Would you believe it's officially Spring?
This morning we woke up to snow covered everything, and although the picture doesn't show it, it was still snowing lightly. After such nice weather the past week, it was weird to wake up to snow and cold temperatures. Of course it's all relative because those relatives reading this while sitting somewhere in Canada are not empathizing with me. However, those of you reading this while sitting somewhere in Hawaii...well, you're just happier than usual that you're in Hawaii.

I'm had a moment of feeling like Angie today!

I had made dinosaur grilled cheese sandwiches for Blade and while he was eating them, ironically there was a dinosaur program on TV!

Next is another catch up of what has been going on since my last posting.

Friday was Chay's last snowboarding had with the school program. Dave and I didn't give him a choice about doing the program this year and I'm glad we didn't (last year he decided he didn't want to go snowboarding) because he had a lot of fun and is excited about going snowboarding next season with Nicole. I told him that we would have to get them season passes before the season starts so that we can get a great price.

Since the weather was so nice last week and I was home during the day because it was my "call week", Blade and I went to the park a couple of times.

He really enjoyed playing in the sand and after the first trip (when he was able to borrow a shovel for a short time in the sand box), he "had" to have his own sand toys and we searched for the "right" sand toy. The first trip he had seen some kids sitting in the sand/water table and so the second time he had to do the same.

Apparently, Blade likes to pose from small openings...and stick out his tongue.

He also likes to go down slides head first...it kind of scares me but I made sure I was within reach at the bottom if I needed to "save" him. He's the daredevil, if he tries something and falls, runs into something or the execution isn't just right, he'll just get up, dust himself off and say, "I'll get it this time" and try again.

I tried to explain to Blade how a sundial worked and that it was what people used before watches and clocks but, he didn't believe me.

Chay found an inexpensive Nickelodeon Scene It game and it was so refreshing to see the kids playing well together.

(a rare Nicole siting...she is so busy with school, lacrosse, peer court, and friends that I don't get much time with her or pictures.)
However, last week end I did do something with/for her that I never thought I would ever be doing for Nicole. I was making "tutu"s (yes, tutus) for her and 3 of her friends! It was for Spirit Week at school. I still need to get a picture of Nicole in her tutu....

I found a double pack of "Silly Putty" for 79 cents and thought it would be a fun treat for the boys to experience something I played with as a child. And surprisingly, they had alot of fun with it.

I can't explain this next photo, I was not the photographer. It looks like a Chay-Blade operation.

A couple of weeks ago, we knew Blade was sick when he spent the week end just lying on his dog chair and not eating. Dave took him to our pediatrician (who is from Calgary and I've known since my BYU days working at the Student Health Center), and both Blade and Dave were treated for Strept.

It was a rough 10 days for Blade, Dave and me as Blade had to take an antibiotic twice a day. And according to Blade, this one was "yucky". It was a fight everytime except the last day. I started the final count down the day before the last day and so he was happy to be taking the final two doses.

I love my kids when they are sleeping! Ahhhhhhh....

Even in his sleep, Blade wants to be just like Nicole and Chay...

...last curtain call...

This year I have plans of doing what I can (on a limited budget) to make our home more presentable. I have finished the faux painting in the front part of the house AND the scaffolding has been removed, so that's one thing I can given myself credit for.

The next item on my agenda was to removed Nana's curtains that were stapled to Chay's windows and put something functionable up. I had this great idea to do something simple and spray adhesived fabric to some roller blinds.

In theory it sounded like a great idea...

The unfortunate part is that once I put the blinds up, the roller part of the blinds no longer worked. I'm concluding that it is because of the weight of the fabric but I don't know. I'm glad I checked them out before I did the third window. Now I'm wondering how I can use what I have to still make functioning curtains. Anyone with any suggestions? I'm wondering if roman shades will work or if the plastic backing will be too heavy. Thank goodness I got the fabric on sale at IKEA, only $1.99 a yard!

I'm enjoying everyone's blogging and am amazing at the talents and accomplishments of the family. Everyday life is so full of memories and growth that just seem to slip by and when I read the family blogs, it reiterates just how special every day is and how recording our lives for not just ourselves but others, can really bring people together.
So, another goal of mine is to capture "life" on film ( I guess that's old school, I would need to capture it on CDs,DVDs), along with journaling again on a regular basis.

Blade won't go to bed without me so I guess I better get him to bed since it's way past his bedtime and he has school tomorrow.

Requested recipes

NANAIMO BARS

Bottom Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup graham wafer crumbs
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Melt first 3 ingredients in the top of a double boiler. Add egg and vanilla, stir to cook and thicken.
Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 pan.

Second Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons cream or milk
2-2 1/2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or instant vanilla pudding powder
2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Third Layer

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 ounce each)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low hear. Cool. When cool, but still liquied, pour over the second layer and chill in refrigerator.


AND I'm too lazy to type out the recipe for the homemade samoas bars. SO check it out at Bakingbites.com (homemade girl scout cookies: Samoas Bars.

Not that this is appetizing but I have "liquid snot" running out of my nose and need to go find some medicine.

Good night

How I became twice the woman I use to be...and maintain my weight

Yes, it's true. I feel like I am truly twice the woman Dave married. I like to reinforce to people that it is NOT easy maintaining this weight of mine, it takes alot of work. And below are two examples of how I maintain my weight.

Nanaimo Bars!
The husband of a dear friend of mine had major surgery and when I asked what I could do to help them, my friend said that Nanaimo bars would surely make her husband feel better and help decrease her stress. Just before I left for the store to get three of the ingredients I was lacking up home, Sheila called and when I told her that I was going to make Nanaimo Bars, she said, "Wouldn't it be easier to just pick some up?" Well, I'm not in Canada any more, and I can't just go to Costco and pick some up. I actually have to make them from scratch because they are something that are Truly Canadian! They are so common, that Sheila and Darrell had no idea that they were a Canadian delicacy.

Next are something that are Truly American.

Samoas (at least a homemade bar version of the Girl Scout classic)

For my fellow Canadians, what do you think of when you think of Girl Scout cookies? The option of vanilla or chocolate wafer cookies right? Well, was I surprised when I experienced my first February down in the USA and a list and pictures of the Girl Scout cookies to preorder. My favorite is the Samoa, a donut shaped shortbread cookie topped with a layer of coconut and caramel topped with a drizzling of chocolate, and resting on a thin bed of chocolate. I have been known to order MANY boxes with plans to freeze them to enjoy throughout the year...they may freeze well, but they don't last throughout the year... (I don't know who gave me that idea)

Well, I found a recipe online and had to try it out. If I make them again, I would make alterations like halfing the shortbread portion because the layer was just too thick. Nicole said that it tasted like a Samoa but I found it to be lacking in flavor (maybe because of the excess cookie). But as I have discovered over the years, I need more seasoning/flavoring than I use to need to be satisfied but, I could feel the richness of the bars after eating one...okay, two.

Remember as a child creating suction with a cup and thinking how neat it was to have the cup stuck to your face...the longer the better? ...come on, I know I wasn't the only one...

Well, it's one of those things that doesn't get old with kids, it's a classic, like spinning around until you get dizzy, or jumping rope. Here's Blade with his marking. I'm just glad that he didn't leave it on so long that he had a "hickey".

Later I realized that a hickey would have been better than what Blade added to his face later in the day. While I was talking with Sheila last night, he was playing with a dining room chair and the chair flipped and his tooth met the inside of his lower lip...luckily it didn't cut through and there were no loose teeth, just alot of blood. But Blade is a tough boy and minutes later he was fine and ready to jump around again. The lip is abit swollen today but not too bad.

Something Canadian eh?

Did you know that Canadians like their potato pearls? I didn't but apparently they like them so much that a company down here packages them especially for the Canadians, notice the maple leaf AND the English/French wording. I haven't seen that for long time!

see...directions in French and English.

My friend Krissi brought them over yesterday because she knew that I would get a kick out of it. Her husband, Kevin, is a food broker and when he saw this at his company, he thought of me...of course. I have the greatest friends! And I do love potatoe pearls!

Here are the missing pictures.
I don't know why the pictures didn't show up the first time but now you will have to coordinate the pictures and comments yourself because that's just too much for me to do right now... sorry.

I won't flatter myself...

So, here is the picture of me scared to death and wondering how I am going to get over the railing...

...this is reality, nothing touched up here...

...and another view...

It doesn't look that high but, when I was standing up there it was definitely TOO high!

Chay is just playing around in the next shot earlier he had the same stance as Dave and was holding the plywood at the same time.

Another Blade injury earlier this past week end. Blade was doing his spinning around using up energy and unfortunately found out that the freezer handle on the fridge is the same level as his eye. Ouch! Alittle swelling and bruising occured later but, due to icing the area for a minimum of 10 minutes every hour and keeping the head elevated, the bruising and swelling was kept to a minimum.

Again, Blade is such a tough kid. He was right back at it later and his eye didn't even bother him. He cries for a few minutes and then he's off to do whatever a young boy needs to do. It's amazing, even if he gets hurt, it doesn't matter, he'll do the same thing again...like he says "I'll do it this time..."

If only I could be more like Blade. There's no such thing as failure, and you don't waste time thinking about what wasn't accomplished...you just do what you were trying to do before something annoying got in your way.