We be chillin'....

Date Night

Last Friday, G and I went on a date...with our little man. It was so nice to spend a little one on one time with our guy. We hadn't told him where we were going until we were on our way. He was so excited. BUT he thought we were going to see the Bruins...

A: Mom I can only cheer for the Boston Bruins!
Me: But what if the Bruins aren't playing?
A: Who's playing?
Me: The Moosheads!
A: Weeellll...I guess I can cheer for them. GO MOOSEHEADS GO!

found our seats!

Here comes the Mooseheads!

Our seats were in the second row from the ice. The puck had just dropped when a group of teenage hockey players sat in the row in front of us. Ozzy said he couldn't see, he could of course but he just didn't have a perfectly unobstructed view of the Goalie. They over heard him and switched up their seats so the shortest guy sat in front of my boy! I was so impressed! 

6ft Sub!!! Thanks to the Fans of the game for sharing

Well the game was full of action, and the Mooseheads played great! The 50/50 winner took home $11,364...sadly it wasn't me, but it does give me another reason to want to go to the next game. The Sea Dogs scored with 9 seconds left in the game....but they still had their asses handed to them.

Austin loved every minute. We are going to make sure we take him to another game in the next couple of weeks.  I loved having that 100% time to focus on him, and he loved it too.

A Boy's Special Space

About a year and a half ago, G and I had the kids' bedrooms renovated to make better use of the space. We moved a wall and changed the closets. I had posted about Amelia's room but Austin's still wasn't finished. It's been done for a while now so it's about time I shared it!

The wall decals are from SuperStore. They had coordinating totes and I kicked myself for not getting them, because now they don't have them anymore. The decals are really what inspired the room. Simple and classic, they'll grow with him for a few years and can easily be removed if the little man suddenly decides he dislikes them.

I'll never forget the day I got him Buzz and Woody... he saw them at the Disney store  and held them each by the hand and that was it! They are still favorites and tend to go with him whenever he can bring a stuffy.

Four has been a bit of a challenging year, but we've found that Ozzy responds so much better to a visual goal so Santa brought him his very cool chore chart. He earns happy faces each day and then get a reward at the end of the week. Ozzy's buddy Graham gave him the car map for his birthday and it works as the perfect floor mat.

We've been working hard at decluttering and organizing our house and the kids' rooms have been the easiest to up keep. I've stuck to the something in - something out rule and (surprise, surprise) it has kept the clutter down. Austin can usually find what he us looking for, has room to play and it doesn't take forever to clean it up. (always the biggest bonus for this mama!)

Oh the Hotwheels track....he loves it!

Bedding: 

Vitaminer Bil from Ikea (Thanks Little One for hunting this down and sending it to us!)

Curtains are plain navy from Walmart. I might change these up but for now they work.

Decor:

Rooms Come True (truck wall hooks)

Transportation decals (Joe Fresh Home)

Kudos Signs and Gifts (Boy wall decal)

Paint:

Caribbean Coast 550D-4 (upper wall) and Moon Rise (lower wall, trim and ceiling) both by Behr

Our room is the last of upstairs to post...but it isn't quite where I want it yet. Almost just a few finishing touches and then I can get started on a refreshing the main floor!

Happy Valentine's Day

Love the Boutilier Family

The global craft market

I've been a little busy.

I am so excited to announce that Grasshopper Kids Creations featuring A2 Designs is on ETSY!



GrasshopperKids on Etsy

 We officially opened our store this week and have linked it to the Grasshopper Kids Creations Facebook page. Take a moment to check it out. We'd love to hear your feedback.

I'm an Etsy junkie. I always find cool gift ideas and I have yet to purchase something and not be happy with it once it arrived at my door (or the gift receiver's door). I love the idea of supporting crafters and finding things that are different and (for the most part) not mass produced. So it was almost a no brainer to list our creations there. It has taken a bit of time to post listings, create our shop policies and make sure that we're in compliance of everything. (And I certainly hope we are because frankly it would be a real bummer to have the Internet police after me).

I've added a few new items to the shop including these adorable booties:

And this sweet top:

My model was a little under the weather but she tried to cooperate. She is seriously cute nonetheless and I think this top is going to look adorable in the spring fabrics that just arrived from Hawthorne Threads (click me for a sneak peek!)

Shelley and I will keep adding to the shop and we hope that you'll stop by, take a look and maybe share the word that we've jumped head first into the global craft market.

Let's talk

Today is an important day if you are a Bell Aliant customer. You should text. A lot. they are donating $0.05 for every text sent today to support mental health.

Why should I care? Why should you care? Because it's important. Take it from the lady who lived in denial of my PPD until one day I saw an airplane crash into my house...right into the baby's bedroom. Kinda hard to keep up the denial when you start seeing things.

photo: Sue Siri

I am lucky to have an incredible support network. People who don't think depression and PPD are afflictions that they can catch or who think that I just need to "get over it".I was over joyed to welcome our son. He was everything we had prayed for and we couldn't imagine how our whole world would change for the better with his arrival. I wasn't prepared for the possibility that I would be one of the up to 20% of women in Canada who experience Postpartum Depression. Up to 20%! At first I couldn't believe that the Canadian Mental Health Association would give a range of 3-20% to describe how many women go through this. But the symptoms are often missed as baby blues that dwell a little too long, mother's who suffer in silence because they are afraid they'll lose their lives as they know it and others still who worry that PPD means they will hurt their children. The scariest thing about mental health issues is that they are so common and people are still afraid to ask for help for fear of being judged. The resources can be difficult to access and the wait is  often long. And it isn't fair. If resources were readily available there wouldn't be a large number of people who can't get the help they need and have their treatments pieced together by well meaning folks doing the best they can.

For me, the fear of being "less than" or of people thinking I was a bad mother held me back from seeking help. I was so afraid that I would be pushed aside and that people wouldn't care about me any more. Asking for help was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I was losing me and I knew it. I remember waking up one morning in the early fall and as if on auto pilot I picked up the phone and made an appt for that day to see my doc. I brought my amazing son with me and poured my heart out to her. With the help of my great doc, husband, family and friends I was able to come through on the other side. I won't say it was easy but it has taught me so much about myself and the people in my life.

photo: Sue Siri

I was much better prepared when we were blessed with our second sweet baby. The great doctors at the IWK refereed me to Reproductive Mental Health and the team there was instrumental in helping me recognize what I needed to be aware of to stay healthy. Most importantly I knew that if I didn't feel right and I spoke up no one would judge me.

I don't exactly wear a sandwich board to declare my struggle to everyone, but I don't shy away from talking about it anymore. I felt so alone so I feel like part of my healing is to help other people and let them know they are not alone. I wish that that people would see that taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your teeth. You don't shy away from telling people that you have a dentist appointment, so why is that any different from making an appointment to see a mental health professional.

How can you help? For starters pick up your phone! On Bell Let's Talk Day, Bell will donate 5¢ more to mental health initiatives across Canada more to mental health initiatives across Canada for every:

1. Text message sent*
2. Long distance call made*
3. Tweet using #BellLetsTalk
4. Facebook share of the Bell Let's Talk image

*Bell and Bell Aliant customers

So let's talk...you can help change someone's life.

.

Preschool snack...again

 I feel like I'm devoting a lot of time to making snack these days. In reality it's been twice in the last couple of weeks but it's more baking then I've done in awhile.

Monday evening I was tired.  I had a sinus headache and after taking Austin out to the store to pick up supplies for A2 Designs orders (He insisted on coming with me so that we could have some "quantity" time together) we stopped in to Sobeys, grabbed some bananas and blueberries and headed home. I  had absolutely no idea what to make for snack.  I had already made granola bars and banana muffins just didn't sound like a winner. So I dragged open the iPad and opened my favorite app... Pinterest. I'm pretty sure a chorus of angels sing a heavenly tune and light beams from my screen every time I open it. I was on the hunt. I wanted something healthy that the kids wouldn't know was good for them. I came across a pin from the Fat Free Vegan. I've made some things from her site before but haven't been there in awhile. I looked at the recipe, decided on a few changes and went to work.

The cookies turned out really well and Ozzy said that the kids really liked them "...except baby Isaac because he was fussy but that's what little boys are like sometimes." (seriously folks I can't make up what comes out of this kid's mouth). They were super quick and I liked that they don't have much of anything processed in them, are simple and good for littles.

Banana Oatmeal "Cookies"
Recipe adapted from Fat Free Vegan

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal ( not instant)
1 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp flax meal
1 tbsp wheat germ
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until they are combined.  I used a 1" scoop to make even sized cookies (the last thing teachers need is kids fighting over cookies not being the same size!) and baked them in the oven at 350 for 8 minutes. You need to watch these because if your internal baking clock is off they will burn. Learn from me people...set a timer. Because there is no fat added to these cookies, I really encourage you to line your baking sheet with parchment paper and then give it a light mist of cooking spray.

 I tried one and was really happy with how they turned out. Because there in no fat in these i was concerned that they would dry out overnight. To solve that problem I packed the cooled cookies in containers and placed a piece of bread in on top of them and closed the lid. In the morning, I simply removed the bread and had perfectly moist "cookies" to send to school!

I will be making these again!

Wordless Wednesday

Someone found the chocolate chip cookies...

1000 Fan Giveaway

Shelley and I are thrilled!!! We've reached 1000 Fans on our Facebook fan page and we're hosting a giveaway to celebrate.  And I want to give you an extra chance to win :)

All you need to do is click the link below and follow the instructions. You'll earn extra entries by leaving a comment on this blog post and by becoming a follower of my blog.. You know you want to :)

1000 Fan Giveaway

 

I am so happy for Shelley! She has worked really hard to build her business and has been a huge cheerleader for A2 Designs, so much so that she asked me to join her shop, and it is fun and makes me find more time to be creative. And it gives me something else to write about :)

So please enter our giveaway, show some Facebook love to the vendors who have donated some pretty fabulous products for you to enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday

Love my hat! True Moon Creations

"Mommy, Daddy says this will get me the Ladies." I'm sure ladies love the stink eye...

A WW dinner party

Kinda spur of the moment Sunday, we invited some friends over for dinner.

I've been doing pretty good with Weight Watchers and I didn't want to blow it by eating out (That and Mint.com reminded me that my restaurant budget for the month couldn't handle dinner out for 4). So I decided to just double what I was making for dinner, throw some dinner rolls together and voila! Dinner is served!

Turkey Shepard's Pie
(I found a recipe at Once a Month Mom and altered it)

1lb ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups frozen corn
1 head cauliflower
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp flour
thyme
salt, pepper
1/4 cup butter
parsley

In a large frying pan cook the onion and peppers with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. When soft, transfer to a prep bowl. Brown the turkey in the remaining olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Sprinkle the flour and stir to coat turkey. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock. season with thyme, salt and pepper. Once the  sauce has thickened, add the onion mixture back to the pan followed by the zucchini, carrot, peas and corn. Add more stock if needed. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and spread in an even layer.

Cook the cauliflower in 1 cup chicken stock. Puree and set aside. Cook the potatoes. Drain and mash per taste. Add the pureed cauliflower.Add 1/4 cup buttermilk and the butter. Spread evenly over the meat mixture. Sprinkle the top with parsley to taste. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings. And at 6WWPP per serving you can have a dinner roll!!! (I have to say these were the best ones I've made yet)

Everyone loved it, the kids ate it up and didn't even realize that there were so many veggies in it and I didn't have a dinner hangover! I did have to send the rest of the dinner rolls home with our company though...they were so freaking good I could have polished them all off!

School?...How?!

Tonight Gordon and I will leave our kids with their awesome evening/weekend sitter (she's a hockey player and Austin just LOVES when she comes over) and we'll head over to the school where Austin will (hopefully) be attending French Immersion Kindergarten starting in September. I say hopefully because it's technically out of area and we'll need to apply but I'm hopeful that he'll get it.

Yes. Kindergarten (or Primary as they call it here on the mainland)... how did this happen? Just yesterday he was just a tiny human, always in a good mood and well behaved...

And now he's growing up faster than I ever thought possible. I won't lie...some days (most days) I wish time would slow way down. They don't stay babies for long and watching them grow and change is terribly entertaining, but I still miss his "little" days and soon I won't be able to deny it anymore...once he is in "big" school I really won't be able to call him a baby any more. Freeze time...seriously!

Snack time!

I've redeemed myself.

At Austin's preschool, parents take turns bringing in snack. In the Fall I sent over-sized blueberry muffins from Sobeys. That really wouldn't have been so bad expect that while I was off on maternity leave I sent Pinterest inspired snacks like rainbow fruit skewers and cupcakes made to look like tea cups. I also just prefer to feed my kids things that I have made versus store bought. So knowing that my turn was coming, I revisited my Pinterest Snack board to see what I could come up with...

Any they were very easy to make! I adapted the recipe and doubled it to make enough for the whole class.

No Bake Granola Bars

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

4 cups rolled oats (not instant)
2 cups rice krispies
2/3 cup raisins

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.

Prepare the pan: spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Line with Parchment paper and spray that. Set aside.

In a small to medium pot, add the butter, sugar and honey. stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla (it will splutter and you'll be cleaning it off your stove forever if you don't wipe it up as soon as you can- just an FYI). Using a silicone spatula to get all of the sugar mixture, pour over the dry ingredients and stir to completely coat. Dump the mixture onto the baking pan. With slightly damp hands pant the mixture tight to one end of the pan. You need to make sure it is tightly packed or the bars will fall apart. Leave them to set for 2 hours, overnight is best.

I cut 24 bars (4x6) but you could cut them bigger if you like. I did find them a little sweet so I think next time I'm going to cut back the honey a little. I'm also going to experiment with the dry ingredients..we shall see if that will be an epic fail or another success! Amelia LOVED these and so did Austin and his classmates.

Let me know if you try them how they turn out!

A2 Designs and Grasshopper Kids Creations

I'm lucky enough to have a very talented friend who makes some pretty amazing accessories. She started a business called Grasshopper Kids Creations and encouraged me to sell my creations in her shop. A2 Designs is doing better than I ever imagined and I love that people want to their littles to wear clothes that I have made!  We're getting ready for a craft fair with local mompreneurs on Feb 9 at Cole Harbour Place. Want a sneak peak??

credit: Andrea Heard

credit: Andrea Heard

credit: Andrea Heard (for the picture AND the baby!)

credit: Tammy Barrett Photography

Cute or what! We're accepting orders on our Facebook page and we're going to host a giveaway when we reach 1000 Likes. So please Like us....and ask your friends to like us too!

Wordless Wednesday

The one that DIDN'T make the Christmas Card

Outtakes- I love 'em!

What's for Dinner?

I am amazed that it is the 22nd of January and we have only eaten out once and treated ourselves to coffee twice. I think that is a record of some kind!

I managed to get my act together and plan out our meals. Added bonus, I was down 2.7lbs last week! But the thing I love most of all is that I don't have to hear "the question". You know, the question that makes the family's principal chef want to rip out their hair, lay their head against a counter and cry out in agony. Yup "What's for dinner?" Three words have never brought more frustration and anguish to me more than those have.Let's say G and I stay married for 87 years (we'll both be well into our 100s when its over) and that question gets asked 5 times a week.... I'll have to have an answer for "What's for dinner?" 22,620 times...22,620! Shoot me now! Thankfully though, last week I only heard it once. It was responded to with "Read the calendar on the fridge and you'll know". Haven't had to answer it since, thus ensuring that our marriage continues for another day.

So what was for dinner?

Taco Bake (5WWPP)
Orange Chicken stir fry with rice (8WWPP)
Tortellini soup
left overs

Taco Bake
(found a recipe online and changed it)

Cook 1 cup brown rice
In a pan brown 1lb ground turkey. Add a packet of low sodium taco seasoning.
Add:
1 small onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 carrot grated
2 tomatoes chopped
Stir in:
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
Prepared brown rice

I put it in 2 8x8 pans, sprinkled 1/2 low fat cheese over both and baked for 15-20 minutes at 350. Serve over shredded lettuce, topped with fresh diced tomato, salsa and sour cream. The kids both loved this! It came together really fast and by the time it came out of the oven, I had the kitchen all cleaned up!

I'll share the other recipes in another post.

Amelia on Ice

Saturday we ventured down to the Oval for skating lessons. You see, I'm going for Mother of the year and forgot to sign Austin up for skating lessons with HRM Rec on the right date and now all the classes are full. And he loves to skate. I cannot justify $125 for skating lessons through minor hockey and so the logical solution is the free lessons at the Oval..yes I said FREE! It's pretty hard to beat free.

Only problem was that Austin didn't want to participate in the lesson. He just wanted to skate, so did Aisygirl, so off they went!

ahhhhh! I just love watching these two friends together :)

Now here is someone who was a little excited

And she did pretty good on the  ice! She moved her little Bob skates pretty well. Her helmet was a little big and we didn't adjust it properly (I'll have it fixed for next time) but we made it work.

Mais oui! We have matching hats :) Thanks True Moon Creations!

The snow was coming down like crazy and the ice was a little sticky. But we all had fun.

Frozen and covered in snow, we made our way to the car. And then to Starbucks...

Amelia's cup was empty but she had great fun "cheers"-ing her brother. Looking forward to doing it again this Saturday!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

I stopped baking so that I could lose some weight...I haven't lost much weight and I miss baking.

My cousin and her family came down over Christmas and we had a Christmas Dinner at my aunt and uncle's house and I was asked to bring desert. My subconscious was obviously arrived at the place where I needed to up my game and I searched Pinterest for something simple but impressive. I found this:

I didn't follow the instructions perfectly but mine turned out like this:

And it was well received

You did say that I could use this picture L!

Someone got a fork in before I snapped the picture!

Other than there being a couple of steps, this was easy, tasty and looked pretty impressive!

How to make the world adore you...

The Parade of Lights marks the beginning of the Christmas season for us. It seems like it is acceptable to begin decorating after the annual holiday Parade. After all Santa is there, and it just seems like it would be odd NOT to start getting ready after that. Last year we started a tradition of holding a Holiday Season Kick Off Brunch the morning after the parade. This year it was at our house and it was there that I finally had Dan's Cinnamon Rolls. I had heard of these delicious little baked goods...although they aren't really little  I was told that one bite would do me in...and they were right. After my first bit I professed my love for my friend's husband and tried to barter with her in an effort to enslave him in my own kitchen. (Doesn't hurt that he is almost as easy on the eyes as my own husband ;) ! )

Seriously...look at these things! Can you blame me?!

They were very quick to offer up the recipe (probably so I'd stop trying to trade my kitchen aid for her husband) and during my back to basics weekend I decided to give them a shot.

I open the Pioneer Woman's web site and burst out laughing. Her post begins with:

"A warning. If you follow these instructions and wind up delivering these cinnamon rolls to your friends, be prepared for any of the following to occur:

1. They’ll call you after they’ve taken the first bite and profess their eternal love for every ounce of your body.
2. They’ll pass out after the first bite, hit their head on the kitchen counter, sustain a concussion, and sue you for damages, despite the fact that the one bite they tasted of your cinnamon roll was the single most profound culinary experience in their miserable little life.
3. They’ll call you and ask for the recipe, saying, "HOW did you make those?"
4. They’ll call you and propose marriage.
5. They’ll hug the cinnamon roll pan, get maple frosting all over their clothes, and send you the bill for the dry cleaning."

And ITS TRUE!!!! So go there! Get the recipe and make these bad boys! I warn you they make a lot so either be prepared to share these puppies or get super fat.

1/3 of the dough

I have to admit I am proud of my perfect rectangle...I love my marble rolling pin.

So much butter, sugar and cinnamon. The goodness just could not be contained!

 I didn't use the maple icing that Ree suggests. I ladled (yes...I used a soup ladle) real cream cheese frosting on top moments after removing these bites of heaven from my oven.

So make these....a wee time consuming just because there are a few steps, but oh so worth it!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Happiness is...2 hours with Aunt Janice on a Sunday afternoon...