Tired, kids, shoppin, holiday-blog from Sept 30

I am too tired to blog, so this will be brief. I have suffered from severe exhaustion since my sister's wedding, so I have stayed clear of facebook, and have not been blogging, both which are masters in the art of time suckage. The kids activites have increased to 6 days a week with the science program now making swimming, gymnastics and science our roster. I got registered for next term, taking pharmacotherapeutics.

I am so proud of mimi. They were assessing french reading levels in her grade 3/4 class, and she scored highest in the class-by a long shot. I am so pleased that it comes so easily to her. Noni has also been coming home reciting complete phrases and piles of words in french including days of the week, counting, colours, etc-so impressive for 1 month of school, again I am so proud. My favorite phrase she came home with is "Bouche fermier!" Her teacher is excellent. JR has also larned over 1 doz body parts-and he is so full of words these days.

JR has been sick for 3 days, so that is partly the reason for my exhaustion as well. You forget how much it sucks getting up at night with babies once they start sleeping all night. He is wonderful at bedtime, never a fuss, but it was not that long ago I was getting up and nursing him, he has been sleeping through since about 14 months, but only weaned about 2 months now, and he is still very much my baby. When he is sick it is more pronounced, mum mum mum all day long. Poor kid. He was better today but not 100%, hopefully tommorrow.

Despite fatigue, the bay had a big sale so I bought a nice coat(buffalo) and shoes(skechers so fun) this weekend, I am going back to try on the size up just to be sure. I hate buying shoes, I am fussy about the fit. The coat is awesome, I just need to find a new hat and scarf to go with it. I also got a pair of salt and pepper grinders, sooo nice match my decor. They are peugeot, so they should also last and last. I have a mini pepper mill of the same brand and it is superior. I ordered two holiday gifts today from LL bean, dollar is above par and they have a free shipping event, I may order more. Luckily hubby doesn't usually read my blog, so I can say he is getting something from there-even got it monogrammed! The children's place also had a big sale, so I bought a bunch of stuff for the kids. Their uncle Mike is going back to Houston in another week, so he is supposed to pick up stuff for all the kids too. Holiday shopping is well underway!

Hubby passed his flight and has moved into his final phase. I am so glad, this is the shortest phase. It won't be long and we will be flying out to find a house. I can't wait, I can't even describe how badly I want to go.

Holiday meal will be 8, possibly 9. My brother and his family are not coming as he is working this weekend coming up. As a result we will have two bday's for my lil guy, one early and one on his bday. I have all the stuff for the meal, just need rolls and to make more fudge. I picked up the things for the cheese tray already. I think I will take it easy on Mon and Tues, and try and shake this fatigue, so that I can clean and cook for the weekend. We have a wine and cheese to attend Sat, and late nights are too tiring. I want to go, I have a great dress for it, but it is SO tiring.

Coconut Vanilla Pudding

Coconut Vanilla Pudding-this one is based on my summer long fascination with all things coconut!

1/2 cup shredded or flaked sweetened coconut, toasted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2% milk
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract, optional

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.

2. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in coconut, butter and vanilla.

3. Cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Wedding, pics, cars

Well, the wedding is done and I am finally get back on track. The day was beautiful, my sister was gorgeous, and the kids all looked so sweet. Mom looked great too, I loved my dress, and Dave was hot as all heck in his suit-he looks too good for a man pushing 40 lol! We were very rushed putting it all together in the end, but we did it. I liked their wedding better than any other I've been to, other than my own. Honestly, most weddings I have been to are soooo boring. They had a phenomenal view too, getting married on the 28th floor, it was amazing. The city actually looked beautiful. Everyone absolutely raved on my fudge. I will be making more for thanksgiving. We are having a very, very large bird and hopefully a crowd of 14 people. I always love doing a full out table setting, always a great chance to pull out all my good dishes/glasses/flatware and linens. That and the food is my fun!

Picture day was today at school, noni looked really cute, mimi looked lovely too. I will have to take popper to get his fall pics done soon. Speaking of school I am still waffling on one course selection for the Jan term. I have 3 days left to do it, I think I will have to force myself to make a decision today. I am excited about it though!

I am looking into jobs, getting my paperwork in order. I see there are several listed that would be perfect, but the EFT is more than I want. I am looking at buying a car for going back to work too. We have decided on a brand new Honda civic, navy blue. After several years with Jetta, I definitely don't want another, but I hate domestic cars, and everyone I know with a civic loves it, so that is my choice.

I made coconut pudding today, will post recipe, it turned out so creamy and nice, it was just what I was craving.Yum!

Fudge, trains, and weddings?!

Well the last batch of fudge is finished. Giving fudge as a parting gift to wedding guests is a fun fall idea. Me making it is a lot of work. This is my absolute bar none, favorite recipe. Anyone who knows me knows I have had a lifeling love for maple, so I miss buying cheap syrup at the open market in Ottawa (although it looks more and more like that will be a frequent thing again!). This is a touchy recipe, but it makes velvety gorgoeus fudge that cuts beautifully and the flavour is perfect. It is not cheap to make but it is worth it.

We lucked out on a collectors item of Thomas Train. They were selling working display models off at a store and we got this for a song. Thanks to Auntie's hawk eyes. Joshie was thrilled, but he was too rough so I had to spirit this one away for now. He is going to have a vehicle extravaganza this birthday. He will be in his glory this year, and there is nothing this kid likes better than being the centre of attention.

I am swamped with stuff with the wedding so close, I need to pick up stocking for one child and myself, then I *think* we have everything, just need nails done. I will likely be sitting at Mia's this eve packaging all these little boxes. Fun!

What I have been slaving over for 3 days... Maple Pecan Fudge

Maple Pecan Fudge
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cup whipping cream
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
Maple Pecan Fudge
1. Spread pecans on baking sheet; bake in 350°F (180ºC) oven for 8 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside.
2. Grease 13 by 9 inch glass baking dish; line with foil; leaving 1-inch overhang. Grease foil and set aside.Grease side of heavy saucepan.
3. Add sugar, cream, maple syrup, butter and pinch of baking soda.
4. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly with wooden spoon until dissolved and boiling. If mixture does not foam up high when it boils, stir in remaining baking soda. Boil without stirring for 10-12 minutes or until candy thermometer registers soft-ball stage of 238ºF (114ºC) or 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) syrup dropped into very cold water forms soft ball that flattens when removed from water.
5. Immediately pour into clean wide-bottomed bowl, without scrapping pan clean.
6. Let cool on rack to 100º F (38º C) 1 to 2 hours.
7. With wooden spoon beat in vanilla. Beat for about 7 minutes or until very thick and most of the gloss disappears.
(Or use heavy-duty mixer with paddle attachment and beat fudge at medium-low speed for about 15 minutes.)
8. Quickly stir in pecans. Immediately scrape into prepared pan; smooth top. Let cool on rack. Using foil overhang as handles, remove from pan; cut into squares.
Yield: 2 pounds

School, gym, b-day, and the Halloween wind sock saga

I have not posted for over a week I think, but it is a busy time. I thought I had better write before I get too behind, even though it is late. School is underway, noni was a little unsettled after her first day, there were some tears. After talking to her it was about some new boys in the class she did not know and did not wish to play with. Once we had a talk, she has decided that she will play with only those she chooses, so all is well. She usually makes friends so easily, but it has to be on her terms-she doesn't let anyone run her, that is for sure. She has even come home reciting the little french rhymes they have started singing!

Gymnastics are many hours a week. The kids love it, they are a really great bunch there. As our time extends here, I am so glad we get to be at that gym longer. I had to laugh when noni's group was in the training room, one of the coaches said, "ok, do your best splits for 10 seconds". After the count I heard noni say " I did eleven seconds!" It was hilarious! Both the girls are working so hard. They spend time "training" each other on the trampoline at home. Even though the hours are long, the kids don't seem to mind at all and never ask to stay home instead. I think it tires us out more. Its funny, I was talking to a friend about it and she said she was glad she didn't have daughters, saying that boys there is less activities. I thought that was funny, I think it depends more on what you put kids in than gender for sport-another friends son is in more hours than my girls between all his sports. I have found the kids need the outlet for their energy.

We had a dinner out for Dave's b-day early, the kids were so good, it was a really nice relaxing evening. I had gone and got my haircut before that and I got the coolest runner for my table at Pier 1, as well as some other fun stuff-I still love that store. All my glassware is from there, as are a set of placemats and napkins, and 5 different sets of napkin rings. I swear, half my house is Pier 1!

I have been taking out fall stuff, wreaths and pumpkins, planted some fall stuff out front. The stores do not bother as much with fall plants here as they do in Ontario, so it has been a pain to find stuff that I want. As such, I have been digging in my fall/Halloween bin, seeing what is there, do I want to get rid of anything etc. Of course I came across my wind sock type of thing with a bat pumpkin, and ghost on it. Looking at it always makes me laugh that we still have it. It was one of those things I bought for the kids. It was cute and they got a kick out of it. The funny thing behind it is that it is amazing we still have it. We got it 6 years ago and every year hung it from our side porch in Kingston, or on my rustic arch etc. Sometimes the wind kncoked it down, I 'd find it in the bushes. However, on three different occasions it was blown halfway up the street. Once it was even found and hung by the mailboxes(we had nice neighbours!) when nobody knew whose it was. We always managed to find it though. Then we moved here. Same thing happened, blew up the street in a storm. I walked about 4 houses up looking for it and happened to see it hanging by the neighbours house-sure enough, it was ours! I can't believe we still have it! It follows us no matter what....!

One first day done, news and things

Mimi had her first day already, she met her new teacher, who is apparently a new grad-she is not super young, and has kids, so we are hoping for the best! She has a lot of the same classmates, and a few new ones. Her new room is right beside her old one. I met noni's teacher today, she seems organized and has said she is regimented, so I got to breathe a sigh of relief that they may actually teach something! I am glad to see they will be doing home reading and math and literacy bags like mimi did in kindergarten too. Hard to believe they have homework in kindergarten, but yes, they do, and if it is any good they have quite a bit. Noni starts on Tuesday.

There was some sort of big fire in the city, but I have yet to find out what it was. The streets were filled with smoke last night and I can still smell it. I will be interested to see what it was. We sold a bunch of baby stuff yesterday, and I am putting some up on ebay hopefully in the next few days to get those auctions running, and the other two bags are being sent to Valencia, so that clears our house of extraneous goods. I also sold Josh's change table(now there was a good purchase-it was used more as a storage shelf than wanything over the past 8 years!), so I don't know why I did not get rid of it years ago.

Josh is running circles betweeen the dining/living/kitchen areas squealing "ki ki ki kitty" trying to get Boots to stay put. He still doesn't get that that scares her, but he tries so hard-even wedging himself under furniture to get her. Right now Lauryn is helping him by holding onto her so he can pet her. I think it is time I took them outside!

School, Dave's Dad, the grind!

I think we are ready for school. We just got mealie some gym clothes today from la senza girl and roots, cute stuff. The kids bags are packed, I have my cheques ready, they got their haircut this evening, I just wish I knew what the weather was doing, it looks like rain. It seems like the summer flew by. I took the kids to Laura Secord this afternoon, and they played in the sprinkler with a friend, it was cute, they were all sunning themselves in the yard after (on my good white towels!!!), even Josh. We ate outside today too, it was just so nice, and I don't know how many more nice days there will be.

I had better update on Dave's Dad, I had waited for more news, but I will write as we know it now. He got a transplant several days ago. There is some concern about the size of the liver, however post surgery he was stable. Everyone is quite relieved, however he is not out of the woods, and may have a very long recovery time. His Mom is going to need even more help and support, that is for sure.

I am tired so this is brief, we need to be up early and ready to go tommorrow. Josh is always up early, but there was no major rush to be ready and the girls got up at different times. Now we must all be ready and out the door early-uggh-back to the grind!

Autumn Muffins-edited

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup chopped cranberries
1 cup grated, peeled apple
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
3/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp pumpkin puree or applesauce

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin pans or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Make a well in the center, and add the melted butter, pumpkin, milk and eggs, mix until smooth. Stir in the cranberries, apple, figs, and hazelnuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Cups should be at least 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Retirement/birthday/anniversary, Fort Garry, thoughts

We had a great eveing at my uncle's retirement/birthday/anniversary party, everyone was in good spirits and the food was good. The weather even kinda co-operated! It was nice seeing some people I have not seen in years, so many have changed, especially the kids-wow!My uncle John even came from the coast.

Yesterday we had a busy day of touring the fort. We took Mom, we had not been there in years, and we used to go regularly as kids. A lot has changed, the people dressed in period costume and acting were fun. It is a rather small fort, smaller than I remember-but I am bigger now too, and it took us quite awhile all the same. We stopped at a garden centre along the highway on the way back. When we got home, we had a big family dinner, it was very good. I am always glad to spend time with my children foremost, and my family, but I was exhausted.

Being accepting of people's flaws and faults, and forgiving or overlooking them, is where you want to be in life, with friends and with family. Being constantly critical of other people is the path to unhappiness, and it is never where you want to steer your children to. It can lead to poor self-esteem, and ultimately bad life choices. That little bit I won't elaborate on, but I was thinking a lot about my friend and I certainly empathize with her-kudos to her for the incredible strength she has come away with, and on a good life path.