Teeth, Heat and Health!

Monday: Pasta Salad
Tuesday: Roasted Veggies Sandwiches
Wednesday: I Took the Night Off
Thursday: Wild Mushroom Ricotta Eggs with Roasted Potatoes and Honey Dew Melon
Friday: Veggies Burgers

Pasta Salad

I know I've mentioned Hannah's loose tooth and my angst about the whole thing, well today was the day. I was out front, suddenly horrified by the weeds growing up between my patio stone walkway to the front door, trying to quickly pull them up and I hear Hannah at the front door saying, "I lost my tooth!" I come up to see and as I'm standing there talking to her she faints, hits the door knob and then does a few little shaky convulsions. Now, for those of you that don't know, Hannah faints. They're called pallid spells and sometimes when she gets hurt, possibly mixed with other factors like fatigue or hunger...or not, her little body has a hard time handling it and she faints. It has happened close to a dozen times since she was just over one. It's a very normal thing and she'll grow out of it. Having said that, it still sends me into a complete panic every time it happens. I lose all sensation in my knees and my heart beats so fast I'm pretty sure you can see it through my shirt. She's usually out for a few seconds (which feels like an eternity) and when she comes to, I try my best to catch my breath and act like I'm not in a mad panic. She recovers quickly and is usually off and running. So after she woke up from fainting she called both sets of grandparents to tell them about her lost tooth. Dave then suggested to her that she go look in the mirror at the hole the tooth left behind in her mouth. Hannah climbed up on the counter, opened her mouth and looked in the mirror. She then said, "It makes me feel sick...I have to throw up!" and spent the next few minutes with her head hung over the toilet (but didn't vomit in the end). So, loosing teeth is apparently not for the faint of heart...except that the prospect of the Tooth Fairy coming seems to be able to make up for anything.

Recipe
It's 34 degrees out today, too hot to cook. So I put together this pasta salad inspired by Mike's salad the other week.

1 500 g pkg fresh whole wheat five cheese tortellini, prepared according to package directions

1 avocado, chopped
1 each baby red, yellow, orange peppers chopped
6 sweet cocktail tomatoes, chopped
1 cob of corn, kernels removed - raw, it is nice and sweet
5 baby cucumbers, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata and green olives, chopped
Boccachino cheese, chopped (I only had about 6 little balls)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 19 oz can of lentils, drained and rinsed
Newman's Own LIGHT Roasted Garlic Balsamic, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together with a little dressing, taste and add more dressing if you need. The pictures really don't do the yummyness of this salad justice - it was perfect for a hot day.

Roasted Veggie Sandwiches and Fruit
It's hot, hot, hot. We were suppose to have a family picnic at the park but it's too hot. Luckily my cousin and his family offered their house and pool for all of us. We all brought our own picnic dinner and splashed and played in the pool. It was really wonderful to look around and see my Grandma surrounded by most of her children, while others milled about and most of my cousins were in the pool with their kids. Dave came later and my girls (and therefore me) were in the pool for almost two hours, I'm not complaining though given the heat and the excitement of all the kids this was the spot to be.

Recipe
1 eggplant, thinly sliced in rounds

1 red onion, thinly sliced in rounds
1 zucchini, thinly sliced in rounds
3 sweet red peppers, roasted and sliced in stripes
1 portobello mushroom, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/3 cup olive oil
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1/3 cup feta cheese
1 whole wheat baguette
Hummus

Marinate eggplant, red onion, zucchini, and mushroom in olive oil, vinegar, garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in the fridge over night, stirring a couple times.

In the morning or early afternoon, roast your red peppers and grill your veggies in a grilling basket on the BBQ over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes until soft and slightly browned in spots. Mix in the feta while it is still warm.

Cut your baguette lengthwise, spread with hummus and pile on the veggies, close it up, cut into individual sizes and wrap each one tightly with cling wrap and put in the fridge or leave on the counter for a few hours before eating (this gives the veggie juices time to soak into the bread a little but not make it soggy).

I Took the Night Off
Sometimes, for no rhyme or reason, we just hit one of those days where there's no patience left in the bank and we have nothing left to give. We all know those days where we long to be selfish and live only for ourselves, needing only to fulfil what we need and not worry about anyone else. It's o.k. to have those days...right? I ask, but I know that it's not only o.k. but actually necessary to be able to give all that we can to our children and families (including ourselves) all those other days. Today was one of those days. It didn't seem like it should have been, I have been living the high life lately with my sister watching my girls in the mornings so I can run, with Ruby visiting and my cousin on holidays my girls have had friends to play with all the time leaving my job relatively easy, but still I needed something today.

When I came out of the shower to Hannah saying, "Mom, Harper's writing on the walls with a pen!" something inside just kind of snapped...actually more like crumbled. I wanted to muster up the patience to deal with this maturely and properly but I came down to see her standing at the wall with a pen in one hand and a pencil in the other and as I told her to stop and starting walking towards her, she, in a mad panic, scribbled as much as she could before I reached her and took the pen and pencil away. I then gave her a choice to sit on the couch or help me clean up the marks. She chose to help (damn!). You know, it doesn't actually come off the wall easily, even with a microfiber cloth, which I gave her while I used an eraser to erase the pencil off. She kept saying to me, "Pease I use dat eraser?" and I kept answering, "No."..."Pease we share dat eraser?" "No."..."Peeeeeassssse" "No." This continued on and on until finally I had gotten all the pencil off and decided that the pen was not coming off.

Luckily for me I have this amazing support system and when I mom found out what kind of day I was having she and my dad took the kids for awhile so I could nap, this was after Dave had called and heard about the day and suggested I go out tonight, and when I called my cousin and asked if she was available she called back and said, "YES!!" (she may have needed a little time too). I am so grateful for these people and for my little ones who seem to forgive my crankiness, and didn't even want me to go out (which I don't entirely get, because I was very cranky and not very much fun to be around).

Recipe
My mom had brought over some pasta salad which Dave added chickpeas to and they all had for dinner. I went to East India Company for dinner and again, wasn't able to make it past the samosas on the buffet...perhaps next time I need to start from the other end.

Wild Mushroom Ricotta Eggs with Roasted Potatoes and Honey Dew Melon
It's amazing what a night off can do. I woke up full of patience and could feel how my energy had transformed to light and positive. I went to the beach today with my cousin and her three kids, plus one friend, and Hannah and Harper. It was really the perfect beach day, not too hot but hot enough to go in the water. The kids had a blast. The two older boys spent most of the day catching tad poles with a net and the younger ones soon caught on to the idea. Hannah was so adorable with a bucket which she would fill with water and then slowly dump out looking to see if she'd caught a fish, making the awww shucks body movements when there wasn't one in the bucket - I love her so much. Harper is now full on into the water, swimming around in her life jacket to the point that I had to actually drag her out (well, carry - not drag) of the water so I could pack up and get going, she complained about it half of the way home until she fell asleep mid cry - awww bliss!

Recipe 
I was going to make a frittata but somehow lost the recipe I was going to use and didn't really have the energy or time to make another. So I just scrambled the eggs and they turned out really nice with some roasted potatoes and honey dew melon on the side.

6 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup Ricotta cheese (skim milk)
2 handfuls of mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cloves garlic, pressed
a little Romano or Parmesan cheese for grating
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Heat a glugg of olive oil in a pan and cook onion until soft, remove and add mushrooms cooking until soft, adding the garlic and thyme in at the end.

Beat the eggs and cheese together until smooth. Spray a pan with olive oil and add the eggs, cooking over medium low heat, stirring until cooked, add in the mushrooms and onion and cook a minute or two until it's all warm. Grate a little Romano or Parmesan cheese over the top.

Serve with roasted potatoes and fruit.

Veggies Burgers
I've skipped a day, it is actually Saturday because we spent last night at children's hospital with Hannah. It all started in the morning; she woke up yelling and screaming about how her back hurt. We couldn't even touch her she was in so much pain. She kept yelling, "I want medicine, make it better!" while Dave and I tried to assess what was actually wrong. At one point we just kind of stood there dazed as she cried and kind of even foamed at the mouth a little (while Harper was sound asleep an arm's length from her). Dave then suggested a water bottle and I walked out into the hall and kind of looked up and down in a daze because I didn't have a clue where to look for the water bottle. I went back in to the room and Hannah got up to vomit in the toilet and luckily my senses returned to me. I helped her to her own bed, gave her some Tylenol and stayed with her as she fell back asleep. The day then progressed like a regular sick day...except different. She layed on the couch and watched T.V., had a fever of 100F with Tylenol on board but kept complaining about having pain in her back, on her side and under her arm pit. She also asked to the turn the T.V. off three times to have a sleep, my child does not do this. Her T.V. watching is limited and so when she's sick, she actually kind of gets excited about being able to watch T.V. and will force herself to stay awake to watch. She may fall asleep with a show on (rarely) but when you creep over to turn it off or at least mute it (how much Umizoomi can one women listen to?) she'll wake up and say, "Mama, I'm still watching that." But Friday, she turned it off, like I said, she was sick but differently. My mom came by and checked her and suggested we get her checked out to make sure she didn't have an infection that was causing the pain. So off to Children's Hospital we went. They were really wonderful there, and when her white blood cell count came back abnormally high (40 - if that means anything to you) they called for a surgical consult, put her on antibiotics, gave her a CT and our overnight fate was sealed. I have to say I was very concerned, but not crazy worried that there was going to be something terribly wrong. It was looking into Hannah's tired, fevered little face as she kept asking me, "when can we go home?" that truly broke my heart. When we finally crawled into bed together after being emitted around 1 am I don't think I could have cuddled that little monkey in any closer without suffocating her. In the morning Hannah seemed to be on the mend, we read Charlotte's Web together while waiting for the doctors to check her and Dave to come back (with coffee). They determined that it was viral and we were happily sent home.

It is now bedtime and Hannah is upstairs brushing her teeth after a day of taking it easy (a.k.a watching T.V), giggling, drinking juice and eating a wide variety of foods in good healthy quantities. She is mended and we are very relieved and grateful to the wonderful staff that took care of us at Children's Hospital.

Recipe
This recipe is from the wonderful blog of Catherine Newman, I want to actually just make the bulgur part one night with a few added veggies it's so tasty, and they were delicious. I loved the texture and taste. Dave like the tasted but was not wild about the nutty texture.

Dave's parents gave me these little bowls in my stocking at
Christmas, I love them because it makes me feel like I'm on
a cooking show when I use them.

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil plus more for frying
Kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup bulgur
1 cup water
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves and stems, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise
Zest and juice of 1 large lime
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Cook the onion with 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or half as much table salt) in the oil in a smallish pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, around 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then add the spices and stir for a few seconds, just until fragrant. Add the bulgur and water and cook, covered, over low heat until water is absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce. Try not to eat it all because it's really delicious.

Pulse the bulgur mixture, pintos, walnuts, cilantro, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a few grindings of black pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. Form the mixture into 5 patties. Chill them for at least 10 minutes and up to a couple hours (or abandon them the night before and head out to the hospital, they were still good the next night). While patties chill, whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice and zest, smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp salt.

Cook the burgers in a greased pan or griddle until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. We then topped ours with fried onions, the sauce, pickles and slices of tomatoes (I realize that this paragraph is in a different font - I can't seem to change it for some reason and have gotten very frustrated, so I've decided to just go with it - it does make it look like there is something very important or interesting here though, doesn't it?).

We are heading out to the lake tomorrow morning (as long as everyone is healthy) and I won't able to connect online until Tuesday and therefore am going to post this early without Sunday's post.

Have a great week, I hope the sun shines down on you!

Vacation

Vacation.

Is there anything as great as vacation? Really. I don’t think there is…maybe the evening of vacation when the kids are tired and happy from a busy day of running, walking, swimming, playing, eating, swimming, running, playing cards, swimming and we are subdued from the same…and a couple of glasses of red wine with dinner. It truly has been a wonderful week which started with sharing the cottage with my mom and dad and sister and niece. The girls played, argued a little and played some more, sharing in canoeing, swimming, running, walking and spending time with their grandparents, together (there’s something very important to me that they realize that they all share these two wonderful, beautiful beings). It is ending with five days to ourselves out here. You know, how when your kids are little it is often about the next thing, and filling the time for them with fun and play and sometimes it seems to move so fast but every once in a while you get a glimpse or a moment. You are able to see the moment for what it is, not getting to the next but that moment for an instant, a minute or even more and you are in such bliss that this is your life, these are your people and you have so many more of these moments to come! Now, I’m crying and Dave is going to come out onto the porch and worry that something is terribly wrong and then laugh at me a little but agree that he knows exactly what I mean. It’s a good life.

The highlights?

Canoeing to the main beach with my sister and the girls. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t thing we’d make it (there, I mean, not life or death) but of course we did and it taught me to not be so quick to judge. I was worried the kids would be disappointed if we didn’t make it, but I should have kept my mouth shut, set out on the adventure and waited to see what would happen. Sometimes I think I’m so focussed on preparing my children and avoiding disappointment that they loose out on spontaneity and adventure.

Running up the road and seeing my mom with all three girls out for a walk together from a distance, I don’t have any words to describe why this was a highlight, but it was a big one.

Harper jumping off her chair the other day, bending over so her butt is high in the air and making farting sounds with her mouth. When Dave exclaimed. “I wonder where she got that idea?” Hannah responded with, “Not from me, I stick my butt in people’s faces when I do it!”

Harper swimming in the lake with a life jacket but no one holding on to her, and especially her face when she realized she was doing it all on her own.

Seeing a big beautiful buck on the road this morning when I was out for my run. These days seeing deer is almost like seeing a squirrel (but more common) but I was in such thought and looked up and saw this buck and it looked so majestic to me today.

It has been a wonderful week, I was so busy enjoying the moments that I completely forgot to even take out the camera and photograph it. I look forward to telling you about next week and all we are going to do and eat but for now, I am going to join my family in the other room and just be…with my people.

I hope the sun shines down on you this week!

Cousins, Birthday and Vacation!

Monday: Lasagna, Salad and Ice Cream Cones
Tuesday: Tuna Melts, Bruschetta and Raw Veggies
Wednesday: Hummus and Stuff
Thursday: Taco Salad
Friday: Scrambled Eggs, Buttered Rye Toast and Fruit
Saturday: Pizza, Salad and Ice Cream Cake

Lasagna, Salad and Ice Cream Cones
There is something very special about a cousin. I have always known this, it is a culture in my family (and in most others, I am sure). My childhood is full of memories of playing hide and seek in the dark with my cousins at family dinners, running around and exploring the woods at the lake together (I may add that we were not that old and did not need a parent looking over our shoulder every second, we survived - where have these independent days gone?), doing dishes together when we were just wee littles, playing the alphabet game as we fell asleep (A is for apple, B is for banana....) and later always knowing that I could call one of them if I was in need. There is a safety in cousins, always a friend to hang out with, even the most unlikely friends would cling to each other and find something to do, maybe not quite a sibling but the next closest thing. My closest friends are cousins, their children are my nieces and nephews and I love watching them form the same love and bond for each other as I did with my cousins. The thing about a cousin is that you could have seen them the day before, three months ago or year ago, regardless you still make fast friends and feel comfortable right away getting down to the good visiting or playing and not needing to go through all the beginning formalities. This is what happened yesterday with the girls. It was like Hannah and my niece, Ruby, had played together last week, they got right down to an afternoon of playing. Harper did take a little longer but was soon right in there with the other kids. When some of the other cousins arrived they simply slipped into the playing seamlessly. There was running around, Lego building, colouring on a variety of surfaces (paper, bodies, faces, towels), playing in the sand, reading, games, dolls and all sorts of pretend. The only thing that came to be out of the ordinary was when we were walking home, Harper and I behind Dave and Hannah and Harper looked at me and said, "Where's uncle Dave going with Hannah?" So perhaps there was a little name confusion.

Recipe
My mom made a veggie lasagna and I'm pretty sure there was no recipe, she made up the sauce and loaded it with lovely chunks of veggies layering the noodles and sauce and cheese - yum. The salad was light, simple and delicious, a variety of lettuce cut from her garden tossed with balsamic, olive oil and a little grated Parmesan cheese. For dessert we had ice cream cones, it was Harper's fourth of the season and she didn't waste a drop (oppose to the sticky mess that the other cones have been)!

Do you think maybe, she needed the nap?

Tuna Melts, Bruschetta and Raw Veggies

After careful consideration (actually more like, too many hour and a half going to bed sessions) we've decided to give up Harper's nap. By nine o'clock this morning she was already cranky. In the end she made it through the day not too badly and went down for the night around 6:30, I'm calling it success...we'll see what tomorrow brings.

It was my turn to put Hannah to bed tonight, we have a regular routine of two stories, 5 minutes of cuddling and then she goes to sleep. Tonight she picked two long stories and I thought that I was patient enough but half way through the second story, I was wrong - they disappeared. So when Hannah got out of bed to get a drink of water and then tried to get out again pretending she needed a Kleenex I was a little curt and short with her. She then flopped down and hugged me and said, "You're the best mom in the whole world!" This made me wonder, do you think you're born with the capacity to inflict guilt or is it learned?

Recipe
One of the wonderful things about having house guests, besides the company, is that they cook. Today my parents came and took the girls to the park and then Mike made dinner and I, wondered around the house aimlessly, happy but without purpose!

Tuna
Mayonnaise
Green onion

Mix into tuna salad.
Tomatoes, chopped
Red onion, chopped
Garlic
Basil

Mixed together, I  believe this was put in the fridge over night.
Loaf of rosemary foccasia
Loaf of French bread
Grated mozzarella cheese

The bread was cut and toasted in the oven and then covered with either the bruschetta or tuna, sprinkled with cheese and broiled to melt. They were delicious!

Carrot sticks
Baby cucumbers
Snap peas

Hummus and Stuff
I'm in a funk with Hannah. She is in a funk of not listening, really at all. I know she is asserting her Independence (?) and exercising her right to chose (?), demonstration her will and strength (?) and I keep asking her not to, (over and over again) and then eventually I try to figure out the natural consequence (which seriously, isn't always easy) and we go through all those motions but it's not working. So after we've had about ten episodes like this (and it's only nine in the morning) I start to loose my mind, my patience and my ability to stop myself, I have come just shy of pulling a Phil Dumphy and cancelling Christmas (for which I would of course make up by promising a trip to Italy). It's a power struggle and I am still searching how I can regain the balance without her loosing her chances to assert herself (or Christmas 2011)!

Recipe

I was so lazy at supper time, it was just me and the girls so I made a little hummus and put out a bunch of stuff that was in the fridge, hence the stuff. I actually piled mine all on a piece of bread and drizzled it with a little balsamic and ate it - it was very messy but good. The girls ate theirs all separate.

Hummus
1 10 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup water
pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Paul Newman's Roasted Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (because I was too lazy to press garlic)

Mix all up in a food processor, it turned out really nice and mellow.

Handful of basil
Handful of arugula
Boccocino cheese, sliced
Kalamata olives
Tomatoes. sliced
French Bread, sliced nice and thick

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in rounds

drizzled of olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Toss potatoes in oil and salt and grill on the BBQ until crispy, filling once.

Zucchini
1 large zucchini, sliced in rounds
2 Tbsp Paul Newman's Roasted Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Toss together and grill on BBQ, flipping once.

Enjoy!

Taco Salad
I love the subtlety of children. Both girls are playing in the back play area and they have shut the door. Every couple of minutes Hannah opens the door, looks at me and says, "Don't worry mom, we're alright back here you don't have to come and check on us." Really, she might as well be wearing a sign that says, "Getting into something" or in my kids world, "Found the spray bottle." In this case I know that they have a basket from the kitchen and feel very clever that they have snuck it out under my nose so I'm going to go with it.

Recipe
We had taco salad tonight which you can find here, but I did add the all important salsa verde!

Scrambled Eggs, Buttered Rye Toast and Fruit
I know I've mentioned Hannah's loose teeth and how I am inexplicably attached and sad that she is going to loose her baby teeth. Today, we realized that her adult tooth is already starting to grow in even though the other has yet to fall out. Apparently this is quite common and nothing to worry about except the missed childhood of having a gap between your teeth that you can conveniently fit your tongue through at anytime. I feel like we're getting jipped out of some serious stalling time, the interim, the here's your chance to get use to the fact that your kid is growing up - we'll take it slow by first loosing the tooth. The next step will be to live with that space and then slowly the new tooth will appear,  it's better this way, you ease into it (for me, not Hannah) and are actually normal and sane when the new tooth appears (I do realize that being rational is not my strongest quality). It 's silly I know, I'm quite certain (and I'm sure Dave is praying) that I will only be like this with the first tooth.

Recipe
I'm really dropping the ball on meal planning this week. But today was one of those days where five o'clock rolled around and I had nothing planned so simple, scrambled eggs with buttered toast and a little fruit was easy and satisfying.

Pizza, Salad and Ice Cream Cake (for Marble Slab)
It was Dave`s birthday today and so we always have the same thing. He`s a very low key birthday guy and so I tried my best to try and give him a low key birthday, but we do have a houseful so sometimes you just have to go with it. After our dinner we went out to a friend`s place about 40 minutes away. My dad babysat the girls and we didn`t give it a second thought when we walked out the door, it has been a couple of years since we`ve ever been called home, until tonight. My dad called around 10:30 with an inconsolable little girl with a sore ear, even talking to her on the phone all she could do was sob and so we came home. It was a very long drive for me. I wasn`t worried, it`s not like when you get called home for a baby that won`t take the bottle and you know is screaming and hungry, she`s five and was with her Pepere with whom she is very close, but still, I could not get home fast enough. Maybe, it`s because she`s usually so fine that I was so uneasy, all I know is that I could not get home fast enough to wrap her up in my arms. She`s sleeping in our bed right now and looked so little among the pillows and comforter. I gave her some Tylenol and wrapped her up in my arms to go to sleep...it did take awhile and I will admit I will admit that I did get a little bored, laying there but I was happy to be home with her.
Recipe
We ordered pizza and had a very simple salad of arugula, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella so I don`t have much to share with you for dinner. But, I do make Dave the same sandwich every year, and I by no means think it is healthy - there`s a reason why I only make it once a year, but he loves it. The idea for it comes from Jamie Oliver: The Essential Family Cookbook and I have only slightly altered it.

3 slices of rye bread lightly buttered
1/2 onion, sliced and fried
6 slices of old white cheddar
a couple handfuls of kettle cooked Cheddar and Onion chips

Layer the cheese onions and chips on a slice of bread, top with the second slice and repeat the layer and then top with the last slice of bread. Dave always has his with a beer, although he said that he had planned on savoring the sandwich with his beer but finished it before even taking sip!

We're off to the lake for a week of holidays and so I will not have a post next week but, will be back, and hopefully better planned, the week after. I hope the sun shines down on you (and us at the lake)!

Happy Canada Day!

Weekly Menu
Monday: Curried Quinoa Salad
Tuesday: Fajitas
Wednesday: Simple Summer Pasta
Thursday: Sun Burgers, Baked Potatoes with Sautéed Veggies
Friday: Veggies Dogs, Greek Salad and Corn on the Cob
Saturday: Salmon and Hash browns
Sunday: Leftovers

You’ll notice that the grocery list is missing this week, I simply ran out of time and something had to give, my apologies if this affects you.

Curried Quinoa Salad
(6 more sleeps until they land)
It was chilly today with the threat of rain. Hannah dressed in a little dress and when I suggested that she may be cold, she just stared at me for a minute and then said, "But Mooooom, it's summer now! We don't have cold days in summer." If only this were true. It's funny though, she couldn't get past the fact that it was summer, it didn't really seem to matter what the temperature was like, she wanted to run in the sprinkler, swim in the pool or go to the beach. By the end of the day the sun began to shine and it warmed up and she very proudly looked at me and said, "See mom, it would have been nice enough for the pool!" Sometimes it's really not worth arguing.

Recipe
I love this salad, it can be found here and I highly recommend trying it.

Fajitas
(5 more sleeps until they land)
We went to the park this morning and I had to laugh at Harper. Hannah was banging on the slide with her feet, it makes this very loud thundering sound, before she slid down and so Harper did the same. Although Harper did it for much longer and Hannah covered her ears complainin, "It hurts my ears, it's too loud!" Harper, noticing Hannah, stopped, "I stopped Hannah, I stopped." As soon as Hannah uncovered her ears Harper looked at her, smiled and banged super loud on the slide!

It was Hannah's last soccer game of the season tonight and although I am going to miss watching her face light up as she plays, I am kind of relieved that we no longer have to do the Tuesday/Thursday rush. She played goal again today for one of her shifts and danced around in the ready position in goal while the play was at the other end of the field. When the ball came down towards her, she stopped it once and then proceeded to climb the goal pole while watching the play in her end, it was very funny.

When we got home there was a bit of excitement as my cousin and her family moved in, they have three kids and a puppy. They are having some renovations done and will be staying with us for the next week. The kids were all very excited and it was a bit of a gong show as we all got everything in and all the kids settled into bed. I have to say, I think that the next week is going to be very fun. I'm really excited for the kids, what a treat to have your cousins come and stay with you, to be able to see and play with them everyday!

Recipe
I think that I could eat Mexican food three or four times a week but, I hold myself back so that no one gets sick of it.

Corn tortillas

We had homemade refried beans found here.

Guacamole found here.

Sauteed onion, red pepper and two yellow peppers in a little olive oil until soft.

Mixed 2 tomatoes and 1/2 cup of cilantro together with a little salt.

We topped it all off with some salsa verde, of course!

Simple Summer Pasta
(4 more sleeps until they land)
So the puppy staying with us, Stanley, goes in a kennel during the day. He was put in this morning and cried a little but then settled down to sleep until we went upstairs to get dressed. Once we were back downstairs he was still crying a little and Harper took to immitating him so he would cry and then she would, he would, she would (poor Stanley)...after about 5 minutes I decided it would be a good time to go to the store.

We filled up the pool this afternoon (filled up actually translates to about a foot of water) as Hannah was filling up the pool, Harper's standing in it going, "I tink tat's nough,  Hannah....I tink tat's nough, Hannah!" When Hannah went and turned the water off, Harper's face dropped in dissapointement (?). They splashed, and squealed with delight in the pool for an hour, it really didn't seem to matter that there was only a foot of water in it, they were wet from head to toe from laying in it, sliding off the sides, and pretending to wash Harper's hair. Hannah's standing in the pool pouring water over Harper's head saying, "how about I pretend to wash your hair and you pretend to wash your hair," she then looks at me, "I'm tricking her because I don't want her to wash my hair." I have to say it was so humid today that I considered climbing in that pool too. We're heading out to the lake this weekend and I have been thinking about diving in that water all day long...I hope it stays hot!

Recipe
We had pasta for summer found here, except I used brown rice pasta and over cooked it (there's a very small window with that stuff). We also had a salad that Mike made (my cousin, or counsin's husband...really everyone's a cousin around here) it was so delicious and I mixed it in with m

y pasta and edamame beans.

I steamed a bunch of edamame beans, and learned that my neuphew can fit 24 in his mouth at one time.

The super yummy salad was:
vine ripe tomatoes
boccacino cheese
cuccumber
red onion

All chopped up really small and then dressed with some Paul Newman Roated Garlic Balsamic Dressing.

Sun Burgers, Baked Potatoes with Sautéed Veggies

(3 more sleeps until they land)

The phone rang today around 10:30 just after we’d got home from the grocery store. It was Dave, “If I leave work around one do you want to go out to the lake early?” I should also mention that it was like +30 and unbelievably humid today, “ummm, yeah!” I love it when that happens; it just feels like such a free day. By the time Dave got home and I went for a run and we packed up, we didn’t actually get out to the lake until closer to five, but still in enough time for a swim and a beer before dinner.

The ride out was great. You go through so many years of crying rides to the lake that when everything suddenly seems to settle into a nice quiet ride, it’s pretty exciting (honestly, Dave and I probably spend the most undivided attention together on the rides to and from the lake). Hannah listens to Junie B Jones on our Ipod and I love hearing her laugh out loud to it. Harper also has headphones and listens to a bit of a book, reads some, stares out the window or talks to herself. On the way out today she called from the backseat, “Mom, pease may you hold my flip flop?” and passed me one of her flip flops. I said yes and went to take the other one but she quickly pulled her foot away, “Not tat one!” Half an hour later she called again from the backseat and passed me her other one. They’re such funny little creatures sometimes.

Recipe

We made sun burgers tonight which you can find here. My mom also made baked potatoes and sautéed onions, mushrooms, pepper and asparagus to go with it – yum!

Veggies Dogs, Greek Salad and Corn on the Cob

(2 more sleeps until they land)

We sleep four in a room at the lake (not too different from home because we end up four in a room by the time we get up anyway) but it can be really hot. Usually it all works out fine but last night was an adventure and I don’t think any of us got all that much sleep and yet, at the lake it doesn’t really seem to matter. It was kind of an action packed day, Dave took Hannah to play tennis, there were two swims, a trip to the park, a trip to the ice cream stand, Dave and I each ran and my Dad took Hannah for a boat ride. We then all ventured over to my aunt and uncle’s cottage next door to watch the football game and have dinner. While we were waiting Hannah and Harper raided the toys, found some fairy costumes and put on a show.

My mom took this photo of Hannah!

A show, how cute….well, it’s really more of a dressing up and announcing the show than an actual show. I loved how my Dad and uncles were sitting outside on the deck and Hannah instructed them that they could watch from there if they wanted (my Dad, being the wonderful Pepere that he is, chose to come and watch inside). Hannah presented the fairy show a few times, told us about a rock and some shapes and then sang a couple of made up songs, Harper joined in on the singing once she picked up on the words (which didn’t take long because it was fairy, fairy, yeah, yeah, yeah). She then ended the show with fairy ice cream which she said, looked like chocolate but tasted like fairies…oh, dear! Seriously though, I wish I could have recorded it, as long as it went for I fell even more in love with them (if that’s even possible) as I watched.

Recipe

Here’s the thing about summer at the lake, I often am not the main maker of the meal. We had veggie dogs which my uncle cooked, corn on the cob which we boiled and a Greek salad which I think a friend made, it was really good.

Salmon and Hash browns

(1 more sleep until they land)

We chose to stay at my Grandma`s cottage and have dinner on our own instead of joining in with everybody next door. We just wanted the girls to have a low key evening. Dave and I were sitting in the living room at the cottage reading and the girls were just finishing up their bedtime snack of watermelon and mango and I watched Hannah pick up her bowl and spoon, without being asked, walk over to the sink and wash it in the soapy water. She then asked Harper if she could wash her bowl. When Harper answered no I thought that we were in for a fit but, Hannah simply pulled a chair up to the sink for Harper and instructed her how to wash her bowl. She’s such a great big sister!

Recipe

There really isn’t much to this supper I had a fillet of salmon and rubbed a little olive oil on it and BBQed it. There were a bunch of veggies and some baked potatoes that needed to be used so I made hash browns.

For the Hash Browns:

Olive oil

Montreal Steak Spice

1 white onion, chopped

1 red pepper, cut in strips

1 small yellow pepper, cut in strip

A handful of cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 zucchini, chopped

4 baked potatoes, cut in 1 inch pieces

Heat a little olive oil in the bottom of a pan and add the onion and sauté until almost soft. Add the other veggies, sprinkle with spice and continue to cook until veggies are soft and potatoes are browned.

Leftovers

(They land!!!!!)

Today was a perfect lake day and I’m writing this as we are on our drive home. I’m hoping that I don’t get car sick before I finish writing, I can’t seem to do anything in the car without feeling nauseous, and we live on the prairies! It use to be that the perfect lake day for me was sitting around on the dock, drinking, eating, chatting and jumping in the water whenever I got hot…wait, that is still the perfect lake day but it just doesn’t quite work that way with a five and two year old. Today was the perfect, possibly day. The sun was shining the temperature was rising and the girls spent most of the morning playing out back while Dave and I took turns going for a run. It was not my best run, but as I rounded the bend in the path there were two deer, a momma and baby, standing on the path staring at me. It was actually a little odd because they finally turned and ran down the trail and for a minute or two it was like I was chasing them before they veered off into the woods. I didn’t pass one other person on the path this morning which actually is wonderful sometimes, lets me really loose myself, and makes me extremely nervous at the same time because there’s no one out there to help me fend off a bear or wolf attack,  do you think I could strangle a wolf with my Ipod headphones? Yeah, I didn’t really think so either.

The water was the perfect temperature for cooling off and great to swim around in after, not too cold or too warm. We swam off the dock and then headed to the beach and the girls ran and splashed in the water, built a sandcastle, swung on the swings and hunted for rocks. When we returned to the cottage we were the only ones left and we ate a leisurely dinner of leftovers, did the dishes and went for a final swim before giving the girls baths and loading them up in the car in their pjs for the ride home. The plan is to have two very sleepy girls by the time we pull in the driveway and so far half the ride is over and half the plan is working. Harper is fast asleep in her car seat, Hannah is listening to Junie B on the Ipod and I think will make it the whole ride.

Tomorrow we will see my sister and her daughter, I love summer!

I hope you have a great week and the sun shines down on you!