Making Stuff

Thank you for all of your kind responses to my previous post. Carolyn, your post about friends being like clothes really resonated with me.

Today's topic is much lighter. It involves me making stuff. I made the finger paints the kids are using to create their art. A friend shared her easy recipe with me and the kids had fun one snowy afternoon making paintings with it.

What else am I making? Two days ago I gave ricotta cheese a try. It turns out all you need is a slow cooker, milk and an acid of some sort. I love ricotta. I hate how much it costs. I am so glad my experiment worked out!

Yesterday Richard made us churros. There is no photographic evidence of this. They were too tasty to stay on the plate long enough to snap a picture! Can anyone tell me the difference between a churro and a cruller? They seem very similar in taste and texture.

Have you made anything lately?? (Beds don't count!)

PS Here is my finger paint recipe:

From: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf684159.tip.html

This is a washable finger paint. I have had luck cleaning it out of just about everything. That doesn't mean it won't stain some objects or clothing, though. If your kids are small enough you can make an "art shirt" for them out of a plastic grocery bag (or even a thick department store bag). Just cut holes for their head and arms, then have them wear it like a shirt. It doesn't cover their arms but it will keep them from wiping paint on the front of their shirt.

• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/3 Cup of cornstarch
• 2 Cups water
• 1/4 Cup dish washing soap
• food coloring

Put the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and then slowly mix in cold water. Then cook the mixture over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until you have a smooth gel. Let cool and then add dish washing soap. Divide into as many containers as you would like colors and then mix in food coloring drops until you have you desired color. If you have colored dish washing soap that can influence all the colors you try to create, which isn't always a bad thing.

Tip: Use baby food jars to divide and store the paint! They are a perfect size for kids to dip their fingers or brushes into and they can be sealed easily if you have leftover paint.

Jen's tips: I used Wilton gel food colouring to get the bright colours you see in the pictures.

Be sure to cook the cornstarch mixture down to a thick pudding consistency. Adding the soap later thins out the paint a surprising amount. Make sure you like the smell of the soap you are using. Your art will smell like it even after the paint has dried.

Adrift.

A lot of things have changed in my life in recent history. Least of which have been several friendships.

You could say I really noticed the trend just over a year ago with someone I met on a homebirth message board. She moved to my city, I showed her around our town, hung out with her and her kids and then had to distance myself as she got more and more brainwashed by a "church" (cult) here. It really hurt to do it, but I realized things were getting really bad when I started keeping a mental list of safe conversation topics in my head--I was tired of her trying to convert me so I tried to stay away from controversial topics as much as possible.

As things seem to happen now, in the age of social networking, our friendship met it's end on Facebook. I am sure it started with a video I posted on my profile depicting her Lord and Saviour in what I thought was a very amusing song and dance about Proposition 8, but to her was very offensive. With me, the final nail in the coffin was realizing I was only finding out about her life via status line updates and not at all from her. I started to feel less like a friend and more like a stalker so I quietly deleted her from my friend list and retreated to my corner to try to heal my wounded heart.

A few people have entered and left my life since then. I don't make friends easily and have never had a wide social circle so I am unsure how to deal with this revolving-door of people entering and exiting my life. Every exit is painful and often confusing to me. Am I really that hard to get along with? I wonder. As friendships evolve I am left with many questions that never seem to get answered. In some ways I wonder if I am making the relationships in my life more complicated than they need to be. I am not alone in my feelings. The January issue of Chatelaine magazine had a very interesting and comforting article in it. Here is the link to it, if you want to read it. I can wait.

I am having a harder and harder time dealing with how Facebook has changed how I interact with people. It is pretty easy to see how useful it is when you are talking about far-flung friends and relations, but what about the ones that live across town? I mean the ones that you can call without incurring long-distance phone rates. Why are we using it to talk instead of actually TALKING to people now??? I spend all day at home alone with kids. I crave the sound of an adult voice on the other end of the phone line sometimes. Being a stay at home mom can be a very lonely, isolating occupation and in some ways Facebook makes it better and in other ways Facebook makes it worse. I think that Facebook can make sticky situations even stickier.

It is crazy how I can be so mature and sure of myself in so many aspects of my life, but stuff like this throws me right back to Jr High, when I was so insecure and had no idea what made relationships tick. It has been many, many years since then. What am I missing here?

Interview with Emmett and Charlotte

I did this interview almost a year ago. Lets see how things have changed!

I typed out their answers, word for word as they told me. You could tell they were losing interest towards the end.

Maybe next year we can add Matthew's answers to this list.

Emmett, age 6, Charlotte, age 4

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Emmett--Be nice to everyone and don't poop and pee your pants.
Charlotte--Don't pee your pants.

2. What makes mom happy?
Emmett--When we be nice to you, Mommy.
Charlotte--If I don't pee my pants.

3. What makes mom sad?
Emmett--If you do be mean.
Charlotte--If you hurt yourself, Mom.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Emmett--Tell some jokes.
Charlotte--When you do a puppet show.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Emmett--I don't know. Get Charlotte to answer it.
Charlotte--You played with babies and you took them to bed and put on their pyjamas.

6. How old is your mom?
Emmett--I don't know.
Charlotte--16

7. How tall is your mom?
Emmett--You are about 16
Charlotte--You are larger

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Emmett--Printing stuff for your friends.
Charlotte--Go shopping.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Emmett--Wait for us to come back.
Charlotte--Wait for me to come back.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Emmett--You will be a guitar player.
Charlotte-Maybe you can be a cutting girl and cut trees off.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Emmett--I don't know.
Charlotte-You are really good at playing computers.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Emmett--You are not very good at doing stuff.
Charlotte--You are not very good at cutting my hair.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Emmett--I don't know.
Charlotte--Knit.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Emmett--Chocolate
Charlotte--Soup

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Emmett--When you be nice.
Charlotte--What about painting pictures of us?

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Emmett--Supergirl
Charlotte--A Rock Star

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Emmett--play
Charlotte--we go shopping.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Emmett--We have the same hair.
Charlotte--We are big together.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Emmett--I am smaller than you and you are bigger.
Charlotte--We are different than the neighbours.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Emmett--I don't know.
Charlotte--When I hug you.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Emmett--Superstore.
Charlotte--Go home.

This picture just makes me smile. Emmett is explaining the poster to Charlotte.
This is amazing for several reasons.

I am still in awe that Emmett's communication skills have progressed to the point where he can explain an anatomy poster to his little sister (well, his grasp of anatomy is as good as any six year olds....but you get my drift, right?)

And, I love catching these moments. Moments when there is peace an co-operation in my house. Moments where the kids are helping each other out with no coaching from me.

I registered Char for Kindergarten this week. She will be going to a French Immersion school in our city. She is so excited. So is her dad. He and his sister went to the same school once upon a time. Charlotte needs the extra challenge and stimulation a language-immersion program will give her.

I can't get over how fast everyone is growing up!

I'll finish this post once the room stops spinning.

Hubs and I went to Avatar last night. The pictures were very, very pretty. The story was a retread of a story that has been told over and over. The story was so familiar to me that I actually had Colours of the Wind stuck in my head for the rest of the night and for most of today.

Three hours with 3D glasses on did a number to my equilibrium. I walked out of the theatre very dizzy and with a pounding headache. I am still dizzy and nauseous today. I don't remember feeling so bad after watching Up in 3D, but that movie was only long enough to give me a bad headache. (It was totally worth getting a headache for, unlike Avatar)


So, can I get back to you once the room stops spinning?

2010 in bullet points

Happy New Year!

My first post of the new year is going to be a random collection of bullet points that have been rattling around in my head since the last time I wrote.

• New Years is usually a pretty quiet affair around here. To me, the real New Year happens in September, when there is actual, tangible change in the air. The seasons change, summer holidays transition into the routine of school and lessons....stuff happens. When January 1 rolls around, it is still cold, it is still winter, and the only thing I really have to do is remember to write a new year on the cheques I write.
• I stopped making resolutions a long time ago. I figured that if I wanted to affect change in my life, why wait for one arbitrary day of the year? So, when we got a shiny new Wii for Christmas, I didn't wait for Jan 1 to start using it to exercise, I started on Dec 27, after heading out to buy a game that now whips my bum into shape five days of the week.
• This year we did something different to ring in the New Year. I had an actual dinner party in my house with over 10 guests. My inlaws stopped by on their way to a skiing holiday and filled my house with food and fun. I have not been in close vicinity to teenagers since summer camp (where cel phones are banned) so, I had no idea that they must send text messages all the time. Is this really true, or does this just happen with the particular teenagers that were in my house?
• I also found out that if you have hockey fans over on the night of a Big Game and you don't have cable or any sort of TV channels to speak of, they find other ways to get the score--like asking a nearby teenager to tap into the host's wireless network with his laptop to get streaming scores. (The teenager then shows the host's husband the Finnish version of the show Jackass and then the host is forced to watch it for the next week....sigh)
  
• I loved having Richard home for a week. This is the first time he has had actual time off over any holiday season--you just don't get time off when you run your own business. Having him home was great! I got to be decadent and self-indulgent and plowed through a 1000+ page novel in four days!! It was divine and a great way to recharge my batteries between family celebrations. Of course, after conquering such a weighty tome, I have no idea what to read next. Decisions, decisions......
• Emmett lost another tooth and grew half an inch over holidays. He now speaks with a lisp and has three new pairs of pants in his drawer since his other ones were looking like capris. (This kid also grew an entire shoe size between September and November....will I ever keep up to this???)
  
• Matthew's vocabulary is growing, if you listen carefully and pay attention to context.
• I found out I am a gonzo Star Wars Lego builder. I "helped" (ahem, toiled away while the boy watched) Emmett build two new projects, and we have two more left to do.
• The Lego designers are geniuses. That is all I have to say about that.
• Do you say Twenty-Ten, or Two Thousand and Ten??
• 

One more sleep.

The kids are bouncing off the walls, the NORAD Santa Tracker has been booted up and the stockings have been located. Christmas morning breakfast has been planned out, supplies laid in and invitations extended (there will be lots! come on by!)

To use the words of England's Jon Gledstone, creator of the world's first PC Holiday Card:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practised within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all."

Read more

Tonight, stockings will be hung and then we will gather for the annual viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol with some cinnamon caramel corn to munch. I plan on having a nip of Peppermint Baileys. We may sneak out to Midnight Mass after the kids go to bed, if my parents are willing to babysit. (Even though I am not a Christian anymore, I can still appreciate the beauty and majesty of a candle-lit cathedral and some lovely choral music)

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Double, double, toil and trouble.....

cocoa butter
shea butter
coconut oil
macadamia nut oil
sweet almond oil
jojoba oil
primrose oil
*emulisifying wax
*steric acid
*water
*preservitive

Oil of:
ginger
lavender
rosemary
teatree

A little of this, a little of that. Melt, stir, cool, whip, pour.
Was I re-enacting a familiar scene from Macbeth this morning? It sure felt like it! When all was said and done I ended up with some beautiful tins of soothing lotion and pots of lucious lip balm.

Thanks, Cynthia!

Hard Work Pays Off

I am on an Apraxia message board. A mother on the board was asking for video of kids with apraxia speaking. I posted a link to a video I shot of Emmett about a year and a half ago, not long after his speech breakthrough. I couldn't believe the difference between then and now. Time really does blur the edges of a memory, doesn't it? I find when we are in therapy we are always looking forward. We are always looking for the next milestone that we need to reach so we sometimes forget how far we have already come.

Remember this video?



I shot this last night:


Can you believe the difference? Can I tell you that I still get a song in my heart when he tells me to stop filming?? I can't help but smile.

Twelve more sleeps.

If I can do this, you can too!

I love showing my friends how much I care for them by making gifts for them.

This year, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with a busy schedule that having three young kids gives you, in addition to settling into our new house, which is an ongoing process.

A freind emailed me last week to ask for my peppermint mocha recipe. It reminded me that DO have time to whip up some love in a jar for my friends.

Here are two ideas for gifts that are quick, easy and will be happily received. They can be made up in advance and then live in your pantry for spur-of-the-moment giving.

Peppermint mocha mix (click to link) Put this in a mason jar, tie a spoon on to it and paste the instructions in a pretty card. I gave this to a friend last year and she said it was better than Starbucks.
I use icing sugar in the recipe as it mixes with the cocoa powder better than granulated sugar. Use candy canes to give it festive green and red flecks.

Chocolate popcorn mix
In a large bowl stir together:
1-1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

and, if you are feeling brave, a dash of cayenne pepper.

Print out the following directions to give with a jar:
Chocolate popcorn: Melt 1/4 cup butter in the microwave or a small saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup mix. Pour over 6 - 12 cups of popped popcorn and toss to coat well.

Give this gift with a gift card for movie rental and I am sure it will be well recieved!
Oh, and I actually mix one batch of this into 12 cups of popped popcorn and it still has a lot of sweetness and more crunch.

Make sure you save some of the mixes for yourself too!

New Traditions

December is here! We had our first giant snowfall so now I feel like decorating our house and trying out my new cookie press with some shortbread.

I am also back to thinking about where my new feelings and beliefs fit in with this season. This is the first time in my life I have stopped identifying myself as Christian. Some days I am an Agnostic, and some days I am a Humanist, but I definitely don't feel Christian anymore.

Hubby takes the kids to church and they are learning about being Christian and being an Anglican from him. Baby Jesus is in our Christmas book basket, as is Santa.

I don't quite know how to teach my kids there is something in between celebrating the birth of Jesus and waiting for Santa. They of course are all about the loot.

I want to teach them there is more to Christmas than loot and baby Jesus.

I am starting by trying to get the kids excited about giving. Emmett and Charlotte have each been on special shopping trips so they could pick out gifts for each other. Charlotte and I spent the morning making salt dough ornaments to give as gifts.

Can someone point me to some good story books about giving that don't have Santa in them?

What do you do to celebrate the season?

There is snow in the forecast for this week (finally....we have been waiting for it like expectant moms wait for labour--you know it is going to happen, you know it is going to hurt, you just don't know when it is going to actually begin.)

Here is one last glimpse of fall. I took these pictures during a hike in the countryside near our city. A friend who is a wizard with Photoshop brightened up the pictures and made this collage for me to give to the Grandmas for Christmas. I am really happy with how it turned out. I am also happy to help promote my friend's home-based business so if you want to know her name and contact info, drop me a line and I can pass her information on to you.

When did I get old???

I am 33. I thought I was young. Yes, I have been dyeing my hair for12 years because of premature greying, but let's emphasize the word premature here!

So, who says I'm old?? The September Issue of More Magazine.
More is a magazine marketed to women 40 years old and over. Why am I reading it? My mom regularly shares her magazines with me and this is one she passes on. Some of the articles are interesting, but the article entitled How Not to Act Old (with an exerpt of the book by the same name) really rubbed me the wrong way.

According to the article I am Old. Why? I leave voicemail instead of text messages. I wear a watch (there is a clock on your celphone, fogey!), I don't wax , (umm, ouch!) I am interested retro things and I can cook a mean roast.

As someone under 40 this article insults me. I can't imagine it being funny to someone over 40 either. I thought that part of growing up was growing into confidance and maturity. Doesn't that mean I can stop caring about what other people think about me? Doesn't that mean I can stop bending over backwards to try to fit in with all the cool kids?

More, you really dropped the ball on this one. I thought that I was supposed to look to women older than me to learn from them. What am I learning here? That nothing ever changes? That I am supposed to do everything I can to be someone I am not? I don't even think Seventeen magazine is sending that message to their young readers anymore. You are beginning to sound a bit like American Cosmo, undermining my confidance in order to try to make me conform to a predetermined standard. I thought you were supposed to be teaching me to age gracefully and confidantly--not just to lie about my age and cling to a youth that is really not worth clinging to.

So, I am going to start now, Screw you, More Magazine. I am going to put on my 50's style apron, cook a roast and when I call you to invite you to dinner I might just leave a message on your voicemail. Don't RSVP by text message, though. I probably won't get it.

Time for a musical interlude.

I have a two year old that can scale the entertainment unit. Keeping him and our possessions safe has become the main focus of my day. What time left is spent wondering why Char has regressed in her potty training and having the accompanying nervous breakdown over the sheer volume of peepee laundry in my house; the likes of which I haven't seen since I was washing cloth diapers.

This doesn't leave a lot of spare time for thinking deep thoughts and then posting them.
Instead, I give you an original musical number composed and performed by our own artist-in-residence.Please forgive the shaky video. I was fending off Matthew while trying to capture this moment.

I was raised by Muppets

Admit it, most of you reading were too. I don't think it was a bad thing! I loved Sesame Street growing up. Heck, our wedding song was a Muppet Song!


I remember watching Sesame Street with my dad at lunchtime, right after Mister Dressup. I know all of the words to Rubber Duckie a can Do the Pigeon (we had that song on 45!!). I learned how to say my alphabet in French thanks to Sesame Street and can count to 12 in a disco beat. I remember Susan and Luis's wedding and when Mister Hooper passed away.

Now you know how old I am!

Can you believe our street turns 40 this year? It has changed a lot over the years, and admittedly, my kids don't watch it because we don't have cable. I DO plan on getting the commemorative DVDs so my kids can see what it was like before it became the Elmo Show. Why is Elmo such a rockstar now?? Bert and Ernie are much more interesting to me. What about the more secondary characters like Sully and Don Music? I loved Don Music and his tantrums.

So, were you raised by Muppets?

Trick or Treat!

What a diifference a day makes.

Our yard this past weekend

Jackrabbit tracks down our back lane

I love the stark contrast of snow on green grass

Our street almost looked like a black and white photograph this morning

Snow on the lilac bush

We had our first big snowfall of the year yesterday. That meant a frantic trip to Walmart when I realized that only one child had boots that fit (and a Caesar for me when we got home.)

But, after that harrowing experience the kids had fun with a twilight snowball fight before bed. And Matthew and I chased a jackrabbit down our back lane after school drop off this morning. The snow is quickly melting, so there might not even be time for snowmen after school, but the kids have their fingers crossed!

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I am sick. I am out of steam. Here are some cute pics I snapped last week because no one wants to hear me whine about furnace installers who back out at the last minute and the traveling fever that is making it's way through all of the occupants of our house.

For Ami.

I swear this carrot came out of either my carrot patch or my friend Carolyn's. This is not a picture I found trolling for such pictures online. Carolyn saw this carrot with her own eyes this morning. She can vouch for me!

I dedicate this carrot to my funny invisible internet friend Ami




If you want a little background, you should check out this post Ami wrote about a certain dictionary she had in a book collection at the after-school program she runs. More of her hilarious story can be found here.

Since I can't have such perverted vegetables just laying around my house where young children could find them, I quickly chopped it up and put it in my crockpot. It will taste delicious in my beef stew.