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  :)