New Addiction

You know that Bruce Springsteen song ---- 57 channels and nothin' on......
Well he was spot on.
We pay a lot for these stupid cable channels and usually end up watching and
by watching I mean not watching something really stupid.
I personally have a hate hate relationship with our cable company.
Lets just say I can usually talk to other service companies with a pleasant demeanor.
But when it comes the cable provider my pleasantness goes out the window.
Yes there is a history but too involved to get into .....
So we decided to give Netflix a try.
So far we have watched a couple of movies and all 4 seasons
of The Killing......


If you like dreary, rainy scenery. Grungy, unlikable characters but an edge of your seat story this is the series for you.
I know I know. Not a glowing endorsement but seriously it had us bolted to the couch.
In fact the first story line took up 2 seasons and the last episode had us up until 1 AM.

 We were a bit concerned that season 3 and 4 were going to disappoint us.
Nope!
It was well worth watching to the end.


So now we are the hunt for another series to watch. We started watching Netflix's production of Marco Polo. So far it is okay and we are willing to give it another episode or two. But if we don't like it there are tons more shows to choose from.

Oh ya and we got Siobhan hooked to. Discovered that for an extra $1.00 we can have another screen so she has been Netflixing too.

Our next project is to see if we can reduce the cable cost by getting rid of some of the channels. Not easy as most of the channels come in packages. So if we want a sports channel we have to have the "Watch Paint Drying Channel" (hahahaha)


Ciao for now
susan

Thrusty Legs and Hiding Nipples

Breast is best, you say?

I heard this so many times while I was pregnant. Mostly while browsing pregnancy and parenting websites. Although I never fully subscribed to the “breast is best” movement, I fully intended to breastfeed my daughter. After all, it is free and always available.

So there I was in the hospital jamming my still numb nipple into my baby’s mouth. Committed to breastfeeding, I endured a few blisters and splits and eventually settled into a pumping routine. I was also provided a nipple shield which did help. 

You see, when they say “breast is best” they fail to mention that sometimes nipples don’t cooperate. Oh man, did my nipples NOT cooperate.

When I got home I was only able to breastfeed with the shield. My ridiculous nipples were hiders. The doctors said they were inverted but it certainly seemed more like they hid at the sight of my little lady’s lips. She seemed happy enough with the shield and I was as well. She was tiny and, for the most part, fairly cooperative about it.

Then we got to three months old. She was growing beautifully. Starting to look like an actual infant and losing that awkward anorexic newborn look. She has her daddy’s small features and her mommy’s stubbornness. I continued to breastfeed but by this point I was also pumping and supplementing some feedings with formula. I had stopped looking forward to feeding her and dreaded that hungry little look. She was distracted easily. With only two hands I had to support her, keep the shield on, stop her thrusty little legs from pushing her body away, all while trying to keep myself together. At 3am that is not so easy.

I found myself in tears some nights trying to get her to eat, worried she wasn't getting enough, and frustrated at this damn shield.

By four months old I was OVER IT! She didn't seem happy. I was not happy at all. So I stopped. She is now on her fourth day of exclusive formula and, as I write this, taking the longest midday nap she has ever had. I ate lunch! LUNCH! With two hands!!!

I love being able to watch my family feed her and have that connection. I love not whipping my boob out every 40 minutes. I love wearing a high cut sweater. I love that she’s finished eating in 15 minutes versus the marathon 90 minute boob feeds.

I love all of it. I love formula feeding my girl!

--Siobhan xo

Fudgetasmic Fudgetastic Fudgegasm

I don't have a candy thermometer *AHEM HUSBAND AHEM* so I had to search around for some fudge recipes where one wasn't needed. Thankfully my mother had one for chocolate fudge and I found one for peanut butter fudge online.

I added milk chocolate chips to the peanut butter fudge, cause...cause I can.

And I used mint chocolate chips for the chocolate fudge, again, because why not?

Melt 1 can of sweetened condensed milk with 2 cups(ish) of chocolate chips.

I used mint chocolate chips but I think in the future I would use dark chocolate and add peppermint extract. It's very minty.

Added in the vanilla once its all melted and mixed together.

Put in an 8x8 pan and cool for 2 hours before cutting.

It makes a lot...well a lot for a normal person. My fudge obsessed husband will mow threw these pretty quickly.

For the peanut butter fudge I melted 1 cup of peanut butter and one cup butter together and added a splash of vanilla once they were mixed.

Add to 4 cups of sifted icing sugar. I also added a small (large) amount of milk chocolate chips.

Press into baking pan and cool in the fridge for 2 hours.

Never having made fudge this way before I'm not sure how the peanut butter one is going to turn out. It was a strange consistency going into the pan. It's cooling now and I'll let you know what it's like when I get it out and cut it up.

--Siobhan xo

UPDATE:

They taste AMAZING!!!! So addictive! I think without the chocolate chips in it and instead a layer of chocolate on top they would taste identical to Reese's. 

Bold and Bright

I Love IKEA fabric....
The bold bright colours and for the most part                             

the sturdiness of it.
I bought these panels about 6 months ago.
Now that Miss D is starting to experiment with bananas,spinach , and yogourt Nona
decided to get to work.













So I made 2 bibs using my own pattern from an existing bib.
One has Velcro the other has ribbon.
I am waiting to see which one works better for
Momma and Miss D.                                                           



And here is our lovely model
MacGuffin .....

Sporting the latest .....







Oh yes...
I had a wee
helper in the
studio.
Thank you
Lucky =^..^=

Future Mark Messier (but prettier)

Of course we want to encourage Daphne to get into sports when she's older so daddy had to get her a hockey stick for Christmas.

We're banking our retirement on her major league success.

Ready for the puck! 

Perfect form...right? (I've never played hockey, lol)

The cats are unsure, of course. Unless it feeds them they usually don't care or are scared of it.

MacGuffin epecially. "Why can't I join in?"

The baked potato cares not for this foolery.

--Siobhan xo

Homemade is Best



Here are a few of the wee ones suet attracts.
Check Our January 8th blog for the  Super Suet recipe.
This stuff is from the grocery store.
I have done an experiment of putting the grocery stuff out and the homemade .
As with most things HOMEMADE WINS!!!!

Of course having a water source attracts a lot of guys.
At some points this winter we have had upwards of 12 mourning doves at once in the bath.

What have you been spotting in your backyard?

Happy Kiss a Ginger Day!

It's kiss a ginger day!

I know a ginger manfriend...

And a little ginger lady...

Who will be getting lots of kisses today!

Kiss your ginger today, if you have one.

Guess I should kiss this ginger too...

*kiss me if you must, just don't wake me*

--Siobhan xo

Banana Face

Little lady loves her bananas. Seems like she enjoys spinach and yogurt more though. That's probably a good thing, right?

-Siobhan xo

Sleeping Like A Baby

My girl is a terrible sleeper. She's a distracted eater, fussy when she's playing and a light sleeper.

Naps are usually only taken on mom. I can feed her and she will pass out on my lap. If I move she is awake pretty fast, and she gets uncomfortable fast when she falls asleep on a shoulder.

It was almost 2 months before she started sleeping long stretches at night. I had a c section with a, lets say...less than speedy recovery, so adjusting myself to feed her every 1.5- 2 hours at night was painful.

She finally started sleeping from 7pm-11pm just after she turned 2 month old. That was lovely.

Did I mention she will ONLY sleep if she is swaddled tightly.

She is so friggin' strong though. She can burst out the top of swaddler very easily. Which of course wakes her up. She wakes up when the sleep sheep turns off after 45 minutes. She wakes up the first 3 times the Jocelyn (what we call her soother) falls out of her mouth.

The last few nights she has started doing this back flexing foot stomping business while we try to get her to sleep.It terrifies me that this means she doesn't want to be swaddled anymore. AHHHHH.

So tonight we make the horrific decision to try to put her to bed un-swaddled. And it's not so bad, so far. She was fussy when she went upstairs, which she always is. And she has woken up once when the sleep sheep turned off, as always. But she has been asleep for 3 consecutive hours now and I am calling this a win! Parenting success! I guess she was ready and willing to sleep without being a burrito.

My baby is growing up. Next week she's going to get a job and learn to drive.

- SIobhan xo

Christmas Decorations!

A few of the things I did around the house for Christmas this year. I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to. Velcro baby and all. But I was very happy with my tree and the ornaments on my banister.

It was the first year I hosted my parents for x-mas eve and day so I wanted to have a well decorated house. It gave me lots of ideas for other things I would like to do for next year!

Every morning Daphne and I would mark off how many days are left until Christmas. A great tradition to start early. :)

We forgot to take a picture of the tree with all the presents under neither but I was very happy with the colour of the paper I used. Very classy.

Will's mother taught us how to make origami stars. They turned out really nice and I think I will make 7-10 with some Christmas paper and hang them with some string across my front window next year. 

I also have a grand idea for a rustic Merry Christmas sign made with burlap coloured paper and painted wood letters. 

I also want to make my kitchen tree a Halloween theme...because I'm a big Halloween fan. The kitchen tree is not pictured due to catastrophic feline related devastation. Shelley (lady cat) knocked it over and broke 85% of my HANDMADE ornaments. I am still bitter about it.

Otherwise I am pretty happy with how I was able to Christmas up the house with a 4 month old attached to me at all times.

--Siobhan xo

Holy @#$% its Cold

We are in a deep freeze here in South Eastern Ontario.
I am cocooning in the house only
 venturing out to top bird feeders and water.


Bird Suet Recipe

Melt 1 cup Peanut butter and  1 cup lard
Add 2 cups corn meal. 1 cup white flour.
One third cup sugar.
2 cups quick cooking oats.
I added a small handful of peanuts. And craisins. And bird seed.
I lined muffin tins with plastic wrap and then popped the pan in the freezer.
Pop in freezer bags and TA DA treats for the birds.

This is the time for slow cooker like meals.
Tonight it is Asian pork and peppers.
Cut up .500 kg of pork shoulder into 2 inch pieces (yes I am bi polar when it comes to measurements)
Mix half cup low salt soy sauce and the same with dark brown sugar.
One teaspoon of sesame oil.
Half teaspoon chili flakes.
Two tablespoons rice vinegar.
Throw it all in a pot or a slow cooker and let it cook away for 4 to 5 hours.
When ready to serve slice 2 red peppers into strips.
Add a handful of snow peas or frozen green beans. Let ir simmer about 10 minutes.
Serve with soba noodles . Garnished with sesame seeds and peanuts.
I can tell you its smells delicious







 Stay warm all










Ciao for now
sUsAn