One word answers already?

Dinner conversation with my 3 yo son today:

Me: How was your day today?
Him: Good.
Me: What did you do at preschool?
Him: Nothing.

When did my son become a teenager?

Winterfest at Markham Museum

Today is Family Day and we enjoyed it as a family.  We went for dimsum with a bunch of good friends in the morning and then headed to Markham Museum for their Winter Carnival.  It was freeeeeezing cold and we didn't bring snow pants for my son but we had a great time.  My son was so wiped out he fell asleep in the car on our way home around 3:30pm and didn't even wake up for dinner.  It's now 11pm so I hope he will just sleep through the night.

Making maple sugar candy

Building a snow fort

A reindeer

On a wagon ride

Big brother, little sister

It's amazing how different kids can be.  My son didn't sleep through the night until 7 months but my daughter has been sleeping through the night (10-14 hours) since 3 months.  My son was a good laugher by 4 months but my daughter rarely smiles.  Thankfully, both are good kids so far.  My son really loves his sister and wants to help whenever he can.  The other night, I put her in her crib for the night but she started crying.  I was going to let her cry-it-out but, after a few minutes, he went into her room and sang her a song to soothe her.  She stopped crying almost immediately and fell asleep.  He's such a sweet brother.

 

Finally caught a smiling one after taking 70 pictures - thank goodness for digital cameras!

Turtles Cookies Recipe

I have been resisting a half a box of Turtles chocolates for about a month now.  They have been sitting in my living room calling out my name.  Today, I decided to make them into cookies and share them with friends.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp hot water
2-2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
12 Turtles Chocolates (or Pecan Caramel Clusters)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Take 12 Turtles out of the box.

Chop them up into chocolate chip sized pieces

In two separate bowls, mix the wet ingredients (melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, hot water) and sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt).

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together quickly and fold in the Turtle pieces until they are just combined.  Don't overmix.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Using a small or medium sized Spring Release Ice Cream Scoop, scoop out the dough and flatten each mound with the bottom of a lightly oiled glass.  This will make a nice uniform shaped cookie.  If you don't have one of those ice cream scoops, just form the cookie dough into a mound with 2 spoons.

Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned but still soft inside.  Let cool for 5 minutes before eating!

Happy Valentine's Day

I've never been a fan of celebrating Valentine's Day. I cringe at the thought of spending way-too-much on a meal and buying over-priced long-stem roses that will inevitably die next week.

Here's how we celebrated this year: my husband and I went shopping together, had lunch at the mall's food court, went to a carwash, and best of all, we spent the majority of the day playing a game that I have become addicted to called "Words with Friends" on our iPhone.

I had a good day with my Valentine.

How did it get this way?

Being a mom really changes things. I've just recently noticed that I have turned into one of those moms who barely care about myself because I'm always taking care of my family. I go out of the house wearing mismatched clothing, my hair is frizzy, and I no longer have any make-up worth putting on. Wow, how'd that happen?

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This verse has been on my mind for a while now.  It's very comforting to know that God knows the plans He has for us, even when (or especially when) we don't know.  When God closes some doors, He opens others.  We just have to walk through.  I'm looking forward to walking through some new doors.

Sweet potato fries

I've recently become addicted to sweet potato fries, especially since they are so good for you. :)

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
salt
pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and cut sweet potato into planks of similar size. Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange sweet potatos on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, turn them, then bake for another 20 minutes or until done but not burnt.

Pizza

It was a snow day today so I made some pizza dough with my bread machine while my son played with home made play dough.

Ingredients:
Pizza dough from the bread machine (large)
Olive oil with minced garlic
Oregano
Pizza sauce
Cheese
Ham
Mushrooms

Make the pizza dough according to bread machine instructions (it takes 1 hour 40 minutes). When the dough is done, preheat oven to 450F. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and roll dough out to fit the cookie tray. Brush a thin layer of olive oil with minced garlic all over dough. Brush a thin layer of pizza sauce all over dough. Sprinkle oregano and half of the cheese all over dough. Place your toppings and sprinkle another thin layer of cheese on top. Bake for 20 min and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into pieces.