Friday 28 August 2015

Nap Training - Day 2

Okay, naps. It's the next day and I haven't gone soft overnight. We're gonna have another successful day of naps in the crib, you hear me!?!




Day 2 - TUESDAY

She made it to about 8:40am when she was starting to get sleepy. I took her up right away.

We had a cuddle on my shoulder for a few minutes and then I laid her down and rubbed her back for like 90 seconds.

Not pleased when I left.

Had to go in twice to get her Jocelyn off the floor and lay her back down.

Total time before she was quiet (and hopefully on her way to sleepyville) - 13 minutes.


Slept until 9:45ish.

11:50am she was ready to go down again. 

Took about a minute of back rubs before I could leave.

She whined on and off for about 20 minutes and then passed out for an hour.


She seems to be less concerned about being left in her crib alone...gotta work on stretching those naps out a little longer.

--Siobhan xoxo









Tuesday 25 August 2015

Frozen Yogourt Berry Bars







2 and one third cups frozen berries
1 cup apple juice
2 thirds cup greek yogourt
2 TBSPs seedless jam

Buzz everything in a blender til well buzzed.
Pop in molds. Freeze about 4 hours.




If , as I do, you have someone who doesn't like seeds (Hi Siobhan) strain the mixture.


Altho the other van N girl doesn't seem to mind


















ciao for now
susan


Saturday 22 August 2015

Skunked!!!!

 
So this is what backyard looked like early last fall.

And this is what it looked like in early spring


We came to conclusion ----- after seeing 5 of them it was these lil critters



Let's just say we did not have many June bugs this year......

So this year the first sign of raccoons and HB had the live trap out.
One evening alone he caught 4 of them.
And one .......





















Unfortunately one night there was a snap of the live trap HB rushed out thinking YAY number 5 !!!!!

I heard a crash and HB running towards the house "I've been sprayed ! I've been sprayed!"



I immediately got on the internet to see how to get rid of this stink with HB standing outside on the patio.
Tomatoe juice? Well it will mask the smell but not get rid of it.

Here is the recipe to actually get rid of the smell

1 quart hydrogen peroxide
one quarter cup baking soda
1 teaspoon dish soap
Mix together and bathe (HB did it in the shower)

Use immediately as the mixture is slightly unstable.  Not sure what this actually means but he used it all and then rinsed himself...

Its been over a week since the spraying and a couple of rainfalls. The smell is dissipating .....


ciao for now
susan

Friday 21 August 2015

Happy Belated B-Day Nona!

Her birthday was yesterday so I'm a little late...but it's the thought that counts. Right?

Happy birthday Susan!



Daphne and I spend the day with Nona shopping and playing and then Will drove in from Ottawa that evening to join us for dinner. 

We had asparagus, Nova Scotia scallops, and pesto pasta. 



And a yummy cheesecake for dessert!  



Also, possibly a little too much Chardonnay. 

Happy Birthday, Nona! Here's to many more. 

--Siobhan xoxo

Wednesday 19 August 2015

Nap Training - Day 1

Alright…nap training…it’s time we do this. Cuddle naps will be no more…or only for when we’re not feeling well. Mommy needs to reclaim her lap and lady D needs to learn to put herself to sleep during the day.

Hoping this goes well…she sleeps 11-13 hours a night so if she cuts off 2 of those nighttime hours and adds them as daytime naps I would love that. Maybe then she could be awake late enough to have dinner with us. I would LOVE that!

 I don't really know how you are "supposed" to do this...but since I know she can put herself to sleep I think were just gonna grit our teeth and let her cry it out...




Day 1 - MONDAY
Her sleepy ques are hard to miss and by 8:30am she was on the way to overtired town. Took her up to her crib at 8:30am.

I rubbed her back and hair for half an hour before my legs got sore my crouching and my tits hurt from leaning over the crib.

She cried for about 2 minutes...hard...and then I heard the Jocelyn (what we call her soother) hit the ground.

I went up laid her back down, rubbed her back for a minute and left again.

She cried for another 7 or 8 minutes and then was quiet (I assume asleep or on the way there) by 9:15am

Awake at 9:55am. I let her cry for a little to see if she would put herself back to sleep...she didn't. 

Around 12:10 she started getting sleepy again so I took her upstairs for another nap. 

I had to go in about 14 million times to lay her back down.

She cried for an hour and a half. She finally settled completely (from what I can tell) around 1:45...for 30 minutes. ugh.

Cross your fingers for longer naps tomorrow




But I still think I can call this -


Mommy - 1
Lap Naps - 0

-- Siobhan xoxo


Sunday 16 August 2015

A Day in the Pool

A few years ago Will's step-dad's boss let us use her house and pool while she was out of town. It was a lot of fun, but it wasn't too warm from what I remember.

Well this weekend we're under a heat warning, and yesterday it was 3000 degrees...ya not exaggerating. Like 30 feels like 3000.

So we packed up our swim suits, our towels and our Daphne and headed to Quebec to use the pool again!






What a refreshing day it was! Had smoked salmon sandwiches and potato salad by the pool and swam for a few hours.

Daphne loves the water! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of her in the pool. We were all having too much fun!




Also got a chance to show off the new swimsuit she got from her great-aunt Beth! So sweet. 

Why are bathing suits on kids the cutest thing ever?

Just the perfect way to spend such a hot day.





 --Siobhan xoxo

Thursday 13 August 2015

A Pirate Birthday

We made sure we were in Strathmore for the kids 4th birthday.


 
Glad we were there cuz it was a Pirate Birthday ....
who doesn't like a good  walk the plank
eye patches for everyone
party!
 
 
 



 
Yummy chocolate surprise cupcakes.
The surprise -- a reese's cup in the middle.
Altho it didn't turn out as surprising as we thought.



 Lots of argggggh ing








And Pirate booty  .......



And the party ended with a quick dip in the pool!!




It was a beautifully hot day and everyone enjoyed the cool water.

Altho there are no pics to prove it . Holly and I may have enjoyed the pool as well .....




Kids had an awesome time ....

Hey wait a minute they are FOUR!!!!!!!!????????



ciao for now
susan

Monday 10 August 2015

Daphne+Mulligan=BFF4eva



It seems Mulligan has finally gotten over his fear of our little Daphne and embraced that she may actually be a really great partner in crime.

:P

--Siobhan xoxo

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Yogurt and Mixed Berry Muffins

Another stinking hot day when I made these, thankfully I remembered to make them nice and early before it got unbearably hot to have the oven on. 

They are blueberry, raspberry and blackberry muffins, made with yogurt in the batter and topped with a brown sugar and cinnamon streusel.


I really enjoy the tang of plain yogurt so I wanted to find a recipe that used it inside the recipe, not just stuffed in the middle. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy muffins with a yogurt surprise in the middle but I wanted to try something new.

I probably put too many berries in (is that possible?) because the muffins seem to be about 70-30 berry to muffin...but that's perfectly fine with me.


I also added a little bit of streusel to the top to give it a crunch. In my opinion this isn't necessary...the muffin is tangy and sweet and moist enough as it is...it doesn't need anything else.

















Now Will has ZERO excuses to not eat breakfast! I always have an excuse but Daphne enjoyed the blueberries and cake part so we will be able to share one tomorrow for breaky!

--Siobhan xoxo