Friday shenanigans!

AK was crying when I picked her up from daycare today, couldn't really figure out what she was saying other than her feet hurt. Oh well. Poor kid! I asked AK if she wanted to go to the movie store and she said she wanted "The Lost Treasure". Did you know that is the most recent Tinkerbell movie? This kid is more up to date with the new stuff than I am! AK had quite the nice meltdown in the parking lot at the stores. Good thing we were just coming straight home after that... I think someone needed some downtime (and someone else needed a cocktail :) )

AK noticed that I had lined up her alphabet all nicely on the fridge and decided that she needed to line it up in a different way. Here she is saying "It's taller than me, Mommy!"

I managed to get a close-up of the cut on AK's forehead. Not too bad at all. It looks a lot better than I was expecting already. Fingers crossed it may be nearly healed by the time we have our photo shoot next weekend!
AK downed some good snacks and a good supper tonight. She had a turkey pepperoni stick and was holding it up to the lamp. I asked her what she was doing and she said "I'm lighting my pepperoni!". Her tone of voice sure made it sound like I should know exactly what she is talking about... weird.

AK also ate some noodles with chicken in tomato sauce for supper. She was being somewhat antsy so I bribed her with a yogurt drink for dessert if she ate well. She ate well then got upset when I went to get her a yogurt drink as she wanted milk. Oh well, I just gave her milk then. She didn't ask for any kind of treat tonight so I just took advantage of that.

AK asked to play a game on the computer so I googled and found that Fisher Price has some online games. I got AK onto one of them and she had a blast with it. She was giggling and playing away.

I think I'm ready for the birthday party tomorrow... I hope the sun is too!!!

Owie :(

When I picked up AK from daycare yesterday, Jess was picking up Hunter at the same time. I started playing with Hunter to keep him from darting into the parking lot and AK started horsing around too... unfortunately her feet slipped on the gravel and she fell face-first and hit her forehead :( and now she has a cut over her eyebrow.

Poor kiddo... it doesn't look too bad and thankfully it's right on her eyebrow. I don't think it'll scar but if it does... oh well, it'll add character. Sue had the perfect size bandaid to put on it so I put it on despite AK's protests and she didn't seem bothered by it otherwise.

We had a lovely time playing with Sue and Kylie while Shawn and his brother prepared supper - what a deal :) the girls get along so well and it seems that Kylie gets a wee bit bothered by having to share her toys but she managed just fine. AK ate her spaghetti right up and also devoured about 2/3 of an ice cream bar. What an appetite. Kylie loves her puzzles and her sentence structure / vocabulary are so advanced.

Went to see Hangover II last night... it is a pretty good movie!

Halfway there...

This week seems to be dragging... The weather has been gloomy and stormy here... I've had no motivation to blog but here's a short post for you!

When I picked up AK from daycare the other day, it was raining on and off a bit. I asked AK what we say when it's raining, and she responded "Rain, rain, go away, come a-back another day". No matter what I said, she'd say only "a-back" and not "again". She also said "holy moly macaroni" a bunch of times and cracked up.

We headed over to Cindy's house for Crafty Monday. Cindy always tells me she's not very crafty then she comes up with these great ideas of things for the kids to do... her idea was birdfeeders out of milk cartons! AK painted hers blue and I have some branches that I need to poke through the bottoms to create footholds for the birdies. I will try to do that before AK comes back to me on Friday. Funny enough, AK finished painting and then said "Mommy, I need a birdie!". I will put the birdfeeder out on the patio and hope that we get a bird or two!

Cindy asked us to stay for supper - spaghetti and meat sauce - AK cleaned her plate! She was quite hungry and fed herself very well. We are going to Sue and Kylie's for supper tonight and it sounds like we're having spaghetti again... good thing AK loves it.

Fingers crossed that all these clouds go away before AK's birthday party on Saturday!!!

Catching up - time just slips away from me sometimes

I promised you this cute photo of AK with Baby Johnny... they're watching cartoons but I'm not sure what Johnny finds so interesting over there...


On the boat on the way home from the stagette dinner... hair troubles!


Finally a nice picture of Karen and I - I wasn't about to share all the ones with my hair blowing in my face!


Playdate at Angie's the other night. Jake, Molly, Matthew, AK and Milanna. They're a pretty cute bunch of kids, hey?


What to do when AK wakes at 545am? Why not bake a cake and eat batter for breakfast?


I had a really nice weekend. I had drinks with some friends on Friday night before going to get groceries. I think having a drink impaired my judgment... I came home with some questionable grocery purchases. Ha! Saturday I was annoyed that I was up early so used the energy to do some good organizing and purging. In the afternoon, I went to yoga and then for a badly-needed massage.

Saturday night, I went to a theater production with three other girls. It consisted of two different plays, and although the evening was long, it was very entertaining. The theater group did a wonderful job.

Today, I cooked (see Beets post!) and then went to yoga and for my belated Mother's Day pedicure. I don't think I could have asked for a much better weekend.

I spoke to AK on the phone and told her that her birthday party would be on a boat next weekend. She responded "oh?". I hope she enjoys it! I put the goodie bags together today so that's already done. I picked up most of the supplies I need for the party so we're pretty much good to go! xo

Beets!

This one's for you, Baba!

I think I posted last week that I had picked up some beautiful young beets at the Farmer's Market last week. It was the leaves on them that caught my eye. Check 'em out, aren't they a beautiful color?


I cooked up some brown basmati rice in my rice cooker (the only rice I had on hand) and then mixed it with some onion sauteed in margarine. I added some pepper and dill to season it.


I started with a layer of beet leaves (I had so many leaves that I was able to double-up the layers) alternating with two layers of rice. This is before baking.


This is after baking... yum!!! (Thanks to Baba for speaking on the phone with me to answer my questions about how to put this dish together... this was my first time making it!)


I then used the beets (including the stalks as per Baba's instructions) to make borscht. I bought some beef bones and used them to make stock, and took the meat off the bones to add to the soup at the end. I also added onion, garlic, carrots, celery and frozen peas and beans. Tomato soup, dill and vinegar were added near the end. Look at that beautiful color.


I don't know that I've ever made borscht with a meat-based stock before, but it sure added a nice dimension to the taste. I think I'll try a pork bone next time.

I cooked up some turkey sausage that I had in the freezer to round out this meal. I should be able to have lunch for the rest of the week with these leftovers... yay me!

I hope you don't mind a post about food... but these beets were so beautiful and they've inspired two wonderful dishes that I can't not share!

Almost the weekend!

I must say this has been a frustrating week at work. I am happy that tomorrow is Friday and then I'll have a couple of days away from IT issues. Three separate issues I've had this week... and that's over and above the usual ones we have all the time!!!

I'm getting a great response to AK's birthday boat. I think we'll have quite a few people joining us and that will be so much fun!

AK woke me this morning by droppping my Kindle on the floor next to my bed. I must have been right asleep as I didn't even wake up when she dragged it off my bed (I'm so lazy at bedtime that I have a booklight that I clip onto the Kindle and when I'm done reading, I can just turn off the light and lay the Kindle down next to my pillow. I SAID I was lazy). I've really been dragging my butt this week. Anyway... today's daycare drop-off was a dream. AK ran right into her classroom and started playing with her friends. What a treat after all the clingy, whiny, crying mornings. I know she is always fine as soon as I walk out the door but it's just great to share a happy morning with her too.

We headed over to Angie and Milanna's for a playdate and supper tonight. Cindy was there with the kids and Lanie brought Matthew and Gracelyn over too so that Jenni could join us after work. We had a tour of Angie's new house first. We went outside to play on the play structure and all the kids took their turn "cleaning" the pool using a skimmer to grab the leaves and flowers that they had thrown in the pool. Jake also threw some rocks in the pool - oops - he was not supposed to do that!

Supper was hamburgers, potato salad and coleslaw. AK took a bite of her burger and said "Mommy, it's spicy!". I didn't take her seriously as I thought she was complaining about the wee bit of mustard I put on her bun. Then Cindy took a bite of her burger and her eyes started watering as she got a mouthful of pepper or something. Then I understood that AK's burger really was spicy!

We are spoiled by Angie... she sent us home with some goodies. I waited until AK was in bed so that I could have the sweets all to myself :)

I'm looking forward to the weekend... some drinks, a little yoga, massage, pedicure, a play... lots of fun stuff. xo

Laughing to the bank...

I wish! But we had loads of laughs tonight!

I'm proud that AK told me she had to pee, went to the bathroom by herself, and then had the biggest poop I'm sure she's ever had!!! What a trooper! She was pretty proud of herself and gave me a high five!

She ate a great supper and did so good on the potty that I decided she could have a treat of a purple lollipop. Well, she was wearing that lollipop everywhere by the time she was done with it - it was just as much entertainment as it was a treat! AK giggled when she saw her messy face in the mirror and I was able to get a good brush of her teeth by telling her I had to get all the purple off of her teeth!

AK's classroom at school is too cute. When she comes in the door in the morning, they all say "good morning" and "Annabelle's here" and this morning, I'll bet you every single kid came up and gave her a hug. It is seriously awesome to see how these kids enjoy each other. When we leave, they all wave and shout "good-bye"! When I walk in the door, they all start saying "It's Annabelle's mommy!". I saw the class list for July onwards and it looks like most of the kids will be moving together to the next class. One little girl named Clare/Clara (not sure) apparently is completely infatuated with AK and will not leave her side all day long. The teachers are not sure how Clare will manage without AK when she goes on holidays!

We hit up the Farmer's Market this evening and Karen was kind enough to join us. I was able to pick up some buns, eggs, beets (now I can learn how to make beet leaf rice!) and a mango. I also bought a blueberry soap for AK. There a craft corner and AK painted a pot and we planted a flowering plant to bring home! I hope I don't kill it before it actually flowers... knowing my luck... I'm not optimistic!

AK is a real firecracker and has a wicked sense of humor. We were reading a book tonight and I was asking her questions and she was responding totally inappropriately (calling a red bird black, for example, or saying the wrong noise that an animal makes) and cracking up.

I'm finding that counting to three is a very effective way to get AK to do something. She's usually doing what I want her to do by "one" but oftentimes she'll wait all the way til I say "three" to smarten up. She also very much likes to know what's coming next... I'll tell her that when the oven timer beeps, or Dora is over, that it's time for bathtime and she's fine with that as she's prepared. Mind you, there are days she fusses but by large, she's halfway to the tub when the Dora ending song starts playing.

AK is very vocal when it comes to picking what clothing she is wearing that day. She has a pretty strong opinion about what she does and does not like to wear, or what she feels like wearing that day. She also will often tell me she is "hot" and that she likes it "hot", especially when we get into the truck. She loves listening to music in the car and loves clapping along to the music these days.

I signed AK up for ballet lessons starting in September :) it's a 6-week block so we'll give it a try and see how it goes. There is a reception area and an observation window so I'll be able to watch her but I shouldn't be in the classroom with her. Should be good for her... I hope she enjoys it. I've got my fingers crossed that some of her little friends may be in her class too.

Time to get the kitchen cleaned and lunches made before I'm too tired to get off the couch. xo