catch up on gossip!
- Reading a Book - I still read books but I am MUCH slower than I used to be because I only read right before bed. I will definitely be uploading a few books to my Sony Reader before we leave!
- Did I mention sleeping in?
So don't get me wrong....I wouldn't trade my punkin, Evan, for anything.
What are your favorite activities when you get some time away from the kidlets?
This post has been linked up at Oh Amanda.
Craftastic Mommy Weekend
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Dewey is away this weekend on a golf tournament so Evan and I had a "Mommy Weekend". The weather in Calgary has been dismal lately so we have spent an awesome weekend indoors.
Saturday started out with a new recipe....Cinnamon Rolls! They turned out amazing. I promise I will post the recipe soon.
Then my friends Christine & Erin came over to make some jewelry and drink wine. We had a great time!
Here's the necklace I made. This is the pendant. The necklace is leather cord. It's supposed to be "Industrial Chic".
I bought Evan crafts to do with us too but he fell asleep on the couch instead. We decided to do the crafts this morning while we were waiting on Dewey to get home.
Michael's had 3D foam craft kits on sale for $3.99. I bought 2 for us to build for Halloween decorations. They were almost the death of me!
The kits don't actually contain instructions. It says "Look at the picture and construct". If only it were so obvious. I had all the fencing glued on when I figured out that they would work better flipped upside down. So I took them off & reglued. Then Evan leaned over where I was working and left this in his wake. *sigh*
The house kit didn't do much better. It fell apart at least 4 times before I finally got it constructed. The kits say "Peel & Stick" on the front but you have to glue A LOT of it. Oh and did I mention that all the pieces are covered in glitter? Now Evan, me and the kitchen are also covered in glitter. :)
Ack!!! Be CAREFUL!
"Who....me? The craft destroyer????"
They turned out okay in the end. We'll see how long they last.
How was your weekend?
Testing Boundaries
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
We've had a rough week. I was in a sales course that required long hours at the same time Evan decided to show us that the threes can be just as terrible as the twos.
Nighttime routines around here have fallen into the "one more minute" trap. There's always "one more minute of TV" or "one more minute of pbskids games" or "one more story" or "one more snuggle" or "one more drink" or or or or....ad nauseum! Unfortunately, even if you gave him every last "one more...." he would fall apart when you finally made him go to bed. It was hard for me to say "no" to his requests because, honestly, I felt a bit guilty for being so focused on other things.
If only this was the only problem.....because after every nighttime there is....
the Morning.......
Mornings are usually pretty mellow. I go in a bit later so that I can hang with Evan a bit usually. He pulls the "one more...." card in the morning too but usually not so often. He is really clingy in the mornings, though, which means that I have to get his milk, snack, etc even though his nanny is sitting downstairs in the kitchen. This is fine if I'm not running late but this morning Evan and I had a melt down b/c I was desperately trying to have a shower & he was insistent that I go get his milk. The situation kept on the same track right up to the time when Evan was blocking the door and screaming "MOOOOMMMMMMYYYYY! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!!!" I could hear him screaming when I got in the car to leave.
It wasn't pretty!
In my head I know that he is just testing his boundaries with me & I also realize that I'm a good mom and that I give him what he needs.
But my heart breaks every time he cries when I go to work or when he throws himself on the floor because I am soooooo mean!
Why didn't they tell us that motherhood was so damn hard?
Testing Boundaries
Saturday, September 18th, 2010We've had a rough week. I was in a sales course that required long hours at the same time Evan decided to show us that the threes can be just as terrible as the twos.
Nighttime routines around here have fallen into the "one more minute" trap. There's always "one more minute of TV" or "one more minute of pbskids games" or "one more story" or "one more snuggle" or "one more drink" or or or or....ad nauseum! Unfortunately, even if you gave him every last "one more...." he would fall apart when you finally made him go to bed. It was hard for me to say "no" to his requests because, honestly, I felt a bit guilty for being so focused on other things.
If only this was the only problem.....because after every nighttime there is....
the Morning.......
Mornings are usually pretty mellow. I go in a bit later so that I can hang with Evan a bit usually. He pulls the "one more...." card in the morning too but usually not so often. He is really clingy in the mornings, though, which means that I have to get his milk, snack, etc even though his nanny is sitting downstairs in the kitchen. This is fine if I'm not running late but this morning Evan and I had a melt down b/c I was desperately trying to have a shower & he was insistent that I go get his milk. The situation kept on the same track right up to the time when Evan was blocking the door and screaming "MOOOOMMMMMMYYYYY! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!!!" I could hear him screaming when I got in the car to leave.
It wasn't pretty!
In my head I know that he is just testing his boundaries with me & I also realize that I'm a good mom and that I give him what he needs.
But my heart breaks every time he cries when I go to work or when he throws himself on the floor because I am soooooo mean!
Why didn't they tell us that motherhood was so damn hard?
Brain Tired
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Why is that when you go to a training course and sit around all day you leave completely EXHAUSTED? I can't answer the why part but it is definitely true!
I went to a consultative selling course this week and now I am ready for the weekend. We had varying amounts of homework every evening....last night I was there until 11 pm. Thankfully it's now done & I think I learned a lot.
So that's why I haven't blogged for a few days. I haven't disappeared....I was just learning how to be a better listener to my customers. I promise that there will be new blog posts coming up soon.
So what were you up to this week?
I went to a consultative selling course this week and now I am ready for the weekend. We had varying amounts of homework every evening....last night I was there until 11 pm. Thankfully it's now done & I think I learned a lot.
So that's why I haven't blogged for a few days. I haven't disappeared....I was just learning how to be a better listener to my customers. I promise that there will be new blog posts coming up soon.
So what were you up to this week?
Top 10 Tuesday - Activities for a “Mommy Weekend”
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Evan and I love Mommy weekends. We love to hit the town and do things that we don't normally get to do. Here are my top 10 possibilities for such a weekend.
- Hit the Mall - Evan's favorite food in the whole world is Pad Sew Noodles from the Thai place at the mall. He lurvs them! After dinner or lunch we hit the play area at the mall for some preschooler fun times.
- Bake - Evan LOVES to help me bake. We make cookies, granola, granola bars....you name it we make it!
- Go to the Zoo - Evan loves the Calgary Zoo. It is a great zoo....his favorite part is the dinosaurs.
- Go to Butterfield Acres - It's like a petting zoo on steroids. Love it!
- Have a pajama day! Who doesn't love lounging around the house in their jammies?
- Visit the Farmer's Market - Great people watching and yummy food for lunch.
- Go for a walk - If the weather is nice we love to have a walk around the neighborhood...especially if their are yard sales. Evan has a few favorite playgrounds he loves to visit so we can kill a few hours that way.
- Events - Depending on the weekend their are fall fairs, home shows, Christmas fairs, etc. Lots of them have kid content such as petting zoos, etc.
- Crafts - A visit to Michaels leaves us with all kinds of craft ideas for whatever holiday is on the horizon.
- Sleep In - HA! Yeah right....he sleeps until 8:30 on days I have to work but I'm lucky to get to sleep until 7 on weekends.
What are your favorite Mommy activities?
Linked up for Top 10 Tuesday at Oh Amanda!
My First Post
Monday, September 13th, 2010
I am participating in the "Back to Blogging" event over at SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce).
I really liked the thought of going back and looking at what I've blogged in the past. I rarely do it so I'm sure you don't either! ;) So I'm republishing my very first post below for you to read. In January 2006 I had lived in Calgary for just over a year and had been married for 6 months. Evan wasn't around yet and I was getting used to being a wife and a stepmom in Canada.
It's funny to see how young Will & Nicole look!
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I decided to start our blog with the latest big holiday for us. Will and Nicole (the kiddles) spent Christmas Day with their mum so Dewey and I decided to do something different this year. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night at Storm Mountain Lodge between Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. We had our own little log cabin with a fireplace. It was very quaint and we loved the fireplace (when it wasn't smoking us out). Dewey has great fire building skils (or so he tells me) but unfortunately the wood was wet so we looked like we were trying to send smoke signals.
After spending a relaxing two days, we headed off for some adventure. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not really the "adventurous type" when it comes to sports. When Dewey came up with the idea of going snowmobiling.....I was less than enthusiastic! I decided that I had to make the best of it and grit my teeth and pull back the throttle. After picking out our "sleds" we headed up the mountain. I hate to say it but Dewey was soooo right. It was so much fun! You eventually forget that you could possibly plummet to your death down the mountain (just kidding mom) and it starts to be a blast. We are definitely going to do it again and maybe take the kids next time. After a full day of sledding and lunch on the mountain, we headed back to Calgary.
We picked up the kids on the 27th and headed out to Nana and Papa Don's. We celebrated Christmas with Claire, Don, Will and Nicole on the 28th. Copious amounts of presents were had by all. We're all definitely spoiled. The highlight for Dewey was his new XM radio receiver which he is already very much attached to. I think he actually wishes that his commute was longer so he would have more time to listen. Will, Nicole and I put together a Christmas tree that my mom sent. It was made of cardboard and you poured a solution into it's base. Then it grew white crystals that filled it out to look like a snow covered Christmas tree. It was a big hit with everyone because it was so unique.
Will loved his Robo Raptor (as can be seen in the pic below) and Nicole loved her Puppy Surprise. You get the mommy dog and it has a "surprise" number of puppies. You should have seen Dewey and I trying to figure out where the puppies came out at the store! We didn't really want to buy a toy that would be a huge anatomy lesson at the same time. :)
So are you a new reader of Merry With Children or have you been around from the beginning?
I really liked the thought of going back and looking at what I've blogged in the past. I rarely do it so I'm sure you don't either! ;) So I'm republishing my very first post below for you to read. In January 2006 I had lived in Calgary for just over a year and had been married for 6 months. Evan wasn't around yet and I was getting used to being a wife and a stepmom in Canada.
It's funny to see how young Will & Nicole look!
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I decided to start our blog with the latest big holiday for us. Will and Nicole (the kiddles) spent Christmas Day with their mum so Dewey and I decided to do something different this year. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night at Storm Mountain Lodge between Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. We had our own little log cabin with a fireplace. It was very quaint and we loved the fireplace (when it wasn't smoking us out). Dewey has great fire building skils (or so he tells me) but unfortunately the wood was wet so we looked like we were trying to send smoke signals.
After spending a relaxing two days, we headed off for some adventure. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not really the "adventurous type" when it comes to sports. When Dewey came up with the idea of going snowmobiling.....I was less than enthusiastic! I decided that I had to make the best of it and grit my teeth and pull back the throttle. After picking out our "sleds" we headed up the mountain. I hate to say it but Dewey was soooo right. It was so much fun! You eventually forget that you could possibly plummet to your death down the mountain (just kidding mom) and it starts to be a blast. We are definitely going to do it again and maybe take the kids next time. After a full day of sledding and lunch on the mountain, we headed back to Calgary.We picked up the kids on the 27th and headed out to Nana and Papa Don's. We celebrated Christmas with Claire, Don, Will and Nicole on the 28th. Copious amounts of presents were had by all. We're all definitely spoiled. The highlight for Dewey was his new XM radio receiver which he is already very much attached to. I think he actually wishes that his commute was longer so he would have more time to listen. Will, Nicole and I put together a Christmas tree that my mom sent. It was made of cardboard and you poured a solution into it's base. Then it grew white crystals that filled it out to look like a snow covered Christmas tree. It was a big hit with everyone because it was so unique.
Will loved his Robo Raptor (as can be seen in the pic below) and Nicole loved her Puppy Surprise. You get the mommy dog and it has a "surprise" number of puppies. You should have seen Dewey and I trying to figure out where the puppies came out at the store! We didn't really want to buy a toy that would be a huge anatomy lesson at the same time. :)
So are you a new reader of Merry With Children or have you been around from the beginning?
