Not a very good day around here. The boys were miserable and after a rough night before, were fevered and both ended up getting sick during the day. Both boys are usually hard to get down for a nap so I knew something was definitely wrong when I came into the living room and found Owen asleep on Jason and Ethan crashed like this. His head was hidden under the couch cushion and he was hanging off the chair. He would end up staying like that for a while.
Anyway, some kind of sickness is on it's way and it's not going to be pretty.
In other news, I tried a new recipe today: Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls. They were delicious. Just ask the dog. She ate 6 of them right off the stove when I left the room. Damn dog.
It was just the kids and I today as golf tournament season has begun. Nana came over in the afternoon to finger paint with the kids. The boys had a short attention span, but they still enjoyed it very much.
Ethan is on the left and Owen is on the right. I love the little dab of red paint on Owen's right ear. What you can't see is the green dab of paint on his left cheek behind his hand.
These next pictures sum up the day perfectly. Our house was like a zoo today. Naptime was a bust with Ethan falling asleep and Owen refusing to go to sleep and then waking Ethan up. The kids stole wooden spoons ("drums") from the drawer in the kitchen and smacked everything they could find with them, including each other. Then for a half an hour they ran around with buckets on their heads and smashed into things (this is Owen). My mom summed it up perfectly. It was like watching the monkeys ride tricycles at the circus.
I love this picture. The kids were having so much fun and we were having fun watching them. Here they are piled up on Nana who was sitting on the couch. Not a great picture technically, but it sums up the moment perfectly (that's Owen again with the bucket on his head).
In unrelated news, I tried another new recipe at dinner. I made Pioneer Woman's Buttered Rosemary Rolls. I made the dough from scratch and although it was a little dense, they turned out great. Not bad for a first attempt at dinner rolls.
All weekend Ava has been making me laugh. She's come out with a few classics:
Ava: "Mommy, are you fifty three?" Me: "No." Ava: "Fifty two?" Me: "No." Ava: "Fifty one?"...
"Mommy! I drew a picture of you. No wait - it's an elephant."
Ava: "Mommy! Ethan is climbing over the baby gate!" Me: **sigh** Ava: "I know. They're bad eh?"
When I was a kid we got sugary cereals once in a while. Mind you we might actually have consumed more sugar adding it to the non-sugary cereals. My sister would add brown sugar to her cream of wheat until it was almost black and I used to sprinkle a 1/4" layer of sugar over my Weetabix.
Anyway...when we got the good stuff, it was Cap'n Crunch. It's still one of my favourites today but I don't buy it because A. it's expensive, B. three bowls and it's gone and C. I don't want an ass the size of a barn.
When I saw a recipe for Cap'n Crunch peanut butter cookies the other day I knew I had to try it. Peanut butter cookies are amazing enough on their own, but to add Cap'n Crunch into the mix? OSM.
Today I spent one on one time with each of the kids. Ethan went with me to get tea and Timbits from Tim Hortons, Ava got to go to the library and Owen got to go to the grocery store. He sat in the bottom of the cart surrounded by groceries hugging the box of Cap'n Crunch.
Believe it or not, I made a double batch and I only ate one. Warm out of the oven for taste testing purposes only. ;) The verdict? Absolutely delicious. The big decision now is what to do with the leftover Cap'n Crunch. Eat it the old fashioned way or make french toast? Decisions, decisions.
Today was a pretty quiet day around our house. I made the most incredible cinnamon buns today. They were amazing. Thanks Andrea for recommending the recipe!
Nana came over and played with the kids in the snow. The boys hate playing in the snow, however it became far more exciting when they discovered the road. This was also about the time that the kids were brought inside (Owen's in red, Ethan's in blue). ;)
The Olympics wrapped tonight and it was awesome. Something bizarre has happened. Suddenly I am watching curling and hockey and am right into it. Thank god the Olympics are coming to an end because it's just unnatural. Anyway, as much as I was into it, I couldn't take the pressure of the gold medal game between Canada and the USA. I decided to go for a nap and woke up in time to see the nail biter end to it and see Canada win in overtime. It was amazing.
In the evening I watched much of the closing ceremonies and watched two amazing weeks of patriotism come to an end. It's too bad my grandparents weren't able to see it as they would have loved it. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated to Canada in the 50s and were very proud to say they were Canadian. So am I. I have never been prouder in my life to be Canadian. Big thanks to Jane for sending this link to me. I remember seeing this air after the hockey game and it's amazing. I couldn't think of a better way to summarize the past two weeks. They have been incredible.
The stomach flu rolls on in the McDougall household. Ava continues to be rough, Ethan is slowly starting to recover and Owen is starting to get worse. One of the few things that keeps them all happy is watching Dora. Here's Owen watching Dora with his favourite blanket and his stuffed toy snake.
Did I mention that I found a great new chocolate chip cookie recipe this week? It made 7 dozen cookies and since the kids are barely eating and we are barely cooking, they are serving as a great meal replacement.
Tomorrow is my older sister's birthday, so I made her favourite dessert for the occasion. Here is one of the saddest Mille Feuilles desserts ever made. I was folding laundry and running around while making it and the result was terrible looking. But...it tasted pretty good in the end and it looked FANTASTIC once the candles were in.
Don't you feel younger knowing that you aren't going to be 32 until next year? You're welcome. ;) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! xo
Not being one to give up, I rocked these cookies today in my second attempt. Not only did I switch to a lighter and thinner white corn syrup, but I pulled the pot from the stove just as the bubbles started to form, resulting in a creamier sauce. The verdict? Holy crap indeed. They would be a definite candidate for the cookie exchange I am in next week, however my mother has informed me that the name is not classy enough for her cookie exchange. ;)
Anyway, that was it for today and thus ends my three day work week until the new year as I return to work full time next week for the next two months. Thanks for looking!
Another day, another baking disaster. Yesterday I came across a fantastic recipe for something called "HolyCrapTheseAreAmazing Cookies". They looked delicious and I had to make them right away, abandoning my whole no more baking for fear of gained pounds plan. They were no bake so how much easier could they get?
Yeah not the case. Apparently my full boil was a little too full so the corn syrup, sugar and peanut butter fused to the cornflakes like super glue. The result? 38 one and a half inch bullets you could fire out of a cannon and easily kill someone with.
Here's the recipe. As I would determine the next day:
this recipe + bubbles just starting to form = HolyCrapTheseAreAmazing Cookies
this recipe + crazy ass bubbles boiling and bubbling all over the place = homemade contact cement
Needless to say the entire batch went in the garbage.
Today was also an educational experience for me. Thanks to this picture on the People of WalMart site, I learned about a very real and very serious disease: Dunlap Disease. Thank you Bunker Bob for your informative comment and for adding this phrase to my vocabulary. ;)
Another good day. The boys entertained themselves while I did laundry and organized a few things. They got a hold of one of the Halloween masks which they thought was hilarious:
The trampoline was taken down for the winter:
I baked some cookies. Oh. My. God. Delicious. Another keeper.
And then my dad and I went to visit my grandmother in the nursing home. On the way home we got to see a cool sunset.
A pretty uneventful day off full of laundry, baking and cooking. I have become far more domesticated than I figured I ever would be. Impressive.
Anyway, not many pictures today. I just snapped these two of Ava playing with Scarlett.
I made no bake cookies that were absolutely amazing. I didn't take a picture because the light was fading as I made them and by the time I remembered to take pictures of them today they were gone. Anyway, they were peanut butter and chocolate. Need I say more? They were called No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. Here's the recipe. I was looking for a macaroon recipe and I was drawn to this one because first of all it has peanut butter in it and secondly it doesn't have coconut. It's a definite keeper and they took no time to make.
Later in the evening Ava got her usual one song of her choice played from the computer room after lights out. Her choice tonight?
Today was a great day but busy again with lots of stuff to do. For breakfast I tried a new crepe recipe. My dad is the crepe master and I love his recipe but I wanted to try this one out since it has so many great reviews. The verdict? Fantastic. It has the same ingredients as my dad's, but slightly different proportions and the addition of vanilla makes them great (I always fill my crepes with melted chocolate chips. Everybody else in the house likes syrup on theirs. I like them with chocolate chips and currants and instead of syrup I sprinkle mine with lemon juice and white sugar like my dad. Delicious.)
Later on in the morning I was thrilled to discover that one of the best Alfred Hitchcock movies was on: North by Northwest. I love Cary Grant and I love North by Northwest so I sat down to watch. About a third of the way through I see Ethan's reflection in the tv as he is trying to climb onto the counter:
Check it out - his timing was perfect. Even Cary Grant is wondering what the hell this kid is doing. A few minutes later the boys would team up and shut off the receiver to the satellite. It took me five minutes to get the movie back. During that time I missed the best part of the whole movie - the crop dusting scene. Even if you haven't seen this movie I am sure you have seen the crop dusting scene before. It's a classic:
After that I spent the afternoon baking with my mom and Ava to use up the apples we picked yesterday. We made caramel apples:
I made my first apple pie. Scratch that. My first pie period:
By that time we were on a roll so I made applesauce and peeled the remaining apples for freezing. Then my mom taught me how to make my Nan's famous yorkshires to go with the roast we had cooking. An easy enough thing to make but the process is pretty particular if you don't want them to end up like hockey pucks which ours did not:
That was it. It was a great day. My hands are sore from peeling apples and I am still stuffed as I type this, but it was a lot of fun. Thanks for looking and thanks for a great day Mom!
Today was a busy day and the kids had me on the run. I knew it was going to happen so I decided to start the day relaxing with a nice cup of tea.
It wasn't so relaxing and I ended up wearing most of it. What didn't spill all over me I drank in the kitchen while Owen stole the remote control
and Ethan tried to make himself a coffee.
There were some moments that weren't crazy though. The three kids actually played together quietly for about ten minutes making a fort in the living room. Ten minutes of peace is the equivalent of a week's vacation in this house.
Ava and I did some baking. We made Cowgirl Cookies. The verdict? No idea as I didn't eat any of them. They looked kind of dry to me though so I think they'd be best served with a big glass of milk.
It was Jason's 35th birthday today. Happy birthday! Not much of a birthday when you are on midnights and sleeping all day though. While Daddy was sleeping, Ava and I made cupcakes to celebrate.
