Wet Pants, Tea, Poutines a trou

Wet Pants

The weather is turning nice here and C Monster is loving it. Today when we arrived home from a morning at our friend Ella's house C Monster wanted to stay outside and enjoy the warm weather. While he played with the snow, jumped in puddles and discovered that snow disappears when you place it in water; I had a chance to clean up a bit and take down the Christmas lights (yes we are guilty of having lights still up 2 months after the holiday). While I had my back turned to him C Monster decided to discover what happens if you sit on the snow he placed in the puddle....

Tea

Flavor of the night - Quangzou Milk Oolong from The Tea Emporium. This tea is very unique and the leaves almost smell like milk.

Poutines a trou

After supper tonight me sweet tooth wanted something - originally I was going to make an apple crisp I don't know why I changed my mind an made Poutines a trou. Poutines a trou is a traditional Acadien desert. It turned out pretty much like what I remember Poutines a trou to taste like. Basically it's apples, raisins and cranberries wrapped up in a pastry dough; you serve the final pastries with sugar syrup. The recipe I followed is from "La Cusine Traditionnelle en Acadie" - as always I changed a few things:

Dough
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons panela
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup whole milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add milk slowly. Divide dough in 12 balls and set aside.

Filling
4 Apples peeled and diced
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup fresh cranberries (or 1/4 cup dried)

Combine ingredients, set aside. Role out dough balls until they are approximately 5" in diameter; place scoop of filling in the middle. Close dough by pinching together (use milk to help the dough stick), place in baking dish closed side down. Make a 1/2" hole in the top of each ball. Bake in 375F oven for45 to 50 minutes.

Syrup
1/2 cup panela
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup water

While poutines are cooking make sauce. Combine all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Serve poutines hot or cold with 2 tablespoons of syrup poured in the hole.

Cupcakes and Snow

Cupcakes are iced decorated and ready for C Monster's birthday tomorrow...















See I told you - you wanted to check in to see them. If you want to make your own here is how:

CAT:
eyes - mini m&m
nose - cinnamon heart
whiskers - liquorish
ears - sour grapefruits

PIG:
eyes: mini m&m
nose: pink chocolate with white frosting
ears: wafer cookies cut in triangles

CHICKEN:
head piece: swedish berry cut in 4
eyes: m&m
nose: sour grapefruit with small slice cut out

BUNNY:
eyes: mini m&m
nose: mini m&m
whiskers: chocolate sprinkles
ears: marshmallow cut in half diagonally then dipped in pink sugar crystals

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow

It's been snowing on and off now all week I love it. We barely had any snow this year and as C monster puts it "more sno". We made it out to play in the snow this afternoon; I really want to make an effort to get out with him everyday while the snow is still here and not too slushy because as fast as it came it will go even faster.

There are so many way C Monster can learn while playing in the snow:

• we count snow balls
• make snowmen
• draw in the snow with sticks
• experience the sensation of cold
• talk about how snow sticks to some things and not to others
• experience how ice is slippery
• look at foot and had prints (or animal prints when we are really lucky)
  

The exercise you get is also insane, C Monster helps perfect is walking and running skills as everything is harder to do in a snowsuit.

I want to try an art activity with him this weekend - you take a spray bottle and fill it with food coloring and water (or paint and water); then you spray the snow outside with the colours. It's best if you can have a few bottles with a few different colours. It will make a great little piece of art and at the same time you can talk about colours with your toddler.

return from ?

I am not sure how long it's been since my last post; life got the better of me. I guess that is not a bad thing. I've decided to take this blog in a new direction and try to write a tidbit every day or so. I want to keep the post relevant to want is going on in our lives more of a little day to day diary.

The thing that stands out the most about yesterday is poo and snow; however not combined.

Yesterday it snowed for what felt like the first time all winter - C monster immediately asked to go play in the snow. I think he had been waiting for snow since Christmas - in his words each time we saw the tiny amounts of snow Toronto had "more sno; more sno" all while signing we word more and with his bottom lip turn over like he was about to cry. We spent I think a good 2 to 3 hours out in the snow as it was coming down; C monster did some shoveling; some snow throwing and was even though the art of mini snowmen building by our neighbor.

Now the reason why I say poo is that well we actually convinced C monster to use the potty instead of having a poo in his bath last night. - This is huge in our house.

Wordless Wednesday

Looking back at the cold days now gone...

i need to vent

OK, so this post is going to be 100% me complaining.  I don't complain much.  Really, I am a very likable person, but I have had it with all this snow and people who just don't shovel. 

I went for a walk today and my stroller got jammed twice in the snow.  And why was this?  Both times, it was because people had not shoveled the sidewalk in front of their house.   I am not sure if you have to shovel your sidewalk in Toronto, but if it's not a law, it should be.  And anyways, people should just do it. 

It really does not take that long to shovel your section of the sidewalk in the neighbourhood I live.  Now, come on, in this area you are lucky if you have a property that is wider then 15 feet.  I think shoveling our sidewalk takes less time then shoveling our walkway and stairs. 

Oh yeah, there are all the people that have corner lots.  Well you should have thought about that before buying your luxurious corner lot.  Not having a clean sidewalk can be dangerous, not only to mothers with strollers, but pregnant women (yes i fell in the winter when i was pregnant), the elderly, and, well, just anyone actually, if it's slippery under all that snow.

That is that.  Sorry for the vent session and all the improper grammar but I needed to let some steam out and PLEASE SHOVEL YOUR SIDEWALK.

Traveling with a 9 1/2 month old

I am sorry I have been absent for a bit, but as we do every year I was off to New Brunswick for the Holidays. Tones to talk about but this entry will be about travel.

So you are all packed and you head out to the airport (60 minute drive) and arrive there to find out that your flight is delayed because the plane you are supposed to be on is stuck in Vegas because there is snow in Vegas. Yes snow in Vegas. they ended up finding another plane for us but we only got to leave at 1:30am by the time I was at my sisters house it was close to 6am. This would not have been anywheres as bad as it was if it was not for the fact that I traveled alone with my son. Geoff was joining us on the 23rd. Luckily Geoff stayed with us at the airport until I had no choice to go threw security, not because my flight was leaving but because security was closing for the night.

The 23rd rolls around along with a snow storm in Toronto, Geoff was in the same boat as we were with a plane being delayed and delayed some more. I was starting to think he would not make it to us for Christmas. He should have arrived in Moncton at 11pm but got to my mom and dad's around 7am.

You would think that was enough delays, well no. The day we were supposed to come back to Toronto our flight got canceled.

Well we are now home and all is back to normal.

What did I learn from all this travel.

1. Pack enough diapers for 1 1/2 days in your carry-on
2. Have a good long nap before you leave for the airport just in case you need to stay up all night holding a sleeping baby on the plane wishing you were sleeping
3. Bring head phones so you can watch Satellite TV on the plane to help keep you up at 3 am when you have been up for 20 straight hours.
   
4. Pack healthy snacks for your baby
5. Pack toys to distract him at the airport while you wait for your flight
6. The Baby B'air vest is useless for us. In Canada you can not use it during take off and landing, Christophe falls asleep during take off and does not wake up until we land; so I am not about to risk waking him up to put on the vest.
   

Day in the life of...

Yesterday, Tuesday October 21, 2008 was not a very exciting day but a busy day.

First thing fist it is cold cold cold, we actually had a bit of snow today.

We started the day by playing a bit with memere and pepere while mama worked on some educational picture cards for me (more about those another time). After all the adults were ready Christophe got dressed in the cutest little overall that he wet within 2 hours with an overflowing diaper in the car (luckily nothing got on the car seat). When I changed him in the spare outfit that had been sitting in the diaper bag for over a month now I realized that his pants now looked like a pair of capris (time to retire these).

During all that peeing we were on our way to Scarborough Town Center with a stop at Grain Process Enterprises were mama picks up flour once a month. For anyone out there looking for cheep organic flour and other goods such as pasta, nuts, rice, baking supplies, sugar, stock try this place they are an actual mill and manufacturer of goods that have an outlet store open to the public. They are located at 115 Commander Blvd. (416-291-3226).

Once at the mall mama and memere did lots of shopping for Christophe, Gymboree was having a great fall sale with lots of great discounts.

After all of that back home for some pasta, broccoli and carrots for supper and a bath with papa to finish off the night.

Early December

In about early December, we went out in the laneway and the snow, to shoot pictures of Pierrette's belly, now that she was showing much more clearly. This was baby's first walk in the snow.