the joys of feeding an infant

Meal time is a time I always look forward to. Many of you are probably thinking I am a little loony because feeding a 8 month old is typically a challenge. I do admit, it is trying at times. There have been several occasions when I had just showered (hey, that's a luxury these days!) and finally changed out of sweats only to have cereal or soup thrown all over me from head to toe. Oh, the joys of being a parent. Again, why would I enjoy this time? Baby D is one entertaining little guy, making it easy to forget about the food-covered floor...

i am a slacker

It has almost been a full year since moving into our home. Why am I bringing this up, you might wonder? Well, it means it has taken me this long to walk through the doors of our local public library and sign-up for our new library cards. I finally packed the kiddos into the car today and headed over. Little Miss L. loved browsing through the wide selection of literature and Baby D enjoyed getting his hands on as many books as he could (or should I say in his mouth). It was a great morning spent at the library, it reminded me how much I missed walking into a room full of books - that always brings me back to my childhood. Happy reading everyone!

Look everyone, I have my very own library card!

Little Miss L. also loved putting together all the puzzles they had on hand.

Baby D loved this book. He was giggling at all the babies in the pictures.

Time for some games.

Big sister stepping up to the plate to show her little brother where everything belongs.

guess what we did!

I never thought this day would come because I said it would never happen. It is funny how children can affect your life and the way you think about things. Last night we headed out in the cold and the rain to find one of these bad boys...life will never be the same!

happy friday

Good morning! May your day be filled with random outbursts of infectious giggles! Doing the happy Friday dance. 

radish chips recipe

Are you looking for a new salad topper or are you trying to find a new way to sneak some veggies into that picky eater you may have? Radishes are the perfect choice! One of Little Miss L.'s favourite treats to make are radish chips. She loves eating them on their own as a snack but we both love topping our salads with them as well. At times, it can be hard to get the little one to eat her radishes fresh, but baking these beauties takes away that harsh, peppery taste. Give them a try the next time you want to explore an alternative option to eating them fresh.

Ingredients

• Large bunch of radishes
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of fresh herbs ( I like to use rosemary or oregano) There have been several times when I did not have fresh herbs on hand, dried herbs work just as well.
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 celsius. 
• Thinly slice radishes. 
• In bowl, toss radishes with oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
• Line in a single layer on parchment paper, place on baking sheet.
• Place on middle rack of oven for 15 minutes. Turn radishes over and back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until they are golden and crisp.
• Let cool, and enjoy!

Time to get cutting.

Time for the oven. Note: this time I omitted the herbs on Little Miss L.'s request.

Little Miss L. making the final inspection.

Look they are done!

Humm, which one will I chose?

Time for my snack (and it's healthy too!)

These sure are yummy!

The final product. 

warning- man in tights!

Saturday we celebrated our nephew's 3rd birthday. Lucky for us, a new play centre just opened their doors for business. This venue was a great place for the kids to let loose on the huge play structure, inflatable obstacle course, and roller rink. Once they started to get low on energy, it was time to fill their bellies with warm, delicious pizza. To end the perfect party, the kids were surprised by a visit from Spider-Man.

If you are in the Ottawa area and looking for a venue to host your next birthday, check out Monkey Around. The kids will love it, and the adults too! Leave the party planning and clean up to someone else and just enjoy the day with your little one. Wait, let's not forget the most important part-the children are ready for a nap as soon as they leave!

The boys loving the games.

Baby D loved watching all the action.

Little Miss L. was determined to climb the wall.

She has no fear.

The birthday boy!

Pizza time - yum, yum!

I never thought I would see the day when my brother-in-law would be donning tights. A surprise visit from Spider-Man.

The kiddos were not too sure what to think.

Finally, Spidey gets a kiss from the birthday boy.

Mr.L blows out the candles - here's to another wonderful year ahead my handsome nephew.

Little Miss L. did not want to meet Spidey. She was hanging onto daddy for dear life.

Mr. D comforts Little Miss L. and says that he will protect her from Spider-Man.

Baby D shows all of them he isn't afraid of Spider-Man.

He's got the moves like Jagger...

Cake time says the ladies.

Gift-opening time.

salted caramel popcorn

If you are anything like our family, you have a ton of chocolates and candies filling your pantry after the arrival of the Easter Bunny this past weekend. The hubby and I are huge fans of snacks that are both salty and sweet. Little Miss L. and I decided to gather some of our goodies and surprise daddy with a sweet treat when he arrived home from work the other night. The world wide web, what would we do without you? After a quick search on the net, I came across the perfect recipe for our little project (you can check it out here) I followed the recipe except I did not have chocolate covered pretzel m&m's on hand, so we went with the plain m&m's and added some other candy covered chocolates. The final product turned out just how we expected, it was a great savoury treat for the whole family to enjoy...

Pretzels, m&m's, and candy covered chocolate.

We love our popcorn machine we received this past Christmas. It popped the perfect popcorn for our treat.

I love love love watching Little Miss L.'s reaction when the popcorn pops and she thinks it is going to get her.

She thinks this contraption is absolutely hilarious. 

Little Miss L.  preparing the pretzels.

Getting the caramel ready.

Looking good.

The final product.

This treat is hard to walk away from... truly worth the effort to make.