Teachers bday cake

On Wednesday, it is Maelie's teachers bday. We decided to make a cake for her. This is the outcome:



I like it, but was a bit disappointed with the green leaves between the two bottom flowers. It seems another flower could have been added there. All in all though, I think she will be happy. I made my own icing this time from a recipe I found online and it came out decent. I should have omitted the vanilla though. You can taste it a lot.

Recipe:
(I forget where I got it though!)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp milk

beat butter and shortening
add vanilla
beat in icing sugar
add milk

Bingo was his name-oh

Maelie went to a classmates house today for a playdate.
Sierra has 2 siblings that are older than her. All three kids had a friend over and Maelie knew all of them as they are all at the same school. When I picked up Maelie I tried to make conversation.

"So Maelie, what did you like playing the most today?"

"Bingo"

Thinking that maybe the older kids played with them, I added "oh, cool. Did anyone else play Bingo with you and Sierra?"

"oh yeah. The dog played."

LOL "Did the dog win?"

"No. I won twice."

Guess his name isn't Bingo after all!

Menu Plan Monday

I was actually ready to post this before noon today! goodness! The beautiful weather motivated me to create simple dishes for the week which we could easily eat on our deck. Unfortunately, Bill advised that after today, it's all down hill. But I am always hopeful.

Today, I am actually making that AWESOME tomato Basil soup from Easy Family Food (magazine from Better Homes and Gardens). Two recipes below come from "The best of Mincavie". One from Easy Family Food.

Monday: Apple Meatballs, rice and salad (from Mincavie recipe book, p. 236) - last time I made these, I LOVED them. Easy and tasty. Recipe below.

Tuesday: Turkey and Bean Burritos & veggies (from Easy Family Food, p.49)

Wednesday: Chicken fingers & salad & veggies (This is Maelie's special request)

Thursday: chicken tournedos (bacon wrapped chicken) & salad & veggies

Friday: Mexican Pita & fruit & salad (from Mincavie recipe book, p240) Recipe below.


Recipes:

Apple meatballs:
1.5 lbs ground chicken (they write extra lean gr. beef, but I prefer chicken)
1 egg
1/2 cup oats
1 chopped onion
salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbsp dry mustard

Mix meatball ingredients together and make 24 meatballs. Put meatballs in baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients in separate bowl and pour over meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Mexican Pita

9 oz extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/3 tsp chili powder
1 pinch of cumin
1/2 cup tomato juice
salt & pepper
1 - 6inch pita bread

In frying pan, brown onions and garlic. Add pepper, ground beef and seasonings. Crumble meat while cooking. Add tomato juice and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cut pita in half to make 2 small pockets. Heat lightly and stuff with mixture. This recipe is only for 2 portions.

Get ideas for your menus from other people....visit Org Junkie's site!

The Joy of Slimy Snails

Maelie LOVES all little creatures. She spent at least half an hour with her new friends today.

She gathered them all up...



She is a pretty hands on nature girl.



She couldn't help but let them wander around her hands.

not as planned!

So much for my plans... the SUN came out and so there was no way that I was going to lock myself in the basement. We spent all day outside instead!

Thia morning, Maelie and I ran a few errands. Once back home, we headed out to the park close by.

Maelie had a wonderful time on the swings.



Enjoying this weather is the best thing ever... it feels so invigorating that I feel like I could even touch the sky!




After a fun time at the park, we came home and had a great time with friends!

Plans plans plans

I tend to enjoy making plans... and then end up going with the flow so my plans don't always work out the way I planned. Today is supposed to be a rainy day... so here is what I am planning:

Grab a huge amount of ginormous garbage bags and head on downstairs to the basement for spring cleaning.

See, I have a tendency to hold on to too much stuff. (yes I know, this may be a surprise to some heheh). I have boxes and boxes downstairs for every single holiday. The problem is, sometimes, I end up with much more stuff than I would actually use or ever need. This ends up being a problem because it means I realized I cannot ADD anymore things to my collection because then I would be waaaay too overwhelmed.

So my goal right now is to actually go through some of the boxes, i.e Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc... and just pack up some things I will not use and send them to some place such as Salvation army or someplace similar to that. If I can salvage some stuff for crafts at school, then I will send it to Maelie's class or daycare. I am very hopeful that once I can get my basement organized, I can then focus on the main floor, and then the second floor.

I've been up since 4:45am... so I don't know how much motivation I will have throughout the day... but right now... 6:33... the motivation is there. I just won't start yet as Bill and Maelie are still sleeping and I would like to keep it that way for another hour at least! This means NO NOISE.

Stay tuned...

Bebe Lapin's new leash

Yesterday we took our little bunny out for a walk with his new leash. Really, it's not a walk because we just put him on the grass and let him jump and run. But we don't actually move that much we just keep up!



I can't wait to at least have enough grass for him to eat! Perhaps we won't need to mow the lawn this year!

Happy Earth Day!

Coming home, Maelie insisted we needed to do something kind for the earth... which of course, I agree. Since the snow just melted last week, I figured picking up the garbage that was hiding under the snow was probably a good start!

Here is some of our loot!



Now let's keep on doing something kind for our Earth EVERY day!

Plastic bottles

Make sure you check all plastic bottles with the number 7, such as this picture.



Visit this link for more info. You can return your plastic #7 bottles for a refund (in Canada anyway). Perhaps we are heading for a healthier, safer world?

Menu Plan Monday

I am a bit behind in my menu plan today. It seems now that the nice weather is here, after such a snowy winter, I am ready to head out for pic nics every day. I will make an easy plan this week.

Just a funny on the side.. yesterday evening, I made prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Bill and Maelie's favorite! (NOT) Bill poured ketchup all over his. Maelie peeled the prosciutto off tiny piece by tiny piece... and ate it. She wasn't keen on the asparagus though. It was quite the site! At one of the priciest side dishes I make because of the price of asparagus and prosciutto... I think I will just stick to mashed potatoes!

Monday: Chicken sausage, mushroom rice, yellow beans (steamed), salad Update: just made this rice and it is SO easy and so amazing.

Tuesday: Pork tenderloin, veggies, mashed potatoes, carrot & turnip

Wednesday: Won Ton tacos .. I just discovered this site via the weekly menu plans and this recipe looks SO tasty! I will use ground chicken instead of round. Side salad & veggies

Thursday: Petits pains au jambon & fromage from Boite à Lunch santé with salad and other raw veggies

Friday: Easy Garden Bake & veggies

See more weekly menus at Org Junkies site... ! Lots of great ideas there!

Glow in the dark golf party

Today we were invited to Tori's 5th bday party. It was at Putting Edge. A game of mini golf with 15 kids of an average age of 5 is quite the game!



The entertainement person of course made it a bit easier for the kids by helping them in their game. Everything is glow in the dark. It is beautiful! All kids were wearing some white. All kids get a glow in the dark ball to go around the course in teams of three. Here is Maelie in action:



One really nice display was the volcano. You had to hit the ball right through the volcano.



The party rooms are nice , the tables are black with all kinds of fluorescent designs on them. Maelie was a little uncomfortable because all the kids were in the same class (except for siblings of course). She kinda was the odd man out, so I am glad I stayed.

She was rather excited to play a cool game of air hockey with her mama after the party!

4:13 am

The birds in our neighborhood start chirping at 4:13 am. And it is still dark. How do they know that they should start chirping?

(perhaps you are a bit more concerned with... why is she blogging at 4:13 am?)

Non. Negociable.

With Maelie playing with more friends in the spring, I get to observe her in action. I have noticed that Maelie is rather a "leader" than a follower. I am sure most of you who know her have kinda noticed that.

I have noticed a few times that when she is with other kids, if a child suggests they do something, Maelie will just say "no." and then move on to something else.

For example:

"Maelie, pretend you are the baby and I am the mom"

"uh, no." and then walks away to something else. Then the other child ends up following Maelie.

Good? in a way...! She may not be easily influenced lated on to do stuff that's not right. But bad? perhaps... she needs to learn that it's a two-way world! If she ends up with someone with a strong personality like hers, it may end up rather touchy!

On another yet similar note... we had child-led interviews at school this week. Maelie was not really motivated in that at all. She was more interested in joining her friends at daycare than to show us what she does in class. She does great in class... but I don't think she was interested at that particular moment. I am involved in some school things with her, so for her to sit down and show me what she does, was kind of old news for her. She is used to me being involved at school.

I met with the french teacher on my own before that. She seems to really like Maelie. She stated that Maelie was a great leader in class and she was very popular. I guess she will always remain popular with the kids who are not as "leader" as she is. Her self confidence shines in the classroom. (she saves her insecurities and meltdowns for home) The french teacher was saying that when they play duck duck goose sometimes for example, the kids always choose Maelie. She actually has to guide them to choosing someone else. My goal is not that Maelie be the most popular kid... my goal is that she is self-confident and my "hope" is that she is never bullied. I guess all moms hope their children will never hurt or experience ANY kind of pain.

It's that time again....

time to clean up our yard that is... and to take the summer stuff out. It has been gorgeous out here for many days in a row!! Maelie has spent most of her waking hours outside.

Last weekend, we still had a 4 foot pile of snow on our front lawn... I am happy to report that as of yesterday, there is none left! That was with a bit of help from ME. Bill was wondering why on earth we would shovel the snow OFF the lawn.... since it would melt on its own. Some of us were sick of the winter look in 20 degree weather. So a bunch of neighbors and myself ended up shoveling our snow off our lawns.



It was also time to clean up the back deck and set up the sand box and pic nic table. Mind you, they were there all winter, but we just couldn't see or use them. I got the kids to work washing the table for them to have a little tea party.




Maelie has a little friend on our street who visits every. waking. hour. The routine is... we drive home, park the car, and there she is. Yesterday they played together from 1:30 pm until 4:45 pm. We went out for supper, next thing I know when we get home at about 6:30, she is right back in the yard with Maelie. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE to have friends to play with... but sometimes, every minute of every day ... makes me wonder if the parents want to spend time with their child.

I must say though, I am truly blessed and I will enjoy every second that Maelie chooses to stay home with me rather than try to leave home!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is Maelie's Grandma's birthday! (on Bill's side)

Even if we live far away, we think of Grandma every day and Maelie often talks about when we'll see Grandma again :)

It would have been wonderful to have been there to celebrate another wonderful year...!

Happy birthday Grandma!

Dangerous jobs

Maelie and I saw a police car today, and one of the police people was a woman.

"Maelie, would you like to be a police woman when you grow up?"

"No way!"

"why not?"

"I don't want to drive. It's much too dangerous"

Obviously... she has been living in Gatineau long enough... she knows driving is MUCH more dangerous than guns, thieves or any criminal!

A crack in the ground

Maelie loves her sisters a lot. She doesn't get to see them as much as she would like because Michelle is in Winnipeg and Lisa in Japan. She admires them both so much. (I will be going from topic to topic.. but keep on reading.. it will all merge together into one piece)

I was listening to the news on the radio yesterday. A street not too far from our house runs from the top of the hill right to the bottom and new housing is being built on both sides. A few have been there for a couple of years but some of them are currently being built. On the news they stated that the hydro company discovered a huge fissure behind the houses and 6 houses had to be evacuated.

On our way back from school yesterday, Maelie and I drove in front of that street at the bottom of the hill. The road was blocked and a police car was there. I explained to Maelie what happened and how 6 families had to be evacuated until they can check to see if it is safe to go back.

"Mom, when they evacuated, where do those people go?"

"Maybe they went to a hotel or to stay with some relatives in the meantime."

"oh. I wish we had a crack in our yard"

"why?"

"Well because if we had a crack in our yard, I could go live with Michelle."

It's that simple!

A little bit of sun to change her mood

Yesterday morning Maelie still didn't like her new hair. She made sure I knew it by looking very sad and pitiful.



But then I allowed her to ride her scooter outside in the beautiful sun for a couple of minutes before going to school, and so her whole mood changed. She put on a hat and forgot about her hair.

When she came back from school, she was fine. No one teased her, no one insisted she looked like a boy, which was her main worry. It's funny how girls can be about their looks sometimes. I am not one to emphasize the importance of looking girly or looking stylish. So I guess it is part of growing up!

Hair trauma

Maelie got her hait cut yesterday. She hated it with a passion. And she kept reminding me every second of every minute for at least 4 hours. She thinks her hair makes her look like a boy. I didn't get a pic of her yesterday... but this morning she worked her hair into something she liked a bit.

She added some glitter to her face and she seemed satisfied.

The actual haircut is a bit of a bob. Apparently, bobs are coming back in style. I of course wouldn't know this because I have my own style.

As I am typing this post, the head band has come off and the unhappy 6 year old is creeping back in....

Menu Plan Monday

I made my menu plan today, however it seems as if it is overwhelming! The weekend has been difficult (child-wise). Maelie has completely exhausted me! Is this what 6 year olds are supposed to be like? I want to go back to 5! It was so much easier, and more pleasant!

So I struggle with the idea of finding the time and energy to follow through with my menu plan... however it is only Sunday. Monday may be entirely different!

Visit Org Junkie for more Menu plan ideas.

Monday: Mexican chicken and rice from Taste of Home. It looks simple and yummy.

Tuesday: It's a Wonderful Loaf from Crazy Plates with veggies and salad

Wednesday: Slow and Easy BBQ chicken from a previous weeks plan.

Thursday: Lasagna with homemade spaghetti sauce (My dads recipe) with salad

Friday: Spaghetti with homemade sauce with salad and veggies

Have a great week!

Beginner Reader

Maelie has been developing her reading skills incredibly! As a mama, I am amazed!

She was truly bored with the books that only had a couple of words per page. She needed to read "stories". When she was bringing home short 2 word per page books, I really had to push her to get her reading done. Not because she didn't know how, but because she didn't find the story appealing... mainly since there was no story.

Here are two samples of books she read to me yesterday.




Maelie is very competitive. Sean, in her class, is the only child who is this advanced in reading. He seems to always be one level ahead (The samples above are level 8). Maelie was a level 7 earlier this week, but her goal was to get to the same level as Sean (8). It's actually hilarious to see how competitive she is. I guess I should see it as "motivated"!

Either way, I am really proud to see all her efforts!

Tomato basil soup - not for the special eaters

ok, so by writing this, I may appear to have an extremely rude child. However, if you know her in person, you know the way she talks and says things.

I made by tomato basil soup recipe tonight. As I was adding the wonderful ingredients to the pot on the stove... Maelie walks by, looks in the pot, and says :

"uh... mom.... you're not gonna feed me THAT are you?"

very casually, I responded, "Of course not sweetheart. Why would I feed you this wonderful, healthy, freshly made , delicious soup ? I sure wouldn't do that."

She walked away. hehe

She is a *special* eater. She eats very healthy, but please do not mix. things. together. Every ingredient is made to be separate.

So she had egg whites, crackers, an orange, orange peppers and cucumbers.

My soup was extremely delicious. I must say... it was one of the best I made EVER!
I searched the Better Homes ad Garden website, but they don't have the right recipe online. They only have it in their magazine. (let me know if you want the recipe. If no one wants it I won't bother typing it out!)

Bill and Maelie just don't know how good they have it! But I do!

my mom

My mom is coming for a visit this weekend. It's always wonderful when she comes because I get a bit of a break from Maelie's questions. I DO have to supervise sometimes though , because when my mom leaves, and i get Maelie back to myself... she has these new wierd habits, or has some behavious problems... you know, all that fun stuff that a grand-maman can teach her grandkids.

Maelie is very excited. She's decided that this summer, she is going to spend 10 days at grand-maman's house WITHOUT me. Maelie has never slept anywhere without me... I have only left her one night in her whole life, and that was at home with Bill while I was in Montreal for work. that was ONE night. I don't think I could handle 10 days away from her! She is so excited about it though. So I don,t want to burst her bubble and say no.

She told grand-maman "When I go to your house, i really miss my orange peppers. Can you buy some?" Grand-maman rightfully accepted to buy some.

So instead of having a blankie or a stuffed animal with her while she is away, she will have orange peppers.

modification to meal plan - Wednesday

Today, we had so much leftover chicken from the past 2 days, that instead of making some more, I decided we should eat up what we had left not to waste. I just added some alredo pasta. I used an Alfredo recipe BHG Easy Family Food (special edition of Better Homes and Gardens on page 103)

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg (which i omitted)
1 tbs Olive oil
4 clove garlic , minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
hot cooked pasta

In a bowl, stir together cream, broth, cornstarch, pepper, nutmeg, set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add broth mixture; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Stir in cheese.

Serve immediately over hot pasta.

It was really good! I was pretty amazed at how easy it was too.
I can feeeeeel the garlic though.....

Birthday morning

Since Bill works evenings, we decided that Maelie would open up her presents this morning first thing before going to school so Bill could also be there for the gift opening too. This meant everyone out of bed by 6:15. Below is a pic of Maelie not quite awake yet. If you click on the pic to make it bigger, you will see that her eyes are completely elsewhere... maybe still in her bed. (she insisted on wearing her new outfit from yesterday to bed... this is why she is still wearing it this morning)



Maelie was really happy about some uncommon gifts for 6 year old girls. I don't often share about gifts, mainly because I don't like to focus on material things, but this is just to prove a point. Maelie noticed that on the packaging, they only had pictures of little boys playing with the Hot Wheels. This led to a discussion about marketing, and also on the importance of deciding OURSELVES what we should like to play with or not. Girls CAN play with Hot Wheels and monster trucks.



I also had to pack a snack for Maelie. It is hot dog day at school, but i had to pack her a water bottle, a fruit and a small dessert. Can you guess what is what?



I can't wait to hear what she has to say about her snack!

We picked up a couple dozen donuts at tims on our way to school for all the kids. I wanted to bring a homemade snack for the class for her bday, however I did not have the time or energy to do it this weekend after her party! Also... with 2 days of sun... I preferred outdoor play to baking.

What a special day! 6 years old..... 6 years ago, less that one hour ago, I was holding a brand new little baby girl. Who knew I had THIS much love to give someone!

your coolness!

today Maelie and I went shopping with some birthday money she got from Grandma and Auntie Cindy. Maelie really wanted an outfit... a *cool* one. This means that I had no say in it, because I obviously cannot choose cool stuff anymore. My choice in clothes is very "passé" now.

Maelie was getting VERY upset that clothes is so expensive.

"Mom, there is NO WAY that I am paying more than 20$ for something. How about YOU pay for it instead?" (uh.... what is written on my forehead that I am not aware of?)



hahahahahah I guess my "cheapness" has paid off somehow!

She ended up buying only one outfit because she was just too upset about the cost of clothing nowadays. You know, 6 years old.... 6 years of inflation... it's all too much !

Meal Plan Monday

Once again, another meal plan ! Please visit Org Junkie's site for more awesome meal plans.

Last week, I followed most of my meal plan. Surprisingly enough, I even got a compliment for my pork chops from Bill. For him to out of the blue compliment a meal... that must mean a lot!

Monday: Spinach Feta stuffed chicken , with veggies and salad
updated: wow! i am just eating this now and it is DELICIOUS! i actually made it in the oven though. 45 minutes at 350. its perfect!

Tuesday: Maelie's 6th birthday! I will make chicken tournedos again (bacon wrapped chicken) because she says this is her favorite chicken. Her favorites sides: steamed green beans and romaine lettuce!

Wednesday: Slow and Easy Barbecued chicken with potatoes or rice and veggies.

Thursday: Spicy chicken with brown rice pilaf - this is from Clean Eating magazine, page 65. The recipe sounds really tasty. The "marinade" for the chicken is actually made of plain low fat yogurt, chili powder, garlic, lime juice and salt.

Friday: Tomato basil soup and grilled cheese sandwiches . The tomato basil soup comes from BHG Easy Family Food magazine. I can't wait to try it. Anything with tomatoes and basil is amazing.

What's wrong with this picture?

Maelie ventured outside in the yard this morning and came back with this:



Yes, even with 6 feet of snow left, we still manage to have ONE happy and healthy dandelion.... She carefully took it out with the roots and it has now been transplanted in our big planter in our driveway.

I am sure that we are the envy of our street! Let's hope noone steals it.

Mom, can we rewind the party?

this is what Maelie said after the last guests left....
"please mom, can we rewind the party?"
She had a blast and wanted to start all over again. I personally wouldn't mind a year before I have to do this again!

It was a great party! I am totally pooped! Unable to lift a finger to clean the place! Good thing I have Sunday and Monday off, I can tidy up...but not today!

First off, Maelie kinda got carried away with the butterfly tattoos this morning



The she kept looking out the window and looking at the clock and asking when the guests would be here. Everything was ready for our visitors.






Everyone arrived mostly on time, and so we started the treasure hunt. The hunt took us up and down the stairs... all over the place.





The treasure was finally found in the oven! That has got to be the best hiding spot for a treasure. The kids didn't dare open the oven door.. I had to give them the ok! (safe kids you know)



Here is a group picture as we were getting ready for another game.



Everyone had a butterfly net (which they got to take home becaise really... why would I need 10 butterfly nets?). This morning, I blew up a 100 pack of small water balloons. We had to spray them down a bit as they were full of static. I put them all on the floor in the living room and the kids had to get 5 in their net without using their hands. It's not that easy you know!



We then sat down in the kitchen ready to eat.




Thank goodness I got longer candles because we sang Happy Birthday and Bonne fete! Maelie blew out her candles one by one!



After that, Maelie opened her presents. Or should I say each child open their cards and presents. ehheeh It was adorable. Maelie was very polite and thankful! She was truly spoiled!

Afterwards it was time for the pinata. That was one tough butterfly...! Everyone got 3 turns and then with a bit of help (i.e ripping the body open) out came the candy!!



Once each kid had their candy, I gave them their goodie bags and we headed outside in the driveway to blow bubbles, draw with chalk and wait for the moms & dads.

It was a success! Most kids didn't want to go home, but no crying, no fits, no fighting. It was wonderful! I am truly happy for my big girl!

Oh, and for your information, I didn't have a chance to take any pics.... one of the moms was wonderful enough to just click away. Note to self: always have someone there to take pictures!!

This was a great party... the key to a great party is imagination, patience, being ok with a mess, and most of all, love your kid more than anything in the world!!



This was all for you my sweet girl!