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!

I Can See You...

Once upon a time, there was a lovely girl named Jenn. Jenn went on an African adventure one day, to visit some people who loved Jesus. She got really loved on by the people who loved Jesus. They invited her into their homes, shared their food, laughed, cried, sang and prayed with her. They did all the things Jesus said to do to show love.

Just before it was time to come home, Jenn and her friends went on safari to see the animals. After a long morning, they stopped for breakfast by the river. Because they were in the middle of the African grasslands, her friends told her the only potty was a bush off to the side. She really needed to use the potty, so she went. But not by herself. This was the African wilderness, after all.

When Jenn and her friends were done, they noticed some of the boys pointing off in the distance in front of their potty bush. When they looked, this is what they saw:

No wonder Jenn didn't feel alone when she was using the potty bush.

More Things I Miss...

I just got back from a wonderful trip home to visit with dear friends. Our kids got to play together, I got some great girl time in, and all in all, had a fabulous time. Being home always reminds me of things I miss...some of these are repeats, but here's a list:



1. Friends and Family--girls, there's no one else I'd rather watch chick flicks with! Besides, how often do I get to do trumpet repairs in a liquor store parking lot?



2. The myriad of chocolate bars I can't seem to get here...Coffee Crisp, oh Coffee Crisp. Not to mention "real" Smarties. C'mon, Nestle, what's the deal?



3. Swiss Chalet. My lunch on Sunday filled a void deep within me for rotisserie chicken dipped in Chalet sauce. Oh, my gravy.



4. Corn Pops. Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but really. What is the deal with different Corn Pops?



5. Ok, so obviously I miss food...I'll combine the rest into Number 5: Tim Horton's (technically now available in the US, but nowhere near me...sad...) Harvey's and Loblaw's. Perhaps it's silly to miss a grocery chain, but I do. I really do.

6. The big sky. I'm not sure why, but I'm convinced the sky is bigger and higher up in Canada.

7. Sports shows that feature hockey even in summer.

8. Other people who know the tune to The Log Driver's Waltz.

9. Signs and packaging in two languages.

10. Not needing to explain "The Briefcase", or any other silly story from high school, but explaining anyway for the benefit of our poor husbands, and the chance to laugh about it all over again.

Reasons to Not Cook

The title of this post is probably a little misleading--I actually enjoy cooking. One of the reasons I was glad to be done with the show was to be able to cook dinner for my family, and eat it together!

Evidently, I forgot a few things during my hiatus from chef-dom. Mainly, I forgot how to put things into, and take them out of the oven safely. I have two huge burns on my arm, from two separate meals. Does anyone know if oven gloves exist that will cover me up to my elbows? I think that might offer me just enough protection. Perhaps I should just rig myself up in full firefighter gear. I'll have to check with the in laws on that.

I'd love to take a picture to show you the extent of my clumsiness, but my camera has officially died. Kaput. No workie no more. So you'll just have to take my word for it--they're lovely burns. Blistery, red, owie burns. (Boo-urns. Literally.)

So, while I'm camera-less for a while, until I dig up some moola to go buy me a fancy new one, I AM the proud new owner of a video camera. Whether or not you see video posts will entirely depend on my skill as a camera woman, and my ability to upload to the computer. Hmmm..this could take awhile.

Grab a Shoe, Preferrably Someone Else's: Scary Ew Bugs

I've been wanted to do another edition of this for a while now. I have a very special bug, close to my heart (thankfully, not literally) that I've been wanting to feature. You would not believe the difficulty I've had in getting the picture. It's just on the computer in my studio, yet getting it off has become a project.



Instead, I give you the Scary Ew Bug. For the longest time we didn't know the actual name of this nasty thing, so my dear friends dubbed them Scary Ew Bugs. Picture this: a younger me, arriving to visit my best friends during a college break. Winter, I think. I arrive on a bus, late at night, and it's around 3 am by the time we get to their apartment in a beautiful old home. I go into the bathroom to get into my jammies, and at some point, the nastiest, grossest bug I had ever seen (up until then) goes running under the pile of clothes I had on the floor. You can imagine the jumping and screaming that went on, as I ran to get Bev. (Steph, I think you were already sleeping. Smart girl.) Bev nodded wisely, and told me it was very likely a Scary Ew Bug I had just seen.



Thanks to this site, (which also is where I got the photo) we now know that they're not actually called Scary Ew Bugs, but rather Scutigera coleoptrata, or house centipede. They'll always be Scary Ew Bugs to me.

Lazy Days of Summer...ish

Today's the perfect summer day for me, in that it actually feels like fall. I love cooler days with a breeze--still warm enough for shorts, but I can go for a run without feeling like I'm melting in the heat.

The relaxing weather fits life right now. We finished the musical on Sunday. I'm sad to see it over, because it was so much fun, and I already miss all my new friends. (Angels, if you're reading this--Applebee's soon, right?) However, it's SOOOO nice to just have a quiet evening to ourselves, to finally get caught up on housework (I attacked the kitchen yesterday, and today the bathroom gets it!) and just have that overall sense of peace that was lacking in all the show frenzy. Even Wiggle Man is more relaxed...well, as relaxed as he gets. Right now he's licking his baby touch n' feel book. I guess he needs a break from wrestling his stuffed Eeyore.

I actually get to cook dinners this week, instead of eating Wawa goodies in the car on the way to rehearsal. We're going to eat real food, at a real table. At least, that's the plan.

I also have big plans to actually find the spare battery to my camera, or at least find the charger so I can charge the dead one. Maybe then I'll get some pictures back up here.

So, I'm off to enjoy real life again for a bit. And if I can pry his face off of his book, spend some time with my kid!

I Forgot to Title This...That's How Crazy It Is Here!

Sorry I haven't posted in a week--it's been absolutely insane here. Good insane. Fun insane. But insane nonetheless. It's been a week of family gatherings, which are always fun and always food-filled.

We're also in our last week of rehearsals for Children of Eden, which means late nights. Thankfully Wiggle Man has been sleeping well this week, or I might look like The Angel of Wrath rather than The Angel of Forgiveness, which is my part in the production. I learned last night it's very hard to look powerfully angelic for 3.5 hours.

I also had the somewhat discouraging experience of bridesmaid dress shopping yesterday. Don't misunderstand me--I love being a bridesmaid. I love the dresses we're considering, which not always a given, as many of you know. I'm not complaining about the cost--they're pretty reasonable for the dresses we're getting. Even the colour is beautiful.

The problem? Bridesmaids dress makers have an elaborate plot to make me feel fat. The size dress I will have to buy is TEN sizes bigger than my actual dress size. Now, I knew this going in. I've done this four times before, for heaven's sake. Only once have I ever had a bridesmaid dress that was my actual dress size. Every other one has been 8-10 sizes bigger than my actual size. Does anyone know why this is necessary?

At any rate, we consoled ourselves in true female fashion by going out to lunch. And not ordering the salad.