Nutmeg and Cinnamon

I love this thing.



Fall would be so tedious without my apple peeler/corer/slicer. Before this lovely invention, I had to do all this by hand. The horror.

Even with a broken handle (the repair, by the way, will be a boy job) I whizzed through those apples to get to the good part: dark brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. This was the first time I've grated my own nutmeg and cinnamon. It was a little extra work, but worth it.

There you have it: my first apple pie of the season. Inspired by Julie, whose blog you definitely need to check out. We went to college together, so I can tell you that as cool as she seems in her blog, she's just as sweet and cool in real life.

Blindsided

Just when you think you have them all figured out: they become toddlers.

All afternoon, I was in Supermom Mode. I was sooooo proud of myself: I had a plan. A plan to get Wiggle Man to eat something other than beurre. Or animal crackers. I was going to get him to eat vegetables and fruit. In a single sitting. And he was going to enjoy it so much, he wouldn't even realise it was good for him.

This plan might have worked, had it not been for the terrible unpredictability of the two year-old (or almost two year-old) set.

I made mini pizzas on whole wheat crusts, cut up the veggies very, very small and covered them with cheese. Then I made us fruit smoothies. Brilliant, yes?

No.

Wiggle Man sat in his high chair for...I lost track of time, but for a ridiculous amount of time, refusing to eat. Smoothies and pizza. I would have killed for smoothies and pizza as a kid. I certainly would not have sat stubbornly at the table, refusing smoothies and pizza. Now did I refuse potatoes? Yes. Pork chops? Yes. Meatloaf? Heck yes. But pizza? Are you kidding me?

To top it off, while typing this I had to tell Wiggle Man not to eat the goldfish crackers. Out of the trash. They were soggy from sitting in the rain for two days. Apparently garbage is preferable to mini pizzas and smoothies.

I have a feeling two is going to be a fuuuunnnnnn age.

Taste of Summer

Dessert tonight took me back. A thousand memories of summers past came flooding in. Memories of dinner at Grandma's, dinner with friends in my college apartment over the summers, and the nights I wasn't sure if I wanted to cook, and just took a spoon to half a melon.


Yes, a melon.

Cantaloupe, specifically.

Nothing says summer to me like a good, fresh, cantaloupe.

I treated myself to a ginormous fruit cup from the local farmer's market. By the time I thought to take the picture, I'd already eaten the strawberries off the top.

As much as this absolutely made my dinner, Hubba Hubba is not a fan of the cantaloupe. This:

totally grosses him out. He thinks it tastes rotten. Literally, rotten. Can you imagine?

Presenting....The Cake

Drum roll, please.



I didn't get a good shot of a slice showing all the gooey filling, since my "birthday girl" piece was an end piece with all the icing.

So imagine all that chocolate buttercream covering yellow cake with actual fudge marbled in (not just chocolate cake--fudge, people) and two fillings: strawberry, and a chocolate custard filling.

Do you understand the importance of the countdown now?

This is why I jog, friends. Because I get this excited over food.

In other news, I did not get the one thing I asked Wiggle Man to give me for my birthday--the word "Mommy." No, his ever-growing vocabulary, which includes "cake" (he means pancakes, not the sugary goodness pictured above), and "Pop" (meaning Pop-Pop, or yogurt pop, depending on the context), still does not include Mommy.

I did get a sweet Willow Tree, though, and the faceless boy and his faceless mommy look remarkably like my Wiggle Man and me, so I'm happy.

Blueberry Banana Pops

What kid doesn't love popsicles in the summer heat? I wasn't super excited about the amount of sugar and additives in store-bought popsicles, so I looked for some recipes online.




Most of the recipes I found had sugar, or called for straining out the skins on the blueberries. Since so much of the good stuff is in those skins, I came up with my own (much simpler) version.





Add the following to a blender:

8 oz plain yogurt
1 banana
A handful or two of blueberries
A squirt or two of honey

Blend everything up, and pour into popsicle molds. (You'll get about four regular sized popsicles.)

After that, it's just a matter of chasing your child around the house with paper towels to catch all the drips!

My First Recipe Post

I don't think I've ever posted recipes before, but with some of the new things I'm trying, I thought--why not share?

I feel like I've been dieting since Wiggle Man was born, with little success. I really didn't have so much of a problem with weight gain while pregnant--it was weaning him onto a bottle that killed me. Or rather, my waistline.

I tried going back to jogging, but something has gone terribly wrong with my foot, and I can hardly get down the road without extreme pain. I tried limiting what I ate. I tried SlimFast. I've tried various workout programs. Everything has worked a little--nothing significant, though.

So, I've decided to change my thinking a little bit. Instead of focusing on shrinking my waistline, I'm going to spend my time thinking about keeping me and my family healthy. If I get smaller as a result--fabulous. If not, well, that's ok, too.

So, besides making sure that Wiggle Man (and Mommy) spend lots of time playing outside, I've started introducing some healthier recipes to our menu.

Steel Cut Oats

I've been turned on to these thanks to MckMama, who often shares her healthy recipes. I like the texture of these better than regular oatmeal. I love these with some light granola on top (I like Bear Naked Fit ) with some honey drizzled on top.

Veggie Couscous

While this is a form of pasta, it's super yummy and filling, and a great way to sneak in some veggies. I cook the couscous according to the package directions. (Chicken broth makes a great substitute for water.) While the couscous is cooking, I saute up some veggies in olive oil. You could use whatever you have on hand--I like broccoli and sweet red peppers. Stir it all together, and you've got a great side dish, or (in my case) a big bowl of dinner.

Turkey Burgers

You might be thinking you don't like turkey burgers. Use regular ground turkey. There is no point using 99% lean ground turkey if it's going to make a burger so dry that you'll never eat another turkey burger. I like to add rosemary (chopped, so your husband doesn't ask what "those twig thingies" are) shredded apples, onion flakes (I hate chopping onions--they're evil) and salt and pepper.

Hubba Hubba tells me they don't grill as well as regular burgers. You can try drizzling them in olive oil, or doing these in a pan on the stove.

Put those babies on a whole wheat roll with some pickles, and you're good to go.

I'm also trying to use honey more often as a sweetener (it's sweeter than sugar, so you can use less). I stir flax seed into our yogurt and applesauce, and try to snack more on nuts. These are my baby steps to keeping my family healthier. There's a lot more I'd like to do, but I'm starting with small changes.

Baby steps. Turkey burgers today, whole organic foods tomorrow. Or next year.

A Classic Who-Dunnit

Ladies and gentlemen of the court, a monstrosity has been committed. In my very own home. Pictured below you will see what the Easter Bunny...er...my parents brought me for Easter. A dozen Cadbury Eggs. Most were of the traditional cream variety, although some were caramel. Yes, they're in a ceramic egg holder--that was the other part of my gift.

To date I have eaten three (3) of my treasured Cadbury eggs. Now, I'm no whiz at math, but I believe that should leave a total of nine (9) eggs remaining. If you'll look carefully at the picture below, you will notice that only eight (8!!!!!!!) eggs pictured.

I believe that this crime was committed sometime yesterday...possibly late in the evening. Possibly when someone was feeling snackerly. (No, that someone was not me.)

I have my theories, friends. I have my suspicions. I will need further evidence before I can fully make my case. But I assure you, ladies and gentlemen of the court, that once my case is solid, the perpetrator will be presented to you for your judgement.

Lastly, I'd like to show you the multi-lingual aspect of my Cadbury eggs:

More Than Just Poutine

It's fun to post about things that are different here in America-Land. People often ask me if it's really different being down here, as opposed to the True North Strong And Free (TNSAF). These people are usually Americans. (Please remember--I'm married to an American. I like you guys.)

There are lots of things that are different. Uni-coloured money, for instance--it took me years to get the hang of looking in the corner for the denomination, rather than just memorizing colours. I can't tell you how many times I gave a cashier a one-dollar bill, thinking it was a twenty. (Twenties are green in Canada. You look in your wallet, see blue, green and purple, and you know you have 35 dollars.)

And then there's Fahrenheit. A few years ago I was finally able to stop subtracting 30 and dividing by two to get an idea of how cold it would be. Or not cold. You see my point.

One of the most bizarre things that's different down here is the Corn Pops. I've never understood why Corn Pops have to be different. What's worse is that the ones down here are...um...not good. My apologies if you're a fan of American Corn Pops. But seriously, there's something weird about the shape. And don't even get me started about the texture.

Here's what Corn Pops should look like:

This picture was originally for photographic purposes only. I've not been feeling the greatest today, so I had cereal for breakfast and lunch. I had every intention of simply pouring this back into the box.

I ate it.

It was good.

I Want My Caramels.

This morning I went to the farmers market, and boy, did I find some yummy snacks.

I want to eat all of them right now. Just typing about them is making me want to go eat them.

I want caramels. And whoopie pies. And cheese.

Oh, and healthy stuff too. I bought some produce, and dairy fresh milk.

I just don't want to eat any of that stuff.

Free Today, Dishes Tomorrow

UPDATED!!

I wanted to clarify something. Since Hubba Hubba himself misunderstood my post (and he knows me best) I figured many of you might have, as well. I did not mean to imply that Hubba Hubba didn't get anything done while I was away--chasing after Wiggle Man is hard work, people! I was merely highlighting the trade-off I made: tubing yesterday, dishes today.

Incidentally, I came downstairs to find Hubba Hubba unloading the dishwasher in preparation to load the dishes in the sink. He's taken, ladies!

ORIGINAL POST:

I consider myself very lucky to have the husband I do. I want to say that off the bat. He's great. He stayed home with Wiggle Man yesterday so I could go snow tubing with my brother-in-law and sisters-in law. (I have to qualify that it's snow tubing so that my southern readers don't picture us floating down a river. Which is also fun. This just involved snow and boots.)

But nothing comes free.

That last bowl was sullied to make Muddy Buddies. If you haven't made 'em, you need to. I'd share, but we don't have any left. We ate them all on the drive up to the mountains. I might need to make more.

I Ate Some Birthday Cake Yesterday

My own, actually. That's only remotely blog-worthy because my birthday was in the summer.

The cake Hubba Hubba procured for me was my all-time favourite--a yummy marble cake with the best butter cream icing ever. What makes it so yummy is that the marble cake isn't just chocolate and yellow cakes marbled together. It's yellow cake with actual fudge swirled in.

Naturally, I wasn't about to let any of this deliciousness go to waste. So when my party was over, and I'd had my fill of cake, I wrapped up a dozen or so indiviual slices and froze them.

After last night, I have one piece left.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

I actually like rainy, cloudy days. I always have. I like the feel of comfy jeans and a sweater against the wind. I like having a cup of tea while the rain patters on the window. It makes me want to bake, which I won't do. I still have a batch of blueberry tarts that didn't get eaten at last night's worship team rehearsal. I don't understand it--what could be better than your very own mini blueberry pie? Not to mention the crumb topping. But alas, only a few were enjoyed. Oh well--more for me and my family!

Do you know what else is good on a cool, cloudy fall day? Homemade bread. Now that I may have to bake. There is nothing like a slice of homemade bread, fresh from the oven, with some jam. Not to mention the delicious smell that permeates the whole house. I may bake some for the smell factor alone. Between that and the lingering blueberry tart smells, I may eradicate the odeur de burnt garlic bread from my sister-in-law's tragedy with our ridiculous oven Sunday night.

Just a reminder--you can still submit guesses for my Secret Announcement contest here. Just leave a comment on yesterday's post with your guess as to what my Secret Announcement is. I won't post comments that have guesses in them--so no one can steal your guess! Feel free to submit more than one guess--I'll pick the first person to get the closest. The contest closes Wednesday sometime around noon. Ish.

Not Me! Monday Time

Well, readers, it's been a few days since I posted. I hope you missed me. :) After a crazy weekend, I'm proud to present my edition of Not Me! Monday. For the original (and best) Not Me! Monday blog, check out MckMama. If you're still craving more NM!M fun, she has links to other blogs joining in the fun.

This week:

I did not sleep in way too often, rather than get up and work out.

I did not sit idly by while Wiggle Man mooched second breakfasts of Hubba Hubba and Auntie, even though I'd already fed him breakfast. What kind of mother lets her kid eat two breakfasts?

I did not give in and give Wiggle Man yogurt even though he'd already had one that day, just because he was pointing frantically at the fridge and I didn't feel like arguing. No, I maintain consistency between what I say and what I do. Boundaries, friends. Children need boundaries.

I did not spend yesterday on the couch with a blanket and snacks watching the Phillies and Eagles games, simply because I felt 'weird.'

I did not then have to rapidly finish lesson plans and grades for my substitute job before friends came over because I'd procrastinated all afternoon due to the aforementioned 'weirdness.'

I did not drink a glass of wine before bed over the weekend in the hopes it would help me sleep. (In my defense, it was Hubba Hubba's idea. And it didn't work.)

I have not been having trouble sleeping because my brain will not shut down, but rather thinks through a million different scenarios related to a big announcement coming up in the next two weeks. (Remember, it's not a baby. That's all I'll say for now.)

I do not bake for worship team rehearsals just for an excuse to bake treats.

I will not be trying this butter tart recipe for the same reason. Nor do I drool at the picture of the Joy Of Baking website.

I did not drink an inordinate amount of Diet Pepsi this weekend simply because the cans were in the fridge and I was too lazy to pour a glass of water.

I am not excited about adding those Pepsi Stuff points to my account.

I did not take Wiggle Man out without shoes or socks this morning because I feel like going upstairs to get them.

There you have them--things that I did not do this week. If only I could remember what I actually did do...just kidding.

Rock Stars and Worshippers

Last night was my first official night "on the job." You may remember I've started a new part-time job at a local church as their contemporary worship leader. I'll admit I felt a little apprehensive going into that first rehearsal. Even though I knew many on the team from the year Hubba Hubba spent interning at that church, there was still that unknown factor. How would we fit together as a team? How would they handle new leadership? My leadership?

I'm a firm believer that baked goods can pave the way for good relationships. A little old fashioned maybe, it's somewhat along the lines of bringing a pie to the new neighbours. So, I baked my favourite brownie recipe. (Any excuse to bake brownies, really...I love brownie batter. Or cookie batter, for that matter. Cake batter's good, too. You get the point.)

Armed with fresh out of the oven brownies and a plan to spend the beginning of rehearsal chatting about what worship means, off I went.

Being a worship leader is an odd thing, sometimes. You're the one up front, singing the songs, and your mic is the loudest. Naturally, people look at you the most. For some people, that may be part of the appeal, I don't know.

I tend to think there's a difference between being a rock star, and being a worship leader. (Besides the metallic shirts, tight jeans and pyrotechnics, of course.) The difference isn't training, or skill levels. Sound checks are just as important. Good equipment is just as important. I would even argue that talent is important.

Don't get me wrong here, friends. I think God uses, and blesses, the best we give Him. Whatever our 'best' may be. But I think He wants and deserves our best. That's the key difference between a rock star and me--my heart. The reason I do what I do needs to be love for my Lord. That love is what should motivate me to practise, to hone my skills, to choose the best equipment, and do whatever else is necessary to give Him by best. My all. Not a love for music, or performing, or anything else. Love for Jesus.

That's the gist of what I shared with my team last night. I hope they were as blessed by our time together as I was. And if they weren't--at least they got brownies.

My Apologies!

Bad Blogger. *Slap on my wrist.*

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've written anything. I'd plead that I have such a busy life, but that's silly. Many of you are busier than I, and manage to blog daily...I wallow in my own shame.

Alright, I feel better.

Since my last post, I've had:

*My parents visit.

*Wiggle Man's Birthday Party!!!

*An inteview about a possible part-time position for me (more on that to come!)

*Wiggle Man's 12 month appointment.

*Another day of subbing for me...exhausting, but fun.

*One very relaxing night...except for the part about the Phillies losing. Bad.

Some of you know my love affair with The Sneaky Chef. Well, since Wiggle Man doesn't eat much sugar, he got Sneaky Chef cupcakes for his birthday, complete with Sneaky Chef icing. They turned out pretty well--my beloved has been eating the leftovers all week!




The bears, I can't take credit for. I'd like to, really. But they're simply silicone cupcake cups, with the bear faces, arms and legs attached. Adorable. Super easy. One problem--there's a lingering dish soap taste near the bottom of the cupcakes. I rinse them like crazy, seriously. Is this a silicone thing? A dish soap thing? Help!

While You Were Sleeping

When you were a kid, did you ever wonder what your Mom did while you were napping? To this day, the theme music to The Young and The Restless makes me feel it's nap time. Apparently my afternoon nap coincided with that show.


When I put Wiggle Man down for his nap, I usually tell him not to worry. Mommy won't be doing anything fun while he's sleeping. But in case he wonders, and happens to be a regular Poutine reader, here's what I did during his nap (so far, anyway):


1. Showered, since I didn't get that in before he woke up this morning.


2. Caught on on email, Facebook, and read the blogs I follow.


3. Did this:



4. Snacked on a Sneaky Chef brownie or two (I mean, they have blueberries and spinach in them...not a bad morning snack, right? Ahem.)

5. Finished this:

Not bad for a nap's worth of work--and Wiggle Man isn't even up yet! (A dangerous statement to make, I know.)

In case it's not blatantly obvious what I've been doing with my time, that's homemade Play Dough. I need it for a lesson I'm teaching tomorrow at the school, but it will also come in handy amusing Wiggle Man. At least, that's the plan.

If you're looking for an easy recipe to make your own Play Dough, I got this from TeachNet.com. It's pretty easy, and if your kid likes to eat things like mine, you might feel better knowing it's edible. Ish. And check out The Sneaky Chef--I love her stuff!

Food Hangovers

Can someone tell me if "food hangover" is an official term? Because if not, it needs to be. That is totally what I experienced this morning. Now, let me be clear--I've never had an actual hangover, being pure as the driven snow like I am. Ahem. But from what I've seen on sitcoms (a wealth of sociological study there) my symptoms were similar. That general, overall gross feeling, headache, aversion to food...no light sensitivity, though.

Let me paint you a picture of my wild and crazy night. We had another rehearsal for Children of Eden. The show is finally starting to come together in bits and pieces. A bunch of us went out for wings after rehearsal, to celebrate my birthday. I'm not sure if it was the wings that did it, or the fries, or the chocolate cake they made me order, so they could sing to me. We closed the place down, and stuffed, we stumbled to our cars.

That leads us back to this morning, and my food hangover. Of course, it was all worth it. Teriyaki wings and chocolate cake are always worth any next morning queasiness.

Guilty Pleasures

We all have 'em. I probably have more than my share, but meh. Then I thought, hey...if you tell everyone your guilty pleasures, they're not so guilty anymore. Confession is good for the soul. I started thinking about this the other day when Hubba Hubba noticed I was watching Reba. I used to watch it because when you don't have cable, it's Reba or Oprah at 4 pm. I pick Reba. But the more I watch it, the more hilarious it is. In fact, even Hubba Hubba laughed out loud at some of those crazy Hart family antics.

Napping during the day is another fabulous thing to do when Wiggle Man lets me. Ditto for reading. Alright, anything that isn't housework is great to do in the afternoon! Watching several episodes of Friends in a row may seem like a waste of time, but it's an indulgent waste of time. Actually, it comes in quite handy when you're playing Scene It! Friends edition.

Chocolate is a whole category of guilty pleasure. My current favourite is dark chocolate covered peanuts. In fact, there's a bag on the computer desk right now. They constituted "lunch" when I added some cherries. With a big glass of water for my health.

I could go on and on, but I'm going to go be productive, and practice my stuff for Children of Eden, our family's current obsession. (Wiggle Man and Hubba Hubba will both be in the show, so it really is a family affair.) If you're local, talk to me about tickets!

Cheerios and Diet Pepsi

Some of you may know we're down in Tennessee working with Habitat for Humanity on a house this week. My job, since we have our sweet baby with us, is to help a local youth group run a VBS with the neighbourhood kids while the others work on the house. It's really exciting to see a neighbourhood come together like that. Hubba Hubba came down last summer while I was el preggo to work on a house, and the woman that now lives in that house was helping them work today on her neighbour's house! It's things like that that make me smile.

I came back to our rooms after the VBS to put Wiggle Man down, and realised I had nothing to eat for lunch! (The Babe was cranky, so I left before lunch arrived at the work site.) I've been sitting here munching on Cheerios and Diet Pepsi, which is all I had in the room. Thankfully, Hubba Hubba just called to tell me someone would bring me lunch! Yum.

I'm loving the southern hospitality down here. And the accents! I love hearing "y'all" and "shoot"--it's so cool. I'm afraid I'll have picked it up by the time we leave....and there's nothing stranger than a Canadian saying "y'all come back, eh?"

During my Cheerio feast, I got caught up on reading some of my blogs, and Amanda is doing a giveaway to celebrate her 50th post! Congrats, Amanda! Click here to check out her blog, and get entered in her giveaway.

Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day! Yes, for my American friends and family, it's pretty much just like July 4th, only 3 days earlier and minus the blue in the decorations. Family barbeques ("grilling" for the Yanks) and fireworks, and of course, beer. I'm always reminded of fireworks at Uncle Bob's when we were kids, fighting over whose school the "Burning Schoolhouse" would be that year.

Being a stranger in a strange land, I like to remind everyone I'm an alien. So I do my toes:

And, I also dress up my toys:

When Wiggle Man wakes up from his nap, I'll likely dress him up, too. He has a collection of Roots t-shirts with beavers on them, courtesy of his loving aunties.