The stars green; the river black

Blog, I hereby resurrect you from the dead.

2011-07-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

Over a year without posting (perhaps closer to two...) but I'm finally feeling motivated to update the log of our goings-on!

I've recently taken a part-time job working overnights (9pm - 5am) at a local organic bakery. Using my apprenticeship, after all!

Papa is building houses, vet clinics, and seriously awesome rocket beds.

Big guy is uneasy about his new rocket bed ;) He says he'll sleep in it tomorrow (three days in a row). He loves it for it's ladder (zombies can't climb ladders!), but it's in a room away from Mama, Papa, and Baby. That's why we have two queens, side by side.

Baby, really isn't anymore. He's two and a half and full of crazy energy.

I'm excited to pick up the habit of blogging again. Lots of adventures to come...

Cost of Education

2009-12-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

According to this document, the Canadian government allots Can $6809.99 (or US $6482) per student per year for public education. In my province, British Columbia, public school is compulsory to age 16. If a child attended the normal course of public education in B.C. (from Kindergarten through Secondary), they would be in school for thirteen years. Thirteen years, at the rate quoted in the OECD "Education at a Glance 2006", would cost the government approximately Can $88,529.87 (US $84,266.01)! Wow.

New cake again

2009-11-08T08:48:00.001-08:00

The first cake was made for a two year old's birthday. I think it looks so sweet and pretty. It's the ever-popular lemon cake with raspberry preserve and vanilla buttercream. Fondant free! Although honestly, I would have preferred to do this cake in fondant and royal icing instead of buttercream. The piping would have been cleaner and sharper and the background would have been more even. Oh well! Maybe someone will hire me to do this in fondant for a wedding - those little birds would be perfect!

This next cake was a gift for a neighbour who just had a baby boy. Four layers of chocolate cake with two layers of macerated raspberries and chocolate ganache, one layer of butercream, and dusted with chocolate shavings. Topped with raspberries and hand-rolled truffles! And I got to peek at the baby for a few minutes when I delivered it! So welcome baby Emile, I know your mom will enjoy your birthday cake!

Some Cake...

2009-10-26T21:43:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since I posted any cake photos. Here's a couple new ones.

WE GOT A DOG!

2009-10-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Her name is Nesta. She's 1/4 German Shepherd, 1/4 Great Pyrenees, 1/4 Akita, and 1/4 St. Bernard. Three months old and 35 lbs. Her parents were 120 and 130 lbs. She's going to be a BIG dog.

We weren't planning on getting a dog for a while, but this one seems so perfect for us. She has the most docile and calm temperament for a puppy. She's not nippy or excitable, hasn't barked or growled or made any vocalizations other than a whine on the car trip home. She's a little cautious, but not fearful or aggressive or pushy. I realize that temperaments can change, of course :) She's pretty fun so far.

My cats are not so impressed. Poor Ty and Svenna. Little weasels.

No Impact Challenge

2009-10-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

We're trying this on.

http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

This project is really well designed and user friendly. They ask you to register and participate in surveys and record your progress, but that's it. There's no guilt or 'should's', just suggestions and information to engage, empower, and encourage you to consider your lifestyle and habits and your impact on the planet.

I like the positive spin on change. I think that many people are turned away from more environmentally friendly options because of the pervasive belief that they must do without. The project's How-To Manual contains copious links, advice, and accessible information sources for finding local food, eco-products, low-impact means of travel, etc..

It started today, and so far I'm feeling good about it. Today's tasks were to keep a (cloth) bag with me all day and fill it with all my trash, recyclables, and food waste, and to write a list of items I need to purchase this week. These tasks are meant to make you aware of your consumption habits and get you thinking about waste, packaging, and necessity. I was surprised today to realize how automatic throwing packaging away is for me. I consider myself to be a fairy conscious consumer but I often don't think about an item's packaging at point of purchase. I think I did well, compared to most. Towards the end of the day I was critically examining what I wanted to use to minimize the waste. I'm not worried about our food waste - it goes straight into the compost bin for garden use. As for the list, I only had two items on it: groceries and car parts/repairs (our car's water pump pulley propeller sheared in half. Luckily it happened about 100m from the house so when Ian lost power he was able to push it back into our parking spot). I would like to buy a child's bike seat and helmet soon but that is not a necessity this week.

Anyways, I will TRY to update every day this week. I'm really excited. I think this is just the push I need.

Questions!

2009-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Abhy has entered the much-anticipated "Asking Questions" phase. No Why's yet, but about a billion What Is This? What Is That? type questions. Very entertaining!

Yesterday we took the bus downtown, and then another to Oak Bay. To pass time, we looked out the window and talked about what we saw. On the way back, we were the only passengers who got on at the Depot. Every passenger who entered the bus after us was subject to a very loud, "That a MAN, Mama? That guy a MAN?" By the time we reached our destination, only one man had boarded the bus.

And about 20 elderly ladies.

This poor blog...

2009-09-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

...is so neglected.

Life has been rather wild for us lately.

I've been involved in the North Saanich Farmer's Market. Every Saturday until Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, that is) I get out of bed at three a.m. (!!!) and bake wholesome grain breads and pastries. I start prepping items and doughs as early as Tuesday and then bake all day Friday and go to bed around midnight.

Fearghus has gone from rocking on his hands and knees to crawling to cruising in two weeks! It's madness. I can't keep up with this guy. He has two teeth, now, also.

Our garden has been hugely productive, but with many let downs. It was a learning year for us. I am intending to post about it at some point, I swear. Today I picked ten pounds of tomatoes!!

Anyways, children calling.....

Castle Cake!

2009-08-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is the first castle cake I've made, and I think it turned out rather well. I wish I had taken in-progress photos. There were several points when I felt like throwing in the towel, that there was no way I could make the castle presentable. I had a temporary loss of faith. At one time, I was positively despondent - I considered calling the customer to cancel. The end result is pretty cool, though, if I get a chance to do another castle cake, there are A LOT of things I would do differently. But that's the learning process, right?

The green 'land' part is cake: vanilla with mango curd and strawberry buttercream. The pink castle is Rice Krispie treats covered in fondant.

This first photo is when most of the work was done, but before the final touches.

The back.
The little girl's name above the entranceway.
View from above right.
View from behind.
Right tower (this is before everything was touched up).
Left tower.
After touch-ups and additions. Please ignore the bowls of oatmeal in the background. Very professional, I know.

Eli and Jude's Cupcakes

2009-08-02T18:21:00.003-07:00

A very good friend of mine had twin baby boys on the 27th of July! I brought these cupcakes to the hospital when we visited.

Gumpaste decorations drying after I cut and painted them.

Probably my second favourite shirt combo.

My original plan for these was a onesie and a diaper on each of nine cupcakes. However, when I sat down to decorate them, two had mysteriously gone missing! *cough* Ian *cough*. So I decided to do six instead; two onesies on four, three diapers and a onesie on one, and six diapers on one. I had a bunch of prepared miniature blue and white flowers that I used as filler....I'm wishing I'd come up with something more creative. I don't like how they look.

This pair of baby shirts was my fave.

My Silly Babies

2009-08-01T15:55:00.001-07:00

Formula....

2009-08-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

I just meandered over to Mama is. Take a look at this new product. She made a comic about it.

My mind is blown, a little. Especially by the "humanitarian" angle the company is using to sell this abomination. The article states that gastrointestinal distress would be minimized (compared with formula made with potentially contaminated water). I am skeptical - what about formula recalls, melamine, mechanical contamination during manufacture? Certainly we can't believe that "sterile" conditions in a factory are guaranteed? Employees are human; machines malfunction. I don't have that much faith in centralized production. And regarding AIDS in Africa? Serving formula to the two thirds of African babies that would not contract HIV through breastfeeding puts them at a serious risk of many other diseases (and the mothers too!), hinders the development of their immune system, and reduces mother-babe bonding. Not to mention the expense. How can ill parents in an impoverished country possibly afford to buy single-serving formula for every single feed? I think the money is better spent on HIV/AIDS reduction/education methods.

They also say it's "green", because it is made with "paper products", and is free of Bisphenol-A. Unfortunately, the processes to recycle and manufacture tetra-pack style packaging is not. Nor for the plastic nipple. Or to ship this product worldwide from the USA. Or to collect, assemble, and then ship the ingredients the formula will contain. So? Maybe they meant, "greener than plastic bottles". Yeah.

I suppose these people have their hearts in the right place. Or maybe they don't, and it's just all about the money. EIther way, this sort of thing leaves me shaking my head.

Hey Lindsay...

2009-07-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

...look what we did to your dog while you were away ;P

Please not that Sorcha is also wearing a clog on her back left foot.

Hailey's Cake

2009-07-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

This cake was for my little sister's 22nd birthday. She seems eternally 19 to me - perhaps admitting that she is growing older means accepting that I am too.

Anyways, this cake was Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting and totally delicious if you ask me. The flowers and decorations are all handmade out of gumpaste and fondant.

Snapshot Sunday

2009-07-19T14:52:00.000-07:00

Our snapshot Sunday...all pictures from the garden, and mostly squashes.

Cucumber
Container acorn squash
Delicata squash nestled amongst the corn
The top of that lovely corn
Beautiful zucchini blossoms

Go here to join in!

Two things...

2009-07-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Thing one: Look at the potatoes I dug up today! These are from two prematurely withered plants and one I dug up for fun; none of the rest of my potatoes are ready to pull. I got about 25 potatoes from my two Russet plants, and only five from my Russian Blue plant. I still have two Russets, seven Yukon Gold, and seven Russian Blue plants left. I'm thrilled that they are doing so well. I will post more about my garden tomorrow.

Thing two: How cute is this face?!

Hee hee

2009-07-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

This was fun!

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com

Mini Blossom Wedding-Gift Cake.

2009-07-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Another request for the painted swirls. I think that might become my signature.

This cake is little....just four inches in diameter, but six inches tall (I thought that might be fun - in retrospect I would use less frosting and more cake for better stability) Neapolitan cake. Vanilla butter cake, chocolate ganache, and strawberry cream cheese buttercream. Yum! This cake combo has passed every taste test with five stars.

Thank you Hailey!

Sling giveaway

2009-06-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Check out this site. They are giving away a beautiful linen sling and muslin swaddling blankets.

I make normal cakes too

2009-06-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Lemon with raspberry preserve and buttercream. Sides are dusted with white chocolate shavings. The raspberries and leaves are from my garden ;)

Snapshot Sunday

2009-06-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

This week I thought I'd put up pictures of all the flowers in my yard.

Snap peas

Russian blue potatoes

Feverfew and mint

Such a beautiful time of year.

See Sarah for the original.

Eddie's Third Birthday Cupcakes

2009-06-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

For Eddie's funky buggy party. Lemon cupcake with vanilla buttercream. Hand painted fondant leaves and gumpaste bugs. The butterflies were my favourites ;)

And I added the 'labels' gadget, so you can find all my cakes in one category.

Thank you Melissa and Eddie!

Just a Taste...

2009-06-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Another order today. Here's a quick pic of some of the hand painted gumpaste decorations for Eddie's bug party:

Snapshot Sunday

2009-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today we:

built 'space efficient' Lego castles

had spinach and berry smoothies

witnessed multiple car collisions

read board books

and took the chuck wagon for a spin. Big pot o' soup.

Here for the original.

Mushrooming!

2009-06-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

I spied a mushroom when I was out walking with friends a few days ago. Yesterday I called up a friend of mine who knows how to identify mushrooms and invited her over for dinner and a forest mushroom hunt. So first we had a fabulous supper of mostly our own produce(!), some local chocolates for desert, and then we went on a little adventure to find the mushroom.

These aren't my photos...I forgot to bring my camera. We identified the mushroom as 'Agaricus augustus', commonly called the Prince mushroom. It is very rare, except on the west coast and islands. It is also one of the few summer sprouting mushrooms (which was why I noticed it in the first place - how odd for a mushroom to sprout in early June!). They are entirely edible. Our little mushroom book says," Very edible! One of the best!"

There were only three mushrooms, so, like responsible mushroomers, we only picked one (the second rule of mushrooming is never to pick more than 1/3 of any crop). And we took it home, sliced it up, sauteed it in butter and white wine. I wish I had taken photos. Oh well. Hopefully there will be many more later this summer! As for the edibility....I can honestly say I have never eaten such a delicious mushroom! My first thought was that it tasted like cheese toast (isn't that bizarre?). It was nutty, creamy, and sweet. One of the identifiers of this mushroom is that it smells like almond extract, and does it ever! There was a residual almondy-ness after it was cooked. It cooked up to be quite yellow. If I can find enough, I will make cream of mushroom soup....I think these mushrooms would make THE best. It puts grocery store mushrooms to shame.

We scoured the forest floor for nearly an hour last night but couldn't find any more. Sigh. I sure hope we can find more. In the meantime, I think I might be forming an unnatural addiction to my mushroom book.

Look who's sitting up by himself!

2009-06-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Organization

2009-06-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's a slow and painful process. Especially with two babes - one that doesn't like to be put down and one that loves to help 'sort'.

I snagged two boxes full of old canning jars off f freecycle....half of them are upstairs in the art room, ready to be used for painting and other crafts, and all the larger sized jars I've kept downstairs to organize my dry-goods.

In an effort to be frugal, and also eat more healthfully, we buy almost all our pantry items in bulk, cook from scratch, and produce all our own baked goods. I was getting tired of fighting the cascade of plastic bags that fell out of the cupboard every time I opened the doors. I was also tired of buying multiples because the first bag of kamut was hidden under the bag of brown rice. When I finally switched over to the jars, I found three bags of almonds! And three bags of sesame seeds. And FOUR bags of barley.

Here's everything all pretty. You wouldn't believe the mountain of plastic bags I had afterwards.

Now I need to do my spice cupboard. That will be a job and a half.

This post was brought to you by my favourite snack:

Avocado with lime juice and freshly ground pepper on rice crackers...yummy.

Why are babies so durn cute? (4 months old)

2009-06-08T12:14:00.001-07:00

Well, I am having a hard time believing that my wee guy is four months old already. I feel like time is going by rapidly . I suppose that's because I am so much busier with a toddler; I'm not noticing/paying attention to every tiny thing like I did when Abhy was small. Here are some recent shots of the little guy.

Late Snapshot Sunday

2009-06-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

But at least I did it this week! Our camera was out of batteries for a while, and I feel like we've been so busy. Anyways, here they are this week:

Go here for the original.

June's 50th

2009-06-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

72 cupcakes; chocolate with white chocolate cream cheese frosting, fondant cap, and gumpaste decorations. 24 have real freesia.

Setting up at the event. They arranged the cupcakes into beautiful centerpieces on each table. I thought it was a really clever idea! They looked great.

Thank you for the pleasure Tara!

Garden visitor

2009-06-03T15:40:00.001-07:00

Pretty little thing. I hope we see more!

I'm sorry!

2009-06-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

This blog has been terribly neglected lately. We've been so busy. I can't even really pinpoint exactly what we've been doing that is taking up so much of our time. I guess we're just busy living.

I have a whole bunch of posts to make. In the meantime, here are some recent pictures of the boys.

A Science Experiment, Toddler Style

2009-05-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

We participated in the "Unplugged Project" last week. The theme was 'science'. Our neighbour came over with her daughter and we did a little twist on the old baking soda and vinegar experiment.

We mixed vinegar with food colour, a little bit of dish soap, glitter, and of course, the baking soda. The dish sap caused a volcano-like reaction that was really cool to watch. The glitter was a bit small and unnoticeable, but the colours were great, and the kids had tons of fun mixing and pouring once the reactions had petered out.

Lindsay has tons of pictures and even a little video of the kiddos in this post.

Snapshot Sunday

2009-05-10T13:31:00.001-07:00

Tomatoes and zucchini
Papa's bonsai planters
What we did last night

These cars are awesome....Automoblox. My kid loves them, I love them, Ian loves them. You can put them together in so many creative ways.

See Sarah for how it began.

My New Niece

2009-05-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

My sister Devan had her first baby on May 6th - a beautiful little girl.

She had the baby in hospital, and delivered under her own power with no drugs, no epidural. Labour began spontaneously. Way to go Devan! She laboured in a jacuzzi tub, walked, and was able to utilize natural positions like squatting, standing, all fours, and pulling on a rope. The baby was immediately put skin to skin.

Did I mention all that in a hospital? This particular place even uses cloth diapers instead of disposables. And baby "roomed in" for the entire stay....no nursery visits and wasn't even taken away for a bath. If only every woman who delivers in hospital could have an experience like that.

Here's a picture:

Avery Jane Mitchell
2:33pm, Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
8 lbs 4 oz

Avery Jane has always been one of my favourite girls names. Alas, I have boys, so I named my first born son Abhainn (Ay-vin). Now there are four cousins, three with 'A' names! Abhainn (2 1/2), Abigail (20 months), Fearghus (3months), and new Avery.

Bikram's Yoga Cake

2009-05-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

My most recent job was for a community potluck at a local yoga studio. This cake features all 26 of the Bikram yoga style poses, and the topper is the studio's logo.

The top tier (6 in) is vegan vanilla, the middle (8 in) is lemon, and the bottom (10 in) is chocolate.

All the decorations are made by hand. All the figures are freehand.

Snapshot Sunday

2009-04-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

The reading corner
Vehicle table
Tomato starts...my Romas are sprouting! Yay!

My cast iron crows. I love these. I love anything crow.

Geoff's Cake

2009-04-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

Dark chocolate cake and white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Served with raspberry orange coulis.

This one was pretty fun to make.

Fearghus Photo Post (image heavy)

2009-04-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

These are Paddington Bear's boots. They were unceremoniously stolen and placed on Fearg's feet.

Trying out a smile.
And again.
Chatty too!
And tired of wearing boots.

Mothering's ETSY street team giveaway

2009-04-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

A whole bunch of artists have compiled a gift pack for new mothers and babes. I'm posting this here to snag an extra two votes ;P

Click here to enter!

Garden!!

2009-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to start my garden this year. This will be the first year (since I lived in my childhood home) that I will actually have a sizable garden that I don't have to share with strangers. (That is not a slight to community gardens, which I think are wonderful opportunities to build a sustainable community and teach life skills. All the other homes I have lived in have not had a yard or have had plots belonging to others.)

This is my garden plan. You can't really see it at all (sadly. I spent a lot of time drawing this to scale....lol).

I'm hoping to produce a significant quantity of our own food. Next year we'll dig in a few more beds and another project on the horizon is to build a greenhouse out of reclaimed windows and doors.

This year I dug in three new beds. The little map is sideways; the three large beds are on the right side of our yard. The beds on the top middle and bottom right were already here. We've got lots more space. When we're all done, there won't be any lawn left!

This week I'll be planting out:

- Carrots: 'Dragon' and a mixed variety of purple, white, and yellow carrots.

- Beets: 'Chioggia' (a red and white bullseye), and 'Detroit Red'.

- Lettuces: An asian mesclun mix and a mild mesclun mix.

- Onions: 'Walla Walla' for storage, and 'Evergreen Bunching'.

- Chard: 'Bright Lights', which have five color stems.

- Spinach: 'Space' for summer and fall harvest.

- Peas: 'Karina Snap'

- Grains: 'Multi-hue Quinoa' and a red variety of Amaranth. Both are gluten free.

- Strawberries: 'Mignionette', starting from seed for next year.

- Herbs

Baby Spaceman

2009-04-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd make a post about our new babe. He is nine weeks old today.

An easy and uneventful pregnancy.

Fearghus Sterling Dra was born on February 8th, at 9:20am, in my bathroom. His birth was unassisted by any medical professional. In fact, Papa was at hot yoga that morning and missed the whole show. My good friend Lindsay was the only person present, staying with Kiddo (asleep in the bedroom). Labour was just over two hours; Fearghus was born into my own hands.

Just thirty minutes old. First nurse.

Empowering.

He is a very different baby from his big brother. He seems to be more sensitive to changes in his environment, and tends to be a bit melancholy. He doesn't sleep nearly as much. Even though I knew I would have different children, I think subconsciously I expected them to be the same.

When he is awake, he is very alert and curious. Chatty and excitable.

He's been struggling with systemic yeast and has been appropriately fussy. He would qualify as "colicky", according to the AAP criteria. It's tough to have a baby who always seems unhappy.

I'll post a birth story as soon as I get around to writing one.

Welcome, little Spaceman.

Snapshot Sunday

2009-04-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Easter chocolates

Some tomato transplants and Papa's BONSAIS!!

Plastic egg aftermath

Papa brought me an Easter Lily <3

Muffin Tin Wednesday #2 and a Very Late Snapshot Sunday

2009-04-08T10:50:00.001-07:00

Today we had (left to right): Snap peas, apples, broccoli, almonds, cantaloupe, hazelnuts, carrots, grapes, more broccoli, cucumbers, pecans, and mango. Abhy thoughtfully prepared the two cups of marble tea that you can see in the background.

Here is our late Snapshot Sunday:

My diaper basket

The school bus has been to Abhy's Tire Change.

Tea time!

Butterfly

2009-04-06T11:55:00.001-07:00

Here is a better picture of Kiddo's face paint, taken by Lindsay.

Two cake orders on the same day

2009-04-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

One of my 'hobbies' is cake decorating. I would like to make a career out of it, but everyone and their dog does these days. I have a decent client base however, and no shortage of jobs this year (even during the economic downturn, people still eat cake).

While I did go to school to become a baker, I didn't learn much about cakes that I didn't already know. Most of what I learned was how to produce commercial goods in large quantities at pace (ie: 200 croissants in 30 minutes). And I learned how to make bread, which was worth the ridiculous tuition I paid.

These two jobs were both for birthday parties.

The first was 30 cupcakes with stars and moons. The cake was a fabulous vegan vanilla (for all you non-believers I was vegan for years, and now I eat a whole-foods diet that includes meat and dairy, but this is a recipe I'll make over and over because it is SO GOOD) with Italian meringue buttercream. The buttercream, obviously, wasn't vegan. They knew that. Weird, huh? Oh well. I make what they order.

Anyways, the cupcakes have a fondant cap painted in a style reminiscent of Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. The clouds are buttercream and the cutout stars and moons are dusted with a little petal glitter. Now if only I wasn't such a pathetic photographer:

What they looked like without cutouts

What they looked like inside

You can sort of see the glitter in this one:

The second job was for a small circus themed cake and 20 matching cupcakes. The cake was lemon with raspberry preserve and the same Italian meringue buttercream (it's popular). I have no pictures of the cupcakes.

We went to a party with face painting. I didn't expect the kiddo to allow a stranger to touch his face, but she was slow and gentle and painted my hand first, then his hand, and then his face. She had a neat poster with pictures of popular designs. Kiddo looked it over, then decisively pointed at the butterfly. 'Dat fly'. He was mistaken for a girl by several party attendees.

Artistic Endeavours

2009-04-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

One of Kiddo's favourite things to do is paint. Anyone out here with kids will know how messy toddler painting can be, so we found a solution. Paint the tub! Take pictures for posterity and then give the tub (and toddler) a good scrub down. It's a great activity for bathroom-cleaning days.

It was a collaborative effort. And it sure made a big mess. Afterwards we soaped up an exfoliating mitt and washed the tub during our shower. We don't use any sort of chemical cleaners. The mitt takes more elbow grease but gets the tub just as clean, with no harmful residues, and it is way easier to clean off mildew and dirt in the heat with the running water.

Muffin Tin...Wednesday

2009-04-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've seen this idea around, although it was Muffin Tin Monday....and it has taken me until today to post this. So, Wednesday. I thought it would be fun to make it a weekly photo post.

We actually eat like this for breakfast almost every day (minus the muffin pan). With Baby around, it's easiest just to cut up fruits and grab a handful of nuts.

From left to right: Apples, almonds, rice crackers, apricots, oranges, more rice crackers, avocado with lime and pepper, hazelnuts, pecans, cauliflower, mango, red pepper. Kiddo's addition of frozen blueberries is in the little glass bowl.

I'd like to see what other people might eat!

Big and Small

2009-03-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

When Kiddo was a few months old, I happened into a great little toy store that specializes in wooden toys. This particular store has been around since I was a little kid (we lived close by, so we often stopped in with my Dad). I found a toy that created such feelings of nostalgia that I had to buy it right away for Kiddo (read: Myself).

It looks like this:

My baby brother (turning 17 this summer...sigh) had an older version of this PLAN toy.

My good friend bought Kiddo a newer version of this same toy as a big brother present after Baby was born. Her daughter has this set and he was in love with it. The new one is smaller with a wider variety of veggies and fruits and some finer embellishments. It looks like this:

Last night Kiddo brought both sets up to bed and started chopping away....then he picked up the pears in each hand. He held up the larger and said, 'big'. He held the smaller out to me questioningly, so I said 'small'. And then he was off to the races naming the big and small of each pair.

I also mentioned 'little' and 'large', but he seemed to prefer 'big' and 'small'. Easier to say.

Snapshot Sunday

2009-03-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

I realize that it is Monday, but a Mama can only do so much, yes? I am joining in on a friend's cool idea. She takes five pictures, wherever she is, no cleaning or tidying, just "in the moment". Kind of a neat way to see into other people's lives a little bit. Here's mine this week:

Kiddo's pinecone collection.

Guess what this is! It's a truck. Usually Kiddo is in there 'driving'. This is possibly his favourite game ever.

Belly cast from my pregnancy with baby number 1.

Traffic collision! Notice the pillow truck in the background.

Proposition 8 in the US

2009-03-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful video. I have to try hard not to cry. I found it on Annie's blog, just sharing the love. Perhaps someone can tell me how to embed files?(Thanks, Lindsay!)

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Photos I promised.

2009-03-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent photos of all of us, in no particular order:

Papa and Kiddo watching movies.

Indeed.

This was the best shot of the boys together I could get. It is surprisingly difficult to get photos of both at the same time.

So much sleep.

Been awhile.

2009-03-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Laely I have been writing little journal entries in my head, and stumbling upon things that I'd like to record, so I decided to start using this space again. It's an easy way for family to see what we're up to. Also, a wonderful forum that I am part of has kind of died on it's feet, and I'd like to keep in touch with the women I met there, in an intimate sort of way. Perhaps I'll also find myself some new blog-friends.

So here is an update of what we've been up to:

We moved back to the city where Papa and I grew up the day before Kiddo's 2nd birthday, just in time for the holidays. How wonderful it was to celebrate the Solstice and Christmas with family and old friends. Man, did I ever miss living here. We moved into a housing co-operative.

Papa was laid off in December, and is in the last weeks of another job right now. I have been thinking of going back to work part-time, when Papa or MIL can look after the kids, to help out a bit. We live on a VERY tight budget as it is, no thanks to these layoffs.

Our new son was born on February 8th! Baby is six weeks old now, and the two boys sure keep my hands full.

I've got several cake jobs coming up in the next few months - two on the same weekend in April!

I'll post some pictures soon. I'm excited to be posting here again!

Berries!

2008-07-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

So we actually didn't end up picking berries until the weekend. Papa was hired for several small jobs and I didn't want to go without him. We picked 20 lbs of strawberries! We used more than half for jam. Papa loves him some jam. I had planned to freeze the rest for the winter, but we ate them. Sigh. I guess we'll have to go get more! There is one week left of season due to the cold weather. We are planning to go back anyways because blueberries are ready for picking this weekend.

Pizza night...

2008-07-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

...was several nights ago. I love making pizza. It is so easy.....

We made two pizzas, as usual. My pizza was a Margherita, also as usual....it was topped with:

- fresh basil

- halved cherry tomatoes

- roughly chopped garlic

- coarse grind black pepper

- fresh mozarella....we use bocconcini. Sometimes we use fresh local curds.

Papa's pizza was topped with:

- local bacon

- caramelized vidalia onion

- chantrelle mushrooms we bought at the farmer's market

- mozza also.

Why buy pizza when you can have pizza like this at home?!

Home in time for berry picking

2008-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

We're home from our little vacation! Papa was working in a different city and we were lonely...so kiddo and I stayed with him for a few weeks. It was wonderful to visit with all of our old friends. I sure miss our old home.

This afternoon we are going berry picking. Summer has been slow this year....this has been the coldest summer since 1964! The only berries ripe enough for picking are strawberries, which have about two weeks left of season. Usually strawberries are finished by now.

The farm we are going to charges 2.00/lb for U-pick. I'm hoping to pick several dozen lbs or so to freeze and make jam with. I'd also like to experiment with a strawberry curd and meringue bar. Our own strawberries only sent out runners this year...not a single flower (granted I took poor care of them and they were new).

Day Menu

2008-06-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Starting with breakfast:

Oatmeal with ground flaxseeds, ground almonds, blueberries and honey.

Snack:

Guacamole and rice crackers

Lunch:

Chicken, pesto and spinach quesadilla with yams

Snack:

Cheese and hazelnuts

Dinner:

Green curry and red lentil soup with peas and chicken

Snack:

Smoothie with banana, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, plain yogurt, ground flaxseeds, hempseed oil, floravit and coconut milk.

A purpose!

2008-06-17T10:26:00.001-07:00

Well, obviously I am not the journalling type. But I have thought of a use for this space until I can think of a better one!

I've decided to use this as a food journal of sorts...I have some information I'd like to store in an accessible format, so, I'll use this blog.

To kick it off, here are some RDI's (pregnancy and lactation).

Vit A 770 mcg

Vit B1 1.4 mg (1.6 mg)

thiamin

Vit B2 1.4 mg (1.6 mg)

riboflavin

Vit B3 18 mg

niacin

Vit B5 6 mg (7 mg)

pantothenic acid

Vit B6 2.2 mg

pyroxidine

Vit B12 2.6 mcg (2.8 mcg)

cobalamin

Vit C 85 mg (120 mg)

ascorbic acid

Vit D 200 IU

calciferol

Vit E 1o mg (300 IU)

alpha tocopherol

Vit K 90 mcg

phylloquinone menadione

Calcium 1200 mg (1400 mg)

Iron 30 mg (18 mg)

Folate 400 mcg (800 mcg)

Magnesium 320 mg

Zinc 15 mg (11mg)

Biotin 30 mcg (35 mcg)

Choline 450 mg (550 mg)

Black 'Minima' is a classy template

2008-05-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Finally I have a blog!

I imagine this space will be used to collect general thoughts and ramblings, migratory sensations and all the joy a small child brings.