Easter!

I am SO full... so full. For dinner there was turkey and ham, stuffing and mashed potats, broccoli and cauliflower bake, rolls, crescent things, cranberry sauce, gravy, and more - dessert, appetizers, chocolates, drinks, wine... yum. And I am a tired maman; since we've arrived the little one hasn't been sleeping all that well and I'm sure that it's the fault of that second tooth already creeping in - already! Ay-kashowsa. That's one of two - wait three - excuses as to why I'm going to skimp on the writing and let the pictures do the talking; I need to shower and there's hockey on and I'm being distracted. But the weekend's bottom line is this: we've been spoiled by great company, amazing and copious amounts of food, and despite broken sleeps, we are happy and at home here in B-ville among family and friends. How's that for a bottom line? It would be nice to zoom through time and space to Thetis to see my parents (they took the computer outside while on skype and it looks as gorgeous as ever there) but errrrrrr well, c'est impossible. I have a small list of blogs upstairs but for today, this is it - voila, pics. Happy Easter!!

Hendrik's first Easter egg hunt! He was interested in the basket, and Grandpa Bob did most of the hunting :)


Spoiled by the Easter Bunny - he dropped off a small basket of goodies - eee!

Oozing cuteness on an afternoon walk by the creek








What, with all that good food all I get is crab and giraffe with a side o plastic?


A chocolate H from Tante Sis - yum!

a few vids

a weekend away...

What a weeeeeekend! We had a great time up in Mont Tremblant despite some nasty (windy, rainy, snowy) Saturday weather. We left on Friday morning after some serious reading time (and a nap), and Steve and I enjoyed the scenic trip up - small towns and lakes and farms and old barns abounded. We cruised around the near-deserted village on Friday afternoon, went out for dinner and did a bit of shopping before an early night. I could go into more detail of Saturday and Sunday too, but here are the highlights for me, and then some pictures: huge buffet breakfast on Saturday (bacon, sausages, crepes, toast, banana bread, cafe, fresh fruit - yum), Hendrik's first trip to the pool, MAJOR laughs and giggles (not that he was soooo unhappy before his tooth came in, but he's been happier since), dark beer and a burger at a microbrewery on Saturday night, family nap time, wine and lounging, 12-hour sleeps for Hendrik (interrupted but once on Saturday night) and ? all of it wrapped up together - a weekend away... it was awesome.

Yes mom really, I'm reading...


really, I'm reading...

I don't know how he does it, but somehow he just keeps getting cuter and cute and cuter...


giggles and smiles = love!


a room with a view - nice!
ready for the pool! love this pic... my happy guys!

Much like his first few times in the Jolly Jumper, he wasn't too sure what to make of it all...

I had to get up and take this family nap pic (could I photoshop myself in there on the left?)... it was soooo cute. So cute.

Bundled up for a trip to the microbrewery - in nasty cold rainy windy snowy weather



We have a few days before Steve leaves for Slovenia; the full-time centre guys are headed overseas for 10 days of scrimmages and games before the summer season opens here with tryouts. Hendrik and I will head to Bowmanville for Easter weekend, and will somehow, I hope, manage to survive without Steve. It might seem like a loooong 10 days, but thank goooodness for skype - I'm sure we'll be visiting every day. I hope. And the little one is stirring so I'd better run. Hope you enjoy the pics!

a big first!

Man oh man did I ever get a surprise yesterday! Nope - no biting yet, but the mister has his first tooth! To be honest, my first reaction was this: our little guy is growing up too faaaast! Is this something we'll think of as parents until... well, forever? Hm, maybe. Everyone we meet that has kids says how quickly it goes, and I sure do believe them. Just like good chocolate cake, you blink and it's gone.




Ummm, so if you have kids, you'll know that people loooove to comment, share information, pass judgement, and tell you what you're doing right or wrong or should be doing; luckily I haven't experienced much negative or unwanted advice, but I sure thought I was in for some the other day. I was in Shoppers with Hendrik (who was sleeping in the carrier), when an older gentleman approached me and said, "Are you aware of everything that you're doing to your baby?" He looked nice enough, but I thought for sure this guy was going to make a comment on how I'm ruining his hips or something (??). Ummmm I think so, I said. And then this: "The aura that is surrounding you and your baby is just really amazing, incredible. Having your baby like that is so good for the baby, so good for you. There is an energy - it's fantastic, really great." It was a bit strange, but then, after a moment of processing, I thought to myself that might be the best baby compliment I've ever received. He sure does attract a lot of attention, this guy.

Oh! And I almost forgot: he also ROLLED over for the first time yesterday! Okay, it was the first time he rolled over for me - he did it for dad two days before, from tummy to back. And to wrap things up, the best spiced cookie recipe ever. I made these for our weekend getaway trip to Mont Tremblant (yay!), because every road trip (no matter how short) needs snacks. Yum!

Ginger Cookies
4 c. a. p. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger
4 tsp. cinnamon
1 and 1/2 c. marg
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
sugar to coat

Bake at 350 for 12 (ish) minutes! (I usually cut things in half - though the full recipe makes for a happy freezer :))

vote for me!

Noooo no no no I'm not running for Paaah-liament; I'm trying to win $500 for a club vb team in the Coaches Association of Ontario's Inspire Others contest. Here's the link - vote for me!

yumdelish

I have to start this blog with this chocolate cake recipe, since I'm pretty sure that it was the best chocolate cake that I've ever eaten - super super moist, and the perfect consistency. I didn't ice it, and if i did, I'd have to scour and test to find the right icing - the cake was so good that my regular old butter icing would disappoint the cake. Plus, there's oatmeal in it! So you could eat it for breakfast, guilt free (right?).

1/2 cup oats + 1 cup boiling water - let sit for 10 minutes
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter with sugar, add eggs, vanilla; alternating, add remaining dry ingredients and oatmeal to the butter/sugar mixture - or just add it all at once and mix it up. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a greased round cake pan. Yumdelish.

If there's one thing that I can't resist buying for Hendrik, it's books. I think that I did an amazing job keeping the baby buying under control before he arrived (4 1/2 months ago!), and I'm pretty sure that I'm still, well, yup, under control. Last week I bought Good Night Canada! and Sandra Boynton's All the Hippos Go Berserk, a favourite from when I was a young 'un. I love it - ALL THE HIPPOS GO BERSERK! and seven hippos moving west | leave six hippos quite distressed (why?)... love love love. Hendrik likes the hippos, but his favourite book is still Watch Me Hop, and I'm not so sure that he really pays any attention at all to the story or the pictures - he just wants to grab and turn pages. And try to put the pages in his mouth. And slobber. And the same goes for his exersaucer (the slobber part) and the plastic toys, as you can see:






Winter is on it's way out - finally!!! We went for a walk around Lac Leamy yesterday, and the dude just slept - so much for taking him out to see the world. People were wearing shorts and sundresses and flip flops in eager anticipation of the summer - it's a bit too early for that stuff for me but I am looking forward to doing the switch-o of the winter and summer clothes. Sorels away! Down jacket - away! And on that note I should put this computer away. It's time to get out of the house and make it to mommy group on time, something I am rarely able to do. Hasta la proxima!

sugar!

Since the last post I've had a few similar days - late late shower and late late dinner... hmmm, goes with the territory of being a mom I suppose - especially when your significant other is out of town. Steve was in Winnipeg last weekend for a vb thing, so Hendrik and I had a weekend alone! Eeee... I was a bit hm, nervous I guess to be solo with the babe for three days, but it was totally fine! We went to Chapters and read books (and drooled on books - woops) and watched kiddies play with trains, and then braved the Saturday crowds at Ikea - I ate lunch and bought some small shelves and Hendrik slept. I fed him smack dab in the middle of the kid's section of Chapters sans problem, and then again in a quiet corner of the store on a footstool. 1001 video games to play before you die? Uh, yeah. No wonder traffic was minimal. We made it out to Jame's and Jordyn's for the first bbq of the season, and it was great to hang out with friends - yay.

Aaaand the week has totally flown by. I've been nothing short of completely addicted to The Help, and would have finished it in one shot (okay maybe two) if I could have conjured up a rainy, quiet Sunday (or two). I stayed up late late late last night and finished it - what a goooood book! I kind of wanted something different to happen at the end, but I don't want to say in case any of you are reading or are going to read the novel. Such great characters - such real characters - I want to know what the rest of their lives look like... but, that's not really the point. I often wonder, when I read or think about different times and attitudes that history holds, what would I have believed? How would I have acted? I like to think I'd have been like Skeeter, but it's hard to really know, outside a' the times. Anyways, it was an amazing book and I'd highly recommend it. Next, The Penderwicks. And I'm on hold for the next Alan Bradley book. And I could always get back to Mme Ramotswe... The list is never ending.

So! The sugar shack visit - yum, maple syrup. Yum yum yum yum yum. Team Canada organized a trip out to La Ferme du Terroir, where we feasted on a mid-morning smorgasbord of pancakes, french toast, sausages, bacon, potatoes, omelettes, beans, fruit, ham, tarts and of course, maple syrup. After a total chow down, we tromped over to watch the sap being boiled down into sugary wonderful syrup. And then, for the rest of the day I felt like a total blobbo; I always like the idea of big breakfasts with all of the above afor-eatened things, but then in the morning, all I really want is oatmeal or cereal, or something healthy. Maybe it's just that I'd rather gobble that kind of food in the afternoon or evening, not the morning. Unless there's a hangover involved, and then I'd feel like a hungover blobbo after the feast. Whatever. Anyways, here are some pics!

maple taffy


maple taffy in my hair :(

a quick'er

It's 9:52 and I still need to shower. And I just ate dinner. And by starting my blog like this I must sound frenetic or negative or je ne sais what but I'm not. I have two books to start (The Help and The Penderwicks) and a sleeping baby, and plans to shower, read and go to bed. This sounds almost like perfection for any night of the week - even Friday - and I just thought I'd fire off a quick blog before ignoring the mess in the kitchen and getting on with things. A night of drinks and dancing would be pretty amazing too - not tonight - but some time. I have my fingers crossed that I can swing a trip out to BC in May, piggy backing a volleyball coaching gig that might let me extend my ticket and stay for more than a long weekend. We'll see if it can work. That would be a good time for drinks and dancing. Ugh, I need to meet some people here in Ottawa. I didn't make it to the strollercize class this week, and can't go on Monday either (doh), but hopefully next Wednesday and Friday... there were some nice women there, and it was great to hang out with other moms that had babes that were more or less the same age as HLB. And ummmm... yup, we did the most quintessential Canadian thing this morning - we visited a real sugar shack and ate Canadian things and walked around in the mud before learning about syrup and the process and yadda yadda yadda. The next blog - there are some good pho-tos. But with that, I must sign off and get on with things, namely, showering. Peace!