Hockey Night in Canada

Ok so it was a day game but hey, why mess with a good title???

The girls actually had 2 games today, one in the morning and another mid afternoon today. The morning one was with their regular team and this afternoon was the girls' team. They ended up losing both games but seemed to enjoy both. The 2nd game took a lot out of them as they didn't have quite enough skaters for two shifts, so they were on the ice A LOT! They were missing their older players this afternoon and the other team was not! The scorekeepers are kind in this league and hold the scores at a 3 goal lead so I'm not sure what the real final score was but we did have two goals in the end!

Sweetie spent some time at Tulip's house for the morning game while I was at my class at the gym this morning and came home for lunch and to get ready for the game. We ended up getting to the rink quite early and as it turned out, complex was next door to Teena's mom's house! Since we had time to kill anyway, Sweetie & I walked over and had a little visit until it was time for the game to begin. She was surprised to find us on our doorstep but seemed to welcome the diversion to undecorating her tree!

We got home from the game right at supper time and upheld another Canadian tradition, beans & wieners on Saturday night! We jazzed it up with Honey's homemade brown bread in the breadmaker. She was pleased when I announced we were eating HER bread for dinner :)

After dinner Lovey did her violin and then we had movie night & snacks! Mmmm mmmm!!! Needless to say they fell asleep fast tonight and I think I'm ready to do the same!

Hanging with GG

GG is in town so we paid her a visit yesterday morning! She had made the girls some new nighties for their birthday and wanted them to try them on. We got there just as she was starting to bake cookies and the girls helped her get the batch started. mmmmm yummy fun! I remember baking with GG when I was little so it's neat that my girls will have that memory too.

We didn't get very far on the cookies when we ran out of time and had to get GG to her hair appt. Before we left the girls did try on their nightgowns and they all fit! We dropped her off at the hairdresser's and went to the library to return books and hunt down some new ones while we waited. As luck would have it, I pulled into a space that had an hour left on the meter. Score!

After the library we made a quick stop at the bank and then back to Aunt Cathy's to help finish baking the cookies! GG has waaaaaaaaaaaay more patience than I do so I just let her do the cookies as the mangling was getting to hard for me to ignore! LOL

We had some sandwiches and were refuelled to run more errands, much to the kids' delight. I'm trying to continue my streak of "ruining" their vacation with doing things for them cuz that's the nasty kind of mom I am apparently!

I'm going to the gym in the evenings now, to save money on childcare and let me tell you, by the time class starts, I'm more than ready to go! It always takes awhile to get used to being on summer schedules, with nowhere we have to be at no particular time, things get too lazy around here! The wet weather isn't helping either, too much indoor time drives us all a little bonkers...

Cookies!!!!!

The kids had a day off from school this week so we did some baking. We made cheesecake and smartie cookies! The mixing team may have overdone it and beat the dough to a pulp and the cookies turned out very runny and thin! The good news is that they still taste awesome and are going like hot cakes!

 There was a dance break as we waited for the cookies to come out of the oven. They call this move the "Double Disco". Snazzy huh? Warmth, love & laughter on a winter day, good times in the kitchen. :)))

Happy Valentine's Day!

Busy day yesterday with all the bullying drama (see other post) and I was also babysitting the two girls next door at the time and had to leave the house by 5:30 to volunteer at the church fundraising dinner downtown. A little hectic and rushed but all under control!

The girls all enjoyed their valentines and treats and were excited to give their own out. They got lots of nice comments. The other kids were amazed that their mom "who does stuff with pictures" as Honey put it when she couldn't remember the word "photographer at school LOL, got their FACES  on the valentine. Not sure why it was amazing this year, it's the 4th time they've given out this type! Lovey's party wasn't until today as their Tuesday schedule was too busy to fit it in.

The girls got a parcel in the mail from Nanny & Grampy with some little surprises and treats. They got cards & stickers from Grammie & Grandad and more stuff from school. It wasn't an excessive amount this year which was nice since they're still working on Halloween candy here!

I taped sparkly cupids to the inside cover of their lunchboxes and put a marshmallow heart for their dessert so it was quite a surprise when they opened it up at school. I also surprised Murray by making lobster sandwiches and sneaking some Lindt raspberry chocolates in there when he wasn't looking. I had the whole lunch packed and ready (cupid in there and everything!) at the top of the stairs so he wouldn't need to open it in the kitchen. He grabbed it on the way by and totally burst my bubble by reminding me that he didn't need a lunch as they were having meetings that day and ordering in pizza. Uh oh. 2 day old lobster sandwiches wouldn't be very good.... but I didn't want to say anything and spoil the surprise. My concerned look and lack of words tipped him off though. He opened  his lunch as soon as he got there and had the sandwiches at 8:30! I guess that's still a success right?

We had to rush through dinner since I had to leave early. The fundraiser went well and my photography coupon got a good price so I was happy to get that donation for the church. The event was oversold and they raised a lot of money for the renovations we need done. But what a late night! We were there cleaning up, dismantling and doing dishes til after 11pm. We left even though there were still 3 or 4 loads to put through the dishwasher! So much for the 7:30/8ish I'd told Murray when I left. oops!

I got my valentine's surprise early! Murray took the girls shopping on Saturday while I was at Acorn's house for their photoshoot! A gorgeous bouquet was waiting on the table when I got home, woohoo!!

Even though I had to skip out early, I still had a nice dinner for us! Or so I thought! Sweetie and Lovey had trouble getting their scallops down and did not get to have their strawberries dipped in chocolate and didn't get to have any of the red velvet cupcakes with creamcheese frosting! more for us!!!

Bake Much????

On Wednesday afternoon, Honey & Sweetie went to play at a friend's house while Lovey & I went to her violin lesson. On the way home, I thought it would be nice if just the two of us did something together while her sisters were gone. I wasn't sure if she'd go for it, since she knew they were at Tulip's house & she'd be able to join them if she wanted to. I asked her if she wanted to bake some cupcakes with me & she was all for it!

When we got home she ran in & washed her hands & went to pick out an apron. When she noticed that Murray & I have matching aprons, she decided we should both wear those, so we did! :)))

She had a great time getting to measure everything and then at the end we ran out of time so she didn't get to ice them all and ended up helping me get supper ready. I had lots of little jobs for her to do and was surprised at how much was involved in getting dinner on the table. She said "wow! you're really busy! I love helping you!"

Here comes the Weekend!

I had errands to run today so I did them at the end of the day when the girls would be getting out of school so I could pick them up. They weren't as excited as I thought! Lovey clarified it for me when I mentioned they were usually happy to get picked up. "I am, WHEN we're going somewhere fun!" Note to self: don't bother next time!

We got home and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies & then they moved on to their very important work of demolishing the living room and hiding all carpeting by spreading out their coating of pet shops, barbies and polly pocket paraphernalia!

Tonight was Fatty Fried Food Friday (what do you mean that's not a real event? it is here!) so in keeping with that theme, we had fish & chips. Sweetie normally eats well, asks for extra vegetables, finishes her food on her plate etc. It cracks me up that she looooooooooooooooooves French Fries. and not just any fries, they have to be done in "the greaser" aka deep fryer. Oven baked fries get sneered at. She will eat them until she blows up and then come back & lick out the pan for any crumbs and salt remainders! Honey's not a fish & chip fan and since it's just junk food anyway, I let them opt out of FFFF if they would rather have a sandwich so she was happy with her pb & J. Lovey for some unknown reason, WILL eat fish & chips, probably due in large part to their bath in the greaser. I pretend that the fish has some redeeming characteristics left after the cooking process and consider it a successful meal for her!

After supper, Murray took Honey to see a hockey game. She's been looking forward to it all week and was very excited to go out on her own with Daddy! They got home almost 2 hrs past her normal bedtime so we'll see how that affects tomorrow's disposition (I'm guessing it won't be overly favourable.....). She was very good tonight & got ready quickly & slipped into bed without any hesitation.

Murray said she really enjoyed the game but had 10 MILLION questions! I think this just pleased him more than it annoyed. Finally, a girl around here who takes an interest in THE game! Also of great interest to her & frequently inquired upon during play:

1) How many minutes PAST my bedtime is it NOW Daddy?

2) are my sisters in bed YET???

While they were gone, Lovey, Sweetie and I worked on puzzles. I challenged them to a puzzle race and made the mistake of choosing some dinky puzzle with weird pieces and waaaaaaaay too many of them! Sweetie kicked my butt but I was gaining on Lovey when I ran out of pieces and started looking around the floor and chairs. When I heard Lovey giggling, I knew something was up. Sweetie jumped in to investigate and sure enough, that little sneak had my last TWO pieces clutched in her little hand! They roared and roared as I ranted & raved about the sabotage and unfairness of cheating at PUZZLES!!!!!!! Then they got carried away and dismantled what I had managed to put together. Ahhhh good times!