for our little road trip to Edmonton this weekend. Although we don't feel 100% this is about the only weekend that we can all go without missing an activity here in Calgary. So I have been busy trying to pack clothes, food and toys for our quick trip.
Laila and I are down for the count again with terrible chest and head colds....Please pray that we will find some relief soon. Daddy is out until around 9 tonight so I'm not sure how I will manage with both kiddies but I guess we will survive.
Here is a picture of our little ladybug yesterday...I love those chubby little cheeks and just want to kiss them all day. I had the doctor weigh her the other day and she is now a whopping 23.6 lbs (good considering she was only 19 lbs a few months ago).
We are scheduled to go to Edmonton on Friday to see Faruq's mom who is recovering from knee surgery but honestly I'm not sure if we will make it in this condition. The weather is still bitterly cold here as well and I'm just hoping it will warm up in the next few days.
Gosh this really wasn't a "wordless" post !!!
Chow for now !!
Was the way we spent our Monday !! We hung out together in the morning having breakfast, doing puzzles, building Lego's and coloring until it was time for Hayden to get ready for school.
We had a bite of lunch then drove him to get the school bus (usually we walk to the stop but today was snowing, cold and windy). Brought Laila home and she went for her nap which gave me a few hours to try to organize my digital pictures. I have taken over 10,000 pictures in the last 5 years and honestly still haven't figured out the best way to organize them. (I would love to hear how everyone else does it !!)I
I threw together a yummy spaghetti sauce with ground turkey & whipped up some biscuits for dinner then it was time to get Laila up and fed so we could get Hayden at school. He will usually take the bus home most days but we like to surprise him once in awhile with a drive home.
Faruq got home just after us and we managed to sit as a family for dinner before he was off to workout with his trainer. The kids and I played in the toy room for awhile then time for baths and bed. Daddy got home just in time to read Hayden a few stories before bed (we are currently reading a kids version of the Bible and he is loving it !).
I managed a nice long soak in the tub and now I sit in bed typing on this silly laptop when I should be trying to get to sleep. I have a new book just calling my name so I may have to start that before I call it a night.
I have taped the latest Bachelor episode but haven't watched it yet....it's really next week's that I can't wait to see. Honestly, I think he picked Melissa at the original rose ceremony then dumped her for Molly or even Gillian (wouldn't that be scandalous). Can't wait to see it all unfold next week !!!
Anyone watch the Oscar's last night...I always like to watch to see what everyone is wearing and who makes the best acceptances speech...Loved Kate Winslet and Sean Penn's speeches and actually there was only one dress I really disliked and that was Whoopi Goldberg...What the heck was she thinking !
I did catch The Amazing Race last night and I'm totally digging the Mother/son team Margie/Luke. I wasn't really surprised that Steve and Linda got eliminated this week and I had thought they might have gone in the first week but they managed to sneak by for a week. I love love love this show !!
I will post the recipes for the Turkey Spaghetti Sauce and biscuits tomorrow but they are both super easy and very yummy !!
Oh and by the way Laila's poor hair didn't look any better today but man she looked cute in one of her hats when we went to get her brother !! :}
Chow !!
but the result was not. Hubby took the kids out this afternoon so I could get a little "uninterrupted" cooking time in the kitchen. (I know lucky me !)
Laila woke 4 times last night because of this nasty head cold she has had and mama was the only one that was going to provide her with cuddles. I'm so not used to this because she has slept through the night since about 2 months old (please don't hate me I know I got lucky with her).
Like most families our weekly schedule is overbooked to say the least. From Monday to Thursday it is non-stop go-go-go !
Six months ago I decided that something needed to change so after a little family meeting we decided that Friday evening was going to be about "family" and only that. We take turns every week deciding what's on the menu and what the activity of the week will be.
Tonight it's Veggie dogs, homemade fries and chocolate sundaes ! Then we will be viewing Madagascar 2 and if there is time a game of scrabble. (Mama loves this game but daddy hates to play so she is very happy to have a new playing partner)
I can't tell you how much fun it has been to reconnect with each other after our busy weeks.
Have a great weekend and take a little time for family !!
to post a picture of the cake Faruq and Hayden decorated for me on Valentine's Day. I had baked the heart shaped cakes the day before and they surprised me by decorating them while Laila and I had a little nap.
Hayden loves to be in the kitchen helping and he is actually getting pretty good at it. Do I smell a future "Top Chef" contestant. Let's hope so because this Mama doesn't really enjoying cooking !
Thanks boys...I loved the surprise !!
I can smell this cooking in the slow cooker and can hardly wait for dinner. We are having Taco Soup tonight and everyone loves it so it makes it really easy on mama !
So this morning while cleaning the kitchen after breakfast I hear the following coming from the toy room...
"Fetch doggie....fetch doggie...go get it doggie."
Silence
This is Laila around 10 months - We had a local artist in Calgary draw the sketch for my mother's birthday this past December.
We had Hayden's done a few years back by the same artist - I will try to find a picture of it to post. I can't wait to get some done for us.
Happy "Wednesday" Everyone !!!
I spent a few hours in the kitchen trying out a some new recipes and I have to say I think we have a few keepers !
I have been trying to cut back on using white flour so I'm always on the hunt for recipes that are similar to some of our favorites but use whole wheat flour.
The first one is Whole-Wheat Banana Muffins.....These were so yummy that I will probably make another batch before weeks end.
You will need:
1 cup Oats
1 cup of whole wheat flour
3 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup mashed bananas (the riper the better)
1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
2 tbsp Oil
(I also added 1/3 cup of grounded Flax Seed cuz it's good for ya')
Mix everything together and bake in a preheated oven at 350'F degrees for 12 to 14 minutes - Makes 12 muffins.
The second recipe is Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip cookies ( Healthy food for kids cookbook by Rachael Anne Hill)
You will need:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of medium oatmeal
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins
2 oz semisweet chocolate (I just used chocolate chips)
1 egg
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 to 3 tbsp milk
How to make them:
Put the flour and oatmeal in a large bowl - stir in sugar, raisins and chocolate. Put egg in small bowl and beat in the oil & milk. Stir egg mixture into the flour and mix to form a stiff dough.
Put small spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking tray. Flatten slightly with the prongs of a fork, then bake in preheated oven at 350'F for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.
My toughest critic "Hayden" likes both recipes so I would say they will be made again. Give them a try I would love to hear if you all like them !!
Growing up I hated Sundays I always thought they were boring but as an adult I love them ! It's a great day for the family to just be together and really do nothing. Our weekdays are busy like most families with small kids and Saturdays are usually scheduled with swimming lessons, trips to the grocery store and library.
But Sundays is just our day to be together...We will go to church (sadly, not as often as I would like but we are trying to improve on that this year), afterwards we come home to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Laila is usually ready for a nice long nap after this. Then Daddy, Hayden and I will just hang out watching a movie, playing a favorite board game or reading a book that we may have started during the week... We are presently enjoying Harry Potter series !
If we are really lucky Hayden and I will enjoy a little nap in the afternoon while daddy plays with Laila. It's also my day to experiment with new recipes in the kitchen so we end up with a yummy dinner and dessert.
I think it so important to instill traditions with kids and to create wonderful family memories !
Enjoy your Sunday !!!
Another Saturday Random Picture Challenge from Brittany at 4 Little Men
This week you can select the 3rd picture from either January 2007 or the 13th picture folder
I selected the 13th Folder only because my January 2007 pictures aren't on my laptop they are only on our iMac way down in the basement. :}
I hope you all have that special someone to love you today...We are going to have a casual day at home watching a few new movies, decorating the heart cakes I baked yesterday and more importantly just being with one another
So for the last 4 years Faruq and I have been going back and forth on whether to send the kids through the Public education system or to pay big bucks to go the private route.
After asking a thousand times what my (apparently now deaf) 5 year old would like for breakfast this morning I finally decided on Buttermilk pancakes, yogurt and fruit.
I'm a "die hard" Survivor fan !! I still remember getting together with friends to watch Richard Hatch be crowned the very first survivor...it's hard to believe that they are on the 18th installment.
I found a great tip the other day for when you are making cookies. I'm not a fan of store bought cookies nor do I really like cookie batter that you can buy so I tend to make my own so this is right up my alley.
Whoever developed the "100 calorie" packaging should be getting paid a lot of money cuz they are allowing me to still enjoy some of my all time favorite snacks while not totally busting my diet.
My family loves when I make Frittatas on the weekends for a late brunch treat so I figured I would try these super easy ones for the boys to take with them to school and work.
For as long as I can remember Monday is my day in the kitchen...I usually try to make a few things that my family will enjoy during the week but also try to add a few items to my freezer for those nights we are running late I haven't prepared anything that day.
Because of our struggles with fertility issues I'm always interested when I hear of stories in the news where women have beaten the odds. But this week there were two cases that more upset me then made me happy.
One was a single mom in California that conceived Octuplets via IVF. This lady already has 6 kids under the age of 7 at home and now has 8 more babies to care for. I believe that this is somewhat irresponsible on the part of both the mom but also the doctor who did the actual transfer. I know when we received treatment at our regional fertility clinic our doctor advised us that if we did IVF treatments they would only transfer 3 embryos at one time and that was only due to my age. Usual procedure was 2 in one transfer.
The other case was a 60 year old couple who conceived twins via donor eggs and an IVF procedure performed in India. Again I find this somewhat irresponsible. Our clinic will only perform IVF on women up to the age of 50 (which I personally believe is still too old). This babies where born premature but with few complications and from what I have read the mother had a few issues but nothing out of the ordinary. While I can totally understand their desire to want children I just think that at 60 the children will at best have 20 (maybe 25) years with their parents. There appears to be a large family unit that surrounds this couple so I assume the children will be loved and cared for in the event something happens to either or both of the parents in the future.
But to each is own...I feel very blessed with the two beautiful children that I have and wish both these ladies nothing but goodwill and hope that their dreams have been realized.
So I watched the latest cycles of Hell's Kitchen and Project Runway Canada this past week. I have to say I was a little disappointed with Project Runway - it could just be Iman I know she bothered me last season but I found the contestants entertaining to watch. I planning on watching another week to see if I get the same feelings. Thoughts ?
Hell's Kitchen was better... I mean who doesn't love Gordon Ramsey. They have the regular cast of characters who if not policed by Ramsey could possibly kill or at the very least make someone very sick with the food they are serving.
Top Chef was great as well this past week but my two favorites ended up on the chopping block but thankfully the third chef on the block was sent home.
Biggest Loser was great a well...this show still continues to inspire me every week. This show changes lives for the good !
I'm still waiting for Survivor and The Amazing Race to come back...I think it is sometime in this month !
I have been away from the computer a lot in the last few days and will most likely be more and more disconnected in the coming months. After self-checking myself on the amount of computer time I have during the day I knew I had to change this. While I love connecting with friends and family on-line I have two very busy kids that are demanding my time and I know they deserve it.
I'm still going to check my email in the evenings and of course, play a few games on Facebook but for the most part I'm going to be off-line during the day.
We had a great weekend..it was all family time for 3 days !! Faruq took Friday off and Hayden had the day off from school so what a better place to spend a few hours but Ikea. We arrived just before lunch and afterwards Hayden hit the play area while Laila, Faruq and I shopped. I'm updating the kids toy room and love all the groovy things that they sell. I picked up a few shelves, a chair and some picture frames. I will post a few pictures when I have finished with the makeover.
When we got home Faruq and Hayden got to work on painting my office (it became the toy room a few years back). It was painted with black and yellow so both colors needed a few coats of primer to cover it. They finished the priming late last night and this morning the paint started going on. I hate to paint but know that the toy room colors were my idea in the first place so I have been pitching in a little with the whole process. The end result will be so sweet with me having a work space back where I can start to get the creative juices flowing again - I have really missed that !
Faruq took the kids this morning out for breakfast to give me a little break. They ended up at MacDonald's (not my 1st choice for nutrition) but I loved the few hours on my own so it was worth it. I finally finished a book that I have had on my night table for over 6 months then took a nice long bath. I did something to my back on Friday and it has been pretty tender all weekend so that was just another reason for loving the time alone - My husband is so sweet and I love the fact that he is such a "hands on" dad.
I spend the the rest of the day making meals for Laila, baking muffins and of course making a yummy supper for tonight. We tend to eat fast crock-pot meals on the weeknights but I have really tried to prepare a nice meal on Sunday's.
I love weekends but man they go by so quickly ! I find by Friday I'm usually just exhausted from the weeks activities so I look forward to my few days away from the regular routine.
I hope you all have a good coming week !
