December 25th, 2008

They say that Christmas can bring out the devil in some kids. Our Violett was an angel and very well behaved, but she still shot laser beams out of her eyes!

The Wonders of Ketchup

Violett has never had ketchup before...she sat so quietly eating her fries. Dip...Dip...Dip...

Me and the V

I always try to take the videos from her level. I usually sit down or hold the camera by my waist. I crouched down to get a better angle and the little cutie pie came and sat on my knee! I can't believe just how much I love my little girl.

In the Snow

Here's Violett's first adventure in the snow. We did go out the other day with Daddy, but there wasn't nearly as much snow and this time we were ready for it! It took me almost 20 minutes to get her into the cold weather gear, but this time I knew to put on the mittens before the jacket! We stayed out there for almost two hours. Violett played with the neighbours children and I got suckered into helping shovel the common area. I love the snow because it snows like that all the time back home and Violett can't get up enough speed to get away from me and into trouble!

"Bum Jump!"

Phoenix Gymnastics

On the 15th of November it was Seth's birthday. Violett was invited to go to the gymnasium to play with the other kids at the party. She had a blast, but mostly played by herself. She found a soccer ball and spent about a half hour just kicking it around the room.
There was a pit of foam blocks on one side of the room and Deb tossed her in it!










She wasn't too impressed until I jumped into the pit too!










Luckily we both got out of there with our socks on!




She really loved the parachute at the end. We all sat around the edge of it and some kids were in the middle running around while we shook it and shaked it all about. The kids were supposed to take turns, but Violett just stayed on it the whole time.

She enjoyed it when we made a tent out of it too, but got a little upset when it started to get hot in there. Boy, did she ever fall asleep instantly in the car on the way home!

Last Post but Not the Least Post

Ok, so I think this post will catch us up on this month's new business.

Without going too much into detail out of respect for his privacy, the day after V's accident my dad was admitted to the hospital. They said that there was a block in his heart and he would be having a stint put in the following week. When they checked out his heart they found "multiple blockages". He ended up having double by-pass this last Tuesday and is doing very well now. We go to see him every day at the hospital and he is looking better and better. He most likely will be allowed to go home this coming Tuesday. My mom, sister and I are very, very happy about him coming home. He's like an overcooked turkey: tough and tough! I've been bringing Violett to see him everyday too, and I really feel that it makes his day to see her. She's been well behaved while visiting at the hospital.

Violett is still sleeping right now so I'm going to go lay down on the couch and veg for a while. Love you, Daddy!

It's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Deb!

These Didn't Quite Work Out As Planned...

Sometimes the iphone doesn't take a proper picture if the subject is moving. Here's a bunch of pictures that didn't quite turn out right.

The Accident

As you all know on November 11th Violett got her little foot caught in the dog chair. It was scary and traumatic, but I think more for us than for her to be truthful. I'm not going to post the pictures here of her foot and of the spring and the chair, but I'll tell a shortened version of the story.
She was playing in the chair with an older kid, L. Her foot slid down into the chair and we couldn't get it out. After ripping the chair apart, using industrial wire cutters we finally saw that a metal wire had gone through the top of her foot and had come out between the last two toes. We took an ambulance to the hospital where they removed it in a flash. She barely cried and was bandaged up and we were sent home. She had a nap and has been running around on it since. She's such a trooper and we are very proud to have her as our daughter. It's healed really well and we no longer have to worry about infections or band aids.

I can't quite remember which day it arrived, but we woke up to a knock on the door and I was handed a bag from Shaw Cable. Inside was a teddy bear, some lollipops, a balloon and a card. It had been sent from Scott's manager and co-workers. I am so glad I told him to get a better job! The people at Shaw are truly awesome for sending this to our little girl. It's a company that really cares about it's employees. Thanks, Shawn, for sending Violett the bear.

Goatee

When I first moved in with an old ex he had two cats. Toast and Goatee. The year was 1995 I believe and Goatee was a youngster. He was a Norwegian Forest Cat. Big and Beautiful! He loved to cuddle and purr and be rubbed and scrubbed. I remember one night he came up to me in bed, snuggled right up to me and put his arm around me and spooned me. Seems like a weird thing for a cat to do, but he did.


He was about two or three when I met him so that would put him at about fifteen when he passed. My dad told his doctor the symptoms and Goatee most likely had congestive heart failure. He really is missed by everyone.



Scott took this picture of the Goats when he was in the middle of a yawn. Too funny. For the last few years Toast and Goatee have lived with my parents, or what Scott referred to as the Retirement Home for Kitties. They were better off there without Cornbread torturing Toast and Goatee constantly trying to kill Ricky.

Ah, November...

So what happens in November? Usually it's a good month. Seth's and Deb's birthdays, American Thanksgiving at mom's house, getting closer to Christmas. Getting excited about perhaps some snow falling soon (please snow on Christmas, please snow on Christmas...)
This year didn't quite go as planned. The short version of it is: My cat Goatee passed away, Violett had her foot in chair accident and Dad ended up in the hospital. Phew! What a month! This is why there has been a big gap in my posts. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on it today.

Einstein?

The Gingerbread Girl

Here's our little Gingerbread Girl. Deb kept on insisting that she use the costume. And so fine...I'm just happy that she kept the hat on all night long!








I went as a Samurai and to keep her happy I let her use one of my little swords. She was so sweet and cute in that costume. (Scott went as a daddy for halloween...)

Pumpkin Patch 2008

As is was Violett's first real Halloween, Scott and I decided to go to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. I was in charge of the co-op's party for the kids and Chiu Lin Farms had the best prices per pound! $0.17 per pound! It was much better than going across the street to the grocery store for $0.25 per pound! So on a Saturday morning we put on some sweaters and our rubber boots and headed out the door.


The farm provided wheelbarrows for the adventurous pumpkin pickers. You could pick from the many beautiful pumpkins that they had near the little store they had or go out into the muddy field. We chose the field...Thankfully it hadn't rained the day before so it was dirty, but not really wet. We were wearing our boots so I wasn't too concerned about the mud.



While I walked around trying to find the best pumpkins, Vi decided she was just going to sit down and play with the vines and dirt.




I found a small pumpkin just for her! It was perfect. She was able to hold it and when she turned around it fell out of her hands and cracked! Oh well...I don't know if you can see very well in this picutre, but in the background you can see a row of green stalks. It took me a short while to figure out that it was broccoli! I had no idea that it grew so tall. They should sell the broccoli stems too in the grocery stores, they are so good for you and tasty too!


These were the pumpkins that we brought home with us. All these for under $20! My favourite was the green one. When he got carved up he ended up being the sick pumpkin with his innards coming out of his mouth. I wish I had gotten a picture of that!

A Plethora of Videos

This is what happens when I leave the room...

To My Faithful Blog Readers

Dear Faithful Blog Readers,

It's me again. How have you been over the summer? I hope that you had as much fun as we did.
We went swimming and playing in parks. We even got to go to a Corn Maze this year. Oh, and the gardening, don't forget the gardening.
Violett is looking forward to next summer where we will make our first attempts at riding a tricycle, more swimming and generally playing outdoors in the sunshine. She might have even said her first word by then! My bets are that it will be "Kitty". Any takers?
I hope that we can keep in touch more often over the winter months. I'm forecasting more posts due to the lack of sunshine outside. We will be looking for more indoor activities to try out. Maybe we can try the indoor pool? Any suggestions?
Whatever is in store for us I hope that we can make it through these dreary months to come and I hope that some of you will come for visits, and we can visit you too.
Dear Faithful Blog Readers, thanks again for all your support.
Sincerely,
A Mommy.

Random Pictures

Can there really be more trouble?

How is it possible that she has found yet another way to foil our safety measures? She's a smart girl. Evil genius is what I'm really trying to say...eeeeevvvvvviiiillllllllllllll. She takes after her daddy.

Pudding...Her Name is Pudding...

Oh Goodness! I think that we will call her Pudding from now on. And you can be sure that she went straight up to the bath afterwards. Yes, I know that she makes a mess and it's very funny to watch, but she is doing really well at using a fork and a spoon. She can stab food on her tray and actually get it into her mouth with her little fork, and she is getting the hang of using the spoon to scoop up the food. We are so proud of her.

The Devil Cat

The Cat Piano

Barry and Edith gave Violett a cat piano a little while back. It makes a ton of noise and has a little microphone on it too. Violett got frustrated with it one day and tantrums arose so I took it away and forgot about it. I stuffed it into the corner of the dining room and there it sat until the other day. You see, Violett is getting a little tired of being corralled in the living room and so I block off the stairs to the bedrooms and the kitchen and let her have access to the dining room and the hallway. Sometimes you just have to give a little more freedom. Back to the point...she found the cat piano and was playing with it. I heard these odd noises coming from the dining room and so I quietly turned on the camera and snuck up the stairs. This is what I found...

Time For Soup!!!

So, the weather outside is going to turn frightful, but soup-time is so delightful. And since we've got a bunch of bowls, Time for Soup, Time for Soup, Time for Soup. When I finally serve it up, half of it ends up on the floor. But if you'll just hang in tight, a ton of it'll end up inside!

Ok, that's just silly. I do make a mean Sweet Potato Soup though. It's fantastic on a cold and rainy day. Serve it up with a bun and a big glass of milk and you probably won't eat another bite for the rest of the day!




Pureed Sweet Potato Soup

(this makes a big pot)

three large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into cubes
one can coconut milk
one liter of chicken stock or water
one onion per sweet potato
garlic and ginger to your liking

I use grapeseed oil, but any veg/canola oil will do. Olive oil will do nicely too, but stay away from extra virgin olive oil because we all know you shouldn't cook with it!

saute onions until well done and then add the garlic and ginger. once garlic is cooked, about a minute, add the sweet potato and stir everything up together.

add the coconut milk and enough stock/water to barely cover the potatoes. bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes start to fall apart.

using a blender or immersion blender (hand blender) blend until everything is smooth. i pass the soup through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the clumps and lumps. use a ladel to push the pulp through. discard whatever is leftover in the strainer.

be careful because this soup is hot and holds onto the heat really well.

add salt to taste and white pepper. you can add regular pepper but it will be visible in the bright orange soup.

serve with a grilled cheese or toasty buns with butter. this soup can be made with any vegetable you want. sweet potatoes, white potatoes (yukon gold is the yummiest), butternut squash (which WON'T taste like pumpkin), carrots, turnips, rutabagas (please cook the rutabagas way longer than you think you need to to remove the waxy taste) or any other root or squashy vegetable you can think of. Use canned diced tomatoes and add a big spoon full of pesto instead of the ginger. Do whatever combo you like! Soup is easy to make and when homemade it's awesome.

The First Attempt

Bear Creek Water Park

Due to another episode of boredom, I searched for something new to do. I went to the Newton Wave Pool to get a bunch of flyers to see what was out there. I found a flyer for Bear Creek Trains. Hey! It was cheap (under $5 for an adult) and it was new. I asked my mom to come with us for the train ride and to explore the park while we were there. Violett wasn't exactly too keen on the train ride, a little bored I think. Thank goodness it wasn't more than a five minute ride. After the ride we went to the playgrounds. They have a big one for the bigger kids and a little one for the itty bitties. She went in the swing for a little while. Then I put her on the ground and just let her do what she wanted. Soon enough she found the water park...In she went, fully clothed. I would like for it to be noted that whenever I put the sprinkler on this past summer and had her in a little swimmer she would never get wet, but keep her dressed...well, that's a whole different thing! Bugger.

Wave Swinger

We had a chance to go to the Shaw B.B.Q this year and Scott wasn't too keen on some of the rides. The Wave Swinger was one of them, but he went on it anyway...what a weenie! Love ya, baby!

Cell Phone Pictures

Here's a bunch of pictures that I downloaded from my old cell phone. We bought some new phones and I didn't want to lose these old photos. They aren't the clearest, but they still are worth keeping...

Miracle Boule

I made zucchini crown bread the other day and wasn't very happy with the way it came out. Bland and Boring! So when I saw this bread on French Food At Home I just had to make it.




It's called Miracle Boule and was so easy to make! So easy that I've got a bowl of dough on the counter to bake tomorrow and will do the same for the next day! Thank goodness I still had this old Dutch Oven hidden away under the stove as my old Lagostina Dutch Oven kicked the can a while back. Remember this pot, Mom?


The bread came out of the oven and I brushed a bunch of the flour off of it (next time I won't use as much as I did today). I couldn't wait for Scott to get home to try it out with me so I sliced it up and smothered it in Strawberry Rhubarb jam. It was so good I think that I will be making this quite often! There isn't any left already!