The Sound of Silence

It is Wednesday morning.  The house is silent.  I can actually hear my own thoughts.

The Little Prince has been home from school for 2 weeks now while his nursery school has a summer break.  I had no idea how much my child talks.  Non.Stop.  He makes me seem shy and quiet!  Sooo we are having a day sans enfant to get things done, work, clean, tidy and everything else we have trouble doing with a 3 year old running around.  I miss him already.

The other day I made these...well, assembled is more appropriate.  Simply stuff raspberries with chocolate chips and enjoy.  The perfect summer snack!  All those antioxidants will help undo all the summer sun damage we have inflicted on ourselves lately. 

Dont forget to enter my Personalized Ribbon Giveaway!


Have a fabulous day!

Summer in a glass!

I was reading the May/June issue of Tea Time Magazine and spotted some adorable little desserts in miniature!  My in-laws were coming for a birthday dinner so I needed something special for dessert.

Key lime, Boston cream and strawberry shortcake parfaits!  How cute are they!?  They are all so easy to make and assemble and can easily be prepared with ready made ingredients!

Mine didn't look quite as pretty but then I have a 3 year old boy and any mom of a little boy knows one just gets it in the glass, on the table, in the oven, on the plate or anything else one needs too do with food and then runs off to find out what mischief one's little boy is up to! 

I didn't bother using the recipe...the little boy and everything else I need to manage means a lack of time...so I just used vanilla pudding mix, used lime juice in place of 1/4 of the milk and layered with whipped cream and graham crumbs.

It tastes like a day at the beach!  Just vanilla pudding, milk, lime juice, whipped cream and graham crumbs.  Easy peasy!

For the coffee service I channeled my inner Miss Janice and tied pretty little ribbons to my glass coffee mugs!  Everyone was duly impressed!


Have a fabulous day!

How children learn their value

 

Sometimes images stick with us our whole lives.  I have kept this photo of Diana and her boys in my memory from the first time I saw it.  I believe they were in Canada at the time and Diana had spent the day away from her children.  Look at how happy she is to see them and how they are rushing to her.  I remember seeing the video of this moment on the news when I was a teenager and my subconscious tucked it away until the moment my own son would need his mommy to teach him what his value is.

Children learn value by how we look at them.  How we speak to them.  Whether we are happy to see them or not.  Look at those boys in this photo - do we think they feel their mother valued them?

I get very upset when I see children being spoken to like they are garbage and so often I want to say something to the parents, give them something to chew on, take home and mull over.  Make them see they are damaging these amazing little people who come into the world full of hope, blank slates we can mold to our own liking.  A kind word goes a long way.  But, we know WT doesn't often respond well to being told they might be less than perfect so I tend to keep quiet and smile at the children.  Hoping they see there is more out there for them.  

Toni Morrison summed it up when she told Oprah...

"When my children used to walk in the room, when they were little, I looked at them to see if they had buckled their trousers or if their hair was combed or if their socks were up, you think your affection and your deep love is on display because you're caring for them. It's not. When they see you, they see the critical face. But if you let your face speak what's in your heart...because when they walked in the room, I was glad to see them. It's just as small as that, you see."

My in-laws were babysitting a few months ago and they brought stickers and coloured paper for the Little Prince to play with.  When we came home my mother-in-law told me one of the stickers is a happy face and the Little Prince kept saying 'That's mommy!'.  She said she was impressed he associates a happy face with his mommy when most children would think their mommies are always unhappy, critical, grumpy.  I make a conscious effort to smile and look happy when the Little Prince walks in the room, comes to me with a drawing, asks a question or any other little thing he does four. thousand. times a day, no matter how I am feeling, what I am thinking or what he might be interrupting.  Because of the picture of Diana.  I wish my mother had ever looked so happy to see me.  I wish I had ever felt the love oozing out of this photo.  I make sure my son feels that every single day

The Little Prince has taken to throwing his arms around my legs exclaiming, 'I love my mommy!!!'.

I consider that the best performance review I have ever had.

Have a fabulous day!

Friday's Random Thoughts

I havnt done a random thoughts post in a looooong time!  I am well overdue! I hope you had a great week and have something wonderful planned for the weekend!

-Please pop over to Royal Ribbons to see all the new designs!  I am posting new ideas every day!

- I have noticed a number of very quiet people in my life seem to expect people to remember them.  And put them on the spot!  If you want to be remembered 10 years later, do or say something memorable!

- I see people parked in handicapped or mommy spots just hanging out all the time when I go shopping.  I suspect they are hanging out with the child or smoking while the passenger has gone shopping.  Does this happen everywhere or is it just in my town?  I find it really annoying when I have lugged my 3 year old half a kilometer through a busy parking lot to see the mommy spot is being held by someone who is babysitting as opposed to using the spot to make being a mommy easier.  If you dont need to actually get children from the car to the store you can park anywhere!

- At dinner the other night with another couple I asked if anyone remembers the Peter Cottontail special from the 70s with the evil bunny Irontail.  Anyone?  Everyone just stared at me like they didnt understand the words coming out of my mouth.  Well, I googled it and I didnt just imagine it!  Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a lesser known Rankin-Bass production.  Hmpfh!

- I got my hair cut in another town closer to the city the other night.  I had forgotten what it's like in these big, busy, professional salons!  Being out here in this small town for 5 years has taken it's toll on my hair and it was so nice to go to a real salon!  While I was waiting for my stylist I was offered water and tea and coffee and asked by everyone who passed by if I needed anything.  Then the stylist actually listened to what I wanted and gave me a dry cut.  I havnt had my hair blown dry by a stylist in years because I just get so frustrated with it.  This new stylist did the whole thing, and then I started crying.  I was so happy with it and I had forgotten what it was like to leave a salon feeling good...the tears just started and took a moment to stop.

- Have we been watching RHNJ?  Is Teresa's brother in a constant state of drunkenness?  He is such a whiny crybaby!  Maybe someday he will have the scotch glass surgically removed from his hand - I havnt seen him once without a drink!

- This week I had a town council committee meeting and couldnt find a babysitter with such short notice, sooooo the Little Prince came with me and had his first experience with municipal politics!  Thank goodness for those little containers of Pringles, they make a great bribe for good, quiet behaviour!  I am happy to report he sat in my lap most of the time, ate his snacks, whispered his demands to me and then hung out at the window watching the overhead train going by.  Success!


Have a fabulous day!

Mother's Day Recap!

Don't miss my Monogram Giveaway!

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

On Saturday I took the Little Prince to visit my mother-in-law so that was a nice way to spend a few hours.  I tried to see my own mother but her mall and grocery shopping plans were too important to change (or so she told me when I finally got a hold of her) so I just left her cards and potted flowers on her front step.  Of course Sunday brought the angry phone calls...

Mother:  I thought you were coming over here yesterday!!
Me:  Uhhhhh well you did tell me you weren't going to be home.
Mother:  We decided not to go out since you told me you were coming over!!!
Me:  How was I supposed to know that?  I left your stuff on the front step.
Mother:  I never saw anything on my front step!  I go in the house through the garage!!
Me:  How am I supposed to know that?
Mother:  I thought you would've rung the bell...we were sitting there waiting for you!!
Me:  Why would I ring the bell when you told me you wouldn't be home?  You could've called me to tell me...I do have a cell phone.
Mother:  I dont know your cell phone number!!!!
Me:  It's the same number I have had for 10 years.

It just deteriorated from there.  I'm a lucky girl eh!  My mother keeps talking about moving to Florida...I think she thinks that would be some sort of punishment for me.  I hate to inflict her on Florida but it would make life a lot easier for me!

Anyhooooooo.......

The Suburban Prince got up and took care of the Little Prince...we all snuggled in the big bed for a while then the boys went outside to play while I read my book and took my time getting up - not an easy task for an A-type like me!

The Little Prince made a picture for me and his teacher framed it, he even made the wrapping paper!  The Suburban Prince gave me an everbearing strawberry plant for the back patio!

For the rest of the day I was waited on hand and foot and didn't even have to the up the kitchen!  I told the Suburban Prince I didn't need any presents...especially anything I need to look after or clean up!  When I got up this morning the kitchen was tidy!  As I said to Beth Dunn yesterday, who needs grand gestures when a man will do dishes?!


Have a fabulous day!

Happy Mother's Day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Friday!

Wow what a week! It started off slow and has been very busy for a few days! I have been invited to a shopping day tomorrow but I just feel like staying at home - it is so unlike me to turn down invitations but I just want a day with my two Princes!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I will be puttering around the house today and tomorrow we will be getting the rest of the Christmas decorations up. The tree is up and lit but not decorated and the villages are set up so hopefully the rest of it can be put up and I don't need to worry about it!

We will be taking the Little Prince to the new playground on Saturday too! Remember this post? Our town just built a big playground this month and it just opened so we cant wait to check it out! I will take photos so we can compare! I drove past it this morning and it is green and yellow - not the greatest colours and none of the moms know why they didn't go with brighter colours. Oh well! It is a big playground and that's all that matters right?!

I am looking forward to a chili dinner tomorrow night! We had lots left from our Halloween dinner party so I froze it and we will have it tomorrow! We always have it with Garden of Eatin' Black Bean Chips with cheese melted on them - YUM!

On Sunday it is my dad's birthday so we are going to visit them - we are giving him the Leafs tickets the Suburban Prince won so his gift will be money for beers and snacks at the game. I have no idea what else to get him other than cash so hopefully he has a good time at the game!

What are your plans for the weekend? I cant wait to see what all of my American blogirls are doing for American Thanksgiving! Are you planning to go to the Black Friday sales?


Have a fabulous day!

If there was a park like this near my house I would go out more!

Greetings blogger friends

I feel like I haven't been posting much in the last few days - we have been very busy with ummm hmmm well...just life I guess! I have been working like crazy to get my craft room/office all ready to go (yes I know, 21 months since it was painted - pictures will be posted when it is all finished) and getting caught up with all of the mundane household chores like the never ending pile of laundry (can someone please tell me why the Suburban Prince needs to wear 4 outfits in one day?!) and getting ready for Autumn!

Please be sure to enter my giveaway! The winner will be announced on Monday! Also, please visit my friend Pacokeco who made the adorable tags I have up for grabs!

Yesterday we went to visit the Suburban Prince's parents. They live in a small town about an hour north of us so we got to enjoy a nice drive through the country and had a chance to scope out more places to visit when the leaves are all in full colour

There is a fabulous playground where my in-laws live and to be honest if I was house hunting now, with a small child, this would be a HUGE factor in deciding where we would live. The town we live in now is mostly retired types and teenage moms (a new phenomenon). We moved here for the golf and the marinas - after 3 years and no baby I had pretty much given up so a child-friendly place wasn't high on my list - in fact when I saw no children live on this street I was sold! Fast forward 3 years, some stretch marks, a c-section and lots of sleepless nights I find myself wishing we lived somewhere with more kid/mommy culture. When I see other moms posting on the mommy boards and blogs about their experiences at the playground (other moms who don't watch their kids, kids who take other kids toys etc) I feel like I am missing out on something. When we take the Little Prince to the park we are usually the only people there. That's right, just us. Imagine taking your little one to the park and there are no other children, no other moms. All the time.

Yesterday when we got to the park I was floored! There were at least 5 moms and lots of kids running around! The moms were even *gasp* talking to each other!!! I couldn't help but feel very, very, very jealous. After all this time struggling to have some sort of social life while keeping my child entertained in a town where most of the babies go to school with their mommies I saw what I have been so isolated from.

Don't get me wrong...I have a very full social life. I have no problem filling our house when we have a party and I/we get invited out several times a month but what is missing is somewhere to go with my Little Prince. Somewhere the other mommies might go to as well. I only have 1 friend with a child the same age as my child. Weird eh!

Anyhoooo back to my original story...so we go to the local playground close to my in-laws' house and the Little Prince had a great time! There is a splash pad, swings and lots of big structures to climb on for hours of make-believe fun! To top it off, the park is right on the lake! The scenery is beautiful! Standing facing the lake puts the main street of town right behind me. There are lots of nice little shops to spend time and money in.

(Nice view eh! Apparently the park is full of kids all summer!)

(Can you guess how I found out the splash pad is motion activated?)

(Lots of slides and climb-y things!)

(Check out the crazy swing! It closes up and locks the child in - for safety of course!)

After we played in the park and walked around the town we went for dinner. My in-laws kept telling us about a fabulous Japanese restaurant they went to and how shocked they were by it! It looks like a little hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon diner in the middle of nowhere! What a difference on the inside! This is a serious lesson in not judging a book by it's cover - inside is a beautiful Japanese experience! Even the hostess/waitress was wearing a kimono! I didn't even think to bring my camera in since I wasn't expecting much - next time for sure!

We sat in a little enclosed booth which was perfect since we had the Little Prince with us. He settled himself on the banquette between us to nibble on the snacks I brought for him. He has always been a bit hard to predict when it comes to food - sometimes he will eat tandoori chicken and roasted brussell sprouts and sometimes he refuses anything but Cheerios...mealtime has always been a bit of a guessing game.

We ordered Bentos and I couldn't believe how big there were! They were twice the size of any Bento I had ever had before! At this point the Little Prince decided standing on the banquette would give him a better view (he is only 17 months so height isn't his strong suit) and the adults all dug in! Hot and spicy chicken, rice, salad, sea veggies and tempura veggies and shrimp...which is what caught the Little Prince's eye! Suddenly he reached over and grabbed a HUGE tempura shrimp from the Suburban Prince's Bento and plunked himself down to get to work on it! All we could do was stare at him as he ate the whole thing - we did manage to wrestle the tail from him though! All this time I have been trying to offer the Little Prince toast with butter and jam when I really should've been trying something higher up the food chain! Japanese food!

If you are looking for some fun ideas for school lunches google 'bento' and click on 'images'. There are some absolutely amazing ones! Some moms put a LOT of work into lunches for their kids based on the Bento style!

So that was our adventure yesterday. Today we are staying home to keep plugging along with the house. Tomorrow we are going out with 2 other couples for dinner to celebrate all of our anniversaries - we all live on the same small street and all got married in September! One couple has been married for 32 years, one for 20 and we have been married for 6! We are trying a new restaurant in town so I will take my camera in case something interesting happens!

Have a fabulous day!