Why are they FINALLY GOOD on the last day of HOLIDAYS!?

Why is it when the LAST day of HOLIDAYS comes around.....they start being good?? This morning, I woke up to Katie in the bathroom...Josh then sneaks downstairs to use the one down there, he returns....and quietly plays with Alex(who is still in bed)....then Katie comes out of the bathroom(finally, I don't know what she is doing in there...never do) and Josh questions her..."did you flush?  You have to flush!  Did you wash your hands with warm water!?" Katie replies in a whisper, "oh I forgot...I'll flush now!" And she proceeds to flush quietly(like you can), she slowly pushes the handle down...and slowly you hear the toilet to start up....it was funny! Then Josh invites her to play in his room with Alex.....they go in and close the door! I was shocked!!

The QUIETNESS actually proceeded quite a bit through the morning.  I got to drink my COFFEE and watch the NEWS in PEACE....how often can you say that!? HUH!? Not very often!!! Why couldn't they do this EVERYDAY??

It would have saved me a few grey hairs........

PS. I am even enjoying QUIET TIME now.....and ate my Cadbury Mini Eggs...secretly...I am LOVING today!!! Signs of a GOOD WEEKEND to come!!

KD as a HEALTHY meal???

So...with so many comments on various ways to eat Kraft Dinner...I will be attempting to do most of them and come up with my own variations, with the help of my kids, after all....its them that have to eat it!! In case you missed my earlier blog we are attempting to eat KD(kids choice) for a month(or so) in order to save for OUR Family Trip to PEI this Summer! This month so far our meals have consisted of Turkey Stew...who knew how far it could stretch. The last cup or so of the stew went into the Day One of KD(kids were not impressed.....but I said it would stretch the box and add some protein/veggies into it. Now I know there are "healthy" KD choices out there.  Some added with wheat and others have veggies built right into the macaroni(but it tasted NOT so GOOD). So Turkey Stew it was......wont do that again! Mental note made!

Its funny how if one wants to save money for something...or just make that DOLLAR stretch....we turn to pasta! Pasta is cheap...and filling and you can add sooo much to it...so many variations. Pasta is not the star of the meal, but an accompliment, the flavours that you add become the star as the pasta absorbs that particular spice/herb/vegetable/protein....whatever you add!

So with that in mind, last nights dinner was PASTA(surprise)...Sea Shell shape pasta(going with the east coast theme) tossed with lots of Shakti mushrooms, onions, garlic in a cream sauce(and lets not kid around, it wasn't cream...mere milk) with grated Parmesan cheese(I gotta have the real thing too!!) and chopped chives on top! They ate it all and wanted more!!  With that recipe(my own) you can add anything...from peppers, zucchini and various meats(chicken, shrimp)...grilling them too would be GREAT! That recipe is one that I will be repeating......for months to come!!

I guess I answered my own question......KD can be healthy...it just depends on what you add to it!!  Which that can be hard...we are told to eat FRESH fruit and veggies...but today so many of them are expensive and come winter, they are MORE expensive and hard to obtain. Periodically you hear about bad crops, too much rain, drought...which all drives up the prices! SO it will become a weekly thing...see first if its on sale and then adjust my menu of KD!! I know too...I will be turning to FROZEN veg.......since I heard from various chefs......they pick the veg/fruit at their peak, freeze them and we get all their goodness!

Hmmmm.....I wonder doing all this, will I lose that extra BABY FAT!?

Stay tuned....tonight's dinner will be.........

This NEW YEAR.......

I've already mentioned that I don't make Resolutions...well at least not out loud...that would be a mistake, cause come the end of the year, you will all know where I failed....and fail we all do(from time to time)...for some reason we have great intentions on making our Resolutions come true, whatever the resolution(s) is...but somewhere along the way, we slightly slip off the mark....and gradually fall! Therefore....I will not mention anything and just keep these little ideas to myself and if they work out...great...if not, well there is always next year...RIGHT!? And I suppose the year after that!!

However after mentioning this....I do want to tell you that we have an idea of a Summer Trip.   We thought about it last year, but it didn't happen, we played it safe.....BUT this year we are thinking again......nothing OUTRAGEOUS or anything, but staying in Canada and going back to the East Coast! Yes, Prince Edward Island. We were there three years ago and LOVED IT!! I lived there for about 4 1/2yrs, going to University....the best thing I ever did!! (Besides having the life I have now...of course!!)

The kids keep talking about PEI....so we are going to try again! The kids and I have suggested ideas to each other on how to save....its fun listening to their ideas. They want for a month, to eat Kraft Dinner...now as a kid, I ate this regularly and now I dislike it whole heartedly....but for them, they want to do this! I suppose I could eat cereal or have a PB&J sandwiches.....we'll see!! And so far, being just into the first week of January, come dinner time, when I ask for opinions ...they still say Mac and Cheese!! How many ways can one family eat Kraft Dinner for a month?? We also agreed that as a Family when buying something, we would stop and ask ourselves, "do we really need this? We do want to go to PEI!?" Lets see what happens, shall we!!



Charlottetown Harbour, outside COWS famous Icecream!!!



Who wouldn't want to WALK there and DREAM the afternoon away!?


So.... there you go dear Reader.....that is one resolution(so to speak)...will it happen?? We can try! Perhaps I need to litter our house with photos of PEI...a daily reminder of what we want to do this Summer!! You know of course this could lead to moving and living on PEI and someday opening a B&B....but that's another Dream...for another day!!

What causes me to gain control of my HOME!?

As you know...this week is a little crazy for me. Lousy, cold weather and I am trapped in the house with three kids and a dog...in a small, yet quaint home!! I realized last night, when things get crazy, and siblings hate each other, its time to bring out the LARGE glass bowl...place it on the kitchen island....open the fridge and take out the butter(cause butter is better...). Cut half a cup and place it in the bowl.......the kids start to quiet down and pay attention to what you are doing.  With no talking, I proceed to take out the flour, sugar(white and brown), eggs and of course some kind of chip(chocolate, butterscotch, or even peanut butter). It is then the KIDS stop everything, pull up a stool or chair and gather around the island!!

Peace.....utter peace.......and somehow they all start to love each other again and share in the duties of making cookies!!!! (Sometimes it doesn't matter what I am making, the point is that I am making something, something that they want to be part of.)

Last night, I started to make simple peanut butter chip cookies...but I had a change of heart...I added cocoa and chopped up about half a solid chocolate bar(good quality, mind you) and threw that in too with the P.B Chips......the awe of the kids as they watched me. As the cookies went into the oven, they sat at the oven window and watched the cookies swell into cakey-ness...and the thick, warm aroma of chocolaty-ness surrounded us...it was heavenly! They were quiet till all the cookies were made and two cookies were in each of  their tummies. 

After that the mood changed....it was quiet time, cartoons were on till about 45 minutes before bed, then stories and off to dreamland as the aroma of cookies lingered in our HOME!

Hibernation MEANS Hating!

Not having a vehicle of ones own, means hibernating in this COLD COLD weather...with NO SCHOOL till next week(help..), and this lousy, snowy weather we are ALL inside....and the kids are starting to hate each other...which is funny, cause normally they "like" each other and "like" to do things with each other...but now its "I hate you! You are not my friend. I'm not talking to you again." And Alex who cannot communicate well enough, just screams and hits.....which is not funny, but I cant help but smile when I see the veins in his neck bulge as he yells at his siblings(because they won't share the cars and trucks)! Or his latest stint is to pull Katie's ponytail...he sure does get a good, firm grip on her hair. Again I laugh...but she is really in pain....I must be a bad Mother to do that!? Thoughts?? Then..... throw a dog in the mix who shadows everything I do...no wonder come 7:30pm I am antsy to get them all in bed!! Then I can lose myself in HGTV or in a book...currently I am reading The Da Vinci Code .......a little late, but I am enjoying it!! Which is funny cause when I worked at Indigo, that BOOK was everywhere and everyone was reading and talking about it...but I didn't want too...not till now...go figure!

I am sooo happy at the end of this week the weather will be warmer and SCHOOL starts on Monday....woo hoo!!!! Let me think for a minute....when is the next holiday??? March Break.....I better start planning something now!!!!

When is Spring again!? I miss my outdoor space...my extra room!!

What is BETTER??

Just a quick note, or comment, or a question I guess....What is Better....

Being woken up by your radio alarm that you can hit the snooze button a few times.....this way you can roll over, pull the covers up over your head and stay there till you are ready to get up.

OR......

Being woken up early by your two year old pulling your comforter, constantly saying "Mama" and trying to pull himself up on your bed(and he made it out of his bed cause your 6yr old LET HIM OUT!) I know this way you can not hit the SNOOZE button...YOU have to get up!!

Just wondering....which do you prefer!?


The SWEET Angel that WOKE me too early this MORNING!!



Happy New Year.....Here is SOME SNOW!

Since a few days after Christmas...it has been snowing off and on again...a little too late if you ask me and not wanted(if you asked me again). I am the type of girl that LOVES snow for Christmas...a White Winter Wonderland. Come Boxing Day, the SNOW can leave and not return again till next Christmas! I am sorry for all you skiers and winter sport lovers....but it has to go!! So its the New Year and we are into Day 2.....Hubby is working, kids are driving me batty, Dog is following me like a shadow and I am thawing my carcass from last year...turkey that is...its time to make Turkey Stew(probably why the dog is following me). For some reason it makes me feel all healthy inside....boiling down the meat and taking all the flavours out of the bones...making a rich broth and adding veggies and spices. Tonight I'll reheat it, and add a dollop of sour cream and fresh cut chives on top!! Also...I'll make my OWN cheesie, garlic biscuits...what else is better than that on a cold, snowy day??

What else is better you ask.....if the kids went back to school!!! Oh my Goodness....I've had enough!! Enough bickering, fighting, yelling and mess to last a year!!! Why couldn't they go to school today...or tomorrow?? HUH!?
Thankfully, they were not that GOOD today...I can tell them that they are having a nap...no BUTS....a NAP must be had!!! And they did go down...they are quietly in their rooms right now...hopefully sleeping...but as long as they don't come out till like 4(please) then I'll be happy!! I need silence...I need to hear myself breathe....I need QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have thrown them outside...but I forgot to pick up the poop from the dog and it snowed through the night and all day today....its like a mine field out there...so its SAFER for them to stay inside...less for me to clean...if you know what I mean!!

So...its the second day of 2012. I've made a healthy dinner to last a few nights. I've organized my HOME to the best of my ability, tried to stay sane, threw the kids down for a nap, and I've seen enough snow to last me until next Christmas(sadly since I live in Canada...Northern Ontario...it will not be the last). How many more days till Spring??? Just wondering.......

PS. On that  New Years Resolution thing......I think I'll try to budget and save for a Summer, Family trip....the kids already agreed to eat a month of KD for dinner...so it can be possible to save for a trip!? We'll see......