Checking in

Here's how 2015 is going so far:
-Hubby is frantically but diligently working away at THREE courses as he wraps up his parental leave

-D is halfway through senior kindergarten, and we are tremendously thankful for dear neighbours who walk her to the bus stop in the morning so that we don't have to!

-M has officially been registered to start kindergarten in September; and just as I was worried about sending her to school in diapers, she spontaneously started going to the bathroom on her own a couple of weeks ago. It finally clicked for her, and I couldn't be more thrilled! She hasn't had an accident in a few days, which is amazing. And it only took us six months to get to this point.

-G is almost six months old, rolling all around, almost sitting up, and still the happiest baby. He'll be starting solids pretty soon, but I remember all too well how long it takes babies to get the hang of eating, and I'm in no rush.

Oh hai!

The past few weeks have been intermittently difficult for our family. We've had some car trouble (our van, specifically the sliding doors and the battery, would seem to despise winter as much as Hubby does), a disappointing school result, and then a follow-up ultrasound on G's kidneys. We knew from the many, many ultrasounds that I had during my pregnancy, that his right kidney was smaller than his left, and that this would require follow-up after he was born. He screamed through his first ultrasound at just a month of age, and had another diagnostic test a few weeks later (called a cytoscopy) to determine kidney function. Both of these revealed what we already knew: his right kidney is smaller, but the left one is working fine.

Last week he had what I had hoped would be his last ultrasound for awhile. However, in the intervening weeks, his right kidney has developed two small cysts. Now we are awaiting a referral from the pediatrician to a nephrologist to continue monitoring, and to determine whether the kidney will need to be removed at some point in the future, a point which I am trying not to focus on. Many families have to deal with much worse than this. It's a concern, but we have access to excellent medical care, and besides that we know that our Lord is sovereign over this. This circumstance is not good from our perspective, but God is good. We once again put our trust in him to use the situation for his glory.

Birthday Prezzie: Play Dough Kit

It's been two years since I first started making my go-to kid's birthday present, and I think I've repeated the process ten times or more. Mostly these have been in the last year as D's had school friends' birthday parties to attend. On a couple of occasions, I did something different (for a girl who was allergic to gluten, another who was allergic to dairy, and a boy), but it's time consuming to come up with a totally different gift when you're used to doing one thing. Now that we're in round two of birthday season, I didn't want to repeat the same gift, and I wanted something more gender neutral than a cupcake kit. (I realize men can be and are bakers, but at this particular age and for D's particular friend, a Ninja Turtles action figure and some candy made for a better gift.)

I am determined to avoid the time trap of Pinterest for as long as possible, so I wanted to use my own imagination. Like the cupcake kit, it's not the recipe that's original, it's more the presentation. This time around, it's play dough mix in a mason jar. The girls and I tested out the recipe this week, and it's been a huge hit. For ages, I was waiting for their gifted supply of Play-Doh to run out. I prefer homemade because there's a larger quantity, and they can actually roll out a good amount of it. Also, I wanted to gauge their ability to use cookie cutters to determine whether they can help with Christmas baking. So, they've been quite enthralled this week, and I've used it as an after-school, after-dinner or weekend activity, when I'm trying to get something done.

This gift takes a bit more running around, but less assembly time than the previous one. Here's how it comes together:

-1 large mason jar (I have a set of 12 that I bought at a garage sale for 5$, but in the summer, they also sell them by the dozen in lots of stores, for about 10$)
-flour, salt, cream of tartar
-1 tiny bottle of food colouring (from the sets of 4 they sell at any grocery store)
-a rolling pin (Dollarama sells this one for 3$)
-cookie cutters (Bulk Barn has an amazing selection, most range from 69-99 cents)
-optional: fabric and ribbon to tie around the jar lid (Dollarama, and my meager fabric stash)
-optional: tiny ziploc bag for the cookie cutters and food colouring

It ends up costing just under 8$, not factoring in the cost of driving or the ingredients. But I think the former is mitigated by picking up the components while running other errands, and the latter would be quite minimal, as those are things I keep on hand anyway. The point is, this doesn't cost me over ten dollars. What I learned following D's birthday party this year is that the price point for a kid's party gift has gone way, way up from when I was a kid. Like 20-30$. That's just not a possibility for our family.

Best baked beans

My dream baby is napping upstairs, my girls (one home sick from school) are playing with playdough at the kitchen table, and my dinner is in the crockpot. It's something I never really enjoyed in its tinned form, but I've come to love it for its convenience in its homemade form. Baked beans, babies.

Hot mess, but fun to make

After having Baton Rouge's in-restaurant baked beans on a few occasions, Hubby had asked me if I could try my hand at them. Challenge accepted. Eschewing the traditional Boston baked beans because I don't usually have bacon on hand, I found a recipe that contained ingredients I almost always have in the pantry. Over time, I've adapted it to suit our preferences.

Best baked beans

3 cups dried white navy beans
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 can tomato paste (156 mL)
1/2 cup molasses
2 Tbsp dried mustard

Place dry beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak beans overnight. In the morning, transfer beans and water to a large pot and boil beans uncovered for an hour, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't boil over, and add more water if necessary.

Drain beans and place in crock pot. Add other ingredients and cook on high for 6 hours.

Serve on baked potatoes, toast, nachos or by themselves in a bowl. They freeze well, too.

Dream baby woke up, looks a tiny bit like me for once

Simple, classic chicken soup

It's a month into a new school year, and it's about that time when your kid starts bringing home illnesses along with forms to sign and artwork. Our own D is sick at the moment, with an ongoing cough and runny nose, and, as of last night, an ear infection. So it's also about time for a simple, homemade soup with (hopefully) some healing properties, if only because the secret ingredient is love. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I've never made chicken noodle soup from scratch before. Growing up, we loved the kind that came in a packet, including those cup-a-soups. For awhile, my parents would make it from the mix, but add in carrots, potatoes and other veggies. I remember having an amazing chicken soup at my dear friend Lindsay's house when I was in early labour with M, and it was made by her grandma. So this soup is a mash-up of what I recall from childhood, and three years ago. It is a low-prep, delicious, and the quickest homemade soup I've ever made.

2 Becel containers' worth (I think this works out to roughly 10 cups) of homemade chicken stock (as in, throw your leftover chicken bones and/or vegetable peelings into a crockpot filled with water, and let it simmer for 24 hours/ I freeze mine in huge Becel containers, hence the unusual measurement); or water, if you must
10 packets chicken bouillon
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 cup chopped leftover chicken (I suppose you could poach a chicken breast and/or thigh if you don't have leftovers)
2 cups egg noodles

Put everything except the noodles into the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat; let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, then add the noodles and cook for another few minutes, until the noodles are cooked to your liking. Serve with bread and cheese planks, if you like that sort of thing (and I certainly do!).

Delicious soup

Some people who ate the soup (one, by proxy)

An improved room for two

My in-laws have been wonderfully helpful during their visit, as they always are; one of their favourite jobs has been working on the girls' room. First, the girls picked out colours (D-pink, M-blue) and the grown-ups figured out a way to make that look nice (pink walls and blue ceiling). While Hubby and his mum painted, he replaced their overhead fan with a better one that works properly and silently. Mum-in-law and Dad-in-law were keen to get some pretty curtains and wall decals to pull the room together, and that's where I was able to make a contribution. The blackout curtains they found were a vibrant purple; they happened to be on clearance, and they were two different lengths, both of which were way too long for the window in the girls' room: we have learned from experience that long curtains in kids' bedrooms are just asking to be pulled down. I am able to sew straight lines, so I offered to hem the curtains to a proper length. Once that was done, there was ample material left over for tie-backs and cushion covers, and I even had two pillow forms in my stash of craft things. I think I had meant to knit cushion covers at some point. Anyway, I used this tutorial to sew the covers, and while it didn't take me five minutes (more like two hours), it was easy enough for a novice like myself. Here's how the room looks now:

It's a great improvement on the pull-down blinds that had been there since we moved in, and not bad at all for 22$ worth of curtains! And the paint job was beautifully executed. Good work, everyone!

Marvellous meat pie

While I don't always make the best of leftover meals, I definitely did yesterday. The previous evening, we'd had roast beef for dinner, and I knew I didn't want the remaining meat to go to waste. I decided to make a pie out of it, like a chicken pot pie, but with beef. Or like beef stew with a pie crust lid. It was a big hit with everyone, although the girls took their sweet time finishing their plates. Here's the recipe, before I forget:

Filling:
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can of corn
1 cup of peas
4 packets beef bouillon (or 2 cubes)
1/4 cup cornstarch
Leftover roast beef, cut into cubes

Pie crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup chilled butter or shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
water

In a large pot, boil carrots for 10 minutes, then add corn and peas and cook for another 5 minutes.
Before draining vegetables, reserve 2 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Dissolve bouillon in the water.
Return vegetables to the pot, add bouillon and beef, and simmer on medium heat for 20-30 minutes.

While it's cooking, start the pie crust: in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Cut in shortening or butter with a pastry blender. Crack the egg into a measuring cup, add the vinegar, and beat lightly. Add enough water that the whole mixture measures just over half a cup. Pour into mixing bowl and stir until the crust comes together. Don't overmix, or your pie crust will be tough. This recipe is for a double crust, so you'll use half now and half later; I freeze my leftover half and use it for quiche or something later on.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Draw out 1/4-1/2 cup of the broth and whisk it together with the cornstarch. Return to pot, and stir filling until thickened.

Pour filling into a casserole dish. Roll out half your pie crust until it's big enough to top the casserole dish. Place on top, use a knife to cut a few slits in the centre, and do whatever you like to the edge of the crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with some kind of potato side (we had leftover mashed potatoes).

Getting ourselves sorted

My beloved in-laws arrived on Friday, which was the day I came down with the worst cold I've had this year. Sore throat, chills, hot flashes, headache, all the fun stuff. I was able to stay in bed from naptime through until morning, thanks to my parents taking the girls out, and a hardworking Hubby who cleaned up the house and got the basement all ready.

Five days on, I've still got this horrible sore throat, but my energy and appetite are slowly returning. Yesterday, I was able to hang up and later fold laundry, and get D ready for school. It took a tiny bit longer than last year, between labelling clothes and shoes, and cramming everything (bottle of hand sanitizer, box of tissues, ziplock bags) into her backpack, leaving enough room for her lunch bag. Her lunch was nothing notable; no cute bento boxes or cheese cut into artisanal shapes. Just crackers, cheese, a peach, some cucumber slices, a pickle, and a yogurt tube. Water bottle on the side. Like a nerd/affectionate parent, I did include a small note saying "I love you, have a great day!"

After our trip to the bus stop this morning, my in-laws took M on an outing, leaving now-sick Hubby and me at home. I had been wanting to sort through our bins of girl clothes ever since G was born, so this was my chance! (When did I become remotely fond of cleaning?) The girls' room was reasonably tidy, so I decluttered and reorganized their toy bins (tucking a few things away out of sight), and did a small toy cull. For the clothes, I decided to keep a few of the girls' baby things, just the ones I was sentimental about. And all knits, of course. I managed to pare three full bins down to one, and it still has some room for more clothes. I have two more bins to go, which are the things M is outgrowing and growing into, respectively. They can wait til tomorrow. The whole endeavour took about two hours (thank you, G, for sleeping! We'll say no more about the 4 am thing), and I am quite exhausted.

I'm looking forward to the return of my schoolgirl in a couple of hours, and hearing all about her day. No doubt one of the things she'll be most excited about is that now she can start planning her birthday, as it's about a month away. We had to put a limit on her talking about it, as it was becoming fairly constant by the end of the school year. Sorry, but you're not going to decide who's coming to an October party in June. I can't wait to find out who's in her class, and who her English teacher is (French is the same as last year, and is it weird that the school didn't tell me her other teacher's name?), and what they got up to today. And how she liked her lunch.