How to make a slush without driving 45mins...

Today I'm feeling a little down. Not quite sure what my problem is. Might be the lack of sun after being so spoiled this last week. Missing back home, my old friends, the sweltering heat there. I dunno.


So what does one do to snap out of it? Create 'back home'.


Back home there is a store in Stellarton called SKOKES. In my mind they are known for two things Coke Slush and their fresh dinner rolls. As a wee lass it was there where I tasted my first drop of liquid heaven. Coke Slush. My vice.


When I lived in Calgary there were a few things I was addicted to....coke slurpies and large boxes of Glosette raisins from the 7-11, Red Devil BBQ, Chili's and Chapters.


When I go to a movie there is hell to pay when they don't have coke slushies...because thats the only place I have found them in a 45 min radius.


People YOU TOO can enjoy my favorite non-boozy beverage and I will tell you how.


First thing you need is a coke...pepsi if you are THAT type. lol

Secondly an ice cream maker...if you don't have one, seriously, shake your head!! :P I have one of the lower priced ones and I love it. Its only one step above the old hand crank ones but I can't go that...too primitive and this cat is too lazy.
Thats it.....ohhh and a spatula, mine broke so I used a spoon and scraped the heck out of my bowl but it makes it more shabby chic in my opinion...and I'm allllll about style. :/

Shan hint #1: always store your maker bowl in the freezer so when the mood strikes you, ya wont have to wait hours to satisfy a craving.



OK here we go, its rough, so take notes:


Place ice cream maker on counter, place already frozen bowl in maker and plug that sucka in.

Shan hint #2: Do not lick said bowl to see if it is cold enough...you don't want to end up a fool a'la A Christmas Story.

Take cola out of fridge and turn on machine and pour contents in and let 'er rip!



Wait about 5-10 mins (according to machine) and scrape and pour slushy greatness into desired cup.


Shan Hint #3: Resist the urge to lick leftovers out of bowl...please refer to hint #2 as to why.

Thats it....there ya go.....Coke Slush anytime you want...I'm going to try Root Beer next, even this old dog needs a new trick. Hmmmm lime crush with tequi.....errrr....nevermind.  Easy huh....what did you expect....I'm lazy. :D





PS in no way do I claim this to be an original thought or idea of my own...I just figured it would work and it does! :) Enjoy your summa.
Toodles.

Who are you...and what are you doing in MY bed?

Ahhh, the whole bed to myself. I get that some mothers are die hard for certain things such as breastfeeding till they are 13 years old, talking out their feelings instead of rules, any diapers that are  not made of fibres from the earth spun into delicate patterns by whispering butterflies sent from the stars (*ahem, pampers) will KILL your baby...etc etc....oh, I hear yas, I get yas, I embrace your tenacious views and die-hard opinions...


But I truly think mothers who co-sleep are INSANE!!


Dude, I'm not talking newborns...I've been there, I've had to get up during the night for feedings (times three remember) and some nights the only sleep I got was when a baby fell asleep in bed with me in between feedings.


I'm talking about toddlers!! Haven't you suffered enough? No one gets paid extra money or gets an extra layer of feathers on your angel wings in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, I will haul a sick kid in bed with me to keep a snoring eye on them.............but every night? pfft


The boy, he had lung yuckies going on again so instead of jumping up every time he coughed/gagged I chucked him in with me. By the time I walked around the other side of the bed to crawl in...the BOY was already laying across the width of it on MY pillow snoring. I had to try to slide his 40+lb mass over just enough to hug the side...balancing the girth of my rump on the seam of the mattress and the abyss as he routinely cast his germy mist of breath right up my nose.


Let it be known...I can't stand to breath in someone elses breath...those pretty romantic scenes where people slowly wake up with their sleep swollen lips inches away from each other...their noses brush...eye lids gracefully flutter open and they smile a big sparkling "Good morningggggg" as the birds chirp through a sun streaked window..........that crap don't fly here!!! Get your breath out of my nose!! blaah


Last night we had to start ripping wall paper off of the walls of the girls room so they came into my bed. My soft, yet firm...queen sized, fresh line dried sheets, my personal oasis of snore. Those two angels of my womb were cuddled up to each other in such a way that when it was my turn to crawl in a little later I was honored with the foot of the bed.


One spawn decided to almost roll out of bed...so I inched my way up the edge of the bed so that I could have one foot near a girl and my head/arm around the other on an angle so I could feel if they started to roll again. It's weird to picture I know...but lets just say it was not comfy.


The next 5 hours were filled with kicks, punches, elbows etc. One feisty child o'mine decides to elbow me in the lips and sit straight up and scream some garble about apple juice...then flop back down and kick me in the boob.


See those paragraphs right there ^^? Tell me why people WANT to do that every night...what do you think are the benefits of UFC cage matches happening in my bed? I dunno what goes on in your house...but in mine? Boy is snoring right now clutching his race car like a teddy bear...the fighter-girl is rolling, punching the air and kicking her blankets in their OWN beds...I am queen on my bed again...


and the third one you ask? She fell out of bed earlier hard enough to shake the house...sounded like skull cracking. When I ran in her room she was motionless on the floor. In a panic I pick her up, yelling her name, thinking she was out cold....


She opened her eyes and said : Weve me awone Momma, I sweeping...


Good 'nuff...back to your bed you go!!


So in closing...I totally understand why most mothers are usually passionate about something whether it be Attachment parenting...extended BFing, delayed or not vaccinating etc....


but I am passionate about sleep...nice....alone....sleep.

g'nighty :)

Piss pellets: I used to be a supermodel before them!

Its almost 9am...I'm waiting for my 3rd of fourth loads of clothes to finish in the wash so I can hang them out and realized I would be totally done of it wasn't for the "Attack of the Piss Pellets" again.

Do you know what I am talking about?

I've decided that forcing my kids into potty training was NOT going to work for us...at this moment I have one completely done, day/night...only problem is that she has an attachment to her pullups. Even though she never wets them she refuses to wear big girl undies.

The second girl was almost done until she had the flu months ago and she regressed. Now she is getting back into it...#1's are no problem but #2's are hit and miss.

The boy? I think he would let me change his undies till the day he gets married.

I thought the days of a diaper sneaking past me and into the wash were long gone. I was a tyrant when it came to inspection of the loads...till this am.

There is nothing worse in life then reaching into a freshly washed load in the machine to have gel-ly pellets coat your fingers. A dreaded diaper. You pull the diaper out praying it didn't explode and more likely then not it has. Those pellets (piss pellets as I call them) coat everything...the drum, every piece of clothing...and heaven help you if you have something fleecy in there.

One time (as my fb status readers can remember) I was shaking out the pellets and I got some in my eye...and snorted them up my nose and back out of my mouth. It was a dark day in this household...between sobs and gags I felt I was at my lowest.

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, fully rested and racing downstairs before everyone woke up. I saw the sun and thought....HA! I will have my clothes hung out before the judging eyes of the clothesline police have a chance to complain. It was a no-go...piss pellets!!

I like to blame G, because he gave them a shower last...but the blame lies here...don't tell him.

So here I sit, one load behind in my conquering or the laundry pile...I'm looking out at half my clothes falling off the line.."*tsk tsk she didn't hang properly again* and realizing the moral(s) of my story...

• Use cloth diapers
• Potty train your kids before they walk
• check all pieces of laundry for unwashable objects
• hire a maid
• when all else fails, blame someone else, the baby daddy is a good one

And finally....don't wake up too early in the morning, nothing good comes out of it. Now I must go sweep, the deadly piss pellets are stubborn enough to warrant a second sweeping in this house! grr

...don't even get me started on my run in with crayons in the dryer...its truly a wonder they let me have kids some days.

The above doesn't look like much...but these, my dear friends, are piss pellets!! I blame them of me turning fat and ugly...I used to be a supermodel you know :P

When is it my turn to scrape the bowl?

"Good moms let you lick the beaters, great moms turn them off first" Unknown


As a child the best part of Mom baking was licking the beaters...the Holy Grail was being able to lick the bowl. Now, of course, my mother was one of those ones who scraped the batter off of everything so you barely taste the lingerings. However, pure joy was finding that little blob she forgot under one of the loops or snuck the spatula before she had a chance to strip it.


As a kiddo, I would be heartbroken and shocked when Mom would chuck the dishes in the sink before I had a chance to inspect...and the horror when the time came I had to compete with the dreaded brothers! Obviously the person who invented electric mixers never had brothers to compete with or they would have made a 3 beater machine.


I can recall thinking "When I get bigger and I bake in my own house, those beaters are all mine and I'm not even going to scrape them!" Hence, the reason I really, deep down started baking and cooking: first dibs!


Alas, tis not so. I have come full circle.


Now I heard all the lectures...salmonella, worms in your belly from raw dough...but pshaaaawwww I am addicted to raw!! Cake, cookie, bread, rolls, biscuits...I've even munched on pie dough. I can't help it. I'm a rebel...I'm on the edge baby..LOOK OUT!




My children are now at the age they want to help with the baking...but I am not stupid, I know the real reason is because they want in on my batter territory. Don't get me wrong, I do love my children but they are cruisin' for trouble messing with my beaters.


I had an epiphany today. My life has come full circle once again...I am now the mother with three little birds with their mouths open waiting for the beaters...once again I am at the losing end. I have become my mother.


I get to do the work, I get to clean while these three minions get to lick all the precious raw batter, and now THEY are complaining I don't leave enough 'stuff on the sticks'....you know what I say?


"Too bad, you'll get worms in your belly and when you get my age you can lick all the batter you want!"
*knowing full well the cycle of suffrage will continue....only this time I forgot to scrape the spatula off and I am sitting in a dark corner with my lappy and my worm filled batter...and the kids can't find me...SHHHHHHHH! I'm breaking the cycle!

PS: by licking the beaters/bowl....I mean just that, not the urban dictionary definition...that would be a totally different story and a new therapy session!

Church Lady Easter Eggs!

Back story: When I lived in Calgary I worked at a restaurant and every Sunday we had a usual table of the "Church Ladies". They were a group of older friends who attended a United Church together every week. Each Easter they made these Easter eggs as a fundraiser. I wanted MANY of them but by the time Sunday brunch rolled around they only had one left. Telling me, "You will only need one."

They were right! Sweet and rich, stored in the fridge and slice a piece off whenever you need a fix. One was enough!

Today I found my recipe for them and made a batch...made some adjustments and voila....Easter Eggs!

To be noted...these are NOT a healthy treat!!

Fondant dough:
1/2lb soft butter
1tbsp vanilla
3/4 tbsp salt
1 15oz can of sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)
3lbs icing sugar (I used approx 1kg bag plus a 500g minus about 1 or 2 cups as I used...either weigh it or guess)
Cream butter, vanilla and salt. Add sweet milk and beat till smooth. Gradually add sugar...it will become too stiff to use beaters so use hands. Knead this until it is smooth and shiny...almost like a pie dough.

Divide into 3 equal parts. With one ball add yellow (I say orange!!) food coloring and knead till color is well blended. Divide this into 18 equal balls.
Cut the remaining 2 lumps into 18 parts. Flatten out the white lumps and place 'yolks' in center and wrap white around this and form into egg shaped balls (with yolk hidden in center).
Set these on waxed paper and into the freezer.

While these are cooling...

Melt in a double boiler:
1 pkg of chocolate (I used unsweetened dark baking chocolate)
1 square of paraffin wax (I used about a 1 inch X 1inch square)
*I also added about a cup of white chocolate chips to get rid of them.
Melt slowly on low stirring every now and then.

When smooth and shiny take cold eggs out and dip and roll in melted chocolate and place back on wax paper until hard. Lick fingers occasionally being sure to wash hands after each lick haha.

You can also make a harder icing to decorate them...but the thought of more sugar added to these sends me into shivers!!

Taaaa-daaahhhh Easter Eggs! Wrap in pretty wrapping and you are a hero!

*this is in no way my original recipe and all credit goes to the ladies of the Calgary United Church...or whomever they got it from!

ps next time I cook something I think I better take pics of the steps haha

AMAZING DEALS!! Gifted Imaginations!!

When I had my kids, I was all about getting vintage toys...the same toys I had while growing up and had such fond memories about.

*AHEM* Have you ever tried looking for a certain toy in good shape on ebay? What a PITA!! Not only do they want an arm and a leg, ESPECIALLY for shipping...they consider those toys Vintage!

Vintage eh? Makes me want to cancel my ebay account lol.

So scrap that idea...I started getting into good....NO greatly made toys. Toys with educational value, toys that were made to last. I came across this website about a year ago....I am obsessed. Best toys EVA!!

Well, they broke my heart the other day. A message over the magical waves of facebook informed me they were closing out forever!! *gasp*

Good news? They are having a HUGE, mega, mind blowing sale on the remaining stock...hold it, wait for it...

50% off!!!!!

I'm talking brand names like Melissa & Doug, Bilibo, Groovy Girls, Green Label Organic, Manhattan Toys...etc etc!!
They have great prices...and for sure a slowly dwindling stock...because *sob* they are closing out at the end of the month!!

Like this month...like APRIL!!

Head over to http://www.giftedimaginations.com/  use the promo code: "Spring"    for the 50% dealio!

Seriously....I never wanted to turn this blog into a promotion one, just my usual rants...but this site deserves to be mentioned...and since I enjoy most of your company (silly readers)....I pass on my smarts to you.

Go....browse...haul out your hubbys credit card you hid from him...shhh I didn't mean that :O ....stock up for next Christmas...buy a bus load and gift it to me...bahaha.......you can thank me with praise! :D

The 4 Shades of a Parent.

I've been in hiding lately...actually I have about 4 new posts in the hopper and just can't bring myself to post them. I'm not sure why. It's not that I am a shy person when trying to express a thought (read: big mouthed know it all)...it's not that I don't enjoy a good debate...I don't know what it is.

I had a great idea about "Different parenting styles" posts...but the thing is...my parenting style is most likely very different then yours...if I write it I never mean my way is better, because believe me, YOUR parenting style is nothing like mine. Everyone does it differently.

According to psychologists (Baumrind, 1967) there are four basic styles of parenting:
Authoritarian
Authoritative
Uninvolved
Permissive

Lets break it down...a la DJ Lance (Yo Gabba Gabba, 200?)

Authoritarian parenting is basically the parents establishing rules and the children are expected to follow them. You don't want to follow the rules? You get punished. Simple as that. I am the parent, I am the ruler, these are my rules and its because "I said SO!".....I'm a little of this. My main rules of the house that fall under this heading include SAFETY and RESPECT. You WILL use manners if you want something, if I deem something as unsafe and you put yourself (or family) in danger you WILL get punished. Simple...and by da' Jesus I have said "Cause I said so!" quite a few times already in their short 3 years of existence.

Authoritative parenting is basically the same as above with set rules and guidelines ONLY instead of firm punishment they can be more open to questions and thoughts regarding the rules when broken. More on letting the child self-regulate their own actions and more supportive in the learning aspect of WHY they felt the need for breaking a set guideline. "You broke my rule, why did you do that? Why do you think I asked you not to? How do you feel about that?" I would like to say I fall under this category more then the latter...but really at three years old mine would totally take over the household and it would be a whole Lord of the Flies sh*tstorm brewing...my kids sense weakness and strike! J/k....I grasp this concept more then not, I think in order for a child to firmly understand a rule they need to be talked to and feel open to ask questions...."BUT WHYYYYYYYY?"

Uninvolved Parenting? They have very few demands or rules on their children. They are very detached (IMO) fill their basic needs of food and shelter but that's about it. No rules, no connection, no worries. Kind of like throwing toast at your kids, turning on the TV and sitting down at a kitchen table and ignoring them while you write a blog entry....WAIIIIIITTTTT a minute....that's what I'm doing....anyhoooo nothing to see here, move along :O I'm teasing...as I finished that sentence the boy just pulled his sisters hair to get her toast...and his butt is in the corner as we speak haha

Permissive parents are ones who simply spoil a child or are 'FRIENDS" with their children. There are very little rules or restrictions or expectations places on them, they are free to simply be. We have all seen this type. "My Little Johnny took a rock and scratched the paint on your new truck? Ohhh he's just expressing his emotions. Isn't he creative?" This style is the LEAST of the qualities in my repertoire. I'm sorry, I have many friends, and none of my friends take their diaper off and poop paint on the walls, none of mine wake me up in the middle of the night to throw up in my face. haha....ok that's a little far.

In my opinion, being only ONE of these types of parents is not good. You should have a nice mixture of all 4 qualities. Strict enough to have rules and expect them to follow. Have rules but allow certain rules to be up for discussion when the time is right. Punishments for rule breaking but allowances for debate. You need to take time for yourself, but not to the extent of letting your kids rule the roost. You need to be a sort of friend...not a "hey buddy, lets chill out." but a parent who allows their kids to open up to you without fear of punishment...you need mutual trust. You can't crack the whip without letting a child know where they went wrong.

We, as parents have a tough job. There are always people out there to judge you and wait for you to screw up in your parenting. There is always people who think they do/did a way better job with their kids then you are. If you live your life worrying about what others think of you you might as well have never had kids. These are YOUR kids, you will survive.

The way I see it...I haven't done everything right, I will never do right in some peoples eyes and I may have screwed up ensuring my kids will end up in jail or something, but I'm involved and TRYING. If we all wake up in one piece the next morning and happy then I did my job...today is a new day. :)

You don't have to agree with my opinion...that's the wicked thing about the internet...theres a red X at the top of the screen...