Mummy Thoughts » food

Fall Apples in Ottawa

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:29:23 +0000

Since we are in Ottawa this fall, we havn’t had a chance to enjoy the wonderful apples from my mum’s tree in Winnipeg. But we have had our share of yummy free apples here. When the kids returned back to school in September we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the tree right in front of the school was an apple tree. Imagine my excitement of being able to make those apple pies and apple crumble.

The school encourage us to pick the apples to enjoy instead of letting them go to waste. So that is what we did. Every day after school, we stopped to pick apples on the way home. The kids loved climbing the tree and picking and eating those apples straight from the tree.

There are still tons of apples on the tree. Unfortunately they are now too high to climb to pick. So yesterday we took the ladder and we picked more apples. Made juice yesterday and will make another apple crisp today! The super easy recipe is at the bottom of the blog.

The big surprise was when Kyle came home from one of his customers this week who is a farmer. Check out the size of that apple. Kyle is not sure whether to eat it or not. I remember seeing apples that size in Australia….

The apple is as big as her head

His favourite fruit!

Guess which one is from the farm and which one is from the school

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter melted
Mixed the above ingredient together and line the pan with half the mixture.

4 cups sliced apples
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix the apples together with the sugar and cinnamon and place on top of the oatmeal mixture.
Top off the apples with the remaining half of the oatmeal mixture.

Place it in the oven for 350F for 45minutes.
Enjoy!
The kids like it with ice-cream.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:52:43 +0000

I have much to be thankful for. Life is good.

I love long weekends. This weekend, the kids and I cleaned out their bedrooms, it was long overdue. We started on Saturday, took a break in the afternoon and finished on Sunday. So now the deal is that they have to clean up every night before they go to bed. I think we have said that many times before. I need to put down my foot down more and not let the kids take advantage with excuses. Tonight Natalie had a fit when we told her she had to put her toys away even though we helped her she didn’t have to do it herself. The tears… So their room is now tidy. The goal is to make sure they keep it that way! I am thankful for clean and tidy rooms.

I did some tidying up myself. The winter clothes are out and most of the summer stuff has been put away. It is so odd as it is still so warm outside. We went for a bike ride to Britannia Beach on Sunday afternoon and it was such a lovely ride. The park was just packed, everyone was out enjoying the wonderful warm October weather. I am thankful for the great weather we are having.

It was a social weekend for us too. Saturday we went to a un-traditional baby shower with the family in Rockland. We met up with friends from our Peak Potential courses and it was an awesome evening. The kids just entertained themselves, and played on the vast property. Saturday night we had our vegetarian thanksgiving dinner with a couple of friends. I made a sweet potato gratin, amazing what you can find online when you do a google search. I search for “vegetarian thanksgiving dinner”! Today we went to visit our friends Terry and Jane. It always amazes me when our kids meet up with our friends kids. This is the second time our kids have gotten together since moving back to Ottawa, and they are so comfortable together. When they met up the first time, they hadn’t seen each other for over 4 years, Matthew would have been 6. No problem hanging out together to play. That is so great. I am thankful for great kids.

This morning, I slept in, very rare for me. I can’t remember when the last time I did that. I was quite stuffed up last night and had a restless sleep so the extra couple of hours this morning was so very nice. I am thankful for a husband who looked after the kids and let me sleep in.

What a awesome weekend. I have so much to be thankful for. What are you thankful for?

Taffy in the snow – Tire sur la Neige

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:12:47 +0000

For the last few weeks, Kyle has been working out east with Solar installations and working with a couple who also works at a maple farm. One day he came home from work with some Maple syrup for Maple Taffy. Yes, it is that time of year when the maple sap flows. It was very exciting, fresh snow from the garden and fresh maple syrup…

Not sure we would make it out to the maple farms this spring as Kyle is so busy but hey, we are not missing out on the maple taffy!

Fresh snow from the garden.

Pouring out the syrup onto the snow..

Andrew rolling the taffy onto a stick..

Natalie concentrating...

Natalie enjoying her Tier sur la neige.

Our Possessions are Here

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:34:29 +0000

We finally received all our belongings from Winnipeg. All 3200lbs of it. I guess that is what happens when you have mementos and books….

We have been emptying all the boxes, makes it easy as we have no where to store anything, things have to put away and boxes discarded of. We do have a few things to store, clothes that are still too big for the kids or their summer clothes or the camping gear. The list goes on… Ok we have a few things to store, but where? (That is what happens when you have a little place!)

It is so nice to have our stuff. The best is the kitchen knife. I had a paring knife for 3 weeks and trying cutting sweet potatoes with that! Hey but I managed. Sometimes you have to be creative. I made banana cake (using a muffin recipe) in my cast iron fry pan.

Banana Bread made in a cast iron pan.

Boy was it hard to make a stir fry in the cast iron pan. So glad the work is here too… I love my wok!

I have everything I need in our possessions and I was determined not to have to buy any thing even if it was short term. It is so nice to have things to store food in. Especially all my Tupperware. The cupboards are organized, the kids have containers for their lunches. We are all settling in really well. Now we just need some furniture.

Halloween Candy – Used a learning tool

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:01:11 +0000

It has been 2 weeks since Halloween and the candy/chips supply has dwindled quite a bit. Even though Kyle is not here for the loot! I think it is about 1/3 gone. Might be done before Christmas, before the next batch of candy gifts! I am not a big fan of giving the kids candy but they love going “trick or treating” so why not make it a learning experience.

The kids are allowed to have 5 candies a day. After dinner or after lunch. They can split up their consumption however they choose. They usually they have 2 or 3 at lunch and the rest at dinner. Natalie usually has 4 at lunch as she cannot control herself and wants to have them all – my sugar monster. So when her brothers are having multiples after dinner, she will have her one that is left and say loud enough for me to hear “I wish I could have another one”. To which I respond, “you know you are only allowed to have 5 and that was your fifth one”. She understands and then goes off to do her thing and doesn’t even fuss, got to give her point to asking. She must think, perhaps if I ask enough, mum might just give me another one! I think this is a great learning tool for them to understanding limits and understanding the concequences of their actions/choices.

Natalie seems to show her temper whenever she doesn’t get her way or she gets mad at her brother and hits them. It was getting a little out of control. This candy thing has really helped. She loves candy so much so to take it away is quite a big thing. Last week she was showing her temper multiple times a day and it was so frustrating. Nothing I said gently or harshly would make a difference and it was getting a little old! So I finally told her that she would loose her candy privileges if she misbehaved, hit or showed her temper. She lost candy for 4 days in a row. Now her vents have really calmed down and she seems to control herself a little more. I think she is starting to understand that her behavior is not acceptable and there are consequences to her attitude.

Not too sure what you guys think about my learning tool but it seems to work for me. Take advantage of the situation to learn no matter what the situation is.

Happy 41st Birthday

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 04:11:57 +0000

So I am passed the 40th mark and am on to my 41st year. It has been an awesome year. I turned 40 last year in Georgia and watched the movies “17 again”. How appropriate. Sometimes I do feel 17 except when I feel the aches… he he he. Turning 41 is just another great opportunity to be pampered and spoilt. I had a great 40th year and it is exciting to think of what is in store for me this year!?!

With a birthday celebration, there is always eating…. All you can eat Sushi for lunch on Wednesday, a treat given by my parents friends visiting from Singapore and Vietnamese food for dinner on my birthday with the family. It was a fun and busy day for me, I am happy to add I didn’t have to cook lunch either. Thanks Mummy! I was in and out all day, with school, doctors appointment and taking the kids swimming, it often amazes me how being a stay at home mum can be so busy… Can’t complain, being home with the kids is one of my greatest joy… I love my life!

It was also great to receive all the wishes and cards from my friends and family. I know I am loved!

Here are some of the pictures of the gifts from the kids and my birthday cake! Birthdays are so much fun!

Card from Matthew

Paper frog from Andrew

Paper flowers from Natalie

My cake!

Me and the kiddies.

Manitoba Kids Chinese Summer Camp

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:29:27 +0000

Today is the third day of the kids summer camp and they are having a blast. I have been picking up their friends Megan and Stephanie. My favourite part of the day is listening to them talk about their days, comparing notes and singing and making jokes. The drive to the camp is about half an hour so there is a lot of noise and laughter.

Today the Lieutenant Governor Philip Lee and his wife came for a visit and I stayed at the school to take some pictures. He made a short speech and gave out Manitoba Pins to all the kids.

Strawberry Picking

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:45:35 +0000

Last Friday we went Strawberry Picking. Unfortunately on our drive there, I realized I forgot my camera so you will have to use your imagination.

It has been raining quite alot for Winnipeg so the Strawberry farm was pretty wet. Even though they put straw down, there has been so much water, there was quite a bit of mud and standing water. Anyways, it was a beautiful morning with a slight breeze so the mosquitoes were at bay. So we had a great morning of picking.

Andrew and Natalie were moving at super speed. I had only picked a quarter of a pail and Natalie walks towards me with a filled bucket of strawberries. Wow! Since they were done so soon, they went to play and guess what, Andrew fell into the mud hands first and then Matthew, hands and knees. So I sent them to the edge of the strawberry patch to wait. While they were waiting for us, they decided to play in the ditch and climb up the mud dike. Of course they were covered in mud and all of them had to strip before I would let them in the van. I brought them extra shoes, never thought that I would have to bring extra clothes… Here is a picture of their boots when we got home.

Needless to say the kids had a blast and ate tons of strawberries…

Andrew is 7 today

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:56:20 +0000

What a week of partying. Last week was Natalie’s party and this week is Andrews. Today Andrew had 2 of his friends over for a little get together. He was so excited. He had pick out his clothes and underwear the week before. It was so funny when the boys arrived they were all dressed in the same colour. No wonder these boys hung out together in Kindergarten. They played, went to the park and had cake, before we knew it, the party was over and we had to get ready to go to the wedding…

Kids getting ready to go to the park.

The boys on the swings

The cake Andrew decorated...

The friends and family picture

Blowing out the candles

Andrew cutting his own cake and serving

A piece of worm and egg orange cake.

Natalie’s Friend Birthday Party

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:13:19 +0000

Natalie has seen her siblings having their friends over for birthday parties so this year as she turned 5, she wanted to have her friend over too. It was a fun Monday afternoon. She had 4 little friends over which age ranged from 2-9 years. The party started at 1pm till about 5ish… They played in the basement, in the playroom, in the backyard, and we even went to the park. The only organized activity was a couple o games that we played, “pass the gift” and “musical chairs”. Other than that the kids just entertained themselves. I love throwing home parties, the kids get so creative and find different things to do and play. Here are a few pictures of the afternoon.

Birthday cupcakes

Pass the Gift game

Musical chairs

On the swings at the park.

Enjoying the great outdoors.

All the kids at the park.