Weekends

I love weekends - the only thing I dislike about them is how quickly they go by.  This weekend we went to Home Depot for their monthly kids' workshop. Noah loves going "bang bang bang" with his grandad :)
So far we have made a picture frame, a heart shaped shelf, a shelf for organizing batteries (something every 2 year old needs) and a race car. Home Depot offers these free worshops once a month, and if you haven't been yet you should definitely try it out.  Free and fun? Sign us up!  :) 

Elisabeth Rohm recently blogged about her favourite children's books.  She suggested many books that I had never heard of, along with some that I already know and love. Noah's bookcase is already full of books, but since I am always on the hunt for fun new books I ordered 3 of the books that she suggested, and they are   all great :)                

                                                                                                                                    

Dinosaur vs Bedtime  is a fun yet simple story with bright and bold illustrations. It's not too wordy, which I sometimes like for my busy boy.  Noah and I love to roar along with Dinosaur throughout the book.  We  liked it so much I ordered Dinosaur vs the Potty a week  later :)    

Since my husband is a big Elvis Presley fan Ten Little Elvi  was an easy choice.  A fun little counting book with great illustrations, it is best read while using your best Elvis impersonator voice :) Throughout the book the author makes references to popular Elvis songs, so we usually wind up having a mini-concert in his bedroom every time we read it :)                                             

Finally, I just had to order Tickle Monster - I ordered the boxed set that comes with the Tickle Monster book and the Tickle Mitts. I have yet to wear the tickle mitts, because Noah absolutely has to wear them every time we pull out the book :) The story is very cute, although a little long for my busy toddler.  He's usually too busy having fun with the Tickle Mitts to pay much attention to the story, but I am certain that as he grows older and developes a better attention span it will become one of our favourite stories, because it really is adorable. Happy reading!




 



Cara's Cookies

When my sister and I were little our neighbour Cara used to babysit us.  She used to make us these cookies, which became a family favourite.  Today in Montreal it was a yucky, rainy day. A perfect day for Noah and I to stay in our pj's all day, and a perfect day to make some yummy cookies.  Noah loves helping me in the kitchen.  He pours the measured ingredients into the mixing bowl, he cracks the eggs for me, he helps me stir the mixture. His favourite thing to do, of course, is sampling the ingredients - today, it was the Rice Krispies :)  I hope your family enjoys Cara's Cookies as much as ours does :)

Cara's Cookies

* 1 1/4 cup flour
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
* 2 cups Rice Krispies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the 3 first ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
Cream  together the sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg  with an electric mixer and add to the already mixed dry ingredients.  Once that is all blended together, add the raisins, chocolate chips, and Rice Krispies (at this point you will have to mix with your hands).  Form cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a parchement paper lined cookie sheet,  about 2 inches apart, flattening each one just slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges become golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Makes approx. 3 1/2 dozen cookies.  Enjoy!

March Break Continued

It has been a busy week, and it's going by way too fast ... I wish it would never end :)  Some plans have worked out, others not so much.  We had to skip the Aquadome because of Noah's runny nose, and decided to go skating instead. Unfortunately the previous day's weather had made a mess of the ice so that didn't quite work out either. Good thing the local pizzeria didn't disappoint - the yummy pizza managed to help the kids forget about our plans that hadn't quite worked out. We also went bowling,  I thought it would be a great family activity. Oops ;) Needless to say it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would  ...  bowling, it turns out, can be kind of challenging for a busy 2 year old. Taking turns, staying in your lane, not running after the ball ... yikes, how did I not think of any of these things?   Noah was a handful, of course, but he had fun and that's what really matters, right?  :) 

More Soup

Today we had leek and potato soup for supper. The first time I made it I was sure the kids wouldn't be impressed ... but to my surprise they really like it, even ask for seconds. Yay :) Anything that has them actually liking vegetables is ok by me.  This isn't really much of a recipe, but here goes:

*Melt a big pat of butter in a pot over medium heat.
*Add one chopped onion
*Wash and slice one bunch of leeks (my bunch had 3 of them) and add to the pot
* Wash, peel, and cube potatoes (I put 3 regular potatoes and 1 sweet potato this time) and add to the pot
* Let all this heat up for as bit, stirring frequently so that it doesn't stick
* Add enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil
*Lower heat and simmer, covered,  until all the veggies are nice and soft
*Using a hand mixer blend until smooth, thinning mixture with milk and some more chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste.

We had our soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on the side. It wasn't fancy but we all liked it :)

Just a note about my pictures ... I got a new camera at Christmas and am still getting used to it, so please bear with me.  Also, please don't judge me by my mismatched dishes  - the dishwasher was full  :)    

Italian Wedding Soup

I love soup. Next to desserts I think it might very well be my favorite food "category".  French onion soup, my mom's pea soup, chicken noodle soup, beef and barley soup, ... , on a cold day there is nothing that tastes quite as good as a nice hot bowl of soup.  Tonight I made Italian Wedding soup, which is a favorite in our house. Even the kids like it, not minding the spinach and carrots that can easily be spotted floating around in it.  It's easy to make too, which is a plus in this busy household. The only thing that does take a bit of time is rolling the little meatballs - when Giuliana is home I get her to help me with that job :) Here is the recipe, which I got here , along with the few changes I made to it.

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef

* 1 egg, lightly beaten

* 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

* 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

* 5 3/4 cups chicken broth

* 2 cups chopped spinach 

* 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

* 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot

I usually double the recipe, since there are five of us the original recipe, which serves 4, just doesn't cut it, especially since we all usually go back for seconds :) 

1. In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into 3/4 inch balls.  Brown the little meatballs in a frying pan and set aside.
2. In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in spinach, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving.

 

Finally, before I call it a night, here is another book recommendation from Noah and I :)

Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill and Charles Fuge is such a cute book. Both the illustration and story are absolutely adorable.  There are more Little Wombat books, but this one is definitely our favourite. The others just don't have the same charm that this one does.  I love the rhythm and rhyme of it, you can almost sing it to your little one.  I love the illustrations, and all the adorable animals that are in it. I especially love how Little Wombat reminds me so very much of my busy little Noah.  We bought this one as a board book but also have The Adventures of Little Wombat which has this story along  with  three other Little Wombat tales. I would highly recommend either one, your little ones are sure to fall in love with Little Wombat just as we have :)

March break

Noah and I have our March Break this week and I plan to make the most of it. I miss being at home with him and miss all the fun activities we used to do together so we are going to take full advantage of our week off. Today we went to Le Musee des Enfants, a wonderful museum where kids gets to explore all kinds of different trades and professions. While we were there Noah got to be a fisherman, a police officer, a construction worker, a fireman, an astronaut, a pilot, a farmer, a grocer, a vet, a cook, a teacher, a rockstar ... the list goes on and on! It was so much fun - I highly recommend you take your little ones for a visit, you won't regret it :)

Trying Something New

My mom blogs, my friends blog, so here I am, trying something new :)
Stay tuned for stories about my busy toddler Noah, book reviews, and I'll surely throw in a few recipes too.

I'll kick things off with a book review :)

Leonardo The Terrible Monster by Mo Willems is a wonderful book.  Not only is the story both funny and touching, the artwork is also fanstastic.  We have read other Mo Willems books, he never disappoints.  My easily distracted toddler loves hearing this story (even though I know he doesn't fully understand it!). He loves looking at the pictures,  and eagerly listens to the story.  Mo Willems writes wonderfully:  this book entertains both Noah and I, and hopefully teaches him a few lessons about how to be a good friend.
That's a pretty good combination if you ask me :)