Santa Brownie Bites

These little Santa Brownie Bites were a huge hit with both grown-ups and kids of all ages!

I used store-bought brownie bites and whipped up a quick cream cheese icing recipe which I also used to ice a dozen cupcakes!  I don't recommend making these too early in advance because of the fresh fruit. 

BTW - my cupcakes were so [enter big YAWN here] boring next to these little cuties!

Original idea found on Pinterest.

Reading Hugo Cabret First

Walking through the youth section in the library today with the kids, I picked up The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  As the movie is receiving great reviews, and books tend to be better than movies, I thought this would be a quick and interesting read!  This book is a combination of novel and very graphic picture book.  It also boasts a Caldecott Medal logo, and I have a soft spot for books and movies with award logos... kinda like a kid in the cereal aisle picking out the most colorful box!

Boobies

My boys are growing way too fast!  They were begging me to take them to the mall to buy (with their own money) some really cool rubber bracelets.  They explained that it was for a good cause, that the money from sales went to sick people with 'breath' cancer, and that they were only $5!

I caught on quickly and realized it was some kind of fundraiser for breast cancer, so why not!  I explained to them about breast cancer, and shared with them who in our family fought it.  I was surprised at how they listened and asked questions... when did they grow up so fast? 

My boys are proudly walking around, wearing their 'I ♥ boobies' bracelets, thinking they are so cool!  I'm just proud those boys are mine!

Knots in my chest

The big 3 week stretch starts now!  We sent off hubby last night, on his way to Asia where the kids and I will meet up with him in 3 weeks!  I'm filled with very mixed emotions... loneliness, stress and anxiety.  He leaves often, so I am used to being alone, but the days are still lonely... so I eat my loneliness away, usually with something chocolaty!  The stress comes with flying solo with the 3 kids, juggling their needs, activities, parent-teacher meetings...  need I say more?  It's only been 1 day and I'm already exhausted.

Then the anxiety!  The thought of traveling across the world alone with the boys and the baby, the 23+ hours of air travel time plus the 12 hour layover in Amsterdam.  I just did the math the other day and realized we are landing in Amsterdam at 2:00am our time!!!  How can this not be a disaster?  Anybody out there with contacts at KLM?  I'm desperately looking for lounge passes or upgrades!  Yes, you guessed it... traveling in coach!  Oh my... there's that knot in my chest again!

On a brighter note, waking up to the snow this morning was beautiful.  Nothing like the first snowfall of the year!  Had to pull out the snow gear from the basement, but the boys were so excited to head outside!  What a beautiful day!  And yes, my snow tires were already installed.  I was very grateful I took care of that last week!

Early Christmas Pressie

We celebrated Christmas today with my in-laws since hubby is leaving next week on a 2 month trip to Asia.  This was our last chance to be all together with Grand-maman.  The kids opened some fun gifts and mama came home with a new kitchen appliance!  A small and oh-so-cute toaster oven on steroids!

This little puppy is sweet!  I'm really excited about this little oven as I HATE my kitchen gas oven.  It bakes uneven, temp seems to go up and down quickly, sometimes the broiler doesn't go on... whatever!  The thing is a piece of s***!  I've accepted that fact a long time ago, after having it serviced too many times.  Hence my excitement in receiving this new little cutie!

With hubby gone, I look forward to cooking and baking small meals for me and the kids.  Perfect timing!  Cookies anyone?  Anyone?

Grateful moments amidst craziness

Life has been nothing less than absolutely CRAZY, but I am so grateful for so many things!  Instead of focusing on what we don't have or wish we had, I remind myself everyday about how much we do have and how much I have to be thankful for...

So even if life seems to be full of moments like this photo shows (separation anxiety while I stepped outside for 20 seconds to start the BBQ!)...

 
... I'm SO grateful for much bigger and more important things.  I have 3 wonderful kids, a great partner and a good & happy home (well, it's happy most of the time!).  In the next little while, I will try to blog around this theme, sharing what I'm grateful for!  Why not!

This morning while I was out for a quick run along the water,  I was grateful for such a beautiful and mild mid-November day (I don't like the cold) and being healthy and fit enough to be out there enjoying such a great time!  Except, I think my shoes are shot.  My heels are sore... Arghhh!  There's always something...

Supermodel for a Day

I was a supermodel this past week!  Well, super may be too strong a word... it was more like plain ol' leg model.  No bowls of red M&M's or Jeanne Beker interviews,  just me wrapped up in a towel, sitting in glass box spraying water on my legs and feet!  Not a glamorous day, but a fun experience nonetheless, with LOTS of laughs!

 

October is just around the corner, and that's when the dust will settle with our business.  I look forward to spending more time at home with the kids, cooking big hearty meals and baking again!  I also look forward to having some me-time where I can pick up my needles and maybe a book, get my butt off to the gym, catch up on my TV shows and spend much needed time sipping coffee (and wine of course) with my girlfriends...

Homemade Apple Pie

Apple Pie doesn't last long in my house.  I baked this pie using the apples we picked in our yard last weekend.  I added a bit more brown sugar than I usually use as the apples were so tart.  My family unanimously said it was the best tasting pie I ever baked, and I bake them often!  I also agree, it really tasted amazing, with a perfect balance of sweet/tart!

 My apple pie recipe

- a few apples, thinly sliced
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
- drizzle of maple syrup
- juice of half lemon
- about 1 tbsp or so of flour, depending on how many apples I use
- about 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- a few dollops of butter (the secret ingredient!!!)

I bake my pies at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Apologies for the ugly picture... I'm no photographer!!!

Happy New Year!

My sister-in-law once told me September 1st is her new year!  She's right... this is the biggest page turner on the calendar, especially for parents. All summer fun is put behind us like letting the kids go to bed late, eating tons of ice cream and popsicles, playing on the street till after dark, summer camp, and more ice cream... 

Then we shop for all the essential back to school gear like new shoes (both boys HAD to have the famous Reebok Zigs, like every other kid in town so I went from store to store to find in their sizes!!!) and new unstained clothing.  Then we ship them off, back to school!  This year the boys asked me NOT to take them on their first day.  Ouch!  But I guess that's how we've been trying to raise them... teaching them to be independent and embrace new challenges and change.  As sad as I was to see them ride their bikes awkwardly with all their new supplies and gear in bags hanging off their handle bars (and the neighbors once again rolling their eyes at us... that's an entire other post!), I was also so proud of them.  They are growing up so way too fast, but I think we're doing something right!

My baby girl also started daycare on the first!  It was easy and seamless without issues or tears (and I know that may change as she gets older!), but I still had a knot in my chest... she looked so small, but she was happy!  Our New Year has been great so far!

Today I ventured out into my garden jungle and found these beautiful apples.  This is my 9th summer in this house, and my apple trees have NEVER borne such beautiful fruit!   Looks like apple pies are on the way...

Ugly Duckling Cupcakes

I made the mistake of setting my oven on convection when I baked a batch of vanilla cupcakes last weekend.  Poor little guys were the ugliest things I have ever baked!  Even my Easy-Oven baked goods when I was 8 turned out better than these...

But I managed to turn them around, and served a very presentable rustic looking cupcake!  I removed the pretty petal cupcake liners, spread on some thick icing and sprinkled them some crushed Oreos!  They were surprisingly a big hit!

I also hit the Jean-Talon Market this week.  Nothing beats fresh produce!  Fresh berries for the baby, some super tasty and fresh organic eggs for the boys, and a beautiful mushroom for my soups!

Date Night with Sir Paul

It was date night yesterday and I was spoiled!  We shared a variety of oysters and other scrumptious sea foods, and savored a beautiful bottle of Portuguese white wine at Maestro S.V.P. on St-Laurent.

After dinner, we headed to the Bell Centre with 17,000 of our closest friends for the sold-out Paul McCartney concert.  Sir Paul ROCKS... from the Beatles to Wings, it was a 3 hour show of hit after hit after hit!  My fave was Paul, alone on a dark stage with his acoustic guitar singing Blackbird.  I'm pretty sure he was singing to me!  Then he totally rocked with Live and Let Die, complete with pyrotechnics!  It was a phenomenal show by a legendary songwriter... by far THE BEST show I've ever seen!

Thanks Sir Paul for the unforgettable night!

Sweet Dreams

I often sit the baby in her highchair next to me in the kitchen while I work.  So one second (and I mean second) she's picking at her rice puffs and chatting away, next I turn around and watch her slowly put her head down on her arm and fall fast asleep!

 

Sweet dreams baby girl...

At the movies, in the air conditioning!

This heat is unbearable.  So I packed up the baby after lunch today and went to the 'parents with babies' weekly showing to escape this crazy heatwave!  Horrible Bosses... I laughed out loud, sitting there alone with the baby, and laughed out loud again.  I enjoyed it.  I had not seen any trailers for this movie, therefore I had no idea what to expect. 

I LOVE Justin Bateman... my crush on him dates back to the early 80's and Silver Spoons!

 

Guess where I'll be next Wednesday afternoon?  I hope it will be a funny movie again!

What are you doing to keep cool?