Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts

My Slacker Thanksgiving

>> Sunday, October 10, 2010

Last year I wrote about my simple Canuck Thanksgiving Dinner, and how I hoped that next year I'd be able to go all out, since my baby would be older and require less attention. Now I just laugh at myself. Having a baby is a piece of cake compared to having a very active, very vocal 15 month old. Maybe next year I'll have the opportunity to make a turkey, but I now know enough not to bet on it. Regardless of how badly I slacked, and how the entire meal took maybe two hours to prepare, it was still highly satisfying. I think I've crossed over to the slacker dark side to stay.

My Slacker Menu:



(Instead of Turkey) Peppercorn Lime Chicken Breast:
-Boneless, skinless chicken breast, marinated in lime juice, basil, and cracked black pepper. Grilled on stove top for 20 minutes, topped with salsa. Easy and yummy.



Pillsbury Crescent Rolls:
It was extremely difficult figuring out how to open that cardboard tube and roll the pre-made dough, but I perservered.


Loaded Baked Potatoes:
The hardest part was putting the potatoes into the oven.


Ceasar Salad:
Lettuce (prewashed), croutons, bacon bits and mozzarella. Combine in bowl. Very challenging stuff.


Corn on the Cob:
Dump shucked corn in boiling water. Take out 20 minutes later. Slather with butter.


World's Easiest Pumpkin Muffins:
Combine one box of yellow cake mix and one can of pumpkin pie filling. Stir. Empty into muffin tins. Remove from oven 25 minutes later. Frost with Betty Crocker's Cream Cheese frosting (because why mess with perfection?). And they're Weight Watchers approved, to boot!



To drink we had the delicious sparkling cider that we bought at the Pumpkin Farm. The ambiance was set with a playlist of soothing music and pumpkin pie scented tealights. After dinner we took a nice, long walk through the nature conservation. It was a beautiful day.



The most beautiful thing about today for me, though, is the fact that I was bummed out about this Thanksgiving. Usually my extended family gets together at the holidays and its loud and festive and fun, but this year, with the economic hardships so many of us have been experiencing, as well as various health and personal problems throuhout the family tree, no one was up to hosting. At first I was fairly annoyed, stating that I'd host if we had a big enough place.

But then I thought, is more always merrier? Or is less sometimes more, even when it comes to family? I am definitely looking forward to Christmas, as I am assured that my aunt will be hosting and showing off her newest grandchild. But I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, just me and my little family. We made our own traditions and memories, complete with slacking, and it was relaxing and wonderful. No long drives to someone's home hours away. No waiting two hours past T-time (T is for turkey ;) ) for the last straggler to finally show up, while the rest of us starve and get increasingly grumbly. No squashing 60+ relatives into one home, balancing plates on our laps because there's no one with a table big enough to seat all of us. No chasing my toddler around an un-baby proofed house and trying to keep him from destroying someone else's things.

 Just me and my guys. Eating a relaxing dinner. Going for a nice, long walk. Kicking a soccer ball around outside (because my 15 month old is already obsessed). It was a great Thanksgiving. And I am Thankful.



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The Pumpkin Patch Was Bliss

>> Wednesday, October 6, 2010

We went to the pumpkin patch. It was so much fun. Just when I think that having a toddler is about to make me pull my hair out, I get a day like that, and it reminds me how great this age can be. Sure, the screaming fits in stores are no fun. The demanding to watch Muppets  music videos all the live-lone day can grate the nerves. And I could definitely do without the screaming any time the Hubbs and I are paying attention to each other instead of him.

But the pumpkin patch was bliss. If I could move to that farm, I would.

We made animal friends. (And said the word "dog" for the first time!)


We climbed on the hay jump.



We took a hayride.



We picked pumpkins.

We drank delicious apple cider. The hot mulled kind for the Hubbs and I, the cold refreshing kind for Our Sweet Baboo. We also may have picked up a bottle of sparkling cider to drink with Thanksgiving dinner.




Barrels, and tractors and trikes, oh my!


Last year our three month old spent the day snuggling against us in the baby sling. This year we couldn't stop him from exploring every nook and cranny of that farm. I can hardly wait for next year, and two year old adventurous goodness. I think I've found my new favourite family tradition.


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Life in a Nutshell

>> Tuesday, October 13, 2009



We've had a lot going on lately , so instead of a long, rambling blog post like I usually do, I'm going to attempt just short updates on each recent event in our lives. We'll see if I can keep the blabbering to a minimum. We'll start with today and work our way backwards.

Elimination Communication:
Today was my second attempt at Elimination Communication. When I first heard of this I thought it was insanity, and that anyone who tried it would end up with pee and crap all over their house and would spend their kid's entire childhood running back and forth to the bathroom, but I've since revised my opinion. It need not be all or nothing. I am not going to have a "diaper free baby", but I am going to attempt to read his cues and learn when he has to go, and then hold him over the toilet during that time so that we use less diapers and they are strictly there as insurance. My main reason for attempting this is because I want to be eco-friendly. My preference would be to use cloth diapers and only use disposables when we are out, but we don't have a washer and dryer in our unit. We actually share ONE machine with the six families who live in this building, so CDing is out of the question, sadly. On top of that we'll save a ton of cash, which is always good.  Anyway, two days ago I held Baboo over the toilet and he was only interested in standing on the seat. Today the same thing happened, except that as soon as I took him off the toilet and into his bedroom to put a new diaper on him, he peed all over his change table. Awesome. : /

My Simple Thanksgiving Dinner:
We had a small Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, just the three of us, which was no small feat. Baboo was tired from his big weekend and wanting to eat every hour, and The Hubbs was sick with a cold. It was a far cry from the last Thanksgiving dinner I made two years ago. That year I made a turkey, stuffed peppers, a build your own salad bar, garlic pesto muffins, hash brown casserole, corn on the cob with gingerbread brownies and strawberry wine. All of it from scratch (minus the wine.)
This year there was no way that was happening with a baby. The Hubbs and I eat sandwhiches three times a day. I decided to do my best, and we had:
Hors D'oevres (Cubes of cheddar, sliced pickles and salami)
Roast Chicken (which I bought premade from the deli, drizzled with extra sauce to keep the moisture in and warmed in the oven)
Hash Brown Casserole (we used frozen hash browns, baked them, then mixed in sour cream and grated cheddar and baked until brown)
Orange Butternut Squash Soup (we bought a carton of soup, then I squeezed orange juice into it, and added cinnamon and minced onions) with Home Made Croutons (whole wheat bread cut into cubes, drizzled with oil and toasted)
Crunchy Vegetables (frozen mixed Asian vegetables, sauteed in grapeseed oil, seasoned with oregano, topped with grated mozzerella and crunchy salad topping by Mrs. Dash)
and Pumpkin Pie (store bought, heated in the oven, add whipped cream)









Our Sweet Baboo's Christening:
It was at my parents' home (which is now just my mother's home since she made the father figure move out). A lot of my relatives were late and missed the actual ceremony (which always happens, see exhibit A: my bridal shower, Exhibit B: my wedding and Exhibit C: my baby shower). The ceremony was nice, though Baboo was a little cranky. I think he was uncomfortable in his super formal clothes. We wanted to Christen him in this:





But they only sell it at Babies R Us in the states (there will be a rant at a later date about why I can't get anything good for my baby in this country), so he wound up wearing this:


He was not happy, especially about the hat lol. We wound up changing him about an hour after the ceremony. I also made my first movie in honour of the day! It had an opening menu page with a montage of scenes from it and special music, a title page and credits and everything! Go me! It had a bunch of video clips and pictures from Baboo's life, and concluded with a Bible verse about Baboo's name (he has a Bible name). Everyone loved it. I am going to make another DVD of his first 6 months for each set of grandparents for Christmas. His Christening was followed by a big Thanksgiving dinner and a second showing of the movie for the late comers.


 



Annoyingly, my father kept trying to hold Baboo, and I didn't like it. I don't like or trust him, and I don't want people I don't like or trust around my baby. I kept trying to take a picture of Baboo and my mother together, and he kept jumping in. It really pissed me off, and now we have NO photos of just Baboo and my mom at his Christening. I am thoroughly annoyed. Especially since my mom revealed the following two tidbits to me recently:
a)The first time he ever "spanked" me was when I was 6 months old. I had comitted the crime of not holding my own bottle.
b) When I was a year old he was fighting with my mom in the car and threatened to run the car off the road.

And that (among many, MANY other reasons) is why he will never be alone with my son.

Knox Pumpkin Farm:

In honour of Our Sweet Baboo's first fall, we went to the pumpkin patch for photos. We dressed him up in a fallish outfit (brown pants, orange long-sleeved onesie and an orange jack-o-lantern bib with a blue and orange winter vest). He was a little cold (though it was one of the nicer days we've had this fall) and a little tired, but he was a good sport. We didn't get the awesome photos I anticipated, though, because it's hard doing outdoor pictures with a baby who doesn't sit up yet. He did have his first hay ride, though, which he seemed to enjoy, swung on a tire swing  and saw a pony (which he couldn't have cared less about).










School of Mom:

Lately I've been feeling like I haven't been taking advantage of the opportunity I have to be at home with my son. I shouldn't just be hanging out with him all day (especially since we rarely go on outings), I feel like I should be teaching him and enriching his life in some way, you know? I've written about the kind of mom I want to be, and I think I need to start doing more with him now that the missing fourth trimester is just about over.

So every day for the past couple weeks Baboo and I do the following (in no specific order):
-Read books
-Play music (I play him  simple songs on the recorder that I picked up for two bucks at Dollarama)
-Practice signing (we've decided to do baby sign language, I got a DVD from the library)
-Practice French (I sing french songs to him and say certain words to him in English and then repeat them in French (I went to French school and he will too). I'm trying to get into the habit of saying everything to him in French and then repeating it in English. Here are some tips for a bilingual baby if you know another language and are interested in doing the same.
-Elimination Communication (you've already read about that)
-Alone time (I give him time to just hang out and babble to himself. He lets me know when he's done being alone).
And of course we still spend the majority of the day just snuggling, laughing, playing and of course, breatfeeding!!!

Sexual Healing:

To sum up, I am healed, but there is still no sex. We have tried about 3 times, but I am locked up tighter than Fort Knox and drier than the Sahara. We need LOTS of lube, LOTS of wine, and LOTS of time. We are having a date night soon (we will get my mom to baby-sit, my grandmother will be there so I dont need to worry about my mom relapsing (<----see first post on this page) and possibly hurting Baboo) and we are going to go to dinner, drink until our hearts' content, and then come home and make babies (only without actually making babies).






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