Fountain of Youth

     Yesterday we took the kiddies to a new indoor recreation building not far from my brother's house.  This place was huge and really fun.  We spent our time at the indoor water park...Markus and Jessie loved it...they spent there time going down the water slide and playing in the current whirlpool area. Joe asked Markus if he wanted to go jump off the high diving boards. Off they went while Jessie and I played with Ethan in the warm kid pool...Shortly after I see Markus walking all proud and cute to tell me he jumped off the second highest diving board...he wanted me to come watch him do it again. Joe told me that the lifeguard made Markus swim a 25 meter lap before he was allowed to jump off the high diving board...Joe wasn't sure if Markus would go through with the jump because it was actually high...When Markus got up there Joe said "ok Markus...jump on three" and he did with no hesitation.  I guess we have a little daredevil on our hands.  When I came over to watched Joe said "this time try to do a twirl when you jump off" and he did (3 twirls before he hit the water)...very impressive. Markus wanted to jump off the highest diving board but it was closed...he said "dad lets come back when the highest board is open so I can jump off it."
     Ethan also enjoyed splashing in the water and watching the other kids.  Note to self...I really need to get Ethan swim diapers...I have looked in a couple stores but they are actually hard to find in the winter. So I put him yet again in a regular diaper. Yup they fill up quick and make his bum look huge! I figured I would get in trouble for not having him in a swim diaper (I think I heard they sometimes explode) so I was trying to hide his little bum when we got out of the water...I felt like I was breaking the law! (hahaha)...I wish I had my camera with me.
    Another funny story...at one point I got out of the pool to feed Ethan...I took off his huge diaper and wrapped his naked body in a towel...went off to the side of the pool and started to feed him. He is a wiggle worm when I feed him so at one point he wiggled half his body out of the towel and exposed his wee wee...I didn't bother wrapping him all back up again because I was covered up perfectly and he was in a comfortable position (still getting use to this feeding in public thing). Anyhow a few minutes later I look beside me to see a pool of yellow "water"...Yup I put it together pretty quick and figured out what happened as I looked around to see if anyone else saw...sure enough a lifeguard was approaching me laughing...  Apparently unannounced to me little E decided to turn on his fountain.  So funny...I laughed with the lifeguard and then got some paper towels to clean it up.

This is picture I snapped yesterday when Jessie got home from Preschool...the first thing she said when she got in the door is "where is Ethan"....then ran to find him.  It was funny because she kept wanting to do everything Ethan was doing yesterday...I found her stuck in the exersaucer...she could get in but had a hard time getting out. She also got into the highchair...she even asked for some of his baby cereal...so cute.
I have used Ethan as a tool to get Markus and Jessie to listen and follow directions. I will say to them "show baby Ethan how good you eat" or "how quickly you can get dressed"...it is a handy strategy and it works every time.

 

Sunday Dinner with Friends

     This past Sunday Joe and I invited Jeremy Townsend and his family over for dinner. Jeremy is an old friend of mine (and Joe's of course)...our friendship goes way back to high school days. Jeremy also lives in Edmonton and is still good friends with Joe. He is married to a really nice and beautiful women named Paige...They have two really cute boys...there youngest is named Tie and he is almost two months older then Ethan.



Ethan & his new friend Tie




Yes that is a Christmas tree in the background...it is going to be Christmas all year round at my brothers house...just kidding he just hasn't gotten around to taking it down. I must say it is a beautiful tree!  I think he should keep it up!





This was a toy of Ties that Ethan loved...it is a rubber snake...he loved to bite this snake
I love how rosy his cheeks are in this picture.


     It is always fun getting together with old friends and reminiscing about old times. One story that we had some laughs over was an embarrassing story that involved my very first date.  Picture this...I was 16 or 17 years old at the time and a guy at school who I liked asked me out on a date.  Anyhow my brother who was a very protective brother along with Jeremy and Davis got the bright idea to intimidate my date. Anyways when my date came to pick me up the boys greeted him at the door with no shirts on (apparently they believed there muscles would speak volumes...hahaha).  I laughed it off and got the heck out of there. After we went out I invited my date into my house to hang out for a bit.  Needless to say the boys continued there muscle show...yup a little awkward for my date...needless to say the guy I was with didn't stick around my house too long. No wonder I didn't get many dates in highschool (haha)!

     I cooked a yummy feast...we had chicken, sausage, wild rice with almonds, baked brown beans, roasted sweet potato with vegetables and a salad.  It was really funny because when we sat down to eat there were only three sausages on the table and a fourth one was being eaten by Markus...I was confused because I cooked six...Joe asked Markus how many he had and he said "oh this is my third."   Oh boy...that little stinker...he ate three before we even had a chance to sit down.  Apparently I have not grown eyes on the back of my head yet...It is crazy because it is often hard to get that boy to eat...I guess it is safe to say that he loves sausages...unfortunately they are not the healthiest...luckily we still had enough meat...I made lots of chicken.  Joe was a little irritated he filled up on sausages but also thought it was funny.



Chase, Jessie & Markus




Jeremy getting dessert ready

      Jeremy and his wife brought dessert...sundaes...with all the toppings...sooooo good...I have to say it has been a while since I have made a homemade sundae...it was a good treat and the kids loved it!  We even played a boardgame and I am happy to announce that Paige kicked our butts...yeah...Girls Rule!!!! I must admit trying to play a game with kids around is hard!!! but we did it with only a million interruptions!




dessert time

 


Jessie eating her Sundae



"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend."

Happy Valentines Day!

 Today as my brothers kids were heading off to school with there valentines in hand it made me remember. I have many fond memories of Valentines Day when I was a little girl. I use to get so excited for this holiday...I absolutly loved filling out Valentines and giving them to my classmates and teachers. I remember my parents use to buy us those big books with pop out valantines...I remember having so much fun selecting which ones I wanted to give away and to who... I remember saving the I LOVE YOU valentines for the girls and the HAPPY VALENTINES for the boys (maybe on occasion I would give an I LOVE YOU to a boy or teacher that I had a crush on)... So funny....I also remember being so excited for the class parties and junk food...Mom and I would make cupcakes decorated in white icing and red trimmings with candy hearts to bring in as a snack.  I remember bringing home my decorated envelope that held my valentines from school and laying them out to inspect and count them.  It was fun seeing who gave me what...a little boost to the old self esteem having friends tell you they love you I guess....So cute!

Now, I have my very own Valentine,

all he has to do is smile, hug me or

look at me with that look and I am hopelessly in love.
He makes me happy. He keeps me warm.
I am so in love with my Valentine.

Today I am thinking of you honey...I miss you!

A few pictures of me & my Valentine!

The rose garden at Spring Bank Park...one of my favorite pictures of us

During our honeymoon in Ottawa

Mexico Vacation 2007 - Riviera Maya

Sealed with a kiss - Mexico again

This picture is during our Jamaica trip...this is just before Ethan was born...I was 7 months pregnant! Ya Mon

On the ferry in New York City

Trip to BC...at the Capilano Suspension Bridge

 

The last two pictures are from Camping at Algonquin Provincial Park...we have to go again...we had such a fun time!





Love is a beautiful thing!

...Happy Lovers Day.....




Skating in Edmonton

Today we went to an outdoor ice rink down the street from my brothers house. I bundled Ethan up and put him in a stroller so he could enjoy some ice time as well. Markus and Jessica were excited to have Ethan on the ice and took turns pushing him around in the stroller.  I am impressed at how good Markus and Jessica are getting on there skates...today Markus was practicing some stick handling and stopping on the ice while Jessica enjoyed passing the puck back and forth with her dad.  I think Ethan is going to enjoy hockey one day too.  Yes I want to be a hockey mom...and we are lucky because our house is beside a huge ice arena...so it will be very handy.  I played hockey when I was little and really enjoyed it...and even though I don't skate that much anymore I am still not too bad on the ice (a little rusty of course)...I think skating is kind of like walking...once you learn how to do it you always remember.
     We ended up staying at the rink for about two hours...for the first hour Ethan fell asleep in the stroller...the ride on the ice was like a cradle rocking him to sleep...It was funny because we got him going pretty good on the ice...don't worry he was snuggly strapped in!!

sooooo precious

Jessie & Little E

Cousin Markus

For the last hour we played some ice games...and then had a snowball fight...Markus liked the snowball fight the best! Markus was funny because he would throw a snowball at his dad then run to Ethan for cover because he figured Joe wouldn't throw a snowball near Ethan...smart little guy.The weather today was beautiful (+4 and sunny) so the kids just loved it and didn't want to go home.  Ethan had the cutest rosy cheeks and runny nose and seemed to enjoy the ride on the ice when he woke up from his nap.

My brother Joe with Markus, Jessica & our little peanut

An angel on ice!

We love you & miss you babe, see you soon!

An Update on Ethan

This post is an Ethan update for my family...

           

            A week ago for the first time Ethan sat up with no support.  It was crazy because all of a sudden he wakes up after a nights sleep and could just do it.  Now that he has mastered the sit he is doing it all the time…but sadly on occasion he will do a nice face plant to the floor. When he falls over and loses his balance I fully expect to hear some crying but I must say Ethan is a strong little boy because he hasn’t cried yet.  I have to contain myself and try to not make a big deal of it even though my instinct is to pick him up and hug him better. 

            Another thing that Ethan loves to do is roll and crawl under couches or chairs (really anything that he can get under).  He started doing this a couple weeks ago at home...The first time it happened we were watching LOST while he was rolling around on the floor and all of a sudden Nate was like “where is Ethan”…we got up and saw his little smiling face sticking out from under our loveseat (his head wouldn’t fit under)…Nate and I thought it was hilarious.  It is now a common occurrence when he is on the floor…last night at my brothers house I left him on the living room carpet to roll and play while I was busy doing something and when I came back to check on him all I saw was the top of his head sticking out from under the couch (my brothers couch is high enough for his head to fit under).  I kept moving him from under the couch to the middle of the carpet but he kept going back.  It was so funny, it was like his own little fort and he was a happy little monkey so I gave up and just let him have some fun under the couch. 

            My brother has a Jolly Jumper that I attached to the doorway of his walk-in kitchen pantry. This works out well because it allows me to watch Ethan while I am cooking. The first time Ethan was in the Jolly Jumper he would look at the food in the pantry while he jumped away (lots to look at). The next time he was in the jumper he started to reach for the food in the pantry and now when he is in the jumper the food in the pantry is being pushed off the shelves right, left and centre.  I do my best to move the packaged and can foods up high and away from him but I have to tell ya I have a very determined baby.  He figured out that he could swing and grasp onto the shelf then he would reached as far as he could with the other hand (while grunting) to get yet another object to fall to the ground.  I thought it was so clever of him that I just watched with fascination at his smart little problem solving mind.

I took some pictures of Ethan with my brothers iPhone below...

You can hardly tell but he is in the Jolly Jumper here...the pantry is in the background

Wow he looks a lot like Nate in this picture

LOVE YOU & MISS YOU & SEE YOU SOON!

    

Deceptively Delicious

           So for the last couple of days I have been cooking & baking like a mad women. For some people this may not sound like a good time but I have to admit I thoroughly have enjoyed myself...I must be a chef at heart because I just LOVE to cook & bake! This particular cooking frenzy was inspired from watching Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah a little while ago promoting her cookbooks.  She uses vegetable purees in her cooking to "deceive" her children (and husband) into eating healthy wholesome foods. Anyhow I found one of her cookbooks titled "Deceptively Delicious" at my brothers and thought I would have some fun.  I enjoy cooking for my brother because he really appreciates healthy food and always compliments my cooking/baking. Also I like to spoil him a bit when I come to visit because he is such a good brother. I also thought it would be fun to see if I could “deceive” his kids into eating some healthy foods.  Anyways Jessica Seinfeld's system is really easy and all the recipes I tried are so good and nutritious.

This is the cookbook...Ethan was my helper!
His favorite part about our cooking frenzy was jumping in his jolly jumper while he intently watched me!

            Here’s what I did…I started my cooking fest by making up a bunch of purees (carrot, summer squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, red pepper & apple). ...super easy, I just steamed or baked the vegetables (don't boil as you lose a lot of nutrients in the water)...then I pureed them with a blender.  I made up extra puree to be used for future cooking and divided them up into 1/2 cup portions in zip lock bags. I labeled them and placed them in the freezer...easy as pie.

            So my cooking & baking spree yielded lean beef lasagna (with sweet potato & cauliflower puree) , lean beef chili (with red pepper & carrot puree…you could also puree the beans if your kids have a problem eating beans), chicken stew ( with cauliflower and sweet potato puree), home-style mac & cheese (with butternut squash puree), lean beef burgers (with cauliflower & carrot puree), chicken salad (with cauliflower and squash puree), banana bread (with butternut squash & cauliflower puree) and apple sauce muffins (with carrot puree).
            I went to IKEA and got some freezable containers and packaged all the dinner food away in appropriate adult and kid meal portions in the freezer.  I love doing this because it saves time and money when you don't feel like cooking or don't have the time to cook. This is how one side of my brother’s deep freezer looks now…



I labeled and dated the meals...

I packaged the burgers and mac & cheese in zip lock bags...I pre cooked the burgers...so much easier.

For thawing I find it easiest to take out the container in the morning and let it thaw on the counter...or for quick thawing I fill the sink with hot water and put container or bag in to thaw...You can always use the microwave but over time it will ruin the containers and I am always scared that the plastic will melt into the food.

HAPPY COOKING!

Love,  Aleccia